#Escape from Catrina

[yanchamisc]

1987 My Little Pony Escape From Catrina cel of Power and Megan.

Source: unknown ebay auction circa 2013.

#my little pony #mlp #g1 mlp #g1 my little pony #escape from catrina

[heckyeahponyscans]

Check out @yanchamisc for a WEALTH of G1 My Little Pony production material, including animation cels and storyboards! An amazing archive!

#g1 #g1 mlp #my little pony #my little pony n friends #Rescue at Midnight Castle #Escape from Catrina #mlp #Sunbow Animation #animation #production material

[ponymovienight]

Escape from Catrina

Run time: 22 minutes

The Little Ponies prepare for a “Welcome Back” party for their human friend, Megan. Meanwhile, little furballs called Bushwoolies are the slaves of a feline witch named Catrina and are watched over by a shape-shifting lizard named Rep. When the Bushwoolies escape, Catrina abducts Baby Moondancer and the Rainbow of Light to force the ponies to be her new slaves.

#my little pony #mlp g1 #escape from catrina #my little pony n friends #all

[dailyrainbowcharacter]

🌈 RAINBOW CHARACTER OF THE DAY 🌈

day 37

Skydancer

from My Little Pony (G1)

#daily rainbow character #mlp #my little pony #my little pony g1 #My Little Pony: Escape from Catrina #skydancer #skydancer mlp

[gh0str3c0rd3r]

I HEAR THAT DAMN WHISTLE SOMG ONE MORE TIME AND I EXPLOSDE EVERYONE

#daily stuff i guess #I CANT ESCAPE THAT MAN #ITS COMING FROM MY MUMS PHONE #HE WAS IN MY GODAM SCIENCE CLASS #AAAAAAAAAAUAUUAUAUUUUUUAAAAAAGAGGAGGHHGGAHAUUUAGHHGAA8A8AGHHHH #this is all catrinas fault i know it.. /silly

[animated-character-of-the-day]

Today’s character of the day is: Baby Moondancer from My Little Pony: Escape from Catrina

#My Little Pony #MLP #Hasbro #Baby Moondancer #MLP G1 #my little pony n friends #My Little Pony: Escape from Catrina #moondancer

[wordsinhaled]

okay, but has anyone written canon divergence merthur magic reveal as of "beauty and the beast part two"???

thinking about how in that episode arthur's immediate and insistent reaction to learning merlin had been ordered to be arrested was to alert him in time for him to escape and urge him to leave camelot immediately before he could be detained

arthur didn't ask if merlin had really taken lady catrina's seal. he didn't even care if merlin had taken it, and was possibly guilty of a crime against the crown. his first and only thought was for merlin to save himself

imagining the same situation, but with merlin being accused of using magic after someone catches him doing a spell. arthur coming to him and telling him to save himself, to get out while he still can because the king is arresting him on suspicion of practicing sorcery

merlin standing there frozen, because he's kept this secret for so long and a part of him has always dreaded this would be how arthur would find out. voices coming from beyond the door to arthur's chambers, as arthur realizes merlin's not going to move in time

imagining arthur frantically hiding merlin somewhere in his rooms while the guards search for him - maybe he's stuffed unceremoniously in a wardrobe, or has to clamber out of arthur's window and hang off the windowsill for dear life until arthur hauls him back inside, or something

and after the guards are gone, and the coast is relatively clear, merlin realizes he can't hide his secret from arthur any longer

cue arthur processing his feelings about merlin's magic (and about merlin) while also harboring him as a fugitive within his rooms, which merlin can't leave for his own safety. arthur who's at first angry with him, then grudgingly curious about what merlin can do with his magic, then openly admiring, then indignant when he finds out merlin's been cheating at his chores with magic

arthur realizing there really is a risk to merlin, if the allegations are true, becoming all the more insistent that merlin must leave camelot even if it will pain him for merlin to leave. merlin adamant about staying. the two of them arguing over it because doesn't arthur understand he's merlin's destiny, and everything merlin's done has been for him, and if arthur sends him away now, it'll all be for nothing? (unspoken: doesn't arthur understand how merlin loves him? and also unspoken: doesn't merlin understand how arthur loves him? because arthur would rather long for merlin from afar and have him safe than put him at risk, here in camelot?)

of course, all of this happening while merlin says he'll sleep on the floor during the nights, and arthur not hearing of it after all merlin's done for him, knowing now all the power merlin has, and merlin insistent that arthur doesn't owe him anything, he'd have done it a thousand times over

okay, and basically it's like the best mashup of mutual pining + forced proximity + magic reveal + there was only one bed EVER, the end

#actually i wanna write this now damn #bbc merlin #merthur #that being said... i've never written merlin fic #so idk

[pippin-katz]

Arthur Pendragon, I’d like to say that though you are an idiot, I am incredibly proud of you for figuring out that Gaius was actually a goblin by yourself.

