#and their answers illuminate the Game's perspective from different angles

[kismet-cat]

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot is how Jowd and Yomiel are parallel to each other. They’re both so stuck in worldviews that are blatantly wrong- Jowd thinking everything is his fault, and Yomiel thinking everything is the fault of everyone BUT him. To an outside observer, both these views are totally stupid, but the two of them feel like they HAVE to believe it or else everything they’re doing will be for nothing. If jowd is wrong, that means kamila did it, and he can’t let himself believe his kid could do that, it would destroy him. He’s so willing to take on the guilt because he feels responsible for not stopping the tragedy- even when it was literally impossible for him to foresee or stop. If Yomiel is wrong, then it means that literally everything he’s been doing since dying is useless and he’s the one responsible for the deaths of both Sissels, and he can’t believe that or he’ll sink even further down. So the two of them both push on, warping the truth until it suits their narratives, both of which are steeped in self-hatred. It’s a good thing they never met up before their respective character developments- like Yomiel said, Jowd would have loved to be executed by his own daughter. Sorry for talking so much I just think they’re fascinating!!! I love ghost trick!!!

No need to apologize, I love hearing other people's Ghost Trick takes/analysis! Especially along these lines!

This specific parallel is def one I've thought about too, and you put it very well! For me, it all comes back to the set of questions I posed in this post as being at the core of Ghost Trick's story:

1. When something terrible happens to you, what do you do with that trauma? 2. When you do something terrible, when you make a terrible mistake, what do you do with that guilt?

Like you said, Jowd is a person who, in response to both questions, internalizes all the blame; whereas Yomiel, in response to both (pre Chapter 17), externalizes all his hatred. And yes, from an outside perspective they're kind of ridiculous — just look at how many chatters in the secret sleepover society streams (and other lps I've watched) have been reacting to Jowd as a character.

But one of the things fiction arguably exists for is to present characters that take such ideas to such extremes for the sake of exploring those questions and making a greater point; it's the premise "What if there was guy who ___? Wouldn't that be fucked up or what?". And for me (and a lot of people, clearly) Ghost Trick succeeds in getting you to take those characters seriously, because they and the people around them take their own stakes seriously, while ultimately making it clear that their responses were irrational.

...And hey, while I'm here:

Cabanela's answer to the second question is to bury all evidence of it, to Not Think About It, to become (or at least project the image of) a person who would never make that kind of mistake. Meanwhile, his answer to the first question, if we say the terrible thing in question is his best friend confessing to killing his wife and asking to be executed, is to dedicate himself to trying to undo it, to set things right, everything else in his life be damned.

These answers are "better" than Jowd's and Yomiel's — they certainly cause less extreme collateral damage — but they still aren't ideal. After all, Ghost Trick is a game that highly values the forging/maintaining of bonds with others and being honest/open with them as the key to both parties' success. It's what saves the day in the end. Without Sissel, all Cabanela's efforts to save Jowd and protect Lynne would have amounted to nothing.

No, the person with the "correct" answer is Lynne. She doesn't really have to grapple with the second question (which is maybe my personal biggest disappointment with her character), but her answer to the first question is clear: Become the kind of person who prevents such things from happening to others, or who can be the one to help them when it does. Always believe in people, and in the ability of things to turn out right.

Now, it must be said: the reason she comes to this answer is not because she was born a perfect idealist. It's because, in that worst moment of her life, someone was there to save and then reassure her; to inspire her. Jowd.

It's her truth, but it's not, say, Yomiel's.

But. It's a truth that inspires the rest of the cast (Sissel and Jowd primarily). And, because of her insistence in it, they're able to go back, defy fate, and make it The Truth of the narrative.

(Sissel similarly only has to really deal with the first question because Reasons, and his answer evolves over the course of the game, from "focus on the wrong that was done to you and what you can do to make yourself feel better about it above everything and everyone else" (doesn't that sound familiar?) to be more aligned with Lynne: "use what you learned/gained from that unfortunate occurrence to help others". And Missile is basically on the "right" wavelength the whole time, which is why everyone agrees he's the Bestest Boy.)

[ifearifearifear]

The FNAF Multiverse (6/10)

Part six, a little shorter than usual because I'm trying to get ahead on the next few chapters

Chapter 6: Satellite Universes

Alright, we’re back to normal, pretty meta stuff. Last chapter was a doozy, so I’m taking it easy on the writing this time.

Satellite universes are partial universes that require the context of a ‘host’ universe to make sense. In these satellite universes are where things like headcanons and theories come into play.

Satellite universes can be thought of as a lens through which a universe can be viewed. They don’t change what is known about a story, but they give context that doesn’t explicitly exist in the host universe.

They are VERY densely packed around canon universes, simply by virtue of how popular the canon universes are. The GAMES universe is the most egregious in this matter, as the rather fragmented nature of the known story has led a great many of these satellite universes to be created, in hopes of illuminating the lore, or the sake of elaborating upon the events and characters in the story.

The characters ‘created’ by these satellite universes aren’t technically independent characters, but instead a view of the preexisting characters from a different angle.

BUT. If a satellite universe becomes densely detailed enough, it can function on its own, becoming a unique universe. But more often, it’s simply a matter of the different ways in which different people construe the same piece of media.

Satellite universes are the main culprit in the unbelievably dense nature of the multiverse’s center. Canon itself is rather dense, yes, but the knowledge that we have about it is very limited, and so people make assumptions and theories to fill in what we don't know. The sheer number of satellite universes are what makes it so difficult to see in. There are hundreds of thousands- maybe even millions of perspectives, all having different ways of filling the gaps. There is no impartial way to observe canon, because there will always be assumptions made. This is part of the reason that canon is practically untouchable.

This is a rather short chapter, but I feel like people would have asked where headcanons and theories fit into it all, and I wanted to get the answer out, since I already have it.

Next chapter, we’ll be defining and talking about timelines. Probably another short chapter, for the same reason.

- Chapter Navigation -

- 1 * 2 * 3 * 4 * 5 * 6 * 7 * 8 * 9 * 10 -

[insomniacowl]

Neon Genesis Evangelion analysis chapter 18: Angels, what are they?

The wings of Unit – 01 in the Opening sequence

The being that is called angels in English is called in Japanese shito (使徒). This word when directly translated to English means Apostle. However, even in the series, they are often referred to as “Angels” this incongruity has its own significance. 

The very fact that the enemies of the series are referred to as “Angels” points Neon Genesis Evangelion not being a simple narrative of Good vs Evil, rather it can be said to even oppose such a narrative. Unit – 01 that our protagonist pilot is based on Lilith who is often referred to as the devil, and the wings on the back of Unit – 01 in the opening sequence are referred to as the “Devil’s wings”. This points some to make a case that this series is a story of Humans descending into demon hood while fighting for their right to survive against the onslaught of the angels, although I disagree with this idea. 

The angels have played an additional and significant role in sparking interest in this series outside of the Otaku communities. If so, what is the nature of these beings in the universe of Evangelion?

One reason for the disagreement on what makes for the category of “Angels” arises due to the inconsistent descriptions the characters of the series give of them. The fourteen angels we have discussed in the previous chapter are definitely considered under this category, and Tabris is widely considered to be the “Final” angel. Adam who is their ancestor is referred to as the first angel and Lilith who is in the same status as Adam is referred to as the Second. Furthermore, some refer to humans (Lilins) as the eighteenth angel.

Adam has 4 legs?

Therefore, to understand what makes an angel, we need to take a look at what ‘ADAM’ is. Adam is the being that was in the White moon that first made landing on earth and holds the fruit of form. Due to the Evangelions being made using parts of Adam’s body, they are genetically identical to Adam. While Unit – 01 makes an exception due to being Lilith based, there is a possibility of Adam’s DNA having been inserted, thus we cannot make any definitive statement for now.

Adam is sometimes described as the giant of light, and it illuminates as does Arael, making it impossible to see its body in detail. In the picture of Adam in Episode 1, we can make out the restraints on its shoulder that are similar to those on the Evas. Some attribute this design detail being present to allude its relationship with the Evas, I argue otherwise. In different illustration of Adam, we do not see such restraints, thus we can make a case that these restraints were places artificially by either the Katsuragi expedition team or Seele.

As mentioned in the earlier chapters, Adam is the being that the First people encapsulated in the White moon and sent to earth. But before Adam was able to fulfill his role, Lilith in the Black moon landed, and the loss of her Lance of Longinus resulted in Lilith creating descendants to populate the earth before Adam woke up.

Zeruel about to attack humans

When looking at the vs Zeruel fight, we see it attacking humans that are not in the way of it achieving its goals. This points to the existence of instinctual hostility the angels hold against the humans who have taken over the earth that they should have rightfully owned.

After eons since the first impact, Seele and the Katsuragi expedition finds Adam and become interested in the fruit of form (S2 engine) he had and initiated the “Contact experiment”. We know that there were at least three “Contact experiments” that have happened in the series, the one with Adam, then Yui with Unit – 01, and Kyoko with Unit – 02. This shows us that the “Contact experiment” is an attempt to create a connection between a Human and the “being close to god”. 

In detail, the “Contact experiment” is the bringing together of a person with the Core. While we do not know exactly the location of S2 engines in the angels, due to the importance the Core has for the Angle’s survival, it is most likely to be located within it. This claim is supported by the consumption of Zeruel’s core by Unit – 01 being portrayed in detail as Ritsuko describes this act as the absorption of the S2 engine. 

The “Contact experiment” then can be described as the attempt at the transfer of soul between humans and the angel’s core, and for the case of Adam, the soul was transferred to create Kaworu.

The consequence of waking up Adam

The experiment however went out of control and the expedition team tried to put Adam back in control using the Lance of Longinus but failed. While the second impact was prevented from wiping out all of humankind, a great calamity befell on earth (and Lilith). At this moment, Adam releases strong waves of anti-AT field, and concurrently opened the door to the room of Guf.

The act of opening the room of Guf is the act Adam took in desperation to create the angels based after himself and insert them with souls necessary for their creation. That makes the moment of the Second impact as the moment of birth of the angels.

Now let's talk about the origin of the angels. Even with the understanding that the moment of the Second impact was when their souls were inserted, many questions need to be answered. There are arguments to be made regarding this when we look at some of the angels, so let us take a look.

The state of how Sandalphon was discovered provides us with many answers but also raise new sets of questions. This was the first and the only angel that was found by humans. Sandalphon was discovered deep inside the stream of magma, inside an egg, shaped like a fetus. Through this, we can tell that the angels developed inside of an egg likely hidden in the deep sea/lava until it hatched in 2015.

Sahaquel and Arael also offer us similar evidence. Unlike the other angels, these two appeared from space, showing us that at least these two developed in the outer space. However, I do not believe that this happened due to their eggs being flung out into space during the explosion of the second impact. 

