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eff-plays · 4 months

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To me it's not really about morality if I have to be honest. I'm an Isaac Castlevania stan and he wanted to kill literally all of humanity. Like I don't care if you play evil characters or get off to immoral dom daddies or whatever. I've wanted to punt children in Skyrim into the sun for saying sassy shit to me so like. It's a video game where you kill people. I do not care.

To me, the "problem" (or rather, the thing I like making fun of the most) is just how very surface-level evil the Ascendant ending is, how obviously evil it is, how Larian pretty much beats you over the head with it using very simple and traditional storytelling techniques ("you'll have to kill 7000 people, including literal children btw"), and how some people still manage to twist it into something it isn't (a triumphant, perfect ending) despite Larian constantly blasting at you how bad it is. (And this isn't a critique, it works well and tropes are tropes for a reason, this shit works.)

And it's not even a unique setup. It's a classic dichotomy of want vs need. That's why they're contrasting endings. Astarion wants power, but he needs freedom and self-worth. That's the gist of it.

That's why I love the epilogue titles so much, because they perfectly sum up the endings. Radiant Hopeful, because he's his own light in the dark. For someone who's been a pessimistic asshole after suffering for two centuries, that's HUGE. Sunwalking Regent means he can walk in the sun, a symbol for everything he wanted, but "regent" implies he's a temporary ruler. Someone, somewhere, will come to de-throne him one day, and every day he fears that moment. His newfound power binds him to constant fear and paranoia, and he always searches for new ways to become stronger, because in his mind, he can never be strong enough.

Spawn ending is bittersweet: he lost power, he's still cursed with vampirism and can't walk in the sun, but he is free, he is his own person and he has hope for the future. He's decided for himself what he wants to do, and that's adventuring and helping others, lending his strength to those who do not have any, in his own weird way. He's physically weaker than Ascendant Astarion, and yet he's got strength to spare.

So what's the flip side? In the ascendant ending, he has power, he has control, he has money. But he's paranoid, he's controlling, and he's terrified of losing it all again, because without it, he believes he's nothing, so having it becomes his one and only purpose. It's also bittersweet, because he finally has everything he wanted, but he'll never again have what he truly needs.

These are like ... classic tropes. You can't have it all. You have to make a choice. The thing you think you want, or the thing you don't know you need. AA stans argue that actually, no. His endings are actually suuuper flat and uninteresting. Either he stays a weak and worthless and fearful spawn, or he becomes a strong and powerful and manly supervampire (let's not unpack the masculinity stuff here cuz that's a whole other bag of yikes). That's the argument they're making. That it's a black and white choice of either you pick the stuff where everything works out forever or the stuff where he's a loser lapdog who has to obey Tav because men must either control to be real men or are controlled pussies who can't do fuck (again, not getting into that here). And it's just literally not how the story is set up. None of the companion stories are this flat. If they were, there wouldn't be any argument or choice to make. No pros and cons to weigh. And it's just logically not a good gameplay mechanic, for a role-playing game.

And yet there are people who are just choosing not to get it, just the way I choose to believe it's a choice for most of them because I don't want to believe so many of these people are genuinely this stupid.

So yeah. That's why I block AA fans on sight. Not because I think their fetish is funny (though I do), but because I genuinely don't think I would have anything to gain from people who fundamentally cannot comprehend extremely basic storytelling techniques when they're practically spelled out for you with not-very-subtle methods. It's not even a thing of consciously choosing the bad ending where he's a very shitty daddy dom because it gets them off, that's literally whatever to me, but the fact that most of them genuinely believe it's somehow the better ending.

Despite. Well all of the shit I wrote above.

So yeah. It's not about enjoying evil characters, to me. People who do generally don't brush the actual evil part under the rug. It's the refusal or apparent inability to grasp extremely basic storytelling concepts lmao. And for what? Pff.

#bg3 #astarion discourse

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arcadiabaytornado · 9 months

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Who are your top 10 misunderstood characters from Life is Strange and Telltale’s The Walking Dead and why?

Kate (LIS) - Kate isn't misunderstood the same way Rachel and Chloe are, but I do think she's often portrayed as much more feeble then she actually is. For example: Kate stands for herself plenty in game. If you tell her to wait for more proof, she'll send Max this text. "Max. Sorry to have bothered you by asking for your advice. I guess I shouldn't do anything but let people enjoy my video all over the world." She'll also bluntly confront Max if you don't intervene when David's in her face. Don't get me wrong, Kate IS an utter sweetheart, but she's not a doormat either. She has a bit of a bite on multiple occasions.

