#love making a character experience all their worst moments again while also giving them the opportunity to change

[arom-com]

hi hope this is ok but i've seen sooo many of ur posts tagged as renbrand and i am ... perhaps .... a little curious .... would u like to tell me abt them !!!! 👀👀 (its ok if not ofc)

Ofc!! I sure have been tagging them a lot huh

The short version is that they’re my unhinged lesbian ocs stuck in a murder timeloop

Longer version is this:

(I am not going to be able to explain this in any way approaching coherent) (but I will try!!) (sorry in advance for the Wall of Text)

So RenBrand stands for these two:

Ren Hayashi (23, she/they) university student studying criminal psychology, abandonment issues out the wazoo, Going Through It

Brand Reitveld (26, she/her) local gang leader, Control Issues TM, definitely the cat in whatever cat-and-mouse thing they have going on

They’re in love — it’s not even remotely healthy.

Basically, through no fault of their own, they got stuck in a long-form time loop (days/months rather than strict 24h) that resets whenever one of them dies, which wouldn’t be too much of an issue? Except a) they’ve never met and don’t know they’re stuck together, and b) Ren keeps getting fucking murdered

Bc!! Ren’s psychology prof is running a secret cult (trying to turn his crim psy students into serial killers, it’s a whole thing, very cringe of him) so she gets killed for accidentally getting in the way a couple times (she doesn’t know about the cult), and then ofc starts investigating, which only makes it worse (I feel so bad for her but it’s also really funny, saddest most pathetic sopping wet oc I’ve ever created)

(Some of Ren’s deaths are also caused by Brand who’s like listen I don’t have a grudge against you or anything but you do keep getting my people killed so I have to eliminate the threat, no hard feelings! And Ren is like I am in abject misery)

(strangers to enemies to lovers except the strangers to enemies is a speedrun and the enemies to lovers is a slow burn)

The story they’re from is sort of a dark mystery-slash-romance (think nbc hannibal meets groundhog day, which is certainly a sentence), and it’s mainly centred around Ren and her corruption arc as she goes from “tired student just trying to finish her dissertation if it kills her” to “codependent mob-wife who kills first and asks questions later”

I’m obsessed with time as a narrative device, and especially time loops, because it can be used in such interesting ways!! And the interesting part about time loops to me is that they’re like,,,,, rube goldberg machines for character development? You only stick a character in a time loop when you need them to undergo a pretty drastic change without a proper catalyst, and it forces them to wear themselves down to their bones, to find the very essence of what they are, and then build themselves back up again into their ideal and purest form of self. (Of course, some people just use them as a tool for romance, but that’s boring!! Boo)

Usually time loops exist to make a character better, because they’re given some kind of epiphany that makes them the best and kindest version of themselves. (Alternatively, they can be used as the cosmic equivalent of a washing machine spin cycle if you’re writing horror) But what interests Me is the idea of using a time loop to make a character worse, which is what I’m doing to Ren (and to a lesser extent, Brand)

And it’s not just corruption for corruption’s sake, either! Ren, as she is, is miserable — she’s completely isolated, unable to achieve any of her goals, and ultimately ends up getting killed in an impersonal way for impersonal reasons — but once the loop begins and she gets her second chance, she starts to wear away at all her self-imposed barriers and boundaries until she can start making her own decisions and being an active agent in her own life. Of course, she’s not choosing to do good, but the best version of herself is not necessarily Good or Kind, it’s just Authentic.

Brand, on the other hand — because she has more support and isn’t as repressed — is experiencing the time loop less as a vehicle for character development, and more as a perpetual time travel fix-it (which is SO fun, having two characters get wildly different outcomes from the same experience). Her problems are more interpersonal rather than internal, so where Ren is using the extra time to understand herself, Brand uses it to understand the world around her (and is thus doing a much better job at actually solving the plot, we love a girlboss).

Brand’s conflicts are with her brother (who I can’t even Begin to explain without adding another thousand words to this post), and (as the leader of the local gang) with the police & the murder cult, which means that a lot of her loops are spent information-gathering (and murdering, dw abt it)

Personality-wise Ren is pretty quiet, she doesn’t like to ask for things which means she gets into miscommunications a lot (people not helping when she wishes they would, people helping when she doesn’t need it bc they think she just doesn’t want to ask), she’s a very “the only one you can rely on is yourself” kind of person, which isn’t exactly ideal for someone you’re stuck in a time loop with but at least it means she never gives up? She also doesn’t really care what people think of her — or rather, she does care, but she doesn’t let it stop her

Brand is suffering from a lethal combination of being the youngest sibling and simultaneously the eldest daughter, so she’s great at asking for help and using her resources but it means that she a) is a little entitled about it, and b) needs to feel like she has perfect control over everything or she’ll die. She’s very possessive and protective over things that she considers hers (hence murdering Ren for getting her people killed, it’s fine they get over it)

Renbrand also come equipped with two sets of narrative foils (Brand’s disabled ex-ballet dancer brother and his bodyguard/love interest, and the cult leader professor and his prized pupil who both hates and loves him for what he’s become) but the word count on this is already obscenely, embarrassingly long so I’ll talk abt them another day maybe

#ok!!! that should be enough for now #renbrand #scattered-winter #asks #half of this is just meta about time loops I’m so sorry #feel free to ask more questions!! clearly I can’t shut up abt them #I’ve drawn brand I think twice? both should be under my art tag on my side acct #but yeah that’s the basics #calling them renbrand like rembrandt bc im so clever (joking) #I would do a rembrandt style painting of them if shading and I weren't mortal enemies #[clenches fist] god I love time as a narrative device #love making a character experience all their worst moments again while also giving them the opportunity to change #god. wait. loreliese as the degas ballerinas I'm SO clever #okay okay shutting up now #hope this answers your question!!! #edited bc when I was transferring this over it SKIPPED A PARAGRAPH fucking christ #so yeah if the mention of the murder cult out of the blue confused anyone… that’s why #attys yapping ✨🌷💞

[candyskiez]

Thinking about why Separation arc works so well again.

There's already a very good post about how it makes you think it'll have Reigen fail at keeping up the business on his own, and apologize to Mob to get him back because he can't do it without him. Only to have him actually be perfectly capable of running the business by himself without even touching real spirits. But why didn't they do that?

It wouldn't have actually meant anything. Reigen apologizing to Mob wouldn't have meant shit, because it would just come off as using him. Mob going back to him wouldn't be satisfying or a relief. It'd just feel like he was going back to an unhealthy environment. No character development, no actual satisfying resolution.

What they do instead works so much better, and I've been thinking about why. Because I think about this show way too much, let me live.

Reigen was perfectly fine money wise before Mob showed up. Money problems aren't even implied to be a reason why he wants to leave spirits n such. It's all just being unsatisfied. He's restless and unfulfilled, and nothing really catches his interest. And then actual company shows up, and gets him talking to people, and gives him something worthwhile to do.

Most of Reigens worst moments have nothing to do with money. His controlling tendencies come out when he feels left behind or like someone is a better person than him. His toxic traits are so painfully human. He lashes out when he feels like his place in someone's life is in danger, he's not honest because he feels like nobody can love him as he is, and he doesn't try to change because he feels like he's inherently bad and cannot get better. Because of this, he doesn't stop and recognize he's hurting people. He thinks of him being a bad person as Inherent, not actions he can stop doing.

This is why it's so so SO important that there be a moment in the arc where he stops and looks back at how he treats people. He needs to realize that him being Bad isn't determined by just being bad by existing, but by what he says and does. Mob didn't leave because Reigen is inherently bad. Mob left because Reigen treated him badly.

If the Reigen and Mob conflict had been resolved with Reigen apologizing because he needed him for his business, it would've come off like Reigen didn't care about Mob. But because it became clear that Reigen didn't need Mob for his business, it tells the audience that Reigen really fucking cares about Mob AND why Reigen had actually acted the way he did:

Because he was a sad bastard who's scared of being alone.

And also, if they had Reigen just take on a spirit alone, the audience wouldn't have had nearly as much reason to be sympathetic towards him. It would've just felt like Reigen was being an idiot. But because of how they set up Reigen's downfall, we're so much more sympathetic to him. He works hard and gets what he thinks he wants, only to be set up by a guy who he saved the life of. It makes us feel extremely bad for him and like his ridicule is completely undeserved.

It also tells us something about him. Reigen has had so much experience where doing the right thing is punished. Reigen feels like it's too late to be good. Reigen falls into thinking he cannot be good, so he needs to buckle in and keep going. Because it shows Reigen being punished for being good as well as being punished for being bad, it makes what Reigen did feel so much more human. You're more inclined to sympathize with him, because it's not just about money. It's about the fact he was an asshole to his only friend because he felt like if he had other friends, he'd like them more and leave him. And seeing him face negative consequences for Doing The Right Thing as well as the wrong thing makes you understand why he just...doesn't try. If that makes sense lmao.

The way they constructed the arc makes us sympathize with Reigen while he's acting like an absolute asshole, while also setting up Reigen stopping and asking himself "why DID I do this, why DID I choose this path, why DO I treat people like this" perfectly.

Tldr, it's a really good arc.

#mp100 spoilers #mp100 #reigen arataka #arataka reigen #separation arc #this is incoherent but. shhh #tagging this post as r/imob is punishable by laser blast #separation arc tag

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PROPAGANDA

MARWA (WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (TV SERIES)) (CW: Mind Control)

1.) okok so a major character (nandor) uses a genie wish to bring back the 37 wives he had when he was human (he’s a vampire who was turned in the 1400s but is alive in the modern day) to pick his favorite to live with and settles on marwa. she’s established as someone who’s passionate about science and mathematics, but nandor uses his genie wishes to essentially mold her into his perfect woman like a doll, from changing her hair color to making her not want to go to the night market with him to making her like all the things he likes. this culminates in him LITERALLY TRANSFORMING HER INTO A BRITISH MAN NAMED FREDDIE and that is her send off from the show. the treatment of her is disgusting i’m sorry for ranting i love wwdits but honestly the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth

2.) WHERE TO START my god. Marwa is introduced into the story as one of a crowd of women who are interchangeable to the man summoning them, WHO IS HER CANONICAL HUSBAND but he gives less than half a fuck about her, which is played for laughs. The writers made it completely unclear whether she is a real person or basically a magical simulation with no inner life and did not bother to clarify that at any point. Her plotline consists of her husband using magical wishes to modify various aspects of her body and mind and the writers never explore whether she is aware this is happening or not, much less how she might be experiencing it. It is a terrifying psychological horror story from her perspective but we are not given any insight into her perspective so who cares I guess!! For example, he wishes for her to have a rounder ass and then wishes that all of her preferences align perfectly with his own, so that she'll stop nagging him about wanting different colored flowers at their wedding than him. There are SEVERAL more examples. Her experience of having all of her desires replaced with her husband's desires shows up only for jokes, plus one moment that is used to confirm that her husband's real love interest is one of the other male leads in the show. (I ship the two male characters, I'm not complaining about that, but like COME ON SHE WAS A HUMAN PERSON ONCE AND SHE IS LIVING IN A HORROR MOVIE AND THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH THAT???) THE WORST PART is that when it's time for her to exit the story because her body and personality have already been essentially replaced by magic and she is now a boring toy, she is LITERALLY PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY transformed into a random British man so that her husband can have that guy as a love interest instead of her. She (he? It? Again it is never NEVER explored whether Marwa is like, alive inside this British man's mind somehow? Or if she was ever really alive in her body?) moves to England to be in love with the original British man she was based off of, so basically her twin. This is also played for laughs. Her entire personality and body are not even killed off with like a death scene but literally ERASED FROM REALITY AND REPLACED WITH A COPY OF THIS SHITTY WHITE DUDE.

3.) (Context: Nandor is a vampire who has been alive for a while. When he was human he had 37 wives. (Btw some of the wives were men but that’s besides the point.))

She was brought back to life (along with a couple others) via Djinn wish just because Nandor wanted to have a ‘wife’ (some of the ‘wives’ are men). After being deemed the ‘best wife’ by Nandor she is the only one left alive. It is clear the entire fourth season that Nandor doesn’t care for her much and she is only there because Nandor wants to be married to someone. He ignores her wants and interests the whole season. Via another Djinn wish Nandor makes Marwa like everything he likes so she is more agreeable with him. Later on, he meets another character’s boyfriend named Freddie. Nandor basically falls for Freddie immediately and via Djinn wish, wishes Marwa to be exactly Freddie. :| With that wish, Marwa is effectively gone. She now looks and acts like Freddie. The two Freddies meet and after freaking out a little (and some magic) they get along because they like the same exact things. By the end of the season both Freddies are sent off to never be seen again. Also, Nandor has some extra Djinn wishes so he could’ve turned Marwa back but he didn’t.

Additional links: Article about the Freddie thing: https://www.themarysue.com/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-missed-hard-with-its-treatment-of-marwa/

She likes what he likes:

Also This:

MIKOKO SAKAZAKI (KAIJI)

1.) She is one of two (2) women with a speaking role in the manga (which has been ongoing since the 90s), and was the first female character to appear at all. She has a crush on the protagonist, Kaiji, but this is treated as a joke/ as gross because of her appearance. She is meant to be ugly because of the size of her nose and lips and therefore is invalid as a person. She has no role other than to pester Kaiji with her crush, and despite him ignoring or acting weirded out around her constantly, her attraction to him never fades. She gets almost no characterization outside of this and is only seen once after Kaiji leaves, where she is drawing a manga where he comes back to her. When she's shown once in a bikini, the sight is so disgusting to the protagonist that he sprints away at full speed. Despite this, she is sometimes used in ads for the series.

