#callie's rambles

[callioclops]

I've been trying to structure my thoughts about this for a bit, I think I'm ready to talk about Rick and Morty season 7. Specifically I'm gonna talk about the structure of the season as a whole, why it's weird, and why I think it works anyway. Obviously spoilers ahead.

So I'm going to assume you've seen the entire season, and whether you enjoyed it or not I'd take a guess that you got sucker punched by episode 5. The season 6 finale ended with Rick saying that season 7 would be him hunting Rick Prime, maybe actively in the episodes, maybe all happening in the background. After 4 episodes of hearing nothing about it except that it's happening, it's reasonable to assume that they've elected to go with the latter, and we won't get anything until a big climax. Which granted is what we get, but in the midle of the season.

Obviously this is strange, the tension in a season of any show usually takes a dip around the middle in order to build back up for the climax in the finale. But instead we're getting that finale now. Or at least, the tension you would expect from a finale. Previous seasons of Rick and Morty have always had these big flashy displays in finales with very little on that level in-between. I have a few ideas of why this break from form happened, but I want to circle back to that later and talk about the actual finale of season 7.

Episode 10 is one of my all-time favourite Rick and Morty episodes. That may be recency bias, but I think even after that wears off this will remain in my top 5 easily. But it doesn't feel like a finale; at least not in terms of scale. It's a remarkably focused episode, barely even about Rick. It's almost entirely a character exploration of Morty and his perceived relationship with Rick. It may not have the flashiness of finales like season 2 or 5, but it is one of the most intensely character driven episodes of the entire show.

And that's just it, R&M finales typically have both of these things. A central character or aspect of that character to explore; as well as flashy, climactic action scenes. But both of these episodes only have one each. Now I'm not saying that either episode is completely devoid of the other aspect, they do have some. But in each case they aren't a focus. The character moments in episode 5 exist to show that this isn''t character development for Rick. This thing he's been chasing for so long has done nothing for him, it's what he told himself he wanted while shutting out the things he needed. This isn't a conclusion for Rick, so why should it be a conclusion to the season?

On the other side of things, the actual finale shows us incredible character development from both of our main characters. Morty's fear of Rick needing him far less than he needs Rick manifesting as Diane has so many layers to it I couldn't possibly do it justice here. Meanwhile, even though Rick doesn't get much the fact that he listens to Morty when told not to go in the hole hits remarkably well. Even with the suggestion of his dead wife being in there, he trusts Morty. Personally I don't think he would've listened in season 6, or maybe even eariler in season 7. On top of that he's proud of him, enough to make sure his picture gets put on the wall to showcase his achievement (and also caring enough to keep said picture in his wallet).

Separating the action from the character not only created two very entertaining episodes for two very different reasons, but also I think symbolises where they plan to take the show. A clear favourite was chosen: character over action. If only one were to be in a finale which would it be? Now we have our answer, and knowing that answer makes me incredibly excited for season 8.

[qcomicsy]

I will always be a normal guy defender, I don't want vigilantes who always look like super models unless it makes sense for their characters (Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Kori Anders). I want super-heros that look like the guy you could stumble on the supermarket. Your classmate. Your coworker. A random face in a ocean of people. Absolutely and completely forgetful unless you love them.

I want super-heros to take of their mask and the person be like "THAT'S JUST SOME GUY." their face leak and people be like "WHO 🗣️🗣️ THE FUCK IS THAT⁉️‼️‼️‼️🔥🔥" enough with conventionally attractive heros who look like bodybuilders more some heros who would be your Uber driver and you wouldn't pay attention to them twice.

[candycoatedrox]

i love how for a series with an almost completely non-male cast of characters splatoon feels so chill about gender presentation

callie is "the pink one" with long hair and an upbeat but sweet personality yet she wears shorts and pants almost all the time. pearl is loud and opinionated and aggressive but she wears dresses and her signature color is pink, and that's chill. marina is the more "traditionally feminine" one and she's kind and sweet and soft, but she's a genius who accelerated through school and she's an engineer who works with machines and builds weapons, and she wears shorts and pants and a pantsuit, and that's just who she is. shiver... whatever shiver has going on. even ignoring the pronoun confusion surrounding deep cut's reveal, i definitely agree that they just have. something androgynous going on with them, even though they seem very feminine-presenting. even fem eight, they have a crop top and a miniskirt and heels in octo expansion, but they also get to wear a jumpsuit in side order, along with of course rocking the single earring, which even masc eight gets to keep. and of course, acht - even though they're "the non-binary character", they still wear a dress! they still have earrings! they still have long hair! they don't have to be masculine to be non-binary - they still get to present traditionally feminine, and it doesn't cancel out their identity at all!

man. i love this game and this series so much. no wonder it attracts such a queer fandom lol

[lesbiantahani]

callie 2x05: im getting such a good grade in helping with my mom's murder cover-up. which is both a normal and healthy thing to want

[moreaugriffins]

I know Egon's spirit has passed on and all that

but imagine he was still hanging around (incorporeal though) with his family, playing chess with Pheobe, giving Trevor the tools he needs when fixing the car, giving Callie hugs and using tech to 'talk' to her, being annoying and making life inconvenient when they are trying to move because they forgot to pack up with spores, moulds, and fungi to bring to the firehouse

(god what I wouldn't pay for ghost egon to finally be able to punch dickless without much/any repercussions)

[aceptical]

Honestly I would love a Splatoon game geared at a 13+ / older audience- or even one still aimed at the same audience that really addresses the topics it brings up.