Just from their gigantic size, we can understand that they would not have been able to develop properly if they were burdened by the conditions on earth. Therefore, I believe that these two needed to develop outside the earth’s atmosphere and their eggs were strategically placed where they developed (Either by the angels themselves or by some other force of Adam).

Evangelion development documents 

The Evangelion development document, a 35-page document that was published on Newtype 100% Collection 29 in 1993, and again in 1997 by Kadokawa points to another possibility to the birth of the angels. While the continuity between the development document and what we got is fuzzy at best, the document states that the First people created the angels. This makes Adam not the genetic ancestor of the angels but a spiritual one, as he becomes the first angel to have landed on earth and the others followed. It is not a useful piece of evidence in our argument, but it does raise an interesting hypothesis.

How did Gagiel know of Adam’s location?

If we think back, the angels have never distinguished between Adam and Lilith until episode 24, and even in this episode, Tabris did not realize that it was Lilith until he was floating right in front of her. There is a potential theory that Nerv deliberately placed Lilith in Central dogma to lure the angels to the strategic location to destroy them. It is a plausible theory but it presumes that the descendants of Adam are unable to distinguish between Adam and Lilith despite their difference. This logic will give rise to the statement that Adam and Lilith may be more the same than different.

Even the inter-character dialogues in the series point to this possibility, and if we were to borrow from the facts from the development document, the manner of which the angels locate the ancestor is not through any biological intuition of the particular being but sort of a magnet that draws towards any “Seed” that exist within the planet.

No... This is… Lilith?!

The one planet one seed principle was supposed to be Law and if it was kept, the descendants only needed to find the seed on the planet and would be “Programmed” to do so. But the situation on earth was unique and the angels had no need to nor the capacity to differentiate between Adam and Lilith. In the Evangelion games, the angels are depicted as having diverse goals yet it is interesting that none of them specifically mentions that they are looking for either Adam or Lilith, again pointing to the fact that the angels are unable to distinguish them apart.

If we reframe our perspective to this argument, that the angels are looking for the “Seed”, it becomes possible to justify the surprise Tabris experience when he finds Lilith in episode 24.

Won’t you become one with me?

There is something to be said of the reason the angels desired to initiate the Third impact. If we exclude Tabris who carried the soul of Adam, Armisael could be said to be the final angel. In episode 23, it is revealed that Armisael feeling lonely during its conversation with Rei. This is in contrast to the assumption that angels are unable to feel any emotions, let alone loneliness due to being a unified being and not having the fruit of knowledge.

The first thing Armisael asked/demanded from Rei was “Won’t you become one with me?” and this is the same desire humans show regarding the instrumentalization. In other words, the angels are not as different from humans, they are capable of feeling loneliness, and desire to be together and become whole. We can then see this as the reason for their desire of initiating the Third impact.

Did Sandalphon really attack unit – 02?

Other then this, we are also told that the angels’ DNA is 99.89% identical to humans’ and this similarity was kept constant in other media spinoffs of Evangelion as well. So be it Adam, Lilith, angels, or humans, it can be said that they are all genetically identical. The key difference is the Fruit of knowledge or form that they possess. Only moments after Sandalphon has hatched, the sound used for its cry was a human baby crying, just lowered down a few pitches. In its movement too, the way it bit and sucked was more akin to what babies do in the first few weeks of their birth.

It was a baby. The only difference was how it looked. It behaves just like a human baby.

Shinji: What do you think the angels actually are?

Asuka: Huh? What are you asking all of a sudden?

Shinji: Angels, the messenger of God. Why are they our enemies? Why do we have to fight them?

Of course, the angels hold the fruit of form unlike the humans thus it results in their behavior patterns being different from that of humans. But in the later episodes of the series, we see them showing interest at humans, learn from them, and also experience character developments. Just like how the humans gained the fruit of form in their battle against the angels, the angels were also able to understand many things about us.

Shinji has questioned why the humans have to fight against the angels? 

It is through the series that we can gain the answer to that question.

It may not be necessary. The two groups can perhaps come to understand each other.

As choose Tabris with his free will, we don’t have to be enemies.

[patchoulimademoiselle]

Guilty. (Part 6.)

Part Six.

Steve Rogers (Lawyer AU) x Reader Insert. 

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: A bit of angst, Steve is an asshole at dinner and you make a hard decision. 

Notes: I missed last weeks update, so here it is. I’ll be posting on Friday as well. Sorry that this is a bit shorter than the other parts, this was just the right place to end it. 

Masterlist.

Part Six:

When James let's you into his apartment, he and Steve dive into conversation like old frat brothers. You on the other hand remain distracted, a blonde haired blue eyed someone has his hand on your thigh under the table, an innocent placement that would look more friendly than anything if someone else were to see it.

But you know the difference.

You can feel his restraint, muscles taught as he holds himself back from doing anything inappropriate. But all you can think of is where that hand was minutes before, and nothing they talk about proves to be more interesting than that. His jaw ticks ever so slightly, the only indication that he doesn't really care about the words coming out of his mouth. He gestures with his other hand, speaking so vividly that you can almost see the words rather than hear them.

Almost.

Because then his eyes land on you, along with the other set across the table, and you realize that now was a bad time to space out.

"What?"

He has the nerve to smile, hand squeezing you gently before retreating entirely, and you almost whine at the loss.

"Not so bright, is she?" Steve jokes, and the glare you give him is far from playful. What the hell are you doing?

Bucky scoffs from across the table, eyebrows high in disbelieve of the exchange he's seeing, and you're pretty sure you know what he's thinking. "I would hope she is, she's working with you on my case after all." Bucky reaches for his glass of water, and you can tell it's only in an attempt to relieve the tension in the room.

"Only where it counts." The smile Steve gives you is large, all teeth and sarcastic, and you aren't sure what his angle is. "He asked what your opinion is on how I'm leading the case."

Is this a power play? Here, now? In front our your client?

You grind your teeth, crossing your legs and sitting up before looking over at Bucky, who wears a small smirk on his face at your expense. "My opinion is that it's the best shot we have at winning your case at all." You say honestly. "I hope you understand Mr. Stark himself had nothing to do with this, and that it is Zeke Stane who we will be facing in court. He has been making moves under the table to buy Stark out of the company for years. The proof we have of the fraudulent claims he is making against you is the only way we can outsmart his lawyers."

You feel like you're on the stand right now, being drilled by two different men with two different perspectives. One knows you are right, and is only trying to see how well you can prove yourself. The other has no idea what to expect from you, and is blindly assuming that you know what you're doing. Steve is trying to embarrass you, Bucky is trying to simply understand.

"From a lawyers perspective, that makes perfect sense." Bucky plays with his glass. "But you aren't trying to prove it to the opposing side, you're trying to prove it to a jury, everyday people who are selected at random, and perhaps in Stark's pocket." Bucky holds up his hands, "Sorry, Zeke's pocket."

Steve nods, clearing his throat. "That's why we want to call and eye witness to the stand. Either Stark himself will have to testify, or an eye witness named Natasha Romanoff." Steve explains. "She's a former lawyer who worked closely with Tony Stark, and gave us some vital information we will be using against Zeke at the trial."

Bucky sighs, shoulders slumping, and your heart aches at the sight of it. "This whole thing feels rigged, and the fact that this is all on chance alone doesn't help ease my mind." He admits. "I was hoping you would come here with good news," His eyes zero in on you, and your breath catches in your throat, "But all I'm hearing is possibilities."

It's a coin game, head or tails, no real certainty of who is going to win, the only odds you have in your favor are chance, the probability that there's an option for the jury to decide with you at all. This is all you have to offer, just the basic knowledge that as long as you present something, there's a chance the jury will vote in favor of it.

"It's what we have." Steve is collected as always, brave faced when he needs to be. "When we have a statement prepared from our witness, we'll let you know."

To put it simply, dinner does not go smoothly. The daunting words Bucky left you with haunt you the entire time, and Steve simply ignores you for the sake of being good company. It's not until you leave that he finally addresses it, his hand catching your hip as he sits on the hood of his car, eyes dark and gleaming against the moonlight as he looks up at you.

He's probably going to scold you for loosing your cool, and you're probably going to scold him for trying to embarrass you. It all comes down to who speaks first.

"I can't believe you-"

"You know better-"

Both at once, and then silence. His eyebrows furrow, and you sigh, pulling your bag from off of your shoulder and depositing it in his hands, you dig through your toiletries for a cigarette. He lets you take a step back, the small flame from your lighter illuminating your features in the dark. It's concerning how often you've been reaching for them.

It's then that he speaks again, a small puff of smoke leaving your mouth. "You know better than to let your feelings get involved."

You scoff, looking up at the night sky as if it will crack open and give you an answer. It doesn't, and your eyes turn back on him in a glare. "Why did you put me on the spot like that?" The weight of the cigarette between your fingers feels heavy, a burden of your inability to function without chaos slapping you in the face as you go in for another drag, holding the smoke in your lungs as you speak again. "I got you your lead, I let you do all the talking, and you throw me under the bus as a thank you?"

It's Steve's turn to sigh, holding his fingers out, and you place your cigarette between them.

"I need him to trust me." He says. "I need him to trust me to lead the case, and the only way I can do that is by dimming the spotlight on you."

You aren't even sure what that means, crossing your arms over your chest as you wait for him to explain, cigarette tucked between his lips, the picture of pure sin as he tilts his head up to release the smoke straight up into the air.

"Bucky doesn't think with his head, he's been thinking with his dick." Steve is blunt enough to say, placing your purse beside him on the hood of the car. "He asked you to come over for dinner, and asked you what your opinion was on our lead. He favors you, and if I'm going to lead the case I need him to trust my judgment."

Just like you thought, it was all a power play, all a show to prove his dominance over you, to prove that he wears the pants and he runs the operation. It feels like a slap to your face, even though it shouldn't matter to you, Steve finds triumph in your embarrassment, and it makes you feel belittled not only as a lawyer but as a person.

"So you mock my intelligence in front of our client?" You question. "You mock my credibility as a lawyer in front of the man paying me to represent him in court?"

Perhaps he didn't see it from your perspective, because his jaw goes slack and his eyes glaze over with what you can identify a guilt. Or concern.

When you reach back in for your turn with the cigarette, he grabs your wrist, pulling you down to his eye level. "It's nothing personal." He says, "It's just how the game is played." You roll your eyes and try to tug yourself free from his grip, but when it doesn't budge, you realize he's looking at you with an entirely different expression now. Lust, desire, red hot and burning you alive when his eyes flick down to your lips, "Besides, if you knew what I knew, you wouldn't be complaining."

You did all the hard work, you risked everything to bring him the information he has, and now he's risking your credibility to boost his ego? You aren't exactly listening to him at this point, lost in thought rather than his words, but your responses are automatic, "What do you know?"

He hums, pulling you just a little closer, your heels scuff on the parking lot pavement as you shuffle forward, between his open legs, his hand reaching up to cup your jaw. "I know that Bucky Barnes is a dirty man," He says, lips only centimetres from yours. "I know that if you came here alone tonight, he would have tried to fuck you."

