#reminder that they reworked combat after this for her!!!

[counterspelling]

I think for my interpretation of why this means so much to you [Ashley Johnson], and why it means so much to me for you to be a part of this is, is cause Ellie IS you in so many ways. Like, we wrote that game kind of live, organically, like we had some ideas of where the story was going but then you were cast. And you helped shape that character SIGNIFICANTLY. One of the first scenes we shot is the truck ambush, and in the game, you get pulled out of the truck and you’re kind of like, wrestling with this guy until Joel comes and saves you. And you pulled me aside when we were working on that scene and were like, “I feel like I would fight back more. I’d be more active here.” And that was the first like moment where the character started shifting toward becoming much more capable, and I think interesting because of that. And that was just one of many changes that over the years that we had talked about and you contributed. And we talked about this in the previous episode, like Ellie’s love of space, is you. That wouldn’t be there if weren’t for you

Neil Druckmann, Episode 9 - "Look For The Light" | The Last of Us Podcast | HBO Max

“I don’t believe we wrote ‘Aw, you’re so tough.’ That was just you!“ - Craig Mazin

#ellie williams #ashley johnson #the last of us #tlou hbo #tlou hbo spoilers #the last of us hbo #tlou spoilers #reminder that they reworked combat after this for her!!! #ashley johnson my beloved <3333

[phoenixiancrystallist]

Anyone remember this WIPpet? It got scrapped with the last attempt at the self-insert shenanigans, but I liked it so much I wanted to keep it. Thankfully, I found a way to rework it into the new version :) Plus some fun digs at myself because I am very much not a combatant and yet I'm throwing my SI into combat, lol

765 words of me-the-author having fun under the cut :D

~

"It's a good thing she had Knell to hold her together," Cuff said, caught somewhere between sneer and laughter. "She could never have survived long enough to get to Cipal otherwise."

"Should we step in?" Frey asked, trying not to wince when the zombie swiped Bobbi across the face with its claws.

"Are you joking? This is prime entertainment!"

"You don't think this is any funnier than I do," Frey retorted, and grabbed Bobbi's bow and quiver. She stayed crouched, torn between letting Bobbi prove herself, and not wanting to watch her new friend get torn apart by zombies.

"It's like watching a puppy tumble down a flight of stairs. Repeatedly." The delight in Cuff's voice made Frey grind her teeth. Asshole.

It didn't get better the longer they watched, either. At least Bobbi had the sense to lure the one zombie away from the group so she didn't pull aggro on the whole horde. And she got a little more confident over time. Still missed more often than she hit, and the few hits she did get in were paper cuts at best. 

"Do you know what I find fascinating?" Cuff asked a few minutes after Frey settled down cross-legged on the edge of the bluff to watch. 

"Hm?" Frey asked, only about halfway paying attention to him.

"Knell."

If Frey was a cat her ears would've perked up. "What about her?"

"She is in full control of that bond. There's nothing at all stopping her from stepping in."

Frey grit her teeth, thoughts running around in her head and colliding with each other. "Kinda glad she doesn't, though."

"You're not scared, are you? Not the mighty Tanta Frey?"

"Shouldn't I be? She's another Rheddig weapon. Like you."

"Oh, no, nothing like me," Cuff scoffed. "Nowhere near as powerful, for one thing. Considerably freer, for another. Your new friend is in over her head, and I don't think she knows it yet."

Bobbi slipped and fell on her ass trying to dodge the zombie. Happy accident that it worked; the zombie bowled right past her, and Bobbi scrambled to her feet again. 

"...I meant in regards to Knell," Cuff clarified, almost sheepish.

"What do you mean she's in over her head?" Frey asked, ignoring that last comment. She'd figured as much. 

"Knell is in full control of their bond," Cuff repeated, back on solid ground and sure of his words. "She wasn't cursed into that form like I was. She took it willingly. I've no idea why, of course, but I do find it very odd."

"How can you tell?"

"When you're as old as I am, Frey, you learn how to read and understand the power of those around you," Cuff said, affecting a wise and venerable air. Frey snorted. 

"You're only four years older than me," she reminded him.

"You go ahead and keep believing that." He had that smug tone that made her want to punch him again. "But I'm quite serious, I can tell by the way Knell has bound herself to your new friend that she is the one who set it. Not Bobbi, not a third party. It's quite similar to how I bound myself to you back in Newark."

"New York," Frey corrected, absently. Mostly on reflex at this point. "But weren't you already cursed by the other Tantas?"

"I was. That's why I said it's similar. I was cursed into that vambrace form, yes, but I chose to bind myself to you, Frey. Just as our Rheddig friend has chosen to bind herself to Bobbi."

Interesting. Frey put that information away for later. 

"What's that got to do with..." She gestured to the pantomime of a fight happening below her.

"Simply that I'm surprised Knell does nothing to protect her bearer. She certainly could with no ill-effect to Bobbi. Either how I protect you or by revealing her true form. I wonder why she doesn't."

"Huh." Frey clicked her tongue, now wondering the same thing. "Maybe—"

The zombie raked its claws down Bobbi's back, and Frey spotted a glimmer of light reflected off of something too small to see clearly from where she sat. Bobbi turned, a cry of pain filtered through gritted teeth, and the tip of her sword passed through that glimmer. 

Silver wire erupted from the contact point, pierced through the zombie and shredded it to ribbons that disintegrated on the wind. 

"Oh," Frey and Cuff said at the same time. Bobbi sheathed her sword and shook out her hands, which set Knell jingling enough Frey could hear it.

"...mine's better," Cuff grumbled.

#WIPpets (WIP snippets) #self-insert shenanigans #Forspoken #Forspoken fanfic #Forspoken oc #Forspoken self insert #self insert #scraps documents and folders my beloveds 💜 #highly recommend anyone who writes to just cut and paste scenes that don't work into a separate document #that way if you find use for them later they're already typed out and all you need to do is glue them back in :D #also fun fact: Knell's counter is single-target whereas Cuff's is AOE #so IMO his *is* better lol

[purplekoop]

Oh yeah Sombra's Season 7 rework has been revealed!

Now, we don't know the exact specifications of these changes, like damage numbers and certain mechanical details, but I'll go over what we do know and elaborate on the specifics of that.

Starting off, Machine Pistol, EMP, and Hack, as the image suggests, are not getting any substantial changes. Possibly worth noting that Hack's description simply says "Hacked enemies cannot use abilities", which... may be implying that Hack will now lock out abilities for its full duration like in OW1? Uncertain yet, but it might make sense give the other changes...

...such changes include her original passive, Opportunist, being removed. As a reminder, this passive provides two benefits: enemies at low health are revealed to Sombra (and ONLY Sombra) through walls, and Sombra deals bonus damage to hacked enemies. Both of those traits are being removed. The low health wallhack part makes sense to me since she already reveals enemies with Hack now, so doubling up on wallhack mechanics feels odd, and the part of her initial OW2 rework where you hack to just deal a bunch of damage to enemies with your normal gun has always been contentious, and is being more directly replaced with something we'll see later. Instead, this all is being replaced in the passive slot with... Stealth?

Yeah okay this is the weird part. Now, Stealth automatically activates whenever Sombra is "out of combat" for a few seconds. That means without taking damage or attacking yourself, though I imagine hacking and reloading still don't interrupt it, as with before. A change not explained here but shown in a clip of reworked Sombra gameplay that's been shown is that there's now a visible ring around your feet to show where you'll be revealed to enemies when bumping into them while in Stealth.

Translocator is getting some juicy changes too. Instead of being passively available after deploying, instead it activates on contact, think like an Ender Pearl from Minecraft. I'm assuming you're also able to still "detonate" it midair, though this is unconfirmed. Curiously, it also says it reduces Stealth's cooldown after teleporting, which... I mean I'd just assume you go invisible faster after TP'ing, I don't know why they'd need to say "cooldown" for a passive but alright.

Last up though is a brand new ability, which is why Stealth had to get bumped to a passive in order to remain part of her kit. Virus throws a projectile that deals damage over time to an enemy it hits. Hacked enemies take an increased rate of damage from it, which is the equivalent to her removed Opportunist damage buff against hacked enemies I alluded to earlier.

Here's a link from the official twitter account that shows it in action:

The overall concept behind this rework was to make Sombra feel more active than passive, which I feel came from removing "lame" parts of her kit as much as it did from adding new proactive mechanics.

Now, my thoughts... are optimistic but with some caveats.

I think the changes to Translocator are great, the fun movement part is retained while the incredibly annoying "get out of jail free" card of a pre-placed teleport to safety is thankfully gone. If you catch Sombra in a bad spot then she actually has to do more than just press one button to instantly warp to safety.

The removal of Opportunist feels like a fine way to get rid of her kit's clutter to me, the low health wallhacks just end up being a cheap way to get picked off in Deathmatch, and the damage bonus to hacked players is just not a super great-feeling mechanic on either end.

Virus is gonna be an interesting ability to see how it plays out. The concept is super simple, but the key seems to be comboing it with hack and her main damage to shred targets. Overwatch in general is good at making satisfying "skill shot" abilities, and Virus seems to be no exception, so I feel like this'll be a better implementation of her prior Opportunist-based damage combo. My one concern is that the counterplay to this is gonna be very one-dimensionally just have Suzu or Zarya Bubbles to cancel it and neuter Sombra completely, but honestly I don't think it'll be thaaaaat bad. Again, tanks can just eat or block the projectile, and Genji deflect is gonna make things funny as always, so ultimately I think this is gonna be fine.

Stealth though... that's the weird one. I'm apprehensive to it just straight-up being turned into a passive that kicks in whether you like it or not after a few seconds, especially since permanent Stealth until you want to exit it is one of the things I'm not fond of in her current design. Honestly, I think they could get away with making Stealth just an extra component of Translocator, where it kicks in after the teleport like what I assume is the case here, but that might be a lot to dump into one ability.

Overall I'm very curious to see how this rework plays out. Gut instinct is that at minimum it's gonna take away a lot of the frustration when dealing with Sombra now, but I also appreciate how none of Sombra's existing iconography and traits are being removed. She does the stealthy and the teleporty and the hacky, but now she has another new tool to tie it all together.

Also general Season 7 recap post coming soon maybe eventually too!

#overwatch #overwatch 2 #overwatch 2 season 7 #sombra #sombra overwatch

[pantheon-god-of-war]

If possible, are there any Pantheon skins that you wish to be Canon?

Just give us a Legendary The Warrior skin of Pantheon reborn.

Lore wise it could be after the Ruination. Atreus has expelled Pantheon from his body with his own gritty resolve, Pantheon requires a vessel to take form in mortal shape but the war of the Ruination has caused so much havoc and strengthened him so much that he manages to keep a corporal form for a brief while. He retreats to the peak of Targon and to spite Atreus revives his long-dead friend Pylas to possess and mold his flesh to the war gods needs. Pantheon is fully in control because Pylas has long since died, only using the body himself.

Now Pantheon pursues the interests of Targon and his own dark desires while Atreus tries to actively counter the War god. Both will still fight the darkin, but for different reasons. Pantheon will do so because they threaten Targon Prime and Atreus does so to save the humans that's would undoubtedly die in the wake of the darkin.

VOICELINES

Pantheon differs from Atreus in a few key aspects (heh) where Atreus is noble and stalwart, Pantheon is deliberate and ruthless, where Atreus anger towards the gods is a cold and determined hate Pantheon's contempt for mortals, darkin and all those who would face him is clearly made evident, he speaks with pride, being condescending to everyone he encounters, thirsting for another challenge to vanquish. His LoR voice lines already highlight his personality quite well and I think the sound effects work perfectly for him, that could all be ported from LoR into league to replicate the sound effect. Voice line wise he could have interactions with the following:

Pantheon (Atreus) - While Pantheon does not outright hate Atreus like let's say Aatrox for example he sees the mortal man as a failure of a warrior, knowing only defeat his entire life. Interactions would be more condescending.

Ascended Pantheon - Here Pantheon would see Ascended Atreus as a worthy challenge, something along the lines of "Perhaps now you can prove yourself worthy." Or something more condescending. "No matter the cosmic might you hold, you will always be a mortal."

Aatrox - He loathes Aatrox with a passion for what he did to him, but also realizes that the Darkin might be his only true equal combat-wise.

