#ok weird parallel but you know how it kind of sucks major ass that all of those *other* sons of dio are introduced in jojo pt 6? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

betweenlands · 1 year

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[ID: Two asks from my inbox. The first is from @12u3ie and reads "Drop the essay, Solar /nf". The second is from @artisticgryfess and reads "wait no tell me about joe being technos hels". /End ID]

holy shit you guys i'm not even a hermitcraft or dsmp blog rn. fair enough this is a longstanding conspiracy theory of mine, though. ok, so. Joe Is Techno's Hels, the not-an-essay (mainly because i'm not going to cite SHIT, this is PURELY in the realm of headcanon/theory except if i explicitly indicate something is supported by canon)

so, the joke theory starts like this: back when hermitcraft/dsmp crossovers were first getting popular, there were a lot of crack theories about "hels!joe is technoblade" because... well, a lot of factors. they're both loosely english majors (i know joe is a history major just humor me), both slightly strange guys who operate by their own logic, both have somewhat similar (ish?) accents, both have a very deadpan sense of humor and incredible delivery on that deadpan, and most of all both of them Cannot Be Killed In A Way That Matters.

however, i am your local Hels Analyst, no like seriously there's so much weird shit about helsknight we haven't discussed yet, and one (implied? this is a theory but i feel it holds water) thing that's always been key to me about Hels versions is... they represent bad traits present in the original individual. whether or not those bad traits are the Objectively Bad ones or the traits the original self-identifies as bad is pretty up in the air right now (welsknight come off anon i just need you to tell me if helsknight likes pineapple on pizza it is absolutely fucking critical to our understanding of hels lore) but we'll be going with the latter, for reasons i'll explain later and by later i mean right now.

so! assuming there are hels versions of more players than just welsknight (i cannot stress enough how much we technically don't know this in canon -- it can reasonably be extrapolated but we really aren't sure!), that brings up an interesting issue with techno being joe's hels.

joe is not a particularly violent person.

"well solar," you say, "what does that have to do with techno being joe's hels?"

"well, strawman i have made up to make this long-ass post more visually broken-up and less formal-feeling," i reply, "hels versions of players only exhibit traits that are present in the original person." and this is confirmed canon, by the way -- wels himself has explicitly cited specific ways he can sometimes suck that are directly visible in the way helsknight acts!

so. joe is not a particularly violent person, and... okay yes listen i know there's a lot of very good writing on how technoblade isn't entirely 100% down for violence all the time and maybe wants to peacefully retire, okay. i get it. i am not calling techno a murder machine all i'm saying is that one of them enjoys pvp enough that he helped train other people and the other one is recording as he always does from nashville tennessee. i am a variety mcyt blogger and the only dsmp essay i have ever written before now is about how the tftsmp metaplot parallels redstoner. just bear with me.

imo joe also exhibits a lot of self-awareness about his own bad qualities as a character, and none of those traits are really... present in technoblade? but here's where it gets interesting.

i am no genius and certainly no master c!technoblade analyst, but if we assume technoblade trained to become a fighter and identified certain of his traits as being Not Ideal for someone who focuses on pvp and being a strong pigman, we can. kind of see those traits in joe, even if we can assume technoblade has learned enough to stop displaying those traits:

will commit to the bit even if it's inconvenient for him

obnoxious about whatever form of literature is closest to him

will start quoting from that work of literature to fit the situation even when it totally doesn't fit the situation

zero bloodlust and an active need to avoid direct conflict; a tendency towards pacifism even

malicious compliance

perfectly timed awful timing

overwhelming amounts of Just Some Guy and also English Major energy

exceedingly stubborn and would rather go through a problem than around it; will also see a tunnel through a mountain and climb over the hill instead

and. hm! yeah that feels like a joe hills description. you could make a joe hills out of this. add to that the fact that both of them refuse to die, but technoblade never dies whereas joe conquers death by dying over and over and coming back repeatedly out of sheer spite -- yeah i'd say joe could very easily be seen as the hels of the two.

and if Hels, the dimension, is the hostile and horrible place that helsknight claims it is -- where "everyone's unyielding and everyone there rebels" -- well, only one of them has a (mostly) canonical backstory that involves struggling through a hellish landscape designed by a hostile architect who wishes to cause pain and suffering. and it's not technoblade.

#anyway! i hope this helsknight finds you before i do #i have to go feed Animals in my House now. thanks for humoring me #yt #txt #ask #orig #solar scraps #solar scrawls #12u3ie #artisticgryfess #technoblade #joe hills #joehills #hermits #dsmp #hc x dsmp

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gayregis · 4 years

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what are your feelings about geralt and yennefer? either book or game or netflix or all of them?

books

i agree with most canon*. it’s a good relationship that sapkowski put a lot of effort into developing and writing over the course of all of the short stories and the saga, so i think it tends to get more attention just because the author gave it more attention. i think it’s pretty incredible that geralt and yennefer have this deep relationship without even seeing each other in-person for basically half of the short stories and half of the saga, sapkowski did some interesting things to make that happen, but it ends up working.

i appreciate how geralt and yennefer are two very vulnerable people with issues relating to intimacy and letting others into their life, and they actually aren’t ready to have a relationship before they become more mature and understand what love actually means. imo, their journey to committment is a little too focused on monogamy and looking at relationships through that lense, but that is/was the viewpoint of the author at the time.

the major thing for geralt x yennefer as a ship for me is that i appreciate it in canon, whenever i read their romantic parts i feel it’s sweet, their moments in the end of the last wish, at thanedd, and the end of the assault on stygga castle are really moving and wonderfully written. i like how they speak about each other and feel about each other when they are apart. it’s something i can support and like, i feel a lot of this is tied to them being parents as well but it works overall.

something i also appreciate about them is how they’re really different from a lot of other m/f relationships. geralt isn’t fucking cruel, he acts like a human being and also has the capacity to apologize and act humble towards yennefer, being kind and caring so much about her feelings and what she wants. yennefer isn’t just a sex toy for geralt, she exists as her own person and is a very strong personality, but also isn’t cruel and doesn’t take him for granted. together, they really do care about one another.