His words shock you back into focus, and he only nods at your expression. "I know because he was looking at you the way I look at you," He says. "And the dress I picked out for you didn't exactly help either, did it?" His finger hooks on the thin strap on your shoulder, tugging you down into a kiss. It's quick and chaste, his intent isn't to seduce you, but to reassure you. "But I wasn't going to let that happen. That's why I did what I did, to show him that I'm not stupid, and neither are you."

"You prove to him that I'm not stupid, by telling him I'm stupid?"

He shakes his head, clicking his tongue at you. "It was only to confirm that I'm leading the case, that you're loyal to me." He says. "It eliminates the probability of him trying something."

Of him....trying something? You never saw James as a threat, and never considered that he would try to make a move on you. But you also didn't think Steve was the jealous type, making a show for all the right reasons, just executing it the wrong way.

It's hard being a women in your line of work.

It almost makes you more upset, the fact that this was all a dick measuring contest, Steve needing to prove himself not only to you, but to Bucky as well. Not to mention Bucky, did he really see you as nothing more than a good fuck? Did he not take you seriously as a lawyer, only feeding into it for a chance to have sex with you? It's suffocating, and his gaze suddenly becomes too much, his grip suddenly feels too tight, his advances feel unwelcomed, and for the second time, you tug your wrist in an attempt to free yourself.

He lets you. "You're upset." Not a question, but you can tell by the look on his face that he wants a response.

"I'm overwhelmed." You admit, "The past few days have been rough."

Between this case and the emotional roller coaster that Steve has put you on, you feel just about ready to break. That doesn't make you weak, that doesn't make you emotional, it makes you human. You're running off just hours of sleep, the only thing keeping you on your feet was caffeine that is now burnt out. You haven't had a home cooked meal in what feels like years, eating takeout and fast food for every meal. The hangover you had this morning doesn't help either, your entire body thrown off.

The conversation you had with Natasha floats through your head, your presence a ghost in the shell of your body as you recall her advice. All of your benefits come with commitment, that's what she said, and as far as you're concerned, Steve Rogers isn't committed to you. He's committed to the job.

You watch as he stands, shrugging out of his suit jacket. He tries to drape it across your shoulders, but you dodge his attempt, ducking under his arm to take his place where he stood in front of the car. He clucks his tongue at you, annoyed, but patient as he tries a second time. You let him, his fingertips brushing across the skin on your shoulders as he bundles you up, eyes swimming with.....you can't quite place it.

"Stop trying to butter me up." You say. "We need to talk."

He too looks stressed out, rubbing a hand down his face. He hasn't had any sleep either, or at least that's what you gather from his sudden lack of energy.

"What did you promise Stark for those files?"

"I already told you, he just wants us to keep his name out of this." You tell him for a second time. "But, Natasha did tell him we were fucking. We have dirt on each other now, I went to his house and met his wife, he has a daughter, he just wants this to go away."

He lets out a sound of disbelief, a light puff of air rather than a laugh. "You really are too reckless, our faces could be plastered on tabloids as we speak."

You shrug, "Would that be the worst thing in the world?"

Even his smile looks tired, lip barely twitching.

"I guess not."

There's something unspoken between you, something dancing along the line of confessions and commitment. You can see it in his eyes. He's done. The chase isn't thrilling anymore, or at least not as thrilling as you. The heat in his gaze is like flames licking your skin and once again his fingers gab you, pulling you close, nose brushing your cheek as he whispers in your ear. "Don't do anything like that again. Do you understand?"

He must mean you acting without him, or it could be getting drunk alone, coming in to work hung over, a number of things on the list of don't do. There's a very fine line of what he does and doesn't tolerate, and it feels like you have to constantly dance between the two in order to keep his attention.

But the point he's trying to make is lost on you, the feeling of his hands traveling down your waist distracts you from the words coming out of his mouth.

Your mind is racing, too much is happening too fast, too many plot twists and turns that are overwhelming your brain. Bucky, Stark, Natasha, you feel like you're letting them all down, failing at your job as a lawyer even though you have guidance.

Gently, you remove his hands, taking a step back. "This is unprofessional." Your voice sounds weal even to your own ears, but you don't back down. "Take me home."

"Y/n-"

"Just take me home, please."

Your voice sounds distant, it makes his expression drop. But he doesn't say anything else, walking to the passenger side of the car and holding the door open or you.

The drive is silent, he doesn't even play the radio as he drives through the city to take you home. you don't mind it, but it does give you time to think.

You didn't mean to have a small breakdown, you did admit you were overwhelmed, but he kept pushing. There's but so much a person can take, sleepless nights and early mornings, one too many has finally caught up with you, and the way he touches you doesn't help. You only hope it doesn't change the way Steve sees you as a lawyer.

He wouldn't judge you, right?

You're not quite sure yet, but if the way he's gripping the steering wheel is anything to go off of, you can tell he's pissed off about it. Seeing him pissed off pisses you off, because what does he have to be upset about?

"You used me tonight." You say over the soft silence. "You dressed me up pretty and used me as bait to get Barnes to eat out of our palms." The gesture you had thought so hard about, the attentive way he kissed your shoulder, it was just to ease your suspicions. You felt used, hurt, which is exactly why you have to do this. 

"It won't happen again."

It doesn't need to, it only needed to happen once.

This won't be the end of it. It's just a new chapter, a turned page in the dynamic you share. You're no longer his arm candy, no longer a pretty faced right hand, no longer his little assistant. You're partners, and it's about time you start holding up your end of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guilty Masterlist. 

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Thank you for reading :)

[alltheangstmygifttoyou]

First Vacation

A/N: This is the fifth part to Learn To Be’s prequel and one of the more graphic and upsetting parts so please pay attention to the trigger warnings, and please let me know if I need to add more. It is back in Jester’s perspective. Out of the early parts this one is one of my favorites, I like the way it’s formatted and with the help of my teacher I liked the little descriptions and details added. I hope ya’ll like it too.

Summery: Jester sits alone in the dorm room at night and remembers what her first vacation home was like.

Word Count: 2188

TW: Graphic violence, graphic child abuse, disassociation, carving, victim blaming

Jester sat back in the broken dorm chair in the dead of night. The only light in the large open room came from the glow of the electronic clock above the exit. It was just enough illumination to not reveal the location of anything but not let Jester’s eyes adjust to the darkness either. Everyone else was in their rooms, most likely asleep. Jester’s roommate hadn’t bothered to scold her about not going to bed, but no one else had either. Most students were tired after the excitement of the day, a new national holiday to celebrate the bond between family. Students had been given three days off school.

*        *        *

Jester should have expected a new holiday really, Father was a major part of the council, and they made all the rules for the country. She knew she’d be punished for rebelling by not taking the placement test but that would have come during Christmas, months away, allowing her plenty of time to come up with a plausible reason on why she needed to stay at her school Learn To Be. But instead after less than a month of freedom she’d only been given a days notice that that freedom was about to be taken away. Her mind had been blank that entire day, she felt as if she was watching herself move around. No one asked about it though. No one wanted to be friends with a kid from section fifteen. No one in section fifteen seemed to want to be. They all drifted through the halls like fallen leaves on a windy afternoon. Even June seemed to be barely there.

Jester wished she could have stayed in that half there state the entire holiday. Instead she snapped back into herself when her Father’s dark green eyes locked with hers and his smile grew. She sat on the right side of the car like she always had in Father’s car while Jesse sat on the far left. The air felt solid as if every breath was swallowing the tension made physical. Jesse kept looking at Jester and then looking away quickly despite Jester not moving. She kept her eyes forward on the black soft seat in front of her that her Mother currently occupied.

They began the ride home in silence, a bad sign seeing as Mother would no doubt be gushing out question after question for Jesse if their Father wasn’t angry. The silence was broken by their Father as they exited the large parking lot. The rear-view mirror was kept at an angle that made their Father’s eyes visible. It made it so the children were always aware that he was watching them. Since he was driving Jester couldn’t see much of his front but she could tell by the side of his face he was still smiling while he spoke.

“So how are you liking school so far kids?” He began with a simple question. It should have made her feel better to be included in the question, yet it just made all the moisture in her mouth evaporate. Jesse didn’t seem to get the same sense of danger though and began to ramble on about how great school was. How everyone had been really nice, and how his room was only a little smaller than the one at home. What the name of his new friends were and what their powers were. He hadn’t told half of this to Jester at their breakfast meetups. Although to be fair, they had talked less and less. Jesse constantly would just look at the table where his new friends were sitting at whenever Jester spoke. Jester didn’t have much she was willing to talk about in the first place, but if he wasn’t even listening then there was no point in saying anything at all. They mostly just gave good mornings to each other and then goodbyes.

“And what about you Jester, are you enjoying section fifteen?” His voice didn’t change with the question, it was still soft and hinted with curiosity. His eyes stared at her through the mirror. Jesse watched her as well. Whenever Jesse asked about section fifteen she avoided the topic, she’d brush it off and turn it around on him asking about section one. She could tell it frustrated him but she desperately didn’t want to lie outright to him anymore, but the truth hurt too much to say. Father knew she was miserable though, and he was taunting her.

“I am, the others are very nice and we work together to stay in control,” Jester hated how heavy the lie made her feel. It felt like her lungs were being squeezed by her rib cage. Her Mother’s had tightened into a fist on the top of the closed storage container between the front seats.

“Have you made any new friends like your brother?” Father pressed on and it took extreme focus to exhale steadily without tensing the rest of her body. She never made friends, people tended to avoid her ever since she started basics school. When she was little it was because she was too morbid, she would explain what could happen if the other kids ate random things off the ground and got poisoned, she would talk about how the body would sometimes just give up, or just asked the teacher surrounding topics most parents would shelter their kids from, like assault or overdose. Father made cruel real world realities apparent to her from a very young age. She talked about what five year olds shouldn’t know, and she ruined games of pretend with logic. There was once when she was little when another kid claimed that he had the power to fly in the game they were playing, and that he landed on a cloud. She explained that clouds were just water, and that he would just get wet. The other children did not appreciate this type of input. Jesse was her only friend, and that meant she would do anything to protect him. As such, kids began to dislike her even more because she was a liar, a liar that always won anyways. Teachers always believed her, after all, her lies had evidence to back them up. A hint of truth. What kind of child knew to do that? Father’s question was another jab at her.

“Yeah, my roommate June has been really nice to me,” Jester answered, ignoring the fact that June barely spoke to her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Jesse watching her, head tilted to the side. Before Father could question her more about June she elaborated. “She’s fourteen, has short red hair, and likes to exercise. Every morning she wakes up and stretches, it's impressive how well she stays on routine.” Honestly Jester didn’t know anything else about June.

