#but the last part of the main story

[anakirui]

hot take ??

the only reason people say that "mafuyu and tsukasa have nothing in common" when presented with mafukasa parallels is because they equate mafuyu and tsukasa being similar to "tsukasa has depression" because the fandom equates mafuyu's personality to being depressed and nothing else.

it doesn't help that people (primarily younger people in the fandom) who DO believe in mafukasa parallels end up making the mistake of portraying tsukasa as depressed because as of right now he is not (although it's possible he was in past because of his Very Unclear Middle School Backstory but that's irrelevant)

anyways, mafuyu and tsukasa are narrative foils because their core personalities are built off of the concept of wanting to make the people around them— especially their families— happy.

they both developed personalities at a young age based on someone they looked up to. for tsukasa, it was seiichi amami's performance that inspired him to be a star— a hero that could cheer anyone up. for mafuyu, it was her mother taking care of her that inspired her to be a nurse— and you can see the similarities from there.

for mafuyu, her identity would first come into conflict when her mother expressed her want for mafuyu to be a doctor— suddenly, "everyone's" happiness didn't match what she wanted to do, leaving her in a state of disorder and eventual depression.

for tsukasa, his identity was something he nearly forgot in its entirety at the start of the main story— becoming arrogant and fully absorbed in a hero persona, forgetting the kind person he truly is. furthermore, his current character arc seems to be foreshadowing that what "being a star" to him is going to be called into question— maybe it is something more than just being the main character that saves everyone.

their insecurities are incredibly similar.

in mafuyu's first mixed, mafuyu feels insecure towards ichika because unlike ichika, she feels as if her lyrics have no genuine meaning to be expressed to other people— despite them being her very real feelings. this is brought up again in her second mixed as well.

in tsukasa's third focus event, something similar happens. when watching seiichi's performance, he thinks that his acting is "real" and feels inferior towards him, which is ironic because tsukasa has been method acting this whole time. when tsukasa is acting out rio or bartlett or really anyone at this point in the story, it's not just those characters— it's a reflection of his traumas.

just like mafuyu, tsukasa undermines his passions he's poured his feelings into because someone else's work is more genuine in his eyes.

now, then, foils have many similarities and parallels (and i could honestly list a lot more), but how i define them is that they usually have some kind of major branching difference that MAKES them foils.

for mafuyu and tsukasa it's pretty straightforward.

mafuyu's people pleasing behavior comes from external expectations and pressures— her mother's demands.

tsukasa's people pleasing behavior comes internally, from himself— if he can't meet his own standards, if he can't be the perfect big brother or the perfect star, then he is nothing.

and even then, there's some overlap.

tsukasa's behavior was indirectly encouraged by his mother praising him for being a "good big brother" over the phone instead of asking him if he was okay while home alone.

mafuyu's terrified to be herself around other people because she doesn't want to worry or bother them— she doesn't want to be a burden— and projects her mother's expectations onto them, not realizing that they would prefer the real mafuyu if they knew the truth.

and the concept of mafukasa being foils is most perfectly and blatantly portrayed in these two cards.

mafuyu, the marionette, sitting limp on the floor— puppeteered by her mother's demands and donning a mask to hide her true self.

tsukasa, the jester, standing above everything else— puppeteering silenced plushies— his feelings. he's not being completely honest with himself, and he doesn't even realize it.

mafuyu has cut her strings and ripped her mask in half. she has acknowledged her true feelings and expressed them to her mother, even if she had to run away in the end.

tsukasa has not yet cut his.

[palmclan]

PREVIOUS

NEXT

FIRST

[theminecraftbee]

There’s a flier someone’s left on the bus. Something shaming a—company logo he doesn’t recognize, as he shoves it aside to grab the last seat in the back that usually means he and Gem don’t have to sit next to anyone else—for “desecration of the Carrows Life”. Alright; with a logo and a slogan like that, it’s either a religious nut job or one of the people real mad at the Church about the demons.

