Free-form statement poetry

 As the challenge of Poor Air Quality resurfaces, I let out this statement on what I see in my own country.  I am tired of this mental disease against freedom here and had hoped last November would begin to kill it off.  Then January 6th happened, and I was made painfully aware that this may never go away until long after I'm dead.  I do see it and hear it everywhere and it makes me afraid to go anywhere.

I didn’t want power.   

I didn’t want to be self-absorbed.  

 I didn’t want to try to bend the world to my view of what’s right, 

but I see so much callousness.   

I see people not caring and I see people treating others like vermin.  

 I’m reminded of what someone once said was said as an insult to them, 

“you’re not human or even an animal.”   

Now that is almost impossible to put in the back part of my mind.  

 I see people tweet “rescue this dog from euthanizing,” 

“rescue this cat from getting destroyed,” 

while African-Americans get gunned down, 

Asian-Americans get beaten, 

Latin Americans get arrested like this is Iran, Egypt or Pakistan, 

refugees from those countries forced back behind barbed wire and freezing cold 

and there are endless bigoted murders of the LGBTQ+ community, 

meaning we prioritize people who are different below pets, 

meaning they aren’t as good as animals to most of us.  

 They ask me if I want to become a Politician, 

if I want to be on the front lines, 

confronting our carelessness to these problems.   

To become power-hungry and self-absorbed, 

a person who refuses to look at those who see differently 

without seeing enemies he would gladly gun down 

if he was guaranteed the Police would raise no charges.  

 How long, in this rapidly-deteriorating world, can we say no to drinking the devil’s wine?  

 How long must we endure people who see this violence and say “they deserve it.”  

 How long must we see the stars, bars and swastika paraded alongside the stars and stripes 

before we can no longer tell the difference?  

 What will it be, America, 

return to the nation you deserve to be 

or fall into a dictatorship you call a theocracy to legitimize it in the minds of the followers of blind faith?   

Will you return to celebrating people, 

or fall to praising one deluded man who claims to be the second coming?  

 Will you stop shaming those who believe differently for having their own thoughts, tastes and desires, 

or silence them in what you call “therapy” but other countries would call it what it is, torture!   

Will you stop taking bold young men and women aside and telling them to just trust in the Republicans who are falling more and more day by day into a downward-spiraling fascist cult that grows ever-increasingly rigid 

or let us be without trauma?!   

When will you shake off the shackles of the beast?!  

 When will you get vaccinated, not just against COVID, but against the nationwide epidemics of racism, sexism and homophobia?!  

 When will you value your own First Amendment again?!   

When will you memorize more of the Bible than just Leviticus 20:13 and John 3:16?!  

What’s it going to take?!

8/13/2021 Music/General Update

     Last week, I discovered a single from the woman-led band Seven Spires that featured Casey Lee Williams from the RWBY soundtracks as a guest singer, their singer Adrienne Cowan had guested on some RWBY tracks last year, so I guess she was returning the favor.  Tom Morello, Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder all teamed up for a cover of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell," the first single off Morello's new album, due out in October.  Guns N Roses also released a new song called "Absurd," the first song of theirs since 1994 to feature Slash and Duff McKagan.  

 

    This week, the thing I'm most excited for is the new Sheryl Crow live album, specifically a track with Stevie Nicks guesting on it.  I'm hoping it's going to be a good release overall, but I'm really looking forward to the collaboration of two famous women musicians.

 

    I'm going to the Mariners game on Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Mariners probably bringing Ty France, Mitch Haniger and Jarred Kelenic while the Blue Jays will likely feature George Springer, Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.  It also seems Yusei Kikuchi might be pitching for the Mariners after a shutout performance against the Yankees (Boo, hiss, stop buying championships), but Probable Pitchers haven't been announced, so I don't know for sure.  He was also Seattle's lone All-Star representative this year, but didn't play as he was sick.

