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hubristicassholefight · 6 months

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Swordswoman Showdown Round 4/Quarterfinal

Kikunojo (One Piece) vs Brienne of Tarth (A Song Of Ice and Fire)

(Better here in a "preferred character" sense, not "who would win in a fight")

Propaganda below cut

Kikunojo

She is a samurai and a retainer for the Kozuki Family, serving as one of the Nine Red Scabbards, a group of samurai that protect the Kozuki family and their country. She's a very skillful samurai, and she and her group managed to delay and hold off the main villain of the arc, (which was an almost insurmountable task for even the main character) and survived the experience despite her horrible injuries; She's canonically and openly trans! And she's gorgeous. And huge... She's 287 cm tall, which for the USAmericans in the audience is 9' 5". She's simply the coolest.

She’s a samurai and fights with a sword; tall trans woman <3

Legendary devoted samurai!; She's 2.87m tall, a time traveler, and not even losing an arm in the middle of the fight stopped her- she had it imediately cauterized and went back to the fight.

She's a lady samurai! Pretty and very skillful with her katana!

She is a samurai who was sent 20 years into the future to avenge the death of her lord; She’s so tall and canonically trans and I love her

She’s a badass samurai who fights for what she believes in and to help people. She is known as Kiku of lingering snow. She’s also canonically trans

She's a time traveling trans samurai, the only woman in a group of 9 legendary samurais; Her arm was chopped off by the biggest baddie so far and she continued fighting, isn't that badass?

One of the strongest samurai in her country; She's a trans icon

#kiku the greatest of all time#🐐#tall and gorgeous samurai lady#who is a trans icon#love that she is so tall that she doesn't fit in the image display#gets recognized as strong by the main character multiple times and proves it by being the most resilient badass of the entire arc#stands up to tyrants and abusers of class privilege#also helps break said main character out of the enemies prison and takes part in a rebellion against the corrupt prison staff#one piece#okiku#kiku

#kiku is canonically trans

Brienne

gets gifted a sword made with the rarest metal ever because she’s THAT good; she’s simply the best

Brienne is one of the top sword users alive in her day. She's descended from a man who's catchphrase was "I'm better with a sword." Better than what? You. Jaime Lannister. Loras Tyrell. Any five given guys at once. She has a fantastic sword that might be magic or cursed and is named Oathkeeper because that's what she does; I love her

Beat like 20 guys in a tournament when she was 19. Was given a magic sword. Won a sword fight against the premier swordsman in the realm. Very swordly; Very tall and strong. Holds her sword in high esteem. Accomplished with other weapons as well!

She's defeated multiple of the top knights in the series in duels. One such knight gifts her the fabergé egg of swords and she uses it to defend orphans and stuff. Got out of a bad betrothal by dueling him and beating his ass so bad she broke multiple bones. Honestly there's so much more she is the swordswoman of all time. to me; She's buff and ugly and 6' 5" and so honorable and kind that she inspires the guy who fucks his sister to yknow. stop doing that. literally gets mauled for the sake of protecting a bunch of orphans (with her sword). also she's 20 she should be at the club ‼️

One of the best sword wielders in Westeros, the author says he would pick her to defend him. Has a cool sword called Oathkeeper. Manages to go up against 7 fighters and take out most of them,. The only true knight; First off, talking about book brienne, they massacred show brienne, the show runners simply didn’t understand what she’s about.“ She had no chance against seven, she knew. No chance, and no choice” brienne had plenty of choice but she couldn’t leave people to die. The chivalric paradigm is rotten and corrupted, but here is Brienne, the one true knight, who isn’t even a actual knight! “knights are for killing”, but here is a knight who risks her life again and again to protect innocents! Bri IS hope, she is the light in the dark that shows that things can be better, things must be better. Fundamentally an idealist: “Winter will never come for the likes of us. Should we die in battle, they will surely sing of us, and it's always summer in the songs. In the songs all knights are gallant, all maids are beautiful, and the sun is always shining”

#kikunojo #one piece #brienne of tarth #a song of ice and fire #game of thrones #poll #official #swordswoman showdown #round 4 #quarterfinals

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badass-queer-couples-battle · 4 months

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Sword gays showdown, round 1, bracket two

Propaganda:

For Kiku:

She is almost 10 feet/3 meters tall and is a gorgeous trans woman and samurai, who is very loyal to her allies. She gets recognized as strong by the main character multiple times and proves it by being one of the most resilient badasses in the entire series. Helps break said main character out of the enemy's prison and takes part in a rebellion against the corrupt prison staff. She stands up to a tyrant who enslaved her country, said tyrant can also turn into a giant dragon. When the highest ranked sumo in the area is abusing class privilege and harassing both the townsfolks and her, she cuts his top knot off in public, effectively ending his career. Then after cutting the sumo's not knot, she uses her great acting skills to win the crowd to her side by playing the innocent maiden and being all "oh, no, what have I done?" (She knew exactly what she did >:) After her country is free, she also gets to enjoy being girly and mellow once everyone is able to relax, and everyone respects that side of her too. All of this at just 22 years of age, what a cool lady

She's a samurai who's great with a sword and she's also trans.

She is cannonically trans and is a very cool swordswoman!

Trans samurai!! Kenshi is gender neutral, but this is a swordsWOMAN

One of the most powerful samurai in her country, also a trans icon.

She’s canonically trans and awesome and pretty and she’s so tall! 🏳️‍⚧️

For Luo Binghe:

This boy not just studied the blade, he learned the blade FROM HIS CRUSH. And not only that but he actually has tons of symbolism around BOTH of the swords he wields over the course of the novel. His childhood sword gets broken when he's about to be thrown into his corruption arc, but the pieces are carefully preserved by his crush, and later he rebuilds the sword in question. Once he is fully freed from corrupting influence of his other sword, he uses this one again! It represents his inner goodness that gets broken, but is never really gone. The other is a cursed sword representing toxic masculinity that corrupts his mind and pushes him to harm himself and others. It gets destroyed in the end thru the power of gay love!

His sword is first broken symbolizing his trauma and loss of innocence when he is kicked into hell. Then his other sword, Xin Mo, which he finds in hell, represents toxic masculinity and he breaks it at the climax of the novel. It can also dimension travel and is evil.

Binghe has two different songs in this book and a complicated relationship with both of them. First there is Zhen Yang which breaks at a dramatic moment and is mourned over by his teacher/love interest "like a grieving widow". And then there's Xin Mo! His "golden finger". The most ridiculously overpowered sword in the world, it can even cut rifts in the fabric of the world. It also runs on sex and violence and drives him to madness which can only be cured by the aforementioned love interest sacrificing himself... or by sex!

#sword gays showdown #luo binghe #the scum villain's self saving system #svsss #kikunojo #one piece #okiku

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podcast-song-showdown · 11 months

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And now, a word from our audience:

"waiting for the bus in the rain (in the rain) wait waiting for the bus in the rain. waiting for the bus in the rain (in the rain) wait waiting for the bus in the rain. waiting for the bus in the rain (in the rain) wait waiting for the bus in the rain. waiting for the bus in the rain (in the rain) waiting for the bus in the rain."

youtube

"1. It absolutely FUCKS, 2. In-canon it was from one of the main characters old band, irl the lead singer voices one of the villains (Clive Schill) which is SO funny to me, 3. The lyrics relate to the story, which is fun, and 4. The other mc sings his own wildly off key version mid mental breakdown later in the show in a scene that's both heartbreaking and hilarious"

#podcast song showdown #tournament poll #wtnv #red valley #Spotify #Youtube

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animemusicbrackets · 1 month

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Vocaloid Song Showdown!!!: BRACKET

Thanks for your patience! (Text version, with dates under the cut below)

bracket is seeded by number of submissions (songs with the same number of submissions were randomly sorted)

matches will start going up on Saturday, April 6th

everything will be posted at 12:00pm EDT

4 polls will be posted each day. all polls will be one week long

if you can, please try to take the time to listen to the songs that you are unfamiliar with!