Leona - Pantheon would be fond of Leona, applaud her for her fine work, call her the daughter of Targon, and that the sun is proud of what she has wrought upon the Mountain. He would tell her that she is right, that she needs to defend her people from the coming darkness and not grow careless upon her golden throne. He would support the militaristic order of the Solari and goad on their zealous witch hunt as in the end all he cares about is war and the more carnage Leona causes on the mountain in the name of the sun, the stronger he gets.

Diana - Diana is the same as Leona, he would tell her to keep fighting, to hold on and think of her people. That he can see the cracks in the Solari foundation and that soon the moon will triumph. Much like Leona, these are sweet lies to goad both of them onward to fight harder and grow more reckless in their pursuit of victory.

Taric - Taric is the antithesis to Pantheon, championing love and life against his war and hate, He would call out Taric and try to kill the noble hero because he spits on the ideals Taric protects.

Soraka - Pantheon would be disappointed in Soraka, to have forsaken the stars for these mortals, he would never understand and while he is not hostile he also tells her that she is dead to him. Just another mortal.

Zoe - He would want to know how Zoe sealed the Darkin away, and if there is a way to make them disappear forever. He would also be annoyed by her childish appearance/demeanor since Myisha was a lot more mature than Zoe.

Aurelion Sol - He would remind Aurelion Sol that with his return the tether locking him to Targon grows stronger again. It has been Pantheon for ages to bind Aurelion to Targon and now with him returned Pantheon will make sure Aurelion is put back in his place.

Other Darkin - He would simply tell them that their end is nigh, that Pantheon has found them, and that they are about to expire.

Other Gods/Demi Gods - here it depends on how many interactions would be wanted, he could comment on the powers of the sun disc being borrowed from the Sun/Solari/Leona's aspect or challenge Volibear to a fight. Lots more here if interactions need to be stretched out.

Sion - Pantheon looks kindly on Sion, a beast revived for war, its very humanity dull and eroded where only violence and anger remain. Pantheon would call Sion his champion of War and tell him to go slaughter in the name of war.

Other Warriors (Garen/Tryndamere/Darius/Olaf/etc) He would salute them and challenge them to combat, noting how a death at his feet is the greatest honor they can wish for.

A cool idea for VO would be that he gets a Taunt like normal champs but then you get different voice lines for ally champions when you hit taunt.

Example

Enemy Pantheon - "Atreus, you come before me again, with my very own spear. Kneel boy. A dog should recognize it's better."

Ally Pantheon - "You feel the power, let loose Atreus, show me your rage and perhaps you will be worthy of my favor."

Enemy Aatrox - "Another one of your flesh puppets for me to rend Aatrox? Pathetic!"

Ally Aatrox - "You and me against them?! Who can stand against Aspect AND Darkin?"

Enemy Leona - "You say you burn as the sun does! So then, show me your fire girl!"

Ally Leona - "The daughter of Targon and War eternal who could hope to stand against such a phalanx of spear, sword, and shield?"

I always wanted to have more interaction with allies, since you only see enemy champions every now and then, and even if you do they mostly attack you and never let you enjoy the interactions. Whereas if you play with friends you can actually enjoy this content of ally interaction. Idk why Riot has not done this before.

MODEL

The base design doesn't have to differ so much from the Legends of Runeterra Warrior design. (KEEP IT RED) Red stands for hot-headed aggression, red stands for fire, red stands for blood. Red is a color much more fitting to war than blue and the argument that Pantheon's cape is blue to show his allegiance with the stars is null and void since LoR showed us all HOW GOOD red looks on Pantheon. It fits so much better.

Some small tweaks here and there perhaps but overall the base model looks great. If the cape would be longer and more flowing like Yoric it would be great, aside from that there could be small visual design changes for reaching levels 6/11/16. Also as a longtime Pantheon main I really love the aesthetic of his face being shrouded, I dislike the new post rework Pantheon skins for that very reason. Pulsefire, Ruined and even Ascended Pantheon are all marred by the face that they show his face, when his facelessness was something that made him stand out. In this skin he should absolutely not have a face since he is a divine being that helmet should be his face, the face of war, nothing else.

The colors get brighter and hotter, to signal that Pantheon is getting supercharged with the psychic energies of war, colors would go from red-orange to bright yellow, additionally, the number of spears in his cape could also increase from 2/4/6 at levels 6/11/16 with small edits like the passive fire on spear and shield and the fire plume increasing in sizes slightly.

ADDITIONALLY

There could be a number of smaller tweaks to make the VFX stand out. Like pulling a new spear from his cape after Pantheon throws it. Or that Pantheon doesn't even throw the main spear but shoots a spear forward from his cape as he can manifest them. Voicelines like "Unstoppable, War eternal an Invincible!" could be added to his E whenever he uses it as if he mocks whoever dares attack him. "Here mortal, or just Heel!" when he stuns you.

His ult could be Pantheon coming straight down where the spear lands, instead of in an angle, and the angle is then covered by either a spear storm or meteorite shards. The straight-down Pantheon landing being a homage to Grand Skyfall. He does not land sooner and he still shoots down a spear first, but this time he just lands from above.

As for the dance, either you give him some workout to flex on people or you give him the Ricardo Milos dance. Which let's be honest, everyone wants to see.

Lore wise I think Pantheon is very important. Currently, we have Pantheon (Atreus) Diana and Taric who are all outright heroes. Aphelios serves under Diana and Zoe does not really care she does whatever she wants. Soraka while a hero lives secluded. Targon only has Leona as a villain and the celestial Pantheon would fill that slot very well. He is the god of war, he would try to rouse them all against one another and also give them a reason to unite against him. To fight together, and perhaps even be incentive enough for Leona and Diana to lay down their weapons and join forces.

Additionally, all it takes is a skin to create a champion's worth of impact on the league universe. There doesn't need to be a new champion from Targon to push the narrative forward which means less time that needs to be invested on Riots part.

Thank you for your time, I will be sitting here on my mountain top, waiting and hoping that I started a fire.

#Pantheon #the warrior

[artxyra]

The League of Assions and The order of the guardions. The order master fu was a part of have always been allys. Daimon learns that lady bug and chat noir are active and thanks to a member of the Jla Paris calls for help have been wrote off as a prank. He goes sees how Chat is not doing his job and basical takes over. Marinette whom it the garudion now. Ask whom he is after he turns up as the new chat. He tells her the greeting league and order members use.

There was a hidden alliance unlocked only to those who deserve it. Damian had little knowledge until his mother pulled him away from a stray mission that his father sent him on and told him everything about. The Order of Guardians for the Miraculous, the miraculous themselves and how powerful they are. He never once thought a second of that was until a lazy Saturday night.

That night, Damian decided to hack the Justice League system and after coming across the trash file bin he finds footage of Paris dating back to three years ago. The recent video broadcasted only a few months ago had a very distraught and tired Ladybug staring at the camera. He watches every video that was ever sent to them and with each second a growing sense of anger rose within him.

By blood he is supposed to help the Guardians in their time of needs just like they do with the League of Assassins. Years of being pushed off as a prank, Damian knew what he had to do. Hacking into the Justice League of Europe he finds little to investigate, so he ends up searching for it online. Two vastly different websites regarding the Paris issue comes onto his monitor One website—the LadyBlog—was nothing but downgraded tabloid that would make Lois Lane, now Kent, gag and gouge her eyes out. The other site—Miraculous Out—was an informational site with Ladybug producing it along with news reporters by the names of Aurore Beaureal and Mireille Caquet. Together they appear in a professional setting reporting on the latest akuma attacks and give Ladybug the option to relay coping techniques every week and information regarding the aftermath of the akumatized victim.

It took every bone in his body to not just zeta tube to Paris right then and there. He must be smart, diligent. He doesn’t even know who the current Guardian is. It’s not like he could call upon the League and get (the right word is force) them to give him information regarding the current situation of the Order of the Guardians.

That sort of willpower only lasted a week. After being brushed off by the League members that remain after the majority, his father included left on a mission out in space. He snuck past Nightwing, his apparent guardian, and zeta tubed to the closest place to Paris.

It takes him a day to locate the current holders of the ladybug and black cat miraculous. That was mainly due to an akuma attack in the progress that night.

Chat Noir was practically no help. The hero wasn’t listening to any of the demands (the better choice of word is strategies) Ladybug was telling him. He could see the stress in her through her body language. A facepalm, constant use of a scowl. Her eyes darting around for a perfect moment. It’s all the reason why she hadn’t used her lucky charm yet.

Foolishly, Chat Noir called out his Cataclysm prematurely and it wasn’t Ladybug’s screaming at the hero to not do that, that gave it away. No, it was that with him analyzing the situation Cataclysm was not needed for what Ladybug was setting up. The akuma victim wasn’t near the proximately that the attack would even help.

Seeing the useless black cat holder looking unsettling unhappy. Ladybug now breathing deeply turns her attention back to reworking her plan as the person that was supposed to be her partner, her equal, runoff into the distant. Ladybug calls out to him, but even she knew better than anything.

Damian takes off towards the running, failure of a hero. He waits, lingering in the shadows. Each blast from afar, he knows that he needs to hurry. He no doubly trusted her abilities to handle the situation but for how long was the question that rang through his head.

Got him.

Damian quickly takes down the useless hero. It’s not like him to put up a fight as the hero was mumbling to himself at how she should trust him more, that they are meant to be together.

The kwami of destruction showed himself to the Gotham vigilante after Damian reassured him with the password that the League and the Guardians came up with to ensure they were the real deal. Reluctantly, the kwami gives Damian permission to be his wielder allowing Damian to take the ring off the unconscious former hero.

The kwami tells him how to activate the miraculous, but we will need to speak to the guardian after this whole ordeal to determine his fate after this. “Plagg, claws out!”

Ladybug was used to fighting alone, but that didn’t mean she liked it. Her plans go down the drains the moment Chat decides to act out during each of their attacks. She also hates knowing that he is Adrien Agreste, a person she once thought of so highly to the point when her civilian self wanted to start a family with him. After becoming the guardian, she only then started to see how selfish he is and clinging to others. Perhaps it was his lack of knowledge of the real world, but even a baby understands the meaning of no and yet he acts like one.

This akuma wants vengeance against those who wrong her. A beauty contest went wrong and she swears that the winner only won because she slept with the judge the night before. Not that Ladybug needed to know that.

She already figured out the akumatized item, it was her pageant satchel.

“Need a hand.” Ladybug turns around to see a person wearing a cat-eared hooded black cap. She swears that the person reminds her of Batman with a mixture of Nightwing.

“I don’t have time for this.” Ladybug sighs before stalking up to the newly defined holder of the cat miraculous. “Her akuamatized item is in the satchel care to lend a hand.”

The newly acquired black cat nods allowing Ladybug to proceed in giving him her plans for ending the akuma. She couldn’t get a good look at him until he launches himself into the air and sees the black tight bodysuit with red and green accents outlining his suit. His use of combat boots and handle the black cat’s miraculous choice of weapon with ease. If someone were to ask her if she felt jealous of his determination, outfit, and skills, she would have denied it to her very core.

They bodies moved in sync, always knowing what the person was going to do before needing to communicate vocally. It was this time of teamwork she needs right now.

“Bye, bye little butterfly.” She says as the purified akuma flies off into the distance. Throwing up her lucky charm item, a fishing rod, into the air everything returns to normal. She turns to the new black cat and asks him his business for taking the miraculous and being in Paris.

Damian asks for an audience with the current guardian. Ladybug places her hand on her hips and tells him that she’s the current guardian. Within a second of that information escaping her lips, he tells her the sacred password. Ladybug’s stance becomes at ease and she motions for him to follow her.

“You have some nerve taking a hero’s miraculous without my knowledge.” Ladybug sits across from him as Plagg hovers over her shoulder snacking on a slice of cube cheese.

“I’m in an alliance with the Justice League and only recently found out about the lack of attention Paris is receiving,” He tells her honesty. “As a member of the League of Assassins, it is my duty to aid you in your time of need.”

Ladybug sighs and leans back into her seat, “The help was nice. If you want, I can allow you to use the black cat miraculous until the Hawkmoth situation is dealt with, or you can return to the Justice League and help from afar?”

