#I was hoping for more good shots of the slayer look but my folks are not great at picture taking 😔

[dont-offend-the-bees]

🎃🦇🎃 Happy Halloween!! 🎃🦇🎃

Bonus: slayer fail

#Wwdits #what we do in the shadows #guillermo de la cruz #Halloween #Cosplay #This is a closet cosplay hence inaccurate jumpers but I'm pretty stoked anyway svsgssb #And I had to borrow my brother's waistcoat hence why it nowhere close to closes over my chest #I was hoping for more good shots of the slayer look but my folks are not great at picture taking 😔 #mr. bees speaks

[demonslayedher]

I lost a bet to myself and paid the price by making another demon sibling AU. Was originally just going to be headcanons and doodles, but I wound up writing the parts I felt like. The names of Tengen's siblings are entirely made up. This will come in two parts due to length.

Clicking each bone in his spine, Yogen stood to his full height, taller than Tengen remembered. It wasn't uncommon to go long periods of time without seeing his siblings when they were on their own missions, but Yogen shouldn't had changed that much. "I'll spare you. It wouldn't do for the Uzui clan not to have a head. Now you're the strongest one."

"...Yogen..."

"I wouldn't had been able to take you on, if not for the fact that you'd never have done it if you knew. You should thank me, Aniki. You know what I've spared you? Father was going to make us all have a fight to the death. You'd have done at least half of this."

"What have you done!?"

"I ate them," he laughed, something Tengen had never heard Yogen do in his adult voice. He had the most infectious laugh when they were children, and this rang with the same pleasure, however dissonant. "I was stunned too, at first. When I came to, I had eaten two of them, they were still warm in my mouth, their cells already nourishing mine. But you know what? I decided to eat the others. I was going to kill them anyway, what difference does it make that I should eat them?"

Tengen's face pearled back into a snarl, his eyes flaring.

"One, two, three... Eizen got away before I could bite him, though. That whelp would had done nothing for me. The one I really wanted to eat was the strongest," he said, his glowing white eyes shifting down to their father's fresh corpse. "And now, even he's nothing to me."

Tengen could stand no more of this. "Yogen!!" he screamed and gripped one of the swords at his back, and charged at Yogen all in one motion. A hard sickle burst out of the flesh of Yogen's arm and caught it, but when Tengen pulled his other sword down through Yogen's shoulder and chest, the sound of ripping sinews what different than it should had been. A look over to the injury revealed that the shoulder was repairing itself before Tengen's eyes. When had he learned any technique like that?

The momentary lapse in focus caught him, Yogen swiped up against Tengen's forearm. It felt too varied to had been spiked knuckles--those were his fingertips, he had grown claws. Tengen drew a sword up to lop off Yogen's forearm, and then his brother let out a shrill scream as his features lit up and revealed how contorted they had become. Yogen didn't look human anymore with how his veins bulged and burned. Burned? From what? Tengen took a look over his shoulder to the sun rising and casting light through the wide open door, and when he looked back, Yogen was gone.

---

Tengen watched the flames consume the house and the bodies of his slain family. He had combed it for any trace of Yogen, but his brother left none. Hope though he did that the flames may consume Yogen too, he knew in his gut that he was still out there.

Behind him, Suma sneezed in a gust of smoke that wafted into her face. Hinatsuru handed her a handkerchief, as she and Makio were already covering their faces in case of poison. Tengen didn't bother, he was resistent to most ninja poisons, and the scratches down his forearm were already less swollen. "You three should go back to your homes."

"No!" insisted Suma.

"We're already members of the Uzui clan," said Hinatsuru.

"Your revenge is ours," added Makio.

Hinatsuru made the most important point, they were already seen as his property. He could hear whispers and feel them all being watched; the other ninja clans knew what had befallen the most powerful family, and the Uzui name was now shunned. Even if Tengen wanted to stay, he had no place in the village, and neither did anything that belonged to him. The only thing left for him now was to track his brother down and drag him to hell.

Someone else was approaching, and Tengen reached for one sword. Uneven footsteps. One didn't have the splat of a foot, it was the thunk of wood--a cane, or two canes? A leisurely, but determined pace. Self-assuredness, even for entering ninja territory. A robust heartbeat. Who was coming?

"Well, is that what you all look like? I feel like I've wandered into one of those storybooks," said an old man. He had one missing leg, a full head of hair and moustache to rival it, a grin, and a telltale scar lining the underside of his left eye. "I had always left your kind alone, but I couldn't when I felt the presence of a demon over here."

"Who are you?" Tengen asked, stetching one arm before his wives while the other hand stayed at his weapon.

"You didn't chop its head off, did you, ninja boy? It's long gone by now, you know. It'll hide from daylight. Be even more trouble to find if it's one of your folk."

"How do you know about us?" Makio shot back.

"How do you children not know about demons? Aye," the old man huffed to himself as he set down a stool he carried. He planted his rump on it, then folded his arms. "The name's Kuwajima Jigoro, former Roaring Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corp. I figured this would be out of your expertise, so I've come to help."

Tengen felt in his gut he could trust that. He dropped to one knee and bowed his head, his wives all doing likewise behind him. Jigoro seemed to enjoy that, but insisted they do not. Instead of bowing, he'd appreciate the ladies rubbing his shoulders to display their gratitude, he said.

While Hinatsuru and Makio set about at each arm, Suma kneeled at his remaining foot with a gasp. "Aren't old people not supposed to be this beefy?"

"Can it, Suma!" chided Makio.

Hinatsuru said nothing, but could feel something was different in this man, not only in his physique. Whatever he had to say was going to change their lives more than the previous night already had. They all listened carefully as Jigoro orated about the existence of demons, how they eat humans, how they are near impossible to kill, but also the methods of those who hunt them, with specialized blades and an organization to support them. As he began describing Breath, however, Tengen stopped him. "I already know all that, that's ninjutsu basics. That's not giving me anything I don’t already have."

"Oh? I figured as much. Always made me curious about you pups. So you you've got the basics of Breath technique, huh?"

"It's beyond basic," he shot him an annoyed frown.

"I'll be the judge of that. See that tree over there? That's probably about the strength of the usual demon neck. Go hog wild on it." As much as showing off was against the ninja code, Tengen wasn't in the mood to argue and made short work of that tree, the only sound being the pop of it seperating into two halves. Jigoro gave him a clap, then stood with his cane. "Good accuracy. Spot on. Now you pick one out for me. Take some mercy, though, I'm only working at half-strength." He balanced on his foot and his peg, plopping the end of his cane in his palm to show off that he meant to use it in place of a sword. Tengen hated when other people tried to be show-offs, so he pointed to a tree a few rings thicker than the one he had cut.

The old man eyed it, then slid his good foot through the dirt, and as he leaned forward, clouds of steam rose from his lips. "Breath of Thunder, Fifth Form. Heat Lightning."

The sound hit Tengen so hard that he covered his ears, and the old man was gone--on the other side of the tree, which was not only cleanly chopped, but split itself in half vertically as it fell. A rarity, Tengen's jaw dropped. Jigoro looked back with a fierce grin, knowing he'd have left them all impressed.

Rather than one knee, Tengen planted his palms and face to the ground. "Please teach me this technique, Master."

"When did I ever say I wanted a student like you? You already said you know Breath technique, don't you?"

"You won't teach him?" Suma sat straight up, little tears in the corners of her eyes.

"I only want students with talents I can mold. You're already set your ways and would just try to make Thunder Breathing into what you want. You can't fill a full tea cup, as they say."

Tengen wanted to insist he's do anything to take his revenge, but the old man was right. As he was, he wouldn't be able to unlearn everything he always knew, it was as much a part of him as every experience and memory, like every scar, such as the ones running down his left arm.

"The true nature of Thunder Breathing would escape you, you'd get too caught up in how powerful it looks. You're too flashy!"

His cheeks flushed. "Say that again."

"You're too... flashy? I don't think a ninja should find that a compliment."

"You can't tell him all that and then not train him!" insisted Makio. "Please! There's got to be something you can do! Tengen-sama works really hard!"

"Tengen-sama works harder than anyone!"

"Please, Master. Tengen-sama can think flexibly, please give him a chance."

"I won't! I can already tell he's not the sort of student I'm looking for!" he barked back, and Suma burst out into sobs, while Hinatsuru hid delicate tears and Makio's face turned dark red. Jigoro flinched at the sight of the upset girls, then looked back to Tengen. "I--I didn't come out here to leave you high and dry, you know. I already told you about the Corp, didn't I? That's where you really need to go. I can't teach you Thunder Breathing, but if you really think you can pick up something new, there's an old scroll I've got of an off-shoot Breath. Someone like you might be able to pull it off. What do you say, ninja boy? How about I give that to you and you teach yourself Sound Breathing?"

---

From there, Tengen took much the same course as in canon. When he became a Pillar and had his meeting with Oyakata-sama, he was upfront about his reasons for entering the Corp. Oyakata-sama appreciated his frankness and assured him that the entire Corp would support him if they found any information on Yogen, but Oyakata-sama was also keen on the undercurrent of Tengen's heart; that he was relieved to leave the murderous ways of ninja, and that he wanted to live an upright life. This finally gave words to something Tengen always felt, but thought he had no right to wish for. He and his wives were moved and they swore loyalty to Oyakata-sama.

However, as time went on, there were no clues whatsoever about Yogen. Around the time they all got antsy, Makio finally couldn't stand it anymore and suggested they may never find him. "Think about it," she said. "This Corp is full of strong swordsmen. Someone might had already chopped off his head long before we got here."

While that should had come as a relief, Tengen couldn't help but find the idea frustrating. That revenge was his to take. He could think of only one person stronger than him who might had done it, so he described Yogen to Himejima one day and asked if he remembered seeing a demon like that. Himejima plainly replied that he was blind.

As they began to accept that they may never have closure, Hinatsuru proposed that they be satisfied bagging an Upper Moon. That should be enough for them to earn their peace, she said, and as much as it grinded away at Tengen's heart, he agreed.

In the course of performing Tengen's Pillar duties, they closed in on what was likely an Upper Moon in Yoshiwara. Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma slipped in, but when he lost contact, Tengen went looking for some female Corp members to sneak in and see what was up. That's when he reencountered the boy whose head he meant to spill at the last Pillar meeting, as well as his two annoying buddies. Inosuke would had been satisfyingly flamboyant, if not for the fact that he was gross. The other whelp was named Zenitsu.

"You write that 'Zen' with the kanji for virtue?"

"Yeah. What's it to you?"

"Nothing," Tengen replied, never saying anything of it ever again. It didn't take long for him to notice that Zenitsu had ears on par with his own.

The boys managed to get in, and soon the plan went awry. Tengen's first encounter with an Upper Moon broke out, and that went awry in the most horrifically flamboyant of ways. Tengen found himself unconscious, needing to stop his heart to keep the demon poison from spreading, as it was many times more potent than any ninja or demon poison he encountered before. There was fire in the wreckage nearby, he'd be consumed if he doesn't move soon. In the odd space where consciousness was returning to him, his hearing reached into a deeper plain, where he could hear the most carnal thoughts pounding though the bodies of those around him.

Tanjiro was panicking.

No scent! No scent! Upper Moon Five--where did--but--no scent! No scent!!

Tengen could hear Upper Moon Six, in both bodies, but he couldn't hear any other demon. It gave off no sound. He struggled to look in Tanjiro's direction, and was stunned by the sight of a demon partway sticking out of the shadow Tanjiro has cast, guarding Upper Moon Six with a kunai stuck in his arm.

"Sakage!" growled Upper Moon Six. That is not the demon's name. "I don't need you here! Were you intruding on my thoughts?"

"I didn't need to. I heard the cacophony from ages away. You wouldn't had seen wisteria coming anyway."

Upper Moon Six looked to the kunai, while Tanjiro panicked that the poison had no effect on the newly arrived demon.

"Quit with all the fuss. I'd appreciate it if you hurry up and silence that Pillar over there," he turned his glance to Tengen. His eyes had writing in them, but that was Yogen. "I can't be bothered."

Yogen disappeared into the shadow as suddenly as he appeared, and Tanjiro fell forward with a stumble. He'd be a sitting duck like that, Tengen had to go save him, he pushed himself off the ground to--but--but his arm was missing--the scars were torn off-----

---

Yogen had been quick to learn some of the ins and outs of being a demon, but not all the finer details. He gathered from the surrounding demons' fear of the drum demon that the "Twelve Moons" were the most fearsome demons, closest to their progenitor, but didn't those other demons notice that the drum demon couldn't stomach humans as he ate them? That demon was weak, and Yogen wouldn't stand for it. He cut off his head.

It did not kill the demon, who screamed at him with the characters "Lower Six" in one of his eyes, but he shut up quick when Kibutsuji Muzan arrived. Despite warning Yogen that this was not how fights between demons were done and he should kill Yogen for acting without permission, Muzan smilingly decided to allow it, and instructed him to absorb the former Lower Moon Six and assume his role. Muzan did not care for how Yogen's name referenced sunlight, though. He renamed him Sakage on a whim.

Sakage went on to learn very quickly how to please Muzan, and how to climb the ranks. While not immune, he could resist wisteria poison, which Muzan was more than pleased to borrow from him and see how he could try to adopt it into his own cells. Sakage could move between connected shadows, and in spying on the Corp, he picked up on the hand signs the swordsmen used and quickly deciphered them, and openly reported so to the demons that outranked him. With hearing far more advanced that his brother's ever was, he listened to the information shared between crows, piecing apart their language to the best of his understanding.

Lower Moons Three and Two later, he used his spying abilities to identify his next target: Upper Moon Five.

Gyokko was startled by the challenge, and under Muzan's gaze, he could not refuse. Sakage made short work of him, and the other Moons all felt a chill. Akaza's chill was excitement.

Akaza wasted no time in chatting up the new Upper Moon, for Sakage likewise had a stated hatred for weaklings. While Sakage did find it a bit of a bother, especially since he knew he was a long way from ever being able to pose a real challenge to Akaza, he learned that the quickest way to stop Akaza from pestering him was to spar. Akaza loved to chit-chat even while sparring, though, and this became a useful way for Sakage to catch up on a hundred years of gossip about the other Upper Moons.

While it did feel they had somewhat of a friendship, one day they got on the topic of poison. "I hate people who use poison," said Akaza, between punches. "It's as cowardly and low as you can get."

Sakage, who could create a myriad of weapons from his cells as needed and always laced them in poison, was not offended, but disagreed. "I see no problem in being effective."

This gave Akaza pause, and an uncomfortable drop in his stomach. He excused himself, and bothered Sakage not so often after that.

Muzan was typically pleased with Sakage, which made Hantengu tremble that the ambitious demon had it out for him next. When Muzan was in a foul mood after Upper Moon Six's defeat, Sakage was likewise in a bad mood for the annoyance he encountered out there, someone who should had stayed hidden away instead of bearing free his inherently show-offy personality by joining the Demon Slayer Corp, especially since he was sure to have his ears set to the ground now for any new sign of him. He was certain Tengen witnessed him. But, for as much of an insult as it was to the Upper Moons that Gyutaro let him live, Tengen wouldn't be much of a threat anymore.

Still, Sakage knew to keep his cool. He had news to report, and he was certain of his deciphering. When he declared where the swordsmith village was located, Muzan had no doubts, and sent Hantengu alone. "Now why couldn't you find that, after all this time?" Muzan smirked to Nakime. She, not being of any rank, could merely apologize. Sakage took no pleasure or pride in looking better than a peer whom he knew he was stronger than. Muzan's mood could never be sustained for long, though, and he very soon frowned back to him. "You've brought no word of the blue spider lily."

"My apologies."

"Aren't ninja supposed to have knowledge of these things? Weren't you of a high ranking clan? Go back and order them to search."

And, at that moment, a dangerous thought escaped Sakage's inner filter, it leaked though to his mind at the same moment it leaked to Muzan's: But I can't show my face back there.

The way Muzan's face bent with disgust drove more terror into Sakage than when he was still a human and first encountered the demon lord. He felt certain of a swift death, but Muzan let him be. Sakage was still too useful. But, Sakage knew he'd have to crawl back to Muzan's graces by providing something of more use to him. He had to unveil a secret of more value.

--

Tengen, who remained active despite missing an eye and a hand, was present at an emergency Pillar meeting. Tokito and Kanroji were bandaged up, and they recounted how the swordsmith village was attacked by Upper Moon Four. With two Pillars and a few other reliable Corp members all working together they defeated him well before daybreak, but not before discovering an ancient ability known only as "the mark."

As he was now, Tengen knew he'd never attain this. What bothered him more was how the demons found the village, so hidden that he'd have to put his mind to it to have figured out where it was. He could had resorted to old tricks to figure it out, whether that be silently tracking the smiths after their deliveries or flirting with the Kakushi, but what recourse would a demon have had?

'I heard the cacophony----'

A demon may have had ears that rivaled his own, or were better!

Feeling sure of which demon it may had been, he set to thinking of what he would do next. If the demon moved in shadow, listening for the Corps' secrets, what would be a bigger target than the swordsmith village?

Oyakata-sama!

"Uzui-san, are you alright?" asked Himejima. "You seem quiet today."

"You look pale," added Kanroji.

"I'm jealous I won't get one of those flashy marks," he lief without flaw. "We all know I can't take any demons on like I used to. Maybe I don’t belong here."

"Uzui, what sort of talk is that?" Iguro looked to him with his flamboyant dichromatic eyes wide, and brows knit tight over them. "This isn't like you."

"I've got a different sort of mission to go on, I'll see myself out. You all stay here and keep each other company discussing this."

"Then I'll excuse myself here as well--"

"Not you, you've got no excuse," Uzui forced Tomioka back to a seated position by pressing on his head.

In conducting his own investigation, Tengen set his crow to work investigating from the sky. What the crow learned, tracing a few leaks and scolding the birds involved, was that their mid-air communications may had been what spoiled the secret location. This confirmed Tengen's suspicion about Yogen's hearing. He had a feeling about some other spoiled secrets too, and in following up with Corp members involved in previous mishaps, he concluded that the secret hand signals had been divulged.

