#its very clear that it CAN be done. that a character can casually be fat. but it feels so much of the time its heroes that are fat that use | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

cleaning-has-its-benefits · 6 months ago

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during winter last year I had decided that I wanted to write a fic of omoriboy, and later on I began to take some notes of him so I could write him well enough.

but then I thought why not translate them and make a post? maybe it could be useful for someone and variety is the spice of life. since omoriboy is often depicted jokingly, it wouldn't be bad to have more of him seriously from time to time, right?

so here are my notes. I may mention this is a casual character study and I didn't really aim to make the most profound omoriboy analysis, so you'll quickly notice these notes are pretty messy, but in any case, that could serve better for each one to reach their own conclusions.

and being this about omoriboy, then you already have an idea of what subjects will be discussed: sexual themes, poor mental health, attempted suicide and a general pessimistic worldview, all that jazz.

(as an extra warning now that Im done, this motherfucker ended up being 10k words long so this is a post only for the brave)

oh also, I didn't include any images mainly because Im lazy and either way I think they go over tumblr's limit of images per post and I wanna keep this as a single post so.

Im not going to take notes of every single omoriboy drawing that has ever existed, because im lazy, but I'll be looking through the main stuff: the blog, the minicomic and a recent drawing, in that order.

for orientations sake, I'll copy the quotes of each entry, so you can follow along through another source. you can read the blog here, or watch this video here (which also contains many extra stuff), or you can go look for the blog yourself, whatever you prefer.

so, first thing first, the blog!

-> THE BLOG

it all started during a december day of 2011...

[december 22nd, 2011]

"im omori and i fap and play old games"

Probably the most well-known panel out of all the blog, this is where it all started., with Omoriboy’s iconic introduction.

Quite the way to introduce himself, isn’t it? It has left an impression.

So, now the question is, why would he choose to introduce himself in this way?

I think with this, what Omoriboy is trying to achieve by being this upfront is to leave it pretty clear that he isn’t going to try to be appealing to anyone. It makes sense, after all, this is his one place in the world and he won’t try to pretend to be anything that he isn’t. Here, he is as he is.

In the image, he’s shown with his back turned towards the viewer, well kinda-ish. My point is that his body language isn’t very welcoming and his expression looks somewhat annoyed. Speaking of that, he’s also looking directly at the viewer. While in some other drawings he will also doing that, here it gives me the impression of being more intentional, like he wants to see how you'll react.

The contents of the laptop (if you’re viewing an uncensored version) are for all to see, which can contribute to this interpretation of Omoriboy not having any intentions in hiding any unsavory aspect of himself.

Going back to the text, this lacks any capitalization and punctuation, which could give the impression of, well, him simply not bothering with those. No formalities around here, but that’s pretty clear from just reading.

[december 23rd, 2011]

"sometimes i think im too fat, but it’s not like anybody will see me anyway

abs would look kinda cool though"

Considering Omoriboy looks rather thin, its concerning to wonder what would be an acceptable weight for him. Out of this, it could be possible to characterize him with an eating disorder, but given how delicate of a subject it is, I think I won’t be taking that direction. I don’t think Im good enough of a writer to handle it with the tact it needs.

For now, what I’ll take from this is that Omoriboy has a poor image of himself. Self-stem issues, unsatisfied with his appearance. Checks out.

In the image, he is examining himself via touch, so maybe what he means by ‘too fat�� is the feeling of his belly being soft instead of firm with muscles? Yeah this could also go with him having a certain idea of what a ‘real man’ looks like, or generally someone more successful than him. I can work with toxic masculinity.

[december 23th, 2011]

"at times i feel lonely but i try really hard not to think about it"

Since he expresses feeling lonely, I would say he has absolutely no one to talk. Namely, no sort of online friends.

It is also a prevalent feeling, which he has to make a conscious effort to ignore.

this one is pretty straightforward in its meaning.

Here omoboy is in a more comfy position. I would imagine like this he can feel more warm, with the blanket over him and his arms close to himself. A good way to make up from the lack of physical warmth from another person!

We dont see what he’s watching. It may be safe that its more porn but with the way he kicks his legs, that could entail he’s relaxed. Maybe he’s actually watching a show he enjoys? It would make sense then for him to not let us see what it is. Being reserved about this more ‘personal’ thing, he’s not about to let anyone learn more about the things he likes... though that's more of the route Im taking, of someone really reserved and even defensive. its probably more porn but the possibility is there.

[december 23th, 2011]

"what would happen if i died today?

how long would it take for someone to notice?

would anyone even go to my funeral?

probably not

but that’s too my fault i guess"

This one is pretty straightforward so I don’t have much to say. Most of what I can do is take a few notes

-omoriboy casually wonders about his death, specifically how people would act after his death, or if anyone would care about his death. If his death would have any sort of significance. Maybe he wonders if being dead would be any different for the world than if he was alive?

-he reaches the conclusion that no

-then he blames himself over this situation. This could refer to him being a hikikomori and loosing contact with anyone he could’ve had a connection to, or maybe he actively pushed people away before he became a hikikomori? Eh, I would go more with the former, since it would kinda go with the mentality of ‘I chose this’

- his body language doesn’t really leave much up to interpretation. He is letting his mind wander, and it looks like he’s letting his mind wander. Tho for once it would seem like he isn’t trying to distract himself from these thoughts. Is this particular question important enough for him to concentrate on it?

[december 23th,2011]

"i like wearing my socks inside-out, but if people knew that they'd just make fun of me

if i wore black socks, no one would be able to tell

...theoretically of course"

I guess the reason of him preferring to wear his socks inside out is because of the… ok I dont know how its called in english but is like the place were the stitches of the sock are. In some socks they can be pretty big so it can be kinda annoying. so this is a matter of preference, he would feel more comfortable wearing his socks inside-out.

then he immediately after thinks about people’s opinion on this matter, that if he did this inconsequential thing to be more comfortable, which isnt the standard, they would judge him and laugh at him.

who would say I would get such a metaphor out of some socks?

Given that hes never seen with socks that aren’t black, could this be tied with like, that need to perform even when no one is looking? It has a name but I dont remember it right now, but is a thing to consider since he’s right now in ‘his place’ where he can do whatever he wants, but he may be unable to shake off some habits.

Though at the end he kinda acknowledges this. After all, just like he mentioned before, ‘its not like anyone will see him anyway’

does he often imagine these hypothetical scenarios, where people mock him for whatever? Is this some sort of reaffirmation for his lifestyle?

I dont have much to say regarding the illustration. I guess he started to think about this as he was fixing(? his socks, though I hadnt noticed that ‘mark’ on his leg (idk how is it called in english either but is the thing that appears if you wear socks for a long time.) Is that meant to be a mark around the skin or is hair? I dont think he would have a motivation to shave, so maybe I should keep in mind to depict him as more hairy than in the pics.

[december 24th, 2011]

"omori is short for hikikomori (ひきこもり)

the first three letters also correspond with those of my creator

she must think she's so clever"

In the tvtropes page, they interpret this line as his full ‘name’ being hikikomori. here we have a popular show where the protagonist is simply called ‘boy’, so I believe its plausible to have a story of a hikikomori where the protagonist is simply called ‘hikikomori’, omori for the friends he doesnt have. This could also be tied to the loss of like, personhood, and all that remains of him, or all he is, is this state in which he lives.

Im not really sure what to make out of the fourth wall breaks, so Im just going to ignore them, tho from this one I take some notes of how his internal narration would be if he hypothetically interacted with someone else, because this is the closest thing to that. In other words, he’s probably going to make some sarcastic remarks, though he might not voice them. Living frustrated and depressed, it makes sense that his narration would be kinda grumpy.

In the illustration, he keeps the blanket around himself while sitting, which could give the impression of protecting himself or hiding, though I might just take it as a more general term of closing-off. His expression seems kinda distracted or avoidant. Does he want to seem dismissive?

Oh yeah, I also might note he knows what a hikikomori is, and that also entails he has some vocabulary to describe his situation.

[december 24th, 2011]

"w-waifu..."

I think this is one of the few times where he shows real interest in whatever there is on his laptop, not only in attitude, but also in thought, as for once his whole attention is on the screen.

Though we cannot see what it is exactly.

Has he seen a woman that checks all his boxes?

Or its actually a fictional character?

Eh dunno but this is the closest thing to him being happy during the blog. Whatever it is, it has effectively distracted him!

Not much to say about the picture, since it just shows this interest. some people describe it as him kissing the screen but I just kinda see it as him looking closer.

[december 24th, 2011]

"mama says i have a disease

she says it's hard to help to someone who doesn't answer

but i don't need help

everyone else just thinks i do"

so there were various drawings that were easy t understand, but then there were other drawings that I found needed further examination and so I decided to do that once I got a better grasp on the character. this is one of such pictures.

understanding what he means here is very important to understand his character, but for that I got to define what 'help' means to him.

he says 'I dont need help' rather than 'I dont want help.' the wording is important.

I kinda think that 'getting help' for him is an euphemism for something bad, but what and why?

I can think of a long list of reasons, but to get to the correct answer, like I said, I need to understand him better.

so for now I'll just take a few basic notes.

1- he refers to his mother as 'mama'

2-with the vague wording, he could be saying that his mother has told him this, or that he overheard his mother saying this to someone else

3-he seemingly doesnt answer to her when she speaks to him. it could be out of spite or other reason, maybe he doesnt know what to answer, he find talking tiring or maybe pointless, like she wont really listen to anything he might say. this depends of what is the state of their bond, but it wouldnt be a surprise to say its a complicated one.

in the picture, he has placed the blanket on top of him, hiding his whole body and he seems to be crouching. his expression is partially hidden by his bangs, but we can see that he's unhappy, like trying to concentrate on whats on his laptop but being unable to. there's something about this subject that upsets him a lot, making him want to further pull inward. maybe its the wording? maybe he doesnt like to be called ill.

[december 24th, 2011]

"how hard do you think it is

for a kid to grow up when it's got no one to look up to?"

Speaking from experience, likely.

So this rhetorical question would be more insight into his childhood, where he might had lacked any adult role models, or otherwise reliable adults.

Then it brings up what his family situation might have been like. Was he often left alone by his parents? Or where they more like impala parents that mostly focused in providing for his basic necessities, like food and shelter, but otherwise didn’t really do much parenting.

Now omoriboy is old enough to realize these things.

In any case, I don’t think this quote is hard to understand.

Looking at the image, the camera is doing this kind of top-down thing that serves to emphasize how small a character is (specially compared to something else) or to emphasize like certain defenselessness or powerlessness. Even more, we have the character directly looking at the reader, while asking this question. It evokes that image of who once was a small lonely child, now a lonely adult (or teen) that was never taught how to grow up. Its like a moment of sincerity. For someone so distrustful, as I’ve interpreted it, this is like him truly showing vulnerability. The contents of the laptop are out of sight, so not even the reader can be distracted from seeing him as he is, deep down. Someone lonely left to figure out things for themselves, with no guidance.

I think for these reasons this picture is one of the ones I like most.

also, notice how he refers to this kid as 'it' rather than 'them', like an animal or a thing. did he grew up in the kind of place where children are treated no different from dogs or are seen more as burdens? a sadly common place.

[december 25th, 2011]

"i'm don't really like water so i'd rather not shower

i still think i smell better than most ひきこもり but its not like i've ever met any"

I was going to complain about him being shirtless in the middle of winter, but then I remembered that its not like his usual clothing provides much warmth so

He says that he would rather not shower instead of dont, which makes me believe that he might shower occasionally? Or try to.

Then he states that he thinks that he smells better than other hikikomori. Is this wistful thinking or does he have reasons to believe this?

Its possible his hygiene is better than popular belief, but its no guess that he struggles with personal hygiene.

Also, he has never spoken with other hikikomori.

In the picture he’s shirtless and this is the first appearance of mewo!

He could be shirtless because feeling mewo’s fur on his skin is physical contact that he lacks, or maybe because he was showering, or maybe doing that thing where one cleans oneself with like a wet cloth, dunno how its called in english.

Also, today its Christmas but there’s no mention of that. Understandable. When in a bad mental place, the only special thing about christmas is it being a specially bad day so the best thing is to forget about it and hopefully it goes by quickly… but then, was he trying to be more presentable today of all day by cleaning himself? but given his somber expression, he might have changed his mind and decide to forget its christmas. there might be an untold story behind this picture but Im not sure of which.

[december 25th, 2011]

"if i stay here, i can be whatever i want to be

if i leave this place, i'll have to accept my limitations as a human

and i just don't think i'm ready to do that yet"

This is another picture that I decided to leave for further examination later. Its important to understand it correctly.

For now, I’ll make a note that the last line might imply he isnt 100% against ‘leaving and accepting his limitations’, but he states he isnt ready for that yet.

Im not sure if self-awareness is the word, but I think this line shows some level of understanding of himself, though living like this he has plenty of time to self-reflect.

The first line here could be related to certain freedom that being a shut-in can bring, of being away from everyone's expectations, or it could relate to his imaginary escapades.

and the rest is there.

not much to say about the picture, he's playing a game.

[december 26th, 2011]

"whats the point of going to school if i can just learn everything on the internet?"

This to me seems a statement very typical of a teenager.

Nowhere it is stated how old omoriboy is (i think), but by his appearance hes probably somewhere in his late teens-early twenties.

Figuring out this question is also important to figure out another question: how much time has he been a hikikomori? The definition says that at least six months, but he gives me the impression he has done so for longer.

And then there’s the third question: when did he start?

If he was meant to be a college student, I dont think he would be saying this, since college is more about a career and training for that career, so, even if he was in his twenties, he still has the maturity of a teenager. Not like he has had many opportunities to mature like this.

Though that makes me wonder, did he finish highschool? Its possible he dropped halfway. this seems like the statement of a school student.

I could ask the same regarding middleschool, depending of how early he started.

I dont know if there’s a real answer, so I’ll have to choose what to do with these questions.

Anyways, in the picture he looks dismissal. This pose is also typical of a teenager saying ‘whatever, I dont care’ though he doesnt have his hand on his hip. Dunno, it kinda gives me the impression he wants to pretend he doesnt care, but he does, or maybe he's more tired that dismissal and the subject of studying saps away his energy.

[december 27th, 2011]

"god

why is everything so

fucking

boring"

The repetitiveness of his life might be getting him.

Since he established that he plays old games (on a gameboy) then it could be possible that all the games he owns he has already played.

though he has access to the internet, most of the time he's seen watching porn, but most of the time he doesn't even seem interested in what's on the screen. Some time ago I had wondered if the reason he masturbates so often isn't so much for having a high sexual drive but rather it's because it's the only reliable way he has of feeling anything pleasant... or anything in general.

that’s pretty his two activities. A very dull life.

This statement could also be tied to his possible depression and struggling to find enjoyment in anything, even in things he used to enjoy.

Also, first swear. He talks casually and informal but he doesnt swear often. So, when he swears, he has a good reason to.

Not much to say about the picture, it represents well what he’s feeling.

[december 27th, 2011]

"just because i like to hide my feelings doesn't mean i don't have any"

Here when we say ‘to like to do something’ it doesnt always means that a person actually likes to do that, but rather is more of a habit of theirs.

This sentence is pretty straightforward otherwise, but there’s the question of what does he mean by ‘like’?

Probably not so much that he actually likes it, but that its a habit that he has picked up and the circumstances made it one pretty useful. Its possible others mocked him if he showed emotions.

Or maybe he’s just someone reserved and doesnt like others to know whats going on with him

Or its a matter of distrust and he isnt willing to be vulnerable out there with anyone.

Not much to say about the picture, though in many of these where mewo appears, he seems to be talking to her (or to be directing his thoughts to her). I guess he sees her as his only confidant who wont judge or snitch. she’s a great support to him in this way, since she gives him a excuse to express his thoughts.

[december 27th, 2011]

"it's all my fault...

it's all my fault...

it's all my fault..."

this is probably the picture that would lead to the invention of the incident.

so he's blaming himself and this makes him suffer a lot.

though I dont think its ever specified why. is he blaming himself over something in particular (well, not that something...probably) or is this a general sense of guilt?

last time he blamed himself, I attributed it to blaming himself over his own suffering, of putting himself in this situation. that could also be an option, but Im not completely sure this is the case here. maybe its more about him thinking about all the fuck-ups thorough his life that have ultimately culminated into this?

since his past is vague, then here I decided to give myself some liberty to choose, and since Sunny already has a big reason to become a shut-in, then I wanted to go with the route that omoriboy doesnt have a big traumatic event that changed the course of his life, but that doesnt mean he doesnt have a trauma.

here I can apply something that I learned last year! that there's apparently three classifications of trauma: acute, chronic and complex.

acute trauma is a trauma caused by a specific event. Sunny could apply here, because we can pinpoint the exact day and hour his life went downhill.

chronic trauma is one caused by a particular situation that continues through a prolonged period of time, like being in an abusive relationship.

and complex trauma is harder to pinpoint, because is a trauma caused by many different things, and I'll go with the route that omoriboy has this.

[december 28th,2011]

"WHEN YOU LOVE SOMEONE BUT IT GOES TO WWAAAASSTEEee

COULD IT BE WOOOOOORRSSEEEEEeeeee? ♪"

after a brief search, I found he's singing 'fix you' by coldplay. now I would analyze the song, but since it will appear again later on, then I decided to leave that for later. so I'll focus on the drawing.

I think this is the only time we’ll see omoriboy doing something similar to speaking outloud. Its not like he has anyone to talk to, to be fair, though even in his imaginary adventures he’s never seen talking with anyone… I kinda wonder if he’s actually as quiet as Sunny and prefers non-verbal communication.

In any case, I think this is also a rare instance of omoriboy for once not ignoring his feelings but rather having a way to release them. Good good, should I note a good relationship with music, then?

In the illustration he’s shown really into the song, even singing outloud, and also probably hugging mewo for further comfort, much to her dismay.

Considering the previous image, I think this is a positive development.

[december 28th, 2011]

"too bad saving the world isn't as easy as these games make it out to be"

I wonder if this is a reference to the time period, when everyone was saying that the world would end next year, though I dont remember when that became the talk.

Either way, this can be read as somewhat sarcastically, or there could be deep in a genuine sentiment of wishing the world could be a better place. He believes that the world is unfair and has wronged him, but this could say that this hasnt made him which for the end of the world. So, not outright misanthropic, probably.

Not much to say about the drawing, he’s just playing a game with a neutral expression. With all the game on the floor, it could be to have easy access to any or him juts not being someone tidy. Checks out.

[december 28th, 2011]

"bleep bloop"

This picture is a pretty unique one.

Here we see omoriboy simply goofing around… not much else to say, but I think this shows a bit more of his personality, beyond all the depression. He can be a bit of a goofball, if he feels comfortable enough for that, surely. There’s no many chances for that to happen.

If you squint, I guess you could also say he can be resourceful, using whatever there’s at hand to make some use out of it, though this could also be tied to him being a creative one. though you could also use this as more evidence of him being bored out of his mind.

[december 29th, 2011]

"the great thing about living on a blog is that i don't have to pay rent"

another fourthwall break Im going to ignore.

Though Im not sure why would he be worried about rent. Its not like he would be paying rent anyways… maybe I cant reframe this a bit in that he would be expressing relief at not having to worry about adult problems. I kinda wonder thought if he feels sorry about his mother having to maintain him, but that's just another way of asking what are his thoughts regarding his mother, but I'll define that another day.

