#i mean its fine if you like it but it just isn't fun narratively for me

[honestsister]

Honestly I just feel bad for l@nter shippers, they're so used to the white male lead getting with the main girl that they have to construct an alternate version of the show in their brains where lumity is forced and hunter doesn't have a crush on luzs best friend and also luz would break up with her first ever girlfriend just cause.... a boy???

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Amazon Alexa is a graduate of the Darth Vader MBA

Next Tuesday (Oct 31) at 10hPT, the Internet Archive is livestreaming my presentation on my recent book, The Internet Con.

If you own an Alexa, you might enjoy its integration with IFTTT, an easy scripting environment that lets you create your own little voice-controlled apps, like "start my Roomba" or "close the garage door." If so, tough shit, Amazon just nuked IFTTT for Alexa:

https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/25/23931463/ifttt-amazon-alexa-applets-ending-support-integration-automation

Amazon can do this because the Alexa's operating system sits behind a cryptographic lock, and any tool that bypasses that lock is a felony under Section 1201 of the DMCA, punishable by a 5-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine. That means that it's literally a crime to provide a rival OS that lets users retain functionality that Amazon no longer supports.

This is the proverbial gun on the mantelpiece, a moral hazard and invitation to mischief that tempts Amazon executives to run a bait-and-switch con where they sell you a gadget with five features and then remotely kill-switch two of them. This is prime directive of the Darth Vader MBA: "I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further."

So many companies got their business-plan at the Darth Vader MBA. The ability to revoke features after the fact means that companies can fuck around, but never find out. Apple sold millions of tracks via iTunes with the promise of letting you stream them to any other device you owned. After a couple years of this, the company caught some heat from the record labels, so they just pushed an update that killed the feature:

https://memex.craphound.com/2004/10/30/apple-to-ipod-owners-eat-shit-and-die-updated/

That gun on the mantelpiece went off all the way back in 2004 and it turns out it was a starter-pistol. Pretty soon, everyone was getting in on the act. If you find an alert on your printer screen demanding that you install a "security update" there's a damned good chance that the "update" is designed to block you from using third-party ink cartridges in a printer that you (sorta) own:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

Selling your Tesla? Have fun being poor. The upgrades you spent thousands of dollars on go up in a puff of smoke the minute you trade the car into the dealer, annihilating the resale value of your car at the speed of light:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/23/how-to-fix-cars-by-breaking-felony-contempt-of-business-model/

Telsa has to detect the ownership transfer first. But once a product is sufficiently cloud-based, they can destroy your property from a distance without any warning or intervention on your part. That's what Adobe did last year, when it literally stole the colors from your Photoshop files, in history's SaaSiest heist caper:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/28/fade-to-black/#trust-the-process

And yet, when we hear about remote killswitches in the news, it's most often as part of a PR blitz for their virtues. Russia's invasion of Ukraine kicked off a new genre of these PR pieces, celebrating the fact that a John Deere dealership was able to remotely brick looted tractors that had been removed to Chechnya:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/08/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors/

Today, Deere's PR minions are pitching search-and-replace versions of this story about Israeli tractors that Hamas is said to have looted, which were also remotely bricked.

But the main use of this remote killswitch isn't confounding war-looters: it's preventing farmers from fixing their own tractors without paying rent to John Deere. An even bigger omission from this narrative is the fact that John Deere is objectively Very Bad At Security, which means that the world's fleet of critical agricultural equipment is one breach away from being rendered permanently inert:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/23/reputation-laundry/#deere-john

There are plenty of good and honorable people working at big companies, from Adobe to Apple to Deere to Tesla to Amazon. But those people have to convince their colleagues that they should do the right thing. Those debates weigh the expected gains from scammy, immoral behavior against the expected costs.

Without DMCA 1201, Amazon would have to worry that their decision to revoke IFTTT functionality would motivate customers to seek out alternative software for their Alexas. This is a big deal: once a customer learns how to de-Amazon their Alexa, Amazon might never recapture that customer. Such a switch wouldn't have to come from a scrappy startup or a hacker's DIY solution, either. Take away DMCA 1201 and Walmart could step up, offering an alternative Alexa software stack that let you switch your purchases away from Amazon.

Money talks, bullshit walks. In any boardroom argument about whether to shift value away from customers to the company, a credible argument about how the company will suffer a net loss as a result has a better chance of prevailing than an argument that's just about the ethics of such a course of action:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/microincentives-and-enshittification/

Inevitably, these killswitches are pitched as a paternalistic tool for protecting customers. An HP rep once told me that they push deceptive security updates to brick third-party ink cartridges so that printer owners aren't tricked into printing out cherished family photos with ink that fades over time. Apple insists that its ability to push iOS updates that revoke functionality is about keeping mobile users safe – not monopolizing repair:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

John Deere's killswitches protect you from looters. Adobe's killswitches let them add valuable functionality to their products. Tesla? Well, Tesla at least is refreshingly honest: "We have a killswitch because fuck you, that's why."

These excuses ring hollow because they conspicuously omit the possibility that you could have the benefits without the harms. Like, your tractor could come with a killswitch that you could bypass, meaning you could brick it at a distance, and still fix it yourself. Same with your phone. Software updates that take away functionality you want can be mitigated with the ability to roll back those updates – and by giving users the ability to apply part of a patch, but not the whole patch.

Cloud computing and software as a service are a choice. "Local first" computing is possible, and desirable:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/03/there-is-no-cloud/#only-other-peoples-computers

The cheapest rhetorical trick of the tech sector is the "indivisibility gambit" – the idea that these prix-fixe menus could never be served a la carte. Wanna talk to your friends online? Sorry there's just no way to help you do that without spying on you:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/08/divisibility/#technognosticism

One important argument over smart-speakers was poisoned by this false dichotomy: the debate about accessibility and IoT gadgets. Every IoT privacy or revocation scandal would provoke blanket statements from technically savvy people like, "No one should ever use one of these." The replies would then swiftly follow: "That's an ableist statement: I rely on my automation because I have a disability and I would otherwise be reliant on a caregiver or have to go without."

But the excluded middle here is: "No one should use one of these because they are killswitched. This is especially bad when a smart speaker is an assistive technology, because those applications are too important to leave up to the whims of giant companies that might brick them or revoke their features due to their own commercial imperatives, callousness, or financial straits."

Like the problem with the "bionic eyes" that Second Sight bricked wasn't that they helped visually impaired people see – it was that they couldn't be operated without the company's ongoing support and consent:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/bionic-eye-obsolete

It's perfectly possible to imagine a bionic eye whose software can be maintained by third parties, whose parts and schematics are widely available. The challenge of making this assistive technology fail gracefully isn't technical – it's commercial.

We're meant to believe that no bionic eye company could survive unless they devise their assistive technology such that it fails catastrophically if the business goes under. But it turns out that a bionic eye company can't survive even if they are allowed to do this.

