#I also don't actually play this game so forgive me for literally everything

[froggyfriendart]

Down, down, down by the river...

Link to Sixfanarts

Closeups under the cut

[chanswifey]

Seventeen as your boyfriend | Jeonghan

mean™

Don't get me wrong, he's completely in love with you, it's just that his love language includes being a bit annoying

If he doesn't try to annoy you at least once a day assume he's sick or got abducted and replaced with a clone

Apologies are usually in the form of a warm meal or a cuddle session before sleep

He also likes to treat you by giving you gifts, you don't know but he has definitely stalked your wishlist once or twice to try to surprise you (and make sure you forgive him)

He's addicted to gossiping with you, he knows all the office tea and your coworker's names even though he has never met any of them

Some nights you get home to him holding an actual tea mug and signaling the seat next to him

"You will not believe what happened today at work", you say dropping your stuff by the entrance door.

"Tell me everything, honey", he answers handing you your own tea mug.

On date nights he likes to take you on walks in the park to look at the stars, he loves to hear you talk about the things you love, even if it's just some tv show you recently found

You guys used to do game nights but those are forbidden now because he kept cheating so much and when you managed to win once he tried to accuse you of cheating... the nerve 🙄

This guy finds a way to cheat on games you would not even think possible, he's an actual mastermind

He takes really good care of you, doesn't matter how busy he is, always worrying about your sleep and if you have been eating

He's also the type to do things just because you are into them, he ends up enjoying it too but won't admit to it

Like doing skincare routines, never seen a guy fall asleep so fast as when you are applying cream on his face

He will literally search for new face masks to try with you then whine the whole time you are putting it on his face

You are the only person allowed to braid his hair other than his hair stylist, he loves when you play with his hair and even takes pictures to brag to the members about how good you are at it

He LOVES to take unflattering pics of you, LOVES!!!! And he WILL use all of them on your birthday post

He will get on your nerves so bad sometimes but with a face like that you can't really stay mad at him, can you?

×××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

2023 © chanswifey — do not repost or translate

author's note: this one was easier to do than I thought it would be tbh, I hope you guys like it. About the next post, I will try to do it tomorrow but if I don't it will be posted on Sunday. I have to take my precious angel of a dog to the vet on Saturday and I have no idea how long it will take. Anyways let me know if you guys like this one and remember to like and reblog to help me, love yall 💗

mlist | request here | what I write

[thetombedspirit]

SPOILERS FOR AVATAR: FRONTIERS OF PANDORA - TAP CON-1 AND THE SARENTU MOOT MASSACRE

I wanted to post my full thoughts about the game after i finished my first playthrough, but I can not just keep what I just learned in my head, so be forwarned; Spoilers ahead.

Let me just say that the entire TAP CON-1 quest made me feel... disgusting.

That word perfectly encapsulates how I felt the second I heard how they made the children shower in disinfectant, as if they were diseased. I felt gross, and messy and just absolutely disgusted.

And then the massacre happened and I was just... I don't know how to describe it. Like, I knew Alma was involved, but the way that it all just poured out. That she was there during the whole slaughter, how she admits to playing ignorant, how she let the children believe the lie that their families abandoned them and it just made me think of everything else she's done since knowing her.

She did nothing as the RDA barged into the moot and slaughtered the entire clan.

She did nothing as the children were literally shoved into cages like animals, shackled like prisoners and then washed and striped of everything that made them Sarentu.

She proceeds to teach them what she sought out to teach, knowing damn well the consequences of wanting her school program to work.

She did nothing as Mercer and Harding trained/abused the children.

She did nothing when Mercer killed Aha'ri (which should have been the breaking point at this rate)

She left the children in cyrosleep for 16 years, not once thinking to check if they were actually alive.

She proceeds to keep her secret, and even expresses confirmation in an audio log that "they made the right choice" when bringing up how the Sarentu children are adjusting to the resistance. Basically implying that she's glad her teachings worked.

She tells Ri'nela that the Kame'tire can't be trusted, alienating the clan that she indirectly ruined with her ambitions.

And when she's finally figured out and Alma's Avatar is killed, she laments about never experiencing Pandora freely anymore, as if she expects Ri'nela and MC to lament with her.

After the whole funeral, I began rummaging it around in my head, and in the end, I concluded that the death of Alma's avatar and her actions are in direct parallel to Jake's.

Jake wanted to be part of the Na'vi because he got to actually connect with it's culture and worked to become a part of it. And when he screwed up, he worked to earn the Omaticaya's forgiveness, eventually becoming a true Na'vi.

Alma pretty much already saw herself as part of the Na'vi, despite barely doing anything. When Nor happily shows them the Sarentu knife and then laments how it was kept as a trophy and Alma said it was back with "us", like she was implying herself as part of the Sarentu. And she did very little if nothing at all to amend her mistakes, instead opting to play the victim here.

I also thought about Grace here, and her own sins with her own school. But the difference there is that she actually worked to make a friendship with the Omaticaya before taking in students. And her school was out in the forest, made from wood and full of life and learning. Alma's school was indoors inside metal walls, cut off from the outside world and they were taught one-sided knowledge that boosted the RDA's image and tarnished the Na'vi's.

And then Grace's School failed, she to seemed to loose herself to her avatar, preferring her avatar body to her human,, but she never once tried to cover up her mistakes. And she tried to make things work.

Alma did nothing but cover up the truth until it couldn't be hidden anymore.

In the end, the fact that just one quest could make me feel like this and have me think about all this really shows that the story works.

So it's gameplay is a little too simular to Far Cry. Who cares? So long as the story has me feeling complex emotions like this, I will play it.

Even if the glitches get a little annoying, I still enjoy every bit of this game.

And I will post my full thoughts on the game once I've finished it.

Anyway, thanks for putting up with my train wreck of thoughts!