[december 29th, 2011]

"if i have to change myself to live, i think i'll be content with just existing"

Another drawing for the ‘examine later’ pile.

This one expresses a similar sentiment as the one from december 25

At first it seemed a bit contradictory to me, since here he shows an unwillingness to change, but then the previous one wasnt about changing, but rather about accepting his limitations.

No further notes for now.

[december 29th, 2011]

"why am i

so weak?"

Could refer to physical weakness, but more likely he means his incapability to cope with life and exist outside… or also could relate to his statement in the previous entry.

There’s this thing I want to point out though, that each time he cries, he hides his face, despite this being his safe place. It could be an attempt at further repression of his feelings, or it could be a custom he has that he learned, that he can't cry openly without backlash. 'men don't cry' and bullshit like that.

Mewo is there for him, at least.

[december 30th, 2011]

"these old memories never really stop messing with us, do they?"

likely referring to the previous entry. maybe he was remembering a moment in particular where he was too weak for... do anything.

Pretty straightforward text. Typical thing you’re going about your day and suddenly something reminds you of something you would have rather not think about. Shame!

Given his dull life where nothing happens, where nothing worth noting happens and each day is identical and the present barely feels like anything, then the only thing to be had is about the past.

Not much to say about the picture.

[december 31th, 2011]

"what if my imaginary friends are the ones that are real?

what if i'm the one who's imaginary?"

Another drawing to exanimate later.

This is the first time we see him standing! And you know how he looks? Forlorn. Yeah I learned a new word! ~Forlorn~. I really like it! Its a fancy word.

This idea of him being fake must depress him a lot, but why? Maybe because then his suffering would be meaningless or like it doesnt matter?

Not sure, but here he establishes to have imaginary friends. I kinda wonder if he’s had imaginary friends all his life or if these are a recent development.

[january 1st, 2012]

"aand heres to -hic- not fukcin thsi yearr up asb ad as th lsat one,,,,"

Its new years and he acknowledges that, unlike with christmas (is the pornsite also celebrating?). He even might be having a little celebration himself! Or just drinking to forget.

He doest seem in the worst mood, though. I dont think he’s being sarcastic here, but rather ironic.

New year, same old omoriboy. He’s watching porn, like always.

Though I wonder if by ‘fucking it up’ he means his daily life in general of if there was some sort of event(s) in particular he’s referring to. After all, he starts his blog in december, who knows what else happened through the year. For all we know, this is actually his first year as a hikikomori.

[january 2nd, 2012]

"my mama always told me if i was kind, considerate, and forgave others, good things would happen

what a load of bullshit

all i did was waste my childhood and give the other kids my face to step on"

Here we have more insight on his past, where he considers that his childhood was wasted away. unlike the game, I believe the blog doesnt shy away about how cruel children can be.

So, highly possible that omoriboy was a victim of bullying from an early age and that must have formed much of his worldview, about the world being unfair.

He did try to follow his mother’s advice and be a good person, only to be humiliated for that. Fucked up to be punished without blame!

In the picture he looks somewhat resentful, which makes a lot of sense.

His mom’s advice isn’t malicious, but she must have failed to give him an actual solution to his problems with other children, and thus, now he must think he was made a fool for listening to a erroneous advice, or like he was tricked into making a fool of himself.

is he resentful towards his mother or her advice?

Very important entry to understand the character.

The knife makes its first appearance.

[january 3rd, 2012]

"it sucks to live in a world where nice guys finish last"

Many people have joked about omoriboy being an incel due to this entry.

Im not super knowledgeable about the incel mentality and Im too lazy to research it in order to determine if he is an incel or not, but the good thing is that in my fic his opinion about women is irrelevant so I dont have to worry about that. So I’ll just use this as more evidence that he thinks the world is unfair and trying to be a good person only gets you to be used as a step ladder.

Now he’s using the knife to draw certain person(?).. or to carve her in the floor? That requires certain care, even when the action of making marks on the floor with the knife could indicate an aggressive way of releasing frustration.

[january 5th, 2012]

"i'm just a waste of space"

Sooner or later he was bound to think about this.

is this due to him being a hikikomori, or has he thought about this from before becoming a hikikomori?

In the picture he’s closely examining the knife’s blade, maybe judging how sharp it is. His expression is neutral, which I’ve interpreted as him stating what he views as a fact. There’s no distractions around, no laptop, no mewo. Only the lightbulb and the knife.

[january 5th, 2012]

"i' _ _ o _ i _ _ , _ a _ a"

His expression is now obscured as he aims the knife towards himself. Its not hard to guess what his intentions are.

before I started taking notes, I had misremembered that his mother was dead and that he wanted to reunite with her. in the video linked above, they interpret this as 'I'm coming, mama' so that might be why.

but he has mentioned that she's alive, and if she had died in the middle of the story then it would have been more obvious, as he would have lost his caretaker and that would have caused conflict. so now Im not sure if that's what he's saying.

then maybe, if he refers to his mother as mama, why couldn't he refer to his father as papa? maybe he's the one dead.

but with my english, I don't think I can take a good guess. the sentence might start with 'I'm' (or maybe I'll'), then follows with a verb ending in -ing (losing could also fit, but Im not sure that's the word either), and the with a word with two a's, or maybe he's laughing.

all in all, I don't know. I'll have to check a dictionary later...

[january 7th, 2012]

you..."

but he's stopped!

two days later.

...maybe the dates just were the posting dates and weren't meant to be taken in consideration... I'll have to reevaluate the stuff from christmas then, but that for another day.

Anyways, here’s abbi!! (or tako-chan, rather)

according to the video, because I can't read japanese, the words here say 'not yet' (twice?)

Curious that he was thinking about her before attempting to end his life and then she’s the reason he changes his mind.

So, who is she? There’s many options:

1- she’s an imaginary friend of his that’s like ‘ hey if you commit suicide you wont be able to visit us anymore!’

2-she’s a fictional character from a show and this is a case of ‘if thinking that naruto would be proud of you gets you to brush your teeth…’

… ok I had two more theories but now that I think so the first one sound the most likely (though these two could coexist, I kinda think the waifu he meant earlier is her, but that’s just my impression)

[january 8th, 2012]

"right

we all find excuses to keep existing even when we'd rather not

choosing to feel pain over feeling nothing at all

...

humans are so stupid"

And in the aftermath of this he lays alone on the floor just kinda thinking about what just happened. Shock might not be the right word but something like that… maybe numbness?

The text here is pretty straightforward, so I dont have much to say. From an objective standpoint, he doesnt think there’s a single reason he should keep living, but his survival instinct grasps onto anything.

Its worth noting his wording tho, how he speaks in a general matter rather than for himself. Maybe he considers his survival instinct is a hindrance and blames his human condition for that?

[january 10th, 2012]

"nothing is ever a big deal if you don't let it be"

Likely referring to the events in the previous pages. He just seriously considered ending his life but it’s not a big deal, really.

(I kinda wonder if he spent the last two days in the same numb state as before...)

Pretty straightforward so I dont have much to say, I could even add this to my notes just by copying it. to the mentality section it goes.

Not much to say about the picture. Its a casual posture with goes along not giving importance to serious things that need addressing.

All in all, a fantastic way to start the year.

[january 10th, 2012]

"i am a cocoon"

And later on the day(? He decides to goof around a bit… or maybe enveloping himself with the blanket is the closest thing to a comforting hug that he can have. At least mewo is there for him.

I like this sentence because while is sure he means it literally, pretending to be a cocoon, it can be taken metaphorically. Im not sure he is prone to be that philosophical though, but the thought is there.

[january 12th, 2012]

Now its time to analyze some tunes!

and let the internet become witness of how terrible I am at understanding songs. I barely read poetry and when I do I hardly understand it and its the same with songs.

But first, the illustration.

You know what? I think I’ll make a note of him having a positive relationship with music, here he looks like he is actually enjoying the songs, and if anything, he’s concentrated on them rather than thinking about something else. Good angst is all about balance, yknow? So its good to keep in mind the few positive things he has in life.

Ok then, time to open yt.

~musical analysis~

The smiths- please, please, please

This is a song of 1984 and the full title is ‘please, please,please let me get what I want’, or at least that’s the song that appears.

Essentially, this is a song about a guy(? Who has lived through a lot of misfortune and now begs for things to turn out alright for once. It checks out for the kind of life that i imagine omoriboy has had.

Imogen heap- speeding cars

This is a song of 2005 (or at least the album was released then)

At least from what I understand, this is a song about the singer comforting someone having a hard time and telling them that these kind of things are part of growing up, so acknowledging their suffering, but still reassuring them that they love them. There’s also a line where they discourage them from committing suicide.

Coldplay- fix you

This is a song of 2005 and also the song that omoriboy was singing earlier. I investigated it a bit more earlier for that, and I learned that the singer wrote this song after the father of his wife passed away.

Then this is also a song where the singer comforts someone who is suffering and promising to be there for them. The line ‘but if you never try, you’ll never know/ just what you’re worth’ catches my attention, mostly because of how the blog ends.

Don mclean – american pie

This is a song of 1972 and it has a cultural importance for the united states! Or so wikipedia says.

And since its a song so tied to its time period and nation, then I spend a good 15 minutes reading explanations because after reading the lyrics I didnt understand anything. Now that I finally more or less get it, the question now is, how does this relate to omoriboy?

In a very broad way, this song is about an era gone by, one where things were happier and now everything is more decadent. It can be about loss of societal naivety (is that the term?) or generally thinking that everything was better in the past and now everything keeps getting worse. I guess omoriboy could like this song because this whole thing of growing disillusioned with existence and missing a more innocent time is an universal feeling?

Foster the people – helena beat

This is a song of 2011 and I ended up reading that this songs is about self-destructive habits because I read a bit too much, but I dont think this changes that much.

Its a conflicting song, with opposing feelings regarding the subject matter, which makes sense as its a complicated thing. There are a lot of conflicting feelings regarding the singer’s own habits. There’s also a lot of lyrics that can apply to omoriboy, like ‘You know those days when you wanna just choose/To not get out of bed, you're lost in your head again’ and ‘Slip and fall, I'm dodging calls, hug the prison I've been living in’ I think this song would let him know that he isnt alone in having conflicting thoughts.

Overall, in a matter of music itself his likings are varied, but in a matter of lyrics he listens to songs that he can identify with, where his feelings are put into words. I think they would help him in not feeling alone with his experiences. So yeah, music is a very good thing for him.

[january 13th, 2012]

"ice cream..."

This is the first time he shows interest in something from outside. My guess is that he heard that jingle from an ice cream truck passing nearby and, well, he would like to have some, but… yknow, going outside is out of the question for him.

Taking in consideration the next image, I think this just served to give him a reminder of what kind of life he leads and that he cant do normal things like buying ice cream. It must have soured his mood, to remember the world inst place for him.

Dunno about you but this is the illustration that saddens me the most.

[january 15th, 2012]

"the closest i've been to being happy is being asleep"

More evidence that his life has been pretty depressing.

In the game many things were toned down from the blog, the sexual elements are the most obvious, but Im starting to think the protagonist’s backstory was also toned down by giving Sunny a happier childhood.

I guess Omoriboy doesnt mind being a hikikomori because he has nothing in the world that he misses. While he has his regrets, he doesnt seem to long for a different time so agonizingly like Sunny does.

In any case, dreaming must be the ultimate form of distraction, a true escape from this painful world into a kinder one… or as close as it’ll ever get.

In the picture he doesnt look exactly happy, but this must be because he’s trying to fall asleep currently, and this thought must have crossed his mind. His awake time must be more like just killing time until he can fall asleep again, or an unpleasant reminder that his happiness isn’t real… in that sense maybe this picture is actually about him having just woken up and wishing that he hadn’t.

[january 19th, 2012]

"fucking neighbors..."

A widely-understood sentiment.

So the neighbours are having a party and the loud music(? Won’t let him sleep.

Even if by itself this would be greatly annoying, omoriboy has stated that he’s his happiest when he’s asleep, so not being able to sleep is a even bigger deal for him. Right now they’re taking away the only way he has of being happy. A swearing is well-warranted.

Now this pic leads to another (probably seizure-inducing) pic that shows the neighbour’s room, but since that’s not relevant to my fic then I’ll ignore it, I have enough with these 40+ images to takes notes from. not much to note about the picture, beyond the suffering of the FUCKING NEIGHBOURS and THEIR FUCKING PARTIES THAT LAST UNTIL 4AM

[january 23rd, 2012]

"where am i going?"

In the tvtropes they choose to read this literally but I’ll go with the metaphorical route.

So, here our protagonist is thinking about the future, what his current path in life is leading to.

With how empty his present life is, then it makes sense that when he looks forward into the future, all he sees is a blank whole of nothing.

But at least mewo is there, with her unconditional companionship.

[january 25th, 2012]

"anything fun is just a distraction from how much the world actually sucks"

Considering that at his core hes a vent character, it makes sense that he’s someone pessimistic.

His daily life consists on distracting himself from how much his own life sucks, but given this mentality, I wonder if his unwillingness to change is rooted in that he believes outside he would be pretty much doing the same, distracting himself from how much the world sucks, or how much his job sucks, or how much his life sucks in a different way. Being a hikikomori sucks but outside isnt much better. Stuck between bad and worse.

Not much to say about the picture, he has mostly a neutral expression so this thought doesnt bring out many emotions, which makes sense since for him he’s stating a fact of life that can’t be done anything about.

[january 31st, 2012]

"how are you supposed to cheer up if you don't know why you're sad in the first place?"

After many pictures with the contents of the laptop out of view, now we can see that he has returned to his usual routine.

After his attempted suicide, even if he decided to not think of it as a big deal, what he did the following days was different than usual. Give himself some comfort, listen to music, not really using his usual distractions. I could say its the closest thing for him to self-care day. I think this experience affected him and he was, if maybe subconsciously, looking for comfort.

But sooner or later, he was bound to go back to his usual routine, since nothing was actually addressed.

About this entry, well its pretty self-explanatory. He often feels sad, even when nothing in particular has happened. Maybe this also happened before he became a hikikomori.

[february 1st, 2012]

"in my world, i am a god"

Another post with a a link to another drawing! But first I’ll take notes from this one.

In the real world, he would be seen as a useless loser that no one would miss, but in his world, he’s the most important being.

So, on one side his statement here could be about having control. The world cannot hurt him if he controls it, but it could also be about having control on his own life, or just having the control to mold the world to how he wants it to be.

On the other, this ‘being god’ thing could be about being important to the world, but I think its more likely its the first option.

In the illustration, he’s drawing while kicking his legs and having a somewhat intense look, so he is enjoying himself but also this is a serious thing! Probably

So, about the drawing linked in question…

Eh, I think i’ll mostly make a note about the things that he likes to draw rather than trying to understand the meaning, because Im tired after all these pictures.

Things to note then

→ Videogame influences

→ Himself with smile, red eyes and a bloody knife (a revenge fantasy or maybe him being able/allowed to defend himself from anyone trying to hurt him)

→japanese text i cannot read (the vid says that this means love apparently)

→ his eyes stabbed out (him being injured? self-harm?)

→ many eyes (feeling of being observed?)

→ tentacle hentai influences?

→ severed limbs

→ bows

→ scribbles

→ cats

→ underwear

→ a grotesque interpretation of that scene from lady and the tramp, maybe

→ a lot of red and black (resist breaking into song)

→ hearts

this reminds me its been a while since I drew something complex... I've been drawing graphics all month... I could give it a try to draw something like this, it seems fun.

[february 6th, 2012]

"bad kitty!"

This is another of the few comedic moments. Not much to say that isnt obvious. He’s calling mewo a bad cat for scratching his face, though he doesn’t look too annoyed about that. Maybe he’s more patient with animals since they don’t act maliciously and thus if she hurt him was because he provoked her? Unlike people, who might have hurt him out of malice and makes him feel wronged and bitter. She’s also his only company, so, that could also be.

With all of this I just wanna note that he might be the kind of person that enjoys/prefers more the company of animals than people.

Not much to say about the picture, though this is the only time he uses a exclamation point. sometimes he might plays with mewo as part of his limited number of activities.

[february 24th, 2012]

"y'know

i wouldn't really mind going outside that much if everyone else wasn�t so stupid"

so his reason to not going outside is due to the people's attitude.

I dont think he believes himself to be intellectually superior to anyone, so by stupid I think he would mean people being rude and unpleasant or withholding arbitrary ideals that don't make sense, like gender norms as an example.

Now, I’ve said he believes the world is unfair, but is it because the world itself is like that or because the people in it make it unfair? I think this is an important distinction, but all of that for later.

In any case, I’ll make a note that people annoy him... (or so he says, but it could be that they make him feel wary)

yeah I know this analysis is lackluster but I was tired.

Btw, for some reason, the picture is signed differently.

[march 5th, 2012]

"life would be so much better if i didn't look like a potato"

this is going back to the sentiment at the beginning. I guess by ‘looking like a potato’ he means that he looks fat… just like he mentioned in the second picture.

I guess these thoughts are like cyclical and he’s going back to the beginning. He might later think about his loneliness, then about his blame, then about what people might think about him, then about his death, and so on until starting again. There’s only so many subjects to think about. He might try to commit suicide again, then he will pretend its not a big deal, and back to the start.

Given this is the last picture before the ‘end’, then I think its just a statement how there’s no really a beginning or end, as long as everything remains the same. Rather than a story, this is just a look at his daily life, and that’s all.

Not much to say about the picture. He looks ashamed and is ashamed of his appearance. Like before, the picture is signed as ‘omori’ now.

[march 14th, 2012]

"no way"

[password is incorrect]

"if i never try, it means i never have to give up

but i guess that makes me a coward anyways"

onto the finale!

In that case, I think I’ll examine these three pictures together, because that’ll be easier and less work for me.

In the first picture, he is seen distressed as he

The fucking program crashed and it didnt save all the nice analysis I had written

Well fuck

So the ending here is about omoriboy giving up access to the blog because the password is incorrect and he from the get go sets himself to failure and so prefers to not try at all than to try again and again and having to accept the humiliation of failure. The story concludes with him considering himself a coward for this. (was he ever called a coward for not following the mentality of never give up? Or he has gone through many failures)

The reason the password is incorrect could be due to him simply mistyping which would make his decision all the more drastic, since he looses access to one of his only sources of entertainment and its not like he is indifferent to that as the first pic shows,which either could mean that he has been a shut in for a long time so his problems have gotten worse to this point or in his memory is fresh all the failures of his life and even something so simple repels him.

The problems with the password could also be due to external factors, like him getting hacked or maybe getting some malware from all the pornsites, but im not sure that would fit thematically but is a possibility.

Or maybe his mom could have done something in this with a misguided idea that taking away his access to the internet will change his shut-in habits.

Its an stereotype to have a shut-in character who is very good at technology so i think it makes him more unique by him showing an average knowledge regarding technology, i like that.

Ok now I remembered to save. Hey now that I think so he also lost access to his tunes :(

and that would be it for the blog! so now I'll go with the comic.

-> OMORI'S STORY

So, omori’s story.

I wont be analyzing every picture like before this time, but rather I’ll look at the entire comic as a general thing.

Omori’s story starts with him being in his white void as usual. In this case, he’s entertaining himself with drawing with crayons when a white wooden door catches his attention.

