#in other words; to show that the cutscene has just happened

[thatonecrookedsmile]

"The Failure of Joey Drew DIES here."

-----

Death of a creator. Again.

You know, it's kind of ironic to me. When you think about it,DR was the first game to introduce the idea of Joey being dead in-universe (and consequently, moving the timeline forward at the same time).

Yes,of course, the books introduced this concept first (Crack-Up and TIOL),but DR was the first to introduce this specific idea into >the games<, you know? (Or, I guess,you could consider BATDS to be the first to introduce this idea thanks to Wilson's secret audio log,but I consider DR more for the fact that it's more direct in telling the player to their face that "yeah, Joey is dead, fr fr")

Then in the same game, we are introduced to this version of Joey, who is supposed to be a copy of the real one, and a living ghost memory that we encounter along Audrey's journey. And what happens to him later at the end of the game? Yep, he dies at the hands of the Ink Demon (literally)

So not only do we have the idea that of the real Joey confirmed dead in-universe introduced in this games, but we also got to see his ink copy die as well. Basically,i guess you could say that Dark Revival was the game where Joey Drew died. Twice. And I find that ironic. So much for "cheating death itself". I guess the devs weren't satisfied with him dying just once, I see.

Sorry for the pointless rambling, I don't even know if all of this made sense lol. I've had this in mind for a while now.

Oh yeah, the prompt. Yeah, the "failure of Joey Drew" line was the first thing I thought of when I saw the prompt and the little sketch attached to it on the calendar. Interested in doing this one for a while. First time doing these underwater effects. They turned out nice.

I don't have much to say about this piece,honestly. Pretty proud of this one,ngl.

[hifugoro]

thinking sooooo hard about the removed akechi mementos request. not only because we got to see him Ace Detective-ing (peak!) but because the moral of it all is so. Akechi. very long rant incoming

one of the major things that I think sets him apart from the rest of the thieves is that he doesn’t believe that circumstances lessen the effects of actions. like at all. there are multiple examples of this but the cutscene during marukis fight where he’s the only one to keep attacking (and him being the only one to show outright disdain towards maruki in general) + the thieves den conversation with yusuke about shido / madarame (Y: “Perhaps there was a certain misstep in his life that eventually led him so astray.” A: “So you’re saying he may not have been truly evil? Your drivel’s as outlandish as always…”) are ones that stand out to me most. he doesn’t care about what causes bad people to be the way they are, and he doesn’t care what otherwise good people’s intentions are when they do bad things. the act itself is what matters

it goes without saying that this extends to himself, I mean he outright states that he cant comprehend the phantom thieves not just killing him after the engine room fight. he didn’t mean that as a “wow... I can’t believe you’re being so nice to little old me….” moment. it was him being genuinely confused as to why they’re still trying to get him on their side. because he didn’t say anything he said to gain pity points with them, nor does he think the things he said deserve enough pity points to spare his life

and then you have this mementos request. in which a corrupt diet member has a son with his mistress, who subsequently commits suicide, and then falsely accuses the son of a crime many years down the line. “you all want to help that poor victim, don’t you?” akechi says. the poor victim, who was enacting a revenge plot on his criminal father that made him into a criminal as well. huh.

again, this is all coming from the guy who like a month ago, got a heartfelt speech about how he can still come back from what he’s done because the thieves can understand where he’s coming from. this happens at (arguably) his emotional lowest, where it probably hits harder than it could at any other time. and this is his direct response to that. this is him saying, in essence, that their kind words at the end were nonsensical, because his circumstances Don’t Matter

after he sends these texts, morgana goes “But akechi is just like him…” because it’s true, but that’s the Point. It makes no difference that akechi can empathize, and place himself directly in toji’s shoes. he had a hunch about the truth the entire time, and he still aided in making toji’s act of extortion exposed. understanding the viewpoint of someone who does bad things Does Not Matter to him

and that, to me, is what his sense of justice is at it’s core. which is why in the end, he doesn’t have that same sympathy for himself that everyone else does. he killed people. end of story. no other notes

and my god! I really wish they kept this in, because it really hammers in that extra layer he has to him. atlus do you hate me

[desired-misery]

Krauser's Behaviors towards Leon in RE4R | First Fight Cutscene

(disclaimer: not a fighter/literally just some gal that loves to do some research; also relatively new to the fandom)

I am absolutely fascinated by how Krauser talks to, treats, and fights Leon in RE4R, so here's a gathering of all the things I have noticed and what I think about them:

TLDR: Krauser is constantly trying to put Leon in a lower position than him (in terms of rank/experience/power but also physically), taunts Leon over his insecurities, fights in a way that focuses more on harming/punishing Leon over outright killing him, and is weirdly possessive of Leon (his skills, experience, and even his attention). [Other Parts to be written/linked] **Please watch Scenic Fight's breakdown of this scene (and the scene in the OG), but especially here in this clip where Logan (the man on the left) is showing how the way Krauser is holding his knife is actually limiting how far he can reach. Hearing the knife fighting expert say "the best I can do is wound you" when talking about Krauser's strange decisions in this fight was a big part of why I decided to write this] Contents below the cut: - Krauser's ambush and reveal - Krauser's seemingly subpar knife fighting techniques (and what that could mean in-character for Krauser) - Their "fight" starts but it feels like a drill - What prompts Krauser to say "not bad" - Why Krauser injures Leon when Leon "disappoints" him, sending them into a real fight

How their meeting starts: There is no way Krauser hasn't been stalking Luis (and therefor Leon) for at least a little while now. The control and power Krauser felt while following Leon throughout the castle and underground was too good to rush along (he probably drew that out longer than he needed to, he has a line in the island fight scene about how he "loves a good hunt"). It is a huge aspect of tactical/positional superiority (that Krauser repeats later on the island) in a cat-and-mouse game that Leon has NO IDEA he is even participating in yet.

Krauser has this need to prove himself to be better than Leon. He is constantly taunting Leon from the beginning, from the way he wiggles the amber when he shows it off to Leon (no need to do that, at this point Leon has no idea what the amber is, so why reveal something so important?) and both the word choice and the way he says "rats" when referring to Luis in the line "killing a few rats along the way" is 100% meant to aggravate Leon. And then to immediately follow that line with saying killing Luis as "easy work", it is so mocking.

Leon has been fighting for his life, he's been separated from Ashley, lost contact with the government/Hunnigan (and thus all support), and doing his damnest to get the hell out of there before the parasite in him takes control (I don't think Krauser knows that Leon is infected, based on later dialogue). Leon has got to be exhausted both physically and emotionally. This entire mission has been going from bad to worse to absolute hell for hours, and then Krauser comes along and 'takes care of business' so quickly, Leon isn't able to do anything but react way after the fact.

Krauser wants to prove that Leon isn't capable of protecting anyone or completing his mission. Based on their assumed history, Krauser KNOWS how much losing people hurts Leon, which is why the way he kills Luis is so painful. It happens so suddenly, so out of the blue, with a literal knife in the back as Leon and Luis are actively having a conversation. Leon never gets the chance to try and protect him-- Luis is fatally wounded before Leon even knows something is wrong. Krauser wanted Leon to be helpless to do anything in that moment. Leon doesn't even see who did the attacking (or reacts to the danger, his sole concern is Luis when he runs up to his side).

The time it takes Leon to physically respond to Krauser is so slow and speaks to how shocked Leon is. He isn't thinking much about the threat in front of him, he is clearly frantically trying to figure out why the hell Jack Krauser is here of all places-- and is putting together the whole 'Ashley, it was you' conspiracy in the meantime. Leon backs up two tiny steps, but that is all he does as Krauser approaches in a very hostile (but telegraphed) manner with his knife out. Leon doesn't grab for his knife, he doesn't even start to move for his gun like he does in the very beginning of the game in the Hunter's Lodge when startled by the man inside the house.

Krauser was hoping Leon would draw his knife, not his gun, which is why he closes the distance with the knife on Leon's neck with the whole "didn't I teach you?" bit when Leon defaults to reaching for his gun. (In the OG, Leon draws his knife because he senses something is wrong/Krauser is lurking in the room so Krauser doesn't have to prompt Leon there). Krauser is also deliberately showing off his newfound power and speed to Leon. The way Leon then turns into the knife (that isn't actually touching his throat, although it is very close) as he turns his head to look more squarely into Krauser's face is telling. They both know Krauser could have killed Leon right there, but because he didn't (that, combined with the obvious "draw your knife" command), Leon is puzzling out what Krauser wants from him. Leon knows Krauser plays mind games (Leon says as much in the fight on the island). But in this instance, Leon plays along because the insinuation is that Krauser could kill Leon before Leon has a chance to finish drawing his gun. Krauser is all but begging Leon for a knife fight-- and Krauser has set it up so that Leon has to agree. Krauser lets Leon have the time to draw his knife and push off the knife from his neck so that the two of them will start the fight on a more even footing.

Starting Fight Scene: Krauser is holding the knife in what is called an "ice pick grip", which is better for close quarters [here is another clip talking about the benefits of an ice pick grip] (for even closer quarters than if he were holding the knife out in front to extend the reach of the tip of the blade).

[^ Blue line is showing the length of the knife in the ice pick grip (which shows how little it reaches forward when Krauser pushes his fist foward like that, the knife is actually perpendicular to Krauser's arm instead of acting as an extension of it). The red line is showing what addition reach Krauser could gain if he switched his grip (and how easy it would be for him to cut Leon with it if he flicked his wrist out).]

But the way Krauser is attacking is deliberately limiting his reach. While this is probably just research oversight/"rule of cool" by Capcom, I am going take it as Krauser wanting to bait Leon into staying in a knife fight (instead of creating space and drawing his gun again, which is the safer option for Leon). Krauser is taller than Leon, which means he already has a longer reach, and then on top of that his knife is longer than Leon's [takes up 4 squares of inventory space while Leon's takes up 3]. If Krauser was fighting in a manner to eliminate the most amount of risk to himself, he would have either A) switched to a different grip so that the blade was extended towards Leon instead of perpendicular to to Krauser's forearm or B) immediately pulled Leon in much closer (which would have been smarter to do against an opponent like Leon, who is smaller and not as strong-- especially since Krauser is quicker/stronger now with Las Plagas-- and Leon wouldn't have the space to do his kicks as easily).

[^ example of Krauser's greater reach (and height). The white line is showing the front of Leon's neck, which Krauser could still reach even while holding his knife the way he is.]

There are multiple points where Krauser could have sliced Leon's neck open (again, we are going to ignore the fact that this is probably just fight scene choreography/safety for the actors) but he doesn't.

