#thinks he's gotten it wrong

[purposefully-lost]

The fact that Charlie kind of thinks of himself as stupid and slow when he's not at all </3

[egophiliac]

roll out the red carpet guys we're going to the SHAFTLANDS

[fury161]

jods but i progressively lose my mind

[lunar-years]

Haymitch and Peeta's relationship matters sooo much to me actually and I do not think we talk about it enough! Considering Haymitch's reluctance to allow himself to care about anyone at the start of the trilogy, it's remarkable how quickly he lets both these kids in. A big part of it is just that he actually put effort into mentoring them, of course, which necessitates getting to know them a little, which is something he hasn't let himself do with any of his tributes for years (and that's really all it takes, isn't it, getting to know them a little is all it takes to start caring about them, because despite everything the big heart Haymitch had as a 16 year old is still beating somewhere inside him somewhere, no matter how hard he's tried to beat it down). But it's not just that. After all, he wouldn't have put effort into mentoring them if it hadn't been for who Katniss and Peeta are as people. They're his pair of fighters.

Despite the new info about Burdock in SOTR, I do not think that alone was enough get Haymitch to start caring as a mentor, nor do I think it really contributes all that much, actually, to his decision to "choose" Katniss over Peeta in the first games. Obviously he cares that this is Burdock's daughter, but in the end it's really just that Katniss flat out has a better chance of winning, and Haymitch knows it. So he picks Katniss.

...Then they both make it out. And back in the Victor's Village, Katniss has her family to watch over and everything that's going on between her and Gale. She's got plenty keeping her busy. But Peeta is alone, like Haymitch. His family doesn't ever seem to come visit. He and Katniss aren't really speaking. Suddenly this kid is dropping off bread in Haymitch's kitchen every morning and coming by to eat meals, this great kid who shouldn't be alone, but is seemingly nonetheless alone, because why else would he constantly be there? It's been a long time since Haymitch has been the best someone's got. After that realization, how can he help but open himself up a bit further? Cleave open a crack in the fortifications he's built up around his heart?

Then...the Quell. And Haymitch is denied even the chance to volunteer to die in Peeta's place. He has to find a more complicated, creative way to save the both of them. Because at this point I don't think it's fair to say Haymitch chooses Katniss again over Peeta. It's largely out of his hands. Plutarch, the narrative, the rebellion, all of them have already chosen Katniss over Peeta for him. So Haymitch has to resort to making his separate promises to both of them, and trying his best to stay true to those promises, even when they seem diametrically opposed.

I imagine Haymitch is doing a lot of maneuvering behind the scenes at the beginning of Catching Fire, first to get all the other tributes to be willing to die not only for Katniss (who is the established priority of the plan), but for Peeta too. The explanation later given is "well they all knew you'd fall to pieces if Peeta died, Katniss, so they had to keep him alive to keep you going along with them" but... is that even strictly true? Do most of the tributes *actually* believe that? Finnick doesn't. He straight up tells Katniss later that he didn't, not until he actually witnessed Katniss' reaction when Peeta collided with the force field. I have to conclude he's not the only one who had serious doubts about Peeta and Katniss' ~love~. Yet somehow all these people go into Games willing to save Peeta over themselves and a bunch of other people they've known a lot longer, when Peeta isn't even the one labeled as critical to the Revolution. Why is that? Because Haymitch somehow convinces them it's important. That there's at least some validity to Katniss being inconsolable and uncontrollable if Peeta dies, even if they don't believe in the love story itself.

The first part of Haymitch's plan is convincing the other tributes Peeta also needs to be kept alive, and the second part is making sure Peeta is in the right place at the moment of rescue. This is revealed when Haymitch and Katniss confront one another in Mockingjay about Peeta's capture: "How could you not save him?" "How could you let him out of your sight?" Haymitch was banking on Katniss and Peeta refusing to leave one another's side in the arena. It's obviously a dicey gamble, given the unpredictability of the Games and the fact that he's keeping the rebellion a secret from them entirely, but it's kind of where Haymitch has to place all his hopes. Let Plutarch and the others prioritize Katniss, and do everything in his power to make sure Peeta still gets rescued, anyway. It doesn't work, but he does try to keep his promises to both of them. He loves them both the same amount!

I also think it's notable that pre-highjacking, Peeta never genuinely blames Haymitch for choosing Katniss over him in the first games. He only throws it back in Haymitch's face when he's particularly angry at him about something else (as in Eleven's Justice Building on the Victory Tour, when he's made about Haymitch & Katniss keeping secrets from him) or when he's using it as leverage (his bargaining chip to get Haymitch to save Katniss in the Quell). Peeta doesn't blame him, but Haymitch does blames himself, for a long time after. And even though he didn't strictly choose Katniss in the Quell, he blames himself for that, too. That Peeta was taken.

