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popculturebuffet · 3 years

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New X-Men Xtrospective Part 3: Imperial (NXM #121-126)

To me all you happy people! And welcome back to my X-Citing look at Morrison’s Masterwork on Marvel’s Merry Mutants! Part One is HERE, Part Two is HERE if you feel like it.

If not... to catch you up on last time....

All Caught up? Good. Join me under the cut as our heroes head into this old woman’s hedd to see what’s wrong and fight off an alien army while horribly ill.

Silent, Psychic Rescue in Process:

So we pick up not long after we left off: Thanks to Beast waking up from his bat induced coma, the X-Men now know Charles is trapped in Cassandra’s body and she pulled a Freaky Friday on him, with marginally less bullets.

And thus we get this issue. This one was part of Nuff Said, an incredibly clever theme month by Marvel and one I wish they’d try and do again at some point in some form.

The gimmick was simple but amazing: Every issue would be mostly silent, with at most some dialouge at the start and finish to bookend it. So far i’ve only read two issues of this, this one and the X-Statix one, but it is a genuinely great idea. I do think forcing it on the entire line was a bit much, but as I said I do wish they’d do this again just make it optional: have some books opt in or do some annuals with the theme. It’s just a fun break from the usual and with this issue resulted in one of the best single issues of x-men period.

Naturally given the name, which is cleverly displayed on a sign the x-men have because of course they do, it’s exaclty that: Emma and Jean after readying themselves (Jean kisses Scott goodbye and Emma downs a bottle of jack because why not do an alchol before doing delecate mental surgery), head in.

Inside they find horrific old lady head doors, stone ol dlady heads around a tower that shoot lasers, and said doors also bite and puke weird goop because it’s Grant Morrison. This is his chance to just go full balls out weird.. and given last time involved skin flake golemns.. and this isn’t even the weirdest he’s done. As mentioned last time he once had a supervillian run for president using a super LSD Bike that made everyone high.

And just to prove he can reach that level of weirndess we find charles alone, naked and with an overenlarged brain.. before he transitions Jean to a field of sperm.

Yeah... but this DOES have a point.. as it turns out it’s a meaphorical transition into his gestation as a baby.. and how he had a twin. Yeah turns out Cassandra was not lying he did try to kill her.. but as you can probably tell by the fact she’s a genocidal sociopath, she lied by omission to screw with Hank: In the womb she tried strangling Charles to death with his own umbilical cord..only for him to use baby’s first psonic blast to send her reeling and his mom tumbling down the stairs and well.. you can probably guess the rest. Yeah.. Cassandra’s entire origin story is concentrated

And I love it. The sheer audacity is nice and everything but what makes it really work for me is the simple concept: An evil version of charles, one almost born at the same time whose every bit as evil as he is good.. granted there’s a TON of Morally Grey in Charles Xavier ESPECIALLY post decimation and even more so now with Krakoa. But he’s sitll at his heart a well meaning person, while Cassandra at her heart is a racist genocidal nightmare. She is pure evil, with enough personality to not make her boring.. and more importanlty all the power charles has but NONE of his restraint. Part of what makes Charles noble is he only uses his powers when necessary. Cassandra.. has no such restraint and will happily mentally snap necks all day.

So with this our heroine’s leave and we end on the iconic line “Professor Xavier killed his twin sister in the womb. We Really ought to talk.

This issue is an utter classic. It finally explains Cassandra a bit while still leaving a ton of questions, Frank Quitely is at his best here, and he and morrison are incrediby good at non verbal storyteling. The result is surreal, unsettling and awesome. Check it out. Seriously seek this one out it’s worth the trip. It’s so famous it was homaged with a spirtual sequel in the recent Giant Size X-Men one shots. It’s excellent stuff

Imperial:

So with our first issue we open with things going terrible on that flag ship Cassandra took off on with Lilandra, empress of the Shiar and Xavier’s space wife. She’s revealed herself, is ravaging the ship and mind rapes a the helmsman into crashing it, so with no other options Lilandra sends Smasher, not the one from the avengers run earlier version, to earth to send a warning to the X-Men.

At the School things are actually going well for a second. In an intresting move the school is changing things up with no officla timetable.. which I think means there’s no rigid class schedule and you can just do them as you please or as necessary for your power. The plan’s the same, they just want to learn from each other in building mutant society and the future. It’s ideas like this that are the bedrock of the current run and were sadly never fully realized here.. but I don’t blame this run for that. Morrison had 2-3 years and it was cut short early, leading to a rather disapointing ending we’ll get to. They never had a chance to really dig in because they were kicked out by morons and then their whole grand design was undone until Hickman un-undid it in 2019. And even then some of this like the idea of mutant culture and what not hasn’t been picked up on yet. I do mean YET, as given the sheer NUMBER of x books touching on all sorts of subjects, it’s only a matter of if not when.

As for who’s behind this it’s a combination of Jean and Charles: Jean is using charles notes and is going at full tilt. Scott is concerned though.. both about her since she went Phoenix and Logan told him about it and because these plans may alarm the humans. ON the former Jean just brushes him off which is not right.. given what happened with the phoenix force copy of jean, which granted had her personality, memories and powers and Jean later got a set of her memories so it might as well of been and only MAYBE the genocide is something Jean wouldn’t of done under the same circumstances, he’s understandably concerned. He lost her to it last time and it did weird shit to poor Rachel, who hif you don’t know is their daughter from an alternate timeline... because the Summer’s family tree is a WAKING NIGHTMARE. Thankfully I don’t have to untangle it because there’s a handy chart right here to do it for me that was recently released in X-Men Legends, a new series featuring legendary x creators telling stories in the cracks... and given we’re getitng storys by the simosons and peter motherfucking david, yeah good stuff.

And why yes there are more than one clone in this tree and several alternate timelines. , not to mention several clones and a sexy cat lady, it’s complicated is understnading it and i’m not sure what properly states it honestly. Also if your wondering about Adam there he’s the genetic son of Cyclops mom and the ma Shiar empreror who killed her for not sleeping with him through. Again it’s complicate REALLY feels like understatement.

Point is he DOES have a right to be worried about the thing that lead to her being cocooned for a while and left their daughter in the future at the time of this... just in case you needed a reminder after that wonderful clusterfuck of a chart up above athe x-men are really fucking weird.

So Jean brushing that off is not okay. She does however call him out on the second one and rightfully so: This isn’t some dominate the humans manifesto: this is simply changing the course of the future and how they teach their students to create a better one instead of adhering to human norms to try and appease “the republicans’, as jean puts it.. which has only gotten MORE RELEVANT, 20 years on: Attempts to appease the norms of society and things “just because that’s how it’s been” have never been a good thing. It’s why the very writer of this comic took several decades to properly identify themselves as non binary because people were too stuck int heir ways to try and see if there really were just two genders. Fighting against the grain, finding new ways to express things that have always been there... it’s what humanity needs to do and certainly what comes after us would need to do. i’ts how we get better as a race. If something’s not working we change it, quickly or slowly. And given Scott’s huge amount of emotoinal repression lately.. I can see why she’d see the former complaint as just him being a dick as opposed to the genuine concern it is.

Short Version: Jean Grey is fucking awesome and while he’d be the last to write her for decades, no one did it better than Grant and no one has since. Hopefully Gerry Duggan can clear that bar.

After this fight we get a fuller verson of what happened both at the end of issue 120 and in the big reveal last issue: Turns out Hank awoke because Charles piloted his body like a truck and needed it revealed fast. Hank’s regained control of his body and facilities by now, but in a twist of irony he helpfully points out, had Cassandra not gone a needlessly cruel and sociopathic tangent and had Beak beat Beast into a coma, Charles wouldn’t of had a body.

As for Charles in cass’ body he’s now in a tub of goo created by it.

It acts as a shield as well as melding him with Cerebra so he can talk to jean telepathically as his thoughts are very weak.

Thanks to this and her psychic Jaunt, Jean now knows just what the hell cassandra is: She really is Charles twin sister. As for how the hell she surivied outside of the womb and how Charles never knew, she created herself a clone body using his cells and didn’t fully manifest till now. And while she has plenty of intellegence, at an emotional level she’s fully convinced, much like an infant that only she and charles are real and thus destroying him means gaining domance over her world. So in short she’s both utterly insane and now has an interstellar empire at her fingertips.

And the news SOMEHOW get sworse: She booby trapped her body and charles only has days before he’s vegatable, having put every psychological disease possible in there, and she’s probably responsible for their colds and the u-men. So in short their pretty scrwed but at the very least Charles plans to try to flip things, use the fact their now public (a clear tactic to weaken them) to share his manefesto, his last will and testiment if you would.

Scott meanwhile figures since their sick a healer might be a good idea and goes solo to fetch Xorn... who just sorta disappeared after the annual and didn’t return till his arc.

We get an utterly touching scene after this: With Logan staying on his hobbit like toes in case of another attack, Jean goes to talk to hank. Hank is still throughly traumatized from the attack, fearing Cassandra is right and he’ll just keep devlovling until he ends up in a metamoprhisis type situation. I mean it’s not ALL bad hank,.. I mean going through that guarantees a musical about you.

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But Jean reassures him: It’s okay to be afraid of her, they all are.. but as she puts it...

It’s a really powerful inspiring scene... and really afirms how well Morrison writes Jean from the previous arc onward. She’s confident, powerful.. but also caring and compassionate. Here hank’s at his lowest, disparing that this might get worse.. and she reaffirms that htis evolution is an upgrade.. he may not be the same.. but that’s okay. He’s better. It really speaks to the core message of the X-Men as a whole and why they’ve stuck around all this time: It’s not just okay your diffrent.. it’s WONDERFUL. Your wonderful for being you. Whatever meataphor you read into it, it’s at it’s core a message that no matter who hunts you or trys to shame you for what you are, they are wrong and you are wonderful. And you are not alone... your people are out there.. and they will go through hell to protect you. It’s moments like this that remind me despite the bad parts, the accidnetal transphobic metaphor last time, a subplot with Hank coming up, the affair storyline and Planet X, just.. Planet X.. this run is special to me for a reason. It has heart, character and truly gets how the x-men should work, what makes them great... while making something NEW AND FRESH from it’s bones. Pushing envelopes, chanigng things for good and shaking things the hell up after far too much stagnation. It’s just pure good comicy goodness and i’m proud to finally be talking about it after having always wanted to.

So as we end the issue Scott grabs Xorn, whose been at a budist temple all this time, and Smasher arrives to warn earth... but his warning missed his intended target.

Well at least he got to Hellcow’s coven.. maybe she can call in Man Eating Cow and the Chick Fill A Super Cows.. thought hey might not help. Their parent company IS pretty homophobic.. I doubt their high on mutants either.

Testament Emma and Jean talk over things how i’ts going etc, with Emma unsuprisingly annoyed with most of the students and Jean optimsitc.

But Emma soon has bigger issues to deal with: TEEN ANGST!

Yeah 4/5 of the Cuckoos are upset Esme has a boyfriend. Their concerns in part are because without her their apparently powerless.. which given one will die and another will leave and they’ll be left with three is just factually not true, and either Morrison changed his mind later, or more likely their simply exagerating like teens do. Emma points out it’s pointless to fight this...

So... their in a domestically abusive relationship rife with sexual tension? Are you sure your not htinking of Sam and Diane, Ross and Rachel, Garfiled and Odie perhaps?

Meanwhile Angel’s sulking in a tree talking about how all the kids are stupid and she dosen’t fit in. That sort of thing. Wolverine naturally has a tactful and understandable response to this:

It’s here Angel goes from understandable, a bit hard edged and obnoxious becuase of a very rough life.. and just becomes annoying. I do get what Grant was trying to do: he was trying to play with Wolverine’s habit of taking sassy teens under his wing by giving him a more hardscrabble one with a harder life pre-xaviers.. not that Jubilee’s was easy, but I get what he was going for.. he just dosen’t succeed. Instead of a realistic version of a teen sidekick she just comes off as an obnoxious brat whose rude to everyone including her one friend Logan and her later boyfriend. It dosen’t help that ONCE AGAIN, Morrison flew directly into unfortunate implications without meaning to, by having the only major POC character (Bishop guest stars later and there are two significant characters during the Riot at Xaviers arc but both aren’t relevant before or after), be an abused teen with gross fly based powers and a teen pregnancy subplot. Seriously this isn’t even the LAST time Morrison shoves their foot in their mouth like this in this run. While I do like this run a lot, it’s still 20 years old and it’s still going to have a bunch of bits that have aged like harvarti left on a sidewalk, and handing out unfortnuate implications like their candy is tied for the biggest with their handling of Magneto when he finally shows up in person. It’s THAT bad a take on the character that it’s up there with accidental racisim and transphobia.

So moving on from.. that we get Jean comforting the professor before meeting the press, giving a throughly lovely speech about how Charles got his powers 30 years ago and despite seeing the worst in humanity, used his telepathy to allow him to see past it and see deep down just how scared and alone we all felt. So she takes them into a psychic conference room and we get a very interesting exchange.

It’s an interesting parallel to how real world disinfranchised groups, how it takes time.. but soon being a POC or LBGTQ+ goes from unrightfully perscuted to celebrated. How a group starts with hates whipsers on the fringe of things but grows to be accepted, like it always SHOULD have been. Take representation of Trans people in the media. It started with Trans people being almost entirely punchlines and sources of fucking horendous “DID DEY USED TO BE A MAN.” storylines and hurtful jabs at people who had transitioned, treating them as a sideshow instead of you know as fucking human beings. But now coming out as what you always were ont he inside is celebrated. Sure the right are dicks about it but they always will be: but most media gladly celebrates when someone comes out as trans. Same with being gay, or bi or pan or polamorus or nonbinary. Hell I admire grant for showing i’ts not even 100% perfect once you are popular: you still have to grapple both with people wanting to copot your culture and those who still don’t understand you trying to speak for you.

She also gets the standard question calling the X-Men an army, shoots it down with the normal global peacekeeping operation stuff.. then we get this bitch.

Who quickly realizes she’s outclassed by Emma Frost, professional that bitch. And while Jean is understandbly going to have to erase that.. I can’t blame her for snapping her.

Just to tear this shit down.: The privacy thing is not something she’s doing. All she’s doing is spcyhic teleconfrencing, you harpy. They fight greek gods and monsters to protect your sorry ass and the last one.. just makes me absolutely livid and feels so much like a real world comment i’m suprised there isn’t a fox news logo next to her bigoted head.

Trouble follows them everywhere they go.. because their mutants. They can’t help it. A LOT of shit like the demons, aliens, and gods and what not, I do not know if they actually did fight the greek gods but i’m not going to say for sure they did not, the norse gods defintely, not sure on greek. But the point is allt his stuff HAPPENS TO THEM half the time, or is a consequence of trying to PROTECT PEOPLE. I’m so nettled by this because this is how the marvel unvierse acts all the fucking time towards ALL super powered peoples. Mutants esepcailly but they blame the heroes and what not for being chased and harassed by guys in costumes or alien invasions or all the stuff they FIGHT. Sure sometimes they caused it but it’s either because of a monsterous person with a grudge or just because their powerful and some douche took an intrest. I’m just.. so fucking tired of asshole civlians in comics. It’s realisitc I know but it’s just hard to stomach after so many have turned their back on so many for such DUMB reasons.

Jean recovers well pointing out the genocide and how 16 million people, 16 million possible einsteinss or mozarts are just GONE, and that their trying to focus on the future. She also brings up autistic savants who can talk to atoms and while I don’t like the use of the savant thing, as it brings to mind stuff like rainman I very badly want to see this autistic kid who can talk to atoms as someone on the spectrum myself. Also I just want the crew of HIckma’ns books in general to pour over this because there are a lot of intresting powers and personalities only MENTIONED we never saw proper that could be great characters. Just saying.

Jean cocludes her speech to the world, including Logan whose wisely getting hammered at anearbye bar.. while Hank finds out what’s going on with their sickness.. nanonscopic sentnels in the blood.

But while the press confrence ends well with Jean having won over the press.. things go sideways as not only is it clear Esme’s boyfriend is in fact something sinister.. but Jean falls over due to the nano snetinels, and senses Scott being taken in tibet, taken down by a group of the Shiar’s imperial guard.. picutre the legion of superheroes but blindly loyal to the goverment and far more likely to get killed. And the rest are preparing to attacking including Gladiator who if you don’t know him, has all the powers of superman as long as he retains his confidence.

And it turns out Esme’s boyfriend is an advanced Scout, the shapeshifting amoeba blob thing Stuff, a new addition by morrison and good on him. And the Imperial Guard are here but with one goal

Superdestroyer

On the Ship we find out both wha’ts going on with Scott and Xorn, they’ve been taken and why the shiar are attempting mutant genocide: Cassandra is puppeting ALL of them, has convinced them the mutants are infected and since Lilandra is a puppet, Scott’s words fall on deaf ears.

Meanwhile Wolverine ambushes one of the squads, kiling one named Dinosaurer via claw to the brain, while Emma has had a dome thing put over her head and isn’t transforming into diamond to counter it because...

But the Cuckoos fight back, taking out oracle before easily handling stuff since his brain is fairly simple.. and given he’s racist against solid people and unlike the others reveling in the genocide just a tad.. yeah what he deserves. So now with a living weapon the Cuckoos make peace with Angel as they need all the help they can get.

Jean ushers the press into the panic room, not happy about it but not having anothe roption for their saftey. Hank tells her to self distruct crebra if cassandra get sclose and goes off to join the fight and let off some steam over the situation. Hank easily routes two of them, and one , Manta tries to just fly right ot jtean wince their TK proof. How does that go?

Jean gets to saftey after that, not that she needs it and hank is quickly taken down by a batch of Superguardians.. only for Wolverine to arrive in the Sknitt of time and chop them up.. oh and as one of the puts it...

Bad. Ass. I also like the addition of the flight patch, a nod to the Legion, who the Imperial Guard were based on as those kids used flight rings.

But while Logan and Hank easily tag team these assholes...

The SHiar call in the big guns.. Gladiator.. and I wasn’t kidding abotu the superman thing. While Logan TRIES to talk him out of it, the murders only confirm Cassandra’s bullshit and Gladiator breaks into the panic room throwing hank and wolverin’e before them having utterly decimated them off panel. I mean Wolvie is a badass.. but even he has limits. I also like recontecullizing the guard as a whole here.. showing just how TERRIFYING they SHOULD be as enimies to the x-men. Yes our heroes did win.. but barely and only till Gladiator showed up. In most cases thier clearly holding back out of affection but here hteir just at errifying unstoppable force, and also apparently used to doing genocides like this. It takes what was a cheesy shout out to David Cockrums other big artistic work, and makes it horrifying and it is AWESOME. I admit to not having liked this arc as much for the longest time but this reread, the sheer teror and hopleessness as an interstellar superman easily cuts through our mighty mutants like tissue... it’s awesome.

Thankfully one of the Guard found smasher.. and thus the truth comes out so our heroes are given a stay of execution with Gladiator clearly horrified at what he almost did and our heroes now so sick they can barely move and Hank can’t think them out of this.

Thankfully he dosen’t has to as back in space, Cyclops tires of it and points out something Xorn, not being as experinced nor having delt with the guard ahd thought of: G-Type, the glowly guy about to execute them, is made of solar energy.. and xorn can manipulate that thanks to his star brain. He does, they take out the rest.. and prepare to go save the day.

Losers: PIcking up shortly before where we left off we see Cassandra murder Lilandra’s advisor who figured out what she was just as our heroes escape.. and as Cassandra is having Lilnadra order all of the shiar ships to immolate themselves.

WIth Lilandra not being any use, Cass tries to psychically force her to commit sucidie but jumping off a space ledge but Xorn saves her. Cass tries another turn at mentally breaking an x-man, pointing out all scott’s recent flaws, his increased repression his faling marriage and while it gets him to stop it dosen’t quite work as well as it did on hank, likely because at his heart Hank is simply a more emotive person. Though his REAL reason for stalling is he can’t kill charles.. which he muses just as the ship blows up real good.

Meanwhile back at Campus the kids initaiate their plan, having Angel break in and take a dna sample. She also finds beak naked in a tank and decides eh why not and brings him with her. This ends up paying off as Beak suggests the obvious to get emma free.. just force the space guy they have over in the corner to do it. They do and it works

Back in the mansion our heroes prepare for Casssandra... but Jean and Logan object to saving her body, pointing out that getting hank to repair it is exactly what she wants, and that Jean feels she can save charles without uit, with Hank being understandably doubtful given their current condition.. but Jean’s real plan is to put charles in her head and it’s already too far in actoin to stop now: she’s been saving his memories as they flaked off and if she dosen’t do this now there will be no charles left.