[^ red line showing the positioning of Krauser's knife (handle included) in the ice pick grip.]

Krauser could have extended his arm and touched (and sliced) Leon's neck with his knife but he doesn't, he backs off. Notice how Leon's arm is more extended than Krauser's (in this frame, Leon is still rotating his wrist to flick the knife out) and Leon STILL can barely reach Krauser's neck in the same distance.

[Scenic Fights Demonstration: Logan (left, holding it the way Krauser does) and Chad (right, holding a knife the way Leon does), who are very similar in height and using the same knives, shows the difference in which just the manner of holding a knife can affect how easily they can reach each other. Chad/Leon doesn't have to extend his arm all the way to reach Logan/Krauser's neck, but Logan/Krauser has his arm extended and wrist rotated and he still can't get to Chad/Leon's neck. Now take this, but extrapolate to the height difference between Leon and Krauser (thank you @highball66 for your work in this fandom, iconic), and then add the length difference of their two knives.]

[Another instance of Krauser missing Leon's throat-- and so clearly short of it. Krauser has to know he won't reach it but he does it anyway. The circle in the first frame is showing the tip of Krauser's knife as it passes in front of Leon harmlessly]

My theory is that Krauser is testing Leon, feeling him out. Leon has picked up that this isn't a "real" fight based on the way Krauser is not actually harming him in any of the instances he could have. Thus, Leon also isn't going for any attempts to injure Krauser. (I like this post by @highball66 who mentioned this looks like a drill until it escalates). Krauser is the one who initiated this "fight" but despite that, he isn't actually trying to hurt Leon yet, but settles into a drill. Leon copies him, so Leon doesn't try to harm Krauser at this point, either.

[Krauser looks like he is going for a tap/punch on Leon's shoulder without any attempt to use his knife. It reads like they are doing parrying drills or something where Leon's goal is to keep Krauser from touching him, which is done all the time in fighting training to work on speed and blocking/parrying].

The fight was just this back and forth drill-like exchange until Leon suddenly switches things up.

Leon changes the grip on his knife to an ice pick grip and then closes the distance between them to push forward on the offensive.

Krauser blocks, which results in them both at a standstill for a moment. Not a real one, as neither of them are actually trapped/unable to get out. This is is when Krauser says "not bad" and then shoves Leon off him (I fully believe Krauser is praising Leon for switching tactics on him). As Leon disengaged, he swipes at Krauser's arm. That would have resulted in a nasty cut if Leon was holding his knife with the slicing side in as he should be for that grip. I think Leon was taking his cues from Krauser and has his knife positioned so that the edge that is less suited to slashing is facing inwards. Leon's knife has a sawback, which is literally what it sounds like (those big teeth aren't going to glide and slide into skin, they are designed to saw through tough material). The sawback side is the one that make contact with Krauser's arm (and probably doesn't do any damage because Leon wasn't trying to get those teeth to bite into Krauser's arm) This is when the fight turns more serious. I think Krauser was waiting for Leon to kick things off and break that pattern they had of parrying and feinting slashes at each other's throats. In this section of the fight, two other things happen that also break from the previous pattern they had: their knives collide with more force (more dramatically-- that's just "rule of cool" grinding and sparks) and then Leon actually doesn't attack back after one of Krauser's slashes when before they were exchanging attacks very evenly.

[Krauser attacks but notice Leon isn't blocking him, he isn't in a good position to defend compared to what he was doing earlier. Look at where Leon's knife is in relation to both himself and to Krauser. Krauser completes this fake slash without Leon ever touching him or showing that he is trying to prevent the knife from making contact.]

[Leon still doesn't try to slash at Krauser when Krauser is resetting his stance for another slash, which is when Leon had been trying to attack prior to this point. Leon actually lowers both of his hands closer to his side. At this point, I think Leon is wondering why the hell they are sparring and is trying to figure out if Krauser is willing to stop this little match between them]

[Again, Krauser comes in for a slash. And look at how Leon's arms are positioned! He doesn't seem to be taking this seriously, he is not even prepared to knock Krauser's elbow or forearm away like he had been doing earlier. ]

[I think this pisses Krauser off because he thought Leon was actually going to try something, but Leon is backing off in terms of aggression. Krauser's next slash at Leon's chest isn't blocked or parried by Leon either, because Leon (accurately) believes Krauser isn't trying to make contact with him-- which is true until this moment because Krauser suddenly doubles back on his swing and cuts into Leon's thigh.]

I think the thigh slash was to punish Leon for hesitating and not attacking when it was 'his turn', and then the kick was to send Leon to the area where Krauser really wanted to fight. I added to this post here where I talked about Krauser going for Leon's thigh, both as an intimidation tactic but also as a means to limit Leon's ability to maneuver and kick, which is what Krauser knows Leon does when he fights. I believe that Krauser wants "to see if Leon will take advantage of the technical mistakes Krauser is making," but more on that in a later post when I talk about the actual player controlled fight (focusing on the QTEs and the lines Krauser says).

[norinenglish]

Stardew Rancher AU - Intro cutscene

Here's my first piece for the Stardew AU challenge.

If you want to take part too, use the #traffic stardew au tag (You can also use the banner I made). On my blog, I will be using #stardew ranchers au as well.

The writing is under the cut.

>> Next Part

I hate this life.

Jimmy doesn’t remember a day in the last year he has not thought this. He’s staring at a computer screen, as he has been for the last seven hours, when it hits him. He hates this life. In fact, it could barely be qualified as a life. 

He misses nature. Running around in the grass, playing, talking to people… He turns his head around to look at the window, but there isn’t even any on the office walls. He looks around him and only sees rows and rows of cubicles with other lifeless people slaving all day. The clicking of keyboards and mouths, the buzzing of the neon lights, it’s all too much.

I can’t stand it anymore, he thinks to himself. I need a way out.

Suddenly, he remembers a conversation he had with his grandpa, when he was young, about the burden of modern life. He hadn’t really realised what it had meant before today. Jimmy, like his parents, had dismissed it as the stubbornness of an old man who was made to live in the countryside. But it must have stayed on the back of his mind, because he kept the letter. 

In fact… 

He opens the drawer of his desk and there it is. A fancy old letter with a fancy purple seal. 

(He’s definitely not going to think about the fact that he kept it in his drawer at work and the possible implication of that. Nope.)

With shaky hands, he breaks the seal and opens it. The swoosh of the paper unfolding is the loudest sound he’s ever heard in his life. 

The letter says: 

Dear Jimmy, 

If you’re reading this, you must be in dire need of a change.

The same thing happened to me, long ago. I’d lost sight of what mattered most in life… real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong. 

I’ve enclosed the deed to that place… my pride and joy: The Ranch. It’s located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It’s the perfect place to start your new life. 

This was my most precious gift of all, and now it’s yours. I know you’ll honour the family name, my boy. Good luck. 

Love, Grandpa. 

PS: If the Sherrif is still alive say hi to the old guy for me, will ya? 

He puts the letter down and looks up at the ceiling for a second. 

In all the emptiness he feels, it’s like he’s just grown wing. 

🌿 loading🌿

The bus startles to a stop and Jimmy wakes up. 

“Pelican Town!” The driver screams. 

Jimmy looks around. There’s no else on anymore. He quickly grabs his travel bag and gets out. He says his thanks to the bus driver who just hums unhappily. Guess he really didn’t want to go that far out for just one person. 

On the side of the road is just a small clearing, with broken fences and dirt path. Someone is waiting for him, though. A man with cyan blue hair and an easygoing smile. 

“Hello, you must be Jimmy,” he sayswith a cheerful voice. “I’m Scott, the local florist. Mayor Grian sent me here to fetch you and show you the way to your new home. He’s there right now, tidying things up for your arrival.”

It takes a second for Jimmy to find his words. The reality of what he’s done hitting him finally. He quit his job. He moved out of his appartment. He sold his things and bought a ticket for this small town in the middle of nowhere to become a farmer. 

“Nice to meet you, Scott,” he says after swallowing. “I…”

Gosh, he cannot screw this up. This isn’t like in the city. The people he meets are going to be the community he’s going to live with. He wants to make a good impression. 

Scott smiles, tilting his head to the side. He looks Jimmy up and down with mischief in his eyes in a way that makes Jimmy blush a little. He must be tired. 

“The farm’s right over here, if you’ll follow me.”

Jimmy nods and follows him on the dirt path until they reach an area with a… house. Supposedly. 

“This is the Ranch,” Scott announces, waving his arm around to show the land that stretches before them.. 

The Ranch is an old building made out of wood. It looks like it’s been built in the last century. The farmland around, which was included in Scott’s gesture, is littered with some kind of forest. There are different types of trees, dead wood on the ground, bushes, and even some rocks! Is this really the farm his grandfather loved ? 

“What’s the matter?” Scott asks in a light voice. He’s got his arms crossed in front of him and an air of challenge about him. “Sure, it’s a bit overgrown, but there’s some good soil underneath that mess! With a little dedication, you’ll have it cleaned up in no time.”

He turns back towards the house itself. Jimmy notes that there’s plenty of firewood on the side of the house. Someone must have stacked it for him. That thought settles in his chest, fluttering like a bird. He won’t sleep in the cold tonight, and that’s thanks to strangers. 

“... And here we are, your new home,” Scott says. 

Just like his words summoned him, a man opens the door and gets down the few steps of his porch to stop in front of them. He pulls the sleeves of his red sweater back to his writs and offers his hand to Jimmy. 

“Ah, the new farmer! Welcome, I’m Grian, the Mayor of Pelican Town.”

Jimmy shakes his hand and introduces himself. Grian nods, seemingly satisfied. 

“You know, everyone’s been asking about you. It’s not every day that someone new moves in. It’s quite a big deal.” He turns to look back at the house. “So… you’re moving into your grandfather’s old cottage. It’s a good house… very ‘rustic’.”

“Rustic?” Scott chimes in. “That’s one way to put it… ‘Crusty’ might be a little more apt, though.”

“Rude,” Grian says under his breath, his eyebrows frowning. “Don’t listen to him, Jimmy. He’s just trying to make you dissatisfied so that you buy one of Gem’s house upgrades.”

“Gem?” Jimmy asks.

“She’s the local carpenter. She lives north of the valley, near the mountain.”

Gem, the local carpenter. Jimmy tries to mentally catalogue. She makes house upgrades.  He turns his eyes towards Scott. He doesn’t remember if he said what he was doing. 

“Anyway… You must be tired from the long journey,” Grian says, looking back at the house. “You should get some rest. Tomorrow you ought to explore the town a bit and introduce yourself. The townspeople would appreciate that.”