propaganda welcome :)

Links: List of bracket contestants (you can also find the full list of submissions and preliminary brackets in different tabs)

List of honorable mentions - songs i especially like that did not make it to the bracket. putting a link to the tag even though it is not up yet just to let u know its smth im working on. it is taking a long time bc i have like, over 400 songs to go through. but i will make a post when its done

propaganda bracket updates matches (the actual polls, not including any reblogs) preliminaries round 1

ROUND 1

PART A1 (04/06)

Match 1: "Rolling Girl" by wowaka; feat. Hatsune Miku {VS} "Common World Domination" by Pinocchio-P; feat. Hatsune Miku Match 2: "DAYBREAK FRONTLINE" by Orangestar; feat. IA {VS} "Electrical Forecast" by inabakumori; feat. Hatsune Miku Match 3: "Unhappy Refrain" by wowaka; feat. Hatsune Miku {VS} "Melt" by ryo; feat. Hatsune Miku Match 4: "sick" by Yuyoyuppe; feat. Natsuki Karin {VS} "GOATLIKE" by Somari; feat. Hatsune Miku

PART A2 (04/07)

Match 5: "Zanelli" by Teniwoha; feat. flower {VS} "The Madness of Duke Venomania" by Akuno-P / MOTHY; feat. Camui Gackpo (with KAITO, GUMI, MEIKO, Megurine Luka, and Hatsune Miku) Match 6: "WILDFIRE!!" by CIRCRUSH; feat. GUMI {VS} "drop pop candy" by Giga-P, Reol; feat. Kagamine Rin and Megurine Luka Match 7: "Kyuukurarin" by iyowa; feat. KAFU {VS} "Corpse Attack!!" by Utsu-P; feat. Hatsune Miku Match 8: "Regret Message" by Akuno-P / MOTHY; feat. Kagamine Rin {VS} "Alice of Human Sacrifice" by Yugami-P; feat. MEIKO, KAITO, Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin & Len

PART B1 (04/08 ECLIPSE DAY!!!)

Match 9: "Daughter of Evil" by Akuno-P / MOTHY; feat. Kagamine Rin {VS} "Karakuri Pierrot " by 40mP; feat. Hatsune Miku (with GUMI) Match 10: "Yowamushi Mont Blanc" by DECO*27; feat. GUMI {VS} "Alien Alien" by NayutalieN; feat. Hatsune Miku Match 11: "SLoWMoTIoN" by Pinocchio-P; feat. Hatsune Miku (with Yukkuri) {VS} "Hated by Life Itself." by Kanzaki Iori; feat. Hatsune Miku Match 12: "phony" by Tsumiki; feat. KAFU {VS} "First Train and Kafka" by n-buna; feat. Hatsune Miku

PART B2 (04/09)

Match 13: "Tokyo Teddy Bear" by Neru; feat. Kagamine Rin {VS} "Sand Planet" by Hachi; feat. Hatsune Miku (with Hachi) Match 14: "Law-evading Rock" by Neru; feat. Kagamine Len (with Ishifuro, Shirakami Mashiro, Jin, MoffuP, Yamaji, Yuumao, Ramune {VS} "Ohedo Julia-Night" by Mitchie M; feat. Hatsune Miku and KAITO Match 15: "Lost One's Weeping" by Neru, tomoboP; feat. Kagamine Rin {VS} "Donut Hole" by Hachi; feat. GUMI Match 16: "Alluring Secret ~Black Vow~" by teamOS (Hitoshizuku-P x Yama△); feat. Kagamine Rin & Len (with Hatsune Miku) {VS} "Hana Ichi Monme" by Team Kamiuta; feat. Hatsune Miku

PART C1 (04/10)

Match 17: "Meltdown" by iroha(sasaki); feat. Kagamine Rin {VS} "Honey I'm Home" by GHOST; feat. DEX Match 18: "I thought I was an angel" by Utsu-P; feat. Hatsune Miku {VS} "An Alien's "I Love You"" by Utsu-P; feat. Hatsune Miku Match 19: "Matroyshka" by Hachi; feat. GUMI and Hatsune Miku {VS} "Hole-dwelling" by Kikuo; feat. Hatsune Miku Match 20: "Rotten Heresy and Chocolate" by Pinocchio-P; feat. Hatsune Miku {VS} "Moth" by Utsu-P; feat. Hatsune Miku

PART C2 (04/11)

Match 21: "Lag Train" by inabakumori; feat. Kaai Yuki {VS} "Electric Angel (Giga-P Arrangement)" by Yasuo-P, Giga-P; feat. Kagamine Rin & Len Match 22: "Outer Science" by Jin; feat. IA {VS} "Ghost Rule" by DECO*27; feat. Hatsune Miku Match 23: "Villain" by Teniwoha; feat. flower {VS} "Ghost Girl" by Mikito-P; feat. Hatsune Miku Match 24: "The Fox's Wedding" by masa; feat. Hatsune Miku and GUMI {VS} "Synchronicity Second Chapter ~Paradise of Light and Shadow~" by teamOS (Hitoshizuku-P x Yama△); feat. Kagamine Rin & Len

PART D1 (04/12)

Match 25: "Servant of Evil" by Akuno-P / MOTHY; feat. Kagamine Len (with Kagamine Rin) {VS} "World is Mine" by ryo; feat. Hatsune Miku Match 26: "Samsa" by Teniwoha; feat. Hatsune Miku {VS} "Abnormality Dancin' Girl" by Guchiry; feat. flower Match 27: "ECHO" by Crusher, CircusP; feat. GUMI {VS} "Non-Breath Oblige" by Pinocchio-P; feat. Hatsune Miku Match 28: "My R" by KurageP; feat. Hatsune Miku {VS} "Ironina" by Niru Kajitsu; feat. flower

PART D2 (04/13)

Match 29: "ODDS&ENDS" by ryo; feat. Hatsune Miku {VS} "Remote Control" by WONDERFUL☆OPPORTUNITY; feat. Kagamine Rin & Len Match 30: "Kokoro" by Toraboruta-P; feat. Kagamine Rin {VS} "Deep-Sea Girl" by Yuuyu-P; feat. Hatsune Miku Match 31: "Bacterial Contamination" by Kanimiso-P; feat. Hatsune Miku {VS} "kyakkya" by Yuyoyuppe; feat. Natsuki Karin Match 32: "The Tailor of Enbizaka" by Akuno-P / MOTHY; feat. Megurine Luka {VS} "I'm glad you're evil too" by Pinocchio-P; feat. Hatsune Miku (with Pinnocchio-P)

#vocaloid tournament #music #vocaloid #utau #poll tournament #polls #poll #poll tournaments #tumblr poll #tumblr polls #brackets #utauloid #vsynth #vocal synth #synthesizer v #synth v #synthv #round1

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gay-disabled-characters-showdown · 16 days

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LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 1, Wave 5, Poll 13

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

Xiao Xingchen-The Untamed / Mo Dao Zu Shi

Qualifications:

He's blind (long story there but basically his partner was blinded and they did some magic so gave up his eyes for him). He's technically not canonically queer in the show (unsure if he is in the books) but like intensely close relationship with his partner Song Lan and then unintentionally inspiring an insanely homoerotic obsession/relationship with his enemy. so like,,,, there are signs

Propaganda:

He's blind but he has a sword that point him towards evil things (ghost puppets). unfortunately for him, this can, and does, get exploited by others so he kills people he believes are just ghost puppets that aren't. anyways his story is quite tragic (along with everyone else around him. no one has a good time of it, not even the villain). He's also incredibly kind. like he saves some stranger off the side of the road and never asks him who he is or why he was there but still takes care of him and then when the guy just doesn't leave, they live in domestic bliss for like 3 years (this does not end well).