[prismartist]

(if you saw a similar post to this uhm. ignore that. i don't know why that's there. this is the actual post.

also spoilers for ace attorney 3, though my memory of the game is spotty so forgive me if i get anything wrong)

anyway. fucking fascinated with how cellbit incorporates the themes of ace attorney into his own lore, actually.

because the thing is, prosecutors in ace attorney are almost always at least a little bit evil. they're cruel, they're ruthless, and they prioritize winning over discovering the truth. which absolutely makes sense for the front cellbit's putting up; he seemingly no longer cares about unmasking the federation, and instead cuts off everyone around him and selfishly wants to keep richarlyson to himself. already a fantastic fucking decision, 10/10.

and then there's the fact that he chose godot.

godot used to be a defense attorney called diego armando. after he got poisoned, put in a coma, and woke up to learn his girlfriend got murdered, he felt immense guilt over her loss, and projected that guilt onto phoenix wright, her successor, even though he had virtually nothing to do with it. godot's whole thing is baseless accusation, becoming a prosecutor to "test" wright when he's not even that good of a prosecutor; he doesn't even hate wright! he even admits this plan was a "stupid fantasy" of revenge. this guy is a stubborn mule, who only wants to make up for the fact that he failed to protect his girlfriend mia, though his efforts are flawed and arrogant.

the fact that cellbit chose this guy. the guy who switched from defense to prosecution parallel to cellbit's own apparent switch from anti- to pro-federation. the guy who was blinded (literally) by emotion. the guy q!cellbit has aligned himself with, not just in the recent stream but all the way back in the early qsmp streams when he would play his theme all the time. this is definitely the best guy that cellbo could have chosen to trick the federation. the feds will look at him and see a changed (mentally unstable) man, a man who is willing to serve them by whatever means in order to pursue his own stubborn goals––godot wanted to protect mia more than anything, cellbit claims he wants to protect richarlyson more than anything, even more than his other family. i mean, i dunno if the feds are buying anything that's cellbit's pulling, but if they realize who cellbit is kinning that's gotta add some credibility points to the front.

but also... though godot wanted to protect those he cared about, he is a self-sacrificial dumbass who foolishly took everything upon himself. in wanting to prove and redeem himself, he refused to communicate or ask for help, and his plan to protect was half-baked and rash and got people killed. godot, in the long run, caused more harm than good in his effort to protect his loved ones and in his self-absorbed pursuit of redemption.

and well, if one puts it that way... q!cellbit's cosplay may be less of a charade than he realizes.

but you know what? i'm just glad he didn't actually go crazy over a vivo commercial

[ragnarokalypse]

I am usually a lurker. I don't really post anything...ever, anymore, but I am so incredibly disappointed by this expansion that I felt the need to chime in my sentiments, just to get it off my chest.

I am one of the few people that loved ARR, before the "streamlining." I was hooked in the first 10 levels and the game had me in a stranglehold all the way through Endwalker. Everything after 6.0 was...eh...but I love the game so I stuck with it. I also loved Stormblood, and I've walked away from Dawntrail loving it even more, because hoo boy, does Wuk Lamat give me a new appreciation for Lyse.

I don't have a problem with low stakes. I don't have a problem with fetch questing, building my reputation, and just generally doing menial tasks even when people should be acting with a little more urgency. My beef with this expansion isn't that it's "new", "low-key", "a reset", or anything like that. My beef is Wuk Lamat.

This entire expansion is basically the Wuk Lamat show. The WoL does not really forge any new relationships, they don't really explore anything, they don't really do anything, and when they do, it's hijacked by Wuk Lamat. I swear I think my character was introduced by name to a citizen maybe...once. Instead, we have to sit there watching Wuk Lamat do everything that I want to do in a story that is supposed to be about the character I've spent years investing time and emotional effort into. I want my character to be the one making friends, exploring new cultures, and building a positive reputation with the people. When the first half ended and we FINALLY got to go do something without her, I was excited. I was willing to forgive the first half because it felt like the REAL journey was just getting started.

But nope, back to Wuk Lamat. Back to her being the main character and my character, the character I actually love and have painstakingly developed over years, being sidelined. In the final battle, I was again excited because FINALLY, a good old fashioned WoL vs The Enemy showdown. But what's this? Oh, Wuk Lamat again. In the epilogue, everyone celebrated for three days and three nights to "hail the Dawnservant's victory." Like, what? She shows up in that last 20% and gets the credit? Excuse me? I don't dislike Wuk Lamat even if I do deeply dislike her type of character, but I do resent the massive amounts of space she takes up in what is supposed to be my character's story.

Maybe I'm selfish, maybe it's just a me problem, but I play MMOs to tell stories about characters in fun worlds that I get to craft to my liking. If I wanted to play a game of pre-existing characters and watch/experience their journey, I'd go boot up literally any other Final Fantasy game. I have seen people liken this expansion to World of Warcraft, and I agree, to an extent. However, even though WoW doesn't have your character be center stage, I have always felt like the world was expansive enough for you to tell your own independent stories in the background. I have a whole host of characters in the WoWverse that I've developed over the years, and I never felt like I was held back from being creative because of the overarching narrative choices made by the game because, ultimately, my character was not a central figure and I could do what I wanted.

Here, I'm trapped. I can't say my character is off doing something else because she's literally tied to Wuk Lamat through the entire expansion and the shard key will probably be important later. I went through 3 days of cutscenes and walked away with pretty much nothing that I feel inspires me creatively or gives me any new material to build my character's story. Instead, I'm left feeling like I'm having to struggle to explain why she's being so passive and out-of-character. Is it trauma? Is she drunk? You got me. I'm still figuring it out, and figuring it out is a struggle that I have never experienced in this game. It isn't fun, which kills the creativity even more.

I might have been more forgiving of the story if it were reframed around the characters I actually care about and I got to experience the world instead of sitting back and watching Wuk Lamat experience it for me, but as it stands, I didn't really enjoy any of it save the American old west town where we got to hang out with Erenville, blissfully Wuk Lamat free. I swear they're the only people in the story that actually talked to us and learned our names. I think the best example of how little I enjoyed myself is in how many screenshots I took. I took almost 3,000 screenshots throughout my first Endwalker playthrough. Here, I took less than 100.

I will continue to stick with XIV for a while to see where it goes from here, but if this is the new story direction and philosophy - tell a story through other characters first - then I may just have to sadly resign myself to the fact that my character's story ended with 6.0, and go off to greener pastures where I can craft characters and build stories in ways that are more to my liking.

Overall, 1/10. I can't even rank it amongst other expansions because even the lowest ranked expansion for me is one that I love. Dawntrail is in a league of dislike and resentment all its own.

[connorstollenthusiast]

Lee Fletcher Headcanons

* These are kinda just all over the place.. so forgive me for that

A/n - OKAY, yes I totally know he's like the most random side character, BUT HE WASN’T TO ME OKAY?!?💔

Lee DEFINITELY has freckles

He’s definitely also super, SUPPERR tan, like it’s genuinely concerning how fast he tans.

One of those people who doesn’t get sun burnt, just gets tan

I feel like he’s around 6 foot something

Lee stays at camp year round, due to his mom not really wanting him in her new life much

He keeps diary’s, and has been activity keeping them since he was like 11

He wears socks with sandals

Lord, he has this green sweatshirt that has been with him through HELL

Like it's his signature outfit..

sigh, if that sweatshirt could talk..

