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reallyhardy · 4 years

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regent’s open air theatre LSOH (2018) breakdown

act two. continuing on from [this post about act one!]

after the intermission they went back into mushnik’s for ‘call back in the morning’ which featured the ensemble in the number with a bunch of telephones kind of tangling/tying up audrey and seymour with them, but by the end they’d all been disentangled - it looked so chaotic i was so impressed with how well organised it was to free them by the end of the song :’) found a backstage clip showing some ensemble members from this scene:

then it was time for more heartbreak!!! the scene where seymour shows audrey his leather jacket. i kinda loved the jacket itself tbh, it had all this fringe on the back and sleeves (which was another visual call to audrey ii in drag queen form, who wears a jacket with chain “fringe” on the sleeves) and there was a rhinestone plant and ‘seymour’ written in rhinestones. but of course audrey is horrified and backed herself up against the wall and started crying and after seymour threw the jacket away they go into suddenly seymour which was done quite sweetly - seymour handed her his ‘kleenex’ (but it was a wet wipe because she actually did take off her lipstick with it)

ALSO notably there to cast a sinister light on the emotional moment - the mushnik’s shop rotates to reveal the audrey ii plant, which was grinning behind audrey and seymour as they hug at the end of the song. LOVED THIS extremely ominous the fact that the plant was smiling evilly behind them was just chef’s kiss things are about to go horribly wrong.

but anyway. now that seymour and audrey are ‘official’ they kiss!!! kind of. it was more like… seymour leaned in and kissed her nose and then sort of…slid his face down kind of towards her mouth??? it was so awkward but...v cute :’)

and of course now that we’re in act ii things are going a little worse and it’s definitely showing on seymour, who has not been beaming nearly so much and looks pretty stressed out and upset a lot of the time. by suppertime he’s freaking out and looks genuinely so mad and angry with himself when mushnik gets eaten by the plant: which was done by having the plant mouth open, mushnik step inside, and then drag queen audrey ii step up behind and attack while vines close in, and then the mouth closes up:

i think... there was more of audrey ii trying to be flirtatious with seymour either before or after this, but he is much more disgusted by it and doesn’t have to try to snap himself out of it:

(note by this point audrey ii’s wig no longer resembles OG audrey’s, and by now seymour hates her guts.) this continues into ‘the meek shall inherit’ and i loved the staging of this one because the ensemble are still in black-and-white but now wearing these pink-green gloves with pointy ends (so they look like audrey ii’s vines) and they had vines extending out from the scenery/props too, all closing in on seymour who’s freaking out even more.

in this one matt willis made multiple quick changes to play all the different characters trying to buy seymour/the plant, and he was brill each time (this wasn’t all of the looks but it was all i could find from the show trailer:)

oh, and when it came to the “then there’s audrey” part of the song, seymour takes the kleenex from suddenly seymour out of his pocket.

so seymour plots to try and kill audrey ii by grabbing a bunch of weapons (and tying a green rambo-style headband around his head) but before he can get to it audrey comes in with her seymour-costume!!! (she was even shorter next to seymour then because she was wearing converse instead of heels) and argghhh it was just so cute!!! and the sweater she put on was the one she had to come back for during ‘feed me’ which was a cute touch.

(i could only find a design sketch for the main actress in that costume, but did also find her understudy rosalind james in the same outfit.) then... sadness again though because then they go into the ‘would you still like me/i’d still love you’ scene. ‘somewhere that’s green’ plays instrumental while seymour promises he’ll find them a better life. they do their adorable little awkward kiss again and then audrey leaves.

heading toward the end then into suppertime reprise/sominex, and then the confrontation… the whole time me knowing what’s coming i was just like audrey don’t but then of course…audrey does. (also she had another costume change, this time into a half-blue-half-pink nightdress with a transparent pink raincoat on top.)

she steps into the plant ‘mouth’ and audrey ii bites her neck vampire style (so there’s no doubt that she has been wounded, no “she just fell asleep because of the sominex” theory here,) before seymour can get her out.

somewhere that’s green reprise of course i was crying again – the actress kind of played the ‘when i die, which should be very shortly’ line for funnies rather than sincerely BUT. then she went into the reprise and ohhh my god i was so sad watching seymour hold her. i noticed they never really properly kissed on the mouth (because seymour’s bad at kissing) but he was really desperately hugging her and shaking and kissing her all over on her shoulders and her hands and it was DEVASTATING.

after audrey dies seymour kept crying her name which was…i thought a bit much but sure, why not. he was sad. then he carried her to the plant and she stood up and walked backwards so they were looking at each other as she went into the plant’s “mouth” and he held onto her hands as long as he could. (this time there were no vines and the drag queen version of audrey ii wasn’t there either so it was more of an emotional parting than watching a violent/comical death.)

after that seymour tries to kill the plant (drag queen audrey ii was standing above, on top of the mushnik store prop) so he shot at her first with his halloween prop gun and then tossed the boxes of rat poison into the plant mouth, and then of course charged into the mouth and the vines are back and grab and crush him and then he’s dead. RIP that silly fool who i loved.

then it’s don’t feed the plants! the urchins come out and are wearing new outfits and open the number…

then there was the ‘characters come back onstage as plant buds’ version of the ending, but oh my god. this was so much fun i loved it so much. mushnik, orin, audrey and seymour dash out of the plant opening wearing audrey ii-ified costumes and!!! it was amazing. mushnik was in a sparkly green sequin jacket and kilt, orin was wearing his black combat boots and a sequin minidress, audrey was wearing a big poofy 1950s-ish (you know, because of her somewhere thats green dreams) pink-and-blue dress with flowers and little white gloves (and still her glasses) (and i remember as she ran out on stage she mouthed WHAT THE FUCK lmao) and seymour’s was this big puffy clown suit (probably because…he’s kind of a fool) over his blue shirt (now with sparkly red blood on it, implying that his arms/legs have been eaten) and all the ensemble also had similar crazy plant looks, very flytrap with a lot of teeth and big floppy tongues.

seymour and audrey had the little ‘we’ll have tomorrow’ line too which made my LSOH-obsessed ass get tearful again too - they grabbed each others hands for it and !!! my emotions.

there were a few bows after that but then audrey ii interrupted and was like wait we ain’t finished!!! and they did mean green mother from outer space as this huge dance number which was extremely fun. this finale was very similar to how the spongebob musical ends - after the song they tossed huge green beach balls into the audience and had a huge confetti cannon explosion. of course i went nuts for it lmao. and the best part is that THERE IS A VIDEO ON YOUTUBE:

youtube

and then it was over. iirc it took a total 10 hours for my sister travelling there and back in on day, but it was 1000% worth it!!! next post: gonna look at costumes in detail!!!

#little shop of horrors #LSOH #regent's park open air theatre #long post #flashing gif cw

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the-hot-zone · 4 years

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@agentcalliope THE REVIEW GOT TOO LONG FOR AO3′S REVIEW BOX AND WOULDN’T LET ME POST IT SO HERE IT IS. I’M SORRY IT’S SO LONG BUT I REALLY LIKE YOUR FIC SDKSDK

I mean firstly, the only thing I can say after reading this is, wow. Wow. Holy shit, wow. They way everything builds--the capitalization, the punctuation, the epithets, the prose--to demonstrate on both a subconscious and conscious level how Azula develops. The reader is comprehending these words, but also they’re registering the way you use spacing, punctuation, and capitalization, forcing the reader to slow down/stop/keep reading at certain parts, which creates a flow that a) sounds like Azula b) portrays her mental state and c) shows her development. It’s like a crescendo of writing conventions that never stops moving, and god I just. I’m fangirling a lil bit over your writing. There’s not a wasted line, space, italicization, quotation mark, period, comma, or word in this fic. Everything serves a purpose, and the way it builds--just. Wow. I can see the work you put into editing and revising this, and I want you to know that you’ve communicated your point extremely well. I’m moved. As a reader, I’m in tears. As a writer, I’m floored (and I’m taking notes.) God, okay, time to get specific.

The stylization. This is one of my fav writing styles--the blend of poetry and narration--that I don’t get to see a whole lot, and it’s hard to pull off. I really feel like you’ve used that style to its full potential; in your hands, it feels like that style was made to tell Azula’s story. I really, really like this, so I hope you don’t mind if I talk about why? Which means analyzing; analyzing is my love language, and I love your fic, truly.

In the beginning of the fic, she is “the girl;” she is “a princess,” not “Azula.” This shows how, with her defeat, Azula has lost herself completely (”someone is screaming who is screaming”). Ozai built her for a role she no longer has, so she has lost her identity, her sense of self. So, when she accepts the identity of monster, that is something she must unlearn through Iroh and for herself.

The first time the reader reads Azula’s name (as “azula), it’s isolated by a line break and positioned right after a long, run-on thought from Azula (”he doesn’t look quite...”) and before “the boy says.” This shows how Azula’s name, her identity, is separate from a) her inner monologue and thus her sense of self and b) how she perceives the world around her (outside of dialogue). And this further illustrates the importance of dialogue in this fic; dialogue is the connection from her inner monologue to how she perceives the world. Thus, later in the fic, when Iroh speaks the first line of quotation-mark-surrounded dialogue, it shows how he gets through to her. AH THE WAY YOU BUILD EVERYTHING UP. Also, her description of Ozai in this scene as “the person she knows to love” has so much meaning. It’s like a lesson she’s learned, a fact she’s been taught: to love Ozai. The way you inject so much meaning into line breaks, and the layers of depth you add to single lines. Immaculate. I can really describe it as masterful.

Azula finally refers to herself as “azula” once Zuko says “I will never give up on you” Not only that, however, but the first time she refers to him as “zuko” instead of “the boy” is also when he says “I will never give up on you.” Also, that same piece of dialogue contains “uncle never gave up on me,” which shows how Uncle’s patience connects both Azula and Zuko in their respective healing journeys. Which, oh my god, I love Uncle’s role in Azula’s healing in this fic. His remorse for leaving her with Ozai is so tangible and painful to read. I love how you portray his characters; he comes off the page as Uncle Iroh; his characterization is so strong.

But the scene after Azula finally refers to herself as “azula,” Suki comes in. For one, “zuko and katara beat you or did you forget?” is written with a question mark, showing the significant of that line and how it affects Azula, shown in “azula screams.” Azula connects the person who is screaming with herself; she is still fracturing due to her loss. (Because her loss of the Agni Kai is symbolic of like, her failing everything Ozai built her up to be: the opposite of Zuko.)

The scene where Aang comes is where punctuation in Azula’s inner monologue first appears: “the avatar’s gray eyes are soft and full of sympathy and it makes her angry.” I feel like this is her echoing Ozai’s sentiments, especially with “a princess is not pathetic.” Patheticness was something Azula had always associated with Zuko, so these lines sound a lot like Ozai to me. But “not made to be pitied” is next, without any punctuation. This is because pity is a new emotion for her to face, and she does not associate it with “a princess,” seen in the later lines “now the girl sees not pity but weakness” What’s important here is that Azula is “a girl” again. Aang’s pity is the antithesis to Ozai; peace where he sees bloodshed and war, and it blindsides her. Bro I just, the way you communicate Ozai’s presence so subtly yet so strongly... the talent.

Also: “it makes me feel sad for you the avatar answers“ Stop making me cry!!! THAT LINE WAS HEARTBREAKING. The snippets of Aang in this fic were lovely to read.

iirc, the first full line we get, capitalized, with punctuation, is when Toph is talking to Azula: “I just wanted to tell you that I know what it's like to have Expectations to have parents that expect certain things of you. It sucks. but you suck too. no wonder everyone hates you.”

THE LAYERS OF MEANING:

a) Expectations is capitalized, showing the significance of expectations to Azula; her mind latches onto it. (I love the significance of expectations throughout this fic and how the play into Azula’s sense of identity and healing jdkfkfAHH like with the TEA.)

b) This is where Azula’s “new” sense of self as “monster” begins to develop. “but you suck too. no wonder everyone hates you.” Both are short and with periods, showing the weight of Toph’s words.

When Katara sees Azula, iirc, we get the longest string of sentences with periods so far. Periods are becoming more common, showing how Azula’s identity is beginning to come together, but it’s an identity as monster: “your own brother. you’re disgusting. you’re a monster.” The repetitiveness and switch between your and you’re is almost like a rhythm, pounding “you’re a monster” into Azula’s head. After Katara leaves, we get the first full sentence Azula says: “I’ve never pretended to be anything else.”

Azula sees herself as a monster; she’s seeing the weight of her past actions.

When Iroh arrives, we get the longest string of sentences WITH capitalization in this point of the fic (I think): “It’s sweet. You have always loved sweet tea, my niece. A fascinating contrast.” And a new identity is introduced: my niece.

When Azula asks for Uncle after the nightmare, we get the first time a name is capitalized in the fic: Uncle. Not even Ozai has “father” capitalized. This shows Iroh’s significance in her healing journey. Not only that, but Uncle is the one that comes to her, not Ozai. This contrast between Ozai’s absence and Uncle’s presence is what begins to allow Azula to heal--and what ultimately helps her truly stay on the path of healing. I love how you build up the notion of Ozai not being there for Azula, not coming to get her. The way it culminates in the end feels like such strong, real development because of your build-up.

