#i don't take well to cop protagonists I find | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

beanieman · 6 months

Note

I meant to ask this yesterday but what role would you give the yttd cast in a horror movie?

Sara Chidouin - Sara is the final girl who you know going into the film is going to survive. She's the face of all the posters and promotional material, and you aren't shocked when she escapes at the end…until the sequel.

Joe Tazuna - Like in the game, Joe's role is the final girl's best friend. He ALMOST escapes with Sara, only to be killed meters from freedom. It's sad, but it needed to happen so the final girl could go ape-shit.

Gin Ibushi - Gin is the cute family pet that you're terrified is going to die eventually. Hopefully he is fine.

Keiji Shinogi - Keiji is the useless cop. The final girl runs up to him, saying a killer is chasing her, and he goes, "Well jolly gee, nothing I can do about that. Try to find a random seventeen-year-old to help you."

More Undercut

Alice Yabusame - Alice is the "slapstick victim" that dies a ridiculous death. The scene might not even mean to come off as funny, but the death scene is so weirdly acted/directed/written that it's more amusing than scary.

Reko Yabusame - Reko is the random celebrity cameo that makes you check IMDB to make sure that the actor you think is in this movie is actually in this movie.

Nao Egokoro - Nao is the surprise final girl. It seemed like someone else would take that role, and Nao would just be a throwaway victim, but instead, she defeats the monster and rides off heroically into the sunset. Much to the audience's surprise.

Kazumi Mishima - Mishima is the side character who has a random amount of knowledge for the simple reason that he's a professor. Like the final girl finds him and he goes "Why yes! I do know about that random murder in 1890 that is driving this films plot!" and that is his only purpose in the plot.

Q-taro Burgerberg - Q-Taro is the person who leaves someone to die at the start of the film for his survival, only to die in a heroic sacrifice that lets the final girl escape the main villain.

Kai Satou - Kai is the red-herring. The movie wants you to believe that he's the monster/killer so badly it becomes clear that there's going to be a twist.

Kanna Kizuchi - Kanna is the kid who gets kidnapped in the final act so the protagonist has a reason why they have to stay behind looking for her instead of escaping.

Shin Tsukimi - Shin is not in the movie because he left the second things started getting weird.

Dolls

Ranmaru Kageyama - Ranmaru is the twist killer who was a getting a weird amount of screentime despite not seeming THAT important to the narrative.

Naomichi Kurumada - Naomichi is the guy who tries to take a leader role over the group as they try to survive, only to get overconfident and die trying to fight a ghost.

Anzu Kinashi - Anzu is that victim that trips and instead of getting up goes "NO! NO! DON'T KILL ME!" as if the serial killer has a higher chance of stopping if she's screaming on the ground rather than if she just got back up and ran.

Mai Tsurugi - Mai is the person that you're convinced is going to be the final girl but then she's killed really unexpectedly. She stabs the killer and runs, but then he teleports in front of her and kills her.

Shunsuke Hayasaka - Shunsuke is the random guy killed because the film didn't feel like the kill count was high enough. He has no name or personality, he's just there to give blood.

Hinako Mishuku - She's the unnerving child that you aren't surprised to learn is possessed by a demon.

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bluesest · 3 months

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Do a story about a police offier and a military man who are rivals having a shit holding contest

A Police Station

You might think that in a police office dealing with serious matters such as fugitive investigations, the cops working there must also be serious, but you would be surprised that many of them kill boredom in peculiar ways: Bruce was part of these cops, in fact, he was a military man who constantly worked there, he was a man in his 30's with remarkable muscles thanks to his training at the academy, he was in charge of filling out the data of the different criminals that were captured in the area so they could be processed and sent to jail. He did this job with his partner Dan. Dan was a man in his 30's relaxed and always joking, he trained at the same police academy as Bruce and they always got along badly as both were excellent at the academy and now on the job, they were definitely rivals. They competed in everything: on patrol, at the check-in, and even created their own competitions such as running, lifting, among others. But this time the competition went to a new level. During their coffee break, the two were arguing: Dan: "Don't think you're better than me just because you finished the report earlier…" Bruce: "Please… that shows how efficient I am, and the more efficient a person is, the better they do at work!" Dan: "Really? You're not even a cop!" Bruce: "That's true… I'm somewhat superior to that…" Dan: "If you're a military guy, then why are you working with cops and not other military guys?

Bruce: "Shut the fuck up… *BRRRRRRR* once…." Dan: "What's wrong with you Bruce, did the coffee hurt your weak stomach?" Bruce: "Of course it *PPPFFFFFFTTT* didn't…" Dan: "HA! Did a single cup of coffee really give off such a terrible smell? My stomach is able to handle coffee and much more, it's even better than your weak diarrhea stomach." Bruce: "right… and that time you drank a glass of milk, don't you remember that?" Dan: "THAT MILK WAS BAD!" Bruce: "yeah right…" Dan: "I bet I can hold out longer than you!" Bruce: "Okay… we'll each have to drink what hurts our stomachs, me a cup of hot coffee and you a glass of milk." Dan: "And with Laxatives too! To add more difficulty to the challenge, ready?" Bruce: "Ready." Both taking advantage of their break they left the station and walked to the nearest pharmacy where they bought fast acting laxative powder and together they returned to the station to mix it together with the coffee and milk. Bruce: Are you ready? Dan: Ready to humiliate you? Sure! They both in one sip drank their respective drinks, due to the laxative they tasted bitter, but at least the taste is a seal of quality that the laxative works too well.

Suddenly the boss arrives, a man in his 50's with gray hair, fat and shaggy, and although he is old, the man demonstrates an aura of superiority that instills fear of his inferiors or in general anyone near him. The boss was carrying a cup of hot bitter coffee and saw our protagonists "lounging around." Boss: "What are you two doing here, your coffee hour is over!" Dan: "We're sorry sir, we'll return to our post right away". Chief: "Of course not! Lawkeepers must have discipline, as punishment you must organize the warehouse record boxes at this time!" Bruce: "but…" Chief: "NOW!" With their heads bowed, they both went towards the farthest and darkest room in the station, the warehouse, as they entered through the door a large cloud of dust embraced them as they tried to find the room's light switch. When they turned on the light they saw that they had a lot of work to do and so they got down to work: Bruce organized the titles of the boxes in alphabetical order while Dan cleaned the dust from the place. Bruce: "This is all your fault Dan." Dan: "My fault? If you're the one who wanted to have the receipt when we bought the laxative, we took forever because of you." Bruce: "Technically you're the one who came up with the contest idea" Dan: "don't complain, it's done, how's your tummy doing my little baby". Bruce: "I'm fine and besides I'm not a baby".

Dan: "Sure? Why do I think you'll need a diaper soon?" Bruce: "In this station there are 6 cubicles in the only bathroom, there are only two of us so I don't think anyone here needs a diaper, clown." Dan: "What did you say?" At that moment, Dan threw the broom he was using at that instant at Bruce. Bruce: "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU! uggghhhh!" Suddenly Bruce grabs his stomach with both hands and starts sweating. Dan: "really, you're a military guy and it hurt something like that? I didn't even pull it hard!" Bruce: "Shut up…" Dan: "Wait, I know what's going on, anger upset your stomach, right?" Bruce: "I said *BURP* you shut up…" Dan: "HAHAHA this challenge is going to be a lot easier than I thought." Bruce still in pain came at Dan and pushed him causing him to fall. Dan: "Hey! BRRRRR oh… *PFFFFFFFTFTTTTTTTTTTTTTT*" Bruce laughed at this situation while Dan was lying on the ground in embarrassment, but Bruce laughed some more, causing a terrible gas to come out of him *PPPPPPPPPPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTT*. Dan: "aghhh it reeks of the typical coffee smell you emanate every day". Bruce: "This is he who rotted our office the day he drank that milk… ugghhhhhh" The tension was growing in the huge warehouse, everyone doing their job, but little by little the effects of the laxative appeared driving our guys crazy. The warehouse being enclosed without any ventilation caused the heat and odors to build up in the air combining them for a toxic cloud that would disgust anyone who smelled it.