It was a great deal. He gets to be on his own seeing as he’s closed to becoming eighteen and gets to be away from his family’s prying eyes.

“I would like that.” He answers her after a moment of silence. “It would do my honor a great justice helping out an alliance that my grandfather swears by.”

“You seem like the type of person that would avoid anything, and all things League related.”

“And seem like the type of person to avoid things Order related.”

Ladybug and Damian shares a smirk together.

“Well, I’m sure the ladies at Miraculous Out is just dying to get to know the new black cat, what will you be called?”

“[Insert hero name for Damian here].”

Ladybug smiles and gets up to shake the man’s hand, binding their future together.

Permanent Tag List: @vixen-uchiha | @i-is-mysterious | @kuroko26 | @maribat-is-lifeblood |

#maribat #marinette x damian #daminette #ml crossover #dc crossover #ml x dc #mlb x dc

[pinballwvzard]

old friend || eggsy unwin

Request: 23, 55, 13, 100 with eggsy being the readers date to her sisters wedding (that she’s in)? Maybe some cute af fluffy stuff? Thank you! - for @marvel-ing-at-it-all 💜 Summary: fake dating au, you and eggsy are best friends and the only way you can get him into your sister’s wedding is by pretending you’ve (finally) started dating. [x reader, she/her pronouns] 100. “I adore you.” 13. “I could kiss you right now!” 23. “Just pretend to be my date.” 55. “I fell in love with my best friend.”  Warnings: alcohol ment, swearing (v minor).  Word Count: 1,637 Note: i’m SUCH a sucker for fake dating, thank you for requesting! Don’t forget to leave feedback!

“Just pretend to be my date,” you pouted at your best friend. “Please!”

Eggsy sat on the other side of the table, desperately trying to combat the major puppy eyes you were throwing his way. The two of you had been friends since high school. You stuck with Eggsy through all his highs and lows, just as he stuck with you through yours. You were like two peas in a pod, everyone always expected one after the other. 

Your sister would have invited him to her wedding if it weren’t for the fact that he had managed to tip the entire bowl of punch over her at the last event the three of your had been at. Well, that and the merciless teasing you both never failed to put her through. She had even put in a ‘no plus ones unless they’re your significant other’ rule in place to further ban him. It was a miracle she hadn’t outright banned you in the process. Instead, she had graciously allowed you into the Bridesmaid ranks. 

Even though you had an important role, you weren’t sure you could make it through this big an event without Eggsy by your side. You loved your sister but her friends were her friends and often left you feeling a little excluded. So, you had found a loophole. She couldn’t ban Eggsy if he ticked all the boxes. Besides, it couldn’t be too hard to pull off, most people just assumed you and Eggsy were dating anyway.

There was only the niggling thought at the back of your mind that told you that pretending to date him would ...actually make you develop feelings for him. You had pretended to date before but never for a wedding, of all things. That and things had started to change recently. You had tried to ignore it but it kept creeping back in. Often you caught him staring, or he would pull away suddenly when you got to close. 

“Aight,” Eggsy sighed, pulling you from your thoughts. I’ll do it.” 

Your whole face lit up and you let out a little squeal. You grabbed his hands across the table and stamped your feet in excitement, “I could kiss you right now!”

And there it was again, Eggsy pulled his hands from yours and let out a tense laugh. He glanced around at the disrupted coffee shop patrons with a sheepish look. The grin on your face slipped a little. 

Maybe this wasn’t as great a plan as you had initially thought.

…

The wedding approached with impossible speed. You had been extremely busy in the weeks following that conversation and so had Eggsy. The time you spent together was often short, and filled with making plans for the wedding. Part of you wished you had never asked. Eggsy had seemed distant and cold, throwing himself into work rather than spending every second of free time together like you usually did. Plus, it had been a mission and a half trying to convince your sister that you were actually dating, and not just using it as an excuse to bring Eggsy along. 

Thankfully, he had pulled it together to trudge through the wedding on good terms. He had even managed to let out a low whistle and call you gorgeous as he spun you around in your dress. You had to admit, he was so convincing that there were a few times during the day you forgot you weren’t together. He fit so perfectly as if he’d never been anything other than an established part of your family. He was wearing a beautifully tailored suit. You had no idea where he’d managed to wrangle it from but he looked incredible. More than once, you caught yourself gazing at him like some kind of lovestruck idiot. And every time you had to remind yourself that was Eggsy, your best friend and definitely not boyfriend. 

The service had been beautiful and joyous. It was hard to worry about anything when the whole day was filled with such happiness. Well, it was either the happiness or the tipsiness from the champagne you had been sipping from pretty much the minute you woke up. 

Right now you sat at your table taking a break from it all. Your feet were aching a little and you were dead tired, but content nevertheless. You surveyed the room, glancing from your sister and her partner slow dancing wistfully - apparently so wrapped in each other that they had failed to notice the high energy song playing - to your parents and your family all exploding into laughter at that moment. And then your eyes landed on Eggsy.

He was in the middle of the dancefloor (always the life of the party) surrounded by what had to be every child in the venue. They were teaching him dance moves and giggling at how ridiculous he looked getting all the moves horribly wrong. You smiled to yourself softly; it was highly likely he was getting them wrong to earn a laugh from his little audience. Eggsy certainly knew how and when to play the right cards. The song changed into a slow one and he lifted his eyes directly to you, his face lighting up with a goofy smile when he met your gaze. Excusing himself from his sea of followers, he made his way to you. 

“May I have this dance,” he said with his hand extended. His cheeks were a little flushed from the dancing and his smile reached all the way to his eyes. It felt good to have him back in your court, you felt so tired after weeks of tension. So, you took his hand and let him lead you to the dancefloor. 

Other couples were now making their way over, and some of the kids were still keeping up the earlier dance party on the edge. Eggsy wrapped his hands around your waist, not low enough to be unsavoury but you still shivered a little at the contact. In turn, you wrapped yours around his neck. Not wanting to make eye contact, you rested your head against his chest and let him guide you. You felt safe like this, warm and cosy. Almost as if wrapped in Eggsy’s arms was where you were always meant to have ended up. 

“Hey,” Eggsy whispered in your ear. His warm breath sending sparks down your spine. “Can we talk?” 

You pulled back to frown at him, “now?” 

“Yeah now, I have to do it now,” he said, pulling you off the dancefloor swiftly. You glanced back to see your sister watching him sweep you away with a raised eyebrow. 

He led you down a hallway off the main room. Stopping about halfway down, he placed you with your back against the wall to face him. Then, he patted you on the arms and took a step back. It was as if he was positioning you like an object in a presentation. He then spun on his heels and paced three steps back down the hall, and then turned again and paced back. You wrapped your arms around yourself, feeling cold and exposed. 

“So?” The word came out smaller than you meant it. To be honest, Eggsy being so fidgety was unnerving. Usually, he was the epitome of cool, calm and collected. 

“Okay, okay! Okay. I have-” he stopped, his brain reworking the words. “I’ve been meaning to say this for a while, um, well i-”

He looked at you, almost for guidance. But was only met with your confused and expectant face. He knew these were words he had to get out himself. 

“Shit!” he swore, spinning to the wall behind him. He wrung his whole body out, shaking his hands. You would have laughed at how ridiculous he was being if you were so nervous about what he had to say. 

What did he have to say that made him so jittery? Was it about how weird he had been acting? Was he moving away? Had he met someone and was worried about telling you? Was he sick? Was he-

Your thoughts were stopped in their tracks as Eggsy spun back to face you and then he began all at once as if the words couldn’t come out fast enough;

“y/n, look, I’ve been so distant and it’s killing me. I’m just scared, I’m scared ‘cause I adore you, I always have and I always will. And i- I always thought it was like friend adoration, and maybe it was but,” he took a deep and shaky breath. “Somewhere along the line, I fell in love with my best friend.” 

It’s like getting hit in the face with a brick wall, or a refreshing spray of cool water. You’re not sure. You’re not sure because you’re struggling to process the words. Eggsy’s staring at you, waiting for your response with an anxious expression. Whatever you say next will make or break him. He knows that, and you know that, and he knows that you know that. But you can’t think at all. 

I fell in love with my best friend. 

In love! 

Everything snaps into place for you. The weirdness you had felt around him; the hitched breaths and warm embraces. Your face splits into a grin. 

“I think I might have done the same thing,” you say a little breathlessly. 

The worry ebbs away from Eggsy’s face, the corners of his mouth turning up to mirror your own. But he still doesn’t touch you. His hands flutter like he wants to, but you can tell he’s unsure. You couldn’t blame him, this changed everything.

“What? Really? You mean-” 

“Yeah, really.” you’re still grinning. 

“Can I kiss you?” he asks. 

He barely waits for you to nod before he’s pressing his lips to yours. 

_______________________________

don’t forget to leave feedback! thanks for reading 💕✨

#eggsy unwin x reader #eggsy unwin x you #eggsy unwin imagines #eggsy unwin imagine #eggsy unwin fic #eggsy x reader #i feel like i miiiight have gotten the pacing off #idk about this one #when i say leave feedback #like pls do xx

[arethereanyoriginalusernames]

Babbling about one of my characters

So anyway, @eclecticcoyote wanted me to babble about Chronos, so if you hate this post, blame him, and if you loved it, blame me :)

You know what's funny? Typically, out of all my characters, Chronos is not a popular guy for me to talk about. He's also not someone whose story I think about often, because out of all my characters, (when you get down to it) he's a fairly simple to understand. Underneath the outward layer of mystery surrounding this guy canonically is a pretty straightforward thing. He's not a character that needs introspection, nor is he someone who has a long way to go before figuring out how to better himself. Chronos' fatal flaw and its' solution is obvious. What's not as simple is getting Chronos to figure it out/accept it.

But who is this dude?

Chronos is this guy with the 1920s mobster realness going on

He's the most powerful and the most experienced in the group, and is one of the key players in kickstarting the plot. Chronos is a human who possesses telekinetic abilities so powerful, he can not only turn back time, but he can alter it in such a way that he can keep his future memories. While Chronos is physically still around 19-22 years old, mentally it'd be safe to assume he's a lot older.

In terms of what he contributes, Chronos acts as the street smart negotiator, and he helps out basically wherever he can. When it comes to combat, Chronos often doesn't use his telekinesis. Instead, he pulls a bunch of "James bond " esque stunts, being sneaky and using basically whatever he has on hand to stroll through waves of bad guys without breaking a sweat. He also has a gun that fires miniature timed bombs (strong enough to blow off a limb or two)

But why not use what are basically jesus level powers? Even Chronos has a limit to his powers, and a lot of his power is spent on preserving his memory. See, Chronos saves up his power to turn back time, and there's a limited amount of times he can do this, depending upon how far back he's going. What would happen if Chronos over exerted himself? Well, the last time he did resulted in him ending up in a week long coma.

When Chronos uses up too much of his power, the power he lends to preserving his memories turn against him and "snap", causing damage to Chronos' brain. It should be noted that he didn't always have this debilitating factor, at least not to this extent. And this is where his backstory comes into play.

********

As confusing as this will sound, Chronos' past no longer exists.

The world Chronos grew up in was post apocalyptic due to a nuclear war that pretty much fucked the entire world over. Chronos was an orphan who grew up as a servant to a wealthy family. Back then, Chronos was somewhat religious. When he discovered his powers and what he could do with them, he believed that he had been given them for a reason. So, think "with great power comes great responsibility ". To make a long story short, Chronos went back decades before he was born, reworked history, but prevented the war from happening. This resulted in him waking up a new world, still with his old memories in tact, but no idea of what his new life was.

Nowadays, Chronos doesn't remember much of his old life. In order to prevent another coma from happening, he willingly gives up most of his memories to make room for old ones, only keeping those he deems "necessary ". (His coma happened a week into his new life after he tried to use his powers again)

According to other characters, Chronos spent a month wandering the world, looking for something to do with himself (Chronos doesn't remember this). He eventually started a mercenary group with Persephone, and this is where Chronos started his thing of "rewriting other people's lives in order to give them a happy ending "

He seeks out Phoenix after she's separated from her brother and recruits her into the mercenary business. Apparently, in an alternate reality, Chronos came across a fatally wounded Phoenix who had somehow managed to set off a massive war, and decided to do something about it before everyone else got fucked. (Chronos vaguely remembers this)

Despite Chronos' seemingly noble intentions, he doesn't get along with... well, anyone, really. At most, he can share a mutual sense of respect with someone. See, there's another reason besides his powers that I like to joke about Chronos being God or Jesus. And it's because he's literally trying to play god.