 

    I am somewhat nervous right now as I overspent quite a bit this month, but I think it's because as I exit this lockdown, pandemic mindset, I become more aware of just how divided the United States has become and it terrifies me.  I don't like how I had to hide my opinions back at my old Church in the early 2010s, and now it feels like those people are everywhere, every social media website, the bus, the music business, my apartment complex, just walking around downtown.  The thing is, I like the freedom to make the statement of my choosing and these people feel a lot of my opinions are abhorrent and abominations, so they try to forcibly "correct" me to their point of view.  All this does is remind me the ways I like to have fun and the entertainment I support is seen as "wrong" by a large amount of people, which makes me feel alone in a time when I haven't yet gotten fully out of isolation.  It's destructive and controlling behavior that always seems motivated by politics and causes me to turn to comfort things/items, causing me to burn through my spending money too quickly.  Therefore, I'm going to start praying instead of spending, praying that we can get through this destructive behavior and survive to the other side of the pandemics of Trumpism and Homophobia.

Fighting game mains 3

 

Pyra/Mythra:

I actually checked my in-game stats and found this is actually my last Main in Smash Bros., there isn't another one.  Pyra and Mythra joined Smash Bros. this last March and are tied together, one transforms into the other with a special move and back again.  Smash Bros. previously used this tactic for Zelda and Sheik, her alter ego from Ocarina of Time, and the three Pokemon Trainer Pokemon.  Pyra uses slow, deliberate, flame-charged attacks, while Mythra has quicker strikes with the light element, their Japanese names, Homura and Hikari, actually translate to "Flame" and "Light."  I tend to switch between them between making a KO or getting KO'd myself, but the best strategy is to use Mythra to rack up damage, then finish the opponent with Pyra.  This strategy was even discussed by the game's director, Masahiro Sakurai, when introducing the character.  The two are from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, a Switch RPG that I may play someday, it's hard when physical copies of the four-year-old game get hard to come by in that time period.  Thankfully, there's always the Nintendo eShop.  Pyra is more the "cutesy, girly girl" type of character while Mythra is more aggressive and hard-edged.

Mitsuru Kirijo

My first writing about a BlazBlue; Crosstag Battle main.  Mitsuru originates in the RPG Persona 3 for the PlayStation 2.  She is voiced by Tara Platt, using the same voice she uses as Edelgard from Fire Emblem; Three Houses.  Mitsuru is the heiress of the Kirijo corporation, a large company that was inadvertently responsible for bringing Shadows and the Dark Hour (the only time Persona-users can face Shadows in this game) to Earth.  Mitsuru is a Persona-user and effectively in charge of the SEES group, the Persona-users that fight the Shadows in this game.  She feels guilt over her grandpa being responsible for the Dark Hour and Shadows and also loses her father over the course of the game, inheriting Kirijo Corporation.  Eventually, the Protagonist eliminates the Shadows and Mitsuru goes on to help the Inaba investigation team of Persona 4 against a fighting tournament in the "Hollow Forest" (area where Shadows appear in Persona 4), it is from Persona 4 Arena and its sequel, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, that her appearance here is modeled after.  Mitsuru wields a rapier in battle and is a master of quick, efficient damage.  She has special dialogue with Weiss Schnee of RWBY (whom she defeated in the web series Death Battle), Blake Belladonna of RWBY (whose mother Tara Platt also voices), Orie from Under-Night (who is voiced by the woman who voices Bernadetta in Fire Emblem; Three Houses) and Elizabeth, also from Persona 3 (who is also voiced by Tara Platt, albeit in a higher-pitched voice).

Yang Xiao Long

From the web series RWBY, Yang Xiao Long's name is Chinese for "Sunny Little Dragon."  She relies on deliberate punches and can easily devastate foes with a series of blows.  In the series, Yang can store the force she's been hit with in her hair and return it with her punches.  She also lost most of her right arm defending Blake Belladonna from Blake's ex, the spiteful Adam Taurus.  It has since been replaced with a prosthetic painted yellow and black, and Yang and Blake killed Adam after a rough fight towards the end of Season 6, revealing that Yang and Blake held romantic feelings for each other.  A scene in Volume 7 where they dance like goofballs together really reminded me of a young lesbian couple I know in real life, so I feel they are doing the right thing by bringing these two together, especially since Yang and Blake first began to show sings of attraction in Season 2, where Yang saved Blake a dance at the Beacon School Dance.  Yang has special dialogue with Blake (of course), and Chie and Labrys from the Persona series.