One of his favorite activities (outside of archery) is crafting overly elaborate playlists..

You'll know he likes you if he lets you listen to music with him 💔

Always has headphones in, even when people are talking to him

Like it's so annoying, PLEASE at least pretend you're listening 😭

He has a box under his bed of random things that his friends have given him

Or just stuff that reminds him of people and moments

I feel like he's one of those 'universally liked people' at camp

I don't actually know where he'd be from...

Maybe like..Montana?? I dunno??

I think he would like Mario Kart 64, like specifically

Also plays games like Pokémon, and Zelda

His favorite Pokémon games would be soul-sliver, and alola.

A just dance MASTER

Like wins every time, it's kinda to the point everyone thinks he's cheating

LOVESSS strawberry jam

Could eat 12 peanut butter jelly sandwiches if someone let him

(Pls don't let him..)

Owns a digital camera

He takes photos of literally EVERYONE and everything

Don't let him catch you lacking 😭 you WILL be going on the 'memory wall' above his bunk.

[dual-fantasy]

duncan is simultaneously the funniest fucking guy and super tragic to me. i think hes The Worst Ever because its a way of acting out against his dad. funniest shit ever and devastating. Everything about duncney as a whole leaves me in hysterics and also clutching my chest crying punching holes into the walls. he is killer phoebe bridgers to me. can the killer in him tame the fire in (various romantic partners he swore were the one then broke up with 2 days later). or is there nothing left to do for them. hes sick of the chase but hes hungry for blood. and theres nothing he can do. hes a dog motif in a really specific street dog way you just have to understand. in a wolf way, even. but in a rabid stranded starving way. he is the only heartbreaker as well btw. he'll be the loser in this game he'll be the bad guy in the play. eric is a duncney song but in a way you would not expect. it is the duncney duncan pov song ever actually. she can come closer he'll let her hurt him how she chooses. this view of her of the top of her head makes him forgive her. her skin cries a soft weep like his. his price how about just a part of her cause he wants. shouldve been me is THE duncney/gwuncan song ever. courtney pov. when she saw the girl looked just like her and it broke her heart the lengths he went to have her to get to have her. cause she hasnt given him what he needs. he wanted her but couldnt reach her. so he went into his memory and relived all the ways he still wants her. shes sorry it shouldve been her. thought ive had in my head for over a year. its literally Them. a loving feeling is the aleduncan 90th breakup song. theyre compatible but only behind closed doors. they mean a lot to me actually jsut like . In General duncan and duncan ships by extension are mitskipilled. mitskimaxxing, even. GRAVE DOG!!!!

frrrr you're so real but if im going to comment on Duncan I need to confess something. Ive never finished watching action. ive gotten to like ep 20 I still have literally never finished it. I know that he has a lot of moments in there but I haven't finished it for some reason. I understand you but also I'm not as insane. feel free to keep screaming about him because I completely trust your opinion . I'll probably finish action soon because you are dragging me into the duncan hellhole. I love characters who are so silly and stupid and also absolutely devastating if you think about it too hard. literally peak characters.

dog motif but in the way that he was abandoned by everyone because they weren't aware he was actually a wolf. he keeps finding new homes but he gets kicked out after a day. he's rabid and scary and he's desperate for a secure home, but he can't admit that because it goes against his nature. everything hes ever known.

I love duncney too btw. Courtney is such an interesting character to me but I cannot put it into words. I love her though. absolutely love her. she's so complicated and nuanced. Courtney is for the intellectuals (joking). same with gwuncan.

also I'm insane about aleduncan. not to be kind of basic but they're everything to me. they can only be with eachother if they're alone. insane about them

I don't have any song recommendations bc school has been fucking my ass recently. moving to an online school while being tech illiterate is actually horrible </3 but your music taste is soooo good. actually top tier. real and genuinely incredible. he's mitskimaxxing, lushpilled, puberty2mogging. grave dog you're so real always

[firedragon1321]

It's Kieran hours again. Today I wanted to ramble about him, and also Carmine being an asshole. Spoilers for Teal Mask and possible spoilers for Indigo Disk (based on leaks) below.

So it's already obvious that Carmine's mistreatment of Kieran plays into his insecurity at the start of the game. The player is also at fault (hiding the truth about Ogerpon from him, spending time with only Carmine, and turning the other cheek to his mistreatment, amongst other things). Note when I refer to "the player" here, I mean the in-game avatar, not the actual human player. Others have agreed that we needed the choice to avoid hurting Kieran's feelings.

As an extension of that, we also needed the choice to confront Carmine. I know we couldn't because Teal Mask leads directly into Indigo Disk, and Pokemon games are linear by nature. But as a grown-ass adult who recognized the toxic dynamic between the siblings, I wanted to take Kieran and hide on Oni Mountain.

And it was all little things adding up to one oppressive hammer of discouragement. Constantly brushing him off, treating him as unimportant, etc. This behavior of Carmine's isn't exclusive to Kieran- the player is treated like shit until they earn her respect. But the player is from out of town. Kieran had to deal with this behavior for his entire life.

Carmine isn't evil like Lusamine (debatable due to Nihilego poison) or Ghetsis (I will get to these two in the readmore). But her behavior is still unacceptable. It's what made Kieran feel so small to begin with.

When he's finally given a chance at friendship and kindness, Carmine snatches the player, too (from his perspective). When he has a chance to catch Ogerpon, the player does instead, and he has to watch. At this point, the player is on Carmine's "side", and an extension of her lifelong psychological control over her brother.

There are rumors/leaks that a Pokemon may be controlling Kieran to a degree- similar to Lusamine- as the situation worsens. But even without this behind the scenes action, Kieran's behavior is understandable. He had two chances at friendship, snatched away by the girl who thinks he amounts to nothing and the apparent lapdog at her side.

So why bother with friendship at all? Why not become stronger and stronger, and bowl down everything in your way? It worked for the people who hurt you...

I want to veer off into other games with similar plot beats as a point of comparison. I put it under a readmore for people who don't care and for length. I'll probably add a reblog after Indigo Disk to conclude this ramble.

While Sun/Moon did a great job at portraying abuse, it didn't do a great job at resolving it. Lillie forgives Lusamine, Gladion is left to flounder, and Lusamine is resolved of increasing amounts of blame with each adaption. USUM and the anime make this issue progressively worse, with the anime barely addressing Lusamine's true nature, save one episode where it's treated as her "caring too much". I made an entire post about Gladion because this issue pisses me off. While Lillie's forgiveness of Lusamine makes sense for her character, it shouldn't be required of Gladion, Guzma, or any of her other pawns.

