#no but why kill off a new and likeable character just like that

[missstreetsahead]

day 23 of refusing to admit that eddie munson is dead because I’m delusional and I genuinely refuse to face the truth

#no but why kill off a new and likeable character just like that #idk somehow I have hope that he could revive #it just doesn’t make sense to do that #imo its either he’s actually alive and the duffer brothers just wanted to make us temporarily sad #ORRRR #terrible writing #its probably (and sadly) the latter #rants #stranger things #st4 #eddie munson #stranger things season 4 #mine

[workingwhileidream]

Okay Burrow's End had me thinking some thoughts... So here are my favorite Dimension 20 moments that rotate like a rotisserie chicken in my brain (in no particular order other than the order I thought if them).

- Riz goes into the butthole of the Corn Ooze Monster (Fantasy High). The first absolutely insane shenanigans move anyone makes on D20, setting the tone the show will have forever.

- Raphaniel kills Queen Pamelia (Ravening War). I think I saw Brennan's soul leave his body briefly when he got that How Do You Want To Do This from Matt. Time was an absolute flat circle that day.

- Hank convinces Brennan to let him role savvy instead of sneak (Mentopolis). Hank is one of the most famous content creators, having him on the show was phenomenal to begin with. Then right out of the gate, he pulls this move in his first episode. And it just works. Hilarious, instantly iconic.

- Jet Dies (A Crown of Candy). When Lapin dies, it is shocking but I wasn't attached to him as a character. Lapin was a bit antagonistic and his death happens early in the season. On the other hand, Jet is instantly likeable. Emily and Siobhan are amazing as siblings, their performances this campaign are some of my favorites. I have siblings and I am very close to them, so this hit me like a ton of bricks.

- The entire epilogue of Burrow's End. "Are you pitching and Air Bud ending?" is one of the instant hall of fame quotes from this show. I started crying I was laughing so hard.

- Ylfa's bottleneck and the TPK (Neverafter). There are so many close calls for total party kills in Dimension 20 history, but this is where it finally happens and it's only 3 episodes in. I was on edge, expecting another TPK at any turn, for the rest of the campaign.

- 3 nat one initiative rolls for the battle that literally opens the season (A Starstruck Odyssey). The beginning of a new season is always full of excitement. This season was extra special, having everyone back in the dome after the pandemic and the season being based off Brennan's Mom's comics. The zoom energy is still in the air and I still think about this season opener a lot.

- Mother Timothy Goose breaks Snow White's concentration with a cantrip (Neverafter). Only Ally Beardsley could and we all damn well know it. Still didn't stop me from being so far in disbelief that all I could do is laugh.

- Hob's "You will never know another lonely day" speech to Rue (A Court of Fey and Flowers). I will still cry about this if I think about it for too long. Rue and Hob's romance is the heart of this season to me. I won't be over it ever.

- Gertrude convinces Nyruth to give the Questing Queens very powerful boons after the Queens tried to rob them only a few hours earlier (Dungeons and Drag Queens). The fact that this season exists drives a level of serotonin into my brain that is unimaginable. This is the definition of a big swing and when Bob rolls well, Brennan has no other choice than to honor it. This is one of the moments I have made a meme of. I cannot wait for season 2.

- Wuuvy shows up to the duel and she did not come to play (A Court of Fey and Flowers). Aabria has talked about how Wuuvy is one of her favorite NPCs and I feel the same. Wuuvy and Rue's relationship has such a great arc and this moment is so pivotal.

- Fabian's no good very bad day (Fantasy High Sophomore Year). An iconic moment in D20 history that was truly wild to watch live. For everything to go so fantastically bad for Fabian and Lou was unprecedented. There is a reason why people still talk about this moment to this day.

- Amathar survives being pushed off the castle (A Crown of Candy). Brennan tried to kill Lou so many times in this campaign. I really thought Brennan had gotten him with this one, my stomach sunk. But Lou pulls it out and Amathar lives once again.

- Pib plays "Smoke on the Water" (Neverafter). "I stepped out to play 'Smoke on the Water' " is also a hall of fame quote to me. This list could be all Pib moments if I'm being honest, he's my favorite Zac character. And the fact that Zac doesn't roll well makes this moment funnier to me.

- Buddy Bear gets planted with the All Blossom (Dungeons and Drag Queens). Jujubee and Brennan owe me a therapy session for this one. I sobbed. My cat is my baby and I will be ruined the day she leaves me, so I get it. I really do.

- "Eat your dice, Brennan" (Fantasy High Sophomore Year). A great bit made physically possible by Siobhan. I hope Siobhan gives him gummy dice or something like that so that Brennan can continue to eat his dice for Junior Year.

- Orange Top Hat Fairy (Neverafter). It's a horror season and the cast is doing bits about how hot a mini is the entire finale and the Adventuring Party that followed. I felt the stress and off the walls energy through the screen. The Smooth Criminal pin was the first piece of Dimension 20 merch I bought.

- Viola's epic takedown of Phoebe (Burrow's End). Watching Rashawn absolutely crush it her first time in the dome was amazing. I loved Viola from the jump, her arc was so satisfying and fun to watch. Also the idea of a tiny stoat kicking a gun just the right way to get it to fire is hilarious. No notes other than please have Rashawn come back on every season she possibly can.

- Evan Kelmp warns the Rosemont student not to duel him (Misfits and Magic). Brennan's deadpan warning matched with the reactions of the other players and Aabria really make this scene. An underrated Brennan moment for sure.

- Stacey Fakename turns out to be real (Mentopolis). This was such a good reoccurring bit, so to have Stacey be real at the end of the story was too funny. In a season of bits, tropes, and puns - this one has the most payoff to me and is definitely my favorite.

#dimension 20 #d20 #dimension 20 spoilers #d20 spoilers #dungeons and drag queens #fantasy high #fantasy high sophomore year #the ravening war #mentopolis #misfits and magic #a crown of candy #burrow's end #neverafter #a starstruck odyssey #a court of fey and flowers

[lilacthebooklover]

Why People Don't Like Ozzy (and why they do like other characters)

Every fandom has its favourites, and that of KG2 isn't exempt– just look at all the content of Penny, Ted, Nugget and Felix lol. But if there's one character that Kindergarten fans don't often think or care about, it's Ozzy.

At first glance, it seems obvious why. He's pretty whiny and a big downer, instantly dislikes the protag, and doesn't really have any shown positive qualities. He talks constantly about his allergies and asthma, obsesses over his routine, is willing to strangle Protag without a second thought, and the player is actively encouraged to kill him in Ted's mission.

But really, Ozzy's just, well. A five-year-old. Out of the KG cast, he's the one who acts most his age: he's rude at times, very focused on himself, and sulks about his favourite toy being broken– and those are all traits you'd expect from a kindergartener. He's surrounded by more emotionally compelling and mature characters, making him seem babyish in comparison.

His fears about his asthma and allergies are honestly valid, considering that the world in which he lives contains people constantly trying to off each other. He knows he's not well-liked, that his science teacher would (and does) use his corpse as a cadaver, that he could literally die from either of these things being set off.

Leading on from that, is his apathy regarding killing the protag really that surprising? He, like all the other students, knows what happens when people are sent to the principal's office or Danner gets out his laser gun. It wouldn't be surprising if he's just accepted death as part of his routine by then, unbothered by and desensitised to it just like the other kids.

He has problems with change, as little kids often do, and it's entirely reasonable that he's so upset about his friends getting "transferred". He just lost everyone he cared about seemingly because of the new kids, so his immediate response is to dislike them. He has a right to be worried and angry about Madison & co disappearing, most likely having seen plenty of people die in his school, but there's nothing he can do but take it out on Protag. Heck, if the player gives him the battery, he's even willing to give him a chance at friendship, saying that maybe the new kids aren't all bad and asking if Kid wants to play with him.

So why do people not like Ozzy, but find favourites in other characters? Take Felix, for example (on whom this fandom is typically divided into 2 extremes: loving and despising). He kills his brother remorselessly, is willing to further disable a paralysed child, cares only for himself and constantly belittles everyone around him.

But Felix is also a really fun character. His motives are great to explore, his relationship with Ted equally so, his manner of speaking is wonderful and he has some really good lines (e.g. "the real treasure is the friends we buried alive along the way"). He's so pompous that it's funny, he's always a blast to watch, and there's a lot of potential for angst for him.

Ozzy only murders one person, but that's the player. He's an obstacle, not meant to be liked. Felix murders his twin, but there's a whole lot to read into with that. He's a likeable character with an enjoyable story, and he typically comes with ball-of-sunshine Ted.

Ted is easy to like. People are sympathetic towards him because of Cain's Not Able and his seemingly horrible father. He's nice to Felix and feels had about killing Ozzy. His only motives are pleasing his brother, showing his loyalty and desperation to prove himself and be loved.