Once Uncle begins to visit regularly, your writing becomes more abundant with “proper” sentences. This is one of my fav examples of this:

“Uncle continues to bring her sweet tea. He talks to her. He sits next to her as she leans against the wall and speaks many tales of spirits and beautiful women. azula almost looks forward to his visits. Almost.”

Every sentence except the one that begins with “azula’ is capitalized. She’s not there yet, with her identity, but Uncle is there. And when Azula says “but I am a monster,” the fic gets its first line of quotation-enclosed dialogue:

“Oh, my dear. My beautiful niece. I don’t believe that.”

And then, right after that, we get “Princess Azula.” This is the first time Azula is capitalized, and Uncle says it. But Azula is the one perceiving the dialogue; she is accepting “Princess Azula.” Sure enough, right after that, we get this:

“Azula narrows her eyes suspiciously.”

The first time Azula refers to herself in her inner monologue as Azula. FINALLY. FUCK. This is one of the most satisfying developments in this fic, when Azula finally sees herself as “Azula,” even if she’s not all the way there yet. Your build-up makes this moment feel amazing.

Another thing I loved was how Azula is obsessed with getting the tea perfect; the tea is a reflection of herself; “She will make his jasmine tea, and she will make it precisely the way it is expected to be.”

HIS jasmine tea. Not HER jasmine tea. This shows that she’s trying to fit a mold she thinks Iroh has for her; she will make the tea as it is expected to be; SHE will be exactly as she is expected to be.

But when she fails, Iroh simply says “Let’s try it again.” When Azula fails to be “perfect,” pain and fear isn’t waiting for her. Iroh is. So when Iroh says,

“I am just an old man looking forward to trying his niece’s cup of tea, which she has worked hard on.”

This is so important. It is HIS NIECE’S (Azula’s) cup of tea, which SHE has worked hard on. In other words, it is Azula’s healed identity that she has worked hard on, and it is “one of the best teas I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing in my life.” Just. The symbolism. Fuck. So good.

Then, in the next scene, she tells Zuko to tell Aang she’s sorry. This brings back Sokka’s earlier words, “you won't ever apologize for what you’ve done or bear responsibility for your actions and we both know it.” BUT AZULA IS UNLEARNING, and that is tangible development, babey. In a way, Sokka was right, because the “you” he was talking to wasn’t the Azula that’s now wanting to apologize to Aang. Azula as “Azula” didn’t exist then; now she does. I can’t this fucking fic I am STUNNED. The way you introduce and maintain concepts to develop Azula’s journey... It’s amazing AH

“Azula cradles her own cup in her hands and breathes in the steam, letting it cling to her face.“ Bro I just wanted to say that this line gave me brilliant imagery. You perfectly described how it feels to hold a mug of something warm and breathe it in, like ahhh the sensory imagery was so VIVID.

“Zuko tears off a piece of bread, and places it on her palm. She looks down at it, her hand without crackling cackling blue fire. The only blue is the water, beautiful and clear.” Thinking bout the contrast, and how the color blue used to separate her from the world; now it joins her to it (turtleducks.) YOUR LAYERS. Another contrast I love was the one between “red drapes that used to block out the sun when it rises every morning” and “basking in Agni’s light.” This reminds me of the Sun Warriors and Zuko learning the true meaning of fire, as something full of life and light, not something that only burns. That was my favorite contrast throughout the fic, and the most meaningful to me.

Azula saying “Why not?” to Sokka was everything I need in life.

“Azula brings herself out of the palace, and back into the prison.“ Ozai is her prison. The wording. THE WORDING SAYS SO MUCH. The way she comes to Ozai--but. He never came for her. Uncle did. She has new experiences and a new sense of self; she’s not the Azula she was, and she’s not the Azula Ozai is expecting. So when you write

“Because he has made Azula into Azula, and he has done it well.”

and she walks away, it’s a defiance of everything she’s been, everything she was forced to be. Azula made Azula into Azula, and she understands this.

“This is not what she was made for.” is a recognition that Ozai forced her into a role that was never for kindness, for love, for acceptance, for change. As she learns and unlearns, unmakes her identity as a monster, she’s understanding that Ozai never intended for Azula to be her own Azula. And this means she sees the world through her own eyes, not Ozai’s:

“his eyes not wounded and sad but fierce and soft and she knows what he’s saying isn’t a lie.”

JUST. The way you built this fic. You saw more than words as your tools, and I am honestly in awe of the way you used writing conventions. This fic is so strong because you literally made everything about Azula; Azula is this fic. THE ARTISTRY. I really, really hope you’re proud of the story you’ve built. Thank you for writing.

(ALSO TOPH WAS EVERYTHING I NEEDED AND MORE.)

#avatar the last airbender #atla #agentcalliope #and it's my whole heart (weighed and measured)#fic reivew #analysis is my love language #y'all ever spend three hours on a fic review #and then get so hungry you gobble five chicken wings immediately after #me #SORRY IT'S SO LONG #sometimes you gotta review a fanfic instead of revising your essay about fanfic #thank you for writing

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dazais-guardian-angel · 4 years

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☕️+ what things do you wish they did with descole (because I am weak and he’s my fave)

Apologies for the late reply to this; tbh I almost didn’t want to answer it, cause I feel like nothing I’ll say will be something others haven’t already discussed (especially since I just saw you asked someone else this same question), and also I’ve only ever played the prequels once back when they first came out and I haven’t reached them again in my replay yet, so I’m not fresh on everything done with his character and all the Azran/Targent stuff. But nonetheless:

In general, obviously, I wish Desmole’s character “arc” if you can even call it that as it is now + plot twists/identity had been much more fleshed out from the get-go and consistent with who they ultimately made him be, that is, Hershel’s brother and someone who never should have legitimately wanted to hurt him or people close to him. While I think the worst of this really only comes out in Eternal Diva, where he literally tries to swordfight Hershel to death and kill Luke on one occasion cause he goes insane once Hershel out-puzzles him, there really just should have been more nuance to him in the first two entries especially (and in Miracle Mask too of course, but he’s barely in that game so) where he shows some level of frustration and hesitance to go up against Hershel and his crew, even if he still does so because he absolutely has to carry out his revenge plan. Just SIGNS that there’s more to this guy than just a walking one-dimensional mysterious deadly flamboyant badass, beyond just Hershel going “hm he feels familiar”, like no of course that’s not near enough. Even if Desmole’s true identity still wasn’t going to be revealed until Azran Legacy, there still needed to be hints, breaks in his facade/character, hesitation, signs of remorse, even if some of these hints are not outright foreshadowing to a familial relationship/desire for revenge. He could still lose it in Eternal Diva, but just make it seem more desperate and broken, and less kill-crazy. Give him moments of humanization, show that Descole can be kind, such as around Melina or Nina; what I honestly wanted to see was him having interactions around girls other than Aurora where his fatherly nature might show (not that him and Aurora aren’t great, I just wanted more); he had to have spent a lot of time around Melina while making the Detragan, and the potential for their relationship while she was dying is so much. Hershel should have had more moments of familiarity, and thinking about him when he’s not around, trying to figure him out, demanding to know who he is because he feels like he needs to know for some reason he can’t describe, and Descole’s answers/non-answers are extremely telling/bitter/curious/thought-provoking. And Descole should imo have had a scene to himself at the end of every entry pre-Azran Legacy where it’s increasingly obvious this guy has Angst(tm) and some beef with Hershel that seems personal and not just to do with getting in the way of his plots, along with all the earlier hints obviously (iirc he had a final scene at the end of Last Spector but it was nothing more than showing “hey we’re not done with this guy!!”, so that definitely should have had more to it; at the end of Eternal Diva I REALLY wanted to see how he survived his fall, probably with Raymond saving him, cue more ~mysterious reactions to Hershel~ as he thinks on how Hershel cried out his name as he was falling despite the fact that they were enemies, etc; and then the one at the end of Miracle Mask is okay I guess, but I still wanted more to it, more, idk signs of regret or remorse or sadness from him before he goes after Bronev, and not just “grrrrrr finally my revenge is close I’mma take you down all I have is angerrRRRRR” also for him to not look so damn stupid when all Bronev has to do is knee him to take him down, like this is DESCOLE, THE KING OF BADASS, THAT ENDING IS SO PITIFUL; WE DIDN’T NEED THAT FOR A FAKEOUT UNMASKING SCENE THAT LEADS NOWHERE).

tl;dr, Desmole’s story being planned from the very beginning would have made it possible for the writers to foreshadow and develop him properly before you finally see him as Desmond, and make you attached to and interested in him much more than just as a cool badass you kinda wonder the identity of but mostly just enjoy watching be badass and evil. The PL series had never had an overarching villain in the main trilogy aside from Don Paolo, who was more of a comic relief villain who they could afford to not make up his beef with/connection to Hershel until the final game because it was a very insignificant reason in the grand scheme of things, and Don Paolo just..... wasn’t that integral to the plots of that trilogy, he was more of a bonus background villain not meant to be taken seriously or have any true emotional impact. But then you have Descole introduced as the key threat over the majority of the prequel series (you think it’s the Masked Gentleman this time, but no lol, it’s still Descole!!), and needless to say, “actually the protagonist’s long-lost brother trying to get revenge on their corrupt father, both of which are involved in an ancient civilization that ruined all their lives in multiple ways” is a biiiiiiit more important than... “jealous dead girlfriend rival” lol. And so there’s a jarring disconnect between pre-Miracle Mask Descole and post-Miracle Mask Descole, because the Azran aren’t even a thing until Miracle Mask at ALL, and so in Last Spector and Eternal Diva Descole just seems like this mad scientist with a dramatic flair and nothing more, who mayyyyyyyy be searching for eternal life? Since that seems to be the running theme with the golden garden and ambrosia? But even then literally nothing is revealed about him in that game and movie so who knows (and unrelated but it seems like those two places have literally no connection to the Azran aside from an offhanded mention of them in Miracle Mask? idk man); the point I’m taking way too long to make here is that it’s very clear the writers had no endgame plan for him until Miracle Mask at the earliest, and even then I wonder how much of it was completely hashed out (considering the... sort of mess that Azran Legacy is, I almost wonder if most of it was literally not decided on until then). My guess is that Descole was super popular after Last Spector so they decided to bring him back (his final scene in that game could have just been to show that he survived and was still “out there somewhere”, whether or not he came back next entry), but then realized they didn’t have a backstory or identity for him so they had to think up something way too late; I can’t confirm this though of course.