Max (LIS) - Max is similar to Kate for me. I think she's often portrayed as much more feebly then she is. Some people treat her like she's a ...well...doe but she has a very strong bite to her! I mean, she's back with Chloe for 48 hours at most and she pulls a gun on Frank and maybe pulls the trigger. Also, if you don't side with Chloe for a choice, Max is very sassy about Chloe's objections. Chloe will say something like: "If you only you told David it was your joint," and Max will go "Oh, sorry, I was to busy saving your life. 🙄" Max is a very strong character, so I'm shocked that a lot of people see her as being super delicate. She's the furthest thing from a doormat.

More Undercut

Rachel (LIS) - Rachel deserves better. I can't even really get into this fully on this post because I want to keep my reasons shortish (well...short for me) but for a very quick and not detailed recap of my thoughts. 1. We don't even know if she cheated on Chloe, so, no, she's not the devil for sleeping with Frank. 2. Rachel is manipulative to a certain degree, but there's no indicator that she was an evil serpent women who only spoke in lies and manipulation. 3. There's plenty of in game evidence that she cared about Chloe. We can argue all day about whether she was ever in love with Chloe or not, but there's more than enough to back up that she at least cared for her.

Chloe - I'm going to make short points with her like I did with Rachel because this another topic I could make a full rant about. 1. She is mean, but some people really exaggerate the extent of it. 2. She's not evil for being mad that her best friend who ghosted her figured out how to work a phone when Kate called. 3. She's not a bitch for not liking her Step Father who is abusive to her. 4. She's not terrible for having a tense relationship with her Mother, who made it very clear that David is more than important than her. 5. Women are allowed to be flawed.

Ryan (LIS TC) - I will defend Ryan until the day I die. I know it isn't his best moment if he doesn't believe Alex at the end...but of course he doesn't believe Alex in all the endings?? Jed is his FATHER. A father he's close with and has been told his entire life is a hero. Then Alex (rightfully) bursts in and pops his bubble, and in the moment, he doesn't handle that well unless there's a lot of confirmation that his loving father is actually a hidden monster. And yes, I know that Steph backs up Alex no matter what...but Jed isn't her Dad, and she isn't as connected to the town, or it's stories, as deeply as Ryan is. She loses way less if Alex is telling the truth, while Alex's (rightful) honesty destroys what's left of Ryan's family after he already lost his Mother.

Violet (TWDG) - I've always thought it was weird how upset people got when Vi betrayed Clem in the cells. First off...Clem betrayed her first?? Vi spent the entire game defending Clem when no one else would. When AJ killed Marlon she stood in front of them with a cleaver to protect them from the other kids. When everyone voted to kick Clem and AJ out, she was the one shouting from the rooftops that it was unfair. When Clem and AJ came back, she was the one who insured that they could stay. And yet, when Clem saw her in danger, she chose not to save her. It's not shocking that she feels so upset, but it did shock me how fans reacted to it, and I'm someone who saved and romanced Louis! I mean...how unfair is a betrayal really if they stab you with the same knife you stuck in their back?

Louis (TWDG) - It's crazy how much of Ryan's paragraph I could apply to Louis. Of course he gets mad when Clem's murder toddler, who has never been taught restraint, puts a bullet in his best friends head. Marlon had given up. The gun was no longer in his hands. Clem had it handled peacefully, and then the situation ended with a bullet. I totally understand why he was mad, and I even understand why he wanted them to leave and not come back. He was mourning, and his pain is made even worse if you had Clem appeal to him because he helped disarm Marlon and that led to his death. So, in other words, I think his rage in episode 2 is very understandable. Plus, he moves on from his anger and apologizes for kicking them out in...Episode 2. The same episode the anger starts.

Sarah (TWDG) - People complain about her being a burden so much, but honestly that's Carlos's fault. She never really got a chance to be a survivor in the apocalypse because she was sheltered non-stop, and there's multiple moments that imply that she could have made it if things were different. I don't FULLY blame Carlos for sheltering her since I understand wanting your child to grow up in peace instead of surrounded by horror...but he really screwed her over. I think people should be way harsher on him than her. Sarah was doing her best. Carlos was not.

Ben (TWDG) - In the same manner as Sarah, people often complain that he's a burden. And...he kinda is, but also he's also literally sixteen years old. He makes bad choices because he's naive, not because he's malicious. Also, I know he indirectly got Duck and Katjaa killed, but the bandits were threatening to kill EVERYONE in the group if he didn't slip medicine to them. What Ben did got Katjaa and Duck killed, but who's to say the bandits wouldn't have kept their word and killed the entire group if he had refused. He was put in a no win situation, and honestly I just so much pity for him. I'm glad my Lee looks out for him.