But he does kill Ozzy, or at least get Protag to do so for him, and plans the whole thing out independantly despite Felix saying that he would take care of it. He's not as dumb as Felix makes him out to be, can be cold-blooded and strategic when necessary, sticks to his plan no matter who it hurts (e.g. Carla with the gum, Ozzy himself) all in the name of showing he's capable. Ted isn't as innocent as people like to pretend, but he is more considerate than plenty the other characters.

Characters like Cindy and Buggs make Penny & Ted look like angels, and the big personalities everyone else possesses make Ozzy seem pretty boring. He's not particularly compelling, we're not supposed to like him, his only major plot point is that Ted wants the player to kill him, and he only ever shows concern for himself and characters whose only personalities are being experiments.

Even then, he refuses to hug Madison after she comes out of the lab, telling her to take a bath and calling her gross. We know what Madison has been through as the Protag so we feel bad for her, but looking at the situation through Ozzy's eyes is entirely different.

She's covered in something that looks disgusting and he's trying to get on him, and Ozzy hates getting dirty. All he's been told is that it's from the principal's secret lab, which only makes it seem more unhygienic. He's fully aware of the rules in science and labs at school, reminding Danner multiple times, and his mom has clearly enforced these before.

Again, he's five, so his lack of a filter isn't entirely his fault. He doesn't possess the emotional maturity to see that might upset her, he's just glad that she's back and scared of her touching him with her goo. He doesn't know she was kidnapped, he doesn't know what the goo is, he doesn't know why she didn't reach out if she was at school the whole time. He suggests something he sees as perfectly reasonable, and moves on with his life.

One of Ozzy's main characteristics is that he's a germophobe. Getting mad at him for that would be like getting mad at Ted for his arachnaphobia–even if Ozzy's ruder and more blunt about his fear.

Overall, people don't like Ozzy mostly because they don't find him interesting. He's not endearing or sweet, isn't shown as a nice character, and doesn't really have any spotlight moments like Felix or Penny. Nugget, too, is liked because of how new and unpredictable he is as a character, as well as some of his more emotional moments– all of which Ozzy lacks.

This has been on my mind for a little while, and it's been fun to put it into words! Thanks for getting this far into my little ramble, and I'd love it if you shared your thoughts!! Discussing things like this with people is always nice :D

#kindergarten ozzy #character study #character analysis #kindergarten 2 #kindergarten game #kindergarten madison #kindergarten felix #kindergarten ted #kindergarten penny #kindergarten nugget #kindergarten protagonist #kindergarten kidd #tw mentioned kidnapping #fandom #rambles

[hopeymchope]

Why Raeliana Ended Up... Being So Awesome

"Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion" is SO fucking good - so much more up my alley than I ever expected - and I'm going to now struggle to explain why.

The short version is that it's all about the quality of writing and the likeability of our lead heroine. The dialogue is so human and the conflicts never feel based in stupid actions that could just be equally discussed. The characters are all smart and engaging. The animation's no slouch, either, and the opening song is a BANGER.

...okay, so there's a lot of stuff to like. But the writing is the MAIN factor.

I'm getting ahead of myself. See, this all began as a Korean serial web novel, and I would DEEPLY like to read it some day but DAMN, there doesn't seem to be an English translation. It was then adapted into a manwha that thankfully IS being published in English. (...I'd still rather have access to the original source material though.) And now it's additional gotten a visual novel that's coming to Steam and it has this anime adaption! The very last of those being how *I* finally discovered it.

You know what this shot implies *already*, don't you?

Let me get this disclaimer out of the way: This is... an isekai. And I usually recoil from isekai stories because it's not a setup I like to begin with, but they are also SO overdone by now that they feel SO generic.

And yet... lately I've found a couple delicious exceptions. Such as this one.

Lovely Sarcastic Independent Aggressive Manipulative Funny Adorable Badass

Your quick story setup: A young woman (in the web novel and manwha, she's Korean; in the anime, she's Japanese) is killed under mysterious circumstances and wakes up inside the body of Raeliana, a minor character from a Eurpoean Fantasy-style romance novel she recently read. In the book she read, Raeliana's murder is what spurs the main heroine of the story, Beatrice, to come home from studying abroad, investigate and charge the killer with his crime, and fall in love with the mysterious Duke Noah Wynknight along the way.

This immediately presents our New Raeliana with multiple concerns rolling around her brain:

She now lives in a world that resembles a Regency-era European country, albeit with magic and monsters. This means that, as a woman, her options for autonomy are limited. Women in this fantasy world may have slightly more freedom than they did in reality at the same time... but not by a lot. And this becomes an overarching issue to EVERYTHING ELSE she tries to do.

She wasn't fully reincarnated, either — she woke up inside an already-adult body. Which implies that she somehow stole it from the soul that previously inhabited it. If that's the case, where's the Original Raeliana? And how will New Raeliana feel about suddenly occupying another person's life and altering it by her actions, either unwittingly or intentionally?

New Raeliana knows from reading that novel that "she" — or rather, the body she's inhabiting — is supposed to die soon. She also knows who the culprit will be: Her own fiancée that she's been engaged to for years, with both families long having agreed upon the match. She has no intention of just letting herself die twice in rapid succession, but how is she going to get adequate leverage to break it off? And even if she does, will that actually change her fate?

....though if she doesn't die, where does that leave Beatrice's future?

Of course, New Raeliana is wielding the inside knowledge she gleaned from the book about this world and its characters. She uses those resources to work her way into a protective arrangement wherein she lives at the mansion of Duke Noah Wynknight under the guise of being his fiancée. (The Wynknights are evidently well-known for their tradition of incoming fiancées having to live in the same house with their future husband, albeit on separate floors.) Then it's matter of manipulating over events into her favor...

PLOTTING.

This situation makes Noah and Raeliana into Uneasy Allies. And many more challenges will threaten that alliance, as well as his standing and her own survival, including physical dangers from murderers and monsters, societal threats from plotting nobles, the potential exposure of their lies, emotional turmoil from within, and SO MUCH more.

Duke Noah ain't a slouch on SKETCHY-ASS behavior, either.

Ultimately, this is a love story — the kind where some initial antagonism melts into affection against the supposed "better judgment" of those involved. It's can pretty touching, honestly. But along the way, there's just so much fun dialogue and characterization PLUS some really badass bits. The greatness isn't in the concept; it's in the execution. Which is something that's kind of hard to explain in a review like this one. You just have to see it for yourself, and I don't want to ruin any of the highlights.

Well... maybe I can imply a few things.

FEATURING SUCH DELIGHTFUL TROPES AS:

Fake Relationship

Deconfirmed Bachelor

Bodyguarding a Badass

Belligerent Sexual Tension

The Quiet One

Violently Protective (Boy)friend

Wham Shot

#why raeliana ended up at the duke's mansion #anime reviews #anime review #manwha #web novel #romance #suspense #raeliana mcmillan #noah wynknight #anime gifs

[atopfourthwall]

Final modern Trek question then I’ll be good: What’re your honest thoughts and feelings on Strange New Worlds Season 1? Pros and cons, how it differs from Discovery and what it does either better or worse? The direction and writing, and if you feel it’s a step in the right path for current Trek shows? I watched it and I personally loved it, but I’m so curious to know what you think.

