It's dark Arthur, pull out your lighter.

(practically I know john is most easily portrayed as a normal hooded guy with a mask but deep down my heart of hearts still belongs to mergo's wet nurse)

Buffy: the Vampire Slayer (1997)

Season 1

Hello and Welcome back my creepy congregation! We will be taking todays service from the Big Screen into your living room for our first Personal Devotional. That's Right! We're reviewing full seasons of television series now and what better way to bring the spirit of the genre film to the idiots lantern that with the 90s Television sensation and all around love letter to the horror genre, Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

The Message

Regardless of how one may feel about Mr. Whedon we can't deny how much we love Buffy Summers and the Kids who live and die in Sunnydale! Season one of Buffy was a spin off/reboot of the earlier film and an attempt by Whedon to course correct the franchise by breathing a little charm and attention into the subject matter.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 1) focuses on Buffy Summers, a not so typical California high school student who, due to the events of the movie, has been relocated to Sunnydale High. Buffy is not just a cute, athletic, teenage girl looking to enjoy the prime of her life, though she is those things, she is also the Slayer, an anointed warrior who has been reincarnated throughout the generations to protect our vulnerable weak human world from the forces of evil; particularly Vampires. Buffy is a sort of supernatural Captain America, that is a peak human being, but instead of Nazi Science she was born with her powers.

Joining Buffy are; High School outcasts Willow and Xander (a nerd and a nice guy respectively), The ridiculously sexy librarian Rupert Giles (her mentor, guardian, high school librarian, and all around precious papa bear), Jenny Calendar (a technopagan computer teacher armed with all the mystery an ignorant 90s boomer could attribute to the internet), Angel (Spoiler: He's a Vampire, but he's a good guy. A hunky, broody, good guy vampire love interest), and her loving but entirely oblivious mother. The Scoobies as they have come to be called aid Buffy in her quest to protect Sunnydale from Dark Forces.

And Speaking of those Dark Forces, they are primarily vampires, led by the Master; an ancient vampire who resembles to some degree Nosferatu and a Bat, a look that Guillermo Del Toro would later perfect in his own series the Strain. The Master seeks to fulfill an ancient prophecy that would open the Hellmouth (a portal to hell, exactly what it sounds like) and free him in order that he and his kind should conquer the world.

The first season is fairly short consisting of the following adventures.

1. Welcome to the Hellmouth - Buffy moves to Sunnydale seeking to leave her Vampire ways behind, but the vampires just won't let her catch a break.

2. The Harvest - Vampire Shenanigans continues. Buffy learns of the Master.

3. Witch - A fellow Cheerleader is possessed by her witchy mom.

4. Teachers Pet - Buffy vs Giant Mantis

5. Never Kill a Boy on the First Date - Buffy vs the Anointed One (Not Really)

6. The Pack - Buffy vs Hyena Possessed High School Bullies

7. Angel - Buffy vs Angel but actually Darla

8. I, Robot ... you, Jane - Buffy vs Internet Demon

9. The Puppet Show - Buffy and Sid the Dummy vs Organ Harvesting Demon

10. Nightmares - Buffy has bad dreams

11. Out of Mind, Out of Sight - Buffy vs Invisible Nerd

12. Prophecy Girl - Buffy vs The Master (also Buffy Dies)

Overall the short season, while not allowing for too much world building, kept the show to a format that allowed very little filler. So although we mostly only get vampires as villains, we don't have enough time to really be bored of it. Some of the shows dynamics and cultural concerns definitely date the series but overall Season 1 of Buffy is definitely not a difficult watch, and can be enjoyed over and over again.

Let's get to the Benediction:

Best Character: Slay Girl, Slay!

As far as season one goes the titular Buffy Summers is the best character. Sarah Michelle Gellar is absolutely charismatic in the lead role and though at times she may seem selfish or reckless it makes perfect sense for the character. The character is allowed to be weak, to be selfish, and to be unlikeable. She avoids the foibles of a Luke Skywalker or a Harry Potter. She joins the ranks of primary protagonists who are not constantly outshined by their supporting cast. I believe when Buffy is sad, I believe when she throws a punch, I believe she struggles with her destiny. The only thing I don't believe is how ditsy she let's on.

Best Actor: Head's Up!

Anthony Stewart Head. Head as Giles is just fantastic. His balance of frustration with Buffy and genuinely parental concern is heartwarming and absolutely makes Giles one of the warmest father figures in television history.

Best Episode: A 'Master'ful Finale

It all builds up to Prophecy Girl and for good reason. Television shows often have mini-finale's at the end of their first seasons because the teams behind the series are not sure they will have a chance to tell more of their story. For that reason you can see just the first season of most television series and feel like you've heard the whole deal. I wish this habit was kept up in other seasons as we wouldn't still be wondering what the hell happened to Joel at the end of the Santa Clarita Diet. Buffy is no exception to this phenomenon and therefor attempted to tie up much of it's narrative in Prophecy Girl. While that often means big bads will be dispatched, I think it's a small price to pay for not winding up in a cliff hanger. Buffy and Giles just shine in this episode, Angel is given a more heroic role, Willow finally values herself as she should and Xander stops being a fucking horrible human being for once. This episode really satisfies in all areas.

Best Villain: Sweet, Sweetheart Killer

It's such a shame that Darla was killed so early on in the franchise. She is such a great presence on the screen that she overshadows all the villains that play alongside her, even the Master. I would have loved to have seen an alternate season where she offs the old coot and assumes the role of big bad much like Spike does in Season 2. Lucky for everyone that Darla is featured throughout the show in flashbacks and I hear she is even resurrected in Angel. Also, for Scott Pilgrim fans I feel like she and Envy Adams are very much sympatico. Maybe if they reboot Buffy all my dreams will come true.

I'd also like to take this time to recommend the song Angels and Darlas by Say Hi! It's pretty good.

Best Monster Design: Internet Troll!

While I can't speak for where the money in Season 1 of Buffy went, I can say that at least some decent cash was spent on both the forms of Moloch the Corruptor from the Episode "I, Robot ... You, Jane". Moloch was pretty wicked looking as a machine toward the end of the episode, he looked like a Mortal Kombat villain, but it's the green scales and ram horns the actor is sporting at the beginning of the episode that really catches the eye. In fact, I'm feeling compelled to hunt down any Moloch the Corruptor merch that may be out there on the internet. It's certainly no mystery why the demon's face is featured prominently in the theme song. It just looks great! Good job to the make up department there.

Most WTF moment: "Pack"s a Punch on Principle

While not the greatest episode in season one "the Pack" is certainly worth the watch if for no other reason than the horror is kicked up when a group of high school students under the influence of a malevolent Hyena God, decide that the School Mascot is not enough to satisfy their bloodlust turn on the principal, and yes, THEY EAT HIM. I remember being completely caught of guard the first time I saw that scene, and it kickstarted the running gag of Sunnydale high principles meeting their demise in horrific ways.

Worst Character: No More Mr. Nice Guy

When I was in college I often felt bad for Xander. The funny guy who just had no luck with women. He was sarcastic but had a big heart, and used a horny gimmick to mask his loneliness, or so I thought. But now I am older, I am wiser, I have known the touch of another human being and I have to say that Xander Harris is a really scummy fellow. I don't remember thinking so poorly and I wonder if the character develops a more nuanced view of women as the show goes on. As it stands there's barely a point in the series that Xander does not view the female cast as objects for him to enjoy or be embittered towards for one reason or another. It's not charming, it's foul. Xander Harris of season one is absolutely a terrorist attack waiting to happen, if Buffy had happened today it would be much more concerning to see someone so embittered, horny, and entitled to womens time and energy as Xander Harris. Dude is one step away from pulling an Elliot Rogers. Calm down buddy and maybe actually listen to a woman and you may find you aren't as much of a 'nice guy' as you think.

Worst Episode(s): If you're not first ...

It's a toss up on this one. Season One of Buffy is actually so short and concise that the 'Monster of the Week' episodes will have to be up for grabs as the worst episode by default, but even they are pretty watchable and don't warrant the vitriol a "worst" dub usually entails. I'd say there is not a worst episode of season one, just some episodes that aren't as good as the rest. In that vain, take your pick from "Witch", "Out of Mind, Out of Sight", or "The Puppet Show". However, I'd be doing a disservice to those episodes not to mention that each one of them takes what could just be a basic Buffy Vs (insert Villain), and does something unique and interesting with the idea. The villain of "Witch" actually turns out to be a has been cheerleader actually possessing the body of her innocent daughter to relive her glory years, The Invisible Girl is actually the victim of social cruelty, her peers disinterest in her manifesting in her condition becoming quite literal and she is picked up by the military in the end, then the Puppet show, well, it's just about the stupidest most absurd thing that could possibly happen and it's completely unafraid of that fact.

Summary:

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 1) is not the most groundbreaking TV, but it is absolutely evident why the show was such a phenomenon. Season 1 is particularly rewatchable. It does not demand too much investment or attention, but it will get it from you, especially on a first viewing. It's not afraid to take itself absolutely seriously or to plant it's tongue firmly in it's cheeks. It is to a degree a product of it's time, but in many other aspects feels timeless.

Overall Grade: B

Michael in the Mainstream - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Metal Gear games are some of the only video games I really feel like I can talk about in my review style, because these games are about 85% story and 15% gameplay, and even that might be a generous estimate. But what about a Metal Gear game that is infamously criticized for a lack of a story? Or, well, I should say an incomplete story. Metal Gear Solid V is a game composed of the somewhat short epilogue Ground Zeroes and the sprawling main game The Phantom Pain, and together they combine to make quite a divisive package, with many citing the absolutely stellar gameplay as a selling point while condemning the supposedly sloppy and incomplete story as a major downgrade. Some have seen this game as a step down from the lofty heights of Kojima’s previous four games, while others are just as likely to embrace it. I suppose that is the nature of Kojima’s work; it always sparks discussion and debate.

I’m certainly not going to debate on the gameplay here; it’s a very fantastic open world sandbox that gives you a lot to do, from capturing animals to spiriting away guards with the Fulton system to finding the oodles of cassette tapes so that you can blast “Take On Me” while you ride a horse guns blazing into a fortress full of armed Russian soldiers. You can play stealthy or straightforward, pacifist or violent, and you can do it all while Joy Division and Spandau Ballet blare over the speakers of your helicopter. This is easily some of the best gameplay the series has ever had, and there are plenty of little missions and side objectives to do while you scour the maps for things to do. But I’m not here to sell you this game based on its gameplay; any game reviewer worth their salt has done that already. No, I’m  going to make a case for the story and characters, and hopefully convince someone that they’re not nearly as bad as some have claimed.

The centerpiece of this game is Venom Snake. Venom might actually be my favorite Snake of them all; this sounds blasphemous, but his character arc is just so beautifully tragic to me, and how he compares to Big Boss, it just really makes me love him. Venom is a man who was never given much of a choice; it was decided he should be Big Boss’ “Phantom” while he was in a coma. And when he wakes up, while he looks the part and can act the part, he just doesn’t have the wit or talkativeness that Big Boss does, leading to Venom being a bit more quiet than most of the other protagonists in the series. But his silence masks that, unlike Big Boss, to the very end Venom was a truly noble man, never mind he believed himself a demon. Unlike Big Boss, who may or may not have outright brainwashed people into joining his cause and who didn’t break a sweat at training children for war, it never even crosses my mind that Venom used torture and brainwashing, and he never fights to have child soldiers after Kaz tells him no – he drops it without much of an argument. Venom is a good man, one who does some dark things in the name of keeping the world safe, but he never truly sinks into anti-villainy the way the man he’s doubling for does, at least not in this game. Any man who would spare Huey rather than execute him immediately has a bottomless well of compassion in their soul and higher moral fiber than most of us.

Of course, the real reason I love Venom is the two most meaningful arcs: his coming to terms with Paz, and his relationship with Quiet. The former is a hauntingly tragic look at Venom’s psyche, something that shows that even though he doesn’t remember who he was, the memory of his failure to save Paz still follows him like a shadow, and the moment when Paz leaves the phantom tape telling him to let go and live – a sentiment Big Boss himself would eventually echo at the end of his life – is poignant and beautiful. As for his relationship with Quiet… everything about it just really gets to me. It’s such a beautiful friendship they form, from enemies to partners with a mutual respect, one that works even better as both are characters who speak very little or not at all. It gets to the point where, yes, the two seem like they do love each other, with culminates in the most adorable scene in the entire franchise as they splash each other in the rain… but it’s a love that can never be, as despite her respect and admiration of Venom, Quiet has a desire for vengeance that she lets consume her… and it leads to her a demise, though it is a demise of her own choosing that she brings about in a final effort to save Venom. That moment that ends their story together, which has Venom running through the desert only to find the tape with Quiet’s first, last, and only words to the man she loved, is just utterly heartbreaking and the perfect depressing capstone to their partnership.

Venom is not a character that gets happy endings. In fact, after it’s revealed he was turned into the body double of Big Boss, it’s shown that ultimately he would go on to die in Big Boss’ place during the Outer Heaven uprising depicted in the original Metal Gear. The ultimate tragedy and heartbreak that Venom goes through in this story and the others is ultimately what draws me to him and adore him; unlike Solid Snake, he never gets to earn his happy ending, dying for the cause of his commander, loyal to the bitter end, having lost almost everyone he loved and cared for along the way. Unlike Big Boss, he never gets to ultimately realize the fruitlessness of his actions and truly come to terms with the fact that all he lost just wasn’t worth it in the end. He’s just so fascinatingly sad, and it’s a sort of sadness that really draws me in. I wouldn’t say he’s a better protagonist than Solid Snake is, and he lacks some of the finesse and charm that Big Boss does, but there’s just a lot to Venom that makes him an incredibly compelling character in his own right, and all with only the bare minimum of a vocal performance.

Speaking of minimal vocal performances, there is Quiet. Quiet is such an odd character, even for this series; she is blatantly designed to be an over-the-top fanservice character in a series that has tons of gratuitous fanservice in the first place, to the point where it’s kind of weird and uncomfortable. Of course, thankfully, as Kojima is incapable of just leaving a character as one-note and superfluous, he gives Quiet the standard bonkers backstory nearly every character in the franchise gets, and as mentioned before gives her wonderful chemistry with Venom. It’s to the point where I seriously can’t imagine anyone wouldn’t feel a bit misty-eyed at her death scene, or the beautiful song her actress Stefanie Joosten sings over the credits of the episode Quiet dies in. She’s a bit much even for this series, but I think her relationship with Venom and her impact on him as well as how she fits thematically into the story more than makes up for any shortcomings she may have.