“It’s nice to see you making connections dear,” he answered. His calm, normal attitude was setting Jester on edge further. She knew he was angry, he had to be, Mother was silent. Soft classical music filled the car and no one dared to speak for the rest of the ride. Jester could hear father humming along to the songs. Mother never turned away from the windshield. Jesse, the least aware, was relaxed enough to fall asleep. His head rested on the side of the car door and there was a slight smile on his face. Jester wished that she could feel that way, yet a selfish part of her wanted him to be awake, as scared as she was. She wanted him to hold her hand and whisper to her that it would be okay. But she’d never take away Jesse's ignorance, not just because Mother and Father told her not to, but because he deserved to be happy. If Jesse knew he’d be like Jester, and the world already had too many jesters.

Once they were parked in the driveway Jester managed to move her stiff limbs and get out of the car. Father got out of the driver's seat but left the door open. Mother came around the front of the car and looked at Jester for a moment. Jester looked into her Mother’s pretty blue eyes, far different from Jester’s dark green, and pleaded silently for Mother to stay. Mother didn't react however, she stared a moment longer before giving Father a peck on the cheek and getting into the car. Jester was forced to watch her last hope run away from her until it became a mere dot in the distance. The thought that that was the last time she’d ever see Jesse occurred to her, but she had to brush it aside when a hand landed on her shoulder.

“Let’s go inside dear, we have so much to talk about,” Father’s voice was even more overly cheery than it had been in the car. His grip on her shoulder tightened with each step towards the horse to the point where Jester was sure there would be a bruise in the morning. Once the door was closed behind them he shoved her to the floor. She only managed to get to her knees before he kicked her in the ribs lifting her off the ground and twirling through the air twice before hitting the carpet elbow first. Every breath was like slamming a hammer on your finger every time the hammer went down. Despite the pain her body still made her sob. “Shut up, we both knew this was coming.” All traces of happiness was gone from his voice, replacing it was a tone one would use on an escaped pet rat that pooped on the floor. It was a tone Jester heard many times before.

“I know you thought that you’d have more time before this happened, but that’s your problem. You underestimated how much I care about you, or how much power I have. I doubt that you’re that stupid though, to think the latter,” Father went on pacing around her prone body. Jester stayed on the ground, trying to silence her wet breaths. His eyes made the back of her head burn but she didn’t dare look up. He preferred her face in the carpet she was sure.

‘You’re about the age when kids begin rebelling against their parents, so I understand why you purposely failed. It’s my job as your parent to let you know that this behavior is unacceptable though, and will not be tolerated. I’ve already proven by creating this holiday that I can bring you home whenever I want, as long as I want. Nothing has changed from when you went to Basics. You do as I say, or you’ll be punished. I’ll make this lesson memorable so you’ll never forget it,” and with that final word he kicked her in the ribs again, and again, stepping forward whenever he made her body roll away from him. When he tired of that he pulled her to her feet by her hair and dragged her to the kitchen and slammed her head on the table. When he finally let her hair go she collapsed to the floor seeing double. She could hear him walking away and grabbing something off the counter before his four feet came into her confused vision. He lifted up the bottom of her shirt exposing her stomach.

“A reminder to help you remember this lesson,” he whispered to her gently before carving into her skin with a knife. When she tried to scream he covered her mouth with his right hand and leaned his weight on it to keep him steady. It had all been too much, the pain, fear, and Jester blacked out.

The rest of the holiday she spent confined to her room. A family doctor with a strong healing power came and mended her broken ribs but left the bruises and sliced skin. Her stomach was wrapped in bandages so she couldn’t see what Father had done to her. Father came in her room and made sure that she understood that all these injuries she had came from falling down the stairs, and that no one would see them when she went back to school. Jesse fretted over her at first but Mother was taking advantage of every second she could, to be with him, leaving Jester alone. Father bought her one meal a day with a smile and a comment about how he was glad that he got this out of the way before Jester had done any real damage. How her little act of rebellion could actually make his plans easier in the end.

*    *    *

The ride to school Jester had been silent. She didn’t speak the entire day. Now, in the dark dorm room she sat alone. Her stomach throbbed. She lifted up her top and traced her finger along the places where it hurt the worse. The lines of pain came together in her mind and she realized that he had etched the number fifteen, her section, into her. Fifteen would be with her forever. This dark broken place was hers now, and she could never be rid of it.

[sterek]

Hello!sorry to bother you, feel free to not answer this. I am a fellow fan who voted in your sterek pool and think you are amazing for doing it! Anyway i read #12 is your favourite sterek moment and i am so curious to know why if you want to talk about it!i just can't have enough sterek talking!have a lovely day/night and thanks for keeping the sterek light alive with your amazing work!

Thank you hon!

Okay so here’s the thing, I love the elevator scene on it’s own but if that scene had been separated from the other sterek scenes in the hospital sequence I probably would’ve chosen the dream scene as my favorite instead. So here’s why the elevator scene has won me over: because it’s the culmination of a whole episode of incredible sterek interactions.

The elevator scene happens at the beginning of episode 3x11, but before we reach that we have to go through my favorite sterek episode: 3x10.

Here’s all that happens in episode 10 in relation to sterek:

It starts with this powerful scene that also made it to the top 20 for good reason. At the beginning of this scene Derek is under the influence of Jennifer’s magic, nothing had broken him from it so far and Jennifer is at the peak of her powers (she has only 3 sacrifices left), but then one tear from Stiles and Derek breaks free, and he stops blindly believing Jennifer (and notice how his gaze holds Stiles’ even when he starts asking her about Stiles’ dad, it gives me shivers). Also not featured into this gifset is the fact that Derek turns on Jennifer when Scott throws the mistletoe, ready to kill her for what she did, but Stiles’ begs him to stop because they need Jennifer alive to find the sheriff and Derek let’s her go (imagine how hard it must have been for Derek to do that, to let another one of his abusers live);

When the merged twins attack in the hospital, Derek, Stiles and Scott run away, and Derek immediately notices Stiles is running behind and calls his name, and then runs to him when Stiles decides to take a go at the twins with his bat;

Derek lets Stiles yell at him without making a single comment on it because he knows Stiles is worried about his dad and needs to let his anger out (in normal circumstances Derek would talk back, he’s sassy and banter is a sterek thing, so this is the only reason Derek let it happen even tho what Stiles said was hurtful and unfair);

When Jennifer returns to them asking for protection, saying she can save Cora and tell them where the sheriff is, Derek runs towards Jennifer in anger and throws a table in Stiles’ way, which was really unnecessary and makes it seem like he was making sure Stiles doesn’t move towards her (and get himself in danger);

When Stiles grabs the defibrillator he asks Derek what he thinks of it as a weapon (his eyes are locked on Derek, he doesn’t swipe them around the room, so we know he wasn’t asking for the opinion of anyone else) and Derek is gentle in how he handles Stiles, again without any of the usual sass because he knows Stiles is in a vulnerable place, and makes sure Stiles doesn’t hurt himself by telling him to put down the equipment;

After they get Cora in the ambulance Stiles touches Derek’s arm, a gesture in apology and reassurance, most likely for the words he yelled at Derek earlier (here’s a reminder that at this point only one other person has apologized for wronging Derek, the bus driver in season 1 who was terrified and dying);

When Stiles touches Derek’s arm, Derek gets a lightbulb moment; an actual lightbulb lights up behind his head as he looks at Stiles. Jennifer calls for Derek and he goes but he gives Stiles a last glance.

So in this chaotic episode Stiles and Derek still manage to do all of this: care for each other, be there for each other, have illuminating moments about their relationship, show regret for hurting the other.

And then the culmination of all of this happens in the elevator scene. Both Scott and Stiles stop to stare at Derek lying inside the elevator, but here’s where they diverge: Scott leaves and doesn’t come back, Stiles leaves after Scott but he returns for Derek. And let’s be clear here, Scott and Stiles don’t have different stakes in this situation, they both have a parent stuck in the same place and facing the same thing, and actually Stiles’ dad has been gone longer, but Stiles refuses to accept Deucalion’s way and he refuses to leave Derek behind, just like he refused to let his first game stand in the way of him helping Derek, just like he almost drowned in the pool because he wouldn’t let go of Derek’s body.

He just can’t leave Derek.

There’s no gifset that can quite show the way Stiles screams “Derek! Derek, come on!”. I write it here and it doesn’t sound half as anguished as Stiles sounds in the episode. You gotta listen to him to really feel in your core the desperation in Stiles’ voice for Derek to wake up. This is not a shipper thing, this is the reality of how the scene is played. 

The scene is filmed from as many angles as they could fit into it, we get to see every reaction, every touch, from all perspectives.

We see Stiles try so hard to wake Derek and when he can’t he makes a fist, but he hesitates because he doesn’t want to hurt Derek, but nothing is working so he has to go for it.

We see Derek grab Stiles’ arm and stop him, see the first reaction he has to it which seems to be “you, too?”, the disappointment of having been wrong again about someone caring about him, about Stiles caring for him.

But then Stiles says in a rush, “we gotta get you out of here. police are coming right now, we need to get you the hell out of here!” and Derek looks incredulous, like Stiles just managed to spin his world upside down.

Because Stiles came back again, Stiles is desperate to get him to safety, Stiles cares about Derek, so much.

Then we get this:

And I just... I can’t even. Look at their hands, look at the look on Derek’s face, look at how gentle Stiles is.

And here’s the last reason I love this scene: I’ve read so much meta over the years and many people seem to agree that this is the moment Derek chose Stiles as his anchor. I know some people call the dream scene “the anchor scene”, and it is in a way, but I don’t believe it’s the scene where Derek chose Stiles as his anchor, it’s just the scene where Derek revealed it to us. Why? Because while Sterek have had their incredible moments throughout s1, s2 and s3a, nothing really compares to the absolute devotion Derek has for Stiles during 3b after he finds out Stiles is possessed.  In 3a we have a Derek filled with chaos, who gets easily magicked by a darach, and then all of the hospital sequence happens and at the end of 3a Derek leaves with Cora like he’s at peace with himself (because he found a new, better and improved anchor perhaps??) and when he comes back and finds Stiles is possessed he absolutely loses his sh*t, he stands with the argents, follows chris around because he knows he’s a threat to stiles (see this gifset), is the only one with bags under his eyes even tho he’s a freaking werewolf, goes around fixing stiles’ jeep, trying to figure out stiles’ messages via the chessboard, pretends to be buddy-buddies with the twins, looks like this when stiles is threatened, and is just a general mess. Because his anchor is in jeopardy? You decide, I have my opinion. ;)

Anyway, tldr: the hospital sequence absolutely owns me, and sterek is eternal!

[less-than-hash]

Endless Night Class

If you’re interested in studying game design, Atlus has provided a rare (possibly unique) opportunity in their Persona Endless Night Collection.