So Haymitch is the one visiting highjacked Peeta everyday in the hospital, and the one keeping tabs on his recovery to relay to Katniss when she refuses to get involved directly. He's the one on the phone begging her to remember their promise to try and save Peeta! I wonder if at the end of Mockingjay, a part of him feels a bit guilty for accompanying Katniss back to Twelve. Obviously he knows there's not really any choice, Katniss does need him more than Peeta in that moment, she can't be sent off on her own. Peeta needs to stay in the Capitol to get the best care, and Katniss is the one who's the least stable. Still, it must feel a bit like he's leaving Peeta behind...again. The boy nobody was able to be there for at his least stable. This boy who's never been anyone's top option or first choice, not until Katniss catches up to her heart (and even that's something that's so tangled nowHaymitch doesn't even want to poke at it.) So he goes home with Katniss but it's still all wrong. Half his family is still missing.

It must come as such a relief when Peeta finally comes home.

[vaguely-concerned]

thinking about how deeply lucanis' life has been defined by a lack of control of that life -- as he himself points out, even before the ossuary went and carved the headline out again with big bloody letters. of course he reacts badly to losing what little control he did manage to construct for himself even within those circumstances.

(namely: experience has taught him that things (caterina, loss, pain, love, all horribly and indelibly intermingled) will happen to him whether he wants them to or not and there's nothing he can do about that... but he gets to decide what's let in or out of his soul as it happens, even if he has to close it all down and deaden and numb himself out in the process. (even if that means he drifts further and further away from illario, who's been desperately reaching out and trying to keep hold of him until he finally gives up completely and tries to cut the bond all at once when lucanis doesn't seem to reach back anymore.) it's such rare well-observed freeze logic solidly constructed from the bottom up, I'm still so impressed with it.

the way illario seeks constant external means to cope with caterina's abuse and importance in his life -- he can't win her admiration or acceptance or warmth (or like. acknowledgement even, at times :') ), no matter what, so he goes out and finds those things in others and then disdains and dismisses it for how easily and falsely it's won from them. he plots, he conspires, he tries to beat her at her own game however clumsily, he tries. lucanis doesn't try things that way. he's not about 'how do I improve my situation' by nature, he's 'how can I stop this from getting worse'. he avoids, he internalizes, he hunkers down and makes himself nothing until the pain maybe ends. he's fundamentally not a plotter, he's a reacter. an expert assassin pantser, if you will, to illario's clear and stated exasperation fhsak. man I love them. illario says 'get us out of here!!! if you loved me as I love you you'd help me get us out of here before it kills us both', lucanis says 'there is no other place, there's nowhere to go, all we can do is endure. and if it kills us... well, that's just family. that's what love is (the way things are headed I'll die first anyway so it's fine I won't have to face losing you)', and they're equally baffled and hurt by each other's POV. but they're both right, and they're both wrong. there's no 'right' way to deal with caterina's treatment of them, or their situation. the house always wins, if you pardon the expression. house dellamorte still stands and that is what matters to caterina in the end more than anything.

it also fits so well b/c like... their core wounds are that illario is the least favourite and is constantly dismissed, so he has to prove to caterina again and again that he matters. not even that he's worth love or respect or warm regard, but that he's here at all and as such should be considered. he has to shout 'in case u forgot I EXIST!!' at the top of his lungs or else be rendered nothing within the family structure (and himself, because it's all about family, that's all that really matters. in some weird twisted way I think caterina openly declaring him before all the other crows to still be of house dellamorte -- and no one from house dellamorte kneels -- is kind of a victory for him, as much as it's also a furthering of a prison sentence and public humiliation. house dellamorte brainfuckery goes hard.). lucanis is the favourite, and it's the double-edged sword that he gets all the affection and attention but also all the control and impossible expectations. drowning under all of that constant stress and close evaluation, his brain whispers 'I don't exist' to try to escape, to hide and hold on to the deep parts of himself that are crucial to life but not part of the perfect grandson caterina demands of him as the price of her love.)

