Pit comics torrent

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2018.12.02 13:20 nbatman FMHY.net

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2016.12.18 18:13 barry-kuda The Bing Bong Theorem

THE BIGGEST BANGIEST COMICS
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2008.01.25 02:53 Torrents: ᴘ2ᴘ ꜰɪʟᴇ ꜱʜᴀʀɪɴɢ

🌊 Dedicated to in-depth discussion of digital torrenting, moral dilemmas, and technological news.
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2024.06.01 06:55 ghostgabe81 Respect the MonsterVerse Titans (Justice League vs Godzilla vs Kong)

The Titans are ancient "superspecies" that inhabited the Earth of the MonsterVerse long before humanity, only to be awoken in the modern day. These creatures are thought to be the inspiration for many stories and myths.
When a teleportation mishap sends the Legion of Doom to the MonsterVerse, the Toyman is enamored with the Titans. Using the mystic Dreamstone, he transports his new "toys" to the DC Universe to wreck havoc.
Sources: Justice League vs Godzilla vs Kong. Feats are marked with the issue number
Notes:
  1. The author has stated that while the Titans are based on the MonsterVerse movies and comics, the story is an Elseworld on both the DC and MonsterVerse sides. That being said, I'll still link to Threads of the mainline versions of the Titans as a reference point.
  2. The author has stated that while he didn't write this version of Superman as explicitly weaker than his mainline counterpart, he also doesn't write with battleboarding or powerscaling in mind. Rather he chose to depict the "alphas" of each universe (Godzilla and Superman) at similar levels of strength and scale each character down from there.
  3. Both the DC Universe and MonsterVerse have kaiju called The Kraken. In this thread only the DC one is referenced
Scaling

Camazotz

A bat-like Titan that was the basis of an Aztec deity. Upon arrival in the DC Universe it wrecks havoc in Gotham City, but is defeated by the Bat-Family (with help from Black Canary and Cyborg)
Main Canon Thread
Durability
Sonic Scream
Other

Behemoth

A massive mammalian kaiju from the Amazon. It briefly attacks Paradise Island, but quickly retreats. It later falls under Mechagodzilla's sway, fighting the Justice League in Metropolis.
Main Canon Thread

Scylla

A crablike Titan. Scylla attacks Central City, causing a prison break of many of the Flash's villains. Though the Justice League drive it off, it later falls under Mechagodzilla's sway and fights the League in Metropolis.
Main Canon Thread

Tiamat

A sea serpent Titan known for its aggression. It attacks Atlantis and is followed by Godzilla, forcing Aquaman to unleash the Kraken to break up their fight. It's lured away from the city, but later falls under Mechagodzilla's sway, fighting the Justice League in Metropolis.
Strength
Mobility
Durability
Powers

Mechagodzilla

A mechanical Titan built by humans to destroy Godzilla. Unlike the other Titans, Mechagodzilla arrives in the DC Universe in pieces (seemingly either dismantled after its defeat or never completed to begin with in this canon). Lex Luthor finds and rebuilds the robot, using it to dominate the other Titans and force them to fight the Justice League.
Main Canon Thread
Physicals
Weapons
Other

Skullcrawlers

Hypercarnivorous predators native to the MonsterVerse's Hollow Earth, Skullcrawlers are an invasive species on Skull Island, kept in check only by Kong. When the Island and its inhabitants are transported to the DC Universe, the League of Assassins retrieves the remains of several of them. They then use the Lazarus Pit to revive them as Titan-sized attack dogs.
One of the creatures (confirmed to be created from the Skull Devil's remains) is far larger and stronger than even the oversized Skullcrawlers in the rest of the comic. I'll be calling this one the "Lazarus Skullcrawler.
Main Canon Thread
Strength
Durability
Other
submitted by ghostgabe81 to respectthreads [link] [comments]


2024.06.01 06:02 CMART696969 Pyrus Surturan

Pyrus Surturan
Future Geogan of Apollo Sayer
Surturan is among the most feared of the Geogan, known to the many Bakugan residents of the planet as an ancient evil slumbering beneath new Vestroia. Surturan is described as downright evil by most Bakugan. Even his own kind consider him to not only be untameable but outright malicious and destructive and better left to sleep in whatever pit he is presently slumbering in.
900 Gs * Netherworld Gates: Resurrect any Bakugan as a Pyrus Bakugan. You may also take control of a used Bakugan that belongs to your opponent. Surturan sinks his legs into the ground and roars, the Pyrus attribute symbol forms over the field and turns it into flame, returning a Bakugan from the grave. * Pyrus Geostorm: Quadruple the G-Power of all Pyrus Bakugan and Transfer Surturans base G-Power from all non Pyrus Bakugan to Surturan. Surturan roars with power and strength, releasing a gigantic explosion of fire and engulfing all things in flames. Can grow out of control if he is filled with too much rage. * Deep Inferno: Nullify all your opponents ability and Gate Cards and prevent the activation and nullification of abilities for a limited time. Surturan slams the field and releases a wave of fire, burning all abilities and gate cards. * Mithril Recharger: Re enables Pyrus Surturan * Utumno’s Call: Resurrect all defeated Pyrus Bakugan and put them in your unused pile, but when they’re rolled, double their Base G-Power. Surturans eyes blaze with fire and he holds his hands up. Hellish drums and deep cultish chanting begins to be heard as all defeated Pyrus Bakugan return to the owners used pile. * Deathbringer: Defeats one Bakugan and add their G-Power to a chosen Pyrus ally. A giant black axe surrounded by fire forms in Surturans hand and he slashes an opponent, returning them to ball form. * As Above, So Below: Swap the effects of any three abilities or gate cards at any chosen time in the battle. Surturans eyes glow red, and the battlefield is turned upside down, reversing the effect. * Balrog Blazer: Subtract Surturan’s Base G-Power from the opponent. Surturan breathes a massive torrent of fire at the opponent. * Muspellheim: Pyrus Bakugan or Geogan have all future abilities doubled. Non Pyrus Bakugan or Geogan have all future abilities halved. The field becomes extremely hot, turning into a hellscape of black ash and fire and melting down the strength of all other Bakugan. * Flame of Udûn: Pyrus Abilities cannot be nullified. Non-Pyrus Bakugan who attempt to use a defensive ability while Surturan lose half that ability’s G-Power. Black tinged flames erupt from the earth as Surturan raises his hands. * Drums in the Deep: Sends in Pyrus Surturan. Ominous, ritualistic Drums beat under the field and as evil flames surround the field from the ground an aura of Fear begins to fill the area. The drums grow louder and immobilize the entire field, as the ground opens and Pyrus Surturan rises from the ground. * Geo Boiler: Double Surturans G-Power and Quadruple any Pyrus Bakugans G-Power. Surturans body blazes burning hot, and he releases a gigantic bodywide explosion of fire. Then, he shocks an ally with red lightning, surging them with his profane power. * Blazing Scourge: Subtract 900 Gs from each opponent, and 1200 Gs from each non Pyrus opponent. Then, triple your next Pyrus ability and prevent it from being nullified. Surturan forms a firey whip, roaring as he slashes the opponent’s field.
(Yes he is based on the Balrog of Moria)
submitted by CMART696969 to BakuMedia [link] [comments]


2024.06.01 03:47 JerichoTorrent Torrent Lifesteal [Network] {Lifesteal} {Creative} {Survival} {MMORPG} {Custom Models}

Join an EPIC new Lifesteal MMORPG Server!

IP: torrentsmp.com
Discord: https://dsc.gg/torrentsmp
Torrent Lifesteal a fully original PvP enabled MMORPG server. It’s the classic Lifesteal genre you know and love but with a twist. This server has many features, some of which include:
This new Lifesteal server launches OFFICIALLY tomorrow at 12:00 PM EST!! Be one of the first players to explore our amazing server and get extremely overpowered!
submitted by JerichoTorrent to mcservers [link] [comments]


2024.06.01 03:44 JerichoTorrent Torrent Lifesteal Launches TOMORROW!!!

Join an EPIC new Lifesteal MMORPG Server!

IP: torrentsmp.com
Discord: https://dsc.gg/torrentsmp
Torrent Lifesteal a fully original PvP enabled MMORPG server. It’s the classic Lifesteal genre you know and love but with a twist. This server has many features, some of which include:
This new Lifesteal server launches OFFICIALLY tomorrow at 12:00 PM EST!! Be one of the first players to explore our amazing server and get extremely overpowered!
Lothric Castle
Crystalled Castle
Spawn
Custom End Terrain
Screenshot with Minehut Staff! (look it up on Minehut's Youtube when the VOD drops)
submitted by JerichoTorrent to MinecraftServer [link] [comments]


2024.06.01 00:18 riku18_ The game crash.

The game crash.
when i open chivalry II this appears, what can I do? Please help me i wanna try this game so much
https://preview.redd.it/9vgxpoxn7u3d1.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=d538b5b5d571980d1aba3690da6887e32f9de664
submitted by riku18_ to Chivalry2 [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 20:27 Frosty_Charm-1171 Why Master Shake is My Favorite Character: A Dissertation on a Misunderstood Cup