--

(Read the conclusion reblog here.)

#please reblog from the conclusion post thx #tw blood #tw violence #tw cannibalism

[obanzi]

hello! could i join in on the matchup event, please? i read the previous ones you wrote and they seem so cute?? :0 if not that's fine, i just wanted to give it a shot ^^

so, my name is Ferra, i'm a straight gal and go by she/her. my sun sign is virgo, born on the 19th of september. my hobbies are writing (fantasy and adventure), reading, baking, making jewellery, learning languages. some of my favorite things are sweets, tea, folk music, dogs, nature sceneries (with forests or a starry skies are my favourites though♡︎). i don't like using vehicles to travel (i get motion-sick easily ｡ﾟ･ (>﹏<) ･ﾟ｡), being underestimated because i look weak, cold weather, same daily routines, people who don't clean up after themselves. i'd prefer humans!

Do you like PDA ? not a lot actually (*ﾉωﾉ) i mean hand-holding and a small kiss is fine but i'd rather save the more intimate displays for a private place.

What would be your breathing style ? hmm, breath of thunder, probably. i'm not physically strong but i have good focus!

What’s your love language ? acts of service, quality time and words of affirmation ♡︎

Do you like indoors or outdoors ? both! but as much as i love staying cosy indoors, i have to lean towards the outdoors.

What’s your favorite flower ? the blue cornflower!

What’s your ideal date ? i'm not too picky, but i'd love to start by going/doing someplace fun with just the two of us (swimming, hiking, playing games etc.) then end the date with a calm moment (for example, a picnic, dinner, just stargazing or going for a walk in a warm summer night (//ω//))

thank you so much! i hope you have a lovely day (o´∀`o)

helloo , i hope u enjoy ur matchup ! ^^

Match Up For @sullimanscat

You got ...

TANJIROU KAMADO

— At first I thought maybe Inosuke and Gyomei but then I saw this Tanjirou Tik Tok and went with him >:)

Songs Based Off Relationship :

Meteor Shower — Cavetown

Love Like You — Steven Universe

Hey Lover ! — Wabie

How You Met :

You actually met Tanjirou by Zenitsu , you were a fellow demon slayer trying to complete your mission when a yellow haired boy came running at you in tears . You had no idea what to do — what could you do ? He was screaming and yelling he didn’t want to go .. out of curiosity you asked where they were headed . To your surprise they were headed the same location as you . You offer the boy if you wanted to go together .. he still said no . You wanted to slap him but then Tanjirou came in , he was apologizing for the bother . He noticed you were a fellow demon slayer and asked if you were headed on a mission , you told him you were supposed go on the same mission . So all of you went to the house ( lower 6 house ) . Of course , the mission was over and all of you went to the wisteria family .. that’s where you started to talk to Tanjirou more , you had a liking for the boy . He might even have a liking for you too !

Relationship Head-canons :

Tanjirou doesn’t have an opinion on PDA , he doesn’t hate nor does he like it .. he’s more in the middle but he’s willing to do anything for you ! You don’t like huge PDA ? That’s fine ! He’ll just grab your pinkie and swing it around a bit <33

I’m pretty sure Tanjirou has asked you once or twice if you could train with Zenitsu since both of you have the same breathing style , if you don’t have to .. that’s fine ! All four of you ( tanjirou , Zenitsu , you , inosuke ) could train together >:)

I feel like Tanjirou’s love language would a little bit of everything ! Most of the time both of you are sent on the same mission which makes everything easier — Inosuke and Zenitsu once said ( surprisingly ) they would take over the mission so both of you could on a date .. wow their so nice —

You get extra s/o points if Nezuko likes you , which she does ! ( thank god ) she loves it when you play with her hair or braid it ! Tanjirou melts when he’s see both of you get along , after all the playtime you have with her . Tanjirou will pull into a kiss ( OOO SMOOTH )

Tranjirou loves to read your readings and give you feedback ! He’s never given back bad feedback >:) Tanjirou likes to learn all your interest ! You like reading ? Okay , I’ll read with you ! You make jewelry ? I’ll make some to , he made a pretty necklace for you ! You like baking ? For the love of god don’t let him bake the first time . He will probably burn it .. but after awhile he’ll learn how to bake —

#anime #demon slayer #kny #kamado tanjirou #kny tanjirou #tanjiroukamado #tanjirou x you #kimetsu no yaiba tanjirou #tanjiro #SIGH THERES ONLY A FEW TANJIRO YAGS #demon slayer matchup #match ups #match up requests #match up event #matches #match

[arkus-rhapsode]

Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest Chapter 16

Well, this was a surprise. I can officially say that after reading thins, the Dragon Eaters are better final villain group than the Spriggans.

Our cover page is Laxus emitting Lighting. Cool.

So we open on the climax of the last chapter’s fight, with Wendy’s top burned off thanks to the intense flames.

Hi Lucy, would’ve been real great to have had your help!

Anyway, Lucy summons Gemini of all spirits to get Wendy clothing from the celestial spirit realm. I have to ask, why Gemini? You’re still in the virgo outfit, you’d think this be more her thing on account of Virgo being the one who originally gave up clothing.

Gonna agree with Carla here. What even is that outfit? Some gothic lolita thing, but it’s got these diamond patterns for the sole purpose of showing off her naval.

Oh and Gray is here too. Its sad that the guy who throughout the story was the most fashionable is still in his trunks.

Gray lands and gives his one liner, but Skullion with just a word tells Madmorl to stand up and he does.

So I’m gonna give credit here to Hiro, who I think realized last chapter that Natsu’s use of fire dragon king K.O-ing Madmorl in this fight when he had already shown Madmorl taking a fire dragon king fist like its nothing, seems to show Madmorl as being able to withstand it. Though they do imply that Madmorl is not in the condition to fight later in the chapter.

Now in my defense of my rant last week, I still stand by what I said about Madmorl’s high defense shouldn’t have taken any damage last fight, especially after watching his endure Natsu’s fire dragon king’s demolition fist. However, if we go by the theory that the armor dragon is a variation of metal like iron, then that means like iron, Madmorl’s armor it can be heated up and he is not fully in a metal form like Gajeel’s scales so its possible that Madmorl’s fleshy bits got burned regardless of his resistant armor.

We cut to Erza and Kyria and we see the ship melting and Erza has re-quipped into her Flame Empress armor. Not gonna lie, when I saw that, I got a nostalgia trip. Seriously, I was really happy to see the armor again, not only cause of time, but because Erza is finally using what her actual magic is, ARMOR!

However, in terms of clothing Kyria seems to be losing hers thanks to the heat. Seems like only the women’s clothing is being affected, while Skullion’s outfit is just doing peachy-keen. 

Hey umm, why didn’t you eat Natsu and Wendy yet? Kyria said she was keeping them alive to appease her pet Erza, but for a group that hunts dragons you think Skullion and Madmorl wouldn’t put up with that, and eat them regardless of what Kyria wanted. It is possible that they can only eat them in a certain place, as I keep going back to, Skullion mentioned this “dinner table” and I thought that be important.

So I hope that salamander your referring to is your attack, Erza, cause Natsu did jack-shit to effect your fight. It’s not like in this melting environment Kyria slipped and you capitalized on it. Maybe she’s referring to when Kyria leaves this battlefield and thinks the dragon slayers could finish the job? I’m pretty sure its not because Erza seemingly handled Kyria just fine.

Also here’s where I got to bust out the nitpicking, so the attack is fire based and that makes sense, since the flame empress armor comes with a sword that can use fire. But she’s not using that sword, she’s using Belserion the dragon slaying sword. Now we know Erza can mix and match weapons and armors as with her with Ajeel where she had the wind god armor, the wind god sword, and the sea empress sword. But the thing is, the wind god sword emitted wind because it was the wind god sword, but Belserion is not a fire sword yet it is emitting fire.

Now you could say its the armor, but its not. The armor is basically a separate entity as is can be alternated with different weapons. This means that Flame Empress armor still has the same ability as always, it resists fire. But instead of dual wielding her flame empress sword, she’s using her belserion. Why? Belserion is enchanted with the Sage Dragon Magic which doesn’t seem to have anything to do with fire.

The only thing I could think of is that maybe this means that sage dragon slaying magic is like enchantment and it basically allows you to enchant any other magic into it like Irene did with Deus Sema. That’s likely what the case was, but it’s still hideously broken. Seriously that sword is basically anything with that skill. Or maybe I’m over thinking this and the simple answer is, it looks cool.

Though we see Kyria live through this attack which I have to ask why does she need slaying magic? Cause non-slayers can hurt and almost kill slayers. I mean look at Tartaros, Torafuzar was beating Gajeel’s body into, Jiemma was blowing up Sting and Rogue. Back on Tenrou, Bluenote squashed Natsu. I mean, Dragon slayers aren’t really like dragons if you get what I’m saying. They can still be beaten by non dragon magic.

We cut to the top of the ship where we get a stare down. However, Skullion decides to start a chat about the Water God when Natsu says thy’ll handle it. Skullion wonders if they’ll kill him and says its no different than eating them.

With the loss of the Water dragon god’s power, there is no point in eating him and given their current standing Skullion actually acts smart and actually retreats. While also likely threatening the other dragon gods as they are dragon eaters.

So they leave saying they have more Dragon Eaters though Im not sure why everyone is so surprised. They have 4 dragon slayers at their guild and these guys were just 3 with none confirmed as the master. I guess they’re referring to power, but the only people who can’t keep up with the dragon eaters are Lucy, Happy, and Carla because they’re the weakest.

That said, the fact Kyria and Madmorl after taking these big shots are still moving, actually shows them as being a threat. Like I said this at the beginning but these guys are honestly better than the spriggans. Mainly cause they weren’t hyped as being on the level of the number 1 wizard saint, actually can withstand a confrontation with FT, and actually win a fight against them. It also helps that we can be gradually introduced to them instead of giving them a set number.

So Skullion infinity war teleports away leaving their ship.

Did everyone just have a brain fart? We just had Natsu produce a flame so hot that it burned off people in the near by vicinity’s clothing. What are ships usually made out of folks? Wood. And what did we see happen to the ship as an effect of Natsu’s fire form the last chapter, it melting. So what happens when wood burns? It turns to ash and charcoal!

I get the idea, but talk about poor use of a plot point here.

Also Gray says no maker magic is that precise, I’m guessing what he means is how it looks like wood without resembling ash at all. Because Gray and Lyon made a ship out of ice with their maker magic. Also no one has brought up the idea that maybe Skullion, who can teleport away in Ash, just ash teleported his ship? Guess the obvious questions aren’t being asked today.

If this was just supposed to be a joke by Erza I get that, but man this just feels so out of place.

We cut back to the Water Dragon’s temple where his usless assiatant is watching over him. And before anyone calls that mean, this bitch has contributed nothing to the plot, didn’t even raise a finger to protect the water god, and got mad at the people who actually tried to protect him. I guess you could say as his adoptive daughter, she was acting on her emotions. But she left and barely said a word or gave her prospective when the Water dragon god was explaining everything.

Anyway something has apparently arrive and we end with this image.

Does the water god have to choke a bitch? Yeah we know he isn’t going to harm her.

Post chapter follow up: You know, for all my nitpicking, I actually like this chapter. It makes the villains seem more competent, it tries to fix my issues with last chapter, and its honestly trying to make build up for villains which is something only Zeref really got.

My main negatives are mainly minor. Usually any character acting questionable or the ability of magic being inconsistent. But at this point, I will take my victories where I can get them. Madmorl wasn’t beaten by something we know he can survive. Good. Erza’s sword continues to not make sense, but god damn it was nice to actually see her use a goddamn armor this sequel.

Also shout out to the pacing, for balancing a good amount of action and plot. It did help it was trying to tie up loose ends. This is honestly the first time in a while that I’m actually interested in what’s actually happening in the quest part of the 100 years quest.

Final Verdict: 7/10

Villains Might not be deep, but they are competent

Good pacing

Got me excited for the dragon god plot

Questionable inconsistencies

#fairy tail #fairy tail 100 years quest #fairy tail 100 years quest 16 #natsu dragneel #gray fullbuster #erza scarlet #wendy marvell #lucy heartfilia #skullion raider #diabolos #kyria #madmorl #mercuphobia #virgo #celestial spirt #gemini #zeref dragneel #spriggan 12 #fairy tail 2018

[dlamp-dictator]

Allen’s Friday Update

And once again it is time for the Friday Update, and on schedule as well. Yeah, sorry for the wait last time, folks. I only had the one job today, so nothing’s distracting me from my weekly update this time around. And this one’s a lot more video game focused.

So I was playing a bit of Samurai Shodown V Special in order to get hyped for the PS4 release/remake/revival of the series. The game was on sale and I was curious about the basics of the gameplay. I wanted to get accustomed to the feel of what a Samurai Shodown game was about before getting the newest version.

And man, I hate Samurai Shodown V Special. For reasons I’ll get into later.

But I remembered I had bought The Last Blade 2, a sort of spiritual successor to the Samurai Shodown series, about a year or so back and decided to redownload and play it for a bit. 

And man do I enjoy this old classic. 

The sprites a little lower quality than Under Night or even some older KOF titles, but the gameplay is simple and solid, the animations are pretty cool and flashy, and I had a lot of fun playing Hibiki and Kojiroh, who are now my new favorite mains. The game plays like a littler version of Samurai Shodown. Still more defensive and timing-based like it’s predecessor, but asks you to choose between speedy combos or powerful normals. All characters have a deflect ability that you have to time for big damage for being observant and patient. The game wants you to be patient, but gives you some options if you just want to push buttons and be offensive. 

And... y’know, literally everything isn’t as punishable as it is in Samurai Shodown, so that’s another plus. I really wish I got into this game back when it was popular, it’s the perfect mix of offensive and defensive for me. I hope me talking about it now gets some people curious to jump back in and give it a quick shot. These online servers need some more activity in them, if only for some mini tournament on the side somewhere. 

While I don’t own Judgment, I have been watching the cutscenes on youtube as a way to pass the time while doing a big cleanup/remodeling of my room. Without spoiling things, the game’s main story is real tight. To the point that I’m wondering if the side stories add or subject from it. I’ve been watching the English dub of the game so far, and minus an issue that is very difficult for me personally to get over, the cast is fine, great even. I’ll have to hear more of the original voices when I buy this game around August to give a full opinion, but for now I’d say, at least from the story, the game is gripping. A good mix of Yakuza’s crime drama with Ace Attorney’s court drama. 

Like I said, I hated Samurai Shodown V Special. The lack of a tutorial really made understanding the mechanics frustrating to infuriating, the opponent’s AI knew the game much further than I did, literally everything is punishable on block. That game wasn’t a fun time for me, so even though I preordered the PS4 remake/revival/release of Samurai Shodown I was wary. 

And after playing the game for a few hours, I like it so far. The characters look great, the animations are flashy, the artistry in this game is just amazing. You can tell the people behind this put love into every hour, minute, and second they had into this game. It’s something can appreciate and respect as a fan of fighting games and games in general.

I like everything about this game except actually playing it. 

Yeah... Again, I can appreciate the work put into it, but it’s got the same issue I have with Samurai Shodown V Special. Almost everything is punishable, timing and patience is key, and really wants you to slow down and think. And asking a guy that mainly plays Blazblue/Under Night, specifically rushdown characters like Hibiki, Tsubaki, Linne, and Wagner, to play slowly, methodically, and defensively is like asking for American Football Player to play Rugby. Yeah, it’s kind of similar, but the mindset is so different that you might as well be playing a different game. 

And boy the game’s wonky netplay is making this game with high focus on well-timed blocks really unpleasant. Maybe I’m just unlucky with some of my connections, but I’ve been burnt more by bad connections than not. 

So far I’m not impressed, at least by the actual act of playing the game. Again, the art, animations, and characters are great. But the actual game, especially that final boss just... kill my interest. I’m gonna’ keep going with it, but... yeah, not the greatest first impression so far.

And finally, The Rising of the Shield Hero anime has concluded. I enjoyed my time with it overall, but my opinion hasn’t changed. This is a good Isekai series, but there are a lot of good Isekai series as of 2019. This was good, but nothing great or outstanding. Not as painful or deconstructive as Re:Zero, not as humorous or entertaining as Konosuba, and I was getting flashy of Goblin Slayer and Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash while watching this all throughout. It’s not great, but it is good. I’d honestly recommend Grimgar before this it’s going in a similar direct and is a shorter watch, but if you want to see a decent Isekai I’d recommend this one. 

That’s it for the Update. I’m slowly getting to work on the Dictator’s Works for Kyo and Reyna, the Rambling on AFK Arena will ideally be happening this weekend as well, and I’ll be posting the second/final highlights of the DUTAC stuff . I also got a lot of new manga recently, so expect next week’s update to be more manga focused. Anyway, I’ll see you all later.

#the last blade 2 #judgment #samurai shodown #the rising of the shield hero #your dictator is speaking

[ellanainthetardis]

Battle plans are harder than they look! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know your thoughts please, I live for feedback! 

[ff] or [ao3]

6.

“This isn’t working out.” Katniss snapped, tossing away the diary she had been skimming through. It hit the table with a soft thud and a cloud of dust.

Haymitch glared at her, like he had glared at her every time she had mistreated one of his precious books so far, but she ignored him. She bolted on her feet and started pacing, too anxious to stay still any longer. At least her shoulder had stopped throbbing sometimes in the early hours of the morning and she could use it again now…

It was probably a good thing the library was so big, it gave her room to walk around and burn some energy. It occupied a whole section of the house, it stretched on two floors and had the tallest rows of bookshelves she had ever seen in her life, all full of obscures tomes and magic volumes. A whole section of it was dedicated to all the journals of previous Watchers – and there were a lot of those journals – and all those dating from the last century or so were currently piled on the huge round table that was at the centre of the ground floor.

