#starting a week with a Most Annoying Character thread and ending it with a multiple day holiday around family aint where its at! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

to-younger-me-from-future-me · 3 years

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Joining a fandom is great! For the most part.

You gotta be careful though.

If you feel lonely, or you don't have friends, or don't have anyone to talk to, then joining a fandom is great.

Here you can ask and answer questions, post your own content, discuss episodes, speculate, discuss about fictional characters and plot points, read others' speculations and theories, all with people who are as into it as you are.

Personal experience:

I got really into Reddit and would discuss weekly episodes and theories. But I had to stop when I wanted to legally watch it but I couldn't get them in my country on time so I couldn't participate in discussions. Reading discussions after airing wasn't as fun, but still enjoyable, but it did diminish my interest in Reddit. It wasn't as great as reading weekly since it became a hassle to read Reddit when the next episode was waiting for me and would answer the previous episode's questions and debunk its theories. And also finding the right thread when it's bombarded with discussions and spoilers from episodes I haven't watched yet.

I found that waiting and watching 1 episode per week and reading and participating in episode discussions and theories on Reddit to be more fun than binge-watching and having no one to talk to.

Great for:

Series currently airing or with a large or active fandom, e.g. Avatar: The Last Airbender subreddit is still active despite the show having ended.

Tumblr

Good to find good theories and fanwork but discussing isn't that great. Unlike Reddit though, at least the way I use it, you can reblog stuff you like and accumulate it on your blog. It's even easy to have multiple blogs for multiple fandoms or topics. E.g. this current blog where you're reading this is different from my personal one. You also find non fandom things like life tips and funny videos, but you can only make the best use of reblogging when you've tagged them well. There's an option for fast reblogging but I only use that on my blogs that deal with only 1 specific topic.

Personal experience:

I tried using Tumblr before but couldn't get a handle on the desktop website, and then completely stopped when I came across inappropriate stuff. So I would recommend filtering your tags so you don't experience what I did. Also, the mobile app made me get a handle on the website (or the website improved after my last experience with it), so I would recommend starting with the mobile app.

Great for:

Fandom and non-fandom resources including fanart, theories, memes, especially when you're not that into having a back and forth discussion about your theories or analyses. You will come across people reblogging and going back and forth on a topic, but it's inconvenient coz the post gets really long and you then have multiple versions on your Tumblr. It's more convenient than Reddit when it comes to inactive or small fandoms coz you can easily find posts despite being years old and can still reblog and contact the original poster.

Like someone said, "it's the media without the social. I love it there". They're right. You don't have to type out anything when you save stuff, not even tags which can be annoying to newbie taggers. It's easier to save on Pinterest than Tumblr because you don't have to tag your stuff, but the downside is that when someone does reply or comment, it's drowned out in their inefficient notification system. But no one minds, I assume. You can create multiple boards for multiple topics, and organize them by having sections. I currently have a humour board, fandoms board, writing board, facts board, and more.

Personal experience:

I most enjoyed saving stuff to my Humour board, there's some great stuff there. It's super easy to even download pics that you love, so I have a folder on my phone titled "funny" mostly filled with humorous pics from Pinterest, and also funny fan stuff, also from Pinterest. I had to temporarily delete my Pinterest and Tumblr coz I got too addicted to them, but I think I'm good now.

Great for:

When you don't enjoy social media but like media. Also a better system to organize resources than tagging. Would recommend having a Humour board for funny pics, and a writing or life tips board for resources.

#fandom #fan things #Lonely #introvert #introverted #introversion #Alone #Asocial #asocial #reddit #tumblr #pinterest

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spiffyspuffy · 4 years

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My Mystic Messenger Opinions

(That no one asked for)

Zen

Character: 8/10 I know a lot of people think Zens annoying but I find him endearing. One of the best things about this game is the complexity of the characters and I love that Zen’s cockiness is actually how he hides his insecurities. Even though he’s egotistical about himself, he’s never shallow with MC. He says multiple times that he doesn’t care about MC’s looks. He loves her for who she is and shows this in how he makes an effort to get to know her and be her cheerleader everyday. An underrated thing about Zen is how emotionally intelligent he is. He’s great at helping the RFA members when they need emotional support (Yoosung’s grief over loosing Rika, Jaehee crying from the stress of her job and MC’s shock at almost being kidnapped).

Route: 2/10 Zen is a great character and he deserves a better route. The false rape accusation plot is horrible and offensive. Also, his route functions as an introduction to the game’s plot, so it’s exposition heavy and lacks action. The creators said that the lesson of his route is that when our insecurities are handled in a healthy way, they can push us to be better people. I love this message and I wish it had been highlighted more in his route.

Romantic Potential: 9/10 Zen is arguably the most dateable of all the characters. He’s a bad boy without being sketchy. He’s protective without being possessive. He’s kind without being a pushover and he’s smart without being pretentious. His biggest drawbacks are his overconfidence and and how busy he is with working. There aren’t any glaring red flags.

~ More under the cut ~

Jeahee

Character: 7/10 I love this adorable theater nerd! She comes across as formal and stuffy at first, but reveals herself to be passionate and funny the more you get to know her. I gave her a lower score because she does have a strong personality that rubs me the wrong way sometimes (her jealousy of MC in Zen’s route, her lack of sympathy towards Jumin in her own route and her general rudeness towards Yoosung). She is the most mature of the RFA though, so her exasperation is warranted. Being mature and grounded also makes Jaehee the least complex Mysme character. I’ve got a lot of respect for her though!

Route: 5/10 Getting to engage in discourse about capitalism and the patriarchy? Amazing and hands down the best part of her route. It’s really inspiring to see Jaehee stand up for herself and choose to follow her dreams. I think it’s important for every young person to hear that they should have a positive work/life balance and demand that their employer supports that. Other highlights are Seven helping Jaehee by making the Power Point presentation for Jumin’s cat project, getting to fangirl with Jaehee over Zen and the creepy stalker plot. I thoroughly enjoy her route and the only reason the score is so low is because some of the other routes are seriously incredible.

Romantic Potential: 8/10 Jeahee doesn’t have any red flags either. I think she’s perfectly capable of having a healthy, romantic relationship with MC. The biggest issue standing in their way is Korea’s bias against lesbian relationships. As a fellow coffee lover and theater enthusiast though, I could definitely see myself or someone similar having a happy life with her, even if it might have to be in secret.

Yoosung

Character: 6/10 I can’t stand people who aren’t competent. Yoosung is a terrible cook, he barely cleans and he doesn’t pay attention to his studies. On top of that, 80% of his personality is that he’s a gamer AND he’s in love with his “dead” adopted cousin. Yuck. ~ But ~ I understand that he’s depressed and depression can seriously effect someone’s executive functioning. Taking all of those negatives away, we’re left with a young man who’s trying to his best to be taken seriously, which is something I can relate to. It’s nice to see imposter syndrome represented and I admire his loyalty to his friends.

Route: 8/10 This route is sooo good! Who can forget the night when the RFA starts being aggressively stalked by Minty Eye? And the pic Zen takes of a believer looking at him through his apartment window...chills. His route only gets better from there when he infiltrates Mint Eye with Seven. This is the first time we get to see the twins interact and damn, is it confusing. But in a good way!! The biggest drawback is that MC is stuck in Rika’s apartment and doesn’t play much of an active role in the story.

Romantic Potential: 7/10 Despite all the negatives I listed about Yoosung, I do think he’s capable of have a healthy, romantic relationship with MC. Yoosung is also the only true sub of the RFA men, which is a definite plus for some players. Yoosung’s yandere side is a huge red flag though. MC better watch out if she doesn’t dote on him as much as he wants. Once he falls for her, he’s all in.

Jumin

Character: 5/10 Unpopular opinion, but I hate Jumin. I understand that he’s some people’s guilty pleasure though. Jumin’s good aspects are that he’s intensely loyal, an animal lover and has a dry sense of humor. I appreciate how devoted he is to the RFA and it’s members. He offers to help Zen multiple times (albeit rejected), sends everyone body guards in his route and pays the hospital in the SE to keep Saeran’s identity top secret. What I’m not a fan of is the way he obsesses over MC and traps her in his house. This isn’t the first time he’s shown obsessive tendencies either. Seven explicitly states that Jumin acted this way with Rika in the past. Huuuge red flag.

Route: 3/10 His entire route is fraught with rich people problems. I’m supposed to sympathize with him for an arranged marriage? All he had to do was say no. His father couldn’t force him. He’s possessive of MC because women have only ever wanted to be with him for his money? Not an excuse. Elizabeth going missing was a vaguely interesting story line, but Jumin’s relationship with his cat was cringey enough to overshadow the drama of it for me.

Romantic Potential: 3/10 Jumin has some serious issues. He’s never had a good female role model which has given him a deep seeded hatred of women. Remember when he tells MC that respecting women goes against his core beliefs? Yikes. Then, after meeting a woman who respects him and he actually likes, he locks her up and tries to change everything about her (cutting her hair, buying her a new wardrobe, teaching her the ‘proper’ way to walk, etc). We’re supposed to believe Jumin learns to be better by the end of his route, but he still proposes to MC after only a week of knowing her! I’m having a hard time picturing Jumin in a healthy relationship.

Saeyoung

Character: 10/10 I’m not saying Saeyoung is a good person. Far from it actually. But he IS very well written and extremely interesting. In the other routes, Saeyoung is energetic and funny, bringing much needed humor to heavy moments. It’s always a joy being in a chatroom with him. Then you have the reveal that he actually hates his job and that he was faking his personality, all to a sad and slowed down version of his theme song. This plot twist shook me to my core. What makes him so well written is that the devs did a good job dropping hints to his real personality in the other routes that players might not notice during their first play through.

Route: 9/10 This route is a wild ride from start to finish. This is when the plot threads from the other routes come together and start make sense. This route has secret agents, assassins, a deadly bomb, kidnapping, an evil twin, a powerful cult... It’s action heavy while still carrying enough emotional weight to make me cry every time. Saeyoung’s route is heavy and emotional and sooo worth playing.

Romantic Potential: 6/10 Saeyoung has a shady job and a complicated past. Choosing to be with him means putting your life in danger every day. If you’re okay with that, he’d be a decent romantic partner. He’s a little rough around the edges, but I do think he has potential to become more like his ideal self (God Seven) after reading his AE. He’ll always have that mean and serious side to him, but I don’t think he’s hopeless.

Character: 4/10 He’s low-key the worst. I sympathize with his trauma from being abused by Rika, but I don’t understand why he feels the need to fix everything by himself. Rika might be the source of most problems in this game, but V is partially responsible for standing by and letting her get away with everything.

My first issue with him comes from encouraging Saeyoung to join the agency. I know Saeyoung didn’t have many options, but how was encouraging him to train to become a hacker and assassin the best option?! On top of that, he stalked Zen per Rika’s request and took creeper photos of him, failed miserably at protecting Saeran and don’t get me started on how he loves Rika unconditionally. V has some good characteristics but I really don’t care about those when he’s so terrible otherwise.

Route: 10/10 This route is *chef’s kiss* the BEST. I wouldn’t call it a romance since Vs barely in it but damn is it riveting. Saeran is the perfect amount of loving and unhinged, MC get’s to know Rika on a personal level and V finally gets to be active instead of just reactive like he is in all the other routes. It’s also satisfying to find out how much V has been keeping secret and to get a glimpse into Rika’s psyche. But what really makes V’s route stand out among the rest is that there are spy action scenes like in Saeyoung’s route, but the player also gets to spend time in Mint Eye.

Romantic Potential: 7/10 I’ll be honest. I don’t think V will ever be able to move on from Rika. He’ll always love her, as evidence in his AE. Besides that drawback, I do think he’d be a good romantic partner for MC. V was never the issue in his past relationship with Rika. She was the abusive one and he was 100% the victim. I think he would treat MC just as well in their relationship as he treated Rika.

Saeran

Character: 7/10 I know I’m not the only one who loved the suave and cunning Saeran of the main routes who, after getting the therapy he needed, became an adorably shy and awkward man. Sadly, that’s not the character we got in AS. Instead, we met Ray, the split personality of Saeran’s psyche. Ray is charming and sweet as well as possessive and manipulative...which is something I’m into. But it’s not for everyone. Saeran’s real personality in AS is revealed to be angry and abusive and not at all similar to who he was in the main routes. I’ll give Cheritz props for writing a fairly accurate portrayal of disassociative identity disorder, but I think Saeran’s characterization is inconsistent. I get the impression Ray was an afterthought when creating AS.

Route: 7/10 A mixed bag for me. I really enjoy any chatroom/scene with Ray. He’s undeniably creepy, but those scenes were entertaining in a dark romance kind of way. On the other hand, the Saeran scenes had a lot of unrealized potential. Abuse is never cool. All his route needed to fix this was a scene where Saeran explained to MC that he was pretending to hate her to appease Rika and the other believers. While this fake hatred is implied, I think it needed to be outright stated. It’s also hard to believe that Saeran overcame his DID in the course of one night. I know all routes are limited to 11 days, but this one needed more. Highlights of this route are Saeyoung being kidnapped by his father and of course, dark Yoosung with Elizabun.