Blake Belladonna

A faunus (animal-person) with cat ears, Blake is a mellow sort who loves to read.  She is armed with a blade on a wire called Gambol Shroud and a different weapon she can use as a sword.  Both also function as guns in the web series.  Blake felt guilty about Yang losing her arm and spent the next two seasons with family, working through her issues of putting loved ones in harm's way.  There is also some irony with the voice cast of her loved ones, in that her Mom Kali is voiced by Tara Platt and her childhood best friend Ilia, a chameleon faunus, threatens Blake's family, declaring "You and your family are holding the Faunus back!"  Ilia's voice actress is Cherami Leigh, who would once again be an opponent to a Tara Platt-voiced character in Fire Emblem; Three Houses, where she voiced Rhea.  Blake is openly bisexual, as is her voice actress, Arryn Zech.  She also will display cat-like traits from time to time, she loves fish and upon meeting Ruby and Yang's dog Zwei, she scrambled to the top of the bunk bed, hissed and scratched out with her right arm.

Trini Kwan

The original Yellow Mighty Morphing Power Ranger, Trini's actress sadly died in a car accident in 2001.  She was armed with daggers in the series and in the original Sentai, was actually male.  In Power Rangers; Battle for the Grid, Trini is encased in a Dragonzord-inspired mech suit, which she pilots.  This gives her immense power and access to a variety of potent weapons.  Her double-bar special is a chest laser cannon, and she punches aggressively with powerful force.  She also can take quite a beating from opponents before going down, making her a smart choice for my playstyle of inflicting massive damage through powerhouses, as seen in Bowser in Smash Bros. and Zangief in Street Fighter.

35th Anniversary of Metroid Fan Fiction

 

It was a nice warm morning in Hyrule and Zelda awoke, rolling over to kiss her bounty huntress wife on her lips. “Mmph…mmm…thanks, honey…” Samus muttered as she awoke. “What was that for?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot!” giggled Zelda.

“Right, my big day.” Smirked Samus. “I’ve not kept too much track of it on space missions and getting in fighting shape for the new mission.”

“Think you’ll be ready?” asked Zelda.

“I hope so, the galaxy’s at stake.” Replied Samus. She got out of bed, dressing in her Zero Suit as Zelda dressed in her Princess gown. The two went down to the dining room, Yang and Shantae drinking coffee while Blake cooked bacon and eggs on the stove.

“Morning, how’s the birthday girl?” asked Blake.

“Good as ever.” Replied Samus. “Any one of you three want to be my sparring partner today?”

“I could go for it.” Smirked Yang.

“Same here.” Added Shantae.

“Ooh, a triple threat match. Sounds fun.” Smiled Samus. The three went up to the rooftop, standing in various areas atop Hyrule Castle.

“3, 2, 1, GO!” they all shouted. Yang shot at Samus, suplexing her into the ground before being hit by a Burning Dropkick from Shantae. Samus got up and struck Shantae with her paralyzer whip, moving her back. Yang leapt forward, pummeling Samus with quick punches before smacking her back with a fierce one. Shantae threw a shot put, clobbering Yang and knocking her to the lower part of the Castle roof. She grabbed a PokeBall, releasing Scizor. Scizor flew forward, slicing Samus and Yang, sending them into the air and making them collide hard with the ground. Samus grabbed a Steel Diver and opened fire, pummeling Shantae, moving her back, then throwing the empty submarine-shaped gun at Yang, defeating her. A Smash Ball appeared and Shantae hit it with a Burning Dropkick, followed by trying to hit it with a Soaring Axe Kick. Samus used her rocket boots to hit the Smash Ball multiple times, grabbing an Assist Trophy. She unleashed Zero, who dashed forward, slashing both Shantae and the Smash Ball. The Smash Ball broke open as Zero pummeled Shantae with his blade.