He turns to leave and sees the box placed next to the mailbox. 

 “Oh, I almost forgot. If you have anything to sell, just place it in the box here. I’ll come by during the night to collect it. Well… Good luck!”

They are gone before Jimmy can really say anything else. But it might be for the better, because he’s exhausted. 

“I’m here,” he says to no one. Maybe to himself. Or maybe to his grandfather. 

Going into the house is a blurr. He barely have time to register the small table with one chair, the fireplace that was lit up for him and the bed. He just melts into the mattress and passes out.

[rc-imagines]

Hellooo, Could I request some Ada Wong content? I Love your writing!!! Perhaps some headcanons on relationship style or being paired with her in a mission?

A/n: I'll do you one better and do both! They're done in seperate sections but they can absolutely go hand in hand (as in you're in a relationship with her and are her partner for missions as well) I have been having immense RE4r brainrot so I watched the cutscenes for Seperate ways recently- Thought they were good, and I could tell Wesker was a bad guy because he had no pores. Fight me.

Relationship:

Ada took "One of us has to wear the pants and it's me" joke seriously

She takes care of you in every sense of the word

I also feel like she's a bit on the softer affection side…As in like she'd like to just lay with you on the couch or in bed and just enjoy being with you. (Either with a movie playing in the background or she's reading)

She would also try to allow PDA, but I really feel like with her line of work, she'd have some paranoia about being watched so she's always careful

She'd ease into PDA over time, because it just happened naturally She can cook- She just looks like the type that can absolutely make a gourmet meal and say, "Ah, no biggie. It was easy." as if it didn't take two hours to make

Speaking of cooking, you're always put on cutting veggies duty. She taught you how to perfectly dice the vegetables purely for that purpose

Loves gives you kisses. Especially on the lips or forehead. Just the most tender, soft kisses

Would get you a promise ring, 1000%

Now, I don't mean this in a sugar mommy way, I mean this in a financially secure (and probably rich) way, but Ada would absolutely not hesitate to buy you whatever you wanted or needed

Her love languages are acts of service and gift giving, change my mind- Plot twist: You can't

Ada would definitely crave a quiet, domestic life, so she'd really cherish every moment with you.

I feel like she really likes baking? She loves the smell of sweets in the oven whether it be a pie or a cake

So you can expect her to always have some sort of treat made for you

Cat and dog mom, you can pick, but she gives me like orange cat and yorkie vibes and I cannot explain why

Overall, a relationship with her would be fairly peaceful whenever peace decides to pay a visit

On a Mission:

100000000% acts like the boss of you nonstop

"Don't get too ahead of yourself." and other slightly playful warnings are a constant

Would try to stick with you as much as possible to ensure that nothing went awry

Isn't the type to really act that she cares outwardly, but it definitely shows (accidentally on purpose)

She's only able to relax once she know the end of the mission is near

Definitely surprises you a bit by using that specific tone of voice (you know the one- "Very smooth.") and asks if you'd like to go out for drinks after everything is said and done

Of course you say yes because who would ever say no to Ada? So you know how she put tracks on Leon and Luis? You're getting the same thing done to you (without you knowing)

You can't help but chuckle once you notice it- You'd even make a light, joking conversation about it

"Next time, don't put a bright, red light on it."

"Fair enough."

Ada would also share resources with you, and only you, no matter how scarce or limited her supply might be

If you get hurt, even the tiniest amount, Ada swears that there will be Hell to pay

[plantify]

Toontown Corporate Clash: Grunt Cogs

Intro

This is an except from the Clash Crew's latest QNA session. This doesn't outright state too much about Grunt Cogs, but I do not like the implications of them not having "fully developed personality chips". This could be taken in many ways which I think would only serve to weaken Clash's writing, as well as cause minor to major contradictions to things already shown in-game. Corporate Clash is pretty defined by giving Cogs more of a personality. They already had some semblance of this in TTO, but they are closer to humans in Clash. Every single Suit has their own complex personality and life story. Sure, it may be infeasible to actually show this for Grunt Cogs in normal gameplay, but it's important. Even if Cogs Inc is objectively in the wrong, you still have to think about all the lives of Suits who work for the company. If the Grunt Cogs are "less human" than more important Manager Cogs, then a lot of that element is stripped away. I will quickly analyze some specific in-game examples of this.

Rainmaker:

Misty explains that she has been hurt by her own kind in ways that Toons would not understand. We can infer that her personality traits make her a poor fit among colleagues, which leads to poor treatment towards her as a result. This is something that often happens in real life, so we don't need the perpetrators to be robots that only act mean because it's all their programming tells them to do. Real people already act this way. Assuming that Grunt Cogs are the main perpetrators against Misty, this situation would lose some nuance under the implications that they aren't as human as Managers. Why would Misty care about what someone tells her if they aren't on the same level of sentience she is? It would be akin to having AI Chatbots insulting you; there isn't any actual person telling you how much they hate you, so it loses all meaning.

Witch Hunter:

Prester's fight revolves around him using his voice and words to empower Grunt Cogs to fight for a common cause. Sure, this may just be yet another battle against Toons, but he wants to go greater than just that, talking of Cog Communities, using fear tactics, and more. If we are under the assumption that the minds of Suits are just as complex as those of humans, than this notion becomes really cool; he's convincing others to fight for him, and all these Cogs that join him must have their own personal reasons for listening to Prester. It makes Prester himself also seem like he's great at uniting others for a common cause. HOWEVER, under the assumption that Grunt Cogs just have really basic personality traits, and not much going on in their mind aside from what they were programmed for, there is no variation whatsoever in the reasoning for listening to him. It becomes a lot more like just telling a bunch of programs to do something, and they all obey, with no nuance whatsoever. There are also two Cogs during his ending cutscene which resist his words, explaining that many employees have complained about Prester. These two are already showing individuality just by doing this, as well as explaining that other Suits genuinely do not like Prester in the workforce. If they were all practically the same, these two should not be able to resist his words, and there also likely wouldn't be as many complaints regarding Prester.

Major Player:

Dave's fight already shows some variation between Grunt Cogs. Some of them are eager to get on stage and perform with Dave, whilst others are more timid, confused, or unbothered by being called onto the stage. This could be seen as a minor retcon under the assumption of Grunt Cogs having less personality. Adding onto this, why would he perform to a group of Suits that are less likely to feel heartfelt emotion or interest in what he's doing? At that rate, he should simply just perform to Manager Cogs and whatnot.

Chainsaw Consultant:

While the focus of Chip's fight is the override itself, bringing in the fact that Grunt Cogs have less developed personality chips brings in interesting implications. Why does Chip even have the override installed? It is a experimental, untested feature, and they're testing it on Chip. Yknow, one of the guys with a fully developed personality. Someone who's much more likely to suffer from having it installed. Someone who's much more likely to try and resist it BECAUSE he has a life of his own, and is his own person. If the company has countless non-important workers with no personality, why wouldn't you just test the override on one of them? If they don't really have a life of their own, or are otherwise devoid of a real personality, wouldn't it make more sense for the override to work more flawlessly on the Grunts? Of course this wouldn't be an issue under the assumption that Grunt Cogs are just as well-developed as Manager Cogs. They would face the same issues that Chip does under the effects of the override. Also, unrelated to the override, but this also makes the fact that Chip uses the Grunt Cogs as weapons hit less hard. He shoots them out of cannons at the Toons, against their will. He fires them en-masse to use as cannon fodder. Obviously, under the context that they don't matter nearly as much, this makes it harder to care about them and weakens that aspect of the narrative.

Conclusion

This was a quick look at some of the in-game examples of things that could be put into question under the assumption that Grunt Cogs aren't as fully developed as other Suits. There are absolutely more examples in-game, as well as more narrative factors that could be discussed and delved into concerning this topic.

[don1t1red]

Honestly, one thing about DotO which always bothered me is how Billie seems to be so lonely in her journey. And not in a way of "she is a lone-wolf" but in a literal sense of loneliness and not-belonging. It almost feels like it is her first day in Karnaca, a city where she doesn't know a single thing or person. Which isn't true. I know that a lot of people have already talked about this, and so I won't jump into the depth of criticism. Treat this post as a bunch of thoughts which occurred to me in my first playthrough.

Firstly, there is no recognition from different people. Stilton, for example. In DH2 she was ready to battle her way to his house and help him, she payed with her blood, her eye and her arm. And yet in DotO we don't see any valuable mentions of this man. Yes, we have a photo in her cabin but that's it! Nothing more nothing less, just a photo which exists in the cabin only to show us, the player, the Void rifts. Almost like it was never meant to actually represent their relationship, just a funny mechanic of the game.

Maybe I don't understand her character to that extent but when I firstly played and heard Billie's monologue about the state of the Dreadful Whale, I had a thought. Was there no one who could help her with that? And my first thought was Stilton, especially after I saw their photo together. But alas she didn't mention anything like that which was completely fine… till the The Stolen Archive mission. With a plot progression things became absurdly stupid. Billie learns that the cult uses Shindaerey as their hideout. And what is Shindaerey? It's a literal mining quarry.

And so you want to tell me that Billie who I know, cunning Billie, who was, by Daud's words, extremely good at unsolving mysteries, won't at least ask Stilton about this quarry? She won't ask a mining baron of Karnaca? Really? Give her skills some credit! I'm not asking for a 5 minute long cutscene but at least a small panel in the pre-mission briefing where Billie talks to him about that, and where we can see how worried he is for her. She is not alone and, no matter what, there is still at least one person who remembers her, sees her and wants the best for her. But again, for whatever reason Billie has no valuable connections in this game, it seems. So it didn't happen.

Two other people about which I keep thinking about are Thomas and that person who borrowed Billie's skiff and returned it during the Follow the Ink mission.

If that note from a certain T. was actually from Thomas I can't think of good enough reasons not to include some of the letter which might happen in between them during the events of the game. Thomas knew that both Billie and Daud were in Karnaca but he didn't know that Daud had died. And honestly an unfinished letter from Billie to him where she tries her best to write about their master's death but just can't - would be absolutely gut-wrenching and insightful. Also it could be interesting to see the difference in how Billie is talking about this event and how she is living through it in reality. Because - obviously - people's internal and external dialogues would be different and seeing that difference in Billie would help us, the player, to understand some shapes of her character.

Or maybe Thomas would learn about Daud's death himself somehow, maybe he could recognize Billie's work as she goes though the city to uncover its secrets. And, finally, it would be simply fun to find a small lootstach from Thomas on one of the missions, accompanied with a letter from him. How is he now? What are his thoughts about Billie? How do her actions are seen by the common folk? Or by the gangs? After all, a good character is not only divided by how the story sees that character but also how this character sees themselves and what other people in the story are thinking about this character. And, as I already said, this small letter exchange between Billie and Thomas could cover up those aspects.