Splatoon covers darker / more mature topics. Child soldiers shooting each other, invading the land of another species for profit, suppressing another species for over a literal century, how extreme fame affects people, being ostracized / “found out” for being different, being terrified of change, etc. but it never really covers them.

They are there: especially when you look into things like the sunken scrolls or resources outside of the game, but that’s kind of it. And that’s fine!! You don’t have to address them more obviously if you don’t want to. It’s a kids game first and foremost (and even if that isn’t really a great excuse, whatever).

But I would love a game that delves more into these topics, or just getting into these characters heads more. Using outside information and reasoning stuff, we can analyze basically every character well, but we never really see any confirmation in the game for most of it. We know from the relationship chart and the squid sisters stories and whatnot that Callie willingly went to the Octarians, likely due to the pressure of fame and being on her own, but this is never really explored in the game which sucks because there’s so much potential there! Comments on how fame affects people, escapism, and Callie’s, essentially inability, to be alone (since she’s able to step back into the spotlight again once she has Marie with her, both with the squid sisters performances obv but also the news/map announcement thing). And I get that that’s not the story they were trying to tell, but it would be so nice to have a game that delves into this stuff rather than leaving it off to the side where most of the playerbase probably doesn’t know about it.

Splatoon has a really big problem with exploring character’s darker parts of them / adding complexity to characters. Take Callie again: hypnosis cannot make you do anything that you don’t want to do, so hypno Callie’s personality was still Callie, just those darker parts. And that’s just- kind of ignored, past a few one liners (deep cut’s introduction scene.) Then the same exact thing happens with Marina, except we don’t even get to delve into it as much because it is literal brainwashing or mind control or something where she very obviously has her free will taken away. Which sucks!! Because it would have been so interesting to delve into that desperation that comes with wanting things to stay the same, unintentionally hurting the people you’re trying to help / protect, all of that kind of stuff, and then it’s just shrugged off for the rest of the DLC. Which, again, it’s fine that they didn’t want to tell that story: but it’s still missed potential regarding Marina.

This even affects antagonists, too: mainly Octavio. This is kind of remedied by him helping us in Splatoon 3, but it’s never really explored. He does what he does to help his people because they are literally dying from a lack of resources + power. I like the fact that the Splatoon 1 story doesn’t address this, but it could have been really interesting to see- even just a bit of this- in Splatoon 2, especially since it’s the introduction of giving the player that mentality shift from “Inklings good Octolings bad” to “Well, it’s more complicated than that.” This one is explored in the sunken scrolls a bit, but it would be nice to get a little something more regarding Octavio’s motivations (beyond just steal the Zapfish to help his people)

I really hope that, come Splatoon 4, whichever characters it focuses on (since the inkling / octoling conflict is over at this point), it really focuses on: give us more of their flaws, that complexity, and do it in game instead of through easily ignorable twitter posts.

[cheeesecak]

“eight gigs”

“side project”

bro they are NOT slick 😭😭😭🔥🔥🔥

[1nklingsanitized]

[callie-flower]

this is the same dude to me

[callioclops]

A short while ago I was prompted to explain why I didn't particularly enjoy Baldur's Gate 3, and it led me down an interesting rabbit hole of thought about RPG progression. Stepping away as much as I can from my personal preference, I want to take a moment to talk about the pros and cons of what I've started referring to as 'Buffet' or 'Menu' progression systems.

So a quick explanation of what I mean by this, say you're eating out and you go to a restaurant that's hosting a buffet. As long as you have room on your plate, you can take anything you want from the buffet in any combination you want. The things you choose may not compliment each other very well, but it's your choice to make.

Now take another restaurant, this one without a buffet, instead you are given a menu. You have a selection of curated dishes, already picked out for you because the ingredients are believed to compliment each other. You may have some customisation, extra bacon on a burger, a choice of condiment, but there are limits to how much you can do.

I'm going to relate these metaphors back using the two games I've played from Larian Studios: Divinity Original Sin 2, and Baldur's Gate 3. Divinity is very much a buffet system. There are presets in character creation, but these can be completely ignored if you wish. Every skill can be upgraded at every level, there is never a moment where you're locked out of improving your rank in Necromancy or Dual-Wielding, etc. The only limitations on your character building are the limited points you have to allocate.

Baldur's Gate 3 on the other hand is (primarily) a menu progression system. You pick a class, and are given a curated list of things you are allowed to do based on this. You can pick your choice of spells, stances, and some other parts, but the overall strategy stays largely similar for most of these changes, you're just changing the seasoning.