Even if you believe Milton Friedman's Big Lie that a company is legally obligated to "maximize shareholder value," not even Friedman says that you are legally obligated to maximize companies' shareholder value. The fact that a company can make more money by defrauding you by revoking or bricking the things you buy from them doesn't oblige you to stand up for their right to do this.

Indeed, all of this conduct is arguably illegal, under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits "unfair and deceptive business practices":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge

"No one should ever use a smart speaker" lacks nuance. "Anyone who uses a smart speaker should be insulated from unilateral revocations by the manufacturer, both through legal restrictions that bind the manufacturer, and legal rights that empower others to modify our devices to help us," is a much better formulation.

It's only in the land of the Darth Vader MBA that the deal is "take it or leave it." In a good world, we should be able to take the parts that work, and throw away the parts that don't.

(Image: Stock Catalog/https://www.quotecatalog.com, Sam Howzit; CC BY 2.0; modified)

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/26/hit-with-a-brick/#graceful-failure

[autumnbrambleagain]

Hi, first time reader, first time caller. I ended up reading proselytize in between my various beginner runs in qud to keep me motivated. It's really good! You're a very talented writer with a great sense of pacing, character and style! I was just wondering though, do you have default builds for all the daughters of nafpor, or are they more like archetypes?

oh gosh thank you! i am always stunned at how well received proselytize has been, i'm glad people are enjoying it so much

i experiment a lot with them when i play them, so i have a lot saved, although TBH a lot of them are older characters from over a year ago

here's suir softbeast's canonical build, although this is just like. her base, larval form without any of her chimera stuff. there's a mod that lets you pick what your chimeric limbs are when evolving so you can have the exact same suir softbeast experience, the randomization of it means any future suir i play without that mod is going to be a radically different suir

you'll notice her intelligence is like, pretty high! it's said in the game she ends up being one of the best tinkers in qud and just convinces herself she's only good for being a blodshedding hedonist. my suir build strats were pick every physical mutation i could get, get extra limbs, the usual chimera stuff. i used swords as my main for the DV bonus and lunge action economy stacking, and axes in all the other offhands for dismemberment procs

it uses the marshtaur sprite, although i'd wish in a tattoo gun and recolor her in all white and gray. if i ever played her again i'd probably modify the sprite to make her look more like herself

here's tiyu-yutep's last build. psychometry isn't actually Very Worthwhile, but it was thematic and i'm the kind of idiot that will make a build for theme rather than efficiency. this is, in fact, a pretty BAD build, which I think is on its own level thematically important. the daughters of nafpor aren't all supertwinked hyperspecced characters, some of them just Played Good

normally i'd replace her sprite with a cat cherub sprite, but at this point next time i ever end up playing her i'd just make my own sprite for her

in actual gameplay i'd use precog and nectar to reroll mutations so i have a bespoke list of mental mutations stacked up as high as i can, and complement them with a ton of tinkered nonsense. tiyu-yutep's build is about maximizing options in every situation. something bad is happening? that's fine, i have 12 kinds of grenade, 10 mental mutations, and eight guns to solve it.

that's one of my igwashim builds, unlike tiyu and suir being kinda jack-of-all-trades (my preferred style ngl) ig is very much a "scry, teleport in, blast everything to sleep, axe axe axe axe axe axe axe" build

mutation points aren't spent on new mutations at all, and exist just to fill out the efficiency of her existing mutations. i use a mod to make teleport more accurate at very high levels, because teleportation is my nonsexual fetish and i crave being able to pinpoint teleport after i hit level 10

still she isn't just a bump-attack character. maximize information gathering and ambush tactics, never play fair. appearance change wish to turn her tile into a crypt ferret's, naturally, although now that i've started fumping about with modding, i'd just like. actually make a clade so instead of it saying "Mutated Human" it'd say "Mutated Ferret" or something. make it so dromads don't call me human they call me "ferret" or something

her having Socially Repugnant would be appropriate narratively but i never bothered with it since she didn't need it, 10 ego is enough to represent her being a talking animal

i don't have any specific build saved for Savithvyr, she was one of my first Qud characters and was just a Fuming God-Child specced around agility, willpower, and intelligence, mostly using gas grenades of various kinds alongside the billowing conch. also not an optimal build! but it was fun. flood the zone with gas and just sorta stand back and pick at the survivors with a gun or stab them with triple-element gaslight kris

there's a mod that lets you play goatfolk which i used for naara, but in version updates i don't have it installed right now and i'll be honest i don't remember what i did with her much other than mental mutations

ooo-ho-OOO-EEE-ah and Buwofu-gawufoo were actually companions that Savithvyr and Suir picked up in-game, they were never characters i played directly but as companions they lasted so long they felt like they were part of those characters' identities and so they had to make the transition into the game proper.

the brambled fae's original build is NO LONGER POSSIBLE because they increased the cost of horns, which i think is HILARIOUS because why shouldn't it be an actual illegal build?

not that it hasn't had a dozen different builds ANYway. it's my go-to most-used build and based off of one of my fursonas at its core, so it's the culmination of my bullshit jack-of-all-trades obsession.

MILD SPOILERS but ive posted it before on this blog anyway, it DOES have its own sprite since i still play variations on it regularly enough i made a sprite for it

although that doesn't really represent what it looks like in the story

that's getting a BIT closer to what it looks like when we finally get to the brambled pass

[celestialholz]

Surrendering Sunflora 2: Grass/Dragon Boogaloo

... Well, shit. She's back again to meta her own meta. :D

I spent five hours on Surrendering Sunflora, my friends - decoding all its little gay nuances and narratives. And yet, somehow, I didn't spot something very important about the thing itself. But that's fine, that's why we have friends to meta with. :D

Multiple people on the EphemeralArt Discord pointed out to me earlier today that this sculpture... isn't perfect. Y'see here, on the right?

Bless him, he's got a little dint. A little scar.

Now, we know about Surrendering Sunflora - we know it's part-Hassel, and we know it's part-Brassius, because Hassel is his sunshine, and Brassius was depressed as fuck at the time of making it. Blah blah, Art (4), ain't telling you anything new here.

But... it's fun, that this little scar's on the right. Now, I've chosen to show you the Pokemon Centre roof one because of its particular meaning of healing here, but every single one of them has this little scar.

Brassius, as you'll see below, is right-handed.

But... well, funny, isn't it? They're on the opposite side. Art is perspective, my friends. You and I, looking at the Sunflora head-on, see it on the right - and yet we know, from our own angles, that Brassius is holding that Tera Orb in his right hand.

... Which makes it very interesting indeed that Hassel isn't right-handed.

Hassel is one of only two lefties in all of Paldea (and oh trust me, there's a whole world in that shit - bear with, I'm cooking on a leftie comparative. :D) And Hassel, as we know from his personal school quests, has a negative past too - one he's been equally saved from in having a new lease of life and a new husband.

So, if you look at Surrendering Sunflora as Brassie intended, head-on, you will see his own scars on the right - healed up, brightened, healthy and loved, but still present if you look closely enough.

