Use the Falchion

Captain America 4 announced! https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/captain-america-4-in-the-works-with-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-showrunner-malcolm-spellman-exclusive

Season Finale is done! And what a morning this has been - the finale, family friends announcing a pregnancy, and MHA's latest fan translations! The final episode of FATWS was a very solid one that stuck the landing in a lot of ways, but felt like it took shortcuts to do so. Certain character arcs needed more time to breathe (which they probably originally had, given at least one story arc was cut from the show). But the action was on-point, as were most of the big (and small) character moments. As is the case with Marvel lately, their best moments have been the non-action moments, where characters can live, breathe, and talk. The ending also hit harder than I expected in the best of ways. And it looks like Sam has mastered Steve's ability to give epic speeches! (His main one hits really, REALLY hard. It's sort of surface level, but it's also one of those things that needs to be said again, and again, and again until people finally get it.) Overall, this wasn't my favorite episode, but it's one that sticks a solid landing in a season that I was quite afraid wouldn't at times. There aren't many twists, but knowing the outcome isn't bad if the journey to get there is well-done. And this one is. EDIT: This is a show that would have been great to have dropped last summer with all of the BLM movements; but this week was also an appropriate time for it as well, considering the good and the bad of what has happened. Life works in funny ways some times...

I know many people want it to be a Mistborn or Stormlight videogame, and here I am, hoping for a Soulburner/Starburner videogame...

The Trio Support trend continues! Soleil makes a guest appearance as well. These will also be the last of the supports that I post here outside of the Edelgard/Rhea and potentially Catherine/Balthus. I'm sure I'll still write more, but they won't be posted here. Lorenz/Edelgard/Felix Annette/Ashe/Lysithea Soleil/Sylvain

