#like the reason i describe my characters and stories as 'real' to me is simply bc they are very vivid in my brain

[dallonwrites]

reblogs off bc i dont want to start Conversations based on other peoples posts but re the whole "who is in control you or the character" question, i find it SO interesting because it's by letting myself discovery write that I (for me personally disclaimer) found the perfect balance between intuition and intention. which to preface "intution" is the easiest way to describe how the inside of my writers brain feels bc often i just get vivid characters/stories/images/scenes with little control at first and i have to figure out what they mean. anyway discovery writing is what works for my brain to make intentional decisions because i need to be amidst a draft to get the Story Cogs working, whenever i try to outline before a draft it's always been just throwing things at a wall bc it feels too far away, but because im also using the discovery element to do that it's like. that's where i think the whole i feel like my characters reveal themselves to me comes from. because im always discovering small bits about them even if i've written them for years just but because discovery writing is also what prompts me to be intentional about writing as i write something it's like both are happening at the same time. so the whole "who's in control" it's like...i don't think control is the right word for me at all because its not Me or the Character it's me trying to understand the character to understand + then write my intentions. like neither me or the character are in the drivers seat because there's no car we are in the middle of the story forest and at first i won't know what it means at all except that it is a Story. and my character will start going one way and sometimes i'll follow and pay attention to where they're taking me to figure out if this is the right path/where to go next. and sometimes i'll figure out how to read the compass first and realise i need to drag their ass in another direction

#anyway i just thought this was interesting because i used to think i needed to outline to be intentional/in control of my story #but outlines are too distant for me to feel like im in control so thats why theyre more organisational than creative for me #whilst we're infodumping on process i also dont like the whole are characters Like Real People or just Story Tools #like yes my characters are tools for the story just like how the story is a tool for demonstrating my characters #like again i dont think its one or the other for me #but i treat them as very 'real' (which this can be another tangent in itself) and intuitive is the best way to describe how i process them #but that doesnt mean there isnt intention and control you know #like the reason i describe my characters and stories as 'real' to me is simply bc they are very vivid in my brain #and that vividness often expands the bounds of the story #i want to go on the 'real' tangent the weight of that word one day #i think this makes sense if u know that for me i rarely get 'ideas' i get images #and characters/relationships #and i have to figure out what that means as a story #also no i dont think you need 'intuition' bc thats just the word i use for myself but i do think you need to understand #how intention works w your writing process and what it means for you to be intentional and what helps you be intentional #and sometimes that will be not considering any form of 'intuition' at all #beloved writeblrs i think i need to launch the dallonwrites substack i cant be doing these tag essays anymore!! i need to expand!!! someone #give me a podcast

[horse-girl-anthy]

could Anthy have walked out of Ohtori from episode one?

essay under the cut.

my basic answer to this question is no, but there's a lot of complexity behind that no.

when Utena first encounters Anthy, she immediately thinks there's something wrong with her and tries to talk her out of the whole "Rose Bride" business. while Utena makes several crucial mistakes during this early stage of their relationship, her instinct isn't necessarily wrong. if you met someone who said their inherent position in life was to be a slave to the will of others, wouldn't you have some concerns?

by episode 23, Utena has begun to understand Anthy better, to feel the magnitude of her plight.

such moments have long since led me to the conclusion that Anthy couldn't leave Ohtori until the final episode. however, that doesn't mean that I knew what "not being able to leave" truly implied. here's the thoughts I've come up with.

in life, we all have times when we know what we should do to improve our circumstances, but we find that we simply cannot do it. the barrier to "not being able to do something" is not physical, not easily explainable. I'll give an example from my life. I spent a couple years as an alcoholic. obviously, there was a very simple solution to this problem: stop drinking. but I just couldn't do it. my life was pretty bad at the time, but I've gotten through other bad times without guzzling alcohol. during the course of my addiction, it looked like I wasn't making any progress. then one day I just stopped. people say you're an alcoholic for life, but I don't believe that. I know I'm done; it's over.

I've started to take Anthy's character as, in part, a grand metaphor for being in such a position. a simple action, one that you're physically capable of, would solve everything. but you can't do it. until one day you can.

that's not the whole answer to the Anthy question, of course. the show has a system, a social landscape, which has to be taken into account. there's the swords of hate, there's Akio. Anthy is truly oppressed, and so, even though she eventually reveals that she's capable of walking out, to give such an explanation is facile. I gave an example of a situation where I knew what I needed to do to get my life together; for Anthy, it's more of a case where she cannot even believe that her life could change. either leaving Ohtori doesn't occur to her, or she thinks it's impossible.

taking a more thematic approach, Anthy is a representation of the suppression of women. she's in an impossible situation; she constantly denies her own agency; she has been so badly hurt that she is afraid to be herself in any capacity. so the question of "could Anthy just have left Ohtori from the start?" could be rephrased as "can women just shake off their socialization?" Utena, who attempts to do just that, can't escape from it in the end either.

but the reason RGU is such a beloved story is because it is about liberation from gendered socialization, as well as other mental prisons. with this in mind, I think Anthy not being able to leave at the start was necessary for the narrative. it can't be easy for her to leave, or there's no story, and it won't feel real.

the process of liberation isn't easy either, or necessarily explicable. the show centers on the dueling game, a system which treats Anthy as an object, which encourages conflict and possession. the characters always seem to fail at their objectives. they never resolve their complexes--they only spend them out. Utena wins and wins, and although she is loving, she is not prying Anthy out of her coffin. Ikuhara once described the final arc as being full of stories that are wrong. there doesn't appear to be any light at the end of the tunnel.

right when you think Utena and Anthy have achieved solidarity, that they both want the same thing, Anthy reveals another of her faces, stabbing Utena in the back and acquiescing to her fate yet again. it's only then, after every single option has been eliminated, that the revolution can occur. strangely, the power of the final episode comes from the "empty movement" of the previous 38. all along, it looked like no progress was being made. Miki and Kozue break apart almost as soon as they've reached an understanding. Touga challenges Utena to another duel, despite knowing that that's what Akio wants. Nanami won't let go of the spotlight she so craves. Juri can do nothing but surrender. and yet.. and yet.

a lot of fans view Ohtori as a bad place, an evil place. certainly, evil happens there. Akio is at the helm, an embodiment of the sick childishness of an adult who refuses to grow up. but I don't know if Ohtori is evil. it provides the setting for the process of liberation to occur. staying there is the problem. but perhaps for Anthy, and for the other characters, Ohtori served as the shell--a thing of protection--which allowed them to reach adulthood and emerge into the world. the dueling game was all a grand play which gave them an outlet for their issues, a testing ground to be left behind when they were ready. through failure, they found out that what they really wanted was something beyond their imagination. they struggled and fought with one another, only to find out that underneath at all, there was love, unlooked for, rising from shared alienation.

let's put it one more way: Anthy could not leave Ohtori from the start, because she was still a child, no matter how jaded she was. she hid her child-self away long ago and then forgot it was there. when that child woke up, she found that she had a friend who wanted to go out into the real world with her. that was all she needed to become an adult, and so, at last, she left Ohtori for good, a whole person. in the words of Ikuhara:

The prince chose to sleep on, and the princess chose to wake up. At the top of that tall tower, the princess bid farewell to the prince. No - she wasn’t the princess any longer. She quit being “a person (thing) ruled by someone.” The victory bells rang, but there was no “tower (rule)” beyond them now. She’d learned where freedom lay. She crossed the threshold of that “Door of Revolution” which had always been closed for her before, and began walking. The “girls’ revolution” lay in the girl’s future.

#rgu #commentary

[aphverse-confessions]

fantasy racism anon, i want to start to say that i did commit an error on my part, that part being me not specifying who exactly that message was targeted towards, which was white people mainly. this post is also in no way a hate towards you, as i understand many of your points in the tags. the original post came from the fact that i am a queer, person of color, who suffers discrimination everyday and cannot turn it off the moment i decide that i an bored or tired of experiencing it. it truly frustrates me when white people include these things simply for added conflict because most of the time fantasy racism comes from real life racism, and furthur discriminates and harms real life minority groups.

the best examples i can think of in the context of mcd and mystreet as a whole is meif’was being extremely based on japanese & asian culture as a whole, being seen as only these cute kitty cats who are silly and cute (kc is an example of this) or werewolfs, who are viewed as agressive and monstrous, who live in tribes and attack people for no reason other than being hostile, all things that indigenous people are linked to being due to years of colonialism and racism. but this exists outside of aphmaus roleplay series too. think of orcs from dungeons and dragons, who are agressive and evil and are often depicted having black features and black hairstyles. think of goblins in fiction, who are described as having hooked noses and being greedy, a common negative stereotypes of jewish people.

fantasy racism isnt just fantasy. it is inherently inspired by the real world, and tends to only furthur stereotypes and negative connotations. that is why is truly frustrates me when i see white people incorporate it into their retelling of these stories and in general, because to them it is just conflict that they can walk away from by simply just shutting the book or closing their computer, while me and countless other people of color have to sit and watch as we see characters go through what we go through, instead of being able to have a moment of peace from the real world like white people do.

.

#REALLY important addition #I agree completely #ppl should not use others discrimination for “shock value'' or ''drama” #sorry if my tags came across rude or disrespectful #it was an unfortunate misunderstanding of your intent #aphmau confessions #aphmau #aphblr #aphverse #‼️ #skipping queue for relevance

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I will never understand the notion that Zuko was the only one to support to Katara or that Zuko supported Katara more than Aang. Like that’s objectively false.

As someone who likes lots of hero X villain ships, and plenty of Good Girl X Bad Guy ships in particular, let me explain: it's just a popular cope/lie to justify hating on the good guy that is either part of a love triangle, and thus the bad guy's rival, or the only real love interest for the girl in cases of "fanon love triangles" like the Kataang VS Zutara one.

Lots of people who like that kind of dynamic, or simply rooting for the bad guy, are, for some reason, uncomfortable with the fact that these dynamics can get (and sometimes forever remain) messy, toxic, unhealthy or downright abusive, and that the bad guy is, in fact, bad and will do evil things to harm the hero, even if they are canonically in love (and again, the romance sometimes isn't even canon to begin with).

So they try to fix that "problem" by pretending the "evil love interest" was the only one that actually cared, and either never did anything to genuinely harm the romantic lead or did so much good stuff that it balances it out.

Meanwhile the "morally correct/default choice" is always demonized and talked about as a character that is not only boring, but also secretly selfish, controling, uncaring and/or abusive, yet the writers refuse to acknowledge is not the saint they claim he is. That is done solely to make the "bad guy" look better in comparison. Only twice in my life have I ever seen the "good guy" in the love triangle genuinely be as bad as the fandom says they are - Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother and Riley Finn from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Pretty much every other time I've seen fans use that argument? It was total bullshit.

That's literally all there is to the nonsense 'argument' of "Zuko cared about Katara even when he was still a bad guy, but Aang acted worse than he ever did all while being the hero the show never calls out." It's disregarding canon almost completely and creating an alternative version of the story that goes out of it's way to glorify Zuko's every action, while demonizing Aang, solely for the sake of saying "Therefore Zutara should have been canon and endgame instead of Kataang."

That's why they talk about nonsense like "Zuko was the only one to ever help Katara with chores during camp, while Aang expected her to be do everything by herself just because she's a girl." It never happened, but if it had it'd make Zutara look better than Kataang, so they just convince themselves that's what happened and repeat it to everyone else.

You'll never understand the logic in these arguments because there is none to be found in the first place, and you can't reason with these people because they simply don't care what happened in the show. They only care about their version of Avatar. The "Zuko" and "Aang" they describe in their fics, metas and headcanons are completely separate from the actual Zuko and Aang.