“Back to base!” he said, teleporting away. Samus activated her Final Smash, shooting a Zero Laser from the background atop her gunship, striking Shantae. A second, powerful shot, after an extended beam, defeated Shantae, Samus flipping in victory. The three returned to the dining room, chuckling amongst each other over the match.

“You’re really doing well, Samus, I bet you could handle the next mission easy.” Smiled Shantae.

“You think so?” asked Samus.

“I’d be willing to bet money on it.” Complimented Yang.

“Let’s hope so, otherwise things might get dire.” Muttered Samus, the three entering the dining room.

“Surprise!” shouted Zelda and Blake, now accompanied by Lucina, Rise Kujikawa, Edelgard, Byleth, Mario, Pyra (and Mythra with her), Nia, Palutena and Chun-Li. Samus gasped loudly in delight.

“Oh my Lord, how’d you, how…?” she stammered.

“Zelda let us know.” Replied Edelgard.

“The big 3-5, wow, what a milestone!” smiled Chun-Li.

“And a new Switch game in a couple of months!” added Lucina.

“You deserve a good day today.” Stated Rise Kujikawa.

“Happy Birthday, Samus, old friend.” Said Mario, shaking her hand.

“Thank you, thank you all. Th-this really means a lot to me.” Said Samus, slightly tearing up. Zelda hugged her, kissing her neck, Samus hugging Zelda back, kissing her cheek.

“Oi, ‘tis got me all misty, not that I’m goin’ soft or nuffin’!” said Nia.

“It’s okay to let your heart show, Nia.” Said Pyra.

“Maybe fer yeh, yeh bleedin’ heart behbeh!” replied Nia. Mythra leapt in at that moment.

“You calling my sister a ‘bleeding-heart baby?’” asked Mythra. “After this party, you and me on the roof!” declared Mythra.

“Bring it on, I got lots of skills yeh an’ her can’t compare with!” smirked Nia. Meanwhile, Palutena approached Blake, who was near the kitchen.

“You did bring lots of sweets, right?” Palutena asked Blake. Edelgard walked up, as well.

“While said at a rude time, I’m in agreement with you, Palutena.” Sighed Edelgard.

“Keep your gowns on, I got several plates of cookies and donuts. But let’s let Samus and Zelda enjoy their moment right now.” Said Blake. Palutena and Edelgard smiled contentedly. Samus and Zelda softly waltzed to music only they could hear, glad to be together. It was beautiful bliss.

“When I finish this next mission, let’s go somewhere, just you and me.” Whispered Samus.

“Delfino Plaza sounds good.” Replied Zelda.

“It’s a vacation date.” Smiled Samus, hugging Zelda close to her again. Zelda smiled joyfully as Samus smiled with contentment. To protect and love an uncomplicated yet wise Princess, this is what she had always hoped for, and it was securely hers.

The End

Music/General Update 8/6/2021

     Aly & AJ released a relaxed Pop single last week, while Jerry Cantrell and Duff McKagan collaborated on the single "Atone" from Cantrell's "Brighten" album, due out at the end of October.  Black Stone Cherry singer Chris Robertson's collaboration with The Picturebooks, "Catch Me If You Can" was also released recently, putting both him and Halestorm's Lzzy Hale on the same album with the same backing band for the first time, though they have sung a duet version of the Black Stone Cherry song "Peace Is Free" on tour.  Tina Guo also had a solid version of Bach's "Toccata and Fugue."

 

    Tonight, we get a new album from 80s rock band Night Ranger, as well as the first album by Long Shadows Dawn, a project of Doogie White, a former singer for Rainbow and Michael Schenker.  This is one of two albums he's lead singing this year, the other being Alcatrazz's "V," where he takes over the role as Alcatrazz's lead singer from Graham Bonnet, who also sung lead for Rainbow and Michael Schenker.  A 50th anniversary deluxe edition of "All Things Must Pass" by George Harrison is also due out, as is a Deluxe Edition of Brian May's "Back To The Light," featuring a live performance of Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down" featuring Slash lending his guitar talents.