It is MOSTLY good. Its biggest strength is standalone episodes but compelling character arcs, which was the right call to make. We don't need a mysterious space hole or whatever to keep us invested week after week - just have a story with a beginning, middle, and end - do Star Trek stuff like meet new, weird, alien races and find interesting solutions to problems. The characters can change and advance and we can learn new things about them that influence how we next see them. The characters are just generally likeable and PROFESSIONAL. Professional is really the watchword I should keep bringing up - one of the reasons why I'm so uninterested in watching Lower Decks is because I continually see in gifs a bunch of BOZOS. Morons in command, morons doing the gruntwork. Oh, sure, I don't doubt they do their jobs and live and etc., etc., but nothing about them screams "These are people I would want to trust with exploring the galaxy." I see fanboys and people who shouldn't be anywhere near a phaser, much less the big chair. One of the episodes that many wouldn't put on their highest-ranking list of episodes for season 1 of Strange New Worlds is "Ghosts of Illyria." But it's entirely my jam - the stuff I want out of Star Trek. An interesting sci-fi mystery, character revelations, professionals doing their best to solve the problem, raising some interesting moral questions that will have to be revisited down the road, etc. For many it's just kind of "meh," but for me it made me want to watch more of it again after a long absence after watching the first two episodes. I want to see smart people being smart and solving problems. That's reductive, I know, but it's what gets me every time when watching. Now, as for the cons... well, ironically with that word the big problem is CONTINUITY. There are NUMEROUS continuity issues with this series, not the least of which being T'Pring - Spock's fiancé. There is no reason she should be such a significant part of the show. Everything that we saw in Amok Time seemed to suggest they were not close, had not seen each other in a long time, and the attitude T'Pring had in that is at odds with how she's portrayed as so loyal and dedicated to Spock in SNW. And given her reasons for breaking off her engagement in Amok Time, unless they REALLY openly contradict it with, I don't know, some kind of big betrayal or emotional fallout with Spock, I have a hard time believing that she'd break it off with him there. Don't get me wrong - the bodyswap episode was still good, but the problem again comes down to "I do not see a reasonable way for these two to no longer be together for Amok Time." The show focuses too much on old characters and not enough on new ones. I've already seen Spock's character development in TOS and the movies. I don't need MORE of it here, especially whenever they bring up Discovery. I don't need to see Pike's dilemma about his future - I know what's going to happen there. Uhura is a fine character... but I've seen her already. Give me more of everybody else - journeys for them, arcs for them, change for them. Killing Hemmer was dumb. Killing him while turning the Gorn into xenomorphs was dumber. Having the Gorn at all is dumb given we were pretty sure their first contact with the Federation was Arena in TOS. You could have invented a new baddie and gotten the same effect. Hell, it would have been better since one of the points of Arena is that we judged the Gorn as being aggressive, evil, and monstrous partially because of their appearance... but here comes SNW to be like "Oh, yeah, they are the absolute friggin' WORST. Unimaginably monstrous and horrible." Stop making all the uniform variants try to match with Discovery's stupid uniforms.

[ladyluscinia]

I did see one of the posts that prompted the anger issues stuff earlier and learned a new argument for why Ed's anger is fine, actually: his anger doesn't cause any real issues. Like it's directed at people he doesn't care about (ex: racist boat captain), and it's socially acceptable in pirate culture to be massively violent, so there's no problem.

Which, I mean... I guess? That is a take? You could argue that?

...Except for the little detail that I could have sworn the people making these arguments have identified quite literally one of Edward's Primary Issues as his massive discomfort with everyone seeing him as only his extraordinarily violent Blackbeard reputation. (Incidentally, this was - at least to a degree - one of the few things we could agree on.)

Are we not supposed to see impulsive anger as part of his struggle here? He doesn't have to feel guilty (or unjustified) to still be upset with things getting a rise out of him.

I mean, even leaving out all the Kraken stuff (which I don't necessarily think you should do, but I will for the sake of not getting bogged down in that whole debate), in 1x05 alone Edward is actively trying to play the part of what he envisions a more "refined" Edward would be, both for observers and Stede. The guy who's likeable and interesting but not Blackbeard of "sending everyone in the room over the railing in terror" fame. And yet twice he gets pissed off (very understandably!) and very quickly drops character to scream death threats.

Like, he gets mocked by the French aristocrats and upon realizing it immediately reverts to trying to terrify them, screaming "You have any idea who I am?!?" and threatening to kill them. (They laugh harder because no, they don't, and that's when he storms out upset and then goes for his gun.) It's hard to see how that kind of reaction isn't an issue if his goal is any form of shedding Blackbeard's violent reputation???

Either Edward would need to learn to control his anger responses better (for himself, in order to not blow up angrily on impulse and reinforce the violence and fear-based defensive reputation he's built that's now stifling him), or he'd have to just never be significantly upset by anyone ever again? The latter is not exactly realistic.

I just don't get how an anger response of violence and death threats is not an "anger issue" if one of the identified primary character struggles is not wanting to be seen as the violence and death threats guy?

#our flag means death #blackbeard ofmd #ofmd meta #ofmd 1x05 #anger #ladyluscinia

[oceanofflavor]

So, I’ve seen a lot of talk about Eddie Munson getting killed off in Vol. 2 of Stranger Things. And I have a lot of thoughts about it all.

The thing I’ve been seeing most people say is that Eddie is going to sacrifice himself and die after his guitar moment in the Upside Down. And that he has to die because the people are Hawkins are after him because they think he killed Chrissy. 

People think he’s going to sacrifice himself because it’s been brought up a few times that he runs from his problems. It seems that people think sacrificing himself is the only way for him to grow out of running from his problems. Which I don’t agree with at all. 

I don’t know if anyone else noticed this, but Dustin is on the roof of the trailer with Eddie when he’s playing his guitar. If Eddie was sacrificing himself to save Dustin, why would he be on the roof with him? He can’t jump off and run without getting hurt. They used a ladder to get on top of the trailer. There’s no roof access.  Also, in the trailer, there’s a shot of Dustin and Eddie back to back with weapons then another one where Dustin is cheering and Eddie is next to him. 

So, I’m assuming whatever the plan with the guitar is works. And Eddie is there to celebrate with Dustin. I could maybe see him dying after that in a moment of victory.

Anyway, I see where people are coming from, but my problem with all of that is that it’s too predictable. 

In general, killing Eddie is too predictable, but the way that everyone is theorizing he’s going to die is way too predictable.

I’ve seen people compare Bob and Eddie; saying Eddie is going to be the next Bob because he’s a new likeable character and he’s going to die. 

Bob’s death was so heartbreaking because we watched him go through a high stakes situation where we were all sure he was going to die. When he survived that high stakes situation and he relaxed, all of us relaxed with him, then they hit us with his death. It was jarring and brutal. 

That being said, if they do kill Eddie, I don’t think it will be after his guitar moment because a lot of people are calling that. It would be at a different time. In a different scenario. 

A few days ago, I shared part of an article where Joseph Quinn said how they’re pushing for Jonathan and Eddie to interact in Season 5. The response to that post was mixed. 

Some people think he’s lying, which I get, or that the comment means nothing. The thing is, Jonathan and Eddie interacting in Season 5 is the most mundane thing to lie about. Like, what kind of fake tease is that? Ya know?

So, I don’t think that was a lie. I think it was something that just slipped out. 

You can read the article here 

Listen, I could be wrong, he could die, but as I said a bunch of times I think his death is too predictable.

On top of that, I think he could be a valuable going forward. In other words, I don’t think his purpose in Stranger Things is limited to his story this season. 

I’ll end my rant here since I don’t want to keep rambling and repeating myself. 

If I have any other thoughts about the matter, I’ll share them in another post.

#joseph quinn #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #using the reader tag because i think more people will this that way #i'm curious about what other people think #stranger things #stranger things 4 #potential spoilers #maybe?

[scoutverse]

Spider-Scout, era & info

SCOUTS HONOUR: freshly 'bitten' by an organic mechanical spider (with symbiote DNA inside) off to fight crime. Still learning what responsibilities mean as a new hero and the start of the endless web of his mistakes. A completely homemade suit with whatever he had around the house or could buy for cheap

THE ECCENTRIC SPIDER-SCOUT: current era and what I base most of my art around. Fully established web crawling hero with a whole sinister six up on his case and many other issues. This is still a work in progress so that's really it

HUNTERS REST: when you've been a hero since you were 19, you get tired after doing it for 24 years and going through more trauma than you can count. Of course, it's a struggle to stop being the neighborhood hero but it's for the best. Whilst the new upgrades can make him seem more intimidating he has made him abit more likeable to seem more friendly to the people he isn't trying to scare

(more info below)

+ extra character sheet with detailed & simplified version of his suit

Name: Spider-Scout

Real name: Peter Anderson

Hero or villain: hero/ anti hero

Gender: male (trans)

Height: 5'11

Age: 27 (19/20 when started)

Sexual Orientation: bisexual

Occupation: was an assistant at OsCorp then worked for Octavious after he (Otto) became a villain also a superhero, after the separation of him and Otto he is a fully time hero and part time mercenary for hire. Payment is optional (most give atleast some form of payment)

Powers and Abilities: Fear pheromone; able to release a gas from his mouth that makes people perceive him as a scary entity, blurs their Vision and leaves them their brain mildly affected - able to sense he's around after being gassed due to subconscious fear. Super strength (at minimum can lift up to 11 tons, haven't tried to lift heavier yet), speed (faster than average human), agility and flexibility, web shooting from wrists, faster healing than the average human

Power Limitations: can only produce gas when feeling extremely scared or mad - so life or death situations, Due to flexibility does experience alot of aches in his bones, webs come from his body so them being pulled on whilst still attached to his wrists would hurt, mental issues can effect his webs abilities

Weapons: knuckle claws, arm spikes, anything he can pick up and throw, webs

Gadgets/Tech: his 'tail', it's a small Robot spider that curls into itself to create a small bug butt attached to his belt, it's his scouting bot and can perform missions for him if he's busy (has loads but the one attached to him is for emergencies)

Physical Weaknesses: can still be killed and harmed like a normal person

Mental/Emotional Weaknesses: is traumatised asf

Backstory:

Lost his parents at 13, had to live with his grandparents until he was able to move out. He was able to work young and still had to be the adult of the house and had to take care of his himself despite struggling to juggle his education and job. Hence why he quit collage during his 3rd year so he could go into full time employment to keep the rent paid

Ben parker was a regular at the cafe he worked at, he could sense something was wrong with Peter's life and tried to cheer him up. Commenting how much he looked just like his nephew. Ben paid for a trip for his nephews birthday. A trip to the small closed off city where all the best science was - opening their doors for limited time in search for new minds. He had a spare ticket since aunt may couldn't go and gave it to Peter

He accepted and that's when it happened. The incident. Whilst checking out a more closed off area a released robo Symbiote found him and they bonded. The spider bit him and crawled under his skin and fused with his DNA. He was in hospital for a week, everything caught on camera. He was puking up blood and shredded organ. His body completely altering itself, rapidly growing new cells, his body dying from the inside and just as quickly healing. Having to grow accustomed to the alien now changing his entire DNA. Growing new small organs and muscles in his body.

