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supersaiyanjedi14 · 1 year

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RWBY COMBAT ANALYSIS: OZPIN

“The single quality that is common across every living creature on this planet... is fear. It's funny then, that as common as fear is... we so easily underestimate its power. Fear of growing close to someone, a subsequent fear of loss, fear of failure. And as more people depend on you, those fears can take on greater power. But fear itself isn't worthy of concern, it is who we become while in its clutches. Will you be proud of that person? Will you forgive them? Will you understand why they felt the need to do the things they did? Will you even recognize them? Or will the person staring back at you be the very thing you should have feared from the start?”

PHYSICAL

In the wake of Salem’s attempted overthrow of the Brother Gods and the subsequent purging of the first age of humanity, her former lover, the warrior mage Ozma, was reincarnated by the God of Light to act as an instrument against her, charged with reunifying mankind and keeping her at bay. Ozma was reborn countless times over the millennia, and when Salem’s agents instigated the Fall of Beacon Academy, he was operating as Ozpin, the institution’s headmaster. A middle-aged human male, Ozpin had been a member of Beacon’s staff since at least Team STRQ’s freshman year roughly 21 years prior, so he was likely in his mid to late 50s at the time of his physical death. While little is known about this incarnation’s personal background, he was confirmed to have been the youngest individual to attain a Headmaster position, the thousands of years of cumulative training and combat experience from his previous forms making him appear to be a prodigal talent and wise beyond his assumed years. As headmaster and a member of the Vale Council, he operated publicly as an administrative and political official, though in private he dedicated himself to a war of shadows against Salem, building a cadre of sundry yet well-placed allies among the other academies. The sad irony was that he found himself keeping just as many secrets from his friends as he did his enemies, his experiences with betrayal and deception leading him to keep many details closer to the chest than necessary.

Putting together a set of physical statistics for Ozpin is difficult due to a lack of information. Despite being a heavily featured character in the show’s first three seasons, Ozpin was only depicted in combat a single time, that being the brief snippets of his final duel with Cinder Fall, while all his other on-screen combative feats have been while he was possessing the body of Oscar Pine. Regardless, there is just enough information available and that can be inferred that a good measure of his abilities can be gauged. As a conventional man standing 6’6”, Ozpin had no significant anatomical factors or enhancements, distinguished only by his graying hair, brown eyes, and slender build. While his desk job kept him away from direct battlefields, Ozpin remained active in his campaigns against Salem, and as a professional Huntsman and veteran military operative, he would have certainly maintained a strict training regimen to keep himself healthy and vital. Despite being an older man, Ozpin remained valid competition for the much younger Cinder Fall, matching her fairly evenly during their battle. A speed and skill based martial artist, he demonstrated his highly polished dexterity in his core fencing technique, contending with Cinder’s assortment of weapons and deflecting her projectiles with casual ease. His agility was expressed though his dynamic physical component, combining blinding rushes with nimble footwork and incorporating deft acrobatic evasions during his fight with Hazel Rainart at Haven. Though the latter is a flawed demonstration due to the fact that he was operating in Oscar’s body rather than his own, Ozpin’s muscle memory and complete willingness to utilize such maneuvers leads me to believe that he did incorporate them in his previous form. In the realm of strength, Ozpin has little to draw from, as the few physical feats we have for him point to him being a speedster and measured fencer rather than a power duelist or brawler. Regardless, he did employ focused power blows against Hazel, so they were, again, likely part of what he used in his own form. Furthermore, given his previous incarnations as a battlefield warrior, he would have almost certainly attempted to maintain a good balance among his attributes, which would have obviously included strength training. He’s not particularly domineering, but he’s not even remotely weak.

Harder to determine than anything else is Ozpin’s tolerance for pain and injury, as the only hit he’s ever been seen taking was the sustained blast of fire that killed him. On one hand, Ozpin’s age had likely undercut his ability to maintain his performance in the long term, and fatigue would have almost certainly been a significant hurdle for him in any prolonged confrontation. On the other, Ozpin was a highly experienced player in his war with Salem and has clearly been though the meatgrinder of hard combat, so I sincerely doubt that he was some glass cannon who couldn’t take a hit. Even if his years did hamper his stamina, his emphasis on controlled technique minimized physical strain, and he was able to fight evenly with Cinder Fall for an extended bout despite the Fall Maiden’s youth. As several of his incarnations were military operatives and/or suffered extremely violent deaths, Ozpin has certainly endured a considerable amount of pain and suffering yet has continued to fight on. In any event, Ozpin’s millennia of training and combat experience afforded him with extreme patience and discipline, maintaining his calm under fire even in the most horrifying situations. During his battle with Hazel at Haven, Ozpin was subjected to numerous physical blows that knocked him across the hall, and while his possession of Oscar again limits the value of measuring his resiliency, this display does provide a powerful demonstration of his ability to understand and deal with pain in the heat of combat. His mental health was by no means perfect, however, as his traumatic experiences and the mounting pressures of his perpetual conflict with Salem left him an emotionally vulnerable man. When Jinn recounted his history to Team RWBY, the combination of reliving his life’s failures and the team’s angered reaction motivated him to retreat into Oscar’s subconscious, not resurfacing for several months at minimum. Fortunately, Ozpin has only cracked when specific buttons have been pushed, often through specific knowledge of his history, and he otherwise remained a stoic pillar of discipline, keeping himself together and persevering under fire.

During his service as Beacon’s headmaster, Ozpin dressed for the job, his wardrobe reflecting his professional status while also remaining practical for fighting. His day-to-day attire consisted of a simple black suit under which he wore a green dress shirt and vest, with a green scarf wrapped around his neck. He also regularly wore a pair of shaded spectacles, though weather these were prescriptions or merely sunglasses has never been confirmed. No protection, but still functional and stylish.

RANKING: Tier 3, Advanced Human Fitness

On one hand, Ozpin is a very strong athlete whose performance levels are more than sufficient to enable his combat skill and outperform his adversaries. But on the other hand, he was past his prime and was beginning to contend with the limitations of age. Ozpin will not burn out immediately, his feats and accolades proving that he can hold out in hard combat, but he does have a lower ceiling than one would hope for. Fortunately, Ozpin is aware of his limits and has built himself to compensate for them while continuing to leverage his strengths. Outwardly unassuming yet dynamic and powerful, he combines blinding energy with balanced, relaxed grace, employing a measured approach to cover his bases and stay alive while working to wear down his opponents before they can wear him down in turn. Essentially, an over the hill Tier 2.

MARTIAL

The ancient warrior Ozma carried a large, jeweled staff during his lifetime and continued to carry it through his incarnations, though by the time he inhabited the body of an unnamed settler, he had rebuilt it into the Long Memory, a collapsible cane imbued with magical properties. When fully extended, the cane was approximately three feet long, though Oscar Pine’s use of the weapon seems to suggest that the length is adjustable. It’s squared shaft composed of a highly durable black substance, and the silvered handgrip featured a protective hand guard. The handle was capped off on one end by a rounded pommel while the shaft extended from an intricate gear system that was clearly part of its magical components. The most notable property of the Memory was its enchantments, which allowed it to store kinetic energy from hits it either delivered or endured and then release that power at will. I’ll elaborate more on this in the Special Abilities section, but as it stands, the Long Memory in irrefutably the single most powerful hand-held weapon in the setting at this time.

Prior to his original death, Ozma was a famed wandering warrior, renowned for his righteousness, courage, and will. Already a tried and tested combatant when he learned of Salem, his skills allowed him to make quick work of Salem’s father and his armies, and he spent his remaining years as an adventuring hero. After becoming a reincarnating immortal, he continued to train and fight in his various conflicts with his former lover, garnering experience as a frontier settler, military operative, and of course, a Huntsman. His most notable form prior to becoming Ozpin was the last Warrior King of Vale, leading his forces to victory through the Great War and personally directing the final campaign in Vacuo, where he was reported to have laid waste to whole armies. With thousands of years of training and experience under his belt, Ozpin was unquestionably one of the greatest martial combatants, not just of his era, but of Remnant’s history as a whole. Even when operating under non-combative roles, namely his Headmastership of Beacon Academy, Ozpin understood that confrontation with Salem’s agents was an inevitability, not a hypothetical, and as such stayed on top of his training. However, despite being a heavily featured character for RWBY’s first three volumes (and even after the fact due to his merging with Oscar), Ozpin has surprisingly few explicit combat feats to his name, and the full range of his specific proficiencies has not been explored. Fortunately, there is just enough actual substance to back up his reputation, as the few fights he has been seen in speak to his incredibly advanced skill. Ozpin primarily operated as an armed combatant, Ozma’s skill as a swordsman demonstrated when he casually slew a Beowolf mere seconds after awakening in his first incarnation. This apparent specialization was expressed in his primary fighting technique, wielding his cane much like a rapier. His favored attacks were swift thrusts and stabs, employing both single strike takedowns and rapid-fire stabbing assaults, as well as powerful slashes and chops to bludgeon the opponent. Despite lacking an obvious edge, Ozpin’s attacks were always executed with grace and precision, his strikes targeting vulnerable joints to stagger and incapacitate his opponents, demonstrated when he brought the much larger and stronger Hazel Rainart to his knees. For defense, he favored whipping deflection parries to intercept projectiles and shunt blocks to brace against melee attacks, while relying on acrobatic evasions to avoid attacks he couldn’t meet head-on. As far as alternative fighting methods went, Ozpin has demonstrated advanced skill in hand-to-hand martial arts, taking an active role in teaching Ruby Rose such methods during their time in Mistral. Additionally, while Ozpin has never been seen utilizing firearms, I simply refuse to believe that someone with his career was not at least a competent marksman.

After millennia of operating as a frontline combatant, wartime military commander, administrator, and politician, it should come as no surprise that Ozpin was one of the most capable strategic minds of his day, distinguished by his calm demeanor and cautious foresight. With Salem and the Grimm as a constant, seemingly unending threat, Ozpin was extremely wary and preached constant vigilance against potential threats. However, where other preparation-minded leaders such as James Ironwood simply built up their primary power base to deter potential aggressors, Ozpin understood the large-scale impact of his decisions, emphasizing intelligence gathering and covert operations to take his opponents’ measure and nip threats in the bud before they spiraled out of control. In this manner, he effectively kept his conflict with Salem a complete secret for millennia, anticipating her attempts at insurrection and maneuvering his own well-placed followers to counter her. When Team RWBY uncovered information about the White Fang’s operations in Southeast, Ozpin opted to let the students scout out the area and work to dismantle them rather than sending troops to the region and tipping their hand prematurely. This vigilant and observant approach made him virtually impossible to overcome directly, forcing Cinder Fall to conduct a long, clandestine conspiracy in order to facilitate the Fall of Beacon. While Ozpin, like everyone else, was caught completely off-guard by the sudden terror attack, he maintained his composure and quickly delegated his subordinates to mount a defense, demonstrating that he could keep control of himself and maintain his tactical viability even when completely blindsided. Of course, Ozpin was by no means passive, and would decisively intervene when situations boiled over, forcibly taking over Oscar’s body during their battle with Hazel for his own safety after the farmhand insisted on acting on his own. Clearly a student of psychological warfare, Ozpin could quickly pick out specific buttons to push, getting under his adversaries’ skin to undermine their composure or, ideally, conscript them to his cause. When Oscar was captured in Atlas, Ozpin pleaded with Hazel to defect by appealing to his once noble intentions, eventually offering the identity of Jinn as a sign of trust. However, this emphasis on secrecy and underhanded tactics also highlighted his key limitation as a leader, as he frequently kept just as much information from his allies as his enemies. While a good man who genuinely valuing and caring for the well-being of his followers, Ozpin’s history of betrayal left it difficult for him to trust others with the whole truth, to the point where he was hiding critical information from his agents as he used them to achieve his goals. This seemingly callous use of people as tools and manipulation through half-truths contributed directly to Raven Branwen’s abandonment of his inner circle, broke Team RWBY’s trust in his leadership, and contributed heavily to Ironwood’s eventual fall from grace.

As far as his conduct in live combat was concerned, Ozpin applied his cautious yet proactive mindset in a way to undermine and subvert his opponents. He would open defensively so as to gauge the opponent’s skills, though he also had a tendency to draw his weapon to provoke a response. Once he settled into a comfortable rhythm or took the opponent’s measure, he would turn around and begin an intense yet measured assault, blitzing the opponent wherever possible and, whenever not, striking at exposed weak points to disable them. This method was best demonstrated in his battle with Hazel Rainart at the Battle of Haven, during which time he was occupying the body of his newest host, Oscar Pine. While initially content to let Oscar cut his teeth in the battle, this came to an abrupt halt when Rainart became aware of their situation, stabbing electric Dust into his arms and viciously assaulting Oscar. Forced to possess the boy for his own safety, Ozpin casually evaded Hazel’s brutish attacks before outflanking him with acrobatics, striking at his face, neck, and joints before he had a chance to properly respond. Eventually bringing Hazel to his knees, Ozpin was only prevented from finishing him off when Leonardo Lionheart shot him in the back, forcing Qrow Branwen to rush in to protect him. While it could be argued that this victory was brought about through superior speed, especially against Hazel’s bulk, it can just as easily be argued that Hazel’s brute strength was the only thing that enabled him to contend with his older and easily more skilled opponent. As far as Ozpin’s duel with Cinder at Beacon is concerned, Ozpin again held a solid advantage over the Fall Maiden. Clearly able to contend with her varied weapon proficiencies, he forced her to give ground with his refined and focused offensive and countered with swift reposts, swatting her flurry of glass shards aside like bothersome flies before putting her on the receiving end of a machine gun poking spree. Cinder ultimately resorted to unleashing her Maiden powers to attack the headmaster, and while Ozpin’s magic barrier was ultimately unable to save his life, the fact that Cinder had to resort to such extreme measures is a strong indicator that she could not overcome Ozpin in battle. While it is unclear who was in control of Oscar’s body during Team JNR’s ambush of James Ironwood, I do feel that Ozpin would have, at the absolute bare minimum, been able to pressure the General in open battle, and even defeat him as he did with Hazel.

RANKING: Tier 1, Complete Mastery

Already a distinguished warrior before he was cursed and having continued to live and train throughout his numerous incarnations, Ozpin, by his nature, has accumulated more training and combat experience than any normal warrior could possibly obtain. His fighting technique has proven versatile enough to engage a wide array of opponents, while also being refined to an unprecedented mastery. Even when operating in a new body, he still proved himself to expertly leverage his incredible talents. While not infallible as a tactician and strategist, he was nonetheless cunning and intelligent, knowing how to operate among friend and foe alike to achieve his goals and undercut his enemies. Further proving his ranking is that he has engaged several of the most devastating combatants in the current setting, and the best they could hope to do was contend. Ozpin has never been beaten in melee combat, his death at the hands of Cinder owing to her overwhelming magical power, not martial skill.