****************

Now, the story makes it clear that while Chronos can go back in time and prevent something from happening, that doesn't always mean that he should or that he'll be able to prevent every bad thing from happening.

Chronos is not the leader of the group, but good luck trying to tell him that. He's always trying to micromanage everything, and will find any excuse to justify not allowing someone to make their own decisions. He likes to "remind " people of their faults, and he rarely trusts anyone but himself to do their job. This causes him to clash with several characters, especially Phoenix.

Speaking of which, since Phoenix is one of the few people who will stand up to Chronos, they argue a lot at the beginning of the story. At first, Chronos seems to have the upper hand, seeing as he's more experienced. There's also the fact that not only is Phoenix dyslexic, she was poorly educated. In other words, she's 18, and she never learned how to fucking read. (Literally, in the story, she actually can't read)

But then, time and time again, Phoenix gets Chronos to dismount his high horse. For instance, in times when Chronos is convinced that going back in time is the only option, Phoenix proves him wrong. Phoenix also goes to great lengths to better herself for everyone else. She learns how to read and write, helps Vlad (who Chronos saw as a lost cause) become a vital member of the group, does what she can to bring everyone together, and learns from her experiences. Eventually, Chronos finds himself having to acknowledge Phoenix as an equal, and they end up having one of those "mutual respect " relationships I mentioned.

***********

In the story, many of the people who know Chronos well encourage him to do two things. Stop playing god because you can't, and maybe you should retire before you fucking kill yourself.

Chronos puts himself at more risk than he likes to admit by using his powers. However, although he is no longer religious, he still stands by the whole "I was given this power for a reason " thing. He genuinely believes that he can fix everything with his powers, and the interference of things he can't control (like stubborn, illiterate 18 year olds) are the only things in his way.

There has been instances of Chronos hasn't been able to solve problems, and there's also been instances where he's had to do some immoral things to get the outcome he wants. He usually erases his memory of these instances, but not all of them disappear entirely. An example of this would be his rival, Flaga, who (without going into much detail) got massively screwed over, and was betrayed by Chronos.

Chronos doesn't want to admit his mistakes nor give up on his "mission ". The truth is that without it, he'd feel lost and lacking in a purpose. Chronos has dedicated almost his entire life to his cause, and he hasn't developed much as a person. He has no hobbies, interests, close relationships, nothing. Chronos refuses to develop any sort of close relationship to anyone. This is due to the fact that while nobody else may remember it, he always gets to see the alternative realities where people around him die, or are hurt in horrible ways.

Chronos can often come off as charismatic, and likes to exude an gentlemanly demeanor (hence why he's the negotiator). While he can get caught up in his own pride, he is in fact quite intelligent and resourceful. He is easily annoyed by the tomfoolery of others, but Chronos does have some sense of humor. He just doesn't show it often. While he seems friendly and open to discussion while negotiating, he's usually very reserved and rarely interacts with others unless it's necessary.

[meditativeyoga]

Playing martyr to your past?

All people bear in mind the quote, "Those who could not keep in mind the past are condemned to repeat it" by George Santayana, Life of Factor, Factor in Common Sense, 1905.

I wishes to recommend that the meaning of this quote is not apparent. There are certainly lots of individuals that won't allow go of the past.

These individuals are stressed, focussing exclusively on regret, disappointment, and heartache. Their minds transform backward, and also rehash old information-- and there they rest, stuck in the mess.

One client's partnership finished after 3 years. All she speaks about is her pain over the failing of the relationship. She endlessly keeps in mind just how terrific he was, then all the negative things that happened-- especially just how terribly she acted.

She says she doesn't desire to repeat the pain, so she quits dating as well as has rendezvous, and afterwards really feels guilty. After that she states she does want a relationship, but remains to get men who have commitment concerns, who leave the next day, or week, or month. And also she believes she's being used.

So, she used up knitting. She sighs, a great deal. Complains bitterly. Repeats, "I presume I'm simply embeded my ways." The strange part is there's a large component of her that gets off on being a martyr.

Stop playing the martyr

All of us do the important things we do since we derive enjoyment from them. This begins to clarify why individuals live in the past, or far better placed, stay in their minds, reworking their stories of the past. They obtain enjoyment from their self-created pain.

Indeed, a lot of my customers are addicted to their pain.

It's as though they were taking medicines-- they maintain doing the exact same damaging stuff, over and also over. All that changes is the intensity of the misery-story they tell. "It was the worst, he was the cruelest, I was stupid ..." and also on and also on.

Before I unbox the above quote, allow me remind you: absolutely nothing regarding the stories you inform yourself concerning your past are true.

I understand. You 'd suggest with me. "Obviously my tales are real! I existed! I saw/heard/felt precisely just what I was describing!" Well, not so.

If you have a brother or sister, ask them to bear in mind a 'big' event. Notice exactly what takes place when you compare stories.

Example: One client remembered playing with his sis and sibling when he was 8 years old. They set a fire on the driveway, and assuming it was leaving control, my client splashed it with exactly what he believed was water. It was kerosene. His sister got burnt.

Here's the interesting part: 50 years later, the three of them are speaking about the occasion-- and also each of them thought they had begun the fire as well as put the kerosene! Consider it. This was a big, terrible event, as well as for HALF A CENTURY, there was no agreement-- each of them wallowed in the pain and guilt.

I stated, "Isn't really that intriguing, each of you condemning yourself?"

He, annoyed, said, "Yeah, but my version is the appropriate one. Just how do I get them at fault me?"

Our stories of the past are not tidy. They are sustained by our assumptions, forecasts, and also personalities. If I think that I am a victim, for instance, my memories will be loaded with pictures backing my idea. So, what good is the past [ as well as exactly what regarding that quote?]

Our memories are just a huge collection of information pieces. We keep in mind in order to pick up from the past. The quote may be much better placed:

" Those who do not gain from the past, and transform their behavior, are condemned to repeat it as well as get the exact same results."

The first client, stated over, wished to spend hours informing me exactly how unfortunate as well as desolate and alone she was. I barged in and also welcomed her to let me understand one thing she did that obtained her lousy results, and one point her ex-spouse did, ditto.

She responded, "When we began to suggest, he 'd obtain quiet and leave the apartment or condo. Or, I would certainly obtain up and go to the bedroom and snuggle in a round. We wouldn't speak for a day or more, then compose, yet never ever chat concerning the fight."

There, in the data, was something she could learn how to do differently.

I urged her to learn how to 'combat reasonable' and also to communicate. To practice with her sweethearts, to go out on enjoyable days, for practicing the interaction part.

As we functioned together, if I saw that she was closing down and also not speaking, I 'd ask her to decide to 'come out of her room as well as talk to me.'

That allegory benefited her. When she wishes to curl up and closed down, she envisions going out of the bedroom and also talking. And after that she talks.

Nothing in our lives changes unless we alter it, and that includes exactly what we carry out in our heads.

Here are a number of ideas in order to help you to get away from your psychological video games-- from sticking to the past.

[thetrashiestoftrash]

More in-depth Captain Marvel thoughts, now that I’m finally off mobile and can add a readmore without some kind of dark ritual. I try to be general enough to avoid spoilers, but just in case, it’s below the cut:

Overall, it’s very good. It’s a fun movie. Captain Marvel herself is great. They rework her origin story in a creative and entertaining way. I love their version of Mar-Vell. I don’t want any of my criticisms to take away from the fact that it’s a great movie, and you’ll have fun if you see it.

It does have a bad case of prequel-itis. I guess this was inevitable, setting a movie well before all the other Marvel nonsense. But they can’t resist dropping in little references to established bits of the existing franchise.

Young Nick Fury looks... weird. Young Coulson just looks smooth, like he’s wearing an inch of makeup, or his face hasn’t finished loading the textures yet. I guess it’s just a side effect of whatever youngifying they did. Fury probably stands out to me because there’s more of him in the movie, and I’ve seen more movies with Samuel L. Jackson when he was younger (some) than Clark Gregg (none).

It kinda feels like a movie set in modern day with prominent 90s props left around to remind you it’s the past. Like the 90s aspect is just sort of taped on top of a generic superhero movie. I guess it’s partly that the world hasn’t changed too much, and cars from the 90s are definitely still on the road, but then they’ll zoom in on a Radio Shack with a beat to let you know this is a joke.

It also feels kinda rushed. Like there a bits that are sparkling, and other bits that feel like a trial run before filming the actual scene. The dialogue whenever two more people is great. Everyone has their own speaking style, and it flows in a way that is entertaining, informative, and feels natural. Except when they get to fight scenes, it’s like “Hey Carol has to have a snarky quip here, can you pause a minute for her to be sarcastic?”

It is never explained how Carol pays for anything, and that really bothers me. Like obviously sometimes she just steals stuff because she either doesn’t know or doesn’t care, but there are several instances where she’s using something she would’ve had to buy, and zero explanation for how she did it. She can’t hack or intimidate her way into everything. I know it’s stupid but I need to know.

“I’m on your team, so maybe I should match you” *looks pointedly at little girl’s Air Force shirt* Uh. I know she has to pick the colors somehow. But.

Without hopefully giving away too much, there is definitely a theme of “this war is unjust and I’ve been lied to by a corrupt government” but there’s definitely a followup which is “the US military is a neutral or virtuous organization for helping the world.” Like, a character laments that because women couldn’t fly combat missions in 1989, they had to seek other means to “do the most good.” Obviously a certain amount of military worship is unavoidable--you can’t take the Air Force out of Carol Danvers’ backstory any more than you could take the Army out of Steve Rogers’--but uh. We weren’t exactly fighting WWII in the late 80s.

The Skrull effects are... inconsistent. The leader guy looks great, but everyone else kinda looks like they just got really high quality Halloween masks. They have trouble with facial expressions, and they tend to leave their mouth hanging open. Like the makeup team didn’t have time for anyone who wasn’t a speaking character.

I’m going to marry the Kree sniper lady.

[Redacted] is the single most relatable character, but also I need to rewatch it to see if they actually got a dramatic characterization change after the reveal or if it’s just the effect of the reveal itself.

The getting up montage is amazing, partly because it’s a mix of footage we’ve already seen and footage we haven’t, but also because the meaning is incredibly clear without anyone having to spell it out.

Again, it’s a fun movie. It just feels like Marvel kind of rushed it out the door so they could say they had a Captain Marvel movie, and put the minimal amount of effort into to ensure it didn’t suck. They don’t want to bomb the movie because she’s already set up to play a big part in Endgame, but they also don’t care if it isn’t as popular as their other movies. It’s frustrating to me because all the basics are there, and it’s so close to stellar that the gap stands out all the more. It’s well within the capabilities of Marvel to push this film to its potential, and they just... didn’t.

[pixelgrotto]

The horrific Resident Evil playthrough, interlude three

Resident Evil’s a franchise that has almost as many spin-offs as it does main games, and when I told a friend several months ago that I was going to attempt a series playthrough, he was like, “Dude, aren’t there thirty of those?” 

Thirty’s an exaggeration, but there are about eleven spin-off games, give or take a bunch of mobile quickies that only came out in Japan. I’m not counting the “big” spin-offs like Code: Veronica or the Revelations titles, because those are essentially mainline releases with pivotal, canon story elements. I’m talking about games like Resident Evil: Survivor, an early PS1 effort that tried to fulfill the series’ first person perspective fetish with clunky results, Resident Evil: Dead Aim, a light gun shooter, and Resident Evil: Outbreak, an online game that let you tag team with buddies to escape Racoon City.

I decided to pick and choose which of these spin-offs I’d sit down to play, since quite a few of ‘em are mediocre, others have components that are now difficult to get running (Outbreak’s online multiplayer) and I just didn’t have the necessary hardware, like a PS2 light gun, to fully enjoy stuff like Dead Aim. (If you want a more comprehensive study of all of these games, then check out Avalanche Reviews’ Resident Evil Retrospective, which he began at around the same time that I started this playthrough.) I finally settled on Resident Evil 1.5, Resident Evil Gaiden, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles as the ones I was most interesting in experiencing...and honestly, it was a mixed bag. 

