#the subtle bits are really good

[wrenhavenriver]

-> I have a condition…an unusual condition. There’s something awful about my instincts, about my desires.

#baldur's gate #baldur's gate 3 #bg3edit #baldursgateedit #gamingedit #the dark urge #durge #auntie ethel #this is a really good bit of combo foreshadowing/subtle Hag manipulation i think #it's a similar trick to what she pulled with the man she cast petrification on to 'help' stop the spread of his illness #when she's the one who made him think he was sick so he'd bargain with her in the first place #here with durge she's suggesting that the ability to be 'anyone' no longer defined by your past is something dangerous and wrong #instead of the freedom to start again #i mean that's the core message of the dark urge storyline right? #no matter how horrific your past you can become someone new! someone better! and as terrifying as that is it can also be amazing #i imagine my durge hearing her say this and just thinking 'gods. i hope so.' #kgifs #kgifs: bg #bg3 spoilers #baldur's gate 3 spoilers

[trentcrimminallybeautiful]

i think the diamond dogs should play improv games just bc it would amuse me, an ex theater kid, specifically

#ted and beard ofc are reading each others minds #trent is shockingly good at it but only when he forgets to be self conscious #also see: he does both best and worst with ted (best when he's not being self conscious #worst when somehow the prompt gets too touchy or 'romantic' bc Crush Crush Crush Brain Panic) #(please the image of ted in character hugging him or something and trent just. red. brain crashed. no longer improving just frozen. barely #manages to recover and even then it was not subtle. unclear if ted is a) genuinely oblivious b) teasing him and thinks trent knows that #c) something else(??) ) #roy is too stiff most of the time but if he gets really into it he gets REALLY into it. #best way to get this result is to involve phoebe or another child #higgins did community theater at some point and is the one teaching them all the games. beard also seems to have done intense research #but higgins is the one with EXPERIENCE #not that i think beard and ted couldn't have done an improv duo in college or something but in this scenario they did not #nate surprisingly is pretty good at it once he gets into it like it takes him a second but #then he's like. really getting into it and he's very quick on his feet #new way to go mad with power (affectionate): the rush you get when you make the perfect snap back comedic line/acting choice #also while trent is so good paired with so many of them i think he and nate would be a hilarious duo. they're SO funny. #they complement each other well and are both quick & clever #esp if it's about a mutual interest (although one of them taking the lead on something else like nate and music while the other plays off t #em is also good) but like #please i just had the iamge of them basically doing a bit where they're like. those mean old gay muppets in the theater? #like trent and nate improv duoing as some bitchy reviewers just going back and forth and it's so FAST and SO funny #beard records it and posts it somewhere and it goes viral. #god don't even get me started on the idea of some sort of official richmond social media/the gang posting random clips on social media #bc the ideas i have are so funny. #also largely trent centric but what do you want from me okay i'm just a little slut.

[ducktracy]

I JUST NOTICED that porky kisses the horse and the horse smiles. that’s so cute???

YOU’RE RIGHT!!!!!! I NEVER NOTICED THAT THE HORSE SMILES!!! WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i’ve overanalyzed the hell out of that scene because it is SO CUTE AND SO WELL ANIMATED and i’ve pontificated about “uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh uh uh uh Porky kicking the tape away with his heel conveys a quaint sense of mischief since it’s a gesture that is innately ‘reckless’ and this typically isn’t a default for his character so it enunciates his chipper attitude the inclusion of this song number so seeks to achieve” but not the much more obvious beat where the horse smiles at him after he pats it. (i’m not sure if he does kiss it but i’ve also never understood what that sound effect was for, and it does sound relatively synonymous to one? maybe? THE POINT STILL STANDS)

it’s SOOOOO WELL ANIMATED. i’ve always liked how naturalistic this little beat feels when he looks up at the horse which is the least significant takeaway, but it’s remarkably natural in its movement and honestly feels like a believably subconscious impulse rather than a motivated artistic decision from the animators or motivated gesture on Porky’s behalf.

i unfortunately don't tend to revisit his Porky shorts from this era, but i do think that the Chuck Jones' 1941 Porky cartoons--mainly this one and Porky's Midnight Matinee-- are some of the cutest that Porky has EVER looked, and this scene is a particularly strong argument in support of that