 

    Tomorrow is the 35th anniversary of the original release of the first Metroid game on the NES, and later this year Samus' adventure continues with Metroid Dread on the Switch, in which she has a new sleek white and blue power suit and her opponents are killer robots named EMMI.  The new game has a bit of a horror vibe, which makes sense because Metroid's genesis was inspired from the Alien and Aliens horror films by Ridley Scott (also the namesake for one of Metroid's most popular characters/recurring bosses) and James Cameron, though this is the first time I've seen horror emphasized in the trailer for the game.  My biggest hope for the game is a continued return to focus on Samus Aran and her adventure, rather than showcasing other human characters interacting with this world and forcing a love interest into the game series, which was done in Metroid; Other M, the Wii entry in the series.  I honestly want to play it for how exciting it looks regardless, but I am hoping the plot is fairly straightforward and the focus is mainly, if not solely, on Samus, like in Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion and the Metroid Prime trilogy, the highlights of the series.

 

    I have also heard rumors that an updated version of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax may be released on the Switch next year.  I am hopeful this is true, the game has many of my favorites from the series in action and rather than being a long JRPG that requires 40-100 hours of gameplay to complete, this is a fighting game that has a story mode that probably could be done in an afternoon, or at least, significantly less time.  I typed in "Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Switch" in YouTube to see if I could find anything further, but while there was a video of someone wanting to hashtag the re-release into existence, there was no further news.  There was, however, a clip from the game where Rise Kujikawa, a J-Pop star from Persona 4, awakens to her Persona's offensive powers after encountering Elizabeth, the mysterious Velvet Room Attendant from Persona 3.  Both of these characters are among my favorites from the series; Elizabeth even being one of my mains in the crossover Blazblue; Crosstag Battle, and this was the first time I can recall a conversation between a Laura Bailey-voiced character and a Tara Platt-voiced character.  As such, I shared the video on Facebook and Twitter with the caption "Jester meets Edelgard," referencing Bailey's Critical Role character and Platt's most popular Fire Emblem character.  I hope my brother appreciates that.

 

    I also heard BabyMetal has posted on their Twitter that they will disappear come mid-September, given the fact that the band presents much of themselves in Kitsune/fox god mythology, it's not too clear what this means, a hiatus, a breakup, or a rebirth into a new band to debut later, but it's hopeful that their music will continue in some form and they will return to the public eye with both recordings and performances some time in the future.  I have always found backing-singer/dancer Moametal adorable, even buying a Funko Pop of her some years ago, and would hate for her to vanish forever unless it is necessary for her mental health (I read some stuff about Britney Spears' trial in June and it made me wish she could retire to some form of normalcy, no control from restrictive outsiders or objectification from fame).  But we'll see what it all means and what the future holds as it arrives, we can only speculate the exact meaning of this and the above paragraphs for now.  I know a lot of people's patience has worn thin, including mine, but we also have no control over these situations and it's not wise to attempt to have control by carrying out magical thinking activities, they just produce stress and they likely will not "work."  

 

    The most inappropriate thing I might've done this week is post a question on Facebook and Twitter that we should arrest three severely partisan politicians, but I am honestly tired of living in fear of lectures or violence from my Republican neighbors and family members.  I am 32 years old and I don't need people telling me how to believe in Jesus when I have a Christian church I attend online regularly that fills me with peace and contentment rather than contempt, anger and sadness.  I am not sorry for suggesting these people should be arrested, as I feel they deserve to be handcuffed for threatening the safety of my Church, my family there and my means of entertainment on a regular basis and viewing me as a Biblically illiterate imbecile who just needs a "damn good lecture/spanking" into their carbon copy.  If someone taped a note to my door that said "I'm gonna kill you, you Nazi, because Nazis were gay and pagan, which you are!" I would call the police and be upset that the lie claiming their was no fanatic legalism or acts of dragging Jesus into the mud in the Nazi party, which I have found, when I look at history, was what they were all about.  This Stalinist style of rewritten history to remove all your blemishes and make you look better has no place in this country and it never did.