Resident Evil 1.5 - This isn’t so much a game as it’s a leaked beta release of what would eventually become Resident Evil 2, and the reason I chose to play this is because it’s famously different from the final product. Thanks to lots of behind-the-scenes development drama, Resident Evil 1.5 (still shown as 2 in my screenshot up there) is an unfinished build that was scrapped and heavily reworked before it became the RE2 that we know today. The differences between this and the final version are stark - the famous Raccoon City Police Station is a modern office building rather than a gothic hall of weird puzzles and art, the enemies include strange foes like zombie gorillas, there was no partner zapping system, and there’s a whole different character available from the get-go named Elza Walker. Elza, initially just a random motorcycle-riding civilian who crashed into the police station during the zombie outbreak, later became Claire Redfield in order to create a connection with Chris Redfield of RE1. I’m kind of fascinated with her, since it’s rare to get a glimpse of a character that was totally revamped during a game’s development, and I mostly ignored Leon to dabble through portions of the playable build with her. I say “dabble” rather than “play” because you can’t exactly finish RE1.5 - all you can do is wander around rooms and use a debug menu to teleport to different spots before giving up and watching a playthrough of someone more experienced do this on YouTube. At the end of the day, RE1.5 is more of a fascinating look behind the curtain than it is an actual game, and the final version of RE2 is definitely superior. It’s no wonder why the devs decided that a drastic revamp was needed, since RE1.5, even in its unfinished state, feels kind of samey to RE1. That said, I remain enamored with Elza Walker and her slick motorcycle suit, and I ain’t the only one, since it’s available as a skin for Claire in the upcoming Resident Evil 2 remake. 

Resident Evil Gaiden - RE Gaiden is a game that got infamously bad reviews upon release, with reviewers crapping on it for not being like the PS1 games. This is kind of unfair in hindsight, because it was released for the darn Game Boy Color, of all systems, and there was no way we were going to get an accurate copy of an experience which originated on hardware that was much more powerful. If anything, it shows how bad gaming journalism was in the early 2000s (you could make the argument that it still is bad, but that’s another story altogether), because honestly...I kinda enjoyed Gaiden? It’s flawed to be sure, but it comes darn close to taking the experience of “survival,” always at the heart of this series, and distilling it down to an 8-bit formula. The setting is a huge ship, just like Resident Evil Revelations (which oddly seems like it borrowed a lot of concepts from this game), and you’ve got to do the usual schtick of running around, collecting ammo and items and dodging zombies. Combat takes place from an RPG-esque first-person perspective that I liked because it struck me as an elegant reminder of Sweet Home, and you’ve got a constantly moving slider bar for each weapon with a key point in the middle that you need to hit in order to accurately fire off a shot. It’s novel but frustrating at times, since advanced weapons have the slider moving so damn fast, and it’s totally possible to end up in a fail state by running out of ammo. You can do this in any Resident Evil game, technically, but it feels more plausible here. Case in point - I got all the way to the final boss and was unable to beat him because I had no bullets. Dang! Still, despite its rough edges, Gaiden feels like a sleeper that didn’t quite deserve the bashing that it got upon release, and for a spin-off designed by a small British studio who had previously only made Mary Kate & Ashley and Tazmanian Devil games, it’s worth a look for people who always wondered what RE would be like in 2D.

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles/Darkside Chronicles - I’m grouping these Wii rail shooters together because I expected to enjoy ‘em the most, since they contain remixes of the plots of RE1 to Code: Veronica and also new bits of lore, like the actual story of Umbrella’s downfall. (Why Capcom never stuck this in a mainline game and relegated it to a chapter in a Wii spin-off remains one of the company’s more bizarre franchise decisions.) Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish them, because I realized while playing both that...I don’t really like rail shooters very much. I mean, I think stuff like Time Crisis is okay in the arcade, when you’ve got a partner by your side and a physical zapper in your hand. But playing these after the fact and solo via the Dolphin emulator just isn’t as fun, though they are technically well made, for what it’s worth. I think my issue is that rail shooters take nearly all movement away from the player, and to me a vital facet of this series since day one has been exploration, so to be ushered from location to location with not much to do but blast zombies in the head just isn’t very appealing to me. The camera work in both games was also too much for me to handle, particularly in Darkside Chronicles, which has near constant shaky cam and gave me a headache after ten minutes. Overall, I think the new lore is worth checking out, at least via a YouTube collection of all the cutscenes, but I couldn’t bring myself to play these to completion. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised, since I found the Time Crisis-style shoot ‘em up sections of RE5 and 6 to be kinda aggravating, but I was hoping to be surprised. This wasn’t the case, and part of me also finds both of these games to be something of a depressing reminder of the Wii era, where just about every major franchise got a gimmicky spin-off designed around the motion controls of Nintendo’s white box. It happened with Soulcalibur, it happened with Dragon Quest, and it happened with Resident Evil. The Umbrella Chronicles and Darkside Chronicles are certainly on a higher tier when it comes to Wii spin-offs, but...I still think they aren’t for me.

And with that, I wrap up this so-so experience of Resident Evil side stories just in time for the big B.O.W. in the room... Resident Evil RE2make releases in two days, and you bet that I’ve got it pre-ordered and ready to load. 

All screenshots taken by me. 

#pixel grotto #video games #now playing #resident evil #biohazard #resident evil 1.5 #biohazard 1.5 #resident evil gaiden #biohazard gaiden #umbrella chronicles #darkside chronicles

[perlivehac1975-blog]

Similarly, the graphic style of the show has been altered. The designs of Shaggy and Scooby are a bit simpler, and they no longer have whites in their eyes (known as "dot eyes" in animation). "The contemporary art direction for the characters was chosen specifically to distinguish this series from all of the previous incarnations," Radomski said. It moisturizes your face. If you apply hyaluronic acid to dry skin it can actually work to make your skin more dry. I don think it necessarily has to be rose water, but I find it makes me feel a little more chipper, even if it is just the smell. If Overwatch didn have Mei at launch and she appeared as the first female character whose figure did not immediately read as slim, fit, or skinny. I don like thinking about the conversations that would spawn between thirsty fans, Tumblr users, etc. (Remember this is the same game where people outraged about Tracer butt pose.). I use Nature Republic Forest Green Cleansing oil as a cleanser, I actually haven found a second cleanser yet so have been going through some non AB samples I had of Antipodes lime and patchouli foaming cleanser, Bananaboat SPF 50 aloe lotion sunscreen, Nature republic shea moist steam cream, and at night the too cool for school pumpkin sleeping pack. I was also using Thursday Plantation tea tree toner but have cut back on that this past week. Any ideas?. When we had finished eating, he said to me, "My cousin, you would never guess what I have been doing since your last visit to us! Directly after your departure I set a number of men to work on a building after my own design. It is now completed, and ready to be lived in. I should like to show it to you, but you must first swear two things: to be faithful to me, and to keep my secret.". I got hooked on Noruko Essence by the love Fiddley showed it over at Fifty Shades of Snail and have loved all the products I have tried from there. The Sulwashoo is on sale and you get another 10% off sale price once it in your cart and a full size lip serum. The site isn easy to navigate, but it legit. A: Too Faced. She likes their products, and she questions if she held too much of a grudge. She does wish that she never mentioned her problems with them on her channel. Unless the Sawed Off is ever reworked, the shotgun category will continue to be dominated by Combat with incendiary shells. 김포출장마사지 3 points submitted 2 days agoNo. I a firm believer in being compassionate through telling people the truth. Someone hit the Batmobile at a high rate of speed. Which then ran him over. He was single, with no kids. I find I am not disagreeably reminded of my dinner, by hearing my 김포출장마사지 dinner bell. Perhaps, Mr. Crisparkle, you will, before going home, look in on Jasper?'. By saying you will continue to support this game no matter what is irresponsible and anti Destiny. Bungie will continue to change xp, lock content behind the eververse, and force players to pay for content or take a very long time to get it. STOP SUPPORTING THEM UNTIL THEY FIX THEIR GAME AND TAKE AWAY MICRO TRANSACTIONS THAT LOCK CONTENT BEHIND A PAY WALL.. Its neither warm nor too pink. However, it really depends on the foundation, but usually I can get away with warmer undertones than what brands typically label "neutral". I find most neutral undertoned foundations are pink or greyish which is super odd. We went from being good friends to best friends to soul mates.He was an amazing guy.''The cause of Bady's death was pending an autopsy. Bady was admitted to Thompson Memorial Medical Center in Burbank on Aug. 22 with severe stomach cramps.

[freedomfighterposts]

Mornings. Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano x Genderless Reader.

