#especially because how do they KILL those things? Orca is implied to be one of the most capable fighters and he's got a tiny little harpoon

[ixtaek]

Look I know we normally use fanfic to fix like, major problems in canon or fulfill our wildest dreams or whatever. But can I please reject the specific piece of canon that there are no fish in the whole Great Sea?

[problemswithbooks]

Yea I think hori is going in that direction too but it should have had a better set up back in the plf war. Plus with all the nonsense in between the 2 wars, we currently have a mess on our hands.

The whole Villain arc really confused me honestly, because I very much expected Hori to use it to distance the LoV from AfO. To give the League, and Shigaraki in particular a set of goals that were better then AfO's.

And to an extent Shigaraki does, sort of have better goals then AfO--because he wants his pals to be happy, but it's in a very 'shrugs shoulders' do what you want, sort of way. The only real drive we've seen Shigaraki have is for destruction, the one thing AfO groomed him for his entire life.

It also kind of makes Shigaraki look dumb. I was kind of shocked that he had his flashback, and in said flashback he hears AfO say he could have manipulated his memories, and remember AfO being incredibly cruel to him, and not start to question his 'master' more.

Realistically, I guess it makes sense, but from a story perspective I don't think it works well. Mostly because by the time Shigaraki gets taken over I don't really see much of a difference between him and AfO. Shigaraki and AfO want almost exactly the same thing--end Heroes and destroy everything. Their only differences are that Shigaraki's goals are those things +friends, while AfOs are that +personal world domination.

When Shigaraki got possessed nothing really changed, Shigaraki would have tried to kill everyone regardless--was already targeting Izuku. It doesn't matter who the Heroes lose to because the outcome is nearly the same and it becomes a battle of pick your poison. Especially when you consider that Shigaraki's original plan was to let the PLF take over once he destroyed everything, so it really would have been Dictator (megalomaniac flavor) Vs. Dictator (eugenics flavor).

I also just feel like the Hero/kids stories and the Villain stories are to disconnected. Hori could have introduced more stuff in the MVA arc and it still wouldn’t have helped if nothing touched on during those chapters was backed up by stuff in the Hero chapters. 

Take the whole Mutant Quirk discrimination. Before the Villain arc, it was there, but only through some one off insults that were treated no differently then how those same insults (lizard, dog, monkey) would be seen today. They were rude, sure, but didn’t seem to be that terrible. 

But the MVA arc had a cult that dressed like KKK members, who wanted to kill all mutants. I’m not sure how much Hori knows about the history of the KKK and how much using that aesthetic would change the tone of the story for western (specifically American readers), but it very much does. Now those rude, but ultimately harmless insults become slurs, and due to the KKK references, implied to be on par with the N-word. Suddenly Shinsou, Dabi and Shoto have become retroactively people who use slurs--which I don’t think was Hori’s intent.

But this is even more of an issue because when we go to the kids/Heroes, this doesn’t even seem to be a problem. 

Some people try to say that it’s because the kids are sheltered and blinded by Hero worship, but that doesn’t make sense narratively or from a RL perspective. Sure Izuku and the non-mutant characters could be blind to this discrimination, but the mutant kids would not, and it doesn't make much sense that they wouldn’t bring it up on occasion. Like say, Ojiro being pissed that Shinsou called him a slur, and Shinsou needing to apologize to him for it. Or one of the Mutant kids being annoyed, but unsurprised that Gang Orca was picked by the HPSC to play the villain during their test. 

And if Hori really does want to present it as the kids being ignorant/blinded by Hero Society, then the narrative has to play into that, by showing that they are ignoring obvious issues, and later giving them a revelation about it. 

None of it has been framed that way even when it was eventually brought in the Hero/kids story. When Izuku saved the Mutant woman he didn’t realize anything about the oppression of Mutants--he acted the same way he would when saving anyone. He doesn’t even think or comment on that fact Mutants are being thrown out of shelters based solely on appearance. It just feels really shallow and off. 

And this is a similar issue in all of the villains backstories/reasons for being villains. Those problems just aren’t shown as problems--even in the background, when we focus on the main characters. In fact a lot of what we see on the Hero side contradicts what the LoV say. So the LoV’s issues have become very tell don’t show, or worse, tell and show contradicting material. It’s just a mess and it makes me sad because it’s such a waste of potential.    

[kingkirkwall]

feelings about Samuel Drake: in this essay i will -

It's very hard for me to reconcile the warring feelings I have about Sam, especially considering some beautiful moments during Uncharted: Lost Legacy. I adore many of the moments I had the priveledge of experiencing when Sam was introduced to the Uncharted story.