2.) Her face looks "too much like her father's", yet he never receives any negativity for it. Every single male character in the manga has the same style of facial features, yet when the creator puts them on a woman it makes her mockable and gross.

#polls #round 1 #week 1 #new #cw mind control

[bsd-fan]

How mentally unwell you think Chuuya is?

Your takes on his character are the best so i will be glad to hear your take on this

PD: thank you for the perfect analysis you do <3

Hey! Thank you so much for your kind words 💖

And I’m really sorry to be answering this so late but life has been crazy this last weeks. I want to say that when I got the notification of this question I was at work so I just read the first part and I was /Convinced/ someone has asked me how mentally unwell I was and I laughed out loud because the answer is a lot but I couldn’t figure out why someone would ask it like that 😭 Then I realized it was about chuuya and everything made more sense lol.

Now going with the actual question (and once again apologizing if something doesn’t make sense because English is not my native language.

Chuuya’s mental state is kind of difficult to talk about. The easy answer is that he is in a really bad mental state but it’s a little more complicated than that. Chuuya’s has gone through so much trauma, basically since the moment he started living everything in his life has been a big traumatic experience after another. It has gotten so bad that there’s a running joke in the fandom about Chuuya’s lack of reaction to fucked up things, because that’s just another Thursday in his life. He is /used/ to this horrible things happening to him. We need to understand that there’s no such a thing as a little trauma. But chuuya’s case? Is outrageous. He was experimented in, treated like a weapon, deshumanized by everyone, constantly fighting with his own feelings of inhumanity, he was used and betrayed by the people he gave everything to protect, he made new friends that loved and appreciate him only for them to also be taken away from him, worse than that, they were killed /because/ they were his friends, he had to see them die, he had to hold his own pain and instead be comforting while he saw something fucking horrible, he was hurt, physically, mentally, he was poisoned, tortured and hit by a literal black hole, he saw more people he loved die, the same year later he once again lost his friends during the dragon’s head conflict and the worse part? Shitty things are /still/ happening to him

So no, no one could go through all of that and be mentally intact, it doesn’t matter how mentally strong they are. The pure amount of trauma that Chuuya went through in three days would break any other person and that’s just a minuscule part of his life. And that’s not even the worse part of it, I said it before but Chuuya’s core is all about humanity and he find his humanity in the people that he loves. That’s the kind of person he is and is devastating to realize that this mentality is the only thing that keeps him standing while at the same time being the thing that is destroying him. He was stripped of almost every decision in his life, he is at the worst place he can be in, forced to go against his whole fucking personality, his belief system and his moral code and he can’t leave because that would go against all his character. So chuuya endures, and endures and endures. He takes every hit, he has renounced to vulnerability, he has renounced to the right of being afraid, he has renounced to the right of stepping back. He has internalized that he is strong so he /needs/ to protect the people that is not. In order to protect his people (and his humanity) he needs to be reliable, he needs to be unwavering, he needs to stand still even when everyone else is already in the floor. He has lost such a basic human right as giving up. He doesn’t now how to do it, he /can’t/ do it because people depend on him. And it’s really a tragic paradox because this is what moves him but is takes so much of him. And all for what? He keeps losing people he loves, at the end there’s no difference. All this autocontradiction is killing him, he chose the mafia because the bonds with the people there, because his bonds with the sheep means something to him. Because his humanity is there, not in the organization but in the people that is part of it. He chose the mafia because that means choosing his humanity but the mafia is the kind of organization that works around deshumanizing people, so what’s the point of all of that. He is surrounded by people, he loves and is loved by people but he still is so unbearably lonely.

Now, what makes chuuya different from other characters? Chuuya’s resilience really is a scary thing. He is brave, he takes everything the world gives him and retaliates just as hard. Even when he has gone through hell and back, he still is full of vitality, he is still so hungry for life, he still enjoys all the little things he can get. Even when he knows that the worlds is a cruel place, even when he knows that there are bad people and that fucked up things happen, he never grew to hate the world because he clings to the good things, no matter how small they are. Because it doesn’t matter if he’s using corruption and bleeding from every hole, or feeling like his bones are being pulverized by gravity, it doesn’t matter that he loses the humanity he so desperately clings to, if by doing that he can protect the people that he loves. Is not that chuuya is mentally well, he is not emotionally intelligent (actually he’s horrible at it, it only seems like he is because most of the time he is being compared with Dazai who is far worse) but he is probably the most resilient character in bsd. Chuuya is strong, he is a fighter. He will fight for his place in this world, he will fight the unfairness of all, he will fight the senseless of life.

I also feel like it’s important to add that chuuya has a lot of interesting copying mechanisms and while most of them are certainly not healthy, it’s also what keeps him moving. Regarding all his trauma, I feel like it’s important to talk about how chuuya just never thinks of certain hurtful stuff. He just put all the pain in a mental box and hides it away. Chuuya doesn’t seem as affected by his trauma as other characters because he is hyper fixated in going ahead, he never looks back. He just keeps going forward BUT it doesn’t matter how much he advances, it doesn’t matter how fast he goes, all that trauma, pain and contradictions will catch up on him one day and it will be a terrible sight. Because my boy doesn’t know when to stop, he doesn’t know when he’s had enough, he thinks that limits are just kind suggestions that he can ignore.

So in summary Chuuya is an accident waiting to happen. He is more less stable at first glance, because he has copying mechanisms and a strong mentality and a otherworldly resilience but he also sucks at dealing with his own trauma, he is self destructive, and a living contradiction and that’s gonna wear him down someday. True to his character, his contradictions are fighting between them to keep some kind of weird balance but that won’t last. So, Chuuya is definitely mentally unwell.

Whoa that was longer than what I expected, sorry for that.

#bsd #bsd chuuya #bungou stray dogs #bsd meta #Chuuya meta #most of this is incoherent rambling #I’m sorry #I haven’t slept in three days

[gauntletqueen]

wow is superstars really That Bad?? :(

In my opinion, kinda yeah :< (here I go writing a fucking essaybecause just listing complaints as bulletpoints isn't gonna get my thoughts across shafghghaf, this is all based on personal experience and opinion of course!)

(first off, the game uses Denuvo anti-cheat which eats a stupid amount of processing power, slowing down your PC, which is bad because there are better alternatives but SEGA keeps insisting on using this one) On a base level, the game is fine. The characters feel pretty good to control, the graphics are nice, I like that they brought back Fang and introduced Trip whom I love! About half of the soundtrack is very good too! But I just find so many problems that build on that base.

The level design, while fine overall, has a tendency to make you run or jump directly into obstacles a lot, partially because the camera is much to close to the player character. There is just no way to see these obstacles coming until it's already too late, or the enemies will shoot projectiles from off-screen, giving you no warning either. This also means it's harder to see jumps coming, making you fall down a lot. Not necessarily in bottomless pits, but it can be a bit annoying all the same to fall down to a lower route. The game also features several special powers you can activate, and the game wants you to use these at specific moments, but most of these aren't build into the levels fluidly at all. Instead they usually halt the momentum entirely just for a small gimmick that'll be over in a second and, in my experience, never adds anything, aside from the water power which lets you swim freely, which makes for a nice change of pace, but it's only applicable in water stages and using it anywhere else is totally useless. Most of the powers are like that, far too situational, to the point where I kept forgetting they existed unless the game reminded me. I will admit I am just forgetful so maybe this is a me problem.

The game's main selling point, the multiplayer, also makes these problems even worse. The camera seems to choose entirely at random which player it wants to follow, swapping at random as well. The moment a player leaves the screen, they despawn. Given that this game is about running fast, this means that you will despawn constantly. After despawning in this manner, rather than dying, you can press A to respawn next to the surviving player immediately, so it's not the worst, but still incredibly annoying when you can never get into the flow of the game. But it gets worse when one person falls into a bottomless pit, and the camera decides to follow that player. The other player is pushed offscreen, dissapears, and the first player falls to their death, thus killing both. These kinds of problems are a constant and make the multiplayer incredibly frustrating.

The bosses are a big gripe for me as well. In previous Sonic games, Classic especially, if you could hit the boss in their weak spot, you could hurt them. That sounds obvious at first, but a lot of games aren't like that, where you need to wait for a specific attack to leave the boss vulnerable or something. Most bosses in Sonic games don't have that, if you can duck and weave between the boss's attacks and get close enough to land hits quickly, you can really speedrun a boss and feel great about it! In Superstars, bosses can only be hit at certain points, which often isn't visually indicated, causing you to either bounce off of them, or take damage, despite the boss looking no different than when you can hit them. When you hit them, they flash white, indicating their invincibility frames, another common thing for bosses in games, but their invincibility actually lasts much longer than the flashing, which results in the player trying to attack them too early and bouncing off or taking damage again. This already drags bosses out a lot, but on top of that, a lot of bosses take a ton of hits compared to most Sonic games, which, again, breaks the game's momentum. The bosses end up feeling so tedious and long that I started dreading having to fight most of them.

But okay! You can just play the main game in singleplayer! The levels are usually fine and some bosses actually work well! It's not entirely unfun. However, there's more once you beat the main game. (spoilers ahead, though I refrain from talking about specific story elements)

After beating the main story, you unlock a second story. This story is just as long as the previous one, because it's all the same levels, but made harder. This includes the bosses, which were already a pain before, some of which become like torture now.

At this point, the game becomes an endurance challenge, just suffering through harder and harder variants of the same levels and bosses, which, at least in my opinion, stops being fun pretty quickly, since all the earlier issues compound. No new story is learned through this mode either (it's even difficult to understand whether it takes place before or after the main game until the ending which seems like an easy thing to do), so it really just feels tacked on to stretch the game length. and I've been told by a friend that the final boss is so stupidly difficult that it took them like 6 hours to beat. Considering how frustratingly unfun and difficult the game had gotten by the 8th stage, I can believe it! It was, in no small terms, one of the most soulcrushing experiences I've ever had with a video game. It just made me really sad and dejected.

After finally beating it, you unlock a shoddily integrated True Final Boss which comes out of nowhere, and that's a shame because I feel it could've been something neat, and I understand where they were going with it, story-wise, but just needed to be introduced better.

Overall the game has a great basis for a good Sonic game, but ends up getting more and more frustrating and demoralizing as it goes on, and ends up being one of the few games that's actually less fun in multiplayer! Impressive. I really can't say who's at fault here either, since there's so many choices here that I feel can't be due to executive meddling, and it's important to remember that these are the same devs as Balan Wonderworld, Yoshi's New Island and Hey! Pikmin. They don't have the best track record, yknow? Perhaps we'll get a huge patch someday that fixes all of my issues with the game, or maybe the fans will mod it, or maybe not! Whatever! There's better Sonic games to play! Play Mania or 3! Or fan games!!

okay thank you for reading <3

#Oops wow that's uh. #that's a lot #I just kinda wrote the first things that came to mind #if you manage to stay focussed long enough to read it all I am so proud of you and thank you

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

“autistic luna” this, “autistic luna” that, can we talk about how hermione was autistic coded pls?

I mean... yes? It's definitely something I've thought about but I haven't really talked about it because I'm aware of my habit of making headcanons that all of my favourite characters are autistic (Dano!Riddler, Robin from ST etc), but yes, I've definitely considered that Hermione is autistic-coded.

Let me just be clear from the beginning: Do I think that R*wling intentionally wrote Hermione as autistic or autistic-coded? Absolutely fucking not. That woman can't write autism for shit, as she's proven with her Strike books; she didn't write Newt as autistic intentionally, nor did she write Luna as autistic intentionally, and I'm not giving that nightmare the credit for any autistic-coded characters in her works because she doesn't deserve it.

With that out of the way, let me discuss autistic!hermione.

One of most obvious things we all know about Hermione is her love of studying; it very much seems that upon finding out she was a witch, she threw herself into that world and learned all that she could about it. By the time she was on the train to Hogwarts for her first year, she had literally read all of the assigned text books and even knew a few basic spells. This is in part due to the fact she wanted to fit in with the Wizarding World - it's implied that she didn't really have any muggle friends pre-Hogwarts, she was probably ostracised for being such a "know-it-all", and it's clear that she wanted to fit in at Hogwarts, to find a place where she belonged, hence why she threw herself into it (and also because of her love of learning of course). You can see that she was desperate not only to learn as much as possible but also to make friends; if she didn't care about being accepted and making friends, Ron's comment about "no wonder she hasn't got any friends" wouldn't have hurt her nearly as much.

While a love of studying certain topics and a desire to fit in aren't solely autistic traits, they are ones that autistic people do seem to experience, myself included. Speaking from experience, I want to fit in and make friends because I feel lonely, and I see that everyone else around me seems comfortable/to have found people they can be around and trust, and I wish I had that. I find friendships very difficult to build and maintain, because I don't know how to talk to people or how to get them to like me, and I feel deficient in that area. Again, that's probably an experience non-autistic people can relate to as well, but from what I can tell it seems to be very common among us.

Another reason I think Hermione could be autistic-coded is that she seems to display a lack of empathy for others at times; a prime example of this is when Lavender's rabbit, Binky, died. Lavender was - quite understandably - sobbing about it, especially given that Binky was only a baby and that he was killed by a fox. Instead of offering any kind of sympathy or empathy, Hermione instead lectured her (and everyone else) about how Trelawney wasn't actually a seer, analysing how Trelawney didn't predict the bunny's death - she was more interested in proving that Divination sucked because it was her worst subject, like she had to have some kind of win over Trelawney/Divination. And while I understand her logic, she was sort of right, choosing that very moment - when one of her dorm-mates was sobbing over her dead pet - was not the best time to voice it. There's also her utter disregard for Ron's feelings over "Scabbers"; she had this "he's never really cared that much about Scabbers anyway" "he's an old rat anyway" kind of mentality that just displayed no kind of attempt to understand his feelings. The fact that Hermione became a pet owner herself just a few months before all of this also goes to show her lack of empathy/sympathy, the fact that despite owning an animal now she still was unable to do the socially acceptable thing and show empathy/sympathy instead of logic. Hermione is certainly not emotionless by any means, but there are definitely times where she seems so absorbed by her own ideas and thoughts/feelings that she's oblivious to other people's.