50 years ago today

"With all the problems in the world, why did you focus on this one?"

"I was asked by a friend to help, that's all."

    50 years ago today, the landmark benefit concerts, the Concert For Bangladesh, were held in Madison Square Garden in New York City.  A recent flood and terrible living conditions were seriously affecting the people, so sitar player Ravi Shankar asked former Beatles member George Harrison to help.  George responded by organizing two events on August 1st, 1971 to raise money for the people and help save some lives, as well as releasing a charity single.

    The show was recorded for both video and audio release and began with Ravi Shankar playing the sitar.  He and his backing musicians tuned their instruments first for about a minute and the audience, thinking that was a performance, applauded.  Ravi responded "If you like the tuning, we hope you'll like the actual performance."  After the sitar performance, George Harrison's all-star band began playing a set, opening with "Wah Wah," a song George had written in January 1969 in response to Paul McCartney telling him how to play on early versions of "Two of Us."  Billy Preston played keyboards and sang "That's the Way God planned it," and Ringo Starr was on drums, getting a vocal spotlight with his new single "It Don't Come Easy."  Eric Clapton and Jesse Ed Davis were both on guitar and Leon Russell was on piano, singing a verse of George's "Beware of Darkness," a song which has recently been released in studio and live form by Sheryl Crow with Brandi Carlile.

    George's band introductions featured Billy Preston and Leon Russell jamming an instrumental of "Yellow Submarine" after Ringo Starr's introduction and George forgot to mention Preston until last.  The band then played "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," Eric Clapton performing the solo on a hollow body Gibson Byrdland guitar, a decision he regretted due to hollow bodies being harder to play than Stratocasters or Gibson Les Pauls.  Leon Russell then did a medley of the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" with the 50s standard "Young Blood."  Most of the band then went offstage in the video release, George then introducing Bob Dylan, who sang and played harmonica and guitar as George Harrison, Leon Russell and Ringo Starr backed him on guitar, bass and tambourine, respectively.  Classics such as "Blowin' in the Wind," "Mr. Tambourine Man," "Just Like A Woman" and at one of the shows "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" were played in the folksy, stripped down set.  The band then returned for George's Beatles classic "Something," ending with a performance of the "Bangla Desh" single.

    This show set the standard for many benefit concerts and shows to come, with its festival arrangement of different artists of different genres performing one after the other, giving a special spotlight to guests onstage.  Examples include concerts following Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, the memorial concert for George Harrison one year after his death, the COVID streams for Seattle, the world and Save our Stages, and Eric Clapton's Crossroads Blues events.  This event made rock music capable of raising awareness and funds to help the less fortunate, which continues today and is an important part of the legacy of George Harrison.

More of my Fighting Game Mains

     A continuation of an earlier post from this week with three new Smash Bros. characters and two more from Power Rangers; Battle for the Grid.  That leaves 2 for Smash, 5 for Blazblue Crosstag Battle and 2 for Battle for the Grid (I got more DLC so a new fighter became a main).

 

Mii Gunner:

               This is probably my least-used Mii Fighter type, I find it difficult to make Mii Gunners as I’m not too knowledgeable about gun-wielding video game characters that aren’t Samus, Megaman, Master Chief, Doomguy or from the Survival-Horror genre and most of the video games and fiction I like feature spellcasters as the closest thing to a gun wielder.  Mii Gunner is a middle-of-the-road fighter as well, specializing in some long-range attacks.  It can also be equipped with a barrier or the ability to absorb energy-based attacks and turn them into health.  Commonly used Mii Gunners include 

Wendy Marvell from Fairy Tail, 

 

heavy metal singer Rob Halford, 

 

Jill Valentine of the Resident Evil games (in fact, I have two, one based on her look in Resident Evil; Revelations, the other based on her look in Resident Evil 5), 

Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider series, 

Melony from Pokemon Shield (downloaded off the Nintendo Internet), 

Marie from Splatoon (using a Nintendo-made outfit), 

and celebrities Demi Lovato and Noah Cyrus.