It’s quite difficult to integrate a character so “late” into the story - especially one that was already surviving quite well without his existence! Amy (and I’m sure many more Naughty Dog creators responsible for writing Sam) did a fantastic job with ensuring that his character wasn’t paper thin - they managed to make him into a surprisingly complex person, and one that I cannot sift down into an easy-to-understand motivations. (Does that suggest they had ideas about him long before development of U4 started?)

This is probably one of those uh yeah water is wet moments, but I am a bit amazed at the complications that come along with adding such a complex character like Sam to the Uncharted story. I know that part of the problem is that Sam didn’t exist before U4, so integration would have always been difficult, but I have So Many Questions.

I find that I hold fury within myself when I think about his character.

It begins with the fact this: After Rafe helped Sam get out of prison, there is a 0% chance that Sam did not track Nathan down the first opportunity he got.

Why didn’t Sam reunite with Nathan immediately?

Why did he come up with the Alcázar story when he did choose to reunite with Nathan?

I can only make attempts to rationalize these questions into a few answers: (which in the end always lead to more questions)

1. Sam found out that Nathan got married, and was retired from the adventurous life in a white picket fence happily ever after

How did he react to this? Was he happy for Nathan? Sad that he missed it?

Did he decide that Nathan was better off without him?

Did he decide he didn’t want to cause any trouble for his brother’s current life by turning up alive?

He also discovered that Nathan’s life without him had been full of adventure that he missed out on - along with the fame of being The Nathan Drake who found the lost cities and treasure on these adventures.

“I called some of the old contacts... they tell me some pretty crazy-ass stories.” - Sam Drake

How did he react when people told him about everything his brother had lived through?

Did Sam feel cheated, like his chance at having a life like Nathan's had been stolen from him when he was imprisoned?

Was he jealous of the life Nathan had built in his absence?

“‘Nathan Drake is a legend.’ You know, I shot the man who told me that.” - Rafe Adler

In a Game Informer interview, Troy baker described some of the issues that Sam struggled with in U4:

"...There’s circumstances that happen in our life that sometimes you’ve defined your life by the best or worst moment in your life, and you’ve never quite moved on from that. But then the other people in your life have....Sam has never really quite moved on, but Nate has. And he’s found Elena, he’s found Sully, he’s found his calling...”

He goes on to describe the jealousy he knows that Sam struggled with specifically in regards to Nathan:

“...There’s something that happens when you see that younger brother that’s just a little bit more charming than you, just a little bit better-looking than you, is a little bit more talented than you; can run faster, easier, jump higher, better: I think that’s Nate. I think Sam, before Nate - he was the golden child, he was good, he had it down. And then up comes this thing that surpasses him....In reality, anything that Sam can do, Nate can do better. But I don’t think Sam would ever acknowledge that.”

Jealousy or not, we know Sam believes that he and Nathan were destined for greatness.

“Nathan, we were meant for this. And I promise... You and me together? We're gonna go far.” - Sam Drake

Was he still holding on to a younger man's desperate promise that he made to his little brother to carve a place into the world for them to belong to?

Did he feel like Nathan had trapped himself into monotony when he retired and settled down? (And that he was freeing Nathan from a passionless life?)

Was it because he knew that so much of Nathan's amazing life had already slipped through his fingers?

Was he afraid he had missed out on getting to see his little brother grow up?

Was he afraid that if he had just asked him to come with him, Nathan would say no?

2. Whatever the root of his motivations, Sam obviously decided that it was a necessary evil to lure Nathan away from his current situation, and he knew that the Alcázar story would work. When Rafe pays Nathan the courtesy of unravelling Sam’s lies, he reveals that Sam had been free for the last 2-3 years, and implies that a majority of that time was spent working with Rafe trying to find the Gunsway treasure.

“He spent the last two years tracking down the second St. Dismas Cross. And you know what? He did it all with me.” - Rafe Adler

Again, why did Sam wait three years to tell Nathan he was alive?

What made him change his mind about allowing Nathan to continue to believe that he was dead?

Did he get bored with working with Rafe, strong in his belief that it was his and Nathan’s destiny to find the treasure together?

(Regarding some of the nice moments we see in U:LL, specifically the opportunity of seeing a bit more development in Sam's character since we saw him last at the end of U:4 : Obviously, Sam and Nadine have a pretty hateful relationship towards each other for the majority of the game. (And they have every reason to.) However, Nadine chose to swim back down with a brick to break open Sam's handcuffs so he wouldn't drown. Sam chose to pull Nadine away from the spray of Orca's bullets. They both chose to accompany Chloe to stop Asav's bomb.