Not all autistic people are like this, of course, and not all people who display a lack of empathy or sympathy are necessarily autistic, but it's another thing to consider. While I like to think of myself as being a bit too empathetic, there are many times where I've appeared selfish and too caught up in my own head/feelings to regard other people's feelings or how best to approach being there for them. It's not because I don't care for them, it's just that I'm so caught up in my own thoughts and how I'm feeling that I often don't think twice about how someone else must be doing - and I'd say it's the same for Hermione, because while she doesn't seem to feel particularly strongly either way about Lavender in PoA, we know she definitely cares for Ron because he's one of her best friends (and love interest but if anything it was probably more a crush than anything else in third year)

Some more things that I'm too exhausted to discuss properly because I'm suffering severe burnout right now:

Hermione is very blunt and to the point, she doesn't sugarcoat things or mince words at all

It's mentioned that she talks very fast, to the point where during their first interaction Harry's like "did she even breathe during that speech?!?!", which is usually what I do when I infodump on people because I want to get all of my words out before I'm interrupted or forget them

An extremely good memory, she remembers so much of what she reads in books; the only reason I don't think it's photographic is because she read about Flamel and then later didn't remember it immediately when the trio were searching for information on him until Harry found him mentioned on the back of Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog card.

It's worth mentioning that she panics in dangerous situations and seems to forget things; "oh we don't have any wood to build a fire", for example, and then Ron had to remind her that she's a witch and can literally just use magic - something you'd think she'd remember given that she not only set Snape on fire that year but also created flames to put in jars during the winter

Hermione seems to be brilliant at spells and magic that require precision, but then she struggles with spells/magic that require some creativity and imagination like the Patronus charm - she's a logical thinker and so struggles with emotional charms

This links to what I said above about a lack of sympathy/empathy and her struggle making friends, but she definitely lacks social awareness; she constantly butts into other people's conversations and business, speaks her mind abrasively, and critically

Hermione taking on way too many classes in PoA, struggling to keep on top of it all, and snapping at anyone who came near her; struggling to manage things is is commonly found among many of us with autism since we can often only handle a certain amount of sensory input before we get overwhelmed.

Her reluctance to even consider other people's views/beliefs, eg. Luna's belief in strange or bizarre sounding creatures. She may have technically been right, but she was rude to Luna about it and didn't even want to consider why someone may have an opposing view. Hermione is so set in what she believes in, and what she believes in is logic and hard evidence.

I also recently found out that Emma Watson was apparently diagnosed with combined/hyperactive type ADHD as a child; while autism and ADHD are two different things, sometimes there's an overlap and sometimes people have both, so it's not outside the realm of possibility that any autistic/neurodivergent traits in movie!Hermione are partly down to this.

I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts and if people want to add onto this post because it's been a long time since I read the books properly, and its also 1:30am here so I'm going to bed to try and get a few hours sleep!

#hermione granger #autism #autistic #actually autistic #harry potter #emma watson

[artsycrapfromsai]

What's been your favorite character arc for Amaryllis while you've played her?

Hewwo!

Hmm... That's a toughie. its hard to choose!

💕 one of them is about her and this Inquisition, who are all anti magic and magical creatures. They tend to just go and kill anything touched by it, including Brightmaids like Amy.

And that kinda traumatizes her a little, because she grew up learning that these people exist, and even having them hunt her down as a child, but the way these people kill those like her without any remorse and take horns and such as trophies - they don't see her as a person.

And it kinda eats at her for a while, and makes her depressed at some moments, because of that feeling of being looked at as just an inhuman thing to destroy just because she exists

But after some time, battles won, and experience, she gains more confidence and self righteous anger and is able to push past those feelings and fight/kill the man mainly responsible for them (alongside her compsnions, who experienced similar)

So that was really satisfying, bc Amy spent so much of her life hidden from this threat and becoming strong enough to defend herself, and then truly faced that uncaring evil for the first time, and like. Nothing can really prepare you for that, even when you try. But she got past it and came out the other end satisfied with herself and her actions and her own abilities

💕 another favorite of mine is Amy in regards to Percy. Because she and him were growing closer and closer- they initially started out antagonist at worst, neutral at best. But then they become friends, and maybe something more

And that's when Percival betrays the group, and sends them into the void (something he deeply regrets, which is something he never does. It wasn't a plan for them, but someone else, and he knew the risk, but went through with it anyway, and ended up with the deepest regret of his life)

And for Amy and co., Time is passing, years go by, and when they finally return to Percy and the others, time hasn't passed there.

So it's basically still right after that betrayal

And Amy spends a lot of those years away thinking about it, why it happened (it was pre- determined because the world would end otherwise), how it happened, if she should still trust him, why she still cared about him, why it hurt so much- thinking through all these scenarios about it, and agonizing about it, because she's the only person who actually got to know Percy as a person, because he hid himself from everyone else

In the end, she couldn't gain any sort of conclusion until she returned. And she wouldn't even know if the Percival she returned to would the same one she got to know and get close to, because another Percival from another timeline (Percy B) asked her to give his memories to this Percival (Percy A), because they explain all about the way his life has been manipulated and for what purpose and why.

But those memories would also change him into someone else with both sets of memories (Percy C), and there was a very real chance that her friend might have just vanished into a completely different person, and she was terrified about that

It was all a really complicated situation, with so many conflicting emotions (sadness, betrayal, regret, affection, yearning, fear...), where Amy was hurt by a man she cared about, but she finds out it wasn't entirely his decision, but she might not even have a chance to talk with him before she lost him again

That was her first real experience with betrayal and complicated feelings like that, and it was really fun to play with and explore those emotions.

In the end, Amy decided that while she loved Percy, it's his choice to choose who he'll become, and she'll respect that, bc everything else in his life has been someone else's choice.

But she still needed a genuine apology from him for what he did, because she wasn't just going to accept and forgive and move on. She deserved an apology and proof he regretted his actions and that he meant it- and he gave her that by sacrificing his hand to save her from being killed. No hesitation, it was her life or his hand, and it was an easy choice to make. And he further proved it by saying that he doesn't mourn losing the hand that hurt her so badly.

Them getting together was a really long and complicated character arc for both, and it was really fun to play with those deep and painful emotions - but I'm just glad they're together now and they can have fun, silly relationship stuff now lol

#amaryllis #percival silverchaser #ask #this got long oops

[tempo-tales]

On a rainy winter afternoon, Elicia waits at the entrance of a hotel for ten minutes after arriving at her destination. Meanwhile, she was chatting with her colleagues on a messaging app.

The woman listens from a short distance calling her by her nickname "Eli". The voice is Margaret, who was getting out of the cab, dressed in an attractive white coat and some pastel shades. Eli found her girlfriend so cute that he immediately reaches over to cover her with the umbrella she was holding.

"Thank you Eli-"-The thank you was interrupted by a sweet, long kiss. Finished, Marggie was delighted and speechless looking with her bright eyes at her partner.

"Shall we go inside? It's cold in here."

The two ladies, entering a famous restaurant in the capital, and with their elegant presence attracted glances from men, women and families. The aura of these ladies radiated happiness because they both felt so but also a bit nervous.

They sit near the window at a reserved table with a view from the ninth floor.

The waiter pours wine into the two crystal glasses and leaves.

Eli and Maggie have a chat about their work life and a little gossip they overhear with their colleagues while waiting for dinner.

Fifteen minutes later, two waiters arrived with the food, which the couple enjoyed slowly to take advantage of their stay at the restaurant.

The dinner was a feast of delicacies of varied dishes but in small portions, and in which Eli is used to, but not Maggie, being third time attending in this type of date.

Finally it was time for dessert and the glasses of tiramisu were set aside in front of the girls as Margaret reached out to touch Eli's hands, an act that caused the model and reporter to look finely at Maggie.

On this occasion, Maggie was very serious, something very out of character for a very cheerful and not very mature girl. Elicia's doubts popped into her head and her face flushes shyly. The adorable gestures on Eli's face take away Maggie's seriousness and she lets out a loud laugh, which spreads to half the room. Both notice that people are staring at them and the girls shy away, ducking their heads.

In a moment of silence, Maggie squeezes Eli's hands to get her attention, as soon as Elicia looks at Margaret, the dark-skinned girl begins to speak.

"Elicia, I had a fabulous time, it was very romantic all these details. With you, in places that are not usually my comfort zone, you, you make it fun, unique."

Eli again gets nervous but this time she gets her voice out.

"Maggie...what's this all about?"

Maggie avoids taking Eli's eyes off of hers, while, silently with one hand, she takes an object out of her small bag and displays it in front of Eli.

Maggie opens the box and shows her the opal ring, once given to her by Eli.

Elicia feels a strong pulse in her chest, very strong pain that brings out a tear in one eye, thinking of the worst case scenario that she soon believes will happen.

"I have the engagement ring you gave me, Eli. That time you asked me to marry you and my answer was left hanging."-Maggie expresses seriously letting out a sigh. Eli, controlling her panic attack, could barely contain her expression and a few tears.

"Now, it's time to give my answer."

Eli's heart was racing non-stop, she tried to turn a deaf ear, she didn't want to think about that scenario, the end of their relationship.

"Elicia, now it is my turn to tell you this, that I have already overcome this fear thanks to your unconditional love that you gave me since we met. You taught me to know what it's like to raise a family, and, even though it's just the two of us, I learned how wonderful and fun this experience is." Margaret's eyes shine brighter and she conveys more charm to Elicia's. Eli squeezes her chest with her hands, feeling her strong heartbeat pounding harder.

"Eli...will you marry me?"

The declared girl couldn't take it anymore and exploded from crying, cries of happiness she never expressed in her life, whose neutral personality hardly conveyed any expression at this moment, this time she looks like a child.

Eli's emotional shock caught the attention of the audience, who were attentive to this romantic act and Maggie, no matter anything else, gets up to hug her girl to comfort her, caressing the smooth hair.

" I'm so sorry Eli, I...should have been..."

"...pt"

"Eh?"

"I accept Maggie, I want to be your wife! Your partner for life, I love you!" Elicia's tender expression, that first time Margaret sees, melts her heart, and for this, she hugs her tighter while they both cry.

The audience, excited and touched like, applauds incessantly., symbolized in a congratulations and blessings for the future married couple.

#tales at wonderworld #elicia gutierrez #margaret fuentes #extra story #saint valentine special

[horse-girl-anthy]

Yurikuma revolves around the Kureha/Ginko dynamic, with all other characters shadowing them. Lulu's story demonstrates that love can fail to come to fruition, the worst-case scenario for the main couple. like Ginko, Lulu is a sinner-bear who acts out of jealousy. starting from episode 4, she begins to see herself in Kureha as well, comparing her past rejection of Milan's love with Kureha's hatred of Ginko. the story makes explicit that Lulu's fate is tied up with Kureha and Ginko, who may be able to bring love back into the world.

Yuriika, like Lulu, is haunted by a love that never came to be. but rather than help Kureha and Ginko, she tries to destroy them. both Yuriika and Ginko are "unwanted bears," abandoned to the harsh world, after which they are found by human companions. Yuriika is never able to overcome the tortured feelings her childhood left her; she feels that she is empty and must consume what she loves in order not to lose it. faith sets Ginko apart from Yuriika: she had a religious experience as a child where she felt herself truly wanted and loved. Yuriika was too afraid to risk her heart, giving up on love, but Ginko refused to back down on it. despite how much Yuriika fought against their love, in her final moments, she acknowledged that the future she wanted for herself and Reia belongs to Kureha and Ginko.

while Yuriika highlights Ginko's strength as a character, Mitsuko highlights her weakness. Ginko believes in love, but she can be distracted from it. her jealousy and lust are manifested by Mitsuko, who frequently acts out Ginko's darkest desires. eventually, Mitsuko even takes over Ginko's body, and it is only Ginko's dedication to love that frees her.

the greatest sin that Ginko commits is allowing Sumika's death. as she admits, she wanted the other girl to disappear, which Mitsuko brought to fruition. the murder also reflects on the Kureha/Ginko relationship. at the beginning of the narrative, Kureha and Sumika love each other with a childish simplicity. Kureha blames all bears, Ginko in particular, for tearing away the purity of love she once had. however, there are clues from the start that Kureha has confused her feelings for Ginko with Sumika. in the early episodes, we see her lying in bed, thinking about her childhood friend. that friend was Ginko, not Sumika. from Ginko's perspective, she's been replaced; thus, Sumika is framed as a threat to the Kureha/Ginko relationship.

by the final episode, though, Sumika is not a threat to them at all. instead, she appears as Kumaria-sama. perhaps this is because Kureha sees her as a manifestation of love, the same way that Ginko saw Kureha when she was a child. the symbolism can be elaborated further, though. due to the enmity between bears and humans, Kureha and Ginko were driven apart. Kureha believed Ginko's bear nature to be the problem, sacrificing their relationship in order to turn her human. Sumika's character can be seen as a representation of their lost love: the innocent love shared between young girls. Kureha turns away from Ginko to Sumika, while Ginko ends up getting Sumika killed. the pure love that Kureha remembers can no longer exist because Ginko has been branded a sinner. once the two of them overcome the binaries of pure/impure, sinner/saint, human/bear, they are able to find true love again, with Sumika returning to bless them.