#you’ll also note that in the BG there’s a framed photo of the horse—the blanket even as Porky’s initials on it which is crazy attention to #detail #i still don’t know my Jones unit animators well enough to pin down who this could be animating it but the first name that keeps coming to #mind is Ken Harris since he was incredibly good at doing really subtle stuff like this/often considered the studio’s best animator behind #Bob McKimson (or even tied) #Rudy Larriva is similarly skilled at very meticulous construction but i think his stuff is a bit more slow and careful than what’s here #anonymous #asks

[akai-anna]

me, at hattori heiji, with endless amount of affection: i love you

#detective conan #anime #hattori heiji #the best bro in history #detco posting #detco watching #yeah i needed a comfort movie today what about it? #yes it's movie 7 AGAIN whaT ABOUT IT? #movie 7 my fckin beloved it'S SO GOOD #also heiji's change of expression when shinichi says he doesn't agree with him lmao #anyways so much good stuff in this movie #also the best movie when it comes to size consistency #tho i find the 3D elements a bit weird #but otherwise: this movie is absolutely CHARMING #THE VIBES. THE DETAILS. tHE SUbtlE bitS thE sloW bits thE FAST bitS #the pacing is so GOOD IN THIS #also the one and true heiji movie for me like. this movie really is about him and i LOVE THAT #one day i will write an essay about my fav detco movies just fckin 'cause

[tentacle-therapissed]

SvS is great because Janus's argument is simultaneously so well crafted and also so deceptive and manipulative. Look at him go. He really fits the lawyer role to a tee

#he runs circles around thomas while interrogating him and its insane to watch #and then he's like 'the only reason you don't speed is to avoid a ticket' #and cuts off thomas when he tries to go 'or maybe its because i don’t want to die in a fucking car crash' #the whole max stirner bit is really good too cause again it's so well presented and you wanna be like ok ok go off #but then its like oh ur just gonna gloss over the relevant details of him not practicing what he preached? for the sake of ur argument? ok #+his reaction to thomas saying the trial is unfairly set up is basically just 'uhhhh ok but its not that serious though' #as if he didnt set up the entire scenario in the first place and give a whole ass Joker monologue at the witness stand like ok sure buddy #i love him he's so slippery and slimy and manipulative and charismatic #the anti hero ever #i think patton not knowing wtf he was doing also made janus look a lot smarter by comparison to be fair #he also ran circles around patton to the point where patton's interrogation of him straight up ended with janus interrogating patton instea #janus sanders #sanders sides #selfishness vs selflessness #ts janus #deceit sanders #ts deceit #and yes this is subtle lawyer shade LMAO #ive never met a lawyer that wasnt shady and corrupt af

[welcometoteyvat]

society moved on too quickly from furina's demo

#i think about the fontaine brawl that she imagined in her head sometimes like i feel like society needs more characters like that #ramblings! #also when she changes into pneuma form............ i've never seen something so fucking crisp in my life #the lights???? the music syncing?? it's like biting into a juicy apple cannot be topped #also the symbolism................... i was like 'hm. i actually dont really agree with that bilibili analysis video' after thinking it thr #through. <- also known as dumb behavior they almost predicted the entire 4.2 quest #tbh i feel like people also moved on too quickly from neuvis demo because that yellow field of grass is peak #i love when rando characters are dropped in the middle of nowhere contemplating existence #we also moved on too fast from ly.ney's story quest why do i keep seeing him in love with traveler #like his subtle threats to that woman... guys he's killed people dont make him just a flirt #dont mind me im just. replaying fontaine but in my head and via youtube trailers #actually something else is that while i still think most of the sumeru chars look a bit too much like they used skin bleach #the sequence right before nah.ida's burst where she's traveling through her own dreamscape is like. soo good im soooo.... #references her character story... full of whimsy and elegance.. visiting children while asleep etc.. knowledge spreading something somethin #i also always liked how the 2 children floating in front of that window looked like they were guarding the gates of wisdom or smth #like sentries in front of a library. but theyre kids so its less somber and more like. idk joyful. house of learning open to all etc. #in a character trailer appreciation mood rn ig

[heartbeetz]

I wanna know if Anton's va/creator had any specific regional accent/dialect in mind when deciding on his voice. Bc it sounds like there's maybe Something distinct there, but I can't for the life of me tell what it is. It may even be nothing.

