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criminalmutantsins · 3 years

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My Top 10 Favorite Ducktales Characters

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NO. 10 Hewey Duck

At number 10 is Huey!

Hewey has been my least favorite triplet for most of the series; it by no means he’s a bad character or any of the sorts, Huey is more down to earth compared to other characters. It’s hard to say much about Hewey other than how he’s a sweet, fun character I’m glad is around.

His development in season three was good, though the weakest of the three. Kinda half-baked and rushed, as if the creators thought, “we have to add some Huey development since this is his season.” With Dewey and Louie’s, it felt like their respective seasons revolved around them instead of the other way around. The only episode I really think perfectly gave Huey development and at the same time move the main plot forward fluidly was the “Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!” with the whole Huey vs. Violet rivalry. Y’know what also sucks. Huey wasn’t even that integral to the finale. That annoys me to no end.

Now, I’m going to end this with positive notes.

What got Huey into the list was his sweet nature and how integral he is to the team’s balance. Every team needs someone who represents order and Huey is just that. Plus, his innocent love for romance is so cute. I love the episode where him and Webby were setting a date up for Fenton and Gandra.

NO. 9 Scrooge McDuck

Scrooge is probably the most interesting protagonist I’ve ever watched. Unlike most of them, he’s more of an anti-hero than a pure hero like Steven Universe or Luz from Owl House.

I don’t really have much to say about him because I don’t love him as much as the characters above him. He probably has the best development- Lena’s rivaling his really well. In the beginning, Scrooge was a grumpy miser but now, thanks to the kids, his heart is softer and more open. His cheapness is annoying, but the good qualities overthrow the bad.

Scrooge most likely would’ve been higher in the list if “The Life & Crimes of Scrooge McDuck” didn’t happen- or at least occurred in season two instead since humility and hard work was the main theme. The writers went overboard showing the audience how bad of a person Scrooge was in the past, especially with him taking advantage of the poor villagers and leaving them in their states-without even helping them. This episode downgraded Scrooge pretty badly.

NO. 8 Donald Duck

Although on the lower half of the list, I still hold so much love and respect for this version of Donald. He’s such a massive improvement from his previous iteration. The creators made him kind and strong-willed but kept his anger issues. Though, they turned that flaw into a more comedic and positive aspect of Donald since he uses that intense anger to protect his family. Speaking of that, his relationship with the triplets is absolutely adorable. He loves and protects them like a great father, and I’m still a bit peeved that characters didn’t acknowledge that more. Instead, their relationship was sidelined and pretty much haphazardly... replaced-I don’t know if that’s the right word- with May and June.

Another thing that annoyed me was Donald’s voice treatment. The creators pretty much portrayed his speaking problem as a joke, which is terrible. I hope to goodness that children with speaking troubles don’t take those “jokes” to heart because there is nothing wrong with having a different voice. It’s also surprising how much characters mostly don’t understand him when I can seventy percent of the time. This complaint is more towards season one since that was the season where most of the jokes happened.

Anyways, I hope this Donald will start a new beginning for the next iterations of him. A nice guy who has anger issues but means well. Same with him and Daisy’s relationship-another massive improvement the writers did. They are such a great couple from the episodes we got with them and this dynamic should continue.

NO. 7 Webby Vanderquack

Another character who was massively improved was the great Webby Vanderquack!

In the original series, she was a boring damsel-in-distress with no personality-pretty much like the earliest Disney princesses. The ‘17 creators did such a great job molding reboot Webby into a character who can kill you with kindness or impressive fighting skills. This pink-loving queen is probably the sweetest character I’ve ever met; I just want to hug her.

I love her optimism and caring personality. She was able to change Lena for the better and not give up on her when almost everyone did. Webby is the best friend you can have.

While I’m not fully on board with the Webby finale twist, I really liked how her interest in the McDucks played some big part of the finale. Do I wish it was in different circumstances? Yes, but I’m still glad Webby got an important moment for herself. That interrogation scene was very emotional; seeing Beakley fully breakdown like she did was shocking and really set the mood of how pivotal that moment. I literally almost cried seeing Webby so heartbroken by her grandmother’s lies- this pink baby deserves all the love in the world. At least she found out the truth and gained a parental figure in her life.

NO. 6 Louie Duck

I’ve gotta admit; I did not like Louie that much at the start of the show. Greedy and selfish characters usually don’t get my love, but season two changed. A lot more depth was added to him such as his insecurities and anxieties. I struggle with these issues and it was nice to see a character show that as well. One of my favorite arcs was Louie’s trouble connecting with Della; it was realistic and not rushed. While watching this season, I was often having trouble connecting with people, even old friends. Sort of having someone experiencing them alongside me made me feel less insecure and lonely.

His development was really good too, from beginning to end. At first, Louie was someone who was willing to execute every angle no matter how much it could hurt his loved ones. Yet, he grew to be a humbler person who now knows the consequences of his angles. A favorite episode of mine is “The Richest Duck in the World” because of this development. Seeing Louie clean the Bombei’s shoes with Scrooge made my heart melt.

What lowered him down to number eight was season three. There were a few episodes that backtracked Louie’s development like “The Trickening” and “The Fight for Castle McDuck” episodes. He was a real jerk towards Huey for no reason. It frustrated me enough to affect this list. And I also prefer other characters more.

NO. 5 Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera

You can’t expect me to not put this quirky and adorable dork in the top five! He’s one of the best boys in the show. Him being voiced by the great Lin-Manuel Miranda does add some bonus points- you can tell I’m a big Hamilton fan.