Then you get to Azran Legacy, and honestly, despite how bizarre and weirdly unimportant and filler-ish 90% of this game’s plot feels, I love the inherent idea of Descole finally coming to Hershel as himself. Hershel always shows up and gets in his way? Fine, he’ll come to him. He always sees through his disguises? Fine, he’ll come to him in the best disguise he has: himself. Ask him for his help in a mission his curiosity won’t let him refuse. Because then, of course, even though Desmond is doing this to further and finish his plot, and use them as tools, essentially, there’s the wonderfully painful obvious second reason for why he chooses to do things this way, and that is he wants to spend time with his brother, whether or not he consciously realizes this. This way, Desmond can be himself, he doesn’t have to hide his appearance or (most) intentions and can freely express a lot of his regular personality while still working towards his ultimate goal, but at the exact same time there’s so much he can’t show, that he can’t reveal or let himself do, and this has to be a hundred times harder than when he’s posing as Descole because now he’s friends with Hershel and the others, and a part of him must want so desperately to just stay with them forever as he spends more and more time with them and grows more attached to them, (again, no matter how much he may realize this). But this is where his “arc” continues to fall flat in that aside from one or two hints towards his daughter and having a brother, there is literally no depth in Desmond’s behavior in Azran Legacy pre-Descole/brother reveal, just like in all the entries before it. He should have shown small signs here and there of something being “off” with him, of sadness, of hesitation, of trauma and mental instability; strange things said to Hershel alone that makes him and the player start wondering things, just like with Descole. Everyone immediately goes, upon seeing Desmond for more than five minutes, “oh that’s Descole obviously” (plus Raymond is just... there lol), but it’s not for the right reasons; there’s nothing wrong with a predictable plot twist, but there needs to be some kind of hints towards it to make you emotionally invested in what you realize is coming, because you’re waiting for it and you know it will hurt but you just don’t know when and how it will happen; not that you guess it for no other reason than “well there’s this new character who isn’t an existing friend of Layton’s and everything is suspiciously calm and we’re 90% of the way through this and Descole has yet to show himself; it’s probably him”. For the record, I actually think Miracle Mask does its predictable plot twist a lot better, even if that game still has issues; I see a lot of people complain about how predictable Randall being the masked gentleman is, and it is, but honestly? The flashback plot mechanic in that game is EXTREMELY effective in 1) making it VERY clear who the masked gentleman is very early on, like they’re not trying to hide it in any way, but also 2) punching you in the gut to maximum effect when you get to the end of the flashbacks and pair it with the present-day plot. Like, they could have just told the player in dialogue/infodumps throughout the game who Randall was and what his connection to Hershel, Angela and Henry was, like Desmond does to Hershel near the end of Azran Legacy, but that would have been tedious and boring and the player wouldn’t care near as much, and the game wouldn’t have been long enough. Instead, you see it firsthand, you experience it with Hershel, and although I’m frustrated at how little is done with masked gentleman!Randall and showing connections/hints to who he used to be (look, my exact problems with Descole) and making Hershel more involved with him at the end, which would have been the icing on the angst cake, the entire flashback half of that game honestly left a huge impact on me and I think that’s why I spend so much time talking about/getting emotional about Miracle Mask despite always saying that Diabolical Box is my favorite, because getting to know Randall and see that friendship and see how it ended just makes it all hit so much harder, as flashbacks should do. The writers knew it would be obvious who the masked gentleman is and they leaned into that, it was a very deliberate choice, what the entire game revolved around, because the point wasn’t that it was unpredictable, but that you would feel for that character and it would hurt so much more. And while I don’t necessarily think Azran Legacy needed full-on flashback gameplay segments for Desmond like Miracle Mask had, I think having vague flashbacks every once in a while throughout that game, vague enough to not directly tell you it’s him or naming/showing Hershel/Theodore much but clear enough that you can reasonably guess it is Desmond, would have done a world of difference, along with all the little behavioral/dialogue hints I mentioned. Similar to the diary entries in Diabolical Box, or if anyone’s ever played Super Paper Mario, the flashbacks in that game after every chapter about an unknown person that it becomes increasingly obvious as you play through the game is the main villain. I just.... really, really wish, out of all the prequel entries, Azran Legacy gave Desmond so much more emotional depth and resonance once we finally see him as Desmond instead of Descole, so many more scenes with Hershel, and to a lesser extent the others, so much more development of his character, so much more of an emphasis put on his prior family and how much he’s hurting and caring and yet at the same time refuses to give up his revenge; all of this, no matter how obvious it made his identity as both Descole and as Hershel’s brother. The brother plot twist, too, feels slightly lame and overdone and out of nowhere, but honest to god I wouldn’t fucking care at all if they just foreshadowed it properly and made it so painfully obvious how much Descole/Desmond wants to be with Hershel and this family and how much it kills him to turn on them all again at the end of Azran Legacy even if he still goes through with it, and how much he regrets everything as he lays dying in Hershel’s arms, but we get none of that goddammitLevel5whydoyoudeprivemeofsomuch-

*ahem* apparently I still had a lot to say. i just wanted so much more for him; he’s SUCH a tragic character... the stupid wannabe phantom of the opera bread man still makes me cry, despite everything, because i am trash. Oh yeah and he should have held Aurora in his arms as she died. And Azran Legacy should have ended post-credits with Hershel opening his door with his hat off (to show that this is after Unwound Future), his eyes widening, then it shows the bottom half of the person’s face, just enough to see the bread hair tips, and the slight sad smile, and then cut to black. level-5 just hire the PL fandom to make the Desmond spinoff game pls

#replies #professor layton #professor layton spoilers #jean descole #desmond sycamore #meta #'i dont have much to say' *writes a fucking novel*#EVERY FUCKING TIME #NOTHING IS EVER SHORT WITH ME #why did this partly turn into a miracle mask defense/gush fest i am so sorry #but seriously i thought of that point only as i was typing this... that mm's flashback gameplay is why it works so well #and that something much smaller scale would have been PERFECT for Desmond in AL #not before that #but definitely in AL #....but since we can't have that just give me the Descole spinoff entirely please :''')#themadgirlinthefandombox

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randomnameless · 4 years

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I don't know if this has been asked before, but I was wondering what your thoughts on Rhea are.

Oh, I don't think someone asked it, but I remember a character meme.

Rhea's in the Julia tier : you're expecting things and the game doesn't give you any.

you asked for thoughts so this is long and rather unorganised even if i tried a bit and i feel like i repeated myself a lot so meh

If Edel and Rhea have one thing in common, it's being shafted by the need to make Billy the most special being every with the monstrous "I was lonely before you player-chan uwu".

Seteth'n'Flayn ? In the same trashcan Hubert went in.

Catherine, Shamir, the randoms living in the monastery? Dgaf but still she's willing to die for them so does she really gaf or not? Rhea's willing to give her blood and crest stone shards (to this day I still don't understand what those are) to trusted randoms who would become cardinals? "uwu player-chan". I know I've written a bit about it with the seirelm anon, but with the Canon-ish info? Post Zanado Rhea told a random dude she could turn in a dragon, gave her blood to the same dude and remained in his empire/fighting by his side for at least 30 years. Still “lonely without U Billy <3″

I've written this in the meme entry, but Rhea has her own net of relationships. They're not as important as Dimitri and his childhood friends, but erasing them for the sake of "player-chan" feels wrong.

Role and goals

Rhea's in an interesting place, being a former "legendary hero" like Athos, Sephiran etc.

Still her fight isn't over, she only defeated Nemesis and couldn't end the mastermind behind (a bit like Seliph if you only kill Arvis or Roy when you forget to pick up every legendary weapon). Also, if Seiros killed Nemesis, she hasn't won. In the current Fodlan, she still has to pretend to be a human, the Nabateans as a culture/population are dead. They're still 5 (ish? I think the apostles are lizards), she's still afraid humans will dice them if they learn the truth. Has she won? Idk. Could she win and make a Fodlan were lizards and humans could live together? I don't think so.

Her role as the Archbishop? Well, the game really liked Rhea as a red herring during white clouds and the way FE16 is built, around the monastery, reinforces it. Rhea's the head of the monastery, so she's the head of your world. Everything wrong with the world is automatically linked to Rhea.

So, when Marianne complains about people wanting to kill/ostracise her because of her crest, thinking it's a curse, we of course wonder "why Rhea can't tell to the randoms that no Marianne shouldn't be killed/shunned because of her crest?". Completely forgetting that, hey, Marianne's from the Alliance and heiress of Edmund, so if some people should intervene, it should be her dad "why the fuck are you trying to kill my daughter" or the Alliance council "Duke Riegan, could you please make a public statement about my daughter and how she isn't some sort of demonic beast so stop throwing rocks at her?".

Same thing with the Empire, why should you blame the church and the crests instead of the people doing shit? Hanneman's brother in law? Like is marriage so absolute that a husband can force multiple pregnancies on his wife to the point of literally killing her? The von Essar aren't as important as the Bergliez, but Hanneman's sister dying like that should have rang some bells? Hanneman's dad didn't care? No one wanted to appeal to the Emperor or something? If Jane the random or Karen the peasant died this way, it’d be usual class nonsense. But a noble woman??

Rhea should have done more to prevent crest abuse. She wrote tenets in her Bible and apparently doesn't discriminate in her monastery. But in the other countries? Idk. Her tenets are interpreted like your shopping list by Gloucester Sr "and add a part where interacting with foreigners goes against Seiros's teachings what yes I know better than those dunces from the eastern/central church".

It's not because Riegan Sr and Ionius aren't doing shit that she should do nothing too, but ultimately it falls on the usual landmine about Rhea's influence and power over Fodlan and if we consider Fodlan isn't just the Monastery we see but a continent made up of 4 autonomous states...

The so-called status quo isn't upheld by the church alone (if it is upheld in the first place!), but also by the empire and the Alliance... Lambert was toasted before making any changes, the Alliance is that weird thing where money is anything and crests/old nobility doesn't matter anymore, and the Empire is... Well. The Empire.

Regarding this, I find it really strange that Rhea went to Goneril and rescued one of their slaves, with how much she cares about protecting her monastery and not antagonising anyone, picking Cyril up, risking the ire of house Goneril, feels really risky from her perspective.

Imo WC doesn't sell me the "church rules over the continent" take.

Ultimately it doesn't matter because Rhea thinks she should have done more, and abused her position as the archbishop to rez her mom - I understand the "abused her position" as regretting her various omissions, like helping more people around etc etc.

I also feel like Rhea’s got a big survivor complex, and tries to fulfill impossible tasks. "leading/guiding the world?" she won't take an active role in it, but still resents the state of current Fodlan and wishes Sothis could restore some order (crest abuse? Or relics popping up right and left meaning more sibs dying). She wants to :

1/ guide the world and make it a better place (why complaining about the wayward Fodlan otherwise?)

2/ protect randoms who live under her protection

3/ make sure no one learns the truth about her appearance and relics at the same time.

I don't think it's possible given her current role and especially not possible on her own.

About 3/, call back to FE9 or not, but Rhea's paranoia is... Actually, not proven to be exaggerated in the game.

Ranulf was lynched in Crimea when he was discovered to be a laguz? In a certain route, Rhea's called a cruel beast due to her appearance, accused of not having "human" feelings and is depicted as a creature masquerading as a human. Hate and attack the woman all you want for things she did or might have done, but getting rid of her because she's not human? Rhea's right about not revealing her true nature, because, relics notwithstanding, humans will try to kill her for being a nabatean. Relic wise, in the DLC, we learn Aubin was recently turned in a relic, so that's even more reason to hide.

On 1/, wanting to promote peace in the land? National bias at play with rewriting history “to promote peace” issue. Rhea also built the officer's academy (if nobles from different states can live and study together surely they won't try to kill each other when they return home because they might have become friends?) and with help from the everyone in Fodlan (even the empire iirc?) built the locket to fend off Almyrian invasions. Not saying this is the best way to protect your borders but at least she tried to help instead of staying holed in her monastery.

Imo if Rhea didn't care about Fodlan, she'd have followed her bros and fortified herself in her monastery without accepting random humans to live with her, wouldn't have written a book about how everyone had to get along "unless it goes against the goddess" and wouldn't basically run what seems to be the biggest orphanage/place for the needy/and whatever is the abyss in the continent.

Not saying she doesn't have a priority, but Rhea tries to care, on her scale, about Fodlan's randoms.

About said randoms (and 2/)...

Well there's this bout with Lonato's rebellion and another herring where Rhea's all "I will destroy anyone who takes arms against the church and its believers" and it's extreme, I can’t deny. But if Lonato took arms and mounted a militia to attack Ositia's castle and its randoms? Hector'd have Armads'd Lonato without a second thought. Elincia had qualms about taking her weapons against her own countrymen who were used by Ludveck, but in the end, she took up her weapons to defend her castle, even if it meant she had to kill militiamen. Rhea's line seemed random and cold in the context, but it's the same general idea, attack her people and she will kill you. Still, if you don't take weapons against her, she won't react violently. Duke Gerth is apparently dick waving with Aubin's relic, but Shamir wasn't sent to recover the thing or to get rid of Gerth.

Ultimately Rhea blows her cover and abandons her dream to reunite with her mother to protect the monastery and its inhabitants in 3 routes (arguably in CF too). Someone once made a post about the differences between Seiros's and Edel's crowns and the symbolism of wings - the IO's wings are meant to protect. The IO is the guardian/protector. Rhea tanks missiles and buys time for the students to escape at the cost of her life.

Relationships

Rhea and Sothis? someone made a post summarizing my thoughts about their relationship, or lack of, and if we can argue Sothis was shafted by the devs like Rhea and Edel, ultimately the only important person to Sothis is Billy.

Billy doesn't warp Sothis's preexisting net of relationships, Sothis doesn't have relationships with anyone save for Billy. Rhea wants to meet her mom more than anything else (save for protecting randoms) but Sothis will never address that plot point. She only does in SS and off screen, and it ends up with Rhea wondering if she should live... so take it as you want, but to me it mustn't have been the "hug and pat on the head" kind of reunion.

Ultimately we see Rhea is able to let go of her dream (rez mom) in several routes, she understands and acknowledges Sothis will never return and Billy has her powers now, so either she dies more or less at peace knowing she can trust Billy with Fodlan's future, or she can return to Zanado and live peacefully with Catherine.

Which leads me to the Billy relationship,

As much as I hate player pandering, it makes some sense that Rhea would support Billy and not, let's say, Caspar. I still hate it though because Billy exclusive support means we were robbed of Rhea's other supports with, idk, her fam, Cyril, Catherine, Shamir, Alois, Hanneman, Manu etc etc.

In the beginning of WC, Rhea's pretty sure Billy's Sothis but without memories. Then in the non-cf chapter 12, she tells Billy they know what they are and thus must guide Fodlan, also telling Seteth Billy's a vector for sothis's powers, but not Sothis herself. In SS's finale she calls them "mother" but in her S-support finally acknowledges Billy's their own thing.

In CF Rhea's vicious in her trash talk but immediately jumps to the conclusion that Billy cannot be or hear Sothis, because, to her, logically, Sothis wouldn't side with Edel and her Agarthian allies (stealing the crest stones, Flayn, etc etc). Billy is something that stole Sothis's crest stone and sword and wants to finish what Nemesis started. I don't think CF Rhea snaps because Billy isn't Sothis, CF Rhea snaps because, again, someone is using her mother to kill her.