BUT. even though i appreciate it in canon and in all of the parts i have read*. i literally can’t really ever think up my own thoughts or headcanons for them. and the reason for this that they never DO anything together in canon, asides from living together in vengerberg, going to thanedd, and participating in the fight at stygga castle. all they ever do TOGETHER as a couple is stay at home, go to a formal party, or fight for their fucking lives trying to escape the mad torture and grief wrought upon them and their daughter. in the other moments, they are just thinking about each other in loving manners, yearning, if you will, but whenever they are together it’s never an activity with potential for a story.

in my mind i HAVE to compare and contrast yennefer and dandelion and their respective relationships to geralt, just because they’re the two closest adults to him that he has in his life. the issue for me with geryennefer is that it doesn’t have potential like gerlion does. geralt and dandelion do all KINDS of fun, weird things together. mainly they go to festivals and bars, but they also just ride to different cities across the continent and explore, sometimes dandelion accompanies geralt on contracts, sometimes geralt has to meet dandelion in a place significant to him like oxenfurt. dandelion is constantly embroiled in other personal relationship drama. they actually DO a lot of things together, and these different scenarios are really interesting as a fan, because you can just think up unlimited things that they could have potentially done during all of these years. with geralt and yennefer, you can’t really do that because yennefer doesn’t travel, she has a house and a career and is a very esteemed and classy woman. in addition, this is just a personal preference it seems, but i never really get too involved in characters (and thus, ships with those characters in them) that don’t have an element of comic relief to them. geralt and yennefer can be in love, but i don’t know what kind of funny situations they might find themselves in, i don’t know what funny or wacky interactions they might have. and so it’s not all that interesting to me.

similarly, another thing i always compare and contrast geryennefer and gerlion on is that geralt and dandelion are so different. they’re entirely opposites. dandelion is very extroverted, flirty, gets into trouble, and has no issue with vulnerability or intimacy. geralt stays away from people because they despise him, he stays away from drama, and he’s not experienced with intimacy, he is insecure. they have a lot of friction there as two characters interacting with one another because of how different they are and the different lives they have had that influence who they are and who they might know, what they might like to do in a situation. in contrast to this, geralt and yennefer are very similar people. they both have a lot of issues with intimacy and vulnerability that makes them finding each other and developing with each other over the course of the series very compelling and interesting, but boring when you want to think of headcanons or new adventures and interactions for them to have. once they have developed their characters, they will stay developed. unlike with geralt and dandelion, where there will practically always be at the very least a little friction between them because they’re just so fundamentally different.

tl;dr: geralt and yennefer is a compelling and well-developed relationship in canon because sapkowski just poured his entire heart into developing them, they have many endearing moments together and develop their characters together and parallel each other in many ways; however, this means that they’re very similar characters and their goal as a couple is to finally be able to settle down, and that makes them lack potential as a ship to think about as a fan (in relation to thinking of new interactions for them or new situations for them to be in).

so as a fan who has ships, i have many many headcanons and ideas and fics in-progress (that i will never get around to writing) for gerlion, but basically nothing for geryennefer, which kind of sucks. but i also don’t disregard geryennefer as not canon or something like that, i just think that geralt can have both a boyfriend and a wife because i am disrespectful to sapkowski’s writing of yennefer as a possessive lover and his emphasis on monogamy as the ultimate commitment.

* obviously the shitty things that sapkowski did relating to consent in the last wish and something more (it’s basically canon that sorcerers/esses can hypnotize others into love and sex, but yennefer just chooses not to do this with geralt after the last wish because they Love Each Other Truly or something like this) should be retconned, just as i retcon the fact that geralt slept with barely-legal essi and shani, just as i retcon the off-color comments and jokes that got written for dandelion

games / cdpr

it’s... fine. yennefer got a major personality retcon and a lot of what cdpr says about their relaitonship doesn’t make sense and is pretty cringey, without much depth (apparently, they bonded over making witty puns...?) but it’s also a video game and we finally got to see yennefer and ciri in the witcher games franchise, which is a gift enough of itself, because they’re like, the most important people to geralt. cdpr has this weird infatuation with triss merigold and sexualizes her at every chance they get, her personality is incredibly different from the books, they basically made her really easy to wife up because she’s just very sweet and agrees with everything you say and loves you, so i am just glad that we have another option besides OOC triss.

but yennefer is also pretty OOC in a lot of parts, she has been rid of all of her character development from the series and even though she makes a lot of sacrifices for ciri, tw3 is incredibly reluctant to call her ciri’s mother, so what was the point of all of this. they also nerfed yennefer incredibly by making her hair salon curls instead of actually naturally curly, stormy hair, so that detracts from her entire character. the fact that she’s working with nilfgaard is just plain laughable and the fact that geralt is ok with this is even more laughable. there’s not even that much ship material between the two in the game and whatever there is is pretty cringey and base with no real depth or intimacy, so i cringe whenever i see a romantic gifset or something of them. it’s yawntown.

netflix

i despise netflix version of them because they’re incredibly boring and basic with pretty much every common major issue with depiction of a m/f relationship on screen: huge age cap between cavill and chalotra which is uncomfortable to watch because chalotra is only a few years older than freya allen who is meant to play ciri, geralt’s daughter..., they jump into romance and sex way too quickly (yennefer receives geralt in the midst of a huge orgy and is very seductive and sweet to him instead of zapping his ass with lightning and threatening to kill him, she also bathes in the same bathtub with him immediately instead of turning invisible to make a fool out of him), consent (geralt’s wish in their adaptation of the last wish wasn’t heard by yennefer, and in the end, he says “my plan worked,” which are three words pretty much no one wants to fucking hear after sex), weird homophobic joke upon meeting (yennefer says jaskier is “just a friend, [she] hope[s],” which is... it’s 2019 guys, come on), they argue for pure drama, geralt is sincerely mean to her (laughs at the idea of her being a mother), their intimate scenes are tasteless, they break up by the end of the series in the adaptation of the bounds of reason because geralt was mean to her...

there’s so many things i can’t even begin to list them all, but those are a few key ones. geralt is just a purely unpleasant character in netflix so he doesn’t deserve to be in love with anyone, and yennefer is such a basic and boring character with no sincere flaws or uniqueness that i can’t be interested in her at all. and together, they’re every heterosexual relationship that has ever existed.

#geralt #yennefer #i dont even have a ship tag for them just bc its not something i ever think about #ask #anon

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blessuswithblogs · 5 years

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2018 Game of the Year Top Ten List I guess

2018 has been an interminable mire of exhausting miasma and quite frankly I feel like it has been longer than the entire stretch of 2010-2015 combined. I also didn't play many games released this year because, like last year, I'm still poor. I'll see what I can dig up.