I definitely get what you're saying. I felt similarly about Black Panther. We've had Static Shock, Black Lightning, and Luke Cage all on television before T'Challa had his debut. We also had the Blade movies. But if Shang-Chi is anything like Black Panther, then many young Asian and/or Asian American children haven't watched Agents of Shield or Iron Fist. (Which to be fair for the latter, they probably shouldn't. Colleen Wing is great, but Iron Fist has some MAJOR issues and "Mighty Whitey" implications.* Also, Shang-Chi's target audience is probably a little different than the fans who watched Iron Fist since the Netflix shows were for a slightly "more mature" audience and all; and possibly even the hardcore fans like us who watched AoS. Oh! And don't forget Nico in Runaways!) This will be their first time seeing a superhero that looks like them starring a movie filled with people that look like them. This may be the first time they can watch a movie featuring an Asian and/or Asian American lead filled with characters that look like them that is made for a market that primarily doesn't. They can go to their friends and say "I have a character I can dress up as during Halloween now and people will recognize them!" It gives those children the power of choice. And those things are BIG. Does this mean that Marvel is suddenly woke or progressive? Not at all. But they're making steps to get there, and it's those steps we can celebrate. The Superhero Genre as a whole is one of the more progressive genres/franchises out there right now. (I look at Star Wars in comparison, because it's one of the few franchises that can compete (and another one that I love) and boy howdy is the superhero genre doing better in its representation.) The Big Screen following in-step is something we should celebrate...and then make sure they don't champion Shang-Chi exclusively. Because then it's not progressive, it's just tokenism.** In terms of the "kung fu" aspect, I definitely hear you. But it's also hard, and frankly a Catch-22. Do a kung fu movie or show without an Asian and/or Asian American cast and lead, and you're criticized for appropriation in many cases or for not hiring Asian and/or Asian American actors when it would be "appropriate" to do so. Look at Iron Fist. Look at the original iteration of Kung Fu (which, admittedly, is only criticized in retrospect). If you do hire Asian and/or Asian American actors, then you're typecasting at best and stereotyping at worst. And that's true too. Lord knows I'm sick of seeing so many shows and movies showing slaves and slavery as a terrible thing being the focus...but at the same time, if shows in that time period didn't show slaves or slavery as a terrible thing, I'd be even more upset! (Such as Benioff & Weiss's cancelled Alternate History show "Confederate." Such a terrible idea in these times...) It's like Black people can't enjoy the aesthetics of a time period without the binary of "this was horrible for you" or "we will erase you completely." This is why Bridgerton is pretty interesting, at least in concept. My sister likes the show. Maybe I'll check it out. So how do you find the middle ground? How do you tell an engaging story while respecting the heritage and changes with culture that can still speak to people who aren't from that heritage or culture? Do you ignore race completely and do blind casting and whatnot? Or is there something else that can be done? Many stories involving Black characters or superheroes relate to the "Black experience," even if at times not every Black person can personally relate. (Although culturally, the relation is there, if that makes sense. I don't need to have been beaten by a cop to know how intensely scary being stopped by one can be.) Even Falcon & the Winter Soldier does that. But is this the right path? Should shows that are steeped in fantasy address sociopolitical issues, racial issues, and stereotypes head-on? Or should they add a degree of separation, like I wish Star Wars had done with Finn in TLJ. And as easy as it is to say "hire Asian and/or Asian American people behind the screen to make sure that these stereotypes and stuff aren't included," remember that Shang-Chi and Black Panther (and Black Lightning, and FATWS) did exactly that. Ultimately, if you want Marvel to keep making more Asian and/or Asian American leads and stars in their movies, I think it's in you best interest to go. Money speaks. Let them hear. If you want to bring up how they've had great Asian/Asian-American stars and roles and icons in other stuff before this, that's awesome! Keep bringing it up! But please remember being that ensemble roles are slightly different than main character roles, and the power of being the face(s) of a franchise goes a long way. And remember that not going will most likely send the wrong message. Marvel is known for overreacting, and trust me, if this movie fails, they will almost certainly blame it on the race/ethnicity issue than any actual problems with the movie. *All of the main Asian and/or Asian American actors in Iron Fist have been linked to the Hand in some way, shape, or form. Even Colleen isn't exempted from this. That's...not a good look, especially if the love interest of the White Lead is the "exception." It'd be like if every Black person in Star Wars was Pro-Empire/First Order...which, uncomfortably enough, it feels like a majority of them are. **This is why Sam Wilson needs to return to the big screen as Captain America. FATWS is a great story for the medium and has done great and necessary things for the characters, but the impact of having more than one Black superhero on the screen in a leading role at a time is BIG. It goes back to that choice feature. This is also why I completely disagree with Disney's decision to bury the role of T'Challa with Chadwick. They're treating it like how Sam treated the shield in Episode 1. And I get the optics, but it's better to carry on that legacy with bad optics than to react out of fear of bad optics. This isn't Brian from Fast & Furious. This isn't a character that should die with its actor. This is an icon, a legacy, a mantle. Chadwick may have done it first, he may have done it best, but he shouldn't be the last.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giWIr7U1deA Shang-Chi teaser trailer is here!

Power Rangers

As I was trying to take a nap yesterday, two more Trio Support ideas popped into my head. Enjoy these. Hopefully I can finish up the other ideas I felt I've promised, and then end my post of the fan-made supports for good here. I'll also keep posting about any news and/or rumors until an official announcement happens. I may write more today. I may not. It depends on how much a distraction I need from real life events and news. (Probably a large one...) Flayn/Manuela/Seteth Hilda/Sylvain/Marianne

I'm still watching my John Rocha review of episode 4, and today/tomorrow's review will mean that I have even more to watch. So...yay? Anyways, Episode 4 was my favorite of the bunch...until I watched today's episode with my family. "Truth" hits hard. It's brutal, and I'm not just talking about the fight scenes. There are a lot of emotions, talks, and truths (heh) that the characters have to deal with, and not all of them are willing to do so. Characters that you thought might be allies turn out to be enemies because of their truths. That doesn't mean it's all dour though. This episode has some of the best laughs and warmest moments in the entire show as well. It's an emotion-filled episode, full of highs, lows, tears and smiles. You'd be surprised at how well this moves some of the plots along as well. It's far from a perfect episode, but it does lead into the finale with a level finality I wasn't expecting this series to have. FATWS doesn't shy away from some of the grittier aspects of the black experience and ideology, and I'm so happy it doesn't. This show has been very cathartic in a lot of ways, especially after the released footage last night.