The drawing Peeta had finished in a rush, a perfect likeness to the woman they had met in the woods, laid on the table as a reference. But the fact was that they were looking for a needle in a haystack. There were drawings and prints in some of the journals but not of every vampire that had crossed path with the Slayers.

It was now ten in the morning, they had spent half the night bent over those books and she was nowhere closer to figuring out who the vampire was, how to take her out or where her sister was.

And she was sick and tired or reading about dead girls. Those journals were nothing else but paper tombs and one day she would get one of her own.

Which was probably why Haymitch had grabbed the most recent ones. He was strangely reluctant to share anything about his previous charges and since she didn’t want to get a headache trying to decipher his handwriting she hadn’t protested. She had noticed he had spent a lot of time on one particular diary though. Maysilee Donner, the label on the spine said. The dates put her back to around twenty years earlier so she figured she had been one of his first Slayers. For all she knew, he was feeling nostalgic.

The fact remained they were getting nowhere.

“Maybe you should try to get some rest.” Peeta suggested, rubbing his eyes. “If you have to fight tonight…”

“Maybe you should go home.” she retorted. She wasn’t sure why Peeta was still there at all. Haymitch had been hammering the fact that nobody could find out about her inside her head from the start and she was still waiting for him to shout at her about breaking the rules. Instead, he had accepted Peeta’s offer for help without as much as a blink.

“You’ve been here all night.” Haymitch cut in, without the hostility that dripped from her own voice. “You should call your folks, at least.”

“They won’t notice I’m gone.” He opened another journal with renewed determination. “Nobody would miss me if I disappeared.”

Haymitch stared at him a little strangely but then they both went back to reading as if it was really the answer to anything.

“This isn’t working.” Katniss snarled again, snatching the crumpled note the vampires had tossed through the window. It was bloodstained. Was it Prim’s? Was she hurt? Was she… Haymitch insisted they would keep her alive but he might very well be lying to keep her calm. “What’s even the Hanging Tree?” she scoffed. “She writes that like I should know what it is…”

Haymitch let out a long suffering sigh and, when he spoke, he sounded strangely reluctant. “It’s the only tree in the meadow between The Capitol and the woods.”

“You mean the lightning tree?” Peeta frowned, looking up from his diary.

She stopped pacing in disbelief. “What? The old burned stump?”

The tree had been struck by lightning decades ago. For as long as she could remember, people had been talking about removing it but, somehow, it never got done.

“It wasn’t lightning.” Haymitch explained. After a second, he fished the flask out of his pocket and took a swing. Katniss gritted her teeth and she would have slapped it right out of his hand if he hadn’t put it away after a single mouthful. His voice was steadier but there was a strange note in it. For a moment, she wondered if it was fear. “It was magic.”

“Magic is real?” Peeta gaped.

“Really, boy?” her mentor snorted. “Vampires and Slayer don’t throw you but magic does?”

“Hey, I waited for my Hogwarts letter like everybody else.” Peeta joked and then tossed a guilty glance at Katniss. “Sorry. Not a good time for jokes. The tree. Why is it important?”

“It’s not the tree. It’s what is under the tree.” Haymitch mumbled. He looked exhausted all of a sudden. His shoulders slouched as if he was bearing the weight of his forty years and Katniss might have felt a little more sorry for him if her sister hadn’t been kidnapped by vampires. He passed a hand over his face, let it linger in front of his mouth for a second and then dropped it on the wooden table. “The tree is on top of a Hellmouth.”

“A Hellmouth.” Katniss repeated flatly.

“The name’s pretty self-explanatory, really.” her Watcher winced. “It’s a supernatural hot spot. Attracts all kind of nasty things… It’s a place where barriers between dimensions are thin. To put it more simply… It’s…”

“A hole to hell.” she finished.

“If you open it.” he temporized. “But it’s not open now and nobody’s opening it. That would take rituals, time and more juice than one vampire alone can have.” He stared at the journal in his hand and then shook his head. “Like I said… It attracts evil. And it’s in the middle of a flat land where she will see you coming.”

“She probably just wants to brag about having killed the Slayer on top of the hole to hell.” she scowled.

“She ain’t gonna kill you, Katniss.” he spat. “You ain’t dying today.”

“Changed your tune quickly.” she sneered. “Yesterday you were all about reminding me that I was five seconds away from biting the dust.” She crumpled the note in her fist and tossed it back on the table. “We need to do something.”

“How about finding them now?” Peeta suggested. “I mean… They can’t go out during the day, right? So they must be hiding somewhere…”

“And where do you want us to look?” she snapped. “You want us to walk around at random until we find them? Vampires don’t really sleep in coffins, Peeta.”

Haymitch slammed his hand on the table, the sudden noise was enough to make them both jump.

“Stop fighting.” he growled. “You’re giving me a headache.” He was studying Peeta with curiosity though. “The boy’s idea ain’t bad, sweetheart… If we could find them… It would still be a long shot. You dusted a few of her minions but we know she at least still has that kid with her…”

“Cato.” Katniss reminded him. “And he’s going to be a problem too. He’s a more experienced fighter than I am.”

“I can take care of Cato.” Peeta said. “I’m used to fighting with him at practice.”

“You’re not coming.” she declared and then tossed her hands in the air in frustration. “And we’ve got no place to go anyway. We don’t know where they are.”

“If she’s as old and powerful as you say… She’s probably an arrogant one too. They always are…” Haymitch muttered thoughtfully. He seemed to have come to a decision and hauled himself to his feet. “Okay. New plan. Boy, you keep on trying to figure out who the vampire is. Girl, grab some weapons, we’re taking a field trip.”

“A field trip.” she spat.

“Yeah.” he confirmed, checking that his hunting knife was at the small of his back. “I’m gonna teach you how to beat up informants.”

A little bit of violence actually didn’t sound that bad at that second so she followed him out the door.

And, surprise of surprises, it turned out he could actually drive a bike.

°O°O°O°O°O°

Haymitch pushed the bike harder than he had in a long time, harder than was probably wise given that he had only had a couple of mouthfuls of liquor in the last twenty-four hours and that he could already feel the telltale signs of withdrawals. He didn’t like riding with a passenger either, they usually were an hindrance and Katniss was no exception. She clung to his waist but didn’t have the experience needed to move with him when he took sharp turns or tried to move his body along with the bike to gain speed.

The fact that he was maneuvering in narrow alleys wasn’t helping either.

Eventually, he stopped the bike in front of a nondescript door and Katniss hopped down and immediately scowled when she spotted the decrepit sign hanging next to the door by only one hinge.

“Ripper’s Bar?” She was already getting angry. “We have better things to do than getting you a fix, Haymitch!”

He rolled his eyes, trying to keep a lid on his own temper because hers was grating on his nerves. He grabbed the cutlass he had stashed in the side saddle and clenched and unclenched his fist around the hilt a few times. His grip wasn’t as steady as he would have liked.

“It’s a demon bar.” he grumbled. “Keep your bow ready, be your usual charming self and let me do the talking.” Katniss’s scowl only deepened and he snorted. “Yeah, just like that. Anyone ever told you you’ve got as much charm as a dead slug?” And with that parting shot, he headed to the door, only pausing long enough to survey the dark alley one last time. It didn’t look so frightening in plain day but it didn’t mean nobody was lurking in the shadows. “Anyone so much as touches that bike and that’s the last thing they’re ever gonna do.”

Something receded in the shadows. Wise choice. He might still have got some intimidation left in him after all.

A little bell jingled when he pushed the door open and, in the very real cliché of every cowboy movie that ever existed, a hush fell on the bar. Next to him, he heard Katniss suck in a breath when she took in the collection of patrons. Demons, a couple of vampires, one or two regular humans…

“Well, ain’t you a jolly bunch.” he mocked, loud enough to be heard in the whole bar.

“So the rumors are true. Abernathy’s back in town.” the old woman behind the bar spat out with venom. To be fair, he hadn’t expected Ripper to be happy to see him again. He was pretty sure he had left a huge tab the last time he had skipped town.

She could have passed for a human if she had tried but the little bumps on her forehead betrayed her half-bred origins.

She reached for something under the counter and, before he could react, Katniss had let loose an arrow. It had been a warning shot. The mirror behind the bar, the one quite a few people in there didn’t reflect into, shattered.

“Easy, sweetheart…” he chuckled. “She only got the one arm now… Would be a shame to take off the only one left, yeah?” He glanced around, most of the demons in there were inoffensive and were working hard on looking as harmless as possible. The vampires though, they would try to bolt before long. “Slayer’s a little cranky so it’s probably best if everyone sits tight. Best to avoid misunderstandings.”

He grabbed one of the stools and slammed his cutlass on the counter, glaring at the old woman. “How about you give me a whiskey. With some information.”

Katniss remained standing next to him, watching the group of vampires with attention. Either she had noticed how nervous they looked or she had identified the biggest threat in the room.

“The last Slayer you brought here cut my arm off.” Ripper growled.

“You sold her bad intel.” Haymitch shrugged. “Just be happy she didn’t take off your head.” He nodded at Katniss. “Should warn you this one ain’t half as nice as Donner was. She’s hitching to kill you, I can tell. Ain’t you, sweetheart?”

Katniss didn’t answer but she drummed her fingers on her bow a little impatiently. There wasn’t a demon in that bar who wasn’t staring at those drumming fingers.

“Your mother was decent.” Ripper hissed. “Doing business with her was…”

“You leave my mother where she is.” he cut her off, ignoring Katniss’ curious look. “I’m still waiting for that whiskey. The fine stuff, please.”

He played with the cutlass the whole time it took her to pour him a glass and slide it on the counter. He took an unhurried sip, pretending he couldn’t tell his Slayer’s temper was close to blowing out. She was fed up with his antics, he could feel it, but he was playing a long game here. Ripper’s was a good place to find information and beating everyone up every time was less effective than making it worth the old woman’s time.

Ripper had never been a very patient woman anyway.

“What do you want?” the half-demon asked after only a handful of seconds, eyeing Katniss with open distrust. “You know I don’t sell out my customers. Bad for business.”

She had sold out her customers plenty of times before but never in front of an audience. She hadn’t stayed alive that long by being stupid.

He finished his whiskey in a long mouthful, the familiar sense of calm falling over him when the alcohol settled in his stomach.

“We’re looking for a vamp.” he told her. “Blond. Pretty. Sniffing around the Hellmouth…”

There was some shuffling over the vampires corner. Katniss’ bow turned in that direction.

Ripper had noticed too, she was watching them, disgust and anger battling on her face, probably because she knew what would follow. “She’s never been in here but I’ve heard stuff, yeah. No chance you can take it outside? It’s just… I’ve just had the interior redone.”

“You haven’t bought anything new in this bar in thirty years.” he mocked.

“Half a life for you, a blink for me.” the woman deadpanned.

And then, predictably, the vampires bolted.

He didn’t bother standing up. He had seen Katniss shoot before, after all.

Three arrows found hearts easily and dust rose, hiding her from view for a moment. When it settled down, she had the fourth vampire pinned down on the floor, a hand around his throat. And she was scorning at him.

“Where’s my sister?” she hissed.

The vampire’s eyes almost bulged out of his skull, Haymitch noted with some amusement, gesturing at Ripper to pour him another drink.

“I don’t know! I don’t know!” the vampire shouted in a panic. Katniss pulled a stake out and Haymitch almost smirked at how frightened the vampire looked. He glanced around the bar, pleased to notice most of the demons looked nervous and scared. That was good. Good publicity. The demonic population of the Seam would be less inclined to try to add a Slayer to their trophy collection if they were afraid of her. The vampire meanwhile tried to struggle free. “I know the blond chick! I know the blond chick! She’s been recruiting! She wants to get the town under control or something!”

“Don’t they always.” Haymitch sighed, exchanging a knowing look with Ripper who had always been pretty neutral when it came down to good versus evil. It had taken him a long time to learn not all demons wanted to unleash the fires of hell on Earth. Some were half-human, some were harmless, some just wanted to survive or live normal lives…

“Where is she?” Katniss snarled.

“She… She is holing up at the old cabin in the woods! The one not too far from the lake!” the vampire spilled. “She’s trying to keep a low profile until the others get here! She’s just scouting! Making sure they can take over the town!”

“What others?” Haymitch frowned. Others didn’t sound good.

“I don’t know! I don’t know!” the vampire claimed when Katniss pressed the stake a little harder over his heart. “She never calls them by name! She keeps saying when they’re here the town will be ours! That’s all!”

“Does she have a name?” Katniss hissed.

“Cashmere.” the vampire said immediately. “She goes by Cashmere. That’s all I know. Now, you’re gonna let me go, right?”

“Sorry.” Katniss answered and then there was nothing but another cloud of dust. She wiped her hands on her pants and picked up her bow before standing up. “Cashmere. Does that ring any bell?”

Haymitch took a minute to think but eventually had to admit defeat. “I don’t know. Ripper, anything to add?”

The old woman pursed her lips in displeasure but shrugged. “Heard she wants to open the Hellmouth.”

“Of course she does.” he sighed, sliding off the stool and on his feet. “Put the whiskey on my tab.”

“The one you never pay when you skip town?” Ripper deadpanned.

“Hey, we didn’t destroy your bar, this time.” he pointed out. “Cut me some slack.”

He nudged Katniss toward the door but she was staring at a group of demons huddled around one of the tables. They were watching her like she was the devil incarnate. To them, she probably was. Slayers were legends in the demonic world. The monster’s very own bogeyman.

“What about them?” she asked.

“Pretty much harmless.” he commented, loud enough to be overheard. “As long as they don’t start killing people, I say we leave them be.”

“We don’t want any trouble!” one of them said quickly. A woman that would have looked perfectly human if her skin hadn’t been a deep green.

Katniss didn’t look convinced but she shrugged. “Fine. Let’s go find, Prim.”

He followed her outside and waited until the door to the bar had swung shut before informing her they weren’t going to rush to a cabin in the woods without any sort of preparation.

“You can bitch all you want. I want a solid plan first.” he cut her off mid-rant. He knew she wasn’t happy. He wasn’t happy either. “There’s plenty of daylight left. We go back home, we stock up on weapons and we stop to think for more than a fucking minute.”

“I’m not spending another hour looking at those books.” she hissed.

“We go home, we grab weapons, we figure out some sort of strategy and then we go get your sister.” he promised. “We play it smart, kid.”

As it turned out, it was asking her a lot.

By the time he stopped the bike in front of his house, he could practically feel the restlessness coming out of her in waves. She was like an animal on the hunt. She wouldn’t sit down, she wouldn’t drink or eat anything, she wouldn’t even stop gathering the weapons she wanted to bring while he summed up what they had found for the boy who had still been slaving over the journals when they had showed up.

“Here’s the plan.” Katniss declared, cutting Haymitch off in the middle of his explanations. “I kick the door down and I kill as many as I can while you get Prim as far away from the literal hell hole as you can take her.”

Haymitch flashed his best sarcastic smile. “And that’s why nobody let’s you make the plans, sweetheart. That Cashmere ain’t your regular vamp, you said. She’ll be on you before you can say Slayer.”

Not that she was listening to him.

“We’re going to need to borrow your car.” she told Peeta, shouldering on her quiver and her bow before turning to Haymitch. “Go grab as many of your bottles of liquor as you can find. It shouldn’t be that difficult.”

Haymitch lifted his eyebrows. “Not that I don’t share the sentiment but it ain’t the best time to start drinking, sweetheart…”

“I don’t want to drink it.” she snapped. “Once you take Prim out, we’re going to burn that cabin down to the ground. And the woods with it if I have to.” She studied Peeta for a second. “You still want to help?”

“Yes.” the boy answered immediately.

“Do you think you can handle throwing a few Molotov cocktails?” she insisted.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Haymitch protested, knocking on the table to get her attention. “We ain’t taking the boy with us. Innocents get hurt in the crossfire. Research is fine if he wants to help but that’s as far as I’m letting it go.”

Her gaze almost glided over him. She wasn’t even listening. She was standing a little straighter, her chin that little bit higher, her shoulders square…

Gone was the girl he had met two weeks earlier.

In her place stood a Slayer.            

The Slayer.

And, shit, if it didn’t terrified him senseless.

She was going to die. They always died.

And she was still wearing that fucking pin on her chest…  

“It’s alright, Mr Abernathy.” Peeta said firmly. “I want to help.”

“You’re gonna get yourself killed.” he snarled, standing up so brutally his chair clattered to the floor. “Humans aren’t equipped to fight vampires.”

“You’re human.” Katniss pointed out.

“I’m a Watcher.” he countered.

“Then watch.” she spat. “You get Prim out and then you make sure Peeta doesn’t get hurt.”

“I’ll get your sister out, then the boy can drive her away. I’ll handle the cocktails.” he argued.

They glared at each other up until she averted her eyes with a scorn. “Your hands are shaking, you won’t be able to aim. You’re more useful protecting Prim. Peeta will be outside in the sun where no vampire can grab him. He’s coming because I need him. You wanted a plan, I’ve given you one. So are you with me or not?”

It wasn’t a bad plan.

It wasn’t a bad plan but she wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready. She wasn’t…

“I’m your Watcher, sweetheart.” he whispered. “That ain’t ever gonna be a question.”

Katniss nodded at him and then licked her lips. “Then we have a plan.”

“Well, then…” Peeta grinned, standing up. “Avengers assemble.”

Young people had a way of making him feel old but he was glad Katniss looked as puzzled as he was.

#haymitch abernathy #everlark #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #thg fanfiction #thg #thg buffy au #katniss the vampire slayer series

[lechevaliermalfet]

Seasonally Appropriate, part II: A Long Look at the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Series

In the early to mid-2000s, there was an odd trend of Japanese game developers farming out high-profile intellectual properties to Western developers.  To the best of my knowledge, this began with Metroid Prime, though it really got going with the beginning of the first HD generation of consoles, and would go on to include DMC: Devil May Cry, Bionic Commando, Sonic Boom, Sonic Mania, every Silent Hill game from Origins onward, and probably a host of others I’m forgetting.  