SPECIAL

Before the modern world of Remnant came to be, the first age of humanity possessed the ability to utilize magic, a blessing of the Brother Gods. Sorcery was commonplace in this time, and while the warrior Ozma’s exact standing in relation to his peers is unconfirmed, he was unquestionably a prodigal talent, seen when he single-handedly overcame the army of Salem’s father before besting the king himself in a wizards’ duel. However, after Salem’s attempted rebellion against the Gods, the brothers wiped their slate clean and destroyed their first humanity, the only survivors of this being Salem herself, cursed with immortality, and Ozma following his resurrection into the new world. With the current humanity incapable of accessing the otherworldly abilities of their precursors, Ozma and Salem were left in a vacuum, standing as two of, if not the, most powerful beings in the setting by default. For the purposes of this analysis, I will be taking all of the demonstrations of Ozma’s incarnations into account, not just the ones he specifically is using. Despite my assertions above that Ozpin’s physical and martial abilities while controlling Oscar are not fully accurate gauges for Ozpin himself, transferring into a new body has never been shown to have any impact on the ability to wield magic. As such, the feats and demonstrations of Oscar, the King of Vale, the Wizard and others can be carried over to all timelines. Magic has consistently appeared as an independent, virtually limitless energy source that its wielders, casually called upon even when the user’s Aura has broken. The powers offered by magic in the RWBY setting are quite varied, ranging from clairvoyance and long-distance communication to control over the elements or weather to various forms of manipulating energy. For his part, Ozpin has demonstrated the ability to unleash concentrated blasts of green energy as a long-range projectile, channeling his power through his scepter and later the Long Memory (more on that later). Alternatively, he could focus this power into powerful energy barriers to shield himself from injury, this ability being one of his favorite tactics. While the shield did fail against Cinder’s firestorm at Beacon, this is no sign of weakness given the godly power of the Fall Maiden. Additionally, he has demonstrated powers of personal levitation, likely developing this ability to enhance his already astounding agility in battle. While this is mere speculation on my part, I believe that the devastating weather conditions that contributed to the meatgrinding Vacuo campaign of the Great War was not simply Vacuo’s unpredictable climate but a consequence of magical influence on the battle, which could in turn be directly linked to Ozpin as the Warrior King was personally involved in that battle.

Aside from his direct combative powers, Ozpin’s most notable use of his magic was ironically the powers he surrendered. Over the course of his life, Ozpin has granted magical abilities to several his followers and allies, either as payment for services rendered or as a gifted tool for his agents to improve their performance. Following their kindness and companionship in the midst of one of his more depressing lives, Ozpin, then an unnamed hermit wizard, sacrificed parts of his own power to four young women to create the four Maidens. While I don’t usually like following A>B>C logic, I do find it reasonable to assume that Ozpin is comparable the powers and magnitude of the Maidens given how powerful he remains despite this relinquishing. Ozpin could also grant power on a smaller scale, as seen when he used what he described as a minimal amount of power to grant the Branwen twins the ability to shape-shift into birds. As remarkable as this ability is, however, it is also the source of Ozpin’s greatest limitation as an ethereal warrior. The amount of power needed to grant magical abilities to others took a significant toll on his own energy reserves, reducing the amount of power he could personally bring to bear. This was most clearly demonstrated in his offensive power. In his first incarnation, Ozpin was able to match and briefly overcome Salem with his energy beams, matching her strength with his own and his defeat likely owing more to Salem’s wrathful aggression and his own concern for the safety of their daughters. However, when Oscar unleashed his power on the Monstra during the Battle of Atlas, Salem was staggered but unhurt despite suffering a direct hit, and he was quickly overpowered in turn. Additionally, Ozpin claimed that his power was already dwindling, and though it has not been established why this is happening, it does indicate that his abilities may continue to atrophy as time continues. Fortunately, this decay has not reached a point where his powers are unapplicable in battle, and he did develop a significant countermeasure in the form of his weapon. Aside from being a bludgeoning tool, the Long Memory was also a magical artifact blessed with the ability to absorb kinetic energy, building up power with every blow. By pressing the handle on the hilt, the wielder could release this power into blasts of golden energy capable of sowing massive destruction. It was this ability that Oscar used to survive his fall from the Atlas vault, and later to unleash a surge powerful enough to obliterate the Monstra (which I’d like to point out was several miles across, weighed hundreds of thousands of tons at minimum, AND was imbedded with giant gravity Dust crystals) with an explosion that could be seen across all of Atlas…

...holy shit.

Already a distinguished spellcasting fighter during the first human age, Ozpin truly grew to the height of his abilities over his numerous lifetimes training and fighting with them, mastering his powers to a degree that few in his own time would have even come close to replicating. When he brings out the magic, it is in a powerful, focused spell meant to achieve only what he sets out to do, be it protecting himself from immediate harm or decisively disabling the immediate threat. He capitalizes fully on his innate abilities while also working within and around his few limitations, the building of the Long Memory easily being the greatest example of Ozpin compensating for his long-term handicaps. This standing is even more pronounced in the modern day due to Ozpin effectively functioning in a vacuum; Any limitations Ozpin may have as a spellcaster are functionally irrelevant in 99.9% of potential conflicts because he’s so overpowered that his weaknesses almost never come up. However, despite possessing tremendous destructive power at his fingertips, Ozpin rarely unleashed his abilities in live combat, both out of the need to conceal the war with Salem from the broader public and out of a conscious restraint in using up what remained of his power. Due to these factors, Ozpin only cut loose with his magic when he absolutely needed to, most obviously when confronted by the few other magic beings in his time, up to and including Salem herself. While extremely skilled with his magic and able to call upon it for tactical advantage, Ozpin’s powers were more often than not treated as a trump card, bringing down the hammer with extreme and unconventional powers that most opponents simply didn’t know how to combat. Against opponents who had a snowflake’s chance in hell of contending with his raw power, Ozpin relied almost exclusively on physical combat rather than expending his energies against an inferior target. On one hand, this restrained approach meant that Ozpin ran the risk of failing to make full and effective use of his powers, allowing battles to drag out for much longer than they would really need to and giving lesser opponents like Hazel plenty of opportunities to kill him before he wised up. On the other hand, Ozpin always has the option of cutting loose, and when he does use his magic, the results are absolutely devastating.

RANKING: Tier 1, Dominating Combat

This placement really should require no explanation. As part of a race with innate magical powers that transcend the magnitude and abilities of any conventional Semblance or application of Dust, Ozpin is undeniably one of the most powerful beings, not just of the current world of Remnant, but of the planet’s history as a whole. He balances out between standard offensive and defensive abilities and radical arcane powers that provide him with a great deal of flexibility in various combat situations, while his sheer destructive power is astonishing. He is by no means flawless; his restraint in using his magic proactively does limit his ability to integrate his powers into his martial sequences, while his performances against Cinder and Salem prove that he can’t overwhelm everybody. But at the end of the day, the number of people who could realistically challenge Ozpin’s power, even at this diminished state, is so pathetically small that it rarely comes up. Simply put, Ozpin used his special abilities like a tactical nuke, and if he is ever forced to draw out his full might, woe betide whoever stand in his way.

OVERALL RANKING: TIER 1, SUPER HUNTSMAN

With his overall combat performance determined by his martial skills and special abilities, Ozpin serves as a quintessential example of a Super Huntsman, undeniably one of the most advanced and powerful characters in the whole RWBY franchise. Even with his full potential being diminished by his advanced age and deteriorating magic, this degradation was not nearly enough to detract from his combative effectiveness at the time of his death. His strong athleticism allows him to continue his exceptional performance even against younger and stronger adversaries, he is an unparalleled martial artist with thousands of years of combat experience and training under his belt, stands as both a masterful grand scale strategist and flexible on the ground operator, and he wields god-like magical power that he can express both offensively and defensively to an unprecedented degree reinforced by one of the most dangerous hand-held weapons ever developed. Appropriate for the one who conceived the idea of the academies in the first place, Ozpin was the single greatest Huntsman warrior of his day, matching and exceeding all of his peers in some way while also setting the mold for what virtually every Huntsman and Huntress at the time strove to be.

Still, one must not mistake mastery for perfection or invincibility. Ozpin’s track record and accolades are testaments to his talents and prowess, but they are also evidence that he has not faced a true equal in years. As dangerous a fighter as he was, Hazel Rainart was ultimately no match for the headmaster even in an undertrained body, while Cinder Fall’s raw talent merely allowed her to contend, and she would have undoubtedly lost without the complete Maiden power. Most of the prominent combatants of the current setting are/were members of Ozpin’s own inner circle, and those who weren’t gave him a wide berth.

Contained both physically and mentally in an ivory tower, Ozpin’s isolation from the meatgrinder of hard combat mirrored his difficulties in maintaining the trust of his subordinates. So many instances of betrayal and failure have conditioned him to keep things far closer to the chest than appropriate, ironically turning Ozpin into a victim of the very power he cautioned Oscar against; fear. This fear of trusting others too much can also be seen in his fear of exposing all of his secrets and power, keeping his most valuable assets in reserve for much longer than he needs to. Fortunately, Ozpin has avoided a common pitfall of immortals in that, while he has grown secretive and accustomed to half-truths, he is neither stagnant nor truly cynical. The influence of Ruby Rose and her friends allowed the wizard to regain a spark of hope and trust, even amid arguably the darkest hour of the whole war with Salem. While we may never know how this would have influenced him prior to his merging with Oscar, it is fair to say that Ozpin, in all his forms, is one who can still learn and grow even after an obscenely long life and the most disastrous of failures. Ozpin himself may not be able to defeat Salem per Jinn’s claims, but his legacy of resistance can and will live on in the Huntsmen and Huntresses he has helped to guide. After all, as a fellow green-themed ancient master once said,

“Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery. But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. […] We are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters.”

*originally posted on RoosterTeeth Community page on 05-10-22*

* images taken from RWBY Wiki*

RWBY Combat Analysis

#rwby #rwby combat analysis #ozpin #ozma #rwby ozpin #ozpin's inner circle #beacon academy #advanced human fitness #complete mastery #dominating combat

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saturnsorbits · 2 years

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HDKSJDBDB SATURN PLEASE hdjdbdbdb I love how you’re like “You can characterize Bakugo into any situation omg!”

And I’m just like… “No..no Saturn that’s the mental illness that comes with being obsessed with a 2d character. HELP” djndjdjjdjdb

No but ok I would absolutely love love LOVE to hear more about what you’re thinking about this quirk and the angst potential because I LOVE it. I just LOVE the idea of pulling people toward you and having others flock to you but still feeling utterly alone. Like that juxtaposition has always been so fascinating to me.

AND THEN I wanna know about how that will play into the relationship with Denki because I don’t know him well but I’ve always had a feeling that Denki has like some sort of abandonment issues? Which is why he’s seen as a bit clingy with his friends? And so like… how would a deeply clingy man with some abandonment issues react to someone who’s quirk is literally to pull people closer to them both emotionally and physically? Especially someone who questions all of those people that are so close to them because of their quirk yannow? Like there’s so much room for growth and to discover a bunch about each other and yourselves and just hdkdbdbd it would be such a good like coming of age fic? Idk man I’m rambling obviously but yes I love this and I love YOU 💖

You're selling yourself short! No amount of raw obsession can replace true understanding and you can tell how much you really understand Bakugo every single time you talk about him. You 'get him' and it comes so easy to you - I just - It's an enviable talent, for sure! (Pretty sure that's why Bakugo loves you so much, I can see the silent unspoken understanding you have for him making him feel insanely seen and loved. You make him feel like he’s worth it - getting to know him; loving him). 💕

I think what draws me in to the idea is not only the feeling alone in a crowd sensation that you've already mentioned, but the idea of true connections and genuineness. It can be difficult to find that sensation of 'kinship' for everyone, but with the added issues created with a quirk like 'Orbit' it creates a whole host of new, more awkward questions to contend with. In a way, it provides a sense of mundane celebrity status, but also refuses to afford any form of refuge because as the only person with said quirk - the user is totally alone.

It also could have a lot of morally grey avenues too when jealousy and possessiveness are explored!

As for Denki, there's certainly a whole host of insecurities at play. I think he certainly suffers with his self-worth and the feeling of falling behind/not fitting in and being an annoyance. Part of me thinks he’s definitely one of those people who is constantly worried about accidently pushing people away just by being who he is? If that makes sense. So, at first I think he finds it comforting. The idea of someone being literally magnetic is appealing because if everyone is drawn to that person, he's not weird for being clingy, right? That's just a thing that happens and that offers him some security. The problem comes with him realising that it isn't a two way street. The magnetism only works for the people on the outside, not the person with the quirk itself and so now, he has all the same issues he had before to contend with - plus, the added issue of the quirk itself.

I agree though, there's so much room for growth there with him having to dig deep and put aside both his issues and the quirk to figure out how he really feels. As well as learning the hard lesson that he is loveable and worthy and has value, regardless of anything else! Then, on top of it all, he has to wait for the other person to get their shit together too. It's totally 'coming of age'-ish! The self discovery alone would be brilliant character exploration...

#Saturnspeaks #Oh oh oh... But what if maybe Denki's decided that he needs to see how the quirk would effect him directly…#So he asks for it to be focused on him only for... Nothing to happen? Like he's unaffected.#👀👀👀#But; you’re always welcome to ramble over here. It’s always a good day when you’re about! 🥰#Tbh; half of my reply was complete waffle too...#But thank you for giving me the opportunity to chitter about this and my boy <3

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 4 years

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Psycho Analysis: Count Dracula

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

So, in all my time doing Psycho Analysis, there have been a few villainous characters that, while extremely obvious, have such large and daunting scopes that it seems a bit scary to think I could accurately analyze them. Characters like Disney’s Pete or Bowser come to mind. Both are obvious 11s, but where to even begin with them? And that is a similar problem I faced with the villain who is arguably the single most important foe to ever grace fiction: Count Dracula.

How on Earth is one supposed to talk about a character who has spanned so much media and has remained an enduring fixture of pop culture for over a century? The guy has been in movies, comics, books, video games, plays, cartoons, musicals, songs… and he hasn’t even been a villain in all of them! How does one talk about such a villain with such a broad, all-encompassing scope?

The obvious answer is, of course, to talk about him in a broad sense and how he has affected culture, of course! This one’s going to be a little different than usual since I’m focusing more on the concept of Dracula than one single version, so there’s a lot of Dracula’s to go over here:

Performance: Throughout the years, Dracula has had many actors take a shot at him, though I think the finest takes are courtesy of Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee. The former is basically what cemented Dracula as a sexy, Gothic horror icon, changing the far less attractive man from the book into a seductive monster that would color numerous adaptations after. Lee’s take brings the sexy, but is also far more violent and monstrous, mostly because Hammer horror films were all about that bright red blood, so gotta have someone spill it all!

If you’re looking for more flamboyant, hammy Draculas, Richard Roxbourg of Van Helsing and Duncan Regehr of The Monster Squad have you covered, playing Dracula at his most deliciously, monstrously evil. However, the hammiest (and thus most amazing) Dracula was Michael Guinn’s take in Symphony of the Night, with the entire opening exchange between him and Richter Belmont being a testament to the joys of chewing the scenery.

More comedic takes on Dracula have popped up over the years, with the most notable ones being Adam Sandler’s lovable, fatherly take on the character in the Hotel Transylvania films and Phil LaMarr’s performance on Billy and Mandy, where he plays a ridiculous, possibly senile version of Dracula who is abrasive and hilarious in equal measure.

Basically, when it comes to Dracula, you can easily find any sort of performance to suit your needs and give you what you’re looking for.

Best Scene: Over the years, Dracula has had a great many fantastic moments under his belt, so many fantastic scenes and boss battles… but for my money, the single greatest moment Dracula has ever been in is the opening battle of Symphony of the Night. Just watch this cheesy melodrama unfold and try and disagree with me:

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Though, of course, his death in the animated series sure is a contender:

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Best Quote: From the above scene, we have “What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!” among moany other meme-worthy bits of dialogue from Dracula.

On the subject of Castlevania, from the TV show we have Dracula at his most tragic and pitiable, especially when he delivers these fantastically tragic lines like “ It's your room... My boy... I'm- I'm killing my boy... Lisa... I'm killing our boy. We painted this room. We... made these toys. It's our boy, Lisa... your greatest gift to me... and I'm killing him. I must already be dead.” and “Your greatest gift to me... and I'm killing him." as he does battle with his son, Alucard.