He decides to open it, and when he does, he finds himself in a colorful place, with a cat watching him, some floating hands reaching him, and a good view of he night sky.

Some people are here and they quickly notice his presence. They look happy to see him and approach him to greet him. The girl grabs him by the wrists, making him blush, but the other two boys snatch him away much to the girl’s annoyance. Mewo is coming along. It all seems to be just playful banter, as the girl soon joins and they all walk side by side like a good group of friends. Omoriboy has some expressions that we have never seen before, looking shy and unsure, but the rest are easy-going and bring him along in their outing. this page is my favorite, is very wholesome!

Firstly they visit some kind of playground and the four of them play with a jumping rope. There’s a lot of other young people around playing with each-other and having fun.

After that they go to the pool and swim around while other people are also swimming or relaxing.

And after so much physical activity, they decide to rest a bit while going to float in space, as friends usually do. There seems to be a firework show around, maybe even some sort of festival or celebration. Until now, omoriboy has looked somewhat perplexed, but here he has a honest smile!

After they have rested, they seem to be heading to their next destination, climbing some sort of hill made out of cats. They run up and omoriboy merrily goes after them.

But when he reaches out for the girl, not only she vanishes, but everything else as well. It seems it was all just a very vivid daydream. Omoriboy now stands alone in his white room, with a bunch of drawings on the floor.

With a close up, all these drawings are of the places he had been daydreaming about, as well as a drawing of the people that so easily included him.

Now we see his face, simply looking down at these drawings with a tired expression.

He falls to his knees and longingly reaches out for the drawings. His expression first is neutral, but then he grits his teeth, his bangs obscuring his face. He then curls down (is that the word?) as the camera zooms out, letting us see a gigantic and empty white void of nothing but a lonely guy, his cat, and a bunch of drawings of everything he doesnt have.

So what can we conclude from all of this?

On one hand, that omoriboy is terrible at coming up with names, which is a very convenient character trait as Im also terrible at coming up with names, so that means I dont have to make an effort on that regard.

On the other hand, despite the reputation that omoriboy has, his fantasy is very tame and childish. And well, its not really a comic hard to understand.

All he dreams of is having people that are willing to accept him even when he’s different from them (if he wanted to be like everyone else, I think he would be changing color palette to be purple, but no, he remains the same, clearly different from everyone else but no one cares), people that include him in their outings and encourage him to have fun even when its not something familiar to him. So, all he wants is to have friends to have fun with in a nonjudgmental world.

Now that I think so, you know how many people have said that they would like to have a group of friends like the main gang? I think omoriboy shares the sentiment.

Though other way to see this is that he daydreams of the childhood that he didn’t get to have, but its not like these interpretations are conflicting.

Sadly, all of this its just a dream… at least as of now, there’s no much evidence that these characters have real-life counterparts. For all we know, they’re completely imaginary. But at least mewo is there.

the comic speaks for itself. Just loneliness and the longing for human connection.

there's something I've been thinking about, back when I analyzed the song 'fix you' and while still wondering what he entails by 'help.'

the songs selection give me the impression that Omoriboy wants support, someone to be there for him to acknowledge his pain and comfort him.

but the idea of help might feel conditional for him. there will be someone there for him, but only if he makes an effort in changing. depression must sap his energy away, so the idea of doing anything is exhausting for him. he cannot get support if he doesnt go get it, and he's just too tired. it makes him feel pressured to change when he doesnt feel ready, but people dont listen him to him and keep insisting for him to change, which even if well-meaning, will only make him feel like he isn't being listened.

so I was thinking, maybe what he meant was 'I don't need help to change, I need support'

this idea still needs examination, but Im still sure he would like to have some unconditional support, one that lets him stay flawed and still offer understanding.

I think I explained myself like shit but hopefully you understand where Im getting at. basically 'you'll get support only if you fix yourself' vs ' I'll support you now as you are'

so the same sentiment, being accepted the way he is, with all his flaws.

(as a separate note, depending on how much you separate omoriboy from Sunny, then in certain way he did get what he wanted so much, after being reworked into Sunny: a loving family, a nice neighbourhood and a group of friends who accepted him just the way he was…

There’s this real good trick for angst, which says to give your character that which they want the most, so you can take it away from them in the worst way possible. its seems they followed this philosophy)

There were a couple more stuff with omoriboy, but later on, after some point, he was separated into two characters and for some years that would be it for him.

But surprisingly, there’s a recent picture of him now!

-> omoriboy?! in MY 202x?! (I dont remember when this was posted and Im too lazy to check)

There’s a few differences with the previous pictures. First, there’s a few new objects: a tv, some furniture, a console which I think is a super nintendo with a cartridge on it, and our good omoboy is laying inside a box. The laptop is completely absent, so I guess he truly never touched it ever again. The lightbulb is also missing, but I’ve jus kinda ignored it all this time. The game already has all its symbolism so in my fic its just a burnt lightbulb (is that the term for a lightbulb that doesnt work well?)

Otherwise, he’s the same as ever, playing videogames with a bored expression. According to the wiki this file is named giygas so I guess he’s playing mother 2, or he’s replaying it after having played it so many times he feels absolutely nothing at this poignant moment of the game.

Now there’s something that catches my attention, and that’s the text you can see written on the box. It seems to say ‘ I feel HAPPY’. Did he write it? Why? In the blog he’s pretty honest about how he feels, even when his feelings are conflicting. That’s the whole point, that he can be genuine and doesnt have to hide how awful he feels. This seems strange coming from him. Its obviously a lie, but is he trying to lie to someone? To himself? To the viewer? Or is he sarcastic?

There’s also the static that covers the whole image, which was never present before (in this way at least, if you’re reading the censored version).

I remember there was another thing I thought back when it was posted. First, I jokingly said something along the lines of ‘in ten years, nothing has changed!’ but its the kind of thing that when you think twice, it isnt funny anymore.

Ten years have passed, and nothing has changed.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to know his mental health has gotten even worse, and now has opted to try and delude himself that he’s satisfied with his life, or that maybe he’s even loosing his grasp in reality. That would explain why the tv seems to be dripping (at first it scared me because it looked to me like battery acid, but if it was then it wouldnt be working… and do tv’s even have a battery inside?) in certain way, isnt it a silent scream?

but at least mewo is there with him!… but cats only live so much time. how much longer will she be there?

and that's all for omoriboy as of now, until we see him next time... if there's a next time.

-> IN CONCLUSION

I still have some more stuff to do, but now the bulk of the character analysis is done. I still have some unanswered questions, but after Im done with writing the character profile I think then I’ll have a better feel of what the correct answer, either by what feels more in character or whats more fitting for the theme of the story.

Now I have a lot of ideas for the protagonist’s backstory, the place he has grown in and his relationships, I even have a good deal of what his mother’s story is, but I also have the problem that I dont have an actual plot for the fic itself, just a vague idea of the beginning and end, but Im not too worried about that.

As an actual conclusion though, I believe omoriboy has some excellent angst potential that isnt being explored! When I looked up the tag in ao3, there were many crackfics, smutfics, shipfics but not much that actually was what I wanted, gut-wrenching angst. Only three fics ended up catching my attention, but if anything my whole fanfic writing career started because I couldnt find the fic I wanted to read so, its not problem for me. by the end of it, I hope to make the readers feel a deep sense of emptiness, so I have a goal in mind.

there's also some stuff I wanna investigate more:

1- porn addiction.

I have wondered if omoriboy has a porn addiction but since I dont know its actual definition, which its sure more complex than 'watching a lot of porn' then it seemed like a good chance to learn more. if anything, it will be funny to make yt believe I have a porn addiction.

2-hikikomori

its never bad to learn more

3-incel mentality

its not a priority but its really bothering me. is he an incel or not? its not important for my fic so I could skip it but leaving a question unanswered will drive me mad.

I think it also would be fun to make a chart comparing omoriboy and Sunny.

for now I’ll take a rest of omoriboy because this has taken a lot of effort.

hopefully this has been an interesting read for you!

#omori #omoriboy #maybe I should have made a tag for these kind of notes #oh well its too late now

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arahul-abyssia · 4 years ago

Text

Looks like it's September again (already, somehow), so that means that it's Nintember again, which means I'll be writing again! Same dealio as last time, one story per five prompts, up to six writings total. (And I'll be putting most of each under a cut, because mobile users can't skip posts)

And for my first entry for @starprincesshlc and @jklantern 's wonderful little event, I shall once again be attempting to twist some modicum of continuity, characterization, and canon-compliance out of a world that clearly cares scarcely for all three.

The Great Act

~~ Art, Green, Dizzy, Fire, Strength ~~

It was the loud buzzing of his phone’s alarm clock that dragged him from his slumber. He awoke to find himself sprawled across the couch, which was in no way long enough for his lanky body and spindly legs. As he blearily reached out and slapped at the coffee table, hoping to find the rude device by pure luck, he also blearily reached out and slapped at his memories, trying to figure out what series of events had led him there. For a moment, they floated just out of reach, and then suddenly flooded back to him all at once.

Oh. Right. It’s all over.

Another sporting event had come and gone, and as usual, in spite of all the effort he put into training and practice, he had ultimately lost to the same people he always did. No matter the sport, no matter the plan, no matter the time, they always won. And why shouldn’t they? The heroes always win in the end, always securing victory against the villains.

And he was one of them: the purple-clad counterpart, mirror, and supposed rival to one of the land’s most revered figures. Meant to oppose, and meant to lose.

He was Waluigi.

The name still sounded absurd to him. He had no idea how two men whose names were ‘Mario’ and ‘Wario’ and who naturally served as near-perfect foils of each other, had managed to meet and form such a publicizable rivalry without any deliberate effort, but such was the case. However, the notion that the brother of one had his own doppelganger in the brother of the other (or cousin, they never did manage to keep that story straight), with the same dichotomies of name, body, and personality? That was simply and utterly ridiculous, far beyond even the realm of ‘too good to be true’. And yet, if anyone had caught on, they hadn’t made it known to him.

Lost in thought and routine, he realized he had reached and opened his wardrobe, where numerous sets of that purple hat, shirt, and overalls were staring him in the face. In a sickening sense, they were the centerpiece of a great work of art, the fabrication that was his entire public existence, the character that he and Wario had constructed so that he might further be the ‘evil counterpart’ to everyone’s favorite red-clothed fire-throwing hero. Mario was stout and a bit fat, Wario was stouter and fatter; Luigi was tall and a bit thin, so Waluigi was taller and thinner. Mario had an M as his emblem, Wario had an inverted M; Luigi had an L, so Waluigi had an inverted L. To any casual outside observer, it was perfect.

But unlike Mario and Wario, whose rivalry had been formed in their youth, Waluigi had never even met Luigi until Wario had made him his sporting partner. The most he had known of the legendary Mario Brothers was just that: they were legends, for the countless adventures and quests they went on. In truth, despite how much he played it up during each and every game, he bore no true grudge against the man he was supposed to hate; Wario had, for a time, convinced him that Luigi’s presence in the public eye was somehow detracting from his own, but he had long since realized that that wasn’t the case; in fact, it often seemed like Luigi himself was being snubbed by the public, with the vast majority of the glory placed upon Mario, no matter how much Luigi contributed.

And yet, despite his existence being little more than a convenient story, despite the stress that constantly acting like a jerk brought, and despite always losing at the games no matter what, none of it brought him any sadness: for all its ups and downs, he felt himself to be rather good at keeping up the act, and the sports were, at the end of the day, still fun.

So why do I still feel so… bad?

Routine and thought had once more brought Waluigi elsewhere, and he found himself once more on his couch, now dressed in his usual outfit, with some sort of drink in his hands, probably coffee or tea; he didn’t care to determine which at that moment. His eyes casually wandered around the room as he brought the mug to his lips.

Then, just as the liquid touched his tongue--apparently he had managed to make tea out of coffee beans--the answer came to him. All across the room’s walls and shelves was sporting equipment of every sort--tennis racquets, shin-guards, helmets, golf clubs, old kart wheels, giant dice blocks, a probably excessive number of deflated balls--and absolutely no other sort of decoration. He leaned forward to place the mug on the table, and in doing so noticed his gloved hands and violet sleeves. Who wore the outfit of a character that they supposedly were not, every single day? Apparently, him.

He didn’t do anything else. He had let the character that was Waluigi consume his life to the point that had no idea who he was outside of it. He had nothing that he did when sports weren’t involved. Wario didn’t dedicate all his time to his rivalry; he owned an entire video game company--an unstable and poorly-run one, certainly, but it was nevertheless another use of his time. Mario and Luigi had their own grand adventures, of course, which is also what Peach, the Yoshis, Bowser, and his horde of minions were all typically involved in.

They all had lives outside of the games, and what did he do during the interim times? He either tried to practice, on his own, in the few suitable locations that he could find when the world was arranged for adventure, in a vain attempt to not lose as bad when the next game came around, or he wallowed in his home, doing absolutely nothing of any import.

But what could he do? Waluigi was never anything beyond a fabricated counterpart to both Wario and Luigi, but he could not remember, even slightly, what or who he was before he embraced that role. That nearly all of his memories prior to his first meeting with his partner were lost to him, was, he shuddered to admit, rather unsettling. Not even his old name--if he even had had one, he could not recall anymore--would reveal itself to him, and it was not as though he could simply find out through some external means: he was never the best at record-keeping, and to really sell their act, he had had his name legally changed to “Waluigi” and all references to his previous identity erased.

He shook his head, attempting to clear his mind of thoughts. There was little sense in worrying and fretting over who he was in that moment--the chance of any sort of useful epiphany emerging from it was even slimmer than he was.

Ugh… better just try to distract myself…

The first suitable option to catch his eye was the TV remote lying on the table. He quickly grabbed it and flicked on the set, and was immediately assaulted by the cheery enunciation of the Lakitu news anchors on the aptly-named Lakitu News Channel. He recalled that that was the channel he had left the set on last night, after he had gotten quite fed up with the incessant and inane blathering about the events of that day’s final matches, and it took only about five seconds to figure out that they were still on that topic. Scowling, he began flipping through the various channels available, hoping to find something interesting enough to block out the melancholic thoughts that were biting at his mind, like a hundred tiny Muncher and Nipper Plants.

After a painfully long series of more newsrooms--all talking about the exact same thing, of course--and unappealing shows--Half of these are for children and other half would just make me feel even worse!--he stumbled across some sort of advice segment hosted by a Birdo (was it the Birdo? He couldn’t tell). With absolutely no better options, he resigned himself to sit back and listen halfheartedly to whatever trite tips she tried to provide; maybe they’d be amusing enough to at least give him a small chuckle.

“I hope you all enjoyed our lovely guest! Now, before we move on to the submissions from all you wonderful viewers, I’d like to reiterate some old, but tried and true, advice, which I hold very close to my heart.”

Oh, here we go…

“Something which you probably hear very often is to always be yourself, or to always be true to yourself…”

Feh, I can think of several people who definitely shouldn’t do that…

“But it may be that you don’t like who ‘yourself’ is, or perhaps you don’t know what self you even have to be true to…”

Hah! As if… uh…

“And to that end, I’d like to say that there is always room for change. There’s always a way to make something new of yourself, to alter the parts of you that you want to, to become a different, better person. ‘Yourself’ can be whoever you want it to be; never are you locked along one unending bleak path. Try new things! Experiment! Don’t let yourself be trapped in an endless cycle.

“Believe me when I say I have personal experience with this: I’ve done so many different things over a rather short period of time, trying to find what I wanted to do with myself, who I wanted to be. Even now, I’m still not entirely sure if this is my supposed ‘calling’…! But I never got anywhere by doing nothing: it was on me to break out of my shell and search for myself, and now it’s on you to do the same.

“You don’t have to begin drastically, with a flying leap of faith--I think we’ve all walked over enough cliffs by now to know that!--but, if this is the sort of mindset you find yourself in, why not try taking some small steps today? It could be as simple as wearing a new outfit, or talking to someone new, or partaking in a new pastime.”

Birdo continued to elaborate on her point, but Waluigi--or, whoever he was beneath that--had stopped listening. He wanted to make some snark about what she said; he wanted to rationalize how what she described couldn’t ever apply to him; but, he found that he couldn’t. He had attempted to follow similar advice long in the past, and failed, but something about the way she phrased it, managed to affect him more deeply than he had thought possible. It was as though her words had dug beneath his shields and layers and pierced something somewhere in his core; pulled a lever, turned a handle, flipped a switch.

A strange sensation washed over him, one he could only describe as a blazing fire--nay, an inferno--igniting within him. He had felt the touch of flame countless times over the years, but not even the innumerable rage-fueled volleys he had endured, all combined into a single force, could compare to what now burned in his soul.

He leapt up from the sofa and ran to his bathroom. Staring at him from within the mirror was a character, a costume, a facade. It was not who he was. He grabbed a towel, dampened it, and proceeded to scrub away the pink paint on his nose; Wario and Waluigi’s noses were defined by that bright rosy color, but his was not. He then tore open a cabinet and grabbed his bottle of mustache product; normally, it was used to create the signature angular mustache of Waluigi, but today, it would shape the hairs into something softer and curlier. Whether that was what he would ultimately like did not matter: he was experimenting! He was changing himself!

Though the man that stared back at him from the glass now bore a much different visage, it was still framed by the purple cap and shirt, yellow emblem, and dark indigo overalls. He tore them off, then opened his wardrobe once more and threw all the copies of that same outfit to the ground. Hidden behind them were old clothes that he hadn’t worn for many, many years. He grabbed the first garments he saw--a casual dress shirt and gaudy neon-yellow shorts. Did those go well together? It didn’t matter. Without hesitating, he put them on.

He quickly glanced in the mirror again: the ensemble was nearly complete, but just missing one last touch. He thought on it for a moment, then stricken with brilliance, hurried to his modest backyard, where the roses he performed with in the games grew. He plucked one from its bush and affixed it to his hair, then ran back to the mirror to observe himself one more time.

His mismatched get-up would likely garner many stares from others, though he wouldn’t mind them at all; if he had anything in common with Waluigi, it was that they both loved being the center of attention. Even still, that’s not what mattered. A whole new day lay before him, a whole new day to be someone new, someone different; to move on from the cycle he had been stuck in, to take a whole new step forward.

He returned to the sitting room and turned off the television, then went to the front door. Taking a deep breath, he turned the handle, threw it open, and marched into the daylight, the daylight which felt far fresher and warmer than it had in a long time, though even it held no candle to the flame that continued to blaze within him.

Ready or not, world; here I come!!

#nintember #my writing #godss there were so many directions i thought about taking this #eventually had to just choose and commit to one #straight up wrote a great deal of a different take before scrapping it #writing is... a time

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wintersweetbou · 4 years ago

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Decorum

Fandom: FFXV/ Kingsglaive. Warnings: Cussing, creepers getting their just desserts. Characters: Tredd Furia, Luche Lazarus, Crowe Altius, Pelna Khara, Crowe’s Mages.

Summary: Not much can stop Tredd Furia in his tracks. But a black mage smashing into him does. Especially if she asks for help involving an adventure to the arcade. He agrees, if Luche goes too.