Romantic Potential: 7/10 I truly do believe that Saeran could go on and live a happy life in any of the endings where he escapes Mint Eye and receives therapy. While we only get a glimpse of what an emotionally stable Searan looks like, we know that he was kind and attentive with MC. Saeran is a giver and would do anything to make MC happy. Red flags are that Searan is still clingy at the end of his route. Yoosung makes a comment that he’s always holding MC’s hand when he sees them together. Also, his DID is something that will occasionally return and that’s something MC has to go into their relationship knowing.

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jiminisjamin · 4 years

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Pairing: Min Yoongi x Female Reader

Rating: Angst (with fluff sprinkled in)

Warnings: Major angst, fluff, suggestive content/language, language, mentions of alcohol, major character death, mild-violence.

Summary: All her life y/n has watched her friends find their soulmates; it always seemed to happen by chance, something indescribable telling them they needed to go to the store right now- a gut feeling that led them to the person they were meant to share the rest of their life with- and y/n had never met her perfect half. She was starting to lose hope when she was walking through the halls of her new college, only to be drawn to a haunting, dark, and lonely melody.

AU: Soulmate (I don’t know if this is an AU that’s out there already but I thought of it so to explain it briefly; every decision you make is leading you towards meeting your soulmate, every decision you make, everything you say, leads you to eventually cross paths with your soulmate. When you meet your soulmate, your heartbeats link together, as your lives are inherently tied together in general. [I guess you could kind of think of it like the red thread of fate]).

A/N: So yes the poem in the very beginning is Sonnet 116, and like I kept all the original grammar and capitalization and everything but I took away the line breaks (I’m sorry at the time I’m making this its way too late for me to think for proper names).

Word Count: 2,469

Song: Maybe We’re Meant To Be Alone (Bad Suns)

“Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove.”

A door swings open, the creak thundering through the silent halls. The man keeps his head down, ducking it slightly and shrinking in on himself, pulling his hoodie tighter around himself, a low moan falling past his lips as he clutches at his side. His hand quickly become soaked, sticky with his own blood as he stumbles, falling against the wall leading down the thin hall that seems to stretch for miles in front of him. He opens his mouth to shout, but before he can, the same door swings open, and he stumbles forward, not bothering to look behind him as multiple footsteps echo behind him. They’re not rushed- but calm and uniform, slowly shadowing his own erratic steps as his voice gets lost in his throat, unsure of where he to turn next. Without much thought, his feet carry him down a path he’d gone so many times he could do it in his sleep. His hand grabs the handle, staining it red as he pulls down and pushes the door with his shoulder, collapsing into the room. He just barely catches himself with his hands, kneeling in the middle of the room, gasping hoarsely as he falls to his side, his eyelids slowly lowering as he hears the door open slowly. His gaze raises to the door, briefly noting the figures standing at the door, watching him as his chest rises and falls with each jagged breath, his hand shaking slightly, lips parting slightly to let out a low gurgle. The sound is disturbingly human and inhuman all at once, the vague shape of a word forming beneath the blood that trickles out the side of his mouth, staining his teeth, his lips and face, dripping onto the rough, unforgiving tile underneath him. His eyes turn from them, wandering mindlessly as he continues to murmur incoherently.

And then it stops. His hand, his pleas, his pained gaze glazing over as his last action turns them towards the center of the room before stilling, his mouth parting slightly wider as the last breath trembles past his lips. With that, their rapid footsteps can be heard as they quickly exit the building, their presence barely missed by the guard that strolls down the hall, shining the light down to the slightly ajar door, sighing as he curses to himself, mumbling about kids never closing up behind them, he moves forward, reaching out and grabbing the handle only to shudder and pull his hand away, the flashlight dropping to the ground as he stares down at the red stain that coats his palm. He shouts out, the words echoing down the halls when he looks up, his gaze falling on the slumped figure laying in the middle of the room. As he movies forward, he leans next to the boy, his hand landing on his shoulder as he shakes him gently, growing more rapid as he doesn’t respond. He shouts out again, finally gaining the attention of his coworker who runs down towards the rolling flashlight, pushing the door all the way open as she looks down, her jaw dropping. She picks up her phone, dialing the police as a string of curses falls past her lips.

“O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wand'ring bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.”

Police and paramedics file in, their eyes immediately landing on his body as they quickly get to work, pushing the security off to the side as an officer moves forward to begin interrogating them.

“Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come;”

The paramedics make quick work of getting his body into the ambulance, rushing him to the hospital as police stay, closing off the entire hall as they began searching for any signs of evidence.

“Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom.”

They scour every inch of the building by the end of the month, but are unable to find anything leading to who murdered him- not even finding anything leading to a potential motive. Although, they missed the most important clue- off in the far corner of the room, he was overlooked: crouched in the shadows, shrunken in on himself, he kept his head down, eyes closed as he willed the sight in front of him to go away, unable to continue to watch them scramble, he stayed there, waiting.

“If this be error and upon me prov'd, I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.” Y/n looks up at her friends, watching their expressions carefully to gauge their reactions. Namjoon nods, his eyes widening slightly as he hums.

“So, why are you reading this to us?” Y/n pauses, biting her lip as she stares down at her phone.

“I like it,” she murmurs, smiling up at them. “You know, Joon, I think I’m gonna meet him this year.” She nods to herself, smiling slightly.

“Shakespeare?” Namjoon groans, slapping his boyfriend’s arm.

“Not the time for jokes, Jin.” Seokjin looks at y/n and grimaces.

“Sorry, y/n.” She waves her hand dismissively, staring out the window as the bus slows.

“It’s fine. I just…I have a good feeling about this college, you know? Out of all the ones I could’ve gone to…this feels right. You know?” Namjoon’s expression shifts to an awkward smile.

“Y/n…not to be negative, but isn’t this the only college that accepted you?” Her gaze snaps to meet Namjoon’s as the bus comes to a stop, and she laughs, nodding.

“Yeah, it is. If that isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is.” She stands up, slinging her bag over her shoulder and dashing to the doors. “Come on guys, don’t want to be late.” Seokjin frowns, watching as she gets off the bus and practically dashes into the building.

“Were you this excited for your first year of college?” He asks Namjoon, reluctantly gathering his things and joining his boyfriend in the aisle as they walk in line with the rest of the passengers needing to get off. Namjoon shakes his head, glancing over his shoulder.

“She’s not excited for school, I don’t think. I think it’s more of the people, you know?” Seokjin nods, smiling slightly.

“Still hasn’t found hers?” He shakes his head, slinging his duffel over his shoulder. “Poor kid. Almost everyone has their soulmate by now.” Namjoon nods, shrugging slightly as he stretches, stepping onto the concrete below them.

“I’m sure she’ll meet them.” He looks down at the ground, his eyebrows furrowing as he looks back to the building. Seokjin reaches into the compartment under the bus, unloading his suitcase, looking around for Namjoon’s as well. “Hey, Jin,” He takes his bag from him and they move forward.

“Yeah?” Seokjin asks, shifting closer to Namjoon and grabbing his hand as he looks away, ignoring Namjoon as he smiles at him. Before Namjoon can continue, they both stop, watching y/n sprint out of the building, her eyes slightly wide as her bag drops from her hands, panting as she crouches in front of them for a moment.

“Did,” she wheezes, placing her hand on her chest and frowning as she takes a second for some deep breathes before continuing. “Did either of you grab my suitcase?” Namjoon frowns.

“Did you not get it?” Her jaw drops open as she watches the bus pulling away and she raises her hand to point.

“H-hey,” she starts waving, pushing past the pair as she resumes running. “Hey! Wait! You have my suitcase!” They turn, dumbfounded as they watch her chasing the bus down, waving her arm in the air frantically.

“Well…” Seokjin looks over at Namjoon. “I mean, I’m sure she’ll catch up, right? And we don’t want to be late to our lecture…right?” Namjoon frowns, watching as the bus’ lights come on a few blocks away, and he shrugs.

“It looks like it’s stopping anyways. We’ll catch up with her later at her dorm. Most of Y/n’s classes are at night, anyways.” Seokjin grimaces.

“She took nighttime classes?” Namjoon nods. “Why would she do that?” Seokjin glances behind his shoulder as they turn, heading towards the campus building.

“I don’t know. Something about how her sleep schedule would fit better to them anyways?” Namjoon shrugs, waving his hand. “I’ll text her once we’re done with classes.”

Y/n doesn’t notice as the two walk off, her sights set on the bus. She catches up and the doors slide open and she climbs on, taking a moment to catch her breath in-between explaining, “I’m sorry. I left my suitcase- could I just?” The bus driver shrugs and she moves forward quickly, avoiding the eyes of annoyed passengers as she grabs her bag from her no longer empty seat. She ducks her head and turns quickly, sprinting off the bus and clutching her suitcase to her chest, holding onto her bag tightly. She moves forward quickly, her mouth dropping open when she notices Namjoon and Seokjin had left her. Y/n shakes her head and pushes forward, shoving the door open and stumbling through the doors. She curses, setting her suitcase down and pulling the handle up.

Y/n curses, looking around to try and find someone nearby to ask for directions to dorm-housing. She chews her bottom lip, pulling her phone out and glancing down at it, typing her password in and sending a quick text to Namjoon.

Y/n: Hey, do you know where dorm housing is?

She puts her phone back in her pocket, sighing as she moves forward slowly. Her gaze scans the seemingly impossibly empty building and she groans, moving towards the first hallway that she sees. She pauses for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing as she leans forward, glancing down a dimly lit corridor. She huffs, letting go of her suitcase and pulling her phone out, glancing down at it and opening up her messages with Namjoon. “Ugh. He hasn’t even read it yet.” She frowns, putting her phone away and grabbing her suitcase.

Before Y/n can turn around and look for someone to help her, she hears a soft, dark tune echoing down the halls. Her heart leaps into her throat, and she moves forward quickly down the corridor, the old, fluorescent light flickering above her as she does. “Hello?” She calls out, moving more cautiously now as the lighting is dimmer and the sound of the piano grows louder. “Hello? Is anyone there? I’m a little lost…um…it’s my first day here?” She bites her lip, noticing a slightly ajar door near the end of the hallway. She takes a deep breath and steps forward. “Hello?” The song comes to a sudden stop and the door creaks slightly as it slowly begins to close. Y/n scoffs, pushing forward and swinging the door open. Her gaze falls on a rather pale figure sitting at the piano, hunched over the keys in a suit far too large for him, deep red tie slung over his shoulders.

Y/n clears her throat. “Sorry to uh…interrupt. I just…I’m kind of lost and I was wondering if you could help me?” The man sits up straighter and her turns to look at her.

His lips are parted slightly, dark eyes staring up at Y/n. “U-uh…I’m…I’m sorry?” Y/n smiles, moving forward and holding her hand out.

“I’m Y/n.” He takes her hand and shakes it.

“Hi, I’m Min Yoongi.” Y/n nods, sitting down on the bench next to him.

“So…that song was really pretty. Are you a student here? You don’t look old enough to be a professor.” Yoongi shifts, a small sigh falling past his lips.

“I…uh…I’m a student.” He murmurs. “I’m…a music major.” Y/n’s smile widens and she glances at Yoongi briefly.

“So, what are you doing here?” Y/n chuckles, “I mean, an empty room with only a piano?” Yoongi shrugs, looking away as he scratches the back of his neck.

“I…I spend most of my time here.” Yoongi murmurs, placing his hands back on the piano. “I couldn’t tell you why,” he laughs lightly, his eyebrows furrowing as he turns back to Y/n. “So, um…Y/n, right?” She nods. Yoongi’s eyes wander past her face and to the door, his eyes glazing over briefly. “You said you’re lost?” She hums in response and Yoongi’s lips press together and he looks back at her. “Where are you trying to go?”

“I’m looking for the dorms,” she replies, smiling slightly as his gaze darts away from her quickly.

“It’s on campus housing,” he replies, “so it’s actually just outside this hallway. When you first enter the building…” Yoongi pauses for a moment, almost as if catching his breath, “you just go up the staircase and then to the right?” Yoongi shakes slightly and offers a soft smile. “It’s…unconventional.” He frowns. “But, yeah. This is the main building, actually. It’s mainly studying facilities and such.” He clears his throat, turning his attention to the piano. “That’s why…this. This is a music room, really. But you can’t…you know, lug a piano around. So, there’s a piano here. Most other instruments the students just carry down here.” Y/n hums.

“You must have that piece remembered, then?” He nods slowly.

“Most of my music is memorized,” he shifts in his seat and clears his throat. “I don’t really have much access to music anymore.” Y/n’s expression twists in confusion and she puts her hands on the keys.

“How is that?” She murmurs, “I thought you were a music major?” She chuckles, pressing down on a key. “Don’t you need…music for that?” Yoongi looks off in the distance, his eyebrows furrowing.

“Yeah.” His voice is so quiet Y/n can barely hear his response. “Anyways, I really should get back to practicing…uh, if that’s okay?”