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time now, and I’m honestly astonished no one else has talked about it before, at least as far as I’ve seen. Ever since picking up the show last spring, Master Shake has always fascinated me, no doubt in part due to Dana Snyder’s amazing delivery of him. He instantly caught my attention by being a lovable, foolish dork while also being equally callous and quick to anger, depending on the situation. Clashing elements that unified into a somehow coherent whole.
Shake lacks empathy, though, that isn’t to say he has no empathy (More about that here). To pair with his habit of using others for his own benefit with little consideration of how it will affect them along with his propensity for reckless risk-taking, Shake looks an awful lot like a little something called a sociopath. However, while Shake has anti-social traits, it’s actually unlikely he is one. It takes a keen eye to spot them, but there are a few key places where he falls short – namely, his self-worth. While Master Shake affects a superiority complex, make no mistake – this is an act, no matter how unconscious it is. Every so often, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it hint to his true feelings will slip pass, which only added to my intrigue. I explained this in more detail in a post here.
So if Shake isn’t a sociopath, then what is he? Well, diagnosing somebody is a complicated process, nobody’s diagnosis is simple or covers everything, and it’s more than just checking off boxes. There’s a certain nuance and technique about the process that requires multiple layers of observation, as well as a certain level of understanding of the psyche. It’s also important to note that while I do know what I’m talking about, I am not a licensed professional yet. With all that said, although Shake shows symptoms of multiple mental disorders like Bipolar Disorder, ADHD, C-PTSD, and is possibly on the Autism spectrum, it is of my belief that Master Shake exhibits many of the characteristics of Borderline Personality Disorder.
For a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (or BPD), One must meet 5 or more of the following 9 criteria: profound fear of abandonment, unstable relationships, a lack of a sense of self, chronic feelings of emptiness, uncontrollable anger, paranoia or dissociative episodes, mood instability, impulsivity, and finally, suicidal behavior. Throughout the 12 seasons of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Master Shake possess all 9 of these symptoms, ranging from either severe or extreme.
Before I continue, I want to note that I am not trying to force you to like Shake. I am simply writing this to offer another perspective to the oft misunderstood ‘leader’ of the Aqua Teens, one that is more realistic and earnest. Master Shake is a tragic, yet beautifully written character, deserving of any of the love he’s given, but is sometimes given it for all the wrong reasons.
Firstly, the fear of being abandoned is prevalent in patients with BPD, and we see Shake’s abandonment issues multiple times. The earliest is in “Ol’ Drippy”, Shake becomes incredibly angry at Frylock, Meatwad, and Carl for what he perceives as one of his worst fears being realized: them abandoning and replacing him with Ol’ Drippy. The strongest example, however, is in “The The” when Frylock moves out after Shake trashes their home in the midst of a manic breakdown, something even Shake indirectly admits to not understanding why he did it all. Afterwards, Shake continues to hopelessly spiral deeper into his manic episode of extremely dangerous, self-destructive, and suicidal behaviors, affecting both himself and Meatwad. He makes it very clear he wants nothing to do with Frylock, angry and hurt from Frylock’s abandonment of them both. He goes so far as to insist they never speak about their older brother ever again and ‘punishing’ Meatwad cruelly for daring to doing so, likely fearing Frylock taking Meatwad from him, leaving him further abandoned. As the days pass and the two get sicker, Shake’s brought down from his delirium to better times by Frylock’s final visit. Filled with a deep nostalgia and wistfulness, Master Shake clings on to his big brother and desperately tries to convince him to stay. In a frantic attempt to cover up the pain and hurt he felt upon being abandoned – to try and drown out the feeling of being unwanted, undesirable, and alone – he took it out on both Meatwad and on himself.
While Shake will often close himself off from others to avoid the possibly of abandonment or rejection, he is also all too willing to become easily and overly attached to others when he’s given the intimacy he so eagerly craves. The best example of this being in “Freda”, but is also seen in "Dusty Gonzongas", “Frat Aliens”, and “IAMAPOD”. Holding onto an extreme codependency on others, Shake will ardently attach himself onto anyone who gives him even the slightest amount of liking or acceptance, no matter how fake it is. For example, he's hostile to Freda in the beginning, but falls obsessively head over heels for her upon learning they had a common interest. Master Shake doesn’t just adore Freda, he strongly identifies with her. He has no long-term goals, no truly solid relationships, and few hobbies, or commitments. His days seem to revolve around the time he can spend with Freda, even proposing to her after only a few days of dating her. When she jilts and abandons him in favor of Carl, he catastrophizes; his life is over. After all, what other meaning or warmth is there to his existence besides his ‘bond’ with Freda?
Moving on to other instances, Shake interacted with Dusty Gonzongas for 3 minutes at maximum - yes, I timed it - and is later convinced he is in love with her, going through hoops just to get her attention. He had just met the Frat Aliens, only talked to them briefly before they passed out, then becomes so obsessed with DP as to cling onto him and admit to wanting to be apart of him, wishing to sew themselves together. Why? Because he was nice to Shake. DP let Shake join his drinking and partying – gave him the slightest hint of acceptance – and that was enough to hook Shake. In "IAMAPOD", Shake's scared and hides away from the pod at first, but then puts himself in an extremely vulnerable position, being drunk - which was actually the pod's plan and even justifies the pod's malicious intent to hurt him… because he was complimented by it. To add on top of that, Shake's relationship with the pod falls apart following an argument the next day.
This flows into the next visible symptom: unstable relationships. Most relationships for Borderline Individuals fluctuate excessively between idealization and devaluation; one day the person in question could love you credulously, and then the next feel as though they detest your very existence. This is explicitly shown several times, and with Shake's relationship with Meatwad in particular. With Shake’s judgement failing to accord with a nuanced reality, his feelings and perceptions of Meatwad and, to a lesser extent, Frylock are very inconsistent, but the pattern is there. Where one moment he will be jovial and having a good time with Meatwad, the next he will be mistreating and abusing him over something as innocent as an off-hand comment made as a surface-level joke. When confronted with overwhelming feelings of betrayal, disappointment, or abandonment, Master Shake’s first instinct is to devalue the ones who he once idealized, and this will sometimes include himself.
There are two things Master Shake seems to believe: that you can neatly separate the world into allies and enemies, and that any cruelty is allowed if someone falls into the latter category. An eye for an eye. Anyone Shake deems to be in need of ‘correcting’ both knows and deserves what’s coming to them. Master Shake perceives the world to be full of 1s and 0s, people are either all good or all bad. Because of this, he flip flops rapidly and starkly between liking someone and despising them with little to no gray area. These shifts are sudden with very little warning or awareness on Shake’s part.
Regarding his idealization, the next symptom Shake possesses is a lack of a sense of self; people with BPD will often start to mirror the personality of the emotionally closest person to them, or otherwise attempt to supplant their personality in some way. There are many examples of Shake changing himself to support his delusional self-image and low self-esteem, a great handful of these examples being: “Super Hero” when he attempts to mimic classic comic book superheros, “Supermodel” where he tries to augment his appearance to be ‘better’ than he is by mutilating his own body, “Dirtfoot” wherein he tries to mimic the main character - and consequences - of an erotic TV show, “Boost Mobile” in which he adopts the traits and personality of a flip phone he seemingly just met, “A PE Christmas” when he literally steals Flavor Flav’s identity, “Freedom Cobra” during which he copies a random tattooed stranger whom he envies, and finally “The Dudies” where he does his best to imitate Carl.
While there’s multiple examples to speak about, the most evident and obvious example is “The Dudies.” After learning of a contest for ‘coolest dude’, Shake goes to Carl for advice on how to be cool in order to win. Shake admits he looks up to Carl and – as a consequence – is ultimately all too willing to let Carl use and exploit him. Through the entire episode, Shake strives for approval – primarily from Carl and Frylock; when Frylock offers nothing but disapproval, Shake’s attention turns to the one offering even the meagerest crumbs of approval: Carl. Master Shake masks the deep-seated shame in himself – an unfounded, but non-the-less real aspect – and seeks validation in that mask from any source – even the smallest shred of it from the most ill-meaning of sources; much like a parched beast chasing a mirage of water.
Deeply struggling with intimacy and boundaries, when someone is close, a fear that they’ll see his vulnerability, the insecurities he’s ashamed of, or that they will inevitably reject and leave him spreads across Shake’s being. He feels infringed upon or even compromised. In response, Shake splits and pushes them away – further isolating himself in the process. When someone is distant, however, an indignation ignites alongside a desolate pain of being alone and abandoned that fuels his hatred evermore. He discerns their distance as a sleight against him, something that needs to be rectified – violently, if need be. How dare they treat him with such aloofness?
As a result of his chronically shifting world-view as well as a myriad of his other issues, Master Shake is often alienated and ostracized by his roommates – and on occasion, society. While this detachment is understandable, perhaps even justified, it only serves to ironically worsen the accursed tempest that is Master Shake.
Although he denies it, the lack of a stable home has imbued inside Shake an intense loneliness. A drab and lonesome boredom, and this isn’t alleviated in the least by his lack of personable immediate peers. Of his roommates, Frylock is an instigating element, and Meatwad – whether from being too immature or too young – can’t fully comprehend or appreciate his struggles. His final immediate peer in Carl is a denigrating element which uses him, and otherwise despises his existence. This remoteness further feeds Shake’s self conscious issues. It’s no wonder Shake clings onto Freda, DP, or even the pod. It’s the closest he’s ever experienced to a sense of belonging – foreign concepts to him, and losing this feels like the end of the world. Freda was his first – and only – ever girlfriend, the most meaningful relationship he’s ever had, one that ended up unfortunately traumatizing him. No matter how shallow it was, DP and the pod were, to some extent, Shake’s friends. His only friends before they – like everyone else – left him, alone.
These aspects are a notable, although not comprehensive, catalyst to the issues which plague Shake – namely in the form of a pervasive bleak emptiness. Not only does it exacerbate any – and every – feeling of rejection and loneliness, but it makes him mistrustful of others and question their intentions unfairly whilst projecting his own insecurities onto them. His emptiness grows evermore into a tiresome nothingness, a hollow void that eats away at him when he’s deprived of attention or stimulation. This, paired with everything else, builds up, poisons his mind, and drives him to the heinous acts he’s exiled for because, at least then, he can’t ignored.
The latent trauma inside Shake lays dormant for the most part. Despite showing a constant sense of numbness which causes boredom, Master Shake also possesses an equal amount of callous indignation for what he deems as a broken perception of fairness or justice. While shame and insecurity drives most of his actions, his anger – both a systematic byproduct and a useful mask for his motivators – is the most visible reaction. His outbursts brought on by emptiness, paranoia, anger, and intense solitude, he finds comfort in grounding himself by projecting his intense vulnerability and fears onto others. At the core of Master Shake’s violent hatred is a sense of powerlessness; a festering, rotting curse that quickly consumes him from within. He tears down anything and anyone he thinks fits in a misguided and desperate effort to feel better about himself; attempting to hold others responsible for his own feelings of inadequacy. A life-long inferiority complex finally taking over. The slightest disturbance in his otherwise vacuous life will have disastrous consequences.
Master Shake’s hatred – including his self-hatred – is propelled by his brothers more than anything. He deeply envies them both as they have powers, abilities, and skills that surpass his own. As this threatens his already fragile self-worth and low self-esteem, Shake regularly undermines their aptitudes. Instead distorting reality to avoid his underlying feelings of intense impoverishment. Shake’s the special one, not them. He’s the leader. He has the prestige. He’s the one in control.
In every comparison Shake makes between himself and his two brothers, the seeming coldness is only shame. Master Shake – without fully knowing it – spits out his unwanted thoughts and feelings that his fragile self-structure cannot handle.
Living without a support group, nor anything resembling a stable friend he can rely on or confide in, he cries out for them to experience his loneliness, his fears, his repressed but all-too-raw insecurities in some way – lashing out because of feelings and emotions he doesn’t know to put words to. Instead, he exists in a world that ignores or outright demonize him. Utterly uncared for and completely alone, Master Shake tries to make sense of the cruelty he’s shown by being equally as cruel back. Of course, like most things about Shake, this quickly spirals into extremes. He will forever he the ‘bad’ one. The unwanted one. In their eyes, everything he does is already wrong – so why try to be right?
Master Shake is a ticking time bomb. The fuse smoldering steadily inside him – a fuse that’s effortless to set off while he sleepwalks through life. Shake is alone – he has no one. The closest thing he has to a reliable, unconditional friend is in the TV. It follows, then, he uses it to disassociate from his harsh reality while also using it to vent his anger. I’ve seen someone describe Shake as being ‘dead to the world.’ I believe that’s a very crass, yet not inaccurate, way of saying Shake often disassociates.
Master Shake hopes that, as family, he is treated differently. He expects someone – anyone – will protect him from danger. Shake’s actions are so nonsensical and impulsive, not even he can make sense of his own disordered mind. Shake can’t function properly on his own; he needs someone else to protect him from himself. While his outburst seem to just be childish temper tantrums on the surface, in actuality, he’s begging for anyone to see his pain. Make them feel what he feel, and he spends his life pushing boundaries to affirm this. Through his actions, both directly and in reaction to others, he has created an unfortunate cycle where even his good deeds will be met with scorn and scoffs; his attempts for positive attention, ignored. Although terrible at communicating his thoughts and emotions, maybe all Master Shake truly wants is for Frylock to care enough to finally stop him, hold him, and make all the chaos make sense – like a big brother's supposed to. The thing getting in his way is his own issues as well as Frylock’s biases against him.
Of course, it should go without saying Master Shake’s emotions are incredibly unstable, frequently experiencing massive and volatile mood swings. For example, "The Creditor" is probably the most important episode in understanding Shake’s character. During a therapy session, Shake is calm and compliant one moment, and with a single clarification, he becomes enraged and frustrated, then sad – perhaps ashamed – upon expressing himself, immediately trying to cover up the fact he's on the verge of tears with his default coping method: aggression. Interestingly, though, his aggression, usually directed towards another person or otherwise himself, is instead channeled towards the chair he’s laying on to avoid causing further pain.
The ancients believed that a strong wind blows through the minds of the chronically unstable. If a student of Hippocrates examined Master Shake, he might diagnose that there was a tempest with the force of a thousand mistrals raging through his head. His emotional state changes instantaneously, leading to him feeling disproportionately intense emotions to the situation at hand. This can also cause him to feel 'incorrect' emotions for a situation, as well – some generic examples being mildly amused at a funeral, or depressed at a carnival.
This instability, naturally, comes with powerful and unyielding impulses. From jumping off a cliff to overspending, Master Shake will do the most foolish of things without thinking any of it through, nor giving it any afterthought. These impulses reach the line of self-destruction and dip into certain levels of self-harm with no concern for his or other’s safety. To make matters worse, he lacks any meaningful way of coping with or redirecting his impulses, and the very few times he has actually held off his impulses such as in “Antenna”, it only abates them for a time and ends with him agitated as well.
Truth is, Master Shake is not a willing antagonist, but one who feels he had grown into a role he had already been assigned – a self-fulfilling prophecy. For all the violent rage he holds, his character is not centered around hurting others, but rather desecrating his own self. Continuously spiraling onto a perpetual path of self-destruction he can never seem to free himself of without help – help he is never offered. Rather, he isolates himself from his family, impulsively pushes everyone away out of fear they will inevitably leave him, and ruins any opportunity of redemption he’s given. He can never be good, so he will become the worst he can be instead.
While never having properly played the role of leader, Shake still strangely carries on himself the burden of leader, even apologizing for ‘failing’ Meatwad, Frylock, and Carl somehow. Genuinely wishing to be the backbone of their team, he is, instead, more often than not, the force that tears the four apart. Destroying the happiness he had so desperately hoped for with his own two hands. Master Shake wistfully longs for an opportunity to live a life with friends and a family who loved him. Instead, he believes he is responsible for everyone’s unhappiness.
After a lifetime of brought time, one true fate awaits him. The only duty he ever had as leader of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force: to remove himself. The element of discord in a world where his happiness simply cannot be achieved, one that will surely be better off without him.
I love Master Shake. He is one of the most interesting and compelling explorations of antagonism I have ever seen, as well as an accurate depiction of Borderline Personality Disorder. However, saying Master Shake fits the BPD profile honestly doesn’t say much of anything. What’s a more important question to ask is: why does he possess these traits? Can he progress beyond them, and how? I’m aware a lot of the show is adlibbed, so it makes me wonder if Dana Snyder had a bigger part in this.
Of course, I am not condoning Master Shake’s actions. While I sympathize and understand him, I am not blind to his faults, nor am I justifying them. It’s because of these reasons that Master Shake quickly became not only my favorite character in the series, but my favorite character of all time. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is an amazing series full of funny and memorable characters, overflowing with charm and wit. While some characters may be more easy to sympathize with than others, all are equally important and all equally deserving of love and happiness. Master Shake, then, is it’s ultimate tragedy.
He is nothing but a child, still trying to learn right from wrong, full of desperation, and with no one to turn to. Whether intentional or unintentional, Shake is not a one dimensional character. There are times where Shake shows a true sense of morality, or a desire to improve himself; to be better than he’s shown himself to be. He proves, in these instances, dark though it may be, he has a heart and a soul that isn’t stained black as most people seem to want to believe. “Party All The Time” and “The Creditor” being the episodes that stand out the most in this aspect.
Master Shake’s character at it’s core is one of insecurity, loneliness, abandonment issues, low self-esteem, and reckless self-neglect rather than one of pure maliciousness – though to be fair, he is that at times. Shake’s arrogance, entitlement, and conceitedness is broadly defensive in nature, adopted to compensate and protect himself from underlying feelings of worthlessness, shame, and emptiness at the cost of being trapped in an endless cycle of seeking approval and attention. Pushing beyond the superficial grandiosity is someone’s who’s profoundly confused about life and relationships. Entitlement hides the feeling of deep impoverishment, confidence hides worthlessness, vanity hides a feeling of being undesirable, and charm hides the despair. The impulse to avoid feeling worthless fuels his superiority, while the need to be superior feeds the empty pit of worthlessness.
I encourage you to try and re-watch some of the Shake-oriented episodes with what I’ve said here in mind. If you still don’t like Shake afterwards, then that’s okay. However, I hope I was able to at least changed your perspective of Shake, even if only slightly or otherwise entertained you with this analysis. This is something I’ve come to realized over my time of watching the show, thinking about it almost non-stop, and writing multiple essays and scenarios about it. Nonetheless, no matter how hard you try or how long you search, it cannot be seen without love.
I never expect Shake to become perfect, nor do I ever want him to be. As the show continues – I pray for it to – I’d like for Master Shake to have the opportunity to search inside his soul and vow to become a stronger person, and a better brother. Someone he can be proud of. Asking for recognition from nobody, but rather gaining it in the process. I hope for Shake to be able to realize through the help and support of his family that he’s in desperate need for psychiatric help, and to learn from his mistakes. A powerful ode to second chances, forgiveness, compassion, empathy, and self-growth. In a show brimful of color and creativity, Master Shake stands out from the rest to me. Not just for who he is, but for everything he can become.
Thank you for reading.
submitted by Frosty_Charm-1171 to AquaJail [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 16:30 Aspect_Cycles Aspect Cycles 01