One of the MVPs of the game is undoubtedly Kaz, who got ridiculous amounts of characterization and some of the most iconic lines (“They played us like a damn FIDDLE!!!!”). He went from being something of a background character to almost the moral core of the game, the shoulder angel to Venom in contrast to Ocelot’s shoulder devil. Of course, much as everyone else, Kaz is consumed by revenge, which leads to him taking the final reveal of who Venom is and Big Boss’ betrayal of him rather badly, and any fan of the franchise knows how his desire to take down Big Boss goes. Still, his presence goes a long way towards making up for Ocelot’s shocking lack of presence; frankly, Ocelot in this game is a bit of a minor character, which on one hand is understandable as he’s only here to keep up appearances while the real Big Boss kickstarts Outer Heaven, but it’s kind of sad to see the guy who is perhaps the franchise’s greatest character take a backseat for vast chunks of the game, only chiming in now and again to give Venom some info or record a tape.

And then we come to the villains. Skull Face is a rather intriguing villain, who lives up to the hammy nature of past villains in the franchise; just see where he howls as Sahelanthropus is taken control of by Eli’s sheer hatred and, ahem, lust for revenge. Skull Face is just a wonderfully thematic villain, and while he is tragically cut down a bit earlier in the game than he should have been, his impact is still felt, as in a manner of speaking he is the reason for the events that plagued Solid Snake’s life due to his crippling of Zero with parasites. We also have some more minor villains, such as Eli (AKA Liquid Snake), Psycho Mantis as a kid, and the Man on Fire (which is actually the reanimated corpse of Colonel Volgin from Snake Eater. Sort of. It’s complicated). The more minor villains seem a bit excessive, especially seeing as the former two don’t actually get to have their arc in this game pay off in a meaningful way due to the Kingdom of the Flies portion unfortunately being cut, but they still lead to some entertaining and exciting moments, particularly young Mantis. Eli is really the only minor villain who feels like a missed opportunity, since all he really does is act like a haughty little brat and adds very little to the overall story, which is a shame considering who he grows up to become.

Of course, no discussion of evil in Metal Gear Solid V would be complete without mention of Huey, the father of Otacon. Huey is the complete and total antithesis to his son. Where his son took responsibility for things that were not even his fault up to and including his own rape, Huey deflects all blame and throws it onto others to make himself seem an innocent victim; where Otacon had the courage to face up to the horrors of the world, Huey chose to be a sniveling coward who hid behind anyone who offered him some semblance of safety; and where Otacon and Solid Snake were true companions and friends to the end who managed to raise a wonderful child together, Huey was an utter bastard who backstabbed his friends repeatedly and killed his own wife via inaction because she dared to stand up to him and not allow her child to be a battery for a Metal Gear. Huey is one of the most detestable, loathsome, and pathetic characters ever conceived in all of fiction… and I love him for it. He is just so void of any sort of redeeming quality that he becomes the poster child for “love to hate.” There is a beauty to a character like this, and it helps that he does get his comeuppance and he’s never shilled by other characters; in fact, not one of his so-called “friends” likes or even trusts him, and all of them think he’s a pathetic, delusional liar. He’s a nasty, spiteful, egomaniacal hypocrite, and I wouldn’t want him any other way.

Now I saved the story for last, mostly because the story is infamously a bit short and incomplete. Still, I feel a lot of the hate for the story is a bit unjustified; while it is true and incredibly frustrating that nothing involving Eli gets any payoff outside of descriptions of what would have happened, all of the story with Skull Face, Quiet, the parasites, Huey, and the side quest involving Paz are all rather engaging in that crazy Metal Gear way, and the prologue Ground Zeroes definitely helps to round things out. If we’re only counting the Solid games, I’d say this is at least as good story-wise as 2 in its own way; where that one is a much more cerebral story involving metatextual elements and deconstructs a lot of concepts, this game’s story is more of a showcase of the toxicity of revenge. Almost every character in the story – Venom, Kaz, Skull Face, Quiet, Eli, the Man on Fire, and Huey – has some desire for vengeance against those who have wronged them, some need to bring some semblance of closure… but it never comes. As is demonstrated in the scene where Skull Face dies, Kaz and Venom both realize that even if they killed Skull Face then and there, it wouldn’t bring back their dead comrades, it wouldn’t return the time they lost, it wouldn’t bring back their missing limbs. Ultimately, revenge is a bitter, futile waste that will only end up consuming and destroying, as it did to Skull Face, as it did to Huey, as it did to Quiet, and as it would do eventually to Kaz and Big Boss. In the end, all that has been done is that a cycle of violence has been perpetuated, and no one is better off for it.

While it’s obviously not the first story to use these concepts, I do like how it ties into the series. It all feels like it fits. Add in the fact that this game finally resolves some long-standing plot holes, such as how Big Boss survived Outer Heaven to end up in Zanzibar Land and how Kaz went from singing the praises of Big Boss to saying he was a monster who deserved death in Metal Gear 2, and while it is a technically incomplete story, it is most certainly a solid one that gives you just enough to think about that I can’t really see calling it “bad” as a logical statement. Could it have been better? Oh, absolutely. But is it still good on its own merits with a lot of standout moments due to the themes and the wonderful cast of characters? Absolutely.

I think the game’s true strength lies in its moments. This game contains some of the most powerful emotional beats in the entire series, hands down. The conclusion of Paz’s side quest, Quiet’s exit, Venom having to deal with a breakout of the parasite among his own soldiers… even if the overall narrative isn’t as cohesive as the four previous games, it still manages to pack so much emotion and power into some of its scenarios that you will feel something. The tapes too manage to be powerful and emotional, from Paz’s final “phantom” tape to Strangelove’s final moments recorded to Zero’s lament that he couldn’t ever apologize to Big Boss, there’s just so much to love here in terms of writing and emotion that I really don’t care about the main story being cut short a bit. It does suck, but I’m too busy sobbing over Quiet and Paz’s fates to really care about the fact I didn’t get to smack Eli upside the head one last time.

The Phantom Pain and Ground Zeroes are not perfect games, far from it. But they are good games, end even if a small part of the overarching story doesn’t get a satisfying conclusion, Most of the rest does, and there are so many powerful moments in here that it reminds you this series with its roid-raging nanomachine senators and gay vampires who can run on water and giant volcaloid AI robots can actually be poignant, heartfelt, and heartbreaking. It’s a fantastic game, and if you love the series you’ve likely already played it, but I definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn’t, though play through Snake Eater and Peace Walker first. It’s definitely worth your time, and far more rewarding than some have made it out to be.

With Time: Chapter 19 - Some Guy With Knives

Author’s Note: Oh boy! I hope you guys like how I did this! No akuma reference slide for this chapter, mostly because my 'design' for the akuma is basically summed up in the title. I'll be back Saturday as usual with even more excitement!

Chapter Summary: Ladybug is too tired to remember much about the akuma, but given his tendency to throw sharp objects, our super duo is going to need some help.

First | Previous | Next

“Bug?” Chat looks down at the heroine laying on his lap.

She doesn’t respond, her breathing even. It snowed for the first time last week, and Ladybug is fully in hibernation mode. Being outside for patrol isn’t going to keep her any more awake.

He’d like to talk to her though, and for that she does kind of need to be conscious. He nudges her gently, speaking a little louder, “Ladybug.”

She blinks her eyes open for a moment, then screws them shut, curling closer to him. 

“Ladybug, come on, I have to talk to you.” He gently shakes her shoulder, “Just a quick thing, then you can go home.”

“I don’ wanna’...” She speaks slowly and slurred with fatigue, “‘re warm…”

“I’m sure being inside would be warmer.”

She shakes her head.

“Are you awake enough for a conversation?” Typically she can make it through the day pretty okay. Not quite awake - but alert enough and able to contribute in attacks. They had an attack earlier though, and with her still slightly favoring one hand she is entirely spent. If being near him makes her more awake, he can only imagine what it’s like in her everyday life.

“Def-in-ly…” She seems very sure, but he only raises an eyebrow. The light snowfall probably isn’t helping her.

“Sure. I’ll pretend that was more convincing.”

She sticks her tongue out in retort, only to flinch and frown when a snowflake has the audacity to land on it.

“Do you have any ideas on new miraculous holders? It’d probably be best to know before they’re needed. We’re going to need help considering that it’s winter.”

“...sorry…”

“What are you sorry for?” Has she had trouble choosing? That’s no problem, they already agreed they’d go to Chloe.

“Bein’ useles’...” She says it so matter-of-factly. He’s taken aback. She’d been doing better recently, something must have happened. He can only guess it has something to do with her sprained wrist.

She ‘fell’. As if.

“Oh, Bug, no. What makes you say that?” He’s been trying to remember Claude’s tips, instead of just telling her that she’s wrong.

Despite being entirely exhausted, her face is easy for him to read, and he doesn’t like the way she looks at him as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“...don’ do any’thin…”

“You do lots! You figure out how to use the Lucky Charms, and you comfort the victims afterwards. You’re leading by example - it’s part of why there isn’t much bias against akuma victims.”

She shakes her head, “...could do bett’r…”

“How’s that?”

“...less tires...be fast’r…”

“You can’t help how tired you are. You still do incredibly well even despite your tendencies. We work as fast as we can, but it’s hard work, we can’t help if it takes longer than people want. We aren’t perfect. I mean, look at me-”

She glares at him, “You‘re great hero… be nice to you self.” She seems to have put extra effort into making sure her message got across.

He smiles, “Only if you’re nice to you.”  He understands that there’s a difference between being critical and being hateful. He’d like to draw her back over to the right side.

She frowns at this, as if she’s considering it, but remains unconvinced. It’ll take time, he’s just glad she’s considering it.

“You can head home now, m’lady.” He begins to shift slightly so that they can get up, but she only hugs him tighter.

“Nooo! ‘re warm!”

“Another five minutes, but you do need to sleep in an actual bed. You’ll be warm, I promise.”

She looks at him with big eyes, “...’ll miss you…”

“I’ll miss you too, Bugaboo.” He brushes her hair out of her eyes. He looks forward to the day when he can see her beautiful face without a mask.

For now though, he watches her rest. Once their time is up, he wakes her up carefully, making sure she descends the tower safely before he returns to his house.

---

Ladybug really doesn’t like this akuma. It had interrupted her sleep. Not that she hadn’t been sleeping a lot, but still. It’s the principle of the matter.

It didn’t help that this certainly isn’t the type of fight that is forgiving towards having slower reflexes. She can’t even remember its name, the only thing that really matters is it’s inclination towards throwing sharp things. Forks, pins, scissors, knives. 

With her fight-or-flight response seemingly beginning to lean more toward ‘freeze’ for whatever reason, she isn’t really well-suited for this fight. It’s been almost an hour, and the heroes have been lucky that they haven’t been hit badly.

As she thinks that, she slips slightly and gets nicked by a pin, drawing blood across her cheek. She doesn’t really register it - her mind too tired and wanting to sleep. 

Her partner curses, hopping to her side, “We should back off.”

She frowns, unable to think of a clear reason why, “Why?”

“This isn’t the place for a conversation, come on.”

She turns to him, following him a few rooftops away.

“Are you okay?” He looks at her cut in concern. His hand hesitates just in front of it, looking at it carefully.

“Wha’?” Too many things are going on, her brain can’t keep up. Why can’t she go to sleep again?

“You got hit.” He deems her cut to be non-threatening, backing off slightly. “I think we should get help.”

“Okay?” This is all very confusing.

He notices her confusion, sighing, “How are you holding up? This has been our longest fight since winter began, and there’s a lot of moving.”

“Cold.” sagging as she speaks. Snowflakes beginning to delicately fall around them, “Sleepy.”

He smiles at her softly, “See? Help would be nice. If you don’t have anyone in mind, we can use Chloe - Venom would be useful here.”

“...right…”

“You can go to Fu’s, his place will probably be warmer which would help you a little. I’ll wait for you here.”

She nods, heading in the direction of the Guardian’s house. 

When she arrives, he lets her in immediately. He doesn’t comment on her drowsiness, Tikki takes the chance to nap on her head - lucky.

Fu puts the miracle box in front of her, “Choose wisely.” He’s short and to the point - knowing better than to trust a winter-ladybug’s attention span.

She nods, staring at the miraculouses. Her brain takes a moment to register which is which. Which one is she supposed to take again?

The bee. Right.

She grabs it, putting it in a box and thanking Fu on her way out. She stands on the roof for a moment. She knows she can go to Chloe, but she really wants a clean transition. 

She wants someone new, but who?

She needs someone who has the traits of a hero and will mesh well with the bee miraculous in particular.

Someone she can trust.

Someone comes to her mind.

--- 

She knocks on the window, the girl looks up from her desk, doing a double take when she sees Ladybug outside the window. She hurries to open it.

“Ladybug?! Is something wrong?”

“Allegra Coudriet, this is the Bee Miraculous, which grants you the power to immobilize your opponent. You will use it for the greater good, and when the job is done you will return it to me. Do you accept?”

The braided girl took a moment to recover from the shock, “Me? Are you sure?”

Ladybug nods,”Chat and I have put more time into deciding our back-up heroes, and their qualifications. I am sure.” Does she sound awake enough for something this serious? She’s certainly trying.

“Okay. I’ll do this.” Allegra puts the pin into her hair, and Pollen appears, startling the girl, “Um, hi?”

“Hello, my queen! My name is Pollen. Are you ready to be a hero?”

Allegra nods, looking a little overwhelmed.

“It’s simple, say ‘buzz on’ to transform, and ‘buzz off’ to detransform. When you say ‘venom’ you will activate your special power, and can freeze anyone you touch. Once you have activated this power, you will have five minutes before you detransform. The comb will keep track of this for you.”

“That’s… a lot. I think I get it though!” Allegra says.

“Your top will have a user’s manual, and Ladybug and Chat Noir can help lead you.” The Kwami glances at the spotted heroine sympathetically, “Likely Chat Noir more than Ladybug, this time of year.”

Ladybug nods lethargically. Her stamina for ‘perfectly-normal-and-not-at-all-tired’ is running low.

“Ready, my queen?”

Allegra nods, determined, “Pollen, buzz on!”

A yellow glow overtakes the girl, and when it fades, a new heroine stands in her place. Her suit is a different yellow from Chloe’s, more honey-colored though still clearly yellow. The black is slightly browner, and is mostly absent from her upper half.

Her arms and shoulders are entirely yellow, with five stripes across her midsection, like a musical staff. Her feet are black, and a black line runs up the outside of each leg, branching off at her knee, where it splits into two stripes that curl around the back of her leg. Her mask covers more of her face, stretching from her forehead to the tip of her nose. There is a black outline along the top of her eyes, and a single black stripe going through her braid, which is slightly longer and ends in a similar shape to her spinning top.

