#LONG BOI RESPONSE

[stressfulsloth]

I've seen a couple of takes about Disco Elysium being copaganda going around recently, and beyond the fact that DE is relentlessly critical of the police force in general and makes explicit reference to the failures of the system that allow the officers in game to abuse their power, I also think it's important to note that there very literally is an in-world version of copaganda that the writers of the game use to parody that romanticised view of the brutality of policing. The RCM at their inception were structurally inspired by in-world copaganda- their culture, their "fashions, even weapon preferences, borrow heavily from classic Vespertine cop shows." Every investigation is it's own little drama, every officer imagining themselves to be the bad-ass hero of their own crime serial. Detectives name their cases like they're naming episodes of a TV series in a "robust but literary system"; a title that "draws inspiration from snoop fiction and Vespertine cop show staples". They give themselves nicknames to sound like cool, suave fictional officers- Ace, Dick Mullen, etc.- from the cool, suave world of copaganda.

The legend of the RCM's inception, the "point of contention" over its uncertain origins, is even an extention of that; the whole organisation is shrouded in this self-fictionalising mythos that allows for distance that in turn obfuscates much of its violence to the officers that participate in it. They get to convince themselves that they're not abusing their power; they're the hero of the story! The dichotomy of "good guy" taking out the "baddies," a manifestation of the libertarian fantasy of the "good guy with a gun" who does what it takes, just like in Annette's detective novels, and at the same time who rails against oversight bodies like Internal Affairs/'the rat squad' because due process slows down the immediate satisfaction of Swift Justice, despite Internal Affairs existing to protect the citizens from overreach on behalf of the police. "Wanton brutality" from police in their real world is a cold bitter reality but Dick Mullen was "made to crack skulls," "bend the rules and solve cases no one else can," and which version of that story is more comforting to the overworked, underfunded officers of the RCM?

The level of fantasy and detachment required for the cops to still see themselves as the good guys after everything that they do in the line of duty mimics The Pigs and her breakdown too; she parallels Harry so clearly. Both "did right by the kids" in the past, hoping for a better future- Marianne (The Pigs) by looking out for Titus and the Hardy boys when they were young, Harry in his role as a gym teacher. Both abandoned and left behind by the system that the RCM uphold- a brutal capitalist landscape with no safety nets. Both turning the source of their trauma into a costume, a performance, a shield, shaped by "radio waves and cop shows." The Pigs uses RCM items scavenged from the Esperance where they'd been thrown away, while Harry uses the Dick Mullen hat that Annette gives him but both are essentially in costume.

Harry identifies himself with the fictional detective as a kind of wish fulfilment; Dick Mullen is "wicked smart." He doesn't fuck up his cases and when he's sad it's not pathetic; it's effortlessly cool brooding and everyone sympathises. Everyone loves him. His violence- "skull crack[ing]"- is justified because he's a "good guy" enacting that violence against the victims of police brutality sorry "bad guys". He doesn't ever face repercussions; "Dick Mullen won't be sent to the clink for the sake of some legal niceties!" So if Harry is Dick Mullen then his failures, his breakdown, they're all just a part of being a "bad-ass, on-the-edge disco cop." He's not wrong, he's a hero! This idealised fictionalised idea of the police force, this "new, sadly better, reality" that both Harry and The Pigs cling to is "escapist stuff," "receed[ing] into a ludicrous fantasy world," so far removed from the brutal material reality that they're in.

My point is, idk. Disco Elysium is so far from being copaganda. It is a multi-million word long dissection of it, of the purpose of policing, of state sanctioned violence and its interaction with capital and the fallout experienced within the wider community as well as the trauma cycle created for individual officers. A dissection of how copaganda interacts with RCM culture and perception, and by extension how we interact with irl perceptions of police through that lens.

[egophiliac]

I was really in the mood to do some masquerade fanart, but I didn’t feel like coming up with anything original, so here’s some of my favorite (...slightly paraphrased) bits from the first part. I don’t know where it’s going, but it’s pretty fun so far!

also one that isn’t canon except in my heart:

(disclaimer that this is a Joke)

(he is a horrible little rat man, but to be fair, so is everyone else)

(if you don’t like horrible little rat men why are you even playing this game)

[shannonsketches]

thinking about gohan and vegeta and how their bond is underrated

the difference in their reactions to each other 😭

Gohan being the first one to step between Vegeta and Certain Death, twice, without an ounce of hesitation, and Vegeta saving him back despite his feelings about battle intervention.