Hank evacuates the civlians to teh danger room, and has an encounter with trish who tries to apologize and get him back.. only for him to rightfully regjecter her..a and then goes a step further by capping it off with:

Yeah on it’s own it’s not TERRIBLE. Still very dated to claim your gay just to spite someone, but for the time it was acceptable and compared to some of Morrison’s other gaffes in the run it’s minor at best. But it leads into a rather annoying subplot we’ll naturally get to that’s a much bigger issue, so i’ll save talking about it in full for when it comes up again.

Jean manages to shove Chuck into her head, but is naturally leaking a bit and barely holding it or him together and may of overestimated herself just a tad.. while on the lawn Cassandra easily takes out the guards. That said the scene of Jean taking Chuck into her head is REALLY damn awesome. Jean is the arc MVP by a mile and Hank is pretty dang good competition.

All Hell: We open the final issue of the arc with Scott and Xorn escaping the spaceship using some teleport tubes taking Arakai and Lilandra with them.

We open with Cassadra utterly humilating gladiator while the kid team prepares to fight her despite you know, the 8 billion to 1 odds against them.

Jean, despite hte discknes and trying to keep an old man in her brain marches out , prepared to fight, for the kids sake. For the world’s sake. But Logan’s easily taken out and with Jean barely holding it together.. the kids prepare to fight.. likely being slaughtered even if they mean well.. onlyf or help to finally arrive with Scott and Xorn glowy porting in. We get a really sweet , short moment with scott and jean...

Scott not knowing the situation tries to have Xorn heal charles first but since Cassandra’s body is dead and unoccupied that’s a no go.. he’s still usefult hough, curing Jean of her nanosentital sickness and moving on to Scott and Hank while there’s still time.

We find out more about cassandra: She’s a murrmadi, a bodyless parasite.. eseetinally the dark first test a person faces... she just stuck around because she was one for a telepath.. the world’s STRONGEST telepath. But really other than that part the rest just feels like stuff we alreayd heard LAST TIME, mildly repaackaged and seems enitrley like filler to pad the issue out.

So while Jean takes cerebra, both to keep it away from Cassandra’s plans of mutant genocide and for whatever she has planned, Scott, Hank and Xorn prepare to hold the line.. and as Jean mentions.. emma’s still out in the wild.

So we get our climactic showdown.. logan, hank and xorn veruss cassandra, with Cassandra trying to do eveyrthing she can, tear them down mentally, throw out the students with our heroes fighting back best they can. It’s good stuff.

Eventaully Cassandra gets to Jean.. but she’s already inacted her plan, putting a piece of Xavier’s mind in EVERY mutant, and giving Cassandra one ohell ofa reason you suck speech.

It’s an incapsulation of what i said earlier and what the runs about: alone we are weak but together.. we just might make it. More on that as we go. But thanks to Cass naturally going fo rcerberba.. she accidently restores charles and is left bodyless.

Emma finishes the fight with her own brilliant gambit, presending cassandra her body.. but it’s actually stuff , reprogrammed into a sentient brain for her to inhabit and leaving her trapped, with Charles hoping t teach the now mentally reset Cassandra. So Cassandra is beat, the virus is stopped, and our heroes have one.. but naturally for this run.. there’s one last suprise in store.

Charles can walk again.. and going forward will be a far more active member of the team. The team is complete, Cassandra is beaten, and the future.. is bright.

Final Thoughts:

This arc is a mixed bag.. it has really good scenes with the first and last issues being the standouts, with the former being an utter classic with an intresting gimick and the latter being a rousing climax with tons of awesome moments, with some good mometns scattered throughout.

But that’s the arc’s issue.. it has good moments and ideas.. but they don’t quite work togehter. The idea of teh Shiar Imperial Guard nearly doing a genocide is good, but the Shiar are such flat characters.. it’s really hard to care. They just don’t have enough connection to the x-men to really have the betryal sting but aren’t callous enough for genocide protocols to maeks sense. It’s a good idea, I still support it being terrifying.. but not enough is done with it and it feels liek Grant is more concerned with throwing weirdos at the x-men than actually saying something.

The biggest issue however is the art. While inconsitant art is an issue as they’d rotate artists.. but in previous arcs it was usually pretty evenly split but here it’s sloppy: Quitely does the first issue, van Sciver the second.. and the worst of the three Igor Kordey does most of the art. I gave him the beinfit of the doubt last time.. but this time not so much. His art is muddy and tries to be stylized but comes off confusing,ugly and not great. He’s probably a lovely guy but given he’s up against two legendary artists, his lack of style comapred to both shows badly. And given the arc is alreayd a bit overly complicated, it makes things WORSE by giving us muddled art in a very complex storyline. The flip flopping art makes a fairly intricate story very hard to follow. It’s easily why this arc didn’t grab me in the past and even seeing some better moments, it’s not the series best. It’s not the worst either, Planet X easily takes that ground despite having far better art. It’s an incredibly muddled incredibly long feeling arc and really needed to be compressed by one or two issues but instead is just hard to get through. It’s owrth it for the rest of the runa nd the good moments within but all in all easily one of the weakest points in the series.

Next Month on New X-Men:The X-Men soak in the new world order, and we meet fantomex, dust and the last surivivors of genosha.

Next on this blog:Green Eggs and Ham is back!

If you enjoyed this review PLEASE join my patreon. The end of hte month is coming and I need eveyr cent I can get so join at patreon.com/popculturebuffet and i’ll see you at the next rainbow.

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maswartz · 4 years

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Hey folks. Scott (Kaiser) here.

There's been a lot of talk the last year about what the future of DragonBall Z Abridged is, and while we've tried to update people, we've failed at making things crystal clear to everyone.

We're planning on a full video talking about it, but we want to make sure that we can give you the full rundown, now that we've made our final decisions.

We currently have no plans on continuing with the Buu Saga, in the our original style, or in the style of the ShortZ, at this time.

Recently, we publicly announced that DBZA will not continue via the original footage ala our classic method of Abridging. However, we talked publicly about possibly moving forward with the Buu Saga via the same animation provided in the ShortZ.

Unfortunately, after serious deliberation, we currently find this process untenable.

For those of you with questions, I'm going to try to address them here:

"You guys promised Season 4 of DBZA. Why did this change?"

Several factors.

1. The ending of the Cell Saga gave us a sense of finality that is impossible for us to escape. We put our hearts and souls into making that finale stand out, and everything we've worked on with the original footage since has left us feeling hollow. This is a distinctly personal reason, but it's also incredibly important. Many shows lose steam as time goes on as the creators extend their work far beyond its natural lifespan; we're feeling that with this, and that's a scary, depressing thought.

We don't want to end up like The Simpsons, Dexter, Scrubs M.D., just to name a few.

And yes, we know, there's more story to work with. But in all honesty... there just isn't the emotional attachment and passion for the arc that drove the last three seasons. This is another, very personal reason, but it's unavoidable.

We do not enjoy tearing down and mocking the things we love. We want to celebrate them, expand on them, explore them, and sometimes make light of their shortcomings. That's what gave you the best of DBZA up until now, and ultimately, we find ourselves at odds with that approach and the majority of the Buu Saga.

2. We're burned out on the original method, in general. It's been an absolute blast to bring DBZA to life, but after 11 years of the same project... it's gotten oppressive. Which, again, is a scary thought.

I love DBZA, more than anyone on the planet. Not because it gave me this job, not because it helped pay the bills, not because it got me invited to conventions.

Because it made me a better person. A better writer, a better director, a better actor, a better editor, a better worker. I learned so much while working on DBZA, and I got to express my love for comedy, drama, and DragonBall to the world. Anyone who's seen me talk live about the finale of 60 has seen me coming to tears when talking about how proud I was to show it to everyone, and how overwhelmed I was to hear such a positive response. Just how happy I was to be able to share something I worked on with all my heart with all of you guys.

The idea that we could come to resent the series by forcing ourselves to work on it past the point where we feel artistically fulfilled? That's awful. And I honestly hope you all can understand why.

But it's not just me: Nick and Curt have also lost their steam with this approach, due to the limiting nature of the production, and our aforementioned perspective on the Buu Saga as a whole.

3. Our YouTube channel is our primary source of revenue. While the Patreon absolutely has helped us with several new projects (episode 5 of Unabridged is now in the can, and we continue filming early February), the lifeline that sustains the company is our main channel.

Copyright claims have put us at risk of losing that channel, and our livelihoods in jeopardy. We have our employees to look out for; our friends, our colleagues, and doing right by them—by striving to create original, monetizable, copyright friendly content, that also carries our heart and soul as creatives—is undeniably important.

We've thought about hosting DBZA on other sites, but nowhere has been safe, and worse, it would serve to draw attention away from our hub, which ultimately could lead to less views, less support, and either the scaling back or collapse of our company.

And frankly—and I say this with all due respect—the expansion of our company, to better fulfill the creative wants and needs of our employees, and the financial stability of all therein, is paramount here.

4. Our relationships with other companies have been strained by the nature of DBZA.

Fair-use exists in a nebulous area; even though we believe in it wholeheartedly, that doesn't mean there's no trouble between us and the copyright holders, and that tension leaks into the ecosystem in which we look to coexist with other companies. As writers, actors, etc.

We want to ease this tension moving forward.

5. We mentioned the nebulous nature of copyright. Over the course of the last 11 years, we've avoided major legal challenges, but we cannot continue to press our luck in this regard. We want to live in a less gray area, without the Sword of Damocles above our heads.

"When was this decision made?"

There is no concrete date, but it was in October, 2019 that we decided to no longer use the footage at all.

It started late August/early September. We'd been working on the script for Bojack since May, and had been struggling to get anything of substance down on paper. While it wasn't a complete wash, we weren't happy with the bulk of it. We'd also restarted the scripting process a couple times, trying to approach it from different angles, but we found ourselves at wit's end.

So we started to reflect and talk about the nature of our struggling, and Nick, Curt, and I came to the conclusions I gave you above.

At that time, we'd already written out several of the ShortZ and were looking to get moving on those before the year's end. They were originally conceived solely as connective tissue between Cell and Buu. We quickly realized that, if we could get things rolling, we could possibly continue working on DragonBall Abridged via the ShortZ, potentially solving a majority of our problems.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TeamFourStar/comments/d5blur/setting_the_bojack_record_straight_and_more_from/

I actually made this post over on the Reddit after Bojack was cancelled and we totally borked the announcement of said cancellation. It reflects a lot of what's said here.

However... it was over the course of the last two weeks that we started to realize:

Continuing via the ShortZ was untenable as well.

"You mentioned continuing via the ShortZ. What changed?"

Imagine you're a child wanting a puppy. You beg your parents all year, and then they say, "Alright then, we'll get you that puppy for Christmas!" Then Christmas comes around, and they hand you a box. A wrapped box. And in that wrapped box isn't a puppy, but a WowWee Chippies Robot Toy Dog.

While there are plenty of fans who've cheered this on, for all the freedom it allows us, and the ability for us to monetize it, the drop in visual quality and change in overall tone and style ultimately make the Buu Saga a lesser version of what we've provided for years.

Furthermore, the time to actually produce an entire season with this new animation would put the series off for an unbelievably long time, and unfortunately be incredibly costly.

The ShortZ will continue, but we have no intention at this time to utilize them as a way to cover the Buu Saga.

"What of us who are contributing specifically for DBZA?"

We have continuously, time and time again, tried to communicate that this Patreon was not made to fund DBZA. It was made to fund projects outside of DBZA, while maintaining our production of our keystone project through to its completion. It has helped fund FFVII Machinabridged, AWF, Unabridged, Fist Master, Super Knock-Off VS., X Minutes, Cell VS., [Unannounced Project(s)], and essentially all non-mainline DBZA content.

But there's an unavoidable truth here: We promised DBZA would continue beside those projects, and that they would not interfere with its production in any meaningful manner. We also announced Season 4 at the end of Episode 60 in September 2018, leading people to believe that the show—as they knew it—would continue as per the usual.

Anyone who was looking to secure the creation specifically of DBZA Season 4 via their patronage will likely feel frustrated or even betrayed by this reveal, and we're sorry about that.

We also failed in our communication in a timely manner. The moment we decided that DBZA was not happening in it's traditional capacity should've prompted a much quicker announcement to that effect. Please understand that the biggest driving factor behind not saying anything was that we desperately wanted to have a real plan for you folks moving forward, not just bad news and a vague idea. As you can see, even debates on providing the Buu Saga via the ShortZ was not something we'd come to a conclusion on until these last couple weeks.

But we accept the responsibility and blame for keeping you in the dark for too long, regarding DBZA.

So I ask of you this: If you are a Patron solely—or even primarily—in hopes of funding traditional DBZA, please consider ceasing your patronage. If you continue to donate for any particular reason, thank you so very much. But if you don't feel that you are getting your money's worth, we truthfully understand, we will not blame you for choosing not to continue to support us, and we appreciate all the support you've given us thus far.

We will not judge you for being discerning with your own incomes and time, nor will we feel scorned.

"Is there any chance you'll change your mind?"

I cannot say so. We've made this decision and it's what we truly feel is best for us moving forward.

If you guys have any more questions, I'll make myself available in the comments section.

Thank you for your time and your support. I hope you'll continue to see us into new horizons, but as we said before: We will respect your decisions, whatever they are. Thank you for your support,

#dbza #dragon ball z abridged #team four star

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makeste · 5 years

Text

Top 10 Favorite Deku Moments

so it’s Deku’s birthday today!! and since he is the best boy in the world and I love him, I am going to do one of those “top ten favorite...” lists for him just like I did for Kacchan back in April. these are going to be in chronological order, and the last two will be spoilers, so I’ll label them to make sure no one gets caught unawares.

happy birthday Deku. and this post turned out to be super long, like 4000 words, so I’m sorry, but you deserve it though.

1. “Most of the top heroes show signs of greatness even as children.”

okay so before I get started, let me just warn y’all upfront that a full four out of ten of these moments will involve Bakugou. I’ve said before that the relationship between Izuku and Katsuki is full stop my favorite part of the series, and this is absolutely still true, so yeah.

that being said, what makes this particular scene one of my favorites isn’t just that it’s an important moment between them (I’ll get into that relationship more two entries down); it also just so happens that this is the crucial moment which everything else in the series can ultimately be traced back to. this is the moment that inspires All Might to hand his power down to a quirkless middle-schooler, because despite being virtually powerless, Izuku proves that he has the heart and soul of a hero. he moves without thinking, without any kind of plan. it’s extraordinarily stupid, and incredibly selfless. it doesn’t matter to him that he has no way to actually fight this villain. it doesn’t matter that less than an hour ago, Bakugou was taunting him and burning his notebook. it doesn’t matter that he could easily be hurt or killed. the only thing that matters is that someone needs help. that’s it. it’s that simple.

what makes Izuku a hero is that he is literally incapable of standing by and not taking action in moments like this. he acts on reflex to save others. his instinct in moments of danger and despair is to help, in any way he can. that’s the core of his character. and it shines through in this moment, and All Might sees it immediately, and it spurs him to take action, and from here on out everything changes.

2. “He didn’t utilize his full power. He just concentrated it into his fingertip...!”

fast-forward to the first day of superhero school, and our boy finds himself immediately in a tight spot again because his teacher is a stern and unsympathetic asshole whose way of showing consideration for his students is to mercy-expel anyone he deems not up to par. problem is, Izuku can’t actually use his new quirk without blowing himself up from the inside out, and he’s competing against what is probably the most gifted group of students U.A. has ever had. this is what is commonly referred to as “a pickle.” a jam. a quandary, if you will. if he breaks all his bones to pass the test, Aizawa will flunk him anyway. what’s a little green hero to do.

Izuku solves this problem in a typical Izuku fashion, meaning that his solution is somehow reckless, self-sacrificing, and frankly brilliant in its simplicity. rather than break all of his bones, Izuku sacrifices one (1) bone in order to launch a baseball into space, thus proving he can adapt his quirk to be useful without taking himself out and just adding to the problem. it’s worth noting that this is only his second-ever time using One for All, too. the fact that he has never had a quirk in his life up til this point and yet manages to control OFA to this degree on just his second go-around is damn impressive.

but what’s even more impressive is the way he simply outsmarts the test here. he calmly takes in the situation, thinks about the options at his disposal, and arrives at a logical solution that most people wouldn’t even have considered, because it involves intentionally breaking his own finger, which is an absurdly self-destructive thing to do just to pass a damn fitness test. but it works!! and it impresses the shit out of Aizawa too. and I just really love this moment because it’s such a perfect example of Deku both being smart and also just plain not giving a fuck and being the plussest ultra ever omfg.

3. “I can’t say much. But you should know this, at least...!”

so now we come to the second moment on this list involving Kacchan, and already there is a pattern emerging here: namely, that these moments of conflict and then reconciliation between the two of them inevitably end up being some of the most pivotal moments in the series. this particular scene comes on the heels of their battle in All Might’s first hero class, during which Deku soundly defeats Bakugou and makes it clear beyond all doubt that HE IS HERE!! and not going anywhere and Bakugou is just going to have to deal. Bakugou does a very poor job of dealing, however, and spends the rest of the afternoon super-quiet and caught up in his inferiority complex and convinced that Deku has been hiding this from him their whole childhood just to fuck with him.

most people, when put in a similar situation, would be all “fucking serves you right tbh” and just brush it right off. but Izuku doesn’t. or more accurately, I should say that he can’t. once again he acts on pure instinct when Kacchan’s welfare is involved, and this time it results in him blurting out his biggest secret -- a secret he was sworn to by All Might himself -- simply because he can’t stand to see Kacchan so miserable and he can’t bear the thought of him believing that Izuku really had been tricking him.

this is so extraordinary to me for a number of reasons. first and foremost, because Izuku’s altruism knows absolutely no bounds. he and Kacchan are on possibly the worst terms any two people could be on. he has absolutely no obligation to tell him this. but he does, anyway! just to make him feel better! second, there’s the fact that he doesn’t intend to do it, but it just comes blurting out. Izuku’s feelings toward Kacchan are complicated, as we know. and yet whatever the reason may be, Izuku demonstrates again and again that it’s a relationship he wants to hold onto, and he does his best to protect and preserve what little pieces of it he can.

and lastly, this is now the second example of what will become a well-established theme in the series of Izuku going out of his way to save Katsuki. he does this again and again. he tries to help him after he falls from the log bridge. he rushes to save him from the sludge monster. he tells him about his quirk. he nearly fails their final exam because he goes back for him after All Might knocks him out. he runs into a forest full of villains to try and save him in spite of having two broken arms. he goes to Kamino with Kirishima and the others knowing full well it could get him expelled. and he fights him at night in Ground Beta even though they get into trouble for it later, because he sees how much pain Katsuki is in and he can’t turn his back on him.

over and over again he puts himself in harm’s way for Katsuki’s sake, fully expecting no gratification to ever come from it, but doing it anyway. because he’s a hero, and because heroes don’t ask whether or not someone deserves to be saved. they just save them. this to me is the most incredible aspect of Izuku’s character. his heart is just that big. he is exceptionally, impossibly selfless and forgiving and good. and that’s just who he is. and Bakugou is lucky enough to be on the receiving end of that, whether he likes it or not, and ultimately over the course of these repeated encounters, he ends up changing for the better himself. and this moment in particular will, eventually, lead to the two of them actually reconciling for realsies when Bakugou finally figures it out and is subsequently inducted into the OFA Scooby Squad of Destiny. so yeah. this scene is so fucking important I can’t even begin. god I really went off on a tangent there. anyways.

4. “And Todoroki... isn’t you!”

so here’s another battle which highlights Izuku’s willingness to go to absurd and horrifying lengths to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. this entire fight is nothing short of ridiculous. Deku is ridiculous. let me break it down for you. Todoroki comes up to Deku before this fight and is all “hey I made a vow to never use my left side in battle because my dad only had me to use me as a tool to defeat All Might and he basically ruined my life.” in response, Deku says he’s aiming to become the strongest hero and so he’ll definitely win. he then proceeds to break his own fingers to blast Todoroki with repeated OFA attacks, all the while screaming at him that everyone is going all out and doing their best, and it’s arrogant and disrespectful of Todo to think he can beat their determination with only half of his power.

Deku has absolutely zero regard for his own well-being in this fight -- by the end of the battle his bones are in splinters -- and his teachers observe that even if he does win, he won’t be in any kind of shape to move on to the next match. basically, he throws aside all of his own ambitions and even his own sense of self-preservation (if he even has one; it’s honestly debatable at this point you guys), all for the sole purpose of helping Todoroki realize that his power is his own and not his father’s, and to break free of the revenge-tinted tunnel vision keeping him from following his own dreams. the whole thing leaves Todoroki awestruck, and even though Deku eventually loses the fight, he gains a friend for life, and Todo fans everywhere are in his debt.

real fucked up what he did to his fingers, though. but it just goes to show that nobody is perfect.

5. “I’m here to save you, Iida!”