I'd like to say that we'd find his actions more sympathetic and understandable than acceptable, but then I wonder...if we saw how much Lamar meant to John, and how Lamar was there for John through thick and then (or, as someone wielding that shield once said, was "with him until the end of the line,"), maybe we might be cheering the violence on. And that's a scary thought. Overall, I agree with a lot of what you said in this episode, and I think this is the first time that Sam really showed why he was chosen to be Captain America over someone like John or even Bucky. We always knew Sam was a good man, and while that is the core criteria, here we get to see how good a man he is.* John has this instinctive need to act, to do what he believes is the right thing. Steve had this too, but it was always rooted in compassion. Here, for John, it's rooted in control, fear and ultimately failure. John feels like he needs to be Captain America, and he's clearly failing. He can't stop the Flag Smashers, Sam & Bucky not only snub off his clear (and deeply, DEEPLY flawed) attempts at some sort of alliance but are getting better results to boot, and no one respects him. He's starting to realize he's playing in a game where the rules he's been taught and lived by don't really apply. He's a solid soldier, but a solid soldier isn't always a good man. Meanwhile Sam - like Steve - doesn't care about that. Sam wants to know the "why" behind the actions. He's looking to address the cause, not the symptoms, and is always looking to help people out. Sam's willingness to go into a situation that may be dangerous unarmed and simply talk to his enemy to find some sort of common ground is brilliant. He's a good man. But that's what this show seems to really be about at its core - asking what a hero is and what a symbol is in this modern age. Is it the sterile, idealized version of a person with their sins washed away like Steve nowadays? Is it the bloodstained reality of our failures and flawed attempts like John? Or can it be something else? Something that understands the broken (Zemo, and Bucky), forgotten (Sharon, Isaiah, the Flag-Smashers, and the Displaced), and failure (John), yet still striving to be whole? This is the path that Sam is ultimately on. Or so I think. I feel the exact same. It'd probably be for the best if they split this up into two seasons. There have been some discussions on whether this may be the case, with some fans preferring this and for Season 2 to be called "Captain America & the White Wolf" while others prefer a movie. Frankly I'd prefer both. Give me a season that wraps up these loose ends called "Captain America & the White Wolf," and then give me a movie about racism and supremacy within the US military and police system. (In my head I call this Captain America: Sins of the Patriot and the main villain would the Sinthea aka Sin Schmidt, (grand-)daughter of the Red Skull.) We know that the MCU has a Wakanda D+ show in the works now, but I'm not sure if we know anything more about it. There are also rumors about the Thunderbolts (a group of villains with good publicity IIRC, masquerading as "reformed villains") appearing, so Zemo may be part of that. However, [Minor Spoilers that talk about the latest "Two Episodes Left Trailer"] *Also, if you ever find yourself in a fictional world with a friend with Sam in his name, you're good. You've got yourself a Ride-Or-Die homie who will help you save the day. Look at LOTR, the MCU, and even GOT. Sam's are the best.

I always assumed that if she wasn't a fully Surgebinder, she was well on her way to becoming one, even after the reveals.

No problem! I definitely understand the feelings! (The few times I had to read the King James Bible it gave me a headache too!)