Yeah, sure. He’s exhausted. Impulse can’t really bring himself to care about neon-yellow fliers in the dead of night on the bus.

Just another hour and practically every single stop down the line, and he’ll be home. He’s glad there’s a late-night bus down here; enough people come and go from these streets at two am that they make some poor bus driver do the route.

Next to him, Gem grumbles as she removes her makeup. “Impulse, why do I keep getting the waterproof kind?”

“Hard to dance and still look good if it doesn’t stand up to sweat,” Impulse says, settling into his seat as the bus starts moving again. “Don’t see why that should make it that much harder to remove, unless you’re sweating acetone these days, but they don’t pay me to know how your makeup works.”

“No, they pay you to be your stupid big protective butt. You absolutely know how my makeup works,” Gem says.

“You could wait until we aren’t on a moving bus to take it off?” Impulse offers.

“Nah. I need something to do so I don’t fall asleep, and I’m not opening my other bag until we’re both safely at home.”

“Yeah, fair,” Impulse says, not glancing at it for too long. Gem had a good night tonight. Sometimes, he’s jealous of the nights she has; the amount people are willing to throw at her sometimes is insane. Most of the time, though, he’s just glad he’s paid a regular salary to stand in the corner and occasionally show people exactly why he’s so big if they act up.

(Someone’s got to do it.)

The doors open. The unmistakeable smell of someone on way, way too much weed wafts through the doors. Impulse sighs. There’s a reason they sit in the back.

“What are the odds we get lucky and get home early?” Gem says. “My knee hurts.”

Impulse looks at her sharply. “You didn’t say anything during the show.”

Gem laughs. “Relax, relax. Not that bad. Nothing a bit of icyhot won’t solve, or one of your little…” She wiggles her fingers.

“You need to tell me these things before you dance on them, Gem,” Impulse says. “One of these days, I won’t be able to fix it! Then what are you gonna do about your knee, huh?”

“Uhuh. And the bruise on your face…?”

“He was drunk,” Impulse says. “It’s barely a scratch. Or, uh, well, it’s a bruise, but…”

“If I were any good at healing,” Gem says.

“I’ll ice it!” Impulse says, putting his hands up. “Besides, I don’t need my face to do my job. Might make guys respect me more?”

The bus stops. A few more people get on. There’s a bit of shouting from a drunk guy, and it makes Impulse look up on instinct, both his and Gem’s awareness hovering around their bag. Gem has a nasty curse on it if anyone but her tries to grab it, but these days…

The drunkard isn’t looking their way. He settles down again. Impulse doesn’t.

“One day, one of us will get a car, and we’ll just drive,” Impulse mutters.

“And pay for parking?” Gem asks.

“Well, it’s the thought that counts,” Impulse says.

The bus stops. Impulse looks up at the sign, just to make sure they aren’t near their stop. They aren’t. He almost looks down.

There’s a feeling in his gut. He doesn’t ignore gut feelings after as long as he’s been doing what he does. He puts a hand in his jacket. He doesn’t actually carry a gun; people think he does, but he’s fairly effective at threatening without it, and if all else fails, he does have a thick vest he’d bought with his own money after the only time he’d been shot. It had taken all of his savings, but it had been worth it.

He curls his fingers instead around the lucky charm Gem had given him after they’d become roommates and tries to focus on the feeling. There's something scraping nearby. A horrible scraping, like talons against brick, or maybe more like death clawing against soil.

The bus starts moving again. The drunks stay drunk. The fellow exhausted club and bar workers stay exhausted. The guy who’s high out of his mind doesn’t even blink.

A woman who had gotten on the bus, though, approaches them. Gem stiffens. Impulse is hyper-aware of the bag full of the night’s tips that Gem has with her.

“Hello. Sorry for interrupting,” the woman says. She’s tall. She has long, light brown hair that she hasn’t tied back. She’s wearing a long overcoat. It looks second-hand, but not properly so, like it’s being worn by someone who doesn’t quite know how to fit into second-hand clothes, or perhaps doesn’t quite know how not to fit.