Good for you for taking the initiative and using your brain to prove Gaius wasn’t himself rather than dismissing the idea. This is one of your rare moments of genuine cleverness that’s not related to combat. You set him up perfectly, I’m so proud of you.

I’m sure that your desire to prove he was a goblin was completely unrelated to the fact that Merlin’s life was on the line, cause you’re always so quick to believe Merlin whenever he tells you something’s going on.

I’m sure you would have believed him if he told you that your stepmother was a troll- oh… never mind, um, I’m sure you’d believe him about an evil sorcerer whose soul got released- shit, you- hmm, yeah you’d believe him if he said that killing the unicorn caused the curse, cause Anhora told you that one- wait… no, no I’m sure you’ve believed him before, yeah! You believed him about the snakes in Valiant’s shield! He was telling the truth then, so… how are any of the other times any different- never mind!

I’m sure it’s unrelated! Good job Arthur!

Jokes aside, I do really appreciate that he takes the situation seriously because Merlin’s in real, direct danger, and it’s sweet that he knows Gaius would never want Merlin executed no matter what he’d done.

I say he’s in direct danger because when Merlin’s to be arrested for stealing Catrina’s seal, he tells him to run, and doesn’t even look into the troll thing any further until she’s revealed.

This versus the accusation of magic being so serious that he can’t let him go. Allegedly stealing something that he knows is probably not true is very different from him being accused of magic during the very days that magical pranks are pulled on everyone. He knows this, so he does what he has to, but as soon as Merlin says that Gaius is possessed, he doesn’t scoff or laugh, but immediately asks if he can prove it in a genuine tone because he knows this situation could actually lead to Merlin’s execution. When he’s sentenced and further escapes, he takes it upon himself to go question Gaius, and is actually cunning in how he lures the goblin into revealing itself.

There’s a sense of pride and giddiness that comes from seeing Arthur figure out the truth without help, and defending Merlin even when he’s not there.

#merlin #merlin bbc #bbc merlin #merlin thoughts #merlin rewatch #gaius #merlin emrys #arthur pendragon #merthur #medieval husbands #two sides of the same coin #merlin 3x03 #goblin's gold #the once and future fandom

[thetwstwildcard]

📻 for any!

We're gonna go with good ol' skeleton mom herself for this one 😌

This fits both Catrina and Soledad Maravilla but the focus will be on Catrina since she got out of the abusive relationship while her mother is still with Arturo...

"Who tends the orchards? Who fixes up the gables? Emotional torture from the head of your high table. Who fetches the water from the rocky mountain spring? And walk back down again to feel your words and their sharp sting"

Catrina was the one who wrote all the songs that made Emiliano popular. He never credited her. She was the "pretty accessory" on his arm at all his parties and he used her magic as a parlor trick to show his "great choice in a wife". While Emiliano was out and about with friends and associates Catrina had to deal with Emiliano fangirls (who didn't know he was abusive) hurl threats at her. She had to deal with the media world tearing into her but "Emilano could do no wrong". She had to tend to her wounds, scars and alcohol addiction (because of him) all alone. To sit in "emotional torture" because the maids could take the physical proof of the wounds he gave her away while she was left alone to deal with the trauma.

"If our love died, would that be the worst thing? For somebody I thought was my saviour you sure make me do a whole lot of labour"

Catrina fell out of love with Emilano while they were still married because of the abuse, affairs and abandonment. Catrina met Emiliano shortly after Dante's death where her family blamed her for his death. In the beginning Emiliano showed her the love she never had before turning around and making her call herself "Dante's murderer" (he died of an overblot where Catrina had to put him out of his misery. He would of died anyway but it was less painful for Catrina to help him)

"If we had a daughter, I'd watch and could not save her. The emotional torture, from the head of your high table. She'd do what you taught her, she'd meet the same cruel fate. So now I've gotta run, so I can undo this mistake at least I've gotta try"