Few things stopped Tredd Furia in his tracks. Very few. But a black mage slamming into him on the way home from work was one of them. Especially when said mage- Mira- squeaked, then proceeded to hide herself behind him. Tredd stood there, confused, yet docile. Best not to mess with or question Crowe’s mages- those who did often ended up on fire. Pedestrians flowed around them on the packed sidewalk. She tugged his weapon belts, urging him to turn his back to the wall, facing him to the slow-moving crowd. Tredd turned easily and stopped at the sharp tug to the back of his jacket.

The redhead felt her tap his shoulder blade, and he looked over to see her hand flashing over said shoulder. Enemy. Hold position. 11 o’clock. The larger glaive stiffened at that, searching the crowd. What could faze a black mage? This deep in Insomnia? Regular commuters and revelers making their way to their haunts this fine Friday night. Normal movement- there.

A man across the street, clearly looking for something, trying to be subtle, and obviously failing at both. Awkward movements, no target, clearly not armed in any capacity. Limp, receding hair. Sleazy businessman? Tredd raised an eyebrow. The double tap to his back confirmed the target. He leaned forward, reserve blade in his boot…

Mira tugged his belt. Hold position. The man glanced about, eyes lighting on Tredd. The glaive couldn’t help the vicious show of his teeth. The man flinched, eyes darting to the ground. He then sagged in seeming defeat and turned to trudge back the other direction in time with the crowd.

Mira leaned forward, pressing her head against the solid plane of Tredd’s back.

“Thanks. Stalker.”

“Stalker? Don’t you guys normally like your stalkers well done?”

“Drautos said if we torch any more we would be reassigned. Too much trouble to deal with. You think the fire would be enough of a hint.”

Tredd nodded, turning to face her. She sidestepped, neatly sliding into his side, pulling his arm to rest around her shoulders. He blinked and pulled her in closer to avoid the increasing foot traffic.

“Now they know that we won’t immediately use magic, they have grown bolder. Getting closer, taking pics...I hate it.” Tredd did admit to himself that the girls had it the worst. Plenty of citizens thought nothing of expressing their disdain towards immigrants, but especially to the women. Not only dirty Galahdians, but also female- the horror!

“Hey! What are you doing tonight?”

“Err...not much....”

“Please! Come with us! Please, please, please!” Mira’s puppy eyes, complete with fluttering eyelashes, may or may not have sealed the deal.

“Only if Luche comes with.”

Luche woke with a start to insistent rapping on his apartment window. The window which held a sturdy herb planter, six stories above the ground. He groaned, tossing his tablet and blanket aside, reaching to fumble with the latch. In tumbled Tredd, breathless and excited. All Luche wanted was a quiet weekend to sleep in and read. His expression clearly stated such, and Tredd was quick to explain nothing.

“We are going on an adventure.”

“What?”

“Adventure.”

Tredd manhandled a baffled Luche into jeans and a Kingsglaive hoodie- fuzzy jamma pants are not proper adventure attire, Luche!- and herded him out the door, down the elevator, and into the back of Mira’s van with a grinning Pelna Khara waiting for them.

"You guys ready for tonight? I'm not sure how much detail Mira went into." Pelna murmured, leaning back further into his seat as the van started to move.

Tredd nodded, throwing an arm around the shoulders of the increasingly confused looking blonde.

"We are making sure no creeps ruin mage night out!" Tredd flexed, earning a chuckle from Pelna and a facepalm from Luche.

"Was it really that hard to say? Just text me, call me, or hell, knock on the door like a normal person. But no. That is not what I got. Do you know what this"- he shook the snickering redhead- "goblin decided to do?"

"What did Tredd do?"

"The man warps up six stories to get his stupid feet all over my rosemary! I'm napping, hear a racket, and look over to see this freak in my planter like a deranged pigeon!" Luche groaned. Pelna cackled.

"I said adventure, and now here we are." Tredd grinned.

"What even is your friendship?" Pelna giggled..

"I don't even know." Luche mumbled.

Mira pulled into a parking spot smoothly, grabbing her jacket and hopping out. The boys quickly followed, glancing about.

"Most of the night is gonna just be us blowing our change on stupidly rigged claw games. Juno's always wanted the big axolotl squish, so by Ramuh, we are gonna get her that squish."

"And our job is to keep an eye out for douchebags?" Tredd asked, slipping on his studded knuckle gloves.

"Then what? Politely asking them to leave them alone? Or are we getting more...enthusiastic in our message?" Luche looked to Mira.

"Use your best judgement, vice captain."

Bass and flashing lights trickled out of the wide doors into the twilight air, where a group of familiar figures waited. Mira dashed forward, giving the girls hugs, with Kari, Juno, and Sabine gushing about what prizes they wanted. Luche and Tredd fell into step with the mages, watching their surroundings. Pelna slid in next to Crowe, slinging one arm around her shoulders casually.

“So I see you did manage to get the cavalry.” Crowe smirked, wrapping an arm around Pelna’s waist.

“Course I did. Gotta make sure Juno gets that Axolotl.”

Tredd had no idea that these stupid claw machines were so expensive. And very, very, rigged against the player. But the mages were addicted to the plushes inside, claiming that there was nothing softer or cuter. So he watched from his perch on a bench as they poured the day’s wages into the machines, slowly inching their chosen prizes closer to the surface-squealing with delight and disappointment at each catch and subsequent failure of grip.

The readhead glanced around, noting that nobody was paying attention to the glaives and that Juno was very close to wiggling that fat pink amphibian free. Its little eyes seemed to bulge when the claw gripped its head, and they plush lifted free for just a second, then dropped into a puddle of the machine floor. Juno hissed and hurriedly swiped her card. The other mages cheered her on, eagerly pressing against the sides of the machine, watching as the claw descended and finally delivered the chosen prize to an elated Juno. She popped it out of the prize door and immediately buried her face into the doughy surface, twisting back and forth in obvious delight. Tredd met Luche’s gaze and rolled his eyes. The blonde huffed in amusement and smiled as the mages returned, gushing about what prizes they were going to go after now that Juno had her squish.

“I dub him Bubbles the Eternal!” Juno giggled, alighting next to Tredd, pressing into his side to make room for the others.

“Bubbles the eternal?” Tredd scoffed. Juno squawked in outrage at the notion of an ounce of disrespect to her prize, immediately shoving the plush in Tredd’s face, the malleable plush easily squooshing around him.

Tredd froze, dumbstruck by the sensation. The squishiness. By the six, what was this thing made of? Dough? He had never felt anything like it. There was no resistance from “Bubbles”, even as Juno squished it back and forth along Tredd’s face. It moved like a liquid, and yet was just a plush. The mages cackled at his bewildered expression once Juno was done with the squish face noogie.

“What is that thing made of?”

“Clouds and capitalism, my dude.”

Mira found a machine a row over that held different colorations of hamster squishes, thus beginning another quest of rigged games and wasted wages. Tredd leaned against a pillar, watching Juno press her face into the glass, making silly faces. Trying to break Mira’s concentration. The claw descended on a white and orange hamster clinging to a sunflower seed. The prize lifted, to Juno’s dismay, and dropped cleanly into the slot, first try. Tredd didn’t notice the soft smile creep over his features. Mira clutched her squish close, happily bragging about her skill. Juno growled playfully, before giving her a noogie with her axolotl. Tredd felt warmth wrap his heart over their giggles.

Until he noticed the man standing behind the claw game several machines over, clearly ogling the mages, with a cell phone obviously at the ready for pics. No shame whatsoever. THe entitlement on this asshole.The glaive’s blood started to boil. He watched, hands balling into fists, as this entitled asshole slithered forward.

The readhead crossed the distance to the celebrating mages. He scooped Mira up, crushing her to his chest. She, still too elated on her win to care about the uncharacteristic affection, happily hugged back.

Tredd stared at the other man over her head, daring him to come closer. A clear challenge. The creep sneered, taking a step forward, believing that all of the glaives had been muzzled. Tredd released Mira and squared up.

“Looking for something?”

“Aren’t we all, buddy.”

“How’s about you back off before I tear you apart.”

“Stand down like a good dog. Go on.” Tredd snarled and the lights flashed with a loud pop.

“Would you look at that. All of the security cameras are fried. Must have been an electrical surge.” Luche smirked, lightning dancing around his fingers. “Would be a shame if something were to happen when the cameras were off…”

“You c-can’t touch me!”

“I beg to differ.” Tredd snorted, cleanly sweeping his legs out from under him. Luche sighed and stomped down hard on the writhing man’s back, forcing the air from his lungs.

They turned back to the mages, gesturing to the wheezing lump, wordlessly asking if anyone wanted to get a kick in before he got up. The mages shook their heads and turned away, leaving the creep to scrape himself off the garish industrial carpet.

The group ambled to the next aisle, laughing and complementing Luche’s aim with the lightning magic. Tredd chuckled at Luche’s shy smile, complete with reddening cheeks. Crowe pounced, calling him cute, trying to get his blush deeper. Mira waited until the group was distracted by Luche’s squeaks to make her move.

“Thank you.” Tredd looked down to see Mira slipping an arm around his waist.

“Anytime.” He hugged back, pausing when she tugged, urging him forward.

“Which one is the cutest?”

“Er...the seal? ...The grey one?” She pulled him forward, tucking her head under his chin, swiping her card and putting his hand on the joystick.

“The trick isn’t luck. Add a little bit of juice through your hand while touching the button, the sides are metal to the shitty wiring connections. Just enough. Let a tiny bit bleed through…” He breathed out slowly, letting a tiny spark through his palms...the claw gripped the seal tight all the way to the prize chute.

He couldn’t believe it. How long had Mira known this cheat? Did she invent it herself, or...?

It was so damned soft. Tredd could not handle the soft, squeezing that fat little seal. Neither could Luche, when Mira pulled him aside moments later, winning him the white seal that had sat next to his grey. They rejoined the group, wordlessly marvelling at the texture. Pelna nodded sagely, flashing him a pic of his collection of shark squishes. The mages cackled, and continued on.

Mages, Tredd decided, were indeed chaotic forces to not be messed with, but were definitely fun to hang around.

#squishy #ffxv #KINGSGLAIVE #tredd furia #luche lazarus #crowe altius #pelna khara #Crowe's assorted mages #Creepers be creepin #But are also flammable #Soft glaives #The squishy claw machine prizes are the best #my fic

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saintheartwing · 5 years ago

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So is Aliana “Problematic”?

https://lily-orchard.tumblr.com/post/617643726637088768/i-wanna-check-in-on-something-because-i-like-to

Okay. Okay. You know...I brought this up several times on her story...but I have been essentially ignored. There is only one real, genuine, actual problem with Aliana. Only one.

She’s always, always, ALWAYS right, just like Rey, over Leia and the Republic and is never, EVER genuinely opposed in a way that makes it clear her position is the wrong one. Her decisions, even if they’re outright murder of other people who are unarmed and unaware like when she made a bunch of rich people on Canto Bight commit suicide and said it was “Just for fun”, are ALWAYS presented as the moral choice. Even if it’s outright murder, it’s the right choice.

And when I pointed out that that kind of behavior was pretty disturbing and messed up, and that she could have solved the problem they posed to the galaxy by just mind-controlling them to give up all their money to a charity, and that this wasn’t just a matter of “You shouldn’t be like the villains you’re fighting”, but that behaving in a more moral way makes people (her allies like Poe and Finn and the others) trust you more because they know you to stick to a high moral standard, her response was pretty flippant.

“You have an extremely shallow view of "the line" if someone being armed is all that matters to you. Violence comes in more forms than mere physical injury. If the rich in Star Wars are anything like the rich in the real world, they have more blood on their hands than even the deadliest Sith Lord. Acts of willful negligence (like not providing adequate and affordable healthcare and not paying wages someone can live on) are very much acts of violence because it gets people killed.If you can't see beyond the existence of a weapon, that is a problem with you and you alone. And that's the point of the protagonist being a Sith Lord. She does not think in your narrow terms. She isn't concerned about "looking like the good guy" to sheltered people. Grow up.”

Okay one, her friends aren’t “sheltered people”, even Poe was visibly disturbed by what she did and he’s not sheltered. And acts of willful negligence, as I said in a reply, do NOT always cause people harm or get them killed, forcibly making them leap off a balcony to their deaths absolutely does.

You call it “narrow terms”, I call it “not acting like a bad guy and pretending like what you did wasn’t morally iffy because it was”. And the fact that Lily Orchard thinks this kind of thing is JUST FINE is my issue. She has NO problem whatsoever. And you know, if we were talking about killing a disarmed, helpless Snoke...fine. If we were talking about destroying the Emperor in his sleep...fine. They have powers, and they’re responsible for active genocide. But these were just rich assholes and she casually makes them leap off a cliff.

With all due respect, WHAT is to stop Aliana from just walking into the Republic Senate Room and just TAKING OVER because she feels like it, because LITERALLY NOBODY ELSE CAN STAND UP TO HER. And because she hasn’t shown she has high moral standards, I don’t put such a thing PAST her. I absolutely believe she WOULD just casually decide to take over the Republic just because she thinks the Republic isn’t doing enough for its citizens. That’s totally in-character for her.

And don’t you gimme that bullshit about how ultimately killing those rich people would serve “the greater good”. No, making them give up all their money and changing their ways would have done that, and she HAD the power to do that. Instead, she immediately took the violent route. The DARK route. And the worst part of all, HAS SUFFERED NO CONSEQUENCES OR CALL OUTS FOR HER DARK, EVIL ACTIONS, and ALWAYS...ALWAYS...is right. Even when she’s doing something clearly wrong, the story treats her, and so do you, Lily, as right.

THAT is my problem with Aliana. Just...for ONCE...can a bad thing she does actually be treated, in-story, as a genuine bad thing and have her actually be called out on it and have her and Rey suffer some real CONSEQUENCES for what they do?

UPDATE:

Someone brought up the whole “But Aliana didn’t tell Rey she was a Sith” thing.

Lying is bad, but the problem is the story itself doesn’t really treat being a Sith as an inherently bad thing at all, so it’s lying about something that the author is ultimately saying doesn’t matter. And we, the audience, might say “it doesn’t matter” in general either because we’ve seen SOME Sith in Star Wars stories who are, deep down, genuinely good people, just fighting for the wrong side, or just couldn’t be labeled as “Jedi” because of their beliefs, even if their actions are good for the most part and they don’t really behave in immoral ways.

Lying about being a Sith ultimately only hurts Rey, and while it’s kinda bad, it only does some emotional damage that got fairly easily apologized for. The constant “Aliana is always right over Leia” stuff, the casual dismissal of ANY of the Republic’s concerns, the whole “casual murder” thing Aliana keeps doing...stuff like that is very clearly problematic at best and horrifying at worst, especially...again...the whole casual murder stuff I brought up.

But Lily was more willing to have Aliana get criticized for lying to Rey than have Aliana criticized for murdering defenseless rich folks on Canto Bight. I mean good gravy, I don’t like Jeff Bezos but I wouldn’t launch him off a cliff just cuz I think he should donate more to charity or pay his workers more. That’s murder.

So to make it blunt, here it is. Lying is not a “dark, evil thing”. Murder IS. Lying is KINDA bad, but it’s not a “dark evil thing”. After all, you can lie to your kids about whether a shot is gonna really hurt, you’re just trying not to get them upset. If your wife is pregnant and fat, you’re not gonna tell her, because you don’t want to hurt her feelings. If your boyfriend or girlfriend or the like has a zit on their chin or some acne, most people just go “Aw, it’s not a big deal, you can barely see it” because it’s not really a big deal. Even if you really could see it, you still lie for the sake of their feelings and because ultimately, it doesn’t hurt anyone. So lying isn’t inherently an evil thing.

Murder is though. No matter who it’s done to. And killing people who can’t fight back at all, and are defenseless...that’s murder. And Aliana’s done it quite a lot.

THAT is my big problem.

Just have SOMEONE call her out for that. Have SOME consequences for that kind of behavior. That is ALL I ask. I mean, it’s her story, she doesn’t have to listen to me, but her tumblr blog did do a public ask of “is Aliana problematic” and that is the ONE aspect of Aliana that’s really problematic, her casual willingness to murder and the story’s failure to really treat such cold-hearted behavior as a bad thing, to acknowledge it as bad at all.

#lily orchard #the sith resurgence #Star Wars #fanfiction

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makeste · 6 years ago

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BnHA Chapter 167: Every Breath You Take

Previously on BnHA: Todo, Bakugou, Inasa, and Camie were assailed by a bunch of six-year-olds with some admittedly impressive quirks. We learned about the theory of “quirk singularity” which basically says that quirks are going to keep getting more and more powerful with each generation until they become impossible to control. Not sure if this will come up again, but it’s a cool concept. The adults watching were all “...” but it turned out that the Baby-Sitters Club had things under control. They easily blocked the kids’ attacks, and then used their own quirks to create an awesome playplace for the kids with a giant ice slide. (Oh yeah, and we also learned that CAMIE HAS A FUCKING ILLUSION QUIRK. So that was cool too.) Bakugou had a heart to heart with the bratty leader of the kids, and told him that he wouldn’t be able to grow unless he learned to stop looking down on other people. Yes, Bakugou actually said this. Yes, that Bakugou. Not to be outdone, Endeavor now appears poised to start his own journey of becoming less of an asshole. This is exciting, you guys. I’m excited.