#anti zutara #pro kataang #pro aang

[a-town-called-hometown]

hi!! i loved your post about deltarune's metafiction and its (not) escapist themes, and it got my brain jogging, like... i guess ive just been thinking "why"? like ive heard that take before and i think its valid, but also like. why ? its obvious enough to me that deltarune uses the lightner/darkner relationship as a reflection of the player/game relationship and both of these things are addressed critically, but i can't help but wonder if there's a driving force for it all, outside of deltarune. like i can accept diegetically the darkners are not, or shouldn't be, subject only to the whims of lightners, but with any good story if you break it down to its core is ultimately saying something about humanity or the world and such. i mean i seriously doubt the people who seem to think that Toby Fox intends to induce *actual* guilt into the people who fund his life's work and career by purchasing his videogames, like, it's obvious that "you are a bad person because you play this videogame" isn't the intended message, nor was it in undertale. but then, what is? what is the purpose of a story that invites us to think of toys and game characters as "real"? not to trash my beloveds but i mean, literally speaking, their lives DONT matter, they r not real. it just feels like ive seen a lot of discussion about 'what' toby is doing with the narrative but i feel like that's only half the ordeal, the other half would be the reason why. my first thought was that the implicit 3rd thing being compared to the light-dark, player-game thing is actual social hierarchy IRL in which people are oppressed by another group that doesnt see them as human, bc iirc toby talked a bit about feeling powerless and wanting to do more to change the real world on real issues in an interview in 2020ish and of course there's the snarky gag about the fedora plugboy who doesn't like politics, so he doesn't care that an evil ruler is taking over the world. im not sure if that sits right with me as what the intention is (esp because the latter is a darkner talking about another darkner) but i couldnt think of much else although i do feel like a fallacy people get themselves into a lot in the fandom is the assumption that toby fox is this Impeccable Writing Machine and not just like A Guy. people make weird or flawed art sometimes, it doesn't *have* to adhere to standards. maybe deltarune is meaningless (or the meaning IS that it's meaningless, as though to complete the metaphor of it being a "real" fictional world, because if it is 'real' then like our world there is no "answer" or "purpose", it simply *is*.) dunno! im not expecting it to boil down to a simplistic fairytale moral like "dont bully people!!" or something, mr. fox tends to write more convoluted than that, but i feel like if there's something to be gained from this particular part of the game's story then i'm not sure i see the vision. what do u think? do u think this question is even answerable with only two chapters?

respectfully, I do heavily disagree with the notion that good stories necessarily have to say anything about the world or about humanity. one of the reasons I like metafiction is that it usually says something about how stories are constructed, and that's enough for me. there's plenty of stories that have bigger themes that aren't really all that much about human nature, at least, not directly. a story can comment on one specific thing without necessarily making a broader statement about people, you know? not every story has an easily explained moral lesson.

that being said, yes, this plot element is in service of deltarune's larger themes! which are about agency, control, fate, and identity.

deltarune's fate theming and its metafiction elements are a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation given how interlocked they are, but I've found it helpful to describe deltarune as a "person vs. fate narrative that uses a metafictional lens to characterize fate." rather than the three fates of greek mythology or whatever dictating its characters' lives, it is instead the structure of the rpg their world was made to be. they are player characters. they are npcs. they play specific roles in the narrative. no one can choose who they are in this world.

control is emphasized in this story. there's the control we have over kris, of course, and in a much subtler way the control we have over the world through them. there's the darkner-lightner hierarchy, which parallels our dynamic with kris. i would argue that there are even social forces in hometown which also serve to place the lightner characters into specific roles. under this level of control, it's hard for characters to push back and determine their own identities.

all these forces combine to mean that deltarune's characters are fighting back against the narrative itself! which says stuff about people's agency, and the way rpgs are written, and how we interact with all that...

ultimately, you can apply this to real life. even if there aren't things like "fictional people who are actually real," hierarchies of control do exist in real life. narratives that erase the agency and internality of certain types of people exist in real life. it's admittedly a rather general statement, but like with any narrative about fate, seeing characters resist rules that are seemingly written into the fabric of their existence can make you feel inspired to also define your own identity! and to be transgender. don't forget to be transgender

#deltarune #deltarune analysis #im not kidding deltarune really did make me transgender.

[morgana96]

Trying to Debunk Things the FFXIV Fandom Keeps Making Up About Lyse Hext

(Warning: Stormblood MSQ Spoilers Under the Cut)

I’ve been playing FFXIV for a few years now. It was my first time every playing a Final Fantasy game, and I was nervous I wouldn’t be any good at it. But FFXIV has been a huge comfort and highlight in my life. It’s gotten me through some very tough times and has really inspired me creatively. Not to mention I've met some really great people through the game, and that the community has so many nice and talented people.

But just like any other fandom, things are far from always perfect. There are fans who engage in offensive and gross behavior, fans who are toxic about how to best play - there are plenty of issues this fandom has that most of us are already aware of. But one thing that I think about a lot - although it's far from the only thing - is the strange amount of malice certain fans display when talking about the character Lyse Hext.

I couldn't understand for the longest time why some players hated Lyse so much. Personally, I enjoyed Stormblood, and I like her character. I enjoyed seeing her learn to step out of her sister's shadow and start to become her own person, and I consider her to be one of many characters who my WoL happily considers a good friend.

So it baffled me that people hated her so intensely. I get that not every character clicks with everyone, and that people have varied tastes. But the absolute vitriol some people treat her with has always confused me. That is, until I eventually realized what part of the problem is.

You see, I'm convinced that a good number of Lyse haters weren’t paying thorough attention to Stormblood’s plot. That, or they’ve simply forgotten certain details with time. Because most of the things they accuse her of or site as reasons for their hatred LITERALLY NEVER HAPPENED IN THE GAME.

There are so many accusations I've seen thrown around about her, and nearly all of them are something taken out of context, misremembered, or just straight up made up.

So what I want to do is go over some of the biggest accusations this fandom has perpetuated about Lyse and debunk those that are untrue or based on misunderstanding.

People who've followed me for a while probably know I used to do this all the time back in my Naruto fandom days. I’ve seen some really wild takes from that fandom, and still do occasionally even though the original manga ended nearly a decade ago.

But while I had to wade through a lot of nonsense back then, I really enjoy breaking down stories and characters in order to prove my perspectives. So I’d like to get back into it (especially since I’ve been struggling with focus issues, and this gives me interesting subjects to focus on!)

So let's get started:

“Yda was better than Lyse.”

Let's get something straight right of the bat. The “Yda” these players claim is “better”? That person's not real.

In the game’s timeline, the original 1.0 takes place in 1572, and the true Yda died in 1571. In other words, the “Yda” with Papalymo in 1.0 is Lyse. Apparently, legacy WoLs do encounter the real Yda via Echo visions from before 1.0, but the “Yda” they are with during 1.0 and beyond has always been Lyse. (I am not a legacy/1.0 player, so I'm using resources like the lore books and short stories to get this information.)

So what this means is that unless you are a legacy WoL, you never even knew or saw anything of the real Yda. It was always Lyse.

Everyone in the Circle of Knowing already knew this. Remember, it was Papalymo who asked them not to say anything; he recognized it as a coping mechanism for Yda's death, and he wanted Lyse to figure out for herself that she should not hide herself in her sister's shadow and legacy.

And deep down, Lyse had a feeling the others knew. She just didn't voice this, which is described as her “deciding not to know” that they knew. She even admits that she wasn't trying to truly “become” Yda, so it’s unlikely that she was really changing her personality all that much from what it usually is.

So I can't help but be annoyed when people insist they “liked Yda better”. Not only because I don't think Lyse's personality changed much from when she was “Yda”, but also because people who make this claim fail to see how ridiculous they sound.

The lie was a better character?

You see Lyse’s grief response to losing her older sister as a better character?

You hate that Lyse finally chose to let Yda go and try to become her own person? And preferred the lie?

What a weird hill to die on.

“Lyse didn’t do anything for the Resistance before my WoL showed up”

This is what I’m talking about when I say there are definitely players who just weren’t paying attention and instead make up whatever best fits their own biases.

Lyse and Papalymo were working with the Ala Mhigan Resistance since the end of A Realm Reborn. With a great deal of effort, Conrad managed to get them to Rhalgr’s Reach after the events of the Bloody Banquet, and the two of them pretty much spend the whole time after that working directly with Conrad’s faction of the Resistance until you finally manage to find them again towards the end of Heavensward and right before Stormblood begins

Lyse is not some stranger to them by the time your WoL crosses Baelsar’s Wall. By the time you get there, she’s already become close with Conrad, M’naago, and Meffrid. She’s already gone on countless dangerous missions with the Resistance and engaged directly in conflicts with imperials on their behalf. All of this is made clear in both the MSQ and the extra stories online.

I get so frustrated when blatant misinformation like this gets passed off as canon. How are you going to accurately criticize a character when you don’t even remember major parts of the story you’re criticizing? It makes no sense.

“Lyse stole the credit for saving Ala Mhigo from my WoL!!”

Yeah, no. She didn’t.

I’m not even going to pretend to humor this one. It doesn’t deserve it. It’s a lie. A straight up lie. It literally never happened.

But you know what the most annoying and sad thing about it is? This stupid claim is the exact opposite of how Lyse actually behaves throughout the game.

Lyse is seen regularly talking about how much she looks up to the WoL. She talks so much about how they inspire her, whether directly to them or to others when they’re not around. One of the biggest parts of her arc is getting over her fear of not living up to “true heroes”, including her family and the WoL. Hell, when people rightfully thank her for her efforts, she downplays it as simply doing the right thing and not something anyone needs to thank her for.

And when the WoL finally beats Zenos and Ala Mhigo finally becomes free, do you know what she says?

“You beat [Zenos], after all. You’re the real hero of this story. So run along and take your plaudits!”

How media illiterate does someone have to be to think that THIS is a character who’s “stealing credit”?

So no, Lyse Hext did not “steal credit” from your WoL. In fact, your WoL honestly just sounds like a delusional, self-important prick.

“Lyse didn't earn being the leader of Ala Mhigo/ the Resistance! It should have been Raubahn or M'naago!”

There are quite a few big issues with this one:

1 - Lyse is NOT the leader of Ala Mhigo, nor is she the leader of the entire Resistance.

Raubahn is.

Raubahn is Ala Mhigo's acting head of state. He's the one who is now the main head of the Resistance, which is the city-state's official military now that the Empire has lost control there.

I can’t even count how many people I’ve seen shouting about how “Raubahn should have been in charge!”, when he already IS in charge. And basically almost NO ONE ever fact checks anyone else on this.

These players are literally accusing Lyse of stealing a position she doesn’t have from a man who is, in fact, already in said position.

It’s wild.

2 - Lyse is currently the commander of the Resistance troops at Rhalgr’s Reach in the Fringes. That’s it.

The story makes it very clear that the Resistance was originally not headed by any one leader. There were multiple factions with different leaders, and they didn’t always get along and often had different perspectives on how best to free Ala Mhigo.

For instance, it was the Griffin specific faction of the Resistance, led by Ilberd, that attacked Baelsar's Wall. This branch of the Resistance was not affiliated with Conrad, and in fact, some of Conrad's group and fighters from other groups went to join the Griffin after being taken in by his words.

And because of the slaughter Ilberd purposely led those people into to summon Shinryu, many Ala Mhigans became wary of all factions of the Resistance for a time, even though they weren't necessarily affiliated with the Griffin’s faction.

The Resistance only recently began transitioning into an official military unit, rather that countless factions doing their own thing. Lyse is specifically in command of the group at Rhalgr’s Reach, because that was Conrad’s group. She’s NOT in charge of anyone else’s faction.

My guess as to the current chain of command is that the other factions are still being led by their respective leaders, and that since Raubahn now leads them as a whole, they (including Lyse) fall under his command and answer to him.

And as I said before, The Rhalgr’s Reach Resistance are not strangers to her, nor is she a stranger to them; she’s been working with and helping them since the end of ARR. It’s only because so many people refuse to acknowledge this that they’re convinced she’d done “nothing”, or that they somehow would see her as unfit.

3 - There are few things as universally annoying in fandom spaces than fans pitting women who are canon friends against each other. And unfortunately, this is exactly what I see happen most of the time with Lyse and M’naago.

Now unlike some of the other things I talk about in this post, I can at least understand some of the frustration regarding these two. After all, M’naago has been with the Resistance for a longer time.

But once again, this ends up tainted by people’s weird obsession with outright vilifying Lyse and everything she does. She’s not some evil schemer trying to usurp M’naago, and M’naago isn’t her bitter rival or victim. They are clearly very close - Lyse referring to her as “Naago” is a big deal in Seeker culture - and their stories on the lodestone makes it pretty clear to me that they care far more about each other and working to save their homeland than titles and mantles of leadership.