This day can’t possibly get any worse… Noan Landry thought the same when a mushroom cloud blossomed over the horizon a month ago, but it might be more apt now with giant eyeballs in the sky.
It wasn’t the last he’d think that, in this life, or his many next ones.
Twenty-three minutes ago, he led fellow survivors into the smoldering husk of Budget Basket for a much-needed pit stop. He was sure they left behind a mostly clear blue sky threaded with thin clouds. Only out of the ordinary were black blotches of smoke rising from fires across the city. Then again, that was the ordinary for a few weeks now.
Twenty-three minutes later, their bags filled with cans they hoped contained something edible, their group froze at the grocery exit. The sky outside had turned into swirls of purple powdered with gossamer red. It reminded him of a nebula from a science book his mom read him as a kid instead of bedtime stories.
And there were the eyes, each wider than the biggest fireworks explosion he’d seen. Those weren’t in the science books, for sure.
They darted this way and that, jittery, as if their hidden owners had drunk tanker loads of coffee. His five companions had a mix of emotions on their faces as they looked up; he wasn’t losing his mind.
“Thi-this wasn’t in the forecast today,” he said, adding a chuckle to hide the crack in his voice. Though impossible to not be afraid of eldritch eyeballs in the sky, as any person should, he willed himself to act composed because people depended on him. They shouldn’t see, or hear, him wavering.
But what should they do now?
Noan’s watch told him it was nine minutes to three o’clock.
Would the eyes affect the bells later? Their plans depended on the window of safety the bells provided.
The biggest question was, were the eyes dangerous? They couldn’t stay in this barbequed Budget Basket. Other survivors, who might not be so friendly, crazed cultists, who were definitely not friendly, and monsters, who killed and ate everybody, would be attracted to this place. Someone needed to test if it was dangerous outside.
He self-volunteered to be the guinea pig. He couldn’t tell the others to do it.
Noan stepped through the no-longer working sliding doors of the grocery, squeezing every drop of confidence from his being. He was careful not to snag his clothes or bags on the broken glass and ruin his swagger. He practiced his image while on watch duty when others were asleep.
Standing on the sidewalk, he gazed at the eyes and mentally pleaded, please don’t shoot laser beams or something.
Nothing happened.
More seconds passed and more nothingness happened.
He slowly exhaled, dropping his tensed shoulders. “Looks like it’s safe,” he said, still keeping an eye on the eyes.
“Damned cultists, bringing hell on earth,” Mr. Schwab grumbled behind him. Or that was what Noan guessed he spoke. The manager of a used-car store always chewed a nonexistent gum.
“What do you mean?” Noan asked.
“This is their doing!” Mr. Schwab shook his fist at the sky. “Has to be them with their blasphemous rituals and heathen designs. Enlightened Ones, my ass!”
Enlightened Ones—that was what they called themselves.
Who were they? Noan didn’t have the faintest idea.
October of last year, he came upon an interview with a famous Japanese actress about how following the Enlightened Ones changed her life—that was the first he heard of this new religious group. He usually didn’t read celebrity magazines. But he was desperate to stay awake during his graveyard shift at the convenience store, so he picked one from the rack next to the register. Come New Year, a German streamer he followed made a big announcement that he was quitting to dedicate his time to the Enlightened Ones. Noan thought nothing of it besides being sad that he lost one of his escapes from reality.
In the space of a few months, the Enlightened Ones popped out of nowhere and spread everywhere.
By mid-February, they renovated a long-abandoned motel two blocks from his rented apartment into a church. Their missionaries knocked on his door on several occasions. He didn’t open up—he had plenty enough problems in this life to think of the hereafter—so they preached outside in loud voices. An annoying bunch, he would think back then.
Weeks and rumors rolled about the Enlightened Ones stirring trouble in other countries. Noan caught snippets while riding the train or washing his clothes at the laundry shop, just about everywhere. It was nothing to him. Working three jobs, he couldn’t spare the energy to care about the news; conflicts in faraway places wouldn’t pay the bills, and he had many to pay. He began to get concerned only when he could no longer contact the foreign students he tutored online.
The next thing he knew, the Enlightened Ones started World War III.
Somehow.
Quite a big leap from converting people.
But not as big a leap as summoning humongous eyeballs.
“All rubbish,” Ellen snapped. “Paranormal, mumbo-jumbo nonsense isn’t the cause of this phenomenon.”
A survivor of the lynchings at TSU, Ellen was the group’s self-proclaimed expert on… something. Though she didn’t have any degree useful for surviving a post-nuclear world, if there was even any university offering that, she should’ve at least taken a course on being tactful.
“Don’t know what to tell you, miss,” said Mr. Schwab, shrugging. “Got your own eyes to see the devil’s eyes up there. Abominable acts of the heathens brought hell upon us.”
“There’s a scientific explanation for this, certainly,” she replied. “The fallout might’ve—no. It’s more probable that burning chemicals from numerous fires are causing mass hallucinations. Or the radiation is affecting our brains, perhaps. There are numerous sane possibilities before jumping to magic crap.”
“You’re seeing the eye too?” Mr. Schwab pointed at the sky. “We can’t have the same damn hallucination even if we’re all tripping balls at the same time. Don’t need to go to a fancy college to tell you that, miss.”
“Bu-but they can’t be real!” Ellen stomped her foot. “If not hallucinations, the-then, then, then… it’s something external. Projected images by the Enlightened Ones to sow fear and confusion, possibly. They must have a machine that—”
“We’ll figure that out later,” Noan cut in. “When we’re safe.”
He was with Mr. Schwab on this one. Not the hell and devil talk—he didn’t know anything about that. But something supernatural was really going on.
Radiation might explain the horrendous mutants… even though they were miles away from ground zero the next city over and mutations didn’t work that fast. Or that way, at all. Still an explanation, even if a very stretched one.
But only in comic books did radiation or chemicals grant superpowers. The flying Enlightened One who killed most of their much larger group a bit over a week ago, disintegrating people into fine dust with his touch, was undeniable ‘paranormal, mumbo-jumbo nonsense’. And no amount of radiation could create the fire-spewing, three-eyed behemoth that torched their previous hideout.
He didn’t tell Ellen that, of course. The last thing he needed was for her to glue her feet to the ground until she won the argument.
“Those illusions pose no danger to us,” Ellen said. “They’re not real. We’re safe.”
“I’m not talking about the eyes,” Noan replied. “Look over there.” He nudged his head at a boutique to their left. Spraypainted on its display window were two concentric circles circumscribing an uneven eight-sided star—the sign of the Enlightened Ones.
“Copycats like those coked-up lads we met yesterday,” said Mr. Schwab. “Think pretending to be a cultist will save them from the monsters. A stupid idea, I tell you.”
“Pretend or not,” said Noan, “they’re still dangerous. As for the eyes, I don’t know what’s their deal. But they’re not doing anything… for now. Hopefully, it stays that way until we reach our destination. The game plan remains the same: survive until the military—"
“Or scientists,” Ellen interjected.
He kept back a sigh. “Survive until the military or scientists or whichever important guy out there figures all of this out and fixes everything. We’re not heroes. We’re not going to save the day. We can only hope someone will do it soon. Until then, we stick together, help each other stay alive, and hunker down. So far, we’ve been doing a good job of it. We’re not stopping now.”
Did I just say all that?
He’d been practicing this speech in his head for days, pretending he was the lead in a survival movie. The tone, the conviction, the confidence—he didn’t know he could pull it off. It came out so well that he even inspired himself. He was changing.
Noan’s new self, only a few days old, was unrecognizable from his old one.
In the chaos after the Big Fall—his made-up name for the nuke explosion—he holed up in his room, calculating how long he’d survive on rice and salt, when a neighbor he knew only by face banged on his door. Crazed members of the Enlightened Ones had set their building on fire.
The following days remained a blur, his old companions faceless in his memories. All he could recall was that he kept his head down, followed orders, and stuck with the group the best he could. They fled. They hid. They fought, sometimes against each other. Add hunger and thirst there somewhere. He let himself get swept by fate, surviving through it all even when more capable others died.
Eventually, there was no one left to follow.
Take charge, his gut told him. It could’ve been an upset stomach, but he stepped up to the task. For the last six days, he had been responsible for six lives, including his own. He swore to his mother not to lose any of the five.
“Everyone, check your bags,” Noan said with mustered authority. “I sure hope we don’t need to run.”
Rolling his shoulders forward, he adjusted his backpack, feeling its hefty weight by the tug of its straps. Even if only half the food they found was edible, their group could survive for another week. Twice that if they were frugal. He also carried a duffel bag filled with bottles of water looted from a gym. Water was more important than food; the Enlightened Ones contaminated the public water system with some funky substance, so tap water was off-limits.
“As always,” said Noan, “before leaving a place, count off. One.”
Mr. Schwab raised his injured right hand. “Two here,” he said with a wince.
“This again?” Ellen groaned, tossing back her hair. “Isn’t it apparent we’re all present? Such a waste of—”
“Rules are rules,” said Noan. The old him would’ve been intimidated by Ellen. “We agreed on them.”
“Fine. Three.”
Noan nodded. The key to dealing with her stubbornness was not giving her any ground. Other than occasionally valuing her life less than proving herself right, Ellen could take care of herself just fine. She was the fastest among them in running.
Other members were of more concern.
“Four, present!” said Ravi, raising his right hand. “And five, for Nani, who’s always with me.” He lifted his other hand holding onto an old woman who was gazing open-mouthed at the sky.
“Thanks, Ravi,” Noan said with a smile.
The energetic fifteen-year-old and his grandmother were a welcome addition to their group, joining right after they fled from Three-Eyes. Ravi was Noan’s appointed lucky charm. They seemed to meet fewer monsters and cultists with him around. Ravi also told them of a prospective new hideout, which they were heading to.
“Don’t hesitate to tell us if you need help with your grandmother,” Noan added. “I can take the camping lights—”
“No need, Mr. Landry, sir. They’re not heavy. There’s no problem with Nani too. She goes along with me. I’m not letting go of her hand even if… if, uh, pigs fly. Did I use that expression correctly?”
“I think so. But with eyeballs in the sky, flying pigs isn’t that farfetched.” Noan turned to the old woman next to Ravi. “Are you okay there, Granny?”
She tore her gaze away from the sky and looked at Noan with out-of-focused eyes. “I-I’m fine, young man. I apologize if I’ve asked you this before, and I feel like I have, but who are you?”
“I’m Noan,” he patiently replied. “I know my name sounds like ‘no one’. I get that a lot. It means a different thing in my mother’s—” His mind shut down for a moment. He forced himself to continue, “My name has different meanings in different languages.”
“Noan… I’m fine.” Granny nodded. “Thank you for asking. Also, thank you for introducing yourself again. My memory isn’t what it used to be.”
“I can introduce myself as many as needed. Anyway, stay close to your grandson, okay?”
Granny turned to Ravi, who had a pained expression. Tilting her head, she said, “He’s not my grandson.”
“Ye-yes… I’m not,” said Ravi. His cheeks shifted as he clenched his teeth. “Your son hired me to take care of you for a few days.”
“How nice of him,” said Granny. “But he should’ve chosen better. I don’t trust you.”
“Don’t let it get to you, Ravi,” Mr. Schwab said. “Have an aunt with the same condition. They’re just randomly suspicious of people.”
“I-I know, Mr. Schwab.”
“I hope my dearest son picks me up soon,” Granny continued. “I don’t like this place. The fire… Those eyes… My caretaker…”
“Dad will—” Ravi blinked. “I mean, your son will pick you up after he returns from, um, his… his business trip.” His voice cracked at the end.
Granny seemed to have found that answer acceptable and returned to staring at the floating eyes. Other than her, the other member who might cause problems was—
“Gilligan?” Noan called to the balding man who remained in the shadows of Budget Basket.
Clutching the tattered remnants of the corporate blazer he refused to take off, Gilligan slouched beside a pillar. He was so unassuming anyone would miss him even in a police line-up. Looking up, he sported a smile, the first Noan had seen since Gilligan’s son fell off a bridge as they were chased by cultists. Gilligan dove into the river but Hunter never surfaced again.
Noan missed the upbeat Gilligan. Positivity was scarce in this sad world. “Everyone has to say their number before we go. No exceptions.”
“There’s no need for me to count off,” Gilligan replied as he undid the belts of his mountain backpack.
“He’s cracking again,” Ellen mumbled under her breath.
Noan frowned, “What are you talking about, Gilligan?”
The loud thud as Gilligan let his heavy bag fall to the floor was the only answer.
“Stick with the group,” said Noan, struggling to keep his voice even. They didn’t need another drama. Not here. Not now. “We all move as one. I’m not leaving any of us behind; I already told you that.”
“This is it.” Gilligan gestured at the sky. “Those eyes… the end’s coming soon. I don’t want to… continue. I’m tired.”
“Oh, come on,” Ellen exasperatedly said. “This is the third time he’s done that.”
“Hunter wouldn’t want you to give up,” Noan said. He didn’t want to do it, but if emotional blackmail worked like last time, then so be it.
“He wouldn’t,” Gilligan agreed.
“So, come with—”
“But I want to give up. Since he’s gone, I’m not sure why I’m continuing.”
Noan made his way to Gilligan. “All of us are going to see through the end of this. After that, we’ll rebuild our lives.” He grabbed Gilligan’s arm and pulled him along. “We need you with us.”
Gilligan didn’t resist. “There’s nothing after this. This end is the end.”
“Only if you let it be,” Noan countered. He glanced at the mountain bag on the floor and tutted—he couldn’t carry more—before returning to the front of the group with Gilligan in tow.
“Those eyes up there… are the end,” Gilligan muttered.
“Huh?”
“I just know it. If Hunter were here, I’d press on even if it’s useless. But he’s not. I want to rest.”
“You can rest later.” Noan put on a friendly smile, hiding his stress because of the lost supplies. “Hang on a bit longer, okay?”
Gilligan shook his head. “There or here, it doesn’t matter.”
“If it doesn’t matter to you, then stay with us.” Noan let go of Gilligan’s arm and patted his back.
“We should be going now,” Mr. Schwab said. “Tick-tock. It’s going to ring soon, right?”
Noan checked his watch. “Less than four minutes. Let’s… wait until three o’clock.”
Mr. Schwab raised a brow. “Why? Coast’s clear. Grab ourselves a head start before the devil-worshippers clear out and it’s home-free to our destination until they come back. Long way from here to Stanley Point.”
“Noan’s waiting if something will occur come three o’clock,” Ellen correctly guessed. “I suppose it’s the prudent course of action given the illusions overhead. I’m not conceding anything paranormal is afoot, but evidence does suggest something’s… not right.”
“I get it.” Mr. Schwab nodded. “If those eyes suddenly—hang on. Any of you hear that?”
Ravi raised his hand. “I think I did. But I’m not sure where it came from.”
“Uh-oh. There it goes again,” said Ellen.
Guttural bellows, like a rumbling stomach on a megaphone, disturbed the stillness of the empty neighborhood. Only a monster could make that sound. Bad news.
Worse, it sounded familiar.
Noan held up a finger. Everyone kept quiet.
Tilting his head left and right, repeating it a few times, he intently listened. Next, he faced side to side. People instinctively kept their heads still when trying to find the source of a sound, which was the worst thing to do. A former survivor, who wasn’t doing any surviving now, taught him this trick.
“To the right of us, over that way,” Noan said, pointing over the bend of the road circling the parking area. “I think it’s behind that building next to that tall hedge.”
Ellen took a few steps back. “Oh no! Let’s go back—”
“No!” Noan held out his arm to stop her. “We’ll trap ourselves if we return inside. Didn’t you see the corpses blocking the side doors? And the back wall has collapsed. The entrance is the only exit.”
She snorted in derision. “If we’re inside, it’s not going to see us, duh. Why would some dumb monster enter the grocery? We should—woah!”
Noan grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. He pointed at the untrimmed wall of green on the other side of the intersection.
Rows of stalactites—or stalagmites; whichever grew from the ground up—stalked above the high leaves and tangled branches, like a shark’s fins slicing water. This creature, however, was much larger and several times more dangerous than a shark. Some bigger spikes revealed themselves hollow, spewing smoke so hot the air shimmered. Green leaves wilted dark brown before bursting into flames. The ensuing fire and smoke blocked them from the monster’s view.
Which was fortunate.
Unfortunately, the flames confirmed what Noan feared.
“Three-Eyes!” Ellen gasped. “How did it find us here?”
“It wasn’t following us,” Noan said, scanning the parking lot. “Look around you. Burnt bodies, burnt cars—” he jabbed his thumb behind him “—and a burnt building. This is its stomping grounds.”
“Fire!” Granny exclaimed. “There’s fire!”
“Calm down, Nani,” Ravi said. “We, uh, already called the fire department.”
“All of you run,” said Gilligan. “I’ll stay to distract it.”
“You’re not going to stay here,” said Noan. “No one gets left behind. This is what’ll happen; Three-Eyes is going to pass by here; we shouldn’t run back because it’ll also go that way. Plus, that’s the opposite of where we want to go. We hide behind the cars, wait for Three-Eyes to pass, and then make for the park. Simple.” He divided them into two groups and told them where to go before making a beeline for the half-melted sedan near the parking lot entrance.
He barely reached it before massive antlers burst through the flames followed by a human-like face carved out of rock. The stone mask didn’t have eyeholes. Instead, three eyeballs floated in between the antlers. Hence, Three Eyes.
Their group wasn’t very creative when it came to names. Maybe the monster was here to complain, Noan sarcastically thought.
Three-Eyes crossed the road, sounding like the start of a bad joke. Hooves the size, and probably the weight, of anvils cracked the concrete with each step. Smoke obscured the monster’s bulky body that rivaled a full-grown bull elephant.
A sharp stench stabbed Noan’s nostrils. Sulphur.
The night Three Eyes almost toasted them in their sleep flashed before his eyes. He tasted bitterness at the back of his tongue. Anxiety threatened to make him puke. He lowered himself out of view and searched for the others to distract himself. Mr. Schwab promised to keep watch over Gilligan. Ravi would know better than to let Granny run off again.
Noan couldn’t see them. Good.
Pile driver footsteps drew nearer. Bending down to check under the car, he spied hooves coming closer. He correctly guessed that the line of blackened vehicles and cracks on the ground they passed earlier was the path Three-Eyes usually took. The car he hid behind was in the next row. Should be safe enough.
Positioning himself near Three-Eyes, Noan planned to act as bait and draw it away from the others if need be. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
His heart drummed so loud he feared Three-Eyes might hear it. But its thunderous footfalls swallowed all other sounds. The smell of rotten eggs became overpowering. Noan pulled up the neckline of his shirt to use as a mask. Not enough. Cupping both hands around his nose and mouth wasn’t an improvement.
Don’t cough, he repeatedly ordered himself. The smell, however, wasn’t the most pressing problem.
It was the heat.
Hot wind slapped him as if he shared a sauna with an exhaust fan. Sweat rolled down his sides, evaporating upon soaking his clothes. His skin stung, each breath was torture, and everything became woozy. Three-Eyes changed its path and was passing this row!
Why was it here? Did it see him?
It couldn’t have. He wouldn't be discovered if he stayed still and didn’t make any noise.
Endure! Just a few seconds. Three Eyes would leave soon.
How long? Noan rocked himself as he ticked off seconds in his head. He timed each count with Three-Eyes’ steps. Seven, eight… huh?
A dreadful realization dropped like a stone in his stomach. He could no longer feel or hear Three-Eyes walking. The monster remained still on the other side of the car.
Noan drifted in and out of consciousness. He didn’t dare move and risk attracting one of the monster’s three eyes. Running wasn’t even an option anymore. Three-Eyes was surprisingly fast, as they discovered last time.
Think! Think…
He couldn’t… think…
Everything was starting to fade…
Were those bells?
His mind was floating, but he was sure he heard bells tolling. The heat and smell abated. The ground resumed shaking. Three-Eyes was moving away. He took a deep breath and fell back on his bag. His temples throbbed like gongs to his head.
A sharp pain shot through his skull. A booming voice filled his ears.
HUMANS… HEED OUR CALL… YOUR WORLD… END… WE SEEK… CHAMPION!
Everything went black.
***
“Wha-what?” Noan blinked away the wateriness of his eyes. “What’s going on?”
He was moving. His feet scraped the ground but he wasn’t walking. And yet, he slowly passed by trees, bobbing up and down.
“Good thing you’re awake,” Mr. Schwab gruffly said between huffs. “Reckon you could walk on your own?”
submitted by Aspect_Cycles to HFY [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 16:13 Knowledgia14 The Air Raid that Crippled Battleship Tirpitz

The Air Raid that Crippled Battleship Tirpitz
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It is April 3, 1944. Commander Hans Meyer of the Tirpitz oversaw preparations for speed trials in the Alten Fjord. Six months previously, his battleship had been severely damaged during Operation Source when midget submarines planted armor-piercing explosives on her hull. Finally, after painstaking repairs, it was time to see if Tirpitz was restored to her old prowess.
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Then, the shrill drone of approaching aircraft shattered the routine. Crew members scrambled as Meyer from the bridge sounded the alarm, mobilizing flak crews and ordering a smoke screen. But on the horizon, British aircraft were fast approaching as the German crews prepared for another battle.
In September 1943, the British Admiralty had launched Operation Source using X-Craft midget submarines. A specialized team launched a hidden attack against the Tirpitz. Most midget submarines sank and the crew of two were captured, but not before placing explosives on Tirpitz's hull.
The damage was surprisingly severe, with Tirpitz rendered disabled for months. Repairs commenced in Karfjord in October 1943, but couldn't be completed until March 1944 due to the lack of operational engines.
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Churchill's desired outcome of neutralizing Tirpitz's threat to Arctic convoys was achieved, as the battleship was effectively incapacitated for an extended period. It was a significant blow not just to the Kriegsmarine, but to the entire German war effort.
Then, in December 1943, Germany suffered another serious blow. Allied convoys to Soviet Arctic ports resumed, supplying the Red Army on the Eastern Front.
Multiple convoys had successfully reached Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, and with the Tirpitz under repairs, the Germans had to send another vessel to intercept future convoys. Operation Ostfront saw the Scharnhorst venture from the Altenfjord to do exactly that.
However, British cruisers successfully shielded the convoy, leading the Scharnhorst to retreat. Her radar failure and British radar advantage led to its defeat.
As she tried to evade, the home fleet, commanded by Admiral Fraser aboard the Duke of York battleship, cornered and sank her with only twenty-two survivors. By winter's end, German naval strength in the area was significantly diminished, and Tirpitz became the only sole operational German battleship.
Although the engine issues were more serious than initially thought, by March, Tirpitz was operational again after six months of dormancy. She remained a fleet in being, as she had been before, however. The Kaffjord boasted extensive defensive measures, including flak batteries, torpedo nets, and smoke screens, supported by coastal radar stations and naval patrols. With radar warnings and multiple airfield proximity, the Luftwaffe air cover was supposed to prevent the Tirpitz from being bombed.
British intelligence closely monitored Tirpitz's progress, and in late 1943, plans were made for further attempts to sink her. Photographic reconnaissance provided vital intelligence for operations against her.
The previous attempt with midget submarines proved ineffective, as strengthened underwater defenses thwarted such efforts. Consequently, the Allies turned to air power, planning a carrier-based attack, similar to historic raids like Taranto and Pearl Harbour. Britain's fleet air arm relied on the Fairey Barracuda.
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Though slow, it carried decent bomb loads but struggled against Tirpitz's defenses. Naval fighters like the Hellcat and Corsair provided support using speed to bypass defenses. In late January 1944, the Admiralty tasked Admiral Charles Forbes of the Home Fleet with devising a plan to attack the Tirpitz in March, coinciding with the battleship's post-repair trials.
The raid aimed to incapacitate the battleship using new 1,600-pound or roughly 725-kilo armor-piercing bombs. It was decided to use modified barracudas, escorted by Corsairs, Wildcats, and Hellcats. Admiral Forbes had already initiated plans for a naval airstrike in December, led by Vice Admiral Sir Henry Moore.
Admiral Sir Henry Moore. This operation, dubbed Operation Tungsten, involved five aircraft carriers and over 100 aircraft, with the fleet carrier Victorious as the centerpiece. On March 27, Convoy JW58 departed for Murmansk, escorted by Allied forces. Three days later, Admiral Fraser led a fleet from Scapa Flow, including battleships, a carrier, cruisers and destroyers, initially providing distant cover but later joining Operation Tungsten.
Concurrently, Rear Admiral Latouche Bisset commanded another group, including carriers, cruisers, tankers and destroyers. Anson and Victorious were scheduled to merge with Bissett's force on April 3rd for the operation. Reports indicated minimal opposition for JW 58 and favorable weather for air operations.
Ultra decrypts revealed Tirpitz's trial delay until April 3rd, prompting Fraser to advance Operation Tungsten to exploit potential vulnerabilities. Despite a near-collision caused by a steering malfunction, all ships assembled as planned by dawn on April 3rd, over 200 kilometers northwest of the Tirpitz, undetected despite clear skies and excellent visibility. Airmen prepared for the operation with final briefings and aircraft prepped on carriers.
At 4.15, 10 Vought Corsairs from the Victorious took off, serving as a high-altitude escort while other aircraft readied. The primary strike force comprised 32 Barracuda dive bombs, under command of Lieutenant Commander Roy Sidney Baker Faulkner divided into two wings, each consisting of 16 planes. For escort duty during the flight, 40 Wildcats launching from searcher and pursuer, along with 20 Hellcats aboard Emperor, would shield the Barracudas from potential Luftwaffe threats.
Thus, the strike force comprised over 100 aircraft, with more than half dedicated to fighter protection. By 4.37am, the first wave had assembled and set off towards the target, following an east-south easterly course. Initially skimming low to avoid German coastal radar, the Barracudas climbed to their optimal dive-bombing altitude of 3,000 meters when 40 kilometers from the coast.
Above them, Corsairs circled, while smaller fighters flanked the dive bombers, weaving to maintain pace. As they ascended for the attack, German radar detected the force, but delayed reporting until it was too late for effective countermeasures. Around 5.15am, near the small island of Loppa, some 74 km northwest of the target, they reached the coast. Their route traversed snow-covered mountains and two smaller fjords, the Oxford and the Langfjord, both serving as destroyer anchorages.
Although some crews witnessed ships opening fire, they were safely beyond range. Approximately 16 kilometers or 3 minutes flying time from the target, Baker-Faulkner planned to execute the attack in a long single column of bombers. The sudden appearance of the aircraft caught the crew of the Tirpitz off guard.
The Tirpitz was on the verge of departing, preparing for speed trials near the seaward end of the Altenfjord. Many crew members were on deck, readying to cast off. From the bridge, Captain Meyer swiftly sounded the alarm, prompting the flak crews to dash to their positions while orders were given to initiate the smokescreen. But time was a luxury they couldn't afford. The British aircraft were already upon them.
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As the Barracudas, aligned for their dive bombing assault, the Wildcats and Hellcats descended low, strafing anything in sight. Leading the charge, the Wildcats descended over the hills, flying up the fjord in a line abreast, unleashing a torrent of fire from their Browning machine guns. Bullets tore into the German sailors, scrambling for cover on the battleship's upper decks.
Following suit, other fighters joined the fray, transforming the tear pits into a scene of chaos and carnage, with several flak guns out of order. But this was merely the opening act. Then, a minute behind, the first barracudas initiated their attack, swooping down towards their target in a disorganized formation. The prescribed release height for the 725 kg bombs was 1,100 m.
Yet in the frenzy of combat, most crews held on longer, dropping their payloads from approximately 760 m. Many bombs failed to penetrate the armored deck due to low release altitudes.
Upon releasing their ordnance, Barracudas maneuvered to evade the now intense flak explosions enveloped the tirpitz shrouding it in smoke and flame all the payloads were dropped as the attack had been ongoing for exactly one minute as the last flak guns fell silent the tirpitz crew took stock caught off guard only a handful of flak guns managed to fire before the attackers withdrew the aftermath was horrific with screams of pain echoing across the battleship as men lay wounded and dead amid the carnage.
The vessel drifted uncontrollably, eventually grounding itself on the western shore. Amidst the chaos, Captain Meyer sustained injuries, leaving Captain Wolf Junger to assume command. Despite the devastation, the crew hastily cleared the decks, allowing the Tirpitz to maneuver before the next attack.
Meanwhile, columns of smoke began rising from the shore. Remnants of futile smoke screen generators started too late. The blanket would be in place by the next wave's arrival. In the initial wave of the assault, the Tirpitz endured a series of hits. A 725kg armor-piercing bomb struck the starboard side of the forecastle, forward of the Anton turret.
Another 725kg AP bomb impacted the port side of the catapult deck. A 270 kg semi-armor-piercing bomb hit the funnel. The bridge suffered damage from a 225 kg semi-armor piercing bomb. One or possibly two 225kg medium capacity bombs struck the port side of the Bruno turret. The aft superstructure on the port side likely sustained damage from a 225 kg bomb. The starboard side of the boat deck probably took damage from a 225 kg SAP bomb.
The foremast on the starboard side likely sustained damage from a 725kg AP bomb. In the interim, the second wave under command of Lieutenant Commander Rance took flight. Departing from furious and victorious, the barracudas faced complications during launch. Engine trouble and a tragic crash claimed the lives of three aircrew, leaving 19 barracudas to form the strike.
As they crossed the coast at Loppa, a column of black smoke marked the burning Tirpitz, 64 km and 12 minutes flight away. As the Hellcats and Wildcats descended upon the Calfjord from the north, the assault unfolded with precision. Hellcats engaged in strafing runs on the flak batteries lining the fjord's northwestern side, diverting attention away from the Wildcats' primary target.
Rance observed the flak batteries adjusting their fire, setting shells to burst at 900 meters. However, by the time most of the barracudas dived through, releasing their bombs, the Tirpitz had already begun maneuvering slowly within the fjord.
https://preview.redd.it/2a6gvxbfsr3d1.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7b6217eae464dc72f8f15257ed588e20fc19ef9
As the second wave approached, the battleship's starboard flak guns gained a clear line of fire up the fjord, though the aircrews described the ship's fire as light, with more significant threats emanating from the shore-based flak batteries.
A Barracuda instantly fell victim to enemy fire, crashing into the hillside on the south side of the fjord in a fiery explosion. However, the fjord soon cleared once more, the attack lasting no more than a minute. The aftermath revealed a scene of devastation aboard the Tirpitz.
Jagged, twisted metal littered the deck, bomb holes spewed smoke and flame, and the scent of burning permeated the air. A 725 kilograms armor-piercing bomb struck the starboard side of the aft superstructure, initially targeted on the hangar.
One, or possibly two, 225kg medium capacity bombs hit the starboard beam, just inboard of the secondary turret. A probable 225 kg semi-armor piercing bomb likely hit the starboard side of the quarterdeck.
Another probable 225 kg semi-armor piercing bomb likely struck the starboard side of the Caesar turret. Additionally, a probable 225kg MC bomb may have hit immediately forward of the foremast.
Despite serious flooding and a slight starboard list, the damage control efforts proved effective, with fires extinguished and flooding contained. Allied losses included one Corsair, three Barracudas, and nine crew members.
In contrast, the Germans lost 123 sailors, with 329 wounded. Captain Jünger skillfully guided the battleship out into the fjord. Though the damage appeared severe, reports indicated that much of it was superficial, with the ship's armored decks remaining intact and her guns operational. While morale among the crew suffered a blow back aboard the carriers, air crews believed they had inflicted more damage than in reality.
Reports of the battleship aflame and bomb impacts were widespread, leading Vice Admiral Bisset to conclude that the tear pits had been damaged enough to incapacitate her. However, subsequent reconnaissance flights revealed a different reality.
The battleship, though battered, remained afloat. Within three weeks, Tirpitz was mostly repaired. First Sea Lord Sir Andrew Cunningham ordered another assault, met with reluctance from Admiral Fraser. Nonetheless, plans for a fresh attack were drawn up, signaling a continued effort to neutralize the battleship.
submitted by Knowledgia14 to Unalteredhistory [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 16:10 Yurii_S_Kh 31 May 1223. Tragedy on the Kalka river. Mongol invasion into Kievan Rus'