Rhea's also supposed to have been fond of Citrus to the point of talking to her remains (something she does with her mom) which could explain her sympathy for Billy regardless of the Sothis project.

Jeralt's a different issue, apparently they worked together for more than 100 years but Rhea never told him the truth about her nature, only about how he was saved. Still, Jeralt betrays when his baby is "weird" and unlike regular human babies so... Would he have ran away if he learnt what rhea was? Dumped Citrus if he knew she was an artificial being? Idk.

Catherine Shamir cyril and pals (Alois)? We don't know bcs the game dgaf about anyone not named Billy. As I said above, It’d have been nice to get more interactions with randoms she is working with, or at least showed some care, but nope. “Player-chan uwu” strikes again.

Seteth'n'Flayn? Rhea's close to them, she gets out of her room to look for Flayn and Cyril and Catherine note how she seems close to Seteth (who's totally her bro), but again, the game hates us. FFS don't think she has a line with Flayn!

Secrets and explosions

Tied to 3/ and 1/ from earlier, Rhea keeps a lot of secrets which could justify her lack of relationships/supports with the others... but this argument falls flat, because she’s not the only one with a secret and if Flayn doesn’t seem to care that much about hers, Seteth does and is still able to support students and staff members. Which leads to tragedies.

The Christophe incident is not well documented, and while we learn Rhea was the target of Christophe’s attempt because Western peeps told him so, it is not very well explained why she didn’t execute him on those grounds instead of falsifying charges about involvement with the Regicide. We are told it was to stabilise the Kingdom, but I still don’t know how the Kingdom would have suffered backlash if Rhea told the truth (maybe it would have led to open conflict between the western church and the central church in the kingdom, when the kingdom needed stability at that point? idk).

Still, Lonato wants revenge for Christophe, not because he was executed on false charges, but because he died ; imo, if Lonato learnt the truth, he’d still be out for Catherine and Rhea’s head.

Aelfie’s gambit is more of a direct result of Rhea’s secrecy, because she had “no words” for him about why Citrus was still in pristine condition, he gave up and tried to rez her. Would it had been different if she told him what Citrus was (and by extent, what she was)? Idk. Maybe, maybe not.

Still, Rhea doesn’t keep secrets from everyone every time - she once trusted Willy and told him about her alternate form and it exploded 1k years later, when Willy’s descendants are out for her head because she’s a creature masquerading as a human (I know mole people also played a part, but I guess it sticked more with Edel and the gang who already knew Rhea was a dragon ; trying to convince a random that “hey, this woman is a dragon !” would be more difficult). CF-wise again, Rhea trusts Billy with the SoC and, again, it explodes. In CF Rhea feels betrayed, she trusted some people and now the very same people (or their descendant in Edel’s case) are trying to kill her.

So it’s not a case of someone never trusting anyone, it’s someone trusting some people and regretting it afterwards (in both routes + CF at least, even if I firmly believe the “evil lizards ruling over the world” spiel doesn’t come from Willy, but from later emperors influenced by mole people).

There can also be a point made for Aelfie, who might have been able to merge with Citrus to create an umbral beast because he had Rhea’s blood and a crest stone shard - Citrus being a fake Nabatean and Aelfie having a crest stone + blood might have produced CS’s final boss? Rhea trusted Aelfie with a crest stone shard and her blood, and he became an umbral beast.

Interestingly, Rhea is hell bent on keeping her secrets regarding her identity, in SS Seteth has to beg her to reveal everything to Billy when Billy is the most important person in the world “uwu” or at least, the only person Rhea supposedly opened to. Even the “uwu” factor isn’t enough, on its own, to make her reveal the truth about her identity.

She gives Claude half-truths, and has to be on death’s door to tell him everything - still occulting Seteth’n’Flayn, to the point where Claude later wonders if there are other children of the goddess around.

Vengeful Rhea?

Rhea isn't a stale piece of bread like Julia. She says mean words to Nemesis but also brutally kills him. Rhea cannot forgive the Elites. I know it's very different, but Julia "dad is the kindest man I ever knew" making a 180° “i must atone for what dad did eff him” will always make me throw up - she doesn’t have to be vengeful or try to stab Seliph with a butter knife, but no acknowledgement of “dad’s the bestest” after his death, or even, of his death is meh.

To Rhea, Nemesis and the Elites are a trigger point, and everything related to Zanado. CF!Billy using her mom’s powers is like Nemesis, CF!Billy + Edel pillaging what remains of her siblings in Nemesis’n’Dudes. Flamey doing his shit with Flayn also parallels that. There’s the usual “vengeance sucks” speech to be given, but also the Tellius verse where Laguz aren’t depicted in a bad light when they want to destroy Izuka or when Tibarn learns Lekain was responsible for Serenes’s massacre.

Still, unlike Tibarn’n’pals, Rhea, unlike Macuil, doesn't seem to hold a grudge against descendants of the Elites. Maybe she had faith in them when she told them not to abuse the power of their crests, but then their descendants forgot or didn’t care and we’re in the so-called crest system.

In SS, Seteth asks the BE students if they want to return home to the Empire and how he won’t hold it against them. Seteth’s being Rhea’s right hand bro in this situation, I doubt he’d have proposed this solution without her approval.

She is vengeful and ready to pursue for more 90 years someone to kill them, but she won’t target that someone’s descendants or potential allies. I’ve read some takes about the Western Church being razed to the ground after Catherine’s paralogue, but iirc, Rhea’s only going to execute the Bishop there ; they appoint a new bishop in hopes to ease the relationships between the central and western church. There’d be no point to appoint someone to rule over a body that doesn’t exist...

Grey waves

Wave 1 : Another parallel with Edel is the will to sink in troubled waters to reach their goals.

However, Rhea stays on the surface.

Aelfie thinks Seiros failed to rez Sothis with the chalice because she didn't take more blood from the apostles. Blood rituals are creepy and gave an umbral beast. Seiros didn't pursue and sought another mean to rez Sothis without killing her bros. Rhea makes homunculi to host Sothis's soul? It fails but the homunculi isn't destroyed asap to make another one, hell, Rhea cares about them (which is all kinds of fucked up on its own).

AM wise, iirc, Seteth and Catherine say Rhea'd never forgive them if they run to save her instead of saving randoms first.

Still, making homunculus to create a vessel for her mom - making artificial lives - is problematic, she’s ashamed of it “i did questionable things” and Seteth berates her on her “questionable” experiments.

CF!Rhea eats babies during the final map. She burns the city to make her last stronghold and refuses to run away. CF!Rhea, at the end of this route, completely abandoned goal 1 2 and 3. She wants to survive, yes, but to recover Sothis, no matter how. She still seems to care about humanity, but takes everything too literally and is persuaded humanity and humans are after her to hurt her and her mother (i’m pretty sure uncle Arry was waiting with his Agarthan tech suitcase for Edel to deal with the beast in the background). Contrary to CF’s chapter 12, Endgame!Rhea doesn’t have lines when Catherine and Cyril fall. She’s still siding with humans, but she’s in this for herself now.

Of course, CF!Rhea is special, because CF!Rhea lives again through her trauma, CF!Rhea lost her home, her bro and niece a few chapters ago, she lost her human allies, apparently some peons from her church are deserting and Uncle is waiting with his portable electric saw to turn her in a shiny sword, because she trusted a corpse with Sothis’s heart and spine and trusted a human 1000 years ago with her secret. And now said corpse follows someone who rings at her door with an army, wishes to obliterate her unless she surrenders (?) and works with Uncle and his dubstep pals.

In the other routes, Billy doesn’t want to killer her with her mother’s spine and tries to defend her home, Seteth’n’Flayn aren’t forced into exile or dead and depending on the route she gets to see Uncle and his dubstep friends being buried under rubble.

Troubled waters to reach her goals also include slowing Fodlan’s technological advancements (but was it really slowing down Fodlan’s R&D’s department or cliking “no” when Mole People offer a free (for now) new technology that makes you advance from bronze age to the industrial era in one go?)

Wave 2 : Rhea’s anchored in the past, she wants to return to happier days with her mom and her family, but also wants to help randoms in Fodlan

She doesn’t seem to mind the present where humans do whatever they want, and yet will protect her people and tries (or tried since it’s history) to keep Fodlan safe.

I think the game wanted to tell us Rhea’s stuck in the past, but she also manages to form bonds (albeit fickle) in the present with Catherine, Shamir and, arguably, Cyril. Seteth’n’Flayn accept the past and try to move forward, Rhea cannot and yet is making baby steps forward, or at least to live in the present. “uwu factor” is supposed to mean Rhea’s stuck in the past and can only see Billy for what they are once she accepts to live in the present, but Rhea’s already fond of Catherine, calls Aelfie her child, was fond of Citrus and Jeralt, makes time for Cyril, etc etc. It’s not as clear cut as drinking tea with them but it’s still something that quashes the “lonely B4 U player-chan uwu”.

Rhea thinks her biggest grey wave is how she didn’t do enough for Fodlan and feels inadequate to walk in Sothis’s shoes as the guardian/protector of Fodlan - she could have done more, but she’s busy juggling with three goals, rez mom, protect fodlan, protect the fam.

I think one of her main issue (but the game was also made this way so) is to try to reach those goals alone, save for the “rez mom” goal, everyone in Fodlan, especially the heads of the three states should be concerned with keeping peace in the continent!

Lambert was BBQ’s, Riegan’s busy shitting on Gloucester and Ionius is... well, Ionius. Add to that Mole People starting up shit all around the continent and you have the recipe for a disaster. I’m not saying Lambert and Ionius should have participated to the “protect her family” goal, but at least not trying to eradicate them to turn them in relics would have been nice, sadly Ionius’s bro in law was an Agarthan.

Even if she is nearly immortal compared to a human, Rhea can’t do everything on her own. That’s why I ultimately think a SS ending is doomed to fail, Billy will try to be Rhea 2.0. and in 1000 years it will fall apart again.

AM ending? Billy will become like Rhea was post War of Heroes, but when Dimitri’s descendants start to do shit, his Kingdom disappears and humans start to return to their usual shitty selves, what will Billy do?

VW ending is kind of the same, Claude wants to open the borders and make everyone able to live regardless of their differences, but what if 940 years later an Almyrian president decides to build a wall between Fodlan and Almyra and make Fodlaneses pay for it? What is immortal Billy, who knew Claude and his ideals, going to do?

Wave 3 (lol i nearly forgot but remembered when i was rambling in the tags) : Rhea and technology !

The DLC book and Word of God said she slowed advance of technology in Fodlan to protect peace etc etc. But there’s a book where a cardinal said “eff to autopsies else people won’t rely on us with faith magic” which is... kind of weird. There’s a reason why Rhea might have approved that ban (Why does Freikugel look like a hip bone?) but it still deprived Fodlan’s randoms from the scientifical advance of autopsies... and made people reliant on faith magic.

Actually, the book goes

“Though it is widely believed that this is medically relevant, such actions upon a corpse are considered desecration of the dead. Since white magic can be used to a similar end, autopsies were deemed taboo. A notable cardinal asserted that if medical science were to excel over faith-based white magic, it would destabilize the foundation of the church “

I already pointed out the WTF between faith and white magic (Seteth doesn’t believe his mom is real so he has no faith boon) but interesting to note “desecrating the dead” is still something of an argument nowadays, not regarding autopsies but other practices like anatomical theaters etc etc. Maybe White Magic isn’t intrusive and yields the same results? idk.

Interesting to note, it’s a cardinal who edicted/justified that ban (Rhea as the head of the Church would have given her approval oc). As pointed out with the Freikugel example, Rhea’d have a personal interest in preventing humans to know more about anatomy (goal 3/). Would people stop looking to the church to be healed if “medical science” progresses too much? Maybe. From what we see in the curren Fodlan, it doesn’t.

Also, French version translated the “foundation of the church” as “stability” of the church - would the church become unstable or challenged if people could heal without using white magic? Again, we ultimately know that it doesn’t, magical science and medical science coexist, Manuela gives a short summary of the two - they have different effects.

As for things Rhea herself banned : Telescopes, Oil exploitation and Printed Press.

Telescopes were banned because Rhea thought it would increase violence during wartimes and would make it too easy to snipe from afar (TFW mages with bolting can do the same without telescopes, but they’re limited by their range and if they have a gloucester’s crest by Rhea’s sister’s femur’s range or whatever is Thyrsus). We know the mole people use (and most likely used before during the Sothis war) this technology. The “lessening the mystery of the goddess” thing is noted by Edel herself who wonders if the Goddess could really have come from space since it’s super far away. Edel doesn’t know the Goddess is an alien dragon-thing though.

Oil exploitation : “Misuse could result in accidental death” tfw random Faerghus countryman thought it was water and died :’(

Used tactically by those lacking magical abilities - like gambits? Was Rhea thinking that a random human cannot set fire to an entire city (lol) on his own with his limited spell pool/uses, but if he uses oil then he would only be limited by the quatity of oil? So it’d be easier to cause mass fires? Or whatever Robin did in FE13 with the ships and the Valmese army? Also, if Rhea thought oil could replace humans with magic, does it mean humans with magic were supposed to do everything oil can do? Like making a lamp or they still used something else as fuel? “Competition for it could cause strife” Rhea acknowledged that if humans discovered this ressource they’d deem it as essential and try to get their hands on it, even if they had to wage war?