Both couldn't stand the smell and the heat, however, admitting it would be a statement of defeat as they couldn't stand the very odors their bodies produced: a mixture of sweat, carbon dioxide and of course the methane produced by their huge, sweaty bubble butts in the tight uniform. Both boys gave up on at least showing their discomfort in the temperature of the place. Bruce: "Wow, I can't stand the BRRRRR heat in here." Dan: "You're telling me, there should be some kind of fan or window around here." Dan starts scanning the place: "Wow this warehouse stinks horrible, and I'm not even in the place we're working… Damn, are there really not even windows in this place? Ha! I guess I know what it's like to be an intern here *BBRRRRRR* oh shit… *BBRRRRRRRR* I should look to see if there are any bathrooms in this warehouse… I don't plan on losing or cheating, just BBRRRRRRRRRRRR agghhh, just…. I'm getting ready for when Bruce gives up so I can show him where the loser's throne is… HAHAHAHAHAH *BBRRRRRRRRRR* there's no… *PPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTT* no no no no no *PPPFFFFTTTTTTT* hang in there, hang in there! *PPPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTT*… it almost all came out, I hope Bruce gives up soon or I'll have more things to clean up in this warehouse." Meanwhile Bruce tries to concentrate on locating the boxes full of reports and records properly, but gradually his vision becomes blurry and he begins to feel slight dizziness and a swelling in his stomach. Bruce gasps in exhaustion and pain.

Bruce gasps tired and sore, but he must prove that he is the best: "I must keep calm, *BURP* I just need more time, wait a minute, what if Dan ran away and went to use the bathroom, I CAN'T ALLOW IT!" Bruce wearily walks slowly to find Dan, after 5 minutes he finally finds him poking around in the old appliances in the storage room: Bruce: "HEY!" Dan: "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHH *PPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTT*… man enough with that scaring people…" Bruce: "ufffff you're really deflating aren't you, anyway, I came to make sure you didn't cheat trying to get out of the warehouse and find a toilet." Dan: "me cheating? don't you know me or does your mind make you think those things because you're desperate?" Bruce: "of course *PPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT* no…" Dan: "Yuck!" A sound invades the place, it was the creaking door of the warehouse where a young intern is seen entering unannounced. Intern: "ho-hello, the boss asked me to clean the warehouse and… uggghhhh what stinks? No wonder this place needs to be cleaned." Bruce: "Well…" Dan: "You finally got here! We've been waiting for you, on the right is the dust broom." Bruce: "And… you should also organize all these boxes of records in alphabetical order…" Intern: "Okay…" Dan: "Thank you very much boy for choosing to spend your internship here, we will be back soon to see your progress my little cadet." They both fled the place and were saved from working in such high temperatures for a whole day, Bruce was angry because surely the boss sent the intern for Dan and him to help him, but he was left to his fate with a toxic gas in the air, but also, Bruce was grateful to Dan for getting him out of that warehouse hell, now he just had to resist the hell in his stomach until Dan can't take it anymore. An alarming stomach growl invaded Dan's body, suddenly: *PPPFFFFFFFFFTFTTTT* "(oh no, I think here it comes, aghhhhhh I feel like my anus is on fire) … hey Bruce, it really was an oven in the warehouse, I want to cool my face in the…. bathrooms." Bruce: "You really want me to believe that? *BRRRRRR* aghhhh *PPFFFFFFTTT* (I think… I shit my pants, that fart came with surprise) … ok I'm burning up too, come on already BRRRRRR…" They both slyly start walking fast, then run straight to the station bathroom and ran into the surprise of: Dan: "Fuck! There's a long line for the bathroom… Which has six cubicles!" Bruce: "Of course I should have guessed… it's three o'clock, it's the middle of the day, usually that's when most of our fellows get the urge to go pee, or also… well, suffer the effects of coffee…"

Dan: "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! … from this heat I'm having… there's only one bathroom in this office besides this one!" Bruce: "You're not talking about…" Dan: "You know what I'm talking about." Bruce: "The boss's bathroom… are you crazy?" Dan: "Of course I'm not, at this hour the boss usually frequents a restaurant, so his office is empty, there's only one chance, and only one toilet, I'll get there first." Bruce: "Toilet?" Dan: "I DID NOT SAY THAT!" Bruce: "HA! Do you really want to give up? Ughhhhhhh *PPPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTT* *PPRRRRRRR*" Dan: "Don't tell me what…" Bruce: "Fuck you." Then Bruce started running while his wet farts were coming out of his body at an alarming speed, Dan was stunned to learn that his military friend shit his pants, but there was no time, he had to get there first before Bruce. Dan started to run losing control of his bowels: Bruce was approaching the office until suddenly one of his coworkers arrived: Coworker: "Hey Bruce, I heard the boss put you and Dan to work in the warehouse, so I was wondering if you could carry this box there for me?" Bruce: "I…" Suddenly Dan ran past him: Coworker: "That was Dan, why was he running, and why did it start stinking up the place?

Bruce: "Listen I don't have time, it's just…you know…I have to report and…bye." Bruce ran as fast as he could until he could see in the distance how Dan was trying to force the door of the boss's office: Dan: "Fuck, if I apply too much force I'll not only break the door, I'll break my anus too!" Bruce: "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" And with force Bruce broke the door with his forearm, a technique they both learned from the academy, because of that push Bruce fell to the office floor while Dan tried to run, but his legs almost didn't respond to avoid making a mess. Weakened Bruce started to get up and grabbed Dan's elbow: Dan: "Let me use the bathroom first, I'm just going to freshen up, after that you can shit all you want." Bruce: "I don't want to take a shit, I just can't stand the heat, I'll use it first and let you relax your bowels afterwards." Dan: "NO SHIT!" They both started fighting and pushing each other until a misstep caused bruce to back up and clutch his stomach with all his might as the wet gas made its way through his rectum to the outside.

This was taken advantage of by Dan who in desperation began to quickly unbutton his blue pants and began to undress in front of his partner even before he reached the bathroom. His body from the hip down was naked, his sweaty cock and ass were in the air getting oxygen and a break from the tight clothing.

While Bruce looked on in confusion, Dan sat on the toilet without closing the door and finally their struggle ended: *PPPPPPPPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTT* *PPPPRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR* *QSHQSHQSHQHSSQHQHQSS*. Dan started with a fart and then the pressure was released with a torrent of brown diarrhea, the smell wafted out of the small room and came to flood the entire office: *PPFFFTTT* *QHSHQSHQSHQSHQSHQSHQSHQSHSHSHSHSQHSQSSSSSSSSSSSSS* *PRPRPRPRPSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS* *GASP* *BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR* *PRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSP* The look of pain and satisfaction on Dan's face said it all, apparently he waited for this moment all day in silent agony, his face was red and sweaty. *PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS* "Aggghhhhhhh my god, finally…" In a lull, Dan turned to look at Bruce who was dumbfounded, so much so that his urge to explode the toilet disappeared as well:

Bruce: "Of course not! *FLIPS* that means… I WON!"

Dan: "Fuck you… *BRRRR* *PRPRPRPRPRPRPPSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSQSQSQSQSQSSHSQHHHHHHHHHHHSSS* AGGHHH" Bruce turned and saw Dan's boxer briefs stained with a deep brown liquid which reminded him that: *PPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTT* *BRRRRRRRRRRR*. Bruce: "Well, since I won, I'm going to the bathroom right now." Dan: "which bathroom, genius?" Bruce realized what was going on, he won, but at what cost, desperate he asked Dan where he could "break free". Dan with a smirk said, "well, I don't see any trash cans around here, so how about that coffee pot, the boss's favorite."

Bruce: "Of course I'm not going there asshole." Dan: "Well, there are only two other options: either you can shit in your precious green uniform and go home shitting, or you can also shit in the dumpsters in the hallways with an audience obviously!"

Bruce was about to angrily yell at his partner until another cringe made him panic and he did something he would regret all his life: Just like Dan, Bruce started stripping in front of him, freeing his totally sweaty round bubble butt with brown diarrhea stains and desperately put the boss's coffee pot on the floor and sat on it using it as a toilet: *PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS* *PPPRRRRRRRRRRRRRR* *PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTT* *PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS* *PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS* Dan: "Wow, I didn't think you were capable…" Bruce: "Shut up."

*PPPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTT* *PPPPPPSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS* *SQHSHQSHQSHQHSHQSHQSHSQSHSQHSHSHSSSSSSS* *PPFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTT* *BRRRRRRR*.

The smell was putrid, it combined in the air along with the smell emanating from Bruce, they both had a big stomach ache from holding it in for so long. The coffee pot was already half full of a coffee-like liquid, but in taste and smell it was the worst thing in the world, a strange mixture of yesterday's dinner and Bruce's breakfast today.

It should be mentioned that the coffee pot was not wide enough to hide and retain the military man's big ass and penis.

Dan: "you really outdid yourself with this one." Bruce: "ohhhhhhhhhhhhh"

Dan: "But if you think you can outdo me, dude I'm telling you no: *PSPSPSPPSSPPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPS* *PFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTT* *PFFFFFFFTTTTT* *PLOP* *PPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRP*" Bruce: "…another competition?" Dan: "We always do weird competitions, a battleshit would be the weirdest of all, more so than this one…" Bruce: "I don't feel like thinking about anything right now… AAAHHHHHHHHHH *PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS* *PFFFFFFFTFTFTTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTF* *PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS* *SQSHQSHQSHQHSHQSHSQSQSQSHSHHHHHHHHH* AGGHHHHH" Dan: "You say you don't want to compete, but that was intentional, wasn't it?" Bruce: "You know coffee makes me sick, obviously it wasn't intentional…oohhhh *BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*"

Dan: "That roar says something else." Bruce: What does it say?Dan: "It says he's setting up heavyweights, and I've already got the guns ready PSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSP SHQSHQSHQSHHQSHHQSHQSHSQHQSHQSHQSHS BRRRRRRRRRR PRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPPSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSP"

Bruce: "that was…" Dan: "Unbelievable? I know." Bruce: "Nope, disappointing, look at this… or, rather, smell and listen to this: *PPPFFFFFFFFFFFFTTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTTFTF* *PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS* *PFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTT* *PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTT* *PRRRRRRRPPRPRPRPRPRPRPR* *SQHSHSHSHSHQHQSHQSHQSHSHS* HA HA HA HA… OHHHH *PLOP* *PFFFTTT* *PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPR*" Dan: "Like this? You haven't seen anything: *PFFTT* *PSPPPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSSPSSPSS* *QSHQSHQSHQSHQSHHQSHQSHQSHQSHQHSQHS* *PLOP* *PLOP* *PLOP* *PRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR* *BRBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR* *BRBRBRRRRRRRRRRRRR* *PFFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFPSSSSSSSSSSSSPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRP* *BRRRRRRRRRR* *PSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH* *SHHQSHSHQSHQSHHSQHSQHQSHQSHQSHQSHS* *PLOP*"

Bruce: "Well….GET READY!: *PFFFTTT* *PRPRPSSSSSSSS*

"Dan: "Apparently you ran out of ammo Bruce."

Bruce: "HAHAHAHAHAH okay, you won at… Who shits the most?"

Dan: "I'll wear that title with honor *PLOP* partner."

Both partners laughed and after 10 minutes fled the crime room without first cleaning the bathroom and throwing the boss's coffee pot in the trash, praying the smell wouldn't clog the office.

#diarrhea #farts #desesperation #laxative #battleshits #policeman #military

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howtofightwrite · 1 year

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So, I have a character in an urban fantasy setting who's a pre-teen child thrown into dangerous situations. Now, I'm well aware untrained kids don't do well, to put it lightly, in dangerous situations. The one advantage my character has is that they have overwhelming magical power they can't control. They also have a mentor who has a lax standard of safety since they lived the Child Protagonist lifestyle and they survived. What kind of dynamic would arise from this?

So there's a big problem here, and it's not the protagonist, so let's start with that.

Writing kids in urban fantasy is extremely tricky. A lot of the kinds of situations you'd normally work with can't incorporate a child. In most cases, your character can't really operate independently without other characters getting suspicious, and eventually involving the police or other authorities.

The bigger problem is the whole, “uncontrolled,” part of their overwhelming magical power, because that's a lie. They may not have direct control over it, but you do. Worse, your audience knows it, and by the time it matters, they'll have a pretty good grasp of how you're willing to use that power.

The trick to making these kinds of situations work is when the uncontrollable power is exercising its own agency in the story. It may be an actual character in its own right, or it may simply be an unknowable, idiosyncratic force. Now, with the setup you're suggesting, that can be downright horrifying, especially if the character isn't the protagonist. If you introduce a child into urban fantasy where their imaginary friend has very real, and very destructive, powers, that can be an extremely unsettling hook.

Actually, stepping back for a moment, magically empowered kids make fantastic villains in urban fantasy. They neatly sidestep the question of, “why don't you just double tap the monster in the back of the head with explosive rounds?” Because you can't do that to a kid, especially if they're not actively malevolent. (It's a little different when you're dealing with an unspeakable cosmic horror that's wearing the skin of a child like a worn out sock.) More than that, they have an incredible capacity for cruelty without regard for the consequences. A child with magical powers is scary as hell. (And I'm not just saying this because of that Twilight Zone episode.) If you isolate out their magical powers into a distinct entity that operates in parallel to the kid (again, the imaginary friend), that can get really horrifying, especially if it's unclear what the relationship between the child and the magical being is. There's even options here whether the magical force manifests physically (for example as an animated toy) or is entirely incorporeal.

As a protagonist, it's a lot more difficult. You have a character that simply doesn't have the capacity to fully understand the full nuances of the situations they're dealing with. If their uncontrolled magical powers are another character, (again, the imaginary friend comes to mind as an immediate template for this structure), then you start to open up options a bit, but you're going to be asking that character to shoulder a lot of the weight for the situations the child finds themselves in, and you are going to drastically undermine the threat your character faces. There's nothing wrong with the idea of a kid in an urban fantasy setting, who's accompanied by their benevolent (and very violent) shadow monster, but it's a very different dynamic from a kid with godlike powers and no concept of morality. Also, as a protagonist this dynamic can get tricky because the child, and monster, might identify non-malicious actions as threats. It's entirely understandable if the shadow monster rips apart a couple patrol officers because they scared, and tried to take, the kid, but if these are your heroes, this is going to be a bumpy ride. Also, this actually worse if you're not personifying their powers, because the kid might simply murder the cops, with magic, if they scared them.

Like I said, writing kids is difficult, unless you're interacting with them on a fairly regular basis. If you're not, I wouldn't recommend this. Child protagonists are doable. Child protagonists in urban fantasy are very tricky. Honestly, kids do much better in portal fantasy because of the genre conventions. Children as PoVs in urban fantasy is something I personally avoid, (and when I do violate that, it's more in the vein of a cosmic horror wearing a sock.)

Leading into the beginning of this question, it's kind important to remember: No one else knows your characters as well as you do. I don't know who your protagonist is. I've got a five word prompt, and no idea what you're doing beyond that. I can make guesses, but I can't even begin to articulate what kind of magical power your character might possess. Are they a wild mage? Are they possessed? Are they a werewolf? I don't know. These are problems when these are very real possibilities. And it's not like you can't do a very compelling story about an orphaned werewolf stranded in the city, hundreds of miles from the surviving members of their pack, with no idea how to navigate back to them. But, that's going to be a very different story from a kid who accidentally summoned a transdimensional shadow monster, and is now trying to help their new friend find a way home.

There's a lot of possibilities, but I don't know which ones you're looking for.

-Starke

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#Starke Answers #How to Fight Write #writing advice #writing reference #writing tips #urban fantasy #I missed the Mentor part of the question

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tobiasdrake · 27 days

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Ace Attorney 4-3, Investigation 1. In keeping with Gavin being surprisingly friendly for a prosecutor, I love the way 4-3 spins directly out of our developing relationship with him specifically.

Klavier Gavin is the only prosecutor ever to voluntarily hang out with the protagonist prior to the big conclusion of their arc. Some prosecutors have showed up to hang out in future titles; In fact, Gavin does too. But this is the first time we've actually been able to get to know them before the showdown.

And you can see why, too. Gavin's not only the friendliest prosecutor. He's also the only one who. Like. Has a life outside the courtroom. Other than Edgeworth being a sentai fanboy, I guess.