Be warned: I’m about to spend a lot of words advocating that you acquire, play extensively, and critically examine their three Persona dancing games. I’m in no way associated with (and have never been associated with) Atlus. Nor am I an evangelist for any of these three games individually (though I do enjoy them). Taken together, though, I think they prove both fascinating and illuminating, and it’s rare to find a series as odd as this collected like this.

I provide some possible alternatives for similar exercises at the bottom of the post.

For the uninitiated, Atlus released a beatmatch game for the Vita a few years back based on the fourth of their teenage dating-sim slash Jungian dungeon delve Persona games: Persona 4: Dancing All Night. (I’ll be calling this P4D.)

I’m personally a big fan and played the crap out of it for months. Which is not to say that it’s without some pretty significant flaws. 

A few weeks ago, they released their follow-up(s), Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight (P3D) and Personal 5: Dancing in Starlight (P5D). 

The fact that any of these games exist at all is pretty weird. They’re beatmatch games that serve as spin-offs (and in two out of three cases, sequels) to narrative focused hundred-hour RPGs, each themed around dancing, despite the fact that dancing is in no shape, form, or fashion important to the core games. 

Stranger still, the two new releases are essentially the same game from both a systemic and narrative perspective. The characters are different, the music is different, the UI is different, but essentially everything else - the mechanics, the UX, the inciting narrative, the way story content is accessed, the loot - is exactly the same. 

Essentially Atlus made two games worth of content for the exact same “engine” and released them at the same time. It’s a little as if Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas had been released on the same day (had New Vegas not made any modifications to Fallout 3′s gameplay systems).

But here’s the kicker: for $100, you can get the “Endless Night Collection,” which contains both of the new releases and a code for the digital version of the original Dancing All Night (for PS4, if you get the PS4 bundle).

In other words, for $100 you get:

A game from mid-2015 developed for the Vita.

A follow-up to that game based on a different property developed for simultaneous release on PS4 and Vita.

A second follow-up to that game based on yet a different property developed for simultaneous release on PS4 and Vita, to be released at the same time as the above.

In addition to which, one of the two new games is a spin-off of a 12 year-old PS2 game while the other is a spin-off of a game that released last year.

That’s a whole lot of design from a whole lot of sources over a pretty long time kind of piled up on top of itself.

To an extent, that’s not wildly different from, say, being able to purchase a Witcher 1, 2, and 3 bundle. But there are a few other things that lend these particular games to study:

There’s minimal change in the basic gameplay systems, allowing you to focus on what things the devs decided to alter between games.

The games can be approached almost entirely non-linearly. You will miss nothing by not playing them in the order they were released. You certainly need not play them in their numeric order. Even within the games, the narrative and songs are released in a fairly non-linear order. (This is less true in P4: Dancing All Night, but that’s part of the point of this exercise.) 

The gameplay loop can be approached in chunks as short as five minutes.

Due to the confluence of the above, you can easily and comfortably jump back and forth between all three titles.

These games marry narrative-focused properties to a traditionally narrative-light genre.

All that said, here are a few things to keep in mind:

The games are not wildly accessible to those with difficulty hearing, seeing, or performing quick finger movements.

Having a working knowledge of Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5 will dramatically deepen your experience of the dancing games. If you haven’t played them (which is reasonable - that’s a roughly 300 hour and $120 investment for all three, and Persona 3 has not aged well at all, especially from a systems design perspective), it’s worthwhile to at least familiarize yourself with their plots, themes, characters, art styles, and UI.

Possessing a knowledge of both rhythm games and music will allow you a deeper awareness of some of the gameplay changes that occur between the games.

SO, let’s say I’ve convinced you to acquire a copy of the games. What about them should you be studying as you play them?

What changes did the devs make between 2015′s P4D and the two 2018 games? What does each change accomplish? What need, challenge, or issue do you think the change was in response to?

Some examples:

P4D includes a visual novel-style story mode while P5D and P3D do not. Yet they still contain interactive narrative scenes. What do these two different presentations accomplish? Why do you think Atlus changed their tact in the newer games? For bonus points, compare against the narrative presentation in the Persona 4 Arena fighting games.

It’s not merely the mechanical presentation of the narrative content that changed between the games - the scope, focus, and tone of the two recent games is markedly different from P4D. P4D tells a single, linear narrative, while P3D and P5D seem much more interested in their casts’ varied interpersonal relationships. In the older game, the player encounters a small cast of entirely new characters. In what I’ve played of the newer games, there are no new characters at all. Consider why that is. I'm almost positive that the answers are neither “they’re lazy” or “it was cheaper” (though “the cost didn’t justify the reward” could very well be part of the rationale).

Progression in P4D is wildly different from that in P3D and P5D. Consider how this requires the player to approach the content. Think about why the devs may have decided to change progression in such a radical way.  

Item progression, too, is handled entirely differently in P4D than in P3D/P5D. P4D included a currency system that’s entirely gone in the new games. Why do you think that is? Further, what types of items exist in the former that aren’t in the latter? Does the functionality of some of those item types exist elsewhere in the game? Why change that presentation? Some of these changes will feel like cuts, but I promise it would have been cheaper to leave some of these systems as they were. So if the reasoning wasn’t strictly financial, what was it?

There is a single addition to the core mechanics of the game between P4D and the new releases - the double beat. Why do you think it was added?  

Compare the background videos during song gameplay in P4D to that in P3D and P5D. You’ll notice that the latter two are significantly less busy from a VFX perspective. (While I haven’t closely studied it, I suspect they’re also less complex in terms of camera cuts and camera angles.) Why do you think that is, especially given that A) games within series strongly tend towards bigger, brighter, and brasher over time; and B) the original Persona 5 possesses a much flashier visual style than Persona 4? Why are the dance sequences in P5D less flashy than those in P4D?

Similarly, passing any song in P4D got you a brief cutscene in which the dancing character summoned their persona. These are absent from the newer games. Consider why that might be. (In this case, the answer “It was cheaper” may have a lot of merit, but that’s probably not the sole reason. How do those little cutscenes at the end of each song impact the way the player interacts with the game? Especially in the common use case of the player wanting to retry the song to improve their score.)

This requires a little more familiarity with music and game design, but try to observe the ways in which the authoring of the beatmatch play changes between P4D and the newer games. The mechanics are exactly the same, but the way the devs present challenges within those mechanics are different. Try to identify how, then consider why. For bonus points, examine this through the lens of questions 4, 5, and 6 in the next section.

Much of the UI art in P4D is a major departure from that of the original Persona 4. On the other hand, P3D and P5D tend to hew much more closely to their sources for their UI art. Why do you think that is? Especially consider what’s accomplished by P3D’s emulation of a 12 year-old PS2 game. (Full disclosure: I hate it.) Strangely and interestingly, though, P3D straight up steals a bit of UI from P5D, which it takes from Persona 5. (Hint: it’s when the player is prompted to speak.) Why do you think this is? (This is a spot where the financials may have played a role. Creating the art asset for P3D to use the same UI in these moments certainly cost more than not having to create that asset. However, that cost may have been significantly cheaper and safer than changing that aspect of the UI’s functionality between the two concurrent games. Is that why it was done? I can’t say. It’s worth thinking about what the decision accomplishes from a non-financial perspective, too.) 

A major change between P4D and P3D/P5D’s conversation UI is the discontinued use of character portraits during speech. Those portraits already exist for both Persona 3 and Persona 5, so why not use them?

Alright, that’s a bunch to chew on solely from the perspective of differences between the games over time.

But it’s also worthwhile to carefully consider the choices that remain consistent across the titles. These are the things the devs felt strongly enough about to hold onto when they could have changed or jettisoned them.

The controls in all three games are exactly the same (though there’s a little fuzziness between platforms where certain inputs don’t map 1 to 1 between them). What do you think the developers consider so successful about these controls that they didn’t adjust them at all in the three years between the release of P4D and the latter titles?

Similarly, consider the control inputs chosen. Identify why d-pad right and Square aren’t used during dance play. Then consider how else the developers could have tried to address that issue. Why do you think they landed on the solution that they did?

Up at the top of this post, I mentioned that despite their overt focus on the idea and act of dancing (and the narrative’s examination of dancing from perspectives social, physical, and cultural), these are not dancing games. So why do you think these games are about dancing at all? The developers could absolutely had the beatmatch play represent something like the characters calling on their personas to battle shadows - or carrying out heists in the case of P5D. Or playing music in a band. So why the focus on dance? How does that interact with the base Persona games? Consider the role that “practice” and “training” play in both the dancing games and the RPGs. How is it reflected in the narrative of the games? How is it reflected in the way the player interacts with the game?

Clearly the player isn’t actually dancing - so what experience do you think are the devs hoping to inspire in the player as they perform each song? How do you think they wanted you to feel while you’re playing?

The audio chosen for the beat match is incredibly specific. Listen to the sound the game makes when you successfully hit a single beat. To the sound the game makes when you hit a linked beat. A sustained beat. Each of these are different, and each is immediately recognizable. Unless I missed something, none of these sounds change between the original P4D and the recent releases. (Though the new games let the player edit the sounds that play for each beat type.) Why do you think the audio team chose those sounds? How do those specific sounds contribute to the player’s experience of the game?  Looking back to question 4, how do these sounds make the player feel when their actions evoke them?

Once you’ve got an answer for questions 4 and 5, consider how successful you think the devs were in evoking that experience. Which aspects of the game undermine that experience? Which support it? Are there aspects that undermine it present in P4D that no longer exist in the recent releases?

Play the game on the three basic difficulties. Are your answers to question 6 different on the different levels of difficulty?

Go play (or watch a video of) Guitar Hero, Rock Band, or one of their sequels. What sounds do those games make when the player successfully hits a beat? More interestingly, what’s the audio response to missing a beat in Guitar Hero or Rock Band? Compare that to the audio response for missing a beat in the Persona dancing games. Why do you think those teams chose those dramatically different approaches?

Carefully consider the gameplay goals and how they’re presented to the player. The player is scored numerically, but they also reside on a continuum of “approval” (presented by dancing green alien invader-looking shadows in P4D and by bar meters in the newer releases). The latter of these is given tremendous and repeated audio feedback in the form of barks from the player’s companions. Additionally, the game displays how many successful beats the player has had since they last missed one. (And look at how the game defines this - it isn’t only a Missed beat that breaks a combo, but one rated Good.) Finally, the game assigns a text rating at the end of a performance: Not Cleared Stage Cleared Brilliant King Crazy Consider how all of these forms of feedback relate to one another. Why do all of these exist? Do they need to? What problems do you think they were implemented to solve?

Really think about the numerical score. How do you think it’s calculated? (Hint: the player increases that score over the course of their playthrough - it’s not tabulated at the end based on the report card of information presented about their performance.) Note that I don’t mean the specifics of exactly how many points each beat is worth, because I have no idea what those specifics are. (I could probably Google it, but part of the point of this is to consider what the player’s experiencing is.) What purpose does it serve?