And so we are left with only one character whose presence and absence in Billie's story bothers me. That person who borrowed the skiff. Because the skiff was Billie's main link between the shore and the Dreadful Whale. We learnt from DH2 that in any port there would be a “fee” for leaving the ship there, later, in DotO she complains that hiding her ship wasn't an easy task. So whoever borrowed it must be a good friend of Billie, as absence of the skiff puts her in a bad and potentially dangerous situation. Besides there is a note by a certain M., which talks about meeting with Billie later. I was kinda excited to see who this person might be. Someone whom I already know? Character from the first game? Maybe from the second one? Would it be a howler or black market dealer? Would they give me some special mission akin to one that Emily can get in the Royal Conservatory mission? Well, should I say that I was left wondering as there was not a single special NPC which met the criteria.

What? I forgot about someone? Deirdre? Oh, right. Deirdre. The best person in Billie's life and the worst death in Billie's memory. Right. It's almost too easy to forget that she exists, as Billie talks about her approximately two times in the game? More or less so. Should she talk more about her? Maybe, I don't know. But I remember thinking about using the rat charm in the Void or in the quarry. I thought that in the Void I could hear the real Deirdre speaking, this idea gave me chills back then. To adjust to the voice of your loved one's from rats, only to hear her cursing you for all you have done or to call you from beyond. I thought that she would appear somewhere in the Void, just in the corner of my vision. But again it didn't happen. And I don't know for better or for worse. As in the current state if you want to completely strip her out from the game - you won't lose a single thing. After all, a rat charm is just a rat charm, and so is a voice in it, as it never changes and never really speaks to Billie, it was never a personal matter.

Overall, I don't want to be another person who throws rocks at DotO as, honestly, I like Billie and I'm just… sad, I guess. I'm sad that the game about such a character fails to make me think more of her. I'm sad that the plot of this game was kinda ruined with a terrible script. And, at the end of the day, I'm just sad that Billies didn't get her chance to shine in her own game.

But nonetheless I still like Billie and, at least, her sarcastic comments on the surrounding was always a delight to hear, so I'm gonna replay this game one more time in vain hopes to find what I see in it.

[maddrumsticks2]

Just finished Skyward Sword! And I finished A Link Between Worlds a few days ago.

So, double post time! I'll start with ALBW because I had a few days to sit on that one.

Also just realized that with the completion of Skyward Sword, I have officially played and completed every 3D Zelda game! YIPPEEE!

(Long post below the cut!! Along with major spoilers for both aforementioned games!)

Ravio is SO SILLY. Though, he's already talked about a lot. Anything I could say about him has probably already been said.

But hey, I can't help but really like this silly guy who stole my house and all my rupees, okay? He's a little rascal.

So instead, I love Hilda having a clear motivation behind her actions. She is just trying to restore her kingdom. She wants her people to thrive. But she turned to the triforce instead of trying to find better meds to maybe help her people. Though the place was literally breaking apart, so maybe there really wasn't anything else that would've worked.

The story of this game is really heavy in the last 30 minutes, and that's really it. Before that it's just dungeons. Oh, and helping Ravio retire. I absolutely LOVED that XD

So, the distribution of the story could've been done better. But really, this game is so underrated for a Zelda game. Also, the whole moving through walls thing is super fun. LOVED that mechanic. Altogether, great game.

Okay, on to Skyward Sword!

SO good. This game does NOT deserve all of the negativity the surrounded it for some reason. Sure, I used button controls (I couldn't figure out motion controls for the life of me pff) but STILL! I think the Switch version definitely made it easier on me. Though idk what the Wii version is like so I shouldn't be trying to compare them lol.

On to non-gameplay stuff, the dungeons were so cleverly designed. As someone who is not particularly smart, I never found myself super stuck in the dungeons. Instead, I had a lot of fun with them! That's always a plus with me, but I don't find too much shame in looking up a walkthrough here or there.

Story! So fun! I loved Groose's character arc especially. I totally despised him at first but he reached silly status pretty quickly. His character was handled really well, too. He didn't just flip personalities. He showed his flip through his actions, not his words. Which for Groose is a perfect choice.

Also, Ghirahim is SUCH a theatre kid. Nothing can change my mind on that. (And before anyone gets mad, I'M a theatre kid. I know what we act like.)

I find it interesting that the whole game only takes place in three regions that you visit over and over again. Other Zelda games have done this before, but I think Skyward Sword does it the most. I loved all the regions, but tbh I think the forest was the most boring to me. The Ancient Cistern was cool though. I won't deny that. Also, Eldin was probably the most traumatizing for Sky. SO many bad things happened there lol. Like being burned because of how hot it is, then finding chains Zelda has definitely been bound in, being told he was too late. Then he comes back later and not much traumatizing stuff that time. Maybe getting chased by lava, probably not lasting trauma, just scary for a minute lol. But when he comes back a final time, the volcano erupts, covering the sky in ash and leaving him with no return to the sky. To make matters worse, he gets beaten up and captured by monsters and all his stuff was stolen. Wow I just wrote a lot about Eldin pfff

Sadly, I already knew about the whole Zelda is Hylia thing. I kinda wish I hadn't known that. That cutscene probably would've been cooler if I played this game in the complete dark.

Also, Link is so subtly expressive in this game. He actually has facial expressions! I love how at the end of the game, you can SEE Link's determination. You can see his desire to cut Demise down and save his world. I LOVE his expressiveness!

One thing I didn't know was that Demise was the Imprisoned. That actually surprised me.

Then there's Impa. I already figured out that the Old Lady was Impa before the reveal. So that was just "I called it." But here's the silly part about that cutscene: I read fanfic saying she died once. But of course I let my guard down. I believed that the author had Impa die from Ghirahim hitting her. And so, literally one text box away from the scene, I sent my sister in law a text like "lol, idk why I thought Impa dies. She's literally been here the whole time."

I had to send a text probably two seconds late saying "nvm, she died."

Whoopsies, silly me XD

Last thing I wanna say! (I think.) The whole lightning in the end battle is SICK! And now all the lighting scars people give Sky make sense. That's probably one of my favorite scar headcanons, honestly. That and Wild's blast scar. Also love giving Twilight a nasty arm scar, but I'm getting off track.

So yeah! Those are my silly disjointed thoughts on both the games I finished recently! Now I only have 2D games left to play. My list became so much smaller! It went from having ten games to just five.

Just have the Oracles games, Link's Awakening, the original and Adventure of Link to play! (I'm debating which one to start with. Probably the Oracles games to I can get Legend's character down better.)

Yay! Wall of text!

[dailycupofcreativitea]

AHHHHH you're playing kingdom hearts? Please report back with your thoughts when you feel up to it it's my special interest 👀

Okay here are some thoughts I've spammed to my friends in the last few days! (BTW I read the manga already for the first game so I basically spoiled it but I was still equally as shocked when these things happened in the game lol)

By the way, spoilers below for anyone who hasn't played!

General thoughts:

SORA IS SOOOOOOOOOO CUTE 🥺 The voice actor voiced him PERFECTLY, he's exactly the perfect combination of hopeful, friendship, little kid, strong heart, over confident at times, stubborn, sweet. 😭💖

Told a friend I love Sora in a different way than I love Gohan, here were my thoughts: Gohan is more quiet, sweet, gentle, burdened with a lot of power that he seems hesitant to use and slowly builds his confidence throughout the show, I relate to Gohan a lot, sweet cinnamon roll that must be protecc, but forced to protecc others, etc etc Sora is sweet and gentle but loud, has a HUGE heart and he uses it to protect his friends with 100% confidence (he's more like Goku in that way), his heart is just unwavering and he doesn't seem to doubt himself often (at least in KH1), funny and goofy and his stubbornness can get him into trouble sometimes but his bonds with his friends give him strength, I don't relate to him but I would love to draw inspiration from him

"Shonen protagonist done by Disney" vibes (as put aptly by @genisflyingkites)

Riku is so insanely jealous of Sora it's hilarious, he's overall kind of a jerk and even Kairi said she wanted to leave the island without him, but also Riku is 15 and hormonal and Maleficent got to him so I don't really blame him for it

Donald and Goofy are way less annoying than I assumed they would be, I like that they seem refreshingly mature?? Donald is stubborn and beefs with Sora a lot and Goofy seems like he has a good head on his shoulders and is a deep thinker

Also I keep seeing memes of Donald constantly getting knocked out in game and being useless but for me Donald ALWAYS comes in clutch with the elixirs and ethers

That scene where Maleficent tells Riku that Sora replaced him and Kairi with Donald and Goofy was sad in both the manga and the game but what REALLY made my jaw drop was that SORA LOWKEY FELT THE SAME:

(Yes he was fighting with Donald at the time too but LOOK AT HIS FACE!!! 😭🙏)

If Riku talked to Sora for more than 10 seconds at a time literally all of this would be resolved XD LIKE!! Sora is literally trying to find them! Riku please!

This scene had my sister and I's JAWS ON THE FLOOR:

It was low blow after low blow! I read this in the manga too but somehow it hit harder in the game!

Hollow Bastion is a great OST and I've been listening to it on repeat. The map is also pretty nice but I wish I could explore more without heartless appearing every 5 seconds

Actually I also liked the OST "A Day in Agrabah"

I beat Riku's ass in 10 seconds and it was glorious (Ansem is a whole other story...still working on it)

DID I MENTION SORA HAS SUCH A KIND AND SWEET AND STRONG HEART!?

Every single cutscene had the words "light" "darkness" "friendship" "heart" "memories" repeated over and over again to form a cutscene (I saw this in a Youtube video and thought it was incredibly accurate XD)

My sister and I were CRACKING UP during this cutscene because it made NO SENSE

It just kept getting more and more non-sensical XD

I think Aladdin was my favourite world so far but tbh they were all pretty cool (Sora's Halloween Town fit was so cute! Also I loved flying around by Big Ben, and then getting the glide feature)

The Maleficent Dragon boss was really hard, cool, and fun; Tinker Bell really came in clutch

Also I gotta say this game is really hard to play because the control are so annoying, the jump function is annoying (I keep falling off and misjudging his jump), it keep glitching cause it's connected to the cloud or something, the directions are too vague so I have to follow a walkthrough while playing, and I have to keep stopping between plays because I get motion sickness from the wildly spinning camera really easily -- despite all that I am indeed having a blast

I think that's all my thoughts for now :3

[adachimoe]

Adachi as the figure who shows up in the foggy shopping district and what that says about him

This is a revised version of a post I wrote very during the infancy of this blog. It is being split into smaller posts.