In Black and White, Ghetsis is not only called out on his shitty behavior, but N isn't obligated to forgive him. This remains true in all adaptations. Once Ghetsis drops the act, the game is bold enough to call it "abuse" without using the actual word. It understands that what happened to N is disgusting and horrible. In many adaptations- like Pokemon Generations- N is able to confront him- and by extension, his feelings- directly.

I also feel like Kieran is Wally if Wally wasn't a pushover. The player crushes his dreams of battling in a gym at his uncle's command. While his health is a concern, there is literally no reason he can't battle the gym. He only has Ralts and will likely lose. But he's prevented from even trying- by the person he considers a friend, no less. Wally doesn't show up again until near the endgame...where the player crushes his dreams again.

Wally takes it all with a smile. Kieran doesn't.

For Kieran specifically, I feel like they'll go the Sun/Moon route over the Black/White route. Which concerns me. If Kieran apologizes to Carmine even if he did something bad in Indigo Disk- I will throw up. He doesn't have to forgive her, or even the player.

[winepresswrath]

I do gotta say tho, even tho I’m mad at aziraphale because he’s being a terrible boyfriend like what you said about the “I forgive you like” because WHAT. But also I really like the way the show really demonstrates the underlying cruelty of heaven and it’s angels. Really shows the hypocrisy of a group of beings who are supposed to do good, especially aziraphale who really buys into the heaven propaganda, who hurts people, particularly the person who means the most to him. Because like you said he fully just takes advantage of that devotion Crowley has for him. Insane, this shwo makes me INSANE

I missed this anon and yeah! The angels were one of my favourite parts of the season, and I think the strongest element aside from Neil Gaiman deciding he's just a simple man who wants to put his otp in situations. They are deeply awful and I kind of love them. They are the exact kind of moralizing hypocrites who are callous and cruel precisely because they think being on team good means everything they do is justified and it's actually impossible for them to be in the wrong (they're angels! is it even possible for them to do the wrong thing?).

but!! To me, they also seem like they're basically kids? Obviously they're not literally children, but there is this very consistent reoccurring joke about how childish/sheltered/immature they are. Muriel is the most obvious example, but the archangels come off like bratty twelve year olds to her sweet little kid.

Gabriel is basically teenager in love flipping off his family as he runs away with his backstreet guy. Uriel is constantly picking at Michael, Michael is playing at being in charge like it's a game, and it's ridiculously easy for both Aziraphale and Crowely to trick them obvious half assed lies. They're not allowed to ask questions! The Metatron treats them like badly behaved kids out past their curfew. At any point an old man with a beard may pop up to scold them and send them home, and they're all scared of doing something wrong by his standards and getting in trouble with this guy who is pointedly not God but who lines up exactly with the pop-culture idea of god the father, and who offers Aziraphale, among other things, a respite from the hard work of figuring out what the right thing to do is for himself. It's fine! You don't have to question the belief system you were born into or make a painful break with everything you've ever known! Aziraphale has had six thousand years on earth to grow up, but the other angels have been sitting in a sterile white box playing "i'm not touching you" games with each other and filing paperwork.

And I think that's extra interesting because this season also really emphasizes:

Heaven has Institutional Problems

Aziraphale isn't the only angel who's unhappy in heaven. Gabriel and Muriel were both completely miserable. They just didn't understand that they were unhappy because they'd never experienced anything else.

Angels who aren't Aziraphale can change and grow! There's very explicitly Gabriel being changed by love and Muriel growing up a bit on earth, and from a more fan-theory angle there's also Jimbriel, who I think is probably basically Gabriel minus the war and six thousand years of playing referee for Michael and Uriel while unleashing an assortment of plague and calamities on earth because that's God's will! Buck up champ.

We also get Gabriel and Beezelebub talking about how their underlings basically live for Armageddon, "if you can call that living." This is so bleak. They've all been on a six thousand year time out just dreaming of the day they get to beat the shit out of each other until they feel better, but it won't work because eternity is just more of the box.

Anyway I think it's going in a distinctly eden adjacent direction. Aziraphale is going to tempt those angels with knowledge and the capacity for change. I have veered so far from your ask anon i'm sorry you're right heaven really went all out on sucking this season & while Crowley and Aziraphale are both fucking it up Crowley refrains from being spectacularly cruel to Aziraphale about it and Aziraphale should learn to return the favour. I forgive you!! I forGIVE you. I forgive YOU. "you can be an angel again" is actually a worse thing to say than "you're a demon. i don't even like you." when he finally picks crowley over heaven i'm going to lose my mind.

[lunar-years]

it always makes me laugh a lil when sharon asks if ted is good at his job and he replies "yes" so confidently like. . .i get that he was legit good in america but at that point in the show, even putting personal dynamics aside his team has just been relegated and they haven't won a single game all season. and then you think about how he handles conflict in the team. . .i always wonder if beard had told ted it was jamie's dad who beat him up after wembley, if ted's advice to jamie would have been different

HELP sdbjabghj. I recently rewatched the episode where he gives the rom-communism speech (which is such a funny scene... however) it's interesting that the point of it is basically "i don't care what our record is" and "everything is going to work out in the end" which is like ???? he literally sets NO measurable goals for this team and then says "our job is to have zero expectations" like HELLO? no it's not? that's a wild, nonsensical thing to say about managing a professional sports team. also, it's like the fight he got into on that same topic with beard at the end of the first season just went WHOOSH right out of this man's head!!!

Ted is very good at team bonding and encouraging positivity/optimism and he is very bad at like. literally every other aspect of his job..... 😭

also the topic of what ted would've said to Jamie if he knew the full story is SUCH an interesting discussion and i hate to say this but i almost feel he would've said exactly the same things? Sure, he doesn't know Jamie's dad nearly murdered Beard, but he has witnessed by that point two very blatant instances of James Sr. abusing Jamie (in the boot room and then Wembley) and he still says what he does, so. I think Ted is so detached from the reality of Jamie's situation, because he's superimposing his OWN stuff with both his own father and as a father to Henry over Jamie's very different lived experiences. he sees jamie's bad dad and his brain goes: I'M a bad dad :( and then he needs henry to forgive him for that and so tells Jamie to forgive his own bad dad. and of course the situations are not at all the same nor comparable but it's ted's mind playing tricks on him and making it impossible to distinguish the two. so idk i'm not sure it would've made a difference knowing one more detail, because it was never actually about jamie and jamie's dad to begin with, you know? not for ted.