Metal molding Printing Machine : “after careful consideration” Rhea banned it because it’d be useless for illiterate randoms - well yes, but why should this be an argument? You don’t ban something because it’s useless, look, no one banned airpods - risk of mass circulation of false information or rumors : rhea wanted to prevent redshit from existing This is a way to control information, but funnily enough in the game, we see the results or someone deliberately using manifestos spreading misinformation - risk of “increasing disparity between church branches” (fr version has “rivalry” instead of disparity) what does it mean? The central church would have more means to print books than the eastern church so the eastern church would be jealous? Or the Western Church could mass print its doctrine and have more zealots than the central or the easter church?

Ultimately, all those bans were lifted with time, Manuela performs Jeralt’s autopsy, Edel’s imperial science division managed to guess the distance between the Blue sea star and Fodlan, Oil is apparently used in several gambits, Edel’s able to send manifestos around the continent and Seteth can write children books and sell them without difficulties. Hilda can also lose books which would be a big no-no even if you are a noble if books weren’t, kind of, mass printed.

So why those bans? To protect Fodlan and the fam, but since they were lifted with time, I don’t think Rhea abandonned her goals, most likely, she thought humans were making small steps to discover those technologies, slowly learning about them so they won’t have them when they’re not “ready enough” to use them.

The “ready enough” thing sounds paternalistic or what can be expected from a more technologically advanced alien, but technically Rhea’s part alien and she lived through (or not?) an episode where humans received technology and did shit with it (mole people) so maybe she won’t hand them the car with the keys this time, and instead let them figure out how to build the car.

Still, this is HC because, as usual, the game doesn’t let us talk or question Rhea about those things, so we can only infer, read between the lines or between pixels.

****

TBH, I didn’t care a lot about her when I played, but when she had to eat babies in CF I grew more interested. Other bloggers already pointed it out, but Rhea’s a Tiki, but also a “traditional FE lord” in the sense she avenged her mom who was killed by the king of another kingdom, lived in exile and raised an army to fight against the King.

Still, Rhea didn’t end up as the leader of the world, or as the first Empress of United Fodlan, or something like that. She let Willy do his thing. Why? How? Why didn’t she became an integral part of the Empire, if she had been politically important, or a kind of seer/oracle, it would have been difficult for the Empire to go against her!

But nope, Rhea figged away in her mountains to rez her mom, sprout some “doctrine” (she could have done the same as an Emperor/Seer/Oracle) and watched over randoms who made up her “church”. She sometimes tries to intervene in Fodlan’s best interests, but it failed. Because Rhea doesn’t want to rule. She feels like she has to be a guide, but when humans don’t follow her? Well, what can she do? FE16 doesn’t show us Rhea sending her knights against the Empire when the Empire kicked out her Church and basically said “fig” to her face. FE16 doesn’t show us Rhea being angry and punching Gloucester in the face because he doesn’t show “real piety” and sprouts doctrine out of his rear.

Still, when she has to take a more hands-on approach and cannot be a distant figure/guide, she complains about maintaining a certain image as the Archbishop and how she cannot socialise with students or even walk around without Seteth randoms guarding her. She feels her mother would do a better job and tries to act as a proxy. Imo, Rhea’s bound by duty to her mom, to her sibs dead and living, and to Fodlan. She doesn’t reject her role, she accepts it, she doesn’t like it yes, but if going Gandalf in non-CF chapter 12 shows, she will fulfill it.

What’s most saddening though, is how her duty is a self-imposed one. Rez her mom? She personally took the challenge, because she misses Sothis the most and feels ashamed of this feeling to the point of not telling Seteth about it (interesting enough, Indech seems to be aware Billy’s Sothis incarnation and didn’t jump to the “Billy must be one of Nemesis’s kids with the crest of flames” conclusion, as if he knew Sothis could “incarnate” one day, but was he thinking Sothis would incarnate on her own or Rhea would trigger it? Flayn also suspects a thing about Billy being related to them because of Rhea). Rhea personally thinks she has to lead/guide Fodlan and make it a better place, ignoring the heads of the 3 states who should also be concerned with this goal. Rhea will create a false history to protect her living siblings when Macuil and Indech won’t give a fuck and live in their bestial forms somewhere, and when Seteth hides, but made it clear his only wish is to protect Flayn and the apostles, if they were really lizards, disappeared in random villages.

FE16 isn’t interested by Rhea’s story though.

That’s why I’m desperately waiting for a War of Heroes DLC or prequel of BSFE or whatever because I don’t really care about Fodlan in 1180 and who can have a perfect tea time with Billy or not.

I’d like to know why Birdie and Indech figged away, why Rhea thought letting Willy control the entire continent when he knows she’s a dragon was a good idea, why the Apostles didn’t take part in the Nemesis fight, why Fodlan’s humans decided to side with Willy in his brand new Empire instead of staying with King Nemesis, did Sothis have a previous faithful and what happened when she disappeared, were the Nabateans tyrannical rulers over humans which made some with Nemesis’n’pals, what were they supposed to do when they left Zanado, etc, etc.

So just like Julia and the baijilions AU ideas I came up with, Rhea’s a fuel for AUs because her base game dgaf about her.

#anon #replies #long reply #FE16 #Rhea stuff #the julia tier #everyone hates that tier #it's when you have something interesting but you're not supposed to care about it #fuck the uwu factor ffs #burn it to oblivion #i really really hope next FE won't have an avatar #eff billy #tfw you could have Tellius' herons but Reyson's more interested in Billy than in explaining what happened in the forest #what happened in the forest will only be explained in an infodump at the end of the game #i hate it #relics? we don't care #the equivalent of AU where Julia gets her memory is AU where Rhea is playable and gets 10 chapters #i read somewhere that bar Edel'n'Hubert CF warps every character to their worst selves #Endgame CF!Rhea doesn't care about wanting to keep peace or protecting her fam she wants her mom back she litterally screams it #banana point though #depending on your PT she might not have any family left save for Birdie and Indech #i won't say rhea did nothing wrong though #but i hope i didn't forget a thing #i like her #less than hilda of course bcs Hilda is my fave #FE4!Hilda of course #give me a WoH DLC IS or even a manga at this point i'm desperate even a Seiros alt with 5 lines #Rhea parallels the 3 lords but won't talk to them #only claude could but then Nemesis rang at their door and we wasted that convo with a billy reveal like fuck idc #like 'relics were made from my family bones but also billy's not a human' and the only reaction is 'omg billy's not a human???'

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sage-nebula · 4 years

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Why did you not want to play the LGPE games? I have no opinion since I don't even know what LGPE is, but my curiosity is piqued

LGPE is the acronym commonly given to the Let’s Go games, Let’s Go: Pikachu and Let’s Go: Eevee. As for why I refused to buy them and don’t want to play them . . . that’s a bit of a story. I will keep this as concise as I can.

So. It all starts with the current head of Game Freak, Masuda Junichi.

Masuda has worked on the Pokémon games since the very beginning. In fact, he was one of the founders of Game Freak. For the first two gens his primary role was composer, but starting with Gen III he began to direct the games as well, and now he’s one of the top directors at Game Freak and responsible for many of the directions the Pokémon games have taken in recent years. And while there have been some good things to come out of the past decade, there have also been things that haven’t been so great (to put it lightly), and most of them have been Masuda’s doing.

For instance, the first big warning signs came with the release of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire in Gen VI. Don’t get me wrong, those were great games. I loved them. However, the Battle Frontier—a feature that premiered in Emerald—wasn’t included, much to the shock, confusion, and consternation of fans. When asked about this, Masuda said that he chose not to include it because kids only really like mobile games nowadays, so he didn’t think they’d have the attention span necessary for something like the Battle Frontier. Now, anyone who knows a child knows that’s absolute nonsense, but Masuda believed it and, as a result, the Battle Frontier was not included in the Gen III remakes.

Now, you could say that was just one bad decision, and I would agree. But Masuda’s bad decisions didn’t stop there. Gen VII as a whole has ended up being my least favorite gen of all the Pokémon games because there is not a single main series game in that gen that I can say I truly enjoy and would ever want to play again. Even Gen IV has HeartGold and SoulSilver, and Gen VI has the aforementioned Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, but Gen VII? Story aside (because I don’t think he actually wrote the story, though I could be wrong on that) the gameplay was atrocious, absolutely catering to Masuda’s beliefs that children don’t want challenges anymore and will give up very easily if presented with one. This is especially noticeable in the remakes, where the Battle Tree—the only challenge in the original Sun and Moon games—was reworked to be far, far easier than it was originally, thus making it boring, too. But as bad as the Alola games were, they were not the worst that Gen VII had to offer.

Enter the Let’s Go games.

Let’s Go: Pikachu and Let’s Go: Eevee were the first Pokémon games developed for the Nintendo Switch. They were “remakes” of Yellow (they had enough noticeable changes in the story to not be direct remakes), and if that was the only disappointing thing about them, I probably would have gotten them. After all, I had purchased every single core Pokémon title up until that point, and despite what so many wanted to claim, the Let’s Go titles were core titles. Masuda said it himself when the games were announced. But unfortunately, being yet another set of Kanto remakes was not the worst they had to offer.

You see, the Let’s Go games were made to bring the Pokémon Go gameplay into the core titles. This meant that there would be no battling against wild pokémon to capture them. You would need to shove candies down their throats in order to raise them. EV training was cut out. There was no breeding, so IV breeding was out as well. Only pokémon originally obtainable in the Kanto games would be available, even post-game, something no other game had done before (but which definitely foreshadowed the Dex cuts to come in Gen VIII). To cap it all off, it would be impossible to turn off motion controls and necessary to use them, so people with mobility issues would be unable to play—i.e., Game Freak made the game inaccessible to those with disabilities.

Now, a good chunk of these things made the game extremely unappealing to me already, and in fact have stopped me ever seeking out a used copy. I hate the candy system in Go, I hate having so many features removed, I hate having to rely on RNG to catch pokémon. I mean, there’s always an element of RNG, but you can tilt the RNG in your favor with battling in most of the games, and you can’t do that in Let’s Go. It’s like an entire game’s worth of the Safari Zone (which iirc was also cut in Let’s Go), and I don’t have the time nor the patience for that nonsense. So although the Let’s Go games had some features that appealed to me (following pokémon, riding pokémon), on the whole they were just really unappealing, and that was even before we got into the character changes that were really distasteful to me.

But the thing that I could not let rest and could not forgive—and the thing that caused me to urge everyone to not buy the Let’s Go games, to the point where I lost a friendship because he didn’t like that I criticized them on Facebook so much—was the fact that, on top of saying that the Let’s Go games were to be considered core titles, Masuda said that if they sold well, they would determine the next 20 years of the franchise. What this meant was that, if the Let’s Go games did well, the features implemented in the Let’s Go games—for example, not battling in wild encounters, not having EV training, etc—would be removed in future titles, and instead future games would play like Let’s Go plays. And that’s just something I can’t abide by. If they want to make quirky Kanto remakes like this, fine, but I don’t want brand new games going that route. It’s the exact opposite of what I wanted. So I did the only thing I could: I refused to give my money to Game Freak (which would show them I liked these changes), and urged everyone else to do the same, to buy used if they had to buy at all.

Well . . . pretty much no one listened. As expected, Let’s Go made bank, and I felt that was the end.

I don’t quite feel that way anymore. For the most part, Sword and Shield were unaffected. I’m not sure if this was due to production times not giving Game Freak enough time to implement Let’s Go’s features or not, but nonetheless, Sword and Shield still had wild battles, EV training, IV breeding, etc, so for the most part they were unaffected. There are EXP candies and raids (both similar to Go), but they’re bonuses, not something necessary to raise your pokémon. The only thing that seems consistent with Let’s Go was the Dex Cut (which, funnily enough, was another Masuda decision, casually slipped in by him during the Treehouse demo shortly after everyone was excited about the announcement at E3), but I strongly suspect that’s more to do with Game Freak not having more than a year to develop each game rather than the popularity of Let’s Go.

Regardless, the TL;DR is: I refused to buy Let’s Go (new, at least) because I didn’t want to tell Game Freak that I wanted future games to play like Let’s Go, and I still won’t play it now because so much of it is unappealing to me that, even when I consider getting a used copy, I remember the aspects I don’t like (e.g. no wild battles, no EV training, character and story changes), grimace, and go play something else instead. No hate to anyone who likes them, there are some features in that I think would be fun, but they’re just really not for me.

#pokemon #Anonymous #Sword & Shield also sold exponentially more than LGPE #so that gives me hope for the future of the games too

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jaelijn · 4 years

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4, 14 & 20 please!

Thank you!

Writer meta asks here.

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

Ooof, finding a single paragraph / sentence was really difficult and the main reason this ask took long to answer. What first came to mind was the opening scene of ‘But the Lining is Silver’, just because it has always been so vivid to me, but I wanted to find something a little less obvious.