Vegeta knowing Gohan's the best of all of them

Vegeta and Gohan both born prodigies assigned an unfair amount of responsibility to be Great and be a Saiyan Messiah(tm) way too young by a stubborn and proud if not (relatively) well-meaning father who didn't see any other option and I just think Gohan doesn't get enough credit as like. The first serious muscle behind Geets' personal growth.

[vaguely-concerned]

kremy being so patient with twig even though she very nearly had them pulling one of those moves that get you doomed to eternal torment in greek mythology (i.e. secretly feeding people their own young)...... his is the voice of the most soul-tired man in the world when he says 'twig... I've done a lot of fucked up shit in my time, but I'm not gonna feed them people'. he's not angry he's not even disappointed he's just resigned. he's a person who has to draw the line somewhere and he's drawing it

[manygreetingsfriend]

i’m sooooooo normal about the god of war series. so incredibly normal i liked it a normal amount and would be so chill talking about it. don’t worry about the sign

[tervaneula]

POB Bitty would like to offer you some nice eggs in this trying time

(Don’t worry, the hens at base are laying more than enough to share and Uncle Raph is holding 90% of the weight for him, Bitty just wants to feel strong)

(This is just for funsies, no pressure to reply <3)

“Ohmigosh,” Michelangelo breathes out and crouches in front of the tiny red-eared slider, eyes practically sparkling with adoration. 

“You’re so strong! All of these eggs, just for us? That’s so kind of you!” 

Bitty chirps at him, trying to push the basket higher and toward the orange-scarved turtle, the snapper behind him obligingly moving half a step forward. Michelangelo giggles and takes the gift, pressing it against his chest. 

“Thank you so much! Oh, you know what?” he asks the kid, winking and offering him a chirp of his own. “We just bought fresh produce and a few dozen eggs the other day. Now I can make the biggest omelette New York has ever seen! It’ll be amazingly delicious!” 

He then looks up at Uncle Raph, eyes softening as he takes in the hulking form of his not-older-brother older brother. His smile is equally soft when he shifts to look down again, reaching to gently hold Bitty’s hand in between his thumb and index finger. 

“Your family is obviously invited, too. Please, join us for lunch? It’s the least I can do in return for such a lovely gift.” 

(WAAAAA @beeceit you're so lovely, Bitty is so lovely, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS 😭😭😭🧡🧡🧡)

[veinsfullofstars]

"Now can we please get on with the meeting already? The monarchy isn't gonna overthrow itself, y'know."

(ID: Kirby series fanart comic, Kintsugi AU, featuring Dark Meta Knight stuck in a mission debriefing, clearly bored and letting his thoughts wander towards a certain rat thief, much to the frustration of his old friend/begrudging henchperson, Mirror Sailor Dee. Transcript below the cut. END ID.)

Me: wants rarepair shenanigans. Also me: wants compelling plotlines. Also me: compromises by making an absurd amount of notes for yet another highly-detailed and overcomplicated AU. Also me: tired of my nonsense.

Started 03/09/24, finished 03/10/24.

---

Transcript:

Panel 1

*A dimly-lit, nondescript room, the plain walls tacked with papers and sticky notes depicting scribbled writing and various images, such as the Dimension Mirror, Dark Matter, the sword Master, a crossed-out headshot of Shadow Dedede, and the symbol for anarchy. DMK sits at a simple table looking off to our left with lidded eyes, leaning his head on one hand, the other tapping idly against the tabletop (SFX: tmp tmp). Three thought bubbles float over his head, each showing a different physical feature of Daroach - his sharp-toothed smile, his long claws, and his big ears respectively. A faint blush can be seen just behind the knight's mask.*

Panel 2

M!Sailor: (from off-screen, depicted as a simplified Waddle Dee head with two slash scars on their right cheek, wearing a white sailor cap with a blue-and-periwinkle ribbon, a blue bill, and two fishing hooks embedded in the top, yelling with their eyes squeezed shut) Hey, scarface! Quit daydreaming about your boyfriend for five seconds and pay attention!

*DMK startles, eyes shrunk to little gold lines, the arm holding up his head slipping out from under him, nearly bumping his chin on the table.*

Panel 3

*DMK turns sharply to our right to point and glare at M!Sailor off-screen, slamming his fist down on the table (SFX: THUD!).*

DMK: (angrily) Hey, shut up, he's not my-

Panel 4

*DMK pauses, his eyes once more shrunk to points, his pointing hand dropping a bit as he realizes what he just said (shown by an ellipses over his head). A tiny bit of blush can be seen through the mask.*

Panel 5

DMK: (glaring and pointing once more, the blush in his face more noticeable, visibly sweating) I mean, I am paying attention!