Reyna had long ago found that she had a love/hate relationship with mornings. She hated them because it meant that she was forced out of bed to do menial tasks like; allow extra toilet paper for cohort three or break up a fight between a legionnaire and a Huntress of Artemis/Diana. However, Reyna had grown accustomed to forcing herself out of bed for these tasks. She simply loathed this part of the morning, however she hated with a passion the other aspect of the morning. It meant having to leave her precious baby. Yes, the great, unemotional Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano had fallen for someone. At first the Roman Praetor had been worried about falling for the dangerous game of love again. But after eleven months of peace, adoration and a surprising amount of surprise kisses, Reyna decided that she had made the right choice. Reyna’s deep seeded hate for mornings appeared one morning as she woke up. Reyna’s eyes fluttered open slowly, a light yawn escaping her plump lips as he legs stretched down to the foot of the bed. The gilded purple covers of her bed felt soft and warm at Reyna’s touch. In this moment, everything was perfect. Birds chirped outside in the warm summer breeze of July. A cloudless sky gave way for Apollo’s sun chariot to spread its rays to the mortal world below. Reyna’s body was warm and lazy, despite her usually ever-present professional exterior, Reyna was often a big teddy bear behind closed doors. A lazy smile formed on the Praetor’s face as she felt someone shuffling beside her. Yes, it had been the first night where Reyna and (Y/n) had decided to sleep together. But the pair wholeheartedly agreed to not perform any extremely intimate acts. The most the two did was kiss… a lot. Reyna felt as if she was addicted to (Y/n)’s kisses. Their full lips felt naturally soft against Reyna’s. Reyna had once tried to slip her tongue inside (Y/n)’s mouth, however this resulted in the Daughter of Bellona receiving the silent treatment for the rest of the week. Reyna didn’t hold it against the child of Hercules though. (Y/n)’s body curled into a fetal position, trying to stay as warm as possible. (Y/n)’s back was pressed against Reyna’s side in an attempt to draw heat from her. Reyna’s smile turned from lazy, into one of adoration as her eyes lingered on (Y/n)’s form. (Y/n) had worm a pair of pajama bottoms with a theme of Lion King. The pair had gotten quite a laugh out of that. (Y/n) also wore a pajama shirt of just plain silver. Reyna however, was more outgoing and comfortable with their relationship. True she had felt guarded and against it at first, but the child of the God of Strength had worn her down. Due to this, Reyna simply wore her undergarments to bed, much to the embarrassment of (Y/n) who wouldn’t stop blushing. But now, in the morning, Reyna wanted nothing more than to simply lay here with (Y/n). However, there were still things that needed to be done. Especially after Gaea’s attack on the camps. Even several months after the seven Heroes of Olympus had defeated the Earth Mother, things were not back to normal. Jason’s incessant badgering for new temples gave Reyna more migraines than Octavian. Usually, Reyna slept next to the edge of the bed so she could quiet literally, roll out of bed in the morning. But she had wanted to be next to (Y/n), and now she was in the middle of the large, king sized bed. (Y/n) turned around, still sleeping. (Y/n) wrapped their arms around Reyna’s waist, a smile tugging at their lips as (Y/n) laid their head against Reyna’s exposed back. Reyna allowed herself a small smile, she bent down and kissed (Y/n)’s forehead gingerly before flinging the covers off herself and stepping from the bed. What Reyna did not prepare for, was (Y/n) waking up. “Reyna?” (Y/n) mumbled sleepily, rubbing their eyes lazily. (Y/n) had felt the disturbance from Reyna flinging the blankets away. “Sorry baby, I didn’t mean to wake you.” Reyna’s soft, melodic voice made (Y/n) feel warm inside. (Y/n) reached out with a hand and clasped Reyna’s hand. “Don’t leave me” (Y/n) whined dramatically. Reyna bubbled out a laugh but silenced herself quickly. “I can’t stay my Flos Pulcherrimus. I have work” Reyna’s heart shattered into a trillion pieces when she saw the tears forming in (Y/n)’s eyes as a pout wobbled on her face. (Y/n) sniffed, trying to keep the tears in. “Fine” (Y/n) spoke, not daring to say more. (Y/n) rolled over so that Reyna was facing (Y/n)’s back. “Flos Pulcherrimus. Don’t be like that” Reyna spoke softly, worried that if she spoke any louder (Y/n) would disappear before her eyes. “Sadness doesn’t look good on you.” But (Y/n) still refused to meet Reyna’s face. Guilt and sadness hit Reyna like one of Jason’s lightning bolts. The pain of making (Y/n) so sad was worse than anything Reyna had felt before. She would gladly face against Orion again if it meant that (Y/n) would be happy. However, Reyna is a duty first love life second kind of girl, so with a bitter sweet kiss to (Y/n)’s cheek, Reyna left the cabin she and (Y/n) shared while at Camp Half-Blood. The Heracles cabin at Camp Half-Blood wasn’t the most loved cabin nor was it the most looked after. Most if not all Demi-gods detested the God of Strength. Even (Y/n), who was normally the sweetest and nicest person around, didn’t like the immortal son of Zeus. Its foundations had been made haphazardly and it was only at the command of Chiron that the children of Vulcan and Hephaestus began reworking the cabin so that (Y/n) wouldn’t nearly be killed by a falling beam in their sleep. Reyna knew what Heracles had done that really ticked (Y/n) off. Usually, the gods and goddesses claimed their children on their thirteenth birthday with a holographic projection of their symbols above the child’s head. Grover had brought (Y/n) to camp when they were fifteen years old and it took the anger of Perseus Jackson and several other key Demi-Gods to finally find out who (Y/n)’s father was. Unfortunately, no one was exactly happy. Especially after (Y/n) learnt from Percy and Annabeth about what Heracles had done to Zoe Nightshade. The temple of Hercules at New Rome also remained deserted. It reminded Reyna of the Neptune temple before Percy had been made Praetor. Old, moldy fruits and nuts sat at the pedestal, cobwebs covered all the corners and pieces of stone crumbled from the lack of attention. Reyna knew it was a sore subject to talk about Heracles in front of (Y/n) so she stayed far away from the subject. Whenever someone talked about how Hercules did something bad, (Y/n) would do nothing to defend him. What Reyna did not know, was that as she left (Y/n) alone in bed that morning Reyna would be in some deep trouble for a long time. Reyna walked into the mess hall at exactly twelve O’clock. After a morning full of paperwork and boring talks with architects and even a talk with Chiron regarding the Mars/Ares inter cabin competition. So, when it was time for lunch. Reyna was more than happy to eat something with (Y/n). However, when Reyna walked over to (Y/n)’s usual spot she found no child of Heracles in sight. Confusion crossed over Reyna’s face as she sat with her friends, the Heroes of Olympus. “Yo, Reyna what’s cracka lacking?” Leo asked cheerfully, Reyna didn’t acknowledge the son of Hephaestus’ childish remark. “Have any of you seen (Y/n) recently?” Reyna as the plate before her filled with sandwiches. “Not that I can think of” Offered Annabeth from beside Percy and Piper. “Oh, I saw (Y/n) at the archery range this morning” Offered Frank. This made sense to the daughter of Bellona, because (Y/n) hated using the naturally inhuman strength gifted by Hercules. Instead (Y/n) favoured the bow, which Reyna knew she disliked because even Jason Grace had been impressed by the way (Y/n) had used an imperial gold combat axe. “Yeah, although (Y/n) did seem really upset. And that’s putting it mildly.” Piper added “Yeah, they just left me hanging this morning.” Percy mumbled as he ate a double decker blue pizza. “Yeah but we all know how… delicate… (Y/n) can be” Hazel defended and her words got Reyna thinking. “Delicate… Oh, by the gods.” Reyna cursed herself silently as she stood, taking her plate of sandwiches with her. “You’ll have to excuse me. I must fix a mistake” With that, Reyna sped walked out of the Mess hall. The Praetor of the Twelfth Legion briskly walked through the newly formed Greek/Roman camp. She passed hundreds of Demi-Gods as she made her way to the beach. Reyna knew that (Y/n) simply adored the ocean. Apparently, (Y/n)’s mother was an open water swimming coach and so (Y/n) and their mortal family often went swimming in the ocean. Reyna’s eyes scanned the golden beach carefully, waves crashed gently across the shore. A evergreen tree grew at the edge of the beach, where grass turned to sand, its branches stretching over the waves. Hidden below the branches, Reyna saw the hunched over form of (Y/n) (L/n). Reyna felt the sand shift beneath her feet as she discarded her sandals. The soft, foaming waves caressed Reyna’s toes as she sat down next to (Y/n). The pair sat in silence, Reyna simply content with being next to (Y/n). “I thought you had work to do” Reyna heard (Y/n) mumble beside her. In response, Reyna scooted closer to the child of Heracles. “I did, I still do. But, I noticed you weren’t at lunch so I brought you some food” (Y/n) looked down at the plate of sandwiches nestled in the sand at her side. The child of Heracles picked a sandwich filled cheese and ham, with only slight hesitation (Y/n) began nibbling on the food. After a while all the sandwiches had been eaten by the pair. “I’m sorry for this morning (Y/n)” Reyna spoke sincerely, not wanting to hurt (Y/n) any more than she already did. “No. It was my fault. I was being selfish and wanted you to myself. I should have known that I couldn’t have the great Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano to myself. Especially since you’re Praetor.” Reyna scowled at the use of her full name but said nothing. The pair of demigods just stared across the never-ending, never-beginning ocean, peaceful silence enveloping them both. “You know this is usually the part where you say it isn’t my fault then we kiss and make up” (Y/n) said breaking the silence. Reyna had to bite her tongue hard to force her laughter down. Instead she appeared stoic and serious. “But it is your fault.” Reyna said bluntly, causing (Y/n)’s happiness to drop. “I am a Praetor of the twelfth legion. I oversee the daily routines of over hundreds of demigods, even more now thanks to you Greeks.” Reyna’s heart broke a little as (Y/n) curled into a sitting fetal position, Reyna saw tears threatening to spill from (Y/n)’s eyes. And so, she wrapped her significant other in a tight embrace. Resting her chin on the top of (Y/n)’s head. “However, you are still far more precious to me to leave you alone. Flos Pulcherrimus.” Below Reyna, (Y/n) sniffed a little. “What do you mean?” (Y/n) asked. “I mean… That I think Frank can allow me to sleep in a little later, so long as my baby’s happy” Reyna nuzzled (Y/n)’s neck making the younger demigod blush, (Y/n)’s mouth opened to speak but words quickly turned to moans as Reyna nipped her ear lobe. “Let us finish this in your cabin.” Reyna continued huskily. As Reyna thought back to that fateful day, she couldn’t help but smile. The thought of the huge make out session her and (Y/n) had shared that day was enough to make her extremely happy. So yes, Reyna hated mornings. But she loved them because the look in (Y/n)’s eyes when (Y/n) saw that Reyna was still here was greater than any gift the gods could ever give. Speaking of which, Reyna felt the body next to her shift its position. (Y/n) uncurled from a fetal position and laid their head against Reyna’s covered bosom. Reyna wrapped her toned arms possessively around (Y/n)’s shoulders, letting the sheets fall down into their laps. Reyna’s fingers danced through (Y/n)’s bed hair. (Y/n) could feel the softness of Reyna’s fingers causing their eyes to open slowly. “Good morning Flos Pulcherrimus.” Reyna greeted warmly. A smile graced (Y/n)’s lips, their eyes closing once more. “Good morning to you too αστέρι μου” Although Reyna was not fluent in Greek, (Y/n) and Annabeth had taught her more than enough to know the cute pet names (Y/n) called her. “You have your thinking face on… What were you thinking about?” (Y/n) asked rising from their lying position to sit next to Reyna, both their backs being supported by the wall of Cabin 61. Reyna smiled at the person she adored most. “Nothing kind one. Nothing at all.” She replied sweetly.

#reynaavilaramirez-arellano #reyna #femalereaderinsert #malereader #love #affection #mornings #percyjackson #demigod #heracles #camphalfblood #pipermclean #leovaldez #romance #kisses #lime?

[shadow-djinni]

The Three Faces of Fanon Sendak (and Why They Have No Basis in Canon)

Modern fandom loves a monster.  More accurately, fandom loves to take characterizations to the extreme.  Protagonists become innocent angels who can do no wrong; antagonists, regardless of canon personalities and behavior, become monsters with no redeeming qualities.  This is a chronic issue affecting most antagonists in the Voltron fandom–most notably Lotor, wildly mischaracterized as a misogynist and general bastard.  Most mischaracterizations aren’t quite so dramatic a diversion from canon, but are more widespread as to become the fandom default.  I’m not going to name names, but certain members of the Voltron community have popularized a characterization of Sendak that has no foundation in canon, which can be split into three component parts: the sociopathic bastard, the blood knight in love with his own carnage, and the abuser. And they're all wrong.

The Sociopath

Sociopath: a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. Here is a link to the DSM criteria for antisocial personality disorder, the official designation for sociopathy in the psychology world.  Feel free to peruse it at your leisure, but for now, the abbreviated version:

Impairments in self functioning: egocentrism, self-esteem derived from personal gain, power, or pleasure or goal-setting based on personal gratification, failure to conform to lawful or cultural ethical behavior. Sendak features neither of the above, stating outright that he “fight[s] for the Empire” and “conquer[s] in the name of Galra” (S1E1, 30 minutes in), and conforms to Galra ethical norms throughout his appearances.

Impairments in interpersonal functioning: lack of empathy or incapacity for mutually intimate relationships. Now, before you say anything about his treatment of Shiro, I would like to remind you that Shiro is an enemy combatant and hostage used against another enemy combatant, therefore Sendak’s interactions with him do not count toward this assessment.  I would argue that we don’t have enough interactions between Sendak and other Galra to accurately assess this point.

Antagonism: manipulativeness or deceitfulness or callousness or hostility. This is another point I would argue that we lack the canon material to assess, considering that we only see Sendak in his capacity as a soldier of the Galra Empire.

Disinhibition: irresponsibility or impulsivity or risk-taking. This point we can assess from Sendak’s canon behavior, and he shows none of these traits.  In fact, Sendak is characterized primarily by his adherence to duty (his persistence in retrieving the Lions, per his orders) and his capacity as a strategist (planning and executing the attack on the Castle of Lions).

Additionally, the DSM criteria requires that traits shown are present and stable across all situations and circumstances, are not normative for an individual’s stage of development, and are not due to psychological effects of a substance or medical condition.  By the official criteria, we lack the criteria to categorize Sendak as a sociopath.

The Blood Knight

As an archetype, the Blood Knight is characterized by a love of fighting.  In fact, nothing matters to the Blood Knight so much as a good fight–not victory, not the morals, not the motives of their allies, not even the glory, a Blood Knight just wants to throw down and wreak as much havoc as possible.

This is in direct opposition to Sendak’s canon characterization.  As stated above, the hallmarks of his personality are his dedication to duty and his capacity as a strategist, and a significant portion of his strategy is limiting collateral damage.  In chronological order, he: announces his intents and purposes to Team Voltron and provides them an opportunity to surrender peacefully and accepts an apparent surrender, fires only on the Castle and Voltron during his assault from the cruiser, and, most notably, targets only the Castle’s power source and takes Shiro and Lance prisoner during his takeover.  

These last two are the most significant given the circumstances they occured under.  Sendak had limited resources and a small window of opportunity to take the Castle, and to cause the most damage and put more of his enemies out of commission, he could have easily had Haxus set the bomb drone off in the Castle ballroom, where most of the Paladins were at the time, rather than specifically targeting the crystal on the bridge.  Additionally, killing Lance and Shiro when he took the Castle would have eliminated two potential risk factors once inside, and would have been a reasonable course of action to force Pidge into turning herself over after she killed Haxus.