No one understood what was happening to him since his cells looked healthier and stronger than the average person.

Peter became an intern at OsCorp after being infected by one of their spiders. He made a deal that he could be an assistant in the robotics lab, running for coffee and dealing with tasks everyone else is too busy to do. By the time he started he was 20 (his birthday recently gone by)

Otto was made to deal with Peter as his assistant. Basically to babysit this menace who threatened to ruin the company. He obviously didn't like Peter for this and just generally found his personality tiresome. But over time, 3 years ago by, he saw Peter actually had a passion for building, designing and robotics even if he wasn't all that good at it due to inexperience. He starts giving him small tasks, creating a model for him and sees that Peter is a creative and visual learner. Understanding what it's like to not have the right kind of education to support your way of thinking, he takes him under his wing. Their relationship becomes more personal as the years pass and it's become a "we both have crushes on each other and alot of romantic tension but idk what to do or if I should make a move" and this only gets worse when Otto splits ties with Norman and becomes a villian. (Scout is 25 when this happens, he only works with Otto for one more year before they become enemies full time)

Additional, he did run into Ben parker again before he began to work at Oscorp officially. a mugger was following Ben - scout saw when he was about to go on protrol. Recognizing the old man but it wasn't like they new each other, not really. Peter just thought he was being paranoid and ignored the men. There was no gun visible. He was still learning about what his spider sense was and thought it was just his anxiety playing up.

When he heard yelling he immediately rushed back but by the time he arrived, the mugger fired his gun. In panic scout latched a web onto Ben and tried to swing him out the way but it only made things worse. The bullet hit right in an artery.

The mugger ran off and scout ran towards ben, throwing off his mask. He tried to console ben as he died. And ben believing it was HIS peter, Peter Parker and peter Anderson do look very much alike. Almost uncomfortably similar, their biggest differences are their noses and eyes. Pure coincidence. But when you're an old man without his glasses and bleeding out, you can't tell that especially since your vision's blurring from tears. He gave him the "great power comes great responsibility" (a different context obviously for a non spiderman Peter Parker ) and scout promised he'll make things right. He'll be better

Spider-Scout was seen as a menace. Blamed for the death of Ben parker due to a witness who say scout get Ben killed (and fled the scene right after). He found Peter parker and tried to tell him that he tried to save his uncle. That his uncle was a good kind man and he never wanted anything bad to happen to him but things escalated. Poor, scared and furious Peter parker, 17 and still mourning his uncle, gets angry and tries to fight Scout.

Scout, 19 and riddled with issues and intense feelings of guilt and anxiety snaps a little. His fear gas releasing and he sees the effects it has. Shocked that he could even do that. He kept trying to apologize but his presence only terrified the young parker even more. So he left.

#my art #spidersona #scoutverse

[firagafury]

Mortal Kombat 1 did some things so right and some so wrong.

Spoilers ahead.

The good:

Sindel is back to being the hardcore yet kind and compassionate ruler she was always supposed to be.

Mileena is finally getting to experience real love both romantically with Tanya(LESBIAAAAAAAANS) and Familially with Sindel and Kitana, I can't tell you how refreshing it is to finally get to see them be a happy family. not to mention how touching it is to see Kitana be so genuinely devoted to making sure her sister is safe and able to ascend to the throne.

I've always preferred Johnny Cage in MKX and 11 where he's a father and therefore a little more mature, but this new version of Johnny before fatherhood is still better than the old ones. He's still obnoxious, but he's also educated, generous, and knows when it's time to get serious. a massive improvement, and his friendship with Kenshi is excellent.

Baraka and Reptile both got infinitely more interesting backstories and were instantly more likeable after 10 seconds on screen than they ever were in past versions. Ashrah's story was always interesting and they expanded on it really well. I hope they keep her around in future games and we don't have to go ANOTHER 17 years before seeing her again.

This version of Raiden where he's a young mortal is a nice new take on his character. up until this game i always considered him a boring character but if they continue writing him reasonably well i won't have any complaints about him being a staple character.

The Bad:

Nitara, Havik, and Rain's roles in the stories as mere henchmen who do the bare minimum in the story is disappointing. Each of their new designs are excellent aesthetically but their writing leaves much to be desired. Plus as previously stated, Megan Fox definitely did not do Nitara justice. and side note, just once i would like to see Nitara and Rain be on the good side. Rain's lust for power leading him down the wrong path is getting old, and Nitara is canonically morally neutral, she only does what she thinks will help her race survive and free her realm. It wouldn't be out of character for her to get help from someone who ISN'T an evil scumbag.

Just once. ONCE. FOR ONE MORTAL KOMBAT GAME. ONE. I would like to see Sindel survive the entire story. for the love of god why do they like killing her off so fucking much.

They really badly need to stop using the "multiple timelines" trope in their stories. They didn't do it horribly this time, but it was still kinda a bummer to see it STILL be the main plot device after the disaster mk11's story was.

The Neutral:

The new take on the Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu is....interesting. I can't say whether or not it's good or bad yet, I'll have to see how they continue writing it in future installments.

Using Ermac as a Vessel for both Jerrod and the (unfortunately) newly deceased Sindel's souls COULD be interesting, i can imagine a few different ways they could expand on it but until i see the direction they choose to take it i am reserving judgement.

#spoilers #mortal kombat 1

[ashperiences]

Meant for this to just be part of talking about the first game but didn't realise how much I'd go on lol

Didn't like this one as much, on paper most things sound better and I liked a lot of those ideas but I left without much of a real impression left on me.

The stratums never really ended up feeling like a place to me, I got a little shot of excitement going into the airship but it ultimately just felt like a big bunch of yellow corridors with a knock off version of the previous final boss. The areas could be really pretty and I liked some of the level design and the bringing a specific class gimmicks that unfortunately feel more fun of an idea than actually evocative but oh well.

Therein lies a big problem I had with this, the gameplay mostly turns into spamming big damage, the enemies and levels can get really obnoxious in response and the quests routinely become pains in the ass even as they build some genuinely endearing steps and events in them that make them more than just go to A or collect 6 of B (loved the one that made me mad that finding a guy to deliver a thing to relied on an rng roll to check if he runs away over and over owning me by having the guy eventually be like why the hell are you chasing me who are you though).

I like all these ideas it has, getting to know people in town better, weird FOE gimmicks and all but a lot of the quiet imaginative space is lost, I didn't really wonder about my party, the npcs were more fleshed out and likeable but they weren't really memorable enough to make up for feeling like just some decently entertaining guys in some dlc pack levels.

So much is hampered by relation to the first game, class design is heavily built around nerfing old strategies and over empowering other ones, the story has the same structure but less interesting as an attempt at playing the hits again, we got bird people again but they're magical helpful natives now. It's all just kind of uncomplicated heroics where your attack goes up and eventually you beat up god who is mean and make friends with everyone.

Its fun enough though although similarly the gameplay made it hard to distinguish any real sense of character between my variety of big numbers damage guys. The new class concepts are fun but not tremendously well implemented and the reuse of old classes doesn't help the stale feeling.

I can't stop complaining about it but whenever I think about parts of it I think of them fondly anyway, its not charmless it's just, it's overshadowed and directionless, everything you like feels nice but overtime it kind of just eats away at itself until its a town of slightly charming people and their heroes in a world that just feels built for purpose. I can barely remember any of the actual exploring.

If etrian odyssey 1 ends with your party literally going to hell this one feels like a conscious attempt at crafting explorer heaven - nothing complicates your role, doing big damage almost always wins, everyone ends up loving you and you can live forever as a cool sword guy (suppose there's a fun little thing to think about on context of the villain speech there actually).

