#how am I supposed to focus when I'm having Emotions™

[im-no-jedi]

I’m listening to the season 2 soundtrack finally and ngl it’s really weird listening to music from previous episodes while I’m making gifs from episode 9 LOL

[woodchipp]

I'm gonna be honest - along with OMORI pressuring the player into choosing the good ending lest Sunny kills himself, the whole DUET cutscene doesn't strike me as anything but very blatant emotional manipulation either. Every mention of it I saw was followed by fans talking at length about how thoroughly devastated they were left by that moment, but if you look past the Feels and focus on the Reals, what is there to be devastated about, really?

The (supposed) purpose of the cutscene is to show Sunny placating his depression by recalling the good times he had with Mari and his friends... except that is exactly what he's been doing via Basil's photo album throughout the entire game. That's what Memory Lane, which you have to go through right before the final boss, was there for. And just like the aforementioned two, the good times showcased in DUET are glurgy, meaningless fluff. They don't tell you anything new about the characters and they don't show them helping each other through thick and thin as people you could call "real" friends are supposed to. The fact that the cutscene itself looks like a PowerPoint slideshow or something you could theoretically cook up in Windows Movie Maker doesn't help, especially if you remove the music track altogether.

I think one of my "favorite" moments is Sunny and Mari meeting Kel and Hero, which is represented by the latter two literally popping out of thin air

You'd think that as a story with the power of friendship as one of its central themes, the game would show how the characters became friends in the first place and what makes them gel together, but no. This is all you get.

It's the same thing with Aubrey and Basil. The gang meets Aubrey for the first time while she's crying on the sidewalk before the game cuts to her introducing Basil to them. Was them comforting Aubrey over her lost shoe enough for her to befriend them? How exactly did she and Basil meet? I dunno, you tell me! Think about the plot so the writer won't have to!

So emotional. So peak. Two hundred thousand dollars was spent on this.

Speaking of Sunny and Mari, the cutscene's Peakest™ moment is the smash cut from a bright shot of Mari embracing a younger Sunny to a gloomier shot of the older Sunny sitting there all alone and morose, which delivers the message with all the subtlety of a nuclear bomb explosion

she passed on The Emo to him. truely devastating. also why do they both look malnourished. what the hell is this artstyle

Yes, game. I get it. The grass was greener when Mari was alive. That's roughly her gravestone's epitaph. What is the point of this? What am I supposed to cry about?

That brings me to what I believe is the main problem with DUET, and a problem with the game itself as well - the story doesn't put in any real effort to flesh out the characters you're supposed to feel bad for, yet expects you to feel bad for them anyway. Even after playing the entire 25 hours of this game, I don't know anything about Sunny, nor can I recall anything noteworthy about him except from him calling lemons "oragnes". I don't know anything about who Mari really was except that she's treated by the narrative as if she was Jesus in the flesh. They're not characters - they're effectively cardboard cutouts, and I have no idea why the game's imploring me to shed tears over two cardboard cutouts.

The cherry on top is Omori straight-up vanishing after the cutscene ends. One could argue that Sunny's victory was temporary, but that's not indicated - Omori seems to actually vanish once and for all after the game's events, and the main menu even features Sunny himself as opposed to Omori to mark the change. Because we all know that severe depression can be treated by thinking happy thoughts, right? tfw the powerpoint slideshow was so cringe that even the depression decided to peace out

Maybe I wouldn't have been as harsh if the story had Mari kill herself instead of it being a cover-up for manslaughter. Maybe then I'd have been able to see the tragedy. But given the context of the plot twist, all I can see is a coward and a liar soothing his well-earned guilt over committing a serious crime and lying about it in the most laughably melodramatic fashion possible.

[kittleskittle]

been spending my Friday afternoon mulling over HFW and BS meta-wise, and my GOD I am so anxious about h3, I feel like I'm going to lose my mind. Warning: rant with personal opinions below.

More and more as the series progresses, spectacle and shock value have been prioritized over theme and emotional beats. Nothing is given room to develop organically. There's no time to breathe in the narrative. Quiet moments to process all of these SHOCKING DEVELOPMENTS (a very special fuck you to Liberation and their horrifying assassination of Avad for zero narrative reason) keep diminishing. Everything is a World Ending Threat™ that must be resolved IMMEDIATELY, so much so that I've started rolling my eyes every time the latest Big Bad End of the World scenario is revealed.