Then of course, we have the legendary moment from The Monster Squad where Dracula drops any pretense and starts strangling a little girl, screaming in her face "Give me the amulet, you bitch!" It’s so deliciously, horrendously evil!

Final Thoughts & Score: It’s very strange to think of how much all of fiction owes Dracula. The original book invented a lot of traits (the lack of reflection being one) and popularized others (such as shapeshifting and weakness to garlic), but at the same time also predates a lot of things modern vampire fiction takes for granted. The Dracula of the book has no weakness to sunlight and gets younger as he drinks blood, starting as an old man; in fact, Dracula in the book is entirely lacking in the Gothic sex appeal that almost every adaptation of the character after would give him. He was also not very seductive, instead outright attacking women if he wasn’t hypnotizing them. Hell, he wasn’t even explicitly Vlad the Impaler in the books!

More than any other villain I’ve covered so far, Dracula is truly deserving of an 11/10. Even Count Orlok owes him a debt, seeing as Nosferatu was just a blatant ripoff. Hell, aside from villains from old mythology, I don’t think any villain can lay claim to the sort of scope Dracula has, having forever altered vampire fiction even as certain elements of him become lost in translation.

But what of some of his other incarnations over the years? How do they fare in terms of score? Well, I’m certainly not going to be incredibly thorough and list every Dracula ever, but here are a few I’ve encountered:

Obviously it’s unfair to give the Bela Lugosi incarnation anything less than an 11/10, mainly because this is the Dracula who pretty much inspired most other interpretations of Dracula after him. He’s suave, Gothic, attractive in that dark and mysterious way… it’s no wonder Lugosi’s Dracula became such an iconic fixture of cinema. Then we have the other classic Dracula, Christopher Lee’s take. I think he’s only a 10/10 because I feel like Lee’s tenure is a bit more overlooked and Lugosi tends to supplant him in terms of iconic status.

Castlevania as a franchise is specifically built qround defeating Dracula as the heroic Belmont clan or some adjacent vampire hunter. So you’d better hope that the big bad and master of the magical castle the game takes place in is impressive, right? Well he most certainly is; while he’s not completely fleshed out in every appearance he has some, like his iconic portrayal in Symphony of the Night, really help sell the idea this incarnation of Dracula is a rather tragic villain, though at other times in the series he seems to revel in being a monster far more than that interpretation would allow. Notably, the Castlevania show went with the more tragic approach to great effect, with Graham McTavish delivering a fantastic performance that swings from being genuinely terrifying to hauntingly emotional (just watch the scene where he breaks down upon fighting Alucard and realizing he’s killing his own son). Both game (in a broad sense) and show Dracula get a 10/10, for different reasons.

Duncan Regehr portrayed the Dracula in The Monster Squad, and it is quite obvious he’s having a hell of a time. He’s just wonderfully hammy, and he might be one of the most evil Draculas ever seeing how he called a little girl a bitch and tried to slaughter children with dynamite. This one’s a 9/10 for sure. I honestly think he’s the best take on the character, but his movie is sadly too obscure to really give him that push to being a truly iconic portrayal. He just captures the menace and charisma of Dracula so well, it’s a shame more people don’t know about him.

Van Helsing had a Dracula, played to hammy perfection by Richard Roxburgh. Say what you will about the rest of the film, but any Dracula movie that features evil bat monster Dracula fighting fallen angel werewolf Hugh Jackman in a battle to the death over Frankenstein’s atomic heart is worth at least an 8/10. For a more minor role, we have the Dracula who appeared in the blaxploitation classic Blacula. While he only appears for a bit at the start, long enough to curse an African prince with vampirism and dub him “Blacula,” this Dracula firmly cements himself as one of the most evil Draculas ever, gleefully participating in the slave trade. I believe that’s another 8/10 right there. On a related note, Blacula serves as a chief inspiration to the Billy and Mandy incarnation of Dracula, who is a cranky old black man with a big mustache and lots of sass (in fact, he’s accidentally closer to the original book’s depiction than most other Draculas). Sadly, as a more neutral chaotic comedic figure, I can’t give him a rating, but boy is he a riot.

Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf features a more comedic and zany Dracula, one who participates in some good-old-fashioned Wacky Races cheating in an attempt to keep Shaggy as a werewolf forever. He’s mostly amusing for a oneshot villain, so I’d say 7/10 is fair. Speaking of oneshot villains, Dracula also showed up in an animated straight to video movie for The Batman, where he did things such as turn Joker into a vampire and get killed by Batman. He’s probably a 7/10 as well.

And then there are all the heroic takes on Dracula, such as the version from Dracula Untold or the “overbearing but endearing father” take on the character from the Hotel Transylvania movies (though that rap Adam Sandler does at the end of the first movie is pretty heinous).

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And this is not an extensive list by any means. There are so many Draculas I haven’t watched yet, so many different takes I haven’t read the adventures of. And that, I think, is what makes Dracula such a great villain. He is a character who any writer can bend and shape to fit a plot, a villain who can serve almost any purpose and who can fit in almost any fantasy story imaginable. Dracula is incredibly versatile, and whenever he shows up in a work, things almost always get better for a bit. And keep in mind, this is a character who has been around since the year 1897, and yet he is still a household name that even people who have never read the books or seen the movies can accurately describe and recognize.

Is Count Dracula the greatest villain in all of human history? It’s debatable for sure, but I don’t think there’s any denying he’s up there considering his scope and influence and how he helped mold modern vampire fiction into what it is today. If nothing else, Dracula is still wildly influential.

#Psycho Analysis #Dracula #Count Dracula #The Monster Squad #Bram Stoker #Van Helsing #Hammer #Christopher Lee #Bela Lugosi #Adam Sandler #Hotel Transylvania

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darnianwayne · 4 years

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gdi batman doesn’t kill for a Reason: a character study

first let’s get this one out of the way: in canon batman is and likely will always be presented as a wealthy, white man of privilege and he Specifically should not have unilateral license to kill due to that. because well... COME ON!! if i have to explain this one, This Post Is Not For You

now, batman’s reasons for not killing are not because “killing would make him as bad as the rogues uwu” and if that’s your interpretation then i am sorry on behalf of recent bad comics and adaptations that have so diluted batman’s character to be closer to a sick, man-child perversion than an actual superhero with all the grey morality and social responsibity that truly implies

as a character, batman is first and foremost a detective who actively works with the only non-corruptable “good cop” he cound find in a city that is so historically corrupt and disenfranchised that at one point after an earthquake decimated gotham, the national government basically threw up its hands, shrugged, and abandoned gotham’s survivors to anarchy. batman is a symbol to the people of gotham for hope and protection against all manner of evils - not only from the criminal underbelly but from the corruption that mutated gotham’s systems of power from woefully incompetent to actively harmful to its citizenry. batman is a traumatized man who was once a happy child who watched his parents murdered in front of him and decided never again. batman is a father who realized if he ever used his role as batman to take a life, he would be sanctioning his children to do the same in his name

the batman character is a lot of things. but batman is not, should not, and cannot be judge, jury, and executioner. to paint him as a brutalizer that goes mad with power when presented with low-level criminals is disingenuous at best and actively harmful to the batman symbology of heroism at worst. even to say that batman should kill only in extreme cases like joker, who is undeniably a horrible piece of non-human excrement whose death would actually be a net good for all of dc in-universe society, it would be completely against who batman is as a character to have him break his morals like that. batman, bruce wayne, is a man who tries to use every tool at his disposal to bring about justice and prevent death: using his company to hire the disenfranchised in gotham including ex-cons, single-handedly funding gotham’s charities, and ofc using batman to find evidence to bring down powerful crime bosses and corrupt politicians alongside the rogues gallery. batman is one man whose symbol and legacy is larger than he is, but who is still only One Man

batman doesn’t kill not because he’s too good for it. he doesn’t kill because he’s too SMALL for it! bruce inherently values human life to the point where he believes one man cannot decide whether another human being lives or dies. that’s his whole stance when bruce inevitably butts heads with members of his own family who don’t subscribe to his point of view!

and yeah there’s always room in the Disk Horse to talk about whether or not batman is doing enough or if his morality is too simple and he actually should, logistically speaking, “cross the line.” those conversations are welcome in the context of all batman mythology: if batman and his universe existed, would bruce wayne’s batman be the form he should take? tbh idk and i am not here for thought experiments of what form superheroism would take in “real world” scenarios. there’s plenty of other fiction and media that have tackled that question, with results ranging from absolute fascist-glorification garbage to genuinely good works that challenge consumers’ preconceived notions of what a “superhero” would truly look like (watchmen, the ultimate batman au fanfic, is a great example)

the character of batman in-universe serves as a hard moral compass example to his family and other heroes not because it’s simple and easy - but because it’s HARD to believe human life is inherently valuable in the face of all the atrocities and horrors bruce has seen humans do to one another. and the question of whether or not the human monsters batman faces are worthy of their lives is straight up not one bruce wayne contends with. bruce has made his position clear and he is steadfast. but those types of questions are valuable anyway, and though we know batman’s answer, it’s metatextually important batman is challenged for his morality. in the batman mythos, jason todd is the clearest example of a character type that confronts those life-death questions, chooses differently, and that batman and we the readers have to decide who to agree with

at this point the batman “no killing” morality is a whole arechetype in and of itself. the batman archetype of heroism and vigilantism has inspired or informed the interpretation of most if not all other vigilante-like heroes that have been created since the early 20th century. so in a lot of ways batman has the simple rule of “no killing” because we as consumers don’t want a hero who kills. we live in a reality where innocent people are murdered by the powers that be, where cops murder civilians in cold blood, and call those crimes deserved and just. so we build fiction where that “reality,” that fun-house mirror of absolute power, is cleansed and where an individual has that same power of impunity and deliberately chooses not to use it. heroism in comics is an idealized version of what we wish existed in our own society: somebody with the actual power and ability to make a difference for the greater good without moral bankruptcy. it’s easy when you put it like that. batman exists in the vacuum of fiction, so the decisions he makes as a character do not have to be as complicated as real life. and the dc mythos is rich enough that batman is actively challenged on his stances by others even within his own family and honestly he should be! as a character batman has to be given the option to change his mind, and as a literary device readers have to be reminded of the moral choice at stake. It’s Good Writing Babey!! tho admittedly it’s this aspect that is most actively (and probably rightfully) criticized BECAUSE batman never changes his mind. and for a character with mythology that is over 80 years old - that’s a long time for the cultural and moral zeitgeist of superheroes to remain unchanged, especially considering the “no killing” rule has become a hard rule for all mainstream superheroes

tbh the assumption that batman, bruce wayne, does not kill because then he would essentially be the same as his villains gallery, morally-speaking - it doesn’t hold that much water. do you have ANY idea how much canon bruce wayne suffers from self-hatred and constantly questions his own actions?? even the batmans of bad storylines where he’s a grimdark, I Work Alone caricature, batman is a master of self deprication and loathing. he’s a man of few words and hard lines, but he is as likely to think of himself as morally equal to, say, deathstroke (in the sense they are both powerful, capable men who live and die by their choices) than superman. bruce does not believe he has the moral high ground, ever. batman believes he cannot make the choice to kill, so he doesn’t. simple as that

tldr batman doesn’t kill because killing is bad. it’s not that deep

#batman #bruce wayne #sunspeak #the batman is not an interesting character bc he doesnt kill Disk Horse has driven me here #how tone deaf can you be?#long post

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bountyofbeads · 4 years

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https://johnpavlovitz.com/2017/01/28/dear-world-from-america/

#DearLeadersOfTheWorld for 24 hours, lay down your guns, stop your tanks and missiles, end the cyber attacks...and talk. Please. Just talk.

#DearLeadersOfTheWorld

The ice caps are melting.

The rain won't stop falling.

The forrests are on fire.

Eco systems are being wiped out.

The deepest dive ever recorded found a plastic bag on the sea bed.

The rivers +coastlines are polluted +so is the air.

Wake up before it Is to late.

#ClimateChangeIsReal

#DearLeadersOfTheWorld

We're sorry to the leaders of the world, who instead of being met by level-headed, measured, intelligent dialogue, are now greeted with the social media rantings of a furious man-child.

https://t.co/Z6Hbnl3uYc

Dear World, From America

Published JANUARY 28, 2017 | JOHN PAVLOVITZ | Posted January 08, 2020 |

Dear World,

We felt we needed to say something while saying something is still allowed.

We know many of you have lived under malevolent, unhinged dictators before, but this is new for us. For its history our nation has been led by men and women who, despite their varying flaws and deficiencies, some of which were quite disturbing—were by and large, normal human beings.Whatever darkness in them, they had at the very least, a baseline of humanity and decency that more often than not insured rational behavior.

This man is not normal.

He is unstable, malignant, devoid of integrity—and he does not speak for us.

Please understand that nearly three million more people voted for his opponent Hillary Clinton than for him. (Yes, we realize this is completely screwed-up). Millions more voted for other candidates, and sadly nearly 90 million of our people did not vote at all. The point is, the vast majority of Americans are not with him. He does not speak for us. His America is not our America.

Over the past few months, we’ve watched long erected pillars of our Republic bulldozed in the stroke of a madman’s pen.We’ve seen the very hallmarks of who we are as a nation tossed in the garbage; the celebration of diverse coexistence, the open welcome to the oppressed, the guarantee of unalienable rights for every person, the same access to health and opportunity and safety afforded to everyone, the freedom to speak without censor or restraint. At this moment these are all in great jeopardy.

Things we took for granted in our leadership: things like goodness, wisdom, and basic truthfulness are no longer in play, and as things are eroding quickly we wanted to let you know that we’re sorry.

We’re sorry that our apathy and laziness have yielded such a reckless, impulsive, small man to steward this nation.

We’re sorry for the jagged, bitter ugliness that is characterizing us in these moments.

We’re sorry to those suffering greatly, who have braved such peril to seek refuge here and who’ve now been turned away based on the faith they profess.

We’re sorry to our Mexican neighbors who’ve been fashioned into convenient villains to justify erecting a grandiose, wasteful display of false protection that we do not want.

We’re sorry to Muslims everywhere who’ve been used as pawns to generate irrational fear among those already susceptible to bigotry and discrimination.

We’re sorry to the leaders of the world, who instead of being met by level-headed, measured, intelligent dialogue, are now greeted with the social media rantings of a furious man-child.

We’re sorry to those who now experience the Christian faith as a racist, Nationalistic bully pulpit wielded with malice toward the very diverse Humanity Jesus lived and died for.

We’re sorry to people everywhere whose lives are now more tenuous, more violent, less safe, less secure than they had been before.

We want you to know that this is not who we are. It may be who this man is. It may be who those sharing power with him are. It may even be the tens of millions who originally voted for him (though that support is vanishing quickly among those who are not among the religious zealots and extremists).

But this is not America. It is not the steady, strong beacon of freedom that it was intended to be. It is not the America our people have fought and died for. It is not the one first formed in the crucible of oppression and cast into the words of our ever-disregarded Constitution.

This is not our America. Our America affirms the inherent, priceless beauty of every human being. Our America declares that no person is ascribed less value because of their skin color, religion, gender, financial means, sexual orientation, nation of origin, or any other variable. Our America is home for those seeking hope and joy and rest.