Jack Wolcott-Wayward Children

Qualifications/Propaganda:

I am not very good at propaganda but: Jack Wolcott loves her girlfriend very much and she needs everything she touches to be absolutely SO clean because she has hygiene related OCD and is also a mad scientist. She met her girlfriend by resurrecting her after she died one time.

#polls #poll #disabled characters #lgbtq characters #disability #lgbtq #lgbtq dcs round 1 #lgbtq dcs wave 5 #xiao xingchen #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #jack wolcott #wayward children #id in alt text

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faith-nerd · 3 months

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Veggie Villain Song Showdown Round 1: Match 1 (aka. Battle of "I'm More Important than Them")

"Oh no, what we gonna do?" from Where's God when I'm Scared: Daniel in the Lion's Den (1993)

Performer: 3 Wise Men (The Scallions) Propaganda/Background Info: Mod here to say as of 6:18 p.m. CST on Jan. 27, 2024, Duck Duck Go has this song's lyrics marked as Explicit.

I mean, I figure that has to be a fluke, it's VeggieTales, but also it has the lyrics "fill his ears with cheese balls and his nostrils with sorbet," as well as considering violence.

"Busy, Busy" from Are You My Neighbor: Tale of Flibber-o-loo (1995)

Performer: The Mayor and Doctor (Archibald Asparagus and Lovey) Propaganda/Background: None

#veggietales #veggie tales #vt villain song tourney #big idea #polls

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aroace-polyshow · 1 year

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why you should vote for mafuyu asahina in the @anti-canon-trans-showdown !!!

reason 1.

look at this card of him. look at him with short hair!!!! hes so very pretty i love him

reason 2.

hear me out: mafuyu for their whole life has only done whatever would make her parents (especially her mother) proud. he's essentially torn apart their original self to adjust to whatever would please everyone around them. i, personally, could totally see them shoving aside their discomfort from being called a girl, because in his head "imagine how my mother would react!". i could see him pushing it aside for most of his life until now when he's been trying to find himself again. (my personal hc, but like cmon hear me out)

reason 3.

he covers villain in game, a vocaloid song that is very trans, and he sings it with the one, the only, the very likely to also be trans, mizuki akiyama!!!

reason 4.

look at these short hair edits of them!!! (first one is by @/ red-weed here on tumblr and second was by @ / Byassa6 on the prosekai wiki, correct me if they aren't the original editor.)

reason 5.

please pretty please i love mafuyu dearly and he is so so sad and he makes me so sad and i just want him to be happy and he deserves this!! i at least want him to make it a few rounds... </3

#transmasc mafuyu #my beloved #VOTE FOR HIM #GIVE HIM THIS

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vocaloid-song-showdown · 1 year

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vocaloid song showdown bracket (masterpost)

hi happy miku day <3 <3 <3 i didn't mean to take so long to get the bracket arrangement up but if it has to be late what better day to upload them than 3/9 :'D

anyway here are the lineups ^^ (formally done this time)

round one is scheduled to start this sunday on march 12th <3

(all links are in the read more since there are a lot of them)

rounds ::

all rounds to be posted

playlists ::

nominated songs bracket songs honorable mentions poll runner's favorites (to be posted after the polls to prevent bias)

main matchups :: (spaced by era)

songs with a * next to them may focus on and/or contain topics that might be upsetting to some. please proceed with caution. please feel free to reach out if you'd like more specific warnings. - alice of human sacrifice* by yugami p / fear garden* by chaa - magnet by minato p / romeo and cinderella by doriko - world is mine by ryo / world's end dancehall by wowaka - triple baka by lamaze p / the disappearance of hatsune miku by cosmo p - meltdown by iroha(sasaki) / luka luka★night fever by samfree - fire◎flower by halyosy / trick and treat by oster project - daughter of evil by mothy / dancing★samurai by kanimiso p - rolling girl by wowaka / matryoshka by hachi - madness of duke venomania* by mothy / alluring secret ~black vow~ by hitoshizuku x yama - senbonzakura by kurousa / outer science by jin - doubleganger by kulfiq / mikusabbath by utsu p - jinsei reset button by kemu / common world domination by pinnochio p - the fox's wedding* by masa works design / tokio funka by takamatt - heat haze days* by jin / patchwork staccato by toa - six trillion years and an overnight story by kemu / lost one's weeping by neru - aishite aishite aishite by kikuo / echo by crusher p - setsuna drive by taki yoshimitsu / yoake to hotatu by n buna - a fake fake psychotropic by kairiki bear / therefore you and me by tadanoco - my r* by kurage p / i'm glad youre evil too by pinnochio p - chururira chururira dadada by kurage p / mkdr by deco*27 - blessed messiah and the tower of ai by hitoshizuku x yama / 86 by dasu - law evading rock by neru / nakakapagpabagabag by dasu - sand planet by hachi / ghost rule by deco*27 - monster by kira / hated by life itself by iori kanzaki - cause i'm a liar by mcki robyns p / honey i'm home by ghost - hole dwelling by kikuo / bring it on by giga - meteor by divela / seraphim on the ring by mitchie m - the court jester by thquib / casino by azari - king by kanaria / villain by teniwoha - lower by lanndo / phony by tsumiki - higanbana milk tea by vane / scapegoat by ghost - queen by kanaria / bug by kairiki bear

honorable mentions matchups ::

electric angel by yasuo p (original), giga (giga arrange) / freely tomorrow by mitchie m po pi po by lamaze p / go google it by wintermint p black★rock shooter by ryo / bacterial contamination by kanimiso p i like you, i love you by gevanni p / first love academy • school of true love by nem

#vocaloid song showdown #masterpost #it took a whole lot longer than i thought or meant for it to take but the masterlist is up now !!#one step closer to the polls going up :D #for real for real this time djfgd #i told a friend id watch jjba w him so not a lot of time for rambling today unfortunately though #anyway i'm not fully sure if all the links here lead to the official upload ????#but i'll make sure to double check and fix any that don't before i head to sleep ( ^^)b #also sorry about my handwriting kjsdh i hope it's legible :'D

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blackswordmeister · 5 years

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The following is a critical analysis I did on Mordred’s Song by Blind Guardian some years back. Figured I’d post it here and see what everybody else thought of it.

MORDRED: VILLAIN OR VICTIM

Abstract

The following analysis is on “Mordred’s Song” by German power metal band Blind Guardian and its driving theme is that Mordred is less a villain and more a victim of fate. The ballad gives us Mordred’s side of the story concerning his feelings regarding his fate as the ultimate betrayer of his father King Arthur, the usurper of Camelot, and the cause of his final downfall as well as her personal feelings regarding his destiny. Instead of the popular depiction of him as a cursed child who maliciously covets his father’s throne, kingdom and (in some versions) even his queen, here he is depicted as a tragic victim of fate groomed for his entire life to destroy his father, never given a say otherwise. In other words, a pawn in another’s bid for power.

In Morte D’Arthur, compiled by Sir Thomas Malory, Mordred is the bastard son of King Arthur conceived by his half-sister Morgauise. Much like his father before him, his conception is marked by the breaking of numerous societal and religious taboos such as incest, witchcraft and in some versions, rape. It is foretold that this “child of evil” will eventually be the one to bring about Arthur’s doom. Years down the line, Mordred eventually grows to become one of the Knights of the Round Table and actually proves to be one of its more prominent members, earning praise from even Lancelot himself. It all goes downhill once he learns who his father is and the circumstances of his birth. All details aside, he eventually launches a coup in an attempt to oust his father as king and usurp the throne of Camelot. In many versions of the epic, Mordred is often cast as the villain, the devil child, the archetypal dark prince, an “evil bastard” in a figurative and literal sense. One such alternative character interpretation comes from German power metal band, Blind Guardian in their aptly titled “Mordred’s Song”. Here, listeners are given a chance to see through Mordred’s eyes and walk in his shoes as he feels trapped by his supposed destiny to bring about his father and Camelot’s downfall. Here, the so-called “evil prince” is less a villain seeking to supplant Arthur as king and more of a victim of fate, lamenting what he’s essentially been groomed all his life to do.