[sibyl-of-space]

It's time for me to go to bed. And that means everybody gets a Procrastination Essay No One Asked For About Sonic Adventure 1 for the SEGA Dreamcast!

This game is one of my super mega ultra all-time favorites. Every single time I revisit it, I am so afraid that my love for it is entirely nostalgia goggles and it will lose its charm this time around, and every single time, I just have the time of my life because the game really is great. It is so fun. It does some very cool things. It is kind of stupid but it takes itself seriously, and that is very endearing and a million times more interesting than a game that's too afraid of being perceived as cringe to be sincere.

I love basically everything about it. I painted Big the Cat on my Dreamcast and even that is not enough to communicate my vast love for this game.

MANY WORDS BELOW CUT. Visuals, audio, gameplay, I love all of it.

Visuals

The game came out in 1998. It looks like a game that came out in 1998. But the world and character designs are fantastic and the world is so detailed. I could genuinely spend hours just moving around on the Egg Carrier overworld map appreciating all the gadgets and gizmos moving around that are purely 100% set dressing. It makes up for what it lacks in polygons with cool textures and fun trinkets everywhere. The animated CGs genuinely look amazing, and you can forgive the rest of it considering the game came out in 1998.

I also love the splash screens you get after finishing each route. They're so good.

(It goes without saying that the game looks its best on a CRT. There are some really cool lighting effects CRTs just capture better.)

Audio

It obviously has an insanely good soundtrack of just nonstop banger after banger. It also has a very 1998 dub and the sound mixing and implementation are some of the worst you'll ever hear. Eggman has like 5 voice lines that are re-used in every scene he's in. But who can complain about that when they're listening to the likes of "Bad Taste Aquarium"? Literally nobody. Who cares. Every single song slaps.

"But Leo half the time the songs start and stop mid-cutscene because of how the game handles loading" who cares. I can forgive just about ANYTHING a game does in terms of audio implementation if it has a song as good as "Bad Taste Aquarium" in its soundtrack.

Narrative

Setting aside the fact that the story is kind of stupid, I really think we need to appreciate the way it tells it. The way this game has you play through the same story from everyone's different perspective, and how the scenes that overlap actually play out differently depending on who you play as, is so big brain. You don't get the full picture of what's happening until you've played as everybody, and there is no "big group of heroes collectively take on the bad guy" until the very very end Super Sonic story... until then, it's just different people having wildly different journeys that overlap here and there and are all part of a single, bigger story.

That's just cool ass storytelling. Everyone loves to bitch about my good friend Big the Cat but the entire point is that this extremely chill guy who loves to fish and just wants to save his friend was caught up in this Adventure, and he was a small but vital part of it, and it affected him differently than it affected everybody else because he had a different reason for being involved. But that goes for everybody! Everyone's story has an arc with a start and a finish, and most of them don't come close to being involved in the whole thing. Even SONIC doesn't see everything (he doesn't have a Hot Shelter level at all). Knuckles's story ends on a really cool note, with him going "I may never know the full story of what happened here, but maybe it's better that way." Or something close to that.

I also just love the concept of benevolent protector water god goes apeshit at people, as well as the concept of a ghost from thousands of years ago trying to right ancient wrongs. Chaos and Tikal are great.

Gameplay

The thing I love about Sonic Adventure is that every single character is really fun to play. This comes at the "cost" of what you might call "balance," in that half of the characters are broken as fuck and you can just disregard the very concept of platforming with most of them. I couldn't really care less about that because I just enjoy how fun it is to play as everyone.

Sonic Adventure 2 understandably put Tails in a mech because outside of it he is too damn broken. Sonic Adventure 1 lets you play as him anyway, and it rules.

The ONLY gripe I have about the gameplay is that Big the Cat does not have the means to harm robots (because he is too nice and chill to do that), but as a result he is unable to collect animals to give the chao. I cannot think of a single character in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe who would be better suited to raise chao than Big the Cat, but Big the Cat is unable to give them animals to power up. This is a tragedy.

Overall

Sonic Adventure is a masterpiece. Every time I play it I'm like "this is the greatest game that has ever been made." The parts of it that are clunky, awkward, kind of dumb, or very dated are still endearing because it tries to do so many things that you really just have to respect it. This is the kind of game that is fantastic whether you sit down and play it straight through from plot point to plot point or you spend three hours throwing that statue around Station Square into oncoming traffic.

Of course it's not polished. It tries to do way too many cool ass things all at once to be polished. It is WAY too ambitious to be polished. That's what makes it so good. It's perfect exactly the way it is and the fact that people will play this incredible game and go "lol, 3D Sonic sucks" is a good reminder that gamers will bitch about anything and you should never care about what gamers have to say when making games.

Big the Cat has glow-in-the-dark eyes. Game of all time.

[friendsdontlieokay]

Dear Will,

Gosh it feels weird to write to you when you're literally in your room, but the truth is, I've become so distant lately, I don't know if I can even talk about this face to face with you, but I want to, I really want to, and by the time you get the letter I might not be here anymore anyway so I guess it's alright, right?

Will, I think I know what is going on with you, no actually I don't think so, I know so, and I know that you know it too, but I hope that you know that whatever happens does not matter, you're my baby brother and I will always love you no matter what happens, you don't have to feel like you're all alone in this world because you're not, even if I'm not here,I'll always be here for you.

And by 'I know what is going on with you' I meant that I know that you like Mike, and to tell you the truth I kind of figured it out before even you did. I thought that maybe you'd come to me to talk this through but I was wrong, and to be honest it's not even your fault because I've been so distant lately, or stoned, as you prefer to address it, the main point is I know I've lost the right to be your brother, let alone be your friend, a long time ago, and maybe I've also ruined the safe place where we could talk to each other, I definitely have. But just so you know, I've already pre-planned and prepared everything to torment Mike if he ever dares to hurt you or El, so do warn him about that.

I am so very sorry for everything Will, I really hope and pray that you'll be able to forgive me and find a friend in me again but Will, I just want you to know that I really miss talking to you, playing stupid little games with you, pretending to be asleep with you in the middle of the night so mom couldn't catch us, sneaking out to watch movies with you, listening to the clash with you, almost blowing up the kitchen while teaching you how to bake, Will, I just miss you a lot, and I wish I could fix these but I'm afraid there's not much time left, brother.