And we are going to fight for this America.Through political channels and through grassroots activism, through the use of our Press and of our personal voices, we’re going to expose this man’s incompetence, call out his heart sickness, and condemn every violent, reckless, vicious act when it does not reflect our hearts and our will.Please do your best to disregard anything that comes from his mouth or those loudly and continually parroting his propaganda.They have proven themselves mortally allergic to the truth.

And we hope that in whatever way you can, that you will stand with us. We know that we have made this mess ourselves. We understand that you have your own problems to contend with, some far more urgent and pressing than this, but we believe that we are a single community; that we are tethered together in our Humanity, that we are in real-time crafting the life our children and their children will inherit.

Dear World, we’re sorry and we hope you’ll endure these days with us.

With despair and hope in equal measure, in peace and unity with you,

The American Majority

🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍🌎

#DearLeadersOfTheWorld

War is not something we enter into flippantly; not a showy public exchange for the sole purpose of making small, insecure men feel big and strong.

It is not something we threaten to feel the cheap aphrodisiac of stranger's retweets.

https://t.co/BHOMf8E2AI

Because World War is Not A Twitter War, Donald

By AUGUST 9, 2017 | JOHN PAVLOVITZ

Posted January 08, 2020 |

Texting is easy.

My children can do it (in fact, far faster than I can.)

It’s an effortless thing to toss out 280-character salvos at people we disagree with, to drop mic drop bombs on strangers, to unload rapid fire violence from behind the safety of touch screens.

Every one of us understands the ease at which our words, carelessly dispensed in a moment of anger or frustration or fear—can be terribly destructive. We’ve all lost our heads for a moment and found ourselves stepping into the minefields of our own hubris and impulsivity while all hell broke loose around us. We’ve all reached that place of knowing that we had to either retreat and fallback, or press ahead into the mess we’ve made—reputation and collateral damage be damned. We’ll all have to look back and realize we’d been irresponsible with the technology in our hands and grieved our stupidity.

Fortunately, most of us will never lead nations.

Our reckless words sent out in haste may emotionally wound people and it may lay waste to relationships—but people likely won’t actually die. They won’t find themselves crammed into stifling military vehicles on foreign soil, or launching nuclear warheads at strangers thousands of miles away or laying in hospital beds with burns, simply because we weren’t mature or wise enough to step away from our phones when conflict invited us in.

And even if we were blessed with the awesome responsibility to lead a nation, most of us would find a humility and restraint that we hadn’t possessed before.We’d become a more honorable version of ourselves. We would grow into the lofty position. We’d respond differently than we had before to taunt and threat, because we’d understand the gravity of our words.

That’s because War is not a Twitter War—and decent, rational human beings know that.

War is not something we enter into flippantly. It isn’t something we run wildly into led by ego and bravado. It is not a showy public exchange for the sole purpose of making small, insecure men feel big and strong. It is not something we threaten only to feel the cheap aphrodisiac of stranger’s retweets.

War is brutal, bloody, vicious, family destroying, joy-depleting, History-altering, sickening stuff—and lots and lots of people die. It is rampant fear and gaping wounds and orphaned children and terrified parents. It should be an outcome honorable leaders do everything they can to avoid.

And world war should not be as easy to stumble into as a Twitter War. It should never be in the tiny hands of minuscule men, who have such little regard for the Office or the people they represent, that they would prize the momentary high of putting someone on blast, above the lives of millions of human beings.

Tweeting is not leading, and it’s time we stopped allowing the most powerful man in the Free World to behave in ways we’d find unacceptable for our teenagers. It’s time someone took the power from this easily baited man-child who is not capable or worthy of it.

America cannot be led into annihilation, death, and disaster, simply because our President wants to overcompensate for his emotional insecurities, his physical inadequacies, and to have his historically fragile ego virtually stroked.

And he’s not a human being worth risking the lives of our children over. Not my child.Not yours. Not a North Korean’s. Not a Russian’s. Not a Syrian’s. Not an Iranian’s.

Yeah, texting is easy.

Killing millions of people, shouldn’t be.

🌏🌏🌎🌍🌏🌎🌍

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bakugaykatsukii · 5 years

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I Talk About Bakugou Because I'm Bored

Bakugou. He's best boy. My son.

No, actually, I'mma explain in as few words as possible why I absolutely adore his character.

Oops this got long.

Okay, so it's the first chapter/episode (I'll go off the anime because it's practically identical and more widespread) and it opens with Deku narrating. This is to establish an immediate connection between the audience and the main protagonist; it conveys how important Deku is. Plenty of shows do this so it's not really a big deal, just common practise. HOWEVER, the second character we hear speak is Bakugou, who is insulting Deku.

This is framed in a way that's supposed to make us dislike him, and continues all throughout the first episode. He's presented as a four year old trying to beat up our main character, and then his next scene is being ten years older and Still Trying To Beat Up Our Main Character. This makes him seem rotten to the core, as his character hasn't changed whatsoever in that time, and as an audience we know very little information about him.

On top of that, within this first episode he is deliberately made to have no redeeming qualities, nothing that could make him sympathetic in any way. The Sludge Villain fiasco isn't until ep2, and in this one he literally tells Deku to kill himself, reaching peak middle school bully. He destroys something the Main Protagonist clearly treasures and is privelaged in every conceivable way, even his (later obviously intense) desire to be a hero is simplified to monetary gain, with "I'll be even richer than All Might himself!!!" (or something to that effect). Later on I'd explain such a line to be a result of young Baku trying to quantify his future success, something he never mentions again after the Sludge Villain.

In these first twenty minutes of the anime, he's been absolutely dragged through the mud. Not only is he this arrogant, selfish, mean bully, he's also the sort of bully we can all relate to having, making him even more dislikable! It's so easy for an audience to write him off as irredeemable almost immediately.

But then comes ep2. Seasoned anime watchers likely brush over some small details, but the fact that the Sludge Villain attack happens when Bakugou is 14? Wow. At this point no one likes him, and to many people seeing this happen could come across as a sort of karmic punishment, deserving and therefore less sympathetic. And so Horikoshi succeeds in continuing to make him dislikable but also adding depth to this character who so clearly believed he was invincible.

However, any such depth is pretty much ignored by the audience. I've watched many reactions, and, at this point, due to Bakugou's sub par personality, most people don't care about what happened upon first viewing. To be fair, it's treated as background until Deku steps in and proves himself a hero, at which point he's promised a quirk and That's all anyone can think about.

(also there's some symbolism in this ep because Bakugou and Deku were both attacked by the Sludge Villain and saved by All Might, showing they are actually equals in character and have a lot in common.)

Anyway, so for the first few episodes no one gives two shits about Bakugou because he's meant to be dislikable. He's set up to be as bad as possible without needing to be arrested/never being redeemable. Yet, he's also not clearly set up to be redeemed whatsoever. Let me explain:

Quick break from bnha to head over to atla, Zuko is the perfect redemption arc. And some of that can be attributed to his presentation in the first few episodes: where he's portrayed as antagonistic but still honourable, and has a tragic past. He's the sort of character you know isn't actually bad at heart. But Bakugou hasn't got any tragic back story to speak of, and certainly isn't honourable, so we don't expect a redemption.

That's so interesting to me, because it basically means his character could go in any direction but most shounen fans expect him to be the typical rival. He's mean now and will be mean later, nbd. Will probably betray Deku in order to gain more power. That sort of stuff.

But, as the first season progresses, we're shown that Bakugou (on top of all of his anger issues and cruelty) is also so incredibly determined, to the point where it's harmful. A lot of people, even in season three, expect him to accept the LoV's offer, but as early as ep7 he's shown to be dedicated to being the best on his own. He utterly fails at pretending to be a villain, and doesn't manage to work with his "villain" teammate. When the USJ attack rolls around, he fights alongside Deku.

I feel like I've just word babbled for a while so here's a picture:

Isn't that adorable? Anyway, I continue.

Okay, recap: Bakugou is presented initially as bad and in no way sympathetic, but throughout season one some of his good qualities do get highlighted.

The Sports Festival is probably when I was most on edge about who my favourite character was. Todoroki vs Deku vs Bakugou was a whole internal debate. We all know who eventually won though. Point is, this is the first time Bakugou is supposed to seem likeable.

Like, yes, he helped out at the USJ, but he was still reckless and angry about it. In this arc his flaws stop seeming so antagonistic (even though he's now more at odds with 1-A than he's ever been) and are framed humorously; if you think about it, the only times you're not rooting for Bakugou in this whole arc is when you're laughing at his antics. He stops seeming like a massive unforgivable bully and becomes a secondary threat behind Todoroki, even though he ultimately wins the Festival.

One of the first things he does in the season is tell people messing with their class go away, albeit bluntly, and is then complimented for it by Kirishima, who is the nicest guy in the class! No longer are we supposed to necessarily dislike him, as he's being developed after all of season 1. Him saying "I'm gonna win" as his speach is expected by the audience and laughed at- absolutely nobody watching was scared he'd hurt Deku in some terrible way due to it.

The cavalry battle demonstrates that he can work in a team after some adjustment time, and he gets his own antagonist (Monoma) who we all root against! This makes us closer to his character, as in a way we have a common enemy.

Then obviously the single battles are super interesting, his one against Uraraka especially turning people to his side. Since Aizawa, who as an audience we trust after his actions at the USJ, backs up Bakugou's actions, we accept them as the right thing to have done. Especially since Bakugou later calls Uraraka "not fragile", demonstrating that he can respect people and actually isn't as discriminatory as his earlier actions against Deku might lead one to believe. Everything about this fight is pure gold.

The rest of his fights are also very interesting, so let me go off on a little tangent. He's the only person to 1) be uninjured by the end of the festival (he did win tho so...) and 2) he's the only person to win all of his fights by forcing his opponent into submission. He knocks out Uraraka and Kirishima, goes to knock out Tokoyami but has him give up instead and then knocks out Todoroki! His fights are so much more violent than the others, who are primarily trying to win by pushing their opponent out of the ring or by immobilising them, which could make him come across as more aggressive (which he is). But it actually works for his character considering the way he demonstrates respect is by giving his all, therefore in order to show he cares about these fights he has to go for absolutely decimating the person against him.

Also, interesting side note to all that, out of our main three festival contenders, Bakugou is the only one who actually needs to use the festival for its intended purpose: impressing scouts. Todoroki, as the son of Endeavour, is already known throughout the hero community as a promising young talent, and could even get the No2 hero to coach him if he so wished. Deku even says himself that he doesn't necessarily need to get scouted when All Might is already teaching him. Out of the three Bakugou has the most incentive to actually show off here, no guilt/baggage required.

Anyway blah Stain arc blah. Bakugou picks Jeanist to intern with, which many might think makes him shallow. Their quirks are in no way similar and their images are almost diametrically opposing, and Bakugou only chose him because he's such a highly ranked hero. However, I believe the creators crafted this pairing in order to convey how good of a future hero Bakugou promises to be. BJ, in these episodes, is all talk. He's such a superficial hero that, in order to rectify Bakugou's foul personality, he gives him a haircut. He demonstrates the arrogant nature that Stain hates so much. Meanwhile, Bakugou ignores him and is still arrogant in his own way, obviously, but not for anything other than his own pride. He, when you break it down, spends all of his time working towards a genuinely good goal, just to prove to himself that he's worthy- no desire for fans or fame in there, he wants success but isn't actually looking for any of the perks that come with it. This, imo, makes him better than BJ. Also, Bakugou never actually says he is working with BJ due to his rank and could be doing it because their quirks botha require so much time, practice and effort.

Okay, so, now for the final exams. This is where I decided he was my favourite. He works with Deku etc and proves to the audience that he can work with him and won't necessarily become a villain, plus All Might lets loose a little and proves he too can be violent and mean.

What I really love is about ep24 s2 is actually the bit that makes a lot of people chuckle: where Bakugou bites AM's hand. This kid has been giving his absolute all, putting every ounce of strength into beating his idol, because, lbh, his self worth depends on his success here, until he literally cannot raise his arms to punch anymore. And yet, he still refuses to go down, despite every odd against him. Something about that tenacity is just so incredible to me.

It's almost 1am, let's have another break, shall we?

Idk I thought it was funny when it came onto my dash.

Btw, it's now I wish I knew how to hide most of a post lololol.

Season three is just Baku's season, ngl. Like,,, so many of his Stans got their start here, and it's not hard to tell why. A big reason why Bakugou felt irredeemable was because he had no reason to be so mean, but the narrative makes up for that by then putting him through so many bad experiences.

There's been a million metas on why he's so perfect in this season, and this is already abhorrently long, but ah well.

Okay so he's captured by the League through no fault of his own. As the audience when we find out Bakugou is missing we immediately think he's done the dumb thing and gone off on his own, but it's quickly revealed that he's already been kidnapped. Tokoyami is also taken, cementing that the LoV are looking for kids with some villainous feature, but also showing that their perception of what makes a child villainous is skewed, since we know Tokoyami is good.

At the hideout Baku is entirely restrained and silent, so clearly against his will. If we remember every other time he's been restrained (so goddamn many) we'll think back to the Sludge Villain, finding out Deku had a quirk, after his *win* against Todoroki and his internship with BJ. In this way, it's obvious to tell that this is all a Bad experience for him, as those were all very negative times in his life. There's no way he'll join them.

None of the pros even consider it a possibility. Aizawa defends him against the press (and, once again, we like Aizawa! So we trust him) and none of his classmates think he could be evil, they're all primarily concerned for his safety. Even BJ, who insinuated that Baku could easily become a villain, doesn't appear to believe he'll turn down that path.

Also Baku is pretty cool when he fights of the villain like I'm ngl.

And then, when he sees All Might? And his face screws up? With his lip trembling? It's undercut with a joke but he's so obviously just a scared/relieved kid in that moment and it's gut wrenching to remember that.

It's really getting late and I'm at 11% here so speed round through the provisional licence exam.

He can tell Shindou is two faced

Even though he's blunt he's still got the instincts and smarts of a hero

The class looks up to him

Aizawa has a lot of favouritism for this child, y'all, how did I not notice this?

His failure here is intrinsic to his character growth as it means he hits absolute rock bottom and we can move onto:

Deku Vs Kacchan 2

Where to even start. The guilt and pain he experiences has made me tear up several times just from thinking about them, and that GODDAMN VOICE CRACK AS HE YELLS nope it hurts too bad.

It's sort of the culmination of every emotional issue Bakugou has exhibited throughout the series. He can't find self worth without constant praise and pressures himself to be unimaginably perfect, to a self destructive point. He has no support system in place to help him with these issues. His anger stops being repetitive/funny/annoying and is finally, clearly shown to be more damaging to himself than to anyone else, as he feels the only way he can deal with his stress and hurt is by lashing out at those who try to help him.

In this fight we also learn why Deku, even though he's Baku's victim, still looks up to him so much. And the whole dynamic is so perfect I might cry rn.

I am annoyed, though, that further than that Baku's mental health has been pretty much entirely ignored for 200 manga chapters. Probably my only complaint about him.

At an entirely selfish level, I can relate to Bakugou. Obviously I'm not a teenage boy with explosion powers who bullies people in order to feel any self worth, but the high standards for himself? The pain at any failures? Being told through childhood how great you are only for it to be torn away in your teens? That's all so painfully relatable to me, and so I feel an even deeper connection with his character.

One last picture to finish off:

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bigfrozenfan · 5 years

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Let's talk about Anna and a brandnew weird theory

OK...10 of you have voted so that’s enough for me to post my theory now.

Recently i saw a post on reddit. There came up the theory that this new flag on one of the last leaked merchandise items could mean that Arendelle's emblem should please not be changed "again" (?). I have given a link to my blog with the reference symbols chart, because I don't really believe in this idea. Let's face it...right next to this new flag you can see Anna and to the left of her Elsa. OK, you might think now, it's completely normal...but: WHY are the two separated in two "archways"? Why this new flag with this new symbol on it next to Anna?