M!Sailor: (from off-screen, looking unimpressed with half-lidded eyes) Nice cover, Boss. Very convincing.

[dukeofthomas]

"Angry robin" "violent robin" "misbehaving robin" shut up and accept my alternative; spunky Robin. Determined and head strong, can out-stubborn the Batman, has a strong moral-backbone and does what he thinks is right regardless of what anybody else says, Robin. Jason who was sassy and quippy and made crude jokes with a smile on his face. Jason who hid in Bruce's cape and whispered gossip to him. Jason who, if Bruce refused him something, could keep bothering endlessly until Bruce caved. And also dramatic Jason. If Bruce tells him no, it becomes a whole theatrical show; a monologue, a narration, embellishments, and falling onto the floor in his grief upon the fact his cruel father has denied him once again.

(Jason who has suffered through abuse and homelessness and poverty and starvation, who is the Fight out of Fight or Flight, who's built up defenses and walls and when pushed and triggered responds with the thing that's always protected him; anger. He's sweet and kind and funny, and when he sees a pimp hitting a prostitute he gets furious and responds with violence.)

[hajihiko]

Who do u think copes with being a remnant the best/worst during. Despair times?

Best:

Peko- she is only doing the bidding she deems necessary, it's out of her hands. She will do bad things for the sake of her own duty.

Fuyuhiko- he always knew what he was capable of and how he would turn out. It's about time he becomes the man he was supposed to be and embraces it without remorse, there was never any other path for him.

Mikan: she's not so helpless and frail anymore, is she? Her turn to have the power. People need her when she wants them to need her.

Hiyoko: People are really just large ants when you think about it. She could've been one of them but she rose above it. Squish.

Nagito: just a means to an end.

50/50:

Mahiru- she hasn't done anything wrong. It's just photography and documentation without getting involved. She hasn't actually done *anything*.

Souda- all he does is make the machines. Other people tell him when and where to deploy. He's too weak to stand up for himself.

Teruteru: No wasting food, even if it's unethically sourced! It's less slaughter, more scavenging. Ethical.

Akane: the strong prey on the weak. That's what they did to me and no one stopped them, so this is just how it goes, right?

Sonia: a Princess knows what's best and does not doubt or go back on her decisions. A Princess knows pawns don't matter compared to a queen. A Princess doesn't feel remorse or guilt or uncertainty.

Worst:

Nekomaru- he's supposed to be helping people be their best and come together.

Impostor: no matter how many people they are, they know what's right, deep down.

Ibuki: she knows who she is and no one will make her into anyone else! ... right?

Gundham: humans are the ones who mistreat animals, but they behave the same in extreme distress. He forgets which he is, but there's no difference in the end.

Izuru: The absolute total absence of Feeling is worse than being miserable, actually. Countless lives are a featherweight against their own moment of humanity however brief. Anything to feel anything.

[ferronickel]

Thinking bout the time someone yelled at me because they didn't understand butches.

[rukafais]

Sometimes seeing incredibly long discourse posts about DnD is fascinating because nine times out of ten it's the iceberg effect, where there's clearly some deeply held resentment/massive shard of Bullshit that's been going on for a very long time in OP's view and it's treated as if it's a universal happenstance and a plague upon every house and something unique to DnD ONLY and its like, this is a fascinating glimpse into another universe that i would not ever want to visit, goodbye

[stergeon]

> OTHER: A really brilliant plan.

Wait. Wait. You have an idea. You can get rid of this mess and it will be like it never happened.

There. That’s sorted. Now we can move on.

GODDESS, you love MAGIC. It fixes everything that can't be solved through TORTURE or ASSASSINATIONS alone (and, you might add, it is rather useful for those as well).

You inform FERDINAND that if he would like to make a second attempt at having TEA, he will have to do so at BREAKFAST. Even if he does not wish to have TEA, attending BREAKFAST is still in his best interest. After all, LADY EDELGARD eats BREAKFAST every day—if only because you make sure of it—and despite how futile it is for him to attempt to best her at anything as he will never be her superior in any way, he will be at a distinct disadvantage in his fruitless one-sided competition if he does not partake in the meal himself.