She looks at herself, inspecting the outfit, then looks to Ladybug, “What now?”

“Chat is waiting for us, follow me.” Ladybug leads her out the window, watching her as she adjusts to swinging by the roofs.

They arrive at the rooftop that she last saw Chat at. 

“Welcome back, Bug.” He sees the unfamiliar heroine with her.

“Chat, this is… what should we call you?” She turns to the girl.

She hesitates, thinking carefully then says, “Honey Bee.” “Well, I bee-leive you will be of great help to us. My Lady isn’t exactly meant for long fights in the cold.”

The two glance at the heroine in question, who is sagging slightly. Such a long time of keeping up the ‘awake-and-alert’ charade really wore on her.

“Do you know how your powers work?” Chat asks Honey.

“I think so. Uh.. Pollen explained it quickly?” She’s hesitant.

“Okay, that’s good enough. Basically, Ladybug and I will distract the akuma, and when I give the signal, you need to hit him with Venom, so that we can grab the akumatized object and finally get this over with.”

Ladybug slumps further, on track for the ground, but he catches her.

“Is she okay?!” Honey Bee sounds alarmed. Parisians know of Ladybug’s tiredness in the winter, but the full extent of it has been kept from them.

“She’s fine. Just, uh, very tired. She shouldn’t be outside in the cold this long.” He begins waking her slightly, “Change of plans, I will distract the akuma, and we’ll get the akumatized object to Ladybug or vice-versa when the fight is over. She can stay here.”

Honey nods, determined. Chat sets Ladybug down carefully, reminding her to stay awake, and they head back to the akuma, Honey stays out of sight when they arrive.

---

“Honey Bee, now!” Chat gives the signal, and the new heroine, rushes forward.

“Venom!” Once the stinger makes contact, the victim freezes in place.

Chat swipes the object from him, turning to Honey, “Let’s get this to Ladybug.”

They find her where they left her, struggling to remain awake.

Chat crouches in front of her, “Hey, Bug, fight’s over.”

She nods, standing unsteadily, and waiting for her cue. He breaks the object, releasing the butterfly. Ladybug cleanses the butterfly and performs the cure, healing the cut on her face along with the rest of the damage the akuma caused.

“Well, I’ll be on my way. Welcome to the team, Honey Bee.” Chat salutes as the trio breaks from their ‘pound-it’ and turns to go.

“Wait!” He turns to Honey questioningly, “Don’t you have to know who I am?”

He blinks, “No? It’s a secret identity.”

“But I’m a temporary hero, one you come to for back-up. What if Ladybug can’t come to get me? Or if she can’t tell you who I am and you need me?”

“That’s… a fair point. I hadn’t considered that. It’s your identity, I guess you can tell me if you want.”

Ladybug has been standing and blinking at them slowly. She doesn’t give any protests, so Honey says, “Pollen, buzz off!”

Allegra stands in her place, and Chat shakes off his momentary surprise at seeing someone familiar, and feigns ignorance, “Hey, it’s you! One of Mari’s friends… Allegra was it?

Allegra smiles, and nods, “Yeah, that’s me.”

“Well, welcome to the team.”

“I’m honored to have been chosen.”

Ladybug doesn’t seem to have taken much of this in, barely present to begin with. She takes out the box to return the miraculous when Chat takes it from her.

“You go home, Bug. I can return this.” Ladybug nods, waving goodbye and swinging home. He turns to Allegra, “Can you get home on your own, or do you need a ride?”

She hands the miraculous to him, “I’ll be fine on my own. If it starts storming or something I have a phone.”

He nods, waving as he jumps away.

---

The next day, the group is having lunch in the library. It’s quieter and easier for Marinette to rest. Not that much can keep her from sleeping at this point, but it’s less crowded and her friends feel she’s better off in here.

The girl in question is resting on Allegra. Typically she would choose Claude (he’s warmest - second only to Adrien), but he was later today and Marinette didn’t feel like putting in the effort to move.

“Did you guys see the attack yesterday? With the new hero?” Allegra asks nonchalantly.

“... like ‘er… seem nice…” Marinette mumbles, happy with her effort when Allegra seems to glow.

“I thought she seemed really cool!” Claude says excitedly.

“Certainly more professional than Queen Bee. I will be interested to see her fight more.” Felix approves.

“She seemed friendly. She seemed t’ get along with Chat pretty well. Must’ve been exciting.” Allan says.

“If you guys could be a hero, would you? I would!” Claude’s immediate answer to his own question is a surprise to no one.

“It could be fun, I would at least try it.” Allan says.

“For sure.” Allegra agrees.

“It seems like quite the commitment. Having to interrupt your daily life at the whim of Hawkmoth. There would be a lot of pressure from the press too. I think that at this point in my life, I would not be interested. Perhaps when I have finished school.” Felix points out. Marinette nods in agreement.

“I think that despite that, for me the pros would outweigh the cons.” Allegra explains. Claude and Allan nod in agreement.

“Do ya’ think they get a chance to practice? Or are they jus’ thrown into battle?” 

“It seems like it would be beneficial to give them a chance to practice.”

Marinette considers this at the back of her mind. She’ll have to talk to Chat and Fu, Allan and Felix have a point. The conversation moves on, but Marinette tunes out. She’s just so exhausted. She had to be outside for an hour yesterday. It was cold. It was snowing. It was not fun.

Honey Bee did well though. It feels nice to know she didn’t mess that decision up. She slips into a gentle sleep as her body gives into the cold.

--- 

“M’lady, you really don’t have to come on patrols. Especially after how long you were out yesterday.” Chat glares disapprovingly at his sluggish partner, crossing his arms.

“Had… an idea…” She looks at him sideways, without enough energy to properly hold her head upright.

“You couldn’t have transformed at home and texted me?” She’s barely standing.

“... oh yeah.” That option has only occurred to her now that Chat suggested it.

“Well, you’re here now. What is it?” He can’t be mad at her for long. He’s less mad and more worried anyways.

“Wha’ if… we bring Honey… on patr’l…? Pract’ce?” She’s trying to convey this as best she can.

“You want to bring Honey Bee on patrol so she can practice using her miraculous? That’s a pretty good idea. Is she for sure our new bee holder? I thought she did well.”

Ladybug nods, then falls forward, tripping over her feet to correct herself. Chat grabs her shoulders, propping her up.

“You sure you should be out?”

“Mhm.” 

“Okay…” He sounds doubtful, “I’ll go to Fu, you wait by her place.”

---

Allegra is still up, and readily agrees to attend patrol as practice.

“Where’s Ladybug? Is she doing okay?”

“She’s fine. Maybe we should explain the miraculous to you a little better.”

They head to the roof. Ladybug is slumped in a corner completely asleep, he heads over to her, pulling her into his lap and hugging her close so that she���ll wake up some.

Honey sits next to them, glancing at the heroine.

“I’m sure you’re aware that Ladybug slows down a little during the winter?”

She nods, “Yeah, everyone knows that.”

“We knew we wouldn’t be able to keep that from people, but we have tried to avoid letting on just how much. We’re heroes - weaknesses need to be kept under wraps and all that.” He unconsciously plays with her hair a little as he continues, “When you use a miraculous for long enough, there are… side effects.”

“It’s not hurting her is it?!” Honey is alarmed.

“No, no. The user takes on traits of the animal their miraculous is based off of. I purr, and have better night vision and hearing. There’s quite a few actually. Ladybug has several too, but the biggest one is that ladybugs hibernate in the winter.” He sees the understanding dawn on Honey’s face.

“The colder she is, the more likely she is to fall asleep, and the more tired she gets. If it’s pretty far into winter or too cold for too long, ladybug-instincts might take over. It happened for a moment last year. All human reason and common sense are out the window. Full ladybug. That was fun.”

At Honey’s questioning look, he elaborated, “It’s hard to convince her that you can lead her somewhere warmer when she’s convinced that sleeping with a bunch of actual ladybugs will solve everything. I had to carry her away after she fell asleep.”

Honey smiles at the still-sleeping girl, “So she’s fine then? Just tired? She reminds me of my friend.”

Chat nods, now that she’s pointed it out, Marinette and Ladybug react to the cold pretty similarly, “Yep, she’s fine. She likes body-heat. Actually, my miraculous makes me a little warmer in the winter to balance her out. Magic balances out magic so she’s most awake with me.”

“Wha?” Right on cue, Ladybug has opened her eyes and blinks blearily at them.

“Hey Bugaboo.” 

“Hi Ladybug.”

She just blinks at them, not quite comprehending.

“Alright. We should probably have you actually practice. My Lady, would you like to go home, or are you just going to be reckless with your health and safety as usual?”

Honey raises an eyebrow at the wording, wondering just how often Ladybug does something like this.

“Doin’ patrol…” She stands shakily.

Honey looks at Chat, muttering under her breath, “Is this a good idea?”

“Eh… It’s not ideal, but she’ll make it about three blocks before she realizes I’m right. Consider it practice in keeping an eye on her. If we do call you in during the winter again, we’ll have to keep an eye on her a little.”

He’s right of course. They don’t make it far before she stumbles, Honey catching her carefully. Chat comes over to them, used to this conversation at this point.

Ladybug never believes she’s allowed to take a break. Being a hero doesn’t mean working herself to death, but she doesn’t seem to realize that.

“Ladybug. Do you know what time it is?”

“...night?”

“What I think he meant, is that it’s time for you to go home.” Honey concurs.

“It’s two to one, majority rules.”

Ladybug scrunches up her face, taking a moment to process this, “...no, ‘m fi-” She’s cut off by a yawn.

“See?”

Ladybug submits, nodding and swinging home. When she slips into her trapdoor, she burrows under the blankets. Releasing her transformation, Tikki flies out and snuggles against her chosen. The cold pulls them into sleep.

---

Author’s Note: Soooo... thoughts? Allegra with the bee? (peachgreentea you got it!) I apologize that I accidently left you all at a slight disadvantage by failing to mention that I won't be using the zodiac miraculouses in this fic (several reasons, for one I haven't really seen most of season 3 so I barely know anything about them, and two I feel like they're almost too powerful? The Ladybug and Black Cat are supposed to be the most powerful and then we've got actual time travel? I have nothing huge against them or their characters though - just going to stick to the main seven in With Time). Anyways, reference slide here! I'm sorry for my poor design skills. I don't know what I'm doing, but I tried. It doesn't help that Google Slides is not for creating designs.

As for my reasoning with this? Well it took a while. I'm sure I'm not the only one well aware that Allegra is typically given the fox (as a concept character she fought with a flute so that makes sense), but I took weeks to dwell on this. I started thinking up this fic in late July. I (somewhat) finalized my decisions for who got what sometime in August (finally settled it around the time I actually started writing - late September). I flip-flopped between the bee and fox for her for a while though. I like both so much! However I went with personalities (mostly) to determine the final decision eventually. The personality I'd been developing for her just felt so much more like a bee to me. Melodie also had a yellow suit, so like.... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Anyways, I'm happy with my final decision and I hope you like it too!

Fun fact! In early stages of this, I thought of her as ‘Melo-bee’. I always knew it wouldn’t be a serious name, but it made me smile everytime.

Next chapter will be Saturday! I've very excited. It marks a first for Adrien (something you may not have even noticed was missing, but was a very deliberate choice on my part from the very beginning). 

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any thoughts, theories, constructive criticism, or anything really in my ask box, in replies or through reblogs. I love seeing what you think!

(P.S. No, I did not spend all of July-September making this decision. I may be bad at decision making, but I'm not that bad. It was an off and on thing. I did spend plenty of time on it though. I wanted to be satisfied with my decision because it would have an impact on the story and everything I have planned after it.)

(P.P.S. I feel like I should have said this a long time ago, but if you're ever here early (like really, really early, and the links don't work, then just give me a minute. Any chapter with reference slides is a little extra effort because I have to post the chapters (on two separate platforms) then the slides, then open the slides' post and link it in each platform's version of the chapter. It doesn't take me that long, but if you do get here that early, just wait a moment and refresh the page - you should be good to go.)

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A Night in Town:

“You’ve been staring.” Genji muttered, hands in his pockets, eyes trained on some unknown object straight ahead.

Jesse blinked and looked away, a sheepish smile growing on his lips.

“Sorry. You look good, can’t help it.” He shrugged, sending a wink Genji’s way.

Jesse hadn’t expected the city to be so...Elegant. Lots of big buildings with sleek glass and neon lights lining their slopes and angles. There was a good mix of omnics and humans, all getting along. That was a nice change. He and Genji fit in pretty well with the city slickers as per their mission, however, Jesse was feeling a bit warm under the collar. 

Genji, at Jesse’s peril, had been dressed to the nines. He had a black turtleneck sweater covered with a sleek, steel grey trench coat, skinny jeans, and worn combat boots. A beanie and a black surgical mask covered his face and hair, the wires and metal missing so he could pass, and Jesse had never stared at him so much. 

Genji looked so ridiculously good, it was criminal. 

That, and Jesse had never actually seen this much of Genji’s face before. Always hiding behind the mask, eyes dark and tired, keeping everyone at a distance. Now, however, Jesse was walking right next to him, elbows nearly touching every time he had to shift out of someone’s way.

“You’ve been staring.” Genji muttered, hands in his pockets, eyes trained on some unknown object straight ahead. 

Jesse blinked and looked away, a sheepish smile growing on his lips.

“Sorry. You look good, can’t help it.” He shrugged, sending a wink Genji’s way. The ninja’s sharp eyes slid to Jesse, his gaze cynical.

“You are! Not my fault it’s true.” Jesse insisted, raising his hands placidly. Genji looked away, unfazed, as usual. Jesse would get him to believe it, eventually. His charm hadn’t failed him yet, and Jesse wasn’t about to stop trying. 

He grinned as they continued walking, hands slipping into his jean pockets, thumbs hooking in the belt loops. They had no place in particular to go, the mission itself was done. It hadn’t been strenuous, just checking out a site that was suspected of blackmarket trade. 

Now, there was nothing to do but wait for the dropship that had, of course, been delayed. Genji had been silent and pensive since Reyes told them it would be late, Jesse taking the subtle narrowing of his eyes and slump of his shoulders to be annoyance. Especially when Jesse insisted they go looking around while they waited. But, he had conceded, so he couldn’t have been that fed up. 

The cowboy didn’t have a specific place in mind as to where he was going, but it had been a long time since he had been in such a nice city. He wanted to enjoy it while he could. Genji stayed in step with him, though, he kept his eyes either trained on the ground or straight ahead of them. 