I think you can summarise this game with two things:

1. The pathways only open to certain classes that just give you an rpg narration of your guy doing some cool stuff that repeats exactly the same the next time you find one without any of the environment reflecting it and usually organised into some weird box room with multiple class paths like you've found some side mission level select.

2. The way the gunner just inherits a strong move from the now decimated survivalist and also functions as a superior alchemist, the way the war magus can awkwardly remove any mp consideration or how the hexer can just turn hp loss into practically instant killing everything. The game gets flattened under this stuff to the point that the struggle of it all ceases to feel real, no monster is a real threat except by just doing something annoying, every boss gets steamrolled and as if representing the shift in genre the survivalist ends up with practically no purpose.

It was fun while it lasted for sure but also super annoying and I spent most of it thinking about my previous party and looking back on it all I can imagine my party as is an endless succession of multi attack skills.

A true dlc side story 6/10 where you go oh that's a nice idea I guess oh that's a funny guy they put in here and then evaporates.

#etrian odyssey #rpg #drpg #video games

[ninjapotatohead]

What Ruined Shadow: The Downfall of an Amazing Character

I will be analyzing Shadow's peak characterization in the Adventure/Dark Era and the steady decline in the Meta Era.

During this analysis, I will explain how Shadow went from being a likeable, well written and relatable character in the 2000's, to a truly detestable character in the 2010's.

I will focus mainly on Shadow's characterization in the games, since I haven't watched the cartoons in a long time (I will make it a point to rewatch them all eventually though), and my knowledge of the comics is limited at best, but from what I've read of the comics, Pre-Reboot Archie Shadow's characterization is really good, Reboot Archie Shadow is just as much of a piece of shit as the Boom/Pontaff version of the character is, and IDW Shadow, while he's not exactly as bad as he is in Reboot-Archie/Meta Era/Boom, I still hate how stupid he can be sometimes, and that really showed in the Zombot arc.

I haven't watched Sonic X in a long time, but from what I remember, Shadow's portrayal in the show was similar to that of his game counterpart. As for Boom Shadow... I'll explain my stance on him later.

Shadow's Four Game Arc

Shadow is the only character in the Sonic series I know of whose character arc happened over the course of four games, starting with SA2 and ending in 06.

In SA2, Shadow believes he is destined to exact revenge on humanity for killing his best friend, Maria, but then the memory of Maria's true wish (to protect humanity) made him realize the error of his ways, so he sacrifices himself to save humanity from the ARK falling towards Earth.

He wasn't the villain of this story, he was the misunderstood hero. He wasn't edgy, he was just traumatized, depressed, and didn't really know how to make friends. Shadow has been through A LOT of trauma, such as losing his best friend Maria, and nearly dying when he fell from the Space Colony ARK. His backstory and redemption arc in SA2 remain one of the powerful, well-written and emotional narratives in the entire Sonic franchise in my opinion.

Due to fan demand, SEGA brought Shadow back in Sonic Heroes, albeit with amnesia. He teams up with Rouge and Omega in hopes of learning the truth about his past. This isn't really an arc, but the setup for an arc in the next game. His close friendship with Rouge and Omega is definitely a highlight though.

Shadow's characterization in his solo game is overhated and greatly misunderstood in my opinion. Sure, he did act out of character at times, but in this case, it was understandable, since he had amnesia and his mental health worsened after he left Team Dark at the end of Heroes. In the canon ending of the game, Shadow regains his memories and saves the planet from the Black Arms, then he comes to terms with his past and decides to start a new future.

Contrary to popular belief, The Meta Era Shadow isn't based off of this game, but rather a flanderized version on the Internet that came from this game. In the actual game however, Shadow is nothing like his Meta Era counterpart. His characterization in ShTH is so greatly misunderstood, that it spawned the worst version of the character we could have possibly gotten. I wish more people could understand Shadow's characterization in his solo game as well as I do.

Shadow's characterization in 06 is widely regarded as one of his best portrayals in the entire series, and it's not hard to see why. They absolutely perfected him in this game. At one point, Mephiles taunts Shadow with his future, telling him that humanity will one day turn on him, but Shadow doesn't care because he had already reconciled with his past in the previous game, and he has since chosen to move forward and stay focused on the present, thus reinforcing the theme of 06's narrative. And the ending is just perfect, showing us how much Shadow has grown and changed and it shows us the one thing that will never change about him is his will to fight.

In conclusion, I absolutely love Shadow's characterization in 06 because of how much it's really helped to develop Shadow's character more, and it truly ended his amazing four game arc on a high note.

Shadow's Characterization In Other Adventure/Dark Era Games

Before we discuss the downfall of Shadow's character in the 2010's, here are a few honorable mentions:

I don't remember Sonic Battle's story all that well to be honest, but from I do remember, Shadow was written similar to how he was in SA2.

His characterization in the Sonic Rivals duology was fairly decent for the most part, and I liked his relationship with Metal Sonic in Rivals 2.

Sir Lancelot in Black Knight is a well written character, and he certainly acted more like Shadow than any of the recent portrayals did, but I count him as an AU counterpart of Shadow, not Shadow himself.

Shadow's Character Assassination

Shadow's character derailment began in Sonic Free Riders when Kirk Thornton started voicing him, and it only got worse when Pontaff started writing him in every game from Colors onwards. At this point, Shadow became EXACTLY what the Internet thought he was: an edgy, arrogant prick who likes to call Sonic "faker", thinks he's better than everyone else, and hates friendship.

He didn't really do much in Colors DS and Generations, so I don't have much to say about his characterization in those games. However, his line in Generations really makes me cringe, because it just demonstrates how much Kirk Thornton sucked as Shadow:

The Sonic Boom games, as well as the cartoon of the same name, basically took all of Meta Era Shadow's worst traits and cranked them up to eleven, to the point of making him an outright villain. Boom Shadow is a one dimensional high school bully who straight-up INSULTS Sonic and his loyalty to his friends, even though the Shadow I know values friendship and is a hero with a dark, tragic past.

This bastardized version of Shadow is the ANTITHESIS of Shadow's character, and one of the many reasons why I hate the Sonic Boom universe as a whole. My anger at how badly they fucked up his character still persists to this day. I know Sonic Boom is meant to be an alternate universe separate from the main series, but that's not a valid excuse to turn Shadow into an one dimensional edgelord for literally NO reason. If you're going to drastically alter a character's personality for a different universe, at least give them a good reason to be that way. Can Shadow be an evil asshole in an alternate universe? Yes, but only if he is given a good reason to be, but Boom Shadow is just a high school bully without a reason to be that way.

Out of all of Shadow's portrayals in the mainline games, Sonic Forces is the easily the worst. He basically murdered Infinite's entire squad, and then he proceeds to beat up Infinite and make fun of him, calling him "worthless", which Infinite somehow interprets as Shadow calling him "weak".

This is VERY out of character for Shadow. You would think that Shadow of all people would know that killing the only people you have a close relationship with will not end well. And because of what happened to Maria, I don't believe he would ever do such a thing. Overall, I see Shadow killing Infinite's squad and then making fun of Infinite as character assassination. Infinite suffering trauma from that makes sense, but Shadow being the cause... No.

Shadow's portrayal in Team Sonic Racing wasn't any better, as he only cared about winning against Sonic in a race to prove he's better than him.

Also, there's this petty argument between Sonic and Shadow that drags on for far too long (ten levels to be precise!). Basically, the argument was: Sonic suspects Shadow is working for Eggman (even though he hasn't done that since SA2, but ok), Shadow says he's just here to race (fair), Sonic taunts him, then they race (seems somewhat normal so far), but then they just argue over it afterwards? WTF?

In another cutscene, Silver was like, "Oh no, Eggman's working with Dodon Pa" and Tails goes, "Oh no! Can't do anything right now though, Sonic and Shadow are having a petty argument. Maybe later". Like, what?

They even yell at Rouge at one point too for interrupting them, that's how petty it is. I mean, what the hell? Aren't Shadow and Rouge supposed to be friends? What happened to their close relationship in the Adventure/Dark Era titles?

Well, according to SEGA, Shadow, Rouge and Omega are no longer friends; now they're just co-workers who, as a team, are semi functional at best. What the hell, SEGA?

A big part of what made Team Dark great in the first place was their close friendship with one another, and how much they love and care for each other despite their hard pasts. Team Dark without their close-knit friendship and introvert bonding doesn't feel right to me, and it really sucks that Ian Flynn won't allow Shadow to have friends because of SEGA's BS mandates.