#it's like... east coast or southeast maybe???? idkkkk. all I know it's Not west coast (imo). #idk how much of it is just his (anton's) natural voice and how much is a subtle (US) regional accent #I just really like his voice. it's a little gravelly and it's got a little bit of twang to it. warm and kinda brassy and rich #drops a lot of g's and r's at the end of words. uses a lot of informal contractions. #if any of you are good at recognizing that kinda thing you should tell me 🥺 #though I guess that's not like... a voice people know off the top of their head lol #plus it's not really noticable in his in-game sfx. but it IS in the silly live action steam trailer and that one bit of unused dialogue #tbh I'll probably rb this from myself with some of his voice lines attached tomorrow anyway #just bc I want them on this post. bc I like his voice and want an excuse to post it more #but for now I should sleep. I said I was gonna almost two hours ago oops #roz posts #♡: 🔨🎰🥃

[galarfiend]

football game

#pokemon victor #pokemon bede #pokemon swsh incorrect quotes #swsh comic #pokemon comics #aw shite i forgot his hat in the last two panels #lets just say his hat fell off when bede kicked him #hop and gloria appalled in the background #fancomic #a bit of subtle postwickshipping because they are soft and good #honestly you can ship hop with any of the galar kids hes just so lovable #its really all about which aesthetic youre in the mood for lmao

[handgiven]

oh it’d be nice, to walk into his brother’s house and deliver himself into open arms; to watch the humans stumble, side-by-side, and think on newborn foals as they learn to stand. but cain had to kill abel to properly provide the lesson, and if all anyone chooses to remember is the sorrow of the sheep as they looked to where their tender lay, then manny will be the one to remind them of the weight of the rock as it struck.

freudian angels, feat. constantine. / @debtsunpaid @talentforlying

#talentforlying #debtsunpaid #blood tw /// #i am SO NORMAL about ALL OF THIS. so entirely normal. #i WAS gonna redo my whole verse page but i just got so caught up thinking abt whatever the fuck em & manny got going on and here we are #.freudian angels tag tba #i have sadly poured all of my creative juices into making the graphics s o i have no more of them to make up a good tag #also note that most of the writing on this post is oxly's and this is a oxly writing appreciation post #and also it is a group promo for ?? me and oxly and oxly again ????? idk what this is i just really wanted to make this #now if you'll excuse me i will see myself out <3 #i keep looking at it bcs i spent so long on it just adding so many elements that absolutely didnt have to be there #such as the subtle bit of manny & em being spades & hearts respectively #but manny's spade is not easily readable as a spade bcs of the clay ash thing #but then em's heart is colored red by john's blood alone making it distinguishable #MANY FEELINGS MANY FEELINGS MANY FEELINGS #▻ 𝐺𝐸𝑁𝐸𝑅𝐴𝐿 、graphics ⁽ ᶦᵐ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵐᵉˢˢᶦⁿᵍ ᵃʳᵒᵘⁿᵈ ʳᵉᵃˡˡʸ ⁾

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

You are seriously my favorite blog right now. You opinions and meta for ikevamp are so spot on. You somehow are able to flush the characters more than the canon. I just wanted to say I appreciate all the time you put into your writings and I love everything you have written so far!!!!

In Comte and Leo we trust 🫡

Aww, thank you so much! 💛💛💛

Honestly I have no control over the brainworms, I feel like Ikevamp is so saturated with implications that extrapolating becomes so much natural fun for me. I started writing and analyzing (with no supervision to stop me, big mistake) and I'm still so fascinated with it. I can't believe it's been almost what...four years? Five years? Since I started playing the Japanese version where this all began. I'm frankly flattered a lot of people agree/like my takes, it makes sharing my work really rewarding in ways I never expected~

I don't always have time for more than Comte thirsting and silly quotes these days, but you're more than welcome to enjoy what I've curated here! I imagine I won't stop shitposting until the app is discontinued, and even then I'm not confident I'll shut up 🤣🤣🤣 Comte's the best baby girl I've ever known lmfao

o7 PUREBLOOD STAN OR BUST HELL YEAH!