“Oh- oh, yeah. Sorry. Thanks for the help, Yoongi.” She stands up, clearing her throat and moving over towards the door. “I’ll see you later, yeah?” Yoongi shifts to sit in the middle of the bench, not answering her as he begins playing the song again, his shoulders hunching as he shrinks in on himself. Y/n pauses by the door briefly, something tugging at her heart. She shakes her head and scoffs, shutting the door behind her.

As she walks away, the song becomes more distant. Y/n can stop the small smile that spreads across her face as she pulls her phone out. She types her password in quickly and opens the notification.

Namjoon: I’m sorry Y/n, I was in class. Meet me by the doors and I’ll show you where the dorms are.

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lyendith · 5 years

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Ciconia no Naku Koro ni Phase 1 : To You, The Replaceable Ones

I had planned to write this… review? analysis? of Ciconia Phase 1 right after finishing the game about two weeks after its release, but since then I've had trouble organizing my thoughts. The reason is that this first installment alone tackles a lot of themes: war, nationalism, technoscientism, media consumption and manipulation, the blurring limits between physical and virtual reality, education systems, generational gaps induced by technology, artificial procreation, old people robbing the youth of their dreams, the meaning of family and interpersonal bonds, and even transidentity (albeit briefly). And it is quite remarkable that almost all of those themes are represented by one object: the Gauntlet and the idea of “parallel processing” associated with it.

It's gonna be a long and messy review, I'll probably forget to mention some aspects of the story or overlook others, and I won't talk about every single character, but I'll try to cover the essential parts. Not easy considering how densely-packed the story is, but let's go!

So to start, I should probably focus on this VN's protagonist, Mitake Miyao. On a surface level, he's a bit of what you'd call a “tsundere”: harsh, a little irritable and sarcastic with his pals, but always well-meaning and easy to befriend in the end. One of the running threads of the story so far is that he's too well-meaning in fact, idealistic to a fault, which contributes to his odd charisma but also makes the increasing realization of his powerlessness all the more depressing. You don't want to see this guy fail, but because of the way the story is framed, you know he inevitably will.

For a while, the narration and dialogue like to repeat that “youngsters are each generation's main characters”, but that's a sentiment I couldn't quite share − in our real world, youngsters may be the ones will all the dreams, but they sure as hell aren't the ones making the decisions. The climate change crisis, for example, wouldn't be left unaddressed if that was the case. And sure enough, Ciconia isn't so naïve as to ignore that reality. Every single step of the way, Miyao thinks he can use his power to overturn the situation. Every single step of the way, he's reminded that in the end he's just a pawn moving however his higher-ups or other nebulous forces wish him to. That's a really powerful and relatable theme in this day and age, which raises the question of how far you can oppose a system you're an essential part of.

One thing that makes Miyao special, at least compared to his pals from the AOU, is that he's “ciconia-born” − born from natural procreation. Which means that unlike Jayden or Gunhild, he has bilogical family bonds but also hasn't been subjected to a genetic selection that would predetermine his path in life. At least supposedly, but we gradually learn that that may not quite be the case. In fact, that biological link to Toujirou ends up acting as a tether that robs Miyao of even more control on his own life than he thought, leading to the final tragedy of this first Phase.

There also lies this story's commentary on technology and man's increasing dependence on it − technology makes the kids' life easier, but it's also their undoing. One technology prevented an apocalypse that another caused, and the loss of the former brings about a new apocalypse. Humans created the 8MS but only a handful of scientists have a full understanding of how it works, just like today's technology are only fully understood by a small elite of technicians. We are increasingly dependent on tools whose principles are increasingly out of our grasp. Again, the Gauntlet is another reflection of that.

But back to Miyao and the Gauntlet Knights. In retrospect, it is clear that the way both the characters and readers learn about most dramatic developments through disincarnated news reports (with a goofy “news flash” alert by the frog AI Keropoyo to make it worse) is meant to build up that feeling of powerlessness, and also of disconnect. We should be alarmed that war is approaching, that terrible things are happening… but it all feels distant. After all, do you cry or tremble in fear when you learn that an eathquake killed a thousand people on the other side of the globe? No, you'll think “it's terrible” for a minute and then move on, because what can you do about it? Reading the second half of Ciconia felt a lot like that. And while that's part of the message, it is also to the detriment of the reading experience a lot of the time.

For a while (around the 60-to-80% portion of the game, roughly) we get a lot of redundant dialogue about commenting the news and Miyao rambling on about how they're all COMRADES MAINTAINING THE WALLS OF PEACE, again and again and again, to the point it becomes annoying. That's my only real gripe with the game − the feeling that, at times, Ryukishi forgot he was writing a story and went into political or philosophical essays about its themes instead. Maybe a manga or anime adaptation could help make these parts more… show-don't-telly. But as it is, it could have used some serious trimming down. That's hardly something entirely new − who can forget Krauss' tangent about 1986 Japan's economic situation or Beatrice's explanation of Hempel's crow? But in Ciconia the narration doesn't seem to come from any specific point of view except that of the author (and even on that front, the opening disclaimer warns us that the views expressed don't necessarily reflect the author's opinions), so those parts become all the more conspicuous. Unless this all turns out to be part of a Witch's game, which wouldn't be surprising.

Where Ciconia shines however, is at weaving a web of connections between the characters, one by one, to make you care about some and suspicious of others, sometimes both, and deliberately confuse you about who really controls whom. First we have the kids, with Warcat and Grave Mole which instantly grew on me (the slice-of-life TIPS focused on them had some of my favorite scenes actually), then the other kette with their own quirky charms… then the “villains”, with Toujirou and Seshat, then the Three Kings and Jestress who has a delightful dynamic with Toujirou, and then Toujirou is revealed to be Miyao's father, etc... It's a testament to how well all of those characters are established that I could remember almost all of them very quickly despite their massive number. Save for the Cairo Squad maybe. They're just kinda there. The (mostly) gorgeous character designs certainly help, even if Ryukishi still has a somewhat loose grasp of body proportions and of the… number of fingers on human hands. There's some improvement even in that department though.

While Miyao is for the most part the center of the cast, at least on the kids' side, that doesn't mean the others aren't interesting in their own right. Jayden is your classic “best buddy dudebro” whose easygoingness lets him bounce off Miyao's more strait-laced personality in a fun way, but his relationship with Meow, Miyao's “little sister” who shares the same body, allows him to show more sensitivity and shyness he would otherwise have. Speaking of Meow, she brings about another interesting element of worldbuilding − the existence of “Congenital Parallel Processors”, or CPPs, i.e. people born with multiple personalities, who are not considered mentally ill but a full-fledged minority with its own issues and “coming outs”. Although that aspect isn't developped much (Meow herself kind of disappears from the radar in the second half), we do get other examples of how it can manifest, notably with the character of Naima, whose unnamed alter-ego is violently protective of her, or Rukshana who's prone to abrupt personality changes when she laughs. The way Jayden kinda walks on eggs but genuinely tris to to treat Meow as her as her own person while respecting her and Miyao's privacy is frankly adorable, and I almost wish we got more of that at least in the TIPs!

The kette I found the most interesting, though, was Grave Mole, composed of Chloe, Lilja and Koshka. While a lot of characters have issues, all three of these girls are complete mental wrecks to some degree. Koshka spends her time between grumpily taking part in Kizuna chat rooms and horrific body experiments (usually simultaneously) when she's not training, Lilja has to take drugs to pretend like she's a happy, cute and mischievous cat-girl for the sake of making Koshka a more-or-less functional human being, and Chloe has to constantly deal with unfair punishments and a constantly battered self-esteem. As comedic as Okonogi's angry rants and karate-chops are played (and as much as I like this version of Okonogi, strangely enough), that scene where she gleefully lets Lilja be killed in battle makes it clear that her mental state is just as unstable as the other two's.

On the antagonists' side, things are a lot more blurry: a lot of them utter the arc phrase “All is in the name of guiding humanity down the right path.” However, what the right path is seems to vary depending on who says it. That's where a lot of the mystery lies − be it with Jestress, Seshat or Toushirou, their goals seem contradictory, and Tak… I mean Vier Dreissig doesn't even seem to have a goal beyond SCIENCE. But a big part of Phase 1's hook is that constant uncertainty as to who is playing whom and for what purpose. Even the Three Kings, who seem like your bog standard Illuminati knock-offs, might not be as much in control as they seem − hell, one of the big catastrophes (the fatal damage to the atmospheric 8MS) happens completely outside of their control, in an almost comically sudden way.

Speaking of comical… let's get to what I found personally fascinating but what other readers might have gripes with: the brutal tonal shifts and dissonances throughout the story. A cheery scene to announce the big success of a plan for the Order of the Public Bath? Keropoyo pops up to gleefully announce… an avalanche of terrible news that make the success from a minute ago meaningless. A big conference for peace where World War IV will most certainly be stopped? All of its participant die in an “accidental” explosion. Not to mention characters that are walking balls of tone dissonance like Chloe (who has many comical scenes but is clearly broken beyond repair) or the Yeladot Shavit girls (who by the end are forced to spew out fanatical bullshit with the same sparkly smile they sport when gushing about yuri ships).

This is of course embodied by the incredible climax where all the Gauntlet Knights celebrate their comraderie together in a virtual room… while their real selves are busy killing each other lest they're court-martialed for treason. The moment where all of Miyao's ideals are brutally trashed and scattered in a battle we don't even know the purpose of. The moment where the kids' taent for “parallel processing” becomes their sole mean of escaping the horror of their situation. The moment where all the absurdity, all the unfairness explodes in a depressing flourish. The moment also where the thematic resonance with Umineko becomes fully apparent − how can we not be reminded of Sayo and Maria escaping their shitty lives through their magic? Though of course Rose Guns Days also constantly came to mind, with the focus on war and nationalism, Japan being divided between a union led by the US and one led by China, and two of Miyao's closest friends being the American Jayden and the Chinese Lingji; as well as Miyao being an idealistic and charismatic leader-by-circumstance whose dreams crash into a wall much like Rose's in RGD.

So…

All in all, Ciconia might not entirely be what I expected from a When They Cry game, but it is certainly what I expect from a 07th Expansion game: a thought-provoking experience. Again, I finished my reading shocked and confused. Although it might seem like it shows its cards more explicitly than the openers of Higurashi and Umineko, deception still plays a big part in the story, even if the interaction with the reader is less direct.

Now there might be no murder mystery for the reader to solve, but that won't stop me from speculating! The invisible turning point to me is the “Proof of a Program” chapter, where Blue Miyao tells Miyao that he'll show him someone's face, and that that will activate Miyao's murder program instantly. Miyao first laughs it off, but then the scene brutally cuts to something that might be a flashback, a flash-forward or a nightmare, maybe all of that at once… The most graphically horrifying scene of the entire game, to the point it's almost at odds with the rest. And then… it's never mentioned again. Not even when Miyao meets again with Blue Miyao. Like it never happened. My theory is that everything Miyao experiences from that point onward is some kind of simulation, and that's where the obligatory When They Cry time loop will come from this time. See you in May for the answer?

That is all for today, folks!

#Ciconia no naku koro ni #Review #Back to Trianthology soon!

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douxreviews · 5 years

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The 100 - ‘What You Take With You’ Review

"Things are about to get weird."

Aren't things always getting weird??

If you showed up this week like I did thinking we were getting a filler episode, I hope you held on to your hat. We went for a ride.

The episode does remarkably well juggling multiple plot threads and character points of view. Even within each sect the performances are layered and felt on more than one front. That's not easy to do. I mean I was even starting to feel something for Josephine at one point.

Pike: "The path to the future goes through the past, Miss Blake. Psychology 101. We are what we've done and what's been done to us. I'll ask you again. Who are you now, Miss Blake? Your brother's sister or the monster who would have watched him die in this very arena?"

I really hate that she's still widely labeled by other people (brother's sister, monster, girl under the floor, Blodreina...) but the first order of business is Octavia's redemption. Not that she's redeemed herself with anyone really, but acknowledging that she wants it is at least a start. I've been looking forward to watching her let her walls down for weeks now and secretly hoping that it wasn't a sloppy after school special. I wasn't disappointed. Taking her back to the moment that she decided to kill Pike in cold-blooded revenge and not one of the 97 tragic things that happened to her was genius, if you ask me.

Pike said that we are what we've done and what's been done to us. For Octavia, killing Pike was maybe the only choice she ever made on her own. Being stuck under the floor or forced to fight to the death for your people or watching the love of your life die (just to name a few) were all traumatic events that shaped who she is, but she more or less had no wiggle room in the corners that she was backed into. Killing Pike, though, that was a calculated decision. He saved her life and fought along side her looking for his own redemption and Octavia made the decision to end his life. Going back to that moment and seeing Blodreina as Pike and Pike as Lincoln, she was able to make peace with the fact that he, Pike, was a person that (maybe) deserved to live just like Lincoln was and her mother was and she is now.