I think a lot about how what seems to disquiet lucanis the most post-ossuary (as it would anyone with that psychological makeup) is the dissolving of internal boundaries and control he's been relying on, which is part of what spite symbolizes. his anger and reactivity has seceded from the union to the point of personification as a little guy (a little guy he resents and fears for his unpredictability and invasions into regions of his psyche he wishes to stay frozen and barren, and yet cares about deeply, loves! and also constantly dismisses and frequently helplessly lets down unless he's helped to learn to do otherwise. does this remind you of another relationship in his life, perhaps. it makes me feel nuts to think about the illario/spite parallels thanks for asking), and now that little guy is out there running the show freely the moment he glances away or closes his eyes. literal nightmare scenario I feel for him so deeply. so much of his coping is predicated on being able to Not do or feel or want certain things, and that's out the window now, Spite has Opinions. Spite refuses to stay wisely in place even if that place is hell on the logic that if you move you could find yourself in a place that's even worse, somehow. Spite actually wants to experience the world, however fucked up and scarring the way he arrived here, not just endure it. Spite means he has to face that maybe illario wasn't wrong all those years, at the same time as having to admit and face what illario has done to him, and figure out what to do about any of it.

anyway. mary kirby ma'am that's some good fucking metaphor work. thank you, and sorry about all the shit that happened

[httpiastri]

i'm actually so pissed that i don't even know where to start..... i've been trying to ignore this for hours but i just can't ☹️

dear everyone on f1blr, i kindly ask you to take franco's name out of your mouth if you don't know him. do not talk about his story if you don't know it. do not call him a pay driver, do not compare him to drivers whose dads are the owners of an f1 team. do not talk shit about him if it's all going to be made-up rumors.

you may hate james vowles as much as you wish to, i don't give a fuck. williams are doing some real random and stupid shit. but is any of this franco's fault? no!! if you'd actually seen him and taken more than 5 minutes trying to learn about him, you'd see how sweet of a person he is and how much he deserves this opportunity, so don't go around spreading lies about it.

[potatobugz]

dugon my friend my buddy my pal

[luna-loveboop]

A concept:

This is their entire relationship

"I grew up in a cave and my motto is I DONT KNOW THE MEANING OF GIVING UP!!!"

And

"I was raised in a forest but am older with a wife and somehow (?) can act responsible"

They love each other. I feel like that panel is just how they interact ya know? Magic Cave Boy is excited and Disturbed Forest Boy is. somehow still acting responsible.

Also going through the comics and?? Like every frame with them is like this

More of their goofy little dynamic:

Art and odd little dudes from Jojo @linkeduniverse au

[doctorsiren]

he’s mad she ratted him out

[nyxofdemons]

the last SEVERAL sarcastic chorus videos im just gripping my hair with increasing intensity yelling MAN I TRUSTED YOU

[vaguely-concerned]

just for fun this time during 'sea of blood' I counted out all the venatori corpses I think we can be pretty sure were lucanis' handiwork before we show up (not including the ones he kills in his initial cutscene, and with an assumption that he's been at work mainly up and down in the areas we move through until we find him, not behind the locked door -- I think that's mostly the work of rampaging undead and other venatori-hoisted-by-their-own-petard suchlikes). can thus happily inform you lucanis has killed at least 32 venatori before rook and company get there. at least one of them he's impaled on their own weird crystal spike things the venatori mages cast as an AOE attack and that they're trying to keep him contained with when we find him. so he's clearly been keeping busy lol. that's my boy dispensing poetic justice and claiming some enrichment in his enclosure while he's at it good for him!

[qoldenskies]

I love the choice to make the wwww twins privileged rich kids, if that's what ur going for. I don't see a take like that on Draxum kids much!

to an extent yeah!! it's something i mostly plan to play for jokes mostly to contrast with raph and mikey's more rough-and-tumble lifestyle, especially since both of them didn't have a donnie to build them new clean beds and heating during the winter and a kitchen to preserve food. there's a bit of a culture clash, especially when the twins end up living with splinter full-time. it gets better because donnie's there to renovate, but still. it's quite the change of pace because they never had to worry before.

although draxum is a bit of a recluse, so they werent very social rich people, especially when they were younger. it was more like the disneyesque trope of growing up in a big lonely castle with no real outside friends, which is why both of them are also relatively maladjusted. they'd come along when draxum had to run errands or go to important meetings, but they were usually instructed to stick close to him, and they mostly listened.

the only outside connection they really had is big mama, because she fell in love with them the moment she saw them. they call her auntie. she spoils them rotten. i think she would be a terrible actual mom but she's pretty good as a distant wine aunt LMAO. but even then she's a lot closer to leo than she is to donnie, because he's always been the more assertive and socially confident one. he's learned a lot from her!