#yka #commentary

[chemicalbrew]

2023 game list, part 1: I love complaining!

Once again continuing what has become an honorable tradition thanks to @smash-64 💜

I tried to promise myself I'd be more organized this year, trying to take notes after I beat things, making lists and gifs and everything, as it has become a consistent yearly undertaking. In truth, what happened is that I felt more overwhelmed by this than I did the last three years. The best explanation I can give is a combination of two facts: this year, while not particularly worse than what came before, still saw my confidence in myself tank a bit (i.e. What does this matter when few people read it and I don't bring much things of value to the table?)...

And the fact that I played very few games that really stuck with me, that I enjoyed enough to see through to the end and feel like that had merit, for a lot of the year. When that wasn't the case, it was more than likely I'd been on my nth playthrough of Katana ZERO of the year (more on that in a later post, hopefully).

I probably need help, don't I?..

games I played, but don't have much to say about at the moment without being prompted, aside from 'I kinda liked them, I guess', ordered best to worst:

Purrfect Apawcalypse trilogy (2019-2021) - series of VNs that's genuinely just good fun as you find yourself attached to the characters before you know it. You'll know if this one is for you at a glance. Also, this is how I found out about Panel Royale! LOL

The Witch's House MV (2018) - good old RPG Maker horror with a few decent twists. The remake has good QOL changes.

Gunbrella (2023) - the plot might be forgettable, but you get a gun that's an umbrella! What's not to enjoy?

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995) - I played this game, but only in the most technical sense. Literally cheated the fun out of it - either that, or this platformer style is not for me.

Coffee Talk: Episode 2 - Hibiscus & Butterfly (2023) - the most upsetting entry on the list. The writer behind the original game has passed away, and his absence is felt keenly even if you're not aware of the fact - because this sequel lacks charm.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (2021) - yet another of those cheap and short indie 2D Zelda clones. The definition of the word meh.

Irisu Syndrome (2008) - a unique free puzzle timewaster. Tries to have a story and fails.

dishonorable mentions (the part with the most complaining)

2064: Read Only Memories (PC, 2014) [♪ Home (Not) Sweet Home]

Starts off decent enough, doing the bare minimum to string you along the mystery (which, for most people with standards, wouldn't even be good enough, but I was willing to stick with it for the sake of the neat audiovisual presentation).

As soon as the murder scene is revealed, however, the main plot starts to fall apart, and the longer you spend with the game's writing (which seems to go on and on forever) and characters (about as flat as a pancake fresh off the pan), the more bleak and yawn-inducing they seem (including Turing, who just took longer than everyone else to annoy me).

Do yourself a favor, play VA-11 Hall-A (which this game gratuitously references) instead. You'll get all the benefits of cute pixel art and upbeat soundtrack, but with an actually good story\character cast to match. I swear it says something about 2064 that one of its most exciting moments was seeing throwaway lines from a VA-11 character!

Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (PC, 2015) [♪ Climbing the Ginso Tree]

This is a game that won awards back when it came out almost a decade ago. Unfortunately, it feels like it was made to win awards and little more. While the credits scrolling up the screen tried to convince otherwise - with the usual special thanks given to families and pets of the developers - I sat there, unsure of what I was supposed to take from this experience (once again, the less words you try to use to tell your story, the more it usually suffers!).

The heart of any platformer is its movement systems - and, while eventually Ori's tools open up just enough to make you feel at least a little free and alive in its world, they also never go beyond what is almost painfully typical. Double jump, wall climb, ground pound, glide, charged projectile? None of that is going to wow anyone. The way it comes together is not too pleasant, either - Ori's too floaty and the obstacles before him, while painted with a talented stroke, are too unclear in their presentation to make for truly fun traversal. The exception to this is the escape sequences - sure, a lot of the time they're not much less frustrating than the rest of the game, but they're definitely more memorable, to the point where the accompaniment to one was the only part of the soundtrack I could think to showcase.

I don't regret the time I spent on this, per se, but what I can tell you is that it probably didn't deserve the awards. Also, the way the wall jump worked was annoying! Pushing towards the wall to do it feels very counter-intuitive, and with this I found that I much prefer when games have you face away from the wall to register wall jumps, or do not require you to press a direction at all.

Celeste (PC, 2018) [♪ Checking In] + Celeste Classic (2015, played as part of full game) :)

I was in high school when this made waves. I pointedly feigned disinterest as it splashed all over the internet, while making sure to download the soundtrack quickly and listen to it - more than occasionally - over the next three or so years. Lena Raine's work carried me through my school years and empowered me, and all the while I hadn't a clue what playing the game is actually like.

Those were the better days.

Now, the things about this game that seem to appeal the most to a lot of people are how refreshingly simple Madeline's moveset is and how much the game respects your time with death transitions and reloading, and the story it tells through heartfelt cutscenes and gameplay working in sync. To which I boldly say... none of those things are good enough.

Having to climb and manage your stamina adds another layer to navigating the rooms, sure, but to my simple ass, that's one layer too many. To the game's credit, there's a setting to make climbing toggleable instead of requiring you to hold down the trigger, and using that was the only reason I managed to push past the hotel and Oshiro (call me a scrub, it was genuinely overwhelming otherwise), but it still did nothing to change how I feel about this mechanic fundamentally.

I get it, it adds precision and verticality to your movement, and, seeing as you're literally supposed to be scaling a mountain, it's more than a natural inclusion... but its existence did nothing but add pressure for me, somehow. I would frequently forget it's an option at all before realizing the room in question expects me to utilize it. Instead of feeling like climbing expands my options, I felt constricted and awkward.

My second issue is much simpler. I'm a spoiled brat, and Celeste's respawning process involving that annoying whoosh sound effect and a transition that, yes, takes only about a second, but is still not quite instant, was not good enough. I recognize that having it be truly instant would not be ideal, either, but I can't help but wish that was the case.

As for the story... It underwhelmed me even back when I was doing surface level research at the time of release, and it's not impressing me now. It's okay, and I recognize why it would resonate with people - the themes of self-acceptance and resolve are plain to see (and just as plain to mull over). But in my time with the game, Madeline never began feeling less like an avatar for my failures and more like an actual character, never changed into someone I would truly like.

By the time I reached the Mirror Temple, I was certain that this game, in most respects, is just not what I would ever want. I pushed towards the summit anyway, and left it feeling profoundly... nothing.

However... Celeste Classic did not have any of those things! That little prototype gem of a game wastes zero time trying to set the stage and make you feel things with ~a story~, doesn't give you any opportunity to climb whatsoever, and neither does it waste your time having the screen fade to black when you die! And these three things, I reckon, are key to why this smaller version, that's supposed to just be treated as an Easter egg now, a relic of the past, and to be forgotten in favor of the project it grew into... resonated with me so much more! I beat it twice! It's lovely! It's what I actually needed Celeste to be!

IT'S COMPLICATED

AI: The Somnium Files (PC, 2019) [♪ MonzAI] + AI:TSF - Nirvana Initiative (PC, 2022) [♪ Nefarious Institute 1]

You know how they say not to judge the book by its cover? This is a story of me learning (once again) to judge a game neither by its reception nor by the credentials behind it. When I plowed through this duology, I came to understand that sometimes, lightning might strike just the once.

Of course, most of my bitter feelings about it stem from just how miraculous of a fuck-up Nirvana Initiative ended up being as a sequel (it's impressive how much it had to twist everything its predecessor stood for to even have a chance at making a mediocre point!), but a lot of the disappointment came from the way the first game carries itself in general, and maybe even from the presence this game has among fans. 'Oh, if you want more of the magic and mystery that you so enjoyed in Zero Escape, you have to try this! It'll be just as good!'

I should have had my doubts from the start, given how little I had enjoyed the ZE series after 999. AI1 flounders in many things, like its obtuse, deeply unfun gameplay loop - most of which is pressing random buttons until you see the most ridiculous shit present itself. There's also the overt reliance on stale and perverse jokes, and a story that can barely do much except trudge to the finish line and attempt to convince you the journey was worth it with a trite dance number, of all things.

But the thing is… even with all that, the first entry was somewhat compelling during its runtime, though most of that comes from its bold novelty. The idea of taking advantage of the surreality of dreams to find deeply concealed truths is fun to occasionally ponder, and there's just enough fluff to the places you visit and things you do to string you along for the ride (though having to check the same spots for flavor text on each revisit to very little results is a deep annoyance I have with both entries). The characters actually got a chance to grow (if not by much… this series' urge to be immature at every turn is nothing short of ruinous, sometimes), and their designs strike a wonderful line between outstanding and cringeworthy that makes them just… stick out in your brain, you know?

So while I thought the song and dance (both the literal and the metaphorical) were ultimately not worth much, I was still convinced, fooled by the magic just enough to see things come to an end; and the resolution itself was satisfying and believable, if nothing else. And with how exhausted I felt reaching this point, I figured that'd be enough.

To me, AI1 is all about finding shards of diamonds in the rough, and it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that its fandom runs away with what little they have to try and improve on it (and often succeed). As such, you'd expect its sequel to take advantage of how much room there is to grow, capitalize on this chance to refine things, and use the few strong themes the original presented (value of bonds and family made both by blood and by choice, finding those you can rely on to carry what you have done forward, etc)... right?

Um, yeah, turns out it twists over itself even more than I'd already thought possible in order to make sense (not to mention seemingly forsaking most of that mess right at the true end in order to approach the established universe from a contrived meta angle). If AI1 can be described as having extremely unrefined gameplay coupled with a decently intriguing story, NI is just about the opposite of that.

While I'm glad they bothered to make exploring the dream worlds enjoyable this go around, there's no way in hell that makes it worthwhile to bear witness to the innumerable ways in which this mess of a sequel sullied the already weak foundations laid down by its predecessor. When I had finished that game, I wrote, on impulse, that 'I haven't been this confounded by a sequel's existence since Chrono Cross'. It just… did not need to happen, like, at all.

Nirvana Initiative posed to me one of the worst questions you can have while playing a game, which is…

'Why am I doing this, again?'

Let's be real, it was mostly for the soundtrack. Unlike AI1, this game had passable music! Though having to watch ANOTHER dance number (like half a dozen times, actually! and no, there's no skip button!) just about had me gagging.

That's not even the worst part about that sequence, no - that would have to be the way it almost actively ruins and undermines what's probably the only passable character arc in NI (and even then, you have to squint hard for it to pass your judgement, given how it starts... gotta hand it to this game for managing to have multiple relationships with genuinely questionable setups involving uncomfortable age gaps).

I wanted to feel touched by the new, somewhat expanded narratives, I wanted to see the world grow a little, despite all the grievances I was certain I would have... But not even halfway through the plot, I realized that my true wish was to just move on. I think that's what I'll do here, as well, as even reminiscing on this chaos is quite dreadful.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch, 2022) [♪ Agnus Colony]

Don't become prey and victim to your own expectations - or to bad advertising.

Xenoblade is a special series, full of wonder and power. Words fail me this year, as they did the year before, when it comes to describing how much of an impact these games - the second entry most of all, a game I think about now and then with a bittersweetness on my heart that I oddly never can get enough of - had had on my mental well-being last year. They might as well have saved me back then, and while getting to experience them was something I'd been planning to do for a while, the specific circumstances it all had happened under were just so special, so exceptional, so wild, that it's hard to think of those days as anything but a gift.

And yet, there are plenty of things in this particular journey I still have to reconcile with. I never settled on what my impression of 1 is, in the end (or, some might say, I never properly played it); I could use a fresher look at 2, and… I never, ever, will finish Xenoblade Chronicles 3. It's a game I once had hopes for, but nowadays don't ever want to think about.

I thought it a privilege, of sorts - the fact that I was there to witness (and acquire) a brand-new release in a series that became dearly important to me. I ended up hearing many things - the trailers, the rumors, the leaks. They all spoke of a definitive resolution to the series, of levels of refinement never seen before, of intrigue so big you can barely take it, of key character appearances we were all dying to see.

Turns out most of what we were so eagerly expecting came with an extra price tag.

The base game of Xenoblade 3 is a mirage, a mere shade of what came before it. The environments are open and vast, but they look more drab than ever - and with the new autowalk feature, it takes even less time to get sick of it. The music takes you on a journey, but you forget what it sounds like far sooner than you'd prefer. The battle system promises lots of options and a nice learning curve, but it only overextends, overwhelms and forces you to grind. The cutscenes look every bit the part of a Xenoblade story, but meander and stretch things out to the point of boredom, which means none of the characters get enough time to grow on the player, either… Though a lot of them would probably go nowhere even given all the time in the world.

And the setting as a whole? Well, it's a simulation, so who cares about it feeling unique or fun? That's the point, the game says, you're supposed to empathize with these characters breaking out of their bonds, out of this miserable existence! Well, I say that things can be made appealing even in decay. You don't have to actively worsen things to make a point.

Future Redeemed is an impressive demonstration of how things could have been. It fixes practically every point where the base game falters - and it is in this part of the game where all those promises that once seemed hollow finally come true. Sort of. The exploration process is smooth as butter in the way none of the games before were, characters are at last back to having defined roles in battle, and all that teasing becomes a thing of the past as 3 acknowledges its own roots and past in full, and you think to yourself… 'If only we'd got this in the base game all along!'

But we didn't. And the credits on Future Redeemed roll far too soon to truly be satisfied. Is this how you wanted the saga to end?

honorable mentions

Butterfly Soup 2 (PC, 2022) [♪ Night Tourist] *I hope you'll forgive me for not finding a GIF for a mostly static VN...

