#homework post

[notanartificialintelligence]

i hate it here im gonna [remembers suicide jokes are bad for mental health] find the Avatar and restore my honor

[thoughtlessthoughtful]

Cultivation Analysis- Disco Elysium

I was not someone who considered themselves a “gamer” as a child. I asked for a Nintendo DS, because I wanted to play Nintendogs. We got a Wii for my sister's birthday, and together we loved to play Mario Galaxy (1 and 2). After getting the Nintendo DSi, I fell out of video games for a while, until I met a very special person. My husband and I met in our senior year of high school, and the first time we met he was wearing a Portal 2 t-shirt. He had grown up playing games, and has an extensive knowledge of their history, development, and mechanics. One day, I went over to his house and he was playing a new game he thought I would like based on The Walking Dead franchise. Telltale Game’s The Walking Dead, a game where your choices impact the story and characters. The game was released in “Episodes” and the last had just been released. We had been together for just over a month, and he was not planning on finishing the ending when I got there. However, I was curious after watching him finish the 4th episode. He did not want to stop either, so I watched the ending. That was the first time I was emotionally destroyed by a video game.

Fast forward ten years. My husband and I play games almost daily. I generally watch more than I play, (marrying my own personal Let’s Player has its perks). However, I enjoy playing more story driven games on my own. Usually at the recommendation of my husband. I play a few action games, usually with friends, but Role Playing Games (RPGs) are my game style of choice. RPGs vary in tone, style, and mechanics, but the heart of a good RPG is an interesting and compelling story with dynamic characters whose lives are impacted by my choices as the player. One of the best games I’ve played (and re-played) in recent years is Disco Elysium.

In this game, you play as Harry DuBois, a strug-out police detective in the seaside town of Ravachol. You start the game, not even knowing your own name, as different parts of your psyche comment on "your" choices and the environment. Playing video games is different from consuming other forms of media, in that it expects the media consumer, the player, to be actively involved in the process. It is not like a movie or T.V. Show that you can sit idly and watch. “With the development of increasingly complex musical scores and the advent of machinima, the boundaries between video games and other forms of media are slowly blurring…video games have contributed significantly to modern artistic culture.” (Media Studies 101, 2014, 10.4). Players have to invest in the process in order to continue the complex story and uncover the mysteries of the murder, the town, the people who live there, Harry’s past, and even mythical creatures. The nature of the game makes it so that you can re-play it and experience completely different moments based on different choices.

My favorite moment doesn’t happen until the very end of the game. In the town, there are rumors of a mythical creature, the Insulindian Phasmid. I don’t want to spoil the moment for people who have yet to play this wonderful game (seriously, play it if you can), but it is hands down, one of the most beautiful moments I have ever experienced from any form of media. I remember turning to my husband, who was watching me play for once, and seeing the wonder on his face as well. Even though it was his third time experiencing that moment (yes we really like this game). He even bought some art inspired by that moment for me for Christmas, from artist Luís Melo. I can see it from where I type this post. 

Disco Elysium has impacted me and many other players. The art, writing, acting, complex choices, music, and animation all come together in a truly beautiful experience. Games like this, make video games an art and go against every “games ruin your mind” naysayer on the planet. Revochol is not a real place, Harry, Kim and the Phasmid are not real beings, but the impact they have left on the players can not be understated. ZA/UM, the developer and publisher, seems to be in limbo, and I doubt a game of this caliber will be released again for a long time. I hope that more people are inspired to create games to make the players think and challenge the medium in new, creative ways. 

Thank you for reading, see you next thought.

References:

Media Studies 101: A Creative Commons Textbook. Media Text Hack Group, 2014.��  open.lib.umn.edu,https://open.lib.umn.edu/mediaandculture/chapter/4-4-how-newspapers-control-the-publics-access-to-information-and-impact-american-pop-culture/.