There's bruises on her face, too. A split lip and a black eye and a bit of blood on the collar of her shirt.

"You look lost," Impulse says without thinking. The woman blinks.

"Oh! Yes, I suppose you could say that," she says. "That's..."

Impulse slowly takes his hand out of his jacket. Her voice is even more lost, somehow. Impeccably put-together. Very hard to read. But Impulse, he has to read people for a living, and this is a woman who is lost.

"I was just here because you two look the most aware and fit on the bus," she says.

"Oh, I'm not all that fit," Gem lies to the woman's face. "I mean, just look at me! I'm delicate!"

Impulse has seen Gem's abs. She's not delicate, she just puts on a show of being—still not delicate, actually, but the kind of not-delicate men like, not the kind of not-delicate she actually is. It's a fine line.

The woman raises an eyebrow. "Okay," she says. "I'm just—there are demons. Not far. I got away from them, but they might be following you."

"They're following you?" says Gem.

"Shhh," says the woman.

"Fine," Impulse says. "They're following you. Why? And why did you get on the bus?"

The woman is silent for a moment. "I don't think they'll catch up to us," she says. "I don't—I don't have another place to go back to, right now. I'm a bit... I don't mean to put anyone in danger. You two are the most fit looking people on here, is all. If danger did happen..."

Impulse feels something in him crack. He looks at Gem. It wouldn't be the first time the two of them have helped someone down on their luck off the streets. Of course, it's not entirely out of the goodness of their hearts, all the time, but, well, Impulse is still Impulse and Gem puts up with it and this world doesn't work if people don't help each other, Impulse has always said.

Gem shrugs and nods.

"Sit down. You can get off at our stop. My name's Gem, by the way."

The woman, slowly, sits down in a seat across from them.

"Impulse," Impulse says.

The woman opens her mouth. The woman closes it. "You can call me Griba," she says, finally.

Impulse quirks an eyebrow. "I can call you?"

"Hey, that sounds like—wasn't there someone with a name like that on the news recently?" Gem says.

The woman grimaces. "You could say that," she says.

Gem and Impulse look at each other. They look back at the woman. "Fine then. Keep your secrets," Gem says imperiously, and her tone works, because it makes—Griba, Impulse supposes, until she wants to give them her real name—laugh.

"At least until we find out if the demons get me," she says agreeably.

The bus stops again. They all tense. One person gets off and no one gets on. The bus starts moving again.

"One of these days," Impulse mutters.

"You've got to finish the sentence," Gem says. "Don't leave me hanging like that!"

"Is this an ongoing thing?" Griba says, and they continue onwards together.

[itsclydebitches]

Re: RWBY outfits in v9: Hey wow it's strange that Jaune gets a completely new helmet and hairstyle and altered face AND his armor is significantly retextured to the point of looking completely out of place with the flat-colored outfits the girls have in shots where they're together. I'm sure this has nothing to do with where the narrative focus of the Volume actually was. But it's fine if we don't at least partially take the girls out of their cold weather gear???

This!

Also, people frequently fail to acknowledge how much this snowballs.

RWDE: Why did Jaune get the new texture and hairstyle? Push-back: Duh, because he's the one who's been living in the Ever After for decades. RWDE: Yeah... and why did he get to do that again? Push-back: Because he killed Penny and the story needed him to have a significant arc in response to that. RWDE: Uh huh, and why did he get to do that? Push-back: Because Jaune is the one with the super important healing skill that beautifully contrasts their violent career! RWDE: ... are we not sensing a pattern yet?