Like Webby, Fenton was drastically improved. He became this sweet, scatterbrained scientist who only wants to help people. I instantly fell in love with him. And it got even better when Fenton became Gizmoduck- my second favorite DT hero. He deserved so much more screen time, especially in season 3; “Beaks in the Shell” was not a good enough episode for Fenton and his relationship with Gandra. There should’ve been more. The finale moments he had was not satisfying enough, particularly him and DW sort of team up. It was rushed.

If a Darkwing Duck reboot takes place in the ’17 universe then Fenton must be a major character- at least show up in ten episodes a season. A Gizmoduck and Darkwing crossover is essential, and I will riot if it that doesn’t happen. And more Fandra, my fifth -maybe fourth- favorite ship.

I also had a big crush on Fenton back in season one. You can’t help but love him this sweety pie. This pretty much influenced thirty percent of his placement.

NO. 4 Launchpad McQuack

This muscular dummy is amazing! He brings a sense of comedy and light to every episode he is in. It’s infectious as h*ll!

I liked Launchpad instantly. He’s kind and wants the best for people. Optimistic characters are almost the best characters. They are great reminders of how there are still many good people in the world. Whenever I’m down and watch Ducktales, LP makes me feel a lot better with his dumb yet endearing moments. My favorite jokes are literally LP sending Beakley an invitation saying not to come and when he tried to make small talk with Gosalyn at the window; I can never stop laughing at those moments.

There are times when Launchpad’s dumbness irks me, but his good qualities overthrow that. Though, I wish he wasn’t used too much as comedy relief; LP had the potential to gain more development than what he got. I’ll give an example. Learning about his family would’ve been great to know- an appearance wouldn’t have hurt either. It could’ve opened a reason to why LP cares about Scrooge’s opinion and cares about him like a dad. Maybe there’s some bitterness in LP’s relationship with his dad and that’s why he doesn’t talk about his parents. Loopey not being introduced was a missed opportunity. Big brother Launchpad is all I need.

I also have a small crush on Launchpad, though mostly for his personality and voice. He’s still cute *wink.*

NO. 3 Drake Mallard

We made it to the top three! With the dashing caped crusader Darkwing Duck starting us off!

It’s funny how much I love a character who’s only appeared in like five-maybe six- episodes enough to put him in the top three. I had some trouble defining many reasons why I love him; it’s this weird connection I have with DW. He’s this dorky dummy who loved a big part of his childhood enough to make it his reality, yet I love him so much.

I think what made me fall in love with him was how similar we are. Like him, I was a meek person who got pushed a few times- either physically or mentally. Those times also inspired me to grow stronger and be an inspiration for the next generation. I can be pretty clumsy too(lol). Characters I see myself in are usually really high in my love list and it shouldn’t be surprising that Drake is one of them.

His kind and genuine nature was also what drew me in. And, I just made this realization, this is the first time I don’t prefer the original iteration over the latest one. I still love ‘91 Drake but he’s too arrogant.

Unlike the original DW, Drake became a hero to help others- though a wish for glory played a bit of a part too. This clumsy, stuttering actor took a step to become his hero and a future one for children like him. That’s admirable. His lovable personality also being so cute enough for me to want to give a big hug is a good addition.

NO. 2 Lena Sabrewing

Hands down Lena had the best development!

She started off as this distant loner who followed the gray area of morality. Now, Lena is a part of this loving family and her own person. A few of her episodes are my favorites, such as “Friendship Hates Magic!” and “A Nightmare on Killmotor Hill.” They are well-written episodes and hit me in the feels.

Like Louie and Drake, I see myself in Lena. There are times I’ve been afraid I’ll take on my family’s bad habits or turn like them. That’s why I love “A Nightmare on Killmotor Hill!” Watching Lena try to be good enough and feeling insecure reminded me of the dark times I usually think about. There are even times I have dreams of these issues. The creators must have been inspired by me (lol). Though, I am kind of jealous of Lena because of how great her friends are. I want friends like Webby and Violet.

Even so, I do have some issues with Lena. Her magic arc was not written as well as her previous arcs. This might be more of a personal opinion than anything, but I’m still going to say it. Lena learned to control her magic too quickly, and it was treated as more like a plot device. And a shaking one at that. For example, in “The Split Sword of Swanstantine” Lena was able to stop time and send her and Huey into his mindscape. But, somehow, she couldn’t conjure a burst of energy to attack Steelbeak; granted, Huey mentioned that, yet Lena’s reasoning was dumb. Attacking someone with magic is way easier than doing what she did. I’m a little lenient on this since that idea lead to more Huey development, though I’m still going to critique it.

A great thing about Lena learning was her temporary outfit change. She looks absolutely amazing in light colors, which I didn’t expect, and her hair design is what I saw she would look good in. The eye shape is kind of weird.

Lena’s magic mode is in my list of cosplays.

NO. 1 Dewey Duck

Finally, number one is Dewey Duck!

Dewey has stolen my heart since the beginning. His positivity and fun nature always make me smile, even during the toughest times.

In my opinion, Dewey has the best arc/development of the triplets. His arc trying to find out what happened to his mother was what kept me watching Ducktales and helped me see why this show is so special. Many of my favorite moments are in season one, specifically ones involving Dewey. For instance, the scene in “The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!” where Dewey was willing to risk his life to get the last piece of paper and possibly solve what happened to Della was emotional. Hearing the desperation in his voice while pleading with Scrooge to tell him what happened hit me hard. I can’t imagine how much pain HDL have gone through not knowing what happened and thinking they aren’t allowed to ask. It would be terrible to experience.