For that matter, look at the elite King Crazy rating. Consider how it’s earned (by hitting every beat in a song, including scratches, with either Perfect or Great precision). Why do you think that’s the goal the developers set for the player? And why call it “King Crazy?” (I don’t think the answer to that question is localization-related or preciousness with the original language. The two recent games are called Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night and Persona 5: Dancing Star Night in Japan. Though I suppose if preciousness preserved the term in P4D, a desire to retain the same scale might result in the persistence of the term.)

I mentioned near the top of this post that these games aren’t wildly accessible. Consider specifically what aspects of the game would make it difficult for different kinds of people to enjoy playing it. If you were the developer, how might you try to address some of these issues?

During narrative segments, P3D and P5D (and to a lesser extent P4D, given its visual novel style) make a marked departure from the RPGs they’re based on in terms of perspective. Neither Persona 3 nor Persona 5 are first-person games, and the dancing segments involving the protagonist in P3D and P5D are similarly third person. Consider the first person perspective of the narrative in P3D and P5D. What does it accomplish? Why do you think the developers chose it?

Whew, that’s a lot. You doing okay?

In the famous words of Douglas Adams’s towel, DON’T WORRY. You don’t need to know the answers to all of those questions. I certainly don’t. 

I’ve got pretty strong suspicions about some of them, interpretations or ideas about most of them, and educated guesses about the rest. For some of these questions, the only people who know the answers for sure are those who were in the room when the decision was made. And hell, maybe they’ve forgotten!

The point is that if you’re going to be successful in design, you should be willing to dig deep into what a game’s doing when you experience it. Interrogate the game. Try to suss out the developers’ intentions. Resist the urge to pass judgment on them - to say that their choices are right or wrong, good or bad - but feel free to consider how you might have tried a different approach.

And then consider what obstacles those different approaches might hit.

Personally (get it?), I think that the Endless Night Collection provides a really rare, interesting opportunity to dig into these kinds of questions across multiple related games. If you don’t want to or can’t look at these particular titles, try to find similar opportunities. Search for games that might provide rewarding insights through archaeological examination. Some possibilities:

You a WoW player? Find a vanilla server and take a long, focused look at the way the game’s changed since launch.

The base Mass Effect trilogy was developed over a relatively short period of time (the console life cycle of the 360), but each game plays significantly differently from the one before. Despite the fact that you’re playing the same character (kind of) in each, the stats that represent that character, the way that character moves, and the UI through which you inhabit the character all change dramatically between each title. (My Shepherd in ME1 was spec’d as a healer. Remember when an ME character could be a healer?)

If you’re into Obsidian’s games, play through Baldur’s Gate 2, Pillars of Eternity, and Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire and ask questions like those above of these games. The original PoE essentially sold itself as a modern BG, so in what ways did it actually emulate those old games, and in what ways did the devs decide a different direction was better? What further did they then change for the sequel to their own game?

Find those changes, those differences large and small, give consideration to what the experience accomplishes (or fails to) on either side of the change, and imagine what the devs were trying to accomplish with their adjustments.

Anyway, I should probably sleep at some point, or so Morgana would tell me.

Good luck! <#

[shadowdianne]

Prompt for Halloween: Could you do something like an update from your SwanQueen meets SwanKing from the very first of your Halloween series - that'd be a cool throwback and thanks!

For the ones that weren’t four years agoSwanKing is the male version of SwanQueen. Which is something I did as ananswer to a particular prompt that asked me to write the two duos finding eachother thanks to a curse. (The original fic for that can be found here)Apparently, our anon here was there four years ago Xd I found it fitting to endthis quite short series for this year as a massive throwback to that prompt.

Small notes regarding this one: On the original,if you don’t want to read it, the male versions of SQ reached them by crossingthrough a mirror. I did a quite heavy wink to the mirror for it to be a Synopados.Which was a nod to the book series “The Children of the Lamp”. On this versionwe are back to this idea so there isn’t any portal so to speak. The idea wasthat their male versions were -at the time of the first prompt- back at S1/2awhile Emma and Regina where set on a strange time line of S3/S4a -relationshipspeaking- Now Emma and Regina are post S7 (and together if I have any say on it)while their male versions are on S4.

As for you, anon, thanks for the prompt. I hope you like it.

Ok, on with this one 😉

Emma eyedthe objects in front of her; the trinkets and dust-covered memories that hadbeen part of the shop she was in for far longer she dared to imagine. Outside,the sound of the upcoming festivity reached the insides of the pawn-shop, boxeswaiting to be marked and sent away.

“Somethingon your mind?”

Regina’svoice reached the blonde as she bit down on her nail, sparks of dirty whitepower illuminating her eyes as she turned and glanced at the always perfectlydressed brunette.

“Nothing.”She replied, a shrug already making her shoulders tremble slightly. The soundof a grandfather clock could be heard as she answered; a mocking undertone onits ticking as Regina rose a brow, not once believing the blonde’s words.Sighing, Emma pointed at the objects around them, from the unicorn mobile thatstill hung from the shop’s ceiling to the different mirrors that, magicallyheld, awaited their turn to be boxed. “It’s just that I hate doing this.”

Reginahummed at that, knowing that already. It wasn’t any secret that Emma felt herwhole skin beginning to prickle near Rumplestiskin’s old objects. Her doubtsregarding them had been one of the reasons why the abandoned shop had stayedthat way for quite some time after all; the amount of work big enough forRegina herself to feel daunted by it.

Not thatshe intended on admitting that to the blonde, of course, and, as such, shemerely sent a small purple wave on Emma’s direction while hiding her smirk asthe blonde yelped, the magical kick Regina had sent on her way invisible to hereyes.

“I know youdid something.” The blonde muttered as the spell vanished, green eyes narrowingas Regina walked closer to the pile of mirrors, doing her best to feign shehadn’t heard Emma’s complaint.

She,however, halted when she began to inspect the mirrors in front of her, each oneof them sporting different runes and glyphs; aspects of dormant hexes that,once upon a time, had been active.

Seems you still had some secrets, Rumple.

Herthoughts were interrupted by Emma’s voice, however, as the blonde approachedher from behind, one hand caressing her back where the magic kick had just hither.

“Regina?”

Thebrunette glanced at the younger woman, sensing the weariness on her tone. Emmastill had quite a lot to understand and digest from a magical perspective, butshe could see the way her magic focused on the mirrors, on each marking andsigil written on them.

“Are they…active?”

Thequestion came out in a whisper, one Regina almost laughed at if it wasn’tbecause she wasn’t so sure herself. Enchanted mirrors could be stubborn afterall, capable of holding their magic for quite the long time. That had been oneof the reasons the use of a genie on her Evil Queen days had been so effectiveafter all: once the spell was placed it was difficult to make it disappear.

“I don’tthink so.” She finally replied, touching the first few with her fingers, tryingto sense any residual magic waiting for them on the edges of their glossysurface. Until, of course, she sensed a different one just below the pads ofher fingertips; calling for her magic as if it had been bound to her.

Or hexed tobe that way.

Eyesnarrowing, she picked the mirror up, looking at every angle from it, trying tosense something else beyond her own magic, beyond the whiff of Emma’s ownclinging to it, old enough for it to be several years old.

Four,perhaps.

“Emma?” Shecalled, but the blonde was already by her side, focused on the mirror in frontof them, the surface slightly opaque, as if dirty, as if broken. Taking a gulpof air, Regina peered into it, the blurry figures that stared back at them notexactly them in the slightest but shadows and colors that changed with everynew beam of the orange-hued light that colored the back of the shop. “Do youremember,” She began, tongue peeking between her teeth. “Them?”

They hadrarely spoken of that Samhain after what had happened, seeing their malecounterparts strange in ways they weren’t able to fully explain. Both Emmet andRey had been in a different path the time they had met them, their stories hadjust begun to interlock and, as such, when Emma had asked the day after Samhainwhat could be the reason behind their apparition, Regina had known that it hadbeen a game played by Rumple but had refused to look further into it.

Storiescould very easily be changed if anyone started to wander into them after all.That had been the reasoning behind her silence, behind the glances she hadgiven to the man for several weeks after the vortex had appeared and hadswallowed back the two men. Men so close to them it had made Regina dizzy inways she hadn’t dared to think about.

Yet, shehadn’t forgotten about neither of them; about the way Rey had stated, stillfull of rage and fear, that care was weakness. That love was something thatshould be avoided. And how Emmett had glanced at them with something close torecognition, never once really asking a question neither Emma or herself hadbeen ready to answer at the time. Still new, unaware, still blind.

Now,however, everything was different.

Which couldbe the reason why Emma nodded at her side, the quiet hum what made Regina lookaway from the mirror to focus on the younger woman’s profile; on the slightlyraised chin and the warm colors her red leather jacket gave to her complexion.

“Think theycame from here?”

Reginashrugged; she couldn’t ask Rumple, not anymore, but she had a very good hunchabout the mirror itself. Turning to look back at it, she narrowed her eyes andcalled for her magic to cleanse the murkiness covering the mirror, the hex oldand weakened enough for it to be ambers on an otherwise powerful spell.

“Help mewith this.” She instructed, handing the mirror over to Emma and focusing hermagic into the surface, sending wave after wave that made the smell of ozoneinto the air grow heavy with each new breath.

Until thevague reflection of themselves changed; just enough for Regina to not see it atfirst until the blinking on the image in front of her was slower, more focused,and a face that was eerily similar to hers but not quite, returned her gaze.

“Told you this mirror was cursed.”

The voice,deeper but with a similar cadence that the one Regina was used to hear onherself, reached them both as Emma haphazardly, glanced from behind, eyeswidening as a second set of green irises followed suit.

“You!”

Rey noddedfrom his side of the mirror, just as the image trembled for a second, finesilver lines coloring the air at the other side of it.

“Us.”

Reginasmiled slightly at the curt tone her other version gave to them, but her eyeswere already taking into the slight differences from the last time they hadmeet. While the last time Rey had seemed permanently on edge, suit hugging hisfigure and not letting anything be spontaneous, the man that eyed her seemed livelier,more focused. Hair slightly longer, caressing his ears, his face looked lessstrained.

The blond,however, seemed more stressed, with red rimming his eyes and, once he stoodnext to Rey, he seemed in a serious need of a nap. The thought reached Reginain the same way it naturally would come when Emma arrived home after a longshift and she stole a glance to the blonde. Not quick enough, however, for herto miss the quick nod Rey gave into her direction; a silent confirmation ofmemories that threatened to knock on Regina’s mind.

“Happy Halloween.”

The cheerytone Emma used as she smiled at her male counterparts made Regina want to scoffat it, but she found herself unable to; the roll of her eyes obvious enough,however, for Rey to do the same as her, his eyes never once fully strainingfrom Emmett’s figure.

“I almostconsidered you two a dream at this point.”

It wasEmmett’s voice the one that reached them this time, the easy-going smile notquite reaching his eyes but enough for Regina to shake her head. She knew for afact that had been Emma’s own intake of their brief encounter four years ago.It seemed fitting that that idea was shared among the two of them.