The reasons for this are difficult to pinpoint, and probably vary considerably from developer to developer.  Some developers seemed to have been caught flat-footed by the sheer amount of personnel and time required to make a game in HD.  Konami is said to have, at one point or another, pulled basically every single human being capable of operating a keyboard to work on Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.  Others may have wanted to capture a larger audience (thanks to the increased expense of creating games in HD), and felt that their games looked and felt “too Japanese” to cater to a more international audience (a move that ironically would have angered many existing fans, and often did).  Still others may simply have wanted a breath of fresh air, to see what a different design sensibility brought to the table.  Yet others may have noticed the upswing in popularity enjoyed by Western games and developers, and thought the best way to ride that gravy train was simply to give their franchises to Westerners to handle.

At any rate, it was a thing that happened.

More below the cut.  There will be spoilers.

If Metroid Prime isn’t the first example of this, then it’s the first big, high-profile example.  Nintendo basically co-founded Retro Studios, along with some of the development staff that had made the Turok gmes, and said “Here’s a big pile of money.  Cancel all your ongoing projects and make us some Metroid games.  Try not to fuck it up.”  This looked completely insane on the surface of things.  Nintendo buying what was at that time a no-name studio and giving them one of their sacred cow franchises to develop seemed unthinkable at the time. But, as they often (though not always) do, Nintendo knew what they were doing, though their reasoning was opaque to outsiders.  

On the more recent side of this phenomenon, meanwhile, we have the Sonic games. If I had to guess, I’d say the decision to farm the series out to a Western developer was motivated by some of the same factors as Metroid Prime for Nintendo.  Like the Metroid series, Sonic has greater appeal for a Western audience at this point, I think, so Sega let that audience call the shots. This initially resulted in Sonic Boom, a multimedia blitz that consisted of a decent cartoon, a couple portable games of variable quality, and a WiiU title broadly derided as a buggy, broken shit-heap of a game.  

But this really just amounted to what was at the time the most recent manifestation of the so-called “Sonic Cycle”.  It seems to go something like this: Sega announces a new Sonic game → The fanbase collectively gets hyped for the game on the strength of some carefully vetted videos, screenshots, and assorted other promotional materials → The game comes out → Reviews and impressions come in, and the game is revealed to fall somewhere on a spectrum that goes from “okay, I guess” to “complete, total, utter, and absolute flaming garbage” → The fandom reminisces mournfully about the good old days of the 16-bit era → Sega announces a new Sonic game… The Sonic Cycle is basically the perpetual triumph of hope over experience.  

The exceptions tend to be of the rule-proving variety.  Miraculously, Sega’s next move was ultimately to farm the series out to yet another developer, who had the dangerous idea that perhaps the best thing to do – by process of elimination, since Sega seemed to have tried literally everything else by this point – was to give the fans precisely the thing they had been clamoring for since Sonic 3 & Knuckles (which, for those of you playing at home, was over two decades ago): A new 16-bit Sonic game.

Sonic Mania is great, by the way.  Incidentally, it’s also probably the most widely acclaimed game in the series since the 16-bit titles it so lovingly homages.  

There’s probably a whole thinkpiece to be written, right there: Contrasting Nintendo and Sega’s decision-making abilities.  But you really only have to look at where the companies have wound up over the years to get the essence of it.  Nintendo is still bravely, confidently, profitably soldiering along in the hardware business despite having been technologically outclassed on both the console and portable fronts since 2006.  Sega, meanwhile, ended the hardware side of their business with neither a bang nor a whimper, bur rather with a sort of resigned shrug, a sigh, and a muttered “Fuck it, we tried.” They have since managed to defy expectations by staying in business.  And they still keep churning out Sonic games, despite the Cycle, to an audience that seems to consist primarily of

Children whose grandparents bought them the games

Furries of a certain stripe

Deluded Sega fanatics who are probably still waiting for the promised day when Sega releases the Dreamcast 2 and we all go home to glory.

The rest of these Western-helmed sequels, reboots, and re-imaginings of popular franchises have had varying reactions from the fans.  The phenomenon seems to be over for the time being, the causative problem either having been solved or otherwise rendered irrelevant.  At any rate, I have gone far, far afield in a piece that’s supposed to be about the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series.

I brought up all of the foregoing to lend some context, and it went to its own weird place, but it entertained me, and fuck it, it’s not like I have an editor.  So…

Somewhere in the middle of all these Western-flavored farmings-out, we had Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. In terms of why it got farmed out to a Western developer, this one seems to descend from the House of Fuck If We Know What To Do With It; Let Someone Else Take a Crack At It.  Castlevania 64 and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness tried to make the series work in 3D on the N64, and failed.  There was a running joke for a while that Capcom had made 3D Castlevania work in the form of its Devil May Cry series, which must have incensed more than a few of the fine folks at Konami. Then Koji Igarashi, fresh off his successes with the Metroidvania games on the Playstation and the Gameboy Advance, was given a shot at it. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness were better games than the N64 efforts, but…  well, you could make the argument that a good trepanning might be a better experience than those games.  If anything, both were ultimately kind of shallow Devil May Cry imitators that lurked somewhere in the B tier of the PlayStation 2 library, far less than what the series deserved.

So, come the next generation, Konami decided to let Mercury Steam handle it, and assigned Hideo “Motherfucking” Kojima to keep an eye on the project from time to time.

It had been remarked by any number of industry wags that Capcom's Devil May Cry franchise was probably the closest we were going to get to a translation of Castlevania into three dimensions.  This mostly amounted to a snide, backhanded swipe at Konami's troubles bringing the franchise into 3D on the N64 more than anything else.  There are certainly some similarities at a surface level, such as the aesthetic.  Like Castlevania, Devil May Cry is a horror fantasy that leans far more heavily into the fantasy side of its heritage. The horror imagery is less for actual scares, but more to project an easy sense of danger and menace.  And like Castlevania had been in its 2D outings (Symphony of the Night aside), Devil May Cry was a pure balls-to-the-wall action game.  But this is mostly where the similarities ended.  Castlevania's pace, in the 2D games, was always more deliberate than many of its peers (contrasted against, say, Mega Man), though you still had to have nimble fingers and a keen sense of timing.  

But perhaps the greatest difference was in personality.  Devil May Cry's personality as a game was centered on its protagonist, Dante. Sarcastic, wise-cracking, brash, cocky, and irreverent, with his long red coat and his trademark giant sword and twin pistols, Dante was the epitome of badass.  And that's before we get into all the crazy antics in his moveset.  Castlevania, meanwhile, didn't as a general rule really have characters as vivid as Dante; in fact, the only real recurring character is its villain, Dracula.  Its heroes, members of the Belmont clan of vampire slayers, tended to come across as grimly determined, muscular, sort of generic warriors who tore down all their enemies with a combination of skill and raw force, with a few straying into leather-and-fur-clad barbarian territory.  Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  But it does leave most of the characters lacking in personality.  But it’s to be expected.  The template for the series was created in the 8-bit days when any kind of personality was difficult to convey.

One of the most distinct features of the heroes of the classic Castlevania games (for reference going forward, "classic" is going to be shorthand for "the 8-bit and 16-bit games prior to Symphony of the Night") is the sense of pace and momentum.  There was a sense of weight and heaviness to the various members of the Belmont clan who served as player characters in those games.  Some of it came down to the way they moved.  None of them were especially fast on their feet, as video game characters went, and the series was unique for not letting you control the direction of your jump in mid-air the way so many other video games did.  It's realistic, of course, but was unusual for the time.  There was no course-correction possible if you jumped wrong, no mid-air take-backsies if you misjudged your timing.  If you got your timing wrong, then oh well.  Don’t fuck up next time.

And the Belmonts' weapon of choice, the Vampire Killer whip, was also a bit unique.  As a whip, it's got a bit of a wind-up to it.  Not a huge one, but enough that you have to be aware of it.  Your attacks don't land immediately with the press of a button.  Castlevania III was probably the best early demonstration of this, where even though it only takes three frames, swinging that whip for the attack and pelting the morning star forward is clearly animated as a full-body action.  It gives the attacks a deeply satisfying feeling of force, regardless of how much damage they do, but also means you have to pay attention to how you maneuver through the game, and have a keener sense for spacing and timing when facing an enemy.

This is another reason I feel like the assessment of Devil May Cry as the ideal for a 3D Castlevania is off.  Dante is a fun character to play as, but when it comes to maneuvering  him, he's constantly leaping, dodging, and rolling about.  He's lighter than air.  And that's fun, naturally.  But he also doesn't really feel like a Castlevania hero.

After the first disappointing venture into the third dimension with the N64 titles, Konami came out with a second set of 3D Castlevania titles for the PlayStation 2: Lament of Innocence, which aimed to tell the origins of the Belmont clan and their eternal war against Dracula and everything else that goes bump in the night; and Curse of Darkness, which was a sequel/side story to Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. With Koji Igarashi at the helm, these fared somewhat better than the N64 entries, but still ultimately wound up climbing no higher than the upper end of the B tier of PlayStation 2 games.  Which is kind of sad, really. Castlevania deserved better than to play second fiddle to the top tier of hack-and-slash action games.  As a series that used to be a premier example of that kind of game back in the 2D days, it deserved to be on that top tier.

Really, you'd think all anyone had to do was just rip off Devil May Cry (which, given the accusations of Devil May Cry lifting liberally from Castlevania in the first place, would certainly seem justified if not terribly original), but the final products were ultimately lacking something, though it was difficult to say exactly what.  The response from critics and fans alike was generally positive, but ultimately with a feeling that something was missing.  The games were good, but didn't seem to quite live up to the legacy of their forebears.  And so the idea of creating a 3D Castlevania seems to have gotten shelved again for the time being.

As the first generation of HD consoles really came into its own, it became apparent that the old total dominance of Japanese developers in that arena, at least at the upper end of technical and technological prowess, was on the wane.  There are a number of different reasons for this, and the discussion frankly deserves its own write-up.  The bottom line is that Western developers were quickly becoming ascendant in console gaming, where previously they had made up a small minority of the notable output.  And so Konami got the idea to do with Castlevania what they had done with Silent Hill, what Capcom had done with Bionic Commando and what Nintendo had done with Metroid: give the franchise to a Western developer to handle.

MercurySteam was, in the beginning, basically a no-name outfit with nothing published under their own name.  Wikipedia indicates that MercurySteam was made primarily of personnel from an older development studio called Rebel Act.  They were notable apparently for just one game, and that had been back in 2001. What they did in the nine-ish years between that and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, if anything, is a mystery to me.  Why they got chosen to work on one of Konami's classic series is likewise a mystery.  But whatever; it happened.

Lords of Shadow was initially teased just by its subtitle, and first billed as a new intellectual property for Konami.  This was done in part to avoid trampling the hype Konami wanted to build for Castlevania Judgment, a Wii-exclusive fighting game featuring multiple characters from different points in the timeline.  This was almost universally dunked on and dumped on by critics and users alike, so it's questionable how much damage the announcement of Lords of Shadow could have done to it.

I can't pretend to know what the reaction was when Lords of Shadow was announced officially as a Castlevania game. To be honest, I wasn't paying much attention until near its release, though I picked up a copy near launch.  I sometimes think that even without the impending release of Castlevania Judgment, Konami might still have teased Lords of Shadow without the Castlevania name for a while.  At that point, it may have been easier to build hype for an all-new IP than for a new Castlevania game on console, given the baggage the series carried.

I was curious to see what a Western-developed installment of the franchise might look like.  In terms of aesthetics, the classic 8- and 16-bit Castlevanias had always had more of a Western look to them, which made sense given the eastern European setting and backing history/mythology.  If anything, this was one of the franchises where handing it off to a Western developer made the most sense.

(As a side note, MercurySteam later went on to make Metroid: Samus Returns on the 3DS, which now makes them the only developer of Metroidvania games to have worked on both a Metroid and a 'vania.)

For inspiration, Lords of Shadow seems to have turned to the God of War series. From the burly, muscular hero, to the chain-based weapon that allows the player to operate at some distance from the enemy (though in fairness, the chain whip has been part of Castlevania since way before God of War was a thought in anyone’s head), to the brutal take-downs, to the regularly occurring puzzle-solving challenges, to the quick-time events used to finish off bosses and major enemies, there is a lot of God of War in this game.  But one of the first, biggest differences is in tone. The player character's brutality in Lords of Shadow is more utilitarian, more matter of fact and by the way, where God of War's Kratos explicitly relishes his violence.

Rather than a sequel, though, Lords of Shadow serves as a reboot of the series, which frustrated some.  There had been talk by various characters in Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow, which take place in 2035 and 2036, respectively, about a conflict in 1999 wherein Dracula was finally beaten and destroyed once and for all.  Fans had naturally been clamoring for the chance to play this epic final showdown pretty much since it was first hinted at, and had been repeatedly disapopinted when it failed to materialize.  The forecast for said showdown appearing seemed to go from "unlikely, but stay hopeful" to "nope" with the announcement that Lords of Shadow was going to be a reboot.  This kind of thing usually signals that the old continuity is done for good.  And it effectively is, though that's mainly because Konami seems to have gotten out of the video game business entirely at this point.

As a story, Lords of Shadow follows to some extent in the series tradition, which is to say, it's pretty ridiculous.

We start off with Gabriel Belmont, an original creation for this reboot series.  He belongs to the Brotherhood of Light, a group of holy warriors whose purpose is to eliminate supernatural enemies of humankind. Clad in their signature red outfit (probably a nod to the artwork for Simon Belmont in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest), he wields the Combat Cross, which is (or rather, will become over the course of the game) this continuity's take on the Vampire Killer whip.

It is medieval times, and Satan has cast a spell to seperate Heaven and the Earth, trapping the souls of the dead in the world of the living, and generally causing all sorts of supernatural shenanigans. Gabriel, at the behest of the Brotherhood, is after an ancient relic called the God Mask, which should enable its wearer to break Satan's spell.  However, it's been broken into three pieces, each one held by one of the titular Lords of Shadow.

Said Lords are revealed over the course of the game to have once been members of the Brotherhood of Light themselves, who achieved such a degree of holiness that their spirits ascended to Heaven.  However, they were so holy that they didn't even have to die for this to happen.  Their spirits just... ascended, and left their bodies behind.  Their fleshly, mortal bodies, which were now susceptible to all manner of vice and villainy and corruption, and lacking none of their former power. Thus were the Lords of Shadow born as dark reflections of their former holiness.

Along the way, Gabriel is occasionally assisted by another, older member of the Brotherhood, named Zobek.  In addition to his passive observation, advice, and occasional hands-on assistance in Gabriel's quest (all meant to subtly goad him in particular directions for reasons initially left unexplained), Zobek also narrates between chapters.  

Zobek is voiced by Patrick Stewart, but unfortunately, he just seems ever-so-slightly off in Lords of Shadow. He's not bad at all.  It's just that he seems to always be a little off from what I think of as the right tone for the character and his lines.  Robert Carlyle, who provides the voice of Gabriel, seems to be a bit more on-point.

Gabriel also has a dead wife to avenge, or ideally, to bring back to life, a feat he hopes to accomplish with the power of the God Mask.  He also has (without his knowledge) a son, whose gestation and birth occurred during one of his long absences on Brotherhood business, and whose existence goes unmentioned until later entries in the series. The secret of this child's birth was deliberately kept from him by the Brotherhood and his wife (who was sworn to secrecy by them) due to some unspecified danger they saw in his future.

His journey takes him through the wilderness of a version of Europe that never existed, and then into the ruins of the ancient fictional civilization of Agharta, and to worse places yet.  Background lore is dispensed by way of scrolls found on the bodies of fallen Brotherhood members that Gabriel encounters as he goes.  All of this, as well as information about the various creatures Gabriel faces, items he acquires, and moves he learns, is kept in a tome he brings with him, which the player can read at their leisure.  Most of it is stupidly, wonderfully overwrought.

Gabriel, we are eventually told, is God's chosen champion, empowered to confront Satan himself in order to undo his malevolent magic.  Slowly but surely, Gabriel confronts each of the Lords of Shadow and retrieves their piece of the God Mask.  This includes Zobek, we eventually discover, who is a necromancer of considerable power, and who is ultimately revealed to have escaped death despite his defeat.  

Through the course of Lords of Shadow, Gabriel does indeed successfully beat up Satan and restore the world to its normal order.  However, he is unable to resurrect his wife after all.  Then the DLC gives him a new foe to face, and in order to do this, he must give up his humanity and become a vampire.

This culminates in him becoming the evil Dracula who served as the villain for the vast majority of the original Castlevania series. 

Mirror of Fate, a spinoff released physically for the 3DS and digitally for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, occurs in the ensuing years and decades after Gabriel rises to become a vampiric overlord with ambitions of world domination.

We start off as Simon Belmont, who is unaware that Dracula was once a Belmont himself (in fact, Dracula is his grandfather).  Simon is a fur-clad, muscular barbarian with very little in the way of characterization, who is aided from time to time (sometimes without his knowledge) by a pale, black-clad stranger running around the castle, who turns out to be Alucard, the son of Dracula.  The two team up to stake Dracula, though as series fans already know, this isn’t going to be permanent.

Then the game shifts focus, and we get to play as Alucard.  Alucard likewise has very little character growth or development.  Then, when his section is finished, the game shifts focus again.  We end the game playing as Trevor Belmont, Gabriel's son, a generation or so before Simon's time, and find out just exactly how bad Trevor's own mission against Dracula went.

When we come to the opening of Lords of Shadow 2, we find that Gabriel-as-Dracula is still God's chosen one, despite all the murder and blood-drinking and oppression that's just du rigeur for being a vampiric overlord.  As such, he is immortal – virtually impossible to kill even by the standards of vampires.

But Lords of Shadow 2 proper begins in the modern era.  Zobek, now a wealthy and powerful businessman with his fingers in a variety of pies, approaches Dracula in the cathedral where he has recently reawakened. But the lord of vampires persists in a diminished state.  Weakened and desiccated, he looks like a walking corpse, a pale shadow of his former self, hating his eternal life but feeling compelled to go on with it in order to spite his enemies (Zobek, Satan, and God Himself). So he lingers.