This one's going to have to be in two parts.

Rockstar prosecutor Klavier Gavin is a rockstar. So we're going to set a chapter of the story at a rock concert. His rock concert. What a great idea.

OH YOU CAN BARELY TELL THAT A MAN WROTE THIS

The least believable thing in the entire Ace Attorney universe is that the Gavinners somehow have a successful rock career. Rock is a counterculture movement, giving voice to the unheard.

It is physically impossible to get any farther from counterculture than literally cops. This is it. The extreme distant end from counterculture. Who the hell would buy cop-themed rock?

The Daily Wire wishes conservative media was as well-received as the Gavinners.

It's especially bizarre when you consider that we're in the Dark Age of the Law, a period of time when the criminal justice system is so widely known to be corrupt and brutal that pop culture came up with a name for it while it was still happening. Everyone knows that the justice system is broken and exists solely to persecute the innocent but we're all gonna buy tickets to watch a bunch of cops play guitars and cheer for how cool prosecutors are.

Nonetheless, this is such an unassuming setup for a murder. Why would there be a murder? We're here to make music. We're here to make cop music. Can we have one nice evening? But no. Gavin and his guest star Lamiroir take the stage and....

It does not go well. In fact,

It goes aggressively not well. Fortunately, the victim lives long enough to tell us that Lamiroir saw him get shot.

Romein here speaking in code to give us a riddle to solve. I usually hate cryptic moments like this when characters use a short window of opportunity to speak in cryptic tongues rather than deliver useful information. But with Romein, it makes sense. The man has been shot and ours is not his first language. He's wracking his brain right now to find correct enough words to use.

In any case, this sets up our crime for chapter 4-3. A classic Whodunit in an enclosed space - complete with a vanishing killer who somehow teleported out of the room despite us breaking in through the only exit moments after the gunshots were heard.

A limited number of people have access to this backstage area and half of them are cops. One of them shot Romein LeTouse. Which means now would be a good time to talk about the cast of characters involved in this case.

We have two sets of characters here. First is the guest singer Lamiroir and her entourage.

The mysterious and lovely Lamiroir, a famous international singer who is probably the real reason all those people are here. Come for the legendary international celebrity but also cheer for the fucking cops so they don't get mad and shoot tear gas into the crowd.

Siren of the Ballad Lamiroir is easily our most interesting character in this case. Not originally from her "home country" of Borginia, her entire persona is a manufactured illusion.

As well as her manager and translator Romein LeTouse whose name makes me sad that our local salad buffet place shut down during COVID. He's one of only two people involved with this case who can interpret for Lamiroir, who speaks only a foreign language. That's a problem, seeing as he's our vic--

Oh, never mind, she can speak Japanese "English" just fine. They were doing that for publicity. Convenient!

And her blind child pianist Machi Tobaye. He and Lamiroir seem like they make for quite a pair. These two, I can believe having a famous musical career. Machi, incidentally, can "also" only speak his native language just like Lamiroir but I'm sure that won't be important.

These two characters form an inseparable performance duo from a foreign land, whose relationship with each other and their late manager will carry much of the intrigue for this case.

The other key set of characters would be our cops.

Of course we have Ema Skye, our embittered forensic scientist whose talents are wasted as a field detective. Of course, she's definitely off the suspect list on account of the fact that she was with us when the gunshots were heard.

There's Prosecutor Gavin who is having the worst day. He probably didn't dunit but then again it wouldn't be the first time, would it?

And Detective Dickhead. His hair truly must be seen to be believed. He is attempting to pull off the Japanese Thug Pompadour in a way that can only be described as, "Hello, Officer."

Just like Ema, Gavin and Daryan both have airtight alibis as well.

It's hard to get a stronger alibi than "Thousands of people saw me onstage while the murder was taking place."

AND THEN THERE'S THIS ASSHOLE

That's it. That's all we get. Glimpses of the Golden Fucko as he bazingas around dodging attention. Okay, dude. Way to not look suspicious, I guess.

That's it. That is our small cast of characters aside. It's not a lot of people to look into. In fact, Mysterious Golden Fucko aside, nobody seems capable of fitting everything we know about this mystery.

Continued in part 2.

#ace attorney #ace attorney apollo justice #revisiting aa4

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mha-quotes-and-such · 5 months

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That's exactly it! In the entirety of BNHA there has been what, 3 deaths? And none of them have been students? You're really telling me these full grown adult villains who have been training their quirks for YEARS can't take out 15/16 year olds that haven't even had a year of proper training? Miss me with that. There are NO stakes, so even when students get really hurt, I know they're going to be fine so I just don't care at all.

I'd have a character like Kirishima killed. I love that boy SO much but can you imagine the absolute heartbreak for every single character if Kirishima died? That's the good shit there. Or Uraraka is another good one to have die. A driving force for Midoriya. Or really any of the main students.

Or Aizawa.

I think characters like All Might and Endeavour are cop-outs for death. I want good characters that are loved to die. Like, Midnight and Nighteye(?) were sad, sure, but neither of them had enough screentime to really hurt. And while I won't say spoilers for the manga, let's just say the current arc for two characters has PISSED me off big time for cop out survival.

Honestly I think thats one of my biggest problems with media with young protagonists. Sure, if a villain was ganged up on by a bunch of kids that might be a problem, which the series does ok at points, but like. One on one combat these kids should not be winning so decisively?? Like you said, theyre 15/16 fighting people who have dedicated their entire lives to their craft, how are they handling this with little to no repercussions? Thats something I could go on about forever, but I digress

Those are all really interesting choices! Aizawa in particular is really intriguing, and I think could work well. I think killing off students, while it would absolutely be effective, could very easily become an issue of turning a beloved character into nothing more than a plot device if done poorly. Aizawa on the other hand I think is close enough to the students to work effectively, loved enough by the fandom to be a blow, but removed enough where he wont act as a super heavy crutch to aid the story if that makes any sense? My only fear with Kirishima or Uraraka is that if its not done right it could become something thats relied on too heavily while developing Bakugou/Midoriya respectively. Although @thelittlegirlinwonderland made a good point here that having a student die would emphasize that they are just children, which could definitely help with the realism of it

I definitely agree with you on All Might and Endeavor, especially the latter as I feel he would be a very fan-servicey kill (as odd as that sounds). However I do think All Might will die before the series ends. Personally it seems theyre heading in the direction of a very coming-of-age-finding-yourself plot for Midoriya that I think will require All Might dying. I guess we’ll just have to see, but it would align with their trend of less risky kills

#not a quote #ask #hopefully this is understandable #storybuilding choices like this are so cool imo #also i hope you dont mind me @ing you!#tw death

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theladyofbloodshed · 6 months

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I finished ACFTL I wish I could open the Valory Arch, go back in time and forget these books ever existed.

Spoilers ahead for this rambling review.

This was such a boring book. It read like middle grade but that feels insulting to middle grade books. Everything - everything - was spelt out to the reader because they are clearly incapable of making inferences. 1. A seamstress sees the scar on Eva's wrist then mysteriously leaves the room - and then it's explained to the reader later that she left because she must have been informing them of the scar. 2. Explaining that vampires are often called demons due to the story curse, so the demon they are thinking of is actually a vampire. Like yeah, we got that. 3. Explaining that Archer is the man who pulled her out of the well... like girl we aren't stupid.

Once again, Evangeline remains a naive and almost stupid protagonist. 1. Desperately chases after Archer after the assassination attempt, crosses a room then is like actually no I should go to my room, never mind! The definition of forgetting why you entered a room. 2. Her - and other characters - not realising that Wolfric, Honora, and Aurora Vale are actually Wolfric, Honora, and Aurora Valor. It's like pulling a mask off a villain in Scooby-Doo.

There were plot holes and several mistakes that I cannot believe editors and proof-readers missed. For example, Evangeline is bleeding a lot on her gown after taking a knife to the chest but three minutes later - after soaking through her dressing gown - it has sealed. So it surely wasn't deep at all? She was thrown into a well. But also in that paragraph, she was thrown into a wall.