The very first line “I’ve lost my battle before it starts” (Line 1) foretells that he’s fully aware that he was essentially doomed from the start. With his birth marked by the breaking of numerous taboos and his eventual bid to oust Arthur and take Camelot, (and in some versions Guinevere as well) Mordred knows that it’s all to easy for him to be labelled as somebody destined to be the villain. “I’ve gone beyond the truth, it’s just another lie.”(lines 30-31) indicates to listeners that Mordred has been manipulated and lied to all his life to the point that he doesn’t know who to believe anymore. It remains unclear whether Mordred’s attempted power grasp was made of his own volition or whether he was influenced or manipulated by another.

“But fate fooled me and changed my cards” (lines 12-13) is a possible reference to tarot cards often used in divination and fortune telling, thus further highlighting Mordred’s role in the ballad as a victim of fate. “No Joker’s on my side” (line 19) references the joker card’s usual status in many card games as the “trump card” which often ensures victory where it would be impossible under normal circumstances. The line tells us that Mordred has no “trump card” that allows him to defy his dark destiny. The chorus line “I turn off the light and murder the dawn” represents Mordred’s apparent resignation to his fate. He knows that because of the circumstances of his birth and his usurpation of the throne, this verse indicates that he’s fully aware that he’s doomed to be forever be cast as the villain, the traitorous son, the Judas Iscariot of Camelot. Especially since that while Arthur has committed some actions worth calling out for the sake of keeping his throne. (i.e. the May Day massacre where in an attempt to get rid of the then unknown Mordred, Arthur pulls a Herod and decrees that every child born on May 1 of that year to be carted off to sea to be shipwrecked. Mordred himself survived that event.), Arthur is not remembered either in his time or in modern days as a tyrant. However, Mordred during his reign as “interim king” is well received as king because as noble as Arthur was, his reign was marked by near constant warfare whereas Mordred promises the peace that has long eluded the land. The line “In agony, we’re unified” (line 34) speaks upon Mordred’s feelings of loneliness regarding his father. In Mary Stewart’s book, “The Wicked Day”, it shows that Mordred possibly loved Arthur as his father and felt some sort of loyalty towards him in spite of his fate as shown in the following exchange with his mother:

Morgause tells Mordred:

If Merlin saw it written in the stars that you would be Arthur’s doom, then how can you escape it? There will come a day, the wicked day of destiny, when all will come to pass as he foretold (Stewart, 234)

Mordred’s reply to this

Now that I am warned, I shall know what to do. If I have to leave court and stay away from him, I shall do it. No power on earth can make me lift a hand to kill unless I wish it, and this death I swear to you I shall never undertake. I swear it by the Goddess herself (235)

As Amber Kelly-Anderson notes in her own analysis on Mordred,

“Mary Stewart really focuses on the development of Mordred, whose destiny is dictated by fate and misunderstanding, rather than the innate malevolence of earlier characterizations in the Legend. In The Wicked Day Stewart’s Mordred is a thoughtful, conflicted young man who acts out of necessity rather than malice; his treachery is rather reluctant and the result of circumstance (Amber). In this way, Mordred’s character is redefined, making him more human and less villainous.” (Sheble, p. 13) The line can also be used to hint at the feelings of not just the son but the father as well. In the same manner that there is no indication on how Mordred feels about his actions, Arthur’s feelings on facing his son in battle are ambiguous as well. Both of them know that the path they’ve been set on can only end one of two ways. Either the father dies by the hand of the son or the son dies by the hand of the father. Either way, their relationship is doomed to end in tragedy.

The song references Mordred’s father, Arthur, referring to his eventual fate of his attempt to usurp his throne and meeting him in battle. “I am the fallen one” (chorus line 2) can also be taken as a sort of Biblical reference regarding fallen angels. For example, Lucifer, whose pride and jealousy saw him cast from heaven, taking a host of angels with him into hell. Lucifer would ultimately become Satan, the source of all evil according to Christian doctrine and the mortal enemy of God and his servants. “Wash away the blood on my hands, my father’s blood” (lines 32-33) foreshadows his final showdown with his father towards the end of the Battle of Camlann, the ultimate confrontation between father and son where both strike each other down.

The driving theme behind Blind Guardian’s ballad “Mordred’s Song” is that Mordred is not so much a villain lusting after his father’s throne as he is more of a victim of fate, resigning himself to being branded as a traitor and fallen knight. Here, Mordred is no scion of evil as he is often cast but more of a tragic villain trapped by fate to ultimately slay the father and by extension bring about the downfall of Camelot as well as his own in the process. Metaphors are used to highlight his personal pain as he struggles between his personal morals and what he’s been groomed all his life to do. Symbolism is used. Allusions to the Arthurian stories hint at the guilt Mordred possibly feels for his actions and hint at his final confrontation with his father. In the end, the ballad asks its listeners “Is Mordred is truly the villain as he is often presented as or is he simply a victim cursed by fate and groomed since childhood to play a role he probably never wanted to begin with? Is Sir Mordred, true son of King Arthur Pendragon, a villain or a victim?

Annotated Bibliography

Blind Guardian, “Mordred’s Song” from the album “Imaginations form the Other Side” from Century Media Records. Retrieved from

:http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/blindguardian/imaginationsfromtheotherside.html#5

The source material for the analysis. The song is essentially Mordred’s side of the story in his final dealings with his father. The ballad sees him lamenting what he’s been groomed all of his life to do. Eventually, he resigns to his fate.

Malory, Sir T. Le “Morte D’Arthur” from CRW, 2007ISBN 1904633978, 9781904633976

The original saga of King Arthur as compiled by Sir Thomas Malory as well as the inspiration for the previously discussed ballad. It includes the tales of Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, including Mordred himself. Here, it details Mordred’s knighthood and ends with the eventual coup against his father Arthur.

Sheble M. The Once and Future Hero, A Vindicated Mordred (2011, March 10) Retrieved from:

http://nchchonors.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/2011-SIRP-Sheble-Margaret.pdf

The source of the quotes found in this analysis. This is Margaret Sheble’s own analysis regarding the character of Mordred. Here, she examines many aspects of Mordred’s character, including theories concerning his childhood, his relationships with those around him and finally his eventual fall into villainy.

Steward, M., “The Wicked Day” Published from Ballatine Books, 1983 ISBN 0-449-91185-3

(paperback)

Fourth in Mary Stewart’s five part “Merlin” series. As with the ballad above, Mordred is shown as a victim of fate rather than a fallen knight. Here, Mordred is shown to be close with his father Arthur, but circumstances beyond his control as Mordred is drawn into the intrigues and infighting that marked the end of his reign.

#old college paper #blind guardian #mordred's song #critical analysis #critique is welcome

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its-to-the-death · 3 months

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Villain Song Showdown Bracket G Round 3

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Other Friends (Steven Universe The Movie) - Villain: Spinel

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Nerdy Prudes Must Die (Nerdy Prudes Must Die) - Villain: Maxwell Jägerman

#villain song showdown #villain song showdown round 3 #vss bracket g #spinel #steven universe #steven universe the movie #nerdy prudes must die #starkid #team starkid #tournament poll #Youtube

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arielmagicesi · 5 years

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often when a series ends and especially when there is such a show-stopping ending, before I can analyze how I feel, I have to first list everything that actually happened. Now I don’t know if Steven Universe is actually over but I just. what the fuck that was too much I didn’t have time to react before getting slapped with something else

spoilers below obviously

I was tempted to start listing from the point of “Gem Drill” because I’ve heard that only a year has passed since then and I mean, what a fucking wild year for poor Steven. I’m also tempted to start listing from “A Single Pale Rose” because shit moved FAST starting from there. But I’m just gonna list everything that happened in “Change Your Mind.”