Honestly, I think a lot of people like to forget how much Lyse tried to reject becoming a leader. She was constantly comparing herself to others, and as a result, she considered herself unworthy of such a role and convinced herself it was something you needed a natural talent for. She was the one who insisted that being related to Curtis and Yda wasn’t enough to make her a good leader. It was only when she accepted her own limitations and imperfections that she finally accepted that role. She had to sort her own personal feelings out before she was ready to take on that responsibility.

One of the things I love about Lyse is that she’s a wonderfully flawed character; she has a lot of doubts, but she is trying her best to improve herself, instead of constantly wondering if she’s living up to someone else’s legacy. She’s not a Warrior of Light, or a decorated Archon. But she’s passionate, determined, and always willing to learn from others while she tries to become who she wants to be. In my eyes, that’s what Conrad’s talking about when he tells her she can become a leader. And regardless of what anyone else says, I enjoyed watching her start to come into her own.

“Lyse is a White Savior.”

This issue is much more complex than the other things I’ve brought up here. So I want to start out by making some things clear from the start.

As a black woman, I think one of the only well-founded criticisms regarding Lyse is her pale completion compared to her father Curtis, whose skin is much darker. Colorism is a serious and ongoing issue in entertainment media industries. It’s my belief that Lyse’s character design is a perfect example of that issue. And we as a fandom should absolutely acknowledge and criticize it.

However, I also disagree strongly with anyone who refers to Lyse as “a white savior”.

To provide some background information, “white savior” is a term connected to the long history of white people colonizing, oppressing, and denying agency to non-white people. Its concept originates from the racist ideology known as “The White Man's Burden” (named after a pro-imperialism poem), which falsely claims that white people are morally obligated to "save" people of color from themselves and their "savagery", thus justifying their colonization and cultural genocide. It’s also recognized as a common trope in media, where a white person - usually a white man displaced from white society - is made into the leader or liberator of a group of people of color, thus making said white person the focus of a story that doesn’t actually affect them the way it affects the marginalized.

There are two main reasons why I disagree with calling Lyse a white savior:

1 - Like I’ve already said, I 100% think Lyse’s character design is flawed. But something that’s very important to note here is that Ala Mhigo/Gyr Abania is not a homogeneous society some players seem to think it is.

Like a lot of the other regions in Eorzea, Gyr Abania has a diverse mixture of the world's fantasy races, including Hellsguard Roes, Seeker of the Sun Miqo'te, and both Highlander and Midlander Hyurs. But Gyr Abania is also not homogeneous when it comes to skin color. There are characters and NPCs throughout the Gyr Albania areas with varying skin tones. Some are fair, some are dark, and some are somewhere in between.

The problem with Lyse’s character design is that she’s suspiciously fair skinned despite being the daughter of a clearly dark-skinned man.

But what I tend to see people turn that into is “Lyse is too fair skinned to be Ala Mhigan”.

Fordola is fair skinned. M’hahtoa, M’naago’s mother, and several other members of the M Tribe are fair skinned. There are multiple NPCs across the Gyr Abanian maps that have fairer skin (some are named/can be spoken to, while others are unnamed/background NPCs).

I don’t think I’ve ever seen these characters brought up when people start talking about Ala Mhigan ethnicities. Maybe someone out there has and I simply missed it. But as far as I can remember, I’ve only seen Ala Mhigan skin tones brought up when someone is calling Lyse, and no one else, “too pale to be Ala Mhigan”. It doesn’t work to make this claim because Ala Mhigan is not a race; it's a nationality which is made up of multiple races, and those races seem to have varied skin tones based on what we see in the actual game.

Now remember, this is in no way a recant of my stance. I think Lyse should be closer in skin tone to her father. But the white savior label doesn’t work in this context because despite the problems with her design, Lyse is an Ala Mhigan refugee; not some random foreigner coming into Gyr Abania with no understanding of their history and plight. It’s not enough to claim she’s “too pale to be Ala Mhigan”, because Ala Mhigo/Gyr Abania isn’t homogeneous like that.

2 - When it comes to white saviorism, there’s a very specific privilege and ignorance that comes with it. The reason why it’s offensive is because it makes a white person the focus of a situation that they can’t and don’t truly understand. A story’s white savior - whether consciously or unconsciously - symbolizes white ego and narcissism. And frankly, I do not think that was ever the intention of Lyse’s story.

There’s a big difference between a white savior’s intrusion into a foreign country and a refugee returning to their homeland after many years. While only Lyse’s early years were spent in Ala Mhigo, she is not completely removed from it like people seem to think she is. It’s very clear she remembers her time there, and has clear memories of life with her father and sister.

She was only five when Yda got her out - right at the start of the Garlean occupation - and because of this, she initially doesn’t know how to convince other Ala Mhigans that the fight for their home is still worth it. Her love and hope for a better Ala Mhigo is mistaken for ignorance, because many have been so worn down by the loss and bloodshed that it’s considered suicide to fight back anymore.

Stormblood does a great job of showing how imperialism wears down its victims. The hopelessness felt by many in Ala Mhigo and Doma is the result of years of violence, abuse, and cruelty, and that’s exactly the imperials’ intention; an oppressor wants to break the will and spirit of the oppressed as much as they can, conditioning them to normalize their mistreatment in order to diminish threats to their control.

Characters like Fordola also help show how imperialists manipulate the oppressed to work against their own best interests. All of Fordola’s actions are driven by the misguided idea that working with the Empire would “free” Ala Mhigo. She was convinced that as long as she fought and killed for them, she’d eventually prove that Ala Mhigans are worthy of the Garleans’ respect. But that was never going to happen. It was a tactic to indoctrinate young Ala Mhigans and maintain the imperial status quo. And sadly, Fordola fell deep into that trap.

This is the real cause for Lyse’s initial disconnect. It’s not because of privilege or bias, or a lack of personal connection to Ala Mhigo. It’s founded on the fact that she simply hasn’t experienced the Empire’s relentless tyrannical tactics the same way those who remained in Gyr Abania have.

But this doesn’t mean she hasn’t dealt with loss and fear. Both her father and sister were killed by the Garleans. She’s experienced displacement and having to flee from your home to survive. She’s lost comrades and close friends while with the Scions. This isn’t some naive little girl who doesn’t know the pain that comes with battles and war.

The biggest challenge for the main cast of Stormblood wasn’t just physically fighting the Garleans. It was about a shared sense of pain and loss, and trying to break through the hopelessness the people of Ala Mhigo and Doma were feeling.

Lyse, the WoL, and the other characters aren’t doing what they do for glory. They’re not claiming to know better than the Ala Mhigans and Domans. They’re not trying to take their agency away. They’re trying to convince them to take back their own agency and futures from the Garleans. It’s about understanding their pain, their loss, and their fear, and trying to help them rediscover the strength to keep fighting for themselves. At least that’s what it was to me.

And speaking of the Garleans, it’s wild how I don’t see more people bring up their similarities to white saviorism.

So many Garleans refer to non-Garleans as “savages” and treat them as second class citizens in the provinces.

They insist that their societies and faiths are “primitive”, and that this justifies their invasions and conquests.

They outlaw cultural and religious practices and force their own practices in their place, all under the guise of “civilizing” conquered people and saving them from themselves.

They propagandize themselves as selfless heroes, and people like the WoL as the monstrous villains. “We’re simply trying to rescue these poor, deluded “savages” from themselves and their eikons. Why are you mad?”

And when people fight back and reject them, the Empire plays victim. Take Varis for instance; during that meeting with the Alliance, he targets the very valid issues the Eorzean nations have. But that’s not because he actually cares about fixing those problems; he’s literally just gaslighting them and trying to justify Garlemald’s false sense of supremacy.

It’s all right there. It’s literally a perfect fictional example of the racism, narcissism, and backwards logic of imperialism.

Yet somehow, I’ve see Lyse, an Ala Mhigan refugee, called a “white savior” more often than Garlean imperials.