Now I say primarily for BG3 because like most things, this is a spectrum and not a dichotomy. I think that BG3 leans towards a menu system, but it doesn't embody it. That prize I think goes to a lot of early JRPGs, where you don't get any customisation at all, you are just given party members that gain the same stats and learn the same abilities at the same levels on every playthrough.

Acknowledging my biases at this point, I think my wording has made menu progression sound entirely negative, so let's go over some of the benefits: It creates a more streamlined play experience, less fussing over the intricacies of a build allows people to experience the story and gameplay at a much more rapid rate. From experience, I have spent 15 minutes deciding on what to do for a level up in Divinity, which can definitely detract from the pacing if the need to allocate points arises at a crucial story beat. Reduced options also makes the game more approachable and enjoyable for casual players, who may not necessarily have the desire to understand the minutia of the mechanics (To be clear, I'm not using casual in a derogatory sense here, play games how you want to play them I'm not here to gatekeep). Finally, reduced choices in a build path is easier to balance from a game design perspective, and can make the utilisation of these mechanics more interesting in combat. If focus is taken away from what you use, much more emphasis is placed on how you use it, which for some people is much more satisfying when done well.

And with that out of the way, my personal list of pros for why I love buffet progression systems: Firstly, it encourages creativity. This is an obvious one, but I feel it deserves to be elaborated on. In Divinity, while I said you could ignore the presets entirely I don't think that's a good idea. Because the presets are very good starting points for a better, more whole build that you could create yourself. Taking Enchanter as an example, it primarily uses air and water skills to dish out AoE damage and stun opponents out of their turns. You could stay entirely in these two skills, but there are other things that could improve this game plan. Polymorph has access to Spider Legs which you can use to web opponents and stop them from moving, maybe allowing for more enemies to group up. Necromancer can give you access to Vacuum Touch or Vacuum Aura when combined with Aerothurge, letting you shred through magic armour so you can apply your status effects earlier. Divinity in particular I think is very good at leading you down a path without forcing you to stay on the trail, but of course any open ended system would encourage experimentation to find an optimisation.

I think buffet systems also allow for a lot of replayability. BG3 obviously has this for all of the different story paths you can go down, but in terms of mechanics, a more open system tends to give me the feeling of "oh what if I did this" or "I could maybe combine these together" which I just didn't feel at all in my time with BG3. Finally, and most importantly to me, buffet progression rewards knowledge of the systems far more than menu progression does. By understanding the interactions that occur in the game, you're able to put together these incredibly powerful combinations that don't necessarily trivialise the game, but feel like a significant boost from using the preset paths prepared for you. A great example of this is my favourite build I've ever made for Divinity that I nicknamed the Firebomb. Feel free to skip the next paragraph if you don't want a brief rundown of the build.

The essence of this build is that I would use Aero skills such as Teleport and Nether Swap to gather up a lot of enemies in one place, then use skills like Supernova, hitting everyone around me and myself. I was mitigating the damage however as I have points in Necromancer which give you lifesteal, and the talent Living Armour which converts a portion of healing into magic armour regeneration. I could then use Fireball on myself after casting Deflective Barrier. DB is a skill that after being hit with a projectile will launch it back at the source. Since I cast Fireball on myself, it gets deflected back at me, effectively doubling the damage as it triggers twice. Once again, hitting everyone around me. This resulted in a huge amount of fire damage in a single turn, and could often solve a minor fight all on its own. There are more details like the fact that I have to compensate for low physical armour and what I do when those abilities are on cooldown, but I don't want to bore you with the minutia.

So am I saying one method is better than the other? No, not at all. I may prefer buffet, but menu has its merits and its audience. The correct method depends on the game that the developers want to make. I think both of these examples with Larian made excellent choices in regards to the game they built for their respective systems, it just happened that one of them wasn't for me.

[cryptid-catnip]

Slaughterhouse Nine dating sim send post

[laugtherhyena]

You know, I think Marie winning the Callie vs Marie splatfest in the first game was the objectively right descision because can you imagine living in a world were Callie wasn't serving cunt in the splatoon 2 final boss fight?

[lesbiantahani]

pov you're callie sadecki you openly lie for your mother to the police abt her murder cover up of the man she cheated on and bc you are so emotionally cut off from her any slight tinge of approval is like a thousand warm hugs straight to the gut and this whole time she does not love you she never even wanted you she doesnt even LIKE you and you're not truly aware of this, she's never said it explicitly to you, but you feel it everytime you get in a fight or she looks at you across the dinner table and this doesn't even stop you from still seeking her love so badly that you keep lying and lying to the police to save her bc in doing so its tricking you into thinking 'my mother loves me. my mother is proud of me' and you wake up to your childhood toy tucked into your arms the way she used to do it and its something

[smolldust]

okay but the way I fucking predicted this on january 17????

[arins-art-alley]

oh my gosh OH MY GOSH I NEED MORE BABY WEREKRAKENS THEY ARE so cute (only if you wanna) Did werekraken callie n marie get along?

Bbys!!! Their bond was so good, callie was actually the one werekraken that could calm marie down!

[radioproto]

Woah, who are these silly creatures???

Wanted to try out a bit of the AIL style just cuz why not :]