Catrina knew Emiliano would use Araceli (Celi) like he was already using Aristóteles (Ari) but feared it would take a route similar to Emiliano's childhood and abuse at the hands of celebrities. Catrina also knew what it was like with her mother. Its a cycle of abuse, of daughters who grew up with loveless parents (where the mother was stuck with father) that lead the daughter to find a man who will only end up treating her the same way her father treated her mother. Soledad was abused by Arturo but couldn't escape or "protect" her children from their father. This lead to Catrina's childhood rebellion and eventual marriage to Emiliano only to end up the battered wife because she didn't know what a healthy relationship was. Catrina knows Celi would end up the same (and feared if she stayed Ari would end up like his father) so while she couldn't save them from the fact of being Emiliano's children she can still flee his side and try to make a better life for them all.

"All day, every day, therapist, mother, maid. Nymph then a virgin, nurse then a servant. Just an appendage, live to attend him so that he never lifts a finger. 24-7 baby machine. So he can live out his picket fence dreams. It's not an act of love if you make her. You make me do too much labour"

Even after all the abuse Emiliano did to Catrina he would often "cry" and guilt her into comforting him. No matter how beaten and disgusted at what he forced her to do, she still had to hold and comfort him while he "cried" into her chest on their bed. He hated that she explored her sexuality when she was younger yet insisted she showed skin and allowed other male celebrities to touch her and "go along with it" in public. She had to listen to exactly what he told her to do or he'd punish her. Emiliano wanted the public to think he was a great dad so he'd play up being a great father to the camera and force Catrina to take care of Ari and Celi alone. Catrina didn't want children (thought she was too "damaged"/"didn't want to become her mother" without knowing she already was), but Emiliano wanted children, so they had children. Emiliano forced Catrina to do so much to show her "love and loyalty" to him while he would constantly cheat on her.

#twst oc #twisted wonderland oc #oc #twstoc #twst ocs #lizz talks #Catrina Maravilla #Lizz remembers how to answer her ask box jkjk

[yanchamisc]

1987 My Little Pony Escape From Catrina cel with Megan, Sundance, Powder, Sparkler, and Skydancer.

Source: unknown ebay auction circa 2013.

#my little pony #mlp #g1 mlp #g1 my little pony #escape from catrina

[heckyeahponyscans]

These are from the G1 My Little Pony 'n Friends presskit. However, there are some oddities! Megan is in a different outfit, Spike has wings, Sparkler and Tirac don't appear in MLP 'n Friends, and Flutterbye isn't in any animated show.

But most intriguing to me is Danny, who has a totally different design and is older than the version we got.

This also confirms that this kid on the cover of Escape from Catrina is Danny:

#My Little Pony #G1 #MLP 'n Friends #My Little Pony 'n Friends #Megan #Spike #Danny #Stratadons #Tirac #Tirek #Sparkler #Moochick #the idea of Spike being aged up in Escape from Catrina is fun #I kind of wish they'd gone with that

[murd3r-rabbids]

✨Rayman Princess Designs✨

So these are early concepts or redesigns I have for the princesses because I feel like they all look too similar to Barbara. I was kind of a challenge but I kind of worked through the color palette of each of them as well as the location they are from. 

I’ll put the descriptions here: 

Barbara and Elysia

I didn't really change much for Barbara but I definitely did for Elysia. I go with the colors of each of the princesses. So this one is a strange but cute idea, but I like to think that Barbara’s and Elyisa’s parents were a Viking that fell in love with an orc queen. Both having similar interests with adventure and brute force. Hence why I gave Elysia more orc-like features here. She is a little bit more timid younger sister of Barbara who is more confident. But both sisters have a big heart of gold. They actually have the healthiest sisterly bond out of all the princesses I have here. I kinda gave Barbara orc-like teeth too, they're just not as visible as her sister’s.

Aurora and Twila

These two were actually tricky since they supposedly are based around fighting the toads in a bog-like area, with beanstalks and have appearances of Scottish warriors. So this took a little more thought, but I think it would be interesting if it were based around the fable ‘The Scorpion and the Frog’, making Aurora more frog-like since she lives in a swamp kingdom in which was invaded by toad creatures. For Twila I originally wanted her to be similar to a poison dart frog, but I wasn't sure if it would look good since she has the weirdest color palette of all princesses. I’m split between making her into a black widow (to give them more of an acrobatic advantage) or a scorpion. It kinda gave me an excuse to change her hair style. In my version they are step-sisters that are also rivals. Aurora is a loyal and trusting warrior whilst Twila is more of a resigned trickster.