These examples of undeniable character development are written in such an interesting blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of way. You could argue that even though Sam and Nadine hated each other in U:LL, they wouldn't have really let themselves allow the other to die in cold blood, however:

Nadine threw Nathan out of the office window at the Rossi estate in U:4, and if Nathan wasn't literally made out of luck he would be dead

If Nathan had not pulled Sam's arm away, Sam would have killed Nadine

Not to mention many of the other times the brothers Drake and Nadine Ross could and would have killed each other trading blows and bullets during U:4

3. In the flashbacks to Nathan’s childhood, we see undeniable older sibling hero-worship that Nathan has for Sam, even in spite of his knowledge of Sam’s shady activities and his frustration at being left behind while Sam is out of the orphanage. It’s likely that even after Sam’s apparent death, this hero-worship lived on within him.

When exploring Nathan’s office early in U:4, we have the opportunity to see a tiny glimpse of the depth of emotion that Nathan carries with him associated with his brother. Nathan can’t even make himself look at the photograph. We as the audience will only get to experience the weight of Nathan’s grief in this brief moment during a second playthrough (and in the intimate moment of them taking the photo in the first place)

Nathan kept the picture, and has had it the whole time

What did he do every year on the anniversary of Sam’s death? Or on Sam’s birthday?

Did Nathan’s survivor’s guilt cause him permanent damage? (Also, does he suffer any forms of post-traumatic stress?)

Did Elena figure out that he was grieving, or at least come to terms that he had a secret he was keeping from her?

Did she learn to leave him alone with it?

Did they ever fight about it?

Did she ever forgive him for not telling her?

Sam’s most defining characteristic is his love for Nathan.

The core of the fury that I hold for Sam is kindled with the knowledge that he sat down and decided to build the lie he was going to tell his brother. He knew he could achieve it, he knew that Nathan would believe him, and he knew that even after being dead and gone form Nathan’s life for fifteen years, he knew he still had power over him, enough that it wouldn't even occur to Nathan that Sam could be lying to him.

How can someone rationalize this to be anything but deliberate cruelty?

In the same Game Informer interview mentioned above, Nolan North describes Nathan’s feelings about reuniting with Sam during U:4 :

“Sam is a mysterious part of his past. He thought he lost his brother. He doesn’t know, so now for [Sam] to show up, it’s almost like seeing a ghost. First there’s that mistrust, but then it warms up and it’s - I think, for a time, it’s his chance at redemption; his chance to get Big Brother back - family. The true theme through all these games is the idea that, of family, and his, you know, he’s made his family. He’s been doing his life for so long, he’s gotten settled into his life with Elena, and when you throw something into the mix after so many years, and [Sam’s] back, it’s heart-wrenching. They didn’t part under bad circumstances. They just parted.” 

Did Sam take the time to think about what would happen if Nathan eventually found out he was lying, and the irreparable damage it could do to their already fragile relationship?

Once he realized that Nathan planned on lying to Elena, he appeared to be perfectly fine with not interfering with that plan (at least until she was standing in their hotel room). Did Sam seriously consider the consequences of allowing Nathan to believe that Alcázar was still a threat?

“I left my life for you!” - Nathan Drake

I’m not going to blame Sam for almost ruining Nathan’s marriage: In allowing Nathan to think Alcázar was a real threat to his life, I’m sure Sam wasn’t helping, but deliberately lying to Elena about what he was doing and how much danger he was in was Nathan’s own mistake.

In Conclusion: I think Sam’s character is fantastic and he makes me so angry because I understand that it’s likely I will never get answers to a lot of these questions. C’est, also some ending thoughts:

Why do Sam and Sully have such a negative relationship to each other when they meet for the first time again in U4?

Where the hell was Sam during the time that Nathan spent in Cartagena, when he met Sully? Does his absence imply that they parted ways for a while on purpose? When did they start working together again?

How does Sam feel about the paternal relationship Nathan has with Sully?

How did Sam convince himself to lie to Nathan? How did he twist himself into someone who could?

Let’s be real about this: It wasn’t just one lie. It was Many Big Lies that had to be deliberately placed in order to sell the (un)appealing narrative. This is different than lying to a mark or a contact, this is Sam lying to his little brother, arguably the only living person Sam has ever loved. How could he do something like that? He can’t possibly be as much of an idiot to think that this line of action wouldn’t have serious consequences?

Was it worth it?