Jesse wondered what he was thinking about with his brows drawn like that—perhaps his old lifestyle? What it would be like to be fully human again? Maybe he was anxious at not fitting in with either the humans or omnics around him? Jesse never knew quite what went on in that head of his, and Genji certainly wasn’t keen on letting anyone in to try. 

The cowboy nudged his side when he saw a building that had patterns of lights going down its windows like a waterfall, complete with little holograms of fish splashing around. 

“I’ve never seen anythin’ like that. It’s pretty cool, huh?” Jesse told him with a smile. 

Genji glanced at the building, shrugged, but gave no other answer. He went back to staring but not really seeing, Jesse not taking it personally. 

Something must have been messing with the ninja’s head, so Jesse looked around for a place they could go where he could focus on other things. A cafe, maybe? Could Genji even eat there? He was certainly dressed like he would, and the chill in the air was starting to get to Jesse.

“Hey, you hungry? I was gonna stop in a cafe if they’ve got one ‘round here, warm up a bit.”

“Okay.”

“Can you help me look for one? Maybe they got a Kofi Aromo or somethin’.” Jesse murmured, Genji finally looking around as if he was in the present again. 

They had to walk for another block or so, but they eventually came across a little coffee shop. Jesse held the door for Genji, waving him in with an exaggerated motion and a smirk. The ninja scoffed, though, the edges of his eyes scrunched just slightly. 

From the back, Jesse could see the bits of metal on his jawline, and surprisingly, little studs in Genji’s ears. He frowned. Genji’s ears were showing. How hadn’t he noticed before? He was just so used to not seeing anything but his eyes. That must have been part of what was throwing him off this whole time. Jesse shook his head and followed Genji in, standing next to him in line.

“You want anythin’? Drinks are on me.” Jesse teased, Genji rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

“I don’t know if I can have any of this.” He hummed softly as he read over the screens advertising various coffees and lattes.

“Well, you won’t know unless you try.”

“It could potentially cause my systems to fail and my body to shut down, but yes, I suppose you are right.”

“Alright, so no coffee, then. Got it.” Jesse sighed, making a slight face as he spoke, brows raised in exasperation. 

Always with the biting remarks. It wasn’t really Genji’s fault, but Jesse did get tired of them after a while. He didn’t hold it against him, though, never had, just tried to make light of the situation instead or simply ignore them instead. 

Genji glanced at the gunslinger, hands coming out of his pockets only to lace his fingers together and fiddle with them unconsciously. He had gloves on to hide how they didn’t match.

“I would like to try the vanilla mocha, though.” Genji uttered softly, shoulders raising slightly. Little things like that were what told Jesse he was trying, and damn, if he wasn’t the cutest guy alive while doing it.

“Vanilla mocha, huh? So you like it sweet?”

“I used to. I don’t know about now.”

“Well, if you wanna try some of mine, you’re welcome to it. It’ll be bitter though, I like a good dark roast.”

“You seem like you would.” Genji mumbled to himself, Jesse raising a brow and grinning. 

They ordered and got a two-seater table towards the back of the cafe, just out of sight. 

Jesse didn’t try for small talk, had learned pretty quickly that Genji would only make and carry on conversation if he wanted to. Today seemed like a day he didn’t want to. Most days were like that, but that was fine. Their drinks came quick anyways, the omnic waiter setting them down and leaving without a word. Just programmed to do a job, nothing more. 

Jesse took the lid off his coffee—dark roast with no cream and a little ice—blowing on the still steaming liquid. It smelled wonderful. The coffee in the Blackwatch common room was good enough to do the job, just instant grounds poured into hot water, so having real coffee was nice. Tasted nice too. 

Jesse’s eyes slipped to Genji once more, the ninja’s fingers curled around the cup as he stared out at the city. His eyes flicked around as he looked, the only movement Jesse could see from him. The gunslinger took a sip of his coffee, letting his eyes roam over his partner while he wasn’t being noticed. Yet. 

Genji just looked so good, human and gentle in a way Jesse had never seen before. Like he was just another normal person, doing normal things in a normal city. 

Jesse eventually looked away, down to his coffee as he tapped his fingers against the cardboard cup. It created tiny ripples on the surface of his drink. 

Genji finally moved, hand going up to his mask. Jesse’s brows raised slightly, interest piqued.  

“You can’t stare.” The ninja told him sharply. Frankly, Jesse was surprised he was being trusted with this at all, much less with a simple threat and nothing more.

“I won’t.” Jesse promised. It would be hard, considering this would be the first time he had ever seen Genji’s face, but he would try his best. 

Jesse realized why he was sitting with his back to the door as he pulled the mask down and tucked it under his chin. His skin was pale and face gaunt, scars slicing across his cheeks and lips, though, the worst ones were around where his synthetic jaw meshed with his real skin, red and raw looking. 

And yet Genji still managed to make that look beautiful. 

Jesse didn’t realize he was smiling until he averted his gaze and took a sip of his coffee. Genji had been avoiding looking at anything but his own drink. He blew on it a bit, the design on the top getting messed up a bit. Took a drink, some of the foam sticking to his upper lip. Jesse couldn’t help but look back up at him. 

Genji was staring at the drink, head tilted slightly. Goddamn, it was getting difficult not to blush.

“I can taste it.” He murmured, Jesse raising a brow. 

“I...Normally cannot taste things. Not like this. It is different, but I can tell it is sweet.” He explained, huffing a little laugh at the end. His lips turned up just ever so slightly, Jesse squeezing his cup tighter.

“Well, that’s good. I’m glad.” 

The gunslinger was relieved he managed to get a decent response out, licking his lips as he forced himself to look out the window. 

They finished their coffees in relative silence, Genji pulling up his mask again as soon as he was through with his drink. It had disappeared rather fast. He glanced at Jesse, then took a little breath, exhaling softly. Not quite a sigh—almost as if he was going to say something, then reevaluated. 

The gunslinger tapped the table as he stood, glad to stretch his legs out and have an excuse to look at anything else but Genji.

“We’ve probably spent enough time here. Wanna walk around some more until we get word of our ride? I’m gettin’ antsy.”

“You sure it isn’t just the caffeine kicking in?” Genji asked, raising a brow as he walked past Jesse without waiting for a response. 

Was that...A joke? Did Genji Shimada truly just make a joke? Jesse grinned, adjusting his baseball cap and chasing after the ninja. Maybe he was making progress after all. 

Genji was waiting just out front, hands back in his pockets, the cold breeze tousling his bangs. Jesse didn’t much like the cold, and it was getting dark on top of that, so it was only going to get colder. However, he was enjoying the time he was able to spend with Genji, just pretending they were normal for a while. That made the biting chill more than worth braving. 

Jesse fell into step beside the ninja when he started walking, looking much better than he had before they got coffee. He seemed a little happier, shoulders squared more and less of a shuffle to his step, eyes bright as he looked around. Jesse watched him a moment, smile softening.

“Yanno, I liked seeing you. Without the mask.”

Genji’s head tilted towards him, pace slowing. He was quiet, emotion Jesse couldn’t quite name flickering behind his eyes.

“Oh. I—Okay.” Stuttered out, tone unsure but sincere. Jesse gave him a lopsided grin, then went back to a comfortable silence. Not dwelling on it for too long, Genji normally liking to move on pretty quickly if they ever happened to talk about him, especially his appearance. 

The lights on the buildings and along the roads had more prominence as it got darker, Jesse admiring the creativity of the city. Genji slowed, then suddenly took a sharp turn, heading towards a park Jesse hadn’t noticed. He felt a hand on his arm, pulling him. 

Genji was pulling him along. 

Jesse wiped the surprise from his face and followed, and while Genji let go pretty quickly, he could still feel the phantom of his touch. The ninja had never voluntarily touched anyone before. 

The park around them was beautiful, the plants alight with luminescent colours, twinkling lights between the leaves, and the path lighting up wherever they stepped. Jesse tipped his head back, the canopy above casting a blue and purple light over everything. He could hear the sound of a stream somewhere, and a few birds still chirping in the bushes.

“Woah. I’ve never seen anythin’ like this before!” Jesse gasped, stepping closer to the edge of the walkway to examine a cluster of flowers with transparent petals glowing soft pinks and yellows. 

Genji ran his hand over the trunk of a tree, the light over the bark brightening where he touched.

“It’s...Synthetic. But some of it is real, with holograms. It’s all mixed, though, I can’t quite tell.”

Jesse went to join him, glancing at the awed look in the ninja’s eyes.

“It’s beautiful.” He murmured, Genji tilting his head up to meet his gaze. It was held for a moment before the cyborg looked back to the trees.

“Yeah. It is.”

He then leaned in, tapping his shoulder to Jesse’s briefly before walking down the path. The gunslinger stared, then smiled, mimicking the little light imprints made from Genji’s steps with his own stride. 

Jesse didn’t know when their ride would get to them, but he truly wished the night didn’t have to end.

~~

HELLO I ADORE YOUR OCS SO MUCH WILL YOU TELL ME ABOUT KAI HE LOOKS LIKE A TOTAL "YOUR DAUGHTER CALLS ME DADDY TOO" DOUCHEBAG AND I FUCKING LOVE HIM AND WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT HIM

LBLMVBGK THANK U OMG love it when ppl like my kids, im a proud dad rn

ALSO wrow congrats on ur on point analysis, cause, that’s the Essence Of His Being (fun fact since i got two characters who go by the name of kai -cause fuck that basic writing tip that says ‘dont have two characters named the same thing- i usually refer to him as The Bad Kai cuz he a bad bitch)

so lets unwrap that dude shall we uwu 

SO this dude was created when i realised my story didnt have antagonists so i made a bunch of Bad People and then they all became good people after i started giving them more personnality somehow eXCEPt him for some reason, the only survivor of the “everyone will be baby” plague, the only rude bitch in this house, the only guy who’s still on the dark grey side of morally grey...but tbh im in love with him cause he’s an asshole and im an idiot so like.

His base concept was basically something along the lines of “fuckboy but make it Couture”, like douchebag indeed But Gotta Be Fancy at being one, gotta add a pinch of Sneaky Bitch in the pot. His aesthetic is Chillin, gettin in ur pants, then moving on for some more chillin and more pants. So if you’re into some funky sexy time with no pressure and no ties, ya gon get along, your goals meet, time to have fun.

All that is supported by his charisma, cause unless ya got some nasty history, he’ll just look like that charming bad-boy “oho hot dude with a dangerous but not agressive” vibed person, and he’s quite a sweet-talker. He’s probs not only the ‘your daughter calls me daddy’ kind but also ‘and so will YOU, i’m scoring with the whole family and you wont stop me (and you wont WANT to stop me)’ 

He got that handsome ppl priviledge ya feel

but also, he wouldnt be a rude guy if he was just the ‘i enjoy chill frick-fracking and im just so sexy that no one can say no to that booty’ guy

Dude got quiiite some spite-fueled ego and Does Not Take losing well, and will not, in fact, let himself lose on any objective he has, and when that objective is A Person, he gets ugly. Being good at sweet talking also means being good at small stuff like “not saying exactly the truth always when it would be more beneficial not to”, “deliberately using euphemistic, ambiguous or obscure language so to mask wrong doings and technically saying the truth but in such a way that it becomes completely masked by a thick fog of bullshit”, and “use words and behaviour in general to influence others unscrupulously so to get something in return”. Even a little “playing with their perception in order to make them doubt in their thoughts and selves”. In short dude got no qualms about using all the tools of manipulation available if it means that he comes on top (or on bottom if the goal was getting an assful eeeeeey we’re masters of comedy here) It tends to be all for short term results tho, so not much your ‘boyfriend who convinces you you’re nothing without him” and more of a “you thought you were dating but only you were thinking that as he always kept it just vague enough to have you not official yet convinced of his and now you’re blaming yourself for believing you were together”

master of getting ass, also master of Ugly Ass Breakups, and master of suddenly dissapearing from your life so hard that you wonder if it was just your imagination all along (he got ugly past with a bunch of other ocs especially he’s ex boyfriend with two that are now together cause i dig that sort of drama the sAME dUDe gave u the trust issues that held u from going full lovey dovey ? i fucking lIVE off that kinda shit wait until he pops back like ‘oho hello fancy seeing YOU TWO here my two fave exes together incredible what a small world”)

Though I have to rework on all that cause that backstory is oLD AS SHIT (like prolly i built it in what, 2016? ew ugly) I had that stem from some sort of neglect-fueled inferiority complex. I had given him a kinda cold family with a bunch of siblings who got Way More Nurtured due to their respective talents and achievements, having him left behind and feeling like he got nothing. SO that’s basically the explanation as of today but i dont like iiiiit anymooooore so I’ll have to work on it to make it something i dig, cause idk, bitch feels flat so far.

BUT i do intend on keeping the whole concept of ~Loneliness~, and of him working alone and quite hard for anything he gets. And the general need of proving himself that had come from the WIP backstory. I don’t exactly see him as an overachiever at all, but definitly as an obstinate and persevering hardworking guy, because “Look YALL I WAS aBLE TO DO THIS YALL THOUGHT I COULDNT HUH YALL LOOK DOWN ON ME well fuck u cause idc im better than u now also ur mum’s into bondage i kno from experience bye”. So tbh pair up with him for group projects, you’ll be sure his share of the work will be done (but also if you dont do yours then he’s probably going to be a bITCh about it, no remorse in leaving blank slides in the middle of the powerpoint and then loudly proclaiming ‘OH RIGHT This was supposed to be Kevin’s part but I suppose he never sent it to me, despite the numerous reminders i sent him, no big deal, no hard feelings, its ok sweetie we all sometimes feel too lazy i forgive u :)” )

Also he’d be Chill to hang out with for like, parties, nights out at the bar, that kinda shit. He definetly has some beans to spill about quite some people, he gathers the goss as he gathers lovers (i was gonna end that in “as he spreads legs” but it sounded too PG-18 for this good Well Behaved family friendly blog) and Will Not stay tight lipped, and Will be a bitch when trashtalking people, and It Will Be Entertaining as it always is when you’re hearing about crazy exes and you’ve had some beers. 