... And if go behind Surrending Sunflora, and look at it as if you were the sculpture, which we know Hassel partly is...

... Your perspective will change. The scar would be on your left - much like the man who always runs from the past, and his own emotional scars.

Two men, two directions... one narrative of mutual healing.

Now isn't that just super fucking neat? <3

[rose-reads-visualnovels]

how do you get so good at analysis? ;_; i'm really dumb and take things at surface value, which i've been fine with up until now but seeing you read umineko so deeply makes me kinda like.... jealous isn't the right word? that sounds too spiteful. it just makes me feel like i'm missing out on a more fun way to experience things. but it seems so daunting i don't even know how to start. to me it seems like picking out every detail and exaggerating it as far as possible but it's obviously more refined than that because you're able to keep things together thematically and make some good theories. do you have any advice for it?

Hi, anon!

Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re being jealous/spiteful with this ask. I also used to want to write analysis on things because they seem fun, and actually this is my first proper try at it! I think I’ve said it before but if I’m not careful I’ll binge everything on first watch/read and miss details. (This is why I rewatch Utena every other month). So yes, I know sometimes I’m grasping at straws but that’s because I’m actively squeezing everything I can out of a page/scene.

I think what sets this liveblog apart and the reason I can pick up threads/themes is that Umineko seems very upfront about what it wants to say.

「MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, EVERYONE WANTED A LOT OF MONEY RIGHT NOW…!」

Utena is the same in that - even though people say it’s too symbolic - I think the fact that it bares its inner mechanisms for all to see is a huge kindness. If everything means something else, or represents both itself and a larger concept, then a show where everything is allegorical is actually discarding layers of obfuscation.

I think a good place to start to Notice Themes is at the very beginning.

The Golden Witch invites you to take things easy and accept them as they come, but The Revolutionary Witch tells you that - in any story - the first introductions matter the most.

Up until now, Umineko has drilled inside our heads again and again, repetition after repetition, that the Ushiromiya’s Western schtick is a product of Kinzo’s reverse weeb affectations. He started many of the “traditions” that seem so inescapable, he invented the name for the fucking chair he sits at the breakfast table and the order of the seats according to his own patriarchal standards.

His Western obsession is tied very obviously with his “black magic” obsession and he even gets angry when you don’t call them “grimoires” because part of the charm of magic is that it’s foreign and cool. He speaks of black magic when ranting about his urges to sexually abuse a dead Beatrice, all his children speak of Western things when recalling their own childhood and abuse.

The only exception to this is Kinzo’s Japanese sword - both a true object and a phallic symbol that doesn’t deny itself its origins - that he uses to spank Jessica’s naked butt.

I feel like, in Umineko, you just need to sit and listen to the characters and wonder at their motivations. But you also need to wonder about the choice of presentation.

For example, Kanon alone in the garden after he left the conversation, being dismissed by Gohda. All he says is “…even me” or something among those lines, very mysterious! But the way this is presented, the camera not caring about the Cousins + Adults but following an actor after he’s being kicked out of the stage? Unusual! Curious! Very interesting! The way the narrative describes it, (paraphrasing here) “you needed to get closer if you wanted to hear the words whispered to his heart”? Why would it be written like that? Who is the narrator speaking to?

So I think - to make an analysis close in methodology to what I’m doing - you need to question what’s onscreen, not in a “this isn’t real” way (it may not be real but that’s not the focus!), but in a “why is this being shown the way it is” way. This is a novel after all. Choices of words, choices of POV, what is described and what’s left unsaid!

Those are the tips from the Revolutionary Witch!

— Rose, the Revolutionary Witch

[wufflesvetinari]

Lash is so wonderful that she is tempting me to choose cleric for my first official campaign! But playing BG3 does kinda make me feel like all the gods are just terrible, and the path of religious trauma feels all but inevitable. Are any of them not so? Is there a way to portray a more positive relationship?

ayyy thanks nonnie!! as established i really love clerics so allow me to pile some peer pressure on top of your decision pile!! go be a cleric!! (if the playstyle appeals to you etc)

it sounds like you're talking about pen-and-paper dnd, yeah? (you might be my earlier anon??) disclaimer that i'm not a 5e lore expert, but one difference ime from the bg3 experience is that bg3 is coming to you as a pre-written narrative with its own themes (such as humanoid choice in the face of manipulation, which extends to gods).

5e lore, on the other hand, is written as a bunch of open-ended hooks you/your dm can choose to engage with or not. also most gods in 5e don't have a ton of complex canon lore about being secretly evil or selfish--it's kind of bluntly "good god" "evil god" "neutral god" etc to leave you room to play and worldbuild. (other than uhhh i guess being complicit in the wall of the faithless 😬 which is dubiously canonical now anyway.) like, a god like eilistraee is going to be very easy to imagine a positive relationship with for a good-aligned cleric if that's what you're looking for. and even a god like mystra who comes off pretty bad in bg3, is like...relatively fine in canon 5e lore. i think of bg3 almost like someone's fleshed-out tabletop game where the dm has made characterization and world decisions to flesh out the lore

plus the gods do have personalities, greek god-style, which means that your cleric might, idk, overarchingly agree with their own god's goals but find bits of their dogma annoying or wrong, or otherwise relate to them with a bit of conflict (for spice!) without necessarily feeling used/betrayed. this lends itself to storytelling where a cleric might find themselves challenged by what they find on the road: the gods aren't perfect, just like, idk, your friend the wizard in your party isn't perfect

(ALSO like. if you're not married to the idea of playing an unambiguously good-aligned cleric, there's nothing stopping you from playing a character who unabashedly loves their awful god lmao. or like, a lawful neutral god like kelemvor--you could create a cleric who is so so into that very specific, harsh-but-fair moral code)

you might find the "deities by alignment" page a good way to find the overall vibe you're looking for! like i said, the lore is built out of hooks for you, so there's plenty of room to create a relationship that feels fun to play. (or, like, a non-relationship! lash has strong feelings about Being A Cleric but ilmater has never manifested for her personally)

[centrally-unplanned]

Something fun about GWitch is the GUND-ARM technology approach: So Miorine & crew discover that the orginal Gundam/Witch program had its roots in a wider technological initiative, and decide to pivot their fledging Gundam company into making medical tech over weapons (i.e. gundam fighting robots).

Okay, so like Gundams are fun fighting robots for people to be badasses in, but they arent just that. Early otaku culture was fully enmeshed in Science Fiction culture as well, and believed strongly in technology as progress, a common SF theme. That ideology had a bonus role of being something of a pivot for post-war Japan, a nation that had industrialized, committed hard to science, for the purposes of empire building and militarism, which were permanently broken in 1945. Techno-futurism was a sort of replacement for that, a new Japanese identity for a culture very interested in identity and Japan-as-an-idea. Gundams reflected that, a sort of next step for humanity (aesthetically ofc).