@super-mom-te-moc drew my attention to the following: In every known picture you can always see Anna holding her coat with her hand, even though there is no wind. Only in a single (!) leaked merchandising picture does she wear the coat open and you can see the symbol on her chest. This has to mean something very important! Is Anna perhaps no longer a Princess of Arendelle but a Regent in this new land or a contender for this position? Do Anna and Elsa have equal tasks ahead of them in the future to govern a country and therefore only see each other as visitors? New, very close trade relations with new opportunities? Does a Frozen III part suggest itself here, in that it is dealt with more closely and plays mainly in this new country? With a completely new theme? Trilogies are more and more common in films, why not in Frozen? There really would be enough to tell!

Keyword "Sami clothes": Kristoff wears them. This young girl in the forest wears them. There is also a whole reindeer herd there, which indicates both northern Norway and Iceland, because at that time Iceland had trade relations with Norway including settlers there and at that time they tried to breed reindeer on Iceland for export (can be read). Anna also wears a completely new dark outfit with new symbols and appliqués, even on her boots. That doesn't even remind you of an Arendelle outfit we know of!

This inevitably leads me to further theories: will we see Anna in the end perhaps at a wedding or at least at an engagement? A Sami marriage/engagement with Kristoff maybe? Afterwards Elsa gives them a big ball in Arendelle at the end of the movie? At least we see Anna and Elsa in completely new clothes, which seem to be suitable for such an occasion! How likely is that?

Back to the Sami again (or whatever this small tribe in Frozen might be called), there is still one big question open! Where does Kristoff actually come from? Were his parents possibly the rulers of this country and had to hide/give him away/place him with the trolls because danger was imminent and the heir absolutely had to be protected/hidden? So is Kristoff a legitimate descendant of the regent and his love for Anna leads to further developments? Is it perhaps Kristoff, who rushes to Anna's aid with the help of his new reindeer herd and not Elsa, who is too busy with the Nokk and defending her and Olaf's life.

I think this "Matthias" still plays a big role as a villain, because as soon as Elsa has proved to be worthy before the Nokk, she will have a very helpful new companion, at least temporarily. This little leaked picture points to a similarity. Why? Well, Matthias, or what he will actually be called, is a human being. Probably very long-living because he has magical powers. The Nokk, on the other hand, is an ancient mythical being, a shape-shifter consisting of pure magic. Therefore it can also be assumed that great knowledge and secrets are hidden here, which only the one who proves to be worthy can learn about. Do the secrets of the old Arendelle perhaps lie hidden here? Hints to the curse/troll prophecy that ultimately led to Elsa's magical abilities? Maybe this "magical fire" in the teaser is a part of this test and this heart form an indication that all this is not meant to be evil at all but unfortunately necessary.

Remember these floating crystals and the recently leaked info that Olaf thinks that Elsa isn't ok and then the voice of a troll (Grand Pabbie?) sounds from the background and - probably to Anna - says "You must find the truth". I think these crystals have something to do with the trolls and not with Elsa (from where she can suddenly do something like that) and not with the new characters who are busy with completely different things and don't care about Arendelle... unless there might be a good reason: the lost heir to the throne...Kristoff, who is connected to powerful trolls and can always hope for support from Arendelle, or better said Elsa's abilities. A danger for the plans of Matthias?

OMG! Frozen II will then not only be epic, but would also get a fascinating happy end!

I'm so excited about...

Oh, and I can already hear the question "...and what about Hans?". Sorry guys, but I don't see a place for this guy in Frozen II...except maybe as a target for Anna's sword, because he then was stupid enough to follow them to complete his work (or as revenge for the shame he suffered).

Okay, enough with the shit. It's just once again another crazy idea from me ;-)

One important note i’ve forgot! IF you reblog this make sure to tag with #spoiler and #frozen 2 spoilers

#frozen #frozen2 #frozen 2 spoilers #spoiler alert #anna #kristoff #elsa #nokk #matthias #sami #theory #speculations #kristanna #teamhorse

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lesbiansforboromir · 5 years

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Ok I’ve been thinking about “Boromir Lives Succession Crisis” fic all day and I would love your Opinion on how best to achieve the first half of that clause. I feel like there’s basically 3 options 1) Faramir goes on the quest instead 2) Frodo successfully slips off unnoticed and Boromir doesn’t confront him and the party isn’t split when the orcs attack 3) Everything happens as in the book but Boromir isn’t shot (1/2)

(2/2) I’m kind of leaning towards either 1 or 3. 1 because I think it would strengthen Boromir’s claim and pretty much eliminate any bond he developed with Aragorn over the quest, making him more likely to contest the claim, and it has the possibility for good Fari drama. 3 is probably more straightforward but gets real hairy in sorting out the specifics, as well deciding at what point Boromir’s opinion on Aragorn would change etc. Curious how you would handle it!

👀👀👀 I stan you specifically for letting me talk about this- OK SO.

I have played out each one of these possibilities with @emynarnens so many times that this is the only thing I’m qualified to do now. So to start off!

I don’t think I would recommend #1. Boromir’s effect on Aragorn is a pretty vital piece of Character development for him. Viggo Mortensen actually mentions it but we can see it in the Books too, Aragorn goes from considering the men of Rohan corruptible and weak willed to agreeing with Boromir that he does not believe they gave in too Sauron’s bribery. Essentially Boromir challenges Aragorn to rethink his attitude to humanity, both in others and within himself. Faramir is far too enamoured with the idea of Aragorn’s nobility and royalty and I don’t think he would challenge him in the same way, or at all really.

#2 and 3 do create issues in terms of the general plot of merry and pippin needing to be with the ents, but if Boromir doesn’t feel he betrayed the fellowship and committed a grievous crime he would perhaps feel a stronger sense of self worth and therefore is certainly shot but doesn’t quite die. Too wounded to stop the Hobbits from being taken, but not dead. Although I would also say that Boromir’s momentary madness and loss of control and the guilt he feels afterwards is also an important piece of character development for him, even if he dies immediately afterwards. He realises he sacrificed too much of his own integrity and lost too much hope in his single minded drive to defend Gondor. His sacrifice for two hobbits, who are just his friends, brings back some of that care and concern the Ring’s influence had worn away.

But have no fear! I wouldn’t call it necessary to take away any of what happened there. Remember in the books Boromir was not just pierced by three arrows, he was pierced by VERY many, and Pippin tells us Boromir was still up and fighting when he lost consciousness. Indeed, just before Pippin blacked out, he saw Boromir pluck a shaft from his side and continue with the battle, so reasonably the change simply could be ‘he wasn’t shot as much’. Obviously adhrenaline can keep you going and all that but these books are anything if medically sound and Boromir is just Like That. Wounded but not dead is a valid sacrifice and keeps the beats of the narrative intact.

I would also recommend this because there needs to be some reason Denethor believes his eldest son dead. It is a vital contribution to the darkness that eventually drives him to suicide and means you don’t have to work around Denethor also being alive when you’re talking about the whole issue with the coronation. Denethor can have witnessed a glimpse of Boromir’s fate through the Palantir, and then Faramir perhaps does find Boromir’s horn cloven in the river and Denethor takes this as proof of death in his darker state of mind.

With this in mind it’s also kind of necessary to have the hunters actually leave a wounded Boromir where he is and believe he will not survive. (I’d recommend this also just for the jab you can have Boromir give along the lines of, “What are you all waiting for? Will you compose a song for my funeral? The hobbits are getting further from you at every moment, go!” Because good god you three it’s enough to question how much you really care about your hobbit friends)

AND another thing is that this still allows Aragorn his indecision, whether to go with Frodo or rescue the Hobbits, which is also characterful and important. AND it reinforces Boromir’s love of the hobbits, demanding the three hunters leave him there to die in order to save them as he was unable too. There’s still a repentant sacrifice there.

But anyway the point is if Boromir is alive and perhaps found ‘dying but still with a chance’ by a company of Eored, then I would suggest he is forced to recover somewhere secluded throughout the events of Helms Deep. This is to make sure Pippin and Gandalf still think he is dead by the time they leave for Minas Tirith. It’s a shame because that would be cool for him to be involved, but if Pippin knows Boromir is alive then it’s unlikely that he wouldn’t tell Denethor that and, as I’ve said, Denethor’s grief is important.

If you really wanted Boromir at the battle at Helm’s Deep, you could go along the route of Denethor not believing Pippin, but that’s a stretch. I suppose you could also consider that the shock of it has already taken it’s toll on Denethor and even if he hears Boromir is alive, it’s done it’s job by the time Denethor believes Faramir will die and the City will be taken.

(Unless you do wanna contend with Denethor being alive which I also like but that does take away from the narrative simplicity of it just being about Boromir and Aragorn’s conflict and the complex emotions surrounding it. Denethor does not believe Aragorn should be king and it’s unreasonable to think Boromir would go against his father in this case so it detracts from the indecision somewhat. But I would say Denethor being dead is the better option just for this specific idea.)

As far as worrying about whether Boromir would contest Aragorn’s claim goes, I wouldn’t worry about that. Boromir never once accepts the idea of Aragorn as his King. Certainly they are friends, they work well together, he likes him, but his responsibility to his people and the laws of Gondor and his Father’s wisdom and wishes (especially now he’s dead) would supersede any personal connection they have. And really the best case Aragorn has for being worthy of the throne is ‘It was in a Prophecy and also people like me’ so Boromir has plenty of reason to be like… suspicious about Aragorn’s aptitude.

I think having them as friends adds some interesting emotional elements to it actually, the balance of friendship vs responsibility. You mentioned Boromir’s opinion of Aragorn changing, but the truth is it never does. Boromir essentially ignores the fact that Aragorn is asking for the Throne for the entire book and just accepts him as a man who’s willing to give aide to Gondor. Which is all Boromir really cares about at the time, not really expecting any of them to live long enough for this to be a problem. The conflict between him and Aragorn about the kingship is manufactured by the film entirely.

In the end the probability is that Aragorn would become king, Aragorn did a good job at becoming heroic and he does seem to have burst out of nowhere and saved everyone. Even the Lords are for it, it appears. I think the eventual crux of it would be the kinds of requests, clauses and checks Boromir would demand Aragorn agree too. How they should change the nature of a King’s rule to fit in with this more egalitarian society Gondor’s grown into. Boromir would also ensure Aragorn went through the proper channels, that a council of Lords was held and his Kingship debated and voted on, make the whole thing something everyone participates in and understands.

You mentioned Faramir drama too but we’ll get that in SPADES when he’s fighting with his brother over his treatment of Aragorn. Faramir really is thoroughly taken in by Aragorn’s mystique and his reaction to him is to cast off any and all tradition and agree to his coronation on the spot. This could also be because Aragorn saves his and Eowyn’s life, but still he and Boromir will have some serious issues, perhaps for the first time in their relationship so that’d be super fun to explore.

IN CONCLUSION!

I’d suggest absolutely nothing changes except for the severity of Boromir’s wounds. Aragorn still finds him, he still begs Aragorn to save Minas Tirith. The only difference is he verbally tells Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas to leave him and save Merry and Pippin and he is alive when they go though they do not expect him to recover.

He is found by some Eored and taken to a nearby Rohir settlement (In LOTRO it’s a small town called Walstow and the Thane is a little plagued by the Uruks running around so it could also be a kind of mini adventure for Boromir with helping them repel attacks and eventually being able to evacuate to Dunharrow?) But whatever happens, he doesn’t rejoin his friends until after Pippin and Gandalf leave for Minas Tirith.

addendum………………….

ON THE OTHER HAND…

I know everything I just said but like… forget it for a moment because I have a second suggestion that absolutely flounces every one of the points I just made but I like it because I’m a sap.

Gandalf slips up and tells them all on Caradhras that he doesn’t know the password into Moria.

Aragorn: “What?! Then why are we even discussing it? Boromir’s right, we should risk the Gap of Rohan, at least we will not be so enclosed.”

Gandalf: “I can figure the password out when we get there!”

Aragorn: “Tosh! We could be discovered, pursued or killed long before you rattle through every possible way inside. Nope! The Gap of Rohan it is!”

And then they make their way down south and oh wow! Here’s the Prince of Rohan and he has an entire camp of loyal soldiers who could defend this little party.

And Theodred exclaims ‘here is Boromir! My (love, partner, boy) friend! I, of course, trust him and his fellows. Let me just finish this skirmish- whoops! That was a close one thanks Boromir, who I love, for being here to save me from that Orc or I would have been dead! Wouldn’t that be terrible? Anyway we are still losing here so let me and Erkenbrand and Grimbold all escort you to safety.’

‘Oh? Your two young Hobbit friends left in the night did they? How strange, I hope they come to no harm but I suppose we shall all have to focus on defending Helms Deep for now. I’m very glad I’m here with you Boromir, to be a friendly face who knows when you are acting strangely and remind you of your humanity and softer side, you didn’t seem to be doing very well in the midst of these very strange and not particularly empathetic friends of yours!’

… Your choice of course ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#boromir #tolkien #aragorn #rescue-ram #tolkien meta #lotr #lord of the rings #I spent all day on this and it was great fun thank you #erran vs tolkien #text post #chats

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ivegotsolarflare-blog · 5 years

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What does “Do the Work” mean? An Exercise in Resolution