Everyone deserves a second chance and when she made the decision to take his away, that was when Blodreina was really born. When she gave into the violence and anger, that was the moment she had control over and could have made a different choice. I never liked Pike and was glad to see that mustache-twirling villain get the boot, or axe as it were, but something about that being the moment that Octavia needed to redo in her mind resonates with me. If Lincoln had shown up to whisper sweet encouragement in her ear, it wouldn't have played as well. If her mom had shown up to give her a pep talk, it wouldn't have carried the same weight. But Pike pointing out the moment she became the dictator that she never wanted to be and Octavia being able to figuratively prove that she would make a different choice was really beautiful. Love love love. You go girl.

For whatever it's worth, I was mildly thrown off for a while thinking that because Octavia lived under the floor that she wouldn't have taken earth skills with Pike so it was grating my nerves that he was being so teachery with her. Later I remembered a flashback episode where he was brushing up the OG 100 before they got shipped to the ground and felt better about it, but it's not a great sign to be distracted so easily.

The next order of business is Abby and Kane and the case of the missing bottle of ooze consciouses.

Indra: "On the Ark, you floated people for stealing food. On the ground, my people cheered as children fought to the death to lead us. Is this so much worse?" Marcus: "Yes, lives have been lost in the worshiping of false gods before, more than can be counted. But if we let it stand when we could stop it, then our new world would be no different than the one we left behind."

I love that we didn't listen to Abby and Raven whine about what a stellar moral compass Kane is just for him to show up and embrace this new body-snatcher reality. I love that he, like so many others, recognized that taking peoples lives is downright rude and unlike Gabriel and that other mechanic prime dude (Striker?), he didn't ignore his skeevy inclinations and keep his consolation body prize. More than all of that though, I was so, so happy to see Indra back with us and very happy that these two bffs got to have once last powwow. And how on point was it that she was barely fazed by yet another ridiculous turn of events. I mean she and Kane did live through cannibalism and cage-fighting to the death. I can see how this could've easily been written off as just one more atrocity on the list. Not on Kane's watch!

I appreciate that three-way conversation hammering home why they can't stand for this. Why it can't be weighed against other horrible things and why it's important to stand up now and push back. Be the good guys. Do better. Now that he's gone, though, who is going to make sure that the next thing gets addressed and not simply added to the list? I don't love the idea that everyone that puts their money where their mouth is on the moral high ground finds themselves dead. I prefer a little levity in my TV.

RIP, Kane. Again.

Josephine: "My father was a fool for letting you people stay. All that time spent building a sanctuary for the human race, and he destroys it because of the most human thing of all – love."

Was letting them stay really the big mistake here? Because my money would've been on the attempted murder of Clarke Griffin. If Russell hadn't let them stay, they would've taken Sanctum by force, right?

And while I'm harping on unreliable characters, there was the moment that Josie seemed genuinely upset at the thought of seeing Gabriel and taken aback at Bellamy's declaration to Clarke. Why? She had to wonder if Gabriel was still alive somewhere in the weird woods and Bellamy didn't say anything that he hadn't already said. And Josephine is a master manipulator.

My love for the dynamic duo that is Clarke and Bellamy knows no bounds. They were part of this episode together for such a tiny speck of time, but I still lived for it.

Solid 3 out of 4 ghosts of massacres past

Bits and pieces

Do we know what was in Octavia's green box? Any guesses?

There was something particularly heart-wrenching about Octavia being chained to the fighting pit that she created. It made me think of all the time she spent under the floor and confined to that tiny room practically chained to the wall there as well. Marie G. played it very, very well. It was my favorite choice in a very well acted scene.

Octavia had to make a choice between a red box and a green box. Red is the color of blood and violence and anger. Green is the color or nature and renewal and peace. In the pit there was a small green light surrounded by a lot of red smoky light. Blodreina has a lot of red blood on her hands. The woods have a lot of greenery going on. Was the swirly green too? Is any of this relevant? Also, do I have to start calling the swirly the anomaly?

Kane came completely full circle floating himself to save humanity. When we met him, he was mercilessly floating people – also to save the human race.

Exceptionally lovely that Indra gave Kane the SpaceKru and Grounder sendoff. Her whole thing got me in the feelings. Much more than Abby snotting on the glass. Why am I so annoyed with Abby? Even Raven is cutting her slack.

Kane: "Everything is wrong."

Kane: "I am not one of the sheep you raised to follow you into oblivion." Wow.

We're all meant to blindly accept that Kane needed to be holding the serum to get it to fly into space, right? Okay. Okay, fine.

Josephine: "I’ve been in love with Gabriel for 236 years, the last 70 of which he’s been trying to kill me. You know, relationships."

Bellamy: "When the people we care about are in trouble, then we do what has to be done."

Bellamy: "I won't let you die."

Are TPTB going to do anything with the Children of Gabriel?? They're so one-note.

Gabriel: "Things are about to get weird."

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Laure Mack

#The 100 #Clarke Griffin #Bellamy Blake #Octavia Blake #Raven Reyes #Marcus Kane #John Murphy #The 100 Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

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nellie-elizabeth · 5 years

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Modern Family: The Wild (10x17)

Yeah, so... I wanted to like this episode. I was close to liking this episode. But it just didn't come together for me quite as much as one would hope.

Cons:

There were jokes in this episode that were just so painfully predictable that I kept waiting for a twist that never came. A group of people fail to build a crib properly, because the directions are challenging? You don't say! Gloria laments that she's turning in to a "white woman" and we get a bunch of cliche, predictable jokes about going to spin class, kale restaurants, and more. A group of men go out into the woods together and they end up talking about their feelings, because that's what happens on TV shows. It's not that there was nothing to enjoy in any of this, but for the most part it was pretty uninspired.

I want to drill down specifically on Gloria's little plot thread. The resolution involves her taking a paintball gun and shooting bicyclists, which makes for a fun image, but a really troubling statement about her Columbian identity. She's a "white girl" for most of the episode, and the thing that gets her back in touch with her Latin roots is... gun violence? Not cool. I also hated it when Claire announced that her insecurity had been solved, and Gloria remarked upon it in this kind of meta way, like she was acknowledging that in this plot thread, they each had a key insecurity that they needed to overcome. It was annoying.

One last note: there's a fat joke made at a random guy's expense, when Haley is mistaken for him by facial recognition because of how big she is now. That was stupid and mean-spirited.

Pros:

Within the somewhat lackluster premises and weak moments, there were a few little gems that I'll highlight.

For one, although Gloria struggling with being too "white," and Claire failing to build a crib were both cliche problems to have, I did like that in the background, Haley and Alex were dealing with their own insecurities that they overcame by the end of the episode. I liked Alex's random little driving mishap, and how she had to drive at the end of the episode to save the day. And while it's pretty superficial that Haley is so worried about her looks, it is true to her character, and it is pretty funny that her confidence is so boosted when she finds out that her looks are good enough to get her into a frat house.

The whole pizza delivery sequence was actually pretty great. It didn't really go anywhere or have any particular emotional resonance, but it did make me smile with how absurd and over the top it was. It's nice to see them going for some wacky situations, instead of keeping everything in the established sets. I liked the giant Minions, the poor delivery guy who Haley knows very well, Claire re-cutting the pizzas in order to make an extra... that was all pretty amusing.

The guys have a more emotionally resonant story. I'm not totally convinced that every beat lands, and some of it just straight-up doesn't feel earned. Like Mitchell having trouble telling Jay that he loves him, and then Jay saying "I know." That was supposed to be incredibly touching, I gather. It was fine. I didn't cringe at it, but it didn't really hit the spot, so to speak. That said, I did like the emotionally mature conversation they all had, where they revealed their insecurities. Phil is always so chatty because when he's quiet and alone with his thoughts, he starts to worry about something bad happening to his family. Cam is flamboyant because he knew he would never fit in, so he decided to take ownership in standing out. Mitchell is worried about early mortality, and thus hates taking risks, and Jay is worried that he's becoming a burden to his family in his old age.

Each one of these concerns feels true to the characters, and it makes sense of their psychology in a way that isn't exactly new or surprising, but still somehow feels insightful. Jay is a character that this show doesn't seem to know how to write sometimes, but this week was a good summation of his role in the story. He's still got lots of life left in him, but he's reaching a point where he's starting to worry about things with which nobody else in the family can sympathize. I also thought the part where Jay finally saw a bald eagle, but didn't tell the others so they could all come back the next year, was quite sweet, if perhaps a little bit too cheesy.

That's where I'll stop for now. This episode was a mixed bag for me. I didn't hate everything, but there were multiple aspects that left me feeling less than warm towards this show.

7/10

#review #modern family #modern family review #modern fam abc

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agirlinhell-a · 6 years

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MAINS & SHIPPING EXCLUSIVES

Introduction

So I think it’s about time I reached out to find people who are interested in pursuing super close connections with me.. So here it is, the shiny new updated proposition - I am looking for mains/exclusive writing partners be it of any kind. I love continuity in threads, and I love having people who are interested in having me throw ideas and headcanons at them at any time. I absolutely adore having people get as excited as I am. Therefore, by liking this post, I assume that you have read my rules and have a basic understanding of Clementine’s character by reading through her pages. I also take it that you are interested in interacting with my muse to develop possible relationships (positive or negative, platonic or romantic) with her.

What’s this?

Being my main means I’ll get to “pester” you a lot, post random small starters and send asks whenever my character is in need of yours. When I receive memes that require a certain muse (such as “kiss x muse” for example), I’ll immediately go for my mains. They are my priority, and our interactions affect Clementine’s timeline. This means that Clementine will often think of your character even when you, the mun, are not part of a thread or a post. Your muse will be in Clementine’s thoughts and heart and they affect her timeline. Clementine and said main’s relationship can consist of friends, lovers, enemies, rivals, old mentors, old friends, friends with benefits, exes, colleagues, students, people she works with now, people she stumbles upon, there are many possibilities! I will be accepting canon characters, canon-divergent characters, original characters and characters from other fandoms. This however, does not mean I am exclusive unless if we, as muns, agree on this. Even if I have a main of your character, for example, I can still roleplay with you and will gladly do so. Please don’t let the fact that I have a mains list put you off. I will gladly interact with the “duplicates” of the characters listed here. This list only indicates that these people will TAKE PRECEDENCE when it comes to plotting, threads, memes, and generally writing together. So please don’t ever hesitate to write with me if you’re not listed here.

On the context of ships, we don’t have to have interacted before but I do want us to be mutuals. However, we must have enough interaction for me to get a feel for Clementine’s feelings towards your muse before shipping should be discussed. I prefer to ship chemistry over anything else. Please keep in mind that Clem is NOT an easy person to ship with. Note that I am multiship and therefore, it’s not considered “cheating” because these characters, unless stated otherwise, will have a separate verse, and none of these affect Clementine’s current default storyline.

What are advantages that mains have that others do not?

Priority. When you reply, your reply will be prioritized. This means if I have a verse I want to try, or if I have a ton of replies to write and not a ton of time to do those replies, yours will be done first. If you like a starter call, yours get done first. If you send in a meme, yours will get done first. You get priority. By doing this, you’re going to get a ton of inspirational posts from me. I will tag you in graphics, in quotes, in songs. I will send you headcanons, alternate universes and plot ideas. I like to make edits, aesthetics, promos, pinterest boards, playlists - everything. I like to put personal tags on my blog, to suit specific storylines with people. Most of the time, mains will have those attached to anything I tag them in, for organizational reasons. Sometimes, this can lead to ships, be it platonic, romantic or otherwise. Sometimes, it might just make you my favorite person. I care so deeply about my threads and partners that I enjoy keyboard smashing about them, so I just ask that people are equally as invested in them as I am and that I’m not some new trophy to a collection. If I feel like you are bored, annoyed, or “done” with my muse, but are too chicken to tell me, (or can’t decide what you want from me/my muse) I will just leave you be, and not tag posts or respond to things anymore. It’s simple; I am not one to play games and use muses as speaking devices for my displeasure, nor will I stick around if my muse isn’t wanted anymore. You can’t “bookmark” ships for “later” either. Not interacting for weeks to months is not normal. So mixed-signal games don’t work with me anymore. Instead of causing OOC drama, I will simply bow out and wait for you to make the next adult move. I won’t chase you around if you are secretly waiting for me to do everything and read your minds. So if you can’t make the decision to end something, I will be the one to do it. My muse is no one’s “filler” ship or trophy. This is not first come, first serve.

I like to tie storylines in amongst other threads I have, though this is not obligatory. That already happens for some of my threads right now. If you’re a main, I will come to you for judgment on how your muse would react to a situation or whether or not it would be out of character to act a certain way, to refer to our plot development when addressing connections between muses, etc. I will recommend you to writing partners of mine. I love threads with multiple people attached. I love to gush about writing partners, I love consistency, and I love it all.

Rules attached to mains are pretty simple - at most I will take three but this is unlikely, I don’t expect exclusivity unless we explicitly agree on that, and that you’re excited about the relationship between the muses, too. If we are exclusive, I would just ask that you let me know if that is no longer working for you. Literally, just communicate that to me, and I don’t mind if we have to drop a thread for your own comfort. I like to think I’m pretty easy to work with as a writing partner. If you indicate that you’re interested in being mains and we don’t currently have something set up, I will approach you to plot something, and we can go from there. Likely, I won’t list you as a main until there’s been some degree of writing interaction between us. Sorry, but I’m just speaking from a logical perspective here.