#tysm for such a kind ask! this made my day <333 #pureblood propaganda #(people need to stop validating my breaching containment it only makes me more powerful /j) #sometimes I wish the eng ver implemented more of the depth and hank pank from the og more consistently but alas #localizations are a bit of a hit or miss business im afraid #i also love how i've inadvertently created a sad pureblood fan club over the years (not you vlad) #(you can join after you've had your time out like a good boy) #but in all seriousness i find their lives strikingly saturated with complex emotion and subtle tragedy/melancholy #ig for a lack of a better description i just feel like they're relatable? #like yeah if i was leonardo and my abusive family could harass me forever #i would also be incredibly guarded and set in my ways to protect myself and probably hate vampires and their power plays #if--like comte--i felt a sense of identification with the people i was pressured to subjugate #i'd feel lost and empty too; unable to co-exist with my own kind but also inevitably at a distance from humans #both scenarios create an emotional and relational quagmire #and i think what's even harder about it for both of them is that they just have no choice--and rather few allies besides each other #all they can really choose is duplicity if they wish to remain true to themselves and reasonably survive #and i think that's a really exhausting/somewhat self-impoverishing position to be in #comte tries to subsist on ephemeral moments he shares with people--with varying levels of success (little) #leonardo forces himself into stasis bc if he doesn't he'll keep making the same mistakes #aka getting too close to people and getting hurt when their time ends #ive prbly said all this before but idk in light of so much i've learned since starting this blog #the allusions to vampirism being a vehicle for certain 'othered' identities seems boundless to me (domestic abuse/class structures/nd etc.) #vlad is a pureblood but he seems like one of those flat movie vampires pandering to the aesthetic obsessions of a v particular audience #any story needs both flat and round characters--so naturally his existence serves a purpose/function; nothing wrong with that #but i find myself to be too Shrek to be v invested in him (FAVES HAVE L A Y E R S) #ig i just think its very easy and a bit bland to associate vampires with horror/gore/unmitigated violence/extreme emotionality #but much more engaging to explore the status of monstrosity as it relates to oppressed identities and unconventional kindness #or maybe that's just the monsterfker in me--in which case sorry everyone being cringe on main (it will happen again)

[arklay]

WIP DAY.

tagged by @girlbosselrond @morvaris @aartyom @risingsh0t @phillipsgraves @leviiackrman @indorilnerevarine & @denerims over the past month! sorry it's taken me so long to get to anything at all, i'm sure you guys have heard me address it enough, but thank you all so much for continuing to tag me in things while i've been inactive ♡

tagging @aelyosos @brujah @calenhads @florbelles @jendoe @lightwardens @liurnia @nokstella @nuclearstorms @shadowsofrose @shellibisshe @steelport @swordcoasts @wrymbloods @voerman & all of those who tagged me again cause i'm so behind + anyone else who'd like to share anything they're working on, not just writing! ♡

i haven't written anything since the last wip game i did, but i started trying to put diana's timeline together at the start of january, so i mean... i'll show that instead. as you can see, fatigue hasn't let me do much with it even though i've got all of her timeline already done and strewn about all over the place.

started with 1995 onwards cause it was originally going to be an ewskers timeline situation, but then wanted to include all of her backstory so i went back to the start and still have the late 80s and early 90s to get through before then, but yeah :]

it's going to include like all little moments i've thought of between the ewskers just for me and placing them on the timeline, so you can imagine how long this is going to get if i have to go to 2021 for village... like just 1996-1998 is going to be so much... she's very special to me if you couldn't tell already lmaoo

never sharing this though, it's just for me, and like will help for when i do her timeline page (more in-depth version of what's on her oc page) to just run through canon events and brief descriptions and whatnot. you understand.

everything is blurred out besides 1995 ewskers momence and the years, just cause like idk her i feel weird sharing her in-depth backstory unless it's in dms or something, just cause there's lots going on there and yeah. things. idk

i also made a carrd for twt if you wanna have a look at that :] there's some cheeky subtle things with the two resi items i used as pics hehe

actually, you know what, i'll give a lil bit from where i left of with that rewrite anyways, even though it's been months since i wrote it. but why not