I finally settled on this snippet from the ‘in the rain’ chapter of ‘With Every Single Word’:

The giant spectre floated directly over them – Vila’s rain-distorted vision made him think that if he only reached out, he would be able to touch its tentacles, not that he wanted to. He tried to sink further into the mud, closer to Avon, whose hand against his chest seemed to be the only thing that had not yet dissolved into water and wetness.

I am much more comfortable with dialogue and introspection than scenery as a general rule, and I really like the mood I established in this one. I also like the alliteration - I use them sparingly / don’t force them, but enjoy it when they happen naturally.

14. At what point in writing do you come up with a title?

At the point where I want to upload it to AO3, to my shame and annoyance, at least 95% of the time. Titles are the bane of my existence as a writer, and it is extremely rare that I have a title before a fic is done, and then often the fic is done for a while before I sit down to come up with a title.

Notable exceptions include ‘Gestures of Idleness’ and ‘Bitter Days, and Sweet’/’Never Twice the Same’. Gestures, I had the title pretty early on, and BDaS/NTtS - with BDaS, I put a lot of effort into coming up with a fitting title as I was editing the first draft because I wanted to do the banner/cover art, and NTtS was a natural consequence of the quote it comes from, which featured in BDaS already, iirc.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

I’ve been wanting to do a “DVD commentary” for BDaS for a while, and now that I’ve found a model of how to do it in a tumblr post the other day, I may just finally get around to it, but for the purpose of this ask just a little itty bit:

There are a few songs that were really key to my writing it, first and foremost “All Fall Down” by Ultravox and “Survivor’s Song” by Julia Ecklar, to the point that I nearly felt I was quoting them when I was writing the confrontation between alt-Blake and our Avon in the medical unit in Chapter 6. Reading back on it, it isn’t actually quite as close as I felt it was while writing, but the inspiration is still there - a lot of cold war songs in the broadest sense are very well suited to B7, imo.

Aside from BDaS, the whole direct linkup thing in ‘Telepathy Between Hearts’ is actually inspired by a fic that has been a WiP since before I started ‘TBH’ and is still a WiP, but one I am currently actively working on. It’s not going to be a short one.

#jaelijn talks #jae's fic #jaelijn answers #foreignobjecticus

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takeyourcritique · 5 years

Text

Makoto Niijima: Good Girl, Bad Writing.

In video games, movies, TV, and books, there are always characters who receive copious amounts of praise. In Persona 5, it is no different. Some characters deserve the hype they get, and some.. do not. In my humble opinion, Makoto Niijima falls into the latter category and in this essay I will explain why, as well as delve into what I as a writer would do to improve her character. Because this is not a hate meta, it is merely me articulating my issues with her character and getting my thoughts in order. (She has potential, it merely needs to be utilized and with P5R coming next year, a girl can hope.)

1. Underwhelming Design

The cast of Persona 5, in contrast to the casts before them, are vigilantes, a band of misfits if you will. The entire theme of the game is rebellion against society and fighting the norm, and the characters should reflect this in their design. The only exception is the protagonist himself because he's on probation and attempting to keep a low profile: that's why he follows the dress code to a tee and appears as gentle as possible, because he's already in enough trouble as is. The first party member, Ryuji, has been a rebel for a good amount of time: his hair is a stark blond (which Kawakami-sensei does not approve of) and he wears a very casual version of the school uniform; substituting a bright yellow shirt for the white of the uniform, wearing sneakers instead of dress shoes, and not wearing his suspenders (they're attached though, at the waist).

Ann Takamaki wears a white clover hoodie under her blazer, red leggings under her skirt, brown lace up boots, and earrings; not to mention her hair, while a natural blonde, is pulled back into cutesy pigtails almost like a teenage Harley Quinn. Yusuke doesn't even go to the same school, so his attire stands out in stark contrast with the main trio. Futaba dyes her hair red and she doesn't go to school at all due to severe anxiety; Haru wears a poofy pink sweater over her uniform with Mary Janes and polka dot tights. They all stick out like little sore thumbs. Except Makoto. She basically also follows the dress code, with a few subtle changes:

•She doesn't wear a blazer, instead wearing a black halter vest over her turtleneck

•Black tights

•Brown boots

That's literally it. Nothing about her stands out, and even in her casual clothing she wears a lot of whites and blacks. There's a monochromatic vibe to her, perhaps alluding to her strong sense of justice and distinction between right and wrong which in and of itself isn't bad! But it doesn't fit with the theme of the cast, Makoto fits in too much with the rest of the world to fit in with them. Just by looking at her, you cannot tell she's supposed to be part of the crew and in all honesty she'd fit better working with Akechi due to their very similar views of justice and morals. Hell, some NPCs are more vibrant design-wise than Makoto is.

2. Her Metaverse design, Persona and codename are contradictory.

Makoto's Persona, Johanna, is based most likely off Pope Joan, (after doing research online and reading Johanna's profile on SMT wiki it seemed the best fit) who was a woman that pretended to be a man in order to rise to power in an otherwise male-only role in the Catholic church. And while the story is intriguing, it doesn't fit Makoto at all: she never pretended to be what she was not and while she's "the voice of reason" she's not the leader of the team; Joker is. This makes her codename, "Queen", even more confusing. Nothing about her costume design looks regal whatsoever; it makes no sense. It feels like writer's favoritism, in all honesty. A better name would've been something more related to the fact that she looks like a biker/executionist hybrid; like "Crusher" or something of more..violent nature.

Even a name related to her wanting to go into the force would've worked well: Chief, Lieutenant, etc. Queen is nice, but it doesn't click with Makoto at all, unlike literally everyone else's Persona and codename. Ann's Persona, Carmen, is a femme fatale that kills men. Captain Kidd is a pirate, an iconic symbol of rebellion; Milady, Haru's Persona, is a reference to a villainess of the same name in the 3 Musketeers; Goemon was essentially a Japanese Robin Hood which fits Yusuke's entire kitsune/warrior aesthetic. Joker's Persona, Arsene, is a direct nod to Arsene Lupin; who was one of Sherlock's rivals and a gentleman thief who left calling cards to the people he robbed and a direct parallel to Akechi.

3. Her introduction as a whole, and to the team, is abysmal.

When Makoto is first introduced to the player, the entire school is in turmoil over Kamoshida's abusive actions towards the volleyball and track team. Many people don't know the truth about what's going on, and others simply turn a blind eye because as an Olympic medalist, the gym coach brings in a lot of popularity for the school. Being the student council president, Makoto has power that many other students do not have; so one would assume that upon learning that a victim was in danger she would spring into action, no?

Wrong.

When Ann confronts Makoto about her inaction, she turns the question back on the blonde, asking "What have YOU done for Shiho?" as if it's Ann's fault that Shiho had been jeopardized (which it was not, Ann allowed herself to be blackmailed by Kamoshida in order, so she thought, to protect her best and at the time, only friend). And she doesn't do anything about the situation, claiming that "It has nothing to do with me." (This is how abuse victims DIE.) Even worse, her elder sister is a prosecutor, she could've easily gone to Sae and asked her to look into the matter. Goro Akechi later calls her out on this, as he should; telling her that she is a "good-girl pushover". And when Kamoshida is punished for his crimes, Ann, who was bullied and outcast, goes to Makoto and apologizes to HER to make amends, as if she were wrong. Makoto then replies "We both made mistakes" in a sorry apology (she doesn't even say "I'm sorry" iirc), and asks if she can call Ann by her first name and without honorifics, which in Japan is a symbol of close friendship. (Edit: this apology actually takes place after Kaneshiro's arc, not Kamoshida's, I misremembered.)

You see, calling someone by their given name, even if you are the same age, has a ton of meaning in the culture. Just a year difference between two people can separate them as senpai and kouhai, and while the senpai can call their kouhai by their first name without raising any eyebrows it's not the same for the younger person. Calling someone by their given name in Japan is a privilege, not a right; it represents trust, respect, everything that Makoto and Ann did NOT have.

Now, let me get this straight.

Makoto did nothing when everybody called Ann Kamoshida's hoe, allowed her, Shiho, Akira, Ryuji and Mishima plus many others to suffer abuse (and Shiho attempted suicide!), gave a laughable apology, victim-blamed Ann; and now she wants to be buddy-buddy? What, in any reality, about that is okay? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. But of course, because the writers want us to love Makoto, they have Ann forgive her and let her call her by her first name. And after all that, Makoto is still president, despite her clear nonchalance to the matter. She also does nothing to help the Kamoshida victims after his crimes come to light, when there was literally no excuse anymore not to assist them and help them get back on their feet. Even if she felt powerless with Kamoshida around, that doesn't explain her inaction after he's gone.

Flash forward two Palaces later, when she joins the team. Makoto stalks the protagonist around to gather evidence that he is a Phantom Thief, and then blackmails her way into the ranks. The team of course, is not happy about this at all. Makoto gives them the target; Junya Kaneshiro, who's basically forcing people into debt. The problem here is she has literally no personal ties to him; unlike the main trio all having connections to Kamoshida and Yusuke being Madarame's essential foster son. Tired of Sae calling her useless, Makoto jumps in front of the mob boss's car in desperation (and Ryuji gets her out of the way JUST in time, but he very easily could've died) which puts the entire team in danger and later on is literally pinned down by the mob and the crew have to go and save her because she was so determined to take this dude down she walked into the lion's den without any form of a plan. (He was also going to sell her into prostution to pay off the debt he'd given the Thieves.)

Her Awakening is also really weak: the speech from Johanna is extremely short and then Makoto stomps the ground to avoid falling over, rips off her mask with a bunch of overdramatic screaming (iirc we don't even get to see blood) and whoop-di-doo, she's got a motorcycle! And suddenly, despite all she's done, everybody loves her and thinks she's a total badass when she literally just threw an adult-sized tantrum. The motorcycle itself is also very lazy, it's just a motorcycle with a face. That's it. That's Makoto's Persona. A motorcycle. With. A. Face.

And from then on, everybody's suddenly a-ok and buddy-buddy with Makoto. It's ridiculous and just makes her come off as a Mary Sue because if somebody endangered my life I sure as hell would not be rubbing shoulders with them and I'm quite sure most people feel the same way. And again, after all this, Makoto does not get in trouble or even harshly reprimanded by the school for her extremely reckless actions; when she should have, and had the power to, just call the police or Sae. And all the Thieves somehow are now her friends and she gets to become a superhero.

So let me see if I understand. This girl stalks these people, blackmails them and forces them to go after hardened criminals (she was going to snitch on them if they didn't comply to her demands), goes in guns blazing by HERSELF to attempt to take down the mob boss, has to be rescued..

And gets praised and dubbed a badass for this???

And before you accuse me of having bias against Makoto, let it be known I in no way, shape or form condone Yusuke stalking Ann or Futaba blackmailing the Thieves either. It's. Still. Wrong.

Also, if you unironically think Makoto's stalking is cute, you're wrong. Stalking is creepy, regardless if it's a girl or guy doing it; no one gets a pass.

In addition, Makoto couldn't be bothered to help out at school but then goes after a MOB BOSS and puts herself in unnecessary danger? What's up with that?? If she felt powerless against Kamoshida, why in the world would she take on the Yakuza?

4. Her backstory doesn't mesh well with the rest of the team.

The gang are all outcasts and misfits in one way or another, and their pasts are less than savory.

Protagonist: Falsely accused of assaulting a woman, expelled from school and sent to Tokyo on a year probation despite his innocence, victim of nasty rumors by other students at his new school; abused by his gym coach, no contact with parents.

Ryuji: Abusive, alcoholic father who beat him and llater left him and his mother, abused by his gym coach, leg broken by his gym coach and labeled as a delinquent because his coach lied and acted like Ryuji attacked him, thus alienating him from the track team and by extent; the entire school. Losing his track scholarship because he can't run anymore, ruining his academic career.

Ann: Two parent household but they're never home, leaving her with a caretaker. Faced bullying and isolation due to being biracial (she's a quarter American), only having one friend before joining the Phantom Thieves. Blackmailed by the gym coach and sexually harassed in order to keep this one friend on the volleyball team, labeled as a slut because no one took the time to find out the truth of the matter. Friend is later raped and attempts suicide, Ann attempts to get help from the student council president but is blamed herself for Shiho's predicament. Also judged just for her looks, which she despises.

Yusuke: Biological father died presumably before his birth, biological mother had a seizure and died due to his mentor's negligence. Said mentor then takes Yusuke, a very small child at this point in time, and raises him in isolation. Psychologically (and very likely emotionally) manipulated, Kitagawa grows up in an abusive household and when confronted with the truth, is unwilling to believe it is so (as many abusive victims realistically behave). Later learns the truth about his mother and his mentor's plagiarism and detaches himself from him, but is extremely socially awkward out of touch due to isolation and as a result is isolated at school because no one wants to talk to him.