Putting aside the fact that Ruby could beautifully fit any of these emotional beats with a bit of tweaking (she falls early, finds the time tree, the emphasis is on the contrast of Penny's first friend having to kill her, silver eyes are somehow significant to that moment, etc.) I think too often fans get caught up in not only the supposed necessity of any one scene —treating the RWBY gang as real people bound by the whims of fate, rather than characters 100% controlled by the writers — but also the ways in which, yes, past work does have an influence on what occurs later. If you make Jaune a team leader equal to Ruby, if you give him a big arc at the very start of the show, if you make him OP in regards to energy, if you give him the most useful skill in the entire group (given that they're fighting humans more than grimm nowadays, silver eyes are all but useless in most fights. ESPECIALLY when Ruby will randomly not use them against Cinder), if you make him the emotional focus of Pyrrha's death, if you give him the revenge quest, if you have him kill Penny... yeah, you're setting up future scenarios where he "has" to remain in the narrative spotlight. That's the problem: not only that RWBY refuses to pull back from Jaune's position in the story, but that it started that trend so early that now they have built-in excuses for why it "has" to continue. We knew going into Volume 9 that Jaune would be a problem because Volume 8 had already introduced the problems of a) having him kill Penny and b) having him fall with the title team. We're going in circles and continually winding up in scenes like, "Well, Jaune has to have an emotional breakdown that detracts from Ruby's because he's the one who has suffered for decades and he's the one who just lost an entire village to deliberate drowning. Not giving him that focus would be bad writing." Yeah, I know it would, hence the frustration that RWBY keeps backing itself into that corner!

The design issues are a like a mini-example of that. You're right, it would be ridiculous to have Jaune living in the Ever After for most of his life and somehow coming out of it looking exactly the same... but if you're going to continue capitalizing on the focus he got all the way back in Volume 1, at least give the girls equal treatment. I don't like that Jaune had a breakdown that undermined Ruby's, but given that I also would have disliked the story ignoring his clearly traumatic experiences lately, I'm glad they at least gave Ruby her breakdown alongside his (even if, as stated elsewhere, there are additional problems with how it was framed). The clothing does the opposite where Jaune gets his logical change AND the story does nothing to try and bring Team RWBY up to speed with him.

Chucking onto that pile: the fact that so many were expecting/hoping for Ruby to come out visually changed from her time in the tree, but she simply reverts back to where she was a few episodes ago with her rose pendant. Jaune, meanwhile, leaves the Ever After as the only one with a visual cue that he's undergone any growth.

[gojonanami]

did me and @gaylatteart just plot out all of part three of prof geto?

…maybe

[evenings-at-the-seaofquanta]

Having a moment rn

Also on a more general note:

[thrilling-oneway]

Remembering how when EN first launched (and i first started playing) if you liked any m/f vbs ship it was on sight. You would not survive a day out there. You were putting a bounty on your head. And then by the time we reached like. Bout for Beside You or Same Dreams Same Colours on EN polysquad was then fairly popular and literally the only reason for that is because people read the stories and realised hey they all make friends they aren’t static characters and they actually develop their relationships (and their personalities but people haven’t quite caught on to that one yet)

[andyy-says]

holy fuck

holy fucking fuck

episode three of the last of us is a masterpiece

who tf cares about the main plot, Bill and Franks story was so well done goddamn

im so upset about them

god

[mane--attraction]