Will, I've been chosen, by Vecna, or cursed, whatever you call it. It's been a while actually, headaches, nosebleeds and nightmares but yesterday...yesterday I saw the clock. Actually I'm kinda surprised I'm not dead yet, but since I could manage a little time, I'm writing you this letter.

Don't be mad at me, at first I did think of sharing it with you or the others but I kinda figured that we actually have way bigger problems than this, yeah I know I still could've told you, or mom, or Nancy, but to be honest, even if it seems a little funny, lately I've been feeling like a plastic bag on this earth,or a blood sucking leech to be more precise who's just getting in the way complicating things more than they actually initially already are so I might as well let Henry take me as a bait already. Will, please do not ever turn out like me, I know you will never, it's spiritually impossible to ever happen but still, please don't.

The reason I'm telling you all this is because you're still my best friend and my favorite person, and you always will be, and remember that nothing in the universe can ever change it okay?

Will, to be honest I think I'm scared, I don't know what to do, it's like I'm walking inside the darkest tunnel and even though there is light outside, there is no way out and I'm too scared to even find a way so I'm just letting death befall. Still, there is a part of me that does want to make everything okay again, to fix it but I'm afraid that's not possible, not anymore, but right now, I'm too scared to give in and too scared to let go too. So, little brother, you got to let me know, should I stay or should I go?

Love, your useless big brother Jonathan

[sleepyficss]

hiiiiiii same taco loving girly girl as before. previous request was my first time sending a request to a blog like this and i do really like the post!!!!!!! super cute :3 romantic headcanons for taco regarding each of the five love languages? same concept for reader as before. please and thank you ueeeehhhhhhh

love languages.

taco x reader

authors note:

aghh i love writing about love languages, there's so much i could ramble about here. ty ty for another request !!! i'm glad you liked the other one – keep the good ideas coming!! /lh

words of affirmation

- this ones' first up!! i feel is very important to her.

- some days, she gets in stuck in her own head, and starts to convince herself that you aren't going to stick around forever. she gets scared that you'll decide that, no, you don't forgive her for her past actions; and that she'll lose you like mic, and pickle –

- taco definitely needs to hear your reassurance, reminding her that you wouldn't leave her willingly for any reason.

- let her know that you don't hold anything against her for her past actions, and nothing will change your current relationship with her <3

- taco also understands how other peoples' words/opinions may affect you.

- as previously mentioned, she knows how it feels to be scared of possible abandonment – she isn't afraid to talk you through it, and to let you know how much she loves you.

- reminds you constantly that she couldn't imagine being with anyone else, not that she'd want to be, either.

quality time

- taco has stated before, that she thinks better when she has another person to talk to.

- so, please PLS just sit down next to her, while she's working on a project, or even just playing a game like sudoku (she's such a nerd, did u see her calculating her fall into the water in s1?? & i mean that with pure affection LOL).

- it may even help her figure things out along the way if you ask her what she's making/planning/how to play, so she can explain it.

- you may end up sitting there having no clue what half the words she's saying are, but its the thought that counts!! just nod and smile, she's too buried in her own work to notice that you're completely lost.

- leaning against her on the couch while you watch television, or read a book, or literally anything!! just relax by chilling around with her.

physical touch

- you're looking at the most touch-starved object in existence here (mephones a close second, i won't lie).

- especially after s1, where she was alone for so long before making a series of even worse decisions, barely anyone even bothered to LOOK in her direction, much less interact with her.

- the first time you hold her hand, she's almost forgotten what it was like to feel the touch of someone that actually cared for her.

- taco is surprised by your touch, and you almost go to retract your hand out of fear that she isn't comfortable with it – she's quick to reach back for it though, quietly asking you to not let go.

- (now she won't ever let go of you, good luck! she's super glued your hands together.)

- jk jk. but she's so shy about any affection for a while, that you almost think she won't ever get used to it.

- but OH BOY. when she does get more comfortable with initiating it? taco becomes quite the flirtacious menace.

- she's learnt of the affect she has on you, originally with just her voice (don't lie, she could say 'hello' to me, and i'd swoon), but now her touch? she loves seeing you flustered.

acts of service

- one of taco's greatest skills is her problem solving abilities, so she won't hold back when trying to come up with solutions to any of the issues you confide in her.

- especially after all you've done for her, trusting her, staying with her, and loving her, despite everything she's done?

- will do anything just to see a smile on your face (if not because she loves you, then to make herself feel more confident in believing that you do love her, but she won't admit that to you – she knows you'll scold her for it).

- she does really appreciate if you try to do the same to her, whether its trying to help her with an issue she's having, or if its just making a cup of tea for her.

- taco isn't used to it, as she doesn't usually get any sort of help from others unless they're getting something out of it. she almost expects you to want something in return, but is happily surprised when she is told otherwise.

gift-giving

- she already finds joy in inventing things, so its even better when she's able to to make something for you!!

- always tries to make it something you'll find useful, like... ..

- if you get overwhelmed by sounds easily? she's made you a pair of noise cancelling earbuds that can be easily hidden from view!

- or, she'll take apart and analyse the bowtie she took from test tubes lab, just to make a second one for you to match with her! except, depending on your style, it may be a hair accessory, jewellery, etc. instead!

- (i can imagine you convincing her to pull harmless pranks on the others with the invisibility ability – it reminds her of how silly she used to act in s1... and how much fun she used to have with pickle.)

- in turn, taco cherishes literally ANYTHING you give to her. whether its an expensive item you bought, or a hand-made gift.

- she totally keeps all of it too, including holiday cards, somewhere safe, and she likes to pull them out and look through everything if she's ever missing you :(

- but she would be so devastated if any of it ever got lost or ruined, depending on how much it matters to her, she may even end up crying.

- in general, i think taco's main love languages are for sure words of affirmation & acts of service.