Whilst it's not new to this book, the over the top descriptions are unnecessary. We don't need a paragraph long description of every single outfit in the book. Some of the descriptions make no sense. 'Then, like a pop of soft flowery fireworks, the owners of the voices entered her suite.' What does this mean? When have fireworks ever been soft and flowery? Like in the previous books, there was an attempt at a whimsical, fairy tale fantasy but when the author is beating you over the head with "IT FEELS LIKE A FAIRYTALE" to get the point across, it's lazy. What makes a fairytale a fairytale? Just saying that it feels that way is lazy.

The overuse of words drove me crazy. Everything was little. In the same paragraph, we had a little foolish then a little paranoid. A little broken heart. A little voice. GET A NEW WORD. Speaking of new words, I'm certain a thesaurus was regurgitated - "guards were imbibing" or "diaphanous peach gown".

It felt something like guilt. It felt something like love. Just say it was that!!!!

There was an extraordinary amount of telling the reader rather than showing. Massive info dumps. Pages upon pages of thoughts and talking about a history rather than readers finding out through character's actions.

There was an absolute cop out with Luc. Oh yeah, the vampire pretender for the throne? He's ran away. And that's it. We don't need to tie up that loose end.

I don't even know why Apollo wanted to marry Evangeline? I thought it was just because of the spell in the first book. His motivations made no sense. None of it made sense. It could have been 200 pages shorter because the entire plot was Evangeline bouncing between the two thinking about how cute the world is and how magical fairytales are. I don't understand how they broke Jacks' curse. I miss the Jacks from the Caraval series.

If anybody wants to buy 3 special edition book, let me know!

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dudeyuri · 1 year

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I’m watching Not Me and though I find it to be a little too heavy-handed at times and it's certainly not perfect, I am completely mesmerized so I need to ramble for a bit.

Finally I'm understanding the First hype. I knew he was great and handsome and talented in the role of Alan in MLC but Not Me has me falling for him fr fr. Like that man is so beautiful and charming in the role of Yok. Whenever he graces the screen I am gobsmacked. Those fucking eyes. Even though he’s paired with a cop I lowkey find their romantic development sweet (don’t tell anyone lol. Unar being a cop is easily the worst part of the show but I'm trying to suspend my disbelief and enjoy it anyway)

And Sean/White!! They are such a sexy pairing. Their development, White's apparent affection toward Sean, Sean cautiously reciprocating. Sean beating the shit out of White after White screws up his plan...not to be toxic but I love that shit right there like I'm eating it up. And the way they made up after it—holding hands under the pride flag, drinking in Black's room.

Their first kisses and the tent scene were so well done and romantic and satisfying. Those actors not only look good together, but they play off each other well. White is really effortlessly such a cutie pie. And I love that the both of them (particularly Sean) are older I’m sick of the baby twink BL boys (not really lmao but ykwim). Their chemistry knocked me tf out. I have four more episodes I can’t wait to see more of them together.

Lastly I’m just obsessed with the fact that this show is following a militant anticapitalist anarchist group trying to violently bring down a massive company. And the narrative isn’t condemning them for taking extralegal action. That's so refreshing to me. They’re messy, they make mistakes, they have disagreements, they have to grapple with exactly how they’re achieving their goals. I love how nuanced they are because it’s true to reality in a way I don’t see media often get—they are doing these things as an act of utmost love for people, as anarchists IRL do. They are not made to be mindless, 2-dimensional villains, willing to plow down anyone in their way—that would go against their whole ideology, of course, but I feel like I see this reductive, easy-way-out archetype so often in media (think Killmonger's ideology...coupled with the fact that he killed so many people on behalf of the US Army? Please make it make sense). They don't want to hurt innocent people—the show makes it a point every step of the way that none of them want harm to come to the people they are fighting for. They don't really want to hurt anyone, except for those at the very top.

I feel like I never see an anticapitalist vigilante group portrayed sympathetically in media. Sean, White, and co. are burning shit down, vandalizing, infiltrating warehouses—and narrative is rooting for them!! They are not evil, they are not villains, in fact they are very much the good guys. They are rooted in theory and love. It is made so clear that everyone in the group does what they do out of love.

The cherry on top is that this series was written directed by a trans woman, P'Nuchy. Like of course it was that's why it's so good, that's why it nails the nuances, that's why the militant anarchist group is made up of the sympathetic, kind, loving, COMPLEX protagonists who just want to set fire to everything that is hurting them and their people. This is top tier BL and I'm so excited to finish it, I just had to spit this all out first.

#had to get this off my chest lmao #not me the series

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lindwurmkai · 7 months

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i have watched 8 episodes of faithful by now and it's still really, really good. seriously, i don't always distinguish between "i like it" and "it's actually good" when i talk about some new thing i love but this is both.

i've seen it described as a "revenge drama" as if that were some kind of established genre and idk, maybe it is? but if it had been advertised to me as such, i would have thought it wasn't for me. who cares about revenge? doesn't sound interesting. however ... nie huaisang quickly became my favourite character from the untamed. hmm 🤔

the premise of this show is that a girl (in historical china) who tries to bring her rapist to justice fails to achieve her goal and dies. in response, her friend spends 7 years hatching an elaborate revenge plan. we don't immediately find out how the girl dies, how that man is able to get away with his crimes, who exactly is in league with whom among his various enablers or why, and of course what the revenge plan entails - everything is slowly revealed in segments alternating between past and present. i still don't know how she dies. love this story structure tbh

the protagonist (dead girl's friend) is absolutely delightful and also very easy to read as a lesbian or aroace. however, in the flashback segments we see that she starts out with some rather understandable flaws and her quest for revenge is likely motivated at least in part by regret for not having done more sooner. you see that in male characters so often, it's refreshing to see a female character get the same treatment!!

other than that, the ACAB vibes are off the charts for now. we'll see how that holds up throughout the story, but one of my favourite things is that there's this "good cop" guy who's honestly more of a Slightly Less Bad Cop because his heart is clearly in the right place but he's lazy about it and too much of a realist to do anything most of the time.

he ends up in prison for seven years with a broken leg that never healed right because he was overheard bragging about totally having helped that girl way more than he actually did. yep. that's all it takes

(hilariously, he is now also hell-bent on getting revenge, but mostly for his leg. like, he's got a concerning obsession with finding the main villain and breaking his leg in return, even though the people who did it were his former colleagues - he can see the big picture, he knows whose fault that really was. absolutely incredible)

recently an Actual Good Cop appeared (young and full of idealism), prevented various horrors from occurring, and was beaten up for his efforts. 7 years later, he seems ... hardened but true to his ideals? i'm curious to see how he managed to keep his job!

anyway, lots of good stuff here. it's a super heavy subject, but handled surprisingly well i think. hopefully most of that will stay true for the remaining 17 episodes...

#kai catches up #faithful 2023

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writingquestionsanswered · 2 years

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Heya! This was just a train of thought I was having about character deaths. So, I was thinking about how I wanted to kill off one of my characters in my story, but I really want it to be more on the realistic side as opposed to the way I see a lot of character deaths being written. Like, I want to be able to kill my characters at random/unexpected times without it being at the hands of an enemy/a sickness they had/etc. (Like being shot by the main antagonist/villain and dying of the gunshot either immediately or sometime later &/or the character having some terminal illness and dying of that terminal illness). I’m thinking more, a character that is involved with taking down the villain/antagonist and is randomly like, killed in a car crash/an unrelated accident and not being able to see through to the end of their goal. It’s been an aspect of my writing that I’ve really been interested in, but I also feel like it could be seen as a cop-out and the book equivalent of an unsatisfying “offscreen death”. I just don’t want to have to focus on making all my deaths meaningful/expected/symbolic frequently and trying my hand at more realistic-style deaths. Is this an okay thing for me to attempt or is it something that I should avoid altogether? (Sorry this is so long, couldn’t figure out a way to condense it.)

Character Death Unrelated to Plot

I mean, you can do anything you want, but if you want readers to like it, you want to avoid doing things that are random, unearned, unexplained, pointless, or unsatisfactory. And killing a character in a way that is totally unrelated to the plot is all of those things.

Realism is something many writers strive for in one way or another, but there are a lot of things about real life that don't translate well to the page or the telling of a satisfying story. For example, in "real life," when people talk, we tend to do a lot of "uh, um, uhhh, like, you know, eh, hmm, erm, , ..." BUT if your character dialogue is "realistically" riddled with those, you're going to find your book earns a lot of DNFs and 1-star reviews.