“We werecleaning Gold’s shop.” She explained, eyes going back to Rey’s, taking into theslight but unmissable nervous state the man was in. For her at least. “Seemslike the enchantment was weakened on our side.”

“Same forus.” Rey replied, a shrug ready on his shoulders. “We were helping Gold aswell; trying to find a spell. Cold-creating warlocks seem to be what we arefacing now.”

Reginapursed her lips into a line and could feel Emma’s stance changing at her side,her left hand quickly caressing her back for a moment. Something that wasn’tlost to Rey’s it seemed, as the man tilted her head, minutely, the same kind ofwanting like the first time they had met flashing for a moment before hemanaged to get it under control.

“It will beokay.”

Emma’swords made the two dark-haired figures turn to look at her, the blonde’s greeneyes trained, however, on the ones of her counterpart; a small reassuring nodalready forming on the crane of her head. Regina smiled at the sight, graspingEmma’s fingers for a second and sensing a magic caress she hoped wentunnoticed.

“We shouldprobably get going.” She spoke, just in time for Rey to part his own lips,similar words echoing on his side of the mirror. “Samhain is in a few hours.”

“HappySamhain then.” Rey replied, nodding to both of them, a meaningful look fallingupon Regina’s hand, still far too close to Emma. “Until we find anothermirror.” And, without letting them speak a single word, Rey waved his hand infront of the mirror, effectively cutting any residual link.

The mirrorturned opaque once again, their magics disappearing into the air as Emma lether posture shag for a moment, all strength abandoning her body.

“They willbe all right.” Regina muttered, a quick peck on her lips the only answer shegot from Emma until the woman eyed her, pained.

“What ifthe story is different?”

Reginashook her head; neither of them could know after all. Yet, there was somethingthere, beneath the surface of whatever spell Gold had casted on the mirror allthose years ago, that told her more than enough.

“I think itwon’t be different.”

Neither ofthem spoke of what the blonde truly feared, about stories that didn’t get tohappen, realizations that didn’t get to be made.

This time,for them both, Regina would be the one holding their hope as high as possible.

After all,she reasoned, if there was something true across any kind of version ofthemselves, hidden behind stories and authors and books, were theirstubbornness.

“Come on.”She instructed softly. “There is a lot we need to do before this night. And Idon’t want to lose to your mother to candy-giving.”

Happy Halloween to all of you

Masterpost

A03 Series

[watchilove]

It’s good to know where light comes from; it’s better to know where it leads. In the boldly dynamic FLOW timepieces, HYT takes the craftsmanship of mechanical watchmaking into a new age of enlightenment. Mechanics replace electronics as the unexpected catalyst of illumination, with a proprietary new complication generating light on demand. The resultant rays exercise their technically-sourced brilliance to reflect the energized momentum of current times.

Let there be light

HYT’s FLOW watches mirror the brand’s relentless quest to bring innovation that resonates with its contemporary context. Literally speaking, light brightens what already exists; figuratively it brings deeper understanding. The latter describes these timepieces’ purpose in the watchmaking arena. They are about the possibilities that emerge when performance enters new territories. Triggered by a pusher, a specially developed micro-generator stores and dispels the energy to activate 8 or 13 meticulously positioned LEDs, according to the version. These then visibly spread light evenly across the dial, mimicking a natural wave. Element by element, the illumination reveals the various “stories” that make up the piece’s time-telling capacity, never allowing us to lose sight of time’s unstoppable flow.

Two variations on the HYT FLOW theme, both limited editions, play very different games with the emitted light.

On one, a dome of 73 baguette-cut 1.7-carat diamonds dances spectacularly to rhythms derived from the 13 LEDs below it. Just as time’s flow is constant, this unique horological light show is a theatre for continual, energized change uniting jewelry and light thanks to the dynamic reflection and refraction. Innovation meets beauty and quite literally dances the night away.

Another execution addresses the concept of infinity through a precisely tapered vortex shape. Here the imagination is invited to visualize a revolving, apparently never-ending flow down towards the bellows, as a side-aperture welcomes the light emitted by 8 LEDs. The limitlessness of infinity fits neatly into the focus on time’s inevitable transience.

Tension please

In the HYT FLOW, opposites do far more than attract – they form a rich source of design energy. An apparently contradictory combination of liquid and electric light set the scene; the bold asymmetrical shape of the 51 mm case and vibrant colour choices pick up the thread. A visual wave sweeps around its side, reminding that stopping time’s momentum is never an option. This well-considered curve tempts the eye to explore new perspectives on time, a vital element of modern life.

A ring of Super-LumiNova® documents the antithesis of night and day. Polished accents on the circular-brushed case underline specific elements such as bezel angles. This is an appropriate overture to the three-dimensional character of the opaline-finished grey dials, where “metallic” and “velvety” sit together comfortably in the descriptive dictionary. Sophisticated electro-erosion adds a further signature to the theme of tension with its use of electric current to physically cut out strips of metal to obtain the wave illusion. The high-energy appearance of the dials’ backgrounds contrasts with the calmer, more minimalistic time indication. Concave and convex surfaces tease each other, as the eye peeps behind the waves to catch a glimpse of the intriguing mechanical mechanism below.

It’s flow time. 24/7

HYT FLOW Technical Specifications and Price

Flow Blue Fluid Ref.: H02464

Limited edition 25 pieces

Functions

Blue fluidic hours

Minutes, seconds, power reserve

Case

Stainless steel, satin finishes

Diameter: 51mm

Height: 20.6mm

Stainless steel crown

Stainless steel light module push-button crown

Domed sapphire crystal

Screwed case-back, sapphire crystal, “one of twenty-five” print

Water-resistant to 30 meters

HYT’s exclusive patented micro-fluidic module

Borosilicate glass capillary tube, nano-coating interior

Multi-layer metal bellows

Two immiscible liquids; one transparent, the other one coloured with a highly resistant dye

Thermal compensator with dedicated bellow and specific liquid

High-tech ceramic fluidic restrictors

Movement

Mechanical with manual winding, exclusive calibre

28,800 Vph, 4 Hz, 35 jewels

Rhodium thinly-sandblasted bridges

65-hour power reserve

Interface

Transmission between movement and fluidic module by conversion of rotation into linear movement using a cam-follower system

Isostatic connection of the fluidic system guaranteed by a trident

White light mechanical module

Winding function using the push-button crown

Light activated by pressing the push-button crown. 2 seconds of illumination per single pressions (up to 4 pressions before rewinding the crown) or minimum 8 seconds of illumination if push-button continually pressed.

Dome set with baguette-cut diamonds lit by 13 LEDs located under the dome and powered directly by a micro-generator

Dial

Rhodium opaline openwork dial

Brushed hour counter, anthracite numerals, circular thread with white Super-LumiNova®

White Super-LumiNova® rail under the capillary

Dome invisibly set with 73 baguette-cut diamonds, 1.7ct

Brushed minute counter, anthracite index, circular thread with white Super-LumiNova®, rhodium satin minute hand with white Super-LumiNova®

Orange openwork seconds disc

Power reserve indicator, orange hand

Strap

Orange rubber, titanium folding buckle

Price

The suggested retail price of this model is CHF 149’000.-

  Flow Black Fluid Ref.: H02593

Limited edition 25 pieces

Functions

Black fluidic hours

Minutes, seconds, power reserve

Case

Stainless steel, satin finishes

Diameter: 51mm

Height: 20.6mm

Stainless steel crown

Stainless steel light module push-button crown

Domed sapphire crystal

Screwed case-back, sapphire crystal, “one of twenty-five” print

Water-resistant to 30 meters

HYT’s exclusive patented micro-fluidic module

Borosilicate glass capillary tube, nano-coating interior

Multi-layer metal bellows

Two immiscible liquids; one transparent, the other one coloured with a highly resistant dye

Thermal compensator with dedicated bellow and specific liquid

High-tech ceramic fluidic restrictors

Movement

Mechanical with manual winding, exclusive calibre

28,800 Vph, 4 Hz, 35 jewels

Rhodium thinly-sandblasted bridges

65-hour power reserve

Interface

Transmission between movement and fluidic module by conversion of rotation into linear movement using a cam-follower system

Isostatic connection of the fluidic system guaranteed by a trident

White light mechanical module

Winding function using the push-button crown

Light activated by pressing the push-button crown. 2 seconds of illumination per single pressions (up to 4 pressions before rewinding the crown) or minimum 8 seconds of illumination if push-button continually pressed.

Dial lit by 8 LEDs located in the ring and powered directly by a micro-generator

Dial

Anthracite opaline openwork dial

Brushed hour counter, anthracite numerals, circular thread with C7 Super-LumiNova®

C7 Super-LumiNova® rail under the capillary

Polished ring, circular thread with C7 Super-LumiNova®

Brushed minute counter, anthracite index, circular thread with C7 Super-LumiNova®, rhodium satin minute hand with C7 Super-LumiNova®

Red openwork seconds disc

Power reserve indicator, red hand

Strap

Red rubber, titanium folding buckle

Price

The suggested retail price of this model is CHF 79’000.-

What makes us FLOW

Once upon a time, philosophy set science in motion. It was 2012. The setting was a digital world, where time on demand had become the new, and precariously temporary, happy ending. Every single second of the day. But if time gains meaning through the content its owner gives it, why continually dispose of it in this way? That is the question HYT answers. This radical watch creator turned to advanced technology to measure what matters: time’s insuppressible flow. Overcoming the force of gravity, they set out to visualize the intrinsic motion of time using liquids. To trace the journey through past, present and future that makes up life itself. Their happy ending is a continual new beginning. HYT succeeded in enabling soon to become now, always.

Each HYT timepiece is a seamless, harmonious union of science, art and design, born of the brand’s unique philosophy on time. A patented, mechanically driven fluidic module is the source of this world of possibility. Coloured and clear liquids trace the paths of elapsed and pending time. Their meeting point is the present, a constantly moving, beautifully suspended milestone. By showcasing time’s passage, every watch is an invitation to value what was, what is and what may be. Not for a second should we forget that, like a river, this vital flow can’t be stopped.

HYT tells time’s stories and these are always tales of the unexpected. Creative tension between craftsmanship and technology generates operational and esthetic energy. Radical transparency and three-dimensionality house miniscule detail. The bellows – with walls four times thinner than a human hair – act as time’s powerhouse. The serious business of time’s transience is given a playful wink and grin by a skull. Light acts as a key protagonist in a theatre of visual uniqueness… With HYT every day is flow time.