I freaking love this moment you guys, and I can’t even explain why. except that who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned last-minute shounen save? Iida is seconds away from meeting his death at the hands of the world’s most annoyingly long-winded Ninjas Turtles cosplayer when Deku drops in out of nowhere and just socks the guy square in the jaw. it is satisfying as fuck. honestly that would have been awesome enough, but what makes it even better is that Horikoshi goes into some detail to explain that Deku didn’t just coincidentally happen to find Iida at the exact crucial moment, but actually used his Big Hero Brain to deduce Iida’s location through a series of shrewd observations and insightful hunches. and he turns out to be bang on the money, and that moment where Stain is reeling from the punch and Iida is looking up at him like, “Midoriya?!” and Deku sticks the landing in slow motion and says “Bingo!” in fucking English is just so fucking badass, guys. not to mention that this is also the debut of his Shoot Style on top of everything else. to sum up, this is one of the best entrances in the entire series, and just one of the coolest things Deku has ever done, IMO. you’re cool, Deku.

6. “You clocked me with all of your heart.”

yeah so you may at this point be sensing a pattern with some of these moments. yet again Deku does something stupid and risky because he sees Kacchan in trouble and all logic and reason immediately fly out the window. in this case it’s even more ridiculous, because Katsuki is not actually in any real danger at all, and by going back for him Izuku completely loses sight of what Katsuki got himself all beat up for in the first place. and yet he does it anyway! again! without thinking! like, he makes it maybe two steps away, and then he overhears Kacchan’s teary-eyed overdramatic and determined speech, and he immediately goes “oh fuck this I can’t do this” and turns back and grins maniacally at All Might before soundly punching the shit out of him. it is complete nonsense. there is no reason for it. Katsuki himself is furious when he finds out about it later. but does Deku care?? no, he does not care. and do I? no I do not because it’s the best and I love it.

7. “Let’s do our best, okay?”

this scene is feels city you guys. feels o’clock. zero dark feels. I almost put the “you’re next” scene here instead, but in the end this scene won out because (1) hug!! and (2) this is really the continuation of all of those emotions anyway, and it’s where the catharsis is at.

so let’s break this down since there’s a ton going on here. Deku is wrestling with the grief of knowing that All Might the hero, the Symbol of Peace, is gone forever. the pillar he and the rest of the world relied on to always be there isn’t there, any more. that sense of security is gone. and that’s a hard enough thing to come to grips with on its own, but put it together with the knowledge that he is the one who needs to step up now and fill those shoes, before he ever expected to, before he’s ready, and I can only begin to imagine how overwhelmed he must feel. and then on top of that!! All Might tells him he’s proud of him and relieved that he made it out of Kamino unharmed! and he tells him that he’s going to be there for him and that they’ll face the challenges up ahead together.

so for poor Deku, when you put that all together, we’ve got (a) that sense of loss, (b) fear and anxiety over the unknown difficulties to come, (c) various imposter syndrome feelings that he might not be good enough to handle it, (d) whatever misplaced guilt he may be dealing with for being one of the reasons All Might lost his power, however inevitable it might have been, and last but not least, (e) the deeply profound and humbling feeling of being loved and supported by the man he loves like a father, and knowing that no matter how scary things get, he won’t have to do this alone. so in spite of everything else, there’s that sense of relief and gratitude there too. he can do this. it will be okay. his dad is there.

all of that emotion, packed in one tearful hug. no wonder the kid is crying his eyes out. I would be too. in fact I did, and have no shame in doing so, and I would do it again. good job Horikoshi.

8. “This fight may very well have been a meaningless one... but...”

motherfucker did I not warn you there would be four different BakuDeku moments in this?? and that’s with me reining myself in too to be quite frank. that’s just how it is. it’s my list!!

anyway, so I’m not sure whether or not an entire fight counts as a “moment”, but I’m putting it out there anyway because I’m incapable of narrowing this down any more than that. I could have an entire separate list of Top Ten Deku VS Kacchan Part 2 Moments and I’m sure I would still wind up leaving something out. I love all of it. the whole damn thing. it’s such a huge turning point for them both. they finally sort everything out. truth bombs being hurled left and right. it’s so good. agh.

but here are some of Deku’s highlights: (1) immediately shifting from trying to talk Kacchan down to fighting him outright with no hesitation once he realizes what the fight is actually about, (2) despite knowing how Kacchan feels, allowing himself to be just a bit selfish for once and get caught up in his own rival feels and trying to prove his worth as All Might’s successor, (3) complimenting Kacchan in the middle of the fight because of course he does, (4) openly admitting how much he admired Kacchan growing up and that he thought he was amazing, (5) getting so worked up that he loses control for a moment and jumps to 8% in one of the most badass moments of the whole series, (6) acknowledging to himself that even though he really shouldn’t, he kinda digs Kacchan’s rougher “I’LL KILL YOU, ASSHOLE” side anyway and emulates it without thinking when he forgets himself and that Kacchan is his image of victory, and lastly, (7) being a sneaky bastard and throwing a punch in with his shoot style knowing full well it will catch Kacchan off guard, which it fucking does.

Deku goes hog wild in this fight. he has a grand old time and even manages to achieve a new power-up, because he and Kacchan always do manage to bring out the best in each other, when they’re not bringing out the worst. you can’t watch this fight and fail to notice how insanely fired up Deku is compared to his usual fights. he is into it. he is ready and willing to throw down. he is here to kick ass and take names!! this is the impact Kacchan has on him. thirty fucking seconds into his therapy fight and Deku's maximum power output has increased by a whopping 60%. holy shit. mad lads.

it’s something not lost on All Might, who wraps things up by patiently explaining to the two of them how much they can learn from each other. and the whole thing concludes with the two of them becoming, as All Might puts it, “proper rivals.” that’s right, their rivalry is now officially approved and sanctioned by the motherfucking Symbol of Peace. well done, boys. these two are going to be absolutely terrifying when they grow up.

***SPOILERS FOR THE MANGA PAST THIS POINT***

9. “...But you were there.”

okay so I have this indecisive kind of thing going on with whether or not I think All Might is actually going to die, and whether or not I want to see it happen. some weeks, like this particular week, I am on the side of BITCH DON’T YOU DARE because everything is goddamn sad enough as it is, Horikoshi, and I don’t need any more reasons to lie awake at night crying over fictional characters! but then there are other days when I think about how devastatingly, breathtakingly heartbreaking it would be, and for some reason I think, shit, yeah, he’s gotta do it. go ahead and hurt us good. make us feel things. leave no survivors. just fucking wreck our shit, go on ahead.

but then I read this scene again and think, there’s something so incredibly powerful about the fact that All Might started out the series believing he was going to die and being resigned to that fate and making preparations for it, only to be completely blindsided by the love he has for this boy and what that ends up doing to him. his love for Izuku gives him the strength to fight against fate. it gives him the resolve to look the grim reaper in the eye and say “to hell with this, I’m going to live.” it’s his reason to keep going. it’s his purpose. and god but that’s some powerful shit. characters saying “fuck you” to destiny? I am weak as hell for that, hell yes give me more. give me all of that.

and then Deku in this scene. pleading with All Might to keep living. “you have to live to see that moment, when I can tell the world, ‘I am here!’” promising him that no matter what happens, when the time comes, they’ll bend fate together. “without fail.” and just, holy fuck. when he says it, you really believe they can do it. because if anyone can figure out a way to conquer the inevitable, it’s this kid.

10. “Senpai... if I said that I would give you my quirk, would you...?”

last but not least, today just happens to be Mirio’s birthday as well, so it only seems fitting to end with this moment, which in the span of a single page neatly sums up why both of these kids are worthy beyond a doubt of being the next Symbol of Peace. Deku selflessly tries to offer Mirio his quirk, and Mirio instantly rejects him. doesn’t even know what’s going on, really, but just rejects the offer out of hand. “no thanks. then you would be the one subjected to this hardship.” and we can’t very well fucking have that, now can we. nope. not on Mirio’s watch. never mind that he just lost his quirk and his mentor within the span of the past twenty four hours. he wastes no time in coming to Deku’s aid in spite of that, assuring him that he did great and that everything will be just fine. so just smile already!!

but the fact that Deku was even willing to make the offer just once again goes to show how astonishingly good he is. he knows better than anyone what it’s like to be quirkless and powerless. he knows exactly what Mirio is going through. what’s more, Mirio is absolutely right that Deku did fucking amazing and totally saved the day and without him they would have all been screwed! but all Deku can see in this moment is how deserving Mirio is, and so he decides that in order to help him, he’s prepared to make what for him is the ultimate sacrifice. the power that All Might gave him. his dream of becoming the greatest hero. everything he’s worked for up to this point. he’s prepared to throw all of that away if Mirio just says the word. there truly isn’t a selfish bone in this kid’s body.

but Mirio says no. because Mirio is also selfless. in conclusion we had just better hope the two of them never wind up reaching a door together at the same time, because the ensuing battle of who holds it open for whom could singlehandedly bring this series to a dead halt. the ultimate stalemate. they are too good and we don’t deserve them.

so anyways, that’s it! happy birthday kid. and here’s one more for the road.

11. “Dear Midoriya...”

a story in three acts. character development. growth. god bless.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #all might #bakudeku #bnha meta #character rant #essay #makeste reads bnha #bakugou's birthday post was only 2800 words #I don't know if I'm getting more long-winded or if it's just that I rant about bakugou more often in general #and deku not as much #so I ended up having more to say #that could well be it #anyways this should tide me over for a nice long while now lol #deku meta #bnha top ten #bnha ranking

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bytemycupcakes · 5 years

Note

Can you do some headcanons on what the Hazbin crew does together? For example what activities do they do, what do they do on Friday nights?

Okay this gets lo ng (maybe I did to much detail- oh well its worth it)

So it’s under a cut

-Alotta them clique-up pretty quickly, so a bunch of different stuff will be going on. Baxter will be trying to be his lonely ass self, Angel has wrangled Alastor and Husk to the couch for whatever the hell Angel thinks is fun (If Husk didn’t already run off to the peace and quiet that is Baxter), Mimzy, Niffty, and Crymini are usually doing some kinda “gossip” (Its just Niffty and Crymini listening to Mimzy babble). Sometimes the specific groups shuffle around- it all depends on who Angel and Mimzy call dibs on for the evening.

-Charlie lets this go on for awhile but eventually decides to force everyone to hang together.

-Her way of doing this is, once a week one person will pick an activity, and teach the whole Hotel about it.

–

-They start with Charlie’s activity first- the whole thing was her idea so it’s only fitting that she starts it.

-She chooses karaoke.

-Charlie, Vaggie, and Alastor are the only ones that really have fun, But Charlie makes everyone sing at least once.

-You would think Mimzy would love this, but she sees it as a cheap knock-off of a real performace. And is thus grumpy for the whole night.

- Charlie and Vaggie do some cute duets, Angel does a really sexual song (That Charlie stops him halfway through- the hotel is grateful), Husk just stands on the stage, when the songs over he grumbles “Awe fuck I lost” to pretend like he cares, Niffty chose a rap song for some reason, Alastor pulled her off stage after the first curse word (and she whined endlessly), Crymini refused to sing into the mic and was mumbling the whole time, Baxter couldn’t even stand on the stage, Mimzy’s entire turn is her complaining about it all, and Alastor went last, shutting everyone up cause nobody really expected him to have a good voice, or to take it seriously.

-Though Alastor’s fun really stemmed from everyone’s complaints (”And Husks colourful words about everything :D”)

-After that Charlie’s almost discouraged to continue this little trend but EVERYONE insists that they gotta go long enough to get their turn. They kinda just want to put the other members through the hell that was.

-That isn’t the best reason to continue… But it works-

–

-Vaggie’s next, she chooses campfire stories- The hotel gets a lobby camping trip.

-Angel and Niffty have a blast setting up a blanket fort big enough for everyone. Vaggie’s making notes on it as they work

-Alastor makes it topple at least twice- Vaggie soon kicks him out of the fort until it’s fully built, so he’s left hovering over everyone.

-Charlie and Baxter work on the “Campfire”. It’s just a pile of christmas lights- Charlie asked Baxter for help specifically, assuming he’s the least likely to cause a fire with a pile of old shitty lights.

-She was right

-Crymini teaches Husk and Mimzy how to make roasted marshmallows using a stove.

-Husk “almost catches his fur on fire” (The marshmallow caught and he thought it’d somehow spread to him), Mimzy and Crymini laugh while he panics.

-They get a whole plate of marshmallows, cooked to various degrees

-Alastor will only eat the ones that are pretty much pure char- Oh well, nobody else was going to eat them.

-Vaggie insists that campfire stories only feel right if everyones in pyjamas.

-Charlie sets one rule for this: They gotta be actual clothes (coughcoughAngelcoughcough)

-Vaggie’s actually really giddy about this, she goes off to find a good flashlight while everyone works on sitting around the “fire”.

-Its a bit of a struggle until Crymini starts tellin people exactly where to sit.

-Crymini is kinda like the second in command here, she loves camping.

-When Vaggie gets back, she plops right into Charlie’s lap and its adorable.

-She gives a basic rundown of how this is gonna work, they’re gonna pass the flashlight around to show who’s tellin the story. The story can be anything, they can make it up as they go, can be something from your living years, whatever, Vaggie doesn’t care. She says which way the flashlights gonna be passed, and thus the order. With how Crymini sat everyone, this puts Crymini being last.

-Vaggie doesn’t do an improv story for once, instead opting to one of Charlie’s favorites- Her own twisted telling of Alice in wonderland. (Yeah a twisted aiw is cliche but idc, its a great fairytale)

-It’s a great starting point, Of course with Vaggies storytelling, its really easy to get people hooked.

-Charlie’s story is what she hopes happens to the hotel members, everyone having such a happy life in heaven. She tears up toward the end and Vaggie plants a kiss on her cheek cause Gosh dang Charlie why you gotta be so cute.

-The other members also find it to be really adorable, and make various little comments- Alastor is silent.

-Husk is next, he tells a story from his childhood- first time he got a card trick to work. This is pretty much when the hotel learns he loves magic tricks- Of course Alastor and Niffty have heard this story a hundred times, and tease him a bit about it.

-Mimzys story is made up, its some woman getting turned on by everyone around her- The hotel has suspitions its based in something.. But they never ask her about it

-Angel has one of those “this is horror for me but not for anyone else” stories. it took like 2 seconds to tell, so Vaggie makes him try again. He starts going off about something sexual. Alastor covers Niffty’s ears, Crymini throws a marshmallow at him. He laughs, says he’s joking, then tells an actual eerie story.

-Baxter’s story has to much scientific tangents for the hotel to really understand what it was about. Bax is satisfied though, so they move on.

-Niffty tells the story of how she died, in far to much detail- but also with alot of weird hyper tangents. The hotel just stares, but Alastor’s clapping.

-Alastor takes the flashlight from Niffty, hums in thought, then passes it to Crymini, insisting he really needs to go last.

-Vaggie grumbles, but lets it happen.

-Crymini’s a bit grumpy, she wanted to pull the “really scary story is the last story” thing- She still tells her story of course, she succeds in spooking Charlie, Angel, and Niffty.

-Charlie asks why she’d do that. Vaggie starts to say thats just how campfire stories work- But baxter hops in, going off on why its not even possible- even with the wierdness around Hell. “C’mon Crymini, at least put some effort into scaring us”

-Alastor laughs, takes the flashlight from Crymini, brings out his dial eyes and goes “If you’d like a scary story, I can certainly provide”

-He defintely succeds in his little ploy, after his long story, everyone is mortified except for Husk- Who Al is pretty sure can’t be scared.

-Thanks Al, now nobody can sleep >:/

–

-Baxter is in charge next, allowing everyone in his lab for once. Of course he decided to show everyone a very basic experiment.

-Ha made sure nothing can explode, or burn through tables… The safest fucking thing he can think of.

-Angel somehow looses a patch of fur, Alastor still manages to explode the damn thing, Niffty broke five beakers before Baxter refused to give her another one. Husk drank his.

-Vaggie and Charlie were the only ones to get the reaction to work, so the hotel gathers around their table to watch it

-Baxter bans Alastor and Niffty from his lab- Everyone agrees its probably for the best.

-They do not listen to the ban

-The members do actually go hang in his lab more often, just to watch him do all the cool stuff

–

-Husk choses Poker. of course he does.

-He practically robs the entire Hotel

-Except Charlie wouldn’t let them gamble with actual money…

-She made pretzel dogs to gamble with.

-After he destroys everyone, he gives them tips in cheating….

-Via magic tricks

-Charlie is a bit weary about it- but it’s Husks turn to share his interests- She mumbles something about “please only do these with eachother- and not for money…”

-Niffty and Crymini snag a couple pretzel dogs from Husks fucking moutain of them

-Angel picks up on the tricks really easily, with all his fuckin arms.

-Alastor and Mimzy are terrible at all of them, Alastor being incredibly obvious about what he’s doing, and Mimzy ends up flinging cards everywhere each time.

-Crymini and Baxter can do the tricks, sure, but they figure out other meathods of cheating. Baxter quickly learning to count cards, and Crymini using her theft skills to hide cards.

-After everyone seems to get the tricks down, Husk has them play another game (without him, so they have a chance)

-Niffty wins, Vaggie was really close.

–

-Niffty teaches the Hotel how to sew

-Alastor and Husk use this as an excuse to sew Angels arms to his sides (They sew the sleeves, not his actual arms dw)

-Baxter keeps sewing his gloves to everything. He refuses to take them off.

-Mimzy freakin loves this, she has alotta clothes that have been torn up from old fights that she can finally fix

-Vaggie and Charlie keep pricking themselves. Niffty takes the needles away from them.

-Angel is yelling for everyone to free him.

-Crymini sews up a gag to shut him up

-Charlie sets him free.

-Angel can’t even get revenge- He’ll figure something out one day

–

-Angel decides to do a makover/dress-up kinda thing.

-He wen’t and got a ton of random clothes for everyone.

-Mimzy helps everyone with makeup

-Angel gets his revenge by forcing Al and Husk into the exact kinda clothes they despise

-Meaning Al is forced into something far to revealing for his liking.

-Nobody can pull his jacket away from him, he has an iron grip.

-And Husk is just forced into clothes, he doesn’t like them, they feel to weird on his fur. Angel put him in a semi-formal kinda outfit, he looks super cute

-Baxter gets out of this by just taking off his labcoat, he wears clothes under it of course. But nobodies ever seen him without the labcoat.

-Angel talks him into putting on a little bowtie though

-Niffty and Crymini look like fuckin princesses. Crymini started using a british accent- she kinda hit full roleplay mode with this.

-Charlie and Vaggie swapped their general styles, Charlie’s got a basic dress and Vaggie’s trying to get this vest to actually be fucking comfortable.

-Mimzy pulls Vaggie’s hair into a bun.

-Charlie.exe has stopped working

-Angel gets into his go to drag outfit, and gets everyone to do a runway thing

-Alastor refuses to get off the couch- Sadly Charlie is to broken from Vaggie to actually save this poor man.

–

-Charlie was really worried about Alastor’s turn- Cause.. Well it’s Alastor

-It’s okay he chooses Cooking

-Vaggie is hesitant about it all though

-Niffty and Husk already knew Alastor could cook, of course. But the others are a bit surprised

-Alastor makes a comment sayin he prefers raw meat, but cooking is quite relaxing.

-They all work together to make dinner pretty much. Everyones put in charge of something.

-Alastor watches over what everyones doing, makes little comments, and even reminds the others to check on the food.

-He’s making something completely different from everyone else and won’t say what he’s doing when the others ask

-Niffty and Husk are the obvious helpers here, Niffty making sure nobodies gonna hurt themselves, and Husk taking over things when someone almost (or does) burn something.

-It doesn’t turn out very well, but it’s edible and they all made it together. They’re all proud and eat anyway

-The oven dings while everyones eating and Alastor goes to check on it. Niffty follows after him to help

-While everyone’s casually talking, having a good time, he comes back with cupcakes

-Of course he did a dark twist- they look like he pulled them straight out of a highschool halloween party- covered in fake eyes, other small body parts, ect. But far more realistic.

-Vaggie hops up assuming they’re real parts

-Niffty giggles and says thank you, she made them all herself

-Husk grabs an “eye” off one of them, eating it. He says that Al wouldn’t just give people body parts out of nowhere. He has class.

-Vaggie is still suspicious of the cupcake. Everyone else eats them just fine.

-Al is a really good baker, Everyone keep’s sayin he should really bake more often

–

-Crymini gets the hotel to play baseball- Or at least as close as they can get to baseball

-Everyone’s having alot of fun actually- Baxter doesn’t like the running, but hes still having fun

-They decide to just have everyone take turns hitting/throwing the ball for the most part

-Alastor won’t use the bat, he just uses his mic. It lets out a ton of feedback each time. They beg him to use the bat, he wont.