In satisfying stories, character deaths are related to the plot in some way. Even if the death happens at the start of the story, or off-screen before the story even starts, it still has a huge impact on the story and is probably the source of the protagonist's internal conflict if not the external conflict itself.

In a character-driven story, you may well have a character who dies in some seemingly random way, but then part of the journey the remaining characters will make is navigating their grief and trying to understand why the thing happened, if it's possible to understand at all. It still plays a major role in the story. The story is ultimately about the characters processing this event in light of the relationships formed with this character prior to their death.

But if there's an antagonist the protagonist and other main characters are trying to take down, and especially if there's a physical risk in trying to take that antagonist down, the last thing you want to do is kill off one of those main characters in a totally unrelated car accident or have them suffer a totally unrelated natural death. Yes, that may happen in real life, but you're not writing real life. You're writing fiction, and part of writing satisfying fiction is knowing when to be realistic and when not to be. This is when not to be. Now, if you want to have the character die in a car accident that at first seems random and unrelated, but later the characters discover it was caused by the antagonist or one of their minions--that you can do. Because you get the impact of catching the reader off-guard with this totally random event, but you give them the satisfaction of tying it back into the story. :)

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#writing help #writing tips #writing advice #wqaadvice #tw death #tw accident

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super-mega-punch · 1 year

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Initial totk reaction!

The great sky island - spoilers in bound!

- Intro was super creepy omg! The way it built up the music, creeped up the vibe! It made me super nervous even though I knew what was going to happen from the trailers!

- Damn way to make main villain ganondorf feel terrifyingly threatening! Destoying the Master sword! Severely injuring Link! Then raising an entire castle out the ground! His monologue in top of that only added to the fear factor! I'm so excited to see more of him I really hope he is an active part of the story and can change the world as you progress.

- Teleporting both protagonists away felt a bit cop outy! The fear of a dead Zelda would have hit home a bit more.

- The sky islands as expected are beautiful! The little zonai dudes are awesome and so well designed! And so polite! Like last time I'm looking around and picking up everything.

- The sky islands do feel a little more linear than the great plataeu but suprisingly I don't feel too mad at that. It introduces everything in an order with enough room for a bit of exploration. Honestly it was a little overwhelming looking around at the area so I'm glad for the guidance.

- Rauru is amazongly designed! A fluffy goat dragon man with big fluffy ears! I bet they are soft :)

- Ok the ultra hand is like magnesis on steroids very cool as expected! I like the glue idea. I'm hoping there will be lots of use for it when we go back to hyrule!

- The fuse thing is fun gonna take time to learn the combos. I'm a little sad that somethings only seem to give the weapons and things a small attack buff but maybe new things will show up in future. It is gonna make farmong fire and ice arrows much easier! Currently the best fusion i have found is mine cart and shield. No idea if its of any use but it was possible. Maybe it will make shield surfing more fun???

-Ascension is ascension not too surprised by it gives good vertical movement i just want my glider back!

- The Zonai toys are cool im excited to see all the different types. The flamethrower is especually fun!

- Beat the zonai big boss but it took 3 attempts as it basically OHKO'd. Genshin Impacts hypostasis fights have trained me well!

Have you noticed little gaps on the land wotg metal cages underneath! These islands look artificial! More mysteries!

- I feel bad for the poor lost koroks they are now even easier to bully!

- Overall brilliant fun so far! I am hoping the temple of time (which looks a little different atm) is an actual dungeon where i can use all the new abilities like OoT's Deku tree. I'm exceted to break in and find Zelda!

#spoilers #i dont want spoilers #zelda totk #totk link #totk #tears of the kingdom #legend of zelda #the legend of zelda #totk spoilers #zelda spoilers

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z-raven · 1 year

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Various screenshots I took while playing Mafia 3.

Ok, I finished Mafia 2 and Mafia 3.

Played through all the DLC in Mafia 3 as well, still need to play the DLC in Mafia 2.

Mafia 3 has a lot of busy work that you have to do in order to unlock the story missions, so that makes it really difficult to ever want to play through a 2nd time.

I do like that you have stuff you can do that isn't related to the main story, but not when it is required, I like when it is optional.

The story of Mafia 3 is basically a revenge plot where the main character (Lincoln Clay) and his friends rob the federal reserve and then he gets betrayed by his best friend's father and left for dead.

So, basically Clay has to hunt down everyone assonated with the main antagonist and take down his criminal empire.

You do get allies of Cassandra (a Haitian) that would be the main antagonist of the game if Clay was never betrayed.

Also you get the main protagonist of Mafia 2 to be an ally and that is really cool.

Then you get an Irish guy that is associated with the IRA.

You basically take over territory and you have to assign them to any of your 3 allies for them to take.

The game takes place in the 60's, so the music of course is really nice and the entire game is centered around the civil rights era where blacks are treated less than, that doesn't just happen as part of the story, but also that some of the businesses are for whites only and the store owners will call the cops on you if you stay too long in the business.

One of the things I do like about the game is that you can actually stop the cops from being called by taking out the guy that is going to call them, another thing is that really early on you can get the ability to call for any of the vehicles you won to be delivered to you, so you barely are without any form of transportation.

I don't like that you are back to being limited to carrying only 2 weapons, I like that in Mafia 2 you were able to have an entire arsenal of weapons with you at all times.

Money actually is more useful than 2, so besides customizing cars you can upgrade your abilities like the accuracy, the ammo capacity, your health regen, ect.

The DLC's of Mafia 3 are interesting to say the least.

One of them has you fight against a cult and has LA Noire style investigations where you examine people's arms and body and take pictures of things. You also get the ability to slow down time and kill enemies before they can react.

Another DLC has you take down a racist sheriff that is allied with the Southern Union (Basically the Klan) and you end up obtaining the ability to grow and sell weed (which is the best way to make money in the game)

The last DLC has you take down a guy that is planning to launch a nuke and you get bounty hunter missions afterwards.

Mafia 3 is usually considered the worst of the trilogy and honestly I can completely understand that.

I personally find Mafia 1 to be the best of the 3, 2 is ok and it has some interesting characters and story.

I feel like the reason 3 has so much filler stuff, because people complained that Mafia 2 didn't really have anything extra than completing the main story missions, but like the Mafia games were never supposed to be set up in the same way as GTA, they were supposed to be mostly just story focused.

#mafia trilogy #mafia definitive edition #mafia 3 #ps4 #playstation

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spaceorphanssecondbreakfastclub · 1 year

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SO's Bookclub: Secret, Silent Screams

Title: Secret, Silent Screams Author: Joan Lowery Nixon Genre: YA Mystery

Goodreads Summary:

Is Barry's death the latest tragedy in a string of suicides at Farrington Park High School? Or is it murder? Marti is sure her friend Barry didn't take his own life, but no one will believe her except Police Officer Prescott. But opening an investigation takes time, and Marti is determined to find her friend's killer soon. Because even now he could be planning his next crime.

Review:

There is a lot going on this book. Right off the bat, the dedication is to you - the middle grade reader - to say that JLN cares, and please don't commit suicide. It's a sweet sentiment, one that I'm sure came from JLN's heart - but oh my, does the dedication set the tone and this book go in some strange places to get a really muddied point across.

The plot isn't that much different than The Stalker - only this one is at least written better. Marti believes her friend Barry's death is a murder not a suicide, and the book is her trying to unravel the truth of what happened. And of course - the usual unfolding of the plot ensues. Marti isn't that bad of a protagonist, but omg, is she still making dumb choices -- like not telling her cop friend about the person following her around and calling her, or the fact that she calls into a national TV interview to exclaim that the death was not a suicide but a murder - really making her an easy target for the actual murderer.

The actual secret and silent screams will come from the reader who just wants Marti to make more sensible choices. That said, she is way, way better than a majority of the other heroines - and the fact that I decently enjoyed this one is a testament at how much more tolerable Marti is comparatively.

Before I get into what really interested in the books - it's trope watch! It's small town Texas, but isn't so Texas that you /know/ you're in Texas. Religion, however, pops its head up again after a long absence (and I'll get to more on that in a moment). I've also come up with a few more tropes - ever since The Ghosts of Now creepy phone calls have become a thing. Yes, it does add tension (it always creeps me out) but JLN has streamlined how she does her tension.