My Final Thoughts

Overall, I believe Shadow is one of the most misunderstood Sonic characters ever. He was a hero at best in Heroes and 06, and an anti-hero in misguided situations like his solo game and SA2. He was never a full on villain until Kirk Thornton started voicing him and Pontaff started writing him. It's as if SEGA just looked at the memes made by people who don't even like Shadow (or the Sonic franchise in general), took them at face value, and made that his entire character. Honestly, I feel sorry for newer fans who were only exposed to the Boom/Pontaff version of Shadow and never got to see the real Shadow. He was once a great, deep character with a beautiful four game arc (SA2, Heroes, ShTH and 06) and an amazing personality and motive, now he's just a brooding, friendless edgelord with little to no personality beyond "fuck all of you, I wanna win, friendship is stupid". I wish newer fans could have access to the older games, so they can experience all these great, powerful and emotional storylines and to see Shadow for what he really is: a selfless hero who protects humanity and cares about his friends and people who side with him. He stands thoroughly by his own beliefs and goals, he does what’s right, and he’s arguably one of the most sympathetic characters in the franchise if you really think about it.

SEGA really needs to get Shadow's character right in the next game. Otherwise, pop culture will continue to believe those memes, which will result in more people failing to understand Shadow as a character. Shadow is a good person deep down, which is why it always annoys me to see him portrayed as that stereotypical edgy persona that some people see him as. The Shadow I know speaks and acts with reason and defends what he holds dear. I really hope that Shadow will go back to the way he was in the 2000's, even if the possibility of that happening is pretty much slim to none. Is there hope that Shadow will ever go back to how he used to be before Pontaff ruined him? Maybe. Only time will tell.

Way to conveniently leave out a wealth of Shadow's scenes from the same games you yourself listed because acknowledging them would go against your narrative.

• Shadow was basically a cocky bastard in both the Rivals games and towards the end of his own episode in Sonic Battle. Plus, if his lines in the Riders games are any indication, he's still just as arrogant as ever.

• Heroes has Shadow literally talking down to Team Sonic, and (in true Sonic Heroes fashion) starts a fight with them when they're both after what they believe is Eggman.

• Shadow's self-titled game has a number of moments where it really seems the dude's lost his sense of self-preservation along with his memory. Need I mention...

• Any good scenes in 06 are massively undercut by Sonic 06... being Sonic 06. A few "good" scenes doesn't absolve that game's plot from being terrible (especially when every character is an idiot).

• The Rivals games had pretty much everyone (Shadow included) being as competitive with each other as possible, just like in Heroes. Rivals 2 has Shadow barking orders at Metal just to stop N'Eggman from waking up Totally-Not-Iblis. Also, there's the scene where where all Sonic does is ask Shadow for more information about what's going on. Shadow's response? To beat the shit out of him, of course.

Even when the stakes are rising, Shadow and Sonic are still butting heads; trying to outdo the other.

• Literally, the only Sonic game Pontaff actually wrote themselves was Lost World... a game where Shadow is literally nowhere to be seen. Stop capping.

• Free Riders, much like a lot of Sonic racing games, is a very lighthearted low-stakes affair. Shadow's not a villain in that game either. Again, stop capping.

• Kirk's voice has absolutely nothing to do with Shadow's characterization. At all. Your obvious hard-on for the previous voice actors is obvious.

• SEGA themselves have been portraying Shadow as an arrogant dickhead ever since his inception, really. Hell, even Ian Flynn intended to have Shadow be characterized as such from the very beginning (contrary to what Sonic News Network would have you believe).

• Shadow, contrary to what the hive-mind has deluded itself into believing, is an introvert for all intents and purposes. He doesn't show his emotions in a conventional manner, nor is he a chatterbox (see also Colors DS and Sonic Forces).

• Like I've said numerous times, TSR is no different from a LOT of racing games in the franchise. Hell, in Rivals 2, Shadow tells Rouge that N'Eggman is after the Chaos Emeralds, but then Rouge goes back on Sjadow trusting her with said information and refuses to disclose who exactly hired Rouge to collect the things to begin with. Your obvious tunnel-vision is obvious.

• For the last time...

In conclusion, you're full of shit, just like everyone else who unironically misuses the "Meta Era" terminology.

#spud's inbox #sonic series #shadow the hedgehog

[ystrike1]

Passion - By Yuji (7/10)

I really liked this one. I really did, but it got too stupid. The main character is likeable. The love triangle is ok. The "military" setting is fun at first, but everything stops making sense around chapter thirty. This had alot of potential. I'm disappointed but it's still enjoyable. Just don't be surprised if you get confused and lose interest.

*the translations available aren't great, so the names I have are probably incorrect.

Tay isn't special. He's a gay guy that got bullied in the military. He had to be discharged early because the bullying was so vicious. The Korean armed forces are very conservative, so poor Tay didn't stand a chance. He's having trouble finding a job now, and he lives alone.

Then Tay's uncle adopts him, and he also recruits him. His new uncle/dad works for an important government organization. Tay joins because it's a great job reference. If he lasts six months he'll be able to get a job anywhere in the world. That's how exclusive this organization is.

His brother is a famous genius who is away on vacation at the moment. Tay is not rich, but his family is very elite. His brother designs weapons of war. He's also a brilliant scientist and he started selling weapon blueprints when he was twelve. Tay thinks he's normal because his family is so crazy. He's a pretty good fighter, and he can handle emergency situations well. That's why his uncle wants him to join the organization.

Tay falls in love with a man named Xinlu after he arrives at the secret underground military base. He thinks Xinlu is adorable. He loves small, cute men. Xinlu seems easygoing at first, and the two men get along well. They don't rush right into a relationship. They go on dates and get to know eachother. Xinlu works in the administrative department, so Tay assumes he isn't a fighter.

Xinlu is actually a very possessive combat expert who was at the top of his class. His family made him join the administrative department because they're rich. Corrupt rich. Mega rich. Xinlu is part of one of the richest families in China. Lots of rich, crazy, army brat guys are part of this government fraction.

Tay was clueless. Xinlu's violent side shocks him.

Xinlu is not the final boss. An agent from Europe named Ray is. He's also fabulously rich and he's even more violent. He doesn't become obsessed with Tay right away. He toys with the man. When Xinlu and Tay start dating he actively tries to ruin their relationship. Tay saves Ray multiple times, even though the bloody assassin definitely deserves to die. Ray is a complete killing machine. Tay is not Ray's type, but Tay's kind attitude changes his mind. Seriously. If Tay avoided Ray like everybody else he'd be fine, but the guy is just too darn nice.

Ray bathes in gore every other day, but he also likes to read books. Tay also enjoys books. They kind of start a little bookclub. They get along great when Ray isn't stabbing people. Tay is kinda too dumb.

Ray tortures people multiple times in front of him, but Tay still acts friendly around him. They still talk about books, and then Ray starts flirting. Why wouldn't he? Tay is literally the only friend he has. Ray usually just uses men for sex, but he gets along with Tay so well. Tay is so fun. He's the best possible partner and the only partner that won't murder his homicidal ass for the greater good.

Ray kisses Xinlu to piss Tay off. Cracks start to form in their relationship. Xinlu sleeps with Ray to try and keep him away from Tay. He uses his body because he's really desperate to have Tay. Tay finds out and he stops trusting Xinlu, because nobody normal would use their body as a bribe. Xinlu becomes more lustful and possessive, so Tay starts liking him less.

Ray is worse than Xinlu, but he's smarter. He sneaks in. He doesn't say he loves Tay. He flirts. He needles Xinlu to make him angry and unbearably insecure. He makes Tay notice all of the flaws in his boyfriend. Then Tay gets promoted and he becomes Ray's subordinate. Then Ray successfully cuts Tay and Xinlu apart. They aren't very compatible anyway. Xinlu kinda has anger issues that Tay can't ignore. Again, Ray is worse than Xinlu. He's just smart enough to hide it while he seduces Tay.

Then the plot goes downhill. Trust me. Tay is a really charming guy, but then the author throws in a plotline about luck powers. What? Like Tay is supposed to be supernaturally lucky. What? That's a shitty twist. Tay has been trying his best to survive. He also got bullied for years. How the hell is he supernaturally lucky? Ugh. The luck thing is also very boring and it comes out of nowhere. The military setting stops making sense as well.

Sigh.

#yandere #male yandere #yandere male #yandere boy #recommendations #recs #rec #recommended #webtoon #yaoi #Passion

[sweetmoons]

My opinions on the last 2 episodes but I'm a Will Byers enjoyer first and a human being second

HUGE Spoilers obviously

Okay so I'm gonna organize all of my thoughts into seperate paragraphs. First I'm gonna talk about pretty much everything that isn't Will's character then I'm gonna move on to all the Will related things because lets be honest thats what my whole blog is about.