Zobek offers him a way out.  Satan's minions are increasing in power, gearing up for their master's return to the human world.  As God's chosen one, Dracula alone is empowered to fight against him.  In exchange, Zobek promises he can finally put an end to Dracula's life once and for all, as he has reassembled the broken Vampire Killer whip once wielded by Gabriel himself.  And so, after a meal to freshen up (probably one of the most disturbing and problematic parts of the entire series), Dracula sets off through the city that now stands on the foundations of his ancient, massive castle from centuries ago.

Where the original Lords of Shadow was more plot-focused, Lords of Shadow 2 tries to be more character driven, focusing on Dracula's return to humanity – in spirit, if not physically.  Unfortunately, the focus on story, not just in Lords of Shadow 2 but in the entire reboot series, is where it most falls flat.

The whole thing is difficult to take seriously much of the time. Granted, Castlevania as a whole is ridiculous and over the top.  This has been true from the very first game, which was riddled with anachronisms (fighting Frankenstein's monster somewhere in the sixteenth or seventeenth century) and featuring Death himself as Dracula's right-hand man – well, right-hand personification of the abstract concept of the end of life – all throughout the series.  Seriously, it isn't a proper Castlevania game if there isn't a boss fight against Death somewhere near the end, preferably one tough as nails.  But that oddly makes a certain amount of sense.  As a being who routinely flouts death by coming back to life once a century just as a matter of course (not even getting into all the times people resurrect him just because), Dracula might be expected to be on some kind of terms with the Grim Reaper.  

But then the Lords of Shadow continuity introduces this whole Satan business, and I just...

No.

So the idea in the Lords of Shadow continuity is that Gabriel Belmont is for whatever reason God's champion, chosen to face down Satan and prevent him from taking over the world.  And for some reason, I just have a hard time buying it.  Having a character fight off lesser demons and mythological monsters?  Sure, no problem.  Having that character fighting off the servants of Satan in this world to prevent him from entering it, yeah, that's perfectly fine.  But having a knock-down, drag-out with the big man, the capital-D Devil himself?  Somehow, my brain draws a line there. Maybe it's because the game uses a generally Christian mythological framework, and Lords of Shadows' idea of Satan doesn't really mesh with that.  You don't just throw down with the Father of Lies.  I mean, yes, there are all sorts of folktales about conflicts between humankind and the devil, but none of them end in a brawl.  That's just not how it goes; that's not what he's there for.

Which is a goddamn shame, because there are hints of something more interesting going on.  Gabriel-as-Dracula in Lords of Shadow 2 has positioned himself as an enemy of God (he refers at least once to being a thorn in His side), mainly by going against God's stated purpose for him.  The game opens pretty memorably with him in a conflict against the Brotherhood of Light, displaying his immunity to the holy powers they try to call down on him, screaming at one paladin in particular that his reliance upon God is his undoing, because despite Gabriel's defiance, he is still God's chosen one.  There's also the idea that as Dracula, Gabriel is a necessary evil, that although he stands in opposition to God (over his anger at the fate God thrust upon him), he also stands as a bulwark against Satan, as well as Zobek, who has his own designs on the world.

And the games are gorgeous.  All of them lean hard into a sort of quasi-gothic horror-fantasy aesthetic that I really would love to see more of.  This is all quite apart from the technical capability on display, which is also top-notch.  I love just running around in them, looking at the scenery and beating the unholy hell out of the monsters that come crawling out of it.

But it ultimately falls apart for being too self-serious.  Castlevania has always had an odd silly streak.  As mentioned, the original games took a bunch of mythological creatures and classic horror movie monsters, mashed them all together, and played the whole thing completely straight.  They did this knowing how ridiculous it was, but doing it anyway because it was also completely fucking awesome. This is in the grand tradition of old-school video games, where the plot was less of a story that you got invested in and more of an excuse for all the things the game was going to have you do.

The problem is that this really works best when you do it in the style of those older games, when you don't draw too much attention to it or elaborate on it too much.  I mean, let's break down the series mythology from the original continuity:

-- Since the Middle Ages, Dracula the vampire has been terrorizing Europe, returning to life once every century to do it.  He summons to him all manner of creatures from myth and legend (and other fiction) in pursuit of this goal.

-- The Belmont clan, carriers of the Vampire Killer whip, are  uniquely empowered to smite him.  This they do, with as much reliability as Dracula's return, alongside a growing number of allies.

-- Sometimes there are cultists or other Bad People who resurrect Dracula for their own ends outside the usual once-per-century pattern, or other evil entities who borrow his power in some fashion.

And that's basically it.  And it worked.  It was simple, but it was effective, in the way that the stories of games like, say, Super Mario Bros. or the early Sonic the Hedgehog games were.  It wasn't built to handle a lot of lore and characterization, and in fact it kind of falls apart under the weight of those things. You start trying to give Castlevania a really deep, involving story, and that just exposes how ridiculous the whole thing actually is, how shaky the framework, how unsteady the foundation is to build lore upon.  You can hear its light, almost slapped-together framework creaking under the weight of all that load.

We see this happening in the original series.  Symphony of the Night, and the portable entries that followed in its footsteps, crammed in just about all the story that the games were really set up to handle.  Then we get to Lament of Innocence, which tries hard to justify Dracula's motives and tendency to return from death to fulfill them, the Belmont clan's struggle against  him, and all the rest.  And the real problem is that it's totally unnecessary, and the attempt to sell it as high drama with this inherent silliness in its premise just continually falls flat.

To a certain extent, I get the perceived need to do this.  We seem to have left behind the era when major, big-budget games can be just fun. They have to be these big, trampling, sober, serious things now, all high stakes and serious business.  Most of the games that revolve around being fun tend to find themselves in the vanishing B-tier of games, or else indie titles.  Or the exclusive province of Nintendo.  There doesn't seem to be room in the industry any more for big-budget games that don't take themselves entirely seriously.  

So what does Lords of Shadow, as a sub-series, get right?

Quite a bit, it turns out.

Despite its missteps with the story, the world looks gorgeous.  I'd love to see a remastered version that features the games running at 60 frames per second in 1080p, and maybe sharpens the textures up a bit, but honestly, it looks pretty much fine as it is.  The characters and environments are nicely detailed, and I love the overall sense of design.  Especially toward the middle of the first game, where the levels tend toward "Gothic, but totally over the top".  

The beginning of Lords of Shadow seems a little questionable, mainly because of the focus on purely fantasy creatures: goblins, trolls, etc.; things that don't really have much to do with the horror imagery Castlevania typically goes for.  It's not bad, it just doesn't quite fit right.

But as the game goes on, it dives more into horror territory, with werewolves, vampires, and more outlandish creatures still.  Boss battles are giant setpieces which are plenty challenging, and usually end with a series of quick-time events that work you through an ultimately brutal but satisfying take-down of the boss in question.  

The sense of substantiality, of heaviness, that I usually associate with the classic Castlevania heroes is present and accounted for.  With his broad shoulders and muscular physique, Gabriel evokes the deliberate movements of the heroes of the classic Castlevania games. And his attacks land with a satisfying impact, again hitting that feeling of "considered and deliberate" that I associate with the classic titles.  At the same time, he's actually quite light on his feet.  While that still makes him a little different from the Belmonts of old, it makes sense with the way the game's designed. Unlike those classic games, most of the enemies don't die in just one or two hits.  Like many hack-and-slash games, Gabriel's movement through the game's areas is very stop-and-go, stretches of travel and puzzle-solving punctuated by combat encounters with multiple enemies (or one major enemy), each of which takes some work to bring down.  Faster and more complex maneuvers are necessary to avoid being obliterated.

There are also a few callbacks here and there to the previous series. Although Gabriel is a completely original character to the series, his design is clearly meant to evoke the look of Simon Belmont as he appeared in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Structurally, Lords of Shadow borrows from the more linear structure old-school, classic style of Castlevania games. The first Lords of Shadow follows in the classic mold more than either of its sequels in the rebooted continuity.  Lords of Shadow 2 features a seamlessly interconnected environment, but in the end, the player is still directed through it in a mostly linear fashion, with the optional digressions being just that.  

Mirror of Fate, meanwhile, is the least classic-like of the three, instead hewing much closer to the Metroidvania style, but it's pretty shallow as Metroidvanias go.  It apes the style of Igarashi's 2D predecessors, but lacks much of the real substance.  It's not bad, but it's sort of a letdown.  It’s disappointing mainly in the way that it presents itself as a Metroidvania game, but then... isn't, really.  The whole thing is so on-rails that most of the major backtracking feels forced, and the backtracking that isn't is so minor that you can safely skip over it.  It's more of a straight-up action game dressed up like a Metroidvania, as if they did it because that's just what's expected of a 2D Castlevania these days.  Which is a shame, becasue MercurySteam can make a good Metroidvania – they went on to do it with Metroid: Samus Returns (though, admittedly, they were working from the template of a pre-existing game).

Interestingly, one of the classic series features that doesn't get touched on in Lords of Shadow is the music.  Over the years, the classic Castlevania titles have built up a variety of iconic pieces that people tend to expect to hear. "Vampire Killer", "Wicked Child", and "Bloody Tears" are just some of the more famous ones.  These often get worked into the various sequels and remakes in one form or another. Lords of Shadow mostly lacks these, barring a music-box rendition of "Vampire Killer" in an unlikely spot.  In fact, the soundtrack is mainly comprised of generic orchestral pieces which are nice – they swell and pound in all the right places to evoke the appropriate mood – but not really melodic or memorable.

A number of fans of the series were upset by the lack of classic tracks.  While I can understand the general complaints about the soundtrack on its own merits, I do find it somewhat overblown. It would've been nice, sure.  But plenty of other well-regarded games in the classic seriess, such as the particularly revered Symphony of the Night, did without the classic tunes from the series history, and nobody complained then.

Bits of original series lore also pop up here and there, recycled and repurposed to match the tone and style of the new continuity, as a wink and nod from the developer to the fans.  But in the end, it almost feels more frustrating than anything else.  These bits of the original series that poke up into view here and there seem to serve as reminders of the game that I wanted, bolted onto the game that we got.  I was looking for something dark and grim and gloriously over the top, borderline goofy in its melodrama.

And that, I think, is most of my problem with Lords of Shadow, as a continuity unto itself.  There are some great setpieces, and the combat is fine, and the games look about as good as it's possible for last-gen console hardware to get.  And the story is gloriously over the top.  It just...  It takes itself too seriously. It gets in its own way, falls over itself, and just generally doesn't land right.  It looks right, it just doesn't feel quite right.  The tone is off, and it dwells on itself too much.  Classic Castlevania would do something over the top and ridiculous and awesome, and then move on. Lords of Shadow dwells on it, lingers on it, and it’s neither deep enough nor solid enough to support that level of seriousness.  I think most times that it really should have been its own intellectual property.

It's better than the 3D Castlevania games to come before it.  But Castlevania still deserves better.

It's a shame that, with Konami being what they are now, we're probably never going to get it.

#halloween #castlevania #lords of shadow #lords of shadow 2 #mirror of fate #video games #games #video gaming #gaming

[recentanimenews]

Manga the Week of 5/26/21

SEAN: The end of May brings us a few more books to check out. And by a few I mean a lot.

ASH: So many books! I love it.

SEAN: Airship has an early digital debut (the print is out in July): Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter (Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami). We’ve already seen several volumes of the manga over here… in fact, it was one of the first “oh no, I’m reincarnated as a villainess in an otome game” titles seen here. Let’s hope folks won’t think it’s old hat by now.

ASH: While I liked the manga, I think I might enjoy the novels more.

SEAN: Also out early digitally: Classroom of the Elite 8 and Skeleton Knight in Another World 9.

In print, we see the 6th Reincarnated As a Sword.

Ghost Ship has two titles: World’s End Harem Fantasia 4 and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs 14.

J-Novel Club has no debuts, but we do see By the Grace of the Gods 7, Dungeon Busters 2, Holmes of Kyoto 5, Lazy Dungeon Master 14, Monster Tamer 4, and Slayers 8. Note Slayers 8 is the final novel that Tokyopop released back in the day, so from Vol. 9 on it’s new to English.

ASH: Nice! I love seeing these license rescues making progress.

ANNA: Where’s Demon Sacred!!!!???

MICHELLE: And Silver Diamond! Now that we’ve successfully had Rose of Versailles, someone rescuing Silver Diamond is my dearest licensing wish.

SEAN: Well, Slayers is a light novel, which is more J-Novel Club’s ballpark.

Kodansha’s debut in print (and digital) is highly anticipated. Boys Run the Riot is a story about fashion and gender identity, and is a must-read for LGBTQ readers. It originally ran in Weekly Young Magazine, then moved online.

MICHELLE: I’m very excited for this one!

ASH: Absolutely! Me, too! I’ve heard very good things.

ANNA: Sounds good!

MELINDA: Yes, this!!

SEAN: Also in print: CITY 11, Fairy Tail’s 4th manga box, which has Vol. 34-43, and What Did You Eat Yesterday? 15.

MICHELLE: Also looking forward to this.

ASH: Any week that brings more Fumi Yoshinaga manga is a good week.

MELINDA: What Ash said.

SEAN: Debuting digitally is Back When You Called Us Devils (Kimi ga Bokura wo Akuma to Yonda Koro), a Magazine Pocket series about a young man who can’t remember six months of his life running into people who certainly do remember it… and say that he was a monster. More psychological thrillers, yay?

ASH: Hmmm, I am intrigued.

SEAN: Also out digitally: Am I Actually the Strongest? 4, And Yet You Are So Sweet 2, Harem Marriage 5, Saint Young Men 11, Those Snow White Notes 5 (yeah, I give up, sorry), What I Love About You 6, and When We’re in Love 8.

MICHELLE: I feel like this is my last chance to catch up on Those Snow White Notes before it completely gets away from me.

SEAN: One Peace has a 5th volume of The New Gate.

Seven Seas has one debut. Bite Maker: The King’s Omega (Bite Maker -Ousama no Omega-). Yes, A/B/O Dynamics is not just an AO3 tag anymore. Our hero is an Alpha, admired and adored by Betas, but seems unsatisfied… till he meets the Omega of his dreams. This is a Shogakukan shoujo title, running in Flowers’ online magazine &Flowers, and its author is known for pushing at boundaries.

MICHELLE: Yeah, no thanks.

ANNA: I will pass on this one.

MELINDA: “Pushing at boundaries.” Yeah, no.

SEAN: There’s also Berserk of Gluttony 2, GIGANT 5, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Elma’s Office Lady Diary 4, Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho 13, and Species Domain 10.

Square Enix has Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! 3 and Ragna Crimson 2.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying Cherry Magic!.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts Like Two Peas in a Pod (Nitamonodoushi no), a BL one-shot from Mag Garden. Two boys in school are very alike – they’re even both named Tanaka! But when both take an interest in the same girl, are they jealous of each other, or of the girl?

And A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation 3.

Yen On has a debut that’s actually a sequel. Durarara!! SH takes place 18 months after the end of the main series, and features three new protagonists. (The SH stands for Snake Hands. Don’t ask.)

And there is Bungo Stray Dogs 6, Date a Live 2, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 3, Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? 9, a paperback reprint of Haruhi Suzumiya 9, My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected 11, and Wandering Witch 5.

Yen Press has one debut and one finale. The debut is Hard-Boiled Stories from the Cat Bar (Sake to Namida to Otoko to Nyanko), a one-shot from Kadokawa’s Young Ace Up. If you love dark grimy noir stories, but also love cats, this is the title for you.

MICHELLE: Hm. Maybe!

ASH: I’m looking forward to giving it a try.

ANNA: I’m curious about this.

MELINDA: Same here!

SEAN: Ending at 18 volumes (and honestly I forgot it was still coming out, it’s digital-only) is Crimson Prince. The author fell ill several years ago, and so 17 (which came out last month) and 18 had a long delay. It was a good shonen supernatural romance.

Any May flowers you’re picking?

By: Sean Gaffney

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

[fallenloverecords]

Interview:  Gentle Brontosaurus

Hi lovers! Here at Fallen Love headquarters we periodically interview people that we adore in order to shine a spotlight on our wonderful pop planet. We post all those interviews right here for your education and enjoyment.

Gentle Brontosaurus are an indiepop band from Madison, Wisconsin, USA. They are Huan-Hua Chye (ukulele & keyboard), Nick Davies (keyboard & trumpet), Cal Lamore (guitar), Paul Marcou (drums), and Anneliese Valdes (bass). Fallen Love head Harley interviewed the band through a computer. Fallen Love Records: How did Gentle Brontosaurus begin? Huan-Hua: Get ready for some band lineage in excruciating detail:

Nick and I used to be in a band called TL;DR that broke up after a couple of band members moved away, so we decided to start a new band.

We knew Paul and Jon from having played with their old band, Baristacide, and we recruited Michael to play bass for us through Craigslist.

Eventually Jon decided it was time to part ways with us and we asked Cal to play guitar. Nick and I had met Cal through a songwriting website called FAWM, February Album Writing Month.

Last year Michael moved to Milwaukee and decided to leave the band so we recruited Anneliese, whom I had met via a community ukulele club called MAUI and who had filled in on bass for us a while back for a Buffy The Vampire Slayer Musical Episode cover show we did with our friends Croaker.