HYT FLOW – Enlightening. Dynamic. Technical. It’s good to know where light comes from; it’s better to know where it leads. In the boldly dynamic…

[enterprisesol]

Samsung OLED TV

There is a new TV in the town called QLED. Samsung released the first QLED TV at CES 2017 and called it a trademark, but it did not completely retain this abbreviation for itself. Samsung sources told Digital Trends that they hope other companies will also use the QLED nickname for their quantum LED TVs. To prove this, the Korean electronics giant has established a cooperative relationship with Chinese manufacturers Hisense and TCL, and announced the establishment of the QLED Alliance in late April 2017. We witnessed at the 2018 International Consumer Electronics Show that TCL now has QLED. Series TV.

As you may guess, a coalition infers an enemy, in which case it will be OLED. It sounds like QLED vs. OLED TV battle!

OLED TVs have received high praise from technology reporters and critics, including Digital Trends; for example, LG’s C7 OLED won our acclamation in 2017 and became the best TV set. But until 2017, LG became the only name in the OLED game. High-priced labels kept them away from most consumers, so the threat was low. Now, Sony is bringing competition to the market through its own OLED TVs (on the other side), and LG's OLED lineup has been expanded to include more affordable models, so the heat uses QLED technology. However, Samsung seems to be ready to meet the challenge and update the technology in the subsequent QLED product line in an attempt to close the gap.

For these reasons - let's face it, because the word QLED sounds like an OLED - it is very important to compare the merits of these duel display technologies in QLED and OLED comparisons. As always, Digital Trends will go all out for you. First of all, we will discuss what the QLED is - and not - and then we will fight against each other in the case of hegemony.

Tail Alert: This is a very intense game. It will be even more intense when Samsung expects to announce its new and improved QLED product line in March of 2018.

WHAT IS QLED?

QLED TVs are just LED TVs that use quantum dots to improve the performance of key image quality areas. For example, Samsung claims that its QLED TV offers a brightness level that meets and surpasses any competing TV technology, offers better black levels than other LED TVs, and can reproduce more colors than LED TVs without quantum dots.

How about it? Quantum dots are almost like a filter, producing purer light than a pure LED can provide. This is complicated, so we explained all the science behind QLED in another article.

 To meet the standards of the Ultra HD Alliance Ultra HDTV, most LED TVs must use quantum dots in some way. Since QDs are now widely used in premium TV sets, Samsung believes that if every manufacturer starts to call QLED TV, it will reduce confusion. The goal is to distinguish them from pure LED TVs and push them to OLEDs because Samsung has not yet planned to produce OLED TVs. However, the company does have its own answer in the form of OLEDs, miniature LEDs. This is a different technology from the QLED TV, so it will not be the main factor here, but based on what we saw on the CES 2018, the micro LED may bring some serious competition for the OLED, especially in the brightness And black level aspects.

WHAT QLED IS NOT

QLEDs are not emission display technologies such as plasma, OLEDs, micro LEDs, or even old cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions in the basement. Quantum dots don't directly emit the colors you see; they spread over a movie, almost like a filter in a LED TV panel. The LED backlight passes through this film and the light is refined to the desired color temperature, and from there, the brightness and color increase significantly.

But television enthusiasts have always wanted a different type of QLED TV, where one quantum dot can be powered on and off like an OLED - without the need for a backlight system or an LCD panel. If quantum dots produce light, then we can call QLEDs emission display technology - but this is not the case.

WHAT IS OLED?

OLED represents an organic light emitting diode. Quite simply, OLEDs are made of organic compounds that light up when they are powered—so they are light-emitting displays. A single OLED is one pixel in size, so millions of OLEDs need to be independently lit and turned off to fill the TV screen. Due to this flexibility, when the pixels of an OLED TV are turned off, they are completely off and fully black. Although QLED TVs can be made very thin, OLED TVs can be made thinner and even more flexible.

QLED VS. OLED

We now describe each of these two technologies, and in accordance with considerations contrast, viewing angle, brightness and other performance to see how they stack up in.

BLACK LEVEL

The ability of the monitor to produce dark black is arguably the most important factor in achieving excellent image quality. Deeper blacks provide higher contrast and richer colors (among others), resulting in more realistic and dazzling images. When it comes to black levels, OLED is ruled as the undisputed champion.

QLED TVs improve the black performance of LED displays but still rely on the backlight behind the LCD panel. Even with advanced dimming technology, LEDs that do not require full-speed excitation can be selectively dimmed, but QLED TVs are still subject to what is known as "light leakage," and the backlight spills over to the so-called black portion of the screen. This effect is evident in scenes with bright stars in the night sky or in the mail boxes on the top and bottom of the movie. The result is a slight haze or halo around the bright object, blurring the blurred lines. Even in the most advanced QLED models, these are unavoidable issues, although they will become less and less over time. If you buy the latest QLED models from Samsung, then this may not be too much of a problem, although still relatively obvious. Despite the 2018 QLEDs? Just you wait - major improvements are in progress.

OLED TVs do not have these problems. If the OLED pixel does not get power, it will not produce any light and is therefore completely black. It sounds like our obvious choice.

Winner: OLED

BRIGHTNESS

In terms of brightness, QLED TVs have considerable advantages. LED TVs are already very good at getting extremely bright, but adding quantum dots can make them brighter. Because of this, QLED TVs boast superior "color volume", which means they can brighten all colors in the available spectrum without losing saturation. QLED TV manufacturers also claim that they are more suitable for HDR content, because the spectral highlights in the image - such as the reflection of light shining on a lake or a flash car - are stronger and easier to see.

However, when it comes to HDR arguments, the overall contrast from the perfect black level of an OLED TV can be said to be a lot. Starting with perfect black, perceived contrast requires less brightness in the highlighted areas of the HDR program, and the viewer's end result is similar to that of a QLED TV - at least in a dark room. In brightly lit rooms, the brightness advantages of QLEDs are very useful for achieving the large visual impact that HDR content should provide.

Winner: QLED

COLOR SPACE

Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) are used to regulate this category, but QDs have increased the color accuracy, color brightness, and color volume of the QLED TVs by increasing the purity of the backlights, causing them to fall into a lost paradise with OLED TVs. Similarly, QLED manufacturers claim that having better saturated colors at extreme brightness levels is an advantage, but we have not yet witnessed this technical requirement, resulting in a real advantage under normal viewing conditions.

Winner: Draw

RESPONSE TIME

The response time refers to the time required for each individual diode to change from "on" to "off." As the response time decreases, motion blur and as few artifacts as possible (the source material is as small as possible) will decrease.

The OLED works with its smaller diode as a single pixel, simply blowing out the QLED from the water in terms of response time. In contrast, diodes in QLED TVs are not only slower, but they are behind LCD panels and illuminate pixel clusters rather than individual pixel clusters. This results in a slower overall change between the "on" and "off" states. In fact, OLED currently provides the fastest response time for any TV technology used today, making it a clear winner in this regard.

Winner: OLED

INPUT LAG:

As for input delays, LG has greatly improved its OLED TVs in this regard, making it a real choice for players playing fast-paced first-person shooters, but we have not yet been able to test competing OLED TVs from other manufacturers. We do know that OLEDs are not an inherently bad choice for gamers, but it remains to be seen which models have the least input delay. It is also difficult to compete with OLEDs and QLEDs because the input delay of QLED TVs varies greatly from model to model. Just say OLED is the game player's choice, we are interested to see how they perform in 2017.

Winner: Draw

VIEWING ANGLES

OLED is also the winner here. When using a QLED screen, the best viewing angle is the dead point, the image quality will decrease with the color, and the contrast will decrease further as you move left or right or move up and down. Although the severity varies from model to model, it is always obvious. LG produces an LCD panel called IPS, which has better declination performance than the VA-type LCD panel, but it still does not compete with OLED technology. Similarly, Samsung's top-of-the-line QLED TVs have a newer panel design and different anti-reflection coatings, which makes viewing off-angle less problematic. Although OLEDs can still defeat these models eventually, the gap is rapidly shrinking. In fact, we expect the perspective of the Samsung 2018 QLED TV lineup to be even better.

Under intense viewing angles, the brightness of the OLED screen does not decrease - up to 84 degrees. Some QLED TVs have improved in terms of viewing angle, but OLEDs maintain a considerable advantage.

Winner: OLED

SIZE

Organic light-emitting diodes have a long way to go in this area. When the technology is still in its initial stage, the OLED screen can be up to 55 inches. Today, 88-inch OLEDs are available. It is said that the size of the LCD display is less limited, and QLEDs can grow up to 100 inches or more. For most people, this is not a significant advantage, but technically QLEDs have advantages here.

Winner: QLED

LIFESPAN

LG said that you must watch OLED TVs for 5 years 5 hours a day before the brightness drops to 50%. Is it really worth watching because OLED TVs have been very popular since 2013. For this reason - nothing more - we grant this category to QLEDs. It is worthwhile to have a good track record.

Winner (for now): QLED

SCREEN BURN-IN

We are so addicted to this part because aging is a misuse (this is only an aggravation), and for most people, this effect will not be a problem.

The aging effect we are familiar with is derived from a square CRT television, which causes the image to “burn” into the screen when a static image is displayed for a long time. What actually happens is that the phosphor coated on the back of the TV screen will emit light for a long time without any rest, causing the phosphor to wear out and forming the appearance of a scorched image. We think this should be called "burnout", but... anyway.

The same problem is with OLED TVs, because lighted compounds will decrease over time. If you burn a pixel hard enough for a long time, it will cause it to darken too early and dim before other pixels, creating a dark impression. However, in fact, this is unlikely to cause problems for anyone - you must intentionally abuse television to achieve this result. Even the “bugs” (logos) used by some channels often disappear or are removed to avoid burning problems. You must watch ESPN on the brightest occasions every day (on many days), causing a problem, and even then it is still unlikely.

In other words, the potential is there and should be pointed out. Since QLED TVs are not prone to ageing, they have won this fight through technicality.

Winner: QLED

POWER CONSUMPTION

The OLED panel is very thin and does not require a backlight. Therefore, OLED TVs tend to be lighter and thinner than QLED TVs. They also need less electricity to make them more efficient.

Winner: OLED

PRICE

Once upon a time, QLED TVs easily won this category of products, but the price of OLED TVs has fallen, and because we are talking here about full payment, the cost of comparable QLED TVs is roughly the same. The price category is not considered at all in this particular battle.

Winner: Draw

OVERALL

We have a winner!

In terms of image quality, when QLEDs are compared with OLEDs, OLEDs are still in a leading position despite the fact that the latter represents a major advancement in older LED TVs. OLEDs are lighter, thinner, use less energy, and so far have provided the best view. Although prices are slightly more expensive, prices have dropped significantly.

QLEDs have unique advantages in terms of brightness, and recent adjustments have also improved black levels. For many people, QLED TVs will make more sense because the QLEDs viewed during the day will provide more interesting pictures. However, OLEDs are a more attractive option when the lights go out.

Winner: OLED

You can purchasing of Samsung LCD’s and Monitors at:

1: http://www.enterprisesol.com/samsung/monitors.html

2:

http://www.enterprisesol.com/samsung/lcd-tvs.html