The big sad stuff:

Let me just say uhhhhh fuck everyone that had any hand in writing Eddie's death and putting Max in a coma I hope your pillow is always warm. I went into the last 2 episodes already pretty sad about other outside stuff and I actually just cried for like 30 minutes straight because of that, my fragile mental state can't take this. I don't wanna be the "I told you so" guy but I had a feeling they were gonna kill off Eddie because for some reason each season they add at least 1 long lasting extremely likeable character then kill them off before the next season and I had a feeling Eddie was definitely gonna be the target for that cause he was just such a genuinely likeable character and chrissy wasn't around long enough for her to count as their mandatory character kill. Now is making new main characters just to ultimately kill them immediately really good writing? No. I really don't feel like killing Eddie was necessary at all, it actually didn't add much except for really depressing scenes which people will definitely be talking about so it's great for publicity but isn't really that good in terms of story telling. I truly believe in my entire heart that if Eddie lived after the scene with the bats it would've made his character even better and actually gave that moment more meaning then it currently has. If he survived it would have been a core character building moment where we see he's selfless and how he has now truly vowed to not "run away" and that could've come into play with his future storyline, now we just learned all of that for seemingly nothing and it won't really have much story impact at all outside of Dustin maybe having some flashback scenes like Nancy does for Barb occasionally. I also felt like his death scene felt kind of empty? Like absolutely don't get me wrong it was acted beautifully and I sobbed like a baby, again I just don't think it was even necessary to happen in the first place. I understand he did it to stall the bats but we see anyways that the bats didn't even pose that much of a threat as they all completely dropped dead once the main source of the hive mind was attacked. Obviously that's from a viewers perspective because Eddie didn't know that would happen so it makes sense why he would go after them, just as a viewer seeing the bats drop dead nearly immediately because of a different outside source he had absolutely nothing to do with kinda makes his sacrifice feel in vain.

Now Max's death/coma(?) I have extremely mixed feelings about. Although I hate seeing her get hurt at all because she is one of my favorite characters in the entire show I think her entire storyline about being involved with vecna was amazingly executed. Everything she did felt like it had meaning and truly changed the entire path of the story there's just one thing that's bugging me about it though. How did she come back to life? Don't get me wrong I'm glad she's okay (i think?) I would be devastated if she permanently died I am just so confused of what El did that essentially revived her. Like that is a huge power that came out of essentially no where and for no cost at all, I was thinking at first that El might've been giving Max her power to live or something and that would've been a huge new revelation but we see that El still has her powers at the end so what she actually did in that moment is completely beyond me. The only thing I can think of is that she somehow jump started her heart but I feel like that could've definitely been explained more if it is what happened.

Will

Hooooooo boy do I have a lot to say. First I'm just gonna talk about his overall character. Obviously I love him and Noah as always acted beautifully, I just feel like he was written to pretty much be Mike's therapist and pine over him from a far. Besides the scene with Johnathan and the end scene where we see he still has a connection to vecna none of his scenes really felt like they were about him, they always felt about Mike. Instead of his feelings for Mike portraying more about Will's character like his inner struggle with being queer in the 80s or how important Mike is to him, his feelings came off more like a reason for him to be Mike's motivator to get his shit together FOR EL which is tragically depressing.

Lets talk Byler. One of the most important scenes for Will's character in those episodes was him giving Mike the painting, we see there how Will truly feels about Mike but he portrays it as if it's actually El's feelings for Mike. That scene was so heart breaking since you can see how sad it made Will to not be able to be honest and how he started silently sobbing, it really hurt. But the fact that the reason Mike even gets his shit together enough to tell Eleven he loves her is because of what Will says to him in that scene feels fucked up. The previous Byler scenes in this season all felt like they had a strong impact on how he and Mike interact and value one another but because of the whole I love you speech Mike gave it feels like one of the most important scenes for Wills character was just to pretty much give Mike what he needed. Also with that I love you speech can you just imagine how much that hurt for Will to hear? What he said while spilling out his heart was pretty much thrown back at him by the person he loves FOR ANOTHER PERSON. Also Mike saying his life began the day he found El in the forest is a painful parallel to him telling Will the best decision he's ever made is speaking to him on the swings and I won't forgive whoever wrote that speech Mike gave El.

Now I feel it's important we talk about queer baiting and representation regarding Will given how this turned out. Do I think they queer baited us? Honestly I don't know. I feel like the answer at this current moment and time before the last season comes out is yes. Will's feelings are never directly addressed at all yet being a big selling point of the season to a lot of queer viewers and Wills sexuality is never even discussed. I was hoping that the scene between John and Will could've been Will's coming out scene and it was framed as if it was implying that Johnathan was telling Will that he loves him even if he's gay but no one ever even says the word gay or anything that shows black and white "this character Is queer". I know to most people with 2 brain cells it's obvious that the subtext of these scenes are showing Will is not straight but the fact that homophobic people can still argue that he's straight because of the fact it wasn't blatantly stated is extremely frustrating. But the reason I say it also may not be queer baiting is because if AND ONLY IF they're going to directly address Will's sexuality and feelings in season 5. I can understand if they put a lot if effort into Will's character season 5 that this could've been a slow burn build up, but the ball is really now in their court so it's up to them if they fumble it or not.

Season 5 hopes

I want Wills character to actually be used to its fullest potential. I want him to finally get fully fleshed out and get to show just how important he is in all of this. I have always been a Will Byers has powers truther so I think it'd be amazing if he actually played a vital role in taking down Vecna and the Mind Flayer. I also think it'd be a really cool parallel if while he figures out more about himself and his sexuality he also discovers more about his powers. It'd make him feel like he's finally being seen as an important character. I'd also like to see Mike's character get more fleshed out, right now it feels like his entire character just revolves around El and that's incredibly frustrating since they're both great character without one another.

Conclusion

I really liked this season but the last 2 episodes felt more like duds unfortunately. I do have decent hopes for season 5 though since they'll be able to see fan feedback and see where they could've done significantly better. I'm really tired because it's nearly 9am and I have not slept so I'm sorry if any of this didn't make much sense or sounds repetitive, I may add some more thoughts later.

#stranger things #stranger things spoilers #st #st spoilers #will byers #mike wheeler #eleven #eleven hopper #max mayfield #eddie munson #byler #byeler

[orionsangel86]

Figured I'd continue this as an ask so we don't keep debating on that poor person's post! Anyways, regarding Neil's edgelord tendencies:

What also throws me off about The Sandman Companion's rape interpretation of both Morpheus' marriage to Calliope and his relationship with Nada (it states that the women's story must be WORSE not better, than the version men tell, and pretty much the only way it could get worse is rape...) is that Neil... isn't shy about SAYING "rape" in the text. He doesn't hide what Madoc does to Calliope, nor what the book version of Desire did to Unity (which thankfully got changed to consensual in the show). So why this roundabout stuff with Morpheus? If the character being evil and abusive is supposed to be a core character trait, why relegate it to an obscure, if still canon, guide text?

My hope is that these particular edgelord interpretations are the work of the other co-author, Hy Bender. Alternately, I wonder if Neil was trying to retcon his own work at the time. I have no idea how the grimdark "Morpheus killing himself was good, actually" ending was received at the time, but I could easily see a situation where, like now, the fans look at the ending and go "yikes". Perhaps Neil was doing his best to cover and go "um well ACTUALLY you should be glad he finally offed himself, see how horrible he was!" even when it went against his original intent for those previous issues.

Like now, he might be able to look back and realize the nasty implications. But I could easily see younger-Neil as an author who just released their long-planned ending to a text scrambling for cover when it doesn't get the expected reception.

That's a TOTAL GUESS though. Like I said, I have zero idea how people felt about the ending in the 90s.

Ooof every new thing you tell me about that book makes me shudder and recoil.

Honestly I have no idea what Neil's intentions were with signing off on those interpretations, and I still struggle with understanding his intentions for the ending of the Sandman, other than the obvious being a "what NOT to do if you are feeling depressed and incapable of improving your life", which sometimes gets a bit lost amongst all the misery and angst with zero pay off throughout the Kindly Ones. Do we know what the initial reception was to the ending of the Sandman when it was first released though? Because hasn't it always been critically acclaimed highly praised and considered one of the all time best graphic novels ever published? It's Neil's Magnum Opus.

I think we have both now mentioned more than a few times that the 90s were a totally different era with a totally different mentality to today. A lot of the stuff in the Sandman comics are eyebrow raising because the different mentalities of the era are so obvious to me. The general portrayal of women in particular is pretty um... outdated and on my first read of the Calliope issue I visibly recoiled at that panel where she is raped by Madoc - because I legit had never seen something like that depicted so graphically before in that artform. But you are right to point out that if Neil wanted Morpheus to be viewed as an abuser and a rapist, then he would have just put it in the comics. Desire is a rapist, and yet people still love Desire.