But, while I would not describe early otaku culture as explicitly political, it was very politically aware, and certainly interested in political topics like war, empire, etc. A lot of this ideological reinvention was also concerned with rehabilitating the image of the military-as-aesthetic in Japan, giving it noble purpose (Space Battleship Yamato is just this on steroids') . And of course for a variety of reasons war & conflict is just great storytelling, political conflicts are the kind of stories early otaku culture wanted. So the Gundam could be The Future of Humanity *by* being a fighting machine, that aligned with the politics and aesthetics of the time. Even at the time there was debate about this ofc, see the use of mechas as disaster response units in productions like Patlabor. But the idea had currency.

That isn't true today. Modern anime fans are generally apolitical (as a mass unit, that mass is a mask on a plethora of diversity ofc), commentary on empire and war has retreated to aristocratic Victoriana and fun storytelling tropes. Pursuing "the Gundam, Fighting Machine" as the apogee of human progress just doesn't hit, that isn't a relatable goal for well-meaning protagonists (fine for a Lelouchian anti-hero ofc). And due to that apolitical-ness, a cause like Fighting Imperialism or Capitalism equally doesn't hit, that is just trading right-coding for left-coding (GWitch has those characters, but they are coded as extremists, and its not how the Gundam itself is being coded). So how do you make the aesthetic of the Gundam as The Techno-Future of Humanity work for an audience, transform that symbol of 1970's optimism into a symbol of 2020's optimism?

You convert it into medical tech, the least political, safe, universally agreeable technological pursuit there is. This is a goal a modern audience can relate to, so its the identity GWitch is going to convert the Gundam into. While still being a cool fighting robot for fun combat scenes, of course. That just can't be its politics. I find it too safe as a narrative choice, but as an analyst its meta is very potent.

[daenystheedreamer]

i thoght the yaoi thing was joke? :(

its /hj. tbc i haaaate most yaoi the majority of it is tasteless voyeuristic erotica which isnt like an evil thing to make but still extremely bad. i think its funny and i mostly read it cos its hilarious. more thoughts under the cut

it's misrepresented and #misunderstood especially by western gay people. its not representation, it's not 'led by queer people', and the difference between 'yaoi' and 'boy's love' is marginal. it's predominantly heterosexual women who enjoy writing drawing reading two (or more..) guys fuck which is fine. yaoi vs bl is often used as both a categorical distinction (yaoi is erotica, bl isn't) and a moral one (yaoi is cringe/homophobic/bad and bl is pure/wholesome/untainted) which is like fundamentally so wrong if you know anything about the genre.

the history is really interesting. It's roots are firmly in shojou manga, as in, explicitly for young women. early works are often taboo-breaking and deal with sexual abuse, incest, etc. an early muse for the genre was bjorn andressen as tadzio in the film 'death in venice' and if you know anything about that film and andressen says A Lot. shonen ai (literally boy love) was originally a term which was pederastic in nature but became the name for the genre. to crib from the wikipedia article cos it summarises it well:

While the term shōnen-ai historically connoted ephebophilia or pederasty, beginning in the 1970s it was used to describe a new genre of shōjo manga (girls' manga) featuring romance between bishōnen (lit. "beautiful boys"), a term for androgynous or effeminate male characters. Early shōnen-ai works were inspired by European literature, the writings of Taruho Inagaki, and the Bildungsroman genre Shōnen-ai often features references to literature, history, science, and philosophy; Suzuki describes the genre as being "pedantic" and "difficult to understand", with "philosophical and abstract musings" that challenged young readers who were often only able to understand the references and deeper themes as they grew older.

Yaoi, on the other hand:

Coined in the late 1970s by manga artists Yasuko Sakata and Akiko Hatsu, yaoi is a portmanteau of yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi (山[場]なし、落ちなし、意味なし), which translates to "no climax, no point, no meaning".[f] Initially used by artists as a self-deprecating and ironic euphemism, the portmanteau refers to how early yaoi works typically focused on sex to the exclusion of plot and character development; it is also a subversive reference to the classical Japanese narrative structure of introduction, development, twist, and conclusion

by the way, that [f] note is: "The acronym yamete, oshiri ga itai (やめて お尻が 痛い, "stop, my ass hurts!") is also less commonly used."

Like the term fujoshi, meaning 'rotten girl', is the same it's very silly and self-deprecating. That's so fun! I think the yaoi genre in general is a really interesting phenomena that's rooted so deeply in Japan as a culture. I think it's great that women are able to sincerely enjoy something fun, I think it's great that women were able and continue to have successful careers in writing, and I also think it's mostly bad.

A lot of modern stuff, especially the works getting pumped out of korea by genuinely evil webtoon companies, suffer from the fundamental problems with serialisation. It putters from chapter to chapter and every single one is the same as the other. A lot of Japanese bl/yaoi is in the form of short fiction, about 5-10 chapters, and again there are fundamental problems with this. they often suffer from too much crammed in AND from so little stretched thin.

I also think yes morally or 'representationally' or whatever they are like Pretty cringe. like sorry uke/seme is BAD. sexual assault is not even handled so much as it is kicked around. Women are non-existent at best and horrifically sexist at worst. Also the writing, though ofc i read (often fan-) translated works, just sucks.

You guys don't know how bad it gets. like ok example.... it's hard giving examples cos most of its just boring or bad in a lame way. okay there's this korean rom-com drama webtoon about a boss and his employee and the boss is actually an immortal snake-deity who fell in love with this guy and his employee is the reincarnation of that guy. sounds fine right? well the snake boss has two dicks. So.

[juvederm]

actually yapping

feel like a lot of my thoughts about not getting enough notes or whatever on a drawings can be dissolved by just accepting that art of the Game (its plot, events, etc) will pop off more than some self indulgent sketch. people will like things they can recognize, which i was aware of but i just thought that my art would reach the fandom people, yk the ones who are not just attached to the story but the characters too. so making recognizable art of the game wouldn't matter bc it would instead be of the characters

but the thing is, making Serious art of the game is tough. it's hard coming up with ideas, and who knows if the process is gonna be fun or extremely grueling. and on top of that, what hasn't been done so far? every idea has been drawn, been brought to life. the game is like 8 years old now. i kinda don't wanna draw more "Mountain. Blood. Snow. Ugly winter outfits" anymore lol. i mean sometimes i do bc i love the game obviously but when i wanna have fun, i'll tend to do other things that kinda combine with my own personal interests. so like fashion for example, i'll take the characters and dress them up. that's me having fun.

i want to think and Know that people understand this concept, but it feels like they don't? maybe they do. i know for a fact my mutuals do, because you are all very supportive of every silly josh doodle i make lol i appreciate it a lot 🤗 you guys are the kind of people i make this art for, the Character Likers. because i myself am someone who will attach to the characters more than like, the story. which isn't to say i just disregard the source material, that's not it at all, but for me regarding UD, imma be honest yall... i do not give a fuck abt the creature lore in the game at all. i don't care abt billy bates and whatnot. it's fine if you do, but me personally ehhh i don't care much abt that part of the story

i really like the characters out of all of this, i like certain dynamics, dialogue, etc. and i love the story too, and especially love when the story involves the characters (which i think the sanitarium segments doesn't really do? it kinda just gives insight on the 1950s mine incident and shjt) but i like the parts of the story relating to the twins. bc those are characters and they kinda haunt the narrative.