10. Sunset Overdrive PC edition: It's a fun open world game by insomniac. The PC Port is actually balls but like. It's a good game with a unique emphasis on how you traverse the game world, where you can grind and bounce on just about anything and indeed to do so is the only way to not get totally chewed up by the hordes of mutants and scavengers and robots you have to fight. There's also some pretty fun and out there weapons to use, like a gun that shoots vinyl records or one that deploys little auto-turrets kept aloft with propellers or one that shoots out a bowling ball at terminal velocity. The base game didn't actually come out this year (I dont... think it did...?) but it was an XBone exclusive so I didn't play it then. It's got some weird problems with narrative tone and some kind of out of the blue racism but the M rated Nickolodeon toy commercial aesthetic is charming in a weird way. I guess.

9. The Forest: I think this got an official release this year? I don't know I can't fucking keep track. Speaking of a game with weird problems with racism, if you can look past the garbage "main quest" and really deeply uncomfortable racial politics where you murder and steal from cannibal mutants, The Forest is probably the best cool treefort building simulator I've ever played. This game has a love affair with lumber and I respect that. Shouldn't you be looking for Timmy, you ask me? Shouldn't you be shutting the fuck up before I put this airplane axe in your skullmeats? Gazebos are nice. I guess.

8. Spyro: reignited trilogy: haven't actually played this yet but let's be real the spyro games were fucking dope back in the day and giving them an HD coat of paint and packaging them all together is a real standup thing for insomniac to do in between slinging webs and making questionable pc ports. Also its like Dark Souls so it has to be good, right? Everything old is new again. I guess.

7. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: haven't played this one either but like. I know that I am a smash-enjoyer. I even liked Brawl. This is the biggest, smashiest one yet and it's also on the switch which means it could also be portable if I decided I never wanted to leave my bed again. I'm probably going to find some money to get it soon. Should be fun. I guess.

6. The Quiet Man: look no game that is THIS hysterical can be all bad alright? Didn't play it. Won't play it. It's awful. But it's so fucking funny like oh my god. Still better than Fallout 76. I guess.

5. Dark Souls Remastered: was this even a good remaster? I don't fucking know. It's Dark Souls. It's better than 90% of released games by default. I miss Solaire of Astora. I guess there's Shadows Die Twice to look forward to. I guess.

4. Subnautica: I wrote a lot about this actually. Subnautica is great. Just fantastic. A wonderful, visually stunning (mostly) (when it works) journey under an alien ocean to unravel an ancient mystery behind a deadly plague. Building seabases is so much fun (when it doesn't hard crash your computer) and the peaceful playstyle you adopt where you really only kill things for food until you can grow your own, much more efficient produce is a welcome change of pace from everything else. Leviathans are scary, especially now that your cyclops is mortal and not indestructible. This game actually Came Out this year so it deserves to be on the spot. I guess.

3. Dragon Ball Fighterz: Honestly I'm hell trash garbage at fighting games that aren't smash but this was a very well put together, visually impressive as all hell fast paced tag fighter where you can have 3 gokus on the same team fight 3 other gokus on the same team. Goku density alone makes this game worth recommending. The eSports scene that has popped up around it is fun too. I guess.

2. Dead Cells: Another game that gets to be on the list by virtue of it actually coming out this year. Wait, was this on last year's list? Let me check. Ok good it wasn't. Early access is a fucking trip. It's fun, stylish, challenging, has a great deal of variety in ways to play, might have erased my entire save because it became obsolete and I'm definitely not bitter, and it has that classic rogue-lite replay value to give you some bang for your buck. There was that one review plagiarism scandal. I guess.

1. Monster Hunter World: If you really want to know what I think of this game my previous piece on it is a good place to start. In addition to everything said there, MHW is just a fun game. The loop is satisfying and, later on, quite challenging. The combat system takes some genuine getting used to and some monsters like Nergigante actually literally cheat but for the most part the game's unique fighting style, spread across several unique weapon types, is rewarding to learn because it demands some effort be put into it and the dividends of fighting well are very cool, like just knocking a flying monster on its ass with a single mighty swing of the hammer. When a game is hard in any capacity games journalists get dollar signs in their eyes and start drooling uncontrollably because they can immediately declare that Farm Sim 2020 is the next Bloodborne because they somehow managed to roll their tractor into a ditch, but MHW is actually quite similar in style and execution to deliberate Souls combat, but the comparison is made in reverse. Dark Souls is quite similar to Monster Hunter, the first game of which was popular and a couple of years old before Demon's Souls was even a twinkle in Miyazaki's eye. There's a lot of parallels between fighting a big ol' rathalos in monhun and going for the toes against a dragon in Dark Souls, but I think MHW actually does that kind of fight better. There are a lot of modern conveniences present in MHW that are a godsend to newer players, making the game pretty easy to get into if you're willing to try. It was my favorite game of the year that actually came out in 2018. I kind of wanted to put Warframe in this list but it's been out of early access for years now. I guess.

There were a lot of games this year that I wanted to play, but couldn't. I don't think 2018 was a weak year for video games. It wasn't as strong as 2017 but it had some hits, I just couldn't afford to play them all. Maybe next year I'll be able to give a better list. I think that the whole industry is in for some hard choices and major restructuring of how things get done and how they look at the end result. Stocks continue to trend downward - not just for Bethesda but for most mainstream, prominent AAA developers like EA and Take2. Given the well documented volatility of "The Shareholders", I imagine that they would be most displeased by downward trends even if they were still making a modest profit.

The situation has been likened to an economic bubble ripe for bursting. Games as a cultural institution have come a long way since the catastrophic days of Atari's warehouses of unsold copies of E.T., and I don't believe that we're in any danger of a complete collapse of the institution, but the fact absolutely remains That Something's Gotta Give. The increasingly predatory practices that game developers put in place as they pathologically attempt to Make Every Money Ever are intrinsically unsustainable. People are willing to forgive and overlook the now ubiquitous microtransaction if a game is good enough to overlook it, or if it's the game's only real way of actually making money. Warframe's microtransactions, for instance, are reasonably priced, platinum is often heavily discounted as a login bonus, and you can make large amounts of it without ever spending money thanks to the game's surprisingly robust trading economy. So. Yeah. They get a pass. Warframe is also good on its own merits, despite being free to play. They also listen to their community about pricing. Go check out Warframe. It's free. It's free!!! Warframe is my unofficial top spot.