31 May 1223. Tragedy on the Kalka river. Mongol invasion into Kievan Rus'
Mongol warriors take Grand Prince Mstislav III Romanovich of Kiev into captivity.
A tumultuous discussion raged in the hall of Mstislav III “The Old” Romanovich, the Grand Prince of Kiev, in March 1223. An embassy of Turkic-speaking Polovtsian nomads humbly stood before the throne of the Russian prince. The embassy had arrived earlier in the day bearing rich gifts that included a bounty of gold and silver, exotic fabrics from the East, and slave girls.
They also bore news of disturbing developments on the steppe lands to the south. They reported that a large Mongol army had passed through the Caucasus Mountains several years earlier. During their march through the mountains, the Mongols had defeated the Georgians. They emerged into the Russian steppe where they had been encamped with no sign of leaving any time soon. During that time, the Mongols had also routed several Polovtsian tribes.The Mongol victory over the Georgians and several Polovtsian tribes had been so thorough that it unnerved Khan Kotyan, one of the senior Polovtsian khans in the delegation. He appealed directly to Mstislav Romanovich for military assistance against the Mongols. While the grand prince was considering the request, shouting erupted among the nobles of his court and his generals.
The uproar was a negative reaction to the request given that the Polovtsians were traditional enemies of the Russians. Their frequent raids had caused extensive destruction throughout southern Russia. Many of Mstislav Romanovich’s nobles had lost kin fighting the Polovtsians. Neither the grand prince nor his advisors were familiar with the Mongols and, therefore, it was difficult for them to judge the severity of the threat. Although some of those present were all too glad to hear about the misfortunes that had befallen the Polovtsians, Mstislav Romanovich knew it was important to examine the situation from all angles before making a decision.
The sexagenarian grand prince was a veteran of the dynastic intrigues and internecine wars that embroiled Kievan Rus. Once the dominant power in medieval Russia, by the beginning of the 13th century Kievan Rus had disintegrated into a number of squabbling principalities. Upon the death of a ruler succession often went not to his sons as it traditionally had, but to his brothers. This resulted in clannish struggles that pitted brothers against uncles. Princes ruling small principalities constantly maneuvered to take control of bigger, richer, and more prestigious ones.
After some consolidation, a dozen principalities emerged. The two most prestigious and powerful of them, centered on the cities of Kiev and Vladimir, were titled grand principalities and their rulers were called grand princes. Other substantial principalities were Novgorod in the north, Galicia-Volhynia in the south, and Smolensk and Chernigov in the center.
Genghis Khan’s empire rested on a firm administrative foundation that ensured longevity.
Bordering Russian territory in the south was an extensive steppe land north of the Black Sea known as the Wild Field, which stretched from the Dniester River in the west to the Don River in the east. The most powerful of the numerous nomadic tribes in the region were the Polovtsians. They occupied the lands from north of the Black Sea to the Aral Sea. There was certainly a precedent of making alliances with the Polovtsians, for Russian princes often enlisted their assistance against their rivals. Indeed, Russian princes frequently married pretty Polovtsian princesses, who upon marriage converted to Christianity. The intermarriage flowed only one way, though, for no Russian prince would allow his daughter to marry a shamanistic nomad.
One such matrimonial union for political purposes was that of a daughter of Khan Kotyan to Prince Mstislav “The Lucky” Mstislavovich, a ruler of the Principality of Galicia-Volhynia in modern-day Ukraine. The principality was the result of a union between the neighboring provinces of Galich and Volyn. Prince Mstislav of Galicia was an experienced, well-respected, and widely feared war leader who had proven himself in the Kipchak Wars. His protégé was young Prince Daniel Romanovich of Volyn, a famous warrior in his own right. Although the Grand Principality of Kiev was nominally senior to Galicia-Volhynia, Mstislav did not hold himself junior to his namesake, who was jealous and cautious of the other man’s reputation.
Even though Khan Kotyan was related to Mstislav of Galicia by marriage and could count on at least some military assistance from his son-in-law, it was a shrewd move to turn to Mstislav Romanovich of Kiev first. Not only were the lands of Kiev closer to a possible Mongol invasion, but such a display of deference was sure to play to Mstislav Romanovich’s vanity and desire to enhance his reputation as a great warrior.
Although Mstislav Romanovich decided to assist the Polovtsians, he met fierce resistance from his nobles. Many of the nobles vehemently opposed aiding the Polovtsians. Some went so far as to make veiled hints that Mstislav Romanovich was bought by the bounty of gifts the Polovtsian khans had brought him. But Mstislav Romanovich believed it was essential to assist the Polovtsians; otherwise, they might strike a deal with the Mongols and turn against Russia.
Sensitive to both sides, Mstislav Romanovich crafted a compromise. He not only intended to assist the Polovtsians, but also summoned the Russian princes to attend a subsequent military council for the purpose of planning how to defend the Russian principalities against the Mongols. He promptly dispatched messengers to both grand and minor princes of roughly a dozen principalities requesting that they attend the council.
A mongol warrior.
To Mstislav’s chagrin, many princes did not respond to his summons. Some replied that that they had more pressing affairs, while others did not response at all. Nevertheless, 20 princes of various ranks gathered in Kiev. The most important of them was Mstislav of Galicia, who was accompanied by Prince Daniel Romanovich.
Several other princes attended the council. Prince Mstislav “The Mute” Yaroslavovich arrived from Lutsk. In his younger days, Mstislav of Lutsk had been wounded in the face by a spear, which left his jaw and tongue badly mangled and resulted in his nickname. He could only speak in a whisper as a result of his wounds and therefore was accompanied by an attendant who would listen to what the prince whispered and repeat it in a clear voice. In addition, Mstislav Svyatoslavovich of Chernigov attended with his sons Vsevolod and Dmitriy. Also arriving to participate in the council was Vladimir Rurikovich, the Prince of Ovruch, who had been designated to represent the Principality of Smolensk.
A heated discussion occurred as to whether the Russians should furnish assistance to the Polovtsians. Many princes were categorically opposed to aiding the Polovtsians. They held that the looming clash between the Polovtsians and Mongols was simply a rebalancing of power in the steppe. As proof of their theory, they pointed to how the Polovtsians had ejected the Pecheng tribes in the late 11th century. In contrast, another faction, which was headed by Mstislav of Galicia, was spoiling for a fight. It had the support of many of the younger princes.
Mstislav Romanovich’s sons Rostislav and Vsevolod pulled their father aside to protest in private against the campaign. They said that they had their own problems with rivals in Polotsk and Grodno. Although this caused Mstislav Romanovich great frustration, he nevertheless gave his sons leave to attend to their personal affairs.
These arguments lasted three days before Mstislav Romanovich prevailed and the majority of the princes reluctantly agreed to participate in his campaign against the Mongols. Then, a new point of contention emerged. Mstislav of Galicia and Mstislav Romanovich quarreled over who should command the joint Russian forces. As the most senior prince, Mstislav Romanovich demanded to be placed in command, while many other princes wanted to see the more experienced Mstislav of Galicia in charge. Arguments threatened to collapse the fragile alliance before it even began. Vladimir Rurikovich, cousin of both princes, whose son Andrey was married to Mstislav Romanovich’s daughter, brokered a compromise. Mstislav Romanovich would command the forces of Kiev, Chernigov, and Smolensk, and Mstislav of Galicia would lead the forces of Galicia-Volhynia and Lutsk.
The Russians began preparing for war against the Mongols in mid-March 1223, and the Russian forces began gathering at the designated rendezvous point in early April. The campaign was scheduled to officially begin immediately following Orthodox Easter, which fell on April 23.
The rendezvous point was the great bend in the Dnieper River where the old trade route, Zalozni Way, began on its way southeast to the Sea of Azov. The infantry from Kiev, Chernigov, and Smolensk sailed down the Dnieper in longships while the cavalry rode along the west bank. The forces of Galicia-Volhynia, including men from Lutsk, Pinsk, and Turiv, journeyed by boat down the Dniester River to the Black Sea then along its north shore to the mouth of the Dnieper River, and then up the river to the staging areas. Polovtsian war bands steadily trickled in to join the Russians.
The Mongol army crosses the Don River after raiding in 1221 through Azerbaijan and Georgia and along the Caspian Sea.
While the Russian forces were gathering, an embassy of six Mongol envoys accompanied by two Muslim interpreters arrived at Mstislav Romanovich’s camp. The Russian leaders where not impressed by what they saw. Specifically, the Mongols were short of stature and their stocky torsos were supported by bow legs. As for their haughtiness, the Russians were greatly offended by it.
Mongol ambassadors requested that the Russian princes remain neutral in what the Mongols saw as their personal conflict with the Polovtsians; instead, the Mongols offered an alliance with the Russians. The Russians discerned that the envoys were insincere and dishonest. Moreover, they believed they were spies. Despite protests by some of the princes, Mstislav Romanovich ordered the six Mongols executed. The Russians allowed the Muslim interpreters to leave unharmed.
In mid-May the forces of Galicia-Volhynia arrived. They were followed by the main body of Polovtsians under Khan Kotyan. Another Mongol embassy arrived with the same interpreters. They made another request for Russian neutrality and again proposed an alliance. Both propositions were rejected, but this time the envoys were allowed to leave with their lives.
The mood in the Russian camp was light, for the princes were confident of victory and viewed the upcoming campaign as a minor distraction before returning to the serious business of jockeying for power. The Russian army is reported to have numbered 80,000, although its actual size was probably smaller. The cavalry is estimated to have consisted of 12,000 Russian horsemen and 8,000 Polovtsian horsemen. The rest of the Russian army was on foot.
The elite heavy cavalry that belonged to the princes fought with lances and used swords and battle axes as secondary weapons. As for the infantry, it fought with a variety of weapons, including spears, swords, war axes, maces, and bows. The Russians wore a wide variety of armor, including scale, lamellar, and mail. They carried large teardrop-shaped shields and wore conical helmets.
The Russian lack of intelligence about the Mongols was glaring. The Mongol Empire had come into being in 1206 at a great assembly of all the Mongol tribes held in Outer Mongolia. The new nomad empire was unlike previous ones in that it had a fixed center. From their base in the Mongolian steppe, the Mongols could send armies to the east or west as they saw fit.
Mongol Chieftan Temujin of the Borjigin clan was the founder of this powerful new empire. Over the course of 20 years of continuous warfare, he had succeeded in bringing all of the tribes of the grasslands north of the Gobi Desert under his personal rule. At the great assembly in 1206 he informed the clans under his rule that they would soon embark together on a conquest of other lands and peoples beyond the Mongolian steppe. In confidence of a successful campaign of conquest, he assumed the title of Genghis Khan, meaning Lord of the Earth.
As Genghis Khan had anticipated, his army of conquest was unstoppable. He subjugated the neighboring Quara Khitai Empire in 1220 and immediately afterward conquered the sprawling Khwarizm Empire, which stretched from the borders of India to those of Anatolia. Warriors of many of the defeated empires were assimilated into the Mongolian army and became bound together through common language, lifestyle, and religion.
An able and astute administrator, Genghis Khan reorganized the war bands of the Mongol tribes into a military organization based on the decimal system. A squad of 10 warriors was called a harban, a company of 100 men was known as a dzhaun, and a 1,000-strong regiment was called a mingan.
As the Mongol army grew in size, a larger division-sized unit called a toumen was formed from 10,000 warriors. The officers, known as noyans, were typically members of tribal aristocracy, but promotion by merit was widespread and members of humble backgrounds frequently rose to upper ranks. The most senior ranks, which commanded a corps composed of two or more toumens, were reserved for members of Genghis Khan’s immediate family and his most trusted commanders.
The bulk of Genghis Khan’s army was composed of horse archers. These horsemen had been trained from early childhood to hunt and fight and were inured to the suffering and harsh conditions of the Mongolian steppe. The striking power of the Mongols was based on their extraordinary mobility, with each soldier leading a string of four to six horses and capable of remaining in the saddle for days. Genghis Khan and his generals readily adopted the advanced military technology and skills possessed by the people they conquered. For example, they assimilated artillery and engineering skills from the Persians and Chinese. Each large Mongol unit included a staff of astute Chinese administrators who collected and collated reports by scouts and spies and questioned travelers and merchants about the lands of interest to the Mongols.
Numerous foreign travelers noted the high quality of Mongol weapons, armor, and equipment. Each Mongol warrior was equipped with “a sword, a club, a bow, sixty arrows: thirty small arrows with a short, iron point used for piercing remote targets and thirty larger ones with broad arrowheads which were tossed at people who were very near in order to injure their faces, shoulders, cut the bow strings and cause damage,” wrote Italian explorer Marco Polo. In addition to the lightly armored horse archers, the Mongol army included a significant number of heavy cavalry who wore lamellar armor and whose horses were often armored as well.
After overseeing the conquest of the Khwarezmian Empire, Genghis Khan made plans to return to Mongolia. Before his departure, he granted permission to his top general, Subutai, to conduct a reconnaissance-in-force. Subutai already was contemplating future campaigns of conquest and the reconnaissance would aid in planning them. Genghis Khan ordered another to general, Jebe, to accompany Subutai. For their reconnaissance, the two commanders had 20,000 troops.
Subutai and Jebe defeated a Georgian army three times the size of theirs in 1220 and then marched into the steppe lands occupied by the Polovtsians. They planned to camp for a prolonged period in the steppe to regain their strength. During that time they would dispatch envoys to negotiate with the Russians. The envoys not only negotiated, but also assessed an enemy’s strength through observations reported to the senior commanders.
Path of Subutai and Jebe. From northern Iran to Kalka river. (map taken from warmaps)
The day after the second Mongol embassy departed, Polovtsian scouts on the east bank of the Dnieper River reported contact with leading elements of the Mongol army. Eager to cross swords with the mysterious enemy, the Russians built a bridge by lashing boats together and nailing planks on top of them to facilitate the crossing of their cavalry. The first across were 500 horsemen under Daniel Romanovich. Afterward, more Russians and Polovtsians streamed over the bridge of boats. The Mongols fell back along the Zalozni Way, shooting arrows over their shoulders from their composite bows. The Russians and Polovtsians marveled at the accuracy and range of the Mongol horse archers.
A small unit of Mongols was trapped by the Polovtsians and Russians. More Mongols and Russians joined in and soon thousands of riders whirred in a sharp melee. The Mongols began falling back, scattering before larger numbers, quickly reforming just out of reach and closing in again, always firing their bows. As more and more Russian and Polovtsians cavalry crossed the river and joined the fray, the Mongols melted away. Young Russian princes who had their blood up wanted to pursue the Mongols, but Mstislav of Galicia restrained them.
Encouraged by their first success against the Mongols, Russian forces continued crossing the river; in the process, they brought commercial traffic on the river to an abrupt halt. After the crossing was completed, the plank bridge was dissembled and the long ships beached on the east bank of the river under guard of 300 foot soldiers.
The Russian princes bickered once again at an evening council about the issue of command. Neither Mstislav of Galicia nor Mstislav Romanovich was willing to acknowledge the other’s leadership. Another compromise was reached. This time Mstislav of Galicia was placed in charge of the vanguard, which consisted of the troops of the principalities of Galicia-Volhynia and Lutsk. Mstislav Romanovich commanded the main body of the Russian army. There was tension within the main body of the army as well for both Mstislav of Chernigov and Prince Vladimir Rurikovich of Smolensk desired to march at the head of the main body rather than their respective contingents.
The Russian army followed the Mongols for seven days along the Zalozni Way, passing over a seemingly unending terrain of rolling hills and small rivers. The Mongols were always in sight, but just out of reach. Frequent skirmishes occurred between the Polovtsians and Mongol scouts. Marching columns and wagon trains of the Russian army stretched over 15 miles. Thick screens of Polovtsian cavalry protected the flanks of the column.
The squabbling among the Russian princes continued unabated. Mstislav of Galicia was pressing for faster advance, demanding to be reinforced by mounted contingents from Chernigov and Smolensk in order to locate and pin down the main Mongol army before the Russians went too far into vast steppe. In contrast, Mstislav Romanovich demanded that the army slow down so that infantry could keep up. The foot-sore Russian infantry had grown weary under the hot sun and grew more fatigued with each passing day.
On May 30, the eighth day of the pursuit, the Russian forces reached the fords in the Kalka River, a narrow tributary flowing south through the hilly terrain to the Sea of Azov. Although the exact location remains unknown, it is believed to be 20 miles north of the modern-day city of Mariupol on the north shore of the Sea of Azov.
The forces of Galicia-Volhynia, Lutsk, and Smolensk splashed across and set up their camps on the east side of the river, while those of Chernigov established their camp in the immediate vicinity of the ford on the west side. As for Mstislav Romanovich, he moved his Kievan contingent to a steep hill a half-mile from the river. It was a strong position that was protected by deep ravines on the south and east side of the prominence.
At that point, the two senior commanders argued over strategy. Mstislav Romanovich wanted to slow the army’s speed of advance. He therefore proposed a new marching order. The Chernigov forces would lead the way. The main body following them would be arrayed as follows: the Smolenskian troops on the right, Lutskian troops on the left, and Kievan troops in the middle. In a deliberate move to restrain Mstislav of Galicia, Mstislav Romanovich ordered that his rival’s forces constitute the rear guard. Mstislav of Galicia left the council in a huff without consenting to the new marching order.
Before dawn on May 31 the Polovtsian scouts returned to Mstislav of Galicia with news that they had spotted the main Mongol camp. Knowing that if he alerted the other princes to this development—especially Mstislav Romanovich—the large part of the morning would be spent arguing about the course of action, Mstislav of Galicia made the crucial decision to prepare his troops for action without the usual trumpet signals.
Despite the precautions taken by Mstislav of Galicia, his preparations were noticed by sentries in the Smolensk camp, who promptly alerted their prince. Quickly discovering what was underway and not wishing to be left out of the upcoming action and glory, Vladimir of Smolensk ordered his trumpeters to rouse his troops. The commotion in the Smolensk camp in turn alerted the men of Chernigov bivouacked on the west bank of the river. Prince Mstislav of Chernigov rushed to inform Mstislav Romanovich.
The Grand Prince of Kiev angrily observed the preparations from his hilltop position as his rival’s forces formed up and marched over the hill on the other side of the river. The men of Smolensk soon disappeared from view as well, and grumbling began in the Chernigov camp. Most of the Chernigov commanders wanted to march for they were anxious to participate in the action; however, Prince Mstislav of Chernigov would not march without Mstislav of Galicia’s permission, and he would not give it.
The first to make contact with the enemy were the Polovtsians, who were spread out ahead of the coalition force in a thick screen under the joint command of Khan Kotyan and Yarun, one of Mstislav of Galicia’s officers. They brushed aside the Mongol pickets before running into a small Mongol vanguard, which retreated after a brief clash. Close on the heels of the retreating Mongols, the Polovtsians came upon a small Mongol camp, which they took for the leading element of the main Mongol army. Quickly overrunning the camp and pushing on in a headlong pursuit, the Polovtsians encountered the main body of Mongols, which had been cleverly concealed behind a chain of rolling hills. The Mongols’ initial volley of arrows emptied hundreds of Polovtsian saddles. The Mongol heavy cavalry then overran the Polovtsians.
An argument over strategy left the various parts of the Russian army vulnerable to destruction. When the Polovtsians fled in panic, the Russians had to fight for their lives.
The Polovtsian collapse was as complete as it was sudden. Believing it was on the verge of easy victory, the Polovtsian cavalry was suddenly confronted with ordered ranks of Mongol cavalry. Thousands of Polovtsians fled in panic, unheeding any and all attempts by their leaders to rally them. Although some escaped to the north and south, the main body of Polovtsians fled northwest the way they had come, right into the path of the advancing Russian forces attempting to catch up to them.
The leading Russian column consisted of 500 Volyn cavalry under Prince Daniel. The torrent of fleeing Polovtsian riders disordered and scattered them. The Polovtsians also disordered the men of Galich and Lutsk who did not have time to close up. The only troops that were not immediately disordered by the Polovtsian retreat were those from the Smolensk force. Given that they were farther back along the route of advance, the Smolensk cavalry had sufficient warning. Prince Vladimir of Smolensk ordered his horsemen to close ranks, and they formed a circle on a low hillock.
The Mongols smashed into the disordered horsemen under Prince Daniel. In turn, each Russian mounted detachment became isolated, desperately fighting to link up with the others. From the top of the small hillock, Prince Vladimir could see the unfolding disaster. His troops were an island in the sea of disordered Russians and Polovtsians. His trumpeters repeatedly sounded the rally for other groups of Russian cavalry that had become separated to join them. Realizing the futility of remaining in place, Prince Vladimir ordered an attack to link up with Mstislav of Galicia, so that the Russians could withdraw together. Seeing the banner of Mstislav of Galicia falling back, other Russian cavalry forces began retreating as well. Prince Daniel fought bravely and was wounded several times. Barely able to stay in his saddle, he was supported on each side by a bodyguard.
The main body of the Mongols swept around the Russian cavalry to reach the infantry of Galicia-Volhynia and Smolensk. These lightly armored foot soldiers, to their credit, were falling back in some semblance of order. The Mongol horse archers rode back and forth along the Russian ranks, firing into them at point-blank range, inflicting heavy casualties in the process. The Russian infantry eventually broke under the merciless barrage of arrows. The panicked foot soldiers streamed in flight toward the Kalka River.
Back at the Kalka River crossing, the first fleeing Polovtsians arrived at 11 am with news of the unfolding disaster. But Mstislav Romanovich refused to budge from his position on top of his rocky knoll. Not wishing to wait any longer, Prince Mstislav of Chernigov took his forces forward. About an hour later, he led his troops across the river. They deployed to march in battle formation with the infantry in the center and cavalry on the flanks.
Before the men of Chernigov marched forward, retreating groups of infantry from Galicia-Volhynia and Smolensk arrived. The men of Chernigov closed ranks to keep the panicked men from disordering them. Desperate foot soldiers clawed at the Chernigov shield wall in blind panic in an attempt to squeeze their way through to perceived safety. The Mongol heavy cavalry rode behind and among the retreating infantry, spearing panic-stricken men with impunity. Before the Chernigov infantry had the chance to close the gaps caused by the fleeing men, the Mongols succeeded in cracking their line.
Prince Mstislav of Chernigov counterattacked with his cavalry, allowing his infantry to reform and briefly halted the Mongols. The fighting grew both in its intensity and brutality. Mstislav of Chernigov’s two nephews were cut down. The Mongols also felled Prince Mstislav of Chernigov. His son, Vsevolod, was able to briefly maintain control. But when the Mongols slayed him as well, the men of Chernigov began a disordered retreat back across the river. Just in the nick of time, though, the remaining cavalry of Galicia-Volhynia, Lutsk, and Smolensk attacked the Mongols from behind. As the Mongols fell back to reform, a lull settled over the battlefield.
On the east bank of the Kalka River, Mstislav of Galicia rallied the surviving cavalry of Galicia-Volhynia, Lutsk, and Smolensk. A humiliated Mstislav of Galicia appealed to Mstislav Romanovich for help. Even seeing his rival humbled, the Grand Prince of Kiev still refused to budge from his fortified camp. His 2,000 men were among the best armed and experienced troops in the entire Russian army. With a heavy heart, Mstislav of Galicia ordered a general retreat sounded. His surviving troops withdrew to the west bank of the Kalka River where they began the long trek back to the Dnieper River and the awaiting longships.
Prince Mstislav Mstislavovich of Galicia-Volhynia crosses the Dnieper River with the Mongols in close pursuit in a romantic depiction of the incident.
The Russian infantry was in bad shape. Many had discarded their arms and armor in their flight. They staggered along the track, suffering from heat, thirst, and wounds. On the evening of May 31, the Mongols caught up to the retreating Russians. In order to buy time for his infantry to reform, Mstislav of Galicia led his cavalry in a desperate counterattack. His two nephews, Izyaslav and Svaytoslav, both died in the desperate fighting. The Mongol archers once again took a heavy toll of the beleaguered Russian infantry. Darkness brought a welcome end to fighting for the Russians.
Weary Russian princes gathered to discuss their next course of action. It was painfully obvious that the tattered remnant of the Russian infantry was in no condition to escape the fast-moving Mongol cavalry nor could it offer an effective defense. With that in mind, the surviving Russian cavalry could either remain with the infantry where they would in all likelihood perish alongside them, or they could abandon the infantry to their fate in the hope of making their own escape. With heavy hearts, the majority of the princes made the brutal decision to abandon the infantry. The only one who did not was young Prince Dmitriy Mstislavovich from Chernigov. He and his small retinue of men-at-arms valiantly decided to fight to the death.
Many of the infantrymen managed to slip away during the night. The desertions continued in the early morning hours of June 1 as Dmitriy Mstislavovich formed up the remaining men for battle. The Mongols appeared shortly after dawn. The Russians held out for almost an hour. When Dmitriy Mstislavovich fell, all resistance collapsed. After several hours spent riding down and slaughtering the fleeing Russians, the bulk of the Mongols withdrew. The infantry of Galicia-Volhynia, Chernigov, Lutsk, and Smolensk were virtually annihilated by that point.
On the evening of June 1 approximately 1,200 surviving Russian cavalrymen halted to rest on their way back to the Dnieper River. When the time came to leave again in the morning, Prince Yuri Glebovich of Nesvizh halted to rest his troops on the belief that they were sufficiently safe from the pursuit. The other princes continued their withdrawal without him, but the Mongols soon appeared. They proceeded to slaughter nearly all of Prince Yuri’s 100 remaining men, as well as the prince himself. The Mongols then withdrew to the Kalka River.
Approximately 1,000 Russian cavalry reached the Dnieper River and the safety of long ships. After ferrying his men across the river, Prince Mstislav of Galicia ordered the rest of the boats burned so that the Mongols, if still in pursuit, could not use them to get across. Once on the west bank of the river, Mstislav of Galicia and Mstislav of Lutsk, accompanied by a seriously wounded Daniel Romanovich, headed to Galich. Prince Vladimir of Smolensk led his troops back to Kiev.
Having crossed the Kalka River, Subutai and Jebe divided their army into two sections. One section encircled the Kievans’ fortified camp, while the other section chased the retreating Russian forces. The Russians were in a good defensive position, protected by circled wagons and sharpened stakes. The slopes of the hill were sufficiently steep to prevent a Mongol mounted attack; for that reason, the Mongol warriors launched a dismounted attack. The Russian warriors, who were sheltered behind and on top of their wagons, repulsed multiple assaults. In vain, the Mongols tried to hook and pull apart the wagons, while the Russian warriors stabbed and slashed at them from above. Crouched behind their shields and wagons, the Russians succeeded in blunting the Mongol archery.
After three days of attacks, the Mongol commanders sent Mstislav Romanovich an offer of safe passage if the Russians left behind their weapons, banners, and possessions. Mstislav Romanovich refused, for surrendering their weapons and banners would result in a major blow to his prestige. But the Russian position had one major weakness, which was that it was a half mile from the river. By the end of the third day of siege, the Kievans were nearly out of water.
Mstislav Romanovich held a war council to determine his next steps. Most of his commanders argued for retaining their weapons and fighting their way out of the trap. While the Grand Prince of Kiev was mulling over his options, a Mongol envoy arrived. The envoy’s name was Ploskinya, and he was the leader of the Brodniki band that served as scouts. Brodniki were escaped serfs and slaves from Russian lands who settled on the far outskirts of the steppes and frequently intermarried with local nomads. Ploskinya had a Russian father and a Polovtsian mother. He swore on a cross that the Mongols were sincere in their promises of safe passage. Taking Ploskinya at his word, Mstislav Romanovich ordered his men to disarm.
As the Russians marched out of their camp, they laid down their arms and armor and set off northwest after refilling their canteens from the Kalka River. Mstislav Romanovich and his two sons-in-law, Prince Aleksander Glebovich of Dubrovitsy and Prince Andrei Vladimirovich, became separated from their men and were captured by the Mongols. Alarmed at their circumstances, they asked what their fate would be. They were told that they would be held for ransom, but not harmed. Once the column of disarmed Kiev warriors was out of sight of its abandoned camp, the Mongols overtook the column and slaughtered most of the unarmed troops. Those who were mounted, which numbered about 200 warriors, managed to escape.
The Mongols then turned their attention to the captured princes. They bound Mstislav Romanovich and his two sons-in-law by hand and foot. These high-ranking Russians were informed that the punishment for killing Mongol ambassadors was death; however, Mongol custom allowed the shedding of princely blood only in battle. The three Russian princes were then placed on the ground and boards were laid on top of them. Subutai, Jebe, and several senior Mongol commanders climbed the wobbly platform for a victory feast. As the Mongols leaders laughed and celebrated their victory, the three captive Russian princes were crushed to death.
The disaster that befell the combined Russian forces at the Kalka River was devastating. Less than one-tenth of the army returned home. A dozen Russian princes died. As soon as Prince Vladimir of Smolensk reached Kiev, he declared himself regent until the return of Mstislav Romanovich. The fate of the Kiev contingent was yet unknown, but Prince Vladimir was gambling that Mstislav Romanovich would not return and began maneuvering accordingly.
As soon as the three sons of Mstislav Romanovich returned to Kiev from their own campaign against Grodno and Polotsk, they immediately began plotting to remove Prince Vladimir from Kiev. Yet Vladimir, who was supported by Mstislav of Galicia and Daniel Romanovich, ultimately gained the upper hand. In the wake of his triumph, he exiled them from Kiev.
After Mstislav of Galicia died of natural causes in 1228, Daniel Romanovich became a major force in southwestern Russia. He succeeded in navigating the dangerous political shoals that confronted him. He had to muster all of his political skills to deftly handle the Mongols, Hungarians, Poles, and Lithuanians. By the time of his death in 1264, Daniel had greatly enhanced the prestige and expanded the territory of Galicia-Volhynia; for his achievements, he is revered in Ukraine as one of the region’s greatest leaders.
Subutai returned to Russia with Batu Khan in 1237 to resume operations against the Russians. By systematically destroying Russian cities, they compelled defeated princes to become compliant vassals.
Khan Kotyan eventually fled to Hungary with tens of thousands of his followers after suffering another crushing defeat at the hands of Mongols in 1237. When King of Hungary Bela IV offered the Polovtsians asylum in Hungary, Kotyan converted to Catholicism and wed another one of his daughters to Bela’s son, the future King Stephen V. But the Hungarian nobles never completely trusted Kotyan, who was christened Jonas on his conversion. The former Polovtsian khan was assassinated in 1241 on the eve of the Mongol invasion of Hungary.
After remaining on the steppe lands south of Russia until the end of 1223, the armies of Subutai and Jebe returned to Mongolia. Their reconnaissance campaign, which had lasted three years and covered more than 5,500 miles, was a resounding success. They not only returned with a tremendous amount of plunder, but also had gleaned invaluable insight into the Russian political situation and military strength. Furthermore, they had seen with their own eyes the characteristics of the terrain.
Subutai and Genghis Khan’s grandson Batu returned to Russia in 1237. Over the course of the next two years he subjugated a number of Russian principalities, including Kiev, Chernigov, and Galicia-Volhynia. Thus began a 240-year period known as the Mongol Yoke in which many of the Russian princes became vassals of the Mongols. Russian vassalage to the Mongols officially ended in 1480 with the defeat of the Golden Horde at the Great Stand on the Ugra River.
Author: Victor Kamenir
submitted by Yurii_S_Kh to SophiaWisdomOfGod [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 08:58 HalfDrowShaman The Hellgate (Refugees From Dis)