I suppose my biggest question is: what happened? HZD, to me, was a masterclass in thematic and character writing. I was so emotionally connected to Aloy that I felt as though I was experiencing the events of the game alongside her. The themes resonated with me in a way I very rarely have experienced. I literally could not shut up about this game the first time I played it years ago (big thanks to my incredibly patient friends and family for putting up with me LOL). How did the writing priorities and focus shift this hard?

HFW lost me, and BS even moreso. I don't feel connected to Aloy as a character anymore. I don't feel connected to a great deal of the side characters I used to connect with. The fact that BS was conceived as a "Hollywood Blockbuster" makes a depressing amount of sense, but goddamn, it's NOT at all what Aloy deserved for such a momentous experience as her first love, an event this series has been building towards - and yes, we know this from dev commentary - from the start. Regardless of how h3 turns out when it comes to romance, I'm going to stay bitter about that one.

I think h3 is going to have to do a LOT of work to pull me back in, and I'm afraid that it's not even possible at this point. I'm afraid we're going to get more of the same big flashy battles, this time with the Karen Reaper Spaghetti ball that is Nemesis, with little room leftover for substance. I'm afraid that I'm going to put down that game and feel unsatisfied and empty rather than complete and fulfilled by a trilogy of games over a decade in the making.

And that, to me, is going to be a really depressing end to a series that started out so strong.

[ellorypurebloodculture]

10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 Tags

Thank you for tagging me @x-authorship-x 💖💖💖

In no particular order, because I don't have the emotional capacity to pick my favorite characters and then pick a most favorite on top of that:

1. Liu Qingge (The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System)

I can't not love this guy. He's competent, honorable, and protective. His capacity for love is ... insane. He's so hardworking and diligent. And Cheng Luan (his sword) is epic!

2. Kozume Kenma (Haikyu!!)

In a lot of ways, Kenma reminds me of myself. I don't like large crowds or being forced to socialize. Like him, I'd rather have some alone time and focus on my personal hobbies and interests.

3. Senju Tobirama (Naruto)

I'm sure this choice doesn't shock anyone who's read my Naruto fics. Tobirama is hyper-competent. I am fascinated by the ruthlessly practical way his mind works. I adore that he creates new jutsu to achieve the seemingly impossible.

4. Hua Cheng (Heaven Official's Blessing)

Eight. Hundred. Years. Of. Devotion. Need I say more?

He's also a total BAMF.

5. Jon Antilles (Star Wars)

This one, I blame on Kat. I've never read the books/comics he apparently appears in. But Kat's written so many brilliant fics featuring him that I love him anyway. He has the coolest Force powers! Healing, growing plants, teleporting, walking through walls, etc. My obsession is legit.

6. Lan Jingyi (The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation)

He's a cultivator who's terrified of ghosts. And he faces them anyway! He's an extremely loyal friend. Also, Lan Jingyi is 100000% a Chaos Gremlin ™ and I have a serious weakness for those.

7. Thorin Oakenshield (The Hobbit)

... How am I supposed to pick anyone else after he sang Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold in the first Hobbit film?!

He's also loyal, loves his family and people, perseveres when most people would give up, etc.

8. Dabi (Boku no Hero Academia)

Everyone will think I'm possessed if I don't have at least one villain on this list. 😂

Dabi's character design, Quirk, backstory, and motivations fascinate me. Like a moth to flame (pun intended), he draws me in.

9. Stiles Stilinski (Teen Wolf)

He's just ... a flailing, intelligent, rambling, snarky, hyper-loyal, cutthroat amalgamation and I can't do anything but love him.

10. Q (James Bond)

I think this list has thoroughly established that I love competent and intelligent characters. Q's ingenuity delights me. I also adore when he engages in word play.

Anyone who wants to participate, please feel free to tag me! 💖

Tagging (only if you want to play): @spanthedistance @gopherheiyuki @englishlotusflower @sincerely-wyvern @shadowicepuma @shaddowsong @airasilver @admiringtheskies @nateneedssleep @welshbaes