Another moment I loved was in “The Spear of Selene.” It was when Dewey was hesitant to know what happened as the possibility that Della was a bad person grew more prominent. He looked so defeated admitting that realization and it reminded me of myself. There were moments when I realized that my parents were not as good as I thought. It hurt me a lot. At least sweet Dewey didn’t have to go through that. The scene when Dewey started tearing up seeing his mom in the sphere was also heartwarming. I wanted to give him the biggest hug.

Dewey’s insecurities of not being good enough and to be loved is what I struggle with too. Its kind of different because I have trouble believing anyone loves me while he wants everybody to like him. Confidence is not my forte.

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ladylyra · 4 years

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do your nuzlocke characters all have names and stories and personalities? if so i want to hear more about your unova nuzlocke friends!

LONG POST AHEAD

Okay, so the protagonist of my soulsilver and white2 nuzlockes is named Halle, and while in soulsilver it was very much “her” story, i focused more on gijinkas and the pokemon themselves in white2.

rin, my sunflora, is the daughter of my sunflora, ieyasu, from my soulsilver nuzlocke. i figured if i was gonna use two sunflora they’d somehow be connected. she liked to be babied all the time, blamed her weaknesses on her unevolved form, and while she was considerably weak up until the time she evolved, it was also her mentality holding her back. in terms of character she learned to despise this mentality when she saw all her friends growing to surpass her. (kind of seen here) she saw how yuki, like her, remained unevolved for a period of time; her, without a stone, he, without a friend. she filled that hole for him. even if he was a bit insensitive at first, she really does feel a connection with him. they took down many gyms together! she is the binding factor to my entire team, helping keep everyone in somewhat high spirits even when things are tense. she and yuki’s relationship becomes romantic over time.

muramasa, my samurott, was a natural born leader. this was to a fault, because he’d always be getting into fights others would be more than capable of taking on. he’d always get himself hurt and, well, in the end, fainted because of that. despite being kind of stoic, he wears his heart on his sleeve (who knows, he might actually be expressive under the mouth cover.) for a while he failed to realize that protecting rin constantly wasn’t helping her grow. while he originally also doted on elline, he came to train alongside her rather than for her. very much a “big brother” to the entire team except for elline, who i always saw as at least slightly romantic.

elline, my krookodile, is a powerhouse, but shes kind of finicky; self proclaimed ‘princess of the desert’ she demanded to be carried around and treated like royalty all the time (murmasa obliged to this and they kind of fell into a princess/knight role.) despite her attitude she was and is one of the strongest members of my team, but it took time for her to get over her mentality and help without being asked to. after muramasa “died” she really couldn’t deal with the thought of becoming a leader and having the welfare of others on her shoulders, so she kind of withdrew, leading to rin becoming the leader despite her...or, well, what everybody else thought her to be. she was very wary of acai and nari when they first joined the team because it was right after jack and muramasa died. she has no patience for yuki and acai and how clownish they act.

wess, my umbreon, went from a humble city boy to a pop star. he loves attention of any kind, even negative, but preferably you’re fawning over him. he didn’t fully integrate into the team by the time i boxed him in favor of jack, but he was a useful member (aren’t all defensive tanks in nuzlockes?)

yuki, my swoobat, started out as a menace to society. he grew up in a cave, on his own for the most part, with little regard to how his “jokes” may have harmed others. he didn’t have many friends, the few he did were just as rude as him, so it’s not like he ever had someone there to check when he was acting like a jerk and make him realize what was socially unacceptable. being a pokemon that evolves by friendship, this lead to some problems. rin, the most bombastic and happy member of my team, became who i thought could cure this attitude of his. they were both the last to evolve on my team from their base forms at the time so there was some solidarity there, and she was also one of the first people who went out of their way to get under his unpleasant exterior and make him realize that there’s consequence that comes with his behavior. while originally he only had a “soft spot” for her, he eventually warmed up to anyone that would accept him. being a bit more conscious of his behavior now, he’s actually got major anxiety forming genuine connections with others, both from guilt over his previous attitude and wondering still if he’ll say something to mess things up. rin’s kind of like a safety net to him, and he’s also a big comfort to her, given how long shes known him at this point; after muramasa’s death, they were the ‘oldest’ members of the team (those i had the longest) so even in the ever changing landscape they were like security to each other. hes usually seen with her--theyre practically inseparable at this point--but besides that he can be seen with acai. the three of them are like a clown car.

richie, my cofagrigus, actually ties back to my platinum nuzlocke. i had a tentacruel named richie who died during the elite four and it was heartbreaking considering i had him for such a long time. he was very nerdy at the time, a bit shy, didn’t mend too well, but even then. he was my baby. two years later to now, i caught a yamask and i saw the opportunity and took it, naming it after richie. in the story canon, it’s the same richie. he suffers from amnesia and doesn’t have much direction in his life. he’s near constantly wondering what he’s meant for, why he’s here, and if he’ll ever be truly accepted by the team (in reality he’s kind of the one closing himself off and not interacting, but that’s his anxiety for you.) he blames himself for the death of jack (in real life i was debating switching in my altaria or him against hydreigon because either was risky....as you can guess, i made the wrong choice) and becomes even more recluse. jack and muramasa died in the same battle, so this coincides with rin becoming leader, at which point she near forces him to be included. he was a star player during my elite four run next to elline, by which point he finally gets his memories back, and wonders if he has finally proven himself to his old friends and new ones. (i actually did a small comic about this i never posted, i have a lot of small doodles that never make it to tumblr...haha...unless?)