their lives weren't picture-perfect-- draxum was not always the best parent. he's fought with leo pretty much ever since he started his trademark snark, he went from micromanaging their lives down to the minute to kind of letting them do whatever they want, he's never encouraged them to socialize and his expectations are high and very daunting. the gargoyles (who are stupid, god bless) were mostly in charge of dealing with their fights and emotional problems, and they weren't very good at it. emotionally the twins kind of raised themselves and each other.

but there was never, ever any stress about the future, outside of the whole weapons of war thing. donnie from the beginning has limitless resources to build with. they both are intense about clothes shopping and maintaining personal hygiene and they're both pretty germaphobic. they've mostly seen combat as something more sports-like than something for survival, at least now, and even then donnie thinks its kind of asinine and disgusting. they're both picky as fuck and they're going to struggle to understand a lot of raph and mikey's issues, initially, especially because they're both more food insecure than they are in canon. a lot more self-restrictive about resources and both a lot more hard-working.

you can honestly see the difference best in the way mikey and donnie operate in their environments. donnie's a rich, privileged baby of the family who got into tech with no feelings of obligation to drive it, while also dealing with a pretty unstable family dynamic with draxum and leo, while mikey's grown up in an environment that's less emotionally tumultuous and noticeably tighter-knit than canon (raph and splinter are very diplomatic with each other, and things are very amicable outside of some surfacing issues with raph being overprotective) but resources have to be carefully preserved and he's learned from the start to be more cautious. their respective issues also factor into their conflicts with their older brothers. it's complicated yo.

[loopyarts]

Shouma Ginzaki, I have so many thoughts on this little guy. That I wish to ramble about him for a bit. Mostly about things that I find interesting such as his character design but also my thoughts on him so far.

For context I am going off from just the demo alone, so I don’t have the full picture of what he will be like in the full game.

First off, the red marking on the characters foreheads seem to have some inspiration in both a red dot called a bindi and traditional Japanese kabuki theatre make up. A bindi has ties to Buddhism and is linked to the Ajna Chakra which is also known as the "third eye" or "inner wisdom". And if you’re an anime fan you might have seen at very least one character with a red dot in their character design. So there might be some pop culture aspects to the inspiration as well. Which is why some of the characters have such dot markings in their battle ready designs.

Another thing worth noting is that the colour red in Japanese culture is a pretty prominent and versatile colour with multiple layers of symbolism. Such as being associated with protection, joy, and strength, but also with passion, power, and even danger etc.

Finally, with Shouma and Mako they both have two dots markings above their forehead. It kinda look similar to geisha dot eyebrows or Hikimayu (引眉). It’s probably just a coincidence but I thought it was worth noting.

Shouma number is nine but interestingly enough it is written in upper capital Chinese Hanzi instead of Japanese Kanji. which is probably on purpose because in Japan the number nine is considered an unlucky number because the pronunciation (苦) (ku) is similar to (苦) (suffering). The association with hardship, pain and ties to bad luck/misfortune overall contributes to the negative reputation behind this number. Similar to how the number 4 similarly avoided in Japanese culture.

While in Chinese the number nine has the opposite reputation with it being associated with good luck/good fortune and can also mean long lasting and represents the maximum level of martial happiness and longevity. I just think that is a nice subtle detail in his uniform and weapon design overall with his number being nine and all. 

This probably means nothing but nine or more correctly eight phases of the moon can spiritually is often associated with cycles of growth, release, and renewal. Also the number Nine is symbolically represented by change and having a very empathic and compassionate soul. In numerology the number nine is usually linked to things such as completion, idealism, and a strong desire to help others. Which mostly fits Shouma personality in terms of his ideals and morals.

Also his star/zodiac sign Pisces is often associated with compassion, empathy, creativity, imagination and strong intuition but also a deep connection to the sub conscious. But also the weaknesses of the sign is being indecisive, sensitive, prone to escapism and their own inner turmoil. And melancholy behaviours feelings of sorrow and poignance; where they would rather go through and meditate on deep emotions such as despair/sadness rather than have no feelings at all.

Overall, the zodiac sign Pisces is very emotional driven sign and I don’t think it is a coincidence that Shouma as a character is written to be very driven by his strong emotional feelings and thoughts.

Anyway, this line of dialogue stuck out to me while playing the game demo. There seems to be a bit of a moon theme going on here? Or at the very least I think that the moon might be an important plot beat for this game story.

Which also lead to me noticing Shouma’s mecha also has some moon imagery on its design via the shoulders pads. Another interesting thing is that the chest of the mecha is designed with a Shiba Inu face notable a black one.