Estelia and Selena

I haven't really changed much with these two. Except I had Estelia’s outfit more based on La Catrina, down to the bright red and orange dress. I used a hat decorated with feathers (based on the feathers from the original helmet), marigolds and sugar skulls. I think she would keep her bone club whilst giving Selena a scythe. As for Selena ~~best goth gf~~ I made her outfit more based on a modern day grim reaper. Giving her a reaper hoodie (similar to my other design for Voodoo Mama) but also gave her a violet skirt. They kinda have a more *strained* relationship. Selena was taken more seriously as a leader than Estelia (since Estelia is a party goer and a little irresponsible), they drifted apart due to their differences and favoritism among their people. This made Estelia more lonelier than ever (leading her to steal the forbidden spirit board and eventually summon Dalmiro in ‘Rayman and the Livid Eclipse’). Note that Estelia is more extroverted while Selena was more introverted.

Ursula and Emma

So at first I wanted them to be like mermaid spies. But I didn't really like how they looked. I still wanted to keep the spy outfits they have. Originally I was going to give them a design that mixed between the swamp monster and a koi fish. BUT I realized what would be more fitting if these girls are half octopus (since octopi are great escape artists apparently). I also gave them gear for them to throw both on land and sea. They have water pumps on their necks for their gills as well as tech to help them with their missions (based on Abe Sapien from Hellboy). Ursula is more stoic and an overachiever, pretty much the ‘golden child’ of the spy industry. Emma is sort of the opposite, despite giving great battle plans, she can be very clumsy in her missions and dojo practice. She was often not taken seriously by other spies for her less ‘intimate’ appearance (which is ironic because her bright tentacles are technically TOXIC since she’s based on a blue ringed octopus).

Olympia and Sibylla

So for Olympia I kind of give her more of an angelic appearance. Originally I was going to give her an appearance that is a mix between a Greek goddess and a biblically accurate angel but I feel like the multiple wings might be a little too much, but I’ll figure it out. Olympia can be a great sweetheart although she sometimes has an unaware ‘god complex’ as she’s half titan and/or god. Sometimes she’ll say things that can be hurtful unintentionally. She’s often lonely most of her immortal life on Olympus Maximus, so she doesn’t really know how to make friends. As for her distant Sister Sibylla, I gave her more of a hunter or brute-ish look, giving her an appearance of a huntress demigod. To top it off with the head of a previous Minotaur king after she’s been slaying Minotaurs and demons for centuries in the underworld. Making her kind of a “sadist” when it comes to battle.

They’re not completed as of yet but here’s some concepts I did so far 

#rayman fanart #Rayman redesign #Rayman princesses #Rayman Barbara #rayman legends #Rayman Aurora #Rayman Twila #Twila #Estelia #Selena #Olympia #Sibylla #Elysia #Barbara #Aurora #Emma #ursula #rayman fanfiction #rayman

[weirdcrossoverswithponies]

Extinctverse: Twilight Sparkle

My new MLP Au that is original but not confusing! FINALLY!

Anyway the mane six are species from G1 and only G1, despite the name, they will not be extinct or the last of their kind, but maybe rare. 

Twilight Sparkle is a Stratadon from Rescue at Midnight Castle, since they are butterflies turned into dragons, I made them dragon/bug hybrids. Rep from Escape from Catrina will be a stratadon, but the only one who

Story changes: Since Vinyl and Twilight are sisters now, Twilight knew her much earlier on. Due to having different interests and Vinyl being quiet and Twi being unsocial, Twilight and Vinyl were not that close when Vinyl was a teenager. But they grew closer after Twilight learned to make new friends. Also, she meets Star Tracker much earlier on, and he's an orphan so he is taken in by Velvet and Night.

Also, Twilight makes amends with her old friends before she becomes a princess, and while Moondancer is still touched by Twilight's apology, it takes longer for them to get back to where they were before.

#my little pony #mane 6 redesign #alternate canon #alternate universe #friendship is magic #my little pony friendship is magic #twilight sparkle #species swap #g4 my little pony

[chaos-gremlin-14]

Lanora Chapter 3

Rain

Rain carried Lilly out of the woods. The search party looked confused at us. “How did you…” the Brandy trailed off. 

“I just thought I heard something” Catrina lied. They looked at us unconvinced but eventually surged accepting that answer. 