It's so funny. For me it has been two years; for the creator, it'd been five. But I guess time doesn't matter when it comes to maturity, as I feel like both myself and this game have done plenty of growth. And for that, I love it all the more, just as I am now thankful to be able to call Butterfly Soup a short series.

Compared to the first game, the art is more refined, the tone is more consistent, and treatment of serious topics is more grounded - in more ways than one, this sequel is like a fond, yet melancholic look at what you once had, what changed since then, and what you hope to make of things. But between all that, it stays sincere and silly in the best of ways - the ones that make you feel cozy on the darkest of nights, the ones that endear you for a good while yet. Truly, this game was a ray of light in a sea of mediocrity this year.

Road 96 (PC, 2021) [♪ Hit the Road]

Yeah, I know. The fact that I have played a goddamn walking simulator at the behest of a good pal (who might or might not be reading this, hi on the off chance that you are!) is nothing short of a miracle. Not to mention the fact that I ended up having a good time with it!

I'll put it plain: the vibes of this game are almost impeccable. It wastes little time setting things up - it's the turn of the century, and a massively corrupt government is practically folding in on itself as it closes its borders. It's up to you, as you're literally put into a blank-slate teenager's shoes, to go on a desperate journey and see whether or not you make your way out.

Over the course of Road 96, you do this six times, and the people you meet on the way and choices you make with them may or may not shape not just your own future, but that of the whole country. There's nothing for it, then, but hit the road and see what awaits you, as you sit in a car that's probably stolen, blaring music from your carefully curated tapes… or are dropped off on the wayside with nothing but a paltry backpack to speak of… or find yourself biding your time near a gas station… or… whatever it is the game throws at you, as you hope that the strangers you run into actually deign to help.

Yes, the biggest way this game attempts to stand out is with our good old friend, RNG. Even reading blurbs about it, you cannot escape the all-too-typical claims of 'your own personal journey', 'a thousand unique paths waiting for you' and all that… months later, I find myself unable to decide whether this helped the game or harmed it more, as it's definitely smaller than it makes itself out to be.

As a story hook, this setup is clever and delightful, as I tried to illustrate a moment earlier, but the moment you begin to overthink it, you realize that the randomness aspect clashes hard against the continuity the game tries to establish. You, as the player, indeed learn more about the world and colorful characters in it each time you venture forth, but the avatar you control is supposed to be clueless as ever, setting out on a path that is, in fact, not quite their own any more. It's a weird gripe to have, and I found it an easy one to ignore, but I wish something could be done about it anyway.

As for the rest of the plot, let's just say it's... surprisingly binary, and the supporting cast small and not always compelling in turn. The game sacrifices some of the personal intimacy and uniqueness it has built up to make a sweeping, painfully boring statement of 'freedom good, suppression bad' before credits roll, but as damaging as that is to the overall experience, I feel like one can't deny the fundamental appeal of just being asked to go on a journey with sweeping stakes and truly, truly banging music. Seriously, it was meant to be put on speakers and blasted as the world passes you by!

In a word, Road 96 is ambitious, and in a sentence, it is ambitious, yet falling short of itself. Nonetheless, I was impressed by how it managed to worm its way into my heart for a while.

A Space for the Unbound (PC, 2023) [♪ Don't Have Much Choice]

Wouldn't you know it? I had actually played two games involving entering people's subconsciousness to solve their problems this year!

Truth be told, I'd been looking forward to this game for about a year, given that it was published by the people behind Coffee Talk (which, if you recall, I had quite enjoyed). The warm and inviting screenshots on the back-then almost empty store page, showing off awesome art and promising a sweet little journey with slice-of-life tropes and a mystery waiting to be solved… well, to say all of that was alluring is to say nothing, really. I just about jumped when I received a notification for this game releasing at last at the beginning of the year, and wasted little time trying to dive in.

The sad thing is, what you see is not always what you get. The cozy, comfortable, sensible vibes of the early game - running around the city, doing chores at your school, naming every stray cat you come across, watching the protagonist's diary fill up as he crosses all the little goals he had set in life off his precious list… Yeah, those things won't last - definitely not long enough to get you attached to characters living in this world.

As the plot begins to unfold, it fumbles over itself trying to introduce various cliches and supernatural elements, to the point where you recognize the whole experience as a tedious drag as you see exactly where it's heading, and think to yourself that you have heard all this before. It's yet another heartfelt story about self-actualization, and as the game hammers it in harder than ever before, you sigh and wish you could go back to the times of bottle cap collecting and cat petting. Sometimes, simpler is better.

Unfortunately, that's not exactly true when it comes to actually playing A Space for the Unbound. The gameplay is as simple as can be - basically all you do is walk around (quite slowly) and interact with things. I can appreciate how linear the game is, for the most part, but I wish it let us accomplish our goals without wasting too much time! Not to mention, if you try to see everything there is, you have to be prepared to deal with quite a few mind-numbingly repetitive mini-games for far longer than you have to. Don't do that. It'll just sully your impression of the game.

If you're somehow still interested in this after reading this messy opinion of mine, don't be too discouraged - you'll see plenty of beautiful sights, hear some cute music, and, maybe, be affected by the story far more than I was. (Besides, for a cat lover, it's always nice to see others appreciate them!) Just... try not to waste too much time with the game's superficial sidequests.

Tales of the Abyss (3DS, 2011 port of a 2006 release) [♪ The Distribution Base]

There's something ironic in how playing (most of) this game has been one of the best things I have done with my lovely 2DS since I homebrewed it earlier this year... and yet I quite regret not checking how (ahem) easily available the PS2 version is, instead. They may be functionally identical, but the hardware is not - you have no idea how hard some of the goddamn Mieu Fire puzzles become when your character is taking up a mere four or so pixels of an already tiny screen. Man, that was trying my patience at its finest.

These horrors aside, though, what kind of game are we even dealing with here? Well, it’s a Tales game first and foremost. I can’t deny claims that Abyss has a few strengths of its own (most notably, of course, actually bothering to have coherent character development arcs), but it’s not quite enough to obscure the ever-prevalent issues this series has:

exploration and side-questing is still annoyingly obtuse, not to mention traversal is painfully slow in the first half of the game,

some characters (in this case, Anise more so than others, but I'd argue Mieu's whole existence is part of this too) are obligated to suffer because Tales has to meet its unhealthy anime tropes\wackiness quota per game,

the skit system has not, unfortunately, evolved one bit (the amount of times I would skip a skit on accident, because any input halts its playback entirely…),

while I’m inclined to say the battle system is, for the most part, an improvement (the Field of Fonons mechanic is quite a nice change given the foundations of Tales gameplay, I have to admit), any goodwill you might want to give it gets shattered when you realize Free Run breaks bosses in half. And aside from that, it’s just your usual button-mashy fare.

So why did I push on with this game as far as I did, pulling the classic move of quitting right at the final boss instead of, well, any earlier? A lot of that is because I was just in the mood to mash some buttons in bed until I realized I was slightly underleveled for the finale and caught myself groaning at the mere thought of trying to even cheese it. A shame, that, because the ending of this game is pretty wonderful for what it set out to do, and it was the only bit I did not see on my own. It's like my experience with Final Fantasy VI all over again…

That's not all there is to it, though. Abyss has some of what's probably the most involved and curious worldbuilding (once you get past all the awkward made up jargon it loves to throw at you) of any Tales game I know! Not that this says much, because that's a low bar, and I'm not too familiar with the series at large, but it was enough to keep me engaged for a long while. And, as mentioned earlier, it puts in greater efforts than I expected to endear you to the cast as they slowly band together and uncover their own talents, purposes and aims in life - Luke in particular.

I liked him almost immediately - because I'm not too hard to please when it comes to this series, and his design is, I feel, particularly sweet and striking (especially given how nicely the game used the Important Haircut trope with him, and of course, the contrast between him and Asch). But that alone doesn't a good protagonist make - it's the fact that the story allows Luke to make mistakes (from small ones to straight-up catastrophes), get his comeuppance and grow from them organically, at his own pace, that makes him stand out in my mind.

As Luke sheds his sheltered ways of thought and accepts his responsibilities, those that were traveling with him, either out of obligation or by chance, begin to support him more and stand by him in earnest. It all comes together gradually and at a satisfying pace, and is definitely a highlight of the experience to me.

Growth and connection are probably among the biggest themes of the game, so it's nice to see that it applies pretty much equally to both protagonists and antagonists. Sure, it's the job of a Tales' Big Bad faction to be goofy and up to nefarious activities, but beyond that, the group has solid enough chemistry both among themselves and with the party that I actually ended up looking forward to most encounters with them, even if ultimately it felt a little predictable. As an aside, for a game this old, the voice acting was really good and plentiful (though there is none for skits, which sucks), and further piqued my interest in the story along the way.

To conclude, I'd like to say that the biggest thing I learned while playing this game is that I'm a sucker for grounded tales of (ha) self-actualization even this many years later. And also that once you play one Tales game, you truly, to some extent, know them all.

SANABI (PC, 2023) [♪ Warm Hospitality]

Do you want to know why I ended up playing this one? Of course you do, that wasn't really a question. I only bring this up because the answer can be revealed with a single screenshot:

...yep, the inspiration is that blatantly on display. I was expecting it, of course - the Katana ZERO community is the only reason I know of SANABI in the first place, and even as you read people's thoughts on it, the extreme similarity is practically all they ever bring up, be it in a positive or negative light. It pleased me and warmed my heart, while also making me feel wary - it's one thing to be inspired by something, and another to actually carve an identity of your own.

That said, KZ is far from the worst thing to try to replicate, particularly when it comes to visuals - SANABI has some awesome scenery that makes me feel right at home. And while the story at times feels so much like an amateurish copy that it leaves me confused more than anything (I'm sure the awkward English translation sadly does not help matters, not to mention the fact that I'd played this game in an unfinished state - you might expect me to write about it again next year!), the gameplay is anything but.

I'm sure there are quite a few platformers out there that have you use what's essentially a grappling hook to swing through the stages, but SANABI is my first experience with something like this, and in this regard the game absolutely manages to shine on its own. Movement is lightning-fast and responsive, enemy targeting is extremely generous - almost to the point of being handholdy (and, of course, they all die in one satisfying hit - as do you, if you set the game to the highest difficulty. It's nice to be given an opportunity to learn the ropes before engaging with the game earnestly!), and there's something to be said about how the level design has that extreme kind of clarity to it that I always appreciate and favors speed over precision, with how spacious everything is.

My only big issues with how the game plays are how it doesn't seem to be designed with a controller in mind (it is an option, but I found myself moving much more precisely with KBM! Me! Someone who never plays games with that!), and, once again, the just-a-bit-too-long death animation\transition. Being able to skip it helps, but I just yearn for no time to be wasted...

#celeste #aitsf #xbc3 #tales #abyss #zero.txt #yearly game list #flashing gif #.gif

[vvalengogh]

Fallout OCs Masterpost!

Read about my scrumblos below the cut. 💛 Character ref/art included.

Quinn Higuchi Verger - Courier 6

Quinn Higuchi is the Courier 6 of the Mojave Wasteland. An orphaned child, Quinn eventually grew up to be a small town doctor that located near the border of California in Utah, Quinn took up odd jobs as courier for the Mojave Express a few times to afford more expensive treatments and further medical supplies for the resident of his town.

At one point, Quinn was known to be a passive man with little to say and little to show in expression— preferring to keep to himself and carry on with his job. Eventually, all of that changed when he was to deliver the Platinum Chip and was intercepted by Benny Gecko.

The shot to his head did irreparable damage to his brain, and thus, flipped a switch in him. Not only did he suffer amnesia, forgetting his entire life prior being shot, but the small town doctor Quinn became a menace afterwards. Selfish, sarcastic, and reckless (as well as extremely frivolous); Quinn did things his own way the way he saw them fit. Messing with the NCR, killing Caesar, and joining up forces with Yes Man.

Still, despite this and his rather immature behavior, Quinn is neither good nor evil; he is chaotic, but on the neutral side. He’ll be your best friend and your worst enemy, he’s as mischievous as much as he is a powerhouse and a threat. Regardless, hes smart, cunning, and very well versed in laser weapons and medical and engineering, and he’s not a complete asshole; he does care for certain people a whole lot. One of those very few people being a man known as Andres Gutierrez, who is now his husband, who he will 100% kill for without hesitation and loves him very much. (Side note: Andres Gutierrez is my bf’s oc (@/valentineenjoyer), who is also a courier six!)

Overall, he’s more on the unhinged and immature side, a jokester and a silly little menace of a man. He never gets back his memories, aside from Ulysses reminding him of his crimes. He lives for a *very* long time thanks to the cybernetic augmentation the Think Tanks so gracefully gave him.

——

Rattle - Quinn Higuchi's pet / companion Nighstalker

Rattle was the runt of her mother’s litter. Unable to produce venom and being smaller than her siblings, she was left behind to fend for herself and eventually perish. She was found next the side of a road by Quinn, and though eventually standoffish, she failed to scare Quinn and was taken in. Quinn *absolutely* adores her, so he tamed and raised her to give her another chance at life. Lo and behold, she becomes Quinn’s pet and companion Nightstalker.

She’s scarily smart, but also has her dumb dog moments, and like her owner; she’s very compulsive as well as easily distracted outside of combat. She’s fond of scavenging, often bringing Quinn little gifts or showing off her latest find. Rattle is also a lap dog and a very cuddly one!

——

Agnes Higuchi Verger (alias Agnes Doyle) - Mercenary / Seamstress

Agnes Higuchi is the twin sister to the Courier 6 Quinn Higuchi. While she avoided the Benny Gecko Special Treatment, she was unfortunately experimented on by the Think Tanks which resulted in the loss of an arm, being replaced with a fully functional prototype cybernetic arm.