Jane (TWDG) - Jane is...weird because she is a bad person but also some people act like she never cared about Clem and had entirely selfish motivations. She cared about Clem enough to teach her how to survive, which is something she never bothered to do with Sarah, even though she needed a mentor much more than Clem. And for as much as I disagree with her of philosophy of "never trust anyone, people are bad," I do think she was genuinely trying to help and giving what she thought was good advice. She also comes back and saves the group during the shoot out for Clem's sake, which proves that her motivations aren't entirely selfish...just mostly.

#lis #life is strange #twdg #the walking dead game #asks #liliothestich16

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avelera · 11 months

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Authority and the Urge: Morality and Redemption in Baldur's Gate 3

Theme 1: Domination vs. Freedom as an Alternative Moral Axis to Evil vs. Good

One thing that makes Baldur's Gate such a pleasure to play is that the writing team had such a clear understanding of their themes. Good and evil are not the clean-cut alignments of the D&D world. Rather, they reimagined good vs. evil along more subtle lines of domination and control vs. personal freedom and healing. For the most part, they are remarkably consistent without being preachy, which is no mean feat. Nor do they say you can't dabble in the morally ambiguous, indeed, all the Companions have dabbled in the morally gray and you are invited to draw your own line as to what behavior you find acceptable for them. Even Wyll and Karlach, the most morally upstanding, have made deals with devils for the greater good, and been press-ganged against their will into fighting for an evil tyrant. You are given the choice to say there is no redemption for even these unwilling moments of moral impurity, if you so choose. You can reject Gale for not telling you about the Orb immediately. You can kill Astarion for being a vampire, which isn't his fault. You can criticize and reject Shadowheart for her Shar worship and thus never learn the full extent of how much it was not her choice to join in the first place. You can also urge companions like Gale, Astarion, and Shadowheart to give in to their worst instincts and become true monsters, which brings me to the next important theme.

Theme 2: What is the Worth of a Single Life?

When speaking of themes in BG3, another major one is the power of one person to sway the path of others in their lives towards good or evil. One hand extended in friendship can draw Astarion back from a painful and self-destructive existence, the pursuit of power to insulate him from pain and harm that ultimately would lead him to perpetuate the cycle of abuse he suffered under. There are clear implications of how much the Companions life is changed by their encounter with the player character, in a really touching dynamic about the importance of one life to another, which also works as a game mechanic, imbuing your interactions as a player character with the satisfying power fantasy of being able to have social impact on your Companions as friends, loved ones, or (in an evil run) victims of your sadism. You can make or break them.

Which brings me, finally, to the Dark Urge. It's clear to my eyes that the Dark Urge was originally planned as The Custom Character path. What I imagine happened next, however, is that they realized that there were hard story beats in the Dark Urge's narrative, certain deaths for example, which would be supremely limiting and unsatisfying for many players, who would chafe against the lack of choice.

The Dark Urge is a fantastic novel character, since characters in a novel don't have to do what the reader would do, but video games with their interactive nature usually require a bit more freedom of choice for players to be satisfying. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule, but in general it's very challenging and rarely attempted in video games to put the player-controlled character into a situation where the player loses agency, where the character dies without player freedom to prevent it, makes choices contrary to what the player character would do in a game that otherwise offers choice, or that simply kills the player character without the option to avoid that fate. It can be done but it's very very tough, some of the biggest complaints leveled at RPGs like BG3 or Dragon Age games is when the narrative takes choice away or makes the character make choices, unavoidably, that players would not make or would fight to avoid if they could. They are often the center of the greatest fandom ire. So that's why I think the OC Tav with the blank backstory was created, for those who chafed at the lovely but restrictive narrative arc of the Dark Urge.

Mirrors of Morality: The Dark Urge's Redemption

I mention that I think the Dark Urge is fundamental to the core design of the game because their narrative path so nicely mirrors the other Companions. A blank-slate Tav is wonderful to work with, and very freeing, but you are left with the slightly hollow feeling of not having nearly the level of trauma or issues to work through that the Companions do. Your character has no past and few opportunities to form a coherent narrative that precedes the events of the tadpoling the way the others do. From a gameplay perspective this is of course nearly impossible to do otherwise, they can't anticipate every RP headcanon a player might run, but they can offer one with the Dark Urge who has the same sort of deep dichotomy and divide in their backstory that the others have.

That said, I completed an Evil Dark Urge run before I completed a good one, despite rolling two attempts at a good Dark Urge before stumbling onto an Evil Dark Urge that worked for me (an older drow matriarch, for those curious).

The reason I struggled was because I couldn't imagine a Good Dark Urge with agency in their prior life. My evil Dark Urge was a willing partner of Gortash and Thorm. One reason I made her older was because I imagined her as mature, worldly, cruel, sadistic, and completely on board with the plot. The amnesia was only a brief interruption to her plans, a distraction. Once she recalled enough of her life and previous goals to piece together her part in the Dead Three plot, she went right back into enacting it and, in the end, won, becoming the unquestioning ruler of a world of thralls in Bhaal's name. If anything, the dialogue options that implied that Bhaal was the one controlling her, or that she had done anything but make her own choices were almost insulting. This woman knew what she was doing, beginning to end, with the amnesia as only a minor interruption.