And here is a curated selection of a few of our other related current or recent projects you might want to check out - we are busy individuals: Square Bombs (Paul & Jon) The Werewolverine (Anneliese) The Ferns or C. H. Lamore solo (Cal) Vowl Sounds, Red Tape Diaries (Huan-Hua) Spiral Island (Nick)

FLR: All five of you sing. Was that something planned on from the early stages or did it just discover itself? HH: We used to only have three vocalists (max one lead and one backing at any given time) but decided that seven instruments and three vocals between five people wasn't making the sound guys' lives hard enough (not to mention ours) so we added some more. It has definitely been a voyage of self-discovery. I think we'll try to streamline a bit more in the future, though, since venues almost never have enough mics. FLR: Based on your social media some people might expect you to be a comedy or novelty band. Are new listeners ever caught off-guard? Nick: Is this regarding the Facebook account where we share dinosaur memes or the Twitter account where we post things like Baha Men trivia? Early on I had our genre listed as "brony rock" on Facebook just as a joke and it’s come back up occasionally. Like the time Jimmy K, a local radio personality, had both us and The Ferns (Cal's previous band) on an episode of his show and he got his intro cards mixed up and called The Ferns "brawny rock." HH: Also we got invited to put a song on an actual brony rock compilation, which was unfortunately vetoed by other band members. Anyway I aim to keep expectations at rock bottom so that new listeners can only be pleasantly surprised when we turn out to be (hopefully) honest and charming and good. I don't usually aim for funny when I'm writing songs (although sometimes it ends up there) but I usually aim to be entertaining on social media. (I usually man the Facebook account and Nick the Twitter account). I feel it's the least I can do. FLR: Who writes the lyrics? Each song carries a real depth, like a full short story condensed into four minutes. HH: Nick and I are about 50/50 on songwriting. On the first album our old guitarist wrote one and our old bassist wrote one but I think on the new album it's more or less evenly divided between me and Nick as far as lyrics go. I think the two of us share a love for possibly ill-advised wordiness and allusions so sometimes people have been surprised to find out who wrote which songs. I wrote poetry for years before ever turning to lyrics and a few songs, like "Rabbit Test", are remnants of poems or stories or concepts I could never quite make work on the written page. N: I don't intend to give every song a narrative but in addition to FAWM in February I participate in NaNoWriMo in November. Maybe some of that bleeds over into songwriting. Storytelling does provide a way to address topics without being tied to your own perspective. I'd be kind of uncomfortable writing songs all about Nick and how Nick feels right now, especially if we might decide to have someone else in the band sing it. HH: I, on the other hand, love writing songs all about HH and how HH feels right now. Maybe this is why we have so many songs about food.

FLR: Your debut album, Names Of Things And What They Do, came out in November 2015. What was the process to get there and how has the path shifted since then? HH: That album was very DIY like our new one will be. We recorded it over a period of months in our old practice space and our old guitarist Jon mixed it. Similar approach this time around, all home recordings. It's going to be an interesting mix as some of these songs, like "Kevin Bacon", we've played for years (it almost made it onto the first album) and others, like "A Shot" or "For Emma, Forever Ago", we'd only been playing for a few weeks and had never played live before starting to record. So for those newer songs we're kind of figuring out arrangements and parts as part of the recording process. We recorded all the drums and scratch tracks live, the way we're used to playing, and are now going along and re-recording individual parts to replace the scratch versions. One of the things that's pretty interesting about our piecemeal recording process is that we often can't hear/process the cool things everyone else is doing since we are distracted at the time with our own performances. Sound balance is also difficult to get right live with five people,so there have been a lot of moments where, once you're listening to a clear recording, you go "Oh, I had no idea you had this awesome part happening here." It makes you appreciate everyone and their contributions and musicianship just that much more. FLR: Do you think dinosaurs had feathers or scales? Anneliese: Yes, and some had neither. FLR: Why hasn't Netflix rebooted popular '90s sitcom Dinosaurs yet? A: This might be a question for the Jim Henson Workshop. Fun fact: Kevin Clash, who's the voice of Elmo, was also the voice of Baby Sinclair. And Jessica Walter (of Arrested Development) was the voice of the mother. HH: I'm sure it's on the horizon since we are apparently officially in the midst of a serious worldwide franchise shortage. I will officially volunteer us to provide the soundtrack for the inevitable gritty, sexy reboot. (I mean have you seen Riverdale, the gritty, sexy Archie reboot? Anything is possible.) The theme song will be called "Nobody's Baby" and will be in the style of Julee Cruise and everyone will wear black leather jackets and white undershirts in a very sexy James Dean kind of way. Also, if you don't have a physical copy of our album, Baby Sinclair fans should check out the art on the inner sleeve. FLR: Do you ever get tired of answering dinosaur questions? Will your choice of band name haunt you for the rest of time? HH: No and no. Since we are from the Land Before Time I'm not totally sure yet what this "time" thing is but I'm sure I'll figure it out one of these days. (Sorry to the random person on Tumblr I stole that joke from.)

FLR: What's your earliest musical memory? N: The first songs I wrote were entirely MIDI, written in a sheet music editor. Sadly they were lost forever in the mp3.com buyout of 2001. I thought I had a cassette copy but I went back to my parents' house in D.C. this past summer and the cassette is gone too. After that era I started recording angsty stuff with a beat-up acoustic guitar and some ill-conceived "rapping." Unfortunately there are surviving copies of that. A: Dancing around the living room to my dad's old boogie-woogie records when I was three or four. HH: They gave us recorders in grade school because the only thing better than one five year-old playing the recorder is fifteen of them all at once so I clearly recall making some really avant-garde noise rock as part of my early musical education. Also one of our music teachers was a grad student at the UC Berkeley School of Music and wrote an opera called The Nightingale that he made us learn, like a troupe of performing opera monkeys. FLR: What song have you listened to the most this year? HH: I went to look at my Spotify stats and some of my top tracks in recent months have been: Frankie Cosmos- "Fool", Big Thief - "Masterpiece", X - "The World's A Mess, It's In My Kiss", Eux Autres - "Other Girls", and Jens Lekman - "To Know Your Mission." N: I'm also enjoying the new Jens Lekman album! Crying's Beyond The Fleeting Gales has been the album that has hardly left my car stereo this year. FLR: What's one question you've never been asked in an interview that you would love to be asked someday? HH: You are standing in front of two doors. Behind one lies immeasurable riches, behind the other lies certain death. There are two guards guarding the doors, one sworn to always lie and one sworn to always tell the truth, but you don't know which is which. What is the best song ever written, and why is it "Africa" by Toto? N: If we're ever interviewed by Nardwuar [The Human Serviette] I hope he knows that I dressed as him for Halloween once. HH: Also I think Paul and Anneliese were hoping to do a Jerry Springer-style interview someday with paternity tests and chair fights in front of a studio audience. FLR: What does 2018 look like for Gentle Brontosaurus? I know you're working on your sophomore album. N: We've started recording out at Cal's parents' barn in Cambridge, WI. You must have seen the big chart on Facebook. Once we get that released I think we're hoping to go out on tour again. Maybe reconnect with some of the folks we met on the road in 2016 or maybe play some shows around the upper midwest where we actually haven't been yet. FLR: The first album came on CD with a piece of toast. Will the new album come as a download code in a jar of jam? N: If someone bought our toast in 2015 and is still hanging onto it in 2018, I don't think jam is going to make it edible. HH: I'm not really into jam bands. Gentle Brontosaurus on Bandcamp Gentle Brontosaurus on Facebook

#interviews #Gentle Brontosaurus #scouting report #indiepop #Madison #Wisconsin

[xlivvielockex]

Replies

loisfreakinglane: SO MUCH AGREEMENT EVERYWHERE. ugh ats ending right before witw is my happy place forever. RAISING CONNOR, THE FANG GANG TOGETHER, ADOPTING NEW ADULT FAMILY MEMBERS ALONG THE WAY. also tara would move to la and join them p quick, and anne steele would be recurring, and maggie q would join the show as a kickass lady that tara makes out with

Isn’t this what happened? At least in my mind, this is canon. :)

queenofattolia: fandom doesn't like poe dameron? i seriously didn't know that.

The first draft of TFA had Poe dying when he crashed but you know, movies go through dozens if not hundreds of rewrites and little tweaks. The first drafts are not the final canon. But there is a very vocal part of the fandom that thinks that since Poe died in an early draft, he isn’t part of the new trio and they heap so much hate on him. Not as much as Finn but still. See a pattern?

queenofattolia: i don't know enough to know what characters he might kill off but i know he'll kill one off and it'll be a woman

I’ll give you the over under for betting? He will kill at least one woman but not more than three? Sound good for a dollar. Pays out 5 to 1. 

chorelle: ah i love me some stardew valley! haven't played in ages tho should get back on that! congrats on the job and hope you're feeling better soon :)

I was doing Mass Effect: Andromeda but I got so bored. And I didn’t really feel up to going back to Fallout 4 just yet. Stardew Valley is just SUCH a chill game. I love it. No pressure, just fun. Even husbear is totally addicted. Of course then we have to fight over the console (I might sneaky buy it for his PC lol)

loisfreakinglane

the jasmine postbirth arc wAS good but could have been so much better. like imagine if cordy didn't fall into a coma but finally woke back up in control of her body? what if cordy was the one trying to convince everyone that jasmine was evil?

Okay imagine this if you will: Cordy comes back from the higher plane and she is already pregnant. Angel is like Cordy, omg, and she tells him that Groo left her because he realized before she did that Cordy loved Angel. Cordy is going to take single motherhood in stride though and Angel agrees to help, that this can be a do over cause he is so kicking Connor out. Keep The Beast but don’t make Cordy evil. The Beast and Jasmine could have done this a million times so he knows his mission by rote. (Also no stupid evil Skip.) Also since Angelus knew The Beast, can still have those awesome episodes but the stakes are so much higher because of Cordy’s pregnancy. Could go SO dark with Angelus. 

Basically just have her and Angel bond over her pregnancy during an apocalypse. Angel gets more and more protective of Cordelia and is worried that Connor and this Beast character might try something. Cordelia is worried too, like most new moms are. So Angel convinces Cordelia to go someplace different before the baby is born. Full grown Jasmine pops out, Cordy goes comatose. Angel brings Jasmine back, everything plays out (but higher and bigger stakes) as Charisma is on her maternity leave. Last two episodes Cordy comes back, can see the truth, and has to convince the gang. And then Angel and Cordy have to try to kill what they though would be their child. FEEEEELS! (as a side note, love Spin the Bottle so how about one where some demon does it and Lorne saves the day)

Cut to S5 where Angel tries to reconnect with Connor but Connor pushes him away cause he is not a substitute kid. In S4 Connor organized a group of street folks ala Gunn to help keep LA safe while Angel was busy on babywatch. So it would only be like a month or so old since the Jasmine arc played out over weeks not months. Have a few episodes where they are clashing but eventually they team up to take down Wolfram and Hart together. A few episodes where they find things out, planning and leading up, taking down some small baddies. So no mind wipe, no nothing, no Lorne the murderer, Spike stays dead. Just the final shot is everyone (including Connor’s vigilante group) staring down the dragon. 

Now in my world we would get a S6 but since Denisof wanted gone, we replace him with Maggie Q. Tara comes back...but as a ghost. So we got some episodes kind of Spike-ish in that way. Also s6, I like the idea in the comics of LA going straight to Hell. You can mine that for A LOT of stories, new characters, etc. We have activated Slayers and BTVS cameos. Could easily do multiple dystopian seasons. I mean look at Walking Dead. 

#salty asks meme #loisfreakinglane #queenofattolia #chorelle #angel the series #star wars

[arkus-rhapsode]

Laxus vs Orga

From my “how I would do GMG arc” is a fight that I wish could’ve been fully realized in canon. Anyway, this is how I would’ve done it so I hope you enjoy.

Thoughts

Magic

*open on the final stage of the GMG where Chelia has run into Orga*

Chelia: *gets into battle ready stance*

Orga: Alright let’s see what the little god slayer has!

Chelia: Sky God’s Dance! *creates two streams of wind from her hands and then sends them spiraling towards Orga*

*The streams hit Orga head-on, however he is not pushed back and suffers no damage*

Orga: *sends a current of black lightning across the ground that strikes Chelia* HA!

Chelia: *is pushed back* AAH

*cut to the stands*

Wendy: Chelia!

Carla: That brute took her attack head on and wasn’t even phased!

*cut back to the fight*

Orga: *charges at Chelia with black lightning crackling from his fist* Here I come!

*Orga swings at Chelia, but in a quick instant, Chelia jumps into the air, dodging his attack*

Orga: Huh?

Chelia: How’s about this, Sky God’s Boreas! *creates a spiral of black wind around her hand, then throws it at Orga generating a large black whirlwind.*

*Orga takes the attack head-on, becoming completely encompassed by the black whirlwind*

*cut to the stands*

Chapati: My my, this is quite incredible! God vs God!

Yajima: The young one seems pretty outclassed, but even so she’s pushing on.

Jason: Fighting back even in these odds, COOL!

Wendy: Way to go!

Panterlily: Don’t count Orga out yet.

Carla: He’s not one for dodging…

Mystogan: *stern face* …

*back to the fight*

Orga: Hahaha! Alright kid you got spirit, but time to see the gap in our abilities! *generates a ball of black lightning between his palms*

*Orga releases a powerful beam of black lighting that completely destroys Chelia’s whirlwind and hits her head on*

Chelia: *falling to the ground*

*cuts to the stands*

Wendy: No…

*back to the fight*

Orga: *grabs the falling girl by her ankle* Heh, you lasted a pretty good time considering it’s me you’re facin’.

Chelia: *while being dangled, manages to gather black wind around her hand and releases it in a claw-like strike to Orga’s face*

Orga: *has a small cut across the bridge of his nose* …

*Orga throws Chelia to the ground. Then gives her a small kick in the stomach*

Chelia: *using some of her self recovery magic, begins to stand up* I… won't… Let Lamia Scale down… *Gathers black wind around her hand*

*Chelia leaps at Orga, swinging her black wind covered fist at him. But Orga grabs her hand, and negates the whirling black wind, then he sends a charge of black lightning through Chelia, electrocuting her*

Chelia: *falls to the ground*

*Cut to the stands*

Chapati: It… Looks like this win goes to Sabertooth’s Orga Nanagear!

Yajima: Chelia gave it her best, no one can fault her for that.

*cuts to Orga*

Orga: You really weren’t ready to take a God Slayer like me yet…

Laxus: So, do you enjoy picking on little kids or are you saber punks that obsessed with winning?

*Cuts to Natsu*

Natsu: *sees this fight is about to happen*

*Flash back*

Natsu: Hey Laxus.

Laxus: Hmm, hey…

Natsu: I wanted you to know I won’t be fighting anyone else but Sting.

Laxus: Huh, so you’re going to ignore the battle royal?

Natsu: I’ll take out anyone along the way, but Sting is the one I want.

Laxus: ?

Natsu: With his ability to access dragon force at will, I need to conserve as much magic as I can.

Laxus: Didn’t you and Gajeel beat him?

Natsu: Yeah, but I had Gajeel backing me, plus he was caught up in his ego! Now I know he’s got nothing on his mind other than crushing me!

Laxus: Well then, I guess we better show those Saber punks what for?

Natsu: Yeah! You’re going toe-to-toe with that black lightning guy-

Laxus: Well not quite. Oh I plan to take him down, but not quite how he expects it…

*return to the present*

Natsu: You got this, Laxus!

*Cut to Laxus vs Orga*

*Laxus and Orga charge at each other with their lightning flaring. They clash with their respective lightning pouring off them*

*The two break their stalemate and move backwards*

Orga: Ha, I’d say we’re equal in terms of power! But there’s no way a dragon can best a god like me!

Laxus: But can a god best a fairy like me?

*The two just are locked in eye contact seeing who will move first*

Orga: Well, come on! You fairies are the ones with something to prove!

Laxus: Oh, but you guys are the reigning champs. You should get the first shot.

Orga: *Holds his right arm outwards* You’re going to regret that! *black lightning starts crackling from his hand*

*Orga throws a ball of black lightning, but Laxus easily dodges using lightning body. Orga then begins to throw a barrage of black lightning balls, but Laxus avoids each.*

Laxus: *while dodging, he has moved closer towards Orga and with enough space cleared, Laxus punches Orga in the face with a lightning coated fist*

Orga: *reels backwards a bit* *smiles* *Lunges forward at Laxus with his upper body coated in black lightning*

*Laxus dodges each of Orga’s oncoming punches*

*Cut to the stands*

Yajima: My, young Laxus sure is on the evasive today.

Chapati: Well looks like Orga isn’t giving up.

Jason: It’s so cool!

*cut to Laxus vs Orga*

Orga: *swings with another lightning coated punch, but as he punches downwards, Laxus dodges causing Orga’s fist to punch the ground*

Laxus: I thought you were going to fight me, not the gravel?

Orga: *Gathers black lightning between his palms* Die!

*The lightning is released in a raging, stream-like beam. Laxus uses lightning body to dodge the initial release, but Orga turns his body to make the beam have an arched trajectory and trails after Laxus.*

*Using his speed, Laxus out runs the beam and punches Orga in the side*

Orga: *clutches where Laxus hit* Grr… *covers his body in lightning and charges in Laxus, slamming him out against a building*

*cut to the stands*

Happy: He’s using the lightning to increase his speed like Laxus!

Freed: Not only that, but looks like Laxus’s strategy won’t do him any good…

Happy: Wait, he has a strategy!?

Lucy: He’s making Orga exert all his magic, then goes in for a strike.

Happy: Why’s he making the Sabertooth guy use up his magic?

Evergreen: He wants this fight over quick without spending to much magic.

Freed: That’s right, like we saw, they’re equal in raw power so a direct fight would greatly drain him.

Happy: Why does he want to save up his strength?

Freed: There’s someone he wants to take on, but wants to at full strength.

*Cuts to Laxus vs Orga*

Orga: *while pinning Laxus against a building, he punches Laxus in the face, but when trying to deliver another punch, Laxus catches it*

*Struggling to push back Orga, Laxus covers his leg in lightning, swiftly bringing it up to knee Orga in the abdomen*

Orga: Gahh *Winces*

Laxus: *pushes Orga off him*

*cut to the stands*

Chapati: Woah! Laxus sneaked in a crafty kick right there!

Yajima: These fights aren’t just about how much damage you inflict, they’re also about how you adapt to counter your opponent.

Jason: Plus it’s so COOL!

*Cut to Laxus vs Orga*

Orga: *regains his bearings*

Laxus: So we done with the warm up?