“Well at least she's safe,” Brandy said. 

“Yeah, that's all that matters. Let's all just go home and get some rest,” Rain said trying to escape the situation before there's a chance for any questions to come up. “Her mother is at our place so well take her there.” with that they turned and started walking before anyone could protest. 

A carriage that wasn’t there before they went into the woods was sitting on the road. The driver flicked the rain. The carriage shot forward quickly passing them. 

They walked home in silence. She couldn’t say anything while Lilly was there. And she know that Catrina was taking full advantage of that to postpone the lecture that she knew was coming.

 It was almost supper time when they made it home. The snow still lightly fell covering the ground completely. 

As they approach the front door Catrina steps ahead of Rain to open the door. Luca and Clover sat across from each other at the kitchen table. The sound of the door opening snaps Clove out of a sort of trance. She looks up and at the sight of her daughter, she jumps up and races to her. “Lilly! Ow my baby I was so scared” 

After the heartwarming reunion, they sat Lilly down in front of the fireplace to warm up. It was almost half an hour before she was feeling well enough to make the walk home. They saw them off together at the door. Though as soon as Clove and Lilly were far enough from the house to overhear Rain began laying into Catrina. 

“What the hell were you thinking!” Rain scolded “Don't you see how such a recluse act could get us all in grave trouble” 

“Calm down nothing happened outside of me being able to find Lilly that's all” Catrina responded, “You overreacting”. 

“I’m overreacting? Really? Don't you hear what happens towards the borders every day?” rain yelled. 

“Wait what happened? What are you talking about?” Luca asked. 

Suddenly realizing he was there Rain turned to him. “Don't worry about it, Luca. why don't you just go to your room for a minute while we have a talk alright” 

“But…” Luca began.

“No buts just go this doesn't concern you” Rain snapped back. 

“Ok fine be that way,” he said as he walked off. 

“This isn’t the border rain. Where hours north of there.“ 

“That doesn't matter there is a witchhunt Catrina and you are their perfect target.” she countered. “You think that just because we have been here our entire lives people with just accept you as one of them and not a threat? Well, they won’t and they never will. If they were to ever find out they would think we were some sort of spies. They would feel tricked and betrayed and they would turn on us faster than you could ever imagine”  

“Rain. it's ok nothing going to happen.”

“ When we moved up here from Raila Mom and Dad had to work as hard to get the people here to trust us. Then when you were born a year later and were marked as a sparrow it put everything at risk Catrina. They had to work so hard to hide you until they figured out how to cover up the mark. they knew that if they didn’t we would have been ostracized and that was 16 years ago before the fighting between Lanora and Raila got bad,” Rain explained. 

“I know how hard they worked and nothing has happened so far. Everyone in this town has known us our entire lives so I really don't think they would expect us of being a sparrow when they have never seen any mark of one. I know you're worried but it's ok nothing bad is gonna happen from this.” Catrina reassured. 

“I really hope that that's true” Rain responded.

#writing #fantasy #chapter 3 #books #writerblr

[veryhappyunbirthdaytoyoutoy-blog]

I was inspired...

Both by a story @bitsandbobsofwriting wrote a while back (here's the fic) and a post that @inamagicalhallucination made (though I did NOT follow this prompt at all, the time travel bit did inspire me, so here's the post). 

For a little bit of context, the Merlin we meet at the beginning is Merlin from Season 2, Episode 5: Beauty and the Beast. He accidentally yeets himself into the future to just after Season 4, Episode 10: A Herald of a New Age while trying to escape from under the castle where he was trapped by the troll impersonating the Lady Catrina by creating an overly-complicated spell that grows beyond his control. While used the Beauty and the Beast episode because I had rewatched it a while ago (and thus it was fresh on my mind), I sent the young Merlin to just after "A Herald of a New Age" because I believe that right after this episode would have been the best time for Arthur to find out about Merlin's magic. Seeing as Arthur was just brutally reminded of the cruel things he had done in his father's war against magic, Arthur would be extremely unwilling to kill his best friend over it (And Arthur would have to make good on his promise to the druid boy instead of never mentioning it again. I am still upset with the writers about that).

So, without further ado, enjoy part one of my story: "How the New Age Begins."

Or don't enjoy it.

That's your choice.

______________________________________________________________

When Merlin finally sagged to the floor, much of the night had already passed.