In fact, the only evidence for this characterization was his willingness to fight Shiro at the Castle entrance, and even then he allowed Shiro an opportunity to stand down and surrender before engaging him in combat.  Sendak is, clearly, not a Blood Knight.

The Abuser

This is, hands down, the worst and most popular fanon characterization of Sendak.  It’s literally everywhere, even in fics that don’t feature Sendak as a major character–I challenge you to find a Shiro-centric fic set in the canon universe that doesn’t feature Sendak as one of the people who hurt him during his time as a Galra prisoner–and is a particular staple of Shendak as a pairing.  While I acknowledge that captor/prisoner dynamics are decidedly unhealthy in a relationship, it’s too common in AU to not be part of popular fanon characterization, and I have to ask: what the fuck is up with that?

Again, before anyone brings up Sendak’s canon interactions with Shiro, I remind you that Shiro is an enemy combatant, and therefore would not be treated the same way a peer or subordinate would be.  However, these interactions need to be addressed to analyse the fanon characterization, so we’ll take the plunge.

The first direct interaction between the two is the fight outside the Castle of Lions, during which Sendak and Shiro appear almost evenly match and come to a stalemate that only ends when Haxus threatens Lance, distracting Shiro and allowing Sendak to gain the upper hand and knock Shiro out.  Sendak seems to view Shiro as a worthy opponent–in fact, the whole fight is frame to show them as equals in battle–but is more than willing to use his more advanced prosthetic and Haxus’s well-timed distraction to gain the upper hand and defeat him.  No pun intended.

The other three notable interactions, which I suspect are the root of the characterization, are his torture of Shiro to force Pidge to surrender, his verbal beatdown between Haxus’s death and Team Voltron retaking the Castle, and the breaking speech delivered in S1E9.  Again, circumstances are important in assessing a character, and the only one I would argue might be an indication of abusive tendencies is the verbal beatdown in S1E5.  The torture is brief, designed to guilt Pidge into surrendering to spare her companions, and could easily have been inflicted on Lance instead of Shiro.  It was a means to an end, and the intended target was an enemy combatant.  Similarly, the speech in S1E9–if that was, in fact, Sendak addressing Shiro and not the Castle using his voice to mess with Shiro–was against an enemy combatant and a means to an end, though what end we cannot know considering that Shiro panicked and spaced him.  As for the beatdown in S1E5…there really isn’t an explanation for it, outside of Sendak venting his frustration on the only available target–Shiro.  Not really an indication of anything except how worked up he is at that moment, and do note that he doesn’t so much as invade Shiro’s personal space as he does so.

Additionally, if you want an assessment of Sendak’s interactions with an ally and subordinate: Haxus.  Sendak can be a little abrupt at times, but he also praises Haxus for good ideas and jobs well-executed, which does not indicate abuse of subordinates.  So…the canon ‘evidence’ for Sendak as an abuser really isn’t much evidence at all.

In Conclusion

Fandom’s favorite monster is a baseless entity, with no foundation in Sendak’s canon characterization.  He does not fit the DSM criteria for a sociopath.  He does not fit the archetype of the Blood Knight, nor does he display a love for carnage.  And canon holds no evidence for Sendak as an abuser that holds up under fire.

I am not going to tell you how to write Sendak.  I won’t say my characterization of him is definitively canon, or that you should strive to emulate it.  I certainly won’t suggest you paint him as a ‘cinnamon roll’ or imply that he’s innocent of all wrongdoing–Sendak is a commander of a military force, he undoubtedly has the capacity to kill when the situation calls for it.  I will suggest, however, that you consider your characterization more carefully, and that you check that it lines up more closely with the canon one.  A good rule of thumb: if placing your characterization of a canon character in the same situation as the canon character would result in a different outcome to the situation, you need to rework your characterization.

#voltron #meta #salt #characters and characterization #sendak #hahaha. haha. ha. #can you tell ive had it up to here with this characterization? #feel free to debate me on this; but thats what canon has to say

[wazafam]

Looking back at the Hercules television series starring Kevin Sorbo, and its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess, it is difficult to pin down just when the shows were set. This is due to the Xenaverse (as the show's setting is commonly known) drawing off a number of historical and mythological sources.

The mythos of ancient times continues to live on in a variety of new forms. Series like American Gods mix the deities of dozens of cultures to tell new stories in a modern setting. Video games like the God of War franchise do the same thing, allowing players to interact with the monsters and gods of old. Yet despite the variety of new tales that have been told over the past 25 years, Hercules and Xena have retained their following.

Related: Casting Disney's Live-Action Hercules Remake Movie

Because of that legacy, many still wonder how the two series managed to build their shared universe and just when exactly it was meant to take place. It doesn't help matters that the show was intentionally anachronistic in its costuming, with Hercules sporting a sleeveless shirt and trousers rather than a Grecian tunic and the love goddess Aphrodite favoring modern lingerie whenever she appeared. Here's a breakdown of how the Xenaverse came into being and just when the events of the shows were meant to take place.

The ancient legends of Hercules were first reworked with a more modern aesthetic in a series of five movies starring Sorbo and produced as part of Universal Studios' Action Pack; a syndicated programming block of science-fiction, fantasy, and action films and television series. The films presented Hercules as a bastard son of Zeus, blessed with incredible strength, who traveled around Greece slaying horrible monsters, fighting warlords, and helping people in need. His main adversary was Hera, queen of the Olympian gods, who was not thrilled to have a continual reminder of her husband's infidelity traipsing around earning praise for his noble deeds. He also regularly contested with his half-brother Ares, who, as the god of war, drew power from the conflicts that Hercules stopped.

The films were largely accurate to the classic myths, though some did use Hercules in place of another legendary Greek hero or combine various myths. Hercules in the Underworld, for instance, combined the legends of Orpheus and Hercules, by having Hercules travel to the afterlife and striking a bargain with Hades to recapture the three-headed dog Cerberus in exchange for being allowed to return to Earth with his wife, Deianeira. Another film, Hercules in the Maze of the Minitour, placed Hercules in the titular labyrinth, seeking to slay the Minotaur. The movies proved popular enough to inspire a regular syndicated series, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, which opened with Hera killing Hercules' wife and children and Hercules resuming his life as a wandering hero.

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys ran for 6 seasons and 111 episodes, but it is best remembered today for the hero whose series spun out of it; Xena: Warrior Princess. Played by Lucy Lawless, Xena was introduced as a merciless warlord in "The Warrior Princess," the 9th episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Season 1. Xena had plotted to kill Hercules so that no one could oppose her campaign to conquer Arcadia and she was meant to die after her third appearance, finding redemption in death after her men defied her order not to kill non-combatants. However, Lawless proved so popular with the production team and with fans that the producers came up with a new plan for Xena.

Related: Blood Of Zeus Has A Sneaky Reference To Nolan's The Prestige

Premiering in the fall of 1995 alongside Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Season 2, Xena: Warrior Princess quickly eclipsed the show that inspired it. The new series centered on Xena as she traveled the world with aspiring bard Gabrielle, seeking redemption for her evil past. In expanding its setting and establishing Xena's history before encountering Hercules, Xena: Warrior Princess became equal parts historical epic and fantasy. This increased scope was part of the reason for Xena's longevity and part of why it remains a cult classic to this day.

Xena was established as having a long rivalry with Julius Caesar (played by a young Karl Urban) and Caesar was one of the series' main antagonists until his death in the Season 4 finale, "The Ides of March." This established a rough chronology for when both series took place, with Caesar having been assassinated in 44 BC. It should be noted, however, that neither show was ever concerned with historical accuracy, even after they began utilizing notable historical figures. For instance, one episode of Xena: Warrior Princess Season 6 pitted Xena and Gabrielle against a divinely empowered Caligula, who was depicted as the Emperor of Rome some 25 years after Julius Caesar's death. In our reality, Caligula did not become Emperor until 37 AD. The show also made references to the Lao Dynasty and Ming Dynasty of China, which would not come to exist until many centuries after the fall of Rome.

Beyond utilizing real-world historical figures, Xena: Warrior Princess also began to utilize mythology from outside the era of Classical Greece. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys followed suit, with both series going on to tackle Norse mythology, bringing characters like Odin and Thor into play. In the episode "Norse by Norsewest," Hercules took the place of the god Höðr in being manipulated by Loki into accidentally killing Balder with a dart made of mistletoe and setting up the start of Ragnarok. Xena: Warrior Princess reworked Xena into the Ring Cycle, making Xena into both a contemporary of the valkyrie Brunhilda and the Dane hero Beowulf. Xena was also revealed to have had traveled to Asia and received training as a samurai, albeit in armor that was not historically accurate and protected very little.

The timelines of Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess line up quite well, with both series having shared supporting casts and crossed-over frequently. Ironically, the show had more problems in keeping its characters consistent between shows than in keeping its timeline cohesive. To give one example, the god Odin was portrayed as a devout family man in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, being loyal to his wife, Frigga, loving towards his children, and deeply concerned about the fate of humanity. By contrast, the Odin of Xena: Warrior Princess, was a jealous warrior king, who indulged himself with his Valkyries and cared little for the problems of Man. While a case can be made for both portrayals based on the classic Norse myths, neither show attempted to reconcile the two takes. Given that, and the aforementioned problems with nailing down when the shows took place outside of Caesar's death, it is best to think of the stories of Hercules and Xena as ripping yarns told around the fire, enjoyed as individual stories independent of one another.

More: Blood of Zeus' Greek Mythology & All Characters Explained

Xena & Hercules Timeline: When The Shows Take Place (& How They Connect) from https://ift.tt/3amZ8zC

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[whittlebaggett8]

8 clues the new ‘Avengers: Endgame’ toys may hint about the upcoming movie, Defence Online

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New “Avengers: Endgame” toys demonstrate off Captain The us and Iron Man’s new workforce satisfies, but also gadgets on their left palms.

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Hasbro

Warning: There are likely spoilers under for “Avengers: Endgame.”

The first wave of “Avengers: Endgame” toys are in stores Sunday.

From a new Hulk toy to a new glimpse at Hawkeye’s Ronin persona, they give a several hints at what’s to arrive in the forthcoming Marvel sequel.

Hasbro launched its 1st wave of hugely anticipated “Avengers: Endgame” toys Sunday and there are above 40 new things to wade by.

INSIDER achieved with Hasbro mid-March to preview all of the action figures and toys in advance of time. You can verify out the coolest toys in this article that little ones will want from the new lineup.

Many of the toys also offer some hints and clues about what to hope from the approaching film, including confirmation of Hawkeye’s change-ego, Ronin, that has been teased in trailers. From Thanos’ new weapon and armor to a new Hulk, maintain examining to see what Hasbro’s to start with wave of “Avengers: Endgame” toys may perhaps convey to us about the upcoming sequel.

We have a complete search at Hawkeye in his new Ronin equipment.

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We’ve viewed Clint Barton (performed by Jeremy Renner) teased in the Ronin match in the “Avengers: Endgame” trailers, but now it’s formal.

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Hasbro/Marvel

This is the most clear expose admirers were in all probability expecting. The two “Avengers: Endgame” trailers teased Clint Barton/Hawkeye in the classic Ronin suit. Who is Ronin? Barton briefly can take on the mantle of the samurai warrior in the Marvel comics.

Hasbro unveiled a few distinct Ronin action figures, which you can see here.

The Hulk is again with a different glance. Could we be viewing a edition of Professor Hulk?

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The Hulk is seeking like extra of a hunk right here. The new Hulk figures have the big eco-friendly person looking a little bit more trim.

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Courtesy of Hasbro, composite by Kirsten Acuna/INSIDER

For a even though, supporters imagined we may possibly see a merged model of the Hulk and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) characters identified as Professor Hulk, and we believe that’s what we’re seeing in this article.

In “Avengers: Infinity War,” Bruce Banner was getting a ton of difficulties accessing the Hulk in the course of the motion picture. On the film’s Blu-ray commentary, “Infinity War” co-director Joe Russo reported the cause Banner experienced difficulties accessing the Hulk was since the two hate one a different and the inexperienced male is fed up.