The Hellgate (Refugees From Dis)
Nox, the nameless drow, and a retinue of warlock-knights stand at the hellgate.
Before them stands Azazel. A devil, and notable banker from Dis: the second layer of hell. He is flanked on either side by a red devil, the three of them dressed in the most elegant of hellish attire.
“Hey Azazel! Glad you made it out ok!"
As tactless and forward as always, the drow addresses Azazel.
“Sooo… things have been pretty hard down in Dis I hear… after Craterus practically levelled the place. I assume you've come to negotiate safe haven in my city?"
Azazel speaks with a nasally voice that almost makes him sound sick. He adjusts his monocle and twirls his hellish moustache.
“Nnnhnnnmmm.. Your guess is correct. I have come on behalf of the city of Dis, and as the majority shareholder in the bank that stores your holdings.”
“Dispater bade me contact you and propose a deal. We will make Asfelaeia a certified district in the city of Dis, and you will be its mayor. In other words, Dispater himself is offering to buy your city.”
Nox grumbles, the drow folds her arms.
“You want to buy my city?”
“Nnyess.. Dispater has offered you the generous sum of 10 thousand willing souls and a place at his side. You will be treated as a general, and Asfelaeia will be your domain.”
The drow turns to Nox, and the two of them walk a short distance away. The drow smiles at Nox. Nox says nothing. They pretend to converse, bobbing their heads at each other in mock locution.
Azazel does his best to listen in, but he of course hears nothing. Then, the two colluders return.
“Nah I'm good. Thanks for stopping by Azazel”
Azazel sweats a tiny bead of sweat down his forehead. It bubbles and evaporates against his hellish skin.
“Nnnywhat? You would dismiss such an offer immediately? No counter offers? Dispater will be very displeased you know…”
The drow and Nox stand implacable. They give Azazel a look of comical pity. Another bead of sweat climbs out of Azazel’s pore and drips before evaporating once again.
“Wwell… you know… there are other locations we could go to. Your city is not our only option for refuge!”
Azazel stares up at the faces of Nox and the drow. He looks at the arches of their raised eyebrows. More sweat.
“F-fine!! Nnnnyehh. Dispater is willing to consider paying you 5’000 souls for refuge… and he won't claim the city…”
Desperation. The drow smiles, she knows she has him. Asfelaeia is not the biggest city, but it is the only city with a powered hellgate.
The hellgate is her bargaining chip. Without it, it would take days, weeks or months for the devils to make their way across realms. But as long as she controls that gate, Asfelaeia is their best option to cross over. Now, in their moment of desperation, the drow moves to strike.
“I want 5,000 souls now. I want to extend the domain of Asfelaeia to include the realm beyond the hellgate, on your side. And… I want my interest rate at your bank to be doubled”
Azazel looks like he is going to cry. Nox and the drow now both smile at him. Nox’s smile is like a twisted facsimile of a human face, and the drow’s smile is somehow so genuine it begets a sense of terror.
Azazel’s monocle pops out. He sweats more. His fancy suit has a damp spot at its pits. A drip of black oil emerges from his nose as he sniffs. He knows this is the best he will get.
“Nnnnyahhh!! Fine!"
And with that final cry of surrender, the deal is struck.
submitted by HalfDrowShaman to Asfelaeia [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 08:31 UsualAcanthaceae8775 Rework of my roster for a death battle platform fighter