It’s kind of what makes me suspect that this is the final episode of the entire series, because although plot pacing has been accelerating throughout the entire series (going from “Steven learns how to bubble” taking 10 episodes, to “diamond showdown” being a minor subplot of 1) and although the plot pacing went super-speed for this whole diamond arc, this episode shoved EVERY LAST THING IN.

stuff that could’ve waited (Lars and Sadie’s reunion) and stuff that should’ve taken vastly longer if it even should’ve happened at all (White Diamond’s lightning-speed reformation) was all put into one episode. now, it was deftly combined, and I liked almost every individual part, and there was some possibly-unintended comedy to it all (”she’s GOOOOONE!!!!” and White Diamond demonstrating the big ship’s pussy-out look, etc) but holy hell I would have loved for it to have gone at a slower pace so that they could have explored some of the stuff.

[also, my ability to react to things is lessened. meeting Sunstone would’ve been, I’m not joking, the highlight of my week just two years ago. now it wasn’t even the coolest of the fusions we met, and meeting the fusions was an incredibly minor point in the episode. also i have other things in my life now lol]

obviously, part of this pacing is due to the airing schedule of the show. on a normal airing schedule, I’d feel emotionally exhausted- this would have been, what, a month after the Pink-Diamond-is-Rose-Quartz reveal? but because this show airs in the dumbest way possible, we have like five hundred years between plot points. however, Steven did not? Pearl did not? Garnet did not? CONNIE did not? how the fuck are they getting along?

secondly, this was all in one episode, so yeah holy shit, some whiplash occurring for this here viewer

(one final note: I now take back getting annoyed that we got Watermelon Moana last week because it was so gentle compared to this)

anyway, my promised list of Crazy Shit that happened in one 40-minute episode:

1. Steven gets a flashback that tells him about a previous transgression of Pink’s, where we meet some other aliens. pointing to an old rebellion?

2. we see another Steven identity crisis with him flashing through Steven-Pink-Rose

3. Steven convinces Blue Diamond that she’s abusive and she immediately realizes the error of her ways and decides to help him and Connie out. (also, Connie talks to Diamonds a lot, I love her. damn girl)

4. we retrieve the bubbled Crystal Gems

5. Yellow and Blue have a big public diamond showdown

6. we discover that Yellow Diamond has emotions and tears, and feels pressured. shocking. if only the planets she’d colonized had thought to sit her down and chat

7. Yellow decides to join Steven’s side as well

8. they make a plan to escape via the leg-ship

9. White Diamond decides to show up and do her Creepy Act and she lands her big torso on the legs (confirming the obvious theory that the ships act as one big body)

10. Diamond Showdown Part 2, where Yellow and Blue attempt to fight White

11. Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot return. We see Lapis and Peridot’s new forms.

12. Bismuth has fixed the arm ships and upper-cuts an upper-crust for the first time in her life in a really cool way.

13. Steven manages to say words to White Diamond, and so do Yellow and Blue.

14. White Diamond GREY-IFIES BLUE AND YELLOW DIAMOND

15. which also means we find out exactly what the fuck is wrong with White Pearl (also may I say, this is something I wrote about in my fic, accessible on my AO3, linked in my About)

16. Steven falls dramatically with the gems of his friends in his arms

17. Steven finds out he can (and decides to) retrieve gems from their gems by fusing with them

18. We see Smoky Quartz form mid-air

19. We see Amethyst’s new form

20. Steven fuses with Pearl for the first time ever, and we see Rainbow Quartz 2.0 for the first time

21. We see Pearl’s new form

22. We see what a pink diamond/rose quartz forms with a garnet for the very first time

23. Steven’s own first fusion with Garnet

24. Sunstone attempts to start shit with the giant robot

25. We see Garnet’s new form

26. Bismuth presents the replacement for the Sword of Rose Quartz, as a gift to Connie

27. We see the full-blown temple fusion for the very first time ever

28. Steven has his first fusion with all the Crystal Gems

29. We meet Obsidian and she succeeds in starting shit with the giant robot

30. We see Bismuth, Peridot, Lapis, and Connie all contribute to the fight and survive horrifyingly dangerous scenarios. (still gotta wonder what the HELL Connie’s mom was thinking... she went from not letting her kid watch inaccurate TV shows to letting her nearly die countless times in outer space at the hands of alien dictator robots)

31. let me just add, I <3 Connie and she deserves the world. bravest kid in the universe

32. the Crystal Gems find a way to invade the robot

33. the four main Crystal Gems face up against White Diamond herself and her grey-ified pearl and grey-ified fellow diamonds

34. White reveals a bit to us via villain-monologue that we probably could’ve guessed already: she wants every gem to be flawless, to be identical to her essentially yet subservient- which she considers to be synonymous with flawlessness- and her theory about the way the colors of the diamonds informs their personalities. Including that Pink is part of White, despite White’s dislike of this fact.

35. White grey-ifies the Crystal Gems

36. Connie arrives, also fully ready to fight this bitch

37. the grey-ified Crystal Gems restrain Steven and Connie

38. Steven gets to have that full-fledged conversation he wanted with White, I guess

39. BIGGEST ACTUAL REVEAL OF THE EPISODE: We find out what happens when Steven’s gem is removed from his stomach!!! that’s been a question since episode ONE I think

40. we get to see a Pink Steven and a Human Steven, which is pretty cool. I compare it to what might happen if you got split into What You Got From Your Dad and What You Got From Your Mom

41. this is just my theory, but we find out, I think, that Steven’s general strength in everyday movement comes from diamond strength and that he turns weaker than a baby without it, which makes sense because he’s always had it

42. White Diamond attempts to grey-ify Pink

43. we find out, as Pink Steven so eloquently says, that Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz really, really is gone. she died in childbirth essentially. I think he might someday manage to access her full memories but I don’t think that persona is ever returning

44. we see what Steven’s bubbles/shield would look like in full diamond form

45. the badass scene of Connie CARRYING STEVEN TO HIMSELF?

46. we discover that either Steven is the most special boy ever, or White’s powers are no match for love or some shit

47. we get to see Steven... fuse with himself?

48. everyone gets un-greyified. Including White Pearl. the white-pearl-is-old-pink-pearl theory is confirmed, though I think it may have been in a flashback in “Familiar” and hinted at during Steven’s flashback at the start of the episode when Blue said “she’ll take away your pearl”

49. we see Steven/Pink’s full empathy powers in play, I think? that’s what happened when he pink-ified the whole group? INCLUDING WHITE?

50. Steven gives White Diamond one of his lightning-round therapy sessions, and she decides to Be Nice Now, Actually

51. that’s right. THERE ARE NO VILLAINS I’M GONNA LOSE MY MIND

52. the ENTIRE GROUP GOES TO EARTH

53. meaning that White leaves Homeworld (and “her own head”) for the first time in eons, according to the other Diamonds anyway

54. we get to see Sadie and the Cool Kids’ new looks. minor I know, but Jenny looks great in a suit!

55. also minor but cool: they’re covering “Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart”

56. for the second time in like 2 weeks, Diamond Ships interrupt a townwide Beach City gathering

57. we find out that Beach City is full of fucking idiots who thought that the ship was like, a grand finale to the concert? instead of full-on panicking mayhaps? cause every time this shit happens it usually leads to mayhem?

58. the Off-Colors, coincidentally, finally arrive on Earth at the exact same time

59. Lars meets Lion for the first time as Pink Zombie Brothers

60. Lars and Sadie reunion, in which we also find out that Sadie is like a legendary figure for the Off Colors

61. THE OFF COLORS MEET THE FUCKING DIAMONDS

62. Greg and Steven reunite

63. The Diamonds meet and finally heal the Centipeedles

64. The Diamonds visit Rose’s fountain and get it working as a four-diamond extravaganza event

65. every gem from the temple is brought there to be healed. we see the healing of, I assume, p much every monster we’ve met

66. we get to see the Heaven and Earth Beetle, who are pebbles too, and lesbians!