“We considered an appealing way to take [Hulk] in is: Effectively, what if Banner, who typically works by using the Hulk to fix disaster conditions – what if the Hulk were being no more time intrigued in resolving those people issues for Banner? The partnership is getting to be ever more dysfunctional,” explained Russo. “He’s exhausted of enjoying hero to Bruce Banner.”

Read through much more: 23 things we learned about the earning of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ that reply pivotal queries about the film

At the stop of “Infinity War,” Banner tells Hulk they will need to function on some points. By the time we see them again in “Endgame,” it’s doable Banner and Hulk have discovered some peace with one an additional and that they’re co-existing a great deal much better due to the fact the Thanos snap. (What far better way to bring folks back collectively than by vanquishing 50 % of the universe from existence?) Banner also may have even additional control more than the Hulk though he’s reworked.

In the comics, Banner gave the professor model of the Hulk a safeguard so if he gets much too offended, he’ll automatically completely transform again into Banner. As for that weapon Banner is wielding? We imagine it is most probable anything he just rips up out of the avenue.

Each and every “Avengers: Endgame” character who is donning a new accommodate is equipped with a unit on their remaining palms. Is this a time journey device?

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As Shuri would say, “What are people?”

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Hasbro

Just about every of the toys we noticed is fitted with a little blue gadget on their fingers. We’re betting these devices (and new suits) are likely to assist the Avengers vacation back again in time to undo the events of Thanos’ lifestyle-altering snap at the finish of “Infinity War.”

Puzzled? You can study our whole explainer on how we believe time vacation will be a aspect of “Avengers: Endgame” right here.

We could get to see more of Thor and Rocket Raccoon with each other.

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Thor and Rocket Raccoon will be obtainable alongside one another in a two-pack. Thor nonetheless has his two different-coloured eyes.

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Courtesy of Hasbro

The two by now went on an experience in “Infinity War” to locate Thor a new Thanos-killing weapon. Will Thor group up all over again with Rocket to assistance reunite him with his pal Groot?

Here’s to hoping Thor refers to Rocket as rabbit again.

Are we also going to see Captain Marvel and Captain The usa crew up?

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Captain Marvel and Captain The united states will come alongside one another in a two-pack for $19.99. They are suggested for ages 4 and up.

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Courtesy of Hasbro

This is the duo we have been ready for because Captain Marvel’s debut. Even if they’re not combating aspect-by-aspect in the film, it’s a fantastic notion to box the MCU’s two captains alongside one another. Possibly way, we assistance this duo performing aspect-by-aspect.

Take a nearer seem at Captain America’s costume and Captain Marvel’s eyes.

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Did Captain Marvel’s eyes toss you off? They’re meant to search like that.

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Courtesy of Hasbro

Captain Marvel’s eyes are not closed or unfinished in this article, they’re yellow.

“If you saw ‘Captain Marvel’ the movie, when she goes binary, she has that photon ability. So that is actually a illustration of her,” director of world brand approach and marketing for Hasbro’s Marvel line, Michael Pullano, advised INSIDER.

Be expecting to see additional of Captain Marvel’s photon powers in “Endgame.”

Captain America’s blue accommodate reminds us a large amount of the suit he wore in 2012’s initially Avengers film, but that could just be the coloring. If the Avengers are genuinely heading back again to the earlier while, it wouldn’t surprise us if Cap is donning an more mature go well with to blend in with the times.

New Thanos toys display off his battle armor and a new sword.

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Thanos is all set for struggle.

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Hasbro, Kirsten Acuna/INSIDER

We have not viewed Thanos in any of the promoting for “Avengers: Endgame” so this is a handle. It is not just the Avengers who are acquiring suited up in the new movie. Thanos is ready for yet another surprise Thor assault with battle armor to secure his chest and head.

But it’s not only Thanos’ new match and blade you should really be focused on.

The new Thanos toys appear with an Infinity Gauntlet that looks very substantially intact.

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Shouldn’t this gauntlet appear damaged? The to start with Thanos toy is a construct-a-determine, which you can get only if you get seven new Legends’ Marvel figures.

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Courtesy Hasbro composite by Kirsten Acuna/INSIDER

The Infinity Gauntlet appeared fairly wrecked after Thanos employed it in “Infinity War,” but the a person Thanos has on numerous toys released Sunday looks like no hurt has come to it.

Is this a new a single or did Thanos time journey and deal with it? We’ll have to wait right until “Avengers: Endgame” is in theaters on Friday, April 26 to know for guaranteed.

You can abide by alongside with our “Avengers: Endgame” coverage listed here.

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[magic-and-moonlit-wings]

Strange Magic Fandom Welcome Basket

(Based on Humanity-in-a-Handbag’s post and my extension of it, so I’m not just reblogging that one over and over as I’ve been doing. I streamlined it a little, since some people no longer appear active in the tag or on fanfiction sites. This Welcome Basket is mostly the same as the last one, and the one before that, but reposted instead of reblogged to appear at the top of the tag again, and with a few typos corrected or bits added and gifs changed around.)

Welcome to the fandom, stranger!

So, you’ve watched Strange Magic a few (dozen) times, or maybe you saw it on the Disney Channel, and now you want to get into the fandom! There’s a tag on Tumblr for the movie, but that sometimes has negative reviews in it. Here’s a list of people in the fandom you can check out. 

humanityinahandbag herself, of course, and thatchickwiththeheadphones are the Bonnie and Clyde of the fandom. If you’re looking for angst, go there first. They also do comedy, and thatchick does fan-art.Humanity, like many in the fandom, is also on AO3.

suzie-guru has a little bit of everything - a post-movie series, a canon-divergence series, and a Human AU series, along with one-shots.

dainesanddaffodils is a delight with a whole bunch of AUs, mostly human.

artbymaureen is the Fandom Aunt; one of the animators of the movie! She also does fan-art and sometimes comments on people’s meta or characterization posts.

Meredith Anne Bull, the voice of Dawn, is on tumblr and open to chatting with people about the film!

Endorathewitchandawriter is … possibly the most prolific writer in the whole fandom.

abutterflyobsession works mostly with alternate universes - such creativity cannot be bound to just one world!

joons has art, gifs, and meta.

r2ninjaturtle and amirattus have done Strange Magic cosplay.

siffieleafy mostly reblogs things but comments in the tags.

margoteve writes cute and fluffy fics.

sophaoat has a bit of everything and a handy-dandy ‘Strange Magic’ tag right on the side of her blog for easy searching.

deluxetrashqueen organizes event, makes videos, and makes fan-art, as well as writing stories.

ladybajingo makes and reblogs fan-art.

magically-strange has fics, gifs and art! They’re on AO3 under their old user name, MagicalStranger13.

goldwerewolf is a artist of high caliber.

faery-goblin is a great illustrator and has at least one story in-progress.

magic-and-moonlit-wings writes stories, also on fanfiction.net and AO3.

RavenDiablo’s sequel to the movie is on DeviantArt, posted as separate chapters, and on fanfiction.net.

Cedar-King is also on AO3 under the name Pikuna - there’s a lot of overlap within this fandom.

Bifacialler (or Ler on AO3) has a variety of creative and detailed Human AUs, as well as at least one post-movie fic and canon-divergence story.

jaegereska (RazormusPrime) has an ambitious post-movie series in progress, with a lot of pre-movie world building.

owl-quill started the Strange Magic story prompts/requests page on AO3.

Katra21 and touchofgrey37 are go-to writers if you need a Potionless fix, thought neither one seems to be generating new content.

gleefully-macabre has also begun a Potionless story, among other works.

teddy-feathers is a good sources of reblogged material and may be scheming to wow us all with works of their own someday.

jupiter235 also reblogs a lot, and has a Dracula AU in progress, as well as some other AUs and some completed one-shots.

megamegaturtle has a whole bunch of one-shots and at least one multi-chapter in progress.

Emersonian has a sequel set years after the movie, about one of Marianne and Bog’s children being cursed as a baby, trapped in another dimension as a teenager, and ending up in a high school for villains.

spirrum doesn’t seem active in the fandom anymore but still has some good stories archived.

dancesonmoonlight has a whole bunch of AU stories on AO3 and fanfiction.net.

Islenthatur has AO3 and FFnet stories, some of which are ongoing.

whimsicalitywhee has some one-shots buried in their archives, along with some characterperspective explorations mid-movie, a dancing Bog gif, fan art, and an ongoing human/ghost AU, the last of which is also on AO3 and fanfiction.net.

celepom has both artwork and high-quality screenshot collections.

tamiletrange has a tutorial for Marianne’s makeup!

catesartworks is an illustrator/painter/animator reworking the story for greater racial diversity.

freyamaat is an artist with a Beauty and the Beast semi-crosssover in the works.

levele3 has written a collection of Human AU stories.

noprimroses is a joint fanblog with art, headcanons, fanfiction, gif sets, and edits.

danger-flammable, or a3rie, has illustrations and wrote a cute one-shot about the Imp’s backstory.

hellfire-bunny is plotting Butterfly Bog Angst.

Marianne Is The Best Disney Princess, Cedar-King and OwlQuill Scribblings are all Strange Magic-dominated side-blogs, because the users found Strange Magic posts and reblogs were taking over their other blog.

(Anyone and everyone, feel free to tack on more names, or tag a new fan you notice so they can have the list!)

And here are a list of headcanons to decide, if you need prompts to get you started on your own world-building:

What exactly is Sugar Plum?

What happens in the winter? Do fairies migrate? Do goblins hibernate? Does everyone hibernate?

What happened to Marianne and Dawn’s mother?

What happened to Bog’s father?

How did Bog come to be king - inheritance from one of his parents, or defeating the previous ruler in combat/assassinating them?

Will Marianne and Bog (and Dawn and Sunny, for that matter) be able to have biological children?

What happens next for Stuff and Thang?

Are Marianne’s tiny sparring partners pixies or sprites? (I’ve heard but not confirmed that, if the movie is played with subtitles or Descriptive Video, they are called pixies, but it never comes up between the characters so it’s still up in the air.)

What are the fuzzy people, seen in both the Fairy Kingdom (Marianne dropped a baby one off a bridge by accident in the opening) and in the Dark Forest (one fell in love with a mushroom)?

What is the Fairy King’s name? (TV Tropes says it’s “Dagda”, but since it never came up in the movies or the credits it can be changed.)

Is Roland a redeemable character?

Who/what is the insectoid person Roland was dusted for?

What is the backstory of Bog’s first love interest? What happened to her after That Fateful Day?

Where is the music come from? Can the characters hear the background music?

Are humans a thing in this universe? If so, is it modern times, sometime in the past, or some time in the future?

Some animals can talk and some can’t. What’s the boundary line carnivores and omnivores use to determine sentience?

Do fairies eat meat? For that matter, do elves or goblins eat meat? (We know from the blackberries on the table in the lofely snack room that goblins eat plants.)

What is Marianne’s makeup made of, and where does it come from?

Why does the Fairy Kingdom have more metalwork than the Dark Forest?

How deep does the implied racial/species segregation in the Fairy Kingdom go?

Where are Bog, Griselda, and any other goblins who lived in the castle going to live now?

What other kingdoms, countries, etc. does each kingdom have contact and/or trade with?

How did Dawn and Sunny first meet?

Are fairies born or hatched? Are they born/hatched with wings or do those grow later?

Fountains in the fairies’ ballroom suggest plumbing - how common is that?

How do Pare and Sunny know each other, beyond living in (probably) the same village? How well did they know each other pre-movie?

Do the mushrooms have another language that the goblins mistranslate, or do some messages actually change along the mushroom line, or do they not enunciate clearly, or do the goblins on messenger duty happen to have poor hearing?

Did any goblins secretly date or marry during Bog’s love ban?

To close, here’s another gif:

You are Sunny. The dandelion seeds are the overwhelming number of various fanworks you now have access to. Have fun!

Quick reminder - anyone not already on the list, it’s not that I don’t like your stuff, I probably just forgot to add a link you! Message or Ask me and I will put you in! (Also, if someone is shy and doesn’t want to be in the Welcome Basket, that’s okay too.) Every time I repost this I get at least one message of “don’t forget [name]!”

#Strange Magic #spread the lofe! #strange magic fandom welcome basket #reference links #long post