After hour after desperate hour of Merlin throwing every spell he knew at the pile of rocks the Lady Catrina -- or rather, the troll impersonating the Lady Catrina -- had trapped him with, Merlin was utterly exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to be peacefully asleep in his warm bed.

But really, there was no way he could possibly fall asleep, bed or otherwise. The creature was to be married to the King -- the dumb oaf -- in but a few hours, and there simply was no time to waste.

So Merlin staggered to his feet and began to concentrate.

It was time for Merlin to try making his own spell.

To do this, he took bits from what he had gleaned from Sigan's old journals about invulnerability (Sigan had experimented with it a bit on his search for immortality... it would be useful if Merlin tried going through the wall), some things he'd read in Gaius's books on the Old Religion (or more specifically, spells the high priestesses used to move through space using something called "the veil," whatever THAT was), and the structure Merlin had noticed was in each of the complicated spells Kilgarah had bestowed upon him.

Merlin supposed he had to thank the cryptic old lizard for SOMETHING.

As Merlin built the spell, his magic began to wrap around himself in a sheer golden sheen, runes crisscrossing widely of the cocoon-like structure. Despite the IMMENSE amount of effort it was taking to hold the combined spells together, Merlin was beginning to feel a bit pleased with himself.

Which, in hindsight, probably was a sign things weren't going to go as he hoped.

Merlin felt his spell-hybrid grow more powerful for a few moments before he realized something strange was happening. The golden light of his magic that had surrounded him at the beginning went from sheer to solid gold, making him look more like an egg than a cocoon. The spell didn't seem to be malfunctioning per se, but instead seemed to grow without Merlin's prompting. The runes were so tightly knit over the structure, now, that there seemed to be more runes then empty space.

As Merlin felt the spell grow further and further from his control, he prayed to every god and goddess he had ever read about that the spell would still help him escape in one piece.

And he did, in a way, disappearing in a flash of light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Merlin regained consciousness, he was asleep on the ground in the hallway outside of Arthur's chambers.

Which, you might guess, wasn't exactly where he had planned to wake up (though he had began to worry he may not wake up at all) -- Merlin had been trapped below the castle, and Arthur's chambers were all the way on the third floor which was more than a little bit of a jump. And, as there was sunlight streaming through the window at the end of the hall indicated, he had clearly been knocked out for a long time now -- it was a wonder he wasn't found!

As he frantically scrambled to his feet, Merlin realized there were voices coming from Arthur's chambers. One was Arthur, thankfully, but the other… the voice was of a lower timbre, familiar in a way Merlin couldn't place.

Merlin resigned himself to putting mission "interrupt the royal wedding" on hold until he could assure that Arthur was okay. He straightened up and nervously tidied himself the best he could. Then, after fortifying himself, he walked in without knocking, already calling to the prince.

"Arthur what-"

Then he froze.

In front of him, he saw -- well, a startled Arthur, of course -- and someone who looked eerily similar to himself.

But like, fit.

His lookalike -- whose expression had quickly switched from openly startled to a suspicious glare -- was taller and far more muscled than himself. He didn't have the same awkwardness Merlin was unable to shake but instead carried himself like he was strong and he knew it.

Though, if Merlin's suspicions were correct, it wasn't his physical strength that the lookalike was so confident it.

Swallowing and squaring himself up the best he could with his nerves, Merlin asked (almost a little bit stupid-ly), "who are you?"

The lookalike began approaching the shorter man, angrily saying, "I'm Merlin, who the hell are you?"

Arthur, a bit fed up with being annoyed, stood up from his table and began drawing his sword.

"What sorcery is this? Why are you impersonating my manservant?"

The older doppelganger grabbed Merlin by his shirt, eyes flashing a threatening gold with his back turned to Arthur.

"Who. Are. You."

"Merlin, get away from him-"

"That's what I should be asking!!" Merlin exclaimed, shaking nervously in the taller man's grip. "You look like me but also not like me, and he looks like Prince Arthur, but he is much taller and... well, a bit fatter to be honest-"

"Hey!"

"-and these chambers are all different then they are -- I should know! I clean them every day -- so you tell me what is going on!!"

Merlin panted as the other two men stared at him in stunned silence. Slowly, after a few moments, the hands gripping his shirt released him simultaneously the with sound of not-Arthur sheathing his sword.

The golden-haired man sat back down, sighing deeply and rubbing his hands over his face.

"Merlin, just what on earth did you get yourself into?"

______________________________________________________________

And that's the end of part one!! I hope some of you enjoyed that, so stay tuned for the next chapter!!