Persona 4 is a game about not believing things at face value. You're meant to question things and wonder if they're true. So why do we believe what Adachi says on December 7th and take it at face value?

Adachi claims to have been watching a game of cat and mouse between the IT and Namatame and it was super fun!!! But his appearance as the figure in the foggy shopping district, the figure's growing frustration at there being no dead body on the dungeon deadlines, the dates the figure shows up when compared with the first letter being sent to the Dojima house, and even just the fact he sent letters, all point to Adachi not actually understanding what was going on between the Investigation Team and Namatame until after Naoto's dungeon.

Which would mean his claims about watching a game of cat and mouse unfold are chronologically impossible.

What is meant by the figure in the foggy shopping district?

On the dungeon deadlines, you see a cutscene of the shopping district after the fog rolls in. This happens with Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, Mitsuo, Naoto, and Nanako's dungeon deadlines.

On 3 of those deadlines (Yukiko, Kanji, and Naoto), you see a figure in the shopping district who, over time, grows frustrated that something they expect to happen is not happening:

On the other 3 deadlines (Rise, Mitsuo, and Nanako), the figure does not appear, and you only see a generic message about fog:

Observing the dates the figure appears and knowing who's dungeon deadline it was are key to understanding what Adachi was actually up to during the plot and what these dates reveal about what he knows.

Wait, how do we know this is Adachi?

In the past, I went through the steps of determining how this is Adachi. That was tl;dr, it took too long to amp up, and I think it detracted from the main point, so I'm just gonna cut to the chase.

The fog figure -- the "Voice" -- has voiced lines that were cut from the game. They're available on The Cutting Room Floor:

From Yukiko's deadline

From Kanji's deadline

From Naoto's deadline

That is--without a doubt--Adachi's English voice actor, JYB. While his voiced lines were cut, the actual text dialogue was not. I think the comments on TCRF are correct -- it's way too obvious who the culprit is if they left these voiced lol.

I have seen someone on Reddit try to claim that it's Amenosagiri piloting Adachi, but the voice doesn't have the same effects that Ame talking through Adachi has in December, and furthermore, since Amenosagiri is the observer who has been watching your party in the TV World, it would have 0 reason to go check for a dead body since it already knows you've been saving people.

But isn't this a plot hole if it's Adachi?

Whenever the fog figure is brought up, and then Adachi is brought up, a lot of people will often acknowledge that it *must* be him, but then follow-up by saying that it "doesn't make sense" or that "it's a plot hole" for this figure to be Adachi.

The reasoning is solid: There are scenes where Adachi shows up at the Dojima house and goes, "Hey, Yukiko Amagi is home safe!" So why would Adachi appear in the shopping district and seemingly expect Yukiko's dead body to appear if he knows she's home?

I agree that this would be a huge gaping plot hole, but it is only a plot hole if Adachi knows that Namatame kidnapped Yukiko.

In fact, the game actually agrees that it would be a huge gaping plot hole if Adachi showed up in the shopping district expecting the dead body of someone he knows is alive. This is why he doesn't appear for Mitsuo's deadline or Nanako's deadline.

For Mitsuo, Adachi is the person who put Mitsuo into a TV (while there is no flashback when Adachi talks about Mitsuo which makes various details unclear, ATLUS does Word of God confirm this in the P4G premium book; sorry for the cop out, but I'm really trying to avoid unnecessary tangents here lol).

Additionally, because the Investigation Team brings Mitsuo back, Adachi knows Mitsuo is no longer in the TV, thus he doesn't appear on Mitsuo's deadline. And furthermore, Adachi does know it's the IT because the game makes a point of having Chie comment about his reaction to the IT bringing Mitsuo in.

Mitsuo was probably the first time Adachi realized someone could even get out of the TV, and his re-appearance is directly linked to the Investigation Team. It was probably around here that he started trying to figure out what was really going on.

For Nanako, Adachi knows what's going on with her and Namatame because of the events of November 5th, and he also knows when she's been rescued from the TV. Thus, he doesn't appear for her deadline either.

What it means for Adachi to appear for Yukiko, Kanji, or Naoto's deadlines is that he didn't know Namatame kidnapped them. The only thing Adachi needs to know in order to start appearing as the mystery figure on April 29th is that "people turn up dead when there's fog". And you know that he knows this because he tells you that he knows this on April 17th.

From what I can tell, the only argument against Adachi being the guy in the fog is that it would be "a plot hole". But again: it is only a "plot hole" because of his claim that he was watching a game of cat and mouse all along.

Which brings me back to what I said at the beginning of this post: Why do we believe him when he says this on December 7th? The protagonist and Naoto's exposition dump happened 1mo before on November 5th. Adachi is in a position where he can say whatever he wants and pretend to have known things all along. Him appearing as the figure in the shopping district before the plot is explained to him should have more weight than something he says after part of the plot has been explained to him.

What about Rise's deadline?

Rise's deadline might seem like a pattern breaker because Adachi doesn't appear as the mystery figure in the shopping district for her deadline. While the game doesn't directly state why the figure doesn't show up in July, we are given a very plausible explanation as to why:

Rise's deadline is the same date when Mitsuo commits the copycat murder and hangs up Morooka. Adachi, being a detective assigned to the murders, would be preoccupied with Morooka's body being found, thus explaining why the figure doesn't appear in the shopping district that night. Plus, we can tell from his dialogue as the fog figure that he wants a dead body to appear. Didn't he think he got what he wanted, just somewhere other than the shopping district?

What motivation would Adachi have to lie?

If you're a 27 year old dude who's been shittalking a bunch of teenagers and your dumb ass gets outsmarted by them, what're you going to say to them?

In all seriousness, though, it's not so much as "Adachi is lying on this particular line", but more like, "Hasn't he been lying through the whole game?" He's been pretending to be a normal, innocent cop working on a murder case when he is the murderer. (On one hand, I guess that's a form of job security.)

I would also like to refer to my post about Adachi's desire to just end it all. In that post, I talk about how despite him talking mad shit before his boss battle, his tone changes drastically after you beat him. I think some of his bullshit before the battle is part of this act he puts on in front of the Investigation Team.

And when it comes to December 7th, I feel like he is telling half-truths through the whole sequence. And you can tell cause of the game's story telling. Adachi will say something in the present to the Investigation Team like, "I called Saki in to ask her about the body. I needed to cover my ass in case she saw something incriminating!" And then in the flashback, he immediately corners Saki up against a TV and talks to her about Namatame. He says that Mayumi, "started freaking out at him". Then you see the flashback, and she started freaking out because he backed her into a TV and reached out and grabbed her. He tells Yosuke that he killed Saki because she was a gold digger, but in the flashback, he forces her into a TV because she rejects him. As the Investigation Team don't witness these omniscient flashbacks and only hear him retelling things in the present, this is something only the player can fully understand the extent of.

Additionally, at the end of the scene, you find out that the Adachi you've been talking to isn't the real Adachi. It's actually been a fake projection he sent to mess around with the Investigation Team. He then invites you to come into Magatsu Inaba to meet the real him. It just feels really on the nose that the fake projection is also full of shit. We do know his threat about the world ending is real, but that's only because of the dungeon deadline and the bad ending for it.

But the Investigation Team doesn't say he's lying

It's already demonstrated that the in-universe characters don't always pick up on things that the player will know. I would like to point to my post about Namatame's Shadow on the Midnight Channel for this. I don't think the Investigation Team's explicit acknowledgement has any relevance here.

For one thing, they can't. The Investigation Team doesn't know that Adachi has been appearing in the shopping district on the dungeon deadlines, so how could they call out the chronological contradiction? They don't have all of the information, which is actually one of the game's themes. But you - the player - do.

I think it's also relevant to bring up Katsura Hashino's interview where he talks about the Izanami twist and how his idea was that the fog would lift from the player's head. That was about Izanami and not Adachi, but I think it goes to show there are things in Persona 4 that were intentionally designed to be solved by the player, not the in-universe characters. You are the last member of the Investigation Team.

On the importance of the letters

We know that Adachi is the one who sent the two letters to the Dojima household (ATLUS also Word of God confirms this in the P4G book and even calls it the physical evidence that ties Adachi to the case, but I think we all knew that this really had to be him anyway). The last date that the mystery figure in the shopping district appears is October 5th on Naoto's dungeon deadline. The 2 letters that get sent to the Dojima house arrive on October 20th and November 5th, both sent after Naoto's deadline, but before the next fog date.

I don't think this was a coincidence. It would appear that after what happened with Mitsuo (again, Chie has a line indicating Adachi knows it was the IT who found Mitsuo) and Naoto, Adachi finally figured out that Namatame had been throwing people in all along but the Investigation Team were saving them. He then sent the threatening letters.

To recap the plot: We know that Namatame called the police station, got Adachi on the line, Adachi gave him a little nudge, and Namatame began "saving" people. So when Adachi appears in the shopping district on those foggy nights, he is seemingly expecting a dead body to appear as a result of him telling Namatame to "save" people.

Keep in mind that when the fog figure appears, it has dialogue, and by the 3rd and final appearance, the player can tell the figure is frustrated that there's no dead body. And it's only after this 3rd and final appearance that the first letter appears at the Dojima house. Again, I don't think that's a coincidence.

tl;dr

Adachi being the mystery figure is backed up by datamining. Even though the voice overs were removed, the text dialogue is still in the game.

The figure does not appear on nights where it would not make sense for Adachi to appear (Rise / Morooka, Kubo, and Nanako).

The figure appearing for Yukiko, Kanji, and Naoto's deadlines would indicate that Adachi had no idea Namatame kidnapped those 3 people.

The first threat letter (which we know is from Adachi) arrives after Naoto's deadline, which is also the figure's last appearance.

Adachi says a lot of stuff on December 7th. In a game about not taking things at face value and figuring out the truth, should we take what he says seriously?

[randomthefox]

I already talked about why Sonic calling Tails "little bro" is being done during this part of the game. "When Sonic calls him little bro in the cage, he is seeing him as a damsel who needs to be rescue, someone who is helpless and needs to be protected. In this context, “little bro” is Sonic infantilizing him. Narratively, that’s why he calls him “little bro” again in the beginning of their final pow wow cutscene. To show the significance of Sonic calling him something different by the end of it"

He doesn’t call him “little bro.” He calls him “partner.” He is accepting Tails’ desire for personal growth and self actualization as an individual outside of just being Sonic’s tag along, and Sonic is demonstrating that by dubbing Tails as an equal peer, instead of a “little” bro who needs to be sheltered under his wing.