-Angel has the best pitch

-Mimzy has the best swing

-Baxter and Niffty broke the most windows

-Speakign of windows: Charlie had to cut the activity short before they broke all the hotels windows-

-Charlie gets a softer ball later for them to keep playing, cause it was so much fun.

–

-Mimzy teaches the hotel to dance

-Alastor, Niffty and Charlie already know how- They just get to help teach

-Charlie’s helping Vaggie (obviously)

-Alastor is the only one tall enough to help Angel and Husk

-Mimzy tried to help them, she really did.

-Mimzy and Niffty help Crymini and Baxter, switching around a bit.

-Baxter would much rather Not™

-Mimzy won’t let him sit on the sidelines, every time he tries to sneak off she grabs him, pulling him into some random move

#Hazbin Hotel #Hazbin Charlie #Hazbin Vaggie #Hazbin Angel Dust #Hazbin Alastor #Hazbin Husk #Hazbin Niffty #Hazbin mimzy #Hazbin Baxter #Hazbin Crymini #Hazbin Hotel Headcanons #god this took forever

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arkus-rhapsode · 5 years

Text

My Hero Academia Chapter 208 Review

So this chapter might’ve made a few people a little upset, but others really happy. Well its time to ask if that if any dislike is warranted or was this a good chapter? ...I mean its about Bakugou so that already is a hit or miss with some people. But whatever, I’m going to look at this audience splitting chapter under my critical lense

We open where we left off, with Bakugou having saved Jirou from the ambush by Kamakiri. Also it’s worth noting here that Kamakiri is actually blocking Bakugou’s attack with the blade he had previously grown from his arm and a new one from his leg to form a blocking stance. Its a small detail, but its actually really cool because lets face it, growing blades from you is a pretty bland power. So I do like when Horikoshi does go out of his way to show us the applications of one’s ability regardless of how simple or weird it is.

Also it seems that Bakugou during his rant to his team mentioned he’d protect them if they were targeted. I guess that’s what they were so shocked over in chapter 206′s ending. Also it makes that whole scene of them all doubting him a bit more stronger cause he was acting like something contradictory to what he’d said he’s do.

So Kamakiri retreats and I want to mention this now because I’ll talk about it later, but class 1-B is acknowledging that Bakugou is far too strong in this chapter and that’ll be important.

Also with Monoma freaking out over Bakugou’s character development, it’s important to realize the ones who are standing up for Kirishima, who its pretty expected given how he feels about Bakugou. And Kaminari who in the liscene exam, saved Bakugou and instead of him being indignant, Bakugou helped K.O. Shishikura. Kirishima has acknowledged that Bakugou was capaple of saving people like every potential hero, but this is the first time he really did it to save someone and not for simple victory.

And this is the big crux of this chapter, Bakugou’s development. Its important to note that Bakugou is supposed to be the incarnation of victory as vocalized by Deku. But what’s held him back in things like their first exercise is that he refuses to work together with people. So while he is still strong and managees to beat down whoever he’s fighting, his neglection of teamwork and the point of the purpose of the exerciser always came to set him back. But now, hee’s going to work with his team and is accepting nothing less than a perfect victory.

Though I’m going to be honest, I liked it that class 1-b was the only one with a clean sweep victory because even if they didn’t win the entire day, they’d still have that as a win. But this is Bakugou so he’s gotta not lose a single person or else its “not enough saving...”

We see into what Tokage’s plan was, that they figured that Bakugou is without a doubt thee ace in the hole, and going up against him one-on-one was no option for them. But given his persoanlity and strength, the teeam will follow him and likely get sick of his bullshit if he becomes exacerbated. So they plan on a hit and run strategy very similar to Vegeta vs the androids who keep peaing out every time he started to talk. Y’know... Bakugou is really just a tiny Vegeta now that I think about it.

Also, conspicuous zoom up on Sero shows he’s putting the pieces together with what Tokage’s quirk.

Bakugou follows Bondo only to be ambushed by Awase. Another little sidenote is that Deku comments on his stealth skill, which was something he was very surprised by when he fought Toga-Camie.

Awase binds up Bakugou with his quirk, but Bakugou knows this won’t hold him.

Yep Satou actually works with Bakugou to free him and returns to chasing Awase. I also like to mention that with both Shouji and Satou’s new abilities, ORA ORA ORAing, your opponent counts as a special move.

Awase is getting chased down by Bakugou, so he decides to brace himself with a steel plat welded to his face-That’s dumb! Like I get the idea, but given Bakugou’s strength level, there is no doubt he could dent that metal similar to Kendou. And putting that right up to your face just seems bad stupid.

Well, Bakugou doesn’t actually take this chance to punch him, instead he propels himself up and...

Sero and Jirou showed up and Bakugou even acknowledged that they could help him. Which is making me really question why they freaked out when they heard his strategy. Seems pretty balanced, for Bakugou I mean. Jirou takes out Awase by giving him a blast of surround sound. Proably has lost his hearing for a good time too.

Anyway, Bakugou caught up with Bondo and as you can probably guess, glue doesn’t fair too well against explosions.

So Awase and Bondo are captured and Monoma doesn’t seem to understand how Bakugou “mellowed out.” well here’s the thing, Bakugou is still an angry and easy to agitate person, but he’s not mean spirited in his anger. Most of his anger is a feature rather than say, him in chapter one where he condescended down to his entire class and told Deku to kill himself. He still gets mad, but as a person he’s become better. Its also important to realize that he too, is trying to be number one hero, and he won’t fall behind Deku, so if the only thing stopping him from getting that license was saving people, then he’ll adapt. He’ll learn how to save others. And he isn’t like Momo who’s hang up is persistent throughout the series, Bakugou is someone for as shitty as he can act, is a prodigy, so when he applies himself, he is that much better and quicker at learning.

Now Tokage says that the plan was basically Bakugou leads and the others would follow, but then find that moment of them following, and then break them down without Bakugou’s help. But the team is compensating for being “perfect.” But I have to disagree with that. The team isn’t perfect, so much as they are capable of acting on their own. An important difference that was brought up between the classes last chapter was how organized class 1-b is compared to 1a. But that has its own issue with the fact that class 1-b is so organized by their leader that they are basically all pieces on a board being moved around. Kendou’s team did exactly as she said and by doing so they had set up a strategy they had their victory ensured. Honenuki’s team followed what he was saying, but then when Pony was left standing, she had to come up with her own strategy after her leader lost. As we see in this fight, Tokage’s plan and organization isn’t bad, but it wasn’t capable of thinking that her opponents would act in such a way.

So there is both good and bad to having an organized team, like Kendou’s when the strategy works out or with Tokage who we will see made a bad call and is now suffering not being able to recover from it. Basically, its not that team Bakugou is so good, its more, Tokage came up with a bad plan.

(Also Bakugou looks like Kamakiri in that panel and I’m upset that we don’t get enough interaction off of them.)

We get a really cool set of panels where Sero figures out Tokage’s quirk while Kamakiri and Bakugou fight. Sero deduces that Tokage needs to regenerate after cutting her body up as we’ve been seeing with her reforming above the the battlefield.

Kamakiri loses and thus this battl would be over if they took the now defeated Kamakiri to jail, but Bakugou wants his perfect with and is going after Tokage.

We see in a flash back that Bakugou gave his team gernades and now I’m just going to say this, I wish we had a whole fucking flash back because a lot of this is seeming like a lot of narrative convenience. Also unlike Buggy, Tokage can’t pull off a chop-chop quick escape. (Also, did Sero blow up a chunk of her body? Maybe he really is the villain here?)

Bakugou then ambushes Tokage and then...

...It’s over. And while I do enjoy Bakugou’s line here, I’m pretty sure people are upset at this loss for Tokage. Well, here’s where I double down on my claim from a few weeks ago, this was going to be the least important fight in terms of fighting. And I was right. This fight wasn’t about the clash between Bakugou and Tokage, this match was about Bakugou’s growth as a character. Thus meaning the Class 1-b team is basically a group of jobbers that exist as an obstecle to overcome rather than characters. Now there’s nothing wrong with that.

I had pointed out how each B team up till now had at least one member we wer familiar left and thus they were the one who got to show off the most and develop more, with their teammates getting a chance to actually reveal their personalities (In the case of team Honenuki we actually ad two characters who did that). But team Tokage, at best had Awase, but nothing else we really knew about them, so it made sense that this wasn’t going to be about them.

However, Horikoshi then had to tacked on Tokage that sh was a recommendation student as to give Class 1-b’s team some menace. But unlike Honenuki, we didn’t know that beforehand, so it really just comes off as added hype right before her loss, so you care more. So I think some people thought that she was going to be a lot more hot shit than she actually got to be.

Now the question I posed was do I agree with this, well here’s where I say I’ll talk about that in the post chapter follow up, and now we must all get ready for Deku vs Monoma. Which I’m very worried about because its now 2-1 and if 1-a wins then it’ll be 3-1 which makes them look like jackasses and their hype was pointless, but if its B who wins then its 2-2 and that feels incredibly unsatisfying. See your now seeing why I wasn’t a fan of Todoroki and Honenuki being a draw.

Post chapter follow up: This is a very confused chapter where its honestly hard to call it good or bad. Now as I said, I did predict that this was going to be unimportant for Class 1-b and thus I’m not disappointed at all with team Tokage’s loss. I’m sure people will say Bakugou shouldn’t be able to to defeat a recommendation student. Well here’s the thing, recommendation isn’t about power, its more quirk based potential. This isn’t like S-class mage in FT or Captain in Black Clover where these people are literally in a different league. These are just kids who happen to have greater powers than others.

Now I wanna give major credit where credit is due, and that is the character of this fight. Bakugou’s character growth is what this was all about and thus, its a good thing to see him develop so quickly as opposed to someone like Momo who has yet to get over their mental hurdle. Now as we saw last week Bakugou still has a way to go with how he saves as we saw with him kicking Jirou out of the way, which is something I don’t think All Might would ever do. SO while he’s got the concept of saving down, he might need to fine tune it.

Also it was cool to really see Sero get a good moment in this round. Its important to note that Sero is actually very smart and analytical. Not to the point of Deku or Iida, but he has been shown that he is of an above average intellect. And while Jirou was mostly recon that didn’t work out, it was cool to see her use her support items. And Satou... Punched stuff...

I think that the development of the character really are a good thing for the character of Bakugou rather than the actual combat as opposed to something like Yuno vs Rill in Black Clover, where it was more about just how strong Yuno is now a opposed to his character growth. And I’ll take a stronger character over a stronger fighter story. Now this an arc based on combat so, I’m still critical of it, and the combat in this fight is pretty unimpressive.

Now for the negatives and my biggest frustration was the pacing this chapter. It feels like so much was condensed into a single chapter. I get maybe there might’ve not been enough for two chapters and that this is supposed to be about Bakugou more than anything else, but defeating 4 people and getting moments from the other 1-A kids feels so rushed. Like if I had to, I’d split this up as this chapter is just beating Bondo and Awase, then next chapter we get like a prolonged fight of Kamakiri vs Bakugou and taking out Tokage as she realizes how bad she messed up.

There’s also the issue of the flash back or lack there of, and it feels so much like Horikoshi is just making shit up from their strategy meeting to fit the fight, but its so clunky. I guess this method allows him to do that, but It just feels so convenient, like impossibly convenient. So if Im going pick on Hiro for narrative convenience, I’m going give Hori the same treatment.

So was this a good chapter? I think that it’s good in terms of storytelling, but its understandably not going to attract or seem as appealing to many from a fight perspective. Or those who have been really trying get hyped on class 1-b. And as I mentioned, there are narrative issues in this fight, so its not completely exempt from criticism. Which Is why I think my final verdict is the best I can give something like this.

Final Verdict: 6/10

It’s above average in terms of story and character, but it is till messy in some points. What with the easy to jobber characters and to massive compressed storytelling

Amazing character development on Bakugou’s quest for No. 1

Ultimately stale action

Good story is there, though it feels rushed in terms of pacing

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allykat4416 · 5 years

Text

Meme Trip 2k19, Pt. 3

Date: May 21st

Park: Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois

One of the most surreal things about doing these trips after being a homebound and family-locked coaster geek for many years is actually getting out there. I’ve heard of so many of these parks. I’ve seen pictures, read ride reviews, know at least a little something about something in them, and so on. I’m used to knowing factually, but not knowing by experience. You can read a book on how to be a good nurse all day long, but it’ll never prepare you for being in the hospital. Similarly, you can read all about these parks, but it won’t ever prepare you for walking into these places that only existed in your life before as a concept.

One such place was Six Flags Great America. I’d never paid too much mind to them outside of some vague knowledge about them—Raging Bull was the second B&M hyper, Batman was the very first B&M invert, I remembered X-Flight and Goliath’s announcements to some degree, and say, aren’t they getting a new coaster next year?

Then November happened, and I’ll spare you the details but my coo-coo bananas ass really did not like GAM after that. Like Holiday World, it was one of the parks I heavily considered asking Casie to skip. For months, the only coaster there I really gave a shit about was Goliath, and I think that that was originally only because I loved the character of Giorgos so much!

But, I knew that in order to be better, I had to do some stuff I wasn’t 100% comfortable with. I’d faced down ground zero in Indiana and thrived, had a lot of fun with Nelly in the process, and found closure. Now it was time to get closure about that trip, to surrender to the fact I’ll never know what happened and I’m relegated to trusting what I was told.

We pulled up to the park early that morning, the wind biting and cold. I could never live this far north. I shivered and pulled my arms tighter in my hoodie. At least Goliath is here. At least I’m going to get some credits to my roster. It’s just one day, try to keep an open mind! It may not be too bad. It may be like HoWo. Oryche may be here later on too. Early Entry only granted us 10 minutes, and our Six Flags day began.

Superman- Ultimate Flight is a B&M flyer, a model I’m not incredibly fond of. I’ve done 2 of these now, and I still don’t really care for them. This one is better than the one in New Jersey by a small margin, but as a woman with boobs, I don’t care for flying coasters. I’m glad we got this one out of the way early on. Similarly, The Dark Knight’s a wild mouse. There’s not much to say. I’m glad the horn on the train isn’t as loud as GADV’s, since I hate super loud noises. It was fun to shout out “We live in a society!” but it’s ultimately a pretty forgettable ride.

I can’t remember if I said my piece on Joker at Great Adventure, but I’m not a huge fan of these free-spin clones. They’re weird, and I know their gimmick makes them very marketable. However, after doing Lightning Run and realizing these coasters cost the same as that did, I’m even less fond of them. Really, guys? Both are capacity nightmares, but at least Lightning Run is actually a lot of fun. Got the credit, pass, never gonna do that again.

There’s not a whole lot to V2: Vertical Velocity either. It’s an Intamin Impulse, basically the same experience as Possessed at Dorney from last year. It’s a little shakier than Possessed is, and I seriously hurt my foot jumping down from the seats. (Short enthusiast problems.) Still, it’s a fun coaster for what it’s worth. I’m fond of these types of rides, and I’ll be sad when this inevitably does go.

Batman admittedly had always held a shred of an interest for me because of my giant bias towards B&M’s inverted coasters. Being the first of the kind was at least a slight draw to the park for me, and I’m happy to say it didn’t disappoint me. I rode it twice, and I oddly enough prefer it in the back. I’m usually a Front-Row Purist for inverts. The queue is immersive for a Six Flags, and the recording of the laughing kids as you exit gave me hardcore heebie-jeebies. The loop should absolutely not be that tight, and I love it. Somewhat of a recurring theme, but the I prefer the clones here over the ones at GADV. This Batman crushes the one in Jersey.

Little Dipper and Sprocket Rocket are two very cute kiddie coasters. I think Dipper is my favorite of the two, even without the really heartwarming story about Six Flags saving its life. They’re both super-fun rides for baby enthusiasts to cut their teeth on, and I’m glad they’ve got both of them in their lineup. Nice work!

American Eagle was fun. This was the ride a lot of people asked me about while I was in the park, and I kept describing it as “Racer from KI with a better layout and not possessed by Satan.” My first ride was lackluster because of a misunderstanding in the queue, but when Oryche and I went back to ride it, I got to really appreciate AE for what it is. What it is is very good and very fun. While only blue side was running, it was a blast. I can’t imagine what both of the trains going at the same time would be like! The helix is a laugh riot and those first few hills give you some solid, strong floater. Shoutout to the kids behind O and I screaming out “Fuck bitches, get money” the entire ride. Whoever they were, I hope they’re having the best summer of their young lives.

Demon is surprisingly not bad at all. Most of the Arrow loopers I’ve done have been lackluster, sans Nessie and TNT. I didn’t have very high expectations for Demon, to be fair, but I ended up really enjoying myself on it more than I figured I would. The tunnel effects were nice, especially the second one that felt almost like a head chopper. The corkscrews are a little rough, but not unbearable. It’s a solid ride that I hope is around in the park for years to come! Good going, Demon. Even if I hurt my arm trying to get into your trains.

Viper is neat in that it was a coaster built in-house a la Beast or Twister, and that we share a birth year. It was better than I anticipated it to be (bear in mind, my expectations for this park were incredibly low), but I prefer the other two wooden coasters in the park to it. By no means is Viper a bad ride, my worst experience was hurting my ankle while getting out of the train, but there are just other rides in the park I like more. I think I might also be a little less keen on Viper because we modeled his personification after someone I dislike who is also a snake in the grass. Haha.

X-Flight sucks. I knew it was going to be Not Great, but I didn’t think it was going to be that bad. I’ve always kind of laughed at enthusiasts who whine and bitch about “omggg b&m rattle wahhh!” But guys… X-Flight actually has a rattle, and it’s awful. I felt like I was riding a jackhammer on this ride. I’m sure it was a lot more fun in its early years, but now that the wings are almost literally flapping, I’ll pass. I’m usually a little kinder on winged coasters than most other enthusiasts, but this is pretty awful. It’s the only ride in this park I actively dislike.

We also hit a few flats. Mardi Gras Hangover was not a credit, but it also just kind of exists. Fiddler’s Fling was a lot of fun, since I like spinning flats [but not spinning coasters, funnily enough.] Oryche and I got incredibly close on FF, but we were both good sports about it. It’s Six Flags, it happens. Chubasco is also a blast with friends, and we were screaming “RMC WHO? I ONLY KNOW DADDY CHUBASCO. ALAN SCHILKE IS QUAKING” the entire time. Irony is funny, guys! Really! It doesn’t hurt that the centerpiece of the ride really looks like a giant bong at some points.

I was a bit anxious about Raging Bull going into the trip. Casie told me again and again that because I’m not too keen on 232 at my home park, I “probably won’t like Bull either.” I think we were both pleased to say that was not the case! I actually enjoyed RB a lot, to the point I really wonder why on earth enthusiasts dislike it. (Or rather, I would if I didn’t already know they dickride Steve and thus are stupid as all fuck.)

No, the layout isn’t as focused on that tasty graceful floater B&M does so well. But it’s unique, and as you can tell by my adoration of LRun, I heavily support individuality in rides. Give me those low-to-the-ground twists over a helix and some bunny hops. I dig it! The trims were about as bad as Diamondback’s, which is to say noticeable but definitely not enough to hurt the ride experience. Oryche and I also got a trimless Bull ride, which slapped.

Again, B&M hypers are like going to a new restaurant and ordering the chicken strips. You can’t majorly fuck up chicken strips. You’re gonna enjoy what you get. Bull is spicy chicken strips. Still chicken, but with a new twist on the same ol’ same ol’. I like it. I only rode twice, but I can’t wait to ride more to see if it holds up or if she was just having a particularly good day. Yee-haw.

And now it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room. Over the last year, RMC has left a very unpleasant taste in my mouth because of Steve. I’ve enjoyed the other 3--- WiCy and TwiTim are wonderful rides and LRod is nothing short of fantastic--- but SV made me think twice about the company. I incredibly hate how they’re treated as if they can do no wrong within the community. I used to hype them up when my only experience with them was LRod, but after SV, my love for them died in a fiery car crash. Wicked and Timbers helped me realize Steve was most likely a glitch, but the damage was done already. I’d never be hype-hyped for an RMC again.

The only park I’d visited thus far where the RMC was my favorite in the lineup was Dollywood. Not Kings Dominion, not SFNE, not Kentucky Kingdom, and most certainly not Cedar Point. Great America is one of the rare parks where the RMC is my favorite in the roster.

Remember when I said there’s only one coaster with a first drop I might like more than Lightning Run? It’s Goliath. It may have been because I didn’t eat very much that day [only a coffee and a donut at Dunkin in the morning and a tiny bag of Takis during the day], but I was graying out at the bottom of the drop consistently. And the hangtime is sinfully good, it puts Copperhead’s to shame.