It’s frustrating, to say the least.

~~~

Well, these are pretty much all the main accusations I’ve seen thrown at Lyse since I’ve started the game. If I think of anything else, or if someone gives me something else to look at, I will add on to this.

I don’t know if I’m changing any minds with this, or even if anyone even has the time or patience to read through this whole post. But it’s feels good to finally write out a lot of my thoughts on this subject after so long. I’d like to do this on more subjects relating to FFXIV, including ways I think certain parts of story could have been improved.

But that’s or another day. Thanks so much for reading ~

#Final Fantasy XIV #FFXIV #Lyse Hext #Character Discussion #Fandom Things #Long Post #like stupidly long lmao #if you make it through this congrats #this is the longest thing I've written in a long time #considering how much i struggle with focusing #this is a big achievement for me

[yuikomorii]

i literally want to know your opinion on Ruki because this man is insufferable. he acts like he is mighty and intelligent but ayato is better than him. I will not forget what Ayato do the sacrificial brides because he also deserves a punishment but I know he will accept it ( we only need to see how he reacts to the revelation of all his mother’s bad treatments and how he forgave her quickly and when he said to KarlHeinz that he is going to beat him because of all the things he did to other people = yeah… Ayato thought about all victims of KarlHeinz in the final battle + when he said to Laito he can count on him even if he hates him + how is Ayato in LE …) which means Ayato is deep down humble and is full of regrets and guilt and wants the best for everyone

// Ruki is my second best boy, but the only times he's likeable are in his own routes and in Azusa's LE one; otherwise, he's a terrible person, and saying Ayato is better than Ruki is not an opinion, but a fact.

Nonetheless, it's perfectly reasonable to say that Ayato isn't your cup of tea because you prefer Ruki, who is a more complex character because he's so dual: cold-hearted in general but such a sweetheart in his routes (those are reasons why I love him too).

It was confirmed in an official short story that all Ayato did to the previous sacrificial brides was feed off them, which is understandable given that he needs blood to survive and humans are simply prey to vampires. I'd rather blame those who tortured the brides (I suspect Kanato and Laito) and, especially, the Church for sending them to a house full of demons.

Ayato and Ruki are basically in antithesis. Rejet describes Ayato as "the friendliest and most approachable DO-S," whereas Ruki is described as a fake person, in their first character sheet. Ayato is according to Laito a pure-hearted and upright person, therefore he is very prone to love unconditionally, not only his S/O but also his brothers or even Cordelia, whereas Ruki might be relatively smart and calculated but he is so obsessed with Karlheinz and his plan that he would betray his brothers without thinking twice.

The thing that bothers me the most about Ruki is not that he’s a snake in other routes, but that he never faces consequences. He can ruin someone’s life and nobody would confront him.

Take a look at Ayato’s LE route, when Yui found out Ruki’s and Reiji’s plan, Ruki was there smiling at her while he calmly said that he plotted her man’s downfall and he also added “I suppose now you hold a grudge against me” and Yui was like “Not at all, I do understand that you must have had a hard time accepting that Karlheinz-sama chose him”, which honestly was such a bad move. It feels like Ruki manipulated her to say something so stupid because I'm sure Yui would have called him out for his bad behavior, and it would have been far more Yui-like to say “I understand your motives and I get that you must have had a hard time accepting that Karlheinz-sama chose Ayato-kun, but your actions were still wrong and this could have been solved in another way.” Don’t just let that slide because jealousy will never be an excuse to drive someone to end it all.

Furthermore, is it just me, or does Ruki refuse to accept reality? Or maybe he's just unhealthily delusional.

Ruki regards himself as "someone who has always been afraid of getting his hands dirty"... Are you for real? I'm not even going to mention other routes, but he was a little devil as a child. He abused and humiliated his own servants, and he was likely the cause of a young girl drowning. Are you serious when you say you're afraid of being unfair and dishonest when you've done heartless things since you were a toddler??

He tries so hard to excuse Karl and even convinced himself and his brothers that he gave them a second chance to redeem himself from his atrocious acts, which is not true at all because he used them as mere pawns. I can’t deny that thanks to him all four of them met but at the same time someone should have given them a reality check in order to stop worshipping someone who doesn’t deserve it. “What that man did was incredibly devastating but every cloud has a silver lining because I was able to meet you guys” sounds way more normal than the actual “That man might have tried to redeem himself, that’s why he gave us our lives back” that was written in the route.

The fact that he quickly excused Karl's actions also makes him appear very uncompassionate. When he met his father, who had been turned into a ghoul, he told him that Karlheinz had killed a lot of people in order to turn them into ghouls, but Ruki dismissed that because Karl had given him and his brothers a second chance. He doesn't care about all the victims, or how many people suffered as a result of Karl's selfish actions; he's just glad HE got it better than them.

Going back to Ayato, his hatred towards him is unnecessary and makes Ruki look very puerile.

Even in MB, his job was to tempt Eve, not to degrade Adam. He dared to tell Ayato “That’s why nobody loves you” and got stabbed afterwards, so how dumb can you be to literally provoke a vampire way stronger than you are with something that triggers him?? Ruki knew exactly what he was doing, he was aware Ayato was insecure about not finding someone to love him and the fact he used his insecurities against him is pathetic.

I also don’t understand why he holds such a grudge against Ayato when he did nothing wrong to him. I understand that he might find him annoying since the feeling is mutual but a truly smart person would ignore such people rather than making matters worse. Ruki acts as if Ayato is the source of all his misfortune, even though he had no idea who Ruki was before MB, lol.

I'm sure if he apologized or at the very least, showed some —empathy—, fewer people would dislike him. Even Reiji, who’s an envious and proud individual, regretted what he did to Shu and Yuma at some point because he knew it was wrong but Ruki absolutely never felt any sort of guilt for what he told and did to Ayato, even though Ayato was visibly worried for him when he fainted in CL.

I know this fandom likes to portray Laito as the most cruel Diaboy, but I think Ruki takes the cake. It’s undeniable that Laito harmed many people, but unlike Ruki, he was actually shown remorseful about it. Sometimes I even wonder how would Ruki react to an antagonist as insufferable as he is in other routes. I seriously doubt he'd handle well getting a taste of his own medicine.

#admin

[heathersproship]

how bad is it? i just got it on my youtube recommended and i dont want to give it watch time

Going through the transcript because I'm not watching it again lmao. Typed it all out for context. Misinformation bolded in red for you to skim through.

TLDR: Youtuber Thumin obviously and obliviously describing antis but labeling them as proshippers. Unsurprisingly, she got her info from the good ol' Tiktok.

Starting at 3:24: "Let me go over what a proshipper even is."

"A proshipper is a fandom term for an individual who endorses or creates content that ships fictional characters together regardless if the ship is considered controversial or taboo. These ships can include minors in compromising situations, child x adult relationships, incest, and even glorified violence and SA. The reason why proshippers get so much backlash is their insistence on normalizing specifically child x adult relationships and sexualizing underage characters in their works while avidly defending their stance. "According to proshippers, they aren't doing anything wrong by depicting fictional children in inappropriate ways because no real child was harmed when creating said works. They are adamant that the problematic works they create or consume are completely harmless because it's fictional and those who criticize said works are stupid and in the wrong. This is my biggest issue with proshippers specifically. It's one thing to have a controversial opinion on something and rolling with it, and another to try and shove it down others' throats or harassing and bullying others who don't agree with your opinion. Proshippers are infamous for seeking out anyone who has any criticism for works that depict children in disturbing ways and straight up harassing them over that opinion. "It happened to me a while ago too when I criticized a manga because it shipped a kindergarten teacher with a toddler and I got swarmed by angry proshippers who insist I was in the wrong for my opinon. They went on to harass me in my mentions by sharing toddler hentai for anyone to see while still mocking me for not liking such a predatory relationship. [. . .] "In these fandom streets, proshippers are infamous for being freaks and weirdos who judge anyone who doesn't approve of their bizarre interest in sexualizing fictional kids. Some go as far as calling proshippers who still continue to sexualize children even in their adulthood [pedophiles]. [. . . ] So now that we know what a proshipper is and how problematic they can be . . ."

At 6:40:

"A proshipper is literally just a term for someone who supports problematic ships . . ."

At 9:40:

"When it comes to the whole discussion of if being a proshipper is good or bad, that's up to you guys to decide for yourself. I personally dislike the ship dynamics that proshippers die on the hill for. I think it's disgusting to sexualize underage characters, incest, and non-consensual relationships. That's my opinion. I also believe that sharing art like that could hurt real children because it helps normalize depredation that is being glorified in said works. Again, this is just my opinion. If these sensitive and taboo subjects are covered in a non-glorified way in order to shed light on them or to tell a compelling story then I personally don't mind them. As a fan of horror mangas and thrillers, it's common to come across stories with disturbing relationship dynamics and that's totally okay. The issue I have with proshippers is that they defend even the most blatant works that are literally just made and meant for predators to consume. They also have to attack and force their ideals on anyone even if it means harassing them for simply disagreeing with them. This is what I've personally noticed is the case, at least online."

So my New Year's Adam was incredibly disappointing lol. I quite liked her content. And I did the proshipper thing, which was to immediately SMASH THAT SUBSCRIBE BUTTON to unfuckingsub.

There was a comment she replied to saying that she worded it like this due to her experiences with proshippers in the past. Bestie, those weren't proshippers. SALS, like live and let live, is inherently anti-harassment. Someone whose job is to put out informative videos to facilitate meaningful discussions should know not to get her info from fucking Tiktok of all places.

#proship #proshippers please interact #proshipper safe #antis dni #antis don’t interact

[2af-afterdark]

What in Hell is Bad?: First impressions the day after launch

It is the day after launch now. It has not been a full 24 hours as of when I have started writing this post, but I want to give my first impressions of the game; the good, the bad, the ugly.

I will not be holding the server overload against PrettyBusy, especially since that is a common launch day problem with games and they have been doing their best to fix it. Instead, I want to look at the actual content and gameplay.

The Good

There are a ton of Day 1 goodies that make it easy to jump into the game and get going as soon as possible.

Duplicates are automatically converted into an item called tealeaves that you can use to boost/evolve a unit. The unit is not automatically strengthened, but you are not required to go digging through all your units to merge the duplicates manually. There is also no additional cost to evolving a unit, so you can merge them immediately with little worry.

The comics between the loading screens really are a blessing. They are so charming and funny and give a little more insight into some of the characters.

You can, like any decent gatcha, put character's you've obtained on the homescreen and tap them for dialogue that gives insight into who they are. Find my slightly troubling first encounter below.

The combat is smooth. I personally have never played a tower defense type gatcha before, but I find this combat easy to understand, plan, and utilize. I do have an issue with it, but I will list that later.

The Bad

The biggest thing I noticed, the thing that leaves me feeling disappointed, is that the male MC is not implemented well. The male MC options appears to only change the MC's pronouns, but nothing about the actual descriptions of the MC. The game still describes MC having breasts and wetness between the legs, which are the traits of a female MC. If you want to play a trans!MC (like my Dallas), that may please you. Or it may not. It depends how your MC/you view your gender and what terms you choose to use for your anatomy. My point is that the male MC is simply a pronoun change and not much more. Even then, the game sometimes uses the wrong pronouns. I have had multiple moments where the game referred to Dallas (my he/him MC) as she/her, daughter of Solomon, said he and Minhyeok were opposite genders (when they both identify as men).

I love the rainbow bar giving me bonus goodies in the Adore function but... It is legitimately hard to see the bars when those items go flying everywhere. I have to be extra careful because I don't know when the left bar is getting too high.

You cannot replay a story section without using AP. Honestly, this is a real let down. Having to use your limited AP to reread a story is sad. I want to go back and reread sections I've already done without worry. It's for memories and fun. I don't mind paying AP to unlock them, but rereading them is a different matter. Especially given how far apart each story section is. It will be hard to refresh my memory if I take a break from the game for any reason.

Do you know where to find the friends menu? Because I do not. I found it, but I had to go through a series of convoluted pathways. Even then, I don't have a friend code or codes to add my friends. Which is strange considering there is a mission about adding friends and sending presents.

The Ugly (quality of life)

The actual battle maps are... Repetitive. There are often multiple battles in a row and they will have the same layout as the one before them. This often makes it so you can use the same units and arrangement you did on the previous map for the current one. This makes the battles easy to plan, but tedious to do.

The comics between loading screens will vanish automatically when the game is ready. I personally wish the game would prompt me to click to continue because my game loads so quickly that I rarely get to read them. If not a click to continue, then a separate menu where I can read them without worrying they will vanish before I get the chance to enjoy them.

Not sure if my game glitched during the overload, but my first Hell-oh! Talk vanished without a trace. The second one I received is still there, so I want to say it was a glitch, but I cannot be certain so I am putting it here.