Wesker left a fleeting kiss behind her ear then reached around her and hooked his fingers beneath her coat, prompting Diana to glance back at him. But all he did was gently pull it from her shoulders. She watched him from out of the corner of her eye as he hung it up on the rack by the door, his movements careful and almost calculated, until he turned back towards her, and the warmth of his body returned once more. He pressed up against her side this time, as opposed to her back, and one of his hands found a home on her waist. The way the arm it belonged to was resting firmly against her as he began leading her towards the kitchen was comforting, secure, yet unmistakably possessive. And she revelled in it. He had quite the knack for handling her just the way she wanted.

#tag games. #keep going to do picrews and just zoning out 😭 i'm so behind on literally everything but it's fine it's okay (lying) #i'm having a day and a half even though i woke up feeling okay but oh well. my last month has just been like watching videos during the day #or playing games when i have a bit more energy but like i can't do anything that requires me to actually read or write things like words #are just not computing in my brain at the moment but it's okay like i'm just exhausted and hoping soon i can get back to writing because i #still have over 30 wips going lmao but yeah it's been a time a half with lots of appointments and seeing specialists again and trying to #sort things out. i've been more active on twitter which i've mentioned before but it's just because like it's easier for me to sort of just #like and rt things and not having to do my organisation tags and things like i know that sounds so just small and simple but that's how #i've been lately like to my brain rn that seems like a really big task. so i just keep coming on here randomly for a few minutes then #disappearing so i'm sorry that i've definitely missed so much and i haven't been around to just show my appreciation and love to your #creations!! also just everything that happened in december and then a bit at the start of january too like i'm just a lil paranoid about #being on here honestly so i'm trying to get back to it and be okay with posting again and i'm going to make a promise to myself to actually #filter more tags i think? just to help me with like not exposing myself to things that do make me feel uncomfortable in any way!! i'm #rambling now but sorry sometimes i just need to lmaooo idk but yes so cute lil subtle things from my carrd i wanna talk about cause why not #i didn't have to change the blue herb from re0 besides making it brighter because it's already teal toned which is so sexy but i shifted #the hue on the spade key like SLIGHTLY like it was so little. but anyways. i use this emoji ✨ on my twitter name and yes cause sparkles but #also. three stars. the s.t.a.r.s. badge and logo :] then blue herb because i will have no poison in my safe space!!!! take a blue herb or #leave please!! only good vibes and safe space here!! spade key because i'm ace <3 i was going to include the diamond one in there as well #because am demiro and like those are the symbols in the community. ace of spades for ace. diamond for demis (both orientations) #but wasn't sure how to weave the pink through the rest of the carrd even though cyan and pink together is so pretty omg

[xcziel]

^^^ credit to this 💙gorgeous💙 pic from @moonlovingvampire for driving me back to the palettes because i love everything about it (including the moon lamp *eyes it enviously*)

under the cut, the original suggested colors -

i know it looks for "accent" shades but COME ON

all those soft subtle organic hues and it grabs ... black, and the yellow of the one light in the background? for sure they are contrasts i guess

when i see a glowing moon at twilight it definitely evokes images of ... bees??? warning signs? crime scene tape? lol

#palettes #too good to just admire passively thank you for this it's stunning #like moon sky greenery wood water stone (it think that's granite or similar) and *light* #just everything visually - but also mentally emotionally - satisying to look at #fantastic composition as well - you are so right to be proud #god i love how the moon lamp looks - i keep almost getting one for myself but other things take precedence :/ #your plant looks healthy too - all of mine are either going gangbusters with little input from me or like deathly unhappy #the colors are just SO GOOD #however i will mention again how gray is just the weirdest fucking thing in digital shading #like look here: every shade of gray just glows and has subtle hues hidden in it #but when you pull out the individual shades they are SO flat and boring unless you are very careful and picky #like select the wrong area and instead of the depth and luminosity you get like ... minecraft brick or 8-bit videogame 'castle' #just the strangest thing - and it throws all the other colors off bc it looks so artificial #i guess in nature nothing is ever really a flat gray so in the human eye it hits the uncanny valley easily #and the only other time you see unrelieved flat gray is like the painted walls of institutions or whatever #for sure there are lovely soft grays but somehow without the benefit of like ... textural variation on here it's a tough selection #there's your useless observation for the day hah #seriously though thank you again for the photo - it triggered a part of my brain i haven't really been using lately

[doctorweebmd]

sometimes i think i'll never feel the cathartic, powerful, beautiful feeling of writing zero-sum game again, but then i write the path to paradise and i can feel my heart blooming.

its like falling in love all over again.