The roster is made of characters that appeared on death battle and then some characters from highly requested matchups
Roster: Superman (DC Comics) Mario (Super Mario) Boba Fett (Star Wars) Spider-Man (Marvel Comics) Akuma (Street Fighter) Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) Goku (Dragon Ball) Batman (DC Comics) Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog) Kratos (God of War) Master Chief (Halo) Samus (Metroid) Link (The Legend of Zelda) Spawn (Image Comics) Zangief (Street Fighter) Goomba & Koopa (Super Mario) Raiden (Mortal Kombat) Wonder Woman (DC Comics) Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy) Luke Skywalker (Star Wars) Pikachu (Pokémon) Felicia (Darkstalkers) Doom Slayer (Doom) Dig Dug (Dig Dug) Kirby (Kirby) Godzilla (Godzilla) Raiden (Metal Gear) Darth Vader (Star Wars) Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid) Iron Man (Marvel Comics) Charizard (Pokémon) Blastoise (Pokémon) Venusaur (Pokémon) Fox McCloud (Star Fox) Terminator (The Terminator) Gamera (Gamera) Ryu (Street Fighter) Scorpion (Mortal Kombat) Deadpool (Marvel Comics) Wolverine (Marvel Comics) Chuck Norris (Celebrity/Martial Artist) Doctor Doom (Marvel Comics) Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong) Luigi (Super Mario) Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog) Knuckles (Sonic the Hedgehog) Mega Man (Mega Man) Agumon (Digimon) Vegeta (Dragon Ball) Mewtwo (Pokémon) Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden) M. Bison (Street Fighter) RoboCop (RoboCop) Toph (Avatar: The Last Airbender) Guts (Berserk) Lex Luthor (DC Comics) Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) Scrooge McDuck (Disney) Shovel Knight (Shovel Knight) Venom (Marvel Comics) Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat) Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics) Lucario (Pokémon) Shredder (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) Smokey Bear (Public Service Advertising) Thor (Marvel Comics) Naruto (Naruto) Ichigo (Bleach) Sephiroth (Final Fantasy) Zero (Mega Man) Metal Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog) Batman Beyond (DC Comics) Raven (Teen Titans) Black Panther (Marvel Comics) Twilight Sparkle (My Little Pony) Crash Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot) Spyro the Dragon (Spyro) Sora (Kingdom Hearts) Pit (Kid Icarus) Doctor Fate (DC Comics) Samurai Jack (Samurai Jack) Carnage (Marvel Comics) Optimus Prime (Transformers) Ultron (Marvel Comics) Thanos (Marvel Comics) Darkseid (DC Comics) Jotaro (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure) Doctor Strange (Marvel Comics) Bugs Bunny (Looney Tunes) Gwen (Ben 10) Lich King (Warcraft) Yoshi (Super Mario) Princess Peach (Super Mario) Rainbow Dash (My Little Pony) The Powerpuff Girls (The Powerpuff Girls) Garfield the Cat (Garfield) King Ghidorah (Godzilla) Kazuya Mishima (Tekken) Pepsi Man (Advertising Mascot) Shazam (DC Comics) Baymax & Hiro (Big Hero 6) Toothless & Hiccup (How to Train Your Dragon) Meta Knight (Kirby) Beetle Juice (Beetlejuice) Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) Grovyle (Pokémon) Barbie (Barbie) Kong (King Kong) Lord Vortech (Lego Dimensions) Dracula (Castlevania) Death (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) Stinger Flynn (Garten of BanBan) Ant-Man (Marvel Comics) Stitch (Lilo & Stitch) Rocket Raccoon (Marvel Comics) Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls) Discord (My Little Pony) Frieza (Dragon Ball) Scooby-Doo & Courage the Cowardly Dog (Scooby-Doo & Courage the Cowardly Dog) Rick Sanchez (Rick and Morty) The Doctor (Doctor Who) Megatron (Transformers) Galactus (Marvel Comics) Silver Surfer (Marvel Comics) Infernape (Pokémon) Gojo (Jujutsu Kaisen) Phoenix (Marvel Comics) Martian Manhunter (DC Comics) Wiz & Boomstick (Death Battle) King Mickey Mouse (Disney) Po (Kung Fu Panda) Yoda (Star Wars) Steven Universe (Steven Universe) KOOL Aid Man (Advertising Mascot) Saitama (One Punch Man) Popeye (Popeye) Macho Man (Celebrity/Wrestler) Omni Man (Invincible) Heihachi Mishima (Tekken) Sun Wu Kong (Mythology/Folklore) John Wick (John Wick) Magneto (Marvel Comics) SpongeBob (SpongeBob SquarePants) Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th) Silver the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog) Predator (Predator) James Bond (James Bond) Harley Quinn (DC Comics) Deku (My Hero Academia) Bowser (Super Mario) Ganon (The Legend of Zelda) Dante (Devil May Cry) Bayonetta (Bayonetta) The Flash (DC Comics) Ratchet & Clank (Ratchet & Clank) Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog) Tracer (Overwatch) Scout (Team Fortress 2) Hulk (Marvel Comics) Doomsday (DC Comics) Pinky Pie (My Little Pony) The Joker (DC Comics) Amy Rose (Sonic the Hedgehog) Doctor Eggman (Sonic the Hedgehog) Wile E. Coyote (Looney Tunes) Tom the Cat (Tom and Jerry) Sans (Undertale) Springtrap (Five Nights at Freddy’s) SCP-682 (SCP Foundation) Cuphead (Cuphead) Bendy (Bendy and the Ink Machine) Ash Ketchum (Pokémon) Gru (Despicable Me) MegaMind (Megamind) Steve (Minecraft) Ridley (Metroid) Vilgax (Ben 10) Lloyd (Ninjago) Finn & Jake (Adventure Time) Mordecai & Rigby (Regular Show) Ronald McDonald (Advertising Mascot) Zelda (The Legend of Zelda) Aquaman (DC Comics) Ben 10 (Ben 10) Green Lantern (DC Comics) Wario (Super Mario) King Dedede (Kirby) Aang (Avatar: The Last Airbender) Mechagodzilla (Godzilla) Static Shock (DC Comics) Machamp (Pokémon) Danny Phantom (Danny Phantom) Beerus (Dragon Ball) Red Hood (DC Comics) The Mask (The Mask) Black Widow (Marvel Comics) Widowmaker (Overwatch) Totodile (Pokémon)
submitted by UsualAcanthaceae8775 to deathbattle [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 08:00 SpendPsychological30 What would you like to see in the Turtles of Grayskull comic?

What would you like to see?
What various elements would you like to see from MOTU and TMNT in the comics? What characters that haven't shown up as toys yet? What deep cuts? What would you like to see mashed up? Like a Snake Mountain/technodrome? A ShreddeSlime pit? Would you like to see vehicles mashed up? Grayskull? What other ideas?
submitted by SpendPsychological30 to MastersOfTheUniverse [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 06:27 SpendPsychological30 What would you like to see?

What various elements would you like to see from MOTU and TMNT in the comics? What characters that haven't shown up as toys yet? What deep cuts? What would you like to see mashed up? Like a Snake Mountain/technodrome? A ShreddeSlime pit? Would you like to see vehicles mashed up? Grayskull? What other ideas?
submitted by SpendPsychological30 to ActionFigureGeek [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 01:27 SpendPsychological30 What would you like to see?

What various elements would you like to see from MOTU and TMNT in the comics? What characters that haven't shown up as toys yet? What deep cuts? What would you like to see mashed up? Like a Snake Mountain/technodrome? A ShreddeSlime pit? Would you like to see vehicles mashed up? Grayskull? What other ideas?
submitted by SpendPsychological30 to he_man [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 01:26 SpendPsychological30 What would you like to see?

What various elements would you like to see from MOTU and TMNT in the comics? What characters that haven't shown up as toys yet? What deep cuts? What would you like to see mashed up? Like a Snake Mountain/technodrome? A ShreddeSlime pit? Would you like to see vehicles mashed up? Grayskull? What other ideas?
submitted by SpendPsychological30 to TMNT [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 01:25 SpendPsychological30 What would you like to see?

What various elements would you like to see from MOTU and TMNT in the comics? What characters that haven't shown up as toys yet? What deep cuts? What would you like to see mashed up? Like a Snake Mountain/technodrome? A ShreddeSlime pit? Would you like to see vehicles mashed up? Grayskull? What other ideas?
submitted by SpendPsychological30 to TurtlesofGrayskull [link] [comments]


2024.05.30 21:48 PlayerPin Respect the Nightmare Knight and the Disaster Masters! (Cucumber Quest)

The Nightmare Knight

"Peace had been a distraction. My purpose was to destroy, and emotion had no place in it. ...even as I thought this way, I couldn't bring myself to harm another innocent. I'd changed too much."

Every 5,000 years in the otherwise peaceful Dreamside, an evil conqueror awakens the devastating power of the Nightmare Knight to sow chaos across the land and bend the world to his will. With every awakening, heroes rise up to defeat the nightmarish scourge, using the almighty power of the Dream Sword to seal him away. The legend has been upheld for 500,000 years, and a new generation of heroes will always rise to stop his evil ways should he rise again.
But that explanation doesn't tell the whole story. The Nightmare Knight initially sought to tear down Dreamside and grind it beneath his heel, but with his defeat came curiosity. How did these people live in joy and harmony? What is the purpose of friendship? How are cakes made? With his curiosity came empathy, and the Nightmare Knight wanted peace with the second generation of heroes. This was not to be.
500,000 years and 100 revivals in total mark the Nightmare Knight's time as a villain. Upon each revival, he would sabotage the efforts of his powerful minions, the Disaster Masters, and ensure his own defeat to keep the peace and sustain the fear that fuels his own power and the Disaster Master's lives. Constantly torn between good and evil, the Nightmare Knight stands as a mighty threat to Dreamside even in his passivity, and his Disaster Masters ensure that each revival will be wrought with devastation.

Hover over a feat to see what page it originates from.

The Nightmare Knight

Physicals and General Hard-to-Defeat Nature

Offensive Magic

Non-Offensive Magic

Other

The Disaster Masters

Created as minions of the Nightmare Knight, these baddies hold portions of the Nightmare Knight's power and grow more powerful than the last. (Ignore the Forsaken Master). All have their own agendas, but all desire to crush their respective kingdoms under their heels and take over Dreamside once and for all.

I. Splashmaster

Ruler of the seas and waves, Splashmaster breaks all opposition with his might and dominion over water! Unfortunately, he's an idiot and an oaf, letting him be easily tricked and duped. Still, underestimate him at your own peril because his tentacles pack quite a punch.

Physicals

Other

II. Noisemaster


Yo, yo, yo! Noisemaster in the house! This bombastic Disaster Master relies on technology for his plans, and always makes sure to bring the roof down! Even if he's a bit small, he's got big plans and big lasers to back him up!

Himself

Gear

III. Mutemaster

Noisemaster's partner-in-crime, this silent bruiser serves as the brawn to Noisemaster's brains. Ironically, he absolutely despises noise, fainting in response before reawakening to silence all that stands before him either through magic or brute force.

IV. Rosemaster

The most loyal of Nightmare Knight's Masters, Rosemaster tends to choose trickery over direct conflict. However, she alone holds the power to defeat all the 100 heroes that defeated her master beforehand, and her latest and greatest attempt at true victory earns her the all-powerful Hocus Crocus which makes her power surpass even Glitchmaster. As pretty as a rose and sharp as its thorns, she proves herself as a truly terrible trial for any hero.

Physicals

Offensive Magic

Non-Offensive Magic

Other

V. Quakemaster.

A walking natural disaster (master), Quakemaster uses his (disaster) mastery over the ground itself to extort the city of Baltsbury and extort its entire population. While he'd rather wear down his opposition morally and financially, he holds more than enough power to bring the entire city crashing down with devastating earthquakes and searing lava.

VI. Mistmaster

An oddity in the Disaster Masters, Mistmaster current state is that of an ever-sobbing wreck pouring rains onto the lands below. He used to be an active threat before he learned of Nightmare Knight's self-sabotage; before he could wreak havoc in his shock, he was swiftly punished in an unknown but terrible manner. Now, he sits weakened and inconsolable. Perhaps someday he will be restored to his former glory.

VII. Glitchmaster

Glitchmaster stands as the strongest and scariest of all the Disaster Masters...as much as a ball can stand, anyway. She glitches and warps the world around her with deadly consequence, and plans to seek even greater power after learning of the Nightmare Knight's betrayal. Her true capabilities have yet to be seen, but she has proven herself a powerful force nonetheless.

VIII. The Forsaken Master (Thebestmaster)

Sealed away for his disloyalty, the Forsaken Master can read the fears of his victims and use his very strong magic to conjure these fears given physical form.
...unfortunately, he's way too naive to use his powers correctly and radically misinterprets these fears to the least threatening and scary depiction possible. If he knew what he was doing, he truly would be The Best Master, but the Nightmare Knight sealed him away for a reason.
Also, the Nightmare Knight might have not created this guy? He's an odd duck through and through.
submitted by PlayerPin to respectthreads [link] [comments]


2024.05.30 21:40 Visual_Key828 Why I don't think The One Who Waits (TOWW) is The Trickster and what role I think The Trickster might play.