And, I realized that the heroine never has any female friends. Marti kind of has a bff named Kim, but Kim is blown off every. single. time. Man, I'd be annoyed, too, if I were Kim. Usually, the love interest is the only real friend in these books - but since this one was DOA (a twist for ole JLN) Marti seems particularly cut off.

I should note that, like the Stalker, Marti befriends a young cop named Karen to help her out. Karen's fine - and works as the older mentor role - though the whole side plot where Marti fixes her love life is a little - meh, why are we doing this?. (As an aside - it's actually Karen on the cover - something I never realized as a kid, because I failed to really pay attention to the details of the character descriptions.)

As a whole, I did enjoy reading it more than most of the rest of them. While Marti still is an idiot - at least the plot makes sense and works as a middle-grade mystery. I think the tension is really what JLN does well, and she's got it here for a majority of the book.

But, okay, so here's the thing, though. Unlike most of these other books - this one had me thinking about thematic elements. Because there is some complicated messaging in here, and I'm not exactly sure what Nixon was going for.

But what stuck out to me the most, however, was that we're now in the late-80s. And during that time, there was a push back on pop culture - particularly rock music, as it was claimed that it was destroying the youth of America. And Nixon kind of digs into what would have been a hot-button issue of the day. But how she does it is so... weird.

There are a few suicides before Barry's. And this leads a pastor and a psychologist to come out and push back against specific rock music that was glorifying suicide. (And, omg, there's even an Ozzy Osborne reference - the first real pop culture reference I think I've noted in one of these books. I kind of mad me laugh.) It's somewhat clear that both the pastor and the psychologist are looking to exploit these suicides to further their own teaching and get a book published. It's such a weird framing.

Because - yeah, suicide is a heavy topic (and you can tell Nixon did research it) but since this wasn't a topic, and since those pushing the suicide narrative had their own (conservative) agenda, it felt somewhat dismissive of the conversations people should rightfully be happing about suicide.

Layered on top of that is Marti screaming her head off at both of them for being wrong -- but not because she disagrees with the sentiment about rock music (and youth culture) but because (almost comically) she believes her friend was murdered.

There are attempts to have discussion about suicide and mental illness but they're completely undermined by the fact that Barry's death was a homicide and not a suicide. It's like Nixon wanted to talk about suicide, but also had to write her mystery, too. Idk, like I said - the whole thing is muddled and I, overall, wish the conversations surrounding suicide would have been better handled and not flippantly dismissed because one character was murdered.

Overall, it's a bit average for a book, and a decent read against all the rest of these that I've been reading. But, man, there are some definite talking points in it...

Rating: 3 stars

#sbc bookclub #books #book review #joan lowery nixon #secret silent screams #tw: suicide

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the-greendalehumanbeings · 2 years

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writers chickened out with edwina's character on so many levels, really what a waste. she should have actually yelled at anthony! for proposing to her while messing with kate's feelings without considering how it would impact them and their family. the bridgertons could survive that scandal but the sharmas would not. i agree it was a cop out to say she just didn't care about him. at least when kate and anthony get together she should at least care that this fuckboy treats her sister well? they brought up different characterizations for her arc then abandoned them, like they could have explored the pressure to be perfect and find a good match (i thought that's what they were going to do with that ep 3 scene but it lead nowhere). she could have had some scenes with the queen. she could have more scenes with kate and mary exploring their bond, telling love stories, etc. maybe how she was sheltered from the worst of their situation leading to her being naive and lacking real world experience. or like in the book she could have been aware of their financial situation and felt pressure to be with anthony. she could have been friends with eloise and become disillusioned with marriage and discuss politics and feminism. or like in the book she could meet someone who actually fits her (and isn't white) and felt conflicted because he doesn't have money. and she should have been a lesbian

Yeah, i understand what they were trying to do with Edwina's arc, but it was poorly executed. She was never properly fleshed out, never shown to be overwhelmed by the expectations of being the diamond, nor is she shown to long for anything outside of being the diamond or a debutante. So when Edwina talks about never wanting any of it, it doesn't make any sense because she was never shown to be uncomfortable in that role in the first place. We don't even get to see much of her growth after episode six. She is angry and jaded until Kate's accident, and after the reconciliation scene, she reverts to the sweet, saccharine character she was in the beginning. Although Edwina is less naive now, so i guess that counts as growth.

Regarding Anthony, the show has Edwina completely ignore him because they don't want to frame the bridgerton protagonist as in the wrong. Anthony's behaviour with Edwina is pretty selfish and deceitful. BUT, the show desperately wants the audience to forget that, so it ignores Anthony's role in essentially forming the whole mess. Not only does Anthony never apologise, there is never a moment where he realises that he has hurt both of them. He doesn't feel guilty or explain any of his actions. It's weird how Kate never even asks why he proposed to her sister despite dreaming of her 'night and day'. idk maybe she forgot to ask because she was blinded by the power of love or horny or whatever. It just made the whole thing unsatisfying to watch, though. Even Edwina-Kate’s conflict was dull to watch. Edwina was just making speeches while was just Kate consumed with guilt. There was no real communication.

I think that was a large problem with season tbh. The show wants to wring out as much drama as possible but it doesn’t want the Bridgerton’s to suffer any real consequences. So the conflict is either sloppily resolved or forgotten. Which makes it tiring to watch. Bridgerton either needs to take itself less seriously and embrace the soapy drama, or it needs to prioritise it’s character arcs and developments. Because it is clearly not capable of doing both.

#bridgerton #edwina sharma

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getmemymicroscope · 28 days

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Damn - this one hit hard.

As a heist movie, which is sorta what I was trying to find, this one is doesn't really fit what I was looking for - simply because it doesn't so much focus on a single heist (as, say, the Ocean movies or The Italian Job or even the movie from yesterday, The Code). In that sense, the internets sorta lied to me. It's feels like less of a heist movie and more a movie about 4 friends who are pushed to their limits and resort to multiple heists (which only make up a small portion of the actual movie).

However, just taking it as a movie, this is pretty damn good. Very hard-hitting, yes - more than I really wanted or was looking for on this night, for sure (again, was looking for something more Ocean's-y) - but that doesn't change the fact that it's pretty damn good.

The beginning is a bit choppy, though it is probably a necessary bit to really get into why the rest of the movie goes the way it does, and why our protagonists act the way they do. The story is definitely going hard, with emphatic, definite tragedies starting almost immediately. Once it gets going, though - it's a good mix of these quick heists (well, until the last one) intermixed with the very serious and somber interactions between the four of them and their unfortunate life circumstances (with emphasis on the world they live in and how society has led them to this point).

Also, not really the point of this movie, but it is nice to see a cop who has a conscience (well, of sorts). I mean, he does almost directly lead to essentially everything that happens - but I do think that he realizes this almost immediately, which is why he tries so hard to end things as good as he can (though he fails pretty miserably). Of course, his colleagues, even this Waller person, and the guards at the bank, manage to fuck all that up. It does suggest that there may be some somewhat-decent folks who are able to look at the evidence, realize they have screwed up, and try to make amends. Also, just a fan of seeing John McGinley - which reminds me, again, that I still need to watch Scrubs.

There's a lot to be said about friendship and money and how the 2 don't mix - especially when it comes to something like this. I mean, robbing banks is a no-no either way, but when you involve friends, things becomes pretty dicey because they can keep playing the 'friendship' card (as happens multiple times here). And even more so when you happen to fall in love with a banker. (Stony is clearly the main protagonist of this story, and you do really root for her and her story - especially when she tries so hard to be the voice of reason amongst the group, because you know if they don't listen to her, things are going to go south. And sure enough, things eventually do.) And what she does at the beginning, to get the money for her brother - well, it's a sad, sad world (and disgusting, and some people really suck). And that he lied to her - that that self-sacrificial move was all for naught - is really driven home by the fact that, even still needing the money, she rips the check up. It's a pretty drastic scene that is sorta just glossed over, but it could really have been emphasized how little the money meant for her at that point, other than just being a possible way out of everything. (Also, more bad should've come to that guy.)