Technically

(A/N: This has been languishing for a while cuz despite being a drabble I got stuck really quickly; I couldn’t figure out how to make what I wrote mesh with the idea of “someone comes to the door” without it feeling unnecessary. Ah well, another time, mayhaps. Anyway, enjoy~) (minors dni)

~~~~~

Technically, the head engineer should bunk near the engines, in case of an issue. Technically, in addition to being closer to the bridge, the captain's quarters only have room for one.

Technically, you're sure the governing body that enables your spaceship doesn't actually much care where certain people are quartered; a governing body that, admittedly, you have fuzzy details on. Frankly, somewhere in the back of your mind, you're not sure they exist.

And technically, the head engineer shouldn't be fucking the captain boneless in their cabin.

His hand is clamped firmly over your mouth, rather effectively muffling you, and it makes you moan wantonly. Meanwhile, he grunts into your ear, cursing under his breath at the way you flutter around him. The bed is just barely wide enough to accommodate you both, pinned under him the way you are, his chest against your back as your legs tremble. You thank your lucky stars for the solid design of the cabin, and then you see stars with his next thrust, crying out loudly.

“Poor Captain.”

Your engineer’s voice, gravelly in your ear, startles you, inadvertently tightening around him and drawing a hiss from the man above you.

“Didn’t think your engineer could make you feel this good, hm?” He purposefully drags against somewhere sensitive, moving slowly enough to make you whine, then snaps his hips against yours, causing another sharp cry to tumble from you. He groans, then shushes you, kissing your shoulder. “Best be quiet. Unless you want them to know just how I’m making you feel…”

Aside from being unable to move your lips, him grinding within you steals your voice, a moan taking its place. You can hear his soft smirk in his voice. “That’s what I thought, dear Captain.” 

In an instant, he starts up a punishing pace, doing his best to ensure every thrust hits its mark, and you can’t stop the sounds pouring from you as your head engineer ensures you’re breathless with pleasure, free hand finding sensitive flesh. He won’t make it easy to keep quiet, not at all. And technically, you should care; but, as each thrust, every touch pulls you along, you care less and less. In fact, if he has his wish, you won’t have a care in the world soon.

And you wouldn’t have it any other way.

[thatonecrookedsmile]

I decided to re-read the bendy books because it's been a while since I read them.

[bunnys-babies]

I’ve been writing more on my main/NSFT blog, but I’m not sure what I want my next piece to be on here after posting my other Megumi piece :3 help me choose!

[perhaps-in-anotherdream]

These calls and moments accompany Victor’s S2 CH 45-48 Karma, and feature S2 Victor and MC, but don’t contain any spoilers from the S2 storyline~

⌚ This post contains detailed spoilers for contents yet to be released on the global server! ⌚

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

【Moments】

Victor’s Post: To my surprise, a certain someone actually grabbed my hand and purposely broke the sandcastle just for the sake of “reviving old memories.”

–

⊳  OPTION A:

MC: Hehe, it’s been so many years. I’ve learned not to cry anymore, you see!

Victor: Hmm, that’s really impressive.

–

⊳  OPTION B:

MC: A certain someone said he wouldn’t repeat the same mistake, but now he has broken- my- sandcastle- again——

⊳  OPTION C:

Victor: ...just state your conditions for making amends directly.

–

MC: It doesn’t matter, anyhow, Vic gēge needs to compensate me with a pudding tomorrow.

Victor: I can compensate you with more.

─

—

【1st Call】

Victor: You sent me ten angry furry cat stickers in a row… what happened again?

MC: Sob, sob, sob, I just went through an “extremely tragic social demise.”

Victor: [sounds so amused LOL]  A rare sight; even dummies have moments when they feel embarrassed.

Victor: What happened?

MC: During the meeting earlier, I was screen-sharing my phone and accidentally revealed my wallpaper. Everyone burst out laughing…

MC: AHHHHHH, thinking back on it even now, I still feel so embarrassed.

 Victor: If I remember correctly, a certain someone recently changed her wallpaper into a new photo of mine.

Victor: [you can practically collect the teasing dripping from his voice in a bucket LMAO]  I don’t think I’m that unseemly, am I?

MC: It’s not that you’re unseemly… it’s just that, I’m just feeling a little embarrassed, you know!

Victor: Who was the one that excitedly sought out Goldman for the best HD version after seeing the cover photo I took for LFG last week?