67. callback to the memories of the four Diamonds having swimming pool time

68. Jasper gets healed and naturally tries to destroy Steven immediately, then looks up to see all three of her diamonds. She and Amethyst get to bond, I guess.

69. Callback to the intro itself with the “We Are the Crystal Gems” song and all the new Crystal Gems chilling on the beach

70. New song, “Change Your Mind” and it’s cute obviously

My feelings on the episode? So besides what I wrote above the list, re: whiplash, I think that from a realistic standpoint and a writing-fantasy standpoint, it is some wild shit. For all three diamonds to achieve a FULL redemption arc in one episode? Too much. For there to be NO villains? Come on. And for the lesson to be, we should just give heartless dictators love and they’ll grow hearts? Worrying.

However, as I reached the end of the episode, I thought about a time in high school when my teacher asked me which superpower I’d want, and then annoyed the class by seeming morally superior by saying he’d want to speak every language. Thinking on it later, I thought- I’d want more than every language. I’d want the ability to TRULY understand others, and to make them TRULY understand me- and each other. Because yes, OF COURSE every conflict can be boiled down to a lack of understanding, a lack of empathy. If we had superhuman empathy on our side, we really could do away with violence. But in the real world, we don’t have superhuman empathy, we just have regular empathy, and some don’t even try to use that. So saying “have a little empathy for your oppressors” is ghoulish.

But Steven DOES have superhuman empathy. In fact, all the Diamonds do. Blue can make others cry, White can make others be identical to her, and Yellow can give others fear and command. And they use it only for evil. But Pink can make others understand. And she had only used it for frivolous things until she finally combined with a non-gem life form. Then, human empathy met superhuman empathy, and did what it had to do. THAT is how Steven defeated the Diamond Reign of Terror.

That being said: I don’t know if the target audience of kids really caught that nuance, considering that the episode went so fucking fast. Additionally: some of that superhuman empathy could’ve been pointed at the legions of crushed, oppressed little gems- which I know it was- but the focus was SO intensely on, like, “poor Yellow never got enough credit for being SO good at imperialism!”

So yeah. Both writing-wise, pacing-wise, plot-wise, message-wise... I did love it, as I do the whole show, but I also thought it could’ve benefited from some space, some criticism, and some better organization down at Cartoon Network’s scheduling department.

Art-wise, well I’m not an animation expert, but Obsidian can get it <3 and I loved the designs for everything.

Character-wise... I’ll have to think on it more.

OK THE END I’M DONE REACTING TO STEVEN UNIVERSE. SHOW’S OVER

#steven universe #su spoilers #change your mind #written by me #this is a mammoth essay that i wrote on the spot. feel free to skip or skim

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themattress · 6 years

Video

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A good video to compare my own scores for Indigo League to.

Suede’s grading can be equated to mine, except that he doesn’t seem to believe in 2.5 (Average) or 1.5 (Bad, but with redeeming qualities). For him, it’s just the Master Ball / 4 (Excellent), Ultra Ball / 3.5 (Great, but with glaring flaws), Great Ball / 3 (Good), Poke Ball / 2 (Weak), Rock / 1 (Terrible)....or Dark Ball / 0 (Offensive), which isn’t a grade I ever applied.

1. Pokémon! I Choose You! = 4 (SUEDE: 4) 2. Pokémon Emergency! = 4 (SUEDE: 3.5) 3. Ash Catches a Pokémon = 4 (SUEDE: 4) 4. Challenge of the Samauri = 2 (SUEDE: 2) 5. Showdown in Pewter City = 4 (SUEDE: 4) 6. Clefairy and the Moon Stone = 3 (SUEDE: 3) 7. Water Flowers of Cerulean City = 2.5 (SUEDE: 3.5) 8. The Path to the Pokémon League = 3 (SUEDE: 0) 9. The School of Hard Knocks = 4 (SUEDE: 4) 10. Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village = 3 (SUEDE: 3) 11. Charmander the Stray Pokémon = 4 (SUEDE: 4) 12. Here Comes the Squirtle Squad = 4 (SUEDE: 3) 13. Mystery at the Lighthouse = 2.5 (SUEDE: 3.5) 14. Electric Shock Showdown = 4 (SUEDE: 4) 15. Battle Aboard the St. Anne = 4 (SUEDE: 3.5) 16. Pokémon Shipwreck = 4 (SUEDE: 3) 17. The Island of Giant Pokémon = 4 (SUEDE: 3) 18. Beauty and the Beach = 3 (SUEDE: 0) 19. Tentacool and Tentacruel = 3.5 (SUEDE: 3.5) 20. The Ghost at Maiden's Peak = 4 (SUEDE: 3.5) 21. Bye-Bye Butterfree = 4 (SUEDE: 3) 22. Abra and the Psychic Pokémon = 4 (SUEDE: 3.5) 23. The Tower of Terror = 3 (SUEDE: 3) 24. Haunter Versus Kadabra = 3.5 (SUEDE: 4) 25. Primeape Goes Bananas = 1 (SUEDE: 3.5) 26. Pokémon Scent-sation = 1.5 (SUEDE: 3) 27. Hypno's Naptime = 2.5 (SUEDE: 2) 28. Pokémon Fashion Flash = 3 (SUEDE: 3.5) 29. The Punchy Pokémon = 1.5 (SUEDE: 3) 30. Sparks Fly for Magnemite = 3 (SUEDE: 3) 31. Dig Those Diglett = 3.5 (SUEDE: 2) 32. The Ninja Poke-Showdown = 2 (SUEDE: 3) 33. The Flame Pokémon-athon = 3.5 (SUEDE: 3.5) 34. The Kangaskhan Kid = 4 (SUEDE: 3) 35. The Legend of Dratini = 3.5 (SUEDE: 3.5) 36. The Bridge Bike Gang = 3.5 (SUEDE: 3) 37. Ditto's Mysterious Mansion = 4 (SUEDE: 3) 38. Electric Soldier Porygon = 3.5 (SUEDE: 3) 39. Pikachu's Goodbye = 4 (SUEDE: 3.5) 40. The Battling Eevee Brothers = 3.5 (SUEDE: 3.5) 41. Wake up, Snorlax = 3 (SUEDE: 1) 42. Showdown at Dark City = 2.5 (SUEDE: 3.5) 43. March of the Exeggutor Squad = 3 (SUEDE: 3.5) 44. The Problem with Paras = 2.5 (SUEDE: 3.5) 45. The Song of Jigglypuff = 4 (SUEDE: 3.5) 46. Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon = 4 (SUEDE: 3.5) 47. A Chansey Operation = 3.5 (SUEDE: 3) 48. Holy Matrimony! = 4 (SUEDE: 4) 49. So Near, Yet So Farfetch'd = 3 (SUEDE: 1) 50. Who Gets to Keep Togepi? = 1 (SUEDE: 3.5) 51. Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden = 2 (SUEDE: 3.5) 52. Princess Versus Princess = 3.5 (SUEDE: 3.5) 53. The Purr-fect Hero = 1.5 (SUEDE: 1) 54. Case of the K-9 Capers = 2 (SUEDE: 3) 55. Pokémon Paparazzi = 4 (SUEDE: 3) 56. The Ultimate Test = 4 (SUEDE: 3.5) 57. The Breeding Center Secret = 4 (SUEDE: 3) 58. Riddle Me This = 3.5 (SUEDE: 2) 59. Volcanic Panic = 4 (SUEDE: 3.5) 60. Beach Blank-Out Blastoise = 1.5 (SUEDE: 1) 61. The Misty Mermaid = 3 (SUEDE: 2) 62. Clefairy Tales = 4 (SUEDE: 3) 63. The Battle of the Badge = 4 (SUEDE: 3) 64. It's Mr. Mimie Time = 3.5 (SUEDE: 3.5) 65. Holiday Hi-Jynx = 2 (SUEDE: 3) 66. Snow Way Out = 3.5 (SUEDE: 2) 67. Showdown at the Poke Corral = 3.5 (SUEDE: 3.5) 68. The Evolution Solution = 3.5 (SUEDE: 3) 69. The Pi-Kahuna = 4 (SUEDE: 2) 70. Make Room for Gloom = 1 (SUEDE: 2) 71. Lights, Camera, Quacktion! = 4 (SUEDE: 3) 72. Go West, Young Meowth = 4 (SUEDE: 4) 73. To Master the Onixpected = 3.5 (SUEDE: 3.5) 74. The Ancient Puzzle of Pokemopolis = 4 (SUEDE: 3.5) 75. Bad to the Bone = 4 (SUEDE: 3) 76. All Fired Up = 3 (SUEDE: 2) 77. Round One - Begin! = 2 (SUEDE: 2) 78. Fire and Ice = 3.5 (SUEDE: 2) 79. The Fourth Round Rumble = 3.5 (SUEDE: 3) 80. A Friend In Deed = 3 (SUEDE: 3) 81. Friend or Foe Alike = 3.5 (SUEDE: 2) 82. Friends to the End = 4 (SUEDE: 3.5) [TOTAL = 3.5 (Great, but with glaring flaws)] [SUEDE = 3.0 (Good)]