And now a game journalist is saying that they got in contact with Thanibomb and the leaker said they "don't have any news and are just hoping for a Tellius remake," to summarize things. I'm linking the Reddit thread (by the same person who posted the one before) as well as the link to where the article publisher responds. There are some edits to the original article too, so I'm linking that as well. https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/modh0r/a_reddit_user_that_leaked_info_about_fire_emblem/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/mp7m6z/nintendo_enthusiast_claims_that_they_contacted/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/modh0r/a_reddit_user_that_leaked_info_about_fire_emblem/gu7iqoo/ https://www.nintendoenthusiast.com/debunked-fire-emblem-path-of-radiance-radiant-dawn-remake-rumor-is-illegitimate/ Overall, the takeaway from this is that we still have nothing. Whether or not Thanibomb knows anything is hearsay at best. They've dropped comments that could be read as hints or teases, but they can also be read from the view of a fan that's excited about something in their fandom. The game journalist may have indeed reached out to Thanibomb, and Thanibomb may have lied. Or maybe they told the truth. Or maybe they're making it up and Thanibomb simply doesn't care. We don't know, and probably won't know for a little while more.

I think that's the version high schoolers read or used to read at least...or at least did so when I was in high school... Yeah, I've read it...or at least parts of it...I wasn't the best reader in High School... Wilson's is definitely better for pleasure reading. Wilson's poetry is crisp and reads much more like prose than anything else. She uses modern phrases that keep the spirit of the translation, making it far easier to understand what on earth is going on. I'm hoping Wilson eventually comes out with a version of the Iliad like that, since while I read Fagles' translation in 2018 for fun, I'd rather read it again and not have to wade through the poetry and styling to experience the story in that way. Wilson's is great for the story. It feels like one of those "No Fear Shakespeare" sort of guides, where the story is the same, but the language has been updated for modern times. The original poem used a type of hexameter beat IIRC, and I'm not sure what Fagle uses, if anything. Wilson is using iambic pentameter, since she wanted to keep the poetic reading while also giving her English readers what they'd be accustomed to. I'm going back to certain parts, and now after reading the Wilson version, I'm finding Fagles' translation easier to read. Just for fun, here's the first paragraph of both translations (which is actually a poor representation since Fagles' version is pretty straightforward): Fagles Wilson Here's part of a speech at Menelaus' feast (which is referring to the events in the tragedy Oresteia) Fagles Wilson I'm not that far (halfway through Book 4 out of 24), but I definitely like Wilson's translation better in terms of pure enjoyment. I'm not sure which I'd give high schoolers to read, however. Fagles' version is what's known, but Wilson's reads better. And maybe the fact that it's translated by a woman may help? (Some of the reviews talked about the woman's perspective in relation to this story and its translation. I'm a dude, and I'm typically blind to these things, but maybe it'd foster some good conversation.) And the Iambic Pentameter could be good to introduce here, so that when the students read Shakespeare later on they're not blind-sided by the styling. But again, I'm not that far, and I'm not an English-Lit or History teacher.

Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey and Demon Slayer - I bought the first three volumes this week, and after a few false starts over the years, I think I'm in it for good.

I have a C-A Claude/Edelgard/Petra OT3 mapped out, as well with a friendship trio support with Marianne, Ingrid, and Petra. (Not sure if it'll be C-B or C-B-A just yet though.) For the "crossover games" supports, I think I may even try out a Lysithea and Lucina!Morgan support. Maybe. (And no, I haven't forgotten about the Balthus/Catherine one either.) But until then, enjoy a C-B Claude/Dimitri/Edelgard support! Recommended Song: Passion/Sanctuary by Mree C-Support B-Support: MUST BE COMPLETED BEFORE CHAPTER 8 Author's Notes: And in non-head-canon/made-up support news, there are rumors that the next remake will be the Tellius games. These aren't the first time I've heard such rumors - Mangs reported similar things last year I believe (before he was outed for being the abusive creep he is and kicked out of the FE Subreddit community). But frankly, I really hope this isn't true. https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/modh0r/a_reddit_user_that_leaked_info_about_fire_emblem/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaTMfpdg8Vo