Victor: She even kept bragging about how she was the one who styled my outfit, so she needed to keep this meticulously crafted masterpiece as her personal collection.

MC: Well, what I said wasn’t untrue. The photo did have my fair share of contribution!

Victor: It was more than just a contribution. The direction of my hair grooming and the cosmetics that ended up plastered on my face was all thanks to your involvement.

MC: Hehe, well, the final result of the photo was absolutely flawless, wasn’t it?

Victor: If the photo is flawless, why do you feel embarrassed about it?

MC: Hm…? Oh… Victor, you’ve misunderstood. I actually changed my wallpaper yesterday…

Victor: [sighs helplessly] …the speed at which your heart changes is truly remarkable.

MC: The new wallpaper I switched to was your new photo. How can you blame me for having a change of heart!

Victor: I don’t remember taking any new photos recently.

MC: That’s true. You don’t remember taking any new photos because it was last night when I couldn’t resist taking a sneaky photo of you while I was putting the cat ear headband on you. 

Victor: …what did you say?

MC: Even though it was a photo of your back, everyone still seemed to have recognized you…

Victor: So, when you said you went through an “extremely tragic social demise,” the main protagonist of the incident was actually me?

MC: Well, I guess you could phrase it like that too?

Victor: [HOLY SHIT THE ALARMING SEXY TONE-DROP x1]  This issue won’t be dropped so easily. I suggest you think of a reasonable compensation proposal as soon as possible.

Victor: [x2]  If I don’t get an answer by tonight, don’t blame me for being a heartless capitalist and claiming for damages according to my own term.

─

—

【2nd Call】

Victor: What’s up?

MC: I’ll be off work soon. How about I come to LFG later, and we can grab some free food from the cafeteria?

Victor: Is the menu at Souvenir no longer able to satisfy your cravings?

MC: How could that be! CEO Victor is already so exhausted from work, I can’t bear to make you cook all the time~

Victor: If memory serves, a certain someone was clamoring about having two puddings this morning.

MC: Hehe, okay, I’ll be honest~ The braised pork you brought me from the cafeteria last week was so, so delicious. It’s constantly been on my mind ever since.

MC: I really wish I could hire this chef with a hefty salary and have them handle the catering for [MC’s Company Name]’s company meals!

MC: After all, it’s really challenging to arrange delicious and nutritious work meals for everyone when we’re filming on location.

Victor: You probably can’t afford this person.

MC: Even though you’re Victor, you cannot underestimate others casually!

MC: Our company’s financial report for the past quarter is really impressive~

Victor: Since you’re talking so big, have you made up your mind about poaching the chef with a high salary?

MC: I’m considering it. If we can have this level of braised pork on the filming set, I think everyone would be ecstatic to the point of fainting~

Victor: I think the only one who would be ecstatic to the point of fainting is you, the dummy boss.

Victor: So, how high of a salary are you planning to offer to lure him away?

MC: Hmm… we definitely need to offer a salary higher than LFG.

MC: Can you give me an approximate idea of his monthly salary? Just a rough estimate is fine. I still must respect LFG’s business confidentiality.

Victor: He receives an annual salary, and the amount varies each year. But you already know that.

MC: …!

MC: Victor, did you personally cook that braised pork yourself?!

Victor: Could your uptake be any slower?

MC: Sob, sob, sob, how I just knew that taste was so familiar!

MC: But who would’ve guessed that besides French cuisine, your home-style dishes are so-freaking-delicious too!

Victor: …you really do excel in sweet-talking. Apart from braised pork, what else would you like for dinner tonight?

MC: Do you know how to cook dishes like hot and sour fish soup, sweet and sour pork, Pecking duck, shrimp stir-fried with Dragon Well tea, Laziji, and hot dry noodles?

–

[Tidbits]: Laziji is a dish of Sichuan cuisine, a variety of spicy chicken, to be more specific. The dishes MC mentions here are actually part of different provincial cuisines in China, which is why MC asks if Victor knows how to cook them 😂🫠

–

Victor: ...I asked you to decide on tonight’s dinner, not quiz me on dish names.

MC: Hehe, I’m just really curious to know where your culinary skill reaches its zenith~

MC: But now that I think about it, these dishes can be quite troublesome. Let me think of some simpler options…