Now trivia that idk where else to write cause idk i stupid or more like disorganised :

- he digs red ale beer like if ya wanna win him over with the appropriate alcohol offer there u go

- he’s a fake blonde (cause my hobby is painting regrowth roots on hair)

- his design is a mixture of those 3dgy denim boys u see on pinterest and the specific brand of fuckboys that are french-L-section-chic-grunge-hipster-fuckboys (L section is like a branch of highschool)(that word combo is a so specific kinda guy)(its kinda like a softboi but more arrogant but in a lowkey way)(also they rich)(but he’s not rich so guess that should make him Less Arrogant)

-im constantly dead afraid of giving him more characteristics and story or whatveer cause he’s the only meanie i got left and i do Not want him to stop being an asshole but everytime i develop a character they end up nice or redeemed or whatever and i wanna keep him a bitch so i neglect him (just like his parents in his 2016 version wow)

he smokes (prolly started quite early to Be Kool and now relies on it for stress relief)

he’s outspoken and extraverted and prolly the guy who had a lot to say when you were doing debates in class (there’s always that person who has a Lot to argument about)(its him) but outside of a Set and Defined debate structure he probably doesnt give his mind voraciously 

he’s a law student and despite saying he’s the one bad guy left he probably wont be a corrupt lawyer or judge or whatever like come on he will do his job properly he worked hARD FOR THIS justice may be served

he’s not the kind to openly hate or even dislike anyone cause what’s the point of wasting your energy on that? its much funnier to him to be obnoxiously Neutral with someone and basically ignore them but still strike them with some Spikes of passive-agressive comments, let them be Mad at your calmness

he’s 177cm tall (that’s like 5.8 according to google)

honestly if you’re bros with him he’s fun to be with the being a jerk is completly coincidental 

he probably ranks high in the list of “those criminals who steal big lighters from their friends” 

i think at a point his design had tattoos but i forgot the designs of those so now he doesnt anymore

a dog person

i think ive run out of facts (or my brain dead) so im leavin with a shirtless pic cause my hobby is drawing tits

in short, charming asshole who can get ugly, secretly feels lonely and small, works hard for himself, better have him as a friend than as a foe though probably not the most frontally agressive enemy, and also, your booty, hand it over.

Artbook Data - Gonta Gokuhara

First of all, I need to correct a mistake on something I wrote before. In one of Hiroto Suzuki’s blog posts, he mentions liking talking to Takeuchi because he is training to become a game producer and Takeuchi were a producer before him, which lead me to assume Takeuchi was a game producer, but reading the seiyuu comment here made me realize that makes no sense and that Takeuchi was only 18 when that post was made. It turns out Takeuchi was never a game producer and Suzuki’s comment was a joke on the fact he voices the Producer in Idolmaster.

Seiyuu’s comment: Shunsuke Takeuchi

I was watching the DanganRonpa anime every week when I was in middle school, so I feel amazingly honored of being involved in a series I met back when I was still chasing the dream. Gonta-kun is a big hearted and powerful enthomologist. He is not the smartest when it doesn’t come to his insect knowledge, but I would love with you think of it as part of his charm.

Kodaka’s comment: The gentle wild child who packs a punch

The initial concept for Gonta is “A wild child but a gentle man”. After preparing all kinds of design ideas centered around the keyword “wild child”, we decided to depart from the stereotypical wild child image, giving him a tuxedo-like suit, glasses, etc, then made him barefoot to fix the balance between gentle and rough... and that was the balanced result. The reason for his name was “a scary last name with a cute first name”, representing “a scary appearance with a kind interior”.

The part about his Super High School Level Talent being enthomologist was something that was not in the first character concepts, we only added it much later. That’s why the bug cage was the very last thing added to his design. The part about him wanting to become a gentleman came even later, after I had already started writing the script. I added it only because his character was very lacking in impact before it,  but I think it made the character much more well-balanced at the end, making his excessive seriousness more prominent. I also once considered making talk weird, as he is a wild child. However, we already Angie doing something similar and having him not be able to communicate well would damper his performance at the trials, so we decided not to do that. 

Without realizing, I made Gonta into arguably the most virtuous person in the entire series. As consequence of him being this much of a good guy, chapter 4 hurt. The main trick for his case, “not even the culprit knows their crime”, is something I wanted to use for a long time. Becoming completely useless in the trial because of this dilemma is a horribly heartbreaking situation. I think he has a quite controversial part to his character, but please overlook it.

Design Notes:

Wild hair: Hair quite quite long, you can considered it a vestige of him living in the jungle. He fits Shirogane’s beloved “black hair, red eyes” condition and we presume he would look very gentlemanly if he took proper care of it. 

Glasses: Gonta, who boasts a marvelous 6.0 eyesight, wears glasses. It’s said eyes too good are incovenient in a civilized society, but is he really fine with this?

Empty bug cage: A bug cage indispensable for enthomology, strapped to his shoulder so it won’t fall. He never lets go of it even in the bugless lands of Saishuu Academy.

Uniform: An uniform a tad too short. He is a good healthy child who grows fast, the uniform might have gotten too tight. It might rip when he burns with righteous anger.

Big right hand: He has superhuman strenght, to the point he can effortlessly pick up a manhole cover with a single hand. But Gonta would never hurt a person!

Underwear: Gonta’s favorite loincloth. He once tried to wear custom-made giant briefs, but due to being raised in the forest, he couldn’t get used to wearing tight things under there. 

Barefoot: Because his forest family was always running around the hills like that. Living in this environment made he naturally used to living barefoot. Shoes are nothing more than an ornament.

Favorite presents:

Bunny Apples: An apple with peel set to look like bunny ears. They have a high demand as food for bugs and animals, please let Gonta use it for breeding his beloved bug friends.

Cuffs Button: An accesorry for sleeve cuffs, with a black onyx that suits well both men and women. It’s “classy gentleman” fell shakes Gonta’s heart.

Gourd Bug Tool: A bug trap crafted like a gourd, a mood-making object where trap bugs in and listen to their cries. Make sure to listen to the melodies sung by Gonta’s bug friends!?

Hated presents: 

Killing Game 46-card Deck: 46 cards themed after the plot of previous Killing Games. “Dying hit by a demonic mace”, “Evidence over logic”... There’s nothing here good to give to a gentleman.

Key Phrases:

He is Kind but Strong: His biological family is an old noble family and the family who raised was a pack of wolves. He keeps making personal efforts in order to make himself an upstanding man that prouds both of his families, focused on the keyword “gentleman”. He prides himself on his kind honesty, never suspecting others. Then after living in the woods for 10 years, his physical abilities were upped perhaps to the extreme and now he gained superhuman strenght! No ordinary high school student can pick up a metal manhole cover with two fingers and casualy throw it. Such a monster gentleman is invincible!

Zoom In on the Bug Friends!: Gonta’s eyesight was honed in his long years in the forest to an unbelievable 6.0. This beyond human eyesight is perfectly suited his deep love for insects, allowing him to easily identify bugs flying around him in naked eye. His frightening hunter-level dynamic vision is already an amazing talent on its own, but what is more unbelievable is being able to quickly notice unidentifiable bugs within Monokuma’s so-called “Unescapable surrounding walls of the Saishuu Academy”. That said, even with his eyes, these bugs are so small he still easily loses sight of them can’t figure out what they are. Maybe he could capture these “bug friends” using the Super High School Level Inventor Miu Iruma’s achieved invention, the “Sucking bug catching machine”?

Insects so small not even Gonta can see completely. Can the full power of this bug-catching machinepossibly  be enough to capture them? 

Insect Meet-and-greet!: He wants to help everyone understand how good insects are! Gonta was thinking about this every day, until Ouma instigated so he could use him a cover for his own plan and crafted out a plan for an unwelcome meeting. The theme of the meeting was watching the bugs fly for the first time as they hatch from out of their cocoons. The invitation is a violent tackle followed by a grab and carry, leading to them being kept captive in his lab and forced to watch their lovely form in a skillful made dance in a sealed room. The name “Insect Meet-and-greet” shows that doesn’t mean any harm despite how some students are even passing out in that hellish night that marked the history of the Saishuu Academy...

Main quotes:

“Don’t worry, leave it to Gonta. No matter what happens, I’ll protect everyone”:  A reliable gentleman everyone can count on. The ideal image Gonta wants to have is that of an upper class British man, with a rich celibrity-like tuxedo with a matching black bow tie. A cerimonial dinner jacket with a tailcoat suits well Gonta’s body so well chiseled in the wild. But he finds Shirogane’s “A tuxedo and a mask would suit you well” quote difficult to understand... There’s no doubt that Gonta can become the single rose that slashes evil!

“Err, hmmm... S-s-shake...!“: Saying you want be a gentleman is easy, but having a concrete image of what a gentleman is much harder. Gonta thinks hard about his own way to be a gentleman and one of the ideas he reached was “escorting a lady“. However he doesn’t know the proper words, so he tells Akamatsu to “shake“, like you would say to a dog! He hastily tries to repair his actions after Akamatsu’s response, learning the basic of good treatment one step after the other. The path to becoming a gentleman is still very long!

Final comment: The barefoot gentleman everyone acknowledges as a well-intentioned person. We understand that you’re only trying to do good, but could you please take it easier with the bug friendship thing!?

I have seen Beauty and the Beast and I have a lot of things to say so.. here I come (spoilers, spoilers everywhere).

I won't lie, I went to the cinema with a lot of skepticism and apprehension because I legit thought it was going to be average at best. See I've always loved the animated version and it holds a sacred place in my Disney-fan small heart, so I was a bit scared they'd ruin it because well, what if the Beast is horrible, what if Lumière and Cogsworth and the whole family are completely messed-up, what if everything goes wrong, what if Emma Watson isn't a good choice for Belle after all, what if Be Our Guest is terrible, what if all the songs lose their magic even though Alan Menken is back for the soundtrack, what if what if what if.

My experience was a bit different than it would've been if I had seen the film in my regular cinema. You see, Beauty and the Beast was my very first IMAX experience (and my eyes took their time to adjust to the incredible visuals). It was amazingly beautiful, especially during a few scenes I'll mention later. Mind you, I didn't love everything in this live-action, but my global impression is more than positive. My expectations were low to say the least, and gods was I wonderfully surprised.

I got chills the moment I heard the first notes of the prologue, mostly because of the nostalgia. I think Alan Menken adapted the soundtrack as best as could be done, but some parts lacked a bit of the original magic in my opinion. The prologue has always been my favourite instrumental part, and the beginning of it wasn't as powerful as the original one (once we get to the enchantress, the instruments take you somewhere else entirely though). The introduction is narrated by Emma Thompson, and that was a wonderful idea. I've always loved her voice and damn she does the job. Everyone needs to know that.

A song was written for the film to present the arrogant and empty Prince as well as the people who lived with him; I disliked it, very much. There are two songs I always skip while listening to the soundtrack, and it's one of them. It made me feel nauseous at the very sight of the Prince, the whole scene was incredibly disgusting to my eyes and ears. Not because the actors and the song were terrible, but because of the toxic atmosphere coming from all these people.

Then the Enchantress showed up. She had some Galadriel vibes, she was mesmerizing. It was my « oh, I guess it won't be so bad » moment, that's when I decided I would stop living in fear of every single scene. The Enchantress my dudes, the Enchantress was perfect. Something I loved in this version is that they covered every narrative error (there might be new ones but I didn't see them); the Prince hasn't been a Beast for 10 years so he wasn't 11 at the time but already a grown-ass bitch; the Enchantress erased everyone's memories of the castle and the people who lived in it, thus why no one ever looked for them. Also, every time a petal falls, the dishes lose a bit of their humanity (until they turn into litteral objects once the rose has died) and the castle crumbles a little. I think it makes the whole thing a bit more adult, it adds a dark side to an already quite gloomy story (when you think about it).

I loved the way Belle's song was filmed, the choregraphy was incredible, and my heart melted when Emma Watson sang the part about the book she's reading. Of course it's also the time we get introduced to Gaston. LeFou and Gaston's dynamic is amazing, they're both far more fabulous in the live-action. Their dialogues never failed to make me laugh, and a few scenes with Maurice were just perfect.

Since I'm talking about Maurice, another moment created for this film was a short song sang by him once Belle comes back home, and I loved it. Maurice has a real personnality here, you get attached to him quite quickly, Kevin Kline did a wonderful job. You learn a lot of things about Belle's mother. Every single character has a real backstory here and it was interesting to discover all these new things (even the Enchantress is a more or less regular character). Even Philippe is still a mighty hero.

The first time Belle and Beast meet was great, they changed it a bit because her father doesn't want to leave so she throws him out of his cell and locks herself in it. Also it's Lumière who opens the door to show Belle her new room, so it clearly shows than the Beast does not give a single fuck about Belle at the time when he was a bit more polite in the animated.

Once we go back to the village, it is of course, time for Gaston's song, and it's beautiful, though less exaggerated as could be anticipated (animation has no limits right). LeFou steals the show here (and he's totally gay for Gaston). There's an instrumental part in the song where everyone is dancing on the tables and all and it was so cool you guys. I was waiting for this scene to come and I was not disappointed.

I didn't rly mention Lumière & Co before please forgive me; Ewan McGregor's completely failed French accent is the best thing I've ever heard, everyone is perfect in their roles but what can I say Lumière has always been my fave. The design of everyone in the castle in so on point my dudes ! I gotta say I have a bit of a problem with the permanent duck-face of the Beast but hey they did their best (plus you only notice it when he's not moving and the camera is focused on his face).

But now my dear friends, now is the time to talk about the very best thing in this film. The song we all waited for (nO I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT EVERMORE YOU LITTLE SHITS), the song that made me wish I could visit that bloody castle when I was a kid..

Be. Our. Guest.

You guys. Fellow bros. You all need to see and listen to Be Our Guest. It's perfect, it's a magical experience, Ewan McGregor is wonderful, the choregraphy is so mind-blowing the special effects team probably had a few nervous breakdowns while doing Be Our Guest and it was worth all the struggle. IT WAS SO FUCKING GORGEOUS ALL THESE COLOURS *coughs* srsly watch this film in IMAX if you can. I couldn't stop smiling during the whole scene (also I cried a little because I loved it so much but shhhh). There are no words to truly express how I felt during that moment, I wanted to sing along and annoy everyone in the cinema but I didn't 'cause I'm a nice person. It was flawless.

The way the Beast and Belle slowly discover each other is still lovely af, especially when he shows her the library (in a different way than he does in the animated and I gotta say I prefer this version, it was funnier but still in character). They spend a lot of time together reading lots of books and you can feel time passing by where it could seem like the story took 3 days to happen in the animated (and thus giving assholes a reason to shout WOW STOCKHOLM SYNDROME WOW WOW)

And while we see a romance blossoming we can also observe Gaston revealing his rotten core, his charming mask falling to show us what a monster he is. Luke Evans is absolutely terrifying in this film. He just seems kinda dumb at the beginning but then LeFou fails to calm him and the real beast of the film is released. We see it when Gaston tries to kill Maurice by leaving him unconscious in the woods after failing to find the castle, but in the Mob Song it's truly terrifying. I've read a few reviews and everyone agrees that the Mob Song in the live-action is far, far better than the animated one. The only complain I have is that the camera doesn't focuse on Gaston during the whole thing, and it's not a very important detail so yeah, the Mob Song slays (also Luke Evans sings divinely and LeFou has a great line in the song you need to listen to it just for that tbh).