Sorry I got a little bit distracted. So there's only really two instances where people will tolerate microtransactions and lootboxes in the contemporary sense: either a game is good enough and polished enough and the lootboxes are unobtrusive enough that you can just sort of shrug your shoulders and say "it sucks but what are you gonna do" or it genuinely relies on those microtransactions to support itself. When these tenets are violated, people WILL get mad. People raised absolute hell about Battlefront 2's scummy monetization schemes, enough to get EA to back off. Fallout 76 is getting lambasted in no small part due to its utterly overpriced "cosmetic" shop where you pay ten real dollars to get your power armor to look blue. You can buy fullfeatured, critically acclaimed games for half that price and you already dumped $60 on this lemon of a game. Destiny 2 got into hot water for being cagey about how its exp values were calculated and how the previously free and user-friendly shaders became one-time use items you could only get from rolling the dice. The public is getting positively irate about all of this nonsense, and if Fallout 76 (and evidently battlefield V?) is any indication, we are fast approaching a breaking point where shareholder demand for profit will outpace the consumer's ability to provide it and the developer's ability to skinner box it out of us.

Of course Nintendo continues to march on to the beat of its own drum seemingly unaffected by all of this garbage. Not out of any moral superiority, I imagine. More likely it's just a consequence of that company still being in the process of being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Maybe a few years down the line when everyboy else has abandoned microtransactions Nintendo will pick them up, put a cute Mario motif on it, and we'll be back to square one. Time will tell. We're in a volatile time for games and the timebomb keeps ticking. I just hope the explosion isn't too messy. I guess.

#goty #2018 #monster hunter world #subnautica #dead cells #gamedev

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innuendostudios · 7 years

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I Want It To Hurt: Thoughts on Night in the Woods

[massive spoilers ahead, but I’ll warn you before we get to them.]

I’ve been thinking a lot about the ending of Night in the Woods. Finished the game a couple weeks ago; it’s pretty much the only game I’ve managed time for other than 20-minute bursts of Nuclear Throne when I’m waiting for footage to render or just decompressing between obligations. I have a weird jumble of feelings about the game, many of them deeply appreciative and some... confused.

These capsule reviews aren’t meant to be any kind of consumer advocacy, but if you’re waiting for me to tell you whether or not you should play the game: yes. Whatever else I say, yes, you should go play Night in the Woods. You may not know what you think of it by the end, but if you’re the kind of person who reads my stuff, you aren’t going to regret playing it.

The game’s protagonist, Mae, seems exquisitely designed to remind a certain type of person of themself. I might be one of those people, or, at least, I was when I was Mae’s age. Mae is a 20-year-old college dropout living with her parents in her jerkwater hometown, unsure of what to do with herself and generally unwilling to talk about it. Her town's economy is drying up and it’s a lingering question whether it will still exist in a decade or two. Everyone’s out of work or working for less than they deserve. Most of her friends from high school are still there, working the same jobs, playing in the same bands, eating the same crappy pizza.

It’s horribly familiar. When I was 20, I was piddling around community college with no motivation to transfer to a university. My dad had been laid off during the pre-Recession recession and hadn’t seen comparable pay since. I spent most of my time hanging out in coffee shops in my own jerkwater town, chatting up all the kids who’d never moved away, killing time. I worked my first job at the video store that was also a liquor store, around the corner from the hardware store that was also a deli. Our local businesses were also dying, save the few that secured a spot on Main Street, though by the time I was 20 my town was becoming a bedroom community for San Francisco and, instead of turning into vacant buildings, the local shops were getting muscled out by Peet’s Coffee and Jamba Juice. We even had our own parallel to NITW’s annual Harfest, but we called it Pumpkin Festival.

Admittedly, I was never a delinquent like Mae, and never managed to play in a band, even badly, so the sequences when I got to smash fluorescent lightbulbs and play bass were a kind of wish fulfillment (Mae’s bandmates sound for all the world like they’re covering Joy Division). And it’s moments like these that create the simple pleasures of Night in the Woods. It’s a game where stealing pretzels to feed to some rats you found in an abandoned parade float constitutes a major time sink and a minor, beautiful victory. Like, maybe I’m a fuckup but I can keep some rats alive and that’s not nothing. It’s a game where the conversation trees talk about the selling out of the working class, about punching fascists, about anarchy. It’s a game where the critical decisions you make are about who you want to hang out with on a given evening. (For the record: I agree that Gregg rulz ok but as soon as I realized that Bea didn’t like me very much I decided, oh no, I’m gonna make this girl my friend. So I saw pretty much none of Gregg’s or Angus’ optional content in my efforts to be best buds with Bea, and I regret nothing.)

So this game is something special. Play it. Let’s talk about the ending.

*SPOILER TOWN*

If I had sum up my overall impressions of Night in the Woods, I guess it’d be a more extreme version of my feelings on Oxenfree - somewhere over the course of the game I went from actively liking it very much to just kind of respecting it. Only more complicated than that.

OK, so Night in the Woods hints at a larger, darker plot from pretty early in the game, and such a thing was directly teased in the Kickstarter pitch, so by the time such things make their way into the game we’re all amply prepared for it. We’ve known all along that "there’s something in the woods.” I’m still not sure how to put into words my feelings on what that something is.

OK, OK, here goes: in the early stretches of the game, Mae has dreams that hint at what her mental state is up to, but as the game goes on, the dreams become more and more consistently about confronting giant animal gods. She also sees what appears to be a ghost man kidnap a kid at Harfest, but no one else sees this. Mae becomes convinced that there’s some kind of ghostly power that’s getting inside her head, while her friends worry that she’s cracking up. Still, they help her investigate various ghost stories around town, for her sake, and Mae’s health visibly declines and her dreams get more intense, until one night she finds herself communing with what may or may not be an utterly indifferent God who does not care about her or anything that lives on Earth.

Eventually, Mae and her friends track the ghost men into the woods and it turns out they’re not ghosts, they’re local men in hoods who are some kind of death cult. They believe they can keep the town from dying by kidnapping and sacrificing undesirables to the demon goat who lives deep beneath the old mines. They tell Mae that this is what’s been visiting her in her sleep.