While she managed to escape the horrors of Big MT and made a speedy recovery, she would be caught dead if she even considered setting foot up there again.

But before all that, Agnes was, and still is, a seamstress for the Strip and a mercenary for hire around Freeside. Her parents— hers and Quinn’s— actually had to give up one of their children to make ends meet so both could be provided with the best lives, which is why Agnes is also known by the last name Doyle. Eventually, she figured out who her parents were later on in life only to discover they went missing along with caravaners. This is how she first heard the rumors of another kid, her brother, but by that time Quinn was already a tall tale to most. It’s not until two years after the events of the Mojave that she meets Quinn, but it takes her (and Quinn) a whole month to realize that they’re twins despite looking exactly the same.

During that time, Agnes became a very accomplished clothes maker and a strong bodyguard, hired by the Followers. She’s far less off the walls than Quinn, but she still has some of that touch of unhinged in her; she’s sweet and gentle, but cold blooded if needed. She’s the girlfriend of my boyfriend’s oc, Del Rey.

——

Sycamore Higuchi - Vault 76 Dweller

Sycamore is the ancestor to the twins Quinn Higuchi and Agnes Higuchi. Hailing from West Virginia from Vault 76, Sycamore follows the same trend of unhinged that the rest of the Higuchis share.

Sycamore joined up with the Enclave for their own gain at first, later betraying the organization in order to dismantle and take them down from the inside. At which point, their plan was found out and they were ran out. Between all of this, Sycamore married the former raider Beckett and had a set of twins of their own.

Sycamore was, then, killed at the age of 39. Leaving Beckett and two kids behind. Lo and behold though, the aliens known as Zetan took particular interest in their immunities to radiation and revived them; constructing their whole missing half of their head and keeping them suspended in cryogenic pods for a little over 200 years. They wake up, eventually, crash landing an escape pod somewhere in the Commonwealth. With their whole life turned upside down again, in the same year that Sycamore crashed in the Commonwealth (2292), they pick up an odd job as a mortician where they also help with proper burials.

——

Rowan - Sycamore Higuchi’s pet / companion Deathclaw.

Rowan was Sycamore’s trained Deathclaw. Raised from a hatchling, Rowan was a formidable force to be reckoned with. Listening to Sycamore and only Sycamore. Though rough and very snappy, Rowan was protective of the human that took him in and their family, and even if he wasn’t able to use human speech, Rowan showed intelligent thought, recognition and communication patterns; mostly portrayed through the clicks of claws and hisses and huffs. He was first shot down by Sycamore’s killer just a moment before they were, too.

Rowan is deceased.

——

Lecter D. Longfellow - Far Harbor Hunter and Tour Guide

Lecter Devlin Longfellow is the adopted son of Old Longfellow. Orphaned when his parents and baby brother were attacked by a Fog Crawler, he was shortly taken in and adopted by Old Longfellow and raised as his own, while also making him his apprentice.

Lecter is a terribly anxious, shy man, and he remained that way when Original Lecter was replaced by the Lecter we know today; Synth Lecter. Lecter had no idea he was a synth until one fateful day, when helping in Acadia, he injured himself only to discover that he was made up of not only flesh, but metal and wires.

He’s a skilled hunter, knowledgeable in tracking, marine life (and general animal life) and rifles. Despite his timid personality, Lecter is very charismatic man who seeks to help and provide comfort. He calls Old Longfellow dad and he would be devastated if something happened to him.

Lecter’s synth model is that of a mix match between Gen 2 and 3, and has been dubbed a prototype. Pertaining all the flesh and blood of a Gen 3, most of Lecter’s internal structure is made up of wires and metal. Synth name L1-33, Original Lecter was kidnapped off the island by the the tail end of the Institute’s reign of terror, when they started to suspect Far Harbor of holding Synths and intended to make Lecter their spy.

That did not work out at all, and Lecter’s personality overrode his shoddy framework and whatever coding they attempted.

One of his best friends is Deacon and his romantic partner is Hancock.

——

M. Graham Hoolahan - Railroad Agent / Former Brotherhood of Steel Soldier

Full name Miranda Graham Hoolahan, Graham is a Diamond City born resident hailing from the Upper Stands. He never got along with his parents who pressured him to join the Brotherhood of Steel, in which he did in order to get away from them when he turned 20. Previously he worked for Bobrov brothers in their bar as a cleaner, much to his parents’ chagrin.

He went on to join up a branch of the Brotherhood up in Alaska and was shortly transferred to the Capital Wasteland branch, where he met Danse and became a Lancer-Sergeant. Piloting an old Vertibird model named Ebonswift, Graham was amongst the best pilots in the Brotherhood of Steel and even became a certified trainer for cadets.

For almost 6 years, he was a Brotherhood soldier; but for two of those years he had also become a Railroad Agent, working as a spy in the Prydwen under the name code name Smoke.

Graham never enjoyed the views the Brotherhood of Steel later adopted. Later on becoming far more closeted in his bisexuality, Graham dealt with his environment by cannibalism. A habit he later kicks for the sake of Danse, who he falls in love with.

Graham is Paladin Danse’s romantic partner.

——

Abigail Chambers - Institute Scientist

Abigail Chambers is what the Institute refers to her as an “Incubated Baby.” Taken from her mother’s womb, a woman who hailed from California and was traveling through the Commonwealth, Abigail was raised within the Institute, later on becoming an accomplished scientist under the Biological Science wing.

Despite the views of the Institute, Abigail doesn’t agree with them; but having no family and nowhere else to go, she does as told. She also helps Synths escape.

She’s a workaholic but bubbly gal who packs a mean punch but doesn’t know when or how to rest proper.

——

Egan - Semi Aquatic Deathclaw

A hybrid between a Fog Crawler and a Deathclaw, it’s not hard to tell whose parent’s gene was more dominant. Egan is a Far Harbor Deathclaw that can be found roaming bodies of water, minding his own business.

Despite his fearsome appearance, Egan is not hostile unless provoked or shot at. Egan is actually an intelligent Deathclaw capable of speech; though he only speaks to a select few people. One of those being Lecter, who found him washed ashore and injured some time ago.

——

Rory Lavender - Former Vault-Tec Scientist

Rory Lavender is a pre-war ghoul that formerly worked for Vault Tec. In an unidentified vault somewhere in Utah, Rory and his coworkers were to experiment the effects of radiation on the Vault Dwellers. But when the bombs dropped, Rory started having second thoughts and that, in turn, made his coworkers turn on him and use him as a guinea pig.

Later on, he’s kicked out from the vault and left to fend for himself. He managed to make a living out of weapon modifications and set up shop in the same town Quinn used to live.

——

Mads Black - Former Movie Star

Mads Black is a pre-war ghoul who’s all talk and bite. Shit at bartering, he’s still very charismatic. He used to be a movie star along with Dean Domino, who was his boyfriend for a time until becoming bitter scorned lovers who end up being on each other’s throat every time they interact.

I don’t have much for Mads yet as he’s my newest oc, but these are all the guys I have right now!

____

Gomez Sinclair - Lone Wanderer

Gomez Sinclair is the Lone Wanderer of The Capital Wasteland along with his twin sister, Asriel Sinclair ( said lone wanderer is owned by my bf).

A reference for Gomez Sinclair Post-Vault 101/During FO3 Events and Post-FO3 Main Events. Gomez is a rather timid and somewhat closed off individual, even as he was being raised in Vault 101– only really talking to most at length with Asriel, Amata, Jonas and James. After James left the Vault 101, and Gomez and his sister were more or less exiled, Gomez only grew to be more of a nervous wreck and somewhat of a recluse.

With the sudden change in environment and every other wasteland aspect he was barely prepared to face, let alone deal with it himself. Surprisingly, Gomez is charismatic person despite his shyness and often stumbling over his words; a natural silver tongue that makes his awkwardness charming.

Though he’s good with small guns and exclusively hunting rifles, his proficiencies lie within science just like James, Gomez favors energy weapons. Medicine, too, is one of his strong suits, though wouldn’t consider himself to be on a doctor’s level.

The travel through the wasteland to find his dad wears him down significantly, and when James dies right in front of him right after finding him, he doesn’t get any time to mourn his death given the Enclave invading the Jefferson Memorial and the lethal levels of radiation; both him and Asriel having to escort the rest of the scientists through the tunnels + survive the Enclave attack sobers right up but for the worst, since he ends up bottling up James’s death for the sake of taking Project Purity back from the Enclave and take them down.

When it all comes to a head, Gomez, along with his sister, convinces President Eden to destroy the base, and soon enough, the final showdown presents itself and Gomez kills Colonel Autumn. The revenge brings him no relief, only hurt.

After activating Project Purity, Gomez suffers a head injury that requires the Brotherhood of Steel to perform surgery and install brain transplants to save his life.

Gomez bears Colonel Autumn’s uniform as a power move over the Enclave, bearing the uniform to spite and as some sort of reminder.

After some time, Gomez and his sister eventually go on about to do their own things. Gomez becoming an accomplished a scientist, and a lead scientist to keep the clean water production running throughout the Capital Wasteland, in memory of his parents. Some more pass and tensions grow with the Brotherhood of Steel’s presence becoming more present and oppressive, and constantly butting heads with them, disagreeing over a number of things including spreading the clean water throughout the rest of the wasteland like Gomez wanted, he left the project in search of the new Elder of the Brotherhood, Maxson, so he travels the wasteland in search for him— which ends him up in various places. The Mojave, California, even The Commonwealth.

And there is a sense in freedom in this. Not being known as the Lone Wanderer is relieving, having the spotlight on him never felt right nor warranted, despite his accomplishments and following in his dad’s footsteps. 29 year old Gomez is more confident and mature than 19 year old Gomez, still he keeps to himself and retains some of that timidness.

#vvalengogh ocs #vvalengogh art #fallout 4 #fo4 #fallout games #fnv #fallout new vegas #fallout nv #art #my art #artists on tumblr #digital art #ocs #my ocs #fallout ocs #fo4 ocs #fnv ocs #ghoul oc #courier six #fallout courier #fnv courier #courier oc #oc masterpost #oc reference #lone wanderer #deathclaw oc #corvid’s faves #fallout ocs masterpost #can’t tag all their names rip #i’ve reached the 30 tags limit 😔

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Dax (all of ‘em!)

By Ames

We give Deep Space Nine a lot of credit for fleshing out Trill culture after the confusion that was TNG’s “The Host.” Trill characters become so much more interesting when the joining gets retconned to be more of a personality melding than an overwrite, and we’ve got Dax to thank for that. All the Daxes! Sure, we’ve also been frustrated that every Dax-centered episode seems to rewrite how being a Trill works, but we’ll get into that in a second.

Your hosts at A Star to Steer Her By decided to clump all the Daxes together for this spotlight, so we’ve got your gorgeous Jadzia, your cute-as-a-button Ezri, and even some mentions for Curzon and other bonus Daxes to round out our Best and Worst Moments lists! Check them out below, listen to our discussion in this week’s podcast episode (jump over to 1:09:24), and find out if the spots do go all the way down.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Best moments

A different kind of worm pouch, er, hole! Deep down, Jadzia is just a science nerd who wants to science, so it’s only fitting that she’s the one who does all the heavy lifting when it comes to discovering the wormhole in “Emissary” (not to be confused with “The Emissary” from TNG). Her study of the orbs leads her down the rabbit… er, worm hole until she and Ben go investigate and accidentally start this whole series!

We were just… wrestling One thing the show makes clear about Jadzia early on: she fucks. This girl is unapologetic about how she seeks consensual sex, and good for her. In “Playing God,” she has clearly just struck the mat with her wrestling coach in a scene meant to raise eyebrows, but she’s so forthright about it that viewers go right past feeling titillated and straight to accepting that she knows what she wants.

You are the only one who can give yourself another chance The rest of “Playing God” is spent appraising her Trill initiate, Arjin. And while she’s more polite and forgiving than Curzon would ever be, she’s also upfront with the little dweeb. She tells him that if he’s only looking to become a joined Trill for other people’s sake and not his own, then he’s bound to fail both himself and a symbiont. He should do what he wants to do.

A Klingon blood oath can never be broken It’s in “Blood Oath” halfway through season two that Jadzia truly emerges as a powerhouse character. Not only does she fight like a true warrior, but she stands up for herself when her old Klingon friends are wary of honoring the blood oath they made with Curzon. It’s the first time Jadzia does something for her after a couple seasons of us questioning her character’s agency, and she slays!

I don’t want to lose you, not again The next really epic, character-defining moment for Jadzia comes in “Rejoined” when again she is fighting for something she desires, even if it will mean the end of the Dax symbiont’s legacy. But screw it, Jadzia lives for love, and her relationship with her old partner Lenara Khan is so deeply felt that we really root for them, and feel all the more crushed at the end.

The only adult in the room Jadzia’s character is so frequently marked by the experience of several lifetimes that she just has this maturity and wisdom about her sometimes. Especially when everyone around her is acting like children, like in “The Sword of Kahless” when Worf and Kor were being selfish brats about finding the legendary bat’leth and Jadzia has to shut them both up. With a phaser.

Kahless hearts Lukara Jadzia’s sort of a hopeless romantic sometimes, so it’s only fitting that she try to earnestly help her friend Quark woo his lady love, the glorious Grilka in “Looking for Par’mach in All the Wrong Places.” When it’s not enough to teach Quark some Klingon languages and how to fight with a bat’leth, she even brilliantly concocts an optronic relay to allow Worf to fight for him remotely.