Want to be my main?

Before we become mains, I wish for us to talk OOC and have at least a few interactions so we can “feel” each other’s interpretation of our characters. This is just so we can see if we feel comfortable roleplaying together and if our muses have chemistry, because once we are mains I will send you many asks and make starters, for I assume that if we accepted to be each other’s main means we’re friends and like each other’s writing, therefore we should feel comfortable to “pester” the other as much as we wish. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to be mains. All I ask is for you to be reasonably ACTIVE, and for us to have written together / established some sort of relationship between our characters, be it friends, enemies, lovers, etc. If you become inactive without telling me the reason why for weeks or months, then you will be removed from the current list. If you start drama with me, then you will be removed. So, if you want to be my main, smash that heart, IM me or send an ask so we can discuss it. Thank you for taking the time to read this! Please enjoy your day and stay safe, you have all my love! ♥♥♥

CURRENT MAINS AS FOLLOWS THUS FAR BELOW (IF THERE IS A * BESIDE THEM, THIS INDICATES EXCLUSIVITY FOR CANON CHARACTERS). SHIPS WILL BE ADDED IN ANOTHER SECTION ON MY BLOG.

CANON CHARACTERS:

ORIGINAL CHARACTERS:

#MAINS.

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lilacskyent-blog · 5 years

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Breakfast with Chelsea

It seems crazy to think about in the age of social media, smartphones, and streaming services, but the internet is still new. Do you remember a time before Google? Do you remember dial up? Do you remember the first smartphone? All of these advancements have taken place very quickly, but there are entire generations who have never lived in a world without iPhones, while some, like myself, have the annoying noise dial-up internet made drilled into our memories forever. Now we live in a world of almost endless possibilities through technology. We’ve gone from growing up with our favorite sitcom actors to growing up with our favorite YouTubers. Nowadays most YouTubers are self-taught, but in the beginning, a lot of the big names on the platform were the underdogs of traditional media. Names like Casey Neistat, of course, come to mind, but also Benny and Rafi Fine, who went from filmmaking to YouTube juggernauts with their React series. Last week I got to sit with one of the first ever teen reactors Chelsea, who has threaded the needle between traditional and digital media entertainer for years. From voice acting commercials to web skits and react videos, Chelsea has left her mark in so many projects and in so many forms you may not have realized she was there. Now she streams on Twitch and has amassed a beautiful, supportive community she calls The Walker Horde, based off her love for The Walking Dead.

So how did your entry into traditional media happen?

I’ve been dancing since I was six. A friend of mine asked me to come with her to an audition for a singing role, and I could audition as a backup dancer. We both auditioned and we both ended up getting the part. So, since we’d be doing music videos we decided to take an acting class. Funny enough, my first acting teacher was Adrian R'Mante (Esteban from Suite Life of Zack & Cody.) I fell in love with it, I saw a chance to pursue a career in something I really love. So I got an agent and just started auditioning and going for whatever’s next.

3 Breakfast must haves?

Potatoes of some kind

Pancakes, French Toast, or Waffles

Coffee

What is the source of your obsession with The Walking Dead?

It’s the story. I’ve always loved horror, but TWD has this amazing story that is about the people, not the zombies but set in a horror scenario. There’s never been anything like it done this well. I was twelve when it came out and was transitioning out of dance so I wasn’t seeing many of my friends. It kept me happy and excited for each week with new episodes. Later when I found the fandom online, everyone is so loving and supportive, it gives a strong sense of community. It helped me through my teenage years.

Ok so I have to ask at least 2 questions about FBE, so first, I know you’re from the era when they used casting sites, so how did all that go down, what was on your mind when you first joined?

I’d just started getting into acting, seeing if I liked it, and there was a casting call. So, I originally auditioned for kids react but didn’t hear anything for a little bit. Later on I got an email inviting me to be on teens react. Before that, YouTube was barely on my radar. I was so into movies and tv that I never saw it as a creative platform.

Second, which 2 reactors and 2 Walking Dead characters would you select to help you survive the zombie apocalypse?

Rick, cause he just doesn’t die. Carol is really loyal. Norah is super smart so she’d be helpful with medical and engineering needs, and then Dionte, cause he’d be a fun person to have to keep your morale up at the end of the world.

So, the zombie apocalypse is here and you only have 3 songs to keep you going. Which songs are they?

Never Let It Die- Watsky

Phoenix- Fall Out Boy

Cold Cold Cold- Cage The Elephant

How did you go from doing the voice of Barbie commercials to taking down villains on Twitch?

I’ve been doing voiceovers for a while, whenever they pop up. I have two sides to my personality cause I love horror but at the same time I like cute, happy girly stuff. There’s so much to look at and enjoy in everything. Crazy special effects gore, happy endings that warm your heart, I love it all.

What’s your goal? Or your dream?

It sounds cliche, but happiness. I keep my dreams big but my goals small. I like to focus on each step. I just want to make people happy and leave the world better than I found it.

As someone who's worked on both sides, what, for you, is the key difference between digital and traditional media?

Both are really different depending on the scale. In a major picture, everyone has a schedule and a place and you have to stay there. It’s a little more stressed and high pace. With digital, there’s nothing really set in stone cause you’re your own boss and you don’t know if it’s gonna take off or if you’re getting anything out of it. At the end of the day, regardless of platform, you’re creating content.

Your journey is absolutely mind-blowing, how do you process the roller coaster you’ve been on?

I’m still figuring that out. I wake up most of the time in awe. I never thought of Twitch as a job, but now I focus on it and do it multiple times a week. Sometimes I sit and start happy crying cause I don’t understand everyone’s love and generosity. I don’t know what I do that makes people happy, but I’m going to keep doing it. As an actor, you face rejection every day, so to come into this much love is amazing. I’m in awe of it.

Would you ever go full traditional or full digital? If something called to me in traditional I would definitely give it my all, but I’d never fully stop streaming or creating content in other ways. I love interacting with the community there, it makes me so happy. I could never just drop it like that.

Do you know how awesome you are?

No, that’s not a word I would use to describe myself.

Chelsea may not think of herself as awesome, but the multitude of people who tune into her streams and get excited when she pops up in YouTube videos definitely do. In a way, the societal shift from traditional to digital media is a huge piece of her story. Who knows, she could’ve been the next coming of age teen movie actress, or the single survivor in a b list horror film, instead, she’s our digital zombie loving hero, and so much more. She’s bringing joy to so many people every day. For most of us, she entered our lives six years ago through React, and now we watch her freak out when people donate in Twitch, we donate to charity streams, and we even make jokes about her gaming chair and it’s plans to take over the world. Chelsea is a genuine person and a genuine entertainer. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

#chelsea #fbe #react #digital media #traditional media #acting #twitch #interview #press #lilac #sky #strawberry #smirk #drake walker #horde #walking #dead #talking #fandom

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persiciflorebellator · 6 years

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MAINS & SHIPPING EXCLUSIVES

Introduction

It’s been a long time since I’ve brought this up, but I’m about to add and update my mains section, so I think it’s about time I reached out to find people who are interested in pursuing super close connections with me because whenever I would reblog my old mains post, hardly anyone would like it. So here it is, the shiny new updated proposition - I am looking for mains/exclusive writing partners be it of any kind. I love continuity in threads, and I love having people who are interested in having me throw ideas and headcanons at them at any time. I absolutely adore having people get as excited as I am. Therefore, by liking this post, I assume that you have read my rules and have a basic understanding of Toka's character by reading through her pages. I also take it that you are interested in interacting with my muse to develop possible relationships (positive or negative, platonic or romantic) with her.

Personal and ask/rp blogs, please don’t reblog!

What’s this?

Being my main means I’ll get to "pester" you a lot, post random small starters and send asks whenever my character is in need of yours. When I receive memes that require a certain muse (such as “kiss x muse” for example), I’ll immediately go for my mains. They are my priority, and our interactions affect Toka’s timeline. This means that Toka will often think of your character even when you, the mun, are not part of a thread or a post. Your muse will be in Toka's thoughts and heart and they affect her timeline. Toka and said main's relationship can consist of friends, lovers, enemies, rivals, old mentors, old friends, friends with benefits, exes, colleagues, students, people she works with now, people she stumbles upon, there are many possibilities! I will be accepting canon characters, canon-divergent characters, original characters and characters from other fandoms. This however, does not mean I am exclusive unless if we, as muns, agree on this. Even if I have a main of your character, for example, I can still roleplay with you and will gladly do so. Please don’t let the fact that I have a mains list put you off. I will gladly interact with the "duplicates" of the characters listed here. This list only indicates that these people will TAKE PRECEDENCE when it comes to plotting, threads, memes, and generally writing together. So please don’t ever hesitate to write with me if you’re not listed here. I do not have exclusives, except with ships. If you are a multimuse blog, then please state which muse you’d like to have as a main on this list. Like I said, I will gladly write with various versions of the same character. But if we’re shipping together, yours will be the only one I ship with.

On the context of ships, we don’t have to have interacted before but I do want us to be mutuals. However, we must have enough interaction for me to get a feel for Toka’s feelings towards your muse before shipping should be discussed. I prefer to ship chemistry over anything else. Please keep in mind that Toka is NOT an easy person to ship with. Note that I am multiship and therefore, it’s not considered “cheating” because these characters, unless stated otherwise, will have a separate verse, and none of these affect Toka’s current default storyline.

What are advantages that mains have that others do not?

Priority. When you reply, your reply will be prioritized. This means if I have a verse I want to try, or if I have a ton of replies to write and not a ton of time to do those replies, yours will be done first. If you like a starter call, yours get done first. If you send in a meme, yours will get done first. You get priority. By doing this, you’re going to get a ton of inspirational posts from me. I will tag you in graphics, in quotes, in songs. I will send you headcanons, alternate universes and plot ideas. I like to make edits, aesthetics, promos, pinterest boards, playlists - everything. I like to put personal tags on my blog, to suit specific storylines with people. Most of the time, mains will have those attached to anything I tag them in, for organizational reasons. Sometimes, this can lead to ships, be it platonic, romantic or otherwise. Sometimes, it might just make you my favorite person. I care so deeply about my threads and partners that I enjoy keyboard smashing about them, so I just ask that people are equally as invested in them as I am and that I'm not some new trophy to a collection. If I feel like you are bored, annoyed, or "done" with my muse, but are too chicken to tell me, (or can’t decide what you want from me/my muse) I will just leave you be, and not tag posts or respond to things anymore. It’s simple; I am not one to play games and use muses as speaking devices for my displeasure, nor will I stick around if my muse isn’t wanted anymore. You can’t “bookmark” ships for “later” either. Not interacting for weeks to months is not normal. So mixed-signal games don’t work with me anymore. Instead of causing OOC drama, I will simply bow out and wait for you to make the next adult move. I won’t chase you around if you are secretly waiting for me to do everything and read your minds. So if you can’t make the decision to end something, I will be the one to do it. My muse is no one’s “filler” ship or trophy. This is not first come, first serve.

Want to be my main?

CURRENT MAINS AS FOLLOWS THUS FAR BELOW (IF THERE IS A * BESIDE THEM, THIS INDICATES EXCLUSIVITY FOR CANON CHARACTERS). SHIPS WILL BE ADDED IN ANOTHER SECTION ON MY BLOG.

CANON CHARACTERS:

Orochimaru: @masshirohebi*

Uzuki Yugao: @kaless39

Tenten: @colossvs*

ORIGINAL CHARACTERS:

Uchiha Haruhi: @13lilypetals

#outofillusions {Angie speaks}#hELLO YOU LITTLE NUGGETS #GUESS WHO'S BACK

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brakken · 7 years

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Replayed Life is Strange ep. 5, thoughts below.

Buckle in - I had a lot to say.

I was nervous about revisiting this one. The first time I played, this ending wrecked me. And I mean wrecked. I was in tears for hours. I had trouble sleeping for weeks. I couldn’t think about the game without wanting to cry. I wanted to draw fan art for it, but couldn’t without breaking down. In many ways, I’m still affected by it. This game changed me.

So, I was nervous. And not just because of how hard it hit me the first time, but I was nervous about how I’d react in replaying. Would I notice something I didn’t the first time, that would ruin the experience for me? Would I cry as much? And if I didn’t, would that mean that I didn’t like it as much? How much of that original feeling was satisfaction, and how much was disappointment?

-spoilers ahead for LiS Ep. 5-

I touched on this very briefly last time, but I want to talk about it further here, where it comes more into play:

I do not like the Jefferson twist. Coupled with Rachel’s death, it is a shallow and uninteresting answer to her disappearance, regardless of their attempts to pretty it up with the Prescott’s involvement. Strip away the red herrings and tangled threads, and what you’re left with is a dead girl and a murderer. Jefferson becomes unrecognisable in his unveiled role - his tropey villain dialogue and mannerisms separate him so far from his earlier scenes that it may as well have been an all-new person. Maybe this was the intention, but it reads to me as utterly cliche. How frightening would he have been, had he kept his familiar composure? How much more menacing, now that his mannerisms are given a horrific context?