So: Mae thinks she may be dealing with ghosts or God, the cultists think it’s a demon. Meanwhile, Mae’s friends think she may have some poorly-treated cognitive issues - turns out Mae had some kind of psychotic episode years back where she hospitalized a boy because she just couldn’t see other people as people anymore, and she’s been grappling with this disconnection for some time and going to college without good treatment may have made it all much worse. And maybe all this talk of careless gods and demon goats is just Mae dealing with the ugly parts of her own psyche.

Anyway, so Mae’s friends straight up shoot one of the cultists with a crossbow and then cause a mine cave-in that dooms the rest, which is, no matter how you slice it, a pretty sharp tonal shift from what most of the game has been. And, before escaping, Mae has a vision of sorts, where she feels herself sucked underground and once again confronting some kind of supernatural being.

And she just talks to it. She says she’s done disassociating from people. She knows that maybe nothing lasts, that maybe her friends will all drift apart and her town will die, but if that’s what’s going to happen, she wants to accept it. If everything disappears in the end, she wants it to hurt when it does.

The question, then: in this moment, are you, the player, talking to God? A demon goat? Or the dark parts of a mind in need of treatment? Or, a similar question: is the town dying because of the stagnation of wages, the shipping of jobs overseas, the failure of government to support small towns? Or is because the town needs to sacrifice to the beast that lives in the mines?

The game doesn’t have an answer for you. Instead, the game’s stance seems to be: whatever the answer, it’s out of your control. Be it economics, fate, religion, superstition, or mental illness, it is not a mystery you can solve, a villain you can shoot. It’s something you will have to live with, day by day. It is inexorable that, on a long enough timeline, everything ends. Maybe it doesn’t matter why. When you stare into a void, maybe it doesn’t matter whether you’re talking to God, a demon, or your own broken mind. Maybe what matters more is what you say.

You may never know the truth. So hold on to what’s good and live with uncertainty.

I feel like this is a very profound thing for a game starring an anthropomorphic cat to say. I also can’t shake that it felt more profound when I typed it out just now than when I experienced it myself.

As a person from a jerkwater town, who’s spent his entire adult life working his ass off and yet perpetually broke, who’s spent the last five years grappling with depression and anxiety and the radical acceptance it takes to know that his thoughts can sometimes be extremely alien to him, and who has walked the long path from Christianity to wishy-washy agnosticism to weary atheism, I feel this moment should have slugged me in the gut. I can’t think of a single game that would say such things, and I can’t think of a game that seems more explicitly tailored to my sensibilities and experiences.

But while I respect the hell out of Night in the Woods’ ultimate message, I still feel conflicted about how it plays out. I don’t think the game is wrong to veer into odd genres at the end - so many of its themes are internal and philosophical that literalizing them in order to build to a climax feels like a smart decision. I don’t know if it’s that the game spends such a long time raising questions and then kind of rushes the answers. I don’t know if it’s that Mae and her posse seem a lot more credible cracking wise and worrying about money than shooting people with crossbows. It’s certainly hard for a game about normal people with normal problems to throw in highly abnormal problems for the final hour.

I don’t know if I maybe just need to play it again.

I feel like the more I think about the ending, the better I understand it, but I still can’t say with confidence that I like it. And my appreciation of the game seems deeply rooted in the front half and not the final third.

And I don’t know when I’ll have time to go back in and play it again. For now, I’m glad I played it once. Whatever it was, it was certainly something.

#capsule review #night in the woods #adventure games

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wolfwhiteflowers · 7 years

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i need to make a post (and update daily) thats like my thoughts during s8 with knowing about the big character-death-spoiler/rumor from TSDF. so then i won’t spam n annoy people. (and hide. idk, my readers can see it or read it whatever. but this keeps me sane.) k... more posts about on, #*twd, #*twd s8 spoilers, or Here

(keep reading) *Heavy TWD spoilers!

*I’m guessing these hints will be featuring mostly to the Grimes 2.0...Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Judith.

** So, based on the spoiler/rumor is that Carl dies in the msf.( But I just wanna say sometimes I think it’s also..Rick who will die. Maybe because we see Rick a lot in s8a instead of Michonne and Carl, so far. -ep 2) Plus, s8 filming isn’t done yet and stuff could be changed. Symbolisms and stuff ..isn’t real clear because it’s meant for us to speculate and wonder ..but yeah. Idk. So, my speculations may be wrong. ps. I don’t know much about religion stuff,so..I probably miss out on the religion symbolisms and their meanings.

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After watching two episodes, yeah…….something’s very big is gonna happen to Rick(and other Grimes.). I love these symbolisms/parallels throughout s8, but omg! :( I like these symbolisms and I was wondering about how the writers will do(try) with the big death of the show. So far, I like that they’re hinting at us and doing something meaningful about it. Of course it depends on some fans that if it satisfy them of how the writing/storywise goes, and still believe in it and keep watching, Or no matter what happens they want to quit the show. u could be annoyed how obvious symbolisms/parallels, but I like that it is obvious or whatever cos so then the audience gets it and feel like ready for it, suspect that a Grimes death will happen.

- 8x01 - They show these weird visions and timelines with Rick and it’s only Rick(Grimes). There’s “red eyed rick” , and his” future-vision/old man rick” AL said it’s like a puzzle. Maybe like a one vision is true, idk. Each visions in the episode, there are death symbolisms. In the future-vision, Judith mentioned an owl and there was a song been playing. Parody song of Queen’s “Another one bites the dust”. Red-eyed Rick’s scene, uh the Greek window sign thing..means death marker. Basically symbolizes death. Red-eyed Rick was crying pretty hard like someone personal to him died. (At first I thought it’s a Negan-choice thing but from the spoilers, it makes me think it’s about Carl.) Red-eyed Rick said the quote that Siddiq said about mercy.(the man who said the quote, and Carl,later helped him by giving him foods.) The quote brings up of what Carl did or reminded me of the opening scene. All this pointed to Carl. When Judith mentioned of an owl in the future scene, it made me think that the writers do symbolisms that would describe “child/ren death”. Like maybe it will be like “one of Rick’s kids will die. Who?” IMO, I don’t think the writers will kill off Judith.