speaking of the narrative, it's part of the reason i like josh. he doesn't haunt the narrative but he controls it a lot id say. he's a very captivating character, very compelling. you want a lot out of him, like what's wrong, why is he doing this, why did he say that, blah blah. i honestly love characters that are attractive in this way, even to other characters in the story. so sam and chris for example. i enjoy the dynamic they have with josh because they're worried about him, they're thinking about him, or they want to know if he's okay, what's up with him and all that. he holds their attention like that, and ofc that led to ships and stuff. i feel like ashley's actress said it best when describing josh: "you think he's one way but then he's another"

which is honestly just so fucking true. you think he's dead, then he's not, you think he's okay but then he's not, you think he might live but he doesn't. he's even like that personality wise i'd say, but that's teetering onto like headcanon territory just somewhat. because sam does say "it's hard to tell with him" but that's mostly bc of the incident with the twins, she can't Tell if he's okay or barely hanging on. josh is hard to pin down, he's Complex, as stated in the game

sorry for getting into a little josh analysis there but since he is an important character (in general) to me, i kinda felt the need. because this also goes into my gripes about people not really getting why i draw him the way i do. j know i won't shut up about this, but i just Want everyone to know, bc i feel as though it was part of the reason why i wasn't really interacted with for as long as i've been a part of this fandom. like nobody really understood what i was doing, but it was really just simple fun. i mean, now i've completely given up hope with ever really Connectinf with the fandom, but i just want this off my chest honesrly lol

like i really don't want to keep drawing josh one way. like i said i wanna have fun so that's what i do. i can't really "make an him an oc" because i don't change anything about his story or writing. putting him in a silly outfit doesn't make him eligible for "original characterification" lol. so that's what i mean by i make a lot my art for the fandom people, the ones who like the game for more than its story, people who like making headcanons, people who like writing for the game, etc

and the reason i do it a lot is bc of what i said before. making art of the game is tough, it's a lot of thinking. what Hasn't been done already? not much lol. so i'll just keep sketching the silly stuff and sharing it with cool ppl who kinda get what i'm doing 👍

but i definitely will make art of the game and not just the characters, i'll make art more recognizable to the average player because guess what. that's also what i like. it just takes a long time for me because Serious art has a lot of thinking and planning behind it and is just very time consuming in general. but oh, josh in a skirt? took two minutes and i can just close my ipad and not worry about anything else lol

i hope this made sense??!?&?@ i kinda wanted to talk to people about it so if anyone else feels the same way i'd love to know. i'll prob make a followup sometime soon but i just wanted to get all my thoughts out in one place because i've kinda collected them all finally leleleleel

[thosemintcookies]

See the problem isn't even about shipping itself. I've seen like "Yeah shipping doesn't have to exist what about nonromantic relationships and gen!" Which I think is also missing the point. I think the deeper root is that it's discouraging to see people lose sight of art itself as something that's political, as something with bias, as something with a message, as symbolic, etc as a construct of the thing itself. The real problem is that art is becoming a marketable product for wanton consumption and people don't want to engage in art for arts sake.

Yes light-hearted stuff does have its place but what is art for? Sometimes you should be emotionally and ideologically challenged because it fosters growth, and it helps build empathy for complex experiences that you might not have.

Art is subjective, not just in reference to "quality" whatever that means. It means it deals with the realm of the subjective- in emotions, experiences, expressions, philosophies, perspectives, attachments.

And then also being able to sit and decode biases of the writers and the constructs of the narrative also help with being able to enjoy light-hearted things and to understand the jokes. Dr. Goldfoot and the bikini machine is also a deconstruction of the treatment of women in the James Bond franchise. Megamind is also a statement on toxic possessive masculinity and humanizing criminals and immigrants.

Its also kind of wild that these are just. Topics. They're not even particularly deep topics and explorations. It's wild to me that just interpreting at all is seen as intellectual and unnecessary. Also, understanding these themes and being able to agree/disagree with the methods and messaging is part of what makes a piece of media enjoyable in the first place!

The other thing is, I want to leave room for the idea that not everyone is able to intepret. Ive seen the stance that being anti-fandomification is ableist. There are people who won't, for example, he able to pick up on social cues of the characters and therefore come to different conclusions on why a certain scene was put in place. I think that's all fine and good and valid, but I think the more we can enjoy and interpret media as a culture beyond their face value marketability the better. I mean there are going to be asexual aromantic autistic people for example who would love to be able to have media that explore a wider diversity of motifs and topics and interests presented. Diversifying fan reception also helps out people who engage with media differently from you (ex. I know there has been a huge backlash in the stereotype of thr gatekeeping comics reader who just asks if you've read certain runs to test your alliegence to the franchise. I wonder how much of that is just a fucked up portrayal of autistic fans who want to talk about their favourite plots with someone who might understand).

I don't know. It's just kind of exhausting it's become about defensiveness about how you enjoy your media. Like yeah to be honest shipping characters is fun or whatever. I think though this is a sentiment coming from people who are constantly seeing people miss the point of a piece of media that they do love, having characters they love be misinterpreted, or being distraught when people are praising a show for fat queer rep when the media is clearly pushing an anti-fat and anti-queer narrative by making them a Nazi sympathizer and pedophile or something. It also encourages less thoughtful media making on the part of artists and creators who are more encouraged to think about the bottom line, especially when fans flock to things with interesting concepts and aesthetics but absolutely no substance or chemistry between characters.

Idk. People point to how Spirk was so popular and that shipping has existed since the 70s. And yes weird porn has always existed and I encourage people writing whatever. But that ship also arose out of a progressive piece of media that tried to come up with a hopeful future world where people are united regardless of race or nationality. You have a black woman and a Russian and an honest-to-god mixed race alien all working together like its normal. The themes of the show are progressive. Of course people are going to read into the homoerotic relationship at the heart of the series.

The problem now is that people are still drumming up excitement over absolute shit-tier content like marvel films and Avatar 2 that are actually pretty regressive for Our Modern Times being pro-military and cisheteronormative. Care more about the artistic value of a piece if only to demand better from corporations. If only to be able to see through progressive posturing on the topic of representation just to spout regressive propaganda.

[centi-pedve]

hullo! if you adapted Island of Ideologies in another media, let's say a novel... would the narrator still be Five like in the first few pages of the prologue? someone else in universe (like Dr Slay. i mean. Dr Rose)? or an omniscient third person narrator? also what would change drastically (like things youd skip in a novel but not in a webcomic and vice versa)?