- she's not quite used to showing her love to others, but she'll do anything she can to make sure you know how she feels about you <3

[vadersaber]

also not to mention melissa barrera got fired from scream for her support of palestinians!! she got fired almost instantly, and noah scharmoot gets to just be "kept an eye on". this goes to show that they literally only care about white folk. i'm willing to bet that if pedro spoke up about half the things that are actually on his mind, they'd crucify him fr

YEAH THIS

also forgive me for wheezing whenever I read noah scharmoot lkgjlfkjgf

but yeah, this is definitely something. and honestly after everything that's been going on in the Pedro fandom this year, I do not blame this man for being lowkey one bit. he has to play the hollywood game like one of my mutuals has said, but he isn't radio silent. the sad thing is that people have been criticizing and pointing fingers at him for the stupidest fucking reasons, and it's always after or during them doing the most out of pocket, insane and violating shit. remember when that chick flew across the world to stalk him on a beach and then tried to paint him as the villain for being caught off guard? or when someone made a deep fake of him in bed with another man? or when "fans" swarmed Lux's live asking about Pedro when she was talking about her identity and her journey as a trans woman? or when also "fans" swarmed Lux's graduation to take pictures with Pedro and she got fed up and had to drag him out of there, just to spend some time with him, her brother? and then they had the AUDACITY to complain that he isn't on social media like he used to. gee, what a mystery indeed.

there are many other examples, but I don't wanna make a huge ass post about it. I'm just amazed that I don't see people harassing Oscar Isaac in the same way, like he doesn't have social media, why not complain about his silence too?

I understand wanting the people you look up to to be worth looking up to, but sometimes y'all blow it waaaaay out of proportion. the problem isn't Pedro's comments being turned off or him not posting every hour about this situation. THE PROBLEM IS THE ONGOING GENOCIDE. PLEASE GET A GRIP. these so called fans focus so much on crucifying him or idk who for not doing the most for palestinians when this isn't the issue at hand!!

the main idea is, he's made his stance clear and just because he doesn't flaunt this online, doesn't mean he isn't aware or doesn't care.

[optiwashere]

So curious about what you think of Lae'zel vs Shady at the start. That fight over the prism. Saw a comment on reddit (I kno I know) /r/BaldursGate3/comments/17p2nov/least_favorite_companion/k837nqh/?context=3

Yeah, this is one reason I stay away from meta discussions on the subreddit now. I'd be such a killjoy lmao.

Because this is part of the "excitement -> backlash -> backlash to the backlash -> excitement for the backlash's backlash, etc." loop that happens on social media. People that aren't fans of X (in this case, Shadowheart) eventually feel like they have to speak up. Then it goes round and round until we all die.

It's a weird cycle, but it happens to every character. In a year's time, there's gonna be some fucking absurd fandom wank, I guarantee it. There's already the hilarious Halsin guys. Give it time and we'll have the Lae'zel brigades (anti- and pro-) beating the shit out of each other in the replies and an eternal war between the Shadowheart simps and haters.

Long ramble ahead to actually talk about the comment, so here's a read more.

The fight made sense to me. But, to dig into... well, everything else before that.

Being cruel to a githyanki? I feel that some folks in the BG3 fandom need to learn what the githyanki are and remember who Lae'zel is. The githyanki are not a sympathetic people, at least not anymore. They're an actual empire trying to expand via all the hallmarks of traditional imperialism. They are slavers and raiders almost to the man, and there is factual evidence of them wanting to rebuild a great empire that spans realms. Calling them fascist frog people is only, like, barely a joke. Lae'zel, at the beginning of the game, is a quintessential brainwashed child of a fascist regime.

Not having more githzerai in the game, other than a fucking brain and, arguably, the gith monks you fight, really kneecapped people's understanding of the -yanki. I know there's a whole thing about alignment, but the githyanki are almost the poster children of Lawful Evil.

Stealing from them and being worried about the fallout of that is one of the most normal reactions possible lmao. Shadowheart's a Sharran that doesn't trust any of her companions. Why should she just play along?

And not having remorse? I don't know, but I'm an admittedly vindictive and petty person and I am very, very loathe to forgive people if they've slighted me. And I'm not even dealing with possible ceremorphosis! So, I guess I get where Shadowheart is coming from and it never struck me as even remotely strange for her to require a lot of work to even trust Lae'zel, let alone "bury the hatchet."

It's also perfectly in keeping with Shadowheart's character, especially that early on, to not respect an honorable duel and instead try to kill Lae'zel while she has the chance.

Mix this with Shadowheart starting as a not-at-all-trusting person? I mean, I don't know. It's just a tastes thing. I'd have been confused if everyone in camp was just cool with Lae'zel, which after a point they are. I don't really buy that some of the others would put up with her, but I like her character enough to let it slide and enjoy what's in the game.

And just let a character have negative traits, flaws, whatever! The companions are great for that reason!

Plus, she's a literal abuse victim. Compassion is in some ways a skill, and a lot of people lack it.

[just-a-carrot]

hi carrot

its kinda a long speech and not really a great one so i’m sorry if you’re not used to criticism(i haven’t seen any of it yet) but i’ve been talking about it with my friend and i can’t hide the urge to ask you what happened

i’ve been following OW updates for a looong long time now, and i feel like what you started with isn’t really what you’re going with right now, i’m not telling you that you should change the whole plot that you have or anything, i’m just saying that OW kinda lost this vibe that i’ve got while playing the first 4 arcs

before it was a disturbing, kinda frightening, messed-up in its own way story, with fucked-up characters and the same fucked-up backgrounds. while playing it i’ve felt like you didn’t give a shit about how gory or wicked the novel is because it’s just how the story was! you made me feel conflicted emotions towards every character, everyone had their EXTREMELY bad side but in the same amount a good one, and nothing of it was left aside like it’s nothing. Technically, the only reason why i loved OW so much is because of how much crazy stuff was going on, like literally my heart was on FIRE after each arc, i was only thinking about how fucked up(in a good way) this story is!

So… Since the first part of Arc 5 i knew that it wasn’t it anymore, everything felt too rushed and too…kind? I mean, i didn’t really get the whole thing about how Iggy and Genzou just let all of the things that Gidget did slide, they didn’t even really apologise for anything? I get that it’s wonderland who messed up their minds and finally they’re free from it whoohoo but no way that it could be THAT easily forgiven. I liked the ending of second part but? Genzou was a fucking dick for more than a decade and literally ruined Orlam, and definitely did something terrible at some point(that you decided to keep behind the scenes(i’m talking about the one thing that he regrets)), it’s just NO WAY that a “sorry” would cut it. He didn’t do anything yet to earn it. And Iggy isn’t a perfect guy either. It’s okay for now, no time for heart to heart talks and stuff, but it would be really sad if everyone just gonna accept things just how they are.