If this story had an unhappy ending, I would have never forgiven you Sure, it’s mostly a Jake Sisko episode and Jadzia has pretty much just one actual scene in it, but there’s just something about her talk with Benjamin in “...Nor the Battle to the Strong” that’s so sweet. Sisko is stressing out about Jake being in a warzone, and Jadzia tells him one of her past host’s parenting stories to put him a little more at ease, like a good parent would.

Retreat, acquire, confront, evade As we saw in “Looking for Par’mach in All the Wrong Places,” Jadzia’s friendship with Quark has always been well depicted. In a show in which we’ve complained (multiple times) about racism against Ferengis, Jadzia is the only one to give Quark the time of day, and also the one closest to him to tell him to stop weapons dealing in “Business as Usual” because she cares.

Oh baby, I hear the blues a’calling Sadly for us, we lose Jadzia after season six, but happily, there are a couple good moments for the next Dax, Ezri! The first counseling gig she picks up is a bit of a doozy, as she tries to help Garak work through his claustrophobia and his feelings of identity crisis in “Afterimage.” And like all mental health battles, it’s an ongoing one, but she at least gets things started.

The killer in Dax We don’t get enough of the character to see the consequences of summoning that psycho Joran in “Field of Fire” but we can tell it’s noteworthy. Ezri is the only Dax who gets tested by that murderer who briefly had the Dax symbiont, and watching her stand up to him, refuse to give in to the lure of wanton homicide, and solve a case is impressive indeed. If only the episode weren’t otherwise drek.

The Klingon Empire is dying. And I think it deserves to die. Insert any Dax here and they probably have a better understanding of Klingon culture than Worf, but it’s Ezri who really schools him. In “Tacking into the Wind,” she throws in his ridged face just how crappy Klingon politics are and how Gowron is sending the whole empire down the shitter, giving Worf the peptalk he needs to go murder the hell out of that bulgy-eyed fascist.

—

Worst moments

The prosecution rests Early-seasons Jadzia hadn’t yet found her agency, which was the biggest character facet she was lacking. A good representation of this in the episode “Dax,” in which she ostensibly should be the focus character, but spends her entire courtroom hearing refusing to speak for herself and allowing a room full of men to dictate her fate. I rest my case.

Don’t call me Benjamin For some of these Worst Moments, we’ve dipped into other hosts of the Dax symbiont to round things out a bit. And that includes that prick Verad Dax, even if he only has the symbiont for a little while in “Invasive Procedures.” But what an asshole! This guy hires goons to help him kidnap the symbiont, forces Julian to perform surgery, and would have left Jadzia to die.

Talk about an earworm! Here’s another alternate host who does some nasty deeds. We learn in “Equilibrium” that Dax had a secret host, Joran, who happened to do some murdering in order to get/keep the symbiont. It’s still unclear to me what his deal was because later episodes “Facets” and “Field of Fire” retcon his character all over the place until we have no idea how many people this guy even murdered!

And then we can count each other’s spots I’m vomiting in my mouth a little over the cloyingly sweet romance in “Meridian.” While we can commend Jadzia for being sex positive in our Best Moments list above, it’s also incredibly tiring how boy crazy she seems sometimes. It’s like the writing staff can’t help but define Jadzia by the men in her life, and falling so hard for a milquetoast guy like Deral in like a day is proof.

The way to a man’s heart is through his ears Yes, I will include on my Worst Moments list every time women give a Ferengi oomox. Bev did it. Lwaxana did it. T’Pol did it (and I’m sure I’ll mention that when we get to her spotlight). And when Jadzia sensually rubs Quark’s ears in “Facets” to convince him to take on a role in her zhiantara, I find it disgusting because it’s a woman engaging in sexual acts only to titillate the audience. Gross.

You were so young, so lovely We’ve got another guest host to give a piece of our mind to, and that’s Curzon Dax. In “Facets,” he reveals that he washed Jadzia out of the Initiate Program because he was in love with her, and that’s just awful. This guy should have recused himself if he couldn’t remain unbiased in his assessment. Poor Jadzia, always being seen through a sexual lens by men, on and off camera.

What if there was a way for you to kill your brother without killing him? Dax’s heart is in the right place when she tries to find a better place for Kurn when all he wants is to die with honor in “Sons of Mogh.” But the option that she offers to wipe his memory to give him a fresh start is SO MESSED UP. Kurn has no consent in the action that Jadzia and Worf (and Julian, whom we’ll point the finger at next week) impose on him. Dishonor on their houses.

There are some things in life you can’t control, and one of them is me We gave Worf a lot of stick for how badly he treats Jadzia, especially in an episode like the notorious “Let He Who Is Without Sin,” which last we checked had the lowest IMDB rating of all of DS9. And for good reason! It really makes us judge Jadzia quite a bit for staying with Worf when he treats her like his property, which is no good foundation for a relationship.

How do those boots taste? Jadzia struggling through Lady Sirella’s rituals in “You Are Cordially Invited” is demeaning, even in Klingon culture. It shocks me that Jadzia going to grovel to the lady of the House of Martok wins her favor. Instead of rewarding bootlicking, there should have been a more Klingon twist: it should have been a test of how long a prospective house member can put up with shit before they snap and do battle! That’s how you honor a house!

I’m sorry, the baby… Jadzia gets killed off in “Tears of the Prophets,” and it feels like a damn waste! It’s always sad for a beloved character to die, but for Kosst Amojen to take her out like a mere bystander brings up memories of Tasha Yar all over again. And then for her death to get undermined by her and Worf’s plan to procreate just feels like we’re back to Jadzia being defined by her relationships after all that progress.

Anyone can steal a shuttlecraft We’re fairly critical of Ezri Dax on this podcast, and some of that is unwarranted. But when Ezri does stupid shit like stealing a runabout to go save Worf in “Penumbra,” we raise an eyebrow. And when she and Worf bicker like old lovers, we roll our eyes. And when she and Worf have sex instead of dealing with trauma in a healthy and mature manner because it’s all a story trope, we lose some respect for these characters. Dammit.

If Worf hadn’t come along, it would have been you Ezri is barely here for a whole season and already she’s paired up with two of the male crewmembers. In “Afterimage,” Ezri tells Julian that Jadzia was into all the constant flirting, but she isn’t. But by “What You Leave Behind,” they’ve hooked up anyway, and it just feels like smashing the two dollies together to make them kiss. Can she be a character first before she hops into bed with the male character, please?

— Time to put this symbiont back in its pouch and call it day. As alluded to, we’ve got more DS9 characters to spotlight, following with Julian Bashir next week! So stay tuned here for that, follow along on SoundCloud (or wherever you get your podcasts) for more Enterprise watchalongs, hail us on subspace over on Facebook and Twitter, and stop retconning how joined Trills work already!

#star trek #star trek podcast #podcast #deep space nine #dax #jadzia #ezri #emissary #playing god #blood oath #rejoined #the sword of kahless #looking for par'mach in all the wrong places #nor the battle to the strong #business as usual #afterimage #field of fire #tacking into the wind #invasive procedures #equilibrium #meridian #facets #sons of mogh #let he who is without sin #you are cordially invited #tears of the prophets #penumbra #what you leave behind #terry farrell #nicole de boer

[aspiringsophrosyne]

The Mighty Nein are getting a series: let's talk about, arguably, the make or break moment of a possible season one.

So, let's talk about some of the things the CRew can do with an animated adaptation of their second group of adventuring, world-saving chucklefucks.

EDIT and NOTE: This is based on the pacing of The Legend of Vox Machina seasons one and two. If we can take it slower with the Nein, all the better; I would love stretching things out so that all this goes down in a possible season two. But this is the set up I see where they go as fast with the Nein as they have with VM.

MAJOR SPOILERS for episode 26 and every episode after of Critical Role Campaign 2. Last chance to turn back if you care about those.

Let's get right to the elephant in the room: Molly's death. This is a bit that's incredibly important to get right because: it was a big moment on stream for both the viewers and the characters, there was a lot more time with Molly in the stream before it happened than we will get in the animated series, and because this moment sets up the endgame.

Matt, Taliesin, and the cartoon CRew may take advantage of the opportunity presented here: to do more with the backstory Matt originally had planned for Molly that he didn't get to use. And there are pros and cons to doing that.

However, we can't know what, if anything, the cartoon CRew will change or add to Molly's story, at least as of now. So just for this thought experiment, we'll assume it will play out more or less the same as it did in Campaign 2. And assuming that...

Structure of Season One:

Here's a place to end season one: Lorenzo's defeat. If you do that, let that be the focus of the last episode and 1-3 before that dealing with Molly's death: the fallout from it, then Cad's and Nila's introductions. For the rest of the season prior? Focus on the group as a whole, particularly on Molly.

While I think everybody needs significant attention in the first season to set up character establishment, future events, future revelations, and future character development, I'd like to focus a little more on Molly in particular at this point in the show; for three reasons: 

He will be out of the story for a long time afterward.

It can make his exit hurt all the more and come as that much more of a shock to show-only fans.

It will make the quotes in Cognouza hold that much more weight if they get enough focus here.

Otherwise, keep the rest of the season comparatively light until Fjord, Jester, and Yasha's abduction. Keep the ominous dreams, but make one significant change: move Caleb's backstory revelation to after their first fight with Lorenzo. Have it still happen in the show when it happens in the stream (while Molly's being the worst roommate ever and dropping that "Long may I reign." quote) so we can keep some of the mood whiplash, but with none of the sound.

Show Beau, Nott, and Caleb sitting around a campfire. Show the ladies reacting to something Caleb's saying, but don't give us any sound. Leave the newbies wondering what the hell is going on, and don't clue them in on what's being said...until later. (This has the added benefit of giving us stream fans narrative blue-balls for a bit.)

After the battle at Glory Run, have Caleb flashback to the night of his backstory reveal; the audience sees the same scene again, but now with sound. Splice it with Nott's talk about surviving vs. living, possibly Beau's eulogy (if you don't want to move that so it's later, with all the Nein together again), and have Caleb deliver the soliloquy he makes in E26 of the stream here, at Molly's makeshift grave, but with some changes.

("Look at this one. He is....was like a walking rainbow, what was this? Why were you with him? It made no sense. He is a circus performer; he isn't going to help you. Was. Wasn't. Couldn't.")

This tells newbies not just that Caleb is about ready to bolt but why, and it makes it that much more of a relief when he doesn't. It also makes the darkness of this season (and by extension, seasons yet to come) hit harder if they hold off on it until here. The CRew can give a false impression of the M9's adventures: that they will be lighter fair than VM's. (After all, until we meet Lorenzo, there won't be a Sun Tree equivalent.) Only to have the first-time viewers realize they're in for something just as nasty, if not more so, than anything VM faced once we get where we're going.

Plus, they can save on animation; they only have to animate a scene they use twice once.

The fights themselves:

None of the fights in the animated adaptation of Critical Role's campaigns will be as long, tense, or stressful as they were in the original stream. Nor should they be. Those fights were sometimes longer than two episodes of TLOVM together at their shortest. That will not work for an animated series; for several reasons.

However, the CRew can pull some tricks to make some fights longer and more suspenseful (or feel longer and more suspenseful) than just a shot-for-shot action-for-action adaptation of them would be.

Let's talk about editing and cutaways.

If any fight should be a little tense, (at least) it should be the battle of Glory Run. We need to make this battle seem longer than it is. To do this: flashbacks and flash-forwards. For this purpose, don't show Molly and Beau's fireside talk ("What's the best lie you ever told?") until now.

When the focus is on Beau or Molly in the fight, show a flashback to that fireside talk. Show these two characters, who have been at each other's throats up to this point, opening up to each other. Starting to see things from the other's point of view. Do this a few times until we've seen the whole talk or as much of it as the show wants to include.

Then, as the fight starts to go south, you flash forward. You show Beau freaking out and Caleb coming up from off-screen: taking her by the shoulders and telling her she has to calm down.

Go back to the fight.

Flash forward, now Nott comes up to the Empire Sibs from off-screen, yelling at both of them, doing terribly at de-escalating things. Everyone's words are getting more indistinct, and the arguing figures fade farther into the background.

Go back to the fight.

Another flash-forward. Now Kegg joins the argument. It's impossible to hear what anybody says now, just that everyone's very worked up. It looks like, in the foreground, there's some splash of vibrant color near the camera, near the ground.

Back to the fight, Molly's knocked on his ass, bloody and beat to shit.

Flash forward. Everyone's still fighting in the background, and the camera focuses on a limp, blood-splattered, lavender hand lying across what is now obviously Molly's coat. The audience is given a second to realize there's no changing what is about to happen/what's already happened; we've been in the room with the body the whole time.

Cut back to the fight. Molly's "With blood." and Lorenzo's final blow. (Possibly, all of Molly's eye tattoos glowing, as if in protest.)

Then cut to black.

In place of similar notes on the final Lorenzo fight, here's all that I know I want right now: to let Yasha, Fjord, and Jester participate. Not much, because they are in bad condition; it should show, but let them get in a few good hits.

Have one of the Nein either accidentally or purposefully destroy a cage with slaves inside during the fight at the nest. The freed people run off, find some keys and start unlocking some cages. This can be something we can cut back and forth to keep this fight slower paced, but don't show the rest of the Nein's escape. Don't let us see them until, at some point, we get an eldritch blast from off screen. Then a healing word or a guiding bolt (Laura's choice) from off screen. Then we hear an unholy scream and see skeletal wings unfolding from the shadows like a spider's legs. Yasha, Fjord, and Jester emerge, all exhausted and beat to shit but determined and angry.

For bonus points, we could cut to them in the trailer, bound and gagged, during the first Lorenzo fight.

..Yeah. More ideas to come, but that's my take on the possible climax of Season One.