GIGGLES MENIACALLY. ohh ozymandias you read us so well for we have a fascination with media type differences.

we actually considered ioi as a novel at multiple points! so thankfully we've thought about it a bit prior. we imagine the narrator would be third person - the primary reason why we have five as the perspective character is because it's really hard to do comics in proper third person.. to us.. but third person we're more comfortable writing with, and it allows for more neutrality. dr rose would be such an interesting perspective character because he's a curious little beast to us but it probably wouldn't function well for the prologue specifically. for a lot of reasons but mostly just coming back to the fact that he's not a good person specifically in a way which would fuck the narrative a bit lol... he doesn't view most people as being as human as him, especially certain characters, which makes it kind of difficult to tell a story about humans doing human things, and his weirdo tendencies would be difficult to depict internally without also making us seem like a weirdo! it's fun to think about though.

as for what would change drastically... the dialogue omga... we're a novel writer before we're a comic writer and we think that kinda shows. so the way we go about dialogue has to be different by result of the fact that we don't have any other words at our disposal to make up for anything that might be lost in the dialogue alone that isn't also picked up by the visuals. most comic writers seem to more so have the perspective of This Is Just How Dialogue Is rather than feeling like they need to make up for the fact they can't make use of prose, so, we'd definitely be more in our comfort zone if it was novelized. maybe less melodrama in every syllable lmaooo

we don't think there's anything we'd Skip that would be like, notable, because story is story to us... if we can't include a certain necessary series of events in a piece of media then we won't consider it as an option. since comic stuff takes a LOT of time it's basically only scenes we feel are necessary, either because it progresses the plot or gives some sort of needed character insight. but if it was novelized we'd probably spend a bit more time on certain things to let scenes breathe.

despite us being more comfortable with novel writing, there's a few reasons why we didn't go with it... first, less and less people are interested in novels, ESPECIALLY if they don't fit into certain mainstream categories. meanwhile people are more likely to give a comic a shot even if they don't regularly read comics because it's easier for the average person to pay attention to. (we're kind of the opposite, weirdly, it's easier for us to read light novel adaptations of a series than its manga counterpart, but we understand what's normal for most people.)

second is. the character names are literally SUCH an issue that they could singlehandedly ruin any attempts at novelization. right now they're fine but once the focus shifts on the bajillion characters whose names are just different ideologies, it will become very. very difficult to read. if not unreadable. ideology names are wordy as hell and shortening them like anarcho primitivism -> anprim, would make it even harder to distinguish between characters despite being less wordy, because sure it's functional normally but not when anprim is in a scene with anmon, annatur, ansoc, and primprim. the general advice is to not have too many characters which start with the same first letter but we're performing overkill here. +, we only think memorizing characters would be possible if there was some sort of visual aid. even if you can't remember the name you can probably associate that specific character design with specific actions, which doesn't work in print. if you forget a name then you'll either have no clue what's going on or you'll have to search it up which is a hassle. if we ever used prose to tell any part of ioi then we'd have to make use of specific guidelines and be fairly intentional with what characters we use in order to not be confusing and awful.

[superfan44]

Don't Be Quick to Judge the Acolyte (A Star Wars Opinion Piece)

I have always loved Star Wars. Ever since being introduced to the original trilogy as a kid, I have been a massive fan of this legendary sci-fi franchise. From one of my all-time favorites The Clone Wars, to the more recent shows like The Mandalorian, I always get a sense of joy and excitement whenever a new piece of Star Wars media is introduced or announced. Of all the related projects set to come out this year, the one that has intrigued me the most, is the live-action series "The Acolyte". First announced back in 2020, all of the details that I have heard regarding this series I find fascinating. A mystery thriller set during the High Republic Era, with an emphasis on showing the perspective of the Sith and drawing influence from martial arts movies. Some of these details are the things that really drew me towards it. Aside from its main space opera trappings, Star Wars has been known to explore various sub genres, especially in some of their most recent projects. These details alone have me both excited and curious to see what this series will bring to the table.

However, while I wait in anticipation, I noticed that not everyone seems to share the same feelings as me. On the internet, there has been plenty of negative discourse towards the series, mostly towards a few of the casting choices and the creatives involved in the series. It honestly still kind of baffles me as to why people are so quick to be so judgmental on a series that isn't even out yet. I guess what I'm trying to say is that maybe we shouldn't be so quick to judge this series.

As someone who has seen a lot of movies and TV shows, I always like to approach everything with an open mind. I don't judge something based on what I want it to be, rather I just take it for what it is, regardless of how it ends up turning out. The same can certainly be said for Star Wars. I've been aware of the discourse surrounding the controversial sequel trilogy. Though I didn't outright hate them like some people did. When I saw each one in the theater, I just took them as they came, paying no mind to the nitpicks or flaws unless some people point them out afterwards.

When it comes to a massive IP such as this one, you're bound to have some people who will dislike or disagree with some of the narrative choices you make. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but that doesn't mean that we should say hateful things just for kicks, nor should we let some people influence how you feel about something. I've heard some people say that there is a fine difference between "good" and "fun". I don't want to name names here, but I will say that even if some parts of Star Wars aren't perfect, it can still be fun to watch. Sometimes there are even parts of Star Wars that are both good and fun, the original trilogy being an obvious example.

Look, if I'm being honest, I don't like trash-talking Star Wars because, at the end of the day, it does still mean a lot to me. Plus, to their credit, some of the newer stuff under Disney have had some hits here and there. The best example I can bring up is Andor, the prequel/spin-off to Rogue One. I remember when it was first announced, people weren't really as enthused about it, some even saying things like "nobody asked for this!". Then, the trailers dropped, and it began to draw people towards it. When the series officially dropped, it turned out to be a big hit with both critics and audiences.

With all that being said, I believe that the same thing might happen with The Acolyte. I have a feeling that the show might surprise us when it drops and turn out to be a hit. Of course, we don't know for sure, but until then, I say we should at least give this one a chance. Let's not be so quick to judge it.

[codeblogs]

Ramblings On Batman: Arkham Asylum

I think perhaps the most generic Batman story one could write has gone from "Batman punches a deranged mad man" to "Maybe Batman is just like these mad men". He's constantly contrasted with his antagonists, characters like the Riddler or the Joker will go "He's the real crazy one", as if it's a get out of jail free card to adding depth, that this one idea itself is enough to really drive home some point.

The Arkham series as a whole is ostensibly about this, it being named for the in universe asylum that Batman's villains typically end up in. People who were wronged by society at large or simply had that 'one bad day' so to speak, and found their new home among the criminally insane, and Arkham Asylum adds the additional detail that yes, they are *all* mad in here (looking at you, Warden Sharp).

It's an interesting enough albeit somewhat generic concept for the character, though I am viewing this title roughly fifteen years removed from its initial release. But, even before the release of this title we had obvious inspirations for a lot of its narrative conceit, namely the ever popular comic, "The Dark Knight Returns", which also highlights the mental wellbeing of the antagonists as well as Batman himself, culminating in a rather infamous moment where we have to dissect his personal delusions from the facts of what has happened. Also before this game was the Animated Series and its follow-up, Batman Beyond, the former featuring an episode offering a similar idea to TDKR in that Batman did not create his enemies, rather they created him. The latter offers a more direct idea that we would later see paralleled in the Arkham Trilogy's concluding title- that being in the Return of the Joker, which is primarily about a mentally disturbed Tim Drake.