And using yesterday's momentum, I've FINALLY finished the Dimitri/Dorothea support! My papers say that I last worked on this is late January; and looking at the pattern, I stopped working on the pairing to do the OT3 since it felt easier. But no longer! There's no real song to go with this one, sadly... I'm linking the actual supports below the Epilogue and the Author's Notes because down below I'm reposting the OT3 and in-game supports so that those that read this (and thank you to those that do - it means a lot) can have an idea of how I imagined the flow of everything in my head. Those who don't like the OT3 can simply ignore those posts and read the new stuff. Epilogue Author's notes In the OT3 Support I mentioned that in my head, there's an order to getting the ending. Here's the order of how I imagine the supports would function. I've also done a minute bit of polishing on the OT3 supports. Adding a phrase here, taking away a word there, little stuff. C-Supports B-Supports A-Supports Byleth/Dimitri/Dorothea S-Support Author's Notes 2 I'm going to try to carry the momentum into a Claude/Edelgard/Petra OT3, but I can't promise I can do this. It requires make an A-Support for Edelgard/Petra that can fit in the OT3 but doesn't feel exclusive to it, while also coming up with a storyline that fits all three characters. That may mean two different A-Supports...I have a few ideas forming, but I'm not sure how well they'll go over.

I'm back with another support idea! This time it's Marianne and Manuela. Recommended soundtrack - "Wait For It" by Leslie Odom Jr from the Hamilton Soundtrack (again) and "Lost In Thoughts, All Alone" by Amalee. Unlocking Requirements: Marianne must win the White Heron Cup and become a Dancer. C-Support: C+ Support: B-Support: MUST BE COMPLETED BEFORE THE FINAL BATTLE OF PART 1 (Before Chapter 12) A-Support: Extra Note: Epilogue: Author's Notes:

Probably Rodge during the beginning or middle of Starsight, because as much as I'd like to learn how to fly, I'd need something to fly first. And why not at least try to ask Rodge for his blueprints so I can copyright them (it's only a day so he wouldn't be able to profit, but I'm sure some of our modern-day tech and history would fascinate him as well, so it could be a solid trade), sell them to a company, and get rich in the Military Industrial Complex? And then use that money to manufacture other designs I hadn't yet sold, and use those to build myself something even better.

I saw it too! I'm not as sold on the premise, since I'm not particularly fond of the Bad Batch. Sure, they're cool, but they've also been jerks to clones we've come to know and love, and I haven't seen them do anything to really fix that. But I'm definitely watching this (probably twice), and I'm really hoping they sell me on these characters.

When your classroom observations are covering geometry and halves, and it makes you want to reread The Ritmatist while eating some pizza.

Definitely not unpopular! Sam and Bucky were definitely jerks to John; but on the flip side, it's not hard to see the cracks in John form pretty easily as well. He wants to be the best Captain America, but right now he has a...limited view of that that means. John is the good soldier with good intentions, but that doesn't mean he's a good man. Captain America was a symbol for more than just his country, and that's not who John is at this time. When things looked bad or murky, Steve would investigate and go rogue if needed; John is playing by the rules for system that wants to go back to the old rules despite it being a new game, to finish up the metaphor. There are potential hints that John isn't all we see of him, despite how hard he tries. Examples: Also, just a quick note from re-watching the first episode with a friend - Sam's desire to hold onto his family's legacy is nicely juxtaposed with his desire not to hold onto Cap's. What he needs to do with one he's doing with another...or rather, he needs to find the purpose and balance with both. When we get to Episode 2, I'll look over John's attitude for any other potential clues as to his fate.

My Hero Academia Movie 3: World Heroes Mission (teaser) trailer!

Definitely more vindictive...I mean, I like him because his supports are pretty good (his Ferdinand von Aegir, Claude, and Leonie supports easily being the best), but I do understand the vindictive side - I cheered when killing Selena in Fates: Birthright...