#idk not to be sappy #but two people in the comments were discussing the themes of one of the characters' (intentional + subtle) actions #and i literally got tears in my eyes #like. yes. you see it. you feel it. you UNDERSTAND ME. #its by far my least viewed/liked/etc longfic #but there's like 5 people consistently commenting. and some people that seem really excited about it. #and the story is SO FUN for me to write and even MORE FUN to share #i dont know how to describe it. #like my ego certainly took a hit after 'leaving' bnha #but i feel like it needed to take a hit for me to feel free when i write again #look ignore me you can assume every time i make an unhinged post like this i'm working nights #i'm feeling a bit nostalgic i guess. i reread some zero-sum comments tonight. #i guess i'm scared that i'll never write something as good or meaningful as that again. #...anyway. #:)

[probablyjustamagpie]

it’s kinda funny to me that nobody seems to be mentioning that Nick is lowkey implying GBD is/was trump supporters or in some way far right/white supremacists with both Don’t be Scared and Unholy. Like it’s not subtle they literally talk about covering Rage on their website and hallie mentions that her dad is why she “loves to shoot big guns” (“gated community/yet shotgun on your bedside”) on her insta,,, “you used to cover rage yet praise the police/I blamed it on your folks and how you were raised” isn’t exactly subtle and neither is “red hats who can’t spell Palestine” or “white rioters trying to be hero’s” like the songs are one after another -

#magpie chirps #the wrecks #good boy daisy #it’s literally him saying ‘I was complacent and lost my values but now that I’ve left you I see how awful it really was’ #literally the chorus of Don’t Be Scared is ‘ #‘give a little bit I get fucked’ #and the chorus of Unholy is #‘you finally broke me/open your eyes/there’s a surprise/here comes the old me’ #LIKE #it’s not even subtle #and it’s in other songs too #‘you’ve been told what you believe in”’ #he mentions a fuckton that he hates her dad in the album #‘fuck your exes fuck your father’ #“’I’m not your fathers son’ #come on

[starbuck]

I honestly love that you talk about Tuco and Salamancas so much. it's partly the show's fault but they are such a fucked up chain of harm family, and nobody really talks about it much aside from memes

I really appreciate you saying this!

I remember specifically after my initial whirlwind six-day Breaking Bad bingewatch, i was doing a puzzle and listening to some music and I suddenly realized that, out of everything in the show, their collective tragedy had really affected me and stuck with me and thinking “hmm, well surely watching Better Call Saul will cure me of this…” and then I felt this absolute JOLT of delight upon unexpectedly seeing Tuco at the end of the BCS pilot and I was like “ah, okay, so I’m stuck like this!”

But seriously though, it’s been rewarding! I like puzzles! I like characters who the canon does dirty or who were clearly not the writers’ primary concern! I like to think critically about the media I consume and the way I interact with it! And I also ADORE inescapable cycles of tragedy! … So this whole thing was actually fairly predictable, in hindsight, haha…

And yeah, I’d LOVE to talk more about it… I’ve got another fic that’s fully done besides a final polish edit (which is gonna take awhile and I’ve been super busy with my new job, hence no progress in the past month or so!) - so I’m excited to get that out eventually as I prefer to share my more inference-heavy meta in fic form.