This is all beside the point that lies at the heart of this, which is 'Was Arkham Asylum worth it, did it serve as an interesting Batman narrative', and begrudgingly I have to say yes. The overall mystery isn't that deep or hard to follow, the machinations of the Joker and incredibly silly despite how well thought out his plan is, the various antagonists do have to phone it in a bit because you can't just have Scarecrow steal the entire show (I do appreciate Ivy taking complete control in the final sections at least), but at the heart of all of it this game is more a celebratory title. It's like a Super Sentai anniversary special but for Batman. You get a ton of cute references, new renditions of classic characters, at least five of the big name antagonists here get to really shine, and it tries its best to make you feel like Batman.

In the spirit of an utterly generic review of the time, I will complement the freeflow combat system's ability to give the player a very brutal yet also very comic book and silly fighting style, one that echoes a lot of what Mortal Kombat 9 would do with its brutality in combat. When playing through the game's challenge scenarios, I really dug into the moveset given, finding a level of depth with a game that ostensibly has a fairly low skill floor (this is where I should mention that means it has a high skill ceiling).

That's it for gameplay though. Gameplay is fine, it's *fun*, but there's more important things to talk about here. What is the game trying to say beyond all the flair, the flashy combat, the massive cast, the good music and even better vocal performances, the really awkward cutscene direction, what is it trying to say?

I honestly couldn't really tell you, and that's my biggest issue with the Arkham series as a whole. It often feels like it's holding back, much like how the combat system only has depth if you seek it out due to that low skill floor, the narrative feels very shallow unless you dig into a lot of it on your own. While comics can be known for being very wordy (almost overly wordy), the Arkham games have a brevity that feels wrong in a way, and this peaks in the game I am not talking about here, Arkham City. In Asylum, this is far less of an issue due to how pedestrian the whole affair is, how simplistic Joker's end goal is and how single minded every character happens to be, it's like the whole world is revolving around Batman and Joker with little bits of depth regarding the depraved treatment of the mentally unwell hidden in optional audio logs (and those same audio logs show how scary the mentally unwell are, and then you go to fight a ton of crazy guys who only scream and lunge at you).

I put that last part in brackets, but it's very significant here. This game wants to show off how Amadeus Arkham and Quincy Sharp are just as unwell as those they look down on, but then you have an entire enemy class that's just "Those crazies huh". It feels tone deaf, and I understand this is part of the game design, you need a new common enemy in the overworld so the player isn't getting bored running around the island, but they also had to write that. They had to direct the big cutscene where Batman enters intensive care and gets a bunch of guys screaming at him and they all look like insensitive caricatures of what an insane person would be. But, this is gothic, this is comic book, which is sad that I'm making that concession but I guess it has to be said.

This all isn't really important though. I know I just spent most of my time talking about the game's treatment of those with mental illness, but most of this doesn't matter. The game isn't really about this, and while there are bite sized pieces of interest sprinkled in, it's more about having fun in the Batman universe, and I can be forgiving. It achieves that goal despite some narrative incongruities in the subtext.

I suppose the bottom line is that this isn't a game concerned with what it is or isn't saying, as what it's trying to be is far louder than anything I just spoke about. It is a game about being Batman, and I hate people that say that about any video game based on an established IP, "This is a game about being X", but it's true. This is all about being Batman- you investigate crime scenes, you take down the notable cast members of his rogue's gallery, you pull off insane combat feats, and at the end you stop Joker's evil plan to destroy Gotham. I suppose that's fine.

[frauleinandry]

just finished the repaint your heart dlc! i still had fun with it, but ultimately i enjoyed it a lot less than the main story. tbh, unless you're a huge - and i mean huge - princekechi and kasumi fan, or are really interested in guernica, i probably wouldn't bother with it. it's pretty short (i completed it in less than 5 hours doing all the content), and it was less enjoyable to play than the main game.

my full analysis is under the cut - note, it contains end-game spoilers!!

if you've read my main story tactica review, you'd know one of the reasons i loved it was because it wasn't just a persona Q game with a genre shift, and avoided all of the plot/story issues associated with that spinoff series. repaint your heart's narrative, on the other hand, has all the tropes that make persona Q bad, without having any of the things that make it good.

i know literally everyone and their mum has complained about this, but i am baffled on why atlas didn't set repaint your heart during the third semester. like... there is literally no point in hiding royal spoilers anymore. the game has been out for four years. the media restrictions have been dropped. literally No One who isn't already a persona 5 fan is going to play tactica, let alone buy its dlc.

setting repaint your heart during the third semester would have worked fine plot-wise too. have it so akechi's investigating guernica's work on a whim, and make it so jerri wants to break maruki's hold on reality and destroy the world because no human should have such power. there. problem solved.

admittedly, kasumi as a character isn't too bad. i obviously would have preferred sumire, who has a criminal lack of screen time where she's actually herself, but at least the dlc's story is personal for her either way because she intimately knows what it's like to lose a sister even when she's actualised.

akechi, on the other hand, suffers from being stuck in his prince mode a lot more, and with the exception of a couple of funny moments where he got dunked on, might as well have just been a piece of cardboard. he has no personal stakes in luca and guernica's story whatsoever. quite frankly, it would have been better if he was replaced by makoto, given her issues with sae (especially during that point in persona 5 canon, when their relationship is at its worst).

what makes akechi's overall non-importance exceptionally annoying is that if the dlc was set during the third semester, he actually would have some parallels with guernica/jerri!! like, he'd totally relate to wanting to ignite the world in fury so it burns itself down to the ground, but he'd also have the wisdom to know that that's a terrible idea. akechi could have been motivated by his desire to prevent guernica from turning into another him, but he wasn't, and that is such a missed opportunity.

the OCs and their storyline are probably the strongest part of repaint your heart's narrative. admittedly, it was nowhere near as impactful as toshiro's plot due to its short length, but luca's second death was pretty emotional, and the final boss fight was satisfying. i do find it funny though that tactica's main story and dlc both feature a cognition of a dead relative who dies in front of someone again in order to make them regain the memories of their original version's death. if i had a nickel, and all that jazz.

while i've mainly been bitching about the dlc's story so far, i've got some gripes with the gameplay too. while i did enjoy the increased difficulty (quite frankly, the main story's hard mode should have been on par with it), the painting mechanic makes the battles feel a lot less well-crafted. like, the main story missions feel like puzzles you need to solve, and just flow, for a lack of a better word. the painting effect though makes elements like positioning a lot less effective, so on the whole i felt like i was just brute forcing my way through the levels instead of taking advantage of my surroundings.

still, for all my complaints, repaint your heart definitely isn't all bad! the art direction is great, and guernica's character design in particular is fantastic. not to mention, there is one thing the dlc does substantially better than the main game...