Today on BnHA: The babysitting squad bids farewell to the kids, who have now been totally reformed and are all polite little angels. The U.A. and Shiketsu teachers discuss plans to work together in the future and foster a closer relationship, seeing as both schools have had their students targeted by the League of Villains. Endeavor tells Shouto he’s proud of him and vows to become a man Shouto can be proud of too. The internship arc wraps up and we learn that U.A. suspended the kids’ internships with Ryuukyuu and Fat Gum for the time being, and that Eri has woken up and is doing better, but she’s still in the hospital for now while they analyze her mental state and try to figure out how to handle her potentially lethal quirk. A few days later, we catch up with Deku, whose affections Aoyama seems to be trying to pry by randomly giving him cheese. Later that night, in what is unquestionably the single most terrifying scene in this series to date, Deku hops into bed only for the camera to pan over to Aoyama, who is standing pressed up against Deku’s balcony door, just fucking watching him sleep. Good night, everyone.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through half of chapter 192 now (lol I just need more time to binge), so any ETAs will reflect that.)

so now playtime is over and they are professionally demolishing the slide

don’t act like this isn’t easily the best part of your day you psycho

Chain Chomp is volunteering to help by having his little chomps eat the ice shards

Shouto is praising him and saying that a quirk like that would shine during a disaster rescue operation

the teacher is amazed at how calm the kids have become

but Gang Orca says that the kids attitudes “reflect their evaluation of us adults”

he says that them unleashing their quirks without hesitation like that is a problem of the education system

yeah, I’ll say. I’m thinking back to Katsuki and Izuku’s chaotic middle school now, and it’s safe to say that place had a similar problem with a lack of decent quirk counseling and education. their teachers basically just let the kids go off whenever and use their quirks all the damn time. whoever was tasked with teaching them responsibility and ethics clearly fucked up in a major way

anyway, it seems these kids have now been nudged onto the proper path, and their sensei is vowing to teach them well

lol look at them returning Bakugou’s gauntlets so solemnly

so now they’re bidding the tykes farewell, and Gang Orca is appraising how they did in the assignment

“abstract challenge” lmao. A++ government trolling for sure

holy shit would you look at these disrespectful little delinquents

this is why he keeps punting them every time he sees them. he’s just desperate to maintain their attention in any way he possibly can

so the kids have changed back and are getting ready to go their separate ways

you guys I think Shouto is finally warming up to Inasa omg

like, he doesn’t look completely annoyed just by his mere presence anymore! progress

also lol at Camie pointing out that when Bakugou is keeping quiet, his manners can actually pass for decent

and then him immediately shouting at her to shut up, because GOD FORBID anyone get it into their heads that he’s actually capable of behaving like a normal, calm human person

uh oh Inasa’s going all “!” and it looks like he’s spotted Endeavor up ahead with the other teachers

Camie’s running over to them now and she’s all, “oh my god, Seiji’s talking to All Might”

and he says that they were actually talking about her

her teacher says that they’re talking about forming a closer relationship between the two schools and sharing information with each other

and part of the reason why is that they still don’t know why Camie was attacked, and it would be easier to figure out if they worked more closely with U.A.

good call there. if you want to find out more about the League of Villains, that is

maybe less of a good call if you actually want your students to stay out of the constant-villain-attacks-and-secret-traitors shitshow that U.A.’s got going on, though

so apparently they’re talking about setting up some cooperative training exercises between the two schools. ooh, that would be fun. I’m on board for this

meanwhile Endeavor is trying to casually chat up his estranged son

hoo boy this is awkward as fuck

hey here’s an idea, maybe don’t pretend like everything’s good between you and like you haven’t done anything wrong. maybe try showing some remorse or something. that’d be a good start

dammit

okay here’s the thing. I fully believe this is true, and that he’s proud of him for finding his own path and his own strength. we saw at the end of the last chapter that he was possibly starting to come to a lot of extremely belated realizations

but the thing is that Shouto doesn’t know any of that, and as far as he’s concerned, Endeavor’s still the bastard who spent Shouto’s entire life telling him “I created you to surpass All Might” in addition to the various other bastardly things

so when Shouto hears “I’m proud of you” from this man, I have to assume he’s going to take it as Endeavor being proud of how strong he’s become in terms of mastering his quirk. like, “good on you, you’re closer than ever to becoming the perfect little super soldier puppet I created you to be.” rather than “I’m proud of you for the good person you are and for the strength of character that you’ve shown today and continue to show and that you certainly never got from me”

anyways, yeah. so Shouto looks quite angry, actually

meanwhile Inasa’s watching them like

are you gonna step in and help your new best friend out here buddy

oh shit, sudden vulnerable power move from Endeav out of nowhere

oh damn

there’s a lot going on in just that one simple sentence, though

for starters, it’s an acknowledgement that Shouto is rightfully not in the least bit proud of him right now (on account of him having been a piece of shit this entire time). and then obviously, it’s also a promise to become a better person. not just a stronger person, but a better man

so, yeah. I like this. progress. finally some long-overdue steps toward making things right

(ETA: honestly, I love that Horikoshi had the nads to go for an Endeavor redemption arc after going out of his way to make him as unlikable as humanly possible. it’s like he purposely set the challenge level to the highest possible difficulty and then took a deep breath and said “okay, let’s do this.” looking back at Endeavor’s introduction and even his character profile, it’s clear he had this whole thing planned from the start, but he patiently played the long game and took no shortcuts, and all in all I’m extremely impressed.)

Shouto doesn’t look like he has any idea how to react to this, and he’s mostly just still irritated

that’s about as good of a response as Endeavor could hope to get, honestly. now leave him alone and go start improving yourself you douchebag

omg

what just happened

did he just punch himself in the face and then power walk up to the guy that he hates

what the fuck you guys

which angel up in heaven is responsible for molding this young man. what did you put in him. he’s so fucking nice. how is he so nice. why did he punch himself, that was so violent and I’m honestly very concerned. but mostly, just. WHY SO NICE GODDAMMIT

lol and now All Might is just

had enough of this weirdness, eh

now All Might is thinking optimistic thoughts about how much progress everyone is making little by little, and it’s so heartwarming

(ETA: I just wanted to add that that last panel in the bottom left is a favorite of mine. I fucking love moments when mentors are looking on at their kids proudly and the kids aren’t aware of it and so they just keep on doing whatever it was that made the mentor proud to begin with. there is such fondness in All Might’s expression here. it’s so gentle. he is so proud of them in this moment. and Bakugou isn’t aware of his hero’s eyes on him; he’s just looking back at Shouto, who he’s been getting on with to a degree that would previously have been shocking tbh. and of course we got the reminder just two chapters ago that Bakugou does know about Shouto’s history with his father, so I interpret this glance here as just him quietly assessing his classmate’s status after that chat with dad, and making sure he’s all good so he can recommence being annoyed by everything he does and making sure he knows it. and meanwhile Shouto is just caught up in his own thoughts, but just like All Might said, he is making progress. little by little he is figuring out how to move on.

just, there’s so much going on here and I didn’t even get into all of it, honestly. but basically I just got caught up in the moment and remembered how much I love this series and its characters omg.)

and now we’re cutting to class 1-A a few days later!

the narration is saying that September has come to a close and it’s now October. wow, seriously? you mean it wasn’t already?

well, I suppose that makes sense. the provisional license exam was probably set on September 1st or around then. so they’ve been doing these supplementary courses every weekend since then, so this was probably like their fourth one. one of these days I’m going to have to make a timeline, if there isn’t one out there already

(ETA: there’s actually a pretty nice one up on reddit somewhere, but I haven’t looked at it too closely yet because spoilers.)

HEY WHAT THE FUCK

I DIDN’T ASK FOR THESE FEELS YOU SON OF A BITCH!!

but also does this mean Mirio is officially back at U.A., though? because that’s good. even if he doesn’t have his quirk, it doesn’t mean he can’t still complete the last year of the hero course. he’s still gotta keep up with his studies and stay in shape

(ETA: U.A. is honestly failing their most gifted student in his time of greatest need and I’m so mad about it. what the fuck U.A.)

also THANK GOD, they ended up putting the internships on hold for the time being. THANK YOU JESUS

honestly it was the right call. let’s give these kids a break from trauma for a little while. or at the very least try to do so

and apparently Centipeder took over Nighteye’s agency and they are awaiting Mirio’s return. ;_; awww

AHHHHHHH

MY SWEET BABY

“her psychological state is still unstable” gee you think??

and this is the first time we’ve seen her without the bandages on her arms, and there are all those little scars there and I was just slammed by feels oh shit

but still! she’s safe! and getting better finally!

and they’re actually explaining about the horn on her forehead oh wow

does this mean her power is weaker now than it used to be? I honestly feel like Horikoshi’s doing a good job of keeping this in check for now. he’s made it so she can’t control it, and that excessive use of it can do her serious harm and put her in a fever coma. so for the time being, it doesn’t look like we have to worry about this becoming a deus-ex-machina type of thing

but I honestly don’t see why they can’t just give her some gloves and let her interact with people

at least Aizawa is clearly visiting her, though. maybe he can adopt her. I mean, he’s the second best dad in the series, and honestly just a dad hug or two from stealing the top place from All Might if he really really wants to. I’m just saying, Aizawa. the power is yours

(ETA: man, the Basement Arc dragged on so long that I almost forgot what it was like for this manga to give me exactly what I want. it is such a nice feeling omg. we can still be simpatico with just a little bit of effort.)

oh hey

so can we take this as confirmation that Ecto teaches math, then? so that’s him for math, and Present Mic for English. I still have Aizawa down for art unless anyone can prove otherwise

holy moly Jirou has taken her blazer off and rolled up her sleeves and is chewing on her earbud in thought

this, to me, is 1000x hotter than any skimpy boobs-showing costume Horikoshi could ever design you guys. not that I’m being all “hey look how smoking hot this 16-year-old is!” or anything like that lol. but she looks good and once again her lesbian energy is off the charts, and I’m sure that if Momo wasn’t so distracted by math right at this moment then she’d be all over that

however she is, in fact, distracted by math!

stumped, in fact. wow, seriously?

and now Tokoyami is continuing to look around the class, and it seems that his attention has fallen onto Deku. and it’s not hard to see why

YOU GO, DEKU. PUT THAT BIG HERO BRAIN THROUGH ITS PACES

oh!

SO CONFIDENT

LMAO

SO MUCH FOR THAT BIG HERO BRAIN

but did you see Bakugou’s face though omggggg

Deku can’t seem to figure out where he went wrong. huh

I don’t see why this is a big deal at all, but let’s see where this takes us!

now Ecto is dismissing them for lunch

Ocha and Iida are coming up to Deku to congratulate him for his ferocious efforts

oh?

do tell, narrator Deku

WHAT THE

first of all, somehow that nearly scared the SHIT out of me

and second of all... what

I don’t think any of us were expecting that lmao

wow, Deku is summing up both of my reactions so neatly

YOU SCARED ME! and CHEESE!? yep. pretty much covers it all

Aoyama has got a whole plate of cheese in fact, and now he’s trying to feed Deku more

Deku’s trembling slightly and says his mouth is still full

now Iida is inviting Aoyama to join their group since he usually eats alone

but he says the cafeteria doesn’t suit his tastes

is he drinking wine

(ETA: ngl, after I first finished reading this chapter I went back to this part and I was honestly wondering whether or not he was drinking blood. can you imagine. like Toga’s own fucked up form of Polyjuice potion.)

and Iida’s just letting him. wow

also that katakana is cracking me the fuck up omg

holy shit Deku, you’re fucking telling me your ominous narration was about fucking Aoyama this whole time

and now we’re visiting Deku’s room at night huh

it’s 1 a.m. and he’s still studying, wow. Bakugou has been asleep for five hours already lmao

holy SHIT????!!

-- HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS WAIT UP

because I was all 1. WHAT THE, and 2. AOYAMA WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU, and then I remembered that 3. Deku’s room is on the 2nd floor so HOW DID HE EVEN GET UP THERE

but then I went back to look at the dorm layout and remembered that Aoyama’s room is right next door, so maybe he hopped balconies like some sort of ninja

but then I was like 4. BUT WHY, THOUGH

and meanwhile this entire time I kept looking back at his creepy face and was like WHAT THE FUCK, WHY IS MY SPARKLY LITTLE FRENCHMAN SUDDENLY ACTING SO FUCKING CREEPY --

AND THEN IT HIT ME. that’s not really Aoyama, is it

it’s fucking Toga, isn’t it. it has to be. right?? suddenly acting wildly out of character and bizarrely interested in Deku in the creepiest of fashions? and then sneaking over to stare at Deku through his fucking balcony window in the middle of the night??

and on top of that, for this to happen in the very same chapter where they discussed the same thing happening to Camie? yeah. yeah, okay, manga. I got it. message fucking received

so this means that Aoyama has been captured by the League?? or is Toga acting independently? holy shit

do you hear that. that’s the sound of me being sucked RIGHT BACK IN lol. ahhhh man. feels fucking good. let’s read some more of this bitch

(ETA: lmao, there’s a part of me that honestly wishes this theory hadn’t been blown to bits in the very next chapter. for a minute there it was such a damn rush. but no, Aoyama just loves Deku and wanted to present him with some friendship cheese, and also maybe give him a friendship heart attack.)

BONUS:

nice try son, but nope

oh look, it’s Iida’s brother who’s currently paralyzed from the waist down. standing back to back with his lil bro in costume, in a way that they’ll actually never be able to do ever again. that’s just cruel, Vigilantes writer guy

not sure what’s been up with the volume extras lately. I’m really surprised we didn’t get a profile of Camie after the babysitting arc. we got one of the damn elementary school teacher, but not her, even after her quirk was revealed? did Horikoshi just forget, or did he run out of time, or is he saving it for later, or what

anyways, this is also the last batch of volume omakes that FA scanlated. so after this it’s going to be a lot harder for me to find them. I know that some of the extras from the upcoming volumes have been translated, but I might not always have time to try and track them down. so moving forward we might not have as many bonus pages, but I will still try and include them whenever I can

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deltaengineering · 7 years ago

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Winter Anime 2019 Part 4: That’s all, folks.

Over already? This is a pretty thin season with not a lot of shows, so it’s not that surprising that there’s not many good ones either. Still, a weak showing. Oh well, let’s get it over with. There were a few decent ones in the last batch.

Circlet Princess

What: Dimwitted schoolgirl is good at some vaguely defined virtual fighting sport, changes school based on it, finds out relevant club has been abolished. Forecast says: 5 member plot incoming.

❌ I think it’s already clear this show isn’t very ambitious, and not very well written either. A game adaptation at its laziest.

❌❌ Man, this girl is STUPID. What the hell.

❌ The rest of the cast are less stupid (which isn’t hard), but that just means they’re so forgettable they might as well not exist.

❌❌ It looks cheap, and by that I mean really really cheap. The character design is ISO standard anime and it’s mostly on model, but that’s as good as it gets. The animation just sucks. That’s a death sentence for an action/sports show with terrible characters.

Bermuda Triangle - Colorful Pastrale

What: Japanese Spongebob, as in cute mermaids. Doing things optional.

❌ To make this quick, this is almost exactly Pastel Memories, only every problem is just a little less extreme. It has fewer characters, it’s looking slightly better, there’s a tiny bit more going on, the setting is mildly more interesting. That still means it is:

❌❌ 1. A boring mess in which a handful of samey girls do nothing of much interest in a location that should be unique, but isn’t.

❌❌ 2. Conspicuously cheap. It even has the same sightline problems.

❌❌ 3. Featuring a character model sheet that is “off” even under the best circumstances. This time due to the very offputting decision to give everyone blobby triangular irises.

❌❌ Unlike Pastel Memories (which was an ad for a mobile game) this is an anime original, so it really has no excuse being this lame.

♎ I find it amusing that Pastel Palettes are providing the OP for an anime, and it’s not the one currently airing that they’re actually characters in.

Endro~!

What: Kiraralike comedy thing in a generic JRPG setting.

♎ Namori character designs, so it’s like Spyce in that it just seems like the Yuru Yuri cast cosplaying a genre. But hey, Namori character designs do look good.

❌ I’m not as done with generic JRPG settings as with generic isekai settings, but it’s still a real problem since the former is now a subset of the latter. Mildly making fun of it does not improve things much either.

✅ The tone is cutesy and pleasant. I find this much preferable to something like Mahoujin Guru Guru, which is pretty much the same thing but with abrasive, high-intensity slapstick instead.

✅ It’s backing that up with generally high-quality, agreeable pastel looks.

❌ Not being annoying is a start, but beyond that this seems very middle of the road and predictable. I don’t get much out of the genre “parody” and simply being cute is still not an unique selling point in anime.

Grimms Notes The Animation

What: Did someone say JRPG? This is a mobile one, vaguely based on fairy tales as the title implies.

✅ This universe runs on the idea that every NPC’s fate is controlled by a preset story they’re aware of. You could make a good story about that if you took it seriously. It even does that somewhat, but only to the degree that you’d expect from a throwaway sidequest in a moderately well-written JRPG.

❌ And the reason for that is that it has to make room for being a JRPG, of course. Read: It’s irritatingly mechanics- and combat-focused. Stuff like the characters changing form when in fights just seems overly complicated and adds nothing.

❌ Said combat looks competent, but not good enough to make up for detracting from what could have been an interesting setting. Merc Storia did this aspect far better (by usually not doing it at all).

❌ So it ends up being better than expected, but then that only amounts to a disappointment.

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai / Kaguya-sama: Love Is War

What: Kaguya and Miyuki are in the student council of a prestigious school and HATE HATE HATE each other. Specifically, they hate the part where the other one won’t just finally admit their love.

✅ The joke here is that it’s operating on full intensity at all times, over the most simple matters. It’s pretty much Kaiji, only about dating - complete with hammy narrator. This is another one of those shows where I can’t say with certainty that it’s solid, but I had a blast during the first episode.

✅ Regarding Quintuplets, I made it clear that I love me some sparks in my romantic comedies. It doesn’t get much more explosive than this.

✅ The characters are comparable to Quints too: Smart scheming upstart vs. rich scheming ojou, with a simpleminded girl in the middle that ends up winning more often than not simply by not overdoing it.

✅ The visuals are just as over the top as the proceedings depicted. Occasionally a filter massacre, but mostly cool.

♎ The long-term viability of this show depend entirely on whether they can consistently come up with scenarios that work, which isn’t a given. Also, this is so intense it might become tiresome - I already felt some fatigue towards the end of the first episode. We’ll see, I guess.

Kakegurui ××

What: Some weirdos think they can crash the party at Hyakkaou with an intent to scare the daylights out of Yumeko and Midari, of all people. Let’s just say they were not as prepared as they thought.

✅ As you might have guessed by me watching the sequel, I liked Kakegurui. It has its problems, but if you’re down for some crazypants madness, this show delivers.

✅ This is one of the better episodes of it too, because it gets right into it and the game they play is dead simple. Kakegurui was never about smart moves or strong characters, so not having anything detract from our girls deriving the entirely wrong sort of pleasure from danger is a plus.

♎ Sadly, the OP is a step down (though still great) and the ED is simply an inferior, overcomplicated version of the magnificent original one. They seem to know this too, because they play the OP cut of Deal with the Devil in its entirety for a montage. The rest of the production is on par with the original though, so it’s fiiiine. Oh well.

❌ It got Netflix’d again and the subs situation is dire. Since this is one I actually like, I might have to wait for the official release.

Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai / The Magnificent Kotobuki

What: Piston-engined fighter plane pornography.

✅ This delivers where Girly Air Force failed: Close to zero exposition, the majority of the episode is just planes dogfighting with barely any talking either. And that part is executed really well. I think the plane startup sequence alone is as long as the total of Girly’s airtime.

✅ Guess what, it’s Tsutomu Mizushima, previously known for unbridled panzer (und girls) pornography, and boy can you tell. However, this cuts out a lot of GuP’s bullshit: A plane doesn’t have the cast of K-ON in it, it’s not over-the-top zany, and whatever this universe is, it can’t be as insipid as GuP’s. The classy milwank exists you guys, we found it.

✅✅ The music really helps here, sky pirates vs zeppelins just wouldn’t work without some classic swashbuckling orchestra background. Fat sound mixing on the dakka too. It’s great.

♎ Can’t really say much about the narrative because we kinda skipped that in this episode aside from the obvious, but Mizushima’s Shirobako collaborator Michiko Yokote is writing it, and that’s a good sign.

❌ Now we’re getting to the elephant in the room though: There’s no way the planes wouldn’t be CG in 2019, but the characters are CG too, and their animation is mediocre. Also, they did the KADO thing where they 2D-animated the side characters that aren’t important enough to model. This has the funny side effect that you can tell who’s going to die real soon by them looking better. It’s far from great, but probably a worthy tradeoff if the mechanical side is this extensive and also delivers.

✅ This is definitely not for everyone, since you have to have more than a casual appreciation for those magnificent girls in their flying machines. I do, though.

revisions

What: A chunk of Shibuya gets teleported to the dystopian future, local doomsday prepper gets handed a large robot because he’s special.

❌ A Goro Taniguchi joint being a poorly conceived scifi mess? Say it ain’t so! I especially dig the tryhard English jargon (mecha: “String Puppet”, monsters faction: “Revisions”, particular monster, I think?: “Civilian”, tacticool operetah: “Balancer”).

❌ Works very hard to characterize the main character, to the detriment of everyone else. A for effort, but you made an unlikeable asshole though.

❌ This is another full CG show, with the quality of the animation being curiously variable. Sometimes it’s well above average and sometimes it’s painful. There doesn’t seem to be much method to it.