acai, my vanilluxe, entered the team with a purpose. he would be the defeater of dragons now that jack was gone. he and nari came on the team at the exact same time, only a route apart, so i think they were friends, or at least acquainted, beforehand. they don’t mesh super well, considering acai is very laid back and happy and jokey and nari is always going on about his “training.” acai and yuki become good friends almost immediately; acai was almost like yuki but a lot less unintentionally rude and a lot more oblivious. he mostly hangs out with him and rin, who didn’t really plan that arrangement, but she does have a lot of fun around them, and she likes seeing yuki actually enjoy the company of others. he has a tense relationship with elline, even after she warms up to nari. he is completely unaware of this “tense relationship” because he cannot read the atmosphere.

nari, my mienshao, is pretty straight faced and serious. he puts a lot of value in his strength and focus whether it be mental or physical. he and elline are a bit standoffish at first because she was refusing to accept he was a member of the team, given her close relationship with muramasa, and her unwillingness to let any other people into her heart after being so hurt, but she does get to a point where she doesn’t mind him. i feel like maybe if my nuzlocke went on longer they would have been good friends; train together, hang out, all that...they do share a nature, after all.

jack, my altaria, was a relatively short member of the team, and he had died not long after i caught him. he helped me with drayden alongside richie and died at ghetsis. for the short time i did have him, i always saw him as a ‘do what must without any nonsense’ type of person; a little bit sassy and proper, but that may be to do with how i named him after one of my ocs that’s kind of in the same vein. he died at the same time as muramasa, and given i had muramasa for longer i was much more focused on losing him than jack.

lucas, my azumarill, was only on my team for the beginning of the team. i didn’t really have a need for him (in the least rude way possible im saying this) so i replaced him with...i believe it was yuki; that, or wess. i don’t really remember. anyways, he wasn’t the sharpest fellow, but he was certainly nice. before he left the team he and rin were close friends...by the time he was an azumarill she was still a little sunkern, to put into perspective how outclassed she was beginning to feel, haha.

obviously i had more time to develop some members more than others, but i do love them all dearly, and they’re probably my favorite nuzlocke bunch of mine. thank you for humoring my long rambling, friend!

#THIS TURNED LONGER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE I JUST KEPT TYPING LIKE THIS IS THE MOMENT IVE BEEN WAITING FOR #nuzlocke #white2 nuzlocke

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canvaswolfdoll · 6 years

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CanvasWatches: Stranger Things

I am super late to the Stranger Things… thing, and it took the premier of the second season and an unexpected stretch of free time to finally sit down and watch it. Even then, it took me a couple extra weeks.

I’ve been a critic of Netflix’s binge-focused release format. Not because I don’t enjoy a good binge watch from time to time, but because I like the freedom to choose when I take a break. When bingeing a show formatted for segmented release, each episode tends to be written in such a way as to let the audience comfortably wait a week, either because the narrative is one and done, or by carefully pacing the series to allow it to hold up with a time gap between episodes.

Also, everyone was raving about Stranger Things, which induced some hype poisoning, and I was born after the 80s died, so I don’t really have any nostalgia for the era. Besides Back to the Future and Ghostbusters, I never really watched much 80s media.

Plus everyone was so excited by how the show featured D&D. There are very few D&D-centered episodes that I like, as such depictions always fall short of my expectations.[1]

Besides one groan worthy aspect in season 2[2], I was actually pleasantly surprised by how the show handled the subject: by making it a casual part of the kids’ lives. Season One opens with a game, and closes with a game, and it’s sometimes used to color dialogue, but it’s never in focus, which is good. Hobbies should color characters, not define them.

The actual plot of season 1 was well written, and uses the only plausible excuse for characters not telling each other vital information: by segmenting the plot between three groups that have no reason to interact until the plot threads run together.

Sure, Chief Hopper maybe should’ve been keeping Joyce appraised a little more often, but he was also busy, so I can give that a pass.

Oddly, beside Eleven, I didn’t actually care about the Kids’ plotline. They’re well cast, don’t get me wrong, but the argument over what to do once El enters their lives just runs in circles until the other two plotlines convene, and I just wasn’t particularly invested in them.

And the teens are likewise dull until Nancy and Jon start proactively hunting the eldritch horror. And even then, it’s plagued by gross High School Romance drama. I don’t care who Nancy starts dating, I want to know what’s up with the supernatural weirdness and the effects that has on people.

Which, of course, leaves Hopper and Joyce to be the ones to pull me through. Also Eleven’s flashbacks. You know, the parts showcasing and developing the things that are strange.

The first season is, mercifully, a rare example of a well-executed secrets plot. The mystery’s set off by Will’s disappearance, a strong inciting incident that gets three different casts going down three different plotlines until convening at the end.

Because of the nature of who the characters are and the methods they use to accomplish their goals, they’re kept separate not because of tedious secrets kept to ‘protect’ others, but because they just don’t have any reason to interact.

Hopper and Joyce’s efforts to find Will lead to the Government Conspiracy, and they are unaware of Eleven’s existence for most of it. Eleven is (rightfully) afraid of the Energy Research place, and doesn’t trust adults because of it, making it reasonable the kids wouldn’t know. The teens (once they get past the dumb romance drama) are trying to find Barb, who no one else cares is missing.

The moment the three groups learn they’ve been pursuing different sides of the same puzzle, they work together and share information without fuss. Then they split again when their goals lead in different directions. Hopper and Joyce don’t want to put the kids in danger when they go to confront the big bad; the kids continue to protect Eleven; the teens seek revenge on the demogorgon.

And all three contribute to the resolution.

Then the second season opens, and Hopper, who I loved for being a reasonable protagonist, betrays my trust. Eleven’s hurting being separated from her friends and her friends are hurting not knowing her fate.