It appears that tealeaves (the evolution item) can only be used 5 times. After you use it for the fifth time, you seem to be unable to do anything. Yet I am still gathering tealeaves, so I am unsure what to do with all these extras I am acquiring.

A personal gripe of mine, is that it take 5 greater keys of Solomon to draw once (50 for a 10x). You need 3 lesser keys of Solomon for 1 draw (30 for a 10x). I have always preferred a 1:1 ratio when it comes to drawing because it makes it straight forward and easy to plan what I will need.

There is no way to raise a character's level more than one at a time. If you want to level up a character 10 times, you have to hit the level up button 10 times. It would be nice if they gave us a faster way to do multiple level ups quickly.

Sometimes my chats will have these random empty boxes and I feel that is missing dialogue that I really want to see.

When I go back to check my previous messages to reread them, I notice that the options are sometimes not what I actually chose. This picture is the same section as above, but you'll notice Leviathan's dialogue changed. That's because, for some reason, the game saved my answer as being the other one. Notably, I think it always defaults to whatever option 1 is.

(this one is from 🪰 anon because I haven't seen it yet) In that same vein... you cannot control the speed of messages. That is detrimental when you are play one of the plot relevant text conversations. If it progresses faster than you can read you will simply miss it. A function to change the speed of the texts would be a nice addition.

You have to open boxes one. at. a. time. It is a very slow process when you have upwards of 10+ boxes.

Random Stuff I Noticed:

Ppyong refer to class five angels as Vultures. Not sure if this is a mistranslation of Virtues (the actual fifth highest rank of angel) or if PB decided to use unique names for their game.

#what in hell is bad #2af » playing games #i may have more to say later but this is simply what i found since i started playing

[the-eggplantblog]

I need to talk about Mr Dark…..

Well, Razorbeard and Andre, they are simply incredible villains, what can I tell you not to know about these villains, they are charismatic but they also impose fear or a challenge, in addition to being very important in the story, appearing on more than one occasion, or complicating it life to rayman, it is not surprising that they are very loved, but then we have mr dark…. ​

The word I would use to describe it is, disappointing…… Mr Dark is not very creative in both design and concept, he is just a dark lord who wears a cape… well, I think there are many of them, this It doesn't make it immediately disappointing, because well it's still an interesting idea although not new and in the world of Rayman it's very good to want to use a concept like that, you can do many interesting things with a character like Mr Dark.

but well…mr dark does not have a history or a bit of development or anything that makes it interesting…for example razorbeard and the robo-pirates, they are extremely interesting for several reasons, for coming from outer space, for having defeated to Rayman, because they appear on more than one occasion and you can feel a real danger with them, they have personality and will not hesitate to try to kill Rayman, they are simply great, then Mr Dark…well it only seems that he takes the Seriously, Rayman's business, until the end of the game… which leaves it looking like something silly.

It's really a bit sad that you don't see Mr Dark, except at the beginning and end of the game and you only fight him in a very short battle that doesn't live up to the name of the final boss of a game like Rayman. ….

If what disappoints me the most about him, apart from his lack of personality, is that he is a great joke, look to be able to fight against Mr Dark, you have to beat the entire game at 100%, having to fight with bosses like Mr Sax or Space mom, still beat the world of candy, it is not an easy world, beat dark rayman and the curses of mr dark, you have to go through all that suffering and one would think that mr dark, THE VILLAIN WHO HAS THE MOST POWERFUL RELIC FROM THAT WORLD, it would be a really difficult and epic battle, but what do you find…..a battle that does not do justice to the name of final battle, it is somewhat difficult I admit, but come on it does not compare to space mama or mr sax in my opinion…..

It really seems that this battle is missing several phases… I mean it is unfortunate that Mr Dark, having such a powerful source of power, does not use it, leaving you to fight with some chimera bosses, what a great challenge they are, for this point in the game…..and after you defeat these, mr dark simply runs away, leaving the great protoon, this really makes mr dark look very bad, compared to razorbeard or andre, who have more final battles how epic

In general, Mr Dark has no personality, nor does he do much in history as the villain he is supposed to be, he has a simply pathetic boss battle, if he has no comparison with Rayman's other villains… Mr Dark is wasted potential, wherever you see it…

because well it definitely meant more, with the fact of stealing the great protoon, or his ability to create dark and bizarre creatures like dark rayman or the boss's chimeras, or his fire magic, but well it didn't really give much… With this I don't mean that I hate him or that he's bad, because in fact I like him xd, but I would never say that he is in the top 3 best Rayman villains, because in that place they belong to razorbeard, reflux and Andre, I just want To say why I personally am disappointed by Mr Dark as a villain in Rayman.

#rayman #rayman fandom #rayman 1 #rayman 2 #foxy talk #rayman mr dark

[flower-boi16]

I Watched The Hello Neighbor Cartoon (It's bad)

So just today while I was scrolling through my recommendations on youtube I saw a review of the Hello Neighbor cartoon that I never knew existed up until now. Just by looking at the show I didn't have very high expectations but I randomly decided to watch it cuz why not? I mean, it has an 8.6/10 on IMDB so surely it must be good right?....ya no. Anyways...the show sucks, here's why.

1. The Animation & Vissuals

The animation is...bad. It just looks very stiff and cheap looking, and the characters aren't that expressive either, they all look bland and soulless (which also describes their personalities incredibly well too). So much of it feels choppy as hell, like I'm watching a show made with two dollars on flash. I would say that this looks like a cheap Canadian cartoon (and I say this as somebody from Canada) but...even then there are Canadian shows that look more appealing than this.

The art style also looks bland, again, the characters barely have ANY real expression to them, and it really looks like a low-effort kids show more than anything else, which makes the show's attempts at being "scary" fall flat. Don't have much else to say here, the animation just looks that bad.

2. Comedy

There are a few times when the show tries to be funny...and it fails. None of the jokes here really made me laugh....at all. Though there were times when the show did get a laugh out of me...and they were when I wasn't supposed to laugh. Like that scene in episode 2 with where our main girl sees a bunch of neighbor heads I just couldn't help but find it VERY amusing, plus the credits which is just the neighbor goofily staring through the window where "dRaMAtiC" music plays in the background and it just looks VERY goofy. Aside from that, when the show is trying to be funny...it's not. It's just not.

3. Characters

A majority of the characters are honestly not worth talking about aside from Trinity and Nicky ig, they are all just...so boring. None of the kids' personalities are remotely endearing in the slightest and they are all just extremely one-dimensional.

Trinity is our main character and...I'm sorry but she just isn't interesting in the slightest. She has literally no personality or depth as a character and makes her a very boring protagonist for the story. She's also pretty inconsistent in episode 2 where she's all like "no we can't follow around the neighbor" when last episode she was perfectly on board with that and Nicky's plan? Then there's Nicky who also kinda sucks. Like the other characters he isn't that interesting or endearing at all, and they also don't even give a reason for why he thinks the neighbor is a murderer. Like, what made him assume the neighbor murdered his own kids??? It honestly would've been really cool if they merged aspects of Dipper from Gravity Falls and Webby from Ducktales 2017 together for his character because I could really see the potential here, but what we have now...ya.

The other kids are, again, not worth talking about because of how boring they are. They aren't funny or entertaining to watch at all, they all feel so bland and soulless. The other kids simply just exist and not much else. I really don't have that much else to say about the characters.

4. The "Horror"

So the show tries to be scary...but it isn't. Honestly, It's hard to pinpoint what parts the show wants me to be scared of because it's really hard to find a show with this art style scary in the slightest. Nothing about it is that "creepy" at all, though I don't even know this is supposed to be a horror show despite it being based on a horror game since I never felt scared watching it all.

I guess the show's overarching mystery is kinda intriguing...? But when the characters are so bland it's hard to even get invested in it. Don't have much else to say here.

5. Plot Holes

Ah yes, no bad show would be complete without plot holes, now would it? I'll just list some of the plot holes in each episode here:

Trinity SEES THE NEIGHBOR KILL SOMEONE IN THE STORE and for SOME REASON decides to run away instead of, oh I dunno...TAKING A PICTURE WITH THE EVIDENCE OR CALLING 911 IMMEDIATELY!!!!

Speaking of that murder, wouldn't have that got onto the news or something? Like, did nobody report it??? And if we assume someone DID report it, since the neighbor was the last one there who COMMITTED THE MURDER, wouldn't the officers put two and two together and realize it was the neighbor?

Also why did the neighbor commit the murder in the first place??? What was even the point of that???? Did he not have any money to pay for it???? Why????

The fact that there is just. A tunnel under the school. For some reason, which NEVER gets explained by the way.

When Nicky gets captured by the neighbor, where tf are his parents???? Did they not recognize their child is missing??? Why didn't they file a missing child report or ANYTHING???

There are more plot holes than these but these are the most egregious ones to me. Also the ones I already mentioned in the characters section. Besides, this post is getting long enough already so I'll just end it here....

6. Conclusion

So ya, the show sucks, 3/10, see ya.

#hello neighbor #hell neighbor critical #hello neighbor welcome to raven brooks #hello neighbor welcome to raven brooks critical #cartoon review

[effen-draws]

HUGEEEEE fan of your de!swap fic! Just finished reading chapter 5 and WOW what a chapter. I'm soooo glad to see that suzerainty popped up, the original scene with that game is my favorite scene, and I'm overjoyed to see that it carried over to your fic!!

Curious question, what was your motivation behind choosing what skills Kim has? I love all the skills you created for the fic, and I'd like to know your thought process behind it

Thank you so much!!! I’m super glad that you liked the chapter! The Suzerainty scene was hella fun to write:-D And I’m very happy that you like the skills as well! 

But, yes, the skills. Oh man, anon, the skills. You have opened up a can of worms here. You’ve given me an opportunity to rant here, anon. So I really hope you’re ready for a long post because I have plenty of thoughts, my friend. 

But before we actually get into any of my skill related thought processes and ideas I’d like to preface this post with 2 things!

Many of the skills (and generally the early parts of the fic) are inspired by a hodgepodge of many different people’s headcanons and art here on tumblr! Which, because I’m one of god’s favourite clowns with a terrible short term memory, I have no idea what came from  where! I looked at and read a lot of the things that later inspired me before I ever thought of writing the fic at all. And I never thought about writing any of my sources of inspiration down before I had already finished the draft of chapter 1! Which I kinda feel terrible about! The readers with a better memory than I might remember that I wrote in the first chapter that if anyone saw anything that looked familiar they should tell me so I could give proper credit. (Which I still implore any keen eyed reader to do!) So yeah, this is just to say; I’m not a genius who came up with all of this on my own and I was inspired by many cool people so don’t give me too much credit!

BUT! If anyone ever wants to write or draw anything using the skillset I’ve made for my version of swap!Kim, then you are so very welcome! So don’t sweat it if you want to reuse a name, concept, or the entire set! I’d just be happy to have inspired you:-]

Anyways sorry for the preamble. I just needed to get that said before I go down my rabbit hole:-)

So, let’s get to it! (For real this time I promise, anon) Here are a few of my general thoughts about my Kim skillset and some individual insight into more of the “interesting” skills! 

There were a few things I considered when making the skills. For one I needed to figure out what skills were needed because of narrative necessity and what were needed for characterisation. For an example HANDS ON is almost only a “Kim is physically interacting with his surroundings and I need to describe that” skill while TORQUE DORK, on the other hand, is a fluff skill that’s there because of Kim’s interests in machinery. Besides their personalities the skills also need to serve a role in telling a story, y’know? Whether that be description or character. That’s also one of the reasons that Kim only has 16 skills instead of Harry’s 24. A fic is a different medium than a game so it’s not necessary to have quite so many skills. But, if you want my non-boring justification for that, I also just think that Kim is far less scattered brained than Harry! The man is simply more together even when he’s falling apart so he therefore has a few more “multi purpose skills”:-]

Speaking about Harry, I felt like it would be important that Kim’s skills felt unique to him even if some of them started out as reskins of Harry’s (I mean, how do you make a skill responsible for logic without giving it similarities to Harry’s LOGIC skill??). Not that they needed to stand out completely but rather I didn’t want to feel like I was applying Harry’s voices to Kim’s head. Which also means that Kim’s skills just can’t do the same things that Harry’s can! For one they aren’t as psychically inclined even if they can take guesses and read people in similar ways (which they’re partially that good at because of narrative necessity, but hey man, don’t look at me I’m just trying to tell a good story here!)

One thing which I also really wanted to stress with the skills too is that many of them have “rivalries” or “alliances” with one another. Some of them are complete opposites (EYES vs. OUTSIDER) while others will almost always back each other up (POISE & COMMAND). This animosity is there because; one, Kim is constantly trying to keep himself in check and is very harsh on himself so therefore no skill can ever “win” for long. Two; I’m a BIG fan of the thought of “Kim’s centrism is killing him”. So therefore every skill is almost always pulling him in different directions and opposing each other while Kim is trying to thread the needle of just existing. And because there’s this constant infighting Kim’s mind becomes a very hostile place to be. One last general consideration before I get into some individual skills! I really love how having a high level skill in DE also has its downsides! They have blindspots! They have one track thoughts and motivations! And it’s dangerous to only listen to one of them! So I attempted to show that with Kim’s high level skills like VOLTA DO MAR and POISE in the fic:-]