Yes, it’s short. But I like when RMC is short and packs a punch rather than being long, drawn-out, and having unnecessary MCBRs. I’m trying to keep my salt to a minimum, but it’s very hard to not. Goliath is not a long ride, and that’s a complaint I understand. But when you are riding it, it does the elements it has very, very well. I like Goliath. You guys are just mean. I marathoned this and lost count of how many rides I got, but Oryche said we racked up at least 12.

Also, funny story: Oryche and I were trying to re-ride, but my restraint kept locking back into place. I joked to the ride operator that “It must not want me to go!” She laughed and said that “Goliath picks people he likes.” He likes me as much as I like him. I will defend you, Giorgos, you glorious dumbass.

Overall, I liked GAM a hell of a lot more than I expected myself to. I do think I’d probably let my bitterness override my preconceived notions on the park, but it led to me being overwhelmingly happy with how good it actually is. It’s laid out very well, and it’s clean and honestly really beautiful. It’s like New England, just on a much larger scale and with a lineup that doesn’t need to rely on the top 2 because everything sans X-Flight is decent at the worst. Honestly, it’s probably my favorite Six Flags thus far. Those are words I never thought I would say, and I’m excited to come back and get Whizzer and Maxx Force whenever the winds blow us back into Chicago.

Until next time, you shirtless Greek horndog.

#trip reports

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dearrachell-blog · 6 years

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Madrid, Spain

01/28-02/01

My stay in Madrid flew by to say the least, and it’s crazy to fathom how quickly I fell in love with the city especially in such short duration. The first night Katie, Val and I arrived several hours earlier than the rest of our group, so we checked into our Airbnb and found a nice, authentic restaurant to eat at. My rice dish tasted so good, I will definitely be missing rice throughout my stay as I don’t have a cooker here in Vienna and Asian white rice can rarely if even be found. At dinner, the employees sang feliz cumpleaños to one of their coworkers, and their loving, family-like interactions made my heart happy. Finished dinner off with complimentary palate-cleansing warm green juice shots that were so yummy!

The next day was jam packed as our entire group woke up early to make the most of our precious time there. Breakfast at Pum Pum Cafe was so nice- would highly recommend the coffee, avocado toast, benedict, and desserts there! We trekked over 25,000 steps this day just walking through the entire city. A few destinations we stopped by were Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace, Jardines de Sabatini, Mercado de San Miguel, and the Temple of Debod to watch the beautiful sunset. It was incredible to see these sights before my own eyes as I had only seen them through photos and snapchat videos before. Everything seemed to come to life and I fell silent during some parts of the day just in awe of my surroundings. At nighttime, while the rest of my group went to El Tigre, I decided to meet up with one of my friends from home. It was so nice being able to talk openly with Christine and not feel like I had to invent forced conversation every time I opened my mouth. It’s comforting to acknowledge that we’re in similar situations, social-wise, and I’m gradually accepting the fact that it’s alright if I don’t make lifelong friends while I’m here, granted I’ve only met half of our Vienna program thus far. What’s most important is that I make the most of my experience and accomplish all of the things that I want to do while abroad. I’m going to grow very comfortable spending time by myself this semester, and that is perfect okay. Anyways, together we walked around Centro and indulged in delicious gelato from Mistura and churros from Chocolatería San Gines. Will definitely revisit those places later on.

Our second full day in Madrid was also an adventure as we checked off Puerta Del Sol and row-boating through Buen Retiro Park. Having the liberty to go wherever whenever with no rigid agenda has been refreshing and I’m happy to have shared these moments with my new semi-friends. We’re getting there. One of my favorite activities while visiting a new location is just sight-seeting and walking into random stores and sparking conversations with strangers. There doesn’t have to be an exact activity involved, the exploration is enough. For breakfast we ate at La Libre and for lunch, TAKOS, both of which were well worth the wait! In the evening was our much awaited Tapas Crawl!!! Our tour guide, Raúl, was a blast and we were joined by another couple on their honeymoon. I learned that there are more than 2,000 beer taps just within Madrid, and I also learned how to properly test for good red wine. I looked at our second glass of red wine in front of a white napkin, and smelled the aroma of berries, chocolate, leather, nuts, and “bullshit” according to Val hahaha. After 3.5 hours and 5 stops of engorging in authentic tapas and wine, I felt utterly stuffed. My favorite dish would probably have to be the pork belly from our second stop. Ended the crawl with a nice buzz and full stomach. Following this, I wish we would have gone home to settle down and get ready, but we immediately went straight out to Dubliners, where I met up with Cho and Murph (brothers abroad!!!), and then to StarCoyote. I have to admit I was feeling a bit awkward because I didn’t know as many people as the others did I wasn’t dressed for the occasion. The fact that my roommate was much more drunk than I was and trampling all over me was also highkey annoying. The night ended with me and Madeleine sitting on the sidewalk partially sober waiting for our uber home while the others very drunkenly clambered into the first car. It was a memorable night without a doubt and I did meet a few new friends along the way, but I’m starting to recognize who I want to grow closer with and who I am ambivalent about.

The next morning was sloooow as my Airbnb mates woke up in random intervals, many of whom were hungover messes. But I spent the morning in getting ready and getting my things together as a few others went out to breakfast. I needed the extra hour to spend organizing myself. Half the group left to fly to Seville and the rest of us grabbed lunch and checked into our hostel for the night. I learned that Menu Del Día is not a restaurant, but actually is a deal that various restaurants offer for 11 euro hahaha the more you know! But regardless, the cheese and paella that we shared for lunch that day was so tasty. I took my first siesta later that day after checking into our hostel. While Katie and Val went out to hang out around Centro, I happily hung out with Christine again!! Grabbed Walk to Wok because we were craving Asian food, tracked down the oldest restaurant in the world founded in 1725, Sobrino de Botín, and went shopping along Gran Vía. It felt so comfortable being around genuine company and I litttterally cannot wait until we travel together in the near future.

Note to self: Go to airports early even though in Europe, the check-in and security process isn’t as long as they are in the US. The morning was semi-stressful because we totally disregarded traffic and thought we were going to miss our flight back home to Vienna. But luckily we made it just in time woohoo. Another observation, 3 of the 4 ubers that we took during our stay were Teslas like what the heck bougie!! Apparently the cars aren’t the owners, but are provided by the company.

There’s so much about Spain that intrigues me. The lifestyle there seems slower paced and the lifestyle surprisingly reminds me of that in Taipei where the convenience of walking everywhere and accessing little stores is evident. At the same time, there is so much preserved culture to be reminisced and explored. I’m unsure if I’m so excited because this was my first abroad trip to a different country, but I definitely plan on revisiting Madrid to tour its other features, from renowned museums to rooftop bars to other areas of the city. Maybe I should have chosen Madrid as my first rather than second choice of host country. But who knows, SEE YOU AGAIN ESPAÑA.

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honestlywilde · 6 years

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5 OTPs and 10 Facts About Me

Stolen from @gaysparkler because these ask memes are wonderful ice-breakers to chatting with and making new friends amongst my followers.

5 OTPs

Elizabeth Bennet x Fitzwilliam Darcy- I read this book and got started on these two very young, and immediately after reading had to watch every adaptation I could find (Thus began my obsession with Colin Firth. lol). I don’t even know where to begin with them, because I love them so, and so much has been said of them already, but I love reading and watching the evolution of their relationship. And Darcy respecting Elizabeth’s boundaries after she rejects him? Yeah, that’s definitely attractive.

Jane Eyre x Edward Rochester- Not unlike Mr. Rochester (though there’s just something about men in this romantic period novels being rubbish at expressing it), Jane Eyre was definitely love at first sight/read. I love her fiery spirit, her stubbornness and that she proved herself independent and more than capable. She doesn’t need Mr. Rochester to get by or even be happy. She takes him back on her own terms. I think that’s awesome.

Remus Lupin x Sirius Black- There are a great many things I love about the Harry Potter books. If you get me started, we might be here all day. That said among my complaints/critiques about it, chief among them would be these two. Implied LGBTQIA is nice, but representation is always better. I guard the headcanon that these two had some deeper romantic relationship between the two of them with my life. Not for a moment am I invalidating their incredible friendship, or his later relationship with Tonks, I love that. But as a young closeted bisexual kid, longing for representation, I saw a lot of parallels and a kind of kindred spirit with Remus Lupin. I will always ship him with happiness, and to my mind reading (and rereading) the series he and Sirius deserved that with one another. The war and Voldemort robbed them.

Garrus x Shepard- Every time I play through ME I tell myself I’m going to romance someone else, then I hit ME2 and my resolve always wavers. I just love their mutual admiration and respect for one another. Admittedly, I think as a narrative it might have been more interesting and in line with the headcanons about my Shepard not to jump from friends to friends with benefits before establishing a sort of romantic relationship, but it’s still beautiful and I love it to pieces, especially in ME3. The shooting competition, dancing together, & all the times he refers to Shepard as his girlfriend with such a sense of pride in the Citadel DLC.

Hawke x Fenris- Dragon Age 2 was actually my first Dragon Age game, so my first Hawke will always have a special place in my heart. I played a male mage, and like my Hawke was immediately drawn to the Broody elf. As anyone who plays the class will tell you, romancing Fenris as a mage siding with his fellows will tell you it takes some additional effort, but it’s so worth it. As a domestic abuse survivor, I have so much respect for those responsible for the narrative including Fenris pulling away to examine himself as an individual and try to heal after their first night together before pursuing more of a relationship with Hawke, despite the fact it’s clearly hard for him because he cares for the other so much. Fenris deserves happiness and love, and it’s so rewarding to see that come to fruition.

(Full disclosure, as most of you who follow my blog know, there are a great many other ships in my armada, cannon and not, but these are among the first five that came to mind. Honorary mentions/close runners-up include: Newt Geiszler x Hermann Gottlieb, Dorian Pavus x Inquisitor, Warden x Alistair Theirin, Cassandra Pentaghast x Varric Tethras, M!Shepard x Kaidan Alenko, Fox Mulder x Dana Scully, and many more.)

10 facts about me

1. I’m pretty much completely incapable of reading a book, or watching a show/movie without developing feels, headcanons, and/or writing additional scenes in my head. And I’m totally fine with that.

2. I read an average of anywhere from 15 to 75k words per day in fanfic for the many fandoms/pairings I enjoy.

3. I absolutely love music. That said because I am an auditory learner as well as neurodivergent some songs I can’t listen to without instantly being transported back to a certain memory and the mood I was in then when I heard that song.

4. I’ve always loved and wanted tattoos (Sleeves, truth be told), but grew up with very conservative parents that wouldn’t allow it and convinced me I’d never get a job with any. I’ve finally decided on and drawn up the design for my first tattoo and am hoping to get it for myself for Christmas this year.

5. I had hair that went halfway down my back until I was a senior in high school, and have been steadily getting it cut progressively shorter ever since. I shaved one side of my head for the first time this year and have been loving it. I feel empowered, and experience dysphoria just a bit less often with it.

6. The first selfie I posted on Facebook with the aforementioned haircut, earned several concerned messages from my extended and conservative family members asking if I was sick because a medical procedure was the only reason they could conceive of a woman shaving any amount of her hair off.

7. I used to be physically and verbally bullied in school. I lacked the strength or confidence to fight back, but finally one day toward the end of one school year one of my bullies tripped me. I fell flat on my face and all my books and things went flying everywhere. The bully kicked me hard in the ribs and made it clear they weren’t planning on stopping anytime soon and I decided I’d had enough. I somehow managed to get them down on the floor with me, and promptly sat my “fat ass” right in the middle of their chest and waited while they struggled and hurled insults at me until a teacher showed up. I still don’t think I deserved detention, but I have no regrets. 8. I cannot stand styrofoam. Touching it, or hearing that sort of high-pitched scratchy noise when it brushes against something? Yeah, it’s like nails down a chalkboard for me. I experience full-body shudders every time. Even packing peanuts will do it. So, of course, my husband takes perverse pleasure in tormenting me with it.

9. As a young preteen, I let my aunt teach me how to use a sewing machine for the sole purpose of being able to make more of my own pieces for cosplay costumes rather than relying on buying something close to what I needed or wanted. She doesn’t entirely get why I love it so much, but I still send her progress shots and selfies with each new costume I put together.

10. My favorite pick-me-up when I’m in a funk is to throw on a wig, maybe some basic makeup, a casual cosplay outfit, blast my music and dance around the house.

I never know who to tag and I’m not sure who’s already done this, so I’ll tag @winternoble ,@seaweedredandbrown ,@heatherfield , and anyone else who’s interested. Make sure you tag me, I’d love to read your answers and get to know you better! <3

#jane eyre #pride and prejudice #dragon age #dragon age: origins #dragon age 2 #dragon age: inquisition #da:o #da2 #da:i #about the blogger

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pokemon-anime · 6 years

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The Big Problem with the Pokémon Anime - An Essay and a Rant

Warning: Very long read, so take your time.

Contents

I. Introduction

II. I Wanna Be the Very Best, Like No One Ever Was

III. The Long and Winding Road

IV. His Name was Tobias

V. You're Such a Little Kid!

VI. You Really Are an Amazing Person

VII. “Kalos League Victory! Satoshi's Greatest Decisive Battle”

VIII. To Be Continued: The Cycle of Failure

IX. A Jobber in Alola

X. Closing Remarks

As this is a site where discussion of the Pokémon anime is allowed, I feel this is an appropriate place to make this post, for discussion purposes. The following below is an incredibly long rant about the state of the Pokémon anime. I make no attempt to hide any salt and I have no intention of trolling anyone, only to narrate and tell from my heart my deepest feelings about the anime. Although it's worth 15 pages long, the message of this work is very simple. The essay was originally posted in unedited form at Serebii Forums on December 31, 2016. So have some popcorn, sit back, and relax.

I. Introduction

My first foray into Pokémon was back in 1998, when I got the Game Boy Camera that summer (might've been my birthday, can't really remember). I had a ton of fun with that little thing—the games, the DJ, the photos, among other things. What was particularly cool was being able to place silly stamps on the photos. There were eyes, mouths, accessories, various Mario characters, and some creatures that my older brother referred to as generic “dinosaurs” or “monsters”, can't exactly remember which word he said. But I used them on my photos anyway, cause why not. Little did I know that wasn't going to be the last time I saw those critters, oh no.

Come Autumn later that year, my brother tells me all the neat things about a new craze going on in school called Pokémon. He introduced me to the TV show, where we watched it together. I, being but a young boy at the time, was hooked and completely loved every minute of it, and just wanted to watch more and more of it. I made sure to watch every new episode premiere to the best of my ability and was happy to watch the reruns. Around the same time, I saw the commercial to the games, and wanted to play them badly. Soon enough, I got the game, and was completely hooked to it, and became a young Pokémon fan.

Every Pokémon fan has likely heard of and watched the anime at some point in their lives. When we saw the anime for the first time, plenty of us found it exciting to see Ash and others traveling, battling with their critters and getting stronger, strengthening the bonds and friendships with each other and their Pokémon, helping out others, earning badges, fighting evil, and so forth, in hopes of achieving the goals and dreams they wholly desire. Many today still have nostalgia for those days. But today, the Pokémon anime is scorned by both Pokémon and anime fans, something that gives both the franchise and the medium a bad name. What went wrong? Let us review Ash's journey throughout the years.

II. I Wanna Be the Very Best, Like No One Ever Was

According to Wikipedia, the premise or synopsis of the entire anime is this: “After he turns 10 years old, Ash Ketchum (Satoshi in Japan) is allowed to start his journey in the world of Pokémon and dreams of becoming a Pokémon master.” Remember this carefully.

So our boy Ash, despite getting up late, manages to begin a brand new journey in a new region, with Pikachu by his side, in hopes of becoming a Pokémon Master. The Pikachu, given to him by Professor Oak, at first does not get along very well with the newbie trainer; but not long after they get along very well and become a strong team. They later get joined by Brock and Misty, two people who are in charge of Pokémon Gyms, a place where trainers are tested by battling such leaders in hopes of defeating them to obtain a Gym Badge, of which eight are required to enter the Pokémon League. As Ash desires to win the league he tries hard to get these badges, all while going through some extra battling, capturing more Pokémon, visiting places, helping out strangers, and stopping Team Rocket, a trio consisting of Jessie, James and Meowth, who hope to capture his Pikachu due to their impression of how strong he is. In addition, he hopes to win his rivalry against the snobby Gary, the grandson of Professor Oak. Misty herself desires to become a Water Pokémon Master, and Brock desires to become a Pokémon Breeder.

Ash manages to get all of the Gym Badges at Kanto, though sometimes by unconventional means (he was simply going to get the Cascade Badge without a battle, he got another by making its Gym Leader laugh, and yet another by not fighting the actual Gym Leader). Nonetheless he was happy with his badges, and went off to enter the Pokémon League. Ash had a bit of struggles with his opponents, among them a long green-haired weirdo and a woman in traditional Japanese clothing with an overpowered Bellsprout. But despite those, Ash manages to win four 3v3 Pokémon matches. Ash is now in the Sweet Sixteen!

So he faces off against a trainer that isn't so different from him—he is similar in personality and fights with similar Pokémon. His name is Ritchie. Like our boy Ash, Ritchie resembled and was loosely based on Red, the protagonist of the first Pokémon games. He marked his Poké Balls with stars and gave nicknames to each of his Pokémon. He similarly had a Pikachu that was always with him by his side. He too wanted to become a good trainer. Unsurprisingly, Ash and Ritchie became good pals and always want to see each other succeed. However, the time came where the two trainers had to face each other in the tournament. The two felt conflicted, and yet were ready to engage in a battle. The two fought valiantly, but thanks to some poor refereeing and the stupidity of Ash's Charizard, Ash loses the match. He is eliminated from the tournament. Unlike his game, manga, and Pokémon Origins counterparts, Ash does not become the Pokémon Champion. Ash does not obtain his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master.

While many of us were disappointed with the outcome, plenty of us also thought, “Well, losses happen. It's okay to lose.” 255 trainers had to lose the tournament, and Ash (and Ritchie) ended up becoming one of them. Losing is part of life. Time to move on.

Little did plenty of us know that this was just the beginning of would later be an awful predicament.

III. The Long and Winding Road

After the league ended, Ash decided to continue traveling. He and his companions enter a region called the Orange Islands. Brock was replaced by an artist named Tracey, while Misty continues traveling with our protagonist. We continue to see much of the same—battles, catching Pokémon, helping strangers, Team Rocket blasting off again, and so forth. Ash gains four more badges by doing non-battle challenges, which qualifies him to enter the Orange League.

The battle was Ash against Drake in a full 6v6 battle. It was quite exciting to watch, and the great highlight was seeing Ash's Pikachu take down a mighty Dragonite, giving Ash the victory. It was not a true league however, so Ash's journey is not quite over. But hey, it's something, right? Well, not really.

So off he goes to Johto. Brock returns and replaces Tracey, who didn't really get anywhere with his goal; we're back to the original team. Meanwhile, Team Rocket continues to attempt getting Pikachu but never succeeds. The Johto saga was notorious for its heavy amount of filler, yet despite that Ash manages to get eight more badges, qualifying him to enter into the Johto League. Misty also decided to do something with her goal as she and Ash enter the Whirl Cup, a tournament where trainers are only allowed to use water-type Pokémon. Despite Misty's apparent expertise at that kind of thing, she is defeated, and thus does not really fulfill her goal in becoming a Water Pokémon Master, whatever that is. Brock continues to tag along, flirting with women along with other activities.

Eventually Ash arrives to the Johto League. He defeats a good number of opponents, among those were a girl who was heavily infatuated with him and his biggest rival Gary. But despite this great accomplishment, he gets defeated by Harrison at the quarterfinals, in a match that unlike against Ritchie, turned out to be a good loss for our hero. He got further than he did before, and was finally able to overcome Gary, who reconciled with Ash and then quit becoming as a Pokémon Trainer, joining his grandfather in his research. But Ash's adventure is far from over.

So next he arrives to Hoenn. It wasn't without a bit of controversy—Misty fans were enraged as the tomboyish mermaid was getting written out and replaced by May, who was the female protagonist of the then new Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire games. With an emotional goodbye to Misty, Ash continues his adventure, catching all sorts of new Pokémon, meeting various people, engaging in many battles, fending off Team Rocket (who continues but fails to capture Ash's Pikachu), and winning another eight badges to enter the Hoenn League. Meanwhile, May finds her own goal—become a Master Coordinator. In her attempt to reach her dream, she entered so-called Pokémon Contests, which are more or less Pokémon pet shows plus some battling, in hopes of winning some ribbons. She manages to get the five ribbons required to enter the Grand Festival, where the winner will be donned Master Coordinator.