One of the main topics dominating the fandom atm is the identity of The One Who Waits. There have been lots of theories as to who it could be, the most popular (and by far the most convincing) is that they are The Trickster. The hints have certainly been overwhelming, from the similarities to the cancelled SJA series 5 plot and Ruby's backstory to the similarities between Ruby's song and the Tricksters theme. I think its safe to say that The Trickster will be involved in the shows very near future.
Despite this, I have doubts that they are "The Oldest One":
Firstly, as powerful as The Trickster was, they just didn't seem like THAT much of a big deal in universe. Their reality altering powers, while impressive don't hold a candle to The Toymakers, from what we've seen anyway. Even when they fully manifested in their second appearance they needed to rely on human slave labour to achieve their greater goals. They also relied on deals in order to alter reality, often in small ways that would have huge ripple effects. The Toymaker on the other hand could alter reality on a whim, and if his quotes to The Doctor are to be taken seriously, completely messed up The Doctors timeline on a whim, far beyond anything we've seen The Trickster do.
Of course, there are counter arguments to this, the main being that we know next to nothing about The Trickster. This gives RTD a lot of creative freedom to do what he pleases with the character. Personally, I liked the Tricksters more subtle style and think his limitations make him a more interesting villain than the more all powerful Toymaker, so personally would not change that. But opinions are opinions.
My second point against The Trickster being The One Who Waits is that its almost become too obvious, at least to more "hardcore" fans. All the nods in universe as well as RTD name dropping him a few times and the reference to him the the Harriot Jones comic have made it very easy to theorise the they will be the big bad for the new era. However I wouldn't be surprised if this was a misdirection as if RTD did want to make his reveal a surprise, he'd doing a pretty bad job lol.
Having said all that, I do think the Trickster will be making a return to our screens. So I'd like to go over a few cool (I think they're cool) ideas I've had as to how they could be used. This is more fan fiction than anything tbh.
  1. The more obvious and the imo less interesting option, The Trickster is a herald of The One Who Waits sent to basically pave the way for its ascension. He is currently doing all the leg work, manipulating Ruby, ensuring all the pieces are in place for its return. Not much more to this really
  2. This imo is much better- The Trickster is actually trying to STOP The One Who Waits. We know that The Trickster loves chaos and is apart of the Pantheon of Discord, which I am 99% sure is the same as "The gods of Chaos". Now assuming they are one in the same, it should be noted that The Gods of Chaos are TERRIFIED of The One Who Waits, at least the ones we have seen so far. This could be because the One Who Waits is just super powerful and dwarfs its fellow gods. However, I think it would be more interesting if The One Who Waits is actually a god that actively opposes the group and instead of representing chaos, represented a fascistic and oppressive order. Maybe they fought a war against it eons ago and it took all their combined might to barely seal it away. We know that RTD has strong and principled anti authoritarian political beliefs and isn't afraid to allow his work to reflect that: WW3, Turn Left and more recently 73 Yards (which I have yet to watch) are all examples of this. RTD is keenly aware of the threat authoritarian far right politics can pose and it would not surprise me if his new big bad reflected that. The classic series pitted The Black Guardian (of chaos) against The White (of order). In this scenario order was portrayed as being more benevolent than chaos, I think the modern series should subvert this, showing how ugly "order" can really get.
What about The Trickster though. Well, a being that feeds on randomness probably doesn't want the Multiverse being overrun by an omnipotent fascist dictator that wants to enforce its absolute rule. So, The Trickster starts manipulating events, stealing Ruby away from The One Who Waits (or its minions at least) and ensuring she is found by The Doctor. Essentially The Trickster wants to use Ruby as a weapon against The One Who Waits and is manipulating her and The Doctor into a confrontation with it. Imo TOWW is still behind Ruby's creation, however The Trickster has been able influence her somehow. Like the other members of the group, The Trickster is terrified of it and wants to avoid a direct confrontation at all costs, hence, using Ruby.
Honestly, TOWW will probably be The Trickster and I'm just overthinking. Sorry it degenerates into fanfiction, I just wanted to get some of this out of me lmao.
Also, sorry if the Grammar isn't great, I kinda just put this together and properly proof reading it seems very daunting lol.
submitted by Visual_Key828 to doctorwho [link] [comments]


2024.05.30 16:45 Purplet_Yger Parallel Endings in Security Breach and FNaF World

Parallel Endings in Security Breach and FNaF World
Hello, dear theorists. After deafening booing of my Shadow Bonnie post I decided try to... dig a little deeper into the pit of humanity shi FNaF LORe and call you for discussion. And today I had chosen the old and soooooo contraversal topic: FNaF World. Yeah, people still can't decide, game is canon or not. For me, even if FNaF World is not full-canon game, it can be a wrench which can fill all holes in FNaF and an entity which explain all in franchise🤌So, let's get loud🦾
I tried to explain them for myself, and it has completed little strange. So:
1) Escape and Normal endings. The simpliest in getting endings in SB and World
Thanks for playing. Now you will die😈
2) VIP and Chipper's Revenge endings. For that ending we must to cross the El Chip's cafè. El Chip is, as you know, tribute to Mr.Chipper
It will be me...
3) Van ending and Universe end. Because of two Glamrock Freddies cannot be in one universe, Freddy was replaced by Monty and last - by Glamrock Mr.Hyppo (or Hippo, correct me if it needs)
Trip to the end of universe
4) Dissasemble Vanny and Scott ending, as known as Animdude and Hard Mode ending. We killed the Freddy in this ending - Freddy is not the Storyteller and don't infected by Mimic1 program. As we know from Ruin, almost all SB endings are comics, was written by Gregory. Therefore I suppose, that Hard Mode ending Escape ending (storyteller was killed), Dissasemble ending Universe end (world without Freddy cannot exist)
Freddy was The Storysuck an egg😱 Wait, what🤔
5) Princess Quest and 4th glitch endings. It's simple here: every act - is certain level of subtunnel world. PQ4 from HW2 even has a room without entries and exits - like a 4th world. 4th red world also is parallel with the Lake in Ruin, PQ4 is parallel to FFPP and Sister Location entry and Halloween location Mimic's lair
The Bite of '21
6) Burn it all down and Clock endings. For getting Burntrap ending we collecting rar items for Freddy from ALL animatronics: eyes, claws, mouth, brain, person (from Bonnie)
You want them all to be in one place
7) Elevator and Rainbow true ending. End of World - beginning of Sister Location; end of Ruin - beginning of ???
Gregory was The Storyteller all that time
8) Brazil and Drowning ending. Cassie watch the movie. Scott watch the movie. That's all)
All happy families looks similar each other
9) Scooper endings. Two variants is inversed to each other.
Last screen combines two color backgrounds: white-blue from Sister Location and red-orange from elevator ending in Ruin DLC
There's much more coincidences between FNaF Security Breach, Ruin and FNaF World. Maybe, whole Pizzaplex is the huge self-learning system for family reunion? So, it's just a theory. A GAME THEORY🤓
And what did you discover? Write about it👇
submitted by Purplet_Yger to GameTheorists [link] [comments]


2024.05.30 15:36 Coralthesequel Can Charlie Morningstar rehabilitate Owlman?

Owlman (DC Comics) goes to hell for attempting to wipe out all reality and takes up residence in the Hazbin Hotel. Charlie now has to pit her relentless optimism and kind heart against his unwavering nihilism and soulless lack of remorse. Can she pull him out of the abyss or would he just try to become an overlord himself?
submitted by Coralthesequel to whowouldwin [link] [comments]


2024.05.30 14:34 TheSmogmonsterZX The Days in Our Millennia - Lessons continue... - 4