We must do the work. How does one do the work? It is time to examine the issues that most affect our actions and perspective, from an outside view. Think not about how you feel, or a particular emotion attached to any given situation. Instead, think of one single issue. Think of resentment, for example. The first person that came to mind may be an issue worth examining. *Something to note when thinking of issues regarding others, is that the answer to problems of this nature is usually this- Do not allow the thoughts, feelings, or actions of another to upset your inner peace. Their opinion of you is irrelevant. Often it is a reflection of how they feel about themselves and people can only show you the love they show themselves. People can only understand in you what they understand in themselves. Think of a time this person upset you. In place of thinking, “This is a reason I resent you, and this is just another example of how you are difficult. “ think, “I love this person. I don’t want to feel this emotion in regards to this person that is such a large part of my life.” Reframe the attitude with which you examine the core issue. This will help you better resolve the problem, instead of perpetuating the attached emotion. What does this person do to cause resentment? Is it negative comments, for example? What does this person make you feel? Perhaps they make you feel small, and they challenge your most-regraded beliefs, maybe you don’t feel as if you can be vulnerable or your authentic self around this person. The issue is not the person, as this attitude is likely the behavior of an individual who feels small and insecure themselves. Loved ones don’t intentionally hurt you. This is no one’s aim. The core issue is this- You lack self esteem. You, yourself feel small and what they do and say reminds you of the wounds that exist inside you. Perhaps, you feel a lull in your sense of purpose. No one can make you feel small. A sense of Self Worth is a characteristic developed over time and not a variable that is to be determined within each moment. The problem is that you don’t feel secure in yourself, despite your faith in your beliefs, you have a difficulty standing by them because you have difficulty valuing yourself. You must find pride and joy in the person that you are fully and work outwardly from this inner space of joy and security and have positive affects on the situation. Do not let the situation inward and affect your emotions and subsequently how you respond to those circumstances. They then become a new example of your perpetuated pain. This attitude does not lead to resolution, only the continuation of negative behaviors and attachments. How do I raise my self esteem? First and foremost, you have and always will be worthy and deserving of love. You must embody this belief deep inside you every moment, everywhere you go. Secondly, if you have low self esteem, do esteem-able things. Do something good for the sake of doing it. No one can take from you the amazing things you did or the wonderful way you made someone else feel. Remember these feelings of joy, pride, and compassion in time of insecurity. Exercise 1 in Building Self Esteem: Write down ten characteristics about yourself that are great. Dig deep, and make them things that are truly unique to you. Be as specific as possible. Read this list every morning. Exercise 2 in Building Self Esteem: Write down 10 aspects of your life and things you have or experience, that you are grateful for. Sometimes we feel so low, we believe we do not deserve good things. Examine the good things in your life, and let them serve as a remind that you are wonderful, loved, and worthy. Exercise 1 in Contending Resentment: Decide you are at peace with everyone you deem worthy to be in your life. Let go of past post-trauma based stresses and attachments. For 60 Minutes interact with everyone you encounter with the intention of commanding the situation that it might be a positive, shared experience. Compliment them. Ask how they are doing. Listen with the intention of hearing their concerns and not waiting for a moment to express yours. Perhaps you have issues you’d like to address, this is not the encounter in which to do this. This is an exercise in joy. Notice the way people respond to you when you do not react to their subconscious attempts to evoke negative attention. Instead, you respond with purpose. Often people seek negative attention to affirm you care, and do not possess the skills necessary to obtain this secure feeling through good, so they provoke you until you show emotion, or caring. Show them care without them having to do this. Enjoy this experience. Next, try doing this for a day, then another, then a week, and so forth until this becomes your character and the view from which you appreciate all of life’s experiences. You are worthy. When you find you have retreated to old thought patterns of negativity, mindfully bring yourself back to acting positively or “as if” the very best possibility will come to pass. You are in control. Life is good. Try this technique with other core issues, like obsession, fear, anger, or sadness. Again, here is a synopsis of this technique: 1. Think of a moment you felt upset or uncomfortable. This is an indication of a core issue that needs examination. 2. Identify and work on what you can control. Let go of what you cannot. 3. Examine the uncomfortable situation from an “outside” perspective. Not “How do I feel?” But, “What is the character flaw I possess, that I can change?” 4. Devise an exercise in which you stay in the present moment, and through action, content this characteristic. Example of Ten Characteristics List: Ten Reasons I Rock: 1. I have a unique perspective that makes me funny, and able to find the joy in little things. 2. I am pleasant to be around, and always try and build others up. 3. Others feel good about themselves, and safe when they are around me. 4. I am faithful, and this shows others that there are still things worth believing in. 5. I take good care of myself, and I feel beautiful and confident when I do. 6. I am not only knowledgeable, but wise. 7. I possess a great deal of knowing, and this shapes my incredible perspective. 8. I am magical. 9. I help others by sharing, and this vindicates all the difficult experiences in my life. 10. My life is full of love, wonder, and goodness because of the person I am. I am loving, wonderful, and good because my life is amazing. Example of Gratitude List: Ten Reasons My Life Is Amazing: 1. I have a safe and beautiful home. 2. It is full of adorable things that are a reflection of who I am, and remind me of all the things I love. 3. I am fit, and even though there is still a ways to go, I have come so far. 4. I constantly have what I need. My needs are always met and my life is so comfortable. 5. I am surrounded by nature. I have the privilege of living in the heart of life and creation. 6. Everyday is calm, and can be anything I make it. 7. I possess everything I need to continue growing. 8. My life will only get better and better. 9. I have an incredible support system of loving family and friends. 10. I have hope, faith, joy, love and contentment in my life, in every moment. Life is good! Example: 1. Resentment towards a loved one. 2. Their comments and actions make me feel small. 3. I have low self-esteem and seek outside validation. 4. I will work outwardly by interacting with others, commanding positive experiences because I am important, confident, and impacting. 5. I will remember all the reason I am worthy and appreciate all the things I have and experience that conform these things. You are in control of this life! You are worthy!

#Mental health #wellness #inspo #inspiration #emo #starseed #lightworkers #lightworker #starseeds #magic #magik

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Godzilla vs. Kong: Inside the Monster Fight of the Century

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

By now you’ve probably seen the Godzilla vs. Kong trailer. You know, the one where a giant ape not only punches a giant lizard in the face (and does what almost looks like the Henry Cavill arm-cocking maneuver) suggesting there’s a new contender for the title of “King of the Monsters.” Audiences will find out who wins when the film drops on HBO Max and in theaters on Mar. 26, 2021, but in a 2019 visit to the Australian production, Den of Geek learned there is more to the movie than a mere clash of Titans.

Instead, executive producer Alex Garcia teases a film about the duality of the “primordial and the technological” elements that pervade the film narratively and aesthetically. Of course there will be throwdowns between two marquee monsters — and possibly a mechanized one — who might just have some history together.

The Monsterverse Main Event

The screams are noticeable on the Godzilla vs. Kong production in Gold Coast, Queensland. Rather than emanating from victims of a monster rampage, it’s the sound of roller coaster passengers at the Warner Bros. Movie World right next door. But there be monsters in the Village Roadshow Studio offices. In a conference room filled with journalists, the walls are adorned with concept art of creatures, including the titular prizefighters duking it out.

“This is obviously the title event in our MonsterVerse series,” says Garcia. Directed by Adam Wingard (Blair Witch; You’re Next) for Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros., and starring Alexander Skarsgård and Millie Bobby Brown (reprising her role of Madison Russell from Godzilla: King of Monsters), Garcia says the upcoming movie has even more scope beyond the “central bout” of Godzilla and Kong.

In a separate interview with Wingard, conducted via Zoom this February, the director — who watched every single Godzilla movie as preparation — described the film as an exploration of monsters past and future, with two concurrent storylines organized into Team Godzilla and Team Kong.

Setting the Stage

Set roughly five years after the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the world is changed. The genie is out of the bottle, and mankind knows monsters exist. Life goes on, despite it being an uneasy existence. But the balance that existed before 2014’s Godzilla is re-established. Godzilla himself has been reinstated as the alpha predator, and the other monsters, aka “Titans,” have remained largely dormant.

“There are creatures who are on the surface,” says Garcia. “They aren’t roaming around, destroying things, but they exist; there are occasional landings, issues, and bouts of destruction.”

Responding to this new reality, humanity enacts safeguards and defense mechanisms. And there has been much rebuilding thanks to Apex, which Garcia describes as a “megalithic, technological conglomerate — think the extreme version of an Amazon or Apple.”

To complicate matters, Godzilla has been acting a little erratically, attacking certain cities and facilities, seemingly at random. That drives the Titan-focused organization Monarch to undertake its first mission into the Hollow Earth via its base camp on Skull Island, where the movie begins.

“They’re going to take a device, the ORCA-Z, into the center of the earth to draw the creatures slowly back into the center of the planet, and they’ll seal it,” Garcia says of the adventure led by Nathan Lind, played by Skarsgård.

Since this is the beginning of the film, it’s not a spoiler to reveal that the mission goes “catastrophically wrong,” according to Garcia, and the world is left in even greater disarray.

Return to Skull Island

Skull Island has changed quite a bit in 40 years (since audiences last saw it in 2017’s Kong: Skull Island), and so has its boss, Kong. He was only an adolescent in the previous film, but is now a much bigger boy of about 350-feet tall, compared to Godzilla’s 400 feet, and has seen some action in the ensuing decades.

“It is a tough existence on Skull Island,” says Garcia. “So he’s a little weathered … he has some battle scars.”

Kong has also gained a friend in a young Skull Island native Jia (Kaylee Hottle), with whom Kong can directly communicate via a “spiritual bond,” according to Wingard. And he has learned some new skills. Garcia promises he remains the Kong audiences know (“he doesn’t breathe fire”) but has a few tricks up his sleeve by virtue of being in a modern world. That may include the Thor-worthy battle axe he wields in the trailer.

The First Battle

Garcia calls the large-scale action sequence behind that first Godzilla and Kong battle at sea one of the first ideas Wingard pitched when he boarded the project in 2017, nearly two years after the project was announced, and after Legendary moved it from Universal to Warner Bros.

The fight is the first of at least two meetings of the main monsters. Another is the “massive third act battle” set in a slightly futuristic Hong Kong, says Garcia, where Kong parkours through the city on skyscrapers, a definite step up from merely scaling the Empire State Building.

As for who comes out on top in the end, that remains to be seen, but at least the first one is expected to end in a draw.

Journey to the Center of Hollow Earth

The Monarch will explore the setting of Hollow Earth, aided by sci-fi anti-gravity vehicles called HEAVs (Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicles). Garcia says Hollow Earth is 10 times the scope of what we’ve seen on Skull Island, with “rich varied ecosystems” filled with life and a diversity of terrain. Aesthetically, it takes inspiration from Hawaii’s lava fields, as well as the greenery of Waimea on the island. And it’s in Hollow Earth where we see those hints of other Titans that were first glimpsed in the trailer.

“[They] find, in the center of the earth, an ancient site that suggests eons ago, there was a balance between humans and creatures, and a kind of reverence … a greater connection” he adds. “With Kong, he is the last of his kind, and in Hollow Earth, there is hope he will find another; he discovers these environments and ancient evidence of other Kongs, but there aren’t any.”

Production designer Owen Patterson says Wingard and Garcia discussed with him the notion that the Iwi tribe seen in Kong: Skull Island may have made their way into Hollow Earth thousands of years in the past, and remnants of that culture may exist. As hinted at in the mid-credits scene in King of the Monsters — which featured cave paintings of Kong and Godzilla species fighting one another — he said Kong’s species and Godzilla had once lived in the same environment before something occurred that led to a destructive battle, and the latter ultimately went to sleep until the events of the 2014 film.

Production Designer Tom Hammock says they also drew inspiration for Hollow Earth from ancient human civilizations, such as Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, and the Assyrians of Mesopotamia. Architecturally, he adds they went for a look where the buildings are carved into stone, like the early peoples did in India and Ethiopia.

“We carried those looks with the idea that ancient humans all over the world were interacting with these creatures, and forming that bit of civilization with Kong in Hollow Earth.”

For his part, Garcia doesn’t explicitly say Kong and Godzilla have history together, but does acknowledge, “there are some ancient histories and discoveries in the Hollow Earth, and a deeper backstory to the characters.”

Kong has an emotional journey in the film but Godzilla similarly has his reasons for behaving the way he does. Wingard said Kong is also a “human conduit,” that allows the audience to experience things through him.

“One of the most important things going into this film was treating Godzilla and King Kong like actual characters, that they’re not just these big props that are kind of in the background,” Wingard says. “It’s like they have personalities and they have definitive things that they will and won’t do.”

The Human Element

Following the events of King of the Monsters, and her mother’s belief the Titans are meant to heal the earth from mankind’s damage, Brown’s character Madison becomes an advocate for the creature and serves as the emotional proxy for him.

“Godzilla is the misunderstood hero fighting for us even though we are afraid of things greater than us, and we are constantly fighting against him,” says Garcia. “[Madison] believes he is not necessarily benevolent but what Godzilla wants is also good for mankind, and there must be some reason he’s doing this.”

Brown calls Madison “basically a badass” as the character has grown up since the last movie, and is following in the footsteps of her mother (a Monarch paleobiologist-turned-environmental extremist who believes Godzilla is a savior for the planet, played by Vera Farmiga). She wears her mother’s jacket everywhere she goes, and studies what makes Godzilla tick.

“It’s much more about the technical side of it, learning about the data of him as a Titan,” Brown says.

Madison’s father Mark (again played by Kyle Chandler) is a director at Monarch, and while he’s on the Kong mission, she comes to believe Apex is involved in a conspiracy behind Godzilla’s bizarre behavior.

Titanic monsters aside, if a tech conglomerate’s secret agenda and hollow earth theories sound like the YouTube videos shared on Facebook by an eccentric relative, that’s not a coincidence. Garcia says conspiracy theories are a through line in the movie as a way of exploring why people come up with these ideas, and how a theory speaks to the things we’re afraid of.

As Madison sets out to investigate, she is joined by her friend Josh (Julian Dennison) and Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry), a former Apex employee who lost his wife, and runs a podcast seeking to expose his former bosses. Together, the misfit trio tries to uncover the mystery at the center of Apex and the sci-fi environs of the company.

This includes a scene filmed on a soundstage set dominated by a 60-foot-long Ghidorah skull wired into a hi-tech control station. It is unclear whether it belongs to King Ghidorah, who lost one of his heads in King of the Monsters, but Wingard did confirm, “In a subtle way, Ghidorah kind of haunts this movie.”

The skull was connected with multicolored cables to a computer terminal — and an artificial brain. Along with signs reading “psionic output” and “biomech,” there was a command seat and headset on a platform accessible by a ramp leading up the kaiju’s mouth. In the scene, Madison leads Josh and Bernie into the mouth to infiltrate the station.

Mecha-Godzilla?

Connected to this is Ren Serizawa (Shun Oguri) — the son of Ken Watanabe’s Monarch scientist character from the previous two Legendary Godzilla films. Seen in the trailer against a mech schematic, Oguri says Ren’s means of protecting the earth is very different from his pro-Titans father.

Based on other glimpses in the trailer of a suited-up Godzilla, and the toy images that leaked at the beginning of 2020, it seems a mech will arrive in the new movie. Although, it remains to be seen if it’s an Apex-controlled Mecha-Godzilla, Mecha-King Ghidorah, or something else entirely. Or perhaps all three are in play, and Godzilla and Kong will eventually have a reason to team up, and fight together.

According to the production designers on the film, another sci-fi inspired element, or perhaps something out of a James Bond film, will be present in Apex’s headquarters atop Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak with an installation built deep within, reaching down into the earth. As well as the mech control room, that base will be the setting for another monster showdown. Cotter explains “our heroes” arrive in Hong Kong via a shuttle transporting Skullcrawler eggs (belonging to the creature introduced in Kong: Skull Island) and end up in an arena confronted by one of Kong’s hometown foes.

This is only one of the ways Godzilla vs. Kong ties together elements from each of the MonsterVerse movies. Garcia also hints the film digs deep into the “mythic past” of Godzilla creator Toho studio, and speaks to new creatures and “other creatures” in the film. He also says both lead monsters are fighting for something, and neither is an antagonist in the movie, and that “there is a complexity” to their motivations.

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Despite the potential nuance of the monster-on-monster violence, there does not appear to be a shortage of it in Godzilla vs. Kong, with Hammock saying the two main beasts meet several times. And it’s a good bet Godzilla will get a chance to return that sucker punch Kong delivers in the trailer when Godzilla vs. Kong premieres on HBO Max and streaming this March.

The post Godzilla vs. Kong: Inside the Monster Fight of the Century appeared first on Den of Geek.

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ladystylestores · 4 years

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You should play Namco’s lost arcade-action classic, Mr. Driller DrillLand

Enlarge / Right about now sounds good for a blast of 2002’s best arcade-puzzle gaming.

Bandai Namco

In recent years, Japanese game makers have tried to revive the 16- and 32-bit era’s beloved niche of arcade-puzzle series, but these nostalgia cash-ins have mostly failed. Capcom’s Puzzle Fighter came back to life on smartphones as a free-to-play gacha mess. Sega’s Chu Chu Rocket returned with too many complications as an Apple Arcade exclusive (and, crucially, zero multiplayer). And Hudson’s Super Bomberman sputtered onto the Switch’s 2017 launch lineup as a mess, though it eventually received some face-saving patches.

As a result, I shudder whenever I see a cult-classic, puzzle-arcade series return on modern, download-only storefronts. The genre that used to thrive on cartridges and CD-ROMs has become ripe for microtransactions and slot-machine mechanics. Which is why I’m taking the unusual step of reviewing such a launch going right.