A problem easily solved if Hopper just told Mike “Hey, Eleven’s with me, she’s safe, but I’m keeping her out of the public eye. I’ll try to arrange some visits, but they can’t be frequent. Here’s a morse code info card, and a frequency. Don’t keep each other up too late, and don’t tell anyone who hasn’t already met her.”

There, Eleven’s got some social stimulation, no one’s pining, and everyone knows where things stand.

They all worked together for season one’s finale. Hopper’s actions are inexcusable.

Hopper went from my favorite character to one of the most annoying.

As a whole, the first season felt much more tightly written than the second. The first balanced the eldritch horror and psychic powers sufficiently well.

The second advanced and built upon the Upside Down in exciting ways, including a giant central intelligence to the whole place. Confirmation that, instead of just a decaying world to mirror our own, the entire place is a single malevolent entity, represented by an enormous, alien being. I love what is being done with the Upside Down.

Then there’s ‘The Lost Sister’. Which is… the episode literally doesn’t fit. Eleven leaves, seeking her mother. Okay, good development. This leads to some new exposition of what Eleven’s young life was like. That’s good! Slowly exploring that works for the show! Introducing another test subject in the form of ‘8’. Logical, since Eleven is, well, number Eleven.

Elle/Jane goes looking for this mystery girl. That’s where the show goes off the rails. Not that Eleven searching for others like her isn’t a fair plotline, but it literally takes the show away from Hawkins and all the endearing characters we’ve met.

It’s a filler episode, and it turns Eleven from ‘Oddity with connection to the Eldritch’ to ‘Blossoming superhero’ which… Stranger Things wasn’t a superhero show. It’s a mystery and thriller. It’s an episode so divorced from the other eight episodes, you can literally skip it and lose nothing.

Kali’s gang has no redeeming features. They’re criminals and murderers, plain and simple. Elle finds them, establishes a connection with Kali, and then it’s just a ‘Good Character is lead down a dark path before leaving’ plot. It adds nothing.

And Kali has a different power set from Eleven, deepening the Superhero aspect where each mutant has a different power. If, instead, Kali had the same (but weaker) Psionic powers I might take her inclusion better.

But, worse still, none of it has anything to do with the rest of the plot, even when it would’ve been easy to integrate, though that probably would require more time.

Kali’s gang, as mentioned, are bad people. Send them rocking into Hawkins in search of a place to lie low while the heat dies off, maybe induct Billy Hargrove… maybe they could find a space.

Actually, no, nevermind. They’d still be a distraction. It’s a series that works on the strength of it’s dynamic characters. Suddenly hamfisting in Kali and company would strain that.

In fact, I’m not sure searching out numbers 1 through 10 (maybe 12) will ever work, because that would imply a road trip season, which would suck because we’d see less Hawkins in favor of Scooby-Doo’ing up the series.

So keep the fates of the previous ten test subjects a mystery. They were experiments that failed. And considering how much hullabaloo Eleven’s escape caused in the first season, Eight getting away without any remark until now is ridiculous.

It… just doesn’t work. It’s too Kyle XY.

So, let’s take some metaphorical scissors, snip after episode 206, and before 208, remove the middle episode, and drop it out a window. It’s gone, hopefully never to return to hurt us.

Keeping Eleven separated from the rest of the cast for most of the season is the greatest sin of the second season.

Having strong characterization can only go so far if you limit who characters interact with. Segmenting the cast by age groups in the first season was fine as we were meeting the characters, so we need to learn about them in their preferred environment and when normality is interrupted. They come together at the end and cooperate to save the day, an experience shared by all. Mike and Nancy even have a heart-to-heart about how they won’t keep secrets from another. Real touching stuff.

For the second season, besides needing to flesh out the now present Will, we know the cast. So the fun should come from now intermingling the cast. Have Nancy consult Mike about getting hashtag Justice for Barb; Jonathan and Steve becoming romantic mentors to Lucas and Dustin;[3] Hopper becoming an unwilling paternal figure to the party; and show Eleven adjusting to the Real World.

Instead, Eleven only interacts with Hopper all season, and, yes, Daddy Hopper is adorable, though he should maybe try and remember he’s caring for a socially stunted psychic before he starts yelling. Maybe have him start yelling, Eleven gets mad, one bookshelf falls over, both stop to look at this reaction, then Hopper runs both of them through the deep breathing exercise from the end of Season One before talking it through.

Eleven and Hopper’s arc should’ve been about learning to trust in a scary world, instead of… whatever they were going for. And giving her limited interaction with her friends would’ve allowed for this growth, as the party would first have to coax her out of the cottage, and then she’d have firmer ground to question Hopper keeping her cooped up.

And I so love fish out of water stories. Learning what money is and asking Hopper for an allowance? Stumbling about and learning not to assault people who offend her?[4] Being the first kid to form a bond with Bob? All would’ve been nice to watch happen.

Also, Bob was… okay. He didn’t leave much of an impression on me for a generically nice man. They should’ve worked the ‘Bob founded the AV Club’ thing in way sooner, so it wasn’t an awkward line shoved in after his death to retcon in stakes for The Party. It was awkward.

Also, no one else wearing costumes is the least realistic thing. After my 13 years of public school, I know that would never happen.

It’s not all bad, let’s be clear. Upping the threat of the Upside Down and giving it a central intelligence was good, as was expanding on the Demogorgon lifecycle to bring in a nice Alien touch. The tunnels made the threat feel more immediate, and explained the pockets of Upside Down that broke out in season 1. Max is… promising. Hopefully she’ll get more of a concrete arc going forward, but she’s got a good start.