✅ Tries to establish stakes by being mondo edgy and graphically murderizing some poor bystanders. It’s adorable.

❌ If you’re really jonesing for some mecha, you can watch all of this on Netflix right now. It’s not like you have any alte- wait, Egao no Daika has mecha too. Well there you go then. That’s a better show.

#anime #impressions #winter2019 #Bermuda Triangle #endro #grimms notes #kaguya-sama #circlet princess #kakegurui #koya no kotobuku hikoutai #revisions #The Magnificent Kotobuki

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pass-the-bechdel · 7 years ago

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Marvel Cinematic Universe: Thor (2011)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, three times.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Three (21.42% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Eleven.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

The fun:boring ratio tilts considerably depending on audience mood and/or desire for originality; the majority of the story is generic in the extreme and can be tedious as a result, however those elements which are more unusual and intriguing arguably save the overall product.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Darcy asks Jane if she can turn on the radio. Jane tells Darcy to drive into the anomaly. Jane tells Darcy to stop talking about her iPod.

Female characters:

Jane Foster.

Darcy Lewis.

Sif.

Male characters:

Eric Selvig.

Odin.

Loki.

Thor.

Fandral.

Hogun.

Volstagg.

Heimdall.

Laufey.

Phil Coulson.

Clint Barton.

OTHER NOTES:

“But I supported you, Sif.” Good to know that Thor supports non-traditional gender roles, despite being such a macho cliche.

I’m really very concerned by Jane’s driving. Someone revoke her licence.

“Son of Coul.”

Heimdall does not get enough credit for being the MVP of Asgard.

Loki’s suggestion that maybe he’ll pay Jane a visit himself is clearly intended to goad Thor into fighting him and as such need not be taken seriously, but it’s still totally uncool. Of all the goading methods he could have used, we really didn’t need to go for the implied rape threat.

I thought they might manage a Bechdel pass between someone other than Jane and Darcy for a moment there at the end of the movie, but Frigga doesn’t actually get referred to by name in this movie, and she and Sif only talk about Thor anyway. Disappoint on both counts. I kinda also thought Jane and Darcy might do some more/better passing in general; it’s better than nothing, but the three passes they got were pretty freakin’ weak.

When it comes to uninspired, generic origin stories, this movie kinda makes Iron Man look like an innovative goldmine by comparison. ‘Arrogant man takes a humble, learns to value his power and earns it back through selflessness’, it’s...been done. A lot. And while Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is watchable and not without charm, he’s not an especially charismatic actor and the predictable arc of his character doesn’t offer much scope to impress, while the typically-excellent Natalie Portman suffers a similarly bland fate with prescription-love-interest Jane Foster. The chemistry between the two is pretty nonexistent, and frankly it’s easier to believe that Jane is a slightly-amoral scientist essentially using Thor for her own gain, rather than buying that she’s becoming genuinely enamoured. If the film had leaned into the idea of Jane Foster: Amoral Scientist a little stronger, they could have built a more interesting (though less comfortable) narrative and perhaps even a more believable romance as the two bond over their shared moral learning curve. But, that would require Jane’s character to be more of a priority beyond finding excuses for her to be in Thor’s presence and develop ~feelings~, so. Not shocked they failed to deliver there.

Pretty much every person who has ever seen this movie (and probably some who’ve only read about it) agrees that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is where the fire’s at, both as an individual character and in terms of the plot he facilitates and inhabits. It’s not hard to understand why: while Thor has his dull human journey in the desert on Earth (the majority of which is spent just going places and talking to Jane and occasionally having a comedic ‘not from around here’ moment), Loki is a trickster God with magic powers living in the mythological land of Asgard and playing out a long con to win both the throne, and his adoptive father’s approval. Anything about the film that is clever or different or interesting, visually engaging, or emotionally poignant, it’s going on in Asgard, in the part of the plot where Thor is absent for the bulk of the film. Unfortunately, Thor’s absence from that thread means that we don’t get to spend nearly as much time enjoying it, and that’s why even the film’s best qualities can’t necessarily save it from the generic trash-pile. It’s easy to reach the end of the film in frustration, wondering how the Hell the strongest elements of the story (Shakespearean tragedy on alien worlds!) wound up as background noise to an unconvincing snooze-fest romance in Nowheresville, USA.

Broken into its component parts, Loki’s story isn’t that unfamiliar either; ‘jealous younger brother vies for older brother’s birthright’ has been done a fair bit (The Lion King being the most well-known example, let’s not kid ourselves), as has the juxtaposition of entitled brat vs scrappy underdog, as has ‘driven mad by envy’ and ‘power corrupts’ and pretty much any other trope being invoked in Loki’s lane. However, it works through 1. Hiddleston’s dynamic performance, 2. any and all majesty/intrigue/gravitas supplied by the setting, and 3. the additional factor of Loki discovering his adoption and true Frost Giant heritage. While it should not be ignored that Loki’s machinations for the throne predate that revelation and therefore it is neither an influence on his overarching ploy nor an excuse for him devising that ploy, Loki’s struggle with learning that his life as he’s known it was built on falsity and the way that complicates his desire to prove himself provides him some all-important nuance and pathos that gives the audience something to latch onto and identify with, even if only as empathetic understanding (one hopes that no one is going so far as to identify with the attempted genocide or the successful patricide; most of us can identify with betrayal/abandonment/daddy issues to some extent or another). Even if his ultimate decisions are plainly reprehensible, Loki’s journey to that point is littered with appreciable miseries, and that makes it an obvious emotional narrative standout compared to Thor’s paint-by-numbers excursion.

The villain narrative being the highlight of a story isn’t entirely unusual (though films in which this is unintentionally so tend also to be poorly conceived), but what’s really unfortunate is that Thor’s character motivations are not second in complexity to Loki’s; the criminally underused Heimdall is actually the next-most nuanced character around (and look at that, he’s also on Asgard and not bore-ing it up on Earth). The thing about Thor’s arc is that it’s not just predictable, it’s not just generic: it’s also barely there. We perceive the arc because we’re so familiar with the trope, but we don’t actually watch Thor learn anything, we don’t see practical signs of the degradation of his arrogance and his transformation into a wise warrior who understands restraint. Beyond causing a ruckus when he first arrives on Earth, Thor really doesn’t display any aggressive entitlement, he settles into pleasantly-strange-fish-out-of-water mode pretty much immediately, and he seems to ‘learn his lesson’ spontaneously after being told that his father is dead. He appears to mourn the implications of his inability to lift Mjolnir more than he is bothered by being told of Odin’s demise and that he can never go home; those latter revelations instead trigger his instantaneous reformation (insofar as he says the words “my father was trying to teach me something only I was too stupid to see it”) and that’s it. Confronting the destroyer and being ‘killed’ by it prompts the return of his Godhood, but refusing to shrink from a fight isn’t a change of pace for the character we saw at the beginning of the film; all in all, there’s no actual clear-cut learning in this process, there’s just a complication-free acceptance of his apparent new state of being, and that means he’s worthy of kingship now? Were they too afraid of making him dislikeable by playing out an excess of arrogance on Earth, so they softened him up immediately and in doing so, downgraded his character arc to just the concept of one rather than an actual presence? If there were more of a distinct process to his experiences on Earth, they’d be less damn boring, because we’d be following an actual story instead of just waiting for them to hit each predictable beat, and maybe they’d also generate some real characterisation of any of the Earth characters while they’re at it (instead, we have completely-useless-to-the-plot-comic-relief Darcy, and surrogate-dad-exposition-master Selvig, comprising the whole of Jane’s illustrious company). Thor’s clutch of friends back home may be a one-dimensional quartet defined almost entirely by their most obvious single descriptors (the female, the Asian, the fat guy, and...Sir Didymus), but at least they have a clear trajectory of plot-relevant motivation, even if they do become inconsequential by the end of it. Yeah, this isn’t a very good movie.

I said at the top that audience mood may be a deciding factor in the success or failure of the film, and I mean that in the sense that this is a movie that may prompt vastly different responses in the same person over different viewings; speaking for myself, I have watched it and been basically entertained and appreciative of the visuals and at least some of the characters and story elements, but I’ve also watched it and been overwhelmingly bored by the trite predictability and the flat characterisation of most of the players, and unimpressed by the soft-focus CGI of Asgard. Caught in the right mood, Thor’s inexplicable laid-back Earth persona can hit just the right note for casual comfort viewing. Caught in the wrong mood, Loki’s Asgard shenanigans feel over-hyped and not engaging enough to save the movie. Is Jane too bland, or full of shades of untapped character potential? Is Darcy funny, or painfully annoying? Is Heimdall intriguing, or too nebulous to matter? It all comes off very conditional, little of it anchored solidly or fleshed out strongly enough in-text to be considered an absolute. The plot floats, dependent on the aura of various cliches rather than categorically declaring itself in any unequivocal ways. It’s not particularly messy, so at least it has that going for it, but even that is a conditional statement. The film is rarely subtle enough to develop any depth, and the shallow invocations of the idea of a narrative arc lack the conviction necessary to make simplicity a virtue. The end result? I guess the best word for it is ‘forgettable’.

#Thor #MCU #Marvel Cinematic Universe #Bechdel Test #female representation

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rpgmgames · 8 years ago

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July’s Featured Game: SLARPG

DEVELOPER(S): Bobby "ponett" Schroeder ENGINE: RPGMaker VX Ace GENRE: RPG, Fantasy SUMMARY: SLARPG is a short, turn-based RPG following the story of Melody Amaranth, a kindhearted but meek transgender fox who’s decided to learn healing magic and become a paladin. She’s joined by her adventurous girlfriend Allison, as well as their friends Claire (a sarcastic, rule-bending witch)(she is also trans) and Jodie (a dependable, somewhat motherly knight). Over the course of the story, our inexperienced heroes will meddle with forces beyond their control and find themselves responsible for the fate of their quaint little hometown. They’ll also fight some spherical frogs, travel to a forgotten land in the sky, befriend a robot or two, and anger the local librarian. But that should go without saying.

Introduce yourself! Hi! My name's Bobby "ponett" Schroeder. I have a background mainly in visual art and writing, and I've been working in RPG Maker VX Ace since 2013 after being inspired to try making my own game by Splendidland's masterpiece Megaman Sprite Game. I'd always wanted to go into game development, but this was the first time it felt like it was actually feasible for me to make something fun on my own. By the end of that year I released a much rougher freeware version of SLARPG, originally known as Super Lesbian Horse RPG.

I do most of the work myself, but I have several people helping me with some NPC and enemy design work including my boyfriend Anthony Field (@exclamationpointman on Tumblr) and my friends Thomas Landon (@schloogywoog), Gee (@fattoads), and Thom (@sidewalkwitch). My lead composer is the incredibly talented BEATR!X @neutralnewt) with more music contributed by other friends such as internet pop icon blacksquares (@blacksquares).

What is your project about? What inspired you to create your game initially? *Bobby: Super Lesbian Animal RPG is primarily about a timid transgender fox named Melody. At age 22 she's sort of coasting along on autopilot with no clear idea of what she wants to do with her life. One day, she and her girlfriend Allison get roped into a new adventuring guild founded by their friends Claire and Jodie. Melody sees this as an opportunity to impress Allison and to make herself useful by becoming a paladin and learning healing magic.

At its heart, the game is about the relationships between four girls in their early 20s. They're all trying to define themselves as people, they all have their own personal baggage, and they all have their own motives for seeing this dinky little adventurer's guild as a life-changing opportunity. And now, thanks to the trouble they get themselves into, they also have to figure out how to be heroes. It's also a game where you can have an anthropomorphic rabbit with a mohawk kiss her girlfriend and then swing a sword made of zircon at a magic tumbleweed

As I said, the game was originally released in a much rougher form under the title Super Lesbian Horse RPG. It started out as a cute, goofy little game where Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic were dating (of course) and went on a bizarre adventure, but it soon turned into a genuine RPG with a more sincere story. It also got much, much more attention than I ever expected. My use of copyrighted characters made the game difficult to distribute, though, and in hindsight I was holding myself back by presenting it as a fangame. So in 2015, I decided to radically overhaul and flesh out the game with a new, expanded cast that I have full creative control over. And now here we are today, with a game that's probably got more new material in it than old, but still hopefully has the same charm if you enjoyed the original.

How long have you been working on your project? *Bobby: Work on the original project lasted the entirety of 2013, with me foolishly releasing the 1.0 version on Christmas 2013 (my 20th birthday—I spent most of the day frantically squashing bugs). I returned to the project in 2015 and have been working on the new version on and off for about two years now.

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *Bobby: The humor is definitely inspired in part by Mother and Paper Mario, although my talkative protagonists might make it closer to something like a point-and-click adventure game. I've also always loved really casual comedy that skews towards normal conversation in stuff like Home Movies or Homestuck. Adventure Time has undoubtedly been a big influence, too, as one of my favorite shows, with its "anything goes" fantasy world and colorful cast of characters—but also because of its focus on grounded, introspective character moments in a surreal, fantastical setting

Gameplay-wise, early Final Fantasy titles are a big influence for sure, and I'm trying to take a page out of Zelda's book when it comes to exploration and level design. But tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons are also having an impact on the way I design encounters. I think tabletop games are still the gold standard for RPG battles, because they're often less about stats and repetition and doing what the designer wants you to do and more about improvising a fun story. Of course, an RPG Maker game can't compete with having an actual DM there to run an encounter, but I'm trying to give players lots of fun little "hey, what if I tried this?" moments with unexpected consequences.

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them? *Bobby: Honestly, the big thing for me is always time management. As development continues and my skills improve, I often find myself polishing areas and assets I'd already worked on before. If I didn't force myself to work on new stuff too I'd probably spend three years just polishing Greenridge to a mirror shine.

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *Bobby: Developing the protagonists further has really broadened my horizons writing-wise. I always wanted the game to have a nice emotional arc on top of all the jokes and surreal dungeons, but over time I've fleshed out Melody, Allison, Claire, and Jodie more and more, making everyone feel less like charicatures and more like real people with relatable motivations. The graphics have also gotten a lot better after several years of pixel art practice, and the level design has gotten less linear.

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don't have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *Bobby: It started out as just me. Friends on Tumblr quickly showed interest in contributing designs and music to the game just because they liked the project, and before long a lot of different people were putting their own little mark on the game. Some of my favorite characters in the game have been designed by friends, and I don't know where I'd be without the absolutely phenomenal soundtrack.

What was the best part of developing the game? *Bobby: I love designing characters, and writing in all these little details to make them feel real, and figuring out how they talk to each other, and seeing my audience pick out their favorites. It's a very rewarding process for me. The second best part is getting to listen to the soundtrack and realize "Wow... this is gonna be in a game that I'm making. And it's gonna be SICK."

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *Bobby: Without a doubt, Melody. She differs from myself in a lot of major ways, so I wouldn't call her a self-insert, but she was created to give myself the relatable fat bisexual trans girl protagonist with anxiety that no other piece media was ever going to give me. A lot of her insecurities in the game are even loosely inspired by stuff I've been through in real life.

I also have a ton of fun writing the villains, but they're spoilers.

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *Bobby: I wish I'd been more consistent about my work ethic in the past. I worked EXTREMELY inconsistently on SLARPG throughout 2015, and I probably could've gotten a lot more done back then. But hey, live and learn.

Once you finish your project, do you plan to explore game's universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *Bobby: Oh, I'm absolutely hoping to revisit this world! Part of the reason I'm putting so much effort into revamping a game I already released is so that I can work with this new cast and setting again in the future. I'm not planning too far ahead right now, but I do have some vague ideas for more games I'd like to make in this world, possibly through the eyes of characters other than Melody.

What do you look most forward to upon/after release? *Bobby: I'm looking forward to being able to play some longer games in my backlog without feeling guilty about it, haha. I've been dying to play stuff like The Witcher 3, NieR: Automata, and Final Fantasy XV, but I'm always worried it'll just take time away from my work. It's a wonder I managed to finish Breath of the Wild this year.

Is there something you're afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? *Bobby: This answer is gonna be a bummer, but I'm worried about is the harassment I'll have to deal with for putting out a game about LGBT characters. I've already dealt with this on several occasions, although thankfully it hasn't progressed past slur-filled anonymous messages. This toxic state of the gaming community is why I'm currently planning to release the game exclusively on itch.io, rather than exposing myself to Steam's hostile userbase. But it's a story that I think is worth telling, and for every piece of hate mail I get 20 messages from people telling me how excited they are, which is why I haven't given up.

Question from last month's featured dev: Is there any portion of your development that's gotten you outside your comfort zone? *Bobby: I think it's easy to say that most of it has been outside my comfort zone, actually. Working on SLARPG has really pushed the boundaries of what I previously thought I was capable of as an artist. When I first started I literally made a dungeon that was just a straight line with one 90 degree turn because I had no idea what else to do with the canvas. Now I can make dungeons that are actually slightly fun!

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *Bobby: Study the games and stories you love, and find out what really makes them tick. Don't just mimic surface level things, but study the mechanical, structural, and thematic elements that make them so memorable. Oh, and don't put too much effort into a fangame if there's even the slightest chance it'll get taken down, haha. Make something original loosely inspired by the things you love instead.

We mods would like to thank Bobby for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved!

Remember to check out SLARPG if you haven’t already! See you next month!

- Mods Gold & Platinum

#rpg maker #rpgmaker #rpg #game dev #rpg maker games #game feature #games #gotm #game of the month #interview #dev interview #slarpg #super lesbian animal rpg #pixel games #pixel art

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shachaai · 8 years ago

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[Gods AU] A Feast of Flowers

In late autumn, the mortals adorn their fonts and water-supply with flowers in thanks to and celebration of the gods and nymphs that guard them. Naturally, the water gods take it as a good occasion for a party, and Lusus, as Albion’s husband, is invited. Albion/Lusus = England/Portugal, a full list of the other characters can be found here.

En-masse, the divine family of the House of Water are… a lot. Both in personality and sheer size.

The House of the Earth, one of Lusus’ affiliations, technically only contains himself, his consort, his three children, his brother, brother-in-law, and the two hunter gods who are Pan’s wards: nine deities in all. In comparison, the water gods and their various offspring seem to number almost as many as all the drops of water in the ocean. They spill out of the palatial villa that is their haunt for the day, flooding the autumn orchards and countryside around it with their bright swift movements and quicksilver laughter. There is food and wine, talking and music and dancing, sun-brown children running in the dappled shadows beneath ripe fig trees whilst their parents, aunts, uncles and cousins laugh and mingle, kiss and twirl. There are colourful flowers hung in garlands around every neck, twined around young limbs almost as amorously as the lovers none-too-subtly embracing in the orchard’s shade, blooms and leaves worn in crowns upon pretty heads and woven through long braids of hair.

The sun is high in the sky, past noon; Lusus is late to the party. He wanders, more than a little lost, through the endless ebb and flow of his distant in-laws, searching for a major god - a face he might actually recognise - to point him in the direction of the King and Queen of the Waters, to make his belated greetings, or to just lead him to Albion, who had entreated him to leave the Underworld for the day for the occasion. There are too many divine and semi-divine beings gathered for even Lusus to easily sift out the presence of particular individuals, especially as everyone has allowed themselves to overindulge in alcohol and ambrosia, clouding the feel of them further.