Mr. Driller DrillLand, out today on Windows PCs and Nintendo Switch, is one of the rarest games from Namco’s early-’00s period, which was otherwise marked by the blistering 3D likes of Ridge Racer and Tekken. The cartoony, 2D game, which launched exclusively in Japan in 2002 for the GameCube, was arguably a swan song for the studio’s legacy as an ’80s arcade juggernaut. Thankfully, today’s updated, translated version leaves well enough alone: its pure gameplay experience returns with 1080p-friendly touches.

$30 may be a bit steep for this classic game, but it’s the best Mr. Driller game ever made, and it’s a remarkable love letter to the Namco of old.

Clearing a path to a flow state

The “basic” mode mostly resembles the classic gameplay of the 1999 original. Every mode in this game has an amusement park theme, and this one is clearly the “It’s A Small World” segment.

Dig further, and you’ll find other countries. Here, Puchi makes his way through France.

Different characters have different strengths and weaknesses. This robot character is a bit slower, but he gets double the health.

That’s the star of Dig-Dug, if you’re wondering.

This Indiana Jones-like mode is the most interesting, thanks to its treasure-routing challenge.

This mode, an homage to Namco’s Tower of Druaga, has some cool adventure-mode tweaks.

Collect potions, then use their powers to trap and capture ghosts.

The least interesting mode in the package merely makes you contend with randomized bonuses.

Plus, quite frankly, I’m happy to have this enormously cheery and weird game right now.

Like other puzzle games from its era, DrillLand comes with a silly and largely unnecessary plot, and it includes the same Japanese voice acting found in the 2002 version. Mr. Driller and his friends have been invited to visit a fictional amusement park, and its every attraction twists or modifies the core Mr. Driller gameplay formula with some thematic gimmick. (His friends, if you’re wondering, include his dad—as in, the guy who starred in Dig Dug—and a cheery, talking dog named Puchi.)

One of these attractions is essentially a port of other Mr. Driller games, because it simply asks players to dig, dig, dig. Your primary object is to dig through colorful blocks from the top of the screen as deeply as possible. That may seem simple, but if you dig carelessly, you may leave hanging fragments that fall and crush you, and your digging path is complicated by “solid” blocks and a requirement to pick up oxygen tank refills. This is a high-score chase mode, since you’ll get more points for clearing various depth amounts quickly and efficiently.

Since the first Mr. Driller game launched in 1999, no other puzzle game has copied its formula. Unlike color-matching and piece-fitting classics, Mr. Driller emphasizes the flow state of constant, efficient movement and digging, which benefits from spatial awareness of shapes and colors all around you. Matching other colored blocks factors into your success, and your downward digging can put color-matching combos into motion, so there’s a two-headed thrust to your Mr. Driller DrillLand progress. That this gameplay still feels special and unique makes this 2002 re-release a worthy puzzling option for anyone who may have missed the series before.

But even if you find that puzzle system a bit wanting, the four other modes add clever twists to its formula. The best mode removes the oxygen-filling requirement and converts the whole game to an Indiana Jones spoof, where you’re forced to create digging paths that lead to treasure pickups while avoiding traps and—oh, I love these—giant rolling stones that will smash through your digging path and threaten you, like the chase scene from Raiders. Another mode pays homage to Namco’s classic Tower of Druaga series, as it forces Mr. Driller to take specific paths through a dungeon, collect treasure and keys, and fight bosses. And a haunted-house mode turns you into a ghostbuster of sorts, as it makes you freeze and capture ghosts within the blocks that you’d otherwise dig through.

That’s the Puchi attitude

Need a cheery, silly game? DrillLand has you covered.

You’ll switch from mode to mode by wandering across this map interface.

As far as a silly, family-friendly script is concerned, DrillLand delivers. Expect plenty of groaners and cheese.

Boy, I’ll say.

The points you accrue in every level can be spent on things like cards.

These appear to exist primarily to dole out trivia.

Want to buy some utterly worthless collectibles? Go ahead.

Between each of these challenges, a fully voiced cut scene will play out with the Driller crew’s personalities clashing in giddy, Saturday morning fashion, and while you can mash buttons to skip these, I’d suggest not. The whole package radiates with DayGlo-bright designs—all handsomely scaled to modern screen resolutions and a 16:9 ratio—and part of the inflated $30 cost is that you’re sometimes expected to sit back and marvel at how weird and elaborate the game’s story gets.

This should particularly delight anyone who still fondly recalls Katamari Damacy, which debuted on PlayStation 2 two years after DrillLand‘s launch. You can see the seeds of Katamari‘s wacky plot and King Of All Cosmos character planted by the Driller family’s saccharine-sweet trials. Meanwhile, DrillLand‘s perky J-Pop soundtrack, presented here at full fidelity, isn’t identical to Katamari‘s classic tunes by any stretch, but the up-tempo charm and vocal-melody components are almost identical.

The weirdness doesn’t end there. At any time, you can load a lengthy, music-driven parade sequence, where various Driller-series characters stomp across your screen, almost-but-not-quite in time with the music. There’s no way to fail this mode; it’s not technically “gameplay,” and you can only modify it by pressing a joystick to change the marchers’ tempo. Why is this in the game? I have no idea. But now I kinda wish every video game had an optional parade sequence as an amusing distraction. (Just think of how TLOU2‘s post-apocalyptic Seattle might look with its mutated monsters stomping to the music while holding batons.)

Big-screen treatment for two-player modes.

Smaller screens for three- and four-player modes.

On PC, it’s easy to set up everyone’s preferred controllers.

To finish the package, the game includes a pair of four-player battle modes. One is a parallel race through standard Mr. Driller gameplay, where each player races to dig through identical content, and the other is a ho-hum battle mode where players dig through the same, shared screen in search of a randomly placed treasure. The latter feels unfair as a versus game, while the former is pretty meager with its battling and “garbage” mechanics. Still, as family-friendly four-player modes, they’re better than nothing (but, sadly, don’t work online).

Nitpicks, not dealbreakers

The biggest drawback to the whole package is a $30 pricetag, which is high for a 2002 re-release. As far as “new” content, you’re getting a newly translated script (no new English voice acting), an admittedly smooth upscaling of the original 2D assets to 1080p resolution, and a new “casual” difficulty level—which, I should be blunt, is far from casual. Mr. Driller DrillLand can be pretty unforgiving to new players due to how quickly its falling block fragments fall and harm your character, and entire runs will get wiped out due to a severely limited pool of lives. (Casual mode only adds a single extra life to each mode, which, I have to say, doesn’t suddenly make the package newbie-friendly.)

Worse, the game’s digital download doesn’t include any form of instruction manual, so you’ll go through trial-and-error to answer serious questions about the game. Which levels should I play first? Do shiny blocks, which disappear after a certain amount of time, mean anything in a level? Why don’t each individual mode’s “level 2” and “level 3” sections unlock? Is there a point to spending in-game coins on a shelf of collectibles? And how do all of the items in the item shop work? The last question is crucial, because beginners will rely on that item shop, not the “casual” mode toggle, to survive their earliest sessions. Some in-game guidance to that effect would have been appreciated.

Thus, it’s not a perfect collection. Still, I’ll take a re-release that’s doggedly old-school over the microtransaction alternative. DrillLand is exactly the kind of unique, satisfying, and cutesy puzzle-action game I want right now, and its brand-new appearance on the portable Nintendo Switch is particularly welcome. (And since the series’ iOS $1 version from 2009 is dead, thanks to a lack of 64-bit update, we’ll have to settle on this week’s solid port.)

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craveanimeblog-blog · 5 years

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Tekken 7: Best Anime-Videogame of 2019 Review

The fighting game landscape is awash with heavy contenders that have received praise or monster profits from their slick mechanics and graphics. How can a well-established brand like Tekken 7 hold up against its competitors the same its characters do with leg breaks? There's only one way to find out.

What Is Tekken 7?

As the latest version of Namco's flagship game, Tekken 7 is well-known as a button-mashing affair with characters using different martial art styles. You have a Bruce Lee clone, a capoeira fanatic, and half-demon karate masters all in the same punch-and-kick world. Another important distinction between this and other games is how players target limbs, and how full movement around the ring is a necessary part of the match.

Product Specs

Specifications on this fighter game are only important if you purchase the PC version. For that, you need an Intel Core processor with 3.60GHz or equivalent, 6 GB RAM, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 2GB/GTX 750Ti 2GB to start. It takes up 60 GB of hard drive space. There are also PS4 and Xbox One versions for purchase.

Pricing

Tekken 7 can be purchased on Amazon at around $24 for the PS4 and around $19 for the Xbox One.

How It Compares

We picked a few similar products available on the market to see how they compare.

The King of Fighters XIV

Skullgirls

TowerFall

Soul Calibur 6

Injustice 2

Tekken 7

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Price ($)

This game can be purchased on Amazon at around $24 for the PS4 and around $19 for the Xbox One.

Storyline (4/5 Stars)

The Mishima Saga is a new story mode made specifically for the console and PC versions and concentrates on Heihachi and the murderous issues he has with his son and grandson. It is a fighter/anime to the maximum, and it works well within the confines of the decades of lore Tekken 7 is a part of. Characters outside the family do not get as much attention in the Saga when you play as them, however, which knocks Tekken 7 down a star to 4/5.

Controls (3/5 Stars)

There has been plenty of fine-tuning made to Tekken 7 that has made players know the importance of training. It is not a button-mashing affair like many other games or previous versions—there are so many moves to learn for each character it might not be a good idea to spam attacks. We give this 3/5 stars.

Graphics (4/5 Stars)

The art style and graphics level of Tekken 7 is about the same as the previous ones. There is a downgrade in the PS4 version compared to the PC version, but it is nothing that will take away from the experience. There is something to be said about the many costume options for characters, too. We give it 4/5 stars.

Replay Value (3/5 Stars)

The story mode, as fun and silly as it can get, is too short. Online mode is as good as ever, however, and Treasure Battle mode is hardcore enough it might keep you going for hours. We give this 3/5 stars.

Pros

Advanced fighting system

Strong quest mode

Many characters to learn

Cons

Short story mode

Steep learning curve

The King of Fighters XIV

Price ($$)

This fighter classic can be found on Amazon at around $30 on PS4 for a physical copy. There is also a digital download available around the same price.

Storyline (1/5 Stars)

The supreme amount of attention they put toward the fighting must have affected how much time and attention was given to the story. Even though there are around 50 characters available, there are few cutscenes that flesh out a very simplistic plot. They are quick and give little to what is going on between the interactions and motivations of each character. This is a disappointing 1/5 stars.

Controls (3/5 Stars)

King of Fighter XIV reignites the power of the franchise through gameplay, which is something they needed since its update from 2D a few versions ago. The combination of 2D movement and 3D visuals can exist although it is worth remembering this is a game of skill where precision is needed in pulling off the winning combos. Seasoned players know how to do this, but it can be a difficult ride for newcomers (the new Rush system gives necessary hand-holding, however). We give it 3/5 stars.

Graphics (4/5 Stars)

This game finally made an effective change from its classic 2D to 3D, but that is not the case for a cutscene animations. Those come out awkward, but they still make fluid motions in combat, giving it 4/5 stars.

Replay Value (1/5 Stars)

This is a game that has added over 30 playable characters to the standard 18, which can give a sizable combination of battles. One major issue might come with online play as there can be slow fights even with a strong internet connection. We give this 1/5 stars.

Pros

Expansive character roster

Fun classic fighter system

Worthy change of art style

Cons

Substandard story

Inconsistent online play

Tough learning curve

Skullgirls

Price ($$$)

This fast-paced fighter the game can be found on Amazon at around $90 on PS4 for a physical copy which is too much for the game.

Storyline (2/5 Stars)

The peculiar cast of Skullgirls is complimented with a good voice cast and story mode. However, as players make it through, they cannot help but wonder if such a small developer sacrificed expanding on the narrative so the gameplay would be stellar. We give the story 2/5 stars.

Controls (5/5 Stars)

Lab Zero placed great care in how players mapped buttons for their favorite characters. They developed a driver for fight stick controllers, making them as compatible as the PS4 controller. Hardcore fans who use PC or PS3-level fight stick could plug and play with no issues. A 5/5 star rating is well deserved.

Graphics (5/5 Stars)

The art style is a fusion of anime and 30s and 40s cinema made from thousands of frames of hand-drawn animation. This slick presentation of movement behind a lavish background is quite a sight for a traditional 2D fighter. We give it 5/5 stars.

Replay Value (3/5 Stars)

While the arcade mode is designed for randomly chosen challenges, eventually players will get the same ones in a row. Part of this is because there are only nine playable characters. Lab Zero put in a solid online-play experience that allows players to check connections before they play. We rate replay value 3/5 stars.

Pros

Fine-tuned gameplay

Beautiful Art Déco aesthetic

Designed for hardcore fighter fans

Cons

An inadequate roster of playable characters

Arcade mode is limited

Story is simple

TowerFall

Price ($)

The game is not currently available on Amazon, but you can purchase the digital download on the PlayStation Store for around $15 and around $20 for the Nintendo Switch.

Storyline (1/5 Stars)

TowerFall is a party game, so it does not have much in the narrative department. There is a Dark World mode where a player fights a boss at the end, but that is about as far as it goes, giving it 1/5 stars in this category.

Controls (4/5 Stars)

The game tests players' ability to jump platforms while firing arrows with precision. They will have no problems with pressing the right buttons to scramble for the next kill shot—as intense as they can get. We give it 4/5 stars.

Graphics (3/5 Stars)

A retro look adds to the arcade-style gameplay of TowerFall. The maps are 2D, yet are still smart enough that players have to come up with tactics to shoot and survive. It all depends on if you are a fan of nostalgia. So we give this 3/5 stars.

Replay Value (3/5 Stars)

With six players, there is no telling what kind of shooting spree can happen on the single-screen map as they avoid arrows. Two bumps on this game are that the only point in playing the single-player mode is as a practice run. Also, there is no online support. We give it 3/5 stars on this front.

Pros

Entertaining multiplayer mode

A wide variety of playable maps

Nostalgic art style

Cons

Single player is lacking

Local-only multiplayer

Soul Calibur 6

Price ($$$)

The game can be purchased on Amazon at around $40 for the PS4 and around $60 for the Xbox One.

Storyline (4/5 Stars)

Every playable character in Soul Calibur 6 has a story developed through their series of fights, art, or scenes that include dialogue (although there is not a lot of it). Killik is the character with the primary story surrounding the Soul Edge sword. There is even an RPG-like mode set in Europe if you make a custom character where you bump into main characters. Players will be happy to play as Geralt from the mega-popular Witcher series. We give the game 4/5 stars in this category.

Controls (5/5 Stars)

As an arcade-style fighter, it is still well-balanced enough that players have no problems with picking it up and battling. The combat system has never been better, and the 8-Way-Run movement the system, while not the same as its sister game Tekken 7, is as strong as ever. This easily gets 5/5 stars.

Graphics (3/5 Stars)

Because of the character creation option, the ability for graphics is solid. The developer's clear direction on gameplay over graphics is clear, however. An example of this is in the issue one can have when choosing the perfect hair for their custom fighter. There are plenty of well-designed costume choices. We give this 3/5 stars.

Replay Value (5/5 Stars)

There are around five modes to play in Soul Calibur 6—each of varying depths that still require an understanding of weapon combos, dodges, and charging up for big attacks. There is also an improved online play system that has fixed the spotty challenges from previous Soul Calibur. The replay value of the game gets 5/5 stars.