Even within the narrative, his portrayal in this episode feels completely wrong. Jefferson goes from a man with a sick passion for capturing true innocence, to one willing to murder multiple people. It is never understood that murder is part of his pattern. Rachel’s death was an accident at Nathan’s hands, yet now we have Jefferson killing him, Chloe, Victoria, and the intention to kill Max, all with nary a hint of remorse or doubt. He is just the bad guy now - plain and simple. And in a game where so much else is designed to be not so clean-cut, that’s... pretty boring.

With that out of the way, I do think the scenes themselves are done well. Awakening in the dark room is genuinely tense and scary - moreso with Victoria present. Desperately hopping in and out of photographs to different moments of captivity is incredibly effective - it packs on such helplessness and danger.

And even while not being thrilled with Jefferson as the villain, and while understanding it would soon fall apart, it is incredibly satisfying to help Max attain the following victories via time-hopping. A lot of the game focuses on retreading conversations with new information, and consequently, Max displays boosted confidence upon these repetitions. Returning to the first scene is where this is at its peak. She knows everything - and she’s powerful. It’s also in parts like this where I would like to applaud the designers for having a clear vision from the outset (even if I wasn’t entirely thrilled with aspects of that vision).

A really strong story-telling tool is introducing a solution before the problem arrives, to trick the audience into thinking it’s unimportant until the reveal. Having us take the selfie right at the start of the game is a great use of this. What seemed like just a moment in a scene becomes absolutely vital - but only after we discover we can rewind with photographs. (this is also why the ep.4 Warren moment feels so weirdly deliberate. We already know how her powers work by this point so we’re paying attention every time a new photo is taken.)

I’d been put the ending off for a while.

Once I played up to the art gallery, I took a break and then just... left it there. Left Max in a peaceful moment.

I wasn’t ready.

But lately it seemed like the real world was telling me to return to it. After a week with no breeze, the wind began picking up, and it looked like there could be rain. I found myself idly doodling Chloe and Max in my intervals between work. I had someone here ask me if I’d be writing thoughts for episode 5. I was discovering new music that aligned all too well with where I was at with the characters.

So, I finally decided it was time, and sat down, and finished playing. Only the next morning did I realise I’d done so on October 11, the in-game day of the storm.

Before moving into the next act of the episode, I want to say I really appreciate the way they’ve sculpted so many different ways to apply Max’s rewind power. It’s great that they’re able to keep surprising me while not emptying their cache too quickly. However, I reaaally wish (and was expecting) that time-freezing would make a return in this finale. It’s used well in ep.2 with Kate, but I feel like it introduced a new threat that is never paid off. Once it’s established that Max’s power can weaken her to the point where it doesn’t function, there is now a looming danger for when that will happen again - maybe this time, the cost will be Chloe, or the town, or even Max herself. But it never does. The closest we get is when Chloe is shot at the end of ep.4, but the power's failure is more directly from Jefferson’s sedation, rather than a weakness on Max’s part. And when she does falter again, it manifests as a prolonged out-of-nowhere dream sequence. There’s some creative stuff present there, but it also stands as a missed opportunity to toy further with tangible peril.

On with the escape. Don’t have much to say here. I may not have been happy with his new portrayal, but it’s still satisfying to watch Jefferson get taken down. It’s nice to see David on the same team as Max, and it’s a good start to a series of character farewell scenes.

Followed closely by a bad one.

Nathan is thrown to the wayside to an unforgivable degree here. He’s been pivotal in Max and Chloe’s connection uptil now, even though a lot of that happens off-screen. But as soon as he’s no longer the main threat, his presence, character, and life are all discarded. His phone message in the car provides some closure, but is far too little too late and serves more as insult to injury than any kind of saving face.

Meanwhile, Warren, a character with more screentime than Nathan but of relative unimportance to the main story, is given a spotlighted farewell. I don’t get this. I have no harsh feelings against Warren, but insofar as his relevance to Max and Chloe’s arcs, he is a sideliner. Since his primary presence has centred around a potential romance for Max, his farewell scene should be treated with an equal amount of focus. It really annoys me that you are forced to tell him about Max’s powers - there is no way to opt out of it, and all it leads to is him guilt-tripping Max with ‘Chaos Theory’ and ‘choosing the right thing’, which the game is about to throw at us anyway in the dream sequence. It’s also unjust to the scene’s purpose, which is a farewell. We may not fully know it, but we’re saying goodbye to these characters one by one. We’ve just come away from our farewells with Joyce and Frank, and all Warren wants to do is talk plot. But whatevs, I still hugged him.

The confession about letting William die was painful. I wasn’t predicting it to come up again, and by this point it felt like so long ago. And yet, it works. We’ve returned to a Chloe who’s early off of discovering Rachel’s death - and she doesn’t want to listen. And we need her to listen. Most conversations in the game can’t lead to a failure, but I find it really interesting that this one does.

I’m very conflicted about the dream sequence. Conceptually, I love it. I love when games mess with their established order, and they’re certainly evoking a feeling of helplessness in me upon returning once again to that damn classroom. But, it rubs me the wrong way here, too. We’ve beaten the mini-boss of the game. We defeated Jefferson. Yet the final time we see him is here, forcing us to say words we don’t want to, and watch him take photos of Chloe with us strapped to a chair. I get this is Max internalising her insecurities... but we beat him. We’re onto the final boss, now - the storm. Jefferson is obsolete at this point, and there’s no rhyme or reason to show him in power again.

(sidebar: the bottle-collecting in the hide-and-seek segment was confusing and dumb and made me angry that they were still injecting completion rewards this late in the story)

I also don’t like the Dark Room sequence of the dream, because it villainises Chloe. All the other sequences present us with twisted versions of Arcadia Bay residents. Dead versions, cruel versions. We’re witnessing the weight of guilt that coincides with the coming choice, culminating in an encounter with the Other Max, and Chloe saving us from her. This should have been Chloe’s first appearance in the dream. The Dark Room sequence where she jeers at Max’s shortcomings seems so out of place with the rest of what is being said. I think this is especially noticeable given the following walk down memory lane, showing us everything we’ll lose on the alternate side of the choice.

(sidebar: I wish that the walk had been done better - I never knew when to stop and listen to the voiceovers and when to continue onto the next highlighted moment, and it was always jarring whenever the dialogue got interrupted)

I was fully ready for Rachel to appear in this dream, in some form or another. With everything culminating, and Max messing more with time, coupled with how blunt they were to put Rachel in the ground in the previous ep, I was waiting and I was hoping. But she never showed. And I don’t understand why. As I said with Nathan, Rachel is integral in the centric plotline of Max and Chloe’s reunion. I need to stress this - even though she’s never seen on-screen, she is a dominating factor in our two main characters’ growth, and is little more than a footnote in this finale.

What we get instead at the end of this dream, is Other Max. I don’t have much to say about her. In my eyes she’s very much just a culmination of the dream thusfar. She doesn’t represent much to me beyond that, except a missed opportunity to meet Rachel and find out what the hell is going on.

Can we touch on that quickly, before the final scene? What the hell is going on? I don’t want to have everything bluntly spelled out, but... did the designers really feel like they’d laid enough groundwork that the answer should be obvious? When Chloe hamfistedly states it’s a mystery we’ll ‘obviously never figure out’... damn. That hurts. I mean, I have my own theory - I like it, and it’s the lens I choose to view the story through. But it’s unfair to put it on the players to do this heavy-lifting. We relied on the designers to draw the path for us to follow, and they took us to a dead end.

So let’s talk about the final choice. Even in replaying, and with the dream sequence’s attempts to balance the scales last-minute, my decision here still remained the same, for a couple of reasons. The first being the game’s true title, as I have mentioned earlier - ‘Save Chloe: The Game’. And hey, this doesn’t suddenly change in the final episode. This was, for me, the fixed goal as soon as I caught onto it. And to save Chloe here, she needs to be able to live past her grief. Contrasted to the alternate Chloe, whose prison was inescapable - saving her came from letting her go. But here, we need to hold on.

Hold on, hold on, hold on.

My second main reason is Max’s character growth, and the overall narrative. This young girl is warned of a coming storm, and is then given time-altering powers. And she is constantly asking why. Not just why she got powers, but what she is meant to learn from having them. On the surface, what she learns is ‘don’t mess with time a bunch because a storm will happen’ and with that you can lean either way on the choice. But if I was going to carve right to the heart, I see the story saying ‘you can’t fix all your mistakes, but you can move through the consequences and grow in the aftermath.’ Every problem she's faced in the story uptil this point, she has tampered with to some degree in order to solve. And to do so, again, for this final decision, would make her arc amount to nothing. This needs to be different from letting William die, otherwise the game could have ended there. There is no easy decision, but the storm is here. All the pieces lie where they fell, both good and bad.

I’m tearing this damn photograph.

All that said, I can’t and won’t fault anyone for going the other way. I haven’t played or watched the alternate ending, so far all I know it performs well and ticks story checkboxes that I can’t see over here on the ‘bae’ side.

This choice felt and still feels like the right one to me. From outside the narrative, I can certainly weigh the options and see sacrificing Chloe as the more viable. (though if you want to talk pragmatism, there is absolutely no reason why either of them should think that letting Chloe die should fix everything)

But while it’s important to ask ‘what would I do?’, it’s also been immensely important to me in these playthroughs to ask ‘what would Max do?’, or further, ‘what could Max do?’

So that was my choice. As I said at the beginning, I was nervous as to how I’d feel at the end, after having been so deeply affected the first time. And now, after crying through the whole epilogue, I found myself wondering if I’d cried enough. I looked up the scene online and watched it again, and cried. And then again, and cried. But what was this empty feeling? Is this what it felt like before, or was something blocking me from experiencing it properly?

After stepping outside into the 4am light, and then another rewatch, I realised I was, in a way, messing with time. Trying to force things, just like Max was. I even had my own Other Max in my head, making me question my own thoughts and feelings. So it was time to let it be what it was, and move on. I couldn’t recreate my first play, but I could let myself get swept up in this one.

Since finishing the game, it’s been raining non-stop here. I’ve kept inside, surrounded by the aftermath of this playthrough.

Playing this game changed me. For all it did right and all it did wrong, I was affected. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve consciously noted a tangible shift in who I am as a person. It’s brought me closer to my emotions, and has altered my creativity. It made me revise one of my comic ideas into a game - something I would never have considered on my own.

Even with all these thoughts, I reckon this comic I made accurately sums up my whole experience.

And as I’ve done each time, here are my favourite moments from this episode:

-'I’ll always be with you.’ ‘Forever.’

-Clasping hands, as the storm rages.

-Max, unable to watch, leaning into Chloe, who looks on with newfound strength.

-Driving through the town, now in pieces. Max, too, in pieces.

-Max’s weak smile when Chloe moves to comfort her. It’s going to be okay. They’re together.

(heck, I cried just typing those out, I am so done, haha)

To anybody who read this far - thank you so, so much. This game holds a lot of emotional value to me, and hence these write-ups are probably the most personal thing I’ve put out here for people to see. So thank you for taking the time to look at this. I hope you’re having a wonderful day.

Wah, this was all in preparation for the first episode of Before the Storm, and now episode 2 is about to be released. I gotta dig in!

As always, here’s a lil sketch <3

#max talks about life is strange

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dustydreamsanddirtyscars · 7 years

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@lafitte said: I have no idea what the majority opinion is on 12x16, but apart from the absence of Cas, I really liked it, I guess. What about you? Broad opinion of the episode? It’s still blurry where the writers want to go with the BMoL arc. Seems to me that instead of showing them as a….. team? They are exploring Ketch’s and Mick’s characters separately. We still don’t have much on their “higher ups”. Where do you think they’re going with the BMoL? Also. No Mary. No phone calls to her either. Is she hunting? Alone? I think this was the first ep that did not feature Mary in any way (I may be wrong)… I think I once sent you an ask about Claire-Dean and Alex-Sam parallels. And this ep made me so happy about that omg :’) Claire hunting alone, but she used to hunt with Jody, like Dean used to hunt alone for a while; and was it just me or did anyone notice how her car was like a personal space? And the end scene except instead of Baby driving out in a scenic location it was Claire’s car. Gave me truly Next Age Hunter vibes. As for the Jody and Alex. How Claire called Jody her mother. It’s like she found a mom, like Dean found Mary (am I making sense? Like how Claire lost her mom and then found a new one in Jody, kinda sounds like a Dean-Mary parallel to me?). And as for Alex, how she managed to get out of a life she was thrust into and go to nursing school (I was so happy they remembered Alex and gave some update on her too :)) Sounds like what could be. I wonder also if Mick tried to recruit Claire? She was a young trainable hunter looking for jobs. It’s odd that he didn’t? But I guess Sam and Dean and Jody would probably not have let him do that.. jshdjhds anyway omg that is all, I think. Sorry for my messy thoughts, oops o_o Have a good week!