Despite her hard work however May is defeated in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Ash himself is yet again beaten, this time by eventual Champion Tyson and his Meowth at the Hoenn League quarterfinals, yet he was able to make it that far using only his Hoenn team. But that wasn't enough for our boy. He travels on, as the journey continues!

IV. His Name was Tobias

By this point, Ash had become an experienced player. He, Brock and May return to Kanto and do stuff; May tries again with her goal but fails a second time, this time being defeated at the semifinals of the Kanto Grand Festival. Ash himself enters and wins the Battle Frontier, which seems to be the Pokémon equivalent of an All-Star Game or the International Champions Cup, which although impressive, was not an important competition like the regional Pokémon League. So Ash heads off to Sinnoh.

May (and her forgettable brother) get written out without getting their goals accomplished and Dawn, the female protagonist of the Gen IV Pokémon games, now takes the spotlight. Brock tarries on longer, practically getting relegated to a shadow of what he used to be. Team Rocket still stalks Ash in hopes of getting that Pikachu of his, yet again they do not succeed. More of the usual happens—Ash captures Pokémon, Ash does more battling, Ash wins some badges, etc. Dawn, like May, desires to become a Master Coordinator. She too enters contests and despite some struggles gets the ribbons necessary to reach the Grand Festival. Unfortunately she only gets so far just to lose to rival Zoey at the finals, thus being unable to fulfill her goal. Too bad.

As for Ash, he enters a Pokémon League for the fourth time. This time he goes really far, and manages to defeat rival Paul in an epic battle that lasted three episodes, sending him to the semifinals for the first time in his history as a Pokémon Trainer. Having momentum by overcoming a fierce rival, Ash looked on his way to the long awaited victory after 13 years worth of episodes. But not so fast.

In comes a man in a cloak, named Tobias. He had swept all of his previous opponents, using a single Darkrai. Yes, Darkrai, the legendary Mythical Pokémon. This same Darkrai ended up taking about half of Ash's entire team. But Ash wasn't just going to roll over and die. With great effort, the Darkrai was finally taken down by Sceptile, yet those efforts came in vain, as Tobias sends out a second legendary Pokémon, Latios, who managed to wipe out the rest of Ash's team, though it was not without Latios himself fainting together with Pikachu.

Just when Ash looked to be on a possible road to victory, he gets crushed by this guy who has a team of multiple legendary Pokémon with him. For the fourth time in a fourth region, Ash again does not fulfill his dream. Tough luck.

Let us review the premise of the anime again: “After he turns 10 years old, Ash Ketchum (Satoshi in Japan) is allowed to start his journey in the world of Pokémon and dreams of becoming a Pokémon master.” For some reason, the writers felt that they didn't really want to have Ash make any further progress towards that goal, and as a way to do that, we get a God-mode trainer that stands in his way, one I would like to call a pastiche of players who enter Pokémon Leagues using legendary Pokémon in the games. So Tobias just comes into the anime as a plot device who only exists to do just that, halting the fulfillment of the premise of the anime by defeating Ash with overpowered legendary Pokémon. It is quite disastrous. But hey, to those who looked on the bright side, Ash proved himself to be the second strongest Pokémon Trainer by performing best against the eventual Champion Tobias. Surely, this could mean that Ash could make progress towards his dream and win the next league at Unova, right?

Nope, instead it would only get worse. Much, much worse.

V. You're Such a Little Kid!

Brock more or less outstayed his welcome, having been relegated to a mere background character and did almost nothing towards fulfilling his goal of becoming a Pokémon Breeder. So he changes his goal to become a Pokémon Doctor instead, and then is subsequently axed from the show without really seeing him become one. As for Dawn, she was going to go with Ash but suddenly gets written out thanks to some unforeseen circumstance. So despite her popularity Dawn too gets axed, and she becomes the third Poké Girl who doesn't reach her goal—Ash must be some kind of bad luck charm.

So Ash heads alone to Unova, where a new adventure awaits him. You figure that with all those strong Pokémon he's collected over the years he could finally create the team necessary to get the badges required to enter the Unova League and eventually give him the Championship win he deserves.

Oh wait, over the years is very misleading. Because at the very first episode of Best Wishes, we Ash's age retconned back to 10 by the narrator even though an anniversary scene existed in the original series. Worse, we witness a battle where his Pikachu, who just battled Latios a couple of episodes prior, faced a brand new Snivy... and lost.

Though Pikachu was partially handicapped this was still an embarrassment for our veteran trainer. It was just the beginning of the problems the Unova saga had; that one match symbolized the horrible things that were to come, resulting in many anime viewers panning it. Pikachu was made weak and Ash regressed as a trainer. Far from the guy that took on Tobias, we see Ash make some ridiculous noob mistakes like not knowing how to catch a Pokémon, not knowing about type weaknesses, scanning a Koffing as if he never knew the Pokémon. Those are not things a veteran trainer like Ash should've done; those kind of mistakes allowed Iris, a girl with insane hair with an affinity for dragon-type Pokémon, to belittle him with destructive criticism, constantly calling him a kid. She aspired to become a so-called Dragon Master but does not achieve it, making her a real hypocrite. They are accompanied by Cilan, a Pokémon Connoisseur, one that although skilled does not achieve the top rank. All while getting pursued yet again by Team Rocket, who actually changed up a bit for a short time before going back to the comedic trio that unsuccessfully attempts to get Pikachu.

The Unova League was the pinnacle of how bad the Pokémon anime had gotten. Despite the incompetence of Ash, he again manages to get eight more badges, along with other accomplishments, like being able to face Team Rocket boss Giovanni for the first time (though he got creamed hard), and witnessing the return of his powerful Charizard. So he comes into the league, takes down a few opponents, and proceeds to fight a trainer in the quarterfinals named Cameron. This should've been an automatic win for Ash, as Cameron didn't even get the required amount of badges to enter the league, and thought he could only enter five Pokémon in the match. Yet thanks to rubbish nonsense, Ash loses that match as Cameron's Riolu evolves to Lucario. Cameron proceeds to get smacked 3-6 in the semifinal match. This was followed by an arc made entirely of filler in the Decolore Islands.

It seems that all of that development Ash had prior to Best Wishes was deliberately thrown out by the writers, showing a gigantic middle finger at the premise of the anime. To those who wanted to see the anime's premise fulfilled, Best Wishes went the opposite route. In terms of fulfilling the premise of seeing Ash become a Pokémon Master, the writers have failed tremendously. It was mainly thanks to this series that the anime got the notoriety it is known for. Furthermore, the TV ratings had decreased from good to bad, where the effect had carried over to XY and now Sun and Moon.

Allow me to quote from a user in a Pokémon forum at how bad the anime had gotten:

They took everything Ash worked for (and almost won) in Sinnoh, then smacked him on a trip to Unova, where stupidity ensued. Then when Ash managed to earn eight badges with enough time left for a full conference arc, the doo-head writers wasted all of it up until the next plane ride over to Kalos.

Within Unova, Ash had lost:

His right to age

His Pikachu's experience

His ability to call out those who insult him (Such as Iris. He at least snapped at Misty a few times).

The Club Battle

The Clubsplosion

The Wishing Bell Festival

Any mutual respect Dawn had for him to Iris.

The Meloetta that followed him for a few episodes.

The Vertress Conference, along with his top 4 record, and chance to fight his intended league rival, Virgil.

Another user from the same thread said, “I’m sure it was the intention of both series that Satoshi would grow from where he started out, but whereas DP was able to show this competently, BW failed to show he went through any growth at all. And as far as I'm concerned, failing to show that growth in the main character of the show severely hurt the quality of Best Wishes and is one of the biggest reasons - though there are several outside of that - why I personally rate it the worst [series].”

At the end of the series, Iris and Cilan get written out by taking a train. But we're not finished with Ash. Oh no.

VI. You Really Are an Amazing Person

After the disaster in Unova, five-time loser Ash is back home in Pallet. Ash again has not fulfilled his dream. There goes a moment where he is pondering about his adventure, thinking about many folks in he's known in his journey—Gary, Misty, Brock, Tracey, May, Dawn, Iris, and Cilan. He also reunites with the Pokémon he's collected over plenty of time. As his dream remains as strong as ever, he heads off to Kalos in a brand new outfit along with his trusty pal Pikachu. Team Rocket continues to pursue the duo.

So when he arrives there, much to the pleasant surprise of people, and in contrast to how bad he had gotten in BW, Ash is made a strong trainer again, almost as if he picked up straight from the end of Sinnoh. By the second episode we see an epic story that involves Pikachu nearly losing his life and Ash jumping off Prism Tower to save him. He and Pikachu are accompanied by three others—Clemont, the Lumiose Gym Leader, whose goal is to gain more confidence (a noble albeit subjective goal), Bonnie, his younger sister, who desires to become a trainer in the future, and Serena, a girl whom Ash met in their childhood, who at first did not have a goal but eventually decided to become a Pokémon Performer by participating in Pokémon Showcases (which you can say are basically beauty pageants with Pokémon), in hopes of ultimately becoming Kalos Queen. In deep contrast to the treatment Ash received from Iris, everyone seemed to admire him and his qualities, both his traveling companions and his rivals (detractors call them a fan club), and for once, Ash was no longer reliant on an older guy for advice or something; he felt like he was a true leader in his group.

In the meanwhile we are introduced to a young man named Alain. He was the protagonist of the Mega Evolution specials, and desired to become the strongest trainer. He sure had power indeed; his Mega Charizard X was able to take down ten other Mega Evolved Pokémon in a row. He was accompanied by a young girl named Mairin, a beginner trainer who was in many ways the opposite of Alain, being both bubbly and clumsy at the same time.

Throughout the Kalos saga, Ash seemed like he was taking his goal very seriously; he is seen training his Pokémon often, and with great effort wins another eight badges, along with the usual affairs of fillers, catching more Pokémon, helping more strangers out, fending off Team Rocket yet again, and other activities. Serena on the other hand, gets the three Princess Keys needed to enter the Master Class, where the winner would receive the title of Kalos Queen. Yet despite her great efforts, she is defeated by reigning Kalos Queen Aria. Like all of Ash's female companions before her Serena fails to achieve her dream, this time of being Kalos Queen (all this despite a closing credits dedicated to it). She was so close yet so far. Poor girl.

Plenty of viewers saw that coming, however. But Ash on the other hand had become a really strong trainer. As a matter of fact, Ash was perhaps at the strongest he has ever been, surpassing the level he was at the end of Sinnoh. He had a solid team with him of fully evolved Pokémon (except for his trusty Pikachu of course), a team of Pokémon that had amazing accomplishments by taking on Mega Evolutions and/or Legendaries. In particular, his Greninja, whom Ash had found as a Froakie, created an enormous bond with him, to the point where he would transform into a more powerful form known as Ash-Greninja. The bond is considered so strong that Ash himself would share whatever pain Greninja received while on this form. This was prophesied by one of the Kalos Gym Leaders, Olympia, who stated that Ash and the then Frogadier that they would reach levels never seen before. The strength of Ash-Greninja gave Pokémon Champion Diantha and her Mega Gardevoir a run for their money before abruptly ending as Ash was unable to handle the Ash-Greninja's power, causing him to faint and thus be unable to battle. However, after several losses and then some subsequent words from Serena, Ash and Greninja received important development that allowed them to master the transformation, which proved to be crucial for winning that last badge.

VII. “Kalos League Victory! Ash's Greatest Decisive Battle”

With the eight badges Ash got at Kalos, he was ready to enter the Lumiose Conference. The number of entrants were quite low, only 64 I believe. Ash easily wins the first four rounds with his Pokémon, but before he was able to begin his match against his friend and rival Sawyer, he was stopped by a punk who wanted to battle him. After Ash took care of him, the punk confessed that he was saddened that he did not get the badges necessary to enter the league, and begs Ash to win for him. In front of a crowd, Ash vowed that he would win for all of those trainers who couldn't enter the league.

The semifinal against Sawyer was a hard fought battle, where it came down to Ash-Greninja vs Mega Sceptile, but Ash came down victorious despite the type disadvantage. The other semifinal on the other hand was seeing Alain destroy Louis 6-1 in embarrassing fashion. The final was going to be tough.

Ash had never made it this far in a tournament, making this the biggest match he's ever had in all his tenure as a Pokémon Trainer. Alain on the other hand didn't really care for the title or the tournament itself and only wanted to become the strongest and battle Ash and collect some energy for his boss, Lysandre of Team Flare, who was misguiding him that the energy would be used for righteous purposes. Both characters had a very strong team with them. The previews made sure to hype up this huge match, making emphasis that Ash had never beaten Alain before since they met, having lost to him twice previously although Ash was close in one of those matches. Team Rocket themselves commented in the anime that Ash could finally win one of these leagues. Would this be the time where Ash finally overcomes his rival? Will this be the time where Ash wins his first ever Pokémon League title? Watch the match to find out!

So after an intermission, the Kalos League Final commences. Although Pokémon never really had good animation, the battle scenes were beautiful to the eye and the action was epic. Ash was doing very well as a trainer, and I personally believe that the matches against Tyranitar and Metagross was undoubtedly one of Pikachu's finest moments in the entire anime. His efforts helped Ash be put into a 3v2 advantage by end of the first episode, with only Alain's Bisharp and Charizard remaining. Pikachu would continue to battle, putting on some hits on Charizard including a powerful and supereffective Thunderbolt.

Alain later withdrew Charizard after taking down Pikachu, and eventually the match came down to Ash-Greninja vs. Mega Charizard X. Having previously taken down a Mega Sceptile, Greninja was primed to take on Charizard, and was gifted with a type advantage. With his powerful bond with Ash they achieved a power that was never previously before seen, a bond far more impressive than by comparison a mere Mega Evolution. And for most of the match, it showed. Ash-Greninja was doing more of the damage against Mega Charizard X while keeping damage against him at a minimum. Stacked with the damage Pikachu had done against Mega Charizard X, Ash-Greninja appeared to be winning. We soon see Ash-Greninja perform a wild gigantic orange Water Shuriken which he is soon to throw at Mega Charizard X.

Let's pause here. Look at that beautiful thing. Look at it. Amazing. Unto many viewers, it looked to be the finishing move. It looked like victory was coming. The premise of the entire anime boiled down to this. Ash had his highs and his lows. Of all the stupid mistakes, errors and shortcomings Ash had made in the past, of all the failure he had to endure, they don't matter anymore. He was going to win that Championship. He was going to accomplish that dream of his. That Water Shuriken looked to symbolize the victory Ash deserves after 900+ episodes of experience, trials, happiness, sorrow, and accomplishments as a Pokémon Trainer. It looked to give the positive message that all of Ash's hard work, time, effort, training, teamwork, discipline, strength, endurance, speed, determination, patience, diligence, passion, desire, heart and love was finally, finally going to pay off. On we go! Kalos League Victory!

VIII. To Be Continued: The Cycle of Failure

Alain, perhaps in panic, causes Mega Charizard X to counter with a Blast Burn. A great explosion results. After the explosion, both Pokémon are seen standing. Mega Charizard shakes a bit. But Ash-Greninja falls down. Ash-Greninja reverts to his original form. Ash-Greninja fainted. Ash is out of usable Pokémon. Ash has lost the Kalos League Championship final.

Alain is awarded the Championship trophy. His Charizard is standing right there, appearing unfazed, showing that despite the improved bond Greninja actually performed worse than before. Ash is seen smiling like the good boy he is.

There are so many things wrong with what happened at that scene. This is Best Wishes level writing here. Ash had just lost the biggest match of his life, and yet he is smiling.

In contrast, let us look at three real life athletes, all who lost earlier that same year in the finals of a major sporting competition. Look at Cam Newton at Super Bowl 50. Look at Stephen Curry at the 2016 NBA Finals. Look at Lionel Messi at the Copa América Centenario. Did all three of them just move on and smile after losing those huge games? No! They all took their losses hard. Newton was so bitter that he walked out in the middle of a press conference. Curry was seen crying in the locker room. Messi temporarily quit the Argentina national soccer team. These are human responses. I can't really blame them for their actions there. I likely would've done the same thing if I were in their spots.

Ash on the other hand, seems perfectly content with his loss. To quote one guy from Reddit: “He takes it instantly. Not a single second of disappointment or frustration, even after having come so close. No human acts like that. Everyone would at least need to breath deep for a second there. But not Ash, because the narrative bends him into getting over it immediately. Poor kid.”

It is almost as he is fine with a lower standard and not fulfilling his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master. This is a massive contradiction to the premise of the anime! It makes no sense. How can people relate to this? If the writers are trying to teach that it's okay to lose, then they've failed this badly with such execution. While I agree it's okay to lose, it's also okay to feel disappointed. The anime didn't do this (and arguably didn't even do the first part either).

Let us use an altered quote of the late Roger Ebert, because it perfectly sums up my thoughts on what happened at those very moments:

I hated this scene. Hated hated hated hated hated this scene. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it.

To me, this was the absolute worst moment in all of Pokémon, and that really says something.

. . .

The league was soon interrupted by a crazy invasion by Team Flare, yet the excellent Team Flare arc and succeeding episodes could not save the disastrous conclusion of the ending: That after about 940 episodes and 20 years of anime production, Ash Ketchum is back at Pallet, still beginning a brand new journey in a new region, with Pikachu by his side, in hopes of becoming a Pokémon Master.

The reason the writers had Ash lose was clearly because they wanted to continue this anime. I can't think of anything else. The status quo was in full power in that scene. The status quo of the Pokémon anime runs a cycle like this:

Ash enters a new region with Pikachu by his side in hopes of becoming a Pokémon Master.

Ash meets the professor of the region and gets a starter Pokémon from that region.

Ash also meets some people who'll end up being his companions in the region. Some of those companions have goals of their own that they want to achieve.

Team Rocket follows Ash and his crew in hopes of obtaining the Pikachu.

Throughout the region, Ash and his companions do some Pokémon battles, enter some unimportant competitions, win some Badges or equivalent, catch some regional Pokémon, fend off Team Rocket over and over, help random strangers, etc., etc., etc.

After doing all that, Ash enters the region's Pokémon League, but despite his valiant effort, he is defeated. His companions likewise fail to win in their respective competitions.

At the end of the region, Ash's Pokémon and companions (except Pikachu) are all written out, and Ash returns to Pallet.

Ash enters a new region with Pikachu by his side in hopes of becoming a Pokémon Master... and proceeds to lose that region's League.

The consequences of the status quo results in these:

Ash does not obtain his dreams of becoming a Pokémon Master.

His companions also do not obtain their respective dreams, and will likely never do so thanks to getting written out of the anime.

Ash's Pokémon except for Pikachu also get written out despite their hard work and achievements throughout his adventure.

TRio, despite failing over and over again to obtain Pikachu or some other goal, nonetheless continue to stalk him.

Thus, any existing bonds or relationships between Ash and his Pokémon and peers are gone, because the latter groups are no longer in the anime.

Finally, the entire region becomes filler, as Ash remains in the initial state he was at the beginning of the saga—ready to start a new adventure with Pikachu by his side.

Plenty of us love to bash Ash for the repeated failings he's had and point out his mediocrity as a Pokémon Trainer. For a long time, Ash's incompetence was a pretty valid argument on why he kept losing. But this is no longer the case. It's just no longer Ash's stupidity or mediocrity, but vile and rubbish codswallop that caused him to lose. The message is really no longer “It's okay to lose” (though as far as I know the anime has never actually taught this), but rather “No matter how hard you try, you will always fail.” This is downright insulting, even for a kids' show.

The status quo has caused this Reddit post to happen after Ash's loss:

Ash lost. He lost with a smile on his face. I understand this is to show kids not to be a sore loser. It's a good lesson and I appreciate Pokemon doing it. But my feelings for the conclusion are separate from that.

I had fallen out of the anime after Diamond and Pearl. It wasn't that I didn't like it, I just wasn't really watching it. I had other shows I was watching and Pokemon just wasn't satisfying. XYZ changed that. They developed Ash's character, expanded on the world in an interesting way, upped the animation to a grand scale to make everything feel important and hyped the Kalos League like something important was going to happen. It was enthralling. It was intoxicating. It helped unite 20 years of Pokemon fans. But ultimately, this season was no different from the others. And that is when it hit me.

He is doomed to fail. Always. He will never win anything that has any importance and will never have any meaningful character development. No matter how the Pokemon anime presents itself, we will never see Ash win a meaningful event until the series is over. And that will never happen as long as it is marketable. This made me sad, more than angry. This is a kid I grew up with who I am to watch fail over and over again. This is a kid who is, by all definition, a good kid and we will never see it pay off. But he will always have a smile on his face. He takes it. He takes it like a champ. Like the champ he is destined to never be because it is marketable.

This series is somehow optimistic and sadistic at the same time. It teaches us it is okay to lose, but at the expense of this poor character who is doomed to never reach his goals or achieve his dreams until the show he is in dies.