Orga: *a vein bulges from the side of his head* Oh… You were warming up? *Flares his lightning* GOOD, BECAUSE I’M TIRED OF GAMES!

Laxus: Give me your best shot…

Orga: *sneers* Lightning God’s Bellow!

*From Orga’s mouth comes a wide, concentrated, destructive blast of black lightning that hits Laxus dead on. The blast settles as Orga uses his lightning body to get close to Laxus and uppercut him into the air*

Orga: *grabs the airborne Laxus by his ankle* Eat dirt, fairy! *Swings Laxus down unto the ground*

Orga: Ha! *Swings a black lightning coated fist at Laxus*

Laxus: *Grabs the fist managing to push it back* Can’t let it end here! *Sends a surge of lightning through Orga, electrocuting him*

Orga: *easily takes the electrocution* The lightning of a dragon is weak when compared to a god’s! *Lifts his leg up and covers his foot with black lightning*

*Orga brings his foot down and steps on Laxus’s abdomen. Laxus is able to release a Lightning Dragon’s Roar. The concentrated destructive burst of lightning pushes Orga off his body*

Laxus: *Regains his bearing, then covers his body in lightning and, with the speed lightning body has granted him, he rushes past Orga while delivering a right hook*

*Laxus has created a great distance between him and Orga*

Orga: You think I’d lose to a fairy! *Start firing beams of black lightning at Laxus* I’m a member of Sabertooth, the strongest guild! I’m one of Sabertooth’s strongest mages! I won’t lose to a freakin’ fairy!

Laxus: *Dodges each beam while closing the gap between him and Orga. He then swings his lightning covered right fist at Orga.*

*The fist is caught by Orga, so Laxus quickly coats his right leg in lighting and lifts his knee up swiftly. But the knee is caught by Orga’s other hand*

Laxus: *Leans back, then plunges forward to deliver a head butt to Orga. His arms and legs are released upon knocking Orga back* Then I’ll just going to have to prove you wrong!

*Laxus fires a bolt of lightning that quickly travels towards Orga. With a quick outwards swing of his arm, Orga backhands the lightning bolt away.*

Orga: Lightning God’s Bellow! *Releases a massive, destructive blast of black lightning that hits Laxus dead on*

*As the dust settles, Laxus’s legs are noticeable wobbling*

*cut to the stands*

Chapati: Folks, you are seeing this alright! Laxus just took the Lightning God Bellow twice in this fight and is still standing!

Yajima: Laxus’s endurance is superb.

Evergreen: Oh no, Laxus!

Freed: He’s not looking good…

Bickslow: There’s no way an attack like that would’ve KOed Laxus!

Mystogan: But if his plan was to conserve strength then unfortunately, it’s failing.

*Cut to Laxus vs Orga*

Laxus: *wipes sweat from his brow* Damn… I’ve used up way more strength than I thought I would. I have to replenish if I’m even going to fight Jura… *eyes  Orga* Guess that info will come in handy, eh Natsu?

Orga: I’ll end this right now! *extends both his arms before himself, his open palms facing, the fingers pointed towards Laxus. Sparks of black lightning are generated between his arms, growing larger and larger, and gradually extending to the surrounding area. With his arms completely clad in black lightning* Lightning God’s Charged Particle Canon! *he fires a massive, concentrated beam of black lightning*

*The lightning rushes at Laxus and hits him dead on*

*Cut to the stands*

Cana: Oh no…

Macao: I guess that settles it…

Freed: Wait, look!

*Cut back to the fight*

*The residual black lightning is slowly dissipating and entering Laxus’s mouth*

*Flashback*

Natsu: Woah! That’s a crazy plan!

Laxus: But even so, I need something else. Just in case I go overboard.

Natsu: What?

Laxus: You fought a god slayer before and you were able to eat his flames. Tell me how…

*present*

Orga: *huffing and wheezing* How could a lowly dragon like you eat my lightning? A god’s element shouldn’t be able to be digested by a dragon like you!

Laxus: *Black lightning sparking off his body* Well, normally you’d be right. But see there’s a little trick to this god magic. Upon moment of consumption, the slayer eating it will have to empty all their current magic from their bodies.

Orga: ?!

Laxus: I can see why, this magic is so filling. So much magical energy, I’m fully charged and then some. I might not like you or your guild, but that lightning was one of the meals I’ve ever had!

Orga: *holds hands outwards and fires a beam of black lightning*

Laxus: *quickly swipes his arm outwards and effortlessly knocks the lightning beam away* It’s too bad that you used up all that magic… *black lightning begins crackling and sparking from his left hand*

Orga: *Eyes widen*

Laxus: *normal lighting beings sparking and crackling in his right hand* Wanna know something… I wanted to fight you the moment I saw your magic, but my aims didn’t stop at you. I have had my eye on someone else, before this tournament started, someone who I wanna take down…

Orga: *Steps backwards*

Laxus: Remember this, I’m the guy who’s gonna beat Wizard Saint Jura!

Laxus: *Raises his hands and brings them together, merging the two lightnings* Dragon God’s Heavenward Halberd!

*The two lightning take the form of a large black and golden halberd. Laxus then hurls the surging halberd at Orga, and upon the release of the halberd, it expands, becoming a humongous, concentrated destructive burst of lightning. The lightning completely encompasses Orga and it blasts through several buildings that were standing behind Orga*

Orga: *covered in sever wounds* *falls over*

*cut to the stand*

Chapati: Folks… Laxus Dreyar has just defeated Orga Nanagear!

Jason: OH MY GOD!! DRAGON GOD MAGIC..! COOL COOL COOL!!

*cut to Laxus*

Laxus: My strength and magic are both replenished, but my wounds are still here. I gotta give it everything when I face Jura…

Jura: Impressive

Laxus: …

Jura: Now what did you say about beating me?

#fairy tail #orga nanagear #laxus dreyar #sabertooth #GMG arc #chelia blendy #jura neekis #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #thunder god tribe #mystogan #lamia scale #rhapsode fights

[dramamomma56]

The Reasons Reader’s Theater is Successful with Our Students

When I was a little girl, I loved to read aloud.  I was good at it, too!  I think it’s where I realized performing was something I loved because by reading aloud it gave me an opportunity to try out characters and voices.

My teachers readily noticed this about me, too. As a result, I was always asked to read aloud.  I felt very special at the moment.

Because I am very creative and drill work absolutely bores me, I wasn’t always the best student.

But reading aloud?  Oh, that’s so me….

I was looking around the internet to find some other educators (which there are many) who believed as strongly as I do about reading aloud.  My favorite method is through reader’s theater.

In case, you are unfamiliar with Reader’s Theater here is a good definition from the Education World website, a wonderful retired Language Arts Teacher,

“In Reader’s Theater, students “perform” by reading scripts created from grade-level books or stories — generally without benefit of costumes and props. The goal is to enhance reading skill and confidence through practice with a purpose. Reader’s Theater gives students a real reason to read aloud.

“A great deal of fluency research reiterates the need for repeated reading,” reported Finney. “Without fluency, there is little comprehension; the value of Reader’s Theater is increased tenfold when used as a strategy for increasing understanding of what is being read.”

Reader’s Theater motivates reluctant readers and provides fluent readers with the opportunity to explore genre and characterization.”

Yes, yes and one more yes!

Reader’s Theater motivate reluctant readers and provides them a safe environment.  They can actually “hide” behind a script.  As they focus on the script, they become unaware of reading aloud in front others.

Here are the Reasons I think Reader’s Theater Works:

 It strengthens one’s reading–repeated reading of words makes them familiar.

 It’s a safe way to involve reluctant readers.

 Generally, the stories are short and highly engaging.  (No one wants to read a boring script aloud!)

 It’s a great way to read different genres without having to commit to an entire book.

 It “feels” like you are performing, but in a non-threatening manner.

 Because students feel safe, their inner performer is more likely to emerge.

My only advice: I wouldn’t suggest putting kids on a stage to try out reader’s theater.  You have just shot yourself in the foot!  I promise, it won’t go well.

The Reasons Reader’s Theater is Successful with Our Students

Here is more from Education World.

Judy Freeman a literature consultant states,

“Reader’s Theater allows children the luxury of lingering over a story; acting it out many times so they come to understand all its nuances,” Freeman explained. “Too often, children read a story and only understand it at its most superficial literal level. With Reader’s Theater, they’re not just reading a story; they’re living it.”

  “Always perform a Reader’s Theater script at least twice,” she advises. “The first time, the children will be struggling with words and their meanings, and with making sense of the play. It’ll be rough, but who cares? The second time, they’ll be able to focus on enjoying the performance and their parts in it. You can, if you wish, carry it further, adding props, costumes, and scenery; memorizing lines; or even putting on the play for other groups. You don’t have to, though. It’s the process that’s important here, not a finished product.”

That’s an important statement–it’s not a finished product.

To sum up in one phrase–Reader’s Theater allows for trial and error when reading.

Multicultural Folk Tales Reader’s Theater Scripts

I’ve penned several reader’s theater scripts.  Each is based on a multicultural folk tale.

  Abdullah’s Gold

The Little Girl and the Winter Whirlwinds

Saturday, Sunday and Monday

It Could Alwasy Be Worse

Li Chi the Serpent Slayer

Sedna, an Inuit Tale

The Brave Little Tailor

  If you are looking for some different reader’s theater scripts, I’m your gal.  Because of my extensive experience teaching and directing (38 years–yikes!), you can trust the quality of these scripts.

AND HERE’S SOMETHING ELSE…

Each of these units comes with original songs written especially for the piece.  How cool is that?

This is not just a script, it’s a unit!

Here’s what you receive:

 Letter to teacher

 Warm up exercise

 Advice in directing reader’s theater

Blocking plot for teacher’s staging needs

 Scripts with roles for large classes

Original song

Does this sound good to you?  Check them out at:  Dramamommaspeaks Store

The Reasons Reader’s Theater is Successful with Our Students

When I taught at Smithton Middle School in Columbia, MO I used reader’s theater with an after school Drama club for ESL students.  This was about fifteen years ago.  At the time I used one of Aaron Shepherd’s scripts.  They are terrific.

Another time, I used a reader’s theater script version of Holes.  We invited reluctant readers to be involved.  I asked several administrators and teachers to play the adult roles.  It was absolutely awesome and we performed the script for the entire school.

What a boost in self confidence this was for those boys.

I co-created a youth theater program in Columbia as well–P.A.C.E. or Performing Arts in Children’s Education. We performed A Christmas Story as a stage reading.  Stage readings are very similar to reader’s theater.  You might think performing with script in hand would distract or detract from the performances.  Nope.  The audience loved it anyway.

So, I hope you’ll give reader’s theater a try whether you are in a drama class, high school language arts or social studies.  It’s not just for elementary students anymore.

What reader’s theater have you done in your class?  I’d love to hear about it.  Contact me at [email protected] or DeborahBaldwin.net

The Reasons Reader’s Theater is Successful with Our Students The Reasons Reader's Theater is Successful with Our Students When I was a little girl, I loved to read aloud. 

#reader&039;s theater #reading strategies

[jelanisaeed]

Match 1: Kamari Agrinya vs Flare Corona

Match One of the Grand Magic Games. The booming crowd screeched searing rays of joy and excitement. Kamari soaked it all in with a smile. His guild experienced a rocky start, but he was certain they’d bounce back. With the match setup, he knew he’d gain some points with the crowd. Though, he admitted it was quite the event. An excellent way to cross fighting in an ancient coliseum off his bucket list.

Jata told him tales of a grand coliseum in the distant region of Ore. There, people praised pokémon battles as grand sports worthy of Arceus’ praise. In ancient Ore, battles quelled the anger of Ho-Oh when humans betrayed their trust. In modern times, battles became a sort of homage. Kamari wanted nothing more than to visit the historic region. Just like Jata did during his self-discovery journey.

Though, the herds of civilians startled him. Never one for stage fright, but he never performed before so many people. Especially those who sought more of a reason to degrade his guild. Kamari frowned and raked a hand through his braids. He’d be a fool to let naysayers jade his experience.

He mustered a smile and waved to the crowd. Their startled cried became a melody for his ears. Perhaps there was a positive to this. The new wardrobe certainly helped his mood. Clad in a new purple and black dashiki, black jeans and purple and black sneakers. Master Makarov certainly knew his tailors.

“Here we go, folks! The moment we’ve been waiting for!” The announcer—Lola, Kamari believed. Odd name, but who was he to judge—exclaimed. “Our first battle of the first will pit Fairy Tail’s Glimmering Moonlight—Kamari Agrinya,” Kamari soaked in the cheers with a laugh.

A nice chance of pace. He hated to admit how much the humiliation of 8th place jaded him. Not even the beautiful array of magical fireworks blazed his sunken soul. Though he supposed it was for the best. These fake, judgmental people would soon sing Fairy Tail’s praise.

Mark his words.

“Against Raven Tail’s Crimson Intensity—Flare Corona!”

Raven Tail, Kamari narrowed his brown eyes and sparked power against his fingertips. The nefarious guild led by Master Makarov’s disgraced son, Ivan. He didn’t pretend to know the details of their relationship. Nor did he care. Kamari took pride in his little desire to insert himself in beef. Especially family beef. No, the guild made themselves his enemy with their actions.

The same guild assaulted Wendy, Carla, Nuru. Focused their attention on Gray and Juvia during round one. This became a fated encounter. And Kamari was glad to be karma’s messenger. Raven Tail would pay for their transgression, Kamari assured.

He promised this strange woman no mercy. Though, perhaps that wasn’t fair to her. This deranged woman belonged in an asylum with her bulging red eyes and messy red hair braided back into a fish tail braid. She giggled at her name and Kamari feared she would’ve drooled on herself. Her mouth seemed eternally parted paired with her forever arched eyebrows. Though, he clearly knew how to dress with a red sleeveless, halter-neck dress with a long red left silt, matching elbow length gloves and high heels.

…Perhaps guilds needed a sanity requirement when recruiting new members. Then again, most of his guildmates would fail…

“Jenny, your guild is good friends with Fairy Tail. Do you have anything to add about them or maybe some insight on Kamari?”

Oh, Kamari nearly forgotten about her. Jenny Realight, a beautiful girl with dazzling blue eyes and wavy blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail. He met her once during a photoshoot for Basil. Seemed nice, if not flirty and cocky. Though Basil enjoyed her, so he supposed she checked out. …For now.

Kamari felt Jenny’s radiant smile beamed on his skin as she journeyed through her memories. “Fairy Tail made the right choice with Kamari. He’s a powerful mage—well-deserving of the title, Thoth. Though fellas, don’t get your hopes up. Our Glimmering Moonlight is taken and well-loved by my dear friend, Basil~!”

Kamari blushed and tried to ignore the catcalls echoing throughout the stadium. If only it were true, His turbulent relationship with Basil weighed heavy on his soul for weeks on end. He hoped the boy felt the same, but…

Kamari shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on failed loved. Though he did spare his love a glance he hoped he’d return in kind. He had a mission to accomplish.

Restore Fairy Tail’s Honor.

His love life could wait until then.

“And let the match begin!”

The bell rang and Kamari was off. His body aglow with power. “Multitype,” his voice boomed as the light reached it peak. Lime green and filled with butterflies to kiss his skin. “Insect Plate!” The light exploded off his body, revealing his Insect Plate attire with some new accessories. He smirked and kicked off with his four wings unfolding and vibrating. “First Impression!”

Kamari slammed his fist into Flare’s abdomen without a second thought. The blow sent her spiraling through the air only to skid across the harsh ground. But Kamari was far from done. He took to the skies as a lime green light encased his torso.

“Struggle Bug!” Lime green comets raced out of his new dashiki and bombarded Flare with reckless abandon.

“Folks, Kamari is relentless! We’re seeing only a portion of the might wielded by one of Fairy Tail’s strongest! Mr. Yajima, what’s your take?”

Kamari grinned and circled above Flare’s struggling form. Relentless. Part of him enjoyed that description. Perhaps now these wannabe guilds would learn. Never wage war with Fairy Tail.

“He’s definitely grown in these seven years,” Mr. Yajima mused. Kamari remembered him. A kind old man who helped him with his trail. Great to see he finally followed his dreams and left the council. “His command over his powers have definitely improved. And I’m ready to see how much.”  

Kamari grinned. If Mr. Yajima desired to see the benefits of his training, then who was he to deny him the chance. He threw out his hand and breathed. The strength of millions of insects filled his senses. With a single exhale, his snapped his fingers and a swarm of grubs gathered around his outstretched hand. And in their wake, a tall butterfly net materialized. A special net emblazoned with various insects on the brown shaft in lime green. 

“Trainer’s Weapon: Incest Net!” Kamari twirled the net between his fingers before pointing it at his foe. “Get ready, Hair Scare! I ain’t gon lose!”

Deranged laughter echoed through the coliseum as Flare finally stumbled to her feet. “Lose?” Her hair fell free from his braid, allowing it to fell into her face. And that only made her smirk darken worse than a Cheshire cat. “I could never let you lose, moondust.” Movement flashed in his goggles and Kamari soared higher. “I wanna incinerate you!”

What was that? Kamari scowled and scanned the skies with his goggles. Alas, he couldn’t find the culprit. I know I saw something!

He kept his guard as he soared around the field. The movement decreased, but that didn’t eliminate Flare’s danger quality. Once his guard dropped, she’d take the opening. He knew she would. Shame he couldn’t know the type of magic she practices beforehand to strategize. But he supposed that how his life as a trainer was. Expect the unexpected, Jata had recited moments before his match.

The unexpected! Kamari gasped as something red flashed across his goggles. He jerked back and entangled it in his String Shot. Wait, is that her hair? Sure enough, it was her hair he reeled in. Unnaturally long and tense as if it possessed a will of its own.

“How do you like my crimson tresses?” Flare cooed, but that managed to sound as deranged as she looked. “They know how to set the heart ablaze!”