Halting one sozzled nymph to ask for directions gets Lusus a blithe hand waved vaguely in the direction of the villa, whilst the two after her point in two different and opposing directions, leaving Lusus just as lost as before. One small toddling child too young to know who they are speaking to remonstrates Lusus for not wearing any flowers to the party until their mother, extremely flustered, arrives full of apologies to hurry them away. She hurries back to where Lusus has moved on in the crowds some minutes later, and thrusts flowers into his hands whilst almost bent in half in a bow.

Lusus dons them, pleased: the woman has brought him an appropriate crown of twisted cypress branches, green foliage and golden seed cones, brightness added with the deep purple flowers of saffron crocuses. Some of the golden pollen dusts the shoulders of his almost-matching purple tunic of the day, sweet-smelling and staining Lusus’ fingertips yellow when he reaches up to brush it away.

Albion, when Lusus finds him eventually - not too much later -, is dozing indolently in a cosy heap of pillows and blankets in the shade of an old fruit tree, thoughtfully left alone in a quiet spot by his less-powerful relatives. His skin is flush with wine and freckled with summer warmth, and his hair is long and spilling out of its braid like a sheaf of wheat, a crown of small pink roses, pale blue rosemary flowers and thyme askew on his head. Albion is eternally barefoot wherever possible; there are no sandals in sight nearby but there is a jug and cups of cut red wine mixed with ambrosia and honey, abandoned dishes and bowls of dried honeyed fruits and nuts, sweet cakes drenched in sticky honeycomb. Obvious priorities.

Lusus settles beside his husband in the cushions, thankful to have found his missing consort at last and also to rest his feet and eyes, closing them for a moment against the heat of the day. The world Above is harsh and loud for one used to the quieter sounds and colours of the Underworld; life is the chaos of change and death deserved peace - but both places especially the most at this time of year.

In autumn, the mortal lands are a blaze of gold and green, yielding the last of their lush summer bounty in one last great glorious desperation before winter sets in. The Underworld, at the same time, is muted, soft and grey - it sleeps without Albion there, but it now sleeps in hope, the year a breath away from yielding Albion from his duties Above to Lusus’ side Below. It will still be quiet with Albion there, but, with Albion in the Underworld, the rivers will flow more smoothly, the light will seem gentler, and, in the Underworld’s silvery fields and gardens, the dreaming flowers will grow.

The Underworld’s souls fare best with both their rulers there to watch over them, and Lusus has known since the first time he saw Albion that he fares best with Albion close beside him.

Moth to candleflame, Lusus strokes fringe and flowers away from Albion’s face - if only to avoid sliding his touch over the bare curve of Albion’s thigh instead, as Albion’s legs are bent in his slumber and his short tunic is rucked up high. He sleeps like a child and wakes like one too, nose scrunched and eyelashes fluttering against Lusus’ palm, drowsy and a little disgruntled and confused.

When he smiles, the afternoon breeze settles sweet and still around them, and his glow shifts from soft fluttering periwinkle to a content gold. “Lusus.”

Lusus bends to take the quiet kiss waiting for him on Albion’s mouth, his loose hair and saffron pollen falling around their faces as Albion’s palms curve in welcome over his shoulders, almost-clasp behind his neck.

“You are so late,” Albion sighs, tipping up his head to thoughtlessly drag his nose along Lusus’ cheek, his own face pink and warm. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

Lusus smiles apologetically, nuzzling back. “The furies were having a bad feather day.” He can still taste his consort’s kiss on his own lips with the tip of his tongue, Albion heady-sweet from snacking and ambrosial wine.

“They pick the poorest times to preen.” Albion shifts a little, beginning to sit up, and Lusus helps him, righting Albion’s crown of flowers when it almost slips entirely off of his head. “You have missed the ceremonies in the temples, and the blessing of the public fonts.”

The whole point of the party.

“But I came in time for flowers,” says Lusus, overly charming smile coming to him easily with his consort in his arms - even if said consort is thoroughly unimpressed, clicking his tongue.

“You missed the formal presentation of food,” Albion says archly, thoroughly aware of the crushing power his statement holds.

Lusus wilts a little, and one of the cypress seed cones on his crown accidentally catches a little too much of his downturn in mood, withers on its branch and falls off, bonking Lusus impolitely on the nose on its way to the ground. “No food?”

Lusus very much likes what his in-laws do with food. Earth gods have the best wine, the best game, the best farm-reared meat and grain, but only water gods really know how to cook a fish. Marriage to Albion has brought Lusus greater access to both types of culinary bounty, and he has grown deliciously, happily spoilt.

Albion half-laughs, half-sighs at Lusus’ immediate forlorn expression. “Have you greeted my parents yet?” When Lusus shakes his head, a few more leaves going the way of the seed cone, Albion clasps his hand and stands. “Then come; we will see if we can find you something on the way.”

Lusus may have missed the magnificent displays and presentation of the many, many courses of the gathering’s banquet, but, his arm looped with blithe contentment around his husband’s waist as Albion shepherds him through the happy crowds around the villa, (partly because he will take any excuse to be pressed up against Albion, and partly because Albion is just on the side of tipsy that means he wobbles on his ankles and appreciates assistance remembering the nature of straight lines,) it soon becomes clear that there is still plenty of food remaining to be eaten.

Sacrifices in the nearby city have yielded roast goat and sweet, tender sucking lamb to the table of the gods, with flocks of fat roasted pigeons from those who could not afford a larger offering. With this comes chunks of peppered chicken skewered on sticks with thin wedges of lemon, thinly-sliced spicy sausages, and truffles grilled and liquefied to a sauce with pepper, wine and honey before being stuffed and grilled inside sausage skins, served hot with three different kinds of sauce to choose from as an accompaniment. There are boiled eggs of chickens, geese and ducks beside bowls of salt for dipping, baskets and baskets of all kinds of bread with flavoured butters, sesame paste or hazelnut paste to spread over them, and endless dishes of onions, carrots, peas and leafy greens served roasted, boiled, and in weird and wonderful salads.

Lusus is more interested in the seafood, since it is a rarer sight to his own table in the Underworld - and especially done so well -, helping himself one-handed to crab cooked in herbs and butter to the great amusement of a group of crenaeae, nymphs of fountains, who observe him casually taking the dish from underneath the nose of one of the potamoi who had taken it to eat for himself but was too distracted by the nymphs flashing their naked breasts at him to notice the God of the Dead absconding with his meal. (Since the last time Lusus had paid too much attention to a nymph’s naked breasts the result had been him getting slapped across the face by his consort and ignored for a year, and the nymph involved being turned into a garden herb, it is probably best for everyone that Lusus focuses only on snuggling his husband. And eating the crab.)

After the crab there are oysters cooked in wine and garlic, and the meat of cooked lobsters stripped from their shells, mashed, soaked in wine, and served up in delicate little cakes. Albion helps himself to some crispy strips of fried seaweed whilst Lusus pauses to drink deeply of a bowl of clear fish broth, its surface flecked with more flakes of dried seaweed and sliver-thin rings of raw onions. Lusus’ withering flower crown recovers its spirits entirely - and starts putting out new buds and shoots, half-convinced it is springtime - when Albion kisses Lusus on the cheek for handing him a chunk of seared tuna.

Past a group of nixes juggling breadloaves and apples in a competition of one-upmanship, there are pickled sturgeons and prawns, and small squids stuffed with herbs and the beaten yolks of eggs and cooked whole, some fried, some boiled. The larger squids have been cut into rings and chunks and cooked until tender, served in a sauce made of their own black ink and sprinkled breadcrumbs, whilst octopuses have been chopped up, coated in egg and flour and fried in hot oil, or simmered until tender in a mixture made of olive oil, white wine, garlic, parsley and onions.

“When your family’s cooks die,” Lusus informs his consort with absolute seriousness, his mouth still full of squid and egg and only disappointed he cannot immediately find more of either, “we are keeping them.”

Albion, leaning against the table beside Lusus and thoughtfully inspecting one of the little lobster cakes in his hands, snorts. “I believe it’s custom that we at least ask the souls if they want to serve us in the Underworld for all eternity instead of being released to the reincarnation cycle.”

Lusus pouts at him, utterly uncaring of anyone that might see. “Food like this is wasted on mortals.”

“Let brief lives have bright pleasures, dear heart.” A little more sober now, Albion lets the pout roll off of his shoulders like water off of a duck’s back, holding up the lobster cake for Lusus to eat when it becomes clear Lusus’ mouth is empty. Lusus loves him for it, even if Albion is just trying to stuff his mouth with too much seafood to win the debate. “The only slavery we want in the Underworld is in Tartarus, where they deserve it.”

“We could move the palace -” Albion’s glare sends a freezing frisson of wind down Lusus’ spine, and the lobster cake in Lusus’ mouth suddenly develops small lumps of ice that crack dangerously between his teeth. “Or not.”

“Thalassa.”

The Sea Queen, reclining against her husband’s arm in the largest room inside the villa, has all the dangerously indolent grace that Lusus so admires in her son who inherited it, Albion. Her hair that day, heavy with ribbons and roses, is the colour of a violent sunset on the ocean, and her stola is a dark, stormy blue, flashing with the gold pins keeping it closed. The gown is sleeveless, leaving her arms bare and skin smooth under Lusus’ palm when he comes forward to her seat to grasp her extended forearm in greeting. (In meetings with many gods, Lusus finds it sensible to greet his mother-in-law immediately after his consort - the Sea Queen had known him in their shared youth, though he had been the far younger. There are not many beings alive who can tell embarrassing tales of Lusus’ childhood, and even fewer who can say they were there to pull a headstrong young bull around by his exceedingly petulant ear.)

“No kiss, son of mine?” The Sea Queen’s grasp is just as firm as Lusus’ and her smile teasing, a knowing thing.

The room, although busy with people prior to Lusus and Albion’s entrance, is silent enough her voice rings, music halting and actions pausing in both deference to high royalty and interest at their interactions.

“With respect, my lady,” Lusus murmurs back to his hostess with a slight dip of his head, “you are not the water deity whom I prefer to save my kisses for.”

At Lusus’ elbow, Albion blushes as red as his mother’s hair.

Sitting beside his wife, the Sea King, blond as Albion is blond but broad-shouldered as the oxen he is said to favour, snorts into his wine. Lusus is particularly glad his father-in-law has left aside his ridiculous-looking shell crown for the festivities that day, for when his fellow king sets aside his drink and offers Lusus his own arm to grasp in greeting, Lusus can actually look him directly in the eye without wanting to laugh for a change.

“You are most welcome here,” says the Sea King, and his voice booms like the ocean thundering into sea-caves, deep and sincere. The Sea King is not one for artifice, something for which his family fondly despair of him. “Your brother was invited as well, since we find ourselves so unusually sprawled all over his hills, though he had to decline.”

“Harvest time is busy for every earth god associated with domesticated lands,” Lusus explains, since he can see the hunter and lesser goddess, Reinhildr, in the room with them out of the corner of his eye, drawing a distinction between those who stalk through wildlands and those who farm. (Reinhildr smiles at him for it with a dip of her pretty blonde head, lifting her cup in Lusus’ direction.) “My own work also increases when it is time for the reapers, though not as much as my brother’s.”

“Your harvest is of a different sort,” the Sea Queen says, more agreement than true elaboration, and gestures to the long seat beside her. “Please.”

The seat, already occupied by one of the wide-eyed youngest of Gallia’s brood and her gawking nymph (nymphling? Baby nymph?) friends, rapidly empties. The godling sensibly abandons the coveted space beside her grandmother to scramble halfway across the room and into her foster father’s, Caledon’s, lap, easily able to help herself to the food on his plate whilst he is occupied in a quiet, serious-looking discussion with Reinhildr’s brother and fellow hunter god, Rathangrim, and the little child-nymphs all scuttle off to join a large group of other small divine and semi-divine children clustered around a rather fed-up-looking Yu Lian, the spirit of the water inside of them drawn to his silvery moon.

Many of the gods who must have been invited are here, draped out in the place of honour in the middle of the members and acolytes of the House of Water. Not just the Sea King and Queen, or their children, or Reinhildr, Rathangrim, and Yu Lian; Lusus can see the God of the Dawn, Ayasake, entertaining some of the besotted children at Yu Lian’s side, with assistance from the God of Medicine, Paeon. Tarchon, Atmos’ eldest and grumpiest grandchild, sits at Paeon’s side with a face like someone has slapped him with a fish, fielding off the attentions of an amorous lesser river god who appears to be attempting to court Tarchon with flowers, a series of lewd gestures, and a carrot.

Lusus sits, adjusting himself amongst the cushions, and, by the time Albion joins him, carrying a large bowl full of sweet things - again -, the music they interrupted with their entrance has started up once more. Two of Albion’s trueborn brothers, Nechtan and Manawydan, are alternating playing and singing, telling a tale between them of a doomed hero and the naiad who loved him, heartbreakingly lovely.

...Perhaps more heartbreaking for those who have not met the doomed hero in question, who is a resident in Lusus and Albion’s realm and, if Albion’s word has anything to say about it, something of an idiot in the Isles of the Blest. (It’s perplexing. Albion tends to attract idiot heroes.) Acquaintanceship with the protagonists takes some of the glamour away from tragic ballads, and, beautiful as Manawydan and Nechtan’s playing is, their story is now not at all interesting enough to keep Lusus’ attention away from Albion, who is pressed up snugly against Lusus’ back and eating pitted cherries.

His mouth is very red from the fruit, and his tunic, unlike his mother’s gorgeous stola and Lusus’ own deep purple outfit, is worn thin by wear and the sun, doing nothing to save Lusus from the imprint of his consort’s body warm against his own.

“Unfair,” Lusus says, soft to avoid prying ears, tipping his head back to look at Albion better. His crown slips in another shower of pollen.

Albion presses a cherry to his mouth, blithe and sticky-fingered, and goes dark-eyed when Lusus takes both fruit and fingers into his mouth to suck. “I will go west,” he says, even more softly than Lusus, “after this. In a few weeks, will you come to take me home from there?”

When winter yawns wide, Lusus will go to the ends of the earth, Underworld and heavens to assist Albion in coming home to him. He releases Albion’s fingers, tucking the cherry into his cheek. “You could leave with me, immediately after this.”

“And spoil all your brother’s work by cutting short the harvest?”

Lusus makes a face. Pan would whine at best, and argue at worst. The mortals would starve. And Lusus’ work would increase a hundredfold as legions of the famine-struck dead arrived at his doors, cutting into his allotted time with Albion.

Albion cups his face and kisses him, close-mouthed and brief. Warm and loving, though mindful of his mother sitting by them.

Some days, Lusus hates being known as the Just One.

When Lusus returns to the Underworld that night, long after sunset, he departs with the blessings of his parents-in-law and two deep baskets full of food. Delicious as it all is, more important are the last gifts he leaves with: Albion wound close with him in the darkness, kissing him a long goodbye that will have to last Lusus until winter truly comes and Albion returns to the Underworld to join him, and Albion’s flower crown, its flowers still full and blooming from spending so long upon a life god’s head.

That night, long after he has left Albion in the midst of his own family, Lusus’ mouth still tastes of his husband: of ambrosia and fruit, wine and honey. The air, too, is scented much the same way; Lusus takes his husband’s crown of flowers and twines them with his own, taking both to the King’s chambers in the Underworld and hanging them above the pillows of his and Albion’s bed.

Lusus can still smell the flowers when he lies down to sleep, the air soft with the scent of summer, and warmth, and love.

That night, Lusus sleeps deeply, and, though his dreams are formless, they are autumn-gold and sweet.

Lusus (and Pan with him) was actually born in the same generation of deities as Albion’s mother and father, although it was on the tail-end of that generation. It’s why Lusus is one of the few gods who greets Albion’s mother by - one of - her name(s), as well as the fact he’s equal to her in rank due to being a fellow divine ruler. His realm - well, his and Albion’s, at this point - is arguably more powerful than hers and her husband’s, so the power-difference and age-difference between these two balances them out enough he can drop some of the formalities with her other gods adhere to. ..Not too many though. She saw him when he was a wee thing clopping about with baby-fat on his cheeks and has too many embarrassing stories as leverage.

Incidentally, Lusus hardly ever greets anyone with a physical gesture - whether that’s touching them, or even him nodding to them (he only nods to equal rank or those worthy of respect). He touches foreheads with his brother and his children, and often touches foreheads with Albion before going in for a kiss. The Ancient Roman nobility tended to greet family and friends with a kiss to the mouth, eyelids, or neck (to the point where special orders had to be given out to the nobility during times of plague to stop kissing so much) depending upon who was kissing whom, hence the Sea Queen’s teasing.

It’s been a while since I read The Lusiads, but I distinctly remember giggling about the description of the God of the Sea in it. He has a stupid shell crown. Many conch jokes were made.

Notes about the flowers: The cypress is and always has been a symbol of mourning. In the classical period, it was associated with death and the underworld because the tree failed to regenerate if cut back too severely, and cypress was used extensively in funerary rites: both to fumigate the air at cremations as well as decorate Athenian homes when they were in mourning. It was thus considered among some of the better plants with which to adorn statues of the underworld gods.

Saffron crocuses have many uses. Ancient Persia used the flower for its thread, which was woven into textiles that were ritually offered to deities. The thread was also scattered across beds or mixed into teas as a cure for melancholy, as well as being used in dyes, perfumes, medicines and cleansing washes. Non-Persians at the time regarded saffron as an aphrodisiac and a drug. Alexander the Great favoured saffron in his food and baths as a curative for aches and wounds.

Rosemary is considered a herb of remembrance, particularly for the dead. Its English name derives from the Latin for ‘dew’ (ros) and ‘sea’ (marinus), thus making it the ‘dew of the sea,’ as it was discovered growing on hillsides close to the ocean. It also has associations with love.

Thyme derives its name from the Greek ‘Thymus,’ meaning courage. Thyme was burned inside homes to drive off stinging insects, and the Greeks used the symbol of thyme to represent style and elegance. The Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming, and later peoples used thyme as a sleep-aid and to ward away nightmares. In some funerals, thyme was used as incense and placed upon coffins, as it was supposed to assure passage into the next life.

#Shacha fic #Gods AU #engport #aph Portugal #Arthur Kirkland #and assorted others #hetalia

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yadaily · 8 years ago

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Can i ask why you're not fond of eleanor&park? just curious

Of course! We’re always gonna be open and honest about whether or not we like books, no matter how popular they may be. The YA genre is so special because young, impressionable readers are going to be impacted by what they read, whether that’s a good or a bad thing. So if we don’t think that a book is putting forth respectable values, we’re not afraid to call it out.

The role race plays in Eleanor and Park has been the subject of much debate and is probably the number one reason I didn’t like the book. Full disclaimer, I am a white woman, but the very casual racism in the book struck me as disturbing. Park’s mother was basically forced to assimilate into American culture, and the “white savior” plays a huge role in that. Park’s dad thought he was “saving” this woman from her life, and he does not try in any way to understand her culture or incorporate it into their family. She changes her name to a more American sounding one, and her children know nothing about who she used to be, what her family was like, etc. Park was ridiculed and stereotyped for his race as well, and by Eleanor too! He distanced himself from his heritage because he was never opened up to it in the first place. Rainbow Rowell showed a clear lack of both research and understanding, thinking that different Asian cultures are interchangeable and just generally putting forth incorrect depictions of Asian-Americans. I don’t think it came across as commentary on race relations at the time. If that was the intent, it was done horribly, for it came across as just blatant racism and ignorance. You can read more on this here, here, and here.