so um shit that’s a LOT of words, but i just wanted to tell that it feels like you’re either holding back or just decided to turn everything into semi-sweet story about forgiveness and mistakes and power of friendship?? i know that everyone like it right now, and you really really improved on technical and artistic side, which is fantastic

i’m just curious about how do you see OW as of now, what story is it, did i missed some parts which made me think like it’s a whole another thing? feel free to tell me “YOU’RE WRONG” if it’s really like that

hey!! thanks so much for sending this in. i don't mind criticism at all and i would never tell you that you're wrong 🤣 i know fully well that this is far from a perfect game and there are many things wrong with it. both simply because nothing is ever perfect and also because my skills and capacity as a solo developer have their limits (even putting my own mental health on any given day aside alkdjfalsd)

this turned out really long and rambling so i've put it under a cut LOL

that's a good question tbh -- if something changed since i began working on the game. quite a few things have i will admit. many plot points weren't developed until mid-way through production. character arcs went in new ways. new characters came into being that i had never planned for. so i do think you're exactly right in that yeah, the game has taken a lot of turns and the vibe of the end is probably quite different from the earlier stuff, in particular Arc 1. actually my very first iteration of the initial idea was just to have the whole game be Arc 1! 🤣 it was only after sitting on it a while (still long before actual production began) that i happened upon the idea of the loops and then began thinking about each of the characters' initial core arcs. and then by the time production of each arc came around, they changed even more as i actually began writing them. i think Arc 2 was probably the one that changed the least from my initial ideas. then starting in Arc 3, things began to change a lot. and that compounded more and more, to the point that Arc 4 was almost nothing like my initial idea aside from the fact that I knew it would focus on Gidget. for instance, plot points like after-prom and everything involved didn't even come into being until I was working on Arc 3. so there were a LOT of like, plot lines that didn't really work their way into the game until various points throughout production. and a lot of that just comes down to me living with the characters and story more and discovering new things about them while writing. and also adding more and more of myself??? i think that was also a big thing. the more i worked on the game, the more of myself went into the game, and the more "courageous" i felt about what i was putting into the game. i will be completely honest here and say that when i released Arc 1, i was actually afraid of saying there was going to be some "gay stuff" in it 🤣💦 i was nervous about being so open and out there with my creative works, especially as someone who's a bit older and keeps to themself more in general already. but then the more i worked on the game, the more courageous i felt, and the more of myself went into the game, and the more open i started to feel, which allowed me to be myself a lot more. in a way, in my head at least, my mindset from back from when i was working on Arc 1 is a lot different from now in that at the time, my goal was to just create something horrific and more in the general horror category, but now it's become much more personal to me and i don't really care as much about being shocking and horrific as i do about about the characters themselves and how important they've become to me and how my own personal stories have evolved through them. so it is perhaps a bit of a different mindset and is probably evident even in the way i talk about the game too 💦💦💦 and i also realize that this might be not what a lot of people like, especially if they liked the game more for the dark and horrific aspects. so for that i apologize to anyone who also feels let down by some of the directions the game has taken that may not be in line with their expectations 😞

i'm also really sorry that Arc 5 has felt rushed to you so far. for me personally it doesn't feel rushed at all as i've been working on Arc 5 on its own for over a year now and it's still not done and i've burnt out multiple times on it 🤣 but i can understand how on a player side it could feel that way, especially with all the other unmet expectations about the game and story. i have always been heading towards what i refer to as a "light in the tunnel" with the ending of the game. i think even as far back as responding to comments on itch from like Arc 1 and Arc 2 era i wrote things like that, especially when people would ask about the eventual ending LOL perhaps because with my previous game it did NOT have any kind of hopeful ending. but i did definitely want to lead into an ending that wasn't completely hopeless. that even if not everything was "fixed" (since there are some things that just will never be fixed) it's at least better off than things were before. but i freely admit that the way i handle reaching that point might not meet everyone's expectations (and this is one of my biggest fears and anxieties tbh... because there's been so much build-up and people have a lot of expectations now and there's basically no way i'm going to meet them all 💦)

Arc 5 is interesting to me in that there are quite a few things about it that actually do match my initial ideas for it almost exactly -- even back from when i was still working on Arcs 1 and 2 and just thinking towards the future. for instance, i actually started randomly working on some Arc 5 sprites in december of 2021 (and accidentally left them in the Arc 2 game files that some people found LOL). they were similar to what they would eventually become (orlam was basically zombiefied, gidget was wearing a very fancy dress, and genzou looked mentally traumatized), though i didn't end up finishing/using them as there were slight things that changed about them and also my drawing skills had gotten better by the time Arc 5 rolled around too lol. so i did have a general idea of how each character arc would culminate even if i didn't have all the ideas worked out specifically (most of the final details weren't worked out until i was literally writing things). i also drew this picture in summer of 2022 while working on Arc 4 that would eventually become a basically 1-to-1 CG because the scene was so visceral in my mind:

however there were a lot of other parts of Arc 5 that didn't come into being until i was working on it. cecil's involvement for instance, since cecil himself didn't come into being until Arc 4. jerry's involvement, since jerry didn't become more of an actual character until i developed OFW (rather than just the one-off joke in Arc 2). the final collector scene was one i knew would happen but didn't know exactly how i was gonna do it until i actually wrote it (and was also influenced by my work on OFW). the iggy dolls i did come up with somewhat early on, though their kind of quirky manner and scenes didn't really develop until i was actually working on it. and the spider idea for gidget's finale was something that didn't develop until i was actively working on Arc 5. the scenes in orlam's castle were actually pretty close to my original visions for them (i even had the music picked out for the chase scene already since like Arc 1 or 2 LOL) even if it wasn't until i was working on 5.15 that i figured out exactly how to do the final genzou/orlam bit (i had a few different potential iterations in my mind for it, though they all had similar vibes)

i'm probably writing way too much at this point 🤣 but i guess i just wanted to show how indeed a lot has changed since production started and Arc 1 was released, though there were still other parts that did remain at least basically the same in spirit. so i guess it's kind of a mixed bag! but you're definitely right that no matter how many specific scenes might have remained the same or changed, the overall vibe likely has changed, which all comes down to me and how i've changed and how my approach and mindset has also changed

to that end, i can really only apologize 😞 the game is in a place where now where i'm happier than i've been with it since all of production, but i freely admit it might have turned into something that people don't like anymore or that doesn't meet their expectations. also that i could have done things better -- devoted more time to it, written it better, developed the characters better. i am only human and so the things i create will have many flaws. i'm always trying to improve! but no matter how much i improve there will always still be issues. game dev in and of itself is just something i do for fun because i want to tell stories. it's not something i ever want to make money off of for instance. i really just do it because i enjoy it (and sometimes it's the only thing that keeps me going through my mental health stuff) and i also know that i don't have the skills to make anything that will ever be more than that. i'm really sorry to anyone i've let down because of the direction of the story and the changes in how i've approached the game. i wish i could have made a better game for you 😭