So, in summation, I liked Season 1, and 2 was as enjoyable with a few missteps that hopefully won’t be forced back in. My one fear is that they’re going to put the Mind Flayer on the back burner and spend the next season on the less interesting ‘Other Test Subjects’ plotline. We’re heading towards the end of the Superhero Media boom, while I can’t think of many properties that focus on themes of eldritch and inhuman intelligences that the Mind Flayer and Upside Down presents.

Still, when Stranger Things 3 arrives, I’ll watch as eagerly as anyone else.

If you enjoyed this review, may I suggest to trawl through my archive to see if you enjoy my other works? (The CanvasReviews tag should give you a good start). Also, feel free to send me messages and question. I also have a Patreon, if that’s your sort of thing.

Kataal kataal.

[1] Yes, even Community’s much beloved take. There was no passion in it and it was weighed down by the ‘One Character for all games’ and ‘Dice results dictate everything’ concepts that makes zero sense. [2] How can you forget about Rogues, you idiots? It’s literally the best class! [3] I will go on record: if you sit me through a tired love triangle, but follow it up by having two corners advise on a new love triangle, I will be on board for that absurdity. [4] For context, my ideal ending of the the show is the town just transitions into casually accepting that, sometimes, eldritch horrors pop up, and just deal with them casually.

#CanvasWatches #stranger things #CanvasReviews

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drhu0806 · 7 years

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One of the little things

Something I reblogged that reminded me of something in P5 that I loved involving the game’s Velvet Room attendants, and the game’s use of HD 3D modeling

DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT BEATEN PERSONA 5 AS IT CONTAINS VERY HEAVY ENDGAME SPOILERS

If I’m going to be honest, Persona 5′s graphics weren’t groundbreaking or super super stunning in the ways some games can be, but boy oh boy am I so so so grateful for 3D modeling in this game because Atlus put it to great use when animating body language

Most of the general Persona fandom who keeps up with the games can agree that Joker is, out of at the very least the Hashino era, the most characterized protagonist of the series, at least when you consider what is overtly shown in the game as opposed to implications based on thoughts and general tone of dialogue options. 3D modeling was absolutely an integral role in this; one of my favorite parts of Persona 5 was just seeing Joker’s movements and animations: the way he tries to make sense of his thief outfit for the first time in Kamoshida’s Palace, the way he consistently adjusts his gloves when dungeon crawling, how ridiculously extra he is in combat. My personal favorite is his little “Aloha!” exchange with Futaba when he returns from his school trip.

I saw a gifset of the 3 Velvet Room attendants/wardens and how they interact with the protagonist as he enters the Velvet Room, and it reminded me how absolutely thrilled I was when I saw him enter with Lavenza for the first time. It’s a pretty small thing in the grand scope of this 80+ hour JRPG, but I live for the small things.

I’m going to make one thing clear: I do not like Caroline and Justine. I don’t actively dislike or hate them, they just didn’t make a great impression on me on a personal level during most of the game. Perhaps because of the Velvet Room atmosphere in this particular game, I’m not as fond of them as their predecessors. But I will give Atlus major props in the way they used animation to show their personalities.

When Justine is the one at the entrance, she merely steps aside as Joker walks in alone. She’s distant. Caroline of course is on the complete other side of the spectrum and just drop kicks the poor boy in (I will never understand how she keeps getting the drop on him like that given how many times he probably goes to the Velvet Room). Combined, it gave me the impression of a lack of respect and equal footing that I had in previous Persona titles and, given the very nature of the VR in this game, I get. It’s not meant to be a nice place. But I still didn’t like it a whole lot.

But compare that to when Lavenza is at the door to the Velvet Room. This is where 3D models shine for me.

Joker walks in, and almost seems to slow his step just a little bit. You can see his head actually turn to the side as Lavenza walks almost side by side with him. At first, I found it incredibly cute - Lavenza is adorable to me--she’s got the look of a less creepy Alice--and it kind of reminded me of a little sister tagging along with her older brother. But I remembered that Lavenza is, first and foremost, a guide and helper for the protagonist’s journey, and we are finally getting to see her do that as she is doing her job and guiding him to the Velvet Room (her walking animation is also super adorable, btw). And seeing Joker acknowledge that with the side glance was that little cherry on top. Seeing such a change from Justine’s distance and Caroline’s blatant assault finally returned to me that sense of equal footing I always sensed from previous attendants, despite personalities and the role they play for the protagonists. All this, from excellent use of HD modeling.

TL;DR - Persona 5 made me realize how much I had taken the Velvet Room for granted, I love Lavenza to bits and want to see more of her, and finally her animation with Joker entering the Velvet Room was one of my favorite parts of the game.

#what does the owl say #persona 5 #persona 5 spoilers #i'm so happy p5 moved away from polygons you guys

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soyosauce · 6 years

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Is The Dispossessed Proto Solarpunk?

“You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.”

The anarchist collective on the planet Anarres migrated from the propertarian, capitalist planet of Urras when a previous revolution occurred. Rather than continue to contend with them, they have gifted this planet. Then, using the teachings of Odo, the center point of this revolution and who ostensibly is also responsible for structuring this anarcho-syndicalist society experiment, they establish this new way of living; retreating into themselves for generations.

“For we each of us deserve everything, every luxury that was ever piled in the tombs of the dead kings, and we each of us deserve nothing, not a mouthful of bread in hunger. Have we not eaten while another starved? Will you punish us for that? Will you reward us for the virtue of starving while others ate? No man earns punishment, no man earns reward. Free your mind of the idea of deserving, the idea of earning, and you will begin to be able to think.”