Futaba: Was blamed for her mother's death (whom she lost at 13-14) and lived with an extremely abusive uncle who underfed her and didn't even let her bathe herself. Developed severe anxiety and became suicidally depressed for over a year, refusing to even come out of her room. Had a friend who was abused by her parents and upon finding out the two fell out and only reconciled years later through the Internet. Bullied in school for her intellect.

Haru: Lost her mother at a young age, engaged against her will to an emotionally abusive, selfish fiancé for the sake of her father's company. Has deep-rooted trust issues due to people being kind to her solely because of her status; or mean for the exact same reasons. Later on lost her father as well at the age of 17, leaving all the responsibility of the company to her as she was the sole heir.

Morgana: Has no memories of who, or what, he used to be and suffers existential crises; suffers from vivid nightmares. Puts up a façade of arrogance to hide insecurities.

Makoto: Mother died when younger, father died in the line of work, older sister forced to become caretaker and work her rear off to provide for the both of them. Pressured into perfection by Sae.

That's.. literally it. Yes, she has no friends at school, but that's by her choice; she isolates herself in her studies and as a result is socially awkward and doesn't know how to interact with people (which makes her even less suitable to be put into any type of leadership position so how she became student council president is beyond me.) Makoto's life is heaven compared to the other Thieves and most of her issues would go away once she gets to college: the rest of the team doesn't have that luxury. By the way, please don't think I'm saying she doesn't deserve to be on the team because she doesn't have as deep a sob story, I'm not saying that at all. It's just that her backstory isn't really utilized as well as it should be and often times conflict is used to try to get the player to feel sorry for her (i.e. Sae calling her useless)

5. Her Confidant is abysmal and cliché.

So Makoto's Confidant actually starts out not half bad! You take her out to play video games and help her come out of her shell initially. But then it shifts to Eiko, an old friend of hers, who is a bad relationship. And this is when the Confidant begins to suffer, because it's not even about Makoto anymore. The president tells Eiko about the danger she's in, and her old classmate does not listen; declaring that since the older girl does not have a boyfriend she couldn't possibly understand. This logic is very flawed; it's like telling a smoker to stop smoking and they tell you "You don't even smoke, you don't know how bad it is". Yet Makoto listens to Eiko and comes to you, the protagonist; and asks you to pretend to be her boyfriend in order to convince her friend that she DOES understand. But it's so awkward Eiko's boyfriend and the girl herself can tell you're not genuine. And you have to keep this up for the rest of the Confidant, not to mention MAX Charm is required from Rank 5 onward in this route. Why?

Because apparently you're not attractive enough otherwise. And it's not even for Makoto, it's for Eiko, to convince her that you're hot enough to compare to her boyfriend; Takase. (Geez, shallow and childish much?) And then at the end of the Confidant, the romance angle comes off as very odd because you're literally treated like an afterthought the entire time and then suddenly Makoto turns around and wants you as her actual boyfriend?? Uh..where was her falling for you during the time spent together? It just feels like it comes outta nowhere, not to mention she wants to be a cop which the law literally ruined Joker's life soooo why is he getting into a romantic relationship with someone who wants to be associated with a source of his trauma? That's like a metaphorical slap in his face.

"Hey, I know you were literally beaten and drugged up, manhandled, falsely accused and put into solitary confinement by the law enforcement, causing you to suffer severe anxiety and you to possibly be scarred forever but I wanna be a cop even though I don't think straight in stressful situations and act on impulse and don't take insults or criticism well; and I want you to stay by my side even though I blackmailed you, stalked you, and endangered your life and did nothing while you were being abused by your gym coach."

(Let's not forget she also didn't say anything about Sae having a Palace until it was almost too late and Joker almost lost Futaba as a result.)

For Valentine's Day she declares "I've been waiting for you for so long" and that genuinely bewildered me because you don't really see her pining at all during her Confidant, nor during other events (the closest thing you get is her clinging to you in Sojiro's house but that's honestly not even romantic that's just her getting frightened and needing assurance in a very unnecessary "ship tease" moment). Same with the scene in Futaba's Palace, while Joker saving Queen was very sweet, he literally would've done that for anybody of his teammates. Makoto is not special in that regard.

6. How to better this character

•Introduce her to the Thieves in a better, more plot driven way, or remove her from the team completely.

Kaneshiro's arc should honestly just be scrapped, it was a sorry attempt to get Makoto on the team. A better time for her to join would be Sae's Palace since she actually has emotional ties to the Palace owner and by this time in the game could've developed to be a better person from the Kamoshida arc, wanting to make things right. This could also be a good start for her and Ann to begin to be on better terms- not even necessarily friends (because after what happened I honestly don't think Ann would want to be friends, at least not close), but learning to at least be civil. That, or she joins out of desperation because she doesn't want anything bad to happen to Sae and as the infiltration continues gets more and more nervous and ultimately rats their plan out (because Makoto as the traitor would be much better, writing-wise).

Alternatively, Hifumi joining instead of Makoto would also be very refreshing with Makoto covering up for them at school and supporting them on the sly.

•Treat her flaws as actual flaws, she's not perfect.

Makoto does have some bad traits, a few being:

•bad tempered

•reckless

•stubborn

•nosy

•hypocritical

•bossy

•socially awkward

But these are almost never treated in a negative light. With the Kamoshida arc and Kaneshiro arc, all is simply forgiven, same with her smacking Eiko across the face in a moment of anger. Even when wrong, Makoto is never wrong per say and this makes it difficult for her to be believable as a character. To fix this, having her suffer the consequences of her actions will make it more realistic. For example, getting Eiko to break up with her boyfriend but cutting ties with her too as a result would give Makoto the rude awakening that you can do the right thing the wrong way and people will not always forgive you for the mess you put them through (nor should they).

Her being punished for unnecessarily putting herself in danger with Kaneshiro would also be understandable (she should've been at least suspended, she could've gotten herself killed, plus all the then existing Phantom Thieves); as well as actually apologizing for the hell that was Kamoshida's drama. And not just to Ann, but everyone who suffered. That would show maturity and a willingness to change, and put her in a better light.

I want Makoto to get mad and she's fully in the wrong and she acknowledges she's wrong, have her recklessness get her or a teammate wounded in battle, etc. And have the others call her out when she's wrong and refuse to let it slide. Have them talk it out, grow as a team. Just..make Makoto fallible, flawed, broken even. She's an orphan, I want to touch more on her having to grow up quickly, feeling lonely and unsure of how to connect with people; talk about how her father is a driving force in her values and morals and how she wishes to honor him by following in his footsteps.

Delve into how she feels less than worthy if she does not achieve excellence but do it in a way that does not demonize Sae unnecessarily and try to make the reader/player feel sorry for her. Have Makoto spend more time with people in her team outside of team duties and while being awkward, genuinely interested and actively working to better her relationships. (She barely interacts with anyone besides Joker, Futaba, and on occasion, Haru) When Makoto is realistically flawed, she then becomes relatable and much more likable.

I want her fears to be plot relevant, not just slapped on for the sake of making her look "cute". Her being scared of the dark was never relevant, unlike Rei from Persona Q who was scared of the dark and had to go through a pitch black room in order to find key cards to help her friends escape a locked room or Yukari being terrified of death and having to come to terms with that. Same with her fixation for Buchimaru, it's cute but it doesn't add any depth to her character whatsoever or even her apparently knowing aikido? We never see Makoto fight outside the Metaverse unlike Chie or Akihiko so it feels like a character trait just slapped on to make her 'cooler'. It feels lazy, because it is. It's like the writers wanted her to be this strong, independent young woman but at the same time a scared, awkward little girl and the two ideas often clash; coming off as contradictory as if they couldn't make their minds up as to who they wanted Makoto to be.

Again, this is not an attack on Makoto fans. If you like her, that's valid and I respect that. I'm merely explaining why I don't and how I feel the writing failed her character and what I believe she'd be if her potential was maximized.

That's all, have a good day.

#meta #critique #persona 5

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daesungindistress · 5 years

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Hi, Not a Seungri defender as such, but I've also not "cancelled" him yet. I've personally been following the investigation and evidence closely (like to the point of checking Korean sources). I don't know if it what I say matters to you, but I wanted to reassure you that a lot of the VIPs who are OT5 rn, aren't supporting blindly (although there's a few). In my research, I've found most accusations are unbacked media claims. However, if solid evidence should show. I'd change my opinion on it.

*to clarify what I mean by evidence. A lot of the accusations media claim Ri has done or is being investigated for are false. The assumption he was in the MOLKA has so far been disproven. The prostitution claims don’t meet up with other evidence (women out right deny it) And the two burning sun videos, both the woman dragged out and the woman supposedly drugged, have both stated these are but true. I’m not one to believe things blindly but all he women involved have denied all accusation (rn).

I understand that you want to wait for stronger evidence that might convince you to “cancel” him altogether, and that’s fine, but this far into the investigation much of the fandom has seen enough to decide that Seungri’s role in Big Bang has come to an end. The way I look at it, that is the spirit behind OT4 vs OT5. It doesn’t have to be about hating Seungri specifically, it’s more about Big Bang’s longevity… and at this time it’s tough to envision a Big Bang that can live on with Seungri in it. On that subject, I have to stop there because I’m currently in the process of writing another post about this, and I don’t want to use up all my thoughts on it here… or have to resort to repeating myself there.

As for the rest, I agree that Seungri probably isn’t guilty of everything he’s been accused of. But it’s likely he’s guilty of some things. Some of which may never be proven in court because, remember, he told his friends to change phones before turning them in to the police – which they did. It’s recently been reported that Seungri himself submitted a new phone too. He’s currently being investigated for that, this destruction of evidence, so we’ll see if it goes anywhere. By the way, this info was gathered by police during questioning of Seungri’s friends (CJH, JJY, etc).

This is an extremely important point to me. Because if he did tell his friends to ditch their old phones, and took the same measures himself, then that’s practically an admission of guilt, albeit an indirect one. Guilt for what, you ask? We may never know. He made sure we wouldn’t. He pledged to cooperate sincerely with the investigation, but… that doesn’t sound like cooperating sincerely to me. It’s exceedingly weird to me that people aren’t talking about this more.

As for the prostitution claims, yes, some women interviewed have denied. I mean… of course they’re going to deny it, prostitution is illegal in South Korea and confessing would land them in trouble. And yet, it is also possible that they’re being truthful and they are not, in fact, prostitutes. I’m willing to believe that. Keep in mind, however, that there have been multiple chats released that appear to be alluding to prostitution mediation / acting as a liaison in various locations, and the investigation is still ongoing. Police have said recently that they believe they’ve obtained some credible testimony and feel they’re making progress on those allegations, so again, yes or no, we’ll just have to wait and see. Seungri claims that many of those chats are being taken out of context. For some of them, I can accept that. For others… that rosy tint is fading fast.

The Burning Sun video of the woman being dragged is irrelevant, I think. Just a misunderstanding. Last I heard, that video showed her being forcibly removed from the club for causing a disturbance; the woman herself wrote the club a letter of apology and paid for damages. It is true, however, that women have been assaulted and secretly filmed inside the club Burning Sun; not sure about CCTV footage, but police caught two employees who were doing it, using a VIP bathroom and filming it on their phones. IIRC at least one of them is in custody. And many more women are speaking out now – specifically, about how they tried to report problems related to the club but were ignored or silenced by the local police (Gangnam district). It’s quite clear at this point that Burning Sun itself was a hotbed of illegal activity. Many arrests have been made on charges of drug use, and a few for drug distribution.

I’m not actually very interested in discussing Seungri’s role in Burning Sun, as I’m not convinced yet that he had much to do with the seedy goings-on there. Even the prostitution stuff I’m still pretty ‘meh’ about for reasons I don’t feel like going into right now. Gambling = whatever, his drug tests were clean, embezzlement… yeah that’s not great, he’ll probably just pay a fine. Tax evasion, again, sucks, probably another fine. Police collusion… jury’s still out on that one, but it definitely doesn’t reflect well on him, that he’s being questioned about it at all. Remember his comment: “Korean law is shit, that’s why I love it.” Dude. Dumb thing to say when you’re a highly-regarded celebrity who people look up and admire. And now it’s out there for the whole world to see.

Whew. And we haven’t even touched on the main source of fans’ outrage: m o l k a

It’s true that Seungri wasn’t in the majority of JJY’s molka chats and was instead in a chat reserved mostly for business. However, he was sent at least one molka video, and he did see it, because he responded to it. I’m not too fussed by his reply (”Who’s that? Oh, Oo-hyung lol”)… it comes off as more dismissive to me than anything – uninterested, mostly. Unfortunately for him, many are interpreting it as amusement. At the very least, he was aware of JJY’s molka/spycam fetish, because in his Chosun Ilbo interview he said, “Of course I tried to stop him. When I met him in person I tried to stop him and said, ‘Don’t do stuff like that, you’ll get in really big trouble.’” There’s no question anymore whether he did or did not know about his friend’s dirty habits / crimes against women. The most concerning thing, to me, is that he didn’t seem to care enough to cut ties with him because of it. If he had made a visible effort to distance himself, I think people might be more forgiving.