Fat shaming was also a major part of the novel. Eleanor is meant to be seen as an overweight character, but Rowell attempted to distance herself from that depiction when readers asked into it. If she’s not gonna lay it all out on the table, then it’s not a good, honest depiction of a sadly overlooked topic. It’s not good representation. I can’t remember this element of the book as clearly, but basically, everyone expects Eleanor to be fatter than she is, to be less beautiful because of her weight, to be seen by others as repulsive because she struggles with her self-image, etc. As someone who has struggled with weight for basically my entire life, I was put off and hurt by Eleanor’s depiction.

My final major issue comes with Eleanor and Park’s actual relationship. The whole “star crossed lovers” concept was completely lost on me, because it seemed more unhealthy than anything else. There were some thinly veiled connections to Romeo and Juliet, and I think we all know how that turned out. Park thought he was responsible for saving Eleanor, and that’s a concept I absolutely cannot get behind, ever. No matter what book. No boy is going to save you from yourself, no matter how great he seems. He can’t fix you. Insta-love just isn’t gonna fly with me.

Abuse is also another issue that’s depicted, but I’m not knowledgable enough to go into that. However, I encourage you to be critical of it.

All this considered, I just generally did not like it and don’t think it deserves the praise it gets. I won’t award brownie points to a book that did a pretty terrible job handling its diversity just because that diversity is there.

#answered

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thievesgambit-a · 7 years ago

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fun little character game! fill in the below categories with 3 — 5 things that your character can be identified by.

𝙴𝙼𝙾𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂 / 𝙵𝙴𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚂.

entertained | remy’s almost permanent mood. if something is not entertaining him or interesting him in the moment, he will either abandon the moment or influence it so he is having fun within it. the man almost never takes anything seriously, and finds a way to make light of a situation in the most inappropriate of ways and times. he considers life a game, after all. if you’re not having fun, neither is the game.

pissed | i could’ve chosen a more delicate word, but that doesn’t really fit remy, does it? when remy is annoyed, he makes no attempt to pretend he isn’t. his comments are scathing, his expression is that of scorn, and he’s not afraid of shoving, pointing, jabbing, or otherwise getting physical if it suits him. most of the time, he stalks off alone rather than dealing with the other person or situation. if required or if he feels like it, he’ll abandon the person and the situation entirely without regard for their comfort or convenience.

𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙾𝚁𝚂.

#ED46D7 | hot pink

#000000 | black

#FFFFFF | white

𝚂𝙲𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚂.

cigarette smoke

mint toothpaste

aftershave

𝙲𝙻𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶.

jewelry | including earrings, rings, necklaces, and watches. he has multiple piercings on his ears. he enjoys wearing multiple pieces of jewelry at once when he can.

expensive tastes | the appearance of wealth just heightens his looks, as far as he’s concerned. he enjoys wearing clothes that make a clear statement of his status and where his priorities lie.

body suit & trench coat | the body suit’s pink is more cosmetic than anything ( and a mild fuck you indicating that he can still steal things while wearing vibrant colors ). it is mildly armored while still flexible, and has thermal suppressors to lower his apparent body heat from cameras. his trench coat is both aesthetic and for keeping himself warm, as he has higher body temperature than average humans

𝙾𝙱𝙹𝙴𝙲𝚃𝚂.

wedding ring | made for him and rogue by the mutant bling!, remy has his wedding ring on him or nearby at all times, including when he’s on missions or thieving. it is a representation of a love that, while tumultuous, prevailed--something that remy has rarely experienced, and would not have rather experienced it with anyone else than rogue.

cards | remy keeps at least one deck of cards with him at all times, including during casual outings. usually, for outings, they are more for entertainment purposes than for combat. during missions or thieving, remy keeps at least four or five decks to up to ten, depending on the severity of the mission. despite being unwieldy projectiles (relatively speaking; he throws them quite well), he’s got style to think about.

bo staff | a collapsible staff he keeps on his person for missions and thievery. he used to take it around everywhere, but has grown out of the habit after time with the x-men.

𝚅𝙸𝙲𝙴𝚂 / 𝙱𝙰𝙳 𝙷𝙰𝙱𝙸𝚃𝚂.

vanity, pride, conceitedness, & arrogance | gambit might not be the most powerful mutant of all, but

smoking | an obvious bad habit he has. rogue, in most recent timelines, has weaned him onto e-cigarettes and vapes. he’s mellowed out a lot in terms of frequency, but especially during his marauder years and before he met storm, remy would burn through pack a day or so. he never smokes while thieving.

pettiness & bitterness | remy holds grudges hard, and makes it no secret when he’s done with you. it’s hard to really piss him off, but when you do, remy makes it clear how upset he is. he’s competitive, vindictive, petty, and can be extremely vengeful and apathetic, depending on the circumstance. if something leaves a bad taste in his mouth--he does not forgive, nor does he forget.

𝙱𝙾𝙳𝚈 𝙻𝙰𝙽𝙶𝚄𝙰𝙶𝙴𝚂.

languid, easy, & lazy | remy’s default language is typically extremely casual and at ease. he shifts his weight onto one leg, crosses his arms, tilts his head, leans on something when he can, drapes himself across chairs and tables and couches where appropriate, and generally almost never stands up straight and proper. it’s mostly unconscious and instinctual--remy is naturally a very relaxed and careless person--but some of it is very much conscious. he enjoys drawing attention to himself and giving off a laissez-faire attitude. there are few, as far he’s concerned, that will deserve him giving his full attention.

sharp, controlled, & calculated | a direct opposite of his default, when remy is on the job, upset, or on a mission, his movements are consciously controlled. he stands straight and at the ready, his movements are snappy and to the point without wasting time, and when required, his body can be extremely still and steady. he has, after all, been required to maneuver through some of the most delicate of security systems in the world, as well as throw playing cards at a target at the drop of hat.

𝙰𝙴𝚂𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚃𝙸𝙲𝚂.

in china town, there’s a hideaway restaurant shoved between a dumpster and a convenience store. squirreled away in the back, behind the shabby tables covered in cheap cloth and the beady looks of the owners, is a single dim room. in this room is a group of five men sitting around a plastic folding table and folding chairs to match. the room is quiet, but the atmosphere tenuous, as they lay down their cards to reveal their hands. wordless shuffles as real bills--not chips--are thrown into the center pot. only one man remains careless and easy, leaning back in his seat, one arm thrown over the back of his chair, mild smile on his face as he lazily looks over his cards. “what do you t’ink, amis? one more hand?”

the night is still young, but one man has already retired for the evening. he straightens up from his crouching position on the bed, fully naked, body sweaty, hair sticking to his face, and a self-satisfied smirk on his lips. wordlessly, he throws himself into a sitting position against the pillows and lights a cigarette. its glow is the only one in the room, but even in the gloom, his silhouette can be seen: the curve of his shoulder, the cocky messiness of his hair. with abandon, he takes a long drag and throws his head back, exposing his neck, as he exhales smoke into the ceiling. the room smells of nicotine. he smiles as the glow of a phone and the flash of a camera go off. “make sure t'get my good side, chéri.”

𝚂𝙾𝙽𝙶𝚂.

Little of Your Time - Maroon 5 | please, don’t leave! stay in bed / touch my body instead / gonna make you feel it / ( can you still feel it? ) / oh my! I don’t mind being the other guy / nice try -- for these games? I do not have the time! / if you want me, call me / come and take a risk kiss / leave somewhere deep under the surface

Desperado - Rihanna | desperado / sitting in an old monte carlo / a man whose heart is hollow / take it easy / ... / if you want / take a peek and run away! running from / and it’s out of luck / there ain’ nothing here for me anymore / but I don’t wanna be alone

Victorious - Panic! At The Disco | I’m like a scarf trick ( it’s all up the sleeve! ) / I taste like magic; waves that swallow quick and deep! / throw the bait, catch the shark, bleed the water bed / fifty words for murder and I’m every one of them / my touch is black and poisonous / and nothing like my punch-drunk kiss / I know you need it! ( do you feel it? ) / drink the water -- drink the wine!

Take A Slice - Glass Animals | one is pretty, but the other lies / chewing on a fat smoke / ( no filter, but you’re puffing ) / sucking on a slim vogue / dark fingernail polish / I’m the treasure, baby -- I’m the prize! / cut me rails of that fresh cherry pie / shitty old pistola / shot a bullet through my wallet / gonna go to pensacola / gonna fuck my way through college / ... / sitting pretty in the prime of life / I’m so tasty ( and the price is right ) / stewing in the black dope / ( I’m filthy and I love it )

Irresistible - Fall Out Boy | you’re second hand smoke, second hand smoke / I breathe you in but, honey / I don’t know what you’re doing to me, mon chéri! / but the truth catches up with us eventually / try to say live -- live and let live / but i’m not good at lip service / ( except when they’re yours, mi amor )

𝚃𝙰𝙶𝙶𝙴𝙳 𝙱𝚈: @fierceststorm ᴛᴀɢɢɪɴɢ: @no1asshole, @transvcrto, @geneborne

#honestly kanye would fit remy really well i just don't liste nto him enough to know good songs LMAO #also: yeah ik the only 1 thing i listed that's sentimental is his weddingr ing.#that's Him bro.#also: wow abby that music is super white!#look: remy is a bitch ass white boy remember #idk how to do aesthetics btw #❛ ♠ ⁞ bang‚ you dead! — insp

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kaiserdingus · 7 years ago

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The Return of Classic Sonic - Part 4 - Sonic Mania/Sonic Forces

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Over the past couple of years, and especially recently with the release of Sonic Mania, we’ve seen a resurgence in media depicting the classic version of Sonic the Hedgehog from the 1990’s. He’s shorter, he’s voiceless, and he represents a simpler time in video games from before voice acting and cinematic cutscenes.

In recent games he’s been offered as an alternative to the modern aesthetic and play-style that’s been the standard since Sonic Adventure. How did we get to this point? How has Sonic changed over the years, and why are there now two Sonics?

In this series I plan to observe the time period in Sonic history where SEGA decided to shake things up and make what was once old new again. This is The Return of Classic Sonic.

Sonic Mania

After the release of Sonic Generations, things seemed to be going well for Sonic Team. In 2013 they announced an exclusivity deal with Nintendo for their recently released Wii U. The deal was that the next three Sonic the Hedgehog titles would be exclusive to the Wii U. Sonic Lost World, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, and Sonic Boom were the three Nintendo exclusive titles as part of the deal. After how good Generations was, things were not looking good for Sonic the Hedgehog fans who weren’t fond of Lost World or Boom.

Things felt dark at the time, but then in July 2016 Sega held a big Sonic-themed fan event where they announced two new titles. The first was a new collaboration with Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, and PagodaWest Games called “Sonic Mania”, a true return to the classic 2D gameplay that Sega and Sonic Team tried to achieve with Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

The second game was an untitled 3D game introduced with a pre-rendered trailer showing Sonic in a dystopian wasteland, and joining him yet again would be Classic Sonic. The trailer looked drove home the idea that this was a new modern-style Sonic game that followed the style of Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, except now with a darker, more serious story. Even though the trailer featured Classic Sonic, the producers were quick to express that this wasn’t a sequel to Sonic Generations. Eventually, the title would be revealed as Sonic Forces, and we’ll talk about that a little later.

Despite Sonic Forces raising a ton of questions, the real show-stealer that night was Sonic Mania. An officially sanctioned new title in the classic Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, one that compiled new, original stages with stages from older titles that were remixed for a new generation of fans.

The game launched in August 2017 and was a smash hit, having the highest score for a Sonic the Hedgehog title on review sites in years. Previous Whitehead produced Sonic titles include Sonic CD, Sonic 1, and Sonic 2 which were remakes of classic titles with some enhancements. Now, his team were able to fill it with not just new enhancements, but completely new features. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are all playable with their own moves and character-specific paths, but now Sonic has a new “Drop Dash” that allows him to charge a spindash while in mid-air.

Similarly to Sonic CD, Sonic Mania opens with an animated full-motion video. Animated by Tyson Hesse, a comic book illustrator who previously worked on Archie’s Sonic comics as well as having done Sonic fan comics online, it’s the perfect cherry on top to complete a wonderful game. Hesse’s art has been celebrated in the Sonic fan community, from his parody comic “Sonic’s Big Fat Adventure”, to his Sonic CD/Sonic OVA style designs in the Archie mini-series Sonic Mega Drive.

Something that’s usually considered taboo when adapting another’s work is adding new elements, but that taboo has been successfully broken with the addition of the Hard Boiled Heavies as antagonists assisting Dr. Eggman this time around.

Originally Egg-Robos from Sonic & Knuckles, they’ve been corrupted by the Phantom Ruby which is given each of them individual personalities. The boss fights against the Hard Boiled Heavies are some of the best in the entire game, and I would not be opposed to seeing more of them in future titles.

The marketing for Sonic Mania disguised one of the bigger plot points to the game, and the game itself doesn’t make it clear, but Sonic Mania cleverly ties into Sonic Forces which was released 3 months later. The Phantom Ruby, Eggman’s world-altering MacGuffin, appears in Sonic Mania and is the force that transports Sonic to Modern Sonic’s world in Forces. They even snuck Sonic Forces’ theme song “Fist Bump” into the final boss battle.

When Mania came out I played the hell out of it and cleared each of the 8 save files. The special stages from Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles return, but now they replace the pinball bonus stages. They quickly become irritating as you find yourself entering nearly 3 special stages per level. It’s not that they’re not fun to play, but rather that they take longer than standard bonus stages so they break up the pace of the game.

I loved Sonic Mania, I thought it filled a much needed desire in me to play a game that really understood what makes Sonic great. The way Sega released Sonic Forces following Mania made Mania seem like an appetizer, but one that’s infinitely better than the perfectly acceptable main course.

Sonic Forces

Originally announced alongside Sonic Mania in June of 2016, Sonic Forces was released in November 2017 and landed with an unfortunate thud. Dr. Eggman has taken over the world and now it’s up to Sonic to save the day, only this time he’s joined by a new friend - YOU. Oh, and also Classic Sonic returns from Sonic Generations for no clear reason. This game isn’t bad by any means, but it certainly isn’t seen very positively within some parts of the fan community? The fans celebrated Sonic Generations, how did Forces go so wrong?

When planning this game simultaneously with Sonic Mania, it’s assumed that the producers wanted to cater to two very specific audiences: people who grew up with and prefer the style of the classic Sonic games, or people who prefer the more story driven modern titles. Mania was meant to be for the fans of the classic games, while Forces would be aimed at those who liked Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations.

The only problem with basing this game off of Generations is that by the time this game would come out, that game would already be 6 years old. For some perspective, that’s the same amount of time between Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic Adventure. With that big of a time gap, it was assumed Sonic Team would be able to make a game that would surpass the quality of the ones that came before it. Instead, we got a game that feels more or less like Generations 2 (more like Generations 2 Late).

This isn’t to say the game is bad, it just feels dated, ironically its biggest competition is a game that’s entire gimmick is how dated it is. The game follows an edgy storyline about Dr. Eggman capturing Sonic and taking over the world, and the resistance group that forms to stop Dr. Eggman and liberate the world. Typical for a Sonic game post-1992, Dr. Eggman has a new friend with him, a jackal named Infinite who’s been made incredibly powerful with the strength of a magical MacGuffin known as the Phantom Ruby.

The story wouldn’t be an issue if it weren’t for the fact that none of the characters develop or grow, aside from the player’s Avatar character. The avatar is the last of their people after Infinite showed up and killed them all for no apparent reason, and now they’ve teamed up with Sonic and the resistance to stop Eggman from… keeping control of the world.

That’s right, besides the lack of character development or growth there’s also a lack of motivation for the villains. Dr. Eggman beats Sonic with the help of Infinite at the beginning of the game, Sonic gets captured and taken to the Death Egg, and his friends break him out.

Sonic Adventure 2’s edgy storyline worked because characters had motivation and they grew as the story went. Shadow wanted to avenge the death of his friend, but eventually discovered that vengeance wouldn’t be what she wanted. Rouge offers her skills as a jewel thief to help Dr. Eggman, only to double cross him when it’s revealed she’s a spy working for the President. Tails, having overcome his fears in the previous Sonic Adventure games, asserts himself as a competent mechanic and hero. Even Eggman realizes the error of his ways near the end of the game and helps the heroes stop the destruction he caused.

Gameplay wise, the game plays just as good as Sonic Generations did, and it even looks better. Sonic Lost World and Sonic Boom, the two titles to come out in the years between Generations and Forces, were too radically different and didn’t work. Sonic Forces might feel like too little too late, it its very playable. The levels are more cinematic this time around, but they’re also a lot shorter. While Generations had 9 different areas with two stages each, Forces only has 6 areas with a combined 24 action stages. A casual Sonic player can easily clear the game in under 4 hours.

The game has a lot of replay value, though. Especially in regards to the Avatar, who can equip clothing and accessories that you gain by clearing stages and missions. The Wispons act as different equippables for your character’s grappling hook, giving them new abilities that can help them reach different pathways.

Classic Sonic, honestly, feels a little tacked on in this game. Like I said previously, Classic Sonic felt integral to Generations, but this time he feels like Werehog-esque filler. I love the gameplay and the dedicated 2D levels, but you they didn’t need to shoe-horn Classic Sonic into the game. It feels like a cheap gimmick to bring in people coming down from the high of Sonic Mania, rather than something that’s important to the story.

Sonic Forces really isn’t a bad game, it feels like a love letter to the fans of the 2000’s era Sonic games. It’s cheesy, with the grim-dark story, the DeviantArt-esque character creator, the butt rock theme song featuring Hoobastank singer Doug Robb, and the incredibly edgy Infinite who automatically replaces Shadow as “most cringey Sonic character”. It probably won’t ever be seen in the same light as it’s companion game, but I enjoyed it for what it was.

After 9 years of attempts by Sega, prompted by the passion and dedication of the Sonic the Hedgehog fan base, we’re finally seeing a resurgence of classic Sonic. Sonic 4 was a shallow attempt, Sonic Generations was an honest try, but Sonic Mania nailed it completely. A team of fans have done the impossible and have used their skills from making fan games to make a perfect Sonic game. Something any Nintendo fans would’ve been shut down for, Sega allowed to happen and are now benefiting from it.

It’s an exciting time for fans of Classic Sonic, as this July Sega are releasing a definitive edition of Sonic Mania called Sonic Mania Plus. The new content will be available as DLC for players who already own Mania. Alongside Sonic Mania Plus is a new animated series directed by Tyson Hesse. Five short episodes released in the weeks leading up to the release of Sonic Mania Plus.

What’s next for Sonic fans? Beyond Sonic Mania Plus, not much. If fans respond to Sonic Mania Plus well and it sells enough copies, I’m sure Sega will produce more games in the classic style. Hopefully using Christian Whitehead’s Retro Engine and with the same love the team put into Sonic Mania.

Where to Buy

Sonic Mania (PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC)

Sonic Mania Plus (PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)

Sonic Forces (PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC)

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#Return of Classic Sonic #Classic Sonic #Sonic the Hedgehog #Modern Sonic #Sonic Mania #Sonic Forces #Sega #Sega Genesis #Sega Dreamcast #PS4 #Xbox One #Nintendo Switch

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