The show is a much better indication of where Neil's intentions currently lie. The removal of any graphic scenes of sexual violence towards women was absolutely the right decision. Dream is a far more likeable character in the show (and I still like comic!Dream even with his somewhat cold demeanor!) I could scream all day about the absolutely brilliant changes in the Calliope episode which come across so romantic and soft that fans are legit shipping them together (which I don't think anyone can possibly do with their comic counterparts). I think the change in the Dolls House to Desire and Unity's whole situation also has huge implications for Desire's character which fascinates me. In the comic it is literally a one time thing where Desire rapes her while she sleeps and probably never considers her again outside of keeping an eye on their child as part of their scheme. The show however indicates that Desire took the time to get to know Unity, to woo her, and to enter into an apparently long term relationship with her in the Dreaming.

I 100% believe they are going to change the story in Tales in the Sand and I think that they left it out of season 1 because it's going to be a huge indication on how the show will deviate from the comics further. I hope they do away with all that stupid virginity stuff (because I'm sorry but shoving a rock up your vag to break your hymen is NOT losing your virginity and that particular part always baffles me. Dream doesn't care about virginity? Well good for him but like, she's still a virgin anyway? Otherwise you are legit stating that this poor girl lost her virginity to a slightly sharp dick shaped rock? Come on people I thought this was obvious? There are better ways to indicate to your audience that your main character doesn't have a virginity kink. Sorry for ranting about that but it really pissed me off when I first read it because it was SO STUPID).

Basically, whatever the Sandman Companion stated is gonna be forgotten about completely when the show releases its new episodes and we see show!Dream be even more the romantic hero. I think we can be confident that any modern interpretations will do away with these 90s edgelord interpretations and thats the best thing we can ultimately hope for. I won't let it tarnish my opinion of comic!Dream though, because there is more than enough evidence in the comics that contradicts some bullshit interpretation that makes no sense.

#the sandman #dream of the endless #the sandman companion #the sandman comics #sandman comic spoilers #rape mention for ts #sandman meta #sandman speculation #asks

[cringeyvanillamilk]

Not really a request but I just want to know why you like Black Clover and who is your favorite character?

Hello! It’s nice to meet you! Those are great questions! I’ve actually mentioned my favorite characters in an older post, but I’d like to reiterate in this more recent post since many chapters have passed since then.

In regards to why I like Black Clover, there are many reasons why I find this anime so enjoyable. If I were to summarize my reasons into three points, it would be the attention and care for multiple characters, the likeability of the main protagonist, and the overarching themes of the story.

Before I got into Black Clover, there was a lot of negative reception of the show. Many criticized the anime for being so “basic” and just a “Naruto rip-off”. This made me very curious whether what people said were true or just dramatic and so I decided to check Black Clover out. And to my surprise, Black Clover was a fun watch! On the surface, I can understand why people viewed the anime as a typical shounen given the tropes that were used. We got the loud protagonist, the rival cool guy, tsunderes, fanservice characters, and many other tropes that are common to see in anime. But what makes Black Clover differ from the rest is how they simply give attention and layers to these characters. Tabata did something as simple as give each character a moment to shine and even backstory to explain why they are the way they are. For example, we could easily have a character like Vanessa be there for just fanservice and maybe a little bit of support, but instead we get to see her team up with the main character in battle, get her own arc in the anime, and become a huge asset to the squad. Vanessa wasn’t the only one who got this treatment. There are plenty of other characters who got the spotlight and showcase a lot of their motivation and development. The fact that this becomes consistent for most of the cast and throughout the story is honestly impressive. Even the typical beach or hot springs episode ends up being significant to the plot. What I like about Black Clover is that it doesn't try anything new in the Shounen genre, but instead takes inspiration from its foundation and makes it better. 

Now when it comes to main characters, Asta has to be one of the best main characters in Shounen. He also happens to be my most favorite character in Black Clover and for many reasons. Many complained about Asta being “annoying” and “generic”, and to that I say “You must be watching a different anime”. Asta has to be the most charming MC I’ve seen in a long time! There are many traits that Asta holds that makes him distinct from other main leads. That being his bond with children, fairness towards most villains, and selfless goals and aspirations. I don’t think I’ve seen another MC that is so natural with children like Asta is. It’s honestly very endearing! Another thing that I like about Asta as a main lead is how he deals with the antagonists of the show. He is very balanced in how he serves justice for most of the story. By giving his opponent a chance to be held accountable for their actions, he avoids taking extreme actions such as killing an opponent or just forgiving them because of their tragic backstory. Asta will not be swayed by your tears! He will make you pay for what you’ve done, whether you like it or not. And that’s cool of him to do! And lastly, the most significant part of Asta’s character is his selfless goals and aspirations. Despite being a peasant orphan and facing discrminiation wherever he goes, he refuses to be jaded. Instead, he works for a better future not just for himself, but for his family in the orphanage. A common critique to Asta is how he’s just like Naruto, but while Naruto initially wanted to be Hokage to prove himself, Asta wanted to be Wizard King to prove that no matter where you come from, you can achieve anything. And that’s what makes those two different in my eyes. No hate towards Naruto, but I prefer Asta’s ambitions and dream. His positive view of life and genuine work ethics are very inspiring to me. I think because I connect well with Asta that I view him as one of the best things about Black Clover and my most favorite character.

And lastly the overarching themes of Black Clover are very optimistic and relatable. I like how they made it very clear that you are capable of overcoming many obstacles that come your way. You can’t really change the past, but you can definitely work for a better future. And this theme really hits home to me. The message of hope and hard work is what makes this anime very enjoyable for me to watch!

Overall, there are plenty of reasons to love Black Clover! The characters, the story, the openings, and visuals-- they are all pretty top tier! Not to say that Black Clover is perfect, but I think that even its weaknesses are overshadowed by its strengths!

#black clover #answered #sorry for the long text! #I really wanted to explain how much i love the anime!! #It's my second favorite anime of all time for a reason!! #If you want a simple summary #I like Black Clover because of it's character writing #because of the main character #and because of the positive themes of the anime #Asta is clearly my favorite character in the show lmao #But hey thanks for the ask!

[twooshort]

My disaster BG3 playthrough

Of all the small things, Mol ended my first playthrough. (spoilers kept after the break)

So I began play as Lae'zel, because I initially thought that would be the only way I'd have her in my party. Buuut, I also wanted to limit my choices a bit, so as to not be tempted by too likeable characters. I wasn't going to juggle a camp of 6+ people in my party when I had a clear goal in mind.

(I don't know why, but I guess I'm stupid.)

First off the bat, I "knew" that Shadowheart (bae) had to be in the party due to the artifact (not strictly true it seems), but what the hell, I can be her BFF despite her initial aversion to gith. I'm sure there's no massive gith/Shadowheart plot point later, right?

So the creche was... interesting. I tried playing the lojalist, but even the Guardian seemed to be on the up and up about Vlaakith, who could've guessed? Voss??

Also, I didn't need no stinking rogue, I knew the game was about to drown me in lockpicks and disarm kits, while I could get an astral skill bonus to dex skills on demand. My plan for Astarion was gonna be steak, except I sort of fumbled that biting scene and instead just told him to leave? No standing over his corpse in camp, but maybe he'd show up again later in Baldur's Gate itself. I'll never know.

As for the frontline, my team of Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Gale and Wyll needed no more muscle, so Karlach had to go. Wylls fancy new clothes were *not* worth it. I also triggered the burning inn without realising it was a timed event, so while I dealt with Zhentarim errands Wyll suddenly says that the inn must've burned down by now and his father with it?! My man, you got to tell me these things, I had an artistic slave to buy.

After some more misadventures, like defeating a golem without hammers and having most of the Grymforge denizens kill themselves, I made it to Last Light and who jumps to my rescue, but Mol?! I hadn't even met the little brat because I, um, didn't kill some harpies fast enough so the kid couldn't tell me a passphrase. I did rescue another kid though, mostly because I hate Kagha's face and didn't want to kill the tieflings, so maybe that was fine enough for Mol. (If only she wasn't playing a game with Raphael and if only I didn't say some things which sounded like encouragement.)

That did get me thinking though, like what if my actions had consequences for the story and maybe more characters would have more to say about some things?

And maybe I needed to play a little character so I could explore all those tight spaces. And maybe I was seeing a few too many gifs on tumblr about companions currently unavailable to me. So I opened the character creator to mull ut over, clicked random character a few times, and got a halfling ranger with The. Most. Kissable. Lips. Clearly the game has better plans for me. And this time I'm going to earn Mol's trust!

#baldur's gate 3 #my playthrough #lae'zel #mol