FERDINAND proves surprisingly receptive to all of this information, given you have been finding he is usually bleary and useless in his first few minutes after waking, and while you're not sure what to make of that look on his face, you assume it means he likes your outfit. Your suspicion is confirmed a moment later when he tells you so, right after stating he finds your logic sound and agreeing to go to BREAKFAST.

The past thirty seconds have been rather tumultuous, but now things appear to be going in your favor. You suppose that means you can dash any immediate plans for relocating to ALMYRA.

In all of this fuss, however, several minutes have ticked by: per your TIMEPIECE, it is now eight o'clock. You think over your SCHEME again and consider whether you ought to head to BREAKFAST now or wait and accompany FERDINAND.

#010 | << | <- | -> | JOURNAL | HOW TO PLAY | ALL POSTS

[potatobugz]

i feel as if im going mad so im going to just put this out here. real quick. movieunleashers starters ramble.

i cant stop thinking about how mudkip broke down in that one scene in "Typomaniac," when Chespin called him mean. for a second he lets his mask slip a little bit and to me he just... acts his age. he starts crying and calls chespin mean back. maybe im just hyperfocusing on this one detail but mudkip is about 12 years old.

and that just makes me wonder what happened in this guys life that brought him to where he is now. and it makes it all the more tragic how his whole world revolves around chespin, but he is the one bringing him the most pain. and how young he was when he died.

there is a large theme of growing up in "Rare Candy." the characters ages are emphasized in that particular episode, and one of the main conflicts is fennekin wanting to evolve faster.

the thing about characters in these stories is that they're not allowed to just be kids, to have a childhood. so many bad things happen to them. like. mudkips whole, Everything. fennekin when she was famous in typomaniac, or dealing with her own insecurities/pressure from society about her relationship w chespin. and chespin always having to shoulder his friends problems & always somehow managing to stay positive despite everything.

why cant they just. play video games. eat ice cream or something. go to the movies

at the end of the day, i think both mudkip and fennekin are characters who grew up too fast. by distancing himself from them, chespin refused to follow in their footsteps and just wanted to stay a kid.

good for him.

[statementlou]

He cannot be the same man unfollowing mason greenwood and firing jordan green within days of the accusation coming out lol now that its liam he suddenly deems everything ok it seems

I'm sorry if you don't see a difference between how you treat a celebrity you don't know who repeatedly brutally raped and beat their partner while threatening their life, or an employee who serially engaged in predatory premeditated grooming and rape of multiple minors VS how you deal with a situation with a friend who, yes, committed emotional partner abuse, both by being clueless about the impact of their actions and by directly manipulating and pressuring their partner.

But I don't actually think the solution to a friend doing problematic things is necessarily to say "ah well, we had a nice run but you're dead to me now" rather than attempt to help them be better (which can in fact look like/ mean supporting them) although yes, I am aware that in that I differ from the bulk of people driving online discourse culture. We don't know for a fact that that's what Louis does! But we don't know it isn't either, and I personally do feel that there might be grounds for hope that the man who unfollowed Mason Greenwood and fired Jordan Green and tried again and again to singlehandedly put Anthony Russell in a better place, as well as various other people in his personal life struggling with addiction issues, including Liam himself for years now, might in fact care and have something to say to his friend about it all (over the last months and years one assumes, since unlike us he's had a front row seat to this whole situation all along). And yeah, about that... you do know that Louis has to have known about all this since long before yesterday right? And yet the suggestion seems to be that it becoming public knowledge should be the breaking point... like in the named situations above, them becoming public was relevant because he found out at the same time as us! If I believed Louis knew what JG was doing and that he only fired him because we found out I would NOT be here, yk? But no way is that the situation here, like hell I assume him and Liam were on the phone for hours at a time with Liam drunkenly freaking out like I can't raise a fucking kid! So I told her... blah blah blah... etc.

[habitual-creatures]

Wait—

Hold the front door—

If you’re true form is like some dog/wolf hybrid…

Can I call you a good murderous Wolfe?🥺 EVEN IF ITS JUST ONCE ILL TAKE IT 🙏

PARASITICAL WOLF/SNAKE/SKELETON/SPIDER THING... IT'S COMPLICATED.

AND FINE...

I WOULDN'T MIND THAT...

...ONLY IF YOU USE THE PREFIX "GOOD"...

[ REGARDS, HABIT ]

[mushtoons]

Saw these boys at target and thought you'd like to see them. I don't know why they're so long

NOOOOOOOO WE NEED THEM SO BAD THIS ISNT FAIIIRRRRR