(if you've seen the film you'll notice I didn't talk about Evermore because I hate that song even if the idea of the Beast climbing his castle to see Belle leaving breaks my heart, I think it was ridiculous. Sorry guys)

OH ALSO I FORGOT but there's a new song taking place after Belle enters her room for the first time, and everybody sings in it, it's kind of a different version of Human Again but better in my opinion. It's so lovely, the lyrics are simply beautiful.

aNYWAY this is getting quite long so I'll try to make it quick. The battle between Lumière & Co and the villagers is really cool, it's also the moment Gaston betrays LeFou so he decides to join the good guys, because LeFou actually is a nice person.

I'm kinda disappointed Gaston's hair isn't loose when he fights the Beast in this version because I just really love long hair and it made him look even more insane. He also uses a gun instead of a knife and shoots the Beast four times if I recall well. His eyes are cold af while he does it but I think killing someone with a knife is more personal and shows more hatred than using a gun, so I was a tiny bit « meh » during that part, but it was still breath-taking. Gaston telling the Beast he's there to kill him because Belle sent him, then the last spark of hope leaving the Beast's eyes THEN BELLE SHOWS UP AND GASTON GETS FUCKING REKT BY THIS GIGANTIC ANGRY LION anyway it was great I just like to rant about details no one else notices.

But then !! shit happens !!! the Beast dies before Belle tells him she loves him, the last petal falls, Lumière & Co turn into objects, despair and sorrow is everywhere, tHE CURSE IS NOT BROKEN BUT DO NOT FEAR MY DUDES THE ENCHANTRESS ENTERED THE CASTLE WITH ALL THE OTHER VILLAGERS AND SHE SAW THAT BELLE LOVED HIM SO SHE BREAKS THE CURSE HE COMES BACK TO LIFE AND HE TRANSFORMS

THE RIDICULOUS FIREWORKS ARE NOT THERE IN THE LIVE-ACTION

DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I WAITED FOR THOSE SILLY THINGS TO GO AWAY ???

HAVE YOU ANY IDEA HOW LONG I WAITED ?

TWELVE YEARS

IN AZKA- wait a second

anyway

I absolutely loved the transformation, the music was beautiful and there was a golden mist and petals around the Beast it was so, so perfect. THEN BELLE SEES HIS EYES AND SHE'S LIKE « IT IS YOU » AND I'M LIKE YES IT'S HIM YOU FUCKING IDIOT DIDN'T YOU SEE HIS PORTRAIT IN THE FORBIDDEN WEST WING THAT DOESN'T EXIST okay no I didn't think that but I could have

Then everyone becomes human again and we see Cogsworth trying to run away from his newly-returned wife, Lumière and Plumette discreetly leaving because they're horny af, Mrs Potts hugging Chip and everyone's happy and Gaston's corpse is rotting somewhere and LeFou has a new boyfriend and people sing and everything's fine now, and I'm so happy I saw this film in IMAX it was absolutely worth it and you should all give it a try even if you're an annoying purist motherfucker like me (jfc this is a very long review I'm so sorry).

Revisiting Chapters Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, and Twenty-Four of Gems Without Measure; A Pirate’s Treasure

Man, it's been awhile since I have done one of these. I have a lot to talk about with this batch, so let's jump right into it:

2) The gold exchange conversation is practically lifted word for word from canon. It was just too perfect of a Nami moment to change at all. If it isn't broken, don't fix it.

3) Okay, this was one of the hardest things for me to write: Connie and Steven on a date. I have mentioned before that I do not care to write or attempt romance, but this was important for me to do: the last perfect moment before Steven's world goes to hell. Steven and Connie have the potential to be one of the best couples in modern animation right now, but they are twelve and fourteen. I personally do not believe that you cannot have a real relationship that young, but they are definitely more than friends. They are the best of friends...jam buds, if you will.

I wrote all of the Steven/ Connie material first and wrote everything else around it. As I was doing so, I kept sending CyanideOreo what I was working on for feedback, specifically making sure that this fit the characters without getting any form or real kid romance. I was assured that this read more as a "Disney Romance," which is a perfect fit. 

I did, however, draw on the early dates and special moments that I shared with my wife to make it somewhat accurate (in the same way that I used my thoughts about relationships in the previous chapter with Greg). Walking around through the nearby historic village has always been a wonderful time for us, especially when they have art fairs or other activities.

4) I am sure most of you have seen this great artwork based on this moment made by @cyanideoreo, but did you pick up the significance of what Steven and Connie were eating? Raspberry ice and cake was the order Mary Poppins placed at the Penguin Cafe in the sidewalk chalk drawing world (in addition to some tea) during the song "Jolly Holiday." This, of course, is subtle foreshadowing of where this date is going to go by the end of this chapter.

5) The only comment I am going to make about the newspaper article (which has been a small, rarely mentioned subplot since the end of the Davy Back Fight is that it is important and that there is a major clue about what is going to happen in the somewhat near future.

6) A coworker of mine had students create masks for a project of “The Masque of the Red Death.” They have been hanging up in her room all year. While there are quite a few interesting designs, my favorite was the mask that was a pack of cards, glued together and fanned out with eye holes cut into it. I put it in the story as one of the masks seen in the "mask game."

7) Kaku calling the Straw Hats "youngsters" was my way of getting the gag where he has an older voice than the characters expected without it being random. 

8) Eirney is a character that jmr46718 and I developed in our discussions about the story over a year ago. We thought that Kalifa could benefit from having a sister, especially since she doesn't do much in-universe except follow her job description...

However, Iceburg's reactions to having no idea who she was is supposed to lampshade that this is one of the only original characters in this story. 

9) Steven and Connie, of course, sing "Jolly Holiday" from Mary Poppins. The only thing worth mentioning is I changed one part of the lyrics. I removed "You'd never think of pressing your advantage. Forbearance is the hallmark of your creed" with "You always treat me right with proper kindness. You're goofy, funny, charming; yes, indeed." I did this because this date is too innocent for any kind of "advantage" that could be overtaken.

Also, I couldn't NOT make the AGITR connection.

10) As several people guessed, the events of “Steven Floats” happen earlier than expected! Of course, nobody expected it to be because of a tiny kiss! I honestly imagined this scene to be like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer's reindeer games sequence where Clarice kisses Rudolph and he flies while yelling "She thinks I'm cute!"

11) Steven is witnessing the scene from next chapter where the Gems and Nami come across a battered Usopp.

12) When I first posted this chapter, I messed it up and forgot that Steven's fall correlated to his negative emotions and went straight to him needing to stop by using his positive thoughts of the Gems (but not Rose).

13) Oh look! Two new characters! Nero is...well, there is a character in One Piece named Nero! I wonder if they are the same character? The other one, Apollo, is a mink, which was only introduced properly in One Piece two years ago. I am sure that they served their purpose after catching Steven. Boy, wasn't it nice that they pointed the kids in the right direction after seeing Steven's gem?

14) I wonder why Eirney is so interested in what a Gem is. Maybe she likes gemology? 

15) Remember that Amethyst is wearing a redesigned dress that I created for her back in AGITR. As such, she is better concealed than the canon outfit she would be wearing at this point. One of the first things that was decided was to have Paulie wish that the other characters would stop being so shameless and be more like Amethyst, who would pick up on that immediately and use it for laughs. This is the beginning of this gag.

16) Picking right up from Chapter Twenty-One, Peridot is leading the charge to figure out where Robin disappeared to. We are knee-deep in Peridot's story arc of figuring out who she is and where she belongs. Keep an eye on her throughout this section: she may yet have an important role to play.

17) Again, a lot of setup from this chapter is taken from canon. It is necessary to keep the emotional integrity from this section. However, the key new addition to this scenario is Amethyst. This is basically an extension of her character development that began in "Tiger Millionaire" and "Maximum Capacity" that did not conclude until "That Will Be All."  She is feeling a major lack of self-respect and now sees Usopp as a kindred spirit. It honestly wasn't something I had planned initially, but it made a lot of sense and tied into the plot in an organic way that builds upon what came before and what will happen moving forward. 

18) This is the first legitimate acknowledgement of the radically different levels of violence that both shows possess and I think it's important to acknowledge it. Obviously it makes people like Greg and Pearl uncomfortable, but that doesn't change the people. Luffy is an amazing guy, but he isn't afraid to beat the crap out of you if push comes to shove. Amethyst recognizes that and accepts it far easier than Pearl, who is still struggling with the radically different dimension (but not for lack of trying, as we all know change is HARD for Pearl).

19) Speaking of, I thought the point of giving Greg a Devil Fruit was to make him useful, not to just sit around and do nothing! What gives?

20) Since the first strike in the Franky House isn't necessarily considered a quintessential Luffy moment like, say, the storming of Arlong Park, and more of a Straw Hat moment, I felt comfortable with letting Pearl give the first strike. 

21) Peridot beating the guy (who was already down since she did not engage in combat at all) is deliberately my Batman Begins "SWEAR TO ME!" moment. I initially had her say just that, but it took me out and made it too blatant. That being said, Peridot trying to be as intimidating as Batman is hilarious.

22) I debated on having Chapter Twenty-Three end with Usopp's declaration for the duel, but I felt it made Chapter Twenty-Four stronger by leading us to that through the loss of Steven's innocence as his perfect day gets shattered at the last moment. This is why Steven does not appear outside of the small mention of him floating.

23) Dramatic Irony is such a great literary device. Literally every scene with Steven and Connie is deliberately the happiest thing in the world solely because it has to end in tragedy.

24) The masks were designed by CyanideOreo two chapters ago. That's what I call great collaboration! 

26) The beat that Connie and Steven are marching to is "Colonel Hathi's March" from The Jungle Book. 

27) I debated about Stevonnie appear in the first part of the date, but I decided that their appearance was the perfect final moment for the innocence of the kids to remain intact.

28) Peridot discussing objectivity is important as she truly believes in it, as shown in “Message Received.”

29) The whole emotional/ color power was first glimpsed back in Chapter Twelve when Steven found Noko. I wonder what that could be?

30) jmr46718 was the one to come up with the idea to have Steven have his own duel with the Gems which is the culmination of all of Pearl's attitude problems. Originally, Amethyst would have been involved too, but I decided to make her decidedly empathetic to Usopp, so I limited it to Garnet and Pearl.

31) Steven has quit the Crystal Gems! I wonder what the new status quo is going to be now? 

Flair’s Dreams, February 2018

Separating this into two parts, because it was just way too long otherwise. Here’s my dreams from the past month.

2/2/18: (1:11-7:00) (Sick) (Powers Dream) (Continuation Dream)

I have the powers of The Simurgh (Worm), due to being designated by her as her replacement. This blurs my vision- a lesser version of her inability to see the present?- but I could make certain parts of it (single columns of a transparent "grid") clearer with focus. This may have affected something else as a result when I made use of it. If The Simurgh is hurt, I have the option of repairing it (from afar, through the bond), but if the damage is too severe I will have no choice but to take over.

I'm in an auditorium with many other teens/children, who've been enlisted/recruited by a cult-like group. The group requires them to complete schoolwork in a very odd way, and shows them a "Tomato Surprise" fighting game, the setup of which is familiar to me, but better through out. I allow the guy on the left of me to rest his hand on mine because he likes the contact, and he then becomes a black girl with braids named Jupiter. The auditorium is suddenly empty, leaving us alone. Underneath the cloak she's wearing are oxygen tubes and four green bottles attached to her belt/waist. I then wake up (for real), and think to myself that I need to hurry up and finish the dream before falling back asleep, whereupon the dream resumes. Kaneki (Tokyo Ghoul) takes my place, and Jupiter's skin melts. She survives, if barely, which may have been part of "Kaillou's" plans.

I and a few others are near a large farm-like complex where the Nichijou characters are running around. I'm quite convinced that you don't get hurt falling off of stuff in dreams (without actually being aware this is a dream, somehow), and attempt to prove this by jumping off a tall tower, three separate times- once, with large plastic box lids in my hands for drag. This does not, in fact, hurt me. Another guy, on the other side of the farm, can't seem to bring himself to do it.

Upon waking up to my alarms over and over, I repeatedly had the same impression of the end of a dream involving DDLC, many small rainbow squares, and my having the ability to manipulate reality. I kept using this ability to change the "ending" (of the dream) to be simpler, because the alternative just seemed too complicated.

2/3/17: (Sick) (Repeated Wakeups) (Powers Dream)

After being stuck and unable to move for the longest time, I somehow turn this into a literal weapon (large pyramidal shaped metal object). Others are in the same situation as me, and they do the same. We're in some sort of containment area/underground enemy base, and upon emerging into a golden room (the view is 2D), I hear a huge "thrumming" noise. It turns out that I have superpowers (telepathy and spirit sight), and that was the thoughts of something huge. Later, I'm sitting in a room with two of my captors looking at me. Either they send forth an enormous red energy lance that spears through my right eye, or something behind me sends it out, spearing through my head/eye from behind, but through my captors as well.

2/5/17: (10:30-6:15) (Sick)

There is a large white hotel/conference-like building where we (Northrop Grumman?) are holding a food banquet. I pass Marion at the vegetarian table, and go upstairs to the things I'll actually eat. I somehow end up in an entirely different building (the basement of a house in a residential area), where I eat with several people I don't know. I exit, and find that the world has a very surreal feel to it, and everything is tinted slightly golden yellow. A floating, grinning white mask stares at me from behind, which I laugh at before strolling down the street towards a downward slope. As I head down it, I tug at my legs, which are pale metallic yellow, and made of pointed symbols and machine parts. There are weird creatures made of white orbs that look sort of like snowmen called "natives". The scene then zooms out to show Akko (LWA) holding up a charm of one.

There is a "mentor" Kuzuhamon (Digimon) who cares for/trains a "Flaredramon" (actually a Flamon, who may or may not have been me) inside of Dad's house. Kuzuhamon gets extremely angry at Flamon for some reason, and starts "training" him by attacking him with brown energy construct versions of various Digimon. Flamon tries to run away, de-digivolving step by step with every hit, until he de-digivolves all the way down to "Kuramon" (actually a Dorimon). Kuzuhamon suddenly becomes much nicer, which Dorimon enjoys, but he's experiencing time much faster now, to the point that several days go by without his mentor moving. He runs away for real, re-digivolving as he does, and encounters a field full of Digimon. They point out Piedmon in the other direction (was a goal of Flamon's to hunt him down?), but he doesn't care, and just keeps running into the sunset.