This persists after this scene too

The entire point of this final interaction is for the characters to directly acknowledge and confront the fact that Tails has grown up and become Sonic's equal. It happened a long time ago, Sonic himself demonstrated that Tails has been effectively contributing and helping HIM for quite a long time from Adventure to Lost World and beyond. But they've never really addressed it themselves. Tails character has developed, but their relationship is still founded in what it started from. Here, Tails gets lay it all out on the table.

Of course there's much to be said about allowing relationship development like this to be left unsaid, and simply demonstrated with their interactions, but I still really appreciate this game having the characters discuss these things openly. I've said it before that Frontiers is the Sonic game where the characters themselves talk about the things that I would talk about myself when dissecting these games. And the body languages and expressions also pulls a lot of the weight in how these scenes land.

Tails starts out putting on an air of confidence, but then falters and flinches back when asking for permission. But Sonic goes from having the default expression (wincing pain) to smiling with pride as Tails expresses his desires. He shrugs and walks to the side playing it aloof to keep the focus on Tails own maturation and keep his own conflicted feelings to the sidelines. And Tails goes from the slight worry to beaming with happyness at Sonic accepting him.

Then they gotta needle each other, because that's how guys are lol. Gotta add a bit of punctuation to emotional vulnerability. It's like a coping mechanism.

Sonic of course is not emotionally insecure whatsoever, so he's happy to let the final word be reassurance of his true acceptance of Tails desires to go his own way. And there we see him calling Tails Partner, showing the shift in how he views Tails and their relationship after calling him "little bro" at the start of the scene.

THIS GAME'S SOOOO GOOOOOOD<3

[starsurface]

Your writings are very good, they make me happy! Would it be possible to write Shang Tsung from the 3d era taking care of an age regressed reader that uses diapers?

Awh, thank you!!! I'm so glad that they make you happy!! <3

I will admit, i know incredibly little about this character!!!! :D (I tried to do research, but do call me our or dm if I wrote some things wrong, I can totally redo or make a pt 2 or something!!)

Like, . . . I know he’s evil. And has an island. And works for Shao Kahn. And is one of the more first big boss fights?? And that 3d is like, Deception, and Armageddon, and Shaolin Monks (the cutscenes only version of that game is so funny, the storyline is so fast).

And not even zesty evil!!! But like, actually evil. :(

Small Warning (?): It just kinda feels like there are some darker undertones in these?? Not exactly yandere like, but mildly possessive, and little to no hesitation to hurt others for you. It’s not implied that he’d kill, but it is implied that he’d use them as experiments (which I can totally change if anyone gets uncomfortable with!!!)

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

CG 3d era Shang Tsung w/ Regressor That Uses Diaper Hcs

🐛 I know I said he’s evil . . . but I think he adores you

🐛 Your his baby, how could he not love you!! He’s cruel and a villain, but your his Precious, he couldn’t just let you go <3

🐛 While a man of evil and Shao Kahn’s sorcerer, he would never make fun of you for using or needing padding

🐛 Babyspace regressor? You’re very tiny!! Of course you might need some help, and that’s okay!!

🐛 Toddler? Well, accidents happen all the time, and he’d rather be safe than sorry anyways

🐛 Big kid? Well he’d still classify you as a baby, but whatever you say <3

🐛 Middlespace regressor? Everyone can use diapers!! Whether for medicine or comfort, that’s your regression, and no one else’s

🐛 And if anyone were to magically tell you otherwise, well, they strangely disappear!! :O (and maybe end up in Shang Tsung’s lab)

🐛 Might get a bit grumpy if you wake him up at night, but almost any thoughts of anger or upset wash away when he sees how upset you are

🐛 . . . Although he’s also super tired and might put on your padding backwards

🐛 It is literally not his fault, it’s two am, and he has work tomorrow

🐛 Although he’d rather you wake him up than sit sobbing in bed, work or no work, you’re his first priority

🐛 He’ll also get some of those potty mattress protections, just in case you may or may not have an accident again (but only if your cool with it)

🐛 Magic show distractions!!!

🐛 He could give you something to fidget with during the process . . . Or he could use his super cool sorcerer powers and make a little light show to distract you

🐛 From what i’ve seen in almost every Shang Tsung, they have a way with words

🐛 So it’s not him buying your regression supplies, it’s Shao Kahn <3

🐛 Shang Tsung works for him, how could he not also supply for his precious baby that he gets very little time with because of how often he has to work and prepare for the tornoment?

🐛 ^ Lies, Shang Tsung can and will pause any type of working if you regress and come for him

🐛 Maybe unless he’s in the middle of an experiment, but he’s left his studies many times before

🐛 Your not really allowed to talk to Shao Kahn though :\ (Shang Tsung’s worried Shao will be mean or cruel to you in your headspace)

🐛 But you get much time with Dada!! :D

🐛 He’ll make a little regression area in his laboratory!! It’s Shang Tsung’s Island, who would tell him he couldn’t put a secret passage way into a small regression area just for you?

🐛 ^ No one, that’s who, so of course he does it!! (and Shao Kahn gets the bill for it >:3)

🐛 He does make sure to put it more where the potions or his study books are and not where his experiments are (he doesn’t like you seeing them in your headspace)

🐛 Don’t you dare ever try to touch his potions, he will get incredibly upset and you’ll get in trouble

🐛 They’re for big kids and big kids only, plus you could get seriously hurt and Dada might not be able to help you from some of them

🐛 Or you could just regress in Dada’s room, which is much comfier anyways

🐛 If you end up having any type of accidents, he’s very gentle about the process, gently shushing and comforting you, drawing you a nice bath and picking out some comfy clothes

🐛 His clothes to be exact, what could be better?

🐛 If you’re ever embarrassed about using padding, he’d call you silly

🐛 There’s no reason too!! Whether for comfort, or medical, or just because, if it works for you, then he’s more than happy to help with the process

🐛 Your his baby after all, and he’s going to make sure you have the world <3

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

I like the Caterpillar emoji, it's cute. :3 (also they didn't have any potions :\)

[theoneprecioustome]

Aikoto Moments Masterlist: P3R Edition

Notes:

As usual, while I'll try to cover everything, the list will focus on the non-optional moments that are there regardless of player input.

Dates are read day/month. I organized everything chronologically.

I bolded the most important ones.

The post is image heavy & contains spoilers for the entire game.

Opening

The Journey

✤ 20/07: Unknown to the player, Aigis, who was considered "inoperable", suddenly awakens when Makoto arrives to Yakushima.

✤ 21/07 - Operation Babe Hunt: The SEES Boys run into Aigis at the Yakushima dock, and a cutscene is dedicated to showing how cute she is. (Note: In P3 & P3FES, all three of them get a heart over their heads when they see her, including Makoto; this is the only time he reacts like that to a girl in the game).

✤ 21/07 - Chasing Aigis: After Makoto finally catches up to her, Aigis throws her arms around him and declares that being at his side is her highest priority. They stay like that during pretty much the entire scene.

✤ 21/07: The group is formally introduced to Aigis, who reiterates that it’s very important for her to be by Makoto’s side.

✤ 22/07: As the team fools around thanks in no small part to Aigis' prodding, Makoto thinks "With Aigis joining, things are likely to get livelier..."

✤ 24/07: Aigis wakes Makoto up 5 minutes earlier than his alarm clock and suggests she is put on standby in his room instead of the Command Room. Yukari complains about this, and the way she settles for finding a compromise by offering to get Aigis a room suggests that “[Aigis] can stay” & “I don’t care” are more likely to be chosen than "[Aigis] can't stay here."

✤ 25/07: If you go to the fortune teller, she will tell you an Aikoto-related fortune: "I see a girl... She stands between light and dark, life and simulacrum... She falters... as if not knowing on which side she belongs... Hm? She is trying to tell you something... Can you hear her words...?"

✤ 02/09: Aigis starts going to school and the person who usually sits by Makoto’s side just so happens to be missing, so Aigis gets their seat (thanks, devs!). She then proceeds to announce to the entire class that “This spot is perfect. My highest priority is to be with him at all times.”

✤ 20/09: Aigis watches over a sick, asleep Makoto only to notice his condition has improved. Despite this, she decides to keep watching over him until sunrise, showing that she was already developing emotions by then (this is further explored in a Drama CD). This scene is accessible only through the Security Camera recordings available in the Command Room.

✤ 04/11: When Aigis is controlled by Ikutsuki, Aigis manages to remember herself and her care for SEES as she and Makoto stare at each other. Once she frees them, Makoto runs to her and wraps a comforting arm around her shoulders.

✤ 17/11 - Kyoto school trip: Instead of following the girls' to their rooms, Aigis wishes to be appointed to Makoto's lol

✤ 30/11: After everyone else leaves to go study, Aigis and Makoto remain behind on their own. Aigis explains that she now understands the concept of loss, "The thought of something happening to you... It makes me..." (Note: In Japanese, Aigis says: "If something were to happen to you, if I could no longer be by your side, I…"). She also confesses that “You are very special to me… I can't explain why, but I never want to leave you side. I want to protect you at all costs, to be there for you always.” (It's important to note that Death was no longer sealed inside Makoto by this point, so Aigis' desire to remain by his side is born out of her own feelings.)

✤02/12: When Aigis greets him at school that morning and tells him she intends to protect everyone, Makoto has the option to ask what is up. If he does, Aigis asks him to please not worry. At night, we get the Moonlight Bridge Anime Cutscene and Aigis gets her memories back. She apologizes to Makoto for what she had to do. (Note: In P3 & FES, Makoto holds Aigis' hand when SEES arrive to the Moonlight Bridge - this animation was actually found within the P3R files, you can see it restored HERE.).

✤ 28/12: When you talk to Mitsuru, she says “Don't worry about Aigis. She is currently being treated with the utmost care.” So, it’s safe to assume Makoto asked about her.

✤ 30/12: Aigis is finally back. She asks Makoto how he has been holding up (one of his dialogue options is “I was worried about you.”) and apologizes for sealing Death inside him. All 3 of his Dialogue Options are supportive of Aigis: “You did what you had to”, “You had no choice” and “You did the right thing”.

✤ 25/01: Makoto has his Career Counseling meeting with Ms. Toriumi. Conveniently, Aigis' just so happens to be after his, so Ms. Toriumi asks him to go get her. Makoto finds Aigis at the rooftop, and the two share a scene where Aigis basically ends up confessing her (not-yet understood) feelings for him: “Even though Death is gone now, I… I still want to be by your side.” Aigis feels that if she's with Makoto, she can learn what it means to live. She then asks Makoto to please take her with him, because she will fight with everything she has. One of Makoto’s possible answers is: “I need you with me.”