Anyways: individual skill thoughts! I don’t have something to say about all of them but I'll quickly go through my thoughts on some of the more interesting ones in order. (Also I’m so sorry for rambling so long, anon. Here's the part of the post I think you're interested in.)

Starting off with PUZZLEBOX and NOTEKEEPER! If I’m honest I think these two are inseparable; Note provides information and Puz connects the dots. They’re quite obviously Kim’s deductive and note taking powerhouses. Note does however also have a purpose as a narrative device since it’s the one that recalls past information (that Kim can remember). They’re a little like a narrator in that sense. Anyways I don’t have many thoughts about these two but I think they’re kinda cute in how “dumb” they can be despite being intellect skills:-]

FANTASME is not a skill that gets a lot of the limelight but they do have a good amount to say even though they’re a low level skill. They’re kind of a CONCEPTUALISATION and INLAND EMPIRE mix I guess. They’re focused on Kim’s “nerd” things (that isn’t machinery or paperwork) and escapism. They know about art but they don’t really “get it” as Harry can. They’re also the driving force behind Kim’s existential dread as you have seen in chapter 4.

BLEEDING HEART is what I labelled as the “feelings” skill, and they were kind of an EMPATHY clone in the early concepts before I really figured them out. Because all they really want for Kim is for him to feel. Their second priority is making sure that Kim feels for the people around him as well. To Bleed it doesn’t really matter what emotions Kim is feeling as long as they are being felt and that he isn’t hurting or “burdening” anyone. They’re sad, suppressed, and visceral. Another thing about them is that similarly to how ESPRIT DE CORPS is the “gateway skill” that Harry uses to read Kim, BLEEDING HEART is the “gateway skill” Kim uses to read Harry in the fic. This is mostly because I don’t think Harry can be understood through the lens of the RCM like Kim can in the game.

EYES is interesting to me. Because they aren’t the RCM but rather swap!Kim’s understanding of the RCM personified. Which both means they’re brutally honest about how the police sucks but that they also cannot let go of duty and loyalty for the life of them. They are aptly named after Eyes; Kim’s last main connection to the RCM and its office culture. Which is very cool but also not my original idea! And because of the reasons mentioned prior I really don’t remember who came up with that stroke of genius but I would honestly like to thank them personally. (If I ever get my hands on the post I saw it in I’ll link it here)

I love the idea of OUTSIDER. Kim having a skill that’s specifically manifested because of how alienated he feels is so interesting to me! That how much the world has failed him is ingrained in him just speaks volumes, y’know. Outs don’t have too much of a narrative purpose compared to other skills but I do love them regardless. They aren’t completely my original idea either, but unlike EYES, I have no idea where I got this one from. (Again, if I find the source I’ll put in a link, but for now my cursed memory can produce nothing.)

JOIE DE VIVRE is the most fun little guy in Kim’s mind to me. They are what makes life fun (as their name suggests) and they ultimately represent indulgence. They are essentially good to listen to occasionally but not constantly. Because Joie is all about base desires which they want fulfilled now. “Hey! Smoke that cigarette now! Hey! Fuck that guy now! Hey! Avoid your responsibilities now!” And if they don’t get that they will immediately trash talk whoever shut them down. And, to say the least, they are constantly being repressed by the other skills. Kim can’t get rid of them but, oh man, does he wish he could.

VOLTA DO MAR is my swap!Kim’s signature skill. And it shows: they are used to being in control. They are all about keeping Kim going and they generally serve a similar role like VOLITION does in terms of keeping Kim sane. But they are really nothing like VOLITION. They’re mean. They’re efficient. They’re a completionist and simultaneously a survivor. They will shut down anything they deem unnecessary while also dealing with any odd situation which Kim simply needs to roll with. Volt ultimately thinks they know best and is thusly kind of a dick. 

NERVE is a kind of “physical skill all in one” with the added on flavour of repressed anger. NERVE’s name then, of course, both comes from the biological nerve and because of the “that struck a nerve” saying. They just want Kim to follow his gut and retaliate for once. They’re the physicality of anger and instinct. Which has pros and cons… 

POISE is an interesting little fella to me. They’re kind of like a teen who’s obsessed with being cool and keeping up face and facade in my eyes:-) And since they’re also such a high level skill they get to talk a lot, and with their focus being reputation a large part of that talk is about how embarrassed Kim should be. They’re a personification of self consciousness and intrusive anxiety riddled thoughts and yet they’re also one of Kim’s most useful skills, both in regards to reading others and not being read himself. They’re sort of a necessary evil in that sense.

Oh man. That was a ramble. And I didn’t even talk about every skill. Well, I’m all tuckered out now but thank you so much for the ask, anon! I kinda took it as an excuse to just talk for once so I hope that alright:-] 

I don’t know how many people (if any) will find this interesting so, to the people who got this far, I’ll tell you my swap!Kim’s 5 highest level skills as a token of my appreciation for reading:-) Number one is of course VOLTA DO MAR, followed by POISE, BLEEDING HEART, NOTEKEEPER, and then lastly COMMAND. Extra fun fact; EYES and OUTSIDER are always the exact same level and this makes them furious.

Anyways, thank you again for reading my fic and this long ass answer to an otherwise simple ask! I hope you have a great rest of your day:-]

#Long post #I don’t tag that lightly #this is like 2k words #but... #I think I deserved the rant #related to the rewind refind fic #anon ask #fic ask #disco elysium swap au #de swap au #de meta #kind of

[blueikeproductions]

I’m gonna be honest, I’m falling a little out of love for EarthSpark because of the last batch of episodes. Part of it is the same reason I didn’t like Cyberverse: the absolutely crap pacing and decision making.

Now EarthSpark did start off well enough, I think the first two episodes remain my favorites because it sets the tone and world up pretty nicely. After that it starts getting … messy. Nitpicks abound! As much as I do enjoy the Terrans, Thrash remains the forgettable one to me. He’s just kinda there and has nothing really to do. He gets overshadowed by his siblings being more memorably quirky (Hashtag and Twitch) or having their own arcs (Nightshade and Jawbreaker). Thrash being the somewhat immature, lackadaisical, older brother IS fine, I just wish he had something to help stand out more.

Megatron’s redemptive antihero role is pry the best it’s been written. Not even Roberts, who ushered it in, really handled it that well since it was somewhat forced and skewed into Twitter/Tumblr stereotypes. Imma be blunt: Cyberverse didn’t even try when they did it. The staff patted themselves on the back for a repenting Megs, but didn’t even bother explaining it in-show, instead giving a lengthy explanation on TWITTER. Stuff like “Oh Bisk got arrested because he beat up another Transformer he lost to at a space video game event” is harmless fluff, describing a major component of what your story is trying to do meanwhile is just mind bogglingly horrendous. Not helped is despite this, Megatron is still torturing Autobots, smacking lunch trays and being a huge dick, which runs counter to him having changed upon seeing his worse Robo-Robotnik counterpart. But CV Megatron was still his more traditional villainous self intentional or not, and I do think ES trying to keep Megatron as a heroic character is hurting the overall series. Transformers has a huge villain problem currently, and it’s only gotten worse with modern media trying to make all the Decepticons sympathetic. EarthSpark, the longer it went on, really seems confused as to what role the Decepticons are supposed to have. Are they still trying to cause trouble, are they just trying to survive, were guys like Breakdown simply on the wrong team in the first place? It’s all very muddled, and I NEVER liked the idea that the Decepticons are just slightly more irritable Autobots because you loose the franchise’s defining good vs evil dynamic that’s helped keep the thing going this long. Even stuff like Superlink, RiD15, and the G1 cartoon make it clear the Decepticons are stubborn and refuse to give up to prove a point. They WILL conquer the galaxy, dammit. And stuff like EarthSpark is just… taking the fight out of them. Which gets to my next nitpick…

So the Decepticons, understandably, are locked up by GHOST for their crimes, and the humans are trying to study them/torture them to make weapons. Naturally, the already angry robots would be pushed to the brink, want to escape the fleshies’ grasp, and lay down the pain similar to Dreamwave and Bay, and while we do see a bit of this, at the end the Decepticons just decide they’re suddenly friends with the Maltos? Something here feels very rushed, along with Shockwave also suddenly wanting to be pals after initially finding the Terrans disgusting. The pacing here is just odd, and a deleted scene shows Shockwave petting Fluffy Ears after he was just about to turn her into hamburger meat a moment before. It’s funny out of context, but it still doesn’t make sense. It skews uncomfortably into Diamond territory for me, where I get the logic, but how they got there doesn’t work (at least for me). You CAN have redemption stuff, heck Decepticon like robots like DragoBurst from Daigunder came around, but they, for the most part, properly built up to this. The Decepticons being “good” feels like a split second decision that had no real pay off. Because again, in the past, if the Decepticons helped the Autobots, it was an enemy of my enemy/Earth is where we keep our stuff thing, and they’d go right back to trying to destroying it once the third party was dealt with.

And I feel like EarthSpark may have had some internal problems with the story. How much of this was Nick not being cooperative ala Rise of the TMNT or just genuinely bad planning I’m not sure. The biggest issue for me was Ravage, and, to an extent, Starscream too. Early on they had Screamer, Wave and Ravage concocting a scheme by letting the dog-cougar cassette out into GHOST to snoop around, Starscream laughing evilly with his glowing red eyes. Inexplicably, Starscream’s eyes are blue, even in flashbacks, which has confused a lot of people, and the show doesn’t address this. A characters’ eyes turning red to accentuate a point isn’t a new thing in animation, but I don’t think that’s what this was…? I was assuming it was Allspark Affinity, but I don’t think it’s that either. More than likely him having blue eyes is meant to show he’s a good boy deep in his shell, similar to IDW’s “true inner Starscream” thing. …However, and this comes back to Ravage, Starscream was originally planning to sic Shockwave on Megatron for what amounts to the usual petty revenge on Starscream’s part. Ravage was sent out to get the remote that controlled Shockwave’s stasis pod, but this scene was cut entirely, instead explaining Shockwave’s escape as simply poor upkeep on his pod. The scene was cut for time, but … WHY? There was surely a better means to incorporate Ravage snooping around instead of just turning it into a dropped sub plot. The show attempts to course correct by suggesting via Swindle this was an attempt at a prison break until Hashtag and Mandroid initiated it instead, but Ravage is unaccounted for. I’m assuming this was a plot point that was debated on, as the official guide book INSTEAD says that Soundwave had Ravage snoop around for info on the Allspark due to an agreement they had with Prime and Megs when they got arrested. It feels like they just couldn’t decide on what to do, and chose neither, and while they could have Ravage later reappear and go “Hey guys I found the Allspark’s location and a whole bunch of ancient Cybertron relics on GHOST’s computers!” in S2, that’s fine, but I don’t trust the writers atm to do so…

There’s also turning Starscream into a trauma victim. Again sort of that Steven Universe/fandom mentality made canon thing that bothers me, BUT I completely get what they were going for. The problem for me is that even in the 80’s, Starscream’s constant beatdowns were played for laughs, and frankly a lot of the time Starscream had it coming in the first place. Starscream may have had more common sense than Megatron, but he was also driven by his pride, ego and his comedic sense of self preservation. Starscream also would bite off more than he could chew by messing with relics like the Enigma of Combination, Omega Lock and the Underbase, usually destroying himself in his quest for godhood to simply one up Megatron and show how much better he is at being evil and/or just being a petty glitch. So to play the dynamic straight and make Starscream more of a domestic abuse victim feels… wrong, especially when I’ve seen plenty of Megscreamer ship art of the G1 and Prime versions that suggests… a bit of hypocrisy in the name of a ship. I think Micron Legend Starscream handled the idea the best, though there Screamer was more a young warrior looking for approval, but Megatron thought he was weak and selfish, and the two would fight, but it was more of a anime warrior’s honor kind of way and not the more slapstick marriage falling apart way G1 and other shows did it. I do like Starscream becoming friends with Hashtag, reminds me a bit of ML Starscream becoming friends with Alexis, and I think that’s handled well enough. At the very least Micron Legend shows what EarthSpark wants to do with Starscream CAN work, it just needs a bit more fine tuning to make sense, and I feel internal decisions saw the clearly G1 and Prime inspired Starscream hugely rushed into a role he’s not ready for or arguably suited for. It’s a similar problem I had with Donald Duck in DuckTales 17: he’s barely in the show, clearly has a chip on his shoulder over Scrooge’s role in Della’s disappearance, and off screen he just sorta changed his mind and is suddenly wanting to help Scrooge. I get that part of his decision was influenced by how it was affecting the boys, but I never liked how we never saw Donald change, he just … does.

Mandroid’s descent into villainy is also rushed. Starts off well enough and him Roboticizing himself into a monster by the end makes sense, but it feels like some steps were skipped to get there, which was the same problem I had with IDW Megatron going on this big quest off screen we never saw. Also, a plot point is the Terrans don’t actually use Energon, and instead power up with Emberstone blessed Earth water… but there’s a few instances that contradict this, such as Mandroid’s Doomsday Project that shouldn’t affect the Terrans at all, but it… does anyway. Like… what? Also Mandroid and Alex knowing each other doesn’t appear to be addressed either. Especially notable when Mandroid went out of his way to AVOID killing him, only to not have this qualm anymore. It feels like a step was skipped, I get Mandroid is too far gone but even that was a huge leap in context.