 

Mii Swordfighter:

 

               Mii Swordfighter is kind of the middle of the Mii Fighters for me.  It lacks the aggressive, satisfying power of the Brawler, but it’s better at getting in the fray than the Gunner.  Like with the other two, it can be customized and with a plethora of sword-wielders throughout fiction (and people who feel right wielding swords from real life), there are a lot of possibilities for this fighter type.  Mii Swordfighter can fight tough, and I tend to use them like Zero Suit Samus; use Smash and Special attacks at close range and mostly seek out items.  Commonly used Mii Swordfighters include 

Erza Scarlet and 

Kagura Mikazuchi from Fairy Tail, 

Blake Belladonna from RWBY, 

Petra from Fire Emblem; Three Houses, 

Aerith from Final Fantasy VII (using a Nintendo-made outfit), 

Wonder Woman, 

metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, 

guitarist Slash, 

country singer Billy Ray Cyrus 

 

and celebrity Ariana Grande.

 

 

 

               Byleth is one of two DLC fighters on this list, she is a slower character who delivers powerful damage, especially with some distance between her and the opponent.  Byleth’s default costume is male, but I always play with her in one of two color changes, the girl default and the Edelgard-based color change.  I often pair the two up and say that this is what happened after the events of Fire Emblem; Three Houses, they’re married and decide to keep their skills sharp in Smash Bros.  When I use the Edelgard color change (which I’ve named “Edeleth” after the name of their ship) I often try to finish opponents with the incredibly powerful down special move, Amyr, since that’s Edelgard’s axe.  Often, though, I use the side special regardless of color, which is Dimitri’s spear.  Towards the end of the Black Eagles route, Edelgard faces Dimitri in combat and ends his life.  Before he dies, he says something like “I missed you, El” or “El, I’m sorry.”  If you’ve gotten the A Support Rank with Edelgard, she asks Byleth (you) to call her “El,” as that is what her sisters and parents called her as a nickname, meaning she sees you as family.  This means at one point Edelgard and Dimitri were close enough to consider each other brother and sister.  The schism likely resulted from Edelgard’s frustrations with Rhea not realizing her system didn’t work for everyone behind her “I’m right, I’ve always been right and always WILL be right” attitude and Dimitri’s country having Rhea’s Church of Seiros as its State Religion.  This is why Thomas Jefferson was right and we need a wall between Church and State, because the Church can be run by fallible people who fail to recognize their sins, causing the State to become corrupt and start eliminating dissenters without understanding their issues.  Unfortunately, this is not something the Republican Party recognizes, or if they do, they simply don’t care.  Let’s pray our separation holds before they drag Jesus’ name into the mud as much as the Nazi Party and KKK have.

 

 

               A scientist in Power Rangers SPD, Kat works with the Police Department Power Rangers in the then-future year of 2020, helping them deal with hostile criminal aliens employed by Emperor Grumm and Broodwing.  Katherine Manx is, herself, an alien based on a cat, with cat-like ears and eyes.  In one episode, she used a spare morpher to turn into the Kat Ranger to help the SPD Rangers, fighting gracefully and acrobatically.  In Power Rangers; Battle For the Grid, she is a speed-type fighter, attacking with quick strikes to rack up damage before the opponent can counter-attack, using her cat claws, agility and acrobatics to cause serious harm.  An interesting thing to note is that in the Sentai series SPD comes from, Kat’s counterpart was actually part-swan rather than part-cat.

 

 

    The other Street Fighter crossover character into Power Rangers; Battle for the Grid, Ryu is also in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but I don't use him there much, if at all, due to the many other characters I prefer playing as.  Ryu is more of a Heavyweight in Power Rangers, striking hard, yet slow, but every hit knocks out a decent chunk of health and if you can rack up a combo, he can make the difference in a fight.  His one-bar special is the Shoryuken, a powerful rising uppercut that is one of his trademark moves and can be pretty potent if it hits right.  Ryu was the new DLC character mentioned above and I found him easy to play and powerful in fights, making him an almost-instant favorite.  He even wears his trademark headband in the game over his helmet.