Me, Dad, some guy with bluish hair, and some girl with sort of bronze skin and brown hair have a real treasure map, which we set out to discover the treasure of. After passing through a city at night and a mall (where I have a frustrating interaction with a "pen-phone"), we come to a twisting path under a pitch black sky, which passes through areas of tall brush visible basically only in outline, everything is so dark. This place is utterly terrifying, to the point that there is a literal SAN meter in place, and all of us are certain we are going to be eaten. Despite that, we make it through the path with no incident, until we reach the end and accidentally step into a lake we can't see. All of us feel a sharp, cutting feeling on our feet that makes us think we just got bitten by snakes, and hurriedly pull back. Our eyes begin to adjust, and it becomes apparent those were not snakes, but pirahnas, which share the lake with anglerfish, _____, and mermaids. We debate over their gender for a little while, as we're not quite sure where to go right now. Eventually we decide we need to go underwater after all, despite our reservations. Again, this goes better than expected, as it's not really underwater beneath the lake surface, leading us to end up in a fascimile of my room. We again find ourselves at a loss for what to do, and after several minutes I end up digging at my carpet, which is covered in pictures of tiny penises. It turns out there are small pieces of black plastic and metal that look like part of some larger component beneath it, which we gather together with plans of reconstructing it. We then decide we're done for the day, put some recycles in a large bag, and leave... to the rest of the house. It's still light outside (only 2:00 PM), and Dad has disappeared. The three of us look in a mirror and a song is sung, followed by a rendition of Namae no Nai Kaibutsu, as a love song.

A large, muscled black woman throws two giant sword "fish" to shore from underwater. She becomes famous as the first ____, transgender weaponsmith over time, who does commissions, but none that are just for the sake of the user "looking sexy". I'm a bit confused by this, as the line between "cool" and "sexy" is rather indistinct, and ponder it for a bit.

2/7/18: (???-5:45)

I and some others are on a colorful (fluorescent) island, trying to get off of it. There are many obstacles and dangers on the island, such as a tribe of people who ambush and turn us into trees if we wait in one scenario. It is possible to "outbid" the chief however, and stop them. If not, I'm left as the last to be revived/untreed, by which time everyone outlevels me (9-10, as opposed to 4).

I start taking gymnastics again at a center with a bunch of exercise bikes. This time, there is archery mixed in (at the same time), making it far more difficult. I'm told I was born under the "sign of the vine", which is an apple. Usually archery is apparently a girl's concern, since it's the main method of attack/defense if her wedding turns into a fight. I become a girl with short, dark hair halfway through explaining this, complaining that the "apple" basically just means on the wedding night "do not eat unless clean/unstained". I am now IN a wedding dress, standing on a table while I talk to a guy sitting at it.

2/9/18: (1:??-8:45) (Powers Dream)

Subtly eldritch hallway course, with stuff like a book which dark purple hands emerge from that grab you, which you need to shake off, sentient exits, and other inanimate-but-not stuff. I accidentally seal off the exit because I looked at/used a binder in the wrong way, which is bad. Others gather in the other room at the end, as do I. If the hallway can no longer be completed in a single bout/one long stretch, I'll be turned into a toy car. This does in fact happen when I can't fix things, but thankfully Amethyst (Land of the Lustrous; not the one we see in the show) still knows about/remembers me despite time/the world readjusting, and builds an intricate addition to the hall for me, consisting of a series of spinning, polished blocks built into the walls that send a ball rolling down to "complete" it, turning me back to normal.

I start out the dream as a gem (Land of the Lustrous), talking to someone about how we've surpassed the need for gender, in an apartment building. I exit it, and encounter large drops of honey on the road, which I find strange. I'm now just me, heading down the road towards the "Little JJ" (Jean Jacket) shop to get clothes. There are some people talking about a real Zero Escape style event, who I call out to and talk with briefly before moving on. I then go to a museum/park or something with many sandstone buildings. I recycle a root beer bottle I brought with me, and enter. Near a building, I hit my head somehow, and accidentally use telekinesis on a huge block of something out of my immediate sight but nearby. I know someone is unhappy about that, as I'm supposed to keep my abilities secret. Annoyed by this, I start levitating another large rock and wing it around in eight different directions. I then mass manipulate a bunch more, right out in the open. The organization that wants me to keep things secret won't let me turn myself into a girl for some reason (which I could), so I'm feeling vindictive. I cackle inwardly.

2/11/18: (1:??-6:45)

There is a "blossom festival" celebrated by monks, wherein they carry giant iron discs down neighborhood streets. Others can also run back and forth between their homes and the temple multiple times to receive enlightenment. Their temple is more of a wooden complex, and when I get there, someone in the back tries to stop me from moving further in.

There are "feminine timelines" for Ranma, wherein he is or becomes a girl at least semi-permanently for various reasons. In a mall, she chases after Happosai, who is threatening to use the "Yowl of the Demon Cat". Ranma corners him in a window, whereupon he blows everything up. The severed rainbow tail of a god (looks like a mermaid's) lands in the wreckage.

A ship pulls into port. Ranma drives a motorcycle through shallow water to Wolverine and a girl training to be Wonder Woman. Ranma threatens Wolverine into training with rocks.

All "planes" of magic have been based upon a single one, that made them all for fun/fiction. Its inhabitants look like cloth creatures and puppets, with a ruler named "Lord Lubrante". We manage to beat him, and progress to the next area.

2/12/18: (1:01-6:45)

I am playing a game that is actively trying to kill me, where every step/necessary action is dark and creepy in some way. One of these involves going outside my house to find thousands of tiny black creatures with bright white eyes staring at me. They giggle, and try to fade me out of existence. Another is to go out into the driveway in the dark and dig blindly in the soil with a knife for something that it turns out is actually in the mail.The package is in Chinese, and contains a question, the answer to which is written in the sky ("____ cloud computing"). There is only one step left after this.

2/13/18: (12:??-4:19, attempted SSILD, 4:30-6:45) (Powers Dream)

I'm an anime-girl with curving pink hair down to the small of my back, which narrows at the end and looks almost like it was painted with watercolors. I'm named "Sayori", and probably was in fact some version of the Sayori from DDLC. Inside of a giant, lengthy structure that looks still partially under construction and floats a few feet off the ground, I do some stuff for others involving pictures of me ("lessening"/thinning the number thereof?), then slide down a large, chunky red triangular thing that looks sort of like a tongue to get to the bottom. I transform/turn into a girl with long purple hair, wearing a dress of some sort. I use my hair to glide into the "girl's side", which is a section at the very back of the structure with a pale and royal purple color scheme. I really like how convenient it is to glide places like that, and really don't want to give it up, even though I know I should. I find Yuri (DDLC) in the area, and talk to her, now myself again but wearing pink jeans for some reason.

Taylor (Worm) is on a deserted island, by her own choice. Leet somehow gets in contact with her over the phone, which she's pissed about, and she consequently threatens Number Man for letting Leet do so or giving him her contact information. He replies that "thinking in real time" is rare, which is something Leet possesses, hence why he allowed it. Leet is annoyed the "latex" (webs) Taylor sold him have stopped working, which is clearly his own fault. Taylor gets fed up and tosses the shoes of the two mercenary guys Leet sent as proxies into the water, just past some playground equipment I'm hiding near. She retreats to a nearby cave where a velociraptor mother nests, and one of the guys follows. I quietly follow both of them, wanting them to notice me but also wanting to be mysterious. The cave is mostly puddles and pebbles at first, but becomes a dull, dusty auditorium. Taylor talks to the guy off to the right, while I settle down a little further back. Taylor then leaves to find one of the two baby raptors, and the guy calls out to me. Perry (Phineas and Ferb) abruptly pops in, and I recognize him as such only because his eyes widen. I laugh, and talk with someone on the other side of the room, as tons more people from Phineas and Ferb pour in from nowhere. This makes me laugh even more, as this is supposed to be a deserted island, and I can't figure out how they even got here. I mention to someone offhand that none of them even asked about me when I showed up, as the auditorium renews, gaining red carpets, bright lighting, and gold walls. A "light fight" conducted with flashlights ensues.

2/14/18:

Mall, time travel allows us to save a laser ray exposure victim, flies and maggots saved someone else by way of Trelawney (Harry Potter), there's a short, long sleeved, purple and white jacket with stars on it that I want, Mom refuses to believe the house is going to be set on fire by a drier explosion (which we time travelled back to avoid) without details.

2/15/18:

After some sort of accident, four people are reconstructed in bodies not their own. They were based on pictures from a manga/light novel someone in the group had been writing, as well as a picture of a parent in someone's case. Mine (I wasn't part of the group at first, but then was) looks kind of like Ashley from EGS, and was based on the "dark magic" sister from the manga who wore long, ornate dark dresses and kept her hair in a fancy updo. Later, we wander through a Japanese city, where zombies are wandering around, though we only see two. Japan apparently did this to itself. We enter a building and go into a top secret room in the back, where a lady we know is waiting at a table for us. She was partially responsible for the body reconstruction.

2/16/18: (2:00-9:00) (Change Dream)

I'm Mia (La La Land), but with red hair. Apparently I'm getting married, which I formerly wanted, but am now quite unsure about. 800 demons will be attending as my guests (what was I doing BEFORE this?). I try on a dress (THE wedding dress?), which is a shiny green "culture doll" (or "culture thief"?) design. I'm concerned I don't know how to dance, because I'm NOT Mia, I'm me, and I know I am. Earlier, I was on an island covered with wheat, stick bugs, and many other animals. My "husband" gave me honey flowers, which smelled great, and we walked down a wooden "bridge" on the ground. Later, a giant whale creature and a small "1/1" beluga thing are on my side as Hex-like troops/creatures at the edge of an island of ice, where the ceremony is going to take place. The giant whale goes nuts when attacking, crashing through EVERYTHING, the ice and the ceremony area included, in just three lunges. It turns pink and cartoonish, and a woman's torso sprouts from its forehead, yelling "It's mine, all MINE!". The whale then leaves, leaving everyone in shock, besides several of the demons who foresaw this. I can't help but be a bit relieved by this, as the wedding will at the least be postponed (and possibly outright cancelled) by this, silently thanking the woman I assume was my stepmother-to-be for her intervention.

2/18/18:

Oneshot-like game, inside an old house, return later to find a previous mini-boss, a woman with long ears/hair extending to the sides, a koi-like color scheme (white, black, and orange), and tubes coming out of her, she has turquoise/pink/yellow colors on the overworld map (while not fighting her), "one of the few things to give me hope" (a quote from her), secret ending involves her, to get it Undyne (Undertale) and a wizard ghost must first be appeased, followed by her.

2/19/18: (Powers Dream)

There are time travel watches, which I have one of, but seem to have lost. As a result, I resort to "rewinding" by simply dying instead. I and someone else go to live at an apartment, which is a "fixer upper" (a gray, crumbling, destroyed concrete complex). Later, I sneak into a building with a group of others (including Mineta from MHA), going through two of the five special "hub" rooms (they have energy lines going out from their centers and interconnect with the others) in order to get to a normally inaccessible area. Mineta goes into the hall, sticking to the ceiling in order to scout, but we get caught anyways, and Ectoplasm enters the room we're in and attacks. He demands to know (from me) who killed "Scarlet", a girl with long red hair in a ponytail who used a sword to fight, telling me that "I know you know". He's right, as I know from a previous timeline, which I try to explain but don't do a very good job of. Eventually I do get to the point and tell him it was "Laokhen" (Laoshen? Laorhen?), a man with a child's appearance and wearing yellow robes, who uses many short blades to fight. I explain the time travel and my missing watch, returning to Dad's house to try and find it. I THINK that I took it to my house and left it in my room.

I'm Taylor (Worm), with a power similar to Sundancer's, but the sun is created around me, protecting me while also serving as offense. I'm practicing my powers with the Travellers, who attack me (while I float with the sun around me) with some sort of sparkle beam and some other ability, noting that "she still hasn't moved" when I remain still. I continue to not move even after that comment, because I'm feeling tremors for some reason, which I continue to feel even after waking up for a short period.

2/23/18:

After I try to enter a bathroom, I end up falling through a giant vertical rock tunnel into the Earth, back down towards the "Green" (as in the Pokemon game) area. There is a girl "falling" (floating) alongside me, possibly Ciel from Hero Oh Hero, who explains why we are falling, but not in a way that makes much sense or satisfies me. We pass by a Yugioh duel occurring on a rock pillar on the way down.

There is a regenerating man/entity with a weird, organic sort of black/green shell body. He can turn parts of himself separated from his main body into other parts of himself, including those with more mass than they have (miniscule pieces into full sized organs and such) so as to fix himself, and can reconglomerate by using them. The tiniest piece left over means he'll just come back- a robot guy disguised as human by artificial skin pounds his head practically out of existence, only for the pieces that splashed everywhere to turn into lungs, then snakes, which lunged at robot guy before recongregating and becoming the man again.

2/26/18:

There are giant Pokemon in the style of the Pokemopolis episode, one of which we confront in a clearing in the woods. The other is an enormous Abra with wings, which we see through a hole in a cave's ceiling. The same "clear/block the river" plot is being used here.

By brushing an electronic chip with a toothbrush given to me by the Steven Universe gems, I can teleport anywhere I so desire. I use this to freak out people/my new neighbors by teleporting into the middle of their group at a canyon.

A robot replaces Dad, which I instantly become aware of despite its attempt to disguise itself. I can't turn my head, and ask Robot-Dad for help, whereupon he reveals himself, and I tell him I already knew that. He builds a wireless phone (for me?), but I will have to get through a barrier first and absorb a near-equivalent of Sauron, which terrifies our maid (we have a maid?).

2/27/18: (1:45-6:45) (Powers Dream)

In a building (in space?), I descend a staircase into a dingy corridor, with many doors on both sides. All of them have monsters behind them, which I have to take on with nothing more than an iron sword. It takes me a while to actually enter the corridor, because I'm thinking how to approach the task before me. I can earn skills by beating different monsters, associated with their species/type. Unfortunately, in the throng I incur, I beat a samurai-esque guy who grants a "sense everything in a small radius" skill, followed by another monster who grants a "heighten senses" skill, which is a very bad combo because it makes wounds excrutiatingly painful. Still, I manage to make it through the fight, and exit the corridor to a giant, metallic green complex/building, which I need to get to the bottom of (or at least near). There's a mayor-like guy in an alcove on the way down, and killing him will let me evolve. Later, I'm on a bridge/rectangular platform affixed to a wall (with no obvious way to get on it), which bends at a right angle in the middle and extends out into midair. It's set up to be mostly linear for a Hebiko-esque boss with over 10 arms (in a circle around her body), who emerges from a large, electro-globe like machine atop a pile of screwed together metal at the end of the platform. I personally want to fight her AS Hebiko, and may be able to become her eventually, what with the evolving ability. The "game" had planned extra features for replayability, but they were never implemented, so the "Faux-Hebiko" fight doesn't have any variants.