#and yeah the memes are… frustrating. often. #not all of them - obviously - but a good amount of them are just uncritically rehashing the racism of the show #and that sucks #not like i’m expecting deep analysis from memes or even deep analysis for minor characters at all #but think about what you’re posting at least - y’know? #preaching to the choir here though… #i really appreciate you saying this - like i said #most of the reason i haven’t been posting about them much lately is real life busyness #but I was also definitely a BIT afraid of annoying people #so hearing you say this means a lot to me! #and definitely gives me motivation to work more on my fic and get it out for people to see! #it’s longer than the other one and i’ve worked really hard on it so it’s a long time coming! #brba #bcs #not really trying to get this into the tags but for organizational and friend blacklist reasons 😂😂 #additionally: anyone who can guess the exact song that caused me to have this realization gets uhhhhhhh… idk. a gold star. #i think it’s doable #i’m not a subtle man

[goldensunset]

ok i actually have something to say here as an endgame conclusive thought. so in the first game the symbolism with neku’s headphones was pretty obvious- they represented how he shut everyone else out and never wanted to listen to them. he put them on at the very beginning and wore them the entire game until he took them off at the very end. showing that his character development was complete.

with rindo… it’s a little more subtle. i mean the way they handled his character development in general, but also specifically the physical representation of his anxiety. it’s the mask, right? totally. i mean it’s confirmed by the creators that that’s the reason it was incorporated into his design. rindo never speaks up for himself and hides who he is. but then many people feel that the symbolism falls flat since he only actually wears it properly over his mouth and nose one time, at the very beginning of the game. (i guess devs didn’t want to go the whole game without showing half the protags’ face, but i think it would have been perfectly fine. and actually super cool too. ah well.)

however! it’s at this moment that the other piece of symbolism becomes apparent: his phone. the guy isn’t always wearing his mask but he IS always holding his phone. in almost all of his sprites. in his 3D character model. from the very beginning of the game. and better yet, a lot of his sprites have him looking so closely at his phone that he’s holding it directly in front of his face. he’s hiding behind it. like it’s a mask.

he never expresses himself out loud in person. he buries himself in his apps and games and only talks to his online friend. he’s got a social media addiction and seeks validation on the internet (feel called out yet?). but now he’s real friends with other people in real life. and better yet, his online friend is right here in person. and now he knows the real her too. (not to say that swallow was a fake persona, but it was only one part of her. online friendships are real and valid but there’s only so much you can claim to know about someone based on your interactions behind a screen. they’re still effectively a stranger.) anyway, rindo doesn’t need to be glued to his phone anymore now that he has a healthier support system in his life.

and much like the last shots of twewy have neku taking off his headphones, here in the last few moments of ntwewy, rindo puts away his phone, ready to get out into the world again. good for him.

#neo the world ends with you #ntwewy #subaseka tag #a golden ntwewy replay #mine: twewy #i feel like neo twewy gets flack for maybe not being as strong with its themes #but on the other hand i give it credit for taking the more subtle and nuanced approach to the MC’s development #with neku in twewy i daresay they kinda hammed it up sometimes and got right in your face #making absolutely sure you understood what the message here was supposed to be #sometimes it almost felt a little cheesy and kitaniji a bit of a cartoonish villain #in neo you have to really think about it sometimes and just kinda have a more nuanced approach to interpreting human beings in general #because people want to divide other people into ‘good + nice’ and ‘bad + mean’ #so is rindo a nice or a mean guy? does he change from one to the other like neku? no? must be a boring character then! #nah man it’s more complex than that #neo has some disjointed elements and i do wish they’d kept it in the oven for just a bit longer but it’s still very very good and important #and sometimes people judge it for stuff that they overlook or forgive in the original twewy #and neku’s arc in the og twewy was a tough act to follow i mean c’mon. i’m glad they didn’t try to repeat and outdo themselves. #i’m glad they took a different approach here #it still hurts my heart a lot to think of this guy just desperately trying over and over again #to figure out what to do in a fast-approaching nightmare of a crisis #the frustration of never knowing what to do until it’s too late coupled with time travel powers #it seems like an easy fix for your problems- you just have to go back and try again right? never worry ever again #until it’s this very power that actually becomes the problem. it always was the whole time. it was a trap. you couldn’t have known #this bandaid covering your problems has just been painfully ripped off and now you have to bleed and struggle #you can’t rely on it anymore nor can you free ride off the efforts of others #you’re panicking again but now you have to try again with real consequences at stake. now you have to get up and decide. and take action. #you don’t have time to feel sorry for yourself or apologize to others you have to be brave and confident and move forward #anyway. scrimblo kanade. send post