Shouma’s dog is probably not a literal black shiba ha ha. Although, his weapon having the chest be of the head of a black dog reminded me a bit of the Chinese mythology of the black dog called Tiangou/the heavenly dog. Which in the myth Tiangou either eats the moon or sun causing an eclipse but the moon is more notable one. Which could have inspired some design aspects to Shouma weapon perhaps.

Real quick, I will say that I haven’t looked too deeply or check to see if other characters have a subtle moon theme to their designs. Also, if you look closely on images of the other characters weapons they also have an although I will say a more subtle animal theme going on in their weapon designs as well.

Now onto his character design. First off, his backpack resembles a Kame/turtle shell get it because he’s hiding in his shell and need to slowly come out of it. Man, you gotta love the creativity Rui Komatsuzaki puts into his character designs overall.

Shouma’s boots also have a bit of a turtle-like pattern and with them being green, it looks like he has little turtle feet. His boots also partly resemble wellies, which are commonly associated with children at least in fiction giving him a childlike feel to his design. Plus they’re also outdoor boots and are usually quite popular with dog walkers as well.

Finally, his cap in terms of shape resembles either a frog, bear or hamster which adds even more to the animal theme to his overall character design.

I’m honestly curious with how Shouma’s dog, which is most likely a Shiba Inu and Sirei are connected somehow and it’s also interesting how he’s the only one that didn’t technically fight. Like there has to be a reason for it right? I also think Shouma is more important than he gives himself credit for, although I may wrong who knows. 

I don’t know if others have noticed this but Shouma to me seems to be a very peacemaker type of character. He doesn’t like conflict and always puts others comfort and needs first before himself a far good amount of the time. Plus, the way he talks about his dog in optional dialogue. Makes him appear to have a selfless and kind hearted soul underneath all the self esteem/self deprecation issues of course. 

I also think Shouma appears to be pretty good at reading the room and how others might be feeling. On the rare occasion he chimes in, he has some pretty possible ideas and theories on what might be happening in the current situation. But given how many times he’s gets shot down or told he’s stupid for thinking or saying anything at all.

Which probably breaks his confidence to where he feels he shouldn’t have said anything at all. Which is why he’s just accepts it and doesn’t push against it. Because he truly believes he can never be right on something but also insists on being a peacemaker making him unable to truly take on conflict.

Overall, from what I’ve seen so far, Shouma seems to be a very gentle soul. Who is way too harsh on himself but I do have faith that he will develop as a person as the story progresses. It probably won’t be perfect and I don’t expect his self esteem problems to just magically go away, that takes time. Honestly, Shouma so far is very relatable to me as someone who has gone through similar hardships as a teen.

Shouma has so much potential to be such a lovely and compelling written character overall and I look forward to see what the writers have in store for him in the full game. (He’s so autistic coded to me but that could just be me projecting a little onto him ha ha…)

Lastly, gameplay wise Shouma has the potential to be pretty op as a unit depending on how his abilities and moveset functions in the gameplay mechanics. 

He is a counter defender and his ability shut-in gives 1+ attack with every emery that hits him. Which could have potential to be stacked if his ability can get even stronger. Reflecting back attacks is his key, so Shouma ideally will probably excel being throw at enemies head first and focus on crowd control. 

Shouma will probably work best with the more frail units. Leading the enemies onto him while doing chip damage and letting heavy hitting units dish out the big hits. He’s also will probably have good synergy with the healer/support units as well but overall. I think he will probably be one of the better units in the game due to his ability to do crowd control in a game, where crowd control is key. Also depending upon on how his ability works he could also be quite a decent boss slayer as well. 

Anyway, that concludes my little slightly mentally ill ramble on him. OvO’)

[vani-ash]

Okay, so Jeff said the plot is that there's an author who writes a web novel called Finn and Damon, and the author suddenly dies.

Anawin is an unsuccessful writer who doesn't like the author of Finn and Damon. After the death of the author, Anawin gets a copy of the script for Finn and Damon and tries to burn it, during which he meets Damon.

Joanna is a background character in Finn and Damon, but she is important.

[canisalbus]

About the accents: if someone has a very "proper" Italian they are either foreigners or politicians/dignitaries/etc. So that fits perfectly for Machete, but I think it would be so funny if he sometimes slipped up and used a Nepalese word bc he forgot one in "proper" Italian lol

(Funny to me cause Naples has its own language in addition to accent, and most people don't actually know those words)

.

[tropicalcontinental]

So real 💥💥💥

Andrew mentioning the fact thay Chris had a creeper birthday suit skin + mentioning he had a cringe gamer boy MC skin way back when + the aforementioned tags has culminated into this, they sillys