Fire. Crimson flames danced across her vibrant red hair. Fire unlike Natsu’s Dragon Slayer magic. Those flames kindled and burned without a thought. These flames danced with a ballerina’s grace but struck with a bear’s ferocity.

Kamari cried out and released his silk before the flames captured him. But the strand never faltered. It lashed out and would’ve scored a direct it hit not for the grubs who came to his defense. Their charred bodies rained onto the field and he frowned. A successful Defend Order but a tragic outcome.

“Aww, what’s wrong, moondust?” Flare giggled with each step she took. “Mad I roasted your little buggies?” She grinned and did the unthinkable. She crushed a dying grub beneath her heel with extreme prejudice. “Don’t worry, you’ll be next.”

Kamari glared. “Attack Order!” Kamari swung his net, releasing a maelstrom of enraged grubs onto Flare. But the raven was ready. Her deranged laughter filled the day as crimson flames danced across his hair and assaulted his grub. Though, her flaming defenses couldn’t prevent the few grubs from slipping through and biting at her skin. The perfect distraction.

“Lunge!”

Kamari threw him into the fray and struck the raven in her back with a slash of his net. Her lapse in concentration opened her up for his grubs to consume her. Their onslaught slammed her against the field’s wall before he called them off.

“Hair Shower: Locust Storm!” Her flaming lashes lunged at him, but Kamari took to the skies once more. Even that wasn’t enough to stop them. The locks chased after him worse than a bumblebee. He hissed the embers dripped onto his legs and forced his wings to vibrate faster.

“Bug Buzz!”

Screams filled the coliseums as everyone grabbed their ears. Kamari hated using this move with his friends in such proximity, but he had no choice. He only hoped the dragon slayers would forgive him. The powerful vibrations did halt Flare’s advancements though. He hoped that served as a worthy consolation.

I hafta counteract her fire somehow. He frowned as his wings returned to their normal vibrations.

“Tail Glow!” A vibrant light filled his eyes as he stilled his mind. “Pollen Puff!” His eyes snapped open and he circled the field once more. This time, he dropped sparkling puffs of pollen onto the field with explosive effects. He smirked as the explosions rattled Flare before she countered with her hair, only for it blow up strands of her flaming locks.

“And there you have it folks! Fairy Tail’s Glimmering Moonlight has shown us the results of his seven-year absent! He’s got the battle on his terms! We can only wonder how Flare will react to this!”

“Hair Shower!” The field ignited in flames and Kamari screamed. The heat seared his sensitive skin and he reeled back. “Breaching Whale!” All the pollen puffs were incinerated, leaving only ashes to flutter in the wind. “Hair Shower: Lioness Strike!”

Kamari cried out as a flaming lock latched onto his ankle and dragged him out of the sky. His body screamed as he bounced off the field only to crash into the wall from a vicious throw. He groaned. He should’ve expected no less from one of Raven Tail’s strongest. No guild sent their weakest to a competition like this.

“Nice throw—ahh crud,” Kamari groaned as an onslaught of flaming locks barraged him. He shielded himself best he could, but the searing burns hurt worse in this form. “Multitype: Dual Form!” Kamari sighed as a cool blue light engulfed his body. And he traded in his dashiki and shorts for a dashiki-patterned wetsuit in black, blue and lime green, blue water shoes decorated with lime green butterfly wings. “Insect/Splash Plate!”

This has to work, he grunted. Already he felt the new typing soften the blows. The strength of the seven seas poured through his body and he sighed. Crashing waves filled his ears. Dancing dolphins became his mood. And his body? His body became the strength of ten monsoons. Twisting and churning as crystal blue water oozed out his skin and formed a chrysalis around his body.

“Waterlilies blossom through the storm’s adversities,” Kamari sighed and clasped his hands in prayer. Perhaps the monks managed to instill faith in him. Faith in his inner strength. Faith in himself. “Water Pulse!”

The chrysalis exploded, dousing Flare in an onslaught of crystal-clear water. Its gentle melody filled the stadium for miles, drowning out her screams as it washed her away.

“Mr. Yajima, did you hear that?”

“I sure did. Seems our young Kamari has more than just how to summon weapons. Now, he can combine two of his forms into one.”

He climbed to his feet but winced. He expected as much. The searing heat lessened, but his burns never faded. “Rain Dance!” Kamari cried out to the skies as blue light erupted off his body and filled the skies. Clouds darkened and knitted together and poured fresh rain onto the field. Kamari sighed in bliss as his body soaked in the weather. “Aqua Ring!”

The raindrops condensed around his body in translucent rings of water and he moaned. The burns faded and his wounds healed faster.

 “Wha-What? My hair!” Flare cried out as her hair fell limp against the dampening field. “You ruined my crimson locks!”

“That ain’t all I’ma ruin,” Kamari smiled. Time to end this and secure Fairy Tail their first win. “Clemari! Moonblast!”

A massive pink orb fell from the skies and crashed into Flare’s hysterical form. The hair mage cried out as she rolled across the field, but he didn’t care.

“Nice job, Clemari,” A burst of pink light filled his eyes before Clemari appeared and hugged him. She grinned and nuzzled him before taking her position before him. “I knew you could do it.”

Flare snarled, igniting her hair despite the downpour. “Where did that runt come from?!”

Kamari chuckled and brushed a stray dreadlock from his face. “I summoned from the start of our match and had her minimize herself to avoid detection. She’s been small this whole time, increasing her strength for this occasion.”

“Whoa! Didn’t see that one coming! Who knew Kamari had a secret weapon stashed away just for this occasion! Rotom Dex! You mind giving us the run down?”

“Certainly, zzzrt! That’s Clemari, Roto-K’s clefairy—the fairy pokémon! Bathed in moonlight, it’s wings glow faintly. Without even flapping, Clefairy rises into the air, where it dances around! Zzzzrt!”

“You…You tricked me!”

“Tricked is harsh verb,” Kamari pouted as used the last of his Heal Order to close his wounds. “I prefer outsmarted you. Now, I believe we got a fight to finish.”

A smirk formed on her lips. Kamari never knew smirking made the deranged frightening to look at. The way her hair fell over her eyes darkened the look more than necessary. “You’re right, moondust.” She cooed as her hair ignited with those dastardly flames. “We do have a match to finish! Hair Shower: Firefly Flame!”

“Clemari, stick to the strategy! Bubblebeam!”

Basil glued his eyes to the field. Those sharp eyes followed Kamari’s every move. Winced for every flaming lash he received. And relaxed when he successfully adapted to the situation. He didn’t know why he worried so. Kamari proved he’s talent on the battlefield numerous times. More times than not, Kamari left Basil in the dust.

But they were guildmates. It was natural to worry! He’d do the same even if Wendy or Natsu were on the field!

Actually, Basil sweat-dropped as a nervous laugh escaped him. I’d be more worried about him burning down the coliseum.

Either way, this was natural. He nodded and surveyed the scene before him. Kamari managed to overwhelm Flare with onslaught of bubbles before encasing himself in water for a powerful rush. Though, he knew Kamari well. This battle was well overdue for a climax. But Kamari wanted to show off.

Finally took my advice, huh? Basil rolled his eyes with a smile.

“What are you so happy ‘bout?” Basil flinched and met the smirking gaze of Nuru. Nuru always been a beautiful girl, but the yellow dress she wore in her mother’s memory brought out her beauty even more. “See something you like, pretty boy?”

Basil frowned. Beautiful Nuru might be, but she was just as nosey as all children her age. “Nope,” he huffed and leaned against the railing. “Not a thing.”

“Liar,” she droned before blowing a raspberry. “You really should talk to ‘im, ya know.” Nuru took a spot beside him and smiled. “He cares about you…more than himself at times.” He feared this type of conversation. Especially when Nuru tightened her grip on the railing and it groaned in protect. A side effect of accepting a sun god’s power. Though he supposed he was lucky Nuru initiated the conversation instead of Jata. “I know it’s none of my business, but…think about it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he sighed. The last thing he needed was more Kamari on his mind. Eva barked at his feet and nuzzled against his leg. The same Eva Kamari helped him capture and raise. “I…love him too, Nuru.”

Three words he never knew he could produce. A feeling he never knew he could possess. Nothing like the butterflies that filled romance novel. The essence and normality of being he never experienced before. And only experienced with Kamari.

“Then why reject him?”

The right question. Basil smiled, but he felt no joy from its creation. His eyes went back the field as Kamari took to the skies and dropped a spiraling blast of water once the field. Flare’s shrieks of pain brought joy to look, but even that faded. He only found joy in seeing Kamari soar. The sweat dropped off his carob skin and Basil wished he could wipe them off instead. Caress every crevice of his body and uncover all the secrets they hid from him. He desired nothing more than to dive into those brown eyes and just be. Mending bodies as one in the forbidden romance the world viewed his love as.

Basil flinched when Kamari cried out and plummeted to the field. A solid stroke of a flaming lock caught him by surprise now that the rainclouds unraveled and drifted away. Kamari, please! His grip tightened on the rails and only relaxed when Kamari recovered and doused her in a burst of water.

“Trainer’s Weapon: Splash Rod!” Kamari summoned a customized fishing rod equipped with a manaphy lure and swung it. A spiraling burst of water encased it, knocking Flare away with a twisting blast of water. “Aqua Tail!”

“Because he deserves better than a broken doll like me.”

Nuru looked ready to counteract, but she flinched. Basil didn’t blame her. For the sound he heard, he never imagined it ever fill his ears again. “Asuka!” The panicked screech was interrupted by a pained gasp as Flare muffled him and tossed him to the wall.

“Kamari,” Nuru screamed for her brother. Basil found himself frozen. He watched Flare slam, lash, and taunt his beloved friend as her deranged laughter filled the field.

This scene haunted his dreams time and time again. In another time, he wasn’t so strong. At time where he only just learned how to harness the immense power of not only his magic, but his pokémon. That time, Basil hated to admit it, but he was weak. Young, foolish, insecure. A helpless bystander as a monstrous jellyfish tore Kamari apart, plucking off his wings for pleasure. He lost his voice that day screaming for him, banging on the ground as he begged Tenrou Island to restore even a fraction of his magic power.

But it never granted his wish. And as Kamari cried and screamed, he only watched. Just like now, hands clenching the railing as his magic power spiraled out of control. He ignored the green spots of chlorophyll emerging on his ebony skin. Even the flowers who grew around his wrist.

He’d give anything to jump him. Invade the fight and level the playing field. Rules be damned! He couldn’t let Kamari like this! Not again! Not when he had the strength to help!

But I can’t, he scowled, bending the railings in anger. Fairy Tail needs to win these games fair and square! I can’t ruin our chances. Basil winced when Kamari crashed him the wall and chocked back the tears when he fell like broken mannequin. Even if it kills me.

Though, he thanked the gods Clemari was still active. She popped in and out, blasting Flare and distracting her for mere moments before she shrunk down again. I expected nothing less, he grinned. Kamari knew how to train his team. Even with her assistance, Kamari failed to gain the upper hand. Almost like he let Flare toss him around like ragdoll. There was no fight in him. Well, maybe if gasps and groans counted as resistance. Even then, that’s unlike Kamari. He’d never let someone beat on him. And why did he scream—

“Asuka,” Basil’s eyes widened, and he turned to Nuru. The poor girl looked traumatized. He couldn’t blame her. To see her brother in distress must have forced her to relive past events. “Nuru, Nuru! Look at me, ‘Ru!” That caught her attention as she ripped her eyes from the fight. “He screamed for Asuka. Something’s preventing him from fighting!”

Basil watched the light return to her brown eyes as realization struck her cold. It amazed him just of similar eyes the siblings shared. All brown, but each with their own differences. Nuru’s brown eyes sparkled and radiated the life she excluded. Kamari’s eyes drowned people in their deep colors and brought one to depths unknown. Jata’s eyes became the perfect balance of both.

“Right…right,” Nuru tapped her belt, summoning Soru. “Soru, do you sense something?”

Soru turned up her nose and huffed. “I sense disasters, bright one.” Her gruff response softened once she caught sight of Nuru’s worried eyes. “But it returns your light, I’ll search for this darkness, bright one.”

“Eva, could you?”

Eva thrilled and took off without a second thought. “Did you even have to ask?” She giggled and extended her feelers. “Soru, I sense foreign magic near the young ones.”

Of course. Basil whirled around and narrowed his eyes. At first glance, he admitted he missed it. All he saw was the fear and concern of Asuka and her togepi as they cheered for Kamari to win. But when the light hit just right, he saw it. A slithering form dancing next to her neck.

“Nuru, do you—”

“—Obviously, pretty boy! Soru!” It was an unnecessary shout. Soru had already moved, shoving through her guildmates with nary an attempt to apologize. Perhaps this was what it meant to be a trainer? The anticipation between trainer and pokémon. Kamari had spoken about it before. When a true bond is form, a partner pokémon with act as if reading the trainer’s mind. Basil smiled. Nuru made a great trainer. He hoped to be even half as talented as her on the battlefield. “Night Slash!”

Kamari grunted. Perhaps it was optimistic to assume the pain was fading, but he believed it to be true. After numerous throws and lashes, he felt it even less. Though, he chalked it up to his dual typing. With Aqua Ring active and his water-typing, her worst was no more than a harsh breeze. But he had to endure. If only to protect Asuka and togepi.

“Aww, are you not enjoying our little game, moondust?” Kamari scowled. Flare hovered over him as her hair danced over his face. Though this time, a single lock formed into a brand of her guild emblem. Wait, Kamari gasped in horror as the brand wavered over his face. She wouldn’t!

“Why don’t we spice it up? Give you something to remember this by?”

“Kamari, her leverage is gone!” Basil, Kamari smiled. His voice filled the coliseum, drowning out the boos from those judgmental civilians. “Knock her out!”

He heard him. Kamari chuckled. Why was he surprised? Basil knew him better than most. Of course, he knew he was in danger. “Thanks Basil,” he grinned and clenched his fist. Water spiraled around it as anger surged through his veins. “Water Gun!”

Flare screamed as the blast of water threw her back. “Dazzling Gleam!” Clemari emerged from her hiding spot and emitted a powerful blast of light. Flare’s screams echoed louder to ear-shattering levels. But he didn’t care. Those who fought dirty deserved no less. “Moonblast!”

Kamari stumbled to his feet and sighed as the power of Aqua Ring closed any open wounds. His wings, burned from the consistent lashes, hummed in pleasure as they vibrated. “I’m just ‘bout over your troublesome guild, Hair Scare.” Clemari returned to her normal size and took to his side. She frowned at him, but waved her off. Any wounds he suffered were superficial at best. “I think it’s time we ended this. Ya ready Clemari?”

Clemari nodded and tapped her ears. “I maxed out my stats with Cosmic Power and Minimize, Trainer Kamari. I’m ready.”

“Excellent,” Kamari smiled, before he settled into a glare. Lime green light exploded around him. Its gentle radiance hugged him close and sent his hair dancing in the breeze. With the power of the Insect Plate, Kamari became in touch with the strength of the world’s insect. But this feeling was different. Almost as if he became one with them. Their thoughts spiraled through his mind as he inhaled. Their encouragement, cheers, and power radiated through his bones. Perhaps this was the power Professor Kukui talked about? The crystalized essence of pokémon released into one, potent blast. Many times, he called upon it for assistance, but never did he feel this strength. Even his Z-Ring felt different! The lime green light danced around him, drawing power from the Z-Crystal at his belt.

“I call upon the power of the world’s insects. Bless him with the power to conquer my foes. Imbue me with the scared light of your Z-Move!”

Kamari leveled his gauntlet at her and grinned. A silky thread, thick and tense, shot through the air and crashed against her chest. He took to the skies and circled around her, dodging her pitiful flames with ease. Try as she might, her crimson lashes failed to tatter his silk. And it never would. She got lucky with his String Shot. But this? This silk boasted endurance even Gajeel whistled at! And there was no escape. He cocooned her in his silk, snuffed out her flames and muffling her deranged screams.

“Time for payback!”

Was it cruel to laugh? Or even smile? Hair Scare and her wrecked guild spent their time tormenting Fairy Tail. Karma deserved to bite their asses! But two wrongs never made a right. Kamari learned that lessons many years ago the hard way. And he’d prefer to stay on karma’s good side for now on! But, he supposed karma could allot him one slip up.

He’d check in with her later.

For now, he laughed. He laughed loud and hard as he swung the cocooned Flare into the field. Chunks of the ground flew into the atmosphere, but he was far from down. With all his strength, he slammed her around the coliseum. No inch of the field or wall were spared! Craters and holes riddled the land. A small part of him worried the stadium might collapse from one more strike!

He quickly buried that part of him.

For now, he couldn’t care. It was time to show the world just why Fairy Tail was feared and respected. With reckless abandon, he slammed her into the field once more before tossing her into the air. With a smirk, he soared after her and released his pincers from the gauntlet.

“Rotom Dex, just what is happening!”

“That’s the sacred power of Z-Moves! Special and powerful attack harnessed from the crystallized, pokémon essence called a Z-Crystal! Roto-K has harnessed a power so ancient it’s said to have once been a beacon of light to bug type pokémon! Only trainers who participated in the sacred ritual of the Island Challenge are allowed to wield this great power! Zzzzrt!”

And for good reason. Kamari grinned as the power the world’s insect sharpened his pincers and set them aglow with lime green light.

“Savage Spin-Out!”

A single slash was all it took.

His pincers tore through the silk, releasing Flare’s pained screeched to the stadium. As she fell from the heavens, Kamari found Clemari already in position.

“Clemari, Stored Power!”

Clemari thrilled and waved her arms. Flare never saw it coming. A massive pillar of purple light fell from the heavens and struck her cold. Her screams echoed throughout the coliseum. Until they faded with the beam. And there was Flare, beaten and unable to move.

“And that’s the match folks! Flare is unable to continue! Leaving Kamari of Fairy Tail as our winner of match one! Let’s hear it for Fairy Tail!”

Kamari grinned and hugged Clemari close.

#LGBT #Fanfiction #Fairy Tail #Pokemon #Prose #Excerpt