Also strange is his total failure to mention the women affected in any of his apologies. He’s taken the time to apologize to his former agency YG, his bandmates (seen translated as “teammates”), his fans, the Korean public, and even Mr. Kim following his assault by police at Burning Sun… but never once the women. Why? What does that say about him? I’m not sure, but I don’t think I like it.

In the end, here’s what it all boils down to, for me: whatever the extent of his involvement, it’s pretty obvious at this point that he’s not some innocent lamb being led to slaughter. Seungri let this relationship drag on for years and stuck with it, this shady bunch. This wasn’t just a one-time thing, a simple mistake anyone might make. Worse, he was warned by his hyungs many times – on camera, even, in front of fans, in front of TV audiences. They begged him not to mess up while they were away and Big Bang was dependent on him. They trusted him with the name BIGBANG. Will they, or anyone else for that matter, be willing to trust him with it again?

I hate to say it, but it looks like Seungri chose these people over Big Bang. He chose Jung Joonyoung, Choi Jonghoon, Yoo Insuk, and others over Kwon Jiyong, Choi Seunghyun, Dong Youngbae, and Kang Daesung. Forget the warnings, OT4 teased, complained, and scolded him often enough about not spending time with them outside of band-related activities. Well, I guess now we know why. He had other friends, other loyalties, other priorities. Even as recently as late February of this year, when the first KKT chats were dropped (the Arena prostitution chat), Seungri’s first concern was contacting his friends to make sure they’d be safe in the event of a “mandatory police investigation”. I don’t think he’s this horrible person that so many are making him out to be, no, but this is not behavior befitting a member of a world-renowned boyband with a tremendous following of adoring female fans. It’s a coveted position of great power and great responsibility – to his fans, to his bandmates, to himself. But with his burgeoning interest in business, I guess Seungri felt he had better, more important things and people to attend to.

And then on March 11, 2019, he saw the writing on the wall and left Big Bang.

I’m sad to lose him. But I think, in a way, we lost him a long time ago. We just didn’t know it yet.

#this is a mess #not my best post #typed it out in one go #no time to proofread #anon #ask #seungri #burning sun #at least he resigned from bb when he did #I'm grateful to him for that

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daywillcomeagain · 6 years

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since apparently people like it when i am a numenor stan on main i have decided to DEFEND MY NUMENOR OPINIONS. specifically, @lesbiansforboromir said yesterday “the divide was between faithful and not faithful but you know there were mirriad of reasons why people chose one or the other, and a bunch of people who didn't know either way” and i immediately fell in love with them for sharing my Controversial Numenor Opinion, so now i am writing a post in defense of it.

(i’ve written a longer post about my numenor opinions + why i am an unrepentant numenor stan here; this post will probably do a lot of restating but it felt worth making its own post about.)

so, like. 3,000 years is a long time. one of the main charges against the King’s Men is that they are blasphemous against the Valar, but, like, the last contact they had from the Valar was as long ago for them as the Greek and Egyptian empires might have been from us. admittedly the numenoreans lived longer than we do, though it’s hard to tell how much so given that their lifespans varied between royalty and non and between early and late numenor; but even adjusting for that with the most generous possible lifespan estimates, it has been the equivalent of almost a thousand years in terms of how many generations they’ve had, and, uh, i don’t really think a 7th century A.D. atheist is doing something weird or hard to understand either.

the numenoreans are also speaking from entirely understandable places. when the king’s men are getting their start, the elves are immortal and live in paradise and the men are spending all their days staring at the sea with longing in their hearts and there’s still a cultural memory of all the colonialism elves did to men in the First Age. and then they are chastised when they dare “envy the Valar, or even the least of the Deathless”. a bit later--before the religious oppression started; at this point, the only sin of the King’s Men is to desire a longer life and to disagree with the Valar and the Eldar--the ‘shadow’ falls on numenor, at which point their lifespans shrink: they die of old age faster, and disease, and storms, and so on. (if i lived at that time, i might have seen this as violent retaliation from the Valar, who were punishing me solely for peacefully expressing my opinion. would i have been right? i don’t know. but i wouldn’t have been evil for it. i think it is silly to characterize this as a ‘rebellion’.) later on, after some religious persecution has happened, a Faithful king sits once again on the throne. he prays to the Valar to forgive him and his people. and what is the response? “his repentance was too late to appease the anger of the Valar with the insolence of his fathers.” i don’t know about you, but when i see someone who didn’t even do anything wrong is apologizing to the valar for something his ancestors did, and then the valar go on to punish him anyway, with lightning and earthquakes and disease and madness and general terribleness... i would not exactly be the most pro-valar person in existence!!! and i think this is really, deeply understandable, actually!!!

(have another controversial opinion of mine: wanting to be immortal, or to go to valinor? isn’t actually inherently a bad thing. human sacrifice and invasions are, and i fully condemn ar-pharazon, but, like, sauron was right there. Sauron Manipulates Humans, Does Evil Stuff: entirely unsurprising, and doesn’t say anything about whether the King’s Men were evil pre-pharazon. or, well, gimilzor was pretty awful too, but--you see my point. wanting to be immortal isn’t in and of itself an Awful Rebellion deserving of punishment! desiring immortality and fearing death isn’t universal, but it’s deeply human and imho can be beautiful when turned towards the pursuit of goodness instead of used for atrocities)

as for when sauron arrives--he’s already fashioned the One Ring at this point. (was he wearing it? we don’t know; there is iirc a draft that explicitly states that he left it in middle-earth, but given all of LoTR this seems really deeply weird. shrug.) he knows lots of things that humans don’t. he arrives as a prisoner, and he teaches them to build engines. (WHY IS THERE NOT MORE STEAMPUNK NUMENOR, GIVEN THAT THIS IS CANON ACTUALLY. @ silm fandom get on this asap.)

and one of the faithful sails to Valinor, to beg the aid of manwe. maybe to be like “help with the human sacrifice problem please??” and maybe to be like “please have mercy on them, they know not what they do”, i don’t know, we don’t know, either way, it didn’t work, his ship disappeared, and “for the treason of Numenor there was no easy absolving” which imho is really fucking rich for a bunch of deities when referring to someone who has done nothing wrong and has been breaking the law and risking death to do worship them and generally be Extremely Faithful. fuck that. fuck the valar. oh man i just. the valar did numenor so dirty. i’m mad again

also, like. the King’s Men who were super into the whole anti-valar thing? who killed people and so on? were most likely part of the invasion. killing the people who stayed behind, who were civilians, many of whom likely had opinions ranging from mine to “i don’t care” to “that human sacrifice thing seems weird but my husband likes it???” to “i am a baby and don’t understand words yet”... that was wrong. that was so, so wrong. and it’s so important to me to remember that. (in my numenor fic, i make a point of having sympathetic characters on all the ‘sides’ of the various political issues through the years. because... people are people, and numenor had so many of them at this point, and the idea that none of them had sympathetic reasons and motivations is laughable to me. making generalizations of the opinions of half a continent should not be done based off of the behavior of two kings. life is more complicated than that, actually.)

in general: i, along with many of my friends, have issues with eru and the valar. lots of people are afraid of death, or want to live longer, or wish that their loved ones pining away at the shore were allowed to visit paradise. i think this is understandable and doesn’t make them bad. the akallabeth is written with zero sympathy for this kind of thing, and the eldar and the valar seem to have the same view. and, like, fuck that, actually.

#but for all this Death did not depart #i really need an OPINION TAG #for my OPINIONS #shut up þornwë

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lafortis · 5 years

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oops *social programs. like increasing class sizes, cutting bursaries, cutting library funding, cutting OHIP drug coverage. that kind of thing

so like

idk this is a topic i feel like i should say more about but i’m tired rn so this is what u get

increasing class sizes, presuming you could link that directly to a decrease in quality of outcomes in education, is dumb and short-sighted. education, especially in k-12, is one of the safest and best long term investments and state actor can make, no questions asked. in cutting it, presuming class sizes actually do actually cause disengagement or worse outcomes (not a huge leap), you run the risk of increasing crime rates (delinquent youth - in-class engagement, extra-curriculars, and economic opportunity brought about by success in education all have been show to decrease crime rates [iirc, citing things when ur hunched on a roadcase is a little beyond me rn but if u want citations i can provide]) and decreasing flow of graduates to jobs that require ppl with higher education, either stymieing broader economic growth or forcing them to look elsewhere and bring ppl in either interprovicnially or internationally, which i get the impression isn’t the outcome foug dord seeks, were he asked.

cutting bursaries falls under the same category in my opinion; it is, broadly speaking, a good use of gov’t money to offer money for higher education. the increased income tax revenue over the person’s lifetime would likely more than pay for it, even in a zero sum game where the gov’t doesn’t also benefit from a more educated overall populace/workforce (which they fucking do). again, long term substantial benefit being sacrificed for short term gain in the name of deficit reduction (which i’ll... get to)

library funding is just a kick in the fucking teeth tbh, but if i have to address it seriously, libraries’ benefits are similar to that of higher school engagement; lowering crime rates as otherwise delinquent youths, poor families etc have a place for their children to spend time safely and productively. besides their use as a repository for local history (which i’m sure ford’s rural base would approve of if they realized it was there, but he’s from etobicoke and therefore doesn’t give a shit), they host events, help educated local children, represent the most freely available source of learning to low-income individuals, and offer a safe space to the public during business hours. for how much money they consume, cutting them is almost always a bad idea, regardless of province or country.

cutting OHIP coverage is dumb. single payer pharmacare is good. for reasons why see the folllowing:

suck my dick

for real tho i know my man wants to privatize health care in this province i done seen it in his eyes IRL.

and as a serious answer: those whose drugs you know longer pay for will likely burden the system in another way later down the line, and that’s usually much more expensive. unless he plans to defund ERs as well (which doesn’t exist anywhere, even private systems, which is why private systems are dumb; you turn people away until they’re literally dying, do an extremely expensive procedure to save them because you’re practically ethically obligated to, and then hit them with the bill, which they can’t pay any of, or they would’ve fixed it earlier. they go bankrupt, but you can’t squeeze blood from a stone either. everyone loses) preventative care, even ancillary care like non-essential pharma, is cheaper long-term than waiting for someone to be more expensive and more necessary to fix. you could split hairs about which are necessary and which aren’t or what have you, but quite frankly those administrative costs plus the quality of life downgrade ppl get from an obtuse pharmacare system means that it’s probably easier to just pay for it all. and THEN GUESS WHAT

you’re fucking single payer now. congratulations. want access to a market of 14 million? gotta negotiate with OHIP on drug prices now. fuck you.

it’s literally more economically efficient for everyone except drug manufacturers, whose profit margins are so economically aberrant that they can kinda go fuck themselves. like it’s the exact kind of thing taxes exist for: something that can be accomplished better, cheaper and more consistently under a single entity than individually. federal liberals are threatening to move this way and if they get re-elected i’ll personally suck trudeau’s dick to make it happen. it’s just fucking common sense.

so that just leaves us with uhhh,,,, one thing left, which is the provincial gov’t’s assertion that ontario’s debt is out of control, way too high, etc. as the reasoning behind austerity measures like these. which is like, it sounds good on paper? to the layman, sure, it holds up. their $343bn number is intimidating, there’s the “highest sub-sovereign debt” factoid floating around always, wynne was unpopular, liberals spend too much, so therefore spending was too high in the eyes of the ppl. whatever. economy doesn’t exist solely in political ads and the heads of those they’re targeted towards.

governments are made to hold debt. more than an individual, or a company, or a mega-corporation or conglomerate, governments are debt-holding entities. the actual amount is rarely important, as long as it’s payment has been earmarked over the time agreed upon. the interest over time is weighed against the economic growth that that spending is projected to create. actual cost of the debt is minimal. ontario’s interest payments appear to amount to about $4bn LESS than quebec’s, despite quebec having about 2/3rds of our debt. their debt to gdp ratio is 52% to our 39%.

the reason our debt is so much higher than other comparable sub-sovereign entities (i.e. american states) is because our provinces bear MUCH more spending burden than their peers. if you average out provincial and federal debt to get a more even representation of debt per capita, ontario is SAFELY in the black compared to other similar economies (which, to be fair, is partially because america’s federal debt is so high, but state debt’s and spending are so low that it’s not even a comparison otherwise). the only concerning stat in our entire economic portfolio is that economic growth

further research on their direction on the topic actually leave me less angry than before in a broad sense; their fiscal policymakers seem to generally agree that the best way to reduce debt is to spend at current levels rather than increase. it’s mostly i suppose the specifics you brought up as well as their rhetoric and political ads that i vehemently disagree with as short-sighted.

as usual canadian politics is a watered down version of american, so even their post-trump candidate actually still staffs genuine fiscal conservatives who don’t make obvious and easy to avoid mistakes.

vic fidelli can still suck my dick tho. this statement is dumb and obviously not true. “hey economic winds are blowing well so our long term strategy is obviously ALREADY WORKING”. fuck you. fuck off. stupid bitch.

so yeah

tat’s me onion

#high school anon #star emoji anon #canpoli #long #sorry #Anonymous

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