Toodles!!!!!!

Edit: Here's part two and three

#bbc merlin #merlin fic #my work #How the New Age Begins #part 1 #wip #I might make it #merthur #or I might make it platonic #i haven't decided yet #stay tuned #i don't know how tags work

[islamicbiotic]

Sunset Overdrive:

-I first heard and seen this game promo’d back when the Xbox… the one after the 360…. Was being touted as the next thing in gaming. The game itself looked amazing and bombastic…. But it would be paywalled by a really expensive piece of hardware that I had no intention of buying. Flash-forward 8 years later, and a video titled “Whatever happened to Sunset Overdrive” came on one of my social feeds. The game looked interesting enough, and OP showed decent enough game footage. I mean, the reason why the game died with a whimper was because of deals that Insomniac had with Sony and Microsoft about other shit, and they couldn’t really keep up this new IP, which also happened to be ported to PC by now.

-I bought it for 10 bucks on the Steam Halloween sale.

-The video (and my actual experience playing the game) made no bones about Sunset wearing its inspirations on its sleeve. Everything from GTA to Jet Set Radio, along with that exact same “Anything Goes” attitude that Saints Row 3 and 4 reveled in. But the thing that made me love it was that it felt so West Coast. Everything, from the menus to the characters to the look of Sunset City feels very Californian in the best way possible, borrowing liberally from skate and West Coast punk vibes. The game itself is set in 2027, so in addition to this love-letter to SoCal punk, there are holographic signs across the city, as well as a monorail bisecting the entire thing.

-The plot and premise of the game feels very… Scott Pilgrim, but the West Coast vibe elevates it a cut above Hot Topic nerd bullshit. A zombie apocalypse brought on by the release of an energy drink called Overcharge is unleashed upon Sunset City, and you and the ragtag collection of gangs that you unite are the only ones who can either escape or stop it.

-The gameplay emphasizes movement across Sunset City, by using special surfaces that bounce (like air conditioners, umbrellas, and sunroofs, natch), or by grinding on rails and power lines (like Jet Set Radio). There’s a joy in setting up a waypoint, and then using that parkour and plotting each grind and leap across the city to get to your next objective.

-The weapons in this game all feel very distinct and have unique type advantages between enemies like zombies (the OD), enemy scavengers, and robots designed by the same corporation behind Overcharge. My personal favorite is the Firework Launcher (the one featured on the cover art).

-The acting and dialogue in this game are very strong, buoyed by performances by heavyweights Yuri Lowenthal (as the player), Laura Bailey (as various, but I love her rock bard, Wendy), and Tara Platt as my favorite character in the game, 4Kim, a college-age Girl Scout who has a merit badge for literally everything. Like Russell, from Up, but pretty! She’s… she’s called 4Kim because “Kim” shows up in her name 4 times.

-I called them gangs before, but the factions in this game are nothing more than overgrown high school cliques. The Oxfords are the nerds, the Bushido Scouts are the all-around overachievers, and the Fargarthians are the lower-caste nerds, and Las Catrinas are the cheerleaders (although some pretty-serious Latina cheerleaders in sugar-skull makeup, brandishing baseball bats).

-The music is also amazing, no wonder it got nominated at the Game Awards for Best Soundtrack. Honorable mention goes to “We’re Gonna Have a Party” for being a spiritual descendant of Blitzkrieg Bop.

-My least favorite parts of the game are the Amps and Overdrive system, as well as the mandatory tower defense sections that pop up when your resident scientist, Floyd, decides to set up a new base in a different part of town. The Amps and Overdrive system seem like overkill for a game that likes to streamline the process of killing large waves of enemies, and all for benefits that don’t seem as apparent or accessible as they should be, and the tower defense portions seem contradictory to Sunset Overdrive’s ethos of “keep yourself alive by moving as much as possible!”, if you’re going to have to defend 3 or 4 pieces of real estate all at once.

-In fact, I ended up quitting the game, just over this late-game mission where you have to stage a rock concert for a bunch of sick kids, and while the concert is happening, you have to defend a group of strategically-placed generators from zombies. The entire setup, gameplay-wise felt so counterintuitive, and I felt like I was close enough to the end, that I felt justified in quitting.

-In closing, as games go, it wasn’t something I waited years for, like say, NEO TWEWY, but I’m… pretty ok that I sated my curiosity from high school.

7.9/10

#sunset overdrive