#cf challenges

Fangirl Challenge| [1/3] Bromances Raimundo and Omi; Xiaolin Showdown

Of all the journeys that I have had the opportunity to follow, yours has always hit the closest to home.

Now, I know you're not a big fan of the heavy stuff, neither am I. But I also know that everyone needs encouragement and, well, here's mine to you.

I know that sometimes things don't seem to be getting better, heck, a lot of times they just seem to be getting worse, harder, darker than ever before. I feel the same way. But, you have to know that it is in these times that I look to your example.

I realize now that this whole time, you've been fighting tooth and nail against your doubts. Doubts that held you back, kept you from being the person you wanted to be- someone good. I can't tell you how many times I've given in to feeling sorry for myself for my own short comings, given in to my doubts and fears and let them rule me.

But then there's you.

You were just as afraid and discouraged as I am, and yet you were able to fight back, discover how much you're worth, find out what you can do, learn, and grow. Y'know, I had really truly wished I had that, but then I realized that it wasn't easy for you either. It didn't just happen one day. You had to give everything you had to say- no- to prove that NO, I am good enough, I can do this.

Understand that seeing someone do that, experiencing someone fighting and winning was just the most inspiring thing I've ever seen. And I mean, I get that you can't always win- not every battle will end in my favor, but that's the thing! It doesn't matter how many times you fail, how many mistakes you make, how far you fall. You can... I can still be great, but only if I let myself believe that and work hard, fight, to make it happen.

You taught me that.

Paraphrased the question.

I absolutely have to start out this letter by telling you that no matter what happens in your life, no matter what anyone ever tells you, somewhere in this world is a girl whose life you have seriously impacted- changed for the better.

I could go into how much I love this show and exactly why, but that would be a never ending list of countless lessons, innumerable moments, infinite pieces of encouragement, and more of an emotional attachment than I care to fully reveal...

I guess, if I had to sum everything up, I'd simply say thank you. Thank you for bringing back my hope. Thank you for giving me a place to run to. Thank you for renewing my love of life. Thank you for showing me that my mistakes do not define me. Thank you for showing me that it is possible to keep moving forward. Thank you for teaching a lonely, broken, little girl to smile and believe again.

I'm going to be honest and say that it was not a good summer for me. My best friend of the time had just up and decided to stop talking to me for reasons I still am not fully aware... in preference of constantly hanging out with and talking to someone who was basically very much like me except better.

I don't really blame them, because at the time I was also really insecure about my worth and would feel down on myself a lot- not fun to be around. But they were the only person I really felt the ability to talk to since all my other friends knew me as the upbeat, happy, smiley, positive one.

And so, one lazy afternoon, I was going through Youtube videos. I don't even remember what types of videos I was watching, but there in the related tag was Time After Time Part 2. I remembered the character pictured as being from a show I'd watched but never got into. Shrugging, I clicked on it and, well...

I laughed. Truly laughed for the first time in months.

I laughed and cried and whooped for joy and by the end I was just so filled with this weird sense of hope. I'm a pretty strong Christian... and I truly believe this video on this day was Godsent.

Needless to say, I went back and watched it beginning to end. And by the time I reached the end of the series for the second time, I can't even tell you how much healthier I was.

Raimundo. Lazy, moody, selfish Raimundo who had made so many mistakes, done so much he knew he would never be able to atone for, was always looked down upon for who he was and yet still kept trying, still fought against his base nature and still had hope.

"I did a lot of damage. So I have to do whatever it takes to make it right again." "I'm not ready, not yet. But I will be someday, y'know, if Omi helps me." "You brought me here because you knew I could become the Dragon of Wind! If I'm ever going to learn to be who I can be, people are gonna have to trust me." "Okay maybe I am... afraid about not being good enough." "We can't lose. We will find a way to win, it's our destiny."

He taught me that despite all my mistakes, all the things I've done that I can never make up for, all the ways in which I fall short, every part of me that I am ashamed of... I can still fight. I can still hope. I can still keep going.

Honestly, I'm actually pretty cool with almost everything they did in the series. Sure there were some things that it might have been better without, but they're all pretty minor in my book and didn't truly detract from the overall awesomeness of the show.

But if I had to choose one thing the show really could've done better?

Now, I like Wuya. I like her relationship and dynamic with Jack. I appreciate her as a kick butt villain. I even would've loved to see her come back later in the series- it could've been great.

But, no. She's released after being trapped in the Puzzle Box for all of a quarter of an episode, completely downplaying the strife, pain, and development of the entire last arch. I loved that arch. It was brilliant and beautiful, but to follow it up by, essentially, undoing everything as if it never happened? Yeah, not a good way to leave a lasting impact...

Not to mention that once Chase is introduced, she's pushed into the back and flandernized pretty badly, going from all powerful Heylin witch who held her own against Grand Master Dashi to a minor lackey whose purpose was never really defined ever again. She's just sort of there. And while she does do stuff, it's never important or necessary, stripping her of her sense of intimidation. You almost get the feeling the writers just didn't know what to do with her. Her character is no longer needed to forward the plot, so the fact that she's there anyways just leaves me uncomfortable with her presence in the show.

I wish they could've brought her back to her full potential, maybe for the finale or even mid season 3. She could've been used as a perfect callback character, opening up old wounds and challenging the monks in a way that would have utilized her manipulative tendencies. But no, sadly. Instead we get her lounging about Chase's lair feeding grapes to a bird... I mean, what happened to the person who successfully used Raimundo's inner conflict to coerce him to the Heylin side?- who had the other Xiaolin monks at her mercy?- who drained the world of all light and goodness?!

There are so many things... because the show's run was way too short, imo.

Mostly though, I would've really loved to see more legit use of the Shadow of Fear.

I mean, I know we have Dream Stalker which was great, but what I really wanted to see was the team as a whole facing some of their inner demons together, relying on each other and strengthening their relationships for knowing those inner weaknesses and fears and combating them as a team- as a family.

~*~

Gonna stick with official stuff for this one. :)

Game Soundtrack signed by Kevin Manthei PS2 and DS games (Which you should buy because it has the whole cast back, except Wayne Knight for Dojo and it's just the most hilarious game ever) Trading Cards (Both original and Wudai expansion) Season 1 DVD (Not shown because my mom hid it, calling it too big of a "distraction." Pffft.) Plus my Platinum Kimiko card signed by Grey DeLisle, who was amazing and perfect and immediately after seeing my card said, "Oh, Kimiko! You know it's coming back right?" thus becoming the highlight of my year. :3