Not a big deal, but do the Sharkticons Transform? Their design seems to skew to Terrorcon Rippersnapper, RiD15 Hammerstrike, and the Street Sharks style Sharkticons of Cyberverse, but I never liked how the later didn’t Transform into a robot or a speedboat or something. I get Mode Attachment, but even guys like RiD15 Grimlock and IDW Leviathan walked around in Robot Mode once in awhile.

Similarly, Jawbreaker scanned an actual fossil to get his Beast Mode, but doing so was new to Grimlock… who has a dinosaur Beast Mode which has left fans puzzled. Fans theorize Grimlock may have scanned a toy of a picture, similar to Nightshade, or that Wheeljack helped reformat the Dynobots into Dinobots as a G1 nod. However a stylized flashback shows Grimlock in Beast Mode on Cybertron, which makes me think in RiD15 terms that Grimlock may have already BEEN a dinosaur, just a “space” one. Though that runs contrary to the discussion how alt modes can help define a Transformer, and Grimlock is shown to be reluctant in the current era to Transform, as he can’t quite control his Beast Mode due to anger and PTSD caused by Mandroid. I never liked FOC’s Hulk like take on Grimlock though, and seeing that be an influence here kinda sours Big Grim for me, especially since my favorite incarnations, G1 toon and RiD15, LOVE being dinosaurs. Grimlock is still handled well otherwise though.

A lot of modern shows like this I’ve noticed have this out of balance tone where they can’t decide what they should be. It’s either super weird and cutesy or hard core darkness and angst. The one time I’ve seen this handled well was Bomberman Jetterz of all things, and that’s a kids anime about a little bomb throwing goofball that was never brought over here. It organically builds up to its darker elements, while the show starts off fairly goofy and weird it still lightly explores some things early on like Mighty’s sense of self and successfully builds on it.

Also Nightshade. Oh poor Nightshade. They continue to be the punching bag and poster child for some why this show is bad because it has The Gay TM. I do think kids can handle the concept of being gay, and I think kids can understand to some degree why a person would choose not to identify as either gender. But I also understand why parents don’t want to have such a conversation and there’s a time and place for this sort of thing, especially in kids media. (Blue’s Clues’ Pride parade animation was well intentioned but a little too… much for preschoolers. Same sex couples, sure, the nitty gritty stuff beyond that, not as much… And I say that knowing an older lesbian couple in college who thought what Adventure Time was doing with PB and Marcy was inappropriate for kids). Nightshade has more stuff going on besides their gender, but those stirring up trouble and even the owl’s supporters tend to ONLY focus on their being non-binary, which isn’t helping. The show only focused on it twice, and I think the first time was enough to set the tone. Optimus wasn’t sure if Nightshade was a boy or girl, NS and Moe clarified they/them, and Optimus warmly accepted, and that’s really all you needed for a children’s. Easy to understand for the target audience. The show then has Nightshade learn the definition of being non-binary by a human teen they help out and become friends with. The scene is fine, but I think it’s a tad over-explained keeping in mind the target audience. It also feels like an artifact of the original intention that was scrapped. In the planning stage, Nightshade simply identified as Terran because gender wasn’t important to their identity as a robotic being. Keeping it simple for the kids at home, as well as for those who might feel like Nightshade where they can go “I’m a Terran!” The official guide book also goes with this explanation. With Nightshade then learning about being NB from Sam makes a little more sense with this older concept in mind, but I think a simpler “Thanks for the save, uh…. I wanna say mister…?” “Oh I’m a they/them! Nightshade the Terran, at your service~!” “No way, I’m they/them too! I’m Sam!” “Ooo, delightful! Oh do you like the Winged Sentinel too?” “Do I? I run a big fan blog about it and Changaliens!” “-Nightshade Transforms and makes happy owl noises-“ sorta thing. At the very least, that’s been my experience being reintroduced to a friend that’s now trans or NB. “Oh you’re a dude now? Sweet! So what’d you think of the latest Digimon episode?” is a typical exchange. Unfortunately no matter of simplifying it is going to keep people from disliking the character as being a form of “indoctrination”, and I worry that’s affected the availability of the toy. I’ve seen people show they have Nightshade’s toy, but locally I’ve not seen Nightshade’s toy at all, and I wonder if controversy has led to stores refusing to carry it. That being said I’ve not seen the Arcee or Hashtag finger puppet toys, the Deluxe Grimlock or the Twitch One Step Changer, but I have seen Shockwave and Jawbreaker, and they went quickly, and as of typing weren’t restocked. So could be crap distribution again, but I can’t help but worry the toy is functionally “banned”. I may not be NB, but I do jive with Nightshade being a reclusive, yet happy go lucky nerd. I enjoy their swagger too, something I wish I had, so there’s plenty to like on top of them having a owl beast mode. I was a Beast Wars kid so Beast Modes rule, man.

Anyhow, going back to another point, this is why I like RiD15 so much. It knew what it wanted to be, a mostly low stakes action comedy, and even when it leaned a bit into darkness, it still felt tonally correct with the show. Here we have a wacky episode about an Energon parasite possessed bear, and then they jump into heavy handed discussions of racism, violence and post apocalyptic disaster the next. That’s not organic, that’s just being indecisive on the tone of your show. It’s this awkward trend of trying to make your kids cartoon into a mature, sophisticated thing, but no one has the patience or finesse to pull it off anymore and it drives me nuts. And I don’t think kids care for it either. The age range for EarthSpark I spoke to are watching the Super Mario movie, classic cartoons and older Disney movies (a lot of them, especially boys, were into Princess & The Frog and Moana in particular as it happens) when it comes to western animation. Last time I saw kids interested in Transformers was Prime, Rescue Bots, RiD15 and Bumblebee. Outside of RotB, I don’t think recent stuff has been doing it for kids, as I haven’t found any kids hugging an EarthSpark Bumblebee like their life depended on it like I did with RiD15 Bee.

I want to be clear I still like EarthSpark, and I like a lot of the characters like Alex, Mo, Jawbreaker, Bumblebee, Frenzy and Nightshade, but the cracks have been starting to show and grow larger. 26 episodes and the end goal still felt very rushed as if they thought this would be like a long running anime and didn’t utilize their time the best, and with the current strikes as of typing, I fear that’s not gonna bode well for season 2’s production either. I am very skeptical atm we get a S3, so I hope they were more careful in crafting the next phase of the story. A second season was greenlit when the first season was still being worked on, so it seems odd to me they still felt the need to rush through things as if they didn’t have time. Maybe they didn’t due to other factors? Still I hope for the best, but I’m not as exited as I once was, and a possible Prime style Relic Hunt potentially being next makes me concerned…

#transformers #transformers earthspark #blueike productions #macaddam #maccadam #autobots #decepticons #terrans

[yukidragon]

Hi, first of all I'd like to say that I love your fics and theories/hcs/asks and I can't wait for The Phantom of Sunny Day Jack knowing that you were also working on it.

Secondly, there's something I've always been wondering. Since all characters with routes are male and the MC dated Ian it's kind of a given that (and necessary for the story to progress) that Sunshine is attracted both romantically and sexually to men. But what if Jack wasn't that lucky and MC was asexual? Since sex is kinda what lovers do so in Jack's mind so it seems to make him more sure of their love/feel secure in the relationship.

And what if they were asexual and aromantic and just couldn't love him back so friendship is all Jack will ever have. He's not their only friend either, and MC has known Shaun longer so his position as someone most important in his Sunshine's life is even more threatened, how would he deal with those feelings and the jealousy?

Or even worse, what if MC was attracted to women exclusively? In aroace friendship you can still technically make him #1 very best friend or something, but here Sunshine would actually LOVE someone else without him having the chance to win them over because it's impossible for them to ever reciprocate and naturally they'd be dating someone eventually, perhaps even married a woman, and naturally most people put their spouse above all. They don't neglect other relationships, but this one is simply the most important. How would he cope with that? Since whether he even gets to exist depends solely on whether MC wants him to. Would he get involved or just let his Sunshine be happy?

Ah... you really flatter me. Thank you! It makes me happy to know that you enjoy my writing and ideas so much that it makes you look forward to the Phantom of Sunny Day Jack more. I'm still blown away whenever someone tells me that. Thank you for being so kind.

Anyway, onto the ask...

You do raise an interesting question about an MC who simply isn't attracted to men. While we have evidence that the MC is attracted emotionally/romantically/physically to men, that doesn't mean that we can't go the AU route, or examine a scenario where they realize that it's not truly what they want after breaking things off with Ian.

I have touched on MC being asexual/aromantic in a previous post and how Jack might deal with that. I believe that if MC simply was incapable of romantic and/or physical attraction, that would Jack some worries, not because he's not supportive, but I think that Jack finds love to be the closest bond people can have. I also talked about how I believe he feels that sex is closely tied to that.

The fact of the matter is that Jack needs MC. From what we've seen on the "no" route in the demo, if they stop needing him, he'll become less real and will probably disappear. In that case he'll most likely return to a place that he described as hell.

That's why I think Jack insists on MC remembering him. If he stops being important in their mind, if they stop caring about his existence... then he's gone. Not to mention the fact that it hurts like hell when the person you love doesn't love you back.

If MC was incapable of feeling romantic love, that would be painful for Jack. Still, I imagine he would hold out hope that maybe someday that could change, especially if we're still talking about a continuity where they were in a relationship with someone before they met.

I can imagine that Jack wants the relationship Ian and MC had, which I'm sure is one of the many reasons why he probably dislikes Ian. Ian wasn't satisfied with the person Jack loves and needs so desperately. Jack can't lose MC, but Ian threw them away for a fling. It's kind of a maddening thought if you think about it.

If the relationship with Ian played a part in MC realizing that they weren't sexually or romantically attracted to men, it might be just another reason for Jack to not like Ian, to be honest. Not that Jack needs even more reasons to want to take care of Ian at this point.

Anyway, since you brought up a lot of different possibilities about MC's orientation that Jack could potentially deal with, I'm going to break them down one at a time. Let's keep going with the assumption that MC figured out this aspect about themselves after breaking up with Ian rather than it always being the case for the sake of simplicity.

First, let's go with an asexual MC who is sex repulsed. They don't want sex at all, but they still can feel attracted to men romantically. It's less than ideal for Jack considering his high libido and how he associates sex with love. However, he cares about MC's happiness and consent, so he won't do anything they don't want.

A quick reminder here - the "no" route was not intended to be a case of non/dubious consent. The team behind the game have repeatedly stated that Jack cannot do anything MC doesn't want. He can't even touch them they don't want him to. The intention in the narrative seems to be for MC to be reluctant about having sex, but still making the conscious choice to have sex with Jack in that route. The option to turn down sex altogether in either route is something that the team said will be added in a future update to the demo.

That said, I think Jack could accept not having sex with MC, provided that they showed him that they love and need him in other ways. I think he'll only truly feel secure if he's convinced that he's the most important person to MC, and they'll never stop loving him. As long as they could get together romantically, and MC could show him love other ways, I think he could be happy and eventually feel secure that a strong relationship doesn't need sex to solidify a strong bond of love.

With an aromantic MC, that's a different beast, especially if they have any sort of desire to have sex with people. I have a bad feeling that if MC was incapable of romantic love, Jack would continue to pine for them. He would no doubt consent to being friends with benefits in a heartbeat. After all, it's something he can give them that they want. I think that the mood would in a lot of ways be like the "no" route, since that is a prime example of MC and Jack having sex while MC doesn't want him romantically. The sex would be him desperately giving them what they desire just to make sure they never stop needing him... while he keeps loving them one-sidedly. He might even hope that one day things will change and they'll eventually love him as long as he just keeps giving them whatever they want. It would make for a pretty depressing situation, not going to lie.

It would make things worse if the aromantic and sexually active MC wants to have multiple sexual experiences with different partners without emotional attachment. I'm sure that would fuck Jack up mentally, and we'd see his worst yandere tendencies come out. I'd expect more and more people would be getting the Nick treatment, and even wind up killing themselves because of his manipulation.

After all, MC can't choose someone else if there's no one else left to choose.

With that thought in mind, an asexual/aromantic MC might be a little easier on Jack's state of mind, at least relatively. If MC doesn't want anyone else, romantically or physically, there's no one else who they're pursuing as a lover or partner. Jack, unfortunately, is no doubt going to remain constantly insecure, especially if MC has other friends, and he might start chasing them away and encouraging MC that they don't need anyone else but him, their best friend in the world.

I believe that Jack needs to feel like he's the most important person to MC. If he can't have reassurance that they'll always care about him and want him around, then he's going to have to make sure to do something about it himself.

Now... when it comes to MC not being romantically attracted to men... it would likely be the same functionally as just not being attracted to Jack in general. It doesn't matter who the person is or their sexuality - if they become more important than Jack to MC, then he can't feel secure in his existence. He might lose them. I'm sure he can live with being their best friend if not their lover, but not if they take someone else as a lover.

Jack seems willing to be whatever MC wants him to be, give them whatever they want as long as they'll always remember him.

That isn't to say that Jack would change into a woman to suit their desires if that's the only type of person they can feel attraction towards. His body might be affected by supernatural powers given the hints we've been given, but that would be pretty messed up.