So Suede’s total grade for the series is exactly as he said on the video: a Great Ball. Mine is higher, an Ultra Ball, because I am much more liberal with my perfect scores than Suede is. I know that it’s part of his job, but I honestly think that Suede is way too much of a nitpicker.

Now, here are my biggest disagreements with him:

- His grading of “Pokemon Emergency” as weaker than the episode before it and after it makes no sense to me since the three episodes together are pretty interconnected...he says as much himself in another video. I don’t get his criticism at all that “too much happens in it”...taking it as the second part in an hour-long premiere, the events feel perfectly natural.

- He overrates “Water Flowers of Cerulean City”. Misty’s conflict with her sisters was incredibly shallow in its presentation, the battle being interrupted by Team Rocket and then Ash just getting the badge as the pity badge Daisy was intending it as before Misty stepped in was infuriating, and while funny, Brock being away doing “stuff” made no sense storywise.

- WAY too hard on “Path to the Pokemon League”. It’s not the best of episodes and foreshadows the problematic Ash vs. Paul rivalry in DP, but I think everyone being jerks was kind of the point, and at the end they get around it by trying to look at their similarities rather than their differences. Also, AJ’s Pokemon clearly were giving consent for that harsh training.

- Despite some good atmosphere, I think “Mystery at the Lighthouse” is just average.

- His nitpicking causes him to underrate “Pokemon Shipwreck” and “Island of the Giant Pokemon”, the latter of which does hold up for me and easily deserves a perfect score.

- I totally get why he hates “Beauty and the Beach”. But honestly? This is my take.

- What is up with his high ratings for the Primeape episodes and the Celadon Gym Battle? That was some horrendous writing - Primeape was utterly useless and forgettable, and the Celadon Gym Battle was the last and worst case of Ash getting a pity badge in the series.

- “Dig Those Diglett” was a big victim of his nitpicking. It’s a lot better than he says it is.

- He thinks “The Kangaskhan Kid” is the weakest Safari Zone episode, I think it’s the best.

- I would mention “Ditto’s Mysterious Mansion”, but he corrected his infamous views on it.

- Dude, “Wake up, Snorlax” was hilarious, I don’t get what you’re bitching about!

- “The Problem with Paras” gets an Ultra Ball? Really, Suede!?

- He has a huge problem with “So Near, Yet So Farfetch’d”, but NOT with “Who Gets to Keep Togepi?” and “Bulbasaur’s Mysterious Garden”? Yeah, he does bring up some big problems with the latter two in his screw-ups videos, but he doesn’t go nearly far enough - “Who Gets to Keep Togepi?” was one of the most nonsensical episodes in the series thanks to that problem, and “Bulbasaur’s Mysterious Garden”, if not for its confused moral, would be almost as forgettable as “Make Room for Gloom”. “So Near, Yet So Farfetch’d” was perfectly fine.

- I totally get his disappointment at the butchery of Cinnabar Island in “Riddle Me This”, and agree that the episode goes all over the place. That’s why I have it as 3.5 instead of 4. But I think it’s still so entertaining and well-presented, especially Blaine himself, that I can forgive it.

- More needless nitpicking on “Battle of the Badge”. Sure, it could have been a two-parter, but as a single episode, I think it still works very well and accomplishes exactly what it needs to.

- His grading and mine on the two postponed “Christmas episodes” are practically swapped.

- “The Pi-Kahuna” was AWESOME. You’ll never convince me otherwise, Suede!

- He doesn’t go hard ENOUGH on “Make Room for Gloom”. It’s #2 on his personal list of worst episodes and yet he gives it a Poke Ball!? He gave “Wake up, Snorlax” a Rock and even admitted that he remembers more about that than he does this episode! WTF, Suede?

- And he goes too hard on “Bad to the Bone”, “Fire and Ice”, and “Friend or Foe Alike”. I enjoyed the plot of “Bad to the Bone” and didn’t find it bad in the slightest. The atmosphere and quiet moments of “Fire and Ice” was so good that I could easily ignore Ash’s obnoxious attitude. And while the .5 in my 3.5 for “Friend or Foe Alike” does come from the Team Rocket part dragging out too long and the climactic battle with Ritchie being way too fast and overall just plain sucking, I still think there was merit in seeing Team Rocket just snapping from too much failures and being so dead-set determined on screwing Ash over out of pure spite, and the scene of Ash’s loss was so powerful that it easily redeems the episode. However, with that said, I am among those who prefer the Electric Tale of Pikachu version.

- Almost everything he says after recapping the episodes and the grades he gave them is spot-on. ALMOST. He sadly loses me when he says “Team Rocket was such a stroke of genius that many viewers stopped watching the series in Black & White when they temporarily left and were replaced by three robots in trench-coats” Suede is sadly operating under the same fallacy that Dogasu and many others have: that Team Rocket staying humorous from the OS through DP means that they were completely consistent in their characterization. This is a lie. Team Rocket, especially after Takeshi Shudo departed, have always been changing how they’re portrayed. And by DP, the brilliantly comedic and three-dimensional TRio had devolved into unfunny, obnoxious, one-note running gags who forced repetitive conflicts and ate up screentime that was better spent elsewhere. Were their BW incarnations particularly interesting characters? Hell no! But they actually serviced the show in their new role rather than detracted from it. Their new purely professional, villainous personas and limited screentime was an asset to the show, whereas their wacky, zany shtick had not been for the good part of a decade. If people actually quit in BW after being able to endure 8 years of stagnation, then they’re basically this, and I have little patience for them.

#Pokemon #Indigo League #Opinion #Analysis #Objection #Correction #Anti-Suede #(Sort of)

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podcast-song-showdown · 1 year

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Let's check our archive of audience comments

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Lights You Can't See

"nostalgia and longing and heartbreak inducing <3<3<3<3"

#podcast song showdown #tournament poll #a81 #red valley #Youtube #flashing

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ryanmeft · 6 years

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MCU Final Battles from Worst to Best, Part Two

I hear there’s a movie coming out tomorrow that people are looking forward to. Infinity War promises to be the biggest fight in the MCU to date, but what about the other ones? Here’s part two of my list ranking every final battle in the MCU to date. The link to Part One is below.

Part One: http://ryanmeft.tumblr.com/post/173198399342/mcu-final-battles-from-worst-to-best-part-one

WARNING: THIS LIST THOROUGHLY SPOILS THE END OF EVERY MCU MOVIE. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

10. Spider-Man: Homecoming

What Happens

Spidey and Vulture battle in the skies and on a beach over a stolen crate of Stark weaponry.

Why it’s not half bad

The battle itself is nothing special, and forgoes some opportunities to take greater advantage of Spider-Man’s powers and Vulture’s flight. The best parts involve the interactions between the two, stemming from the fact that, whereas usually the hero doesn’t want to hurt the villain, this time the villain doesn’t really want to hurt the hero, either. The big finish, with Spidey dragging Vulture from the mess he himself caused, is golden, but overall it felt like the battle itself could have been more.