Pros

A balanced arcade-style fighting system

Different game modes

Deep customization engine

Cons

Slight issues in customization

An awkward dialogue in cut scenes

Injustice 2

Price ($$)

The game can be purchased on Amazon at around $52 for the PS4, and around $39 for the Xbox One.

Storyline (5/5 Stars)

As a game made with DC superheroes and villains, one would expect Injustice 2 to be phenomenal. But as always with comics, your mileage may vary. The bleak continuation of Injustice: Gods Among Us will be amazing to some or a disjointed mess to others. Players cannot take away the fact they use the history of these characters very well (although they made a poor choice in creating a Joker in the Jared Leto style). We give it 5/5 stars.

Controls (3/5 Stars)

Netherrealm added new features to combat that players will enjoy in the sequel. There are character-specific tutorials for each, but acclimation will take time as there is no universal combo all characters share. It gets tougher with an AI that can take you down with ludicrous combos. We give this part 3/5 stars.

Graphics (5/5 Stars)

There is no denying the impressive level of detail Netherealm's artists put into the dystopian world of Injustice 2. Gotham, Atlantis, even Swamp Thing's forests have features that match reality and fantasy smoothly—not to mention the incredible near-photorealistic animation to each playable character. This deserves 5/5 stars.

Replay Value (4/5 Stars)

Unfortunately, story mode runs around five to 10 hours, which is disappointing. There is an expansive Multiverse system with a loot-dropping function that can keep you going. The online multiplayer mode runs without a hitch. We give this 4/5 stars.

Pros

Rich story mode using DC lore and characters

Interesting features for a fighting game

Amazing facial animations for each character

Cons

The story mode is rather short

AI is almost too challenging for beginners

Long loading times

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Conclusion

No matter what flair a developer puts in their fighter, the fluidity of combat dominates, and Tekken 7 delivers this with no problem. Its competitors will battle it with mechanics, but with its challenging mode, a variety of characters, and their impressive move sets, there are plenty of ways to keep players interested as they crunch arms and kick faces. We give this game an overall rating of 4/5 stars.

#tekken 7 #mortal combat #multiplayer mode #multiverse system #price #Storyline #controls #Graphics #Replay Value #game pro #professional gaming #narrative gaming #party game #amazon #gaming precision #arcade mode #anime-videogame #gaming

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uksports-blog1 · 5 years

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Modern Trends in Games Organization and The executives

One of the central point militating against the advancement of games in Nigeria today is the absence of compelling administration. A lot of arrangements are being proffered by concerned and devoted Nigerians every day to safeguard us out the mess. One of such arrangements is this content entitled "Modern Trends in Games Organization and The executives". It is composed by Dr. Joseph Awoyinfa, a speaker in the Branch of Human Energy and Wellbeing Instruction, Workforce of Training, College of Lagos, Nigeria; a scientist and instructive expert. I was the individual welcomed by the writer and the college to audit the book when it was exhibited to people in general on December 4, 2008, in Nigeria.

As per Awoyinfa, it is a cliché everywhere throughout the world that sport is presently a reference issue which can never again be overlooked at different parts of the economy and circles of life. The creator includes that this content accordingly investigates topical issues in games organization and the board, harping on hypotheses and standards of modern trends in games organization and the executives, for example, authority, association, arranging, inspiration, and so forth.

The content contains 16 sections. Part one is initiated "the idea of games the executives". Here, Awoyinfa says the board is an idea that infers distinctive things to various individuals at various occasions, in this manner prompting its variety of definitions. He clarifies that administration has been differently depicted as workmanship, a science, an individual or individuals, an order and a procedure.

This creator elaborates that as craftsmanship, sports the board is tied in with doing sports authoritative capacities and errands through individuals; while as a science, sports the board is tied in with building up games logic, laws, hypotheses, standards, procedures and practices. As an association, as per him, sports the executives is characterized as a method for making formal structures and a foundation dependent on a mission, destinations, targets, capacities, and undertakings.

Awoyinfa says as an individual or gathering of individuals sports the board may allude to the head alone or to all the ranking staff, advisory group, and so on.; while as an order, the board is a field of concentrate with different subjects and points. The creator lights up that sports the executives as a procedure are about an efficient method for getting things done. Awoyinfa features the board capacities in games organization as arranging, sorting out, staffing, coordinating/driving, controlling, coordination, planning, and assessment. On whom a games supervisor is, this creator teaches that a games administrator is anybody at any dimension of a game association who coordinates

the endeavors of other individuals towards the accomplishment of authoritative objectives sport-wise.

Part two depends on the topic of advancement and trends of game ons the board though. Here, Awoyinfa uncovers that the improvement of contemplations on games the board goes back to the days when individuals initially endeavored to achieve objectives by cooperating in a gathering. In his words, "There was not kidding contemplating overseeing numerous years prior to the beginning of the (twentieth) century, which denoted the start of modern games the executives thought. Real endeavors to create hypotheses and standards of games the board started from the mid (twentieth) century with crafted by Frederick Taylor and Henri Fayol. The mechanical unrest of the (nineteenth) century most likely gave the atmosphere to this intense estimating."

Awoyinfa includes that since the turn of the twentieth century, scholars on games the board and business hypothesis have been propounding distinctive speculations about how to oversee work and faculty all the more productively and viable. This creator teaches that the three fundamental schools of the board thought are: the traditional; the human-social; and the integrative. Awoyinfa additionally features early games the board scholars; standards and attributes of logical administration; examination of the logical administration hypothesis, and so on., in this section.

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Part three is specifically marked "standards of games the executives". In this section, the instructive expert clarifies that sports standards are the fundamental laws on which the act of games the executives is constructed. He includes that administration standards should in this manner be founded on general terms for them to be material inside game associations of differing sizes and character. "Modern games chiefs and directors are required to almost certainly recognize and utilize proper rules that are important to specific circumstances. This is on the grounds that no single rule can suit every single regulatory circumstance," submits Awoyinfa.

He says the basic standards of games are those material to all games associations and because of their general worthiness, they are some of the time alluded to as "all-inclusive standards of games the board". This creator expounds that a portion of these standards is: duty; assignment of power and correspondence. As respects, philanthropic standards of games the executives, Awoyinfa recognizes these as vote based system, equity, human relations, compassion, sympathy, thought and modesty.

In part four dependent on the idea of social and inspirational hypotheses in games association, the creator says people are one of a kind animals as they carry on distinctively under various conditions and are for the most part hard to foresee. Awoyinfa stresses that since individuals comprise the most critical component in games association, sports chiefs need some comprehension of why individuals act in one way or the other, with the goal that they (sports supervisors) can impact individuals to perform precisely the way sports associations find attractive.

One intense instrument this creator recommends that can be utilized to evoke execution in competitors is the inspiration. In his words, "Inspiration is something required in games associations to influence workers to perform.

Be that as it may, it has been an imperative and a baffling subject for games directors." Awoyinfa further examines advancement of persuasive ideas in games association; utilization of inspirational hypotheses to sports the board; strategies for conduct alteration, and so on., in this section.

In sections five to ten, the creator bars his explanatory searchlight on topics, for example, the board systems in games association; the idea of games association; the setting configuration in games association; the idea of arranging in games organization; making sports associations progressively successful in Nigeria and staffing in games associations.

Part 11 depends on correspondence systems in games association. As indicated by Awoyinfa here, correspondence is a significant factor in any hierarchical adequacy since associations can't work adequately when relational abilities are missing among individuals. "Since correspondence is the moving soul in an association, its nonappearance may make associations stop," attests this creator.

In parts 12 to 16, Awoyinfa X-beams ideas, for example, authoritative changes and improvement in games organization; initiative in games organization and the board; organization and the executives of soccer as a mentor; training human energy and wellbeing instruction in schools and universities; and association and organization of schools at different dimensions of instruction.

As respects method of introduction, this content scores a pass mark. For example, the language is intelligible and the thoughts are splendidly verbalized. The straightforwardness of the language is normal, given the creator's double proficient foundation as a teacher and minister. To guarantee a simple investigation of the content on perusers' part, Awoyinfa features the goals of every section toward the start and finishes with audit/correction questions.

In addition, he imaginatively weaves the content with designs (pages 50, 97, 317, 330, 338, 395, and so forth.) to upgrade perusers' understanding through visual correspondence. Awoyinfa incorporates references toward the finish of every part to satisfy scholastic commitment of source divulgence and offer perusers chances to peruse more. Consideration of numerous references likewise affirms the profundity of his examination. His utilization of visual refinement for the expression "Modern Trends" in the title is unequivocally imaginative.

On the off chance that there are parts that truly make this content qualified as a summary of modern answers for the authoritative and the board issues tormenting our games advancement in Nigeria, they are sections four, eight, 11 and 13. This is on the grounds that they talk about inspiration, arranging, correspondence, and initiative individually.

Then, the species most prominent part of all is section four. The way that it is deliberately or unknowingly taken to be the best part finds useful articulation in the more profound correspondence and union between its topic from one perspective and the external intro page's symbolic visuals or figurative pictures, for example, objective post, cyclists dashing, a yard tennis player balanced for activity with her bat, sprinters contending and footballers battling for ball ownership, then again. These are pictures utilized for an outline in the persuasive talk.

Notwithstanding, a few mistakes are seen in this content. The mistakes are "Affirmation" (page iii), rather than "Affirmations"; non-paragraphing of the characteristic initial couple of passages of "Introduction"; "Loosing" (pages 396 and 404), rather than "Losing", and so forth. These blunders should be revised in the following release.

#UK Sports

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sqgtdevreviews · 7 years

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Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong-Quest Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Rare System: Super Nintendo Year: 1995

Donkey Kong Country 1 was possibly the most hyped game in history at the time thanks to it’s amazing CGI graphics, so a sequel was obvious. Naturally with sequels comes the pressure to live up to the first one, which is a lot harder than it sounds, and many games have failed at this. In most cases, you can’t change what worked, and you can’t just make exactly the same game again. There has to be a sweet spot of old and new.

And so, Donkey Kong himself was given the boot. Wait, what?! Yes, the main character of the franchise is not playable in his own sequel, as he was kidnapped by the Kremlings (who are now pirates). His sidekick Diddy Kong is the main protagonist now, and he’s on a quest to not only save DK, but to prove himself worthy as a hero to Cranky Kong. Joining him is his girlfriend Dixie Kong, who is a memorable character in her own right.

Now that the Kremlings are pirates, Rare has made this sequel pirate themed, which is an interesting touch. Instead of traveling around DK Island, the Kongs go to Crocodile Isle, the Kremling’s pirate island. Here there are a variety of settings not found in the first game: pirate ships, volcanoes, amusement parks, castles, beehives, etc, all of which look fantastic. The environments tend to be a little darker than before, which makes sense considering you’re on an evil pirate island. Also going along with the scurvier theming, the Kremlings themselves are dressed up like pirates, and they have more distinct personalities. With a few exceptions they feel less threatening and a lot goofier, which makes them a lot more likable. The pre-rendered CGI graphics have also been improved and feel a lot less plastic than DKC1, and it complements the setting well. DKC1 still looks fantastic, but there’s almost nothing dated about 2’s presentation, and it’s a lot more imaginative.

The soundtrack is, like DKC1’s, a Top 10 contender. David Wise is the sole composer this time around, and it’s easily his best soundtrack. Just like DKC1, it perfectly mixes strong melodies, fitting atmosphere, and occasional environmental noises into music that perfectly fits the game and sounds great on its own. Several tracks would be right at home in a swashbuckling pirate movie, like the bombastic title screen theme K. Rool Returns. The most popular track is Stickerbrush Symphony, the soothing and uplifting theme that plays during the ironically very difficult bramble stages. Other standouts include the Swamp theme that blatantly samples Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight, the tribal Primal Rave in the jungle levels, and the electronic Disco Train that plays during the roller coaster levels. It’s a rare perfect soundtrack where every single song is extremely memorable.

Like many popular AAA games nowadays, the gameplay itself was the weakest part of Donkey Kong Country 1. However, it still played well, and all of the defining series elements were there–they just needed a restructuring. Donkey Kong Country 2 does just that. For one, Diddy and Dixie both feel equally balanced this time around, unlike the DK/Diddy duo from before. Diddy is completely unchanged from before, and he is still the quick and agile character. Dixie, unlike Donkey, is small like Diddy and has the unique and extremely useful ability of hovering with her banana shaped helicopter hair. Both characters are perfectly balanced and compliment each other as a duo. You can also perform a new “Team Throw” move when you have both Kongs. By pressing A, you will lift the other Kong on your back, and you can slowly move around and jump with them. Pressing A again and aiming lets you toss the Kong. Tossing them upwards is a useful way to get to some higher platforms, as the Kong will go very high and is very floaty in the air. Where they land, you’ll automatically warp to.

The level design in general is greatly improved from before. DKC1’s sense of flow is kept, but with a much better difficulty curve. It’s actually a much more difficult game, but it ramps up at just the right pace. Each world feels more difficult than the last, but it eases you into everything early on so every challenge feels surmountable. Many of the levels have their own idea, but nothing too gimmicky. The escalating challenge and great variety go hand in hand in the same way that Super Mario World does it.

Animal Buddies are mostly unchanged, though Winky and Espresso were replaced with the bouncy Rattly the Snake, and the web platform shooting Squitter the Spider. Squawks the Parrot was promoted and is now rideable, and he can fly by flapping his wings as well as shoot eggs. All of them are very useful, though Rattly is a bit weird at first. The level design is a lot better designed around them, and there are also several levels where you will turn into an Animal Buddy for the entire level. They’re a fun change of pace, and never pop up too frequently.

Coins were added too, and this ties into the Kong NPC’s, another returning concept. Banana Coins are found semi-frequently and can be used to barter with the other Kongs. Cranky and Funky return to give you hints (which are actually useful now) and access to other worlds again. Cranky’s wife Wrinkly Kong, a schoolteacher, can save your game and teach you various game mechanics. Swanky Kong will quiz you on trivia concerning the game and reward you with a bunch of extra lives. A second type of coin is the rare DK Coin, and there’s only one of these hidden in each level. They serve no purpose other than 102% completion, but if you get them all, Cranky will rank you higher than Mario, Link, and Yoshi and actually admit that Diddy is as good a hero as he is. He also has thrown Sonic and Earthworm Jim in the trash. 1995 was a different time.

Kremkoins are the reward for completing a Bonus Stage, which were completely rethought in this game. There’s 1-3 in each level, and all of them are now timed challenges that often relate to the level you’re currently in. They’re a lot more fairly hidden this time around, and their new rules make them the best part of the game. It’s really fun to find a Bonus Barrel, and be met with a unique challenge inside to complete. The Kremkoins you earn also serve a valuable purpose. 15 Kremkoins can be used to pay off Klubba in five of the worlds, granting you access to one of five levels in the “Lost World.” Most of these levels are extremely difficult, but completing all of them nets you the REAL final showdown with Kaptain K. Rool and the true ending. It’s easily worth the trouble, in a “the journey is the destination” way. To complete Donkey Kong Country 2 102% is no mere game, it’s a rite of passage.

At the time, Donkey Kong Country 1 was a tough act to follow, but Donkey Kong Country 2 is arguably the greatest game of all time. It’s at least in the same pantheon as Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Yoshi’s Island and Super Mario World. It’s rare to see a sequel improve on what came before it as well as DKC2 has. Everything that felt tacked on in 1 is now completely essential to the gameplay, and in a totally natural way to boot. The perfect difficulty curve, mix of exploration and quick pacing, and amazing atmosphere is almost unparalleled to this day. It all fits together into what is indisputably the Citizen Kane of rapping monkey entertainment.

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