The Days in Our Millennia
Stories of the Scions
Lessons continue...
4
Hale looked around and pulled out Bodley. The strange creature’s display also doubled as its own eye, and in this case it was displaying a waving hand to its master.
“Okay, so look up ‘DC Universes’.” Anna said as she pulled out Mr. Chompy and showed them what application to use. “These are called apps, older folks call them programs. Perfection yells at them.”
“He does not like technology, does he?” Hale asked, trying to understand the Scion of Chaos just a little bit.
Anna shook her head, “Like all things relating to Chaos, Perfection is complicated. Most of them are.”
“Most people in general are.” Sammy shrugged, then stared at Freddie’s screen. “Wow, that's a lot of heroes.”
“There are also a lot of villains and criminals.” Hale added, “Why are we here, Anna?”
So one thing to understand about a Scion and their balance is what happens when it gets very out of balance. Which is happening here.” Anna said, “The good guys have been winning a lot, like a whole hell of a lot.”
“So evil must swing back stronger.” Hale nodded in understanding, “Consumption is here?”
Anna nodded, “So is Raptor, but only we can see them. Maybe The Specter can too, but he’ll play by the rules. This place fell under our umbrella a long time ago when -”
An explosion erupted from a building down the street. Two forms streaked from the fiery building, but only one was in control of their trajectory. The one with no control landed and rolled in the street. Hale watched Anna who sighed and shook her head.
“Not a hero?” Hale asked, “Or not your fight?”
“A bit of both.” Anna rolled her eyes.” This is a fight between two mages, both decidedly jerks and scumbags.”
The man who had been blown from the building stood. He was blond with half his face covered in blood, but he wore a savage smile as he stood up and cast a spell that put his arm back into place.
“Really, you bloody wanker!” The man shouted down the street as the other mage approached. “Come on then Illidae, you ain’t got what it takes!”
A series of fireballs rained down the street.
Hale and Sammy watched the other man. He was floating with a staff hovering in front of him, a golden glow surrounded his form and his oddly teal hair levitated upwards as if repelled by gravity. His eyes glowed bright white and his mouth seemed to move rapidly with no words coming out.
“This is John Constantine and Choronus Illidae.” Anna sighed. “Both are the kind of guys who would sell out another person to the forces of evil to get what they need, but also the kind of guys who will make it so that deal also screws over the devil or whatever they made a deal with.”
Hale’s jaw dropped, “Definitely not heroes.”
“Uhh...” Sammy pointed to Constantine, “Uh this is...”
“Yeah...” Anna sighed as the world around them erupted into multiple shades of red.
Energy streamed from the power unleashed in the area as a demon tore through reality and knocked Choronus Illidae further back. Then it turned to Constantine and grinned.
“That is a very limited form of the demon Trigon.” Anna explained. “And this is about to get bad.”
“Someone’s approaching.” Hale noted, “Someone who has a heavy burden tied to the demon.”
“That’d be Raven.” Anna nodded, “She’s Trigon’s daughter, and if he possesses her, he gets to be on the material plane.”
“We can’t possibly be expected to allow that!” Hale roared.
“Right now we’re observing, if we act we jump right into a fight Raptor and Consumption are drawing around. We will drag the fight out because of how much aid we give Raptor.” Anna said, “And if we do that not only does it drag things out, it means Consumption can call in his own forces and while I haven’t seen who he’s put in those positions under his sway, I can assure you they are not going to be something we want to take lightly.”
“Uh...” Sammy pointed to the sky. “Am I seeing this right?”
Above the scene, which had now shifted to Constantine fighting Trigon with petty spells and tricks, was a clash of giants. Consumption was combating Raptor in a direct fight that wasn’t fully visible, even to the Lesser Scions.
“How are they not destroying the city?” Sammy asked.
“Because the fight hasn’t escalated to that.” Anna explained as a young woman in a dark cloak descended and cast a spell on Trigon.
“It’s about to.” Sammy winced.
Trigon roared with laughter as he grabbed Constantine and threatened the human’s life, ordering his daughter to stand down and submit to him. What he did not expect was Choronus Illidae to return and plunge the staff he had been using through the back of the demon, the golden head of Horus’ symbol pierced the demon through his chest and was covered in his blood. Still,the demon laughed and spun on the second mage, grabbing him in his other hand.
That was when the staff exploded. In a flash of power and wrath the Lesser Scions watched as the city of Metropolis had its downtown area decimated. When the flash died down Trigon was holding his daughter and stepping through a portal, the two mages laid motionless on the ground. In the fight above, the two scions had stopped their battle and Raptor was severely wounded as both Scions retreated.
“Are they dead?” Sammy asked with a slight whimper, “I don’t think they are.”
Anna nodded, “Constantine is harder to kill than a cockroach and Illidae is just as stubborn and both have a curse or two preventing them from just being killed outright like that.”
“Isn’t that a blessing?” Hale clarified.
“Not when demons do it so you don’t cause a war in hell, or Apophis does it to keep you from getting to your wife’s soul in the afterlife.” Anna sighed as a blue streak passed though the area and the mages vanished.
“Where was he?” Sammy asked, “This Superman guy.”
“Otherside of the world fighting with his friend to stop something similar.” Anna said and stepped onto the rubble filled street. “See this damage?” She sat on a large chunk of a torn up street.
Both of the newer Lesser-Scions nodded.
“I could have given any of those three a boost, Hale could have helped Raven, and Sammy you could have prevented the change that’s about to come by various means.” Anna said, “But then Consumption would have had to up his game and this explosion would have just been the start.”
“Hundreds dead could have been thousands.” Hale nodded in a grim realization, “Is this all we do?”
Anna smiled, “No, this is what they do, the full Scions. We can help or hinder but there will always be a cost. We have to decide if we’re willing to live with that.”
“Would you have helped if you weren’t teaching us?” Hale asked.
Anna smiled and stood up, Hong Long appeared and opened a portal with a clear location on the other side. “Come on, let me show you some fun parts of the job...” She stepped through and waited.
Sammy sighed and nodded, gesturing for Hale to go first. Hale cautiously stepped through and all three found themselves in a dark cave underground. A large computer system wasn’t too far away and a man in a dark costume sat staring at the screens.
“Batman, my personal favorite.” Anna smiled, “He often struggles with his own inner demons. Mostly fear.”
“And responsibility.” Hale nodded, “He knows a way to save Raven, but it could cost a hero their life. An Etrigan?”
Anna nodded, “And here’s where we can come into conflict Hale. Does he do the right thing and save Raven from being possessed, possibly losing a powerful ally and saving countless lives or does he sacrifice Raven, potentially saving an ally and saving countless lives?”
“You make the choice that saves the most lives, if you know it.” Hale said, “Otherwise you make the prudent move that gives you the advantage in the long run in what is clearly going to be a war.” Hale paused, “I’m hearing and feeling his own internal argument, aren’t I?”
Anna nodded.
“I though this was supposed to be fun.” Sammy said, “And how are there only two options?!”
“I did kinda lie, fun here is... in how you view it. We’re not enemies, but opponents.” Anna said.
Hale nodded and drew her glaive over her shoulder from nothingness, as her form shifted to wearing clothing slightly more appropriate for a fight and a cloud of bronze dust surrounded her. “You clearly see sacrificing Raven as the wrong move.”
“Batman doesn’t sacrifice people unless he has to, this plan allows for Etrigan to have a chance.” Anna nodded and dropped into a stance she had learned from an old friend and red ribbons of energy streamed around her.
“Whoa!” Sammy leaped behind a giant penny. He then paused and looked up, “Penny for your thoughts ladies?” He then pushed it over and watched as a flash of light froze the area they were in.
The penny fell over, but he could tell it wasn’t the penny that was present in the actual cave. Hale dodged out of the way and stared at Sammy in shock as the man focused and a set of armor, painted in flames and other designs, grew over him and a powerful hammer appeared in his hands. Anna merely let the penny slam down as her aura dissolved the object around her.
“There is always a better option than sacrificing people, he just needs to change his way of thinking!” Sammy roared, his voice distorted by his armor.
“Well now, we know what we’re fighting for.” Anna smiled, “Remember we can’t die, normally, but we can run each other ragged.”
Hale refocused on Anna, “And you have the most experience in this type of combat. Sammy we-”
Hale was interrupted as Sammy ran full force into her and then swung his hammer upward. Hale was slammed into the bones of a dinosaur, but managed to deflect the hammer with her glaive. She then brought forward a cloud of silver dust that turned into a series of flying daggers that all pointedly stuck into Sammy’s armor, mildly annoying him as they jammed a few joints. Then she raised her glaive to block the blade that Anna was rushing at her with.
Anna grinned as she then brought a powerful diving kick to Hale’s knees. The force sent Hale sailing into a wall. Anna then followed up by applying a powerful telekinetic blast to Sammy and he also went sailing, but fell down the pit that made up a good chunk of the Bat-Cave. Anna then made a beeline for Batman, before she could reach him though Hale slammed into Anna’s side, grabbing the hood of Anna’s hoodie and tossed her back towards the edge.
“I may not have your experience in this combat, but I was a god and I did fight.” Hale brought her glaive forward.
Anna stood up and smiled, “Yeah but you haven’t fought a Quain. We’re different beats entirely.” Anna bolted forward and Hong Long sprang forward and streaked off to a side as they separated and spread around Hale. Hale watched the two of them separate and quickly cast a spell, the bronze dust quickly encased her in a glowing armor that met the clashing claws of Hong Long and the telekinetic force of Anna and resisted both fully. Ann then dropped back and Hong Long coiled around her and snarled.
“Gold is a sign of haughtiness.” Hale said, trying to provoke Anna.
“Nah, that’s just the sign of me being stupid when I was a lot younger.” Anna began to stretch in place. “And if you think your armor can stand me, you’re in for a surprise.” She rushed forward again and drew back her hands as she ran.
Hale watched as Hong Long trailed behind Anna. The former god focused her bronze dust forward and created a hemisphere to protect her. Then everything shook and exploded as Sammy flew up from the pit and fired a weapon that blinded and stunned both Anna and Hale.
“Hahahaha!” Sammy laughed, “Eat mini-nukes!”
When Hale and Anna could see again Sammy was already at Batman whispering into the man’s ears.
Anna stood up, crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks before declaring, “All right, Sammy wins this match.”
Sammy’s armor vanished as he rubbed the back of his head. “It just occurred to me, if the goal is to get him to listen, then we’re fighting each other to get the time to get him alone. So I used the ultimate disable button. Sort of.” He laughed nervously.
“Nukes.” Anna nodded, “I should have known something like that was coming.”
“What?” Hale blinked. “That...” She looked between Anna and Sammy, “That’s what the fight was for?!”
Anna nodded, “We’re part concept. So we need to get our ideas to the people who will listen and they need to choose in the end. So, honestly, this was Sammy and Batman’s win.”
“What?” Sammy blinked.
“If he hadn’t desperately been searching for a third option, you wouldn’t have had a chance.” Anna explained, “But he was at war with himself.”
“We are at the whims of their desires?” Hale’s face contorted in confusion.
“Not quite. I could have won too. So could you have. But Sammy was slightly stronger than us because Batman wanted a third option. Now he’s dedicated to that idea.” Anna explained. “If I had won, he’d have gone with the first plan, but still had a third option sitting in his head. Remember we can’t control them, only slightly influence them.”
“What if we had all lost?” Hale asked.
Anna smiled, “Then he would have made the choice on his own and knowing Batman he would have made that third option happen if it cost him his life. He doesn’t like leaving people behind if he can help it.” She then looked back at Hale, “Then again he will also sacrifice another world to save his own. He’s very complicated.”
“That’s cold.” Sammy blinked in concern as he watched Batman piece together a plan. “Is it bad that this plan scares me?”
“He does that.” Anna nodded, “How many steps is he on?”
“Forty-five.” Sammy blinked, “Can we please actually do something fun? This man is terrifying.”
Hale walked over and looked at the plans Batman was putting together, “I second this, this man is concerning.”
Anna nodded, “Okay, I got a place in mind. Who likes cute animals with elemental powers?”
Hale looked at Anna in confusion. “What?”
“Please don’t have dogs that shoot fire.” Sammy sighed.
“Several flavors.” Anna smiled, “Don’t worry, we have to stop by Perfection’s Verge to get you both ready.”
Anna had Hong Logn open another portal and the three walked through into a vast open forest. Hale looked around and then up at the sun, then she paused.
“The sun is blue.” Hale noted.
“But we’re in yellow sunlight.” Sammy looked up and then looked confused.
“Why does the sun seem to be looking at me?” Hale asked.
“Well, you all walk into what’s essentially my living room.” Perfection appeared from behind a tree, “Of course I’m gonna take interest.”
Hale looked at the Scion then at the star and then back again. “You’re the star?”
Perfection bowed and his human appearance faded and was replaced by a tall pillar of human shaped fire. His eyes were barely visible within the conflagration as a different shade of blue and white.
Perfection’s “voice” echoed in the heads of those around him as a memory of a voice rather than an audible sound.
Hale stepped back in awe as she took the form in, she had seen odd forms as a god. Forms that were clearly influenced by their positions. This was something else though. Perfection was Chaos incarnate and this form radiated power and confidence, but she could not make the connection of a star to chaos. Sammy simply let out a whistle that showed he was impressed.
“Gotta say boss, nice digs. Haven’t seen this much green all at once. The look’s pretty neat too.” Sammy smiled. “Anna said we need to speak to you before going to the next place.”
Perfection’s barely visible grin grew and he spun around and twisted his form back to his human guise. He looked at Anna and steepled his hands before he spoke, “Are we visiting family?”
Anna nodded, “I haven’t seen Rio in so long.” Her smile grew, “And these two need starters and an appropriate look.”
Perfection stretched his arm out to an impossible length and pulled a rack of clothes out from behind another tree. He put on a white lab coat and suddenly a green sloth-like creature appeared on his back.
“What is that?” Hale stared in awe and smiled, “It’s adorable.”
“This is Hattie, a Lazeleaf. Technically not a real pokemon, but we love her anyway.” Perfection patted the pokemon’s head. “I was her trainer a dozen and a billion lifetimes ago. I got Wraith to let me have her when that adventure was over. She’s a green sloth pokemon.”
“What’s a pokemon?” Sammy asked, “And does it taste good?”
Perfection was not surprised when Anna and Hale drew weapons on his subordinate. He shook his head and continued. “They’re animals in a reality we typically call a ‘Pokemon World’. Anna’s got some family in one and they can’t leave anymore.”
“So we’ll be going in under mortal disguises.” Anna smiled, “Not hard for me, I kinda prefer that. But you guys need to learn to separate your forms out.”
Hale nodded, “Because we can choose to be our ideal selves. I understand.”
Sammy shrugged, “Shouldn’t be too hard.”
“Change is a hard thing sometimes Sammy.” Perfection grinned, “So I’m going to scramble together a look for you both. First question though...”
“No!” Anna sighed, “Don’t.” She feigned annoyance as she tried not to laugh.
Hale and Sammy looked confused.
“Are you a boy or a girl?” Perfection grinned.
“Perfection, please stop.” Anna sighed.
“I don’t get it.” Sammy blinked, “You know that answer.”
“It’s a joke.” Hale sighed, “Something we’re missing.”
Perfection nodded and shrugged, “Look Anna, we got a red-hated lunatic we’re trying to give a job he won’t turn into a joke and this is me saying this. Let me have my fun, please.” He gave a pleading look.
Sammy stared in confusion. “What?”
“Who brought an Alucard here?” Anna snapped angrily. “He’s a terrible influence on my dad!”
“Alucard...” Hale paused and Perfection froze as he watched her mull the name over.
“Hey that’s Dracula backwards!” Sammy chuckled.
Hale turned to glare at Sammy, “What?”
“Yeah. Like in the horror book!” Sammy pulled a book out of his pocket. “Good read.” He handed it over.
Hale quickly skimmed a few pages and read the insert. “So it’s fiction based on him. I can only assume this was some sick joke.”
Perfection cleared his throat, “Alucard in his reality is the altered personality of Vlad Tepes.”
Hale’s glare became daggers as she closed the book. “We should probably not meet.”
“Why not?” Sammy inquired, “Seems like a riot.”
“I don’t know about most realities, but Vlad Tepes slaughtered many innocent people and many of my countrymen.” Hale said coldly.
“Look, I don’t approve.” Perfection said, “But your countrymen weren’t exactly innocent. Nor were all of those people. A lot were, but not most. He was brutal, efficient and fucking terrifying.”
Anna stared at Perfection.
“Yeah, I used a swear.” Perfection nodded then shook his head. “Look, Hale, he’s not from your reality, so please keep the prejudice contained.”
Hale took a breath, “I will do my very best, Perfection, but I cannot guarantee anything.”
“Well if he’s half the pest the other one I met was, you’ll have plenty of reason without your own issues.” Anna gave a concerned nod. “Has he pissed off Wraith yet?”
Perfection shook his head, “I’m hiding until he does.” He pulled over a spare white board from behind yet another tree. “Look, I’m gonna make you some bodies that fit the region and typical styles, you’re gonna be younger and mostly human, until you need to be what you are.”
Sammy raised his hand, “Okay, but do I need to be in a body like my old one?”
Perfection shook his head, “No we can stick with what you want.”
Hale nodded, “Well, I am a girl then. I would prefer something nice to wear. About what age would we be?”
“I’m going sixteen.” Anna nodded.
Hale nodded and in a moment her form changed. Sammy’s jaw dropped as Hale’s form became slightly shorter, she lost the wolf ears and features. Her hair remained mostly the same and so did her eyes. She mostly shrunk by about a foot and was wearing a pleasantly designed dress.
“Of course the former god has the talent for shapeshifting.” Perfection gave a laughing snort, then he looked at Sammy. “Want me to craft it or you want to try?”
Sammy looked about nervously, “I think you should.”
Perfection smiled and spun th white board multiple times before stopping it. When it stopped there was a neatly drawn form of Sammy. He was slightly shorter, with a less wide frame, he had sunglasses and a baseball cap turned backwards that had his hair sticking out. He was wearing a nice leather jacket and clean jeans with a rucksack hanging over his back. Sammy nodded in approval and in a moment he focused and became a living form of the image.
“Sorry, boss.” Sammy smirked nervously.
“Don’t worry.” Perfection waved his hand dismissively, “Envisioning others in new looks is often easier than one’s self.”
“Talking with Iroh lately?” Anna smiled and laughed. “Or maybe older Zuko?”
“So what if I was? They’re both awesome!” Perfection laughed. “Oh, Hale, you’ll need a backpack or something.”
Hale nodded and a shoulder bag appeared on her right shoulder.
“Now, next we’re gonna get you a starter.” Perfection grinned, “Normally I’d give you both a charmander or something, but you both got something about you I can use to give you a rather unique partner.”
Hale watched as Perfection stepped to the side and Kyra, her mount, was sitting, looking very confused until she saw Hale. The large celestial wolf stood at attention and then noticed Perfection, in a flash she was at Hale’s side growling at the Scion.
“Calm, Kyra, he is an ally. Possibly a friend.” Hale said calmly, the wolf slowly calmed down.
Perfection stepped to the side once more and a large scaled lizard with sharp claws and two curling horns appeared as if it had always been there. It roared and went to attack, then it paused and sniffed the air and found Sammy. It sniffed the man and quickly curled up at Sammy’s feet.
“Quigley?” Sammy’s eyes teared up, “I thought those Brotherhood assholes got you.” Sammy hugged the creature’s large head.
“Deathclaws are so adorable when they make friends!” Perfection beamed and wiped a tear away. “And it’s always nice to unite old friends.”
“Will Kyra, let alone Quigley pass for a pokemon?” Hale nodded to Hattie, “They seem far more adorable.”
“I mean there are some mean ones.” Anna nodded and pulled out a white sphere and tossed it out.
A large metallic looking creature popped out next to Perfection. It let out an annoyed cry, then curled up on the ground.
“That’s my Aggron, his name is Smudge.” Anna sighed, “And when he isn’t napping he’s throwing opponents into mountains. He’s my powerhouse.”
“I thought that was you cheating and using Hong Long as a shiny gyarados?” Perfection gave a smug grin.
“No, that’s me getting over-competitive.” Anna admitted. “Or needing to save people.”
“So...” Perfection smiled at Hale and Kyra, “What element do you think best defines Kyra and yours relationship?”
“I beg your pardon?” Hale asked, “How would you define ‘element’ in this case?”
Perfection sighed, “She really is a stickler for detail.”
Anna nodded, “She also has no knowledge on how the pokemon work.” Anna looked at Hale, “So basically there are like eighteen different classifications of pokemon ‘type’, a kind of elemental classification. Think fire, water, ice, steel and the like.”
“Steel?” Hale scoffed, “You’re serious?”
“Smudge is a rock and steel type.” Anna said, “His armor is metal he grows by eating dirt and stone.”
“A terravore?” Hale blinked in astonishment. “I see. Well if there was one thing that defines our relationship it is our loyalty to each other. An unbreakable bond we forged from the time she was a pup.”
Perfection nodded and smiled at Anna, “I don’t think she got the assignment.”
“You’re asking me to attribute our relationship with a system I don’t even understand!” Hale snapped.
Perfection jumped back, slightly shocked. “Right. Well...” He gestured to her bag and Bodley rose from it, “You have tools.”
Hale took Bodley and typed into it while glaring at Perfection.
“I think she’s slightly mad.” Perfection giggled.
“P, please.” Anna sighed, “I don’t want to spend an entire trip explaining your eccentricities.”
Perfection sighed and nodded. “Look up ice and steel types, I think you might like them.”
“I know what Quigley would be.” Sammy smiled, “We’re both fighters, is there something for that?”
Perfection grinned, “Very much so.”
Quigley then began to glow and its shape and form twisted and shrunk. Soon it was a lizard that was barely two and a half feet tall. It was wearing some form of sheep skull that gave it the curved horns and it had four long claws, though much shorter than what they had been, at the end of its somewhat comically large paws. Then it stood and roared.
“Clawswip!” Quigley shouted and stopped in shock. “Clawswip?”
“You plan to transmute Kyra?” Hale glared at Perfection.
“It, like most things, is not permanent.” Perfection explained, “Only while in a pokemon world would she have this form and it keeps you two together.”
Hale paused and nodded. She took a moment to remind herself that Perfection was chaos and also incredibly powerful.
“We both enjoy testing ourselves and snow is fun to play in.” Hale nodded.
“See.” Perfection smiled, “You got it.” He looked at Kyra, “So what do you think, pup? Steel and ice or ice and steel?”
Kyra cocked her head at an angle in confusion. Then her form glowed and she shrunk down, her saddle eventually covered her new form entirely. Hale lifted it up and had to hold back a happy squeal of joy. Kyra was now a fluff of white and silver fur with bronze eyes and ear tufts. The little canine howled and jumped forward.
“Slushowl!” Kyra rushed forward and cuddled with Hale’s leg.
Hale picked her friend up and almost dropped her, Kyra’s fur was now like a steel brush. Hale looked at Perfection who just nodded knowingly.
“So, what will you be using?” Sammy asked, “I mean besides the big guy?”
“I always keep Hong Long as a backup.” Anna said with a nod, then handed several spheres over to Perfection. “Put those up for me will you?”
Perfection nodded and put them in the pockets of his lab coat. “Want a new starter?”
“What you got?” Anna asked.
“Laaaze!” Hattie stretched a claw out.
“Really?” Perfection rubbed his chin, “Well it has been a while, I suppose you do need a bit of exercise. Want to take Hattie for a spin?”
Anna clapped her hands together and squealed as she jumped for joy.
Perfection pulled out his own sphere and held it up for Sammy and Hale to see. “This is pokeball, you keep pokemon in them.” He recalled Hattie and handed the pokeball to Anna.
Anna immediately let Hattie out and the sloth clung to her and slowly positioned herself to cling to Anna’s backpack.
Perfection then handed Sammy and Hale several pokeballs along with one marked for their partners. He also gave them several spray bottles labeled “potion” and a few odd looking berries.
“Now we’re ready.” Anna smiled, “We’re off to have a pokemon adventure!”
Hong Long appeared and tore open a portal, then turned into a limbless red creature with a gaping maw. He roared and disappeared into a ball on Anna’s side.
“Last one through is a mirelurk egg!” Sammy ran through.
“I don’t know what that is, but I won’t be one!” Hale dashed through after.
“Well, you’re a mirelurk egg.” Perfection snorted.
“I’ll take care of Hattie, I promise.” Anna smiled.
Perfection snorted, “She’s maxed out with eviolite. Hong Long would be less of a war crime.”
Anna rolled her eyes and stepped through the portal.
Once all three were through the portal Perfection smiled and enjoyed the silence for all of two minutes before a crimson clad vampire appeared in his Verge with Wraith chasing directly after him. Alucard lit several trees on fire as he ran through before vanishing once again. Then Alan appeared and handed the shocked Perfection a tropical drink.
“You know, I feel like even Deadpool would have more restraint.” Alan sighed.
“If it weren’t for the fact that I can literally revert the damage done, I would be supremely pissed off.” Perfection nodded as he sipped the drink. “Oh he crashed Wraith in a bar, didn’t he?”
Alan nodded and sighed.
“We figure out a position for him yet?” Perfection asked.
Alan nodded again.
Perfection took a deep breath. “He’s under me isn’t he?”
“Yeah.” Alan patted his friend on the back. “Mania.”
“Fuck.” Perfection said for the second time in far too close succession for his liking.
“Yeah.” Alan nodded.
“Wait, isn’t that madness?” Perfection asked.
“Lachesis clarified, Mania is a very specific and different condition. And no, he can’t really control it.” Alan chuckled, “Also Karma’s ready to kill him too.”
Perfection nodded, “I think I have a solution.”
“DM’s already going for his boss.” Alan smiled, “We’re thinking Lesser-Scion of Restraint.”
Perfection took another sip and nodded.
<<<>>>
The Scions are © /uTheSmogMonsterZX
All other characters not a part of the Scion-Verge-Verse are © Their Original Creators and are not used with intent to infringe upon their creator’s rights.
First Story
Previous Story <<<>>> [Next Story]()
SCIONS Spotify
<<< The Voice Box/Author’s Notes>>>
Smoggy: So, we have... 4 stories in the backlog.
Wraith: That outline was huge!
Smoggy: Welp, time to roll arc 7 into this one!
DM: Excellent choice sir!
Anna: Time to play pokemon champion! Wooo!
Alan: Calm down super-star. Time to train newbies.
Wraith: What’s the lesson this time?
Perfection: How to survive your own descent into madness?
DM: Respecting your peers even when they make bad decisions?
Alan: Relaxation 101?
Anna: Smoggy, help me.
Smoggy: No lesson.
Anna: Thank you.
Perfection: (leering at Smoggy suspiciously) Hmmm...
Smoggy: Time to touch base with the others!
Wraith: Yeah, that makes sense.
submitted by TheSmogmonsterZX to HFY [link] [comments]


2024.05.30 12:38 MArcherCD DC's "World's Finest"

A companion piece of sorts to my re-cut of ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ from the end of last month. This time I took the Ultimate Edition of ‘Batman v Superman’ and split it into two parts – roughly 90 minutes apiece.

As with last month’s DC project, the runtime was more or less the only thing about it I found untenable. So after looking for an edit that already met the middle of runtime/ quality of BvS’ theatrical runtime and ultimate’s depth and not finding something that ticked all the boxes I was hoping for, I had one of my Thanos’ “fine, I’ll do it myself” moments and made this.
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The project name comes from “World’s Finest Comics” from the early ‘40s to the mid ‘80s, where Batman and Superman were the leading heroes of almost every issue ever printed – and Wonder Woman was a consistently recurring character also, especially in the ‘70s run.
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The names of each part are mainly inspired by the first teaser trailer released for BvS, way back in April 2015, where Superman is spoken about as a figure of controversy – and the reactions to his existence, and presence on Earth – the good and the bad. I’ve always enjoyed that trailer very much and thought it was a fantastic way of setting the stage for the film and where everyone stands at the very beginning.
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I did keep the style consistent with my ZSJL edit as a deliberate bridge between the two projects – with the text fonts and even the same project re-cut notice from the other film. To that end, I did try to avoid redundancy by not recycling words in the title, from both projects.
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Part 1: “False Hope” – 1hr 40mins
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The film begins the usual way, with the film’s original title in the opening credits omitted, and continues through the Metropolis sequence from “Man of Steel” until after Bruce’s reaction to his wrecked Wayne Financial building. There, instead of just cutting to the ‘18 months later’, it goes to a custom title card of the two heroes’ symbols merged together, and the “World’s Finest” title – underscored by a small repeating note, intended to subtly evoke the Kryptonian world engine.
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Following that, the film continues as normal, with the Capitol Hill trial/hearing of the Metropolis incident against General Zod, Faora and the others being the ‘climax’ of sorts.
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After the Capitol Hill explosion, when it cuts to black from Bruce’s expression, instead of going into the next scene, it cuts to a ‘To Be Continued….” card instead, with the film’s end credits playing out. At the end, though, instead of the film’s original title and edition label there’s a custom title card with the heroes’ joined symbols – similar to the films’ WF title card – but with a plain background and the film part’s title laid out instead.
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I chose this name for the first half because I’ve always loved the shot in the trailer when all the voices build up before cutting out at the vandalised Metropolis attack memorial. It comes into play a lot in the first half and continuing threads from ‘Man of Steel’, in two big ways especially. First, Superman is supposed to bring and exemplify hope, but all he’s done so far is inspire anger and dread – even through very limited fault of his own. Secondly, there’s Lex’s attitude towards Superman and what he believes to be false about the power he has, goodness he intends, and how those two things go together – given his experiences with his own father.
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Part 2: “God VS Man” – 1hr 33mins
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It starts out a little bit behind, with Wally’s wheelchair exploding and everything up to Bruce’s reaction as he reads the message in the newspaper while watching the Capitol Hill situation unfold on the TV. Following that is the same Warner Bros and such opening titles from Part 1 for consistency between the two shorter films, all framed in my usual visual style for flashbacks/forwards, with 0 colour saturation and a border vignette.
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Once it catches up to that, there’s the same custom “World’s Finest” logo and title card for I made, with the same musical cue as before attempting to evoke the noise of the World Engine from the Metropolis incident very subtly.
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Following that, it picks up with the aftermath on Capitol Hill, now in colour, and the rest of the film plays out as normal until the end. Then, like Part 1, at the end of the credits, instead of the film’s original title and edition label there’s a custom title card with the heroes’ joined symbol, but this time it lingers a little longer and morphs into a different version. This one incorporates Wonder Woman’s symbol in it too, showing the trinity’s union, before fading out again.
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I chose the name for this half, right from Lex’s line I’ve always liked in the first teaser trailer, because that’s what the second half of the film is increasingly about. First Metropolis and then Capitol Hill, public opinion on Superhumans gets drastically worse - then, also, everything to do with Lex Luthor pitting BvS against one another, and him violating and tampering with nature to create the inhuman monster Doomsday through his ‘playing God’ and meddling in everything Krytonian biology.
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Footnote: I am merely a self-taught editor and VFX artist here, as such, some areas might be visibly *mostly* good – as I have to be realistic with the footage in front of me and what I can do with it, of course. If you do have any particular notes and feedback, feel free to give me your thoughts, but please be constructive and don't be an ass about it.
submitted by MArcherCD to fanedits [link] [comments]


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