When Shavek, considered a brilliant and unparalleled physicist on both planets, decides to make the journey to Urras in order to finish his work, he must first figure out his place in a new society at odds with his way of life and way of thinking.

“You can’t crush ideas by suppressing them. You can only crush them by ignoring them. By refusing to think, refusing to change.”

The narrative is very clever, alternating between him negotiating this new space and how this society works and is perceived by an outsider, while also flashing back to his life back in Anarres, slowly exposing the ways in which life oppress and alter the citizens on both planets. There are many astute ways in which the author uses Shavek's own life events to communicate complex ideas and offers the merits of each society while presenting a condemnation of each.

The book is extremely well written and filled with a unique form of prose. The book was a pleasure to read and consume. But part of why I chose this book was to examine it in order to see if this was a proto solarpunk book. There are clear throughlines to cyberpunk, there has, in some ways, never been more of a punk protagonist. An actual anarchist! It's also subversive of typical cyberpunk protagonists generally in it for themselves but punk in that they are against establishment, authoritarianism, and capitalism. In this novel, Shavek is deeply wounded by society. It gets its hooks in him. Twisting his way of thinking and seducing him, attempting to commodify his work and ideas.

One definition of Solarpunk is: a movement focused on a positive, ecological vision for a future where technology is used for human-centric and ecocentric purposes.

So the punk part is pretty clearly covered. Where the solar part comes in is somewhat more questionable for me, initially. Sure the anarcho-syndicalist society is kind of covering that aspect. We could take a lot of those principles and integrate it into an extrapolated version of our own society and get results for a much more sustainable future. However... it's not really technology that's doing this, right? There is little talk of technology at all throughout most of it, in either planets' culture and infrastructure even, beyond trains anyways. Written in 1974, it makes perfect sense that the book certainly wouldn't place any particular significance on these things beyond the physics that Shavek dedicates his life to. But what they are after from Shavek is faster-than-light travel; specifically in their ships, which was given to them by an alien race.

Where this gets somewhat more clear is when another species or aliens are revealed: Terrans. They are Earth decedents which specifically state their planet is all but destroyed. An ambassador situated on Urras is the vehicle for the qualities of most solarpunk stories. A dystopic planet that seeks to get new technologies and cooperations from other forms of life to make their planet better.

“My world, my Earth is a ruin. A planet spoiled by the human species. We multiplied and fought and gobbled until there was nothing left, and then we died. We controlled neither appetite nor violence; we did not adapt. We destroyed ourselves. But we destroyed the world first.”

It is certainly atypical of the emerging genre. But when a lot of the sort-of meta-narrative of all these groups of people and species of humans, and their subsequent societies, are driving at getting this new technology for their own respective reasons. Some to conquer and establish superiority; others to forge a better life, and still, others to never allow for it to exist at all. There ends up being much more of a focus on technology than previously thought.

“Change is freedom, change is life. It's always easier not to think for oneself. Find a nice safe hierarchy and settle in. Don't make changes, don't risk disapproval, don't upset your syndics. It's always easiest to let yourself be governed. There's a point, around age twenty, when you have to choose whether to be like everybody else the rest of your life, or to make a virtue of your peculiarities. Those who build walls are their own prisoners. I'm going to go fulfil my proper function in the social organism. I'm going to go unbuild walls.”

Furthermore, as such a seminal work of fiction, it seems to claim that solarpunk having roots here is highly plausible. It won many awards and was a major contribution to the genre. Before cyberpunk even existed. After it was established, to have a different sub-genre emerge which used this as a foundation instead of other seminal works credited to cyberpunk seems only natural.

It could not be more punk. And it shows optimism in the face of the fear of technology, doing a very good job at exploring the issue more thoroughly than some other cyberpunk works by having whole societies project their uses and desires onto an emerging, game-changing technology only one man, Shavek, can provide; a punk no less, wanting to start a revolution within an anarchist state built from the ground up from it's own revolution.

“It is our suffering that brings us together. It is not love. Love does not obey the mind, and turns to hate when forced. The bond that binds us is beyond choice. We are brothers. We are brothers in what we share. In pain, which each of us must suffer alone, in hunger, in poverty, in hope, we know our brotherhood. We know it, because we have had to learn it. We know that there is no help for us but from one another, that no hand will save us if we do not reach out our hand. And the hand that you reach out is empty, as mine is. You have nothing. You possess nothing. You own nothing. You are free. All you have is what you are, and what you give.”

#cli-fi #eco fiction #speculative fiction

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tinfoil-king · 7 years

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Nier Automata - Thoughts as playing through

This is just a fun activity I like doing. Instant theorizing of something while it is going on. 😃 This time Nier Automata. Spoilers below the break.

The idea is I’ll break the game up into chunks by what seem to be natural plot break points. Just to see how my perception of the story evolves as I play along.

The rules:

· Playing spoiler free

· Very rough understanding of the previous games and backstory

Noob Dungeon/Tutorial Area till regaining control on the space station

Things of note:

· The five ships and a white one reminds me a bit of stuff I heard about Drakengard 3. Never played it, so it might be superficial.

· Speaking of a game about characters with crimson eyes, the protagonists have their eyes covered.

· Fodder enemies are robots who look like Emil

· The whole zone is a mechemil factory

· Giant boss dudes look like possessed machines.

· 2B reminds me of Yonah.

· 9S makes me think of that Japanese version of Nier’s protagonist due to the similar look. Well, if Nier was brainwashed and forced to cleanup into a preschool look.

· They can back themselves up. Trailers say you can even fight your old dead body.