#Critical Role #Critical Role Campaign 2 #C2 spoilers #c2e26 spoilers #mollymauk tealeaf #yasha nydoorin #jester lavorre #fjord stone #nott the brave #caleb widogast #beauregard lionett #Matt Mercer #Laura Bailey #Travis Willingham #Taliesin Jaffe #Sam Riegel #Liam O'brien #Ashley Johnson #Marisha Ray #Mighty Nein animated series #the mighty nein #cr2 spoilers #c2e26 #cr2e26 #cr2e26 spoilers #the mighty nein animated #cr spoilers #critical role campaign two #the iron shepherds #m9 animated

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PROPAGANDA

MARWA (WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (TV SERIES)) (CW: Mind Control, Domestic Abuse)

1.) okok so a major character (nandor) uses a genie wish to bring back the 37 wives he had when he was human (he’s a vampire who was turned in the 1400s but is alive in the modern day) to pick his favorite to live with and settles on marwa. she’s established as someone who’s passionate about science and mathematics, but nandor uses his genie wishes to essentially mold her into his perfect woman like a doll, from changing her hair color to making her not want to go to the night market with him to making her like all the things he likes. this culminates in him LITERALLY TRANSFORMING HER INTO A BRITISH MAN NAMED FREDDIE and that is her send off from the show. the treatment of her is disgusting i’m sorry for ranting i love wwdits but honestly the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth

2.) WHERE TO START my god. Marwa is introduced into the story as one of a crowd of women who are interchangeable to the man summoning them, WHO IS HER CANONICAL HUSBAND but he gives less than half a fuck about her, which is played for laughs. The writers made it completely unclear whether she is a real person or basically a magical simulation with no inner life and did not bother to clarify that at any point. Her plotline consists of her husband using magical wishes to modify various aspects of her body and mind and the writers never explore whether she is aware this is happening or not, much less how she might be experiencing it. It is a terrifying psychological horror story from her perspective but we are not given any insight into her perspective so who cares I guess!! For example, he wishes for her to have a rounder ass and then wishes that all of her preferences align perfectly with his own, so that she’ll stop nagging him about wanting different colored flowers at their wedding than him. There are SEVERAL more examples. Her experience of having all of her desires replaced with her husband’s desires shows up only for jokes, plus one moment that is used to confirm that her husband’s real love interest is one of the other male leads in the show. (I ship the two male characters, I’m not complaining about that, but like COME ON SHE WAS A HUMAN PERSON ONCE AND SHE IS LIVING IN A HORROR MOVIE AND THIS IS WHAT YOU’RE DOING WITH THAT???) THE WORST PART is that when it’s time for her to exit the story because her body and personality have already been essentially replaced by magic and she is now a boring toy, she is LITERALLY PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY transformed into a random British man so that her husband can have that guy as a love interest instead of her. She (he? It? Again it is never NEVER explored whether Marwa is like, alive inside this British man’s mind somehow? Or if she was ever really alive in her body?) moves to England to be in love with the original British man she was based off of, so basically her twin. This is also played for laughs. Her entire personality and body are not even killed off with like a death scene but literally ERASED FROM REALITY AND REPLACED WITH A COPY OF THIS SHITTY WHITE DUDE.

3.) (Context: Nandor is a vampire who has been alive for a while. When he was human he had 37 wives. (Btw some of the wives were men but that’s besides the point.))

She was brought back to life (along with a couple others) via Djinn wish just because Nandor wanted to have a ‘wife’ (some of the ‘wives’ are men). After being deemed the ‘best wife’ by Nandor she is the only one left alive. It is clear the entire fourth season that Nandor doesn’t care for her much and she is only there because Nandor wants to be married to someone. He ignores her wants and interests the whole season. Via another Djinn wish Nandor makes Marwa like everything he likes so she is more agreeable with him. Later on, he meets another character’s boyfriend named Freddie. Nandor basically falls for Freddie immediately and via Djinn wish, wishes Marwa to be exactly Freddie. :| With that wish, Marwa is effectively gone. She now looks and acts like Freddie. The two Freddies meet and after freaking out a little (and some magic) they get along because they like the same exact things. By the end of the season both Freddies are sent off to never be seen again. Also, Nandor has some extra Djinn wishes so he could’ve turned Marwa back but he didn’t.

Additional links: Article about the Freddie thing:

She likes what he likes:

Also This:

AZULA (AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER) (CW: Child Abuse, Ableism)

1.) Azula was totally screwed over by the writers of both the show, and its post-canon comics. When this fourteen year old abuse victim isn’t being portrayed as weirdly adult, she’s having her charecter massacred to make her precious older brother seem like a good guy for shoving her in an asylum. My girl deserved better than to be an extremely negative portrayal of mental illness who only exists to be a prop bad guy.

2.) I think everyone else has said it better than I can, but I’ll add that in the comics she’s shown to be heavily suffering from trauma and mental illness and she’s treated like she’s crazy and evil for having those issues, when her male relatives are supported

3.) Everyone hates for doing pretty much the same stuff zuko was doing pre-redemption (also the way people talk about her is so ableist)

#polls #round 2 #week 3 #new #cw mind control #cw domestic abuse #cw child abuse #cw ableism

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep 40 Pt 1: Kaiba Has Arrived and He’s Pissed

Woof I was gone a HOT MINUTE. Overall it was a lot of long covid fatigue problems, a lot of “wow I wrote this thing and it makes no sense because words don’t work right in my brain fog brain.” So I looked at my bro who also has long covid thinking “well maybe he’s well enough to write something” and he was like “I just put dry ramen in cold water and then set it on the stove I think I’m losing my mind.” so ehhhh not much I could really do about it other than wait it out.

So thanks for your patience, I always appreciate how low key and casual this blog is compared to literally anywhere else I post on the internet.

Last we left off, Seto had some time reflecting over a haunted eyeball, and came to the decision that he wants to kick Bakura’s ass properly and in person. So, Kaiba took a red eye flight in his Wifejet straight towards Egypt.

So he lands this thing directly in front of a museum. Not just any museum, too, THE museum from like S3 where Ishizu spooked Marik in a vault and he went “ughhh! Sis you’re so rude!!!” and then Marik leapt through one of those massive windows and into an itty bitty motorcycle side car. Seems like just yesterday that Ishizu was seething at him from that broken stained glass window while Odion slowly vroom vroomed that ridiculous Indiana Jones motorcycle into the sunset.

Bro brings up “hey, do you think they fixed that window” and I agreed that she probably just duct taped some plastic bags on it like a busted Sedan. Because if this family has like zero experience in anything, it’s any invention that lets in sunlight.

(read more under the cut)

Seriously, I thought they were dead because Bakura could so easily sneak into the vault to end the world. Figured “Wow I can’t believe the last remaining members of the Pharaoh cult freakin died offscreen while protecting their King. What a poetic way for Marik to go.” and nah, man, all three of them immediately ditched their Pharaoh the moment Yami turned around, lmaooo.

I freaking love how bad these assholes are at their one job.

And yes in the actual line of the show Seto was like “who are you?” and he very quickly played it off like a joke but we know better. The BRAIN DAMAGE on this child. Who, as you can guess is here because he want’s more Brain Damage, yes please.

So he gets right to the point, holding the Worst Orb waaaaay too close to his face.

Again, my postcovid senses are just screaming at this nasty ass germ ridden eyeball. Also I had Odion as the same font as Roland, which was an error I made before Roland became one of the most important characters on Yugioh (to me). So no, Roland is not here, although I wish he was. I just don’t have a font for Odion and I’m too tired to make one at this point.

God bless the storyboarder, that 👀 on Marik is sending me.

And so...I don’t exactly know what Ishizu’s plan is to somehow get Seto to join his friends in the Egypt hallucination. Or how Ishizu knows that things went South in the crypt when they thought he’d be fine. But, I look forward to Seto’s reaction to being in his distant past and treating that incredible display of magic with a single wet fart.

Hard to tell because Mana blends into the rock, but at some point she and the genie decided to play a game where she treats him like a trampoline and the rest of them have decided to just watch from afar. I mean I guess what else would you do at that point? Like nothing right? Like the only game they have at this point is Mancala or shoving your soul into a stone tablet and playing cards with it.

But if anything, the weird tableau gives Yami and the crew time to catch up.

(has too much long covid to check if I made basketball joke before, does not care, because it still is crazy to me that if Yugi had just played basketball none of this would have happened.)

Using her powers, Ishizu manages to spot Pharaoh talking to himself by the Nile, and so Shimon and the rest of the palace can breathe a sigh of relief.

So, Shada gathers an army of like 12 people (which I’m sure the animators mandated because of the crazy amount of crowd scenes in this season) so they can retrieve the pharaoh, brush the remnants of the Nile off of his hat, and then drive him over to Kul Elna to take back the puzzle from the rude town wizard.

Wouldn’t be Pharaoh unless he kicked his friends out of dangers way, even at the threat of losing the entire universe. off they go, on horseback even.

Part 2 you’d probably expect that we find out what Yugi and Co even decided to after they were stranded in the desert by their best friend. But we don’t. Instead, We’re gonna go to Kul Elna, and Yugi will just uh...take a nap I guess.

Anyway, I’m just gonna post this now, bro read through it, both of were like “yeah that’s a post.” At one point he had something to add, and I completely forgot what it was. I think it’s good enough! Hope you enjoyed the first post I made in like what feels like is 2 months.

As always, here’s the link to read these in chrono order

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

And I’ll see you soon for part 2!

#Yugioh #yu gi oh #YGO #S5 #Ep40 #Yugi Muto #Yami muto #Pharaoh #Seto Kaiba #Joey Wheeler #Tea Gardner #Ishizu Ishtar #Marik Ishtar #Mana #A horse was also there #odion

[astrologypersonalityandcartoons]

Supernatural Favorites

(Note: I said I was gonna be doing this for all my fandoms, and here is the second one. For those who don't know, I'll be putting these out for all my fandoms listing my favorite charcters, a quote from them, a song or two that make me think of them for whatever reason, and the reasons I love them,as well as a song that reminds me of the piece of media with zero context on that, okay let's get started.)

Supernatural: I was here by Beyonce,Fire by Gavin Degraw, The Resistance by Skillet

Jack Kline-"I guess my point is that... if I don't make it... The stuff I'd miss... it wouldn't be things like Tahiti. Or the Taj Mahal. I'd miss more time with you. I'm getting that life isn't all these big, amazing moments. It's time together that matters. Like this" Songs that remind me of him/them-Let Your Heart Hold Fast By Fort Atlantic, Heirloom By Sleeping At Last, Reasons I love him: He started out as a simple comfort character that reaffirmed many of the other character’s choices and ability to choose, and ended being a slightly more complex character than any of them. Plus he had so much untapped potential for character moments that would have been great.

Castiel-"Now I realize that there is no righteous path. It's just people trying to do their best  in a world where it's far too easy to do your worst." Songs That Remind Me of him: Hey Jude- By the Beatles, Soldier By Fleurie Reasons I love him: Again mostly comes down to his connection with characters major and minor in this case, he never fails to see the good in a situation though in his beginning stages he sometimes failed to see the bad. He believes in chances for almost everyone even the son of his worst enemy and goes on to make a great character. Who while the love confession  towards his  best friend/ could have been boyfriend Dean was great did the writers have to use it to make his entire character and growth based on the person he loves romantically even in this case, and then have him die, No very clearly no.

Sam Winchester- “It doesn’t matter what you are. It only matters what you do. It’s your choice.”- Songs that remind me of him: Zero By Imagine Dragons, Breaking The Habit By Linkin Park,  Reasons I love him: My favorite most consistent main character of the bunch. He loves the helping part of the job is what it’s always seemed like to me.I especially love in later seasons how with so much experience in being the weird guy in the fam, he just goes full hearted on helping the other black sheeps in the families. He sticks up for choice consistently and believes in his own family . Overall the kind of guy who if he wasn’t a hunter, I could see myself getting along with.

Bobby Singer-“FAMILY DON’T END WITH BLOOD, BOY.” Songs that remind me of him: Bad Liar By Imagine Dragons.Reasons I love him: How does one describe why they love original Bobby Singer’s character? Well I’ll give it my personal take. He is not only a great father figure and balance between the boys when he is in the show, but also a great character in his own right. While I originally would put Dean higher before watching season 7-15,and Bobby Lower (still #5 don’t worry), that changed heavily based on the Bobby episode  Deaths door. It made me retroactivelly rethink about Bobby everything I knew,and made me love his character for the little time he had on the show moving forward. Also this, and what I’m about to say about Dean are purely my opinon,so don’t spread hate in my comments. 

Dean Winchester-“That's crap. You always have a choice. You can either roll over and die or you can keep fighting, no matter what.”- Songs That Remind Me of Him: All Alright By Fun, Shots By Imagine Dragons,   Old Time and Rock and Roll Bob Seger and the silver bullet band. Why I like this character: His character early on easily persuaded me on why he was one of the main characters, but eventually the show took Dean’s angry phases and almost controling/overprotective nature a little bit to far for my liking, and then kept doing it for long enough periods of time that it got very annoying very quickly. In the begging tho, I loved his character he hardley ever gave up, he cared about his family in a weird but understandable way, he was absolutely a delight to watch. In the end he end up making me almost keyword almost agree with the many that say that Supernatural should have ended in season 5. Because after that is when his character quickly started getting stale. But he started out great so point for that. But part of the only reason I’m even putting him on is people would have bitched otherwise. They did his character dirty, (yes dirtier than they did Sam’s) sorry not sorry.

#supernatural #castiel #jack kline #sam winchester #dean winchester #bobby singer