#h2a

Halo 2: Anniversary (2014)

for the sake of like. clarification. im gonna talk about this whole thing like he's just trans okay. i use neopronouns for arbiter in my headcanons sometimes anyway bc that lizard is not cis because his story is so fucking trans it hurts me [positive]

he does what he can. he does everything in his power to do what is expected of him. but he still fails, and this failure (being something other than "normal") is discovered and broadcasted for everyone around him to see. he's shunned, put down for this failure as it (as he) is outed for what they see him as (a heretic; a freak; something other than worthy of acceptance) in front of a crowd.

he is Marked for this. a symbol called the mark of shame is branded into his flesh. a permanent reminder of his failure to conform.

and his punishment, is to be forced to be something that hurts others and hurts him (conversion therapy; forcibly being detransitioned by family/community) in an attempt to redeem himself and prove he's worth something (a lack of community support is a leading cause in transgender suicides). but even then, acting as they demand - this, too, is a death sentence.

he's told his life does not matter. that he may be the will of those higher above him. but that in the end, those who are useful and not shameful (cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied and neurotypical) matter - but he? he does not matter.

and he agrees.

(alienation from peers feeds into a lack of community. dysphoria, ostracization, isolation, and conversion therapy kill.)

in the end, he survives anyway. not unchanged, but he survives. battle-hardened, watching as his people (the queer community beyond oneself) are replaced by the more favorable option (cishet, patriarchy-confirming folk) and powerless to stop it from happening. he builds his own community, welcomes back people who turned against him at first (transgender community infighting, anyone?) as allies when they see how they were being manipulated by those with more social control than them.

and in the end?

his side wins the war.

This ancient Sangheili maritime vessel made use of oars and sails to navigate the treacherous oceans of Sanghelios at some point prior to the species' formation of the Covenant alongside the San'Shyuum.

H2 Arbiter: SPRY YOUNG MAN. Just the fuggin noodliest limbs you could ever imagine. Absolutely smooth as a shark. BIG OL DOE EYES THAT LOOK AT EVERYTHING. I will run and kick and jump as fast as can be!

H3 Arbiter: If both my eyes look in one single direction I will implode

The Master Chief Collection was probably something that had to exist, considering the Xbox One’s launching completely without backwards compatibility. It wouldn’t be until December 2015 that you could play any of the main series Halo games on the Xbone via your old 360 disc, and the original 2 never came to the console (not including CE anniversary). Of course, at that point, why bother? You could just give Microsoft 80 bucks and play all of them as of the MCC’s 2014 release.

I suppose 343 and Microsoft weren’t confident this was a good enough deal for gamers to fork out the money. After all, the Xbox 360 live services for the Halo franchise are still running at time of recording, over a decade after all of them came online. So they needed a selling point, something that will make people buy their new game.

…hey, Halo CE Anniversary did pretty well, right?

And so Halo 2 Anniversary (H2A) was born, preying on the nostalgia of a 10-year-old game, much like its predecessor 3 years earlier. And how did it shake out?

…I think it’s pretty good? This is H2A through the…uhh…Survivor Shotgun, I guess?

...it looks the same as the regular one.

“If you don't know how to save others, how will you save yourself?"

– Chu Wanning

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (二哈和他的白猫师尊) by Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat (肉包不吃肉)

Third Wonder, real name Mona Lisa Cheng, is the top hero of The Hero Association of America - H2A - and the #1 hero in the United States, both in terms of popularity and in power.

A rare class of superhuman known as a mimic, Third Wonder’s ability can be most easily explained as the power to mimic other people’s powers. While there are many variations and subsets of mimics in the world, Third Wonder’s is considered to be the most powerful and versatile by far.

Essentially, she can copy any power - real or imaginary - that she sees and has at least a basic understanding of. It doesn’t matter if it came from a movie, an anime, old stock footage, or the news - so long as she’s seen it in action and understands how it works, it’s hers for up to a maximum of 24 hours.

While this alone would make her fairly versatile and dangerous, her mimicry goes even further than this, having the added trait of perfectly replicating the abilities of those she’s made direct, skin-to-skin contact with, regardless of whether or not she’s seen their powers in action or understands how they work. It is a form of genetic malleability that is particularly rare and adaptable.

She can hold up to three mimicked abilities at once - hence her name - but she’s incapable of using two distinct powers simultaneously. She’s also incapable of combining two or more powers into something new. And, if she’s already mimicked three powers, and decides she wants to mimic another one, she’ll have to wait until 3 hours have passed since her last mimicry and then sacrifice her last copied power to make space for it.

What’s more, while she can control whatever powers she mimics when mimicking via sight, she has no innate control over powers picked up via touch. For this reason, she prefers to see a power in action first, and is almost always seen wearing gloves in public, careful to avoid unnecessary contact when on the job and accidentally picking up a less-than-ideal ability or something she doesn’t understand.

Nevertheless, the versatility afforded to her by her powers is nearly limitless. She can tailor herself to any situation and often picks powers she feels will complement and play off of each other well. She rarely jumps into a situation without a plan and some prior research, and she’s widely considered to be the most analytical hero active today. Her strategies are often touted as being foolproof by her colleagues, and nobody is better at dissecting and understanding new or unusual powers than her.

She likes to stay as up-to-date as possible on registered super powers and the abilities of known heroes and villains, and tries to acquire at least a few video recordings of however many of them she can. She has a vast database of archival footage at her disposal so that she can copy the powers of even deceased or retired heroes or criminals on the fly.

Because of the sheer strength and versatility of her mimicry, many have sought to study Mona’s genetics and what it is about her that makes her so special. There’s been more than one request to study her and her powers to see if they can be replicated in any way, but she’s never given any of the offers she’s received any serious consideration.

On a personal level, not too much is known about Mona’s real personality or her personal life. Though she’s one of the biggest stars in the world, hero or otherwise, she does her best to keep her private life private, and whenever she’s on the job, she is by her own admission putting on something of an act. It’s very rare to see her drop her hero persona and make herself completely vulnerable over something.

Nevertheless, she is seen as an inspiration and an idol by many around the country, and around the world. Many people have come to refer to her as ‘The Most Powerful Woman in the World’, referencing legendary hero Takuma Miyamoto, who is commonly referred to as ‘The Most Powerful Man in the World’. She is flattered by this designation, but doesn’t take it terribly seriously, herself.