Beside of all those scenes, the scene when Rick killed the savior and he was threatening him and saying “your boy will die. I’ve seen you beg.” etc. I found it interesting that writers showed that. Idk if it’s like showing something simple-like how different Rick is now than s7,or is it that scene is something to think about a lot. That scene seems to be something to think about. hmm

With all these symbolisms, it’s interesting that there’s a scene of Michonne and Carl, when Michonne said “this is your show.”to protect ASZ. If Carl does die, this is like the saddest red-herring?/foreshadowing thing. Carl will die in ASZ with Michonne.( *i think the spoiler said she finds him dead or she was there and saw it. idk. it’s very like s6 msf.* I’m so ahhh sad for Michonne. And Rick too, I hope Rick will be able to talk to Carl for the last time.) It’s not gonna be Carl’s show.

- 8x02 It seems so telling(because we’re getting closer to the truth), and I’m liking how the writer are dealing with it so far. I think i know why they brought back Morales(yeah that guy from Atlanta, so far away). He's the guy that knows Rick from s1(the beginning of the story/premise-ish~) and knows s1-Rick. Maybe there will be more Morales in the season or we will have a defining moment of the season between Rick and Morales. And that Morales’s plot with Rick is like...something that will feel like ..the show is wrapping up s1-8a’s story about “Rick looking after Carl”! Plus, something to show how much Rick had changed.

I keep thinking about the comics. I’m pretty sure s9 is set in the future. In the comics, the volume? is called “The New Beginning” It’s all seem coincidental. It’s a new beginning for Rick and the Grimes. Just not like the new beginning-way as the comics did. (But, I’m sure it’s hard for the writers to do this “new beginning” when Carl dies before the war ends(?) and before the future. The writers are doing both, on changing premise and meaning of the “new beginning.” Unpopular opinion, I wish they recast Carl then. I wish they say s8 is their last but it’s not..and idk how long TWD go on. It’s all confusing. s8 not planned out well? Perhaps TWD’s conclusion will just suck no matter what.)

So, I’m wondering if I’m right about the “children death” symbolism. We see a baby and her name is Gracie. I’m not sure what it could mean about “grace”, but again they mention a child. Something about children and grace. It could also mean that war is horrible and that innocent lives could die. Also that changes people like Rick and others. Should Rick go far as killing a father who’s a Savior or save the father who will look after the baby. Rick’s a father so ...it’s all personal to him.

On The Talking Dead show of ep 2, Gimple said there will be a lot more moments that reminds Rick of the past. Like wow, mentions of the past! I think that’s just showing more of wrapping up of the storyline of s1-s8a. I guess I call it’ the old premise.’ of TWD. “Rick looking after/raising Carl” ...Or, it could be just some arc that Rick learns about his character and changes. (I guess about Negan stuff.) Or, both. Btw, I’m liking s8 so far and I’m really interested in Rick’s arc. The battle scenes/ action stuff doesn’t bore me. It’s also cool or feels different that everyone’s interacting. All communties are together. Though, I wish for more TF interactions and more scenes of Carol with TF.

- 8x03 -pre-aired sp. I read 8x03 spoilers and okaaaaaaaay it’s like I’m wrong on my theories. meh..i really dont want Grimes adopting Gracie. Seems like Aaron will. Also apparently, Morales dies right away too. But, before that he called Rick “monster” which reminds me of Carl’s moment with Michonne s4. “Im a monster like everyone else.” So,idk yet how the scene goes, but I think either way, seeing Morales and thinking of s1 and how much Rick changed ..is something that makes us think of TWD s1-8A. Still kind of like wrapping up the old premise TWD story. ..eh or just like how Rick and Negan are/not similar. ??? /Also with the dumb Gracie theory, is that Morales also said that lost his family. Probably be similar/foreshadowing to Rick on losing his kids, like Morales./ But, I hope Aaron adopts Gracie.

*I keep hoping the writers are doing this theory I have on “wrapping up the old premise of the show” thing because I think it’s a good idea, helps for me and for some others to deal with on” should I keep watching the show after carl dies even though Rick/Carl father and son is the premise of the show?”*

After watching it, I think the Morales re-appearance thing was more like ..something minor..something that makes Rick think. Like he’s not Negan-plot. I do think Rick is starting to think or be part of the side of not wanting to kill all saviors. (comics-saving civilization) He’s giving WTF faces to Daryl. So, Idk about this Morales thing. ok writers...meh. Well, yeah, Rick and Morales did made me think of the show overall with the mentions of Glenn and widow, and how Rick changed. “Officer friendly”. But it didnt remind me of Carl and father/son part of the show. However the part with Rick trying to help out Todd, reminds me that Carl is on that side of having faith/hope..take prisoners kind of thing. Rick was trying to help Todd and it was like he was thinking of Carl too / in 8x01.

idk i’m kinda disappointed uh ...I just hope writers can pull it off with the carl ‘s death and changing the story. But, it’s just kinda there. (msf is gonna be too shocking) Also, Carl isn’t in much of S8A, i think. There’s a lot of focus on Rick. hmm it’s like Rick got two arcs going on..that’s go together, I guess. Keep prisoners/not negan(keep civilization), and the other is blast from the past/he’s changed/~different premise

ps. I think Daryl got comic-Carl’s arc in this season, who wants to kill any savior. It’s not like he stole it or writers got lazy (maybe), but like just so tv Carl can die as still being likable and good(moral compass). Or, actually, I think Daryl is acting like what I was hoping tv-Carl would act like in s8 before I learned about the major death spoiler. I wonder where tv-Carl stand on the whole kill saviors or keep prisoners. It makes me think tv Carl would want to keep the prisoners.

8x04- This was mostly about Ezekiel and team kingdom. carol and jerry. shiva. Plus a bonus Rickyl car chase. (less on Rick’s arc) I really liked this ep, but w/the big spoiler, I feel that Carl should be featured more. ..I hope he is in the next 4 episodes. I miss lil bad ass guy and wished he was with Rickyl.

So with parallels or hints, someone mentioned that with the leaders, Rick, Maggie, and Zeke, they all lost someone...or will, in a big way. Zeke in this episode lost Shiva who made him who he is as a king , a hero, a leader. So for Rick..perhaps writers are thinking he gonna lose someone-Carl, that someone who made him want to survive and lead in the ZA. idk but its interesting. It kinda says that what will Rick be now after Carl ..in the “new beginning” and not-like-negan stuff. (btw omg the comicbook foreshadowings/parallels with zeke.)