The desperation that the others show, coming off as greed - especially Cleo at the end, which ends up being the damning decision that gets them all in trouble - is driven by multiple things: they all have monetary needs, of course, but Cleo also seems to be the 'big spender' amongst them, the one that would be most likely to get caught because she would be the one who immediately starts living outside her means. But that greed, multiple times, causes issues - between them initially, before finally being the nail in the coffin - and really drives home how unfortunate this money-centric society is.

Of course, Cleo also makes numerous crazy decisions that get them nearly caught multiple times - the discarding the CDs, the whole thing with Luther (even if she didn't pull the trigger), the driving a car through the bank, and that final command to get some more money. Honestly, though, of the 4 characters, her (and Frankie) were my least favorite - largely because their greed and arrogance/anger, which, while maybe justified, just made it clear things were doomed from the start - and you're really rooting for them to stop that so that they can all get away. As justified as Frankie's anger towards the system, and towards the detective, may be, them pushing the others to repeatedly pull of these heists made it clear that they weren't ever going to be satisfied, which also meant that things weren't going to end positively.

The actions of some of our characters are frustrating - simply because they foretell a more tragic, painful ending - which makes it overall a slightly frustrating movie to watch (simply because you really want them to pull of a definite 'last' heist and get away), but they do a damn good job with the whole thing. This is a good movie.

#GMMM does movies #movies #movieblr

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dastardlydandelion · 1 year

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horror queers yes!! they’re so good and fun tbh. i’m also honestly disappointed they went the cop route w kirby, i would have loved to see her be a film professor or be working in that industry on some level. although maybe that love of horror movies wouldn’t be as prevalent after everything she went through 😭 i heard good things about sick also, i’ve definitely been meaning to check it out.

they are! i don't listen to podcasts regularly but i do tune into horror queers every now and then bc they're a blast. also i like to put some various shudder podcasts on when i'm doing stuff around the house, esp she kills.

also dude, i feel you. i was hoping that once dewey was dead we'd be done with the cop protagonists in scream. and this other cop guy detective bailey or whoever, joining the cast with his motivation being a murdered daughter?? like, really?

i am high-key sick of dead and/or brutalized female characters being used as props in male characters' stories and we've all seen "disgruntled cop with a 'fridged wife/daughter/sister" specifically. he is like. the most generic character ever. put on any prime-time crime drama or action movie and you'll find that character. he's as cliche as the meet-cute, as copy-and-paste as a clipart png. i think kirby reed being a cop is more divisive than detective bailey bc she's such a fan favorite but this guy bugs me too just in concept, i rly hope his death is a gruesome one.

now...to play the devil's advocate here...i get the logic of including police officers in stories like this. bc it's easy, okay, it's easy. murder is a crime. the ghostface murders ppl. cops (in theory) investigate crime. ergo, making a character a cop is a conventional way to involve them in the events of the story. do i like this? absolutely not. but do i understand the convenience of it? yes. but just bc it's convenient doesn't mean it's *good* storytelling and regardless of whether you're sick of copaganda or not (i am and it seems you are too, anonymoose friend), we had a cop protagonist in this franchise for 25 yrs!! we've done that before, scream, i thought we were doing DIFFERENT things now!!!

albeit...i'm still thinking kirby might be ghostface? idk. i keep going back and forth. i would hope they wouldn't bring her back just to add her to the body count. i get that her being ghostface would feel like ruining her character to so many people who loved her and while i'm sympathetic to that, i would also be (cautiously) down for it depending on how well it's executed?

we haven't seen kirby in 12 yrs. who knows what almost dying at the hands of a ghostface did to her! not to mention finding out her best friend was the other one!! and as messed up as it is, sometimes becoming the thing that scares you is the easiest way not to be afraid anymore. and theoretically, if kirby were to be (a) ghostface, she'd be like the anti-dewey and if thoughtfully executed, imo it'd be an interesting angle.

plus even in scre4m, kirby is THE BEST but also has some callous af lines??

like telling jill [sydney] was the reason she loved horror movies so much? ik she's prolly just referring to being a fan of the stab franchise, but in-universe it's still a pretty tactless statement. or at the police station right after jenny and marnie got killed, kirby mentions not getting a ghostface call and just, idk the way she asks if she's not going to live as long as jill and olivia seemed kinda...i mean, kirby has every right to be worried about her own safety, but the way it was phrased, it was almost like she was a self-aware movie character asking, "what exactly is my role here?"

that said, it's extremely probable that kirby is NOT (a) ghostface. she could truly just be another heroic cop protagonist. i don't love the cop part. but i'll take it, if it means having her back and alive.

since kirby is such a fan favorite, it'd be controversial and polarizing to go the route of either killing her off or making her a killer. if they bring her back only to kill her off, it'll actually be a death the audience *feels* bc we care abt kirby and it will establish a sense of stakes in the movie. but it could also easily come across as cheap bc, uh. where we left off in scre4m she was bleeding on the ground, so many of us assumed she was dead already. killing her now could feel like bringing her back *just* for the sole purpose of killing her and that's just plain mean.

making kirby (a) ghostface? who wants the lovable fan favorite to be a villain?? the in-universe horror fan us diehards see ourselves in? one notable of the (many, many valid) complaints about scream: resurrection was that the horror fan ended up being the primary ghostface and cited her love of horror as a motive for violence, thus playing into the stereotype that consumers of fictional violent content are bad people in actuality. in context this didn't bother me personally, but that's besides the point: the point is a sizeable percentage of the audience of a horror film does not want to see the character they relate to thru a shared love of horror be the villain, esp not a villain that potentially plays into an unflattering stereotype abt horror fans. making kirby the ghostface would be a risky move ripe to alienate that audience.

on the other hand, we love the ghostfaces almost as much as we love kirby, don't we? sydney prescott is freaking final girl royalty and depending on who you ask, a draw greater than ghostface. but the thing is neither one exists without the other. we don't have our horror heroines without our villains, nor our villains without our horror heroines...oh good lord, i'm really rambling now and for that i apologize but i'm already this far in i might as well try to remember what the point was...

yes! ghostface, okay. we love them! don't ask me how many ghostface costumes i have! there's dozens of ghostface fan edits, fanfics, posters, fanart, t-shirts. we rank the ghostfaces and playfully debate abt crossover fights with other villains or final girls. horror fandom as a whole celebrates its villains as much as-- and frequently more often than --its horror heroines (i have complex feelings abt this and the gendered dynamics at play in the horror genre, but again, my personal feelings are besides the point here). this is a phenomena touched on by two ghostfaces in-universe, even. amber says the problem with stab is that there's "no bad guy to keep coming back." beth of scream: resurrection declares, "the killer is the real hero of the story," when pointing out that it is the villains who return for sequels, their masks the face of every franchise.

if kirby were to turn out to be ghostface, depending on the execution (which imo is more crucial than the concept itself here), she might wind up being the most popular one yet! the audience already loves her. the audience already loves the peanut-eyed ghost mask. but we don't necessarily love them for the same reasons, so putting her in the mask is tricky.

whatever they do with kirby, it's not going to please everyone. they already made one controversial choice with her occupation. maybe she'll wind up being in the movie for all of five minutes and the most controversial thing of all will be that they brought kirby back after a decade and did nothing with her character at all beyond the badge.

wow i am so rambling now, oof. sorry buddy. you got my scream gears turning!

but honestly i would've loved to see kirby as a film professor or working in the horror industry. i would've gladly signed up for her class! or watched her movies!! you bring up a good point tho, maybe kirby isn't as into horror movies after she lived thru one. i feel like it could go either way? i know people who cannot consume certain kinds of content that they previously enjoyed because of trauma, now finding it too triggering. i know other people who coped in the opposite way and became even more voracious in that consumption bc they related to the content, or found catharsis in protagonists getting resolution for fictional trauma when they couldn't get resolution for what they experienced irl.

#anonymoose #scream #scream 4 #scre4m #kirby reed #scream 6 #scream vi #speculation #i went on a whole ass rant and for that i apologize #whew #i am sorry friend i have big scream brain rn #sick is pretty good tho totally go check it out #smth smth abt how sam being a fanfic character brought to life demonstrates the union of fan love for both horror heroines and villains

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