My name is Simeon, I’m 28, mixed race and I have depression.

Hi guys,

I don’t know where to start, so this may be a random splurge of words until I really get into it, so I do apologise in advance.

I’ve had depression and anxiety ever since I can remember. I mean that literally.

I didn’t know what it was when I was a child, I thought it was normal to be scared of everything and to be sad and to cry, but as I got older, and I mean a lot older, I realised that it’s not. I didn’t need to be happy all of the time, just not hopelessly sad. I only really levelled out when I was 25 and met my gorgeous Fiancee, but it is still a daily struggle.

I have a depression diary, which is a leather bound book with thick cotton pages and a Fountain Pen. I write Fountain Pen in capitals because it’s an important object to me. That fountain pen has been the instrument of which my sadness and insanity has flowed through for a number of years. I bought a nice leather bound book that smells of leather and makes a scratchy noise when I write. It has a brass clasp on the front and a spiral design, because I felt that it can’t just be a regular book that I write my crap into. My thoughts and feelings. It needs to be special, it needs to be...symbolic. It needed to feel like an ancient spell book (I know, fucking lame but it helped ever so slightly) and it needed to feel as though I was locking away some ancient and terrible evil and sealing it.

Didn’t work so much, but in my more sanguine moments, it’s nice to read through it and think, I got through this. I can get through it next time. And when I’m having a “Bad one” as I call them, I sometimes look through the book and realise, I don’t feel as bad as I did then, which helps me feel slightly better, and if I feel worse than I did then, then I write it in the book for next time. 

If you’re reading this, then I feel that maybe you’re in the same boat as me. You’re a man who struggles to find peace in life and feel that it’s not okay to talk about these things. You’re non-white and you don’t have the support from your community that you maybe feel that white people have. You’re older and feel that you haven’t quite shook your teen angst? Maybe you’re none of these things and just feel like critiquing my awful punctuation and writing. I just hope that maybe in all of my ramblings, I help one person with something.

This whole thing stemmed from being sick and tired of it. By it I mean the depression, but I never used to. for a long period of my life I was suicidal. I came so close a couple of times. One time I tried to hang myself in my local park but at 6 foot 6 and over 300lbs, it was difficult to find the right tree, which in turn made me laugh to the point of tears. I used to be a bit of a mess.

Right, so where to start. 

So the reason I’m writing this blog is because this week I’ve been feeling bad. Not my lowest, but bad and for absolutely no reason. At the moment my life is bloody brilliant. I have a good job, I’m engaged to my perfect woman, my family life is great, so why do I suddenly feel like this? I used to think that there was something playing on my mind, and whatever it was, was the reason for me feeling this bad. But now....pfft, damned if I know. So I started to look online, I searched Youtube as well as various other sites, and you know what? I couldn’t find a single person like me who had written a blog, or is on Youtube. Now maybe I’m not looking in the right places, but I shouldn’t have to trawl the internet looking for help. There are so many of these written or filmed by 18-30 year old women (of all colours and creed) or older men or seemingly more effeminate men (I don’t mean to be offensive to anyone in saying that). I am a CIS Gender man. I cannot be mistaken for anything other than a “manly man” in person. As previously mentioned, I’m 6 foot 6, I used to do boxing and play American Football (As an Englishman this is almost heresy because I chose that over rugby, but there is a reason, which I will go into in another post on another day). I used to love drinking, going out, having banter and pulling women. Again, I feel that a lot of people reading this will consider me to be a HYPER-MASCULINE BRUTE AND EVERYTHING THAT IS WRONG WITH THE WORLD. But you know what. We have mental health issues too and we feel that it’s wrong and weak to talk about these things. To admit that there is in fact something wrong with us under the surface. Especially in the Black community.

I don’t know about the rest of the world, but in the UK, October is Black history month. A fun story actually, well not fun but y’know. I went to a secondary school called Castle Vale Comprehensive. Now Castle Vale (The area in which I grew up) fifteen years ago wasn’t the most racially diverse place in the UK, in total in my whole school I think that there were around twenty of us (None white) give or take a few. Now, I mention this fact because during black history month at school all of the black and mixed race kids were taken out of class to learn about black history. Not me. When I asked a teacher why I wasn’t included in this, I was told that I’m not black, I’m asian. As a mixed race person, my skin tone isn’t exactly like that of most mixed race people, I’m a lot darker, with a very straight nose (Which Ironically, I get from my black father). This hurt. A lot. I remember arguing and shouting about it which I think got me my first suspension from school. My parents were obviously furious and went down to the school to complain, but the suspension held and by the time that I went back to school all of the black history stuff had finished. I have had this kind of thing my entire life from both the black and white community. Even when a lot of people know that I’m mixed race, they’ve still shunned me. Either because I’m not black enough and they don’t want to know me, or because I’m a “Filthy half-breed”,  or because my parents are race traitors (These are from black people by the way).

I have been treated slightly better by white people but still treated badly and had my feelings on the matter disregarded. I work in a very “White” industry and environment and the subject once came up about Gollywogs, I don’t know if anybody remembers those toys of a black guy, with big red lips and fuzzy hair. I said that they’re racist. Everybody in my office told me that I’m being overly sensitive and that when I’ve really started arguing that I’m being overly aggrssive. Or when somebody calls me coloured, or makes a nigger joke, that I’m acting as though I have a chip on my shoulder, and no amount of talking can change this. I’ve tried to get people to see it from my point of view but they all just laugh it off. How do you deal with this kind of stuff? Know what I mean?

A big point of my life, aside from my colour, has been my size. I’m six foot six. Thats 198cm. Just under 2 meters. I’m a big old boy. I’ve had to learn to tailor myself to the world so that I don’t appear threatening or hostile. Do you know how exhausting that has been? Having to make sure that I always have either a neutral face or a smile. Or making sure that I don’t shout or speak too loudly for fear of offending somebody. I remember once, down an alley next to my parents house there is a cut through alley as they live down a cul-de-sac, which cuts a solid 10-20 minute walk off your journey, I was walking home up the cul-de-sac, and a woman was walking down it. She was about half way down when she saw me and turned around and hurriedly walked in the opposite direction. Can you understand how hurtful that is? I mean to be perceived as a threat for aboslutely no reason. People regularly say in jest “Oh I wouldn’t want to mess with you” “I wouldn’t want to meet you down a dark alley” “I wouldn’t want to have a go at you” etc. Which is obviously a joke, but fuck me is it tiring. I will admit it’s been helpful at times when I’m out and I can stop a situation escalating, or helping people out of situations, but at the same time, the sheer amount of trouble that my size and colour has gotten me into is ridiculous. The number of physical fights I’ve had with people who want to have a go on the biggest guy in the room, or the “Biggest nigger they’ve ever seen”. Now, thankfully I learned relatively early on to handle myself, but I still hate it.

I hate that due to all of these factors, I need to restrain myself so that people don’t get worried around me, or scared. If your average person has an anxiety attack, people will help, not me. It looks like I’m going crazy, a giant crazy black guy. Or if a small white woman shouts at somebody, it’s okay, but if I do it, I’m the villain of the piece (I know I shouldn’t shout at people but it’s an example).

my dad has taught me a lot in my life, but I think the most useful thing he ever taught me was how to smile. I don’t mean that in a “Always look on the bright side of life” kind of way, I mean it in a he sat me in front of a mirror and showed me how to smile the right way, so that people would see me a certain way. So that people would see me as genuine and charming, so that people wouldn’t see me as moody and threatening. This smile has helped me in thousands of situations. I know it sounds ridiculous but to have a mask readily available is a godsend sometimes. Plus I have been told that I do have a nice smile.

My parents have always been there for me...mostly been there for me.  They thought that I was just an angry angsty teen, and it was only later in life they realised that something was actually wrong with me. We 

Cheat Payday 2

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This picture is going to play into my rant which’ll be comin’ soon.. So. I wanted to start my first post with a rant, cause I wanted to express my disdain for a certain portrayal of a certain DC comics character. Obviously, I’ll be talking about the wonderful Harley Quinn. I thought that this will be better on this blog cause instead of my other one cause why the hell not? I wanted to start off by saying that I have nothing against Margot Robbie, she was only acting in the way she was told to and she was portraying the character that they had written. But my god did I hate how she said ‘puddin.’ Honestly, I cringed every time she said it. It just didn’t sound right. I’ll try to describe it for those who do not understand. While Arleen Sorkin (the only Harley I’ll accept to be honest) puts emphasis on the 'u’, making it actually sound like the word pudding. Margot Robbie, on the other hand, said it without any emphasis on the 'u’ and instead saying it with with an 'uh.’ (Therefore pronouncing it 'puhdin’) That was just a little pet peeve I had with her. I don’t know, maybe it’s just my family and I who noticed this, but it annoyed me to no end. As for the writing, I get it. You guys think we all like the New 52. In all honesty, DC comics fans HATED the New 52. At least, the majority did. Not only that, but because of the marketing, you have brought people who have no knowledge of DC comics (or the amazing-layered-characters it contains) to the theater and are lead to believe that each of these characters are walking stereotypes. One example of this is Killer Croc, who is another amazing, layered character that you stripped everything away from. They wrote Harley as this stereotypical crazy, edgy, girlfriend who only wants to fix her abuser. While I’m at it, I might as well bring up the fact that they romanticized Harley and Joker’s relationship. What the hell? Why? Just why? Not only have you mislead the general public that you marketed to that they’re just two crazy people in love with no problems whatsoever, but people actually believe that they are 'relationship goals.’ I honestly roll my eyes whenever I hear anyone say ’*random everyday life thing*-goals’ cause to me it’s kinda stupid, but this just makes me nervous. If they were to actually pick up a fucking comic book, they’d either be horrified by Joker’s treatment of Harley (to which I applaud you, because you aren’t one of the people that I’m gonna mention next), or they’d immediately be in denial and say 'that’s not like them, they love each other and Joker would sacrifice himself so she got to safety.’ No. That isn’t how it works. That is not the relationship Paul Dini had intended on when he first wrote their relationship. You do not want a relationship like that. Harley also isn’t that person who’d want a regular life with him. She’s accepted Joker for the twisted person he is. Hell, she might not like him as much if he were normal. So that dream sequence was bullshit. Not to mention the fact that she’s smart enough to know that there is no going back from what they’ve done. There is no normal life. They’ve committed awful crimes, there’s no normal life for them anymore. They wouldn’t be able to have kids and keep them. Hell, in the 'Injustice’ comics (which is post-52 launch), Harley admits to Black Canary that she had a kid with Joker and he didn’t notice. She gave their kid to her sister so she would have a better life, so she wouldn’t be taken away from them, so Harley could stay in contact with her daughter. Another thing that bothered me about the movie was the excessive use of feminist characterization for Harley. If you’ve made it this far into my post, then you know that she was far from a feminist when she was first written. Hell, she was written to jump out of a cake, but Joker ended up doing that himself anyway, so she was really just there but evolved into something beautiful. She was originally a tale of domestic abuse and how she struggled with it. Sure she was able to break away from Joker for a bit, she’d always come back. Introducing Harley with a song called 'You Don’t Own Me’ really isn’t the best choice for her. Cause that’s exactly what she is to Joker, a possession. He owns her, but she doesn’t see it that way. If I am correct, he says something like 'I don’t like people touching my stuff’ in 'Assault On Arkham.’ So in other media, Joker treats her like a possession. Don’t get me started on the club scene, where Harley sits on some random guy’s lap saying 'Hey, you’re kinda cute.’ No. Just no. Even if Joker were trying to trade her, she wouldn’t openly flirt with some guy in front of Joker. Even if he was cute to her, she wouldn’t admit it in front of Joker. Now for my least favorite part (and I believe Ms. Robbie’s least favorite part as well) the costume. I fucking HATE this costume. I hate it with a fucking passion. It looks cheap. It looks awful and I feel nauseous every time I see it. Who the fuck thought THIS (the gif at the end) was a good idea? The thought process behind this was 'Yep, I’m Harley Quinn so I’m gonna wear a t-shirt, some short shorts that have the colors of a harlequin jester outfit, fishnets, and wear my hair so it resembles the harlequin hat!’ It was stupid. That, my friends, is where the picture at the top comes in to play. They claimed that none of the pre-existing outfits worked out for the movie. I have come up with something that-most likely-would have worked out. Use a material like spandex for the suit, and you should be good. Oh, and instead of heels, use combat boots. That should help with moving around. The best part about my little design, is that there is an alternate version without the jester headpiece! Isn’t that great! So you could have a Harley Quinn outfit no sleeves, a belt for her tricks (and treats), her classic domino mask, and her jester headpiece or her red and black-tipped ponytails. Speaking of the ponytails, I hated how it was pink. Like, where the hell is there pink in Harley’s original colors? Yes, I added a cute blush in the design, but that’s just the makeup that would suit someone who’s been laughing, cause I know that when I laugh my cheeks get red. And why was Harley’s hair bleach blonde? If anything it would’ve been closer to Michelle Pfeiffer’s hair color. Ah, and now I get to Dr. Quinnzel. I found a post that showed her tights. Her tights had things like 'spank me, eat me, etc.’ written on them. What the hell? This just proves to me that the costume department took one look at each picture they were given for Harley Quinn without doing background research and thought 'oh, so what? Is she some sort of… sex pot or something?’ And just went to town. No, Warner Bros. She is not just some sexual object. She is sexy, but only to Joker. In the pre-52 launch, that is. I give video games like the Arkham series and Injustice a pass because they’re video games. They do stuff like that, they sexualize their female characters and, quite frankly, unless it fucks with my logic, (how the hell is THAT armor gonna help a girl) I don’t care. But DC comics saw that people liked the Arkham version of Harley and gave us some… discount, cheap cosplay of it. I’d like to point out that with the loss of her jester costume, she was less fun. A lot of her personality traits such as her childlike charm went down the drain. She was less funny. It was truly a shame. This next part really has nothing to do with the portrayal of Harley Quinn or the Suicide Squad but I’d thoroughly appreciate it if you’d keep the Suicide Squad posters AWAY from the Negan ones cause they really have nothing on my dearest Negan and it annoys me when I turn the display thing and see THAT after I’ve laid my eyes on GREATNESS!! Thanks! Xoxo -Harleen