-8x05 The Negan/Gabe ep, plus Rickyl. I wrote some stuff already in #*twd. So I was surprised Negan mentioned his wife to Gabe. It makes me think the writers might speed up the story that is based on the comics.(Carl gets comic-Andrea’s death?) So, with Rick, it’s interesting again, that there’s callbacks/parallels happening to him. All about Rick in that way. In the ep, Rick saw a helicopter flying past him. It’s a callback to pilot and later in s1, *Morales called him “Helicopter boy”. Before that, we see Rickyl fight a bit over the kill/no kill all saviors, Daryl was doing the chokehold and they pointed it out. Strong callback to s1x03. I’m kinda surprised the callbacks/parallels are still going. It’s not just 8x01. All these parallels and stuff..reminding the fans of what the show was like...old premise..Rick looking after his son. Oh, these arguments on killing saviors, is kinda what it is in the comics, I think most disagree with Rick and in the future.

-8x06 Everyone’s appears. It’s kind of a transition ep. or filler episode(s). Ok so everyone’s catching up what had happened during the day. It’s cool to see everyone. I liked that Maggie mentioned Sasha! So, I’m kinda disappointed on this episode. There’s some plots that are just like boring or confusing. I mean the whole Michonne just wanting to see Sanctuary. ok... (some battle scenes too hollywood) Then there’s this sudden thing of TF going apart, going rogue and against Rick’s “plan”. It’s annoying and confusing. Idk where Enid/Aaron went but it’s not Rick’s “plan”. Daryl/Tara are gonna be more annoying..u’ll see. But that’s what angry people do. (probably leading to some more Rickyl separating more) Michonne got what she wanted to look at Sanctuary, but I wish she mentioned Rick or something else. I liked seeing Maggie as a leader and just figuring out on her own to be what kind of a leader. She does what she wants to do.

I love the Carl moments with Siddiq. I love that Carl is this good young man. I love the callbacks of Lori’s promise. That’s important to me and I liked that the writers mentioned that. But with the Carl’s death thing...I wish for more from the writers. (see other post.) I also like Carol’s moments too. There’s like callback of Sophia.( I guess callback to think of s2/Sophia.) I really like the convo with Zeke, about being real (even tho shippers being all crazy from it)I think it’s not about romance but just what they had done to survive.k. I really hope there’s good reasons writing-wise, to have Rick at Scavengers. I’m hoping it goes on some plan b thing..to have Rick meet Negan, or a plot to show TF saving Rick. BUT, spoilers, it’s not that...idk what happens later yet. Just seems disappointing and learning about Lennie/Morgan going to FTWD is just gah!

I hope writers explain why they have rick’s plan not taken seriously from TF and Rick being at Scavengers place. IDK how Rick goes back to ASZ. *i feel bit anxious and expecting a lot more because it’s almost to s8 msf.

I like the parallels/foreshadowings too. Like gallows/gregory. Carl mentioning his parents...I believe Michonne will be with him when he dies. Carol leading kingdom in the future, maybe? I like the A symbol (foreshadowing doom or something lol) on the box where Rick was at.

s8A so far- So I kept thinking of s8A in writers’ perspective. Just trying to see where some plots are going. I just realized s8A is about Rick’s “plan”. Crazy thing is the fans don’t know much of it. Just some basic things or mentioned throughout the season. First four episodes were about them putting heard of walkers around Sanctuary and trapping the Saviors inside the building. Then Rick (originally with Daryl?) goes to the Scavengers/Jadis to make a deal again and to show them that TF can kill them if they disagree, and show proof that Saviors are weak-losing team of the war. And it was subtle..The leaders and everyone else was to meet up at Sanctuary to fight against the Saviors.

So s8A is about Rick’s “plan” and then writers like to add conflict to Rick’s “plan” arc with the whole characters stuff about the prison of war, Shiva death/Kingdom, being emotional-going rogue.(Daryl, Tara, Morgan),which the writers believe add conflict to Rick’s “plan”/TF. Plus, on the side, Carl’s plot with Siddiq, Rick’s visions..etc.

I don’t know what or how the Rick’s “plan” arc will end. Will it end in S8A or finale. Like Rick’s “plan” is actually the whole war plan and not part of the war plan. So, it kinda makes me feel a better, so far, to know that there’s some conclusion to this plot and that we will understand it (partly?) better in MSF. Because of how the story structure goes. beginning middle ending.

I wish/hope writers explain why TF keep not listening to Rick and it seems like they keep doing that. It’s similar to s6B except it wasn’t on anyone’s plan. It’s some weak plot device, I guess, because fans keep complaining. Idk. I don’t see it that way because that’s just how stories goes...to get moving the story along. It’s some plot device when TF does something stupid just to get TF to where they become Negan’s lineup(s6finale). In s7, it was TF/ASZ doing their own thing and not working together, going against Rick’s lead, which was all leading to more trouble and deaths till s7 MSF.#riseup( and Sasha’s death.) They all finally work together and got faith. In s8A, it’s like writers are doing that plot again, with TF not following Rick’s “plan”, not working together as a team because they don’t agree on how to end the war and they think there’s better ways to end it too. Also, emotional things too like death of Shiva and Eric etc. Zeke won’t get out of his theater to meet Rick, Daryl/Tara went rogue, Aaron/Enid went somewhere else. The conflict is out. I guess that means ...Rick’s “plan” won’t work or it will work. Something else will happen.-S8B. (i thought of all this cos i see hate on Daryl and it kinda confuses me. Daryl didn’t repeat his actions. He’s just stubborn and quick to fight. s6b-trying to find dwight/captured. no one had to go with him..&leading up as the Negan’s lineup. s7-”killing” glenn and being prisoner at Sanctuary was all uh lead to man-pain and that also lead to s8-kill rage ..which this arc makes these characters so unlikable and do dumb stuff. But, in the end, the character will come back what they use to be and find forgiveness and peace or whatever. Maybe Daryl fighting Rick in 8x05 will lead something major. Maybe Rick will drift apart even more or they will make up later on. So, when Daryl screwed up Rick’s plan w/Jadis, that’s there will be some Rickyl plot to happen later on.)