· In the end they tap black boxes (local saved selves) to nuke the area

· The history cutscene is giving a propaganda vibe

· The cutscene makes it seem like the aliens brought the mechemils to Earth? What.

· Memories may not be complete, as seen by 9S losing some of his due to not saving

· Glory to human kind, more queasy propaganda sounding stuff. Not what it sounds like, but the way it is said.

Thoughts so far:

· The Automatas may be partially based on the crimson eye thing in Drakengard and in Nier’s backstory (all in the manual, crimson eyed person who can come back the dead leading a legion of zombified mindless mutated humans).

· I don’t buy that the Mechemils are the aliens. Maybe the aliens have possessed them somehow, but they didn’t bring them. Unless… they came from the Drakengard world instead of through space. Emil was created due to things set in motion that came through from that world to “our” Earth.

· 2B is probably going to rebel.

Space Station to Resistance Fetch Quests

Things of note:

· Yorha reminds me of Yonah. Just swap the last two letters and have part of the lowercase n fade away so it looks like an r if you want to believe they are going for some “CaLiMa” or V’ger level justification here.

· The integrating setting saving to the character is a nice touch.

· The leader of the group isn’t blind folded. So, there is a purpose to those who are blindfolded.

· Resistance Leader “You are 2…”. Not “a” and we don’t get a letter.

· Resistance person wearing a Mechemil head mysteriously.

· Game is making a big deal about plants returning and growing large

· Chit-chat with eye in the sky really makes it seem clear only 2B is emotionally blank. Or tries to be. Yet she said emotions are forbidden in the first game segment.

· Supply Trader raises the “Ship of Theseus” argument regarding the one leg he won’t replace.

· Weapon Trade raises the arms race escalation just making things worse than better question.

So my thoughts are:

· We’re going to meet a 2A who has gone rogue or the Resistance Leader knew 2B before she had an 9S moment. Maybe in a Tinman scenario from the original story where after the Tinman in Oz replace his entire body with tin someone went and put his fleshy body back together as a different person.

o Accidentally had this maybe confirmed when I stopped playing. I saw I was given an A2 card.

· Mechemil head wearing Resistance Person is non-0% chance of being Kaina in disguise.

The Desert

Things of note:

· The robots are noted, again, to be talking. So until now they have been quiet.

· They seem to only be anti-android

o Note: robots near the resistance base seemed peaceful

o Note: They are saying they are scared and want to kill the androids

· The robots in the desert have seem to have gone “native” almost

· The “Glory to mankind” speech is described as always “stiff”

· Stumbled upon “Apologetic Machine”. Text scrolled by super quick so it was hard to read what was being said. Something about being apologetic that we found “this place”, that we will learn the truth, and that the truth will fill us with rage. Also it blew itself up to help us with its scrap?

· It was guarding a locked door

· I’m really being reminded of the alleged post-Nier timeline where the Replicants became fully human even if they didn’t merge with their shades.

· In the pit:

o One seemed to think it had a baby in a cradle

o Another sounded like it thought it was a baby

o A third was either a crawling baby or a dog

o A few looked like they may have been trying to have sex

· The robots want to kill the scary androids that never give up

· Massive mechemil orgy leads to Sephiroth’s birth. I feel like I missed a pacifist option here.

· Get back to the Resistance Camp. Nothing. Leave to get told all units must go save some units who have gone quiet, but look to still be alive.

Thoughts so far:

· Robots are the “shades” of this Nier. They’re humans or what are left of humans or a new species that is benign.

· Androids… could they be the invaders? Replicants who look human vs “humans” who look like robots?

· Countdown until I, 2B, is sentenced to death.

· The one shop keep mentioned having replaced everything but his leg. So that would make him entirely machine, entirely an Android.

· The whole “Glory for mankind” stiffness might mean the speeches are recordings. There may not be any natural humans left.

Operation Rescue

Things noted:

· 9S: Yo, we were made to look like humans. That thing the robots made looked like us. Why?

· The robots in the amusement park all seem fine. Even talkative. They have shop keepers and warn that a section up ahead are broken an dangerous.

· Tank was skippable.

· The Yorhas are now evil. Hacked?

· Beat the Opera Singer. All the Androids had fried circuits. Despite Nines saying he’d hack her, the death is sudden POD-mehameha to the torso. Did I miss another pacifist branch?

· Meet a robot thanking us. It is waving a white flag. Given a choice.

The game is very much pushing the robots are good and it might be the androids are bad thing. So I decided to trust the peace claiming robot. I figure either I’m doing what devs hope we’d do in the NG+ as the correct action or they’re hoping we go this route to trick us. Either way it should be fun.

So my thoughts after my first day playing this game:

· 2B, 9S and A2 will be the main characters in some way.

· Humans are dead, save for possibly Emil. All the machines look like him so I suspect he had a hand in creating them, and wasn’t he even stupidly long lived before becoming an animated skeleton?

· Knowing the creator of this series and how the game seems to be setting up a forever war due to confusion I suspect the aliens, if they ever existed, are also dead.

· Question is how engrained is this info. Is 2B and 9S in danger of a triggering a wrathful response from a conspiracy if they discover this or is it hidden from near everyone?

Post Script:

At the end of this play session I’m very tempted to just give up on trying to remain spoiler free here. After writing this, but before posting, YouTube threw at me a “Secret Ending (Letter) – TRUE EMIL FIGHT”. It was a higher letter ending, Y I think?, so it isn’t a canon ending. I’ve heard those are limited to A through E.

Still, this means Emil is in the game. Or something claiming to be him. Like the A2 card it confirms some of my suspicions before I was probably meant to have them confirmed in-game. So I think I might be on the right track here.

#nier automata

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