[smolmoss]

2 all the way up to 9 people snuggling! get cozy!! unfortunately couldnt fit a 10th like i prefer doing so the secret 10th buddy just prefers sleeping alone weheheh,,

[insertdisc5]

go and get a coffee with someone today. meet with someone you love, or someone you think you could love. ask a friend to hang out, or a neighbor, or family, or someone you often see at your bus stop. say "someone online dared me to do this" if you have to. reach out, for yourself and for others

[xxplastic-cubexx]

obligatory beach divorce doodling

bonus rough cover redraw of x-men #41 (1995) But Beach Divorce below cut

[division-duplex]

this one was so frustrating because I did manage to work my way back to getting 911 as an answer for this but i had no idea how to put it in... inequalities are so hard and my head already hurts from doing them for like. 2 hours

[kiyutuii]

I'm scared of heights let me dowNONONO WAIT DONT NVMVNVMVM

[weekdaysend]

I know of two little girls who had giant, disembodied heads inside their homes for whatever reason ♥️ anyways DARE X TFA can I get a hoopla.

[zovie9638]

Hello, just dropping this here, see you every weekend,

Next part

[miiuxue]

titans tower

[hero-of-the-wolf]

[kaekisser]

this is usually the type of thing i'd keep to my sideblog, but. no. this rant is going on main.

this has already been said many times, but i'll say it again: the culture and portrayal of disability in media and fandom is one of crude dismissal, and it's a reflection of widespread real-world attitudes towards disabled people.

i, personally, am really really sick of it.

from what i've observed, there are two types of disabled character (and, thus, two expectations or preconceptions of real-life disabled people): one who doesn't self-advocate, and one who does.

the disabled character who doesnt advocate for themself is either a sweet, pathetic, repressed little baby who cant make their own decisions and needs to be coddled, or they're a strong, noble, inspiration porn warrior who doesn't actually have it that bad because their disability is actually, secretly a superpower.

or... both. sometimes they're both.

on the flip side, the disabled character who does advocate for themself, in a way that is intrusive and productive and realistic, is either an out-of-touch, entitled asshole, or a dramatic, crazed hypochondriac. or both.

the self-sacrificial, people-pleasing disabled character will be praised and infantilized; they are deserving of respect, and they'll set the standard for what a disabled person should be; while the self-respecting, unapologetic disabled character will be mocked and vilified so long as there is proof of their disability being an inconvenience.

in any case, the character, or at least their disability, is misrepresented and dismissed. the amputee gets a completely functional and unhampering prosthetic. the deaf or blind character adapts all too well to a hearing or sighted world, and in fact develops enhancements to their remaining senses. the disfigured person, in the case that they're not a villain, has great kindness and talent, making their physical differences almost ignorable. the paraplegic makes a miraculous recovery, with no persisting symptoms. the autist, while difficult to interact with, is a savant and a genius. forget chronic pain or fatigue; that sort of issue is invisible, and thus irrelevant. and don't even think about mentioning conditions that impact one's hygiene, digestion, or continence.

ah, and don't forget, all of these things will be used as comedic relief.

it's a culture of overcompensation. disabled people, of course, have no inherent value as people, so their value has to be constructed, and their issues disregarded. we wouldn't want to make viewers uncomfortable, now, would we?

of course, this just speaks to a larger issue; society still expects disabled people to be small and inoffensive, to apologize for the realities of their condition. the ideal disabled experience as shown in media and culture is one of shame and insecurity, and the impact of one's disability on oneself is never nearly as relevant as the impact of one's disability on the world around them. disability is only representable so long as it is palatable to an abled audience, and it is only palatable so long as the enjoyment and novelty of viewing an idealized disabled story outweigh the discomfort of viewing a realistic disabled experience.

[amelia-yap]

not pictured: oscar drawing a hot bath

inspired by this

[demigods-posts]

think it'd be really cool if percy could teleport using water. just needing to be in direct contact with a water source to transfer from one puddle to the next. cornering monsters in damp alleyways like it's no one's business. foregoing the subway when the forecast calls for showers. crossing the ocean quicker that you can say pacific. quality content.

[beepsheeps]

pt 4! i hope u guys enjoy these as much as i do (pt 5) (pt 3)

[division-duplex]

more homework posting -- I have to remember this is a much easier way to go about it and keep it in mind.