... namely, the music. i absolutely loved royal's and striker's soundtracks, but in comparison, I found tactica's somewhat... underwhelming? not bad by any means, but there wasn't a single song that stood out. repaint your heart has some absolute bangers though - the night we stood is a fantastically catchy battle theme, and quiet storm is literally one of my favourite songs in the franchise. listening to it after the backstory reveal makes it hit so differently.

anyway, that's all from me - on the whole, i still think tactica's a great but overpriced game, though i really hope atlas learns from all the criticisms of the dlc, and makes akechi and sumire their actual selves next time they're included in a game.

[ghenry]

2023 YouTube channel recap!

It is now the end of the year, so now I'm looking back at the videos I managed to release in 2023! There weren't too many, but they were all challenging in unique ways. So let's take a look!

Hi-Fi Rush | As Basic As Things Can Get

So, this video is pretty polarizing. And I knew it would be! Hi-Fi Rush received endless praise when it was released in January 2023. Being fairly dabbled in both action platformers and hack-n-slash games, I had to see how it was for myself. And the water of mediocrity splashing at my face was cold enough to convince me I needed to vent about it in video form. I took this video as a lesson on exercising absolute honesty. I feel like I have been holding myself back with a lot of video projects because I was afraid of coming off too strong. But this time I didn't care. I let out my most raw, uncouth feelings about this game because I want to be more comfortable with my voice and assertiveness. In that sense, I think I succeeded. The split ratio would say otherwise, though.

The point of the video: Hi-Fi Rush took advantage of having this specific art style that not a lot of high-end companies really tackle, and that carried it throughout waves of praise, despite having middling game design and lack of confidence in what it actually succeeds in. It underplays its own strength--the hack-n-slash combat-- and pads the game out to a high degree suing boxy platforming with only character dialogue attempting to make it drag less. Games like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta have similar structures where it showcases awkward platforming that isn't very fun to perform, but they both go elbow-deep with their pure combat (which takes up the majority of their campaigns) because the developers were confident in the hack-n-slash gameplay. Tango did not have that confidence, which is why the majority of the gameplay is boxy platforming that lacked any sense of urgency or challenge.

Also, the writing sucks complete ass and Chai is a terrible example of writing an unlikable protagonist. Nothing will ever convince me otherwise. I'm so sick of everyone trying to make their own Spider-Man.

I don't regret this video, even a little bit. I don't care how many people unsubscribed, if they're not here to take in my thoughts and feelings, what are they here for? Because that's all I'm doing and will continue to do with my channel.

Crime is Crime | The Silver Case Analysis

This was something I've wanted to do for years, but prioritized Travis Strikes Again as well as No More Heroes 3. Even so, The Silver Case was a daunting project. I'm not a professional writer, I never took any elective courses for it throughout my school career. I don't consider myself even remotely smart, never-mind 'an intellectual.' I'm not even that familiar with philosophy and such, so part of me was thinking "Do I even have the capacity to analyze this game?" literally every single second I was writing, capturing, and editing the video.

Regardless, in the end, I think I got a good grasp of the story and was able to dissect a lot of it in a satisfying manner.

The point of the video: Crime will always exist, but what's more interesting is the source of it. The motivation of an individual, a society, or even a corporation. The game also showcases a lot of elements and even narrative quirks that would be prevalent in Suda51's future directing gigs. I think he and his crew have some fine critiques on things like capitalism, police justice, and what it means to be a part of a controlled society. It doesn't give any answers in how you can change the worst parts of a society, but it isn't really meant to in any real way, it just isn't that simple.

Analyzing Henry Cooldown | The Devil In the Details

What started out as a little defense piece for Henry in No More Heroes 3 ended up much longer and more in-depth than I initially planned. While looking over his dialogue, appearance, and overall design, I realized there is so much more to this living plot-twist.

The point of the video: I think Henry represents the devil for Travis Touchdown. And this further accentuates what I've pontificated in my full analysis of NMH3, that Travis is stuck in this eternal form of hell. While Suda has never explained --and probably never will-- what he was trying to say with games like NMH, I like to think having Travis be cursed with eternal battle, eternal recognition, and eternal brand potency (like many video game icons) was something he was considering, at least by the time he was making NMH3.

And, sure, I've analyzed and described Henry to mean different things, but so what? He can be more than one thing. Nothing is certain, a lot of this will remain open for interpretation. That's art.

Grasshopper's Translator | James Mountain Interview

Earlier this year I got to have a nice, long chat with James Mountain, the main translator/interpreter of Grasshopper Manufacture! I wanted his input since he was the sole individual given the task to translate the entirety of The Silver Case from beginning to end. I ended up learning a lot about him as well as the process of such a dense job that is interpreting a visual novel completely by yourself. I also thought it'd make a good exercise if I ever want to release videos like this again. I had fun learning how to make audio visualizers as well as including visual context during our conversations.

The point of the video: There was a lot of debate (and bickering) in regards to the English interpretation of the game, and I figured who better to clarify their process of the whole thing than the interpreter himself? I had a lot of fun conducting this interview, and there were a lot of bits I didn't use for my analysis video, so I figured it would make a nice bonus for everyone!

That's everything from this year! I'm really proud of how all of these videos came out, and I'm itching to keep going, expressing myself to my best ability! But I think a little break is in order. Thank you so much if you have read up to here! Have a great rest of your holiday, and I'll catch you in 2024!

[subjectnumberx]

having fun constantly defending the shitty antisemitic wizard game hun?

"Constantly" is a misnomer. Check your sources on that one and get back to me.

The only thing that seems antisemitic to me is the fact that so many of you keep making the association that goblins = jewish people and that this game has goblins in it so that makes it antisemitic. That means your beloved DnD and other fantasy settings are alao antisemetic by that logic. Kinda a weird thing to keep perpetuating a harmful stereotype if you're so heavily against it.

This association has roots in the middle ages (a pretty bad time to be anyone not Christian, even worse to be Jewish) and more recently, has its modern roots in WWII nazi Germany. The middle ages is also where the term "blood libel" that the other anon used so Ineloquently and incorrectly, comes from. Goblins themselves though have been around in folklore for a while and then people associated jewish people with them. If any of you actually cared about this topic you'd understand why throwing around these kinds of words(like idk, think of any other slur) is harmful, but you just want to shit on Rowling and that's fine but she had nothing to do with this game's creation and that's a fact that you can verify if you so choose.

Shitting on someone is not the same as uplifting those they hurt. This isn't activism either, so stop pretending that it is. Hatred is an easy, no-cost game, but actually helping people? Protesting? Donating to organizations? Thats harder, which is why you're in my ask box with such nonsense.

I don't even like harry potter all that much but i can't stand blatant misinformation by people who feel like they need excuses to hate something. If you hate it, great, ask yourself why, not because you're wrong but to check yourself and make sure you're actually understanding this hill you want to die on. But don't invent false truths to fit some sort of narrative you've come up with that "proves" you're a decent human being for thinking racism or transphobia or antisemitism or something is wrong. That's the bare minimum in my view.

Have a nice day 👌