9. Ant-Man

What Happens

Ant-Man and Yellowjacket battle mostly at microscopic size in AM’s daughter’s playroom, using her toys as weapons.

Why It’s Not Half Bad

The creative use of toys like Cassie’s train set pushes this one up on the list. It’s genuinely funny and creative to see the way a child’s toy world is transformed into a battleground, and highlights the fact that the movie’s greatest strength was the interplay of bite-sized powers with the real world. The stakes are lighter than in any other MCU movie, which takes some of the urgency out of it, but this is wisely made up for by the use of humor in a way that recalls older, more physical silent films.

8. Black Panther

What Happens

Amid a wider battle for Wakanda, T’Challa and Killmonger both don identical Black Panther suits and face off with each other, and a train.

Why It’s Not Half Bad

Because the big battle between competing Wakandan factions is really, really cool, to the point where even a few ridiculous rhinos can’t dampen it. You can really feel the stakes in this one, since it amount to BP’s own little civil war. Sure, it was a little bizarre that they tried to make big drama out of Killmonger offing a random, nameless extra, but whatevs.

Sadly, in a movie so full of neat new ideas, the writers fall back on the most tired trope in superhero movies: two similarly-equipped combatants in a mirror match while the environment occasionally gets in the way. They already did this in Iron Man, Captain America, Ant-Man, and The Incredible Hulk, and several other non-MCU films have used the concept, so it feels like something that was pulled out of Script 101 and stuck in the middle of a better fight. Killmonger’s emotional death, however, adds enough feels to boost it.

7. Thor

What Happens

Loki tries to destroy Ice Person Land to prove he’s a better son, and Thor, who has learned compassion in, like, three days because of a pretty woman, goes a few rounds with him over this.

Why it’s Not Half Bad

The internal logic of this one is really spotty---why does Loki think destroying the world Odin stopped Thor from destroying will make him daddy’s favorite? All we care about is the actual fight, though, and it has a lot of cool touches. Thor’s brute force is pitted nicely against Loki’s cunning and bag of tricks, and Thor ends their one-on-one duel by taking a page from Loki’s book and using a trick instead of a punch; the hammer-on-the-chest thing was clever. While the “consequences” of Thor destroying the Rainbow Bridge to stop Loki’s plan were wiped away with a couple lines of dialogue in subsequent films, that’s irrelevant on this list, and in the moment, it was a surprisingly ballsy move.

6. Iron Man 3

What Happens

Iron Man uses all his resources, including multiple Iron Man armors, to to combat a baddie against which no one suit would have been enough. Then Super Gwyneth Paltrow almost ruins it.

Why it’s Not Half Bad

Yes, Super Gwyneth Paltrow was bad. Real bad. There was no reason to drag out the final battle to get that in there, especially since Tony’s initial solution of wrapping Guy Pearce in armor and making the armor go boom was basically his Mortal Kombat fatality, and it was AWESOME. But the rest of the battle still has that creative thrill that the other Iron Man finales, and most superhero flicks, are missing. Tony running between platforms and jumping between armors runs the danger of making things seem too much like a video game, but the movie pulls it off and gives us a great note to go out on for what is likely the last Iron Man finale we’ll see (at least until the 2030 reboot of the universe).

5. Thor: Ragnarok

What Happens

Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, Hulk and Karl Urban throw themselves against the forces of Hela, before ultimately deciding they must unleash a demon and destroy Asgard to defeat her.

Why It’s Awesome

The stakes for this one are higher than almost any other Marvel movie, and while some viewers might have been disappointed by the highly humorous tone of the film, the final fight is all business. The ultimate result---Thor and Loki have to destroy their entire world to prevent Hela gaining control over all the universe---is easily the biggest sacrifice a Marvel hero has made, and the battle has the secondary effect of justifying why Thor keeps Loki around. The battle itself is a little less impressive than the big finale. Basically, it’s another instance of the heroes throwing themselves at a clone army led by a nigh-invincible super baddie. Hulk vs. Fenris was cool, though.

4. Marvel’s The Avengers

What Happens

Loki opens a portal to the far reaches of space, allowing an alien army through to attack New York, and the newly formed Avengers, ahem, assemble to stop him and them.

Why It’s Awesome

For better or worse, this one set the tone for most of the non-solo MCU films that followed. It became predictable and, as a result, boring after a few years, but it still felt relatively fresh here. Everything about it, from the banter between the team members to the endless wealth of creative moves pulled---Hawkeye’s exploding arrow was a particular highlight---worked nearly effortlessly. And, of course, there was arguably the greatest single moment in any MCU fight to date. There’ve been few wonderfully hilarious surprises as great as “Puny God” in any superhero film, period. Like all such big fights (see the Lord of the Rings trilogy for more examples) it doesn’t quite have the same impact when you’ve seen it a few times, but it holds up better than a lot of others on repeat viewings.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy

What Happens

A gigantic fleet mostly fails to stop Monotone Space General from using an Infinity Stone to wipe out his race’s rival planet, so the Guardians land and stop him using the power of friendship and sick 80’s dance moves.

Why It’s Awesome

You might be asking why this one is so high on the list. The space battle is effective but not revolutionary, and for a moment it looks like we’ll get a typical Marvel ending to a fairly atypical Marvel movie. Then it busts out what I’m fairly sure has never happened in another movie: an intergalactic, genocidal warlord gets defeated by the power of friendship and a dance-off. That a cosmic baddie who is supposed to be nigh-unstoppable gets taken down by the song “O-o-h Child” is not only a riotously funny surprise, but for a movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously, the remaining Guardians joining together to use the power of the, well, Power Stone is shockingly effective. In terms of group-of-heroes vs. army-of-bad-guys style showdowns, this one is hard to top.

2. Doctor Strange

What Happens

Doctor Strange and company battle Kaecelius’s zealots, before Strange ends Dormammu’s threat to earth by trapping him in a time loop.

Why It’s Awesome

Because it’s not only clever and unexpected, but it fully utilizes the trippy, LSD-ish visual style and insane plotting that typified Steve Ditko’s famous 60’s original run. Even if you don’t care about that, though, there’s little question that trapping Dormammu in a time loop that Strange will only break if he leaves is not your typical showdown. Strange dying over and over again, having volunteered himself to suffer forever in order to protect humanity, has the air of ancient mythology about it, and is just damn effective, to boot. The movie itself had a mixed reception from fans, and you don’t hear much talk about it now, but it had a lot of interesting plot beats, and this was the best.

1. Captain America: Civil War

What Happens

Zemo leads the heroes to believe he’s going to unleash an army of Winter Soldiers on the world, but when they go to stop him, they find his plan is actually to turn them against themselves.

Why It’s The Best

This one has it all. First, since this basically an Avengers film in many ways, we’re led to expect the typical Avengers ending, with the heroes squaring off against an army of personality-free super-baddies. I actually audibly groaned when the plot revealed the existence of a Winter Soldier program. “Here we go again”, I thought. I can’t overstate my satisfaction when it turned out to be deliberate feint on both the part of the filmmakers and the bad guy.

Of course, a final showdown was necessary---this is still a popcorn movie, even if it is one of the best. More than any other MCU film, though, this one needed to feel personal, and boy did it ever. On every level, from direction to writing to acting, Iron Man squaring off with Captain America one-on-one for the right to kill Cap’s best friend for assassinating Tony’s parents was perfectly executed. All the little details, from Downey’s face when the truth is revealed to the undramatic way Cap drops his shield and Stark’s despair over the whole thing, are as pitch perfect as movies like this get. This was the last movie with most of the traditional team before Infinity War promises to shuffle the deck, and if its the de facto end of an era, it could hardly have ended on a more gripping note. These movies may not be Citizen Kane, but this came as close to greatness as they get.

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