I will likely not be continuing with the series after XYZ. Not because I doubt the next arcs will be poorly written. But because there is no longer a reason to stay invested. Thank you Pokemon anime.

Ash is not the only person who has failed to reach his dream. In the 20 years the Pokémon anime has run, his companions also all have failed to achieve their respective dreams. These are the results:

Misty has failed to become a water Pokémon Master

Brock has failed to become a Pokémon Breeder and has not become a Pokémon Doctor

May has failed to become a Master Coordinator

Dawn also has failed to become a Master Coordinator

Cilan did not become a Class S Connoisseur

Iris failed to become a Dragon Master

Serena has failed to become Kalos Queen

Failure and defeatism is the recurring theme of the anime. Failure for just about every major character. No one ever seems to win anything. For Ash's traveling companions, they get a goal, they fail at reaching the goal, and then they all get written out, never to be seen again, never ever fulfilling their goals. For the Permanent 5 (Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket), they get a goal, they fail at reaching the goal, then they fail again, and again, and again, and again, ad infinitum. All in a show full of broken promises and unfulfilled dreams. I am sick of it all.

This crap normally comes from politicians for crying out loud. I have never seen such a lack of respect for Ash the protagonist or any of its characters like this. I ask you: How on earth is this a good thing? I honestly want to know. I want answers.

What I have shared is nothing new. This is not some kind of grand revelation. It is a problem that has existed for a while. I have repeatedly said in the past how much the status quo damages the quality and reputation of the anime. The status quo is something that has bothered me and other people for years, and plenty of us wanted it gone. XYZ looked like it could finally destroy the status quo after so long. And yet the writers completely blew it. Those kids that watched the anime back in the late 1990's are adults now. Deep inside we all wanted to see Ash win. It is a very long time. The anger that resulted in the Kalos League loss is justified. One person from a forum said this:

The salt is understandable thought. It's been twenty years of loss for Ash. His goal to become a Pokemon Master is not yet fulfilled. Fans think Ash is losing his edge and he might have run past his prime without him achieving any of his goals. Thus the salt.

It's not about the sportsmanship right now. We've had five leagues for that kind of show. We need[ed] him to win badly right now.

IX. A Jobber in Alola

We now know that the anime staff (writers, directors, producers and executives) had no intention of actually making a meaningful and lasting impact on the show and instead continue to make Ash a jobber at every place he goes, bringing about all of his companions down with him. Ash and Pikachu are running around in circles now. I cannot help but believe that the writers do not really care for their audiences, both kids and older viewers; the older viewers for repeatedly angering them with bullcrap like the Kalos League loss, and the younger audiences for assuming that they're stupid and don't know any better, to the point where they can rehash the same plots from previous episodes. I honestly think they intend to please no one but themselves.

Three times has these people deliberately gone against the premise of the show for the sake of keeping the show to continue for who knows how long now. First with the existence of Tobias, second with the entire Unova saga, and third with Ash's Kalos League defeat. That's three strikes now. The fact that they could pull garbage decisions like those can very well indicate that they can continue the anime for another 20, 30, 50, or even 100 years, with Ash never fulfilling his goal. I hate this show now. Hate it. It breaks my heart to see my childhood show come to this. I never thought that after watching XYZ it would come down to me hating this show. Believe me, I truly detest this anime.

If they continue this approach, then there is no point to speculating what will happen in the Sun and Moon anime, no point in what character will get what Pokémon, no point in what character development will come, no point in discussing how a battle will turn out. What's the point of discussing what'll happen to Rowlet and Lillie (just to give two examples) if they're only going to get written out in the end? If they just get thrown out just like every other character and Pokémon (except of course for the Permanent 5), then there is no point to their existence in the anime; hence, no reason to talk about them. Nothing matters. I was modded for posting about this in some threads at another forum, where the moderator said to me that I was “forcing [a] nihilist mindset onto others”, but it seems that the “nihilist mindset” is truly the case for this anime.

Whatever merits the Sun and Moon anime may have, it is not worth seeing a show where the premise seems to take a backseat to comedy (never mind that comedy was never the main focus of the anime). It is not worth seeing Ash run and around in circles and lose again. I will go and make a prediction: Ash will not become a Pokémon Master in this saga.

I feel that as Pokémon fans we deserve better than this embarrassment. We as a fandom deserve a better anime than this. We really should be watching a good show instead of one that has debased itself so badly it may go down as one of the biggest wastes in animation history.

To use a quote from a Yahoo user (misspellings corrected):

Unfortunately, the Pokémon [anime] has ended up in repeated cycle that has irked many fans. What could have been a great coming of age story has devolved into bad writing and characters that has now earned Pokémon in the cesspool of other anime that would have great like Sword Art Online or Guilty Crown. Mars of Destruction only wishes it could be this bad.

Plenty of these essays typically come with a solution to the problem. Time would fail to tell me the many, many ways they could've improved this. After all, wouldn't the show be so much better and more interesting had Ash actually won that Kalos League final? I wish I could translate this essay into Japanese and send this straight to TV Tokyo so they could know about how I and thousands of others feel about the anime. Sadly, I feel powerless right now and have no choice but to acknowledge the existence of the continued anime: an endless and ultimately worthless adventure of an allegedly eternal 10-year-old.

The worst thing about all this is the fact that people are willing to go to far lengths to defend this tripe. I'll briefly counter a few common arguments:

1. It's a kids' show. Being a kids' show is no excuse for bad writing.

2. It's a 20-minute advertisement. Being an advertisement for the games is no excuse for a bad show. Pokémon Adventures alone disproves these first two excuses.

3. The anime is teaching kids it's okay to lose. Except I don't believe it ever actually did this. Even then, with a goal like Ash's, you're supposed to win after. Losing once for a protagonist is okay; losing twice is pushing it; losing six times is unacceptable.

4. The term “Pokémon Master” was never defined. While it's true that the anime hasn't exactly explained what a Pokémon Master really is, the fact that Ash is trying to win these leagues should give us a good idea, at least by the anime's definition. At the very least, winning a league is a step, and thus required, in his path to becoming a Pokémon Master. If you're telling me that's not the way to go and that the whole thing is a red herring instead, then that makes this show even worse than it already is.

5. If Ash won that finals match, then the anime would have to end. Have this quote:

Yeah I'm sure everyone would have loved the ****ing Rocky movies if Rocky lost his rematch to Apollo, lost to Clubber Lang, and then lost to Drago. Winning is not the end. Winning is a new beginning. You guys think Alain is gonna stop trying to get stronger now that he won? Nope. When you get invested in a character whose sole goal is winning, eventually they need to ****ing WIN.

If there ever was a time, this would be the ideal time to make Ash win the Pokemon league.

And even if we granted this argument, is that really a problem? The status quo problem should've never existed in the first place, and should've been eliminated a long time ago. Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket have all outstayed their welcome and should've been written out by now. Why does the anime still need them? Since the writers are willing to boot everyone else out, they may as well replace Ash with a new protagonist, give him/her a Pikachu or some other Pokémon, and replace Team Rocket with another comedic team. Plenty of other animes do something like that; no reason why Pokémon can't do the same.

6. It's all about the journey, not the destination. This one gets two quotes. Here's the first:

I'm still trying to understand this 'true message of the anime' without remembering that Ash fought on so many leagues before with the sole intention of winning them, even the most recent one.

I don't see any problem in focusing on the 'journey', but...slapping your audience with wrong expectations is not the right way to do it, I don't blame the salty fans for this (the name of the episode, all the foreshadowing, character development, even the moves...).

And the second:

The journey IS the destination, though. If they wanted to focus on the journey, they shouldn't have even BOTHERED giving Ash a goal in the first place. In fact, just have him say he doesn't care about winning or even having a goal, just having an adventure, like Sonic does, or even that old adage about how it doesn't matter if you win or lose, but just getting out there to play the game. Instead, Ash has an explicitly stated goal, and the entire point of even HAVING a goal is to achieve it. And in order to achieve it, one needs to actually REACH the destination.

If the journey was truly the true message of the anime, they should NEVER have given Ash a goal in the first place. I know if I were writing the series and that was the intended message of the anime, I'd make SURE Ash and the others NEVER give a goal other than 'hey, this sounds like fun' specifically to REINFORCE how it was never about the destination (no goal = no destination). Heck, even Dragon Ball doesn't have Goku having an explicit goal of becoming the absolute greatest Martial Arts Master, just the best he can be. Heck, considering that he constantly resets at the end of each region and doesn't seem to retain much of what he learned, we can't even say it follows through the intended theme anyways (if it did, Ash would have actually RETAINED what he had learned and not have his Pikachu especially undergo level resets), since even under the argument that it was the journey that matters, not the destination, he needs to actually RETAIN that knowledge he gained on the journey for the journey to truly matter.

Even ignoring all of that, however, it's not like if Ash actually beats Alain, he's finished. Remember, DP revealed that even if he won the Sinnoh League, he'd still need to challenge the Elite 4 and Champion before he can truly become Champion. They could have had him beat Alain, yet lose against an Elite 4 member, so that he technically beats a league, yet still has work to do before Ash truly manages to succeed in his goal.

Instead, we most likely have to wait until Generation VIII before he even HAS a chance to accomplish his goal.

X. Closing Remarks

Long ago I felt very underwhelmed about Pokémon Sun and Moon after seeing some early footage of it. Since then, I went from being underwhelmed to being on the fence when it came to getting the game. I determined that I would get the game if one of two conditions were fulfilled. One of them was to see Ash win the Kalos League. It would've been my way to thank the writers for giving my childhood hero the victory he finally deserves. But because that didn't happen, I will not get the game. (This may actually become a blessing in disguise if the Pokémon Stars rumor for the Nintendo Switch ends up being true; I'll just get that instead.) Unfortunate, but I want to stay true to my word.

I cannot in good conscience watch a show where there exists a premise of Ash desiring to reach his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master, yet instead we see him and Pikachu running around in circles, forever chased by Team Rocket, and where everyone else—from Gary, Butterfree and Duplica to Jessebelle, Greninja and Serena—all get axed out of the anime without making even a hint of a permanent dent. Seeing Ash lose over and over again is the opposite of what I and many others wanted from this anime. I hate it.

So if the anime tries to lure you with a premise about a kid hoping to reach his dreams of becoming a Pokémon Master, with little critters and legendary creatures, along with flashy battles, humorous scenes, worthy goals and cute girls, I implore you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLKDV-_SCBs

Now that is one quality cartoon.

. . .

Now what was the other condition? I will confess it: It was to see Ash and Serena together in a romantic relationship. I am a so-called Amourshipper; however I concede that thanks to Serena getting axed out of the anime, where it continues Ash's adventure with Sun and Moon, Amourshipping is dead. You win, critics. But know that it came at a heavy, heavy cost.

However, allow me to close my post with this dialogue between Ash and Serena from the 40th episode of Pokémon XY. Regardless of what you may think of Serena and Amourshipping, please put your love or hatred for them aside and read the passage below:

Ash: I hope the PokéVision turns out good.

Serena: Yeah.

Ash: You see, I have a feeling that what I do at this camp might help me in my battles.

Serena: Yesterday's fishing tournament and today's PokéVision, too?

Ash: Of course! I don't think anything is pointless. Everything on our journey will lead up to victory at the Kalos League. That's why I need to work a lot harder.

Serena: You're already working hard, Satoshi. You do plenty enough.

Ash: Nah. I still have a long way to go. My dream won't come true like this.

Serena: Your dream is...

Ash: ...to become a Pokémon Master.

Serena: I see. You really are amazing, Satoshi.

I admit it, I thought all this really meant something when it was first aired. I really did. I sure was deceived.

TL;DR – Although the Pokémon anime's premise is to see Ash become a Pokémon Master, the writers have repeatedly failed to fulfill or make any progress towards it when there was ample opportunity to do so, instead making huge, lasting decisions in the story to ensure that premise doesn't happen. Ash's repeated failures and subsequent move to a new region renders everything he does pointless. None of Ash's actions ever amount to anything in the end.

Well, time for some eggnog. That's all, folks!

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cacoethess-scribendi · 6 years

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TWENTY SEVENTEEN.

What a year.

A year of growth, love, heartache, identity, learning, happiness, travel, challenges, friendship, and everything in between.

I began the year in Colorado, celebrating the new year with the Siegerts - snowboarding at Loveland, hiking the mountains after a blizzard, and four wheeling around their yard.

From there I returned home to enjoy more crazy nights with the babe cave and focused on school and growing my art during awkward seasonal change. I became closer with Bree and visited Jess at her pageant by my self in Onalaska.

I was feeling a need for change and cut my hair in half on January 22nd. I did it myself and felt extremely clean, but was very nervous. I feel like doing this at the beginning of the year was a reflection of what would come with the year. Being so used to something, then taking my own scissors to it, letting go, and learning how to start fresh and learn to accept the new.

I began to work closer with KJP as a remote intern. I was hired to do a valentines day photoshoot with Marin. We got a free night at the Charmant Hotel and my photos were admired by KJP, Jeremy, and Sarah themselves.

Jake came to visit La Crosse for the first time. We did an escape room and I showed him around for a few days. He sent my a dozen roses and a long letter for Valentines Day. During this time I was scrambling to find a way to get out of UWL for a semester and applied to be in NSE.

Kelsey and I had the privilege to watch Theresa Caputo live at Mystic, and it opened my eyes to heaven, loved ones, and how fragile and special life is.

I visited TCU and met the infamous house puppy. We made home cooked meals and visited an art museum together.

In March I took another trip to Ixtapa, my 11th time I believe, with my family, Haley, and Maya. We took amazing photos, partied on a private boat, and the BVG staff treated us to four coconuts with hibiscus flowers. It was here that I got the shocking news that I was placed at Rhode Island College.

After that, Jake visited again and we went north to my cabin. We played in the put-put tournament and spent time with the aunts and uncles.

I started working on an app called Sipp and won an entrepreneurship award. I helped with marketing, strategy, and went to meetings with lawyers and owners of restaurants. I had drinks with executives and was in conversation with the marketing department of Brothers. This was a huge part of my spring semester.

Then I went to TCU again for Jake’s last SigEp formal. We dressed to the nines and partied with all of their friends. We had dinner in downtown Fort Worth in a skyscraper and drank lots of drinks. This was an absolute blast.

Finally spring rolled around and I turned 21! Finally! After a year of having to be cautious, I could finally go out downtown. I had the biggest surprise of my life that day, when Jake walked into my party and gave me the biggest hug. I still can’t believe that happened. Haley chauffeured him down and we got a short 20 hours together.

Immediately after my last final, I flew to TCU to spend the weekend with the Siegerts and watch Jake graduate. It was a very exciting weekend with so much joy. We spent time with Yvonne and her kids, and partied the celebration away at the local bars. Dick and Lisa took us out to an insanely expensive dinner and we laughed and did high-low-ha’s around the table.

From there, Jake and I drove all of his belongings up through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and into Nebraska. We were greeted at the lake house with an incredible sunset and a new boat to take a cruise on. After bike rides and lots of cards, we drove through Iowa into Minnesota to spend time with my family. We took a tour of Summit Brewery and Jake met my hometown friends at the speakeasy. We took photos together with Whitley and went to a Twins game. It was amazing. Little did I know that this would be the last time I saw him.

Over Memorial weekend I went to the cabin for one last piece of MN before I took off onto the biggest adventure of my life thus far.

Rhode Island.

I’m still not sure how to put all of this and my emotions into words, but here’s my best shot. I arrived at the airport alone with my things and got picked up by Jeremy. We immediately drove to Massachusetts to check up on the sweaters they were about to launch. I went to the factory and met Kiel, Sarah, and Dave, and then was sent to my hotel room in downtown Providence. I had no idea what was going on.

The next day I found myself on the southern coast of Rhode Island with my feet in the sand, saying a big hello to the Atlantic ocean. The beach was empty and I walked around for a bit. This was the day I met Sophie and us three bonded over how much we despised the landlord of our new home.

We moved in and for the week I drove to the factory in Jeremy’s station wagon Mercedes. I got the feeling for URI, Narragansett, and hung out with Taylor Pennell. This is when I met Newport. I explored around Jamestown by myself and instantly fell in love with Beavertail State Park. I took a weekend trip home to shoot a beautiful wedding in Duluth. Jake and I began having distance issues at this point because we didn’t know when we would see each other next. Jake was beginning a new 60 hour/wk job, and I couldn’t leave on weekends due to KJP events.

I was so excited to return to RI, where I spent time building the new store, starting to be a part of photoshoots and then met Merle. That weekend I had the privilege to meet Cape Cod with the KJP crew. They threw a huge party with the Keel Vodka people and I finally got to show off my skills. We ate oysters, drank way too much champagne and ran around the hotel like kids. Kiel treated us to sushi and took us bar hopping. It was insane, in the best way. On this trip we met Abbey and Windsor, two bloggers from Boston that invited us to visit.

Made it to Boston. It was a quick day trip, but they were determined to give us the best experience. Dave and I went with Charlie and his girlfriend Katie. We walked around the entire city, took the subway just to say we did it, made it to little italy and got to see all of the historic sites. SUCH a cool city. Ended the trip there with a sunset on a pier overlooking the skyline.

A few days later I walked in the house to see two people that I’d only known from photos and texts for the last two years. Erick Dent and Jacob True. I had no idea how much these people were about to change my perspective on living. I walked in the door and was immediately shocked at how tall Erick was when he gave me a hug, I had the absolute biggest smile on my face. I remember shaking because this day had been talked about for so many years and it was finally happening. It’s a very unique feeling to have known someone for so long, and then finally meet in person and see them in your living room. Starstruck is my best way to explain it. We had dinner at my favorite restaurant in town, The Coast Guard House. There was an incredible sunset, we ate right on the water with the salty air, and watched a baby whale play in the bay.

From there, we woke up at sunrise to capture the morning rising over the Atlantic. We all sat at the Point Judith cliff, waved hello to the sun, and took lots of photos. From there we walked out on the Jetty’s and watched Erick fly fish and catch one! Days from here consisted of several trips to Newport, where we would eat meals at The Landing and get Daiquiris. The first day we all ordered one, we were crying laughing because we were drunk off life and some pink smoothies. It was so. much. fun.

Our group took the old cars to Second Beach in Newport where we got to hang out at the Newport Film Festival for the first time. Kiel had a sponsored post for Land Shark, and they were just starting to release their “Newport” crewnecks so we spent a lot of time on the beach shooting. Sarah was pregnant so she sat back in the cars with Sophie, Jeremy, and Merle. Once the sun started to set and the documentary (Under An Arctic Sky by Chris Burkard) was about to begin, Erick pulled me aside and motioned towards the beach. The two of us ran barefoot out to the beach, where it was empty except for a few lifeguard chairs. It was our first real second alone together and it was such a fun time to catch up and finally get to shoot together after so many years. We ran up to the lifeguard stand and took photos with the sunset and he let me wear his hat. I remember my jaw dropping and being so excited because nobody had taken such cool photos of me before. It was one of my favorite moments of the summer.

The next day we all went out to shoot a bit, watched some more fly fishing, and we found crabs all over the rocks! We picked them up and took fun photos and videos with them. We took more trips to Point Judith for sunsets and Crazy Burger runs with Dave’s friend Charlie Turchetta. One day we went out of our way to take photos of the KJP bracelets because we knew it would make Kiel happy. We searched all over for fun props to use, but we couldn’t find anything. Jacob and I walked with our heads down back to Erick on the rocks, where he stood with live starfish in his hand. We flipped. Well, I flipped. We ended up finding at least 15 of them and got the most fun photos ever. I could feel them all moving on my legs, and I was at an all time high.

The Eno’s were set up from the tree to the car almost every day when we got home. All of the roommates would sit outside, telling stories, editing, listening to music, drinking, and swinging. We spent so much time soaking up our little Fortin yard, I will never take that place for granted. It gave us so many conversations, laughs, and “little” moments.

Somewhere in here, Erick broke up with Olivia and we sat out on the rocks in front of the coast guard house several nights in a row for HOURS just talking about anything and everything. It was so peaceful. We watched tides rise and fall.

The day before Dave’s birthday, we got to take Kiel and Sarah’s spots at the Oliver Hazard Perry Newport Owners event. We had a strict dress code, and walked up to a booth where our names were on the list. Immediately after arrival we were greeted with pear champagne and lots of old rich people. Needless to say, we were way out of place. But damn was that one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. This was the day I found out Erick liked me. We had a wonderful dinner as a band played for all of us. We were a little past tipsy at this point and all began to dance. I taught Erick how to dance and it was such a blast. We sat down at a high top to take a breather and an older woman walked up to us, looks at Erick, and says “You’re a lucky guy.”