Apparently he got pretty engrossed in their little moment, because we get a: "Oh, right. I just remembered Ms. Toriumi wanted to see Aigis." as the scene fades to black lol

✤ 31/01 - The Battle for Everyone’s souls:

As Makoto succumbs under Nyx's gravity and starts losing consciousness, we can see Aigis looking over at him and calling out his name.

Aigis is too shocked by the unexpected turn of events to react as Makoto starts levitating towards Nyx. All she can manage is a desperate plea: "No, don't go!"

Aigis’ is the last (alive) voice Makoto hears before he uses the seal (Shinji's soul being the very last voice). She begs Makoto to come back: "You promised... Didn't you? Please, you have to make it back!"

After all is said and done, Aigis laments her lack of strength. "Why am I so powerless...? Am I really unable to protect the ones important to me?! This is what I was trying to prevent!" (Note: While the line was translated in plural as "the ones", it would've been more accurate to translate it as "the one", because Aigis was talking about Makoto, who may or may not have been lost to Nyx. Case in point:)

It’s only after Aigis calls out to him and begs him to say something that we get a "I can hear everyone desperately calling out to me." and the option to reply. Her reaction is also the first we see.

Aigis is the one to notice that Makoto is coming back to them, and she takes off running to reunite with him. As SEES happily and tearfully welcomes him back, Aigis finds herself crying for the very first time. (Note: Since the animated cutscene from P3 & FES is missing in P3R, please do watch it here to see Aigis crying and Makoto getting emotional over it. It's worth it!)

✤ 04/03: Makoto and Junpei spot Aigis observing them from behind a tree. Junpei wonders if she may be interested in one of them.

✤ 05/03: Aigis comes to find Makoto before the graduation ceremony. Once she got her memories back, she feared he would disappear again. Makoto can either confirm that he remembers as well or tell her “Don’t cry”.

✤ 05/03 - Rooftop Scene: We see a few flashbacks to Aikoto scenes that were not shown before this point, including Makoto turning to look at Aigis during the Nyx fight and Aigis holding his Evoker.

Aigis thanks Makoto, because she found her reason to live thanks to him. She promises that she will always be there by his side, protecting him. Makoto wipes her tears away without player input, and her smiling face is the last thing he sees before he closes his eyes for the last time with a smile of his own.

Ending

✤ The credits begin with Makoto and end with Aigis.

✤ The ending song, Memories of You, is very clearly Aigis' POV about Makoto. She even quotes the song during her Social Link: "I will never leave you."

✤ The music playing during the New Game Screen is I'll Protect You (the sont that plays during Aikoto's rooftop scene), and the image shown is an empty classroom with Makoto's Evoker and SEES armband.

Optional Events

�� 15/08 - If the player chooses to walk Koromaru that night, Aigis can go with Makoto. There, the player will once again be told that Aigis wants to go to the summer Festival lol

✤ 16/08 - Summer Festival: The player can choose to go to the Summer Festival with Mitsuru and Aigis. If Makoto goes with them, he can suggest that he and Aigis should hold hands, but Aigis thinks he wants to restrain her and rejects his proposal. If the player chooses to go alone, Makoto will still run into Mitsuru and Aigis, but the girls won't notice him. (Note: The game makes sure to let the player know that Aigis is planning to attend the Summer Festival.)

✤ 28/08 - Film Festival: Makoto can go to the Film Festival with Aigis. After discovering that being a ninja is the "ultimate status that a man can achieve", Aigis jokes that she will start calling Makoto like that. (Note: Once again, the game makes sure the player will know when to ask Aigis to the film festival. If the player talks to her on 27/28, it will tell you that she can go tomorrow.)

✤ 05/10 - If the player chooses to walk Koromaru that night, Aigis can go with Makoto again.

✤ 07/01 - If the player chooses to walk Koromaru that night, Aigis can go with Makoto one last time. She will ask Makoto if he wants to walk home with her tomorrow because she wants to experience the town with him, thus letting the player know that Aigis' S-Link is about to begin.

✤ 29/01 - Last Walk with Koromaru: All of SEES go together for this special occasion, and we see everyone hanging out in pairs. Makoto and Aigis are together, playing with Koromaru. We're told that "Everyone is having fun, as if trying to make the most of this moment..."

✤ 31/01: If Aigis is in the player's party during the fight against Nyx, she will tell Makoto that she's with him until the very end.

Social Activities

✤ Gardening: Starting on July 17, there are three different gardening events with Aigis. At the end, Aigis will decide that she wants to do her best to make her way in the world, like Makoto and everyone else.

✤ Reading: This activity unlocks in September and also features three different events, during which Aigis learns that staying true to her beliefs and having a strong heart are the best ways to look dependable. Aikoto-wise, the highlights are the first and second events. During the first, Aigis and Makoto read together from the same book and Aigis essentially asks him to show her his butt. During the second, Makoto has the option to reply "a cute girl" when Aigis asks what she looks like to everyone else.

✤ Studying: On 10/11, Aigis will ask Makoto to study with her so they can learn more about each other. Ken and Koromaru will join them, and the event will end with Aikoto carrying a sleeping Ken to his room.

✤ 08/01 - Social Link: Aigis' Social Link, The Aeon, can be started on January 8. It features a platonic and a romantic route. In the platonic route, Aigis and Makoto agree to be best friends and they take a selfie together. In the romantic route, Makoto touches Aigis' Papillon heart. Both routes can be watched HERE.

Misc

✤ If Makoto dates Aigis and goes to Tartarus with her, she will have special dialogues (like in P3P).

✤ Compilation of all the Text Messages Aigis can send Makoto.

✤ Jundori & Aikoto Parallels, P3R Style

[egg-emperor]

I saw this toss in about the whole "Eggdad" thing: Even if Eggman never lays a hand on Sage; that doesn't necessarily mean this stops for the rest of his creations. And Sage has to bear witness to that. (A parent showing blatant favoritism towards certain kids isn't wholesome by any means and hardly ever leads to anything good for every kid involved; including the ones that sucks up all the attention. It's silly to think that this wouldn't affect Sage in some way. Gamma wasn't an AI, and yet the actions Eggman had him do [and Amy's words] had him think twice. Omega was tossed away, and now seeks revenge. Even Metal Sonic rebelled, which ultimately resulted in him being reset. *With Sonic's influence changing how she calculated outcomes, what's stopping her from having her "canon event" later?)

*Note: This doesn't really mean yet another rebellion from an Eggman invention. (In anything, I'm more intrigued about the opposite happening. Like Sage struggling with perfectionism to NOT wind up like previous creations did. Constant approval seeking.)

Yeah exactly. I think a lot of the people who didn't wanna hear me out were missing the point of my analysis, hc, and fic about this. They were acting like I'm predicting that Eggman will be depicted smacking Sage around or something but I don't think he will because well- he literally can't. At least I don't think so because Sage is an AI program and his hands should just phase right through her if he were to try anyway.

Instead I was actually highlighting how terribly he treats all his other creations of Metal Sonic, the E Series, and Orbot and Cubot and how he's even manipulated those who were created/worked on by his grandfather with Emerl and Shadow. It'd make a lot of sense if he manipulated Sage in various ways and one way can actually be through treating her better than his other creations that he still treats terribly.

It's highly likely for him to at least be manipulative towards her, in fact he pretty much is in the Frontiers' story. Because he'll yell at her one moment when she doesn't do exactly what he wants but highly praises her the next when she does. He'll raise his voice and thump things that he can hit when he's angry at her, just as he does his other creations. Only difference is that he can't actually hit her like them.

But hitting them physically isn't the only way he can be a bad father and show concerning traits that support that. It's all throughout Frontiers for the above, which is present in multiple cutscenes. And also the way his value of Sage is solely rooted in what she can do for him and how great and impressive of a genius she makes him look as her creator in the first place, as he makes very clear in the memos.

That's already a lot of pressure put on Sage. She's expected to meet these expectations in loyalty and efficiency that Eggman brags about in the memos, otherwise she isn't reflective of his genius and doesn't bring him the selfish gain he desires, which will lose what gives her value and use to him in his own words! And not just that, but also the point you've raised about how he treats his other creations.

I've seen a lot of people acting like the way Eggman treated his other creations suddenly doesn't matter or just ignore it. But let's not pretend that Eggman isn't awfully cruel to Orbot and Cubot all the time in the games, which I explored in depth in my "proof that Eggman is a bad father" video. He has been verbally and physically abusive towards them and there's no other word for it or any excuses to make against it.

That isn't suddenly erased just because he sees more value in Sage (for very selfish conceited self serving reasons at that) and half-heartedly entertains the idea of Orbot and Cubot being like her brothers. It actually makes it worse that he's willing to see them that way with the way he treats them. It just means he's canonically both verbally and physically abusive to "kids" of his already, regardless of if he is to Sage.

I've seen it depicted in cutesy funny ways to have Eggman treat Sage better in front of the others, but the blatant favoritism of some creations over others, that's based on who is the most impressive and useful to him at the time, would have harmful effects on all involved in reality. Sage has to keep living up to that and he can use her as an example to get the others to fight harder for the same praise.

The Murder of Sonic had Eggman do this intentionally by having them compete against to serve him well to impress him and get praise and "rewards" and I really like that. He programs them with feelings just to take advantage of them like that and that's just so Eggman. I can see him doing more of the exact same thing in the main games with how their worth is determined by their use there too.

Sage, Metal Sonic, and Orbot and Cubot would all be affected badly by this when they realize Eggman's affection and praise is conditional, shallow, and manipulative in these ways. When they realize that it's really all determined by what is the most beneficial to him personally, while buttering them up to keep them loyal and efficient, set an example and act as a measuring stick to the others but tosses them if they fail.

And Gamma was also a victim of this as a top example of what shows how harmful it is when Eggman picks a favorite! Eggman praised Gamma highly and said he was proud of him in the exact same way he did to Sage and say that he knew he'd be of use (again proving that their value is determined by their use to him), to butter him up and keep him performing well- even though he clearly had doubts in him prior.

It was very manipulative of Eggman to that just like it appears to me with Sage too. It's even similar to TMoS in a way, with how he pit Gamma against Beta in a fight and all the E Series had to search for Froggy and he punished the failures cruelly by breaking them down, disassembling them and putting them back together, which disturbed Gamma so much that he was willing to kill his brothers to set them all free.