Victor: The person who is eagerly waiting to eat doesn’t need to fuss about the trouble.

Victor: It’s just that a certain dummy with big eyes but a small stomach always gets enthusiastic when ordering, but never manages to finish her food, leaving a pile for someone else to help with.

MC: Since we shouldn’t let food go to waste, why not borrow CEO Victor’s stomach for that purpose?

Victor: My stomach capacity is also limited, so out of the dishes you mentioned, choose three for tonight’s menu.

MC: Then I really need to ponder over it carefully...!

Victor: Sure, you can think it over while getting ready to come downstairs, and then we can go together to buy the ingredients.

─────

[topazshadowwolf]

Me: Okay, time to write a Christmas one shot! 30 minutes later Curled up and crying as brain decided to make this a multipart story with one post a day for the week: whyyyyy?!

[nellasbookplanet]

While I enjoy romantic imodna and would celebrate with the rest of you were they to become canon, my preference leans toward platonic, largely because we so rarely get to see relationships this deeply intense and all-encompassing as platonic. A character's significant other, their life partner, their Person, is almost always also their romantic partner.

But you know what’s even rarer? Romantic and platonic being portrayed side by side, co-existing and equally important, because you can love and share your life with more than one person. Most of the time, the characters have to choose. Vex and Vax split to live with their romantic partners long before Vax's untimely end. Caleb and Veth separate to different cities. The narrative forces Yasha and Molly apart.

Imogen and Laudna are each other’s People. But they have also talked about attraction toward other's in the past (and more recently, Laudna's crush on Ira). What would it look like if one or both of them got romantically involved with someone else, but without letting it change their connection? Could we see something almost like a polyamorous relationship, with one romantic life partner and one platonic, where they are never made to choose one over the other?

So many stories and fan-metas uplift the romantic as superior. The few that don’t instead uplift the platonic. But they don’t need to be pitted against each other. You can have more than one important person in your life. I'd love to see that portrayed.

[yume-fanfare]

so. magic girls au.

[opportunity-b]

I'm On Bethesda's Side For Once

interacting with more gamers due to Starfield made me realise there are people who think Skyrim is genuinely a masterpiece and that nothing Bethesda releases now could ever compare

this is hilarious because I always thought the consensus in the TES/Bethesda community was "Skyrim is a mid game that was saved by mods and fandom enthusiasm". but people ACTUALLY think base Skyrim is a masterpiece and they're mad at Starfield because they want it to be more broken and shallow like Skyrim

"I can do SO MUCH in Skyrim I barely can do anything in Starfield" and by so much they mean there's 8 different combat systems that barely function, and they would prefer 8 barely functioning combat systems, instead of a game that's more contained but is way more balanced and polished

Starfield is the first game in years where it feels like Bethesda actually put effort in and actually listened to fans, whereas Skyrim and FO4 were disappointing to anyone who had played FO3 and previous TES games. so many cut corners, such a bad job of balancing and implementing skills, so rushed, protag with no personality and barely any dialogue (Skyrim) or a voiced protag forced on you whose dialogue options were confusing, not intuitive, and still greatly limited (FO4)

Bethesda actually listened to these complaints. they brought back the unvoiced protag, they brought back depth and alternate choices even in mini quests, they made sure the combat and leveling system was contained, polished, and actually requires you to engage with it to keep leveling. all things we've been saying we wanted ever since Skyrim, but they're getting no credit for it and people are acting like Skyrim and FO4 were perfect and untouchable. lmao what

Starfield is also far from perfect. but it's a massive step in the right direction for Bethesda. their best game since Fallout 3. hands down. I feel like the only thing stopping people from admitting this is a combination of nostalgia and salt. because as much as gamers say we want new experiences, when devs actually attempt to give us that, we complain that it isn't like something else and harp on them about releasing a familiar title soon

I've rarely if ever been on Bethesda's side over the last decade but c'mon man. props where props are due