Hey dear!

I decided to tackle all of your messages in one go, because otherwise I’d be spamming just bits and pieces. Makes more sense to me to reply this way. :) Surprisingly I did like this episode, which I had not expected to ever be the case again this season tbh, but the bar hangs pretty low, so… LOL. I won’t go into detail here again, you can read up my thoughts on the episode from during live watch you can find them in the link in my sidebar “Things about SPN-posts” and then 12x16 “Ladies Drink Free”), but as a broad statement. I liked Claire’s arc and how I see it in relation to Dean and I loved Dean calling Mick out on his bullshit. Mary not being part of the hunt made absolute zero sense, but that’s one of those “it is because it had to”-moments. Plot-driven reasons that just feel off from within the narrative. Cas’ absence is a similar case. They just drag a story out and it makes no sense for Sam and Dean not even mention him. But this is the stuff you get when writers start up a million tiny stories and then try and juggle them, but fail. I mean, just count all the open threads we have - really none of them really is told satisfyingly. Imo they should have stuck to one or two big aspects and go into detail, but that’s an issue for another time ;)

Anyway… I have written about the BritMoL and their possible plans earlier today as well as over the past couple of days, so you should find a bit more on that if you crossread through my blog. :) But in general to me the current big themes they seem to be tackling with them is a) Mick’s doubts in the methods of the BritMoL and at some point possibly siding rather with the Winchesters and b) the Winchesters and particularly Dean labeled as “rogue” and needing to be “eliminated”. And then of course the black and white thinking on what counts as monster falls into that too. The reason we get Ketch and Mick is because you need PoV characters to better illustrate the BritMoL as a whole to put them into perspective. That wouldn’t work if you just have them act as a group but don’t get to know them as people. I know I have said this countless times, but in general the BritMoL arc is a repeat of S4 arc with Heaven. The orders from high above that should be obeyed without question is the same in Heaven in S4 as what we see with “old men” to whom Mick reports. And Mick is taking Castiel’s place in this analogy (hell, they now even have him wrapped in a coat that’s fitting the color patterns of Cas. Ketch and Mick also serve as the two extremes of the organization of the BritMoL. Their contrasting natures show how this group works and how it is structured. They clearly have a distinction between “brain vs. brawn” and that in the most elitist, arrogant and ignorant way. There are the thinkers like Mick who get their orders and they are the ones siccing their “dogs” - hunters like Ketch or others working for them - on cases. As for those “higher ups”: Seems that this week’s episode may introduce on of them: The one who says either the Winchesters “assimilate or they have to be eliminated”. Furthermore, like I said this morning, I think the BritMoL ultimately may want to get their hands on Kelly Kline and the baby. Not to kill them, but to possibly run some tests or use the kid as their ultra power or so when they “reformed” or rather raised it to their liking.

As for Mary, like I said above, it made no sense for her to not be part of this other than the show can’t have her in every episode due to contract reasons. In a gif set I had spoken of how one could see Mary working similarly as Claire. Needing to be alone and hunting alone for a while (though to me Claire was more of a parallel to what Dean ultimately needs: some time for himself). I think there were a few episodes were she was only name dropped in, but not really part of the episode in a bigger way, so this wasn’t surprising to me. That her absence wasn’t addressed however was plot-driven nonsense imo.

LOL, could be you sent an ask about that a while back. :) I can’t remember right now, but Claire has definitely always served as a Dean parallel. And this episode was no different. She lived in the car and that does align and relate directly to Dean telling Mick “that he had better sleeps in the Impala” (which was a lie of course, but we have seen Dean live in Baby multiple times over the course of 12 seasons). And it made sense for the episode to end on her driving away - it was her important self-actualization/individuation episode and I - and yes, I probably shouldn’t hold any hope to that - still hope that this will be in some fashion Dean at the end of the season. Going on a trip on his own to figure some things out.

Hmmm, when thinking about Claire and finding a new mom in Jody I actually don’t see that as a parallel to Mary and Dean (and Sam), but rather see it as a painful contrast to how Mary is their mom, but really nothing like a true “mother figure”. Jody was there for Claire, she may not have agreed with everything she does, but she always had her back. Mary on the other hand of course was dead for the longest time so she wasn’t there for her sons in a similar fashion, but even now she doesn’t truly seem interested or able to build a meaningful relationship with her sons. And whereas Jody had Claire’s back and made her make her own decisions, Mary so far has pressured them to work with the BritMoL and outright betrayed them when they worked the Ramiel-case.

And last but not least Mick not asking Claire to hunt for them: I think he rather puts her in the “rogue” category of hunters. Sure, she’s interested in working cases and she’s young and trainable, but she made perfectly clear that she didn’t think very highly of Mick’s whole spiel, which further aligns her with Dean as she reacted to them similarly as Dean. So I think Claire would have been too unpredictable and uncontrollable for Mick’s and the BritMoL’s liking - again similarly to Dean. And yes, I think Dean would have very much opposed that, if he tried to recruit her. Though it would lead into dilemma and fir to Claire being annoyed with the Winchesters’ hypocrisy at times as she told Sam outright.

Alright, that’s it, I think :) Thanks for this monster ask. Just as a heads up. If you have such long asks, you can also use the /submit. Makes it easier. :)

#Ask #lafitte #SPN discussion #Possible unpopular opinion #12x16 #Ladies drink free #Queued #I'm not here - unfortunately

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thraaaaaaaanduuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiil · 7 years

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✍️

This one’s going to be kind of long, so bear with me.

There’s this meme/concept/whatever you want to callit (I’m going to go with meme for now) that I see going around a lot in the RPcommunity, and it goes something like “It’s OK to take as long as you need torespond to RP threads because RP should be fun and if it’s starting to feellike a chore or source of stress, that’s not good.” Now, I agree that RP shouldbe fun, and that if it feels like a chore or it’s causing you stress, then youneed to sit back and figure out how to make it be fun again.

However…I’m an RP-er who really needs a relativelyquick response rate on threads for RP to come closer to the “fun” end of the “isthis fun or a chore?” scale. My IDEAL would be multiple replies every day, butI know that’s not realistic for most people. Most of the time it’s not evenrealistic for ME. So once a day, once every couple of days, once a week…thoseare pretty workable for me. But once it gets to be much longer than a week or twofor replies I wonder, and I worry, and I start to lose my muse. Not just forthat particular thread but for ALL of my threads. I lose the desire to keepanything up because it’s been so long that my attention is on other things, Idon’t feel like I can get into the character mindset anymore, and if it’s beenlong enough I might even have forgotten what we were doing/where we were goingwith the thread. Trying to get back into the mindset to do a thread becomes achore for me, and you know what, I have enough chores and misery in myoff-internet life. RP is supposed to be one of my fun escapes. Now, lately I’vefallen into the habit of also taking forever to answer threads, and I’m tryingto work my way out of it, because I know it’s going to contribute to thisvicious cycle for me. Plus I’m sure some of my partners are annoyed at me forthis and will probably be even more annoyed after they see this post. So I haveto apologize to everyone waiting for an answer from me because I’ve starteddoing the thing I’m saying is annoying. One of my self-improvement tasks for2017 is to be a bit more speedy with my replies. But anyway, that’s getting alittle far afield from my actual topic…

Now, my specific pet peeve in this case is actuallya two-parter. Part 1 is that I think this “take as long as you want” memepretty much ignores the existence of folks like me, and the fact that RP issupposed to fun for US TOO. And (here’s my Part 2) I feel like it kind ofdemonizes us. I feel like I can’t really bring this up with my partnerssometimes because I don’t want to harass anyone, and I don’t want to causeanyone stress (remember that I agree with the basic point that RP should be funand not a source of stress). But I’M stressed out about it. It’s less fun forME. But I feel like this meme is basically saying that the needs of RP-ers whoneed a faster response rate aren’t as important as those of less-speedy RP-ers,and I don’t think that’s ok. We should all be able to enjoy the hobby and notfeel guilty for wanting our needs met.

…Got a little more than you bargained for on thatone, eh, Nonny? It’s like five pet peeves in one there.

#pet peeves #memes #*braces self for impending backlash*#Anonymous #sfw

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halfbreed-hawkins-blog · 7 years

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Your first RP: It was a roleplay on GAIAOnline called Aything Goes, it was a multi-fandom, multi-muse rp. But here on tumblr I think it’d either be the PJO RP Prophecies where I played a daughter of Hecate or Ashworth RP the big supernatural rp where I played a young shapeshifter I think.

Other RPs you were in: Prophecies, Ashworth, House of Wolves, Yesterday, MuddyWaters, and like a dozen other HP rps that crashed and died rather quickly.

Your first character: While I’ve had alot of characters, I think the first one I ever really did alot of work with, development, para’s and not one I had for a couple of weeks and then the rp crashed and burned would actually be Katie Thorne from OL.

Your favourite character that you’ve ever RP’d as: Again, Katie, she was such a versatile character who could go in a dozen ways. Her development was strong, and I did a lot of work to change her from just a troubled prankster to a valiant auror that she became in my mind of her timeline.

Your favourite FC to use: Ellen Page or Eliza Taylor honestly, they have alot of versatility in their range, and lots of resources. For men I’d say Jack O’Connell or Zac Efron or Diego Boneta because they are extremely versatile, lots of resources and easily accessible for multiple tropes and plot lines.

FCs you have used: Dakota Blue Richards, Ellen Page, Eliza Taylor, Jack O’Connell, Kaya Scodelario, Sofia Black D’Elia, Lindsey Morgan, Evan Peters, Taissa Farmiga, Kristen Stewart, Elise Bauman, Zac Efron, Kit Harington, Maisie Williams, Diego Boneta, Kathryn Prescott, Kiera Knightly.

FCs that have been absolutely ruined for you (no offense intended to anyone playing them right now though): Holland Roden, Tyler Posey, Nicholas Hoult, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson.

Your dream RP/an RP you’d like to join or make: In the works ;)

Do you prefer to admin or be a player? : I’ve done both, I prefer being a player, as long as the admin is someone I trust to do good work and isn’t an ass hole. But I like admining as well!

What personality type do you think you play best?: Characters who are quick. Now what I mean is characters who have sharp minds, they are quick in their reactions, even if mentally they pace things out or plan. Dani & Katie are good examples of the a-typical character I play- though they are hot-tempered, troublesome, or even just plain annoying there is a methodology to their madness and their ability to change. I don’t like characters that can only go one way, I want a character that can straddle a dozen different paths, someone who could as easily change courses with just a new interaction or a new idea. I like characters who are ‘gray’ in their morals or ‘gray’ in how they go about things. Penny could end up being a good example of this-- choosing radicalization, putting aside her own morals for the benefit of her people but to tarnish herself.

A character (or character type) you’d like to play in the future: There is a character I’ve been wanting to bring back, sort of, he was always in the back of my mind and I’ve slowly developing him and combining him with other traits. He’s the muse that escapes me, probably cause he is a lot like me. I don’t know if I’d ever bring him back, but a down-to-earth, solid, loyal and a character who is more of a cornerstone than a key-player in the overall world is what I’d like to play and that I’ve played.

Do you think your writing has improved through roleplaying?: Oh my God yes! I still have Katie’s original blog, it still exists, and so do al the threads, and the shit tagging, and my writing from way back then! From the first drabble I posted to Penny’s writing I’ve developed and changed my writing style so dramatically.

Gif chats or paras? : Paras, as an overtyper I love Paras, I like gif-chats but you don’t get as much development or mind-work with your character in gif-chats.

Open starters or planned threads? : I prefer planning threads, but open starters always first to play with characters dynamics.

A memorable roleplay moment: You know, Operation: Riot from OL’s original run really was a high-point. I had developed my character so much, it really felt like a war, it was a turning point, it was a change. I did some great para’s with Anna with her then character Tuesday & Katie, there was some drama between Katie’s girlfriend Cassidy (Lisa’s character). But I think the most memorable moment when I was rp-ing was a thread I did with Carlie, when Katie and Keller broke into the Ministry of Magic. It was there I really got to work with Katie’s strengths, it really showed what she was able to do, and how she could be more than just an orphaned abused Gryffindor prankster. She needed all her ability to lie, to sneak, to make and create potions. It really gave her the thing she needed to become the person who went charging into battle during Operation: Riot, or the girl who developed a spying network within Hogwarts walls.

Have you made any friendships through roleplaying?: Oh hell yeah, Lisa, Carlie, Bee, Kari, Maggie. Guys, some of the original crew from OL I love, I talk to all the time (looking @ Lisa who I text constantly). They are great friendships, great people, and some of my favorite in the world.

Why did you start roleplaying, and why do you continue to roleplay?: I like to challenge myself, I like to work with others, I enjoy reading other people’s work and see how they write and change even parts of my style to aspects of theirs. I’ve really grown as a writer, as someone who liked world-building, character development, plot making. I don’t think I’ll be stopping anytime soon either!

Questions you can send one another. Include in your response those you’re comfortable answering!

🔟: How many active muses do you have in total?

🔜: Are there any muses you want to add, but aren’t sure about?