8x07- It’s mostly a Eugene, Rick-Scavengers, and Daryl’s rogue team. Carl wasn’t in the ep. There wasn’t any big foreshadowing or so in the episode. But some scenes reminds me of TF at the Prison. Like when the herd went inside the Sanctuary, and Rick using the rifle gun. Some Comic Gabe mentions too. Also this episode was like a transition/filler episode. I actually liked the episode than I thought based on the spoilers. There were character moments I enjoyed. Even though fandom hates Daryl (not Morgan n Tara) and hates the pace n the war, but I liked the character-y moments. Even though it can be frustrating from ur fave character. I really love Michonne and Daryl’s scene. It’s like bittersweet and angsty. It’s sad Daryl and others can’t stick together with this plan-that is they’re working and doing it. It’s also kinda like omg sadz, Michonne going back to ASZ cos that’s where shit will happen. What Rick did to get Scavengers on his side and beating Winslow Jr. was cool and seems reasonable to me for why he wants them on their side and his threat to them if they don’t. I do kinda hope MIchonne saves him and have a Richonne moment but, this scene showed how strong Rick is. What Rick saw that there’s no herd surrounding the sanctuary which was what others did that made that happen, is all foreshadowing for Saviors showing up at ASZ to where Carl dies. It kind of reminds me of s6 and the herd going into ASZ. s8 reminds me a lot of s6.

I still don’t know why writers have TF not on the same page sometimes and going against Rick’s plan, but I’ll say it’s not exactly “repeated” like before but, it’s same as just going against Rick again. idk. It also shows that they can think of themselves, Rick isn’t god. I guess Michonne went against Rick for a bit but still in-character, she explained and thought why she doesn’t wanna do what Daryl team wants to do. ^

I think it’s subjective on what u think is bad writing or not. It’s subjective if you think it’s just characters doing “ooc” moments to get to the endpoint for the plot, because that’s what imo, any writers do. On what Daryl’s team did and what Eugene did, that led to Saviors escaped and fighting against TF in MSF where Carl dies. IMO, I don’t think it’s too OOC or too tropey ..and characters doing stuff to get to the point of the plot. I think the writers did it well enough to show TF struggling and making trouble that led to Carl’s death. So far, I don’t blame Daryl and his team. I don’t blame Eugene. I guess if I really want to blame someone in a harsh way, it would be Eugene. But, this plot just seems like an accident or just whatever it was gonna happen. idk the spoilers exactly but I’m assuming Carl dies from savior. Savior/the war is most blamed on ofc. Carl could even be bitten by a walker in ep 6. This fandomwank is similar to like saying “I blame Aaron because he led the Wolves into ASZ.” So, ofc Daryl is getting a lot of hate. haters gonna hate. But, if in the story, Daryl is blamed, then yeah Daryl ofc would feel guilty and stuff and like maybe there’s some other plot that the writers have in mind. Evil-Daryl? Daryl moves away ASZ? etc. I don’t think it’s bad writing..it’s just what the writers planned and showed buildup and foreshadowing to it. That seems to good to me. It’s interesting that during s8A, the ones who wanna kill all saviors, are teamed up. TF split away, Rick’s plan was going well and then shit will happen..like what we suspect? from Rick’s vision...all to the mid season finale.

-12/5 pre-MSF I notice right away, AMC and TTD’s Hardwick mentioned a shocking moment in MSF. They promoted a bit but seems so jarring and like yeah ..woke the fandom there. The trailer and the promo pics, are focusing on Carl/Grimes 2.0. I liked that. Carl looks grown and looking like Rick and being like a leader. ‘It’s Carl’s show’ I think the writers are gonna do justice for Carl in the way I hope for.The online fandom seems to already know about the spoiler death. I liked that most seem to know and to prepare for the big death and the big change of the show. Either way, it’s like saying goodbye to the old premise show, the s1-8a-show and it’s just sad.

-Idk what it is, lately(close to msf), I’m seeing positive kind of posts and meta posts. And, seeing those promo pics is making me excited again about this show. I think the msf is gonna be a good episode or what Gimple and writers will do their best on this episode.

-I’m curious on what the msf’s title means or who says it. “How It’s Gotta Be”

-So I read the speculations on spanish translations-spoilers. Idk if its true.... but it reminds me of how TWD’s pattern of giving a cliffhanger in bad timing sometimes. They suck at it. Like s6 msf, s6 finale(though that didn’t bother me). I like how they did s7msf and s7f. I really didn’t like s6msf where it was just them in the herd and that’s it. Anyways, in s8 msf, there’s a chance of the audience learning about Carl’s bitten..or dying and other stuff. Then winter hiatus to s8 msp, we get that emotionally resolution of Carl, Carl’s death. So, I hope it’s not so annoying..and there’s something that we will know about. Like, we will know Carl will be/is dead. Not,”someone is gonna die.”Also, like a chance again of more fandomwank/hating on writers on if it’s a badly written cliffhanger. Waiting sucks = hiatus sucks. It’s hard..writers want to put a winter finale and then there’s the Feb~ratings grab- mid season premiere. 2 big episodes in that way. I just want a well written episode and respect toward characters.

8x08/MSF- “How It’s Gotta Be”

ok so i already made some posts and reblogged some posts about the episode and carl.

IMO, I really liked the intense episode on how they focused Carl as a hero of ASZ. Great family-sad ending with the sewerage tunnel scene. I know the majority hated that Carl will die, but for me at the moment, I’m interested on what the other characters will do (Richonne) and see if I will like this new show’s premise will go. Me and everyone will know more in ep 9. (btw im glad it’s not msf cliffhanger.) It’s also kinda makes it exciting and different between comcis and the tv show....and story trope? ‘father and son and he lost his son.’ we know for sure Basically what i had thought since 8x01 is still the same. Of course things could change in s8B if carl’s death and absence really bothers me. I know Carl is the heart the of show but Rick is who I keep watching for.\

Also, so far with writing-wise, there’s 2 things i look for. Respect character and if the premise still make sense or transitioned it well-or I’m still interested in the show and the whole series. I feel like the respecting the character part was well. I do think they planned it since 8x01 and gave moments of forshadowings, callbacks, and seeing how much Carl had grown and being like a better man than Rick. Plus, that Carl lead ASZ safe from Negan’s battle. Now, I’m waiting for the hard part with the premise part and ..we will see and know more in ep 9. I know that it already divide the fandom and all that. (interestingly it already did since s8 began. the fandom wank. idk i guess people don’t like AOW and future stories of TWD or war stories. blah..fandom wank and that just usual old show hate.)

#*twd #twd spoilers #character death spoiler #t twd #twd s8 #*twd s8 spoilers #i kno im confusing #twd s8a

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