Rather, I think Jack would try to figure out what about women that MC finds so appealing in a partner. Sometimes people with strong sexual preferences have exceptions despite their sexuality. He could potentially bank on becoming that exception by giving MC everything they could ever want in a relationship with a woman. Sure they might sigh and wish they knew a woman like him, but as long as he made sure no women get close to MC, then maybe eventually they'll change their mind.

It's a foolish hope, but it might be all Jack has at that point.

Of course... this is all speculation based off the idea that MC never really realizes that Jack is insecure about his relationship with them or why he needs them so badly. Not that he's going to tell them since that might risk losing them. It's possible if MC could find other ways to reassure Jack, maybe even help him deal with his issues and his tenuous grip on reality, then maybe he could become less insecure. Maybe he could accept just being friends with MC and accept his beloved being happy with someone else romantically, even if it breaks his heart.

Naturally, since the name of the game is Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack, that's probably far easier said than done.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur

#Sunny Day Jack #Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack #SunnyDayJack #sdj #swwsdj #Headcanon Ramblings #Ask #yeesh this post got depressing

[annie0183]

Hating on books and other fiction

This rant came out as some friends were talking about people’s reaction and hate towards some books and authors and how the words shitty and trashy are so used towards some genres. This is going to be long….

I think calling a genre trash is absolutely stupid. BL books are equally loved and reviled by people. Simply because the main target of these stories are women, or more exactly straight women that supposedly fetishize gay relationships. It’s similar to how the books written in the past were hated because they weren’t more than written porn for women. The reason those books were called trash was because they were written by women for women. Which I see as an insult towards women, the same way calling Mame's book's trash is an insult towards those that enjoy her books.

No, I don’t deny that there are straight women fetishizing gay relationships, and let’s be honest, that’s how BL series have appeared. And I don’t deny that some books are nothing more than porn, including those past books. I read those, they were cringy, over the top but I enjoyed them. Easy to read, something to pass time. Sometimes I need that, and there are a lot of people that sometimes need an easy read.

I hate the so-called intellectuals that pretend they are better than the rest because they hate these books. You don't need epic adventures or convoluted storylines for a book to be good. What makes a book good is the people that enjoy it. As long as you take it with a grain of salt and keep in mind that it’s fiction, therefore not real, you can read whatever you enjoy. You’re not superior for hating a book the same way you’re not superior for loving that book. Different tastes people, why do we tend to forget those exist?  

I've seen people saying a book is trash because one character annoys them or is one dimensional. And I'm like... have you met people? Do you ever go out of your room and meet people? Because let me tell you, people are one dimensional, boring, and annoying. Your expectation of epic characters is absolutely unrealistic, and if authors keep their books anchored to the real world is normal to see these types of characters. Every boring person out there is the main character of their own story. You can not like a book, which is normal and, in your right, but labeling a book trash because you find annoying a character, or the plot is not doing it for you it's trashier than the book.

The hate Mame receives in the BL world reminds me a bit of Twilight and how it became a trend to hate the books and the movies, forgetting they were targeted towards teenagers and it wasn’t supposed to be a deep story.  People have criticized Bella to hell and back: she’s a boring character, why is she so obsessed with Edward, why is everyone so attracted to her and so on.

Bella is an awkward teen girl, they are boring overall, half of the girls my year in highschool were carbon copy of Bella, so what a surprise, boring teens exist… Why is she so obsessed with Edward? Hmm, awkward teen with self-confidence issues, parents divorced, a mostly absent dad, absentminded mom and the feeling of being set aside by her mom moving maybe, and look at this, the hottest guy in school is paying attention to her and she discovers that he’s actually a vampire a supernatural being so damn amazing. Of course, she’s obsessed. I mean… have you ever had a crush in your teenage years?

Oh, but why is everyone attracted to her... Small boring town, city girl moving there, she’s not described as being an ugly alien with tentacles coming out of her eyes, so she’s cute at least if not out of this world gorgeous, of course people were curious and attracted. She was the shiny new toy on the playground.

It’s easy to see that if you actually stop and think about it, a lot of those things that were seen as flaws actually had a reason to be the way they were. An adult most probably won’t enjoy these stories, which is ok, because they weren’t written for them. Why do we have to shame kids and teens for what they like?

There is a very dangerous trend of holding fiction work on a pedestal and wanting fiction to be sanitized and even puritanical, with perfect characters and perfect plot and healthy environments. If we keep doing this, we’ll end up with the same book/series/movie under a different title. Let’s not censor fiction and let artists create their art the way they want and need.

I understand not wanting to read about an abusive character or, a scummy villain, but some people enjoy the stories, and NO it's not because they romanticize toxic relationships or SA or DV, it’s because these stories bring out things that happen in the real world and aren’t talked about as they should. Sometimes these issues aren’t dealt with as they should be in the books, but it’s maybe because a lot of these issues aren’t dealt with the right way in real life either.

There are books/series out there for everyone. With boring ass characters that lead boring lives like all of us do in real life, because let’s face it, we’re not out there slaying dragons and discovering new worlds, and epic stories with three-dimensional characters going on the adventure of their life. Go, read and watch the stories that appeal to you, whichever those may be.

You’re entitled to your opinion; you’re entitled to not like a story, but there is a difference between constructive criticism and straight up hating because the books are not your style. The line is fine, but it’s there. Before you go around calling a book shit, stop and think about it. Is it really shit, or you’re just nitpicking and straight up hating simply because the plot and characters don’t appeal to you?

Dedicated to @lutawolf

#books #rant #vent #fiction

[chryso0]

What do you think of Aki's features and body??(My question sounds like a pervert😅)

Sorry for the super late response LOL I only just realized I have an index box with a ton of old messages I never saw before 😙

Not gonna lie yeah ur question does sound a little perverted 🤭🤭 but y’know u are among friends in this genre 😂

I answered a similar question before, about whether I think Akihito is a great beauty? but i’ll answer again for emphasis 👌

There is common troupe in BL’s, that i think fits Akihito to a tee..

The troupe is basically this — Normal, average dude becomes the uke for a seme who is ridiclously handsome, successful and rich. Yet despite their difference in status and the uke having supposedly an average apparance, he is still flooded with admirers who openly want him to break up with boyfriend and pursue him. The story ultimatly makes the line blurry over which of the male leads — the uke or the seme is the actual catch! And it is somewhat reveals that the uke is the one that is special, desirable, and actually incrediably physically attractive.

In this way. Akihito looks are kinda deceiving. Where does he fit in this troupe? Is he actually a great beauty or is he just a normal guy with a heart of gold that people become attached to.

This is hard to answer because Asami did not approach Akihito because of he was touched by kindness — which is often how the above BL troupe plays out in other Manga’s. Asami approached him for very impure reasons. Probably to purposefully sully that “heart of gold” I mean he does love a good challenge! I tend to say that I actually do believe that Akihito is actually very good looking, and his must be body noticably good — and that this was the real reason Asami first approached him. He was more interested in Akihito’s physical body then anything else— and only later found out about his whole heart of gold trait which I think became the reason Asami stayed.

But here is also what i mean when I say Akihito’s looks are deceiving. He is a guy who is frequently described by fic writers and by sensei her self, as someone who doesn’t put a lot of effort into his looks. He wears causal street clothing, jeans and Tshirts. His hair is sorta wild and spikey. He is described as a delinquent - but internally he is not one at all! In fact he has very strong morales but for some reason he doesn’t care if people thinks he is one based on his appearances. Which tells me he simply does not care about his outward appearance.

In contrast we have Asami - he wears neatly pressed and polished suits. Which are frequently said to be custom made! He slicks his hair back every morning. His neatly polished outward appearances is in contrast with his real life underworld crime boss persona. Which in Japan — is in total contrast with peoples ideas about what “bad people” look like. Yakuza’s have a specific aesthetic that is very identifiable (espeically in manga) but Asami just does not fit that at all! And that in a way is meant to be the irony of their characters.

Akihito looks like delinquent but he isn’t one. Asami looks like a clean cut upright business man - but he isn’t one! Both very deliberately chooses.

Anyway the reason I point this all out is because - it’s my personal belief that Akihito is actually extremely good looking and eye catching! Enough that his physical apparance was enough to catch Asami’s eye. But because of how he presents himself outwardly— you might not realize it right away. But Asami I think has an eye for these things. He has an eye for talent, one might say! I think he saw right through Akihito and knew he was something special.

We know Akihito must meet basic standard of attractiveness - y know having clear skin, nice teeth and smile, youthfulness. But In a way I think you might think he is attractive but not worth a secound glance- and that is where I think he is deceiving. Because he has the type attractiveness that you maybe wouldn’t notice on first glance. I often say that Akihito looks are like diamond in the rough kind thing — I think he is really a hidden prince under neath an exterior that is rather shaby. He has an outer shell that is kinda rugged and unruly — it’s hard to see past. Especially in a place like Japan were outward apparances mean a lot.

This idea of Akihito’s looks being fairly innocuous is confirmed by the many associates of Asami who repeatably are shocked that Asami even associates with Akihito. It’s not shock over Asami being in a relationship with a man— its shock that Akihito seems so plain. Akihito is seen as an outlier in Asami’s life. The people around Asami see Akihito as Below Average—In comparison to the grandeur and status that Asami has.

If Asami is this powerful person — shouldn’t he have the best of the best? But instead he keeps this grungy teenager looken dude around?? To their eyes it makes no sense. No body cares about what Akihito’s abilities are, or if he’s kind or talented, because in their eyes Akihito is just a boy toy. Yet, they don’t get what his appeal is. They questioning their relationship because of Akihito’s unassuming, and delinquent apparance— which is in such contrast to Asami’s clean cut business like outward appearance.

Y’know what I mean. Maybe they can agree that Akihito is good looking but he still clashs with Asami’s persona. Although their contrast i think has always been this manga’s charm.

Almost all the characters have said something allong the lines of what’s so special about him?? Mikhail in their first meeting on the boat in Hong Kong arch, Kuroda too— saying its one of Asami’s “whims”. It was really only Fei Long who knew right away that Akihito must be “one of Asami’s” as he said during their first meeting, and he immediately saw that Akihito was physically attractive with “fine skin”.

The Sudo arch, where Sudo repeatably expresses a confusion and jealous over Akihito’s presence in Asami’s life! Obviously his questioning of their relationship is rooted in jealousy. But he also has, I think, good reason to wonder what hold Akihito has on Asami. In his eyes he has given everything to be Asami’s best guy— litterally bending over backwards to be noticed but it still it has no affect. Meanwhile, in Sudo’s eyes Akihito is unrefined, and unfit for the likes of Asami. This arc is interesting for a number of reasons, and I am gonna go off on a tangent talking about it. Because i think it’s really not an accident that Akihito and Sudo are meant to be visually similar.

Sudo is presented to us as almost a “better” version of Akihito. We know he obviously cant hold a candle to our boy!… but he is in a way a version of Akihito that is more mature, business savy, cleaner cut, stylish and trendy in all the ways that Akihito is NOT. He’s sophiscated, he effectively runs one of Asami’s clubs, he’s in the same circles that Asami is in. He was successfully for some time, and he did it all for Asami — all with a mindset that if he could be Asami’s most useful person — Asami would finally pay attention to him. Akihito at least views Sudo as someone who would be a better equal for Asami — compared to himself which he views negatively. Though this is all through Akihito’s insecure eyes — the audience learns early that Asami has no particular feeling towards Sudo at all and actually the “qualities” Sudo have — his ambition and greed are all things Asami AVOID’s when it comes to potential love interest.

But the point is— they all don’t understand the appeal that is — until they are maybe face to face with him that they get it. Even Mikhail, who seems only ever interested in Fei Long, points out early on that it’s Akihito’s body that Fei and Asami are fighting over during the naked arch truth. And it somewhat happens a lot during the story, someone will be unimpressed with Akihito and then they strip him on his clothing and suddenly!! It’s like Akihito is a different person in their eyes- Asami, fei long, Yuri, sakazaki all where enticed by his allure - even Mikhail had to admit that it was his body that was seducing people! Sudo too gets increasingly petty about Akihito and later accuses him of “climbing into Asami’s bed” —and weirdly despite being totally hot for Asami, Sudo ends up using Akihito to get off sexually.

Akihito is of course, very unaware of his own sexual appeal. He is able to hide in plain sight when you think about it. All behind a sorta boyish immature-ness. He flies under the radar for a lot of people. Until you very suddenly become aware of him.

On a side note— Can you imagine a world in which Akihito cleaned himself up and put himself together. Made himself look more like Asami— I think he might become too powerful!! I am sure Asami perfers him like this — he is already dealing with enough competition as it is!

#finder no hyouteki #asami ryuichi #takaba akihito #you're my loveprize in viewfinder #finder series #findermetas