And Omega was shut away by Eggman and he hated being sealed in that room, not even the important duty of guarding the real Shadow and ensuring that he didn't escape was enough to feel valued and be happy. Just because he can be useful to him, it doesn't change that Eggman is still cruel and uncaring and will lock him away and not care if he wants it or not. His value and praise is a performance and only for his gain.

And Metal Sonic is also another of the top examples of what it's like to be treated badly by Eggman to the point that he tries to rebel twice but not be so lucky to escape like the E Series and Omega because he's trapped being reprogrammed again and again and kept under his control to ensure that he's not going anywhere. No matter how useful a creation is to him at one point or another, they all suffer in some way.

There are many ways Eggman could be cruel or harmful to Sage. I think he's already shown signs of how and used some tactics on her in Frontiers, going by his track record and the known intentions and reasons behind it confirmed by Ian Flynn. Maybe they'll decide to expand on it blatantly, maybe they won't. But I think it's there subtly already and those conditions are very accurate to his character.

Then you have the extras of Eggman calling Sage "ugly/unseemly" before he gave her shoes in the Sonic Channel art (what was seen as a sweet cute gift by fans still had him being a jerk in it like lol wtf Eggman) and in Murder of Sonic, he's still yelling at Orbot in front of her, so she has witnessed Eggman still very much being terrible to his other creations/her brothers and in front of her in official media already!

And yeah I don't see Sage betraying Eggman with the stuff she witnessed both from how he treats her and Sonic and co and how she still stuck by his side and stayed genuinely loyal and willing to protect and serve. Even after all that and how she also revealed that she doubted he even cared about her, as she asked Sonic if he thinks Eggman does (to which Sonic could only mutter "sure... in his own way" lol)

Eggman doesn't even have to give her much to keep her loyal and efficient as it's what he created her to do and it was a success, she's devoted and willing regardless of how he treats her. She was like that even before he gave her an ounce of praise and even after he yelled at her. But the manipulation of her emotions by buttering her up with that praise, albeit conditional, helps further ensure it will stay that way.

And when his other creations see the praise and approval Sage gets, they'll wish they could get that too and will work harder to try to please him, which is exactly what he wants. But he has and continues to treat his other creations terribly even in front of her when they don't, which puts even more pressure on her having to continue living up to that standard to keep him pleased and avoid ending up like them.

So yeah, regardless of how Eggman treats Sage on the surface, there's always those dark undertones, the bad signs that have shown in their interactions, and the toxic basis of their dynamic on Eggman's side as officially confirmed. It's supposed to be unsettling as Flynn said for a reason. And he still treats his other creations blatantly terribly in front of her which also isn't pleasant and can have harmful effects.

They're not the picture perfect family that people find cute and ideal and that's actually the point. And it will definitely be interesting to see how Sage remains loyal and devoted but will have to deal with her father doing things like this to her brothers and what she thinks and he feels about it. It will probably be like how she took a liking to Sonic and co but Eggman just wants them dead but still she stayed by him despite that.

[allthecastlesonclouds]

tell me about drawtectives. what is this little show.

oooooh my god oh my god. they are my guys. so.

drawtectives itself is a youtube series created by julia lepetit on Drawfee. it's an rpg mystery show– s1 is a murder mystery, s2 is just a mystery– that doubles as an art challenges show. she draws all of the backgrounds and npcs and most of the assets (the 'cutscenes', you could call them) and then the team gets together, knowing absolutely nothing besides what julia's asked them to prepare, and does some funky improv to create a very funky storyline.

there are 3 players and one dm; the pcs are rosé, york, and grendan/grenda/grandma/gma, and the Big NPCs are Jancy True (s1/s2) and Eugene Finch (s2) and they're, in their own words, a found family, so. beloved. their backup plan if all their jobs fail is to move out east and open a bookstore. jancy and eugene have fully accepted their titles as mom/ancestral ghost and son despite meeting each other likely once before the drawtectives dragged them together. overall though if i had to summarize, it's a bunch of friends getting together, making a bunch of puns, appreciating julia's art, and laughing together. the vibes are 10/10 so loving. in writing the transcripts i've written (Karina laughs) (Nathan laughs) (All laugh) So Many Times it's just fun.

so there's three pcs. first one we meet is gyorik 'york' rogdul, who's a half-orc come to the city to learn about his mother's culture. he is the character we have by far the most lore for– if I compiled all the lore I had about the Northern Tribes and Wild Trains, I think the document would be multiple pages. he's also illiterate, which was an interesting decision for the english major of the group to make (in other words, York Will Not Be Illiterate For Season Three bc Y'all Cannot Read) and morally gray if you think about it too hard (he killed his own brother) but yknow he's hot so it's okay. they're all hot any crimes committed are okay. he's also aroace (confirmed by the player, which is!! vibes!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TELLING ME @axolotllee!)

rosé is the Human Rogue and the youngest of the party; her main trait in s1 was Millennial and she Dealt with that. she, in contrast with York, has so little lore we are scraping the barrel. she was a thief, then left everything about that life behind and changed her name to rosé when she went to work for jancy. she lied on her resumé. she knows how to sew; she's sewn Pockets of Holding on most of her clothing. she bonded with a stray cat that lived outside her last apartment. she's three credits short of graduating college. she's, in addition to being a drawtective, jancy's intern, and cried when jancy got her a cupcake. she won't tell her best friends when her birthday is or where she goes to school or what her last name is. that's all we know about her and i love her and she could probably kill someone as she has multiple knives on her person and does not use them. she's bright and funny and can be pretty dark but really does find the humor in it which is. wonderful.

so grendan highforge starts out as The Snobby Rich Boy which. already love the trope something Always Happens To Them if they're a pc. then through s1 they make an offhand comment about a character (faucon, whose name is pronounced 'falco') and how if her name was pronounced that way it'd be grenda. faucon asks how they feel about it. they are caught very off-guard by that and then ask to be called it for the next hour or so. then the next witness calls him gma, and then grandma, and then. yeah she realizes she's genderfluid. and he uses any pronouns and has a full beard and also wears a romper and loves dogs and the player is the Most Experienced TTRPG-er so through maybe using resources a bittt grandma is the most observant character of all of them. he's also a dog walker and a lightweight and does canonically have druidic magic though that was Not Touched On Much and showed up to their first day on the job slightly stoned (they did stop doing that though.) she carries around a box to make the height difference (york is 7'. grendan is 4'. rosé is 6'. you can see the formatting issue) slightly less difficult. she doesn't know how rhinos reproduce but has had a fascination with them since a police chief said one might've committed a crime. i think they could kill someone by talking too much but they don't actually have the strength or dex to do Jack Shit.

and jancy true is the head pi (a great many of the characters are puns and i love it so much) and is there to make sure things get done and clues don't get missed. she has a cochlear implant and uses a cane and solved s1 just by Reading The Paper and hearsay. she solved about half of s2 before Someone Stopped Her. she says hello children to the drawtectives and it is such a fond thing. eugene is. a guy who i love. julia started the show thinking he would be some mysterious character to join them and then made the wonderful improv decision– avoiding having to do npc-npc conversation– of saying 'yeah eugene is spinning a camera on its stand' and rosé just says so gleefully. 'guys. i think he's stupid.' and he became their son. his character is a lot of The Plot of s2 so i don't want to get into it too much but. jancy and eugene my beloved.

they're just. such a family. to quote nathan (grenda's Player) from the s2 talkback: "That's one of my favorite things about this show, is we came in with these vague ideas for characters, and just playing them with each other, they became friends and became better people as a result of knowing each other and solving mysteries. ... Like, we all kind of independently made our characters people that either were distant from their families or, you know, just had tenuous connections to other stuff, and so these are, like, the realest connections they have in their lives."

and then karina (rosé) about 10 seconds later: "Yeah, we love a found family where they bond over just being the worst."

god. them. they're chaotic and loud and feel very real to me. they have excitement and are pretty bad at social cues but they love each other and want to die together because they would hate too much to be separated. i could articulate this better but it's one in the morning and they mean a great deal to me.

[monarch-boo]

Okay. Jesus christ.

Since I've been seeing some real bullshit scrolling through the tags sometimes:

Before you go uncritically spouting some weird claim you heard online somewhere, PLEASE ACTUALLY PLAY THE GAME or watch one of the multiple full playthroughs out there to make sure it's actually real and not shit some absolute weirdo made up wholecloth. I recommend watching Ecdycis's first [solo] stream of it if you want to watch a playthrough.

The game has been out and basically everything important is on-video in at least one place, I don't think there's really much excuse to be spreading misinfo (and there is an absolute cesspool of misinfo out there for sure).

Even if you're waiting until sometime later to play for yourself and don't wanna spoil yourself that's just even more reason to not blindly believe *anyfuckingthing* until you actually see it yourself.

● Cliff is still a veteran (like his literal first line is still very much NAME AND RANK SOLDIER, I don't get why this even needs to be clarified), and anyone who actually thinks more than a moment about him can still deduce he's a 'nam Vet.

● A "mole" is a counterspy, someone pretending to be on your side to get in with you but is actually working for and feeding information to your enemies. It happens often in wars. Some people seem to genuinely not know what it means and I think that's weird.

● Two words were rephrased on Cliff, and Kent shows a funniest shot and asks for Outtake instead of a sexiest shot asking for Erotica now (and only really because Erotica points do not exist anymore). No other Psychopaths' scenes have been changed, I literally just rewatched the cutscenes now and did not identify any more changes.

And especially nothing of their scenes have been "removed" to anyone who actually played the game's knowledge.

There's actually been ADDED content to Psychopath characterization, in the form of a handful of new in-game fight quotes, as well as an addition, that I won't spoil here, to a Psychopath that wasn't actually fleshed out much in the OG 06 release. Adds so much more to them.

● Cheryl's dress was probably only changed because they liked the style better, not because cEnSoRsHiP (considering she used to have fishnets in the OG, they actually *removed* clothing).

Her request mission is identical (apart from Erotica points not existing anymore I guess) and with the addition of the voice acting it's actually even hornier than the original 06 game was, meaning there's especially no fucking reason to believe "desexualization" or anything like that was the motivation behind her dress change.

● There's actually additional sexual shit in the game now. Like off the top of my head Isabela believes Frank is staring at her ass during her fight and will call him on it. And during his fight Kent tells Frank he "should stick to shooting porn".

● Supposed removal of criticism of America and removal of Jo's sexually-charged insults are also false. Both of those things are intact. The "leak" post that claimed those were removed was all debunked, like, within the day they posted it.

● Larry is not white. They did not make Larry white. He does not need constantly squinting eyes and literally yellow-twinged skin to be recognized as Asian. This is one of the most annoying ones to me. Quit being stupid.