👪: Are any relationships between your muses? (friends, family, enemies, etc.)

🎊: Which is your favorite muse?

🎭: With which of your muses can you identify the most?

👄: Which of your muses would probably get sexual with each other, if they met?

💀: Which of your muses would probably fight each other if they met?

🐞: Which is your most childish muse?

🐢: Which is your most mature muse?

👻: Which is your most mischievous muse?

🐜: Which of your muses is the most clever/intelligent/educated one?

🐌: Which of your muses is the least clever/intelligent/educated one?

👰: Which of your muses would you date?

💥: Which of your muses would you fight with?

🐩: Which of your muses is the most loyal?

🐑: Which of your muses is the most peaceful/friendly one?

🐦: Which of your muses is the vainest?

🐎: Which of your muses is the fastest?

🐮: Which of your muses is the strongest?

🐷: Which of your muses is the naughtiest?

🐺: Which of your muses is the most unsocial?

🐹: Which of your muses is the smallest?

🐘: Which of your muses is the tallest?

#OL: OOC: WEEK #OL: OOC; WEEK #OOC Week #OOC Challenge #About Teddy

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ciathyzareposts · 5 years

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Darklands: Heaven Help Us

Praying to a saint causes direct damage to a demon.

If you were designing a real religious system from scratch, this wouldn’t be a bad way for it to work. The world is governed by a large number of mini-gods, or “saints,” each in charge of a different portfolio of existence. When you need to get something done that exceeds your normal abilities, you call for a saint’s aid. But doing so requires that first you have been studious–that you have taken time to learn about the saint and his life, and the lessons that his biography has to impart. It also requires that you are virtuous, or the saint simply won’t listen to your prayer. Finally, you can’t over-rely on saints by calling for their help too often.

This is what people in the medieval period believed, and so it’s what the game runs with–a system of divine magic entirely unlike anything presented to us in other RPGs. Perhaps the closest is The Dark Heart of Uukrul, which contrasted a system of deterministic arcane magic with a system of divine magic that basically put you at the god’s whim. But things are more deterministic here. The saints operate on a specific formula. You have to have a minimum virtue to have any chance with them at all. Once you’ve crossed the threshold, your virtue determines the probability that the saint will act on your behalf for a specific amount of invested “divine favor,” a statistic that is replenished largely by doing good deeds.

First you have to know about the saint in the first place. There are about 140 total saints in the game. Each town’s kloster (most towns have one) teaches three or four of them, and your party can study in each kloster about once a week, imparting knowledge of a saint to a single character. You can also learn about saints at universities and from wandering hermits.

Part of the very long list of saints that one character has learned.

Once you know a saint, there are two ways to call upon him. The first is situation-specific. The game describes a situation and offers “call upon a saint” as one of the options, if you know any saints that might help. Hovering over this sub-menu gives you a list of saints that might offer something in the current scenario. For instance, St. Lutgardis might assist if you need to levitate over something, such as a city wall where the guards are looking to arrest you.

St. Boniface is a good one when you need to purify something Satanic.

But you can also call on saints at your own whim from the character menu, praying on behalf of one of your party members. For instance, the same St. Lutgardis will temporarily improve perception, virtue, and charisma for the prayed-for character. Every saint has a selection of attributes and skills that they improve.

I find myself using some saints repeatedly. If it’s important that I visit a city’s political leader without getting kicked out, I pray to St. Alcuin. He raises the “Read/Write” skill, intelligence, and “Read Latin.” But he also makes noblemen more disposed to see you instead of kicking you to the curb. More important is St. Gregory Thaumaturg, who among other things increases the “Artifice” skill. It’s only because of his help that I’ve gotten through the doors and chests in most of the indoor areas. None of my characters do well with this skill.

Praying to St. Gregory gives Bianca more “Artifice” skill.

I was frankly hoping for more from St. Crispin, whose day I know as sure as my own birthday. Every 25 October, patient Irene listens to me recite the speech from Henry V, though in the last few years, in the interests of time, I’ve taken to doing it in the shower. Anyway, I was disappointed to find that all St. Crispin does in this game is improve the quality of non-metal armor.

In case you’re curious, St. Edward the Confessor is the most laissez-faire saint in the game, responding to prayers from people with virtue as low as 5. He increases endurance, intelligence, perception, all the weapons skills, and “Riding.” On the other side, St. Ita is the biggest prig. She won’t give you the time of day unless you have a virtue of 85. She performs some pretty significant healing, but there are lots of saints who heal.

In my last couple of entries, I mentioned that I was trying to find information on St. Wenceslaus, to whom I needed to pray to end the constant aggravation of Wild Hunts. When I started this session, I made a list of all of the cities in the Empire and crossed them off one-by-one as I visited their monasteries and found no information about St. Wenceslaus. At first, I tried to thread these visitations with quests, but eventually I got so impatient that I abandoned all other pursuits and just ran from town to town. I finally learned about the saint at the kloster in Marienberg, in the far northeast of the map.

At last!

When I invoked Wenceslaus against the Wild Hunt, it had a satisfying ending–but an annoying promise of return.

That’s all right: I know all the saints by now.

This occurred after about 6 hours of random adventuring, building my finances and my fame. I ended the session with the party’s fame at 615, or “legendary heroes,” which is the highest classification that you can get. Other than the usual–robber knights, artifact quests, Wild Hunts, boars, spiders, wolves, schrats, bandits, pilgrims, towns full of witches, and so forth–the only new experience was an encounter with a knight, where I had the options to challenge him to either a race or a joust. Since my characters suck in both “Polearms” and “Riding,” the result was predictable.

A fancy game for fancy lads.

I solved another mine quest. This one involved a bunch of “vulcans”–basically, fire elementals–who had managed to open a gate on the lower level of the mine. I had to battle my way through them and close it. The creatures are particularly annoying because they degrade armor quality, and by the time I was done with the adventure, I basically had no armor left. If I’d had a few “Firewall” potions, the monsters would have been easier, but I just fought through them rather than leaving the mine to go buy some.

I want to call attention to the skillful use of dactylic octameter here. You can sing this verse to the same tune as “Out in the West Texas Town of El Paso.”

During these experiences, I tested and confirmed my theories about armor. Specifically, I think it’s better to have everyone wearing plate, top and bottom, accepting the consequences of over-encumbrance, than to equip lesser armor and remain below the encumbrance limit. With all my characters in plate, hardly any enemies do any damage at all, so it hardly matters if the characters are slower on the swing. To ameliorate the effects of encumbrance during tougher battles, I invested heavily in “Ironarm” and “New-Wind” potions, which raise maximum strength and endurance respectively.

My party hits new heights of fame and wealth.

In fact, I spent nearly every coin I made on potions, buying roughly three “Essence of Grace” potions to every one “Ironarm” and “New-Wind.” I sold my ingredients and stopped wasting time trying to make my own. Yes, I know that you can theoretically make more powerful ones if you make your own, but it’s easier just to buy two.

I kept firing a couple of handgun volleys before each combat, and before long my characters all had near-99 skills in “Impact Weapons,” “Edge Weapons,” and “Missile Weapons.” The handguns are a lot of fun. They’re very slow, but they take the edge off demons and Templars nicely at the beginning of a battle.

The temple had multiple combats with multiple plate-clad Templars.

When I thought I was ready, I tried my assault on the Templar compound again. The building is large and multi-leveled, with about 20 battles against knights, soldiers, hell hounds, and bears. (The random battles with multiple enemies were much harder than the two “boss” battles, described below.) There were lots of chests with treasures, including three holy relics (I hadn’t encountered any until now): St. Olaf’s battle axe, St. Hubert’s bow, and St. Raphael’s water. Is it blasphemous to equip the first two as actual weapons? Are they particularly good weapons? I guess we’ll see.

It’s fun to reflect on the game’s treatment of Templars and witches. The manual is unapologetic about basing its depictions on 15th-century popular ideas of witchcraft. It draws a distinction between this kind of witchcraft and benign neo-paganism of the 20th century. Similar, the idea that Templars were actually Satanists comes from 14th-century persecutions of the order by the Avignon Papacy. Hundreds of Templars were arrested, tortured, and forced to confess to homosexuality, Satanism, and the worship of a demon named Baphomet. The authors of the game of course knew that none of this was true, but the average 15th-century commoner didn’t, and thus that’s how the game treats the order.

The party comes across a gathering of evil witches . . . which is ridiculous ’cause witches they were persecuted, Wicca good and love the Earth and women power and we’ll be over here.

The battles in the Templar headquarters were difficult, but I kept the party going on enough potions to have purchased my own kingdom. Eventually, I found the chambers of the order’s Preceptor and heard him talking about the seals that protect the castle of their “Master.” The Preceptor attacked me alone and died quickly, leaving a high-quality set of plate armor.

My first two characters fight the Preceptor in melee combat while my rear characters shoot him.

At the top of the fortress, I met a demon in a hot room full of smithy fires. I prayed to St. Dymphna ahead of the ensuing battle, and the demon was significantly weakened. He died very quickly, and afterwards we broke the seal on the holy book that we found in the room. “Suddenly,” the game told me, “you know that your ultimate fate lies south of Salzburg.” I already guessed that from having stumbled upon the castle when I was searching for the witches’ High Sabbat.

Another step solved in this quest.

Miscellaneous notes:

I really enjoy the puzzle doors in the mines. Here are a few if you want to try your skill:

Hope you have a Bible handy!

Svir’f fgngrzrag vaqvpngrf lbh arrq na rira-ahzorerq snpr gb bcra gur qbbe. Guerr’f rafherf gung gur guerr rira ahzoref unir gur guerr anzrf. Bar’f fgngrzrag ehyrf bhg Qbbe Gjb, yrnivat Qbbef Sbhe naq Fvk. Fvk’f naq Sbhe’f fgngrzragf gbtgure zrna gung Qbbe Fvk vf Tbyvoreg, juvpu pna’g or gur evtug qbbe orpnhfr Gjb fnvq gb bcra vg. Gung yrnirf Qbbe Sbhe.

Snprf Bar, Gjb, naq Sbhe unir qrcraqrag fgngrzragf, fb gurl’er rvgure ylvat be gryyvat gur gehgu gbtrgure. Fvapr vs Bar naq Gjb jrer obgu ylvat, gur nafjre jbhyq or qvssrerag qbbef, gurl zhfg or gryyvat gur gehgu. Fvapr tbyq pnaabg bcra gur qbbe (Snpr Sbhe), Snpr Svir vf ylvat naq guhf fb vf Snpr Guerr, fb cre Snpr Sbhe, gur qbbe zhfg or fvyire.

I figured out the nature of the bug that has prevented me from collecting any robber knight rewards in Flensburg. It’s not just Flensburg. If the town doesn’t have a “town hall” and the only political leader is located at a separate castle or burg, he never acknowledges that you’ve completed his quests.

I haven’t played an Infinity Engine game in over 10 years, but I constantly catch myself hitting the “equals” sign (=) because that was the “select all party members” key in those games. This game doesn’t even have a comparable key.

I started spending more time storming robber knights’ castles in this session instead of just calling them out or sneaking in and fighting them one-on-one. You get more wealth that way.

Going into this session, Bianca was my character with the highest “Artifice” ability at about 25. Somehow, she lost all of it–her skill is at 0. I don’t think there’s a non-bug mechanism that would account for this.

I found yet another witches’ High Sabbat and again destroyed it, but I didn’t learn anything new.

You can tell when a town is full of Satanists. when they get something screwed up about Catholic doctrine.

Basic Christianity: knowing good from evil is a bad thing.

Selling all the equipment that I looted in the Templar fortress netted me nearly 300 florins, which is about as much as I need to restock my potions and go for the castle south of Salzburg. I’ve been assuming that the witchcraft/Templar/demon plot is the “main quest” of the game, but feel free to tell me if I’m on the wrong track or if there’s anything I should do before heading to what I assume is the endgame.

As I came to the end of this session, I became determined to track down a dragon. I keep hearing rumors of dragons north of one town, east of another, but every time I’ve searched in the stated direction, I haven’t found anything. This time, I started in Flensburg, where rumors around the political center said that there was a dragon ravaging areas to the south. I rode south to Hamburg and heard the same rumors, but this time to the southwest. In Bremen, I heard south again.

A few klicks south of Bremen, I encountered a message that “the land is sere and lifeless,” the trees nothing more than “blasted stumps,” a ruined village in the distance.

Darklands segues smoothly into Fallout.

Not far away, I came to the destroyed village:

They shouldn’t have killed Missandei!

But I found no sign of the dragon. In Osnabrück, they said it was south. In Soest, southwest. There, I got another message that the creature destroying the landscape had also poisoned the waterways. In Köln, rumors had the creature to the east, so I felt I was closing in. But I still found nothing, and suddenly I stopped hearing rumors of dragons when I visited nearby cities. I hope I get a bead on one again. I was looking forward to seeing what dragons look like in this game.

Time so far: 59 hours

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/darklands-heaven-help-us/

#retro games #dos games #retro #crpg #adventure #amiga #oldcomputers #8bit #16bit #blog #repost

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