On Dave’s birthday, Erick bought us all tickets to go to Block Island. We woke up early, and rented mopeds as we arrived to the island. We drove them all over with the wind blowing in our hair and the bright green bluffs surrounding us. We stopped at all the local beaches, and then biked to the final bluffs. Wow, was that a view. The stairway to the ocean left me speechless. We walked all along the rocky beach and just enjoyed each other’s company. We ended the day with Coldstone and a trip to the local bar.

A few days before the 4th, we watched fireworks with thousands of other people off the Jamestown bay with the Newport bridge lit up in the background and a massive American flag blowing in the wind. The real 4th was spent first at Carlton’s lake, wake boarding and taking a dip in the water. From there we all went to Kiel’s and had a huge float party, lit fireworks off the dock, drank with friends, and I said cheers to the first month of my summer in RI.

I spent July at home with my family, shooting weddings and seniors back to back to make some extra money. My 420 roommates visited MN for a day and I got to enjoy a lunch with them at Starks. I saw Bree again, and spent more time at the cabin with my family singing and dancing our asses off at birdies.

At the end of July, I picked Erick and Jacob up from the MSP airport so they could help me shoot a wedding. We took a quick stop at the cabin to shoot some Great Lakes swimsuits at the mine pits. From there we made the long road trip back to RI.

It started in La Crosse, where the boys met the girls and we took some photos at granddads. We then drove to Chicago and spent a night there. Most of the time was spent walking around admiring the city and shooting. The next day we drove 13 hours straight back to Rhode Island and tried not to go crazy in the car.

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massthetics-blog · 7 years

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New Post has been published on MASSthetics

New Post has been published on http://massthetics.net/peak-week/

The Road to Nationals – Tweaking Through Peak Week

Ahh, Peak Week. What a week to be alive.

Also known as the week before stepping on stage in which you try a whack of voodoo and magic tricks, thus ruining everything you worked for over the past 4-6 months. On the other hand, you can be ready well in advance, focus on keeping your stress levels low, and cruise onto the stage by staying the course, and making minor adjustments as needed.

This encapsulation of my final days leading up to stepping upon the Canadian National Bodybuilding stage began with a simple desire to document the process to provide a frame of reference for future competitions, and to allow the lessons learned during the process to sink in.

From that germ of an idea, it spread into an ongoing series of which I shared with the community of brothers and sisters-in-swole that make up Mullan’s Meatheads. As the week went on, I came to realize that there were valuable lessons and interesting insights amongst the daily meatheaded musings of this peak week, and I’d be remiss to not compile all these “diary” entires into a singular blog post.

Which is what you’re about to read below. Enjoy.

6 Days Out – A primer on peak week

To kick this off, let’s clear up exactly what peak week is.

In the competitive bodybuilding world, “peak week” refers to the final 6-8 days leading up to stepping on stage, in which you (typically) will pull back on training, cardio, do what you need to do in order to make your weight class (if needed), deplete yourself to the best of your ability, then “fill out” for the the big day.

Peak week will almost assuredly go one of two ways, depending on your approach.

If you fall victim to the countless shiny tactics and seemingly brilliant peak week ideas out there, you will fuck up your physique.

You’ll come in flat, watery, and empty on stage, often while battling a whack of negative side effects while trying to keep it together onstage. When you’re this damn lean, the smallest of details can have a powerful impact, and it’ll show.

If you do it right?

You’ll practically cruise onto the stage, and pull off presenting a tight, dry, and full physique. For the record, “doing it right” essentially means being “ready” 10-14 days in advance, do nothing drastic or stupid, and making small adjustments each day to fine-tune things leading up to the stage. Which is one step a lot competitors miss. Many fall victim to thinking that peak week will bring out loads of magical muscle detail or be the week they drop those last bits of body fat.

If you’re not stage-ready in time for peak week, you will not be ready come show day. Simple as that.

You often hear of competitors lamenting afterwards about not being able to get “the last bit of water out” or some such excuse. The reality of the statement?

You weren’t lean enough, you weren’t ready in time.

In my case, I was in the fortunate position of being “ready” since the 3 week mark rolled around, and being ready so early made the final stages of this prep incredibly smooth, and relatively enjoyable.

My peak week began with a trial run of how my body would respond to filling out. This meant 5 meals, spread 3 hours apart, each consisting of 20 grams of protein, 50 grams of carbs, and trace fats.

Weight was checked 2 hours after each meal, and pictures taken after the 3rd meal. Water was kept stable at 6 litres, and salt at 1/4 tsp in each meal.

Last year I had the utter *pleasure* of having to drop roughly 10 pounds in the final week to squeeze into my weight class. Needless to say, both my peak weeks last year were utter hell. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like such a bag of trash, or waste of space as I did in those final days. To make such a big cut, I was doing 2 cardio sessions, training, 3-4 blazing hot epsom salt baths per day, and eating paltry amounts of protein and veggies. No carbs, no fats, no life in my body.

This year, I had 7lbs to drop, and plenty of time to do so. Instead of depleting water and sodium like last year, given how responsive my body has been, it was as simple as “switching off” food the day before and of weigh-ins, while pulling back on water, and a few rounds of epsom salt baths the day before and morning of weighing in.

As for today, it was business as usual:

One fasted 40 minute cardio session in the morning.

A quick and dirty chest & triceps session in the afternoon.

220g protein, 10g fat, and no carbs spread over 5 meals.

All of the coffee.

Extra focus placed on keeping stress low (if there was ever a key to peak week, it’s this).

5 Days Out – I’m riding an energetic high

Okay, now that we’re on the same page with what peak week actually is, and the role it plays in stepping on stage, we can get right into what went down today.

In terms of activity, today consisted of 40 minutes of fasted steady-state cardio in the morning, and a real quick (took me about 35 minutes) back & biceps session in the afternoon.

The underlying goal with training during peak week is not about building muscle (that ship sailed away many weeks ago). Instead, it’s about getting a quick pump, steering clear of muscular failure, aiding nutrient partitioning, then getting the hell outta there.

From a nutrition standpoint, I was able to eat a whopping 50 grams. Which turned out to be the setup for the next two days, and I kept my sources strictly to jasmine rice or potato as stressing my digestive system is the last thing I want to do at this point.

As it was for the past few days, I was still drinking 6-7L of water each day, and bumped that up to 7.5L at 4 days out.

Mentally, it was a great day, and to be honest…I truly cannot complain. My energy levels were up (relatively speaking). Although, that could have been the 4 delicious coffees I drank. The weather was absolutely fantastic, and I was excited to train (which is rare at this point).

All things being considered, I was quite happy with how things were shaping up at 5 days out.

To loosely quote @andyfrisella, "How you *feel* is irrelevant. What you *do* in spite of how you feel is what matters and drives you forward." • At this point, all the fasted cardio, training, and running on zero carbs aren't leaving me feeling like a million bucks. But in just over 5 days, every single moment will have been worth it. Besides, at the end of the day, contest prep is a fascinating process to go through. End half-baked, brain-fog-heavy thought. #roadtonationals #thewanderingmeathead #picklepump • • • • • #massthetics #masstheticsclan #doyouevenlift #meatheadproblems #teammpt #legworkouts #legday #gymflow #gymrat #bodybuilding #truenutrition #ironrebel #CBBFF #BCABBA #mirin #instabodybuilding #gains #quadzilla #swole #trainhard #shredded #bodybuildingnation #meathead #fitfam #muscle #elitefts #bodybuildinglife

A post shared by Get Swole with Alex Mullan (@alexmullan13) on Jun 25, 2017 at 5:12pm PDT

4 Days Out – …and the high rolls on

Today was a goddamn whirlwind.

Between having my second-to-last session of cardio (now down to 30 minutes fasted) and training (a quick 40 minute chest & delts blast), a trip to the barbers, prepping meals for the next day, grabbing last minute supplements, and finding my way to the airport, I didn’t have a chance to stop and breathe until waiting for my plane to board.

Quick note on going to the barber: one of my favourite parts of peak week, and something I find is quite underrated is the things you do to bring your swagger back, and get some life into your body. For me, this is a fresh haircut, taking care of all hair removal a few days in advance, making sure I’m not out of any personal care items, and doing what I can to ensure my skin is on point for when the tanner goes on. As I’ve said before, the details matter, and when you *know* you look good, it goes a long way towards helping you *feel* good as well. They feed into each other, and often bring forth some momentum and excitement.

Moving on.

Despite the added layers of complexity added, I loved the fact that the days leading up to the show were jam-packed. Between a quick trip “home” for my sister’s graduation, the grad festivities themselves, and travelling back and forth, Saturday came in the blink of an eye.

I’ll be honest — I’m not entirely sure how my energy levels were riding so strong at this point, but I wasn’t complaining.

Tomorrow was slated to be my final bout of cardio and last training session before I pull both, and focus on recovery and getting rid of any remaining inflammation. Best of all, given that I’ll was back in the town I grew up in, I was able to close out The Road to Nationals at my “home” gym.

Took a quick break amidst all the graduation festivities to squeeze in my final training session of prep. Many thanks to the fine folks at @fitnessexcellence for letting me have my way with their weights today. Being able to wrap up this prep at my "home gym" seems rather fitting. • Now it's time to shift the focus to recovering, making weight, then filling back up for Saturday morning. #roadtonationals #thewanderingmeathead #sweetswollenbiceps • • • • • #massthetics #masstheticsclan #doyouevenlift #meatheadproblems #teammpt #legworkouts #legday #gymflow #gymrat #bodybuilding #truenutrition #ironrebel #CBBFF #BCABBA #mirin #instabodybuilding #gains #quadzilla #swole #trainhard #shredded #bodybuildingnation #meathead #fitfam #muscle #elitefts #bodybuildinglife

A post shared by Get Swole with Alex Mullan (@alexmullan13) on Jun 28, 2017 at 4:33pm PDT

Thanks to strategic amounts of coffee, being constantly on the move today, and having 7.5L of water to drink, appetite wasn’t much of an issue at this point. That being said, the gate for my flight was sandwiched between a Chili’s and some shop that sells ice cream cookie sundaes.

…

Fuck me, right?

3 Days Out – Meathead Mullan gets emotional, and the work is done

As I predicted, today was yet another whirlwind, but in the best of ways.

Things began on a great note by waking up to my body having dumped 2 pounds overnight, and noticeably tightening up.

In my eyes, this boded well for dropping the remaining 6 pounds I needed to lose by Friday afternoon in that I *shouldn’t* have to do anything drastic to make it happen.

As I mentioned yesterday, today was the day my sister graduates from high school.

I'm one proud meathead of a big brother right now, and this photo shall go down as one of my all-time favourites. • Over the past few years, watching @florencemullanfraser grow from being my timid and shy little sister into the confident, hard-working, glowing, and gorgeous woman standing next to me has been an incredible experience, and I'm grateful to have been a part of it. • If you don't have a little sister, I truly believe that you're missing out. Much love to you, Florence. #meatheadmusings #ohana #sistergains

A post shared by Get Swole with Alex Mullan (@alexmullan13) on Jun 29, 2017 at 12:05pm PDT

How she has grown to be 18, in charge of her life, and absolutely stunning if I may so, is utterly beyond me.

After kicking the day off with my usual coffee and an hour or so of work, I rolled out to the gym for my final cardio session of prep.

Since I seem to enjoy making things more complex and tight for time than they need to be, today was also the day I decided to make the shift from a normal human with body hair, to having absolutely none aside from what sits on my head. Enter the two-and-a-half-hour waxing appointment I crammed into the morning.

After going through the awful chore of using shitty razors and sitting in tepid bathwater for two hours on two occasions last year, there wasn’t a chance in hell I was going through that again. Not to mention the fact I don’t have the luxury of having someone around to shave the areas I can’t reach, which is quite literally half of me, this year.

So, waxing it was.

Fun story from my waxing appointment: when it came time to do my legs, I asked if I could sit up so that I could knock back a litre of water and eat a meal. Talk about being a fucking meathead. Thankfully my aesthetician was having a blast, and more than happy to oblige. Meatheads gotta do what a Meatheads gotta do.

Moving on.

I made it back to my parents in the nick of time for the photographer to show up so we could all parade around in fancy clothes and take beautiful pictures. Honestly, I thought I would hate it. Turns out it wasn’t so bad. Probably something to do with the momentous day that it is.

Once we wrapped up the photos, my sister headed off to take *more* pictures with her friends at a park, and it was time to knock out the final training session of prep.

Training today consisted of about 30-40 minutes of back, delts, and biceps work. My sole intention was to get in, pose, get a nice little pump, then get the hell out. Mission accomplished.

In terms of food, today was the same as yesterday.

220g protein, 50g carbs (WOOOO), absolutely zero fats.

That’s about it for today. I’ve got my final two meals prepped (protein and veggies), water bottles filled (2 more lifters to drink), and I’m off to watch ‘lil sis accept her diploma and all that jazz.

Tomorrow brings an early-ish flight back to Edmonton, and more weight to drop.

Then the fun shall truly begin…

2 Days Out – A cascade of excitement

After a day chock-full of my sister’s grad festivities, putting in the final two sessions of “work,” and getting set for the home stretch, I figured I’d be absolutely exhausted at this point.

But, in a probably not-so-surprising turn of events, I’m absolutely brimming with excitement, ecstatic with how my body has been responding this week, and without my usual evening “medication,” I could barely sleep last night.

Eventually, as it always does, morning came.

This morning consisted of my standard routine:

Wake up, rub the sleep out of my eyes, then stumble to the bathroom to check my morning weight (170.0 pounds today).

Take a fresh set of progress pictures, then get right to making coffee.

While drinking said coffee I fired off my pictures, weight, and relevant notes to my coach, then move onto writing my daily email to the MASSthetics Clan.

Today I knocked out another 45 minutes or so before prepping two meals to travel with, finishing off packing, and chatting with my Mom, then it was off to the airport.

6 or so hours later, I touched down in Edmonton.

Knowing what’s to come over the next few days, I purposely didn’t plan much for the rest of the day aside from getting groceries for tomorrow (hello, delicious carbs), a couple of espressos, and prepping my first few meals for after tomorrow’s weigh-ins. Oh, and all of the posing practice.

Now for some fun stuff.

Here’s the plan to get there:

My last meal for today will be at 8pm, and I’m cutting water around 10pm (Still at 9.5L today, which is not fun when travelling).

With my last meal I’ll be taking a double-dose of an OTC diuretic to help flush out any remaining water.

The final hour before I go to bed is going to consist of four 10 minute, piping-hot epsom salt baths, with about 5 minutes of “rest” in between.

As for what I’ll be doing in the morning to drop more weight if need be, nothing is set in stone aside from another dose of the diuretic upon waking.

That being said, at this point the plan can change at a moments notice, which means I’m in constant contact with my coach, assessing things, and hashing out the best course of action.

All in all, I’m very happy with how I’m looking, feeling, and how damn responsive my body is being.

As I’ve said before, this prep has been a relative breeze, a tremendous learning experience, as well as night and day in comparison to last year.

1 Day Out – I made weight by the skin of my teeth, and the “loading” is on

As I assumed would happen, the festivities throughout the week combined with putting the finishing touches on prep has made this week go by in the blink of an eye.

Truthfully, I’m struggling with the fact that after a year of working towards this one show, the work is now done, and tomorrow is the big dance.

I’m quite possibly the most exhausted I’ve been, aside from a few select days, during this entire process from start to finish. It’s all beginning to hit me, and even though I’ve got another meal to fit in tonight, I can’t wait to get some sleep.

Today, though, began by waking up an unsavoury 3 pounds above where I needed to be, extremely thirsty, yet still excited.

In effort to get rid of the last bit of weight before heading for weigh-ins and registration, back to pulsing Epsom salt baths for 90 minutes it was.

All the athletes from Team BC met at noon to grab our team jackets, and get a few group photos. Then began what I’ve found to be the most painful part: registration and weighing in.

Picture this: an entire room (if memory serves, there was around 350-400 competitors) jam-packed with hungry, dehydrated, exhausted meatheads all waiting to move through weigh-ins and registration in order to start filling out for tomorrow.

It’s a messy situation to say the least. Thankfully I had an idea this would be the case, managed to get near the front, and only had to wait 90 minutes to get through the process. Those poor souls who showed up late…

Weighing in itself was much more nerve-wracking than I would have liked. Throughout the morning I did all I could, and left at the last possible moment. Yet I was still sitting about a pound above where I needed to be.

After a lovely, slow, brutal waiting process, it was finally my turn to step on the scale. At first step, the scale settled at 165.0 on the dot where it froze for a moment, then dropped to 164.5.

Out the 3 shows I’ve competed at, this has been the closest I’ve been to the limit, most uncertain I’ve been of whether I’d make it or not, and also with the largest consequences hanging in the balance. By that I mean being at the bottom of a weight class at the national level is not a favourable position.

Without about 90 seconds of stepping off the scale I’d down a can of coconut water, 750ml of water, and was finally able to start the process of filling out.

These were the meals I ate to fill out:

2 ounces ground chicken + rice + 3 rice cakes (15g protein, 85g carbs, trace fats)

2 ounces ground chicken + Japanese sweet potato (fucking incredible) + 3 rice cakes (15g protein, 75g carbs, trace fats)

2 ounces ground chicken + rice (15g protein, 50g carbs, trace fats)

2 ounces ground chicken + Japanese sweet potato + 1tbsp peanut butter (15g protein, 50g carbs, 8g fat)

In terms of supplements, I’m took 300mg of ALA before meals 1, 3, 5, digestive enzyme with each meal, and another dose of the diuretic before ebed.

The Dance is Over

Man, where to start?

Leading up to the show, there was so much anticipation, excitement, and eagerness to get on stage that I’m currently crashing hard (the surges of carbs and sugar I’ve had probably aren’t helping, either).

Anyway, I’ll start this off by saying that I did *not* place where I wanted, but deep down, I know that I placed about where I deserved.

Out of 9 welterweights, I didn’t crack the top 5, but can confidently say that 6th place was mine. At the end of the day my conditioning was on point, but I was simply out-muscled by guys who have clearly been playing this game longer than I have. Especially when it comes to upper body size, which I knew would likely be the case going into the show.

Rather than dwell over not placing as high as I would have liked, there’re far too many positives coming out of this show to throw a cloud over.

In a 6 month off-season I was able to add 15 pounds of pure muscle tissue. For what it’s worth, a rate of 2.5 pounds of muscle growth per month is, well, ridiculous.

At 4 weeks out I was in better condition, and looked far better than I did on stage last year at either show.

From the start of prep for my first show last year up to today, I’ve only been “competing” for 18 months. To go from having not a clue of what I was doing to stepping on a National stage, I suppose that’s something to be proud of.

I know exactly what I need to do in order to be more competitive at this level, and that’s something you can’t learn unless you do the damn thing.

From start to finish this year’s prep was an infinitely better experience, my body responded far better, and I learned A LOT in the process.

I can confidently say that over the course off my off-season and throughout this prep, I left no stone unturned, spared no expense, took no chances, and did everything I could to improve upon last year’s shows. Mission accomplished.

While I’m not the kind of guy who wakes up striving to achieve 6th place, taking all the above into account, I’d be a fool to call my experience at Nationals a failure.

Disappointing? Absolutely, and that’s largely because I was born with a competitive nature that was fostered by playing hockey for 13 years. But, this competitive season has been far from a failure.

And that is something I want you to think about as you go about the rest of your day.

Sure, you may not have the greatest training session of your life every time you hit the gym. There’s always going to be days, sometimes weeks, where keeping your nutrition on point is a battle, and it feels like you’re not making any progress.

Thing is, your progress doesn’t lie in the end result.

True progress comes from the lessons you pick up along the way, how you learn to not make the same mistake over and over again, and the fact that no matter how perfect (or not) a day is, you’re still moving a tiny bit closer to where you want to be.

I’ve gotta say, that is the most succinctly I’ve been able to sum up my approach to training, nutrition, and health.

Lastly, I want to thank every last one of you for being here not only to improve your health and physique, but for trusting this wandering fool of a meathead to be your guide, allowing me to share my own journey with you, and for being one hell of a supportive bunch of meatheads.

While the two pictures below are far from my favourite or best poses, they’re also the only two stage shots I’ve got (we were not given much time on stage, and they blasted through each pose – that’s a tale for another day, though).

And so it is.

With my first Nationals experience now under my belt, I’m shifting my focus to brining hormonal and metabolic function back to my body, then switching gears and diving headlong into a what will be roughly a 16-month-long improvement season.

PS. 4 out of 5 lifters will let their rationalization hamster run wild. Convincing themselves they’re making progress…yet you build no muscle, and burn no fat. The 5th lifter joined the MASSthetics Clan and put the information within the (free) Hypertrophy Handbook to good use. He no longer has to rationalize his progress. It simply happens. Click here to become the 5th lifter, and let me know where to send the prestigious Hypertrophy Handbook.

#bodybuilding #Contest Prep #MASSthetics #Peak week

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