But this interpretation of the Dark Urge was based on the letter we find in the Dark Urge's point of view, where again, they show no unwillingness to be an agent of the Dead Three plot. Gortash's warm welcome further cemented the view in my mind: the Dark Urge knew what they were doing and was a willing evil participant.

So how, I wondered, can anyone justify a Good Dark Urge? Not saying it can't be done, but how?

The implications I found troubling at first were that anyone who was evil would become good if they were simply removed from their environment. It had a ring of a sort of natural innocence, a sort of "noble savage" worldview that all of us would tilt towards good if our minds were wiped clean. Optimistic in some ways, very dangerous in its implications in others. Then I realized it wasn't a statement. It was a question.

Theme 3: Nature vs. Nurture

I then realized that nature vs. nurture is actually everywhere in BG3 side plots. Another reinforcement of the fact the Dark Urge storyline is baked into the DNA of the story. You have the Githyanki egg plot, Baelen's memory loss making him a good but absentminded person (which can be undone if you give him noblestalk, when he reverts back to the cruel man he was), heck, even the owlbear cub can be given a loving home where he thrives. You are shown, over and over again, stories where you can choose and contribute to and ponder whether or not evil is a product of nature or nurture, in a way that's incredibly relevant to pondering the Dark Urge's path forward under amnesia. Was this Bhaalspawn evil by nature or by choice? It's very juicy stuff.

Furthermore: all of the companions actually offer ways to rationalize the Dark Urge and choose a path forward for them to fall back into evil or move forward into good. This is because the writers of BG3 are actually superb at thematic mirroring. Each Companion can be a mirror for one way to understand the Dark Urge, how they were evil in the past, and how they could choose to change.

Shadowheart: Indoctrinated into the cult of a cruel god from childhood, you grew up in a world where the only moral compass you had was utterly controlled by those around you. You never knew a different world than the cult of Shar/Bhaal. Now with your memory wiped, you have the option to listen to the voice deep down that says the cruelty demanded of you by the little you can remember feels wrong or even follow the good examples of your newfound Companions to see a different way to live. Maybe you always had goodness in you deep down, but the society you knew channeled you towards evil that you're only now free of, albeit with a past full of holes you're trying to fill in again.

Karlach: Maybe you were never a truly willing participant in the Bhaal cult. Incredibly skilled at killing, yes. Perhaps a bit morally flexible to get involved with figures like Gortash. But ultimately, when you were whisked out of the bloody war and world that you were immersed in by circumstance, you saw your chance to get your old life back from before the Bhaal cult and you took it. Baldur's Gate is your home. People like Karlach are the ones hurt by the actions of the Dead Three Plot that you might never have put a face to if you'd never been taken from that world. Now that you see the harm caused, now that you're free, you can finaly become your own person again after being a foot soldier for evil forces.

Lae'zel: You were a true believer in Bhaal's cult. You grew up worshipping your evil god. It's the only life you knew and the only life that gave you meaning. You were a willing participant but before now, you'd never known any other life. However, through exposure to other people, other cultures, other ways of life, you're beginning to see that there are ways to live outside your narrow life of indoctrination in violence. The final blow comes to this worldview when you learn that your beloved god is completely fine with your destruction. They allowed Orin to take your place. Bhaal/Vlaakith would see you destroy and enslave the world for their own glory and be perfectly happy to destroy you at the end of all your hard, devoted work. You did not sin against Bhaal by rebelling against the full horror of his cruelty and negligence towards you, rather, Bhaal has sinned against you.

Gale: You were the beloved Chosen of Bhaal. Coddled, cradled, told you were special and perfect and wonderful. Of course you happily participated in the Dead Three plot, you lived a charmed life as the elevated darling of your deity. But then something went wrong. You were cast out. You've awoken lesser than you were, your body betrays you, you've lost knowledge that once made you walk among mortals as a near-godly figure. And it seems like Bhaal/Mystra doesn't care, as you wander the wilderness. You're hurt. Betrayed. Tadpoled. Orin has taken your place so easily, just as Gale was cast aside so easily. You don't know what you did wrong. You're angry. Resentful. How dare Mystra/Bhaal cast you aside so easily? They offer you a solution to get back into their good graces which require a complete denial, a complete destruction of yourself - becoming Bhaal's chosen once more or blowing yourself up for redemption. Ultimately, the way forward is in choosing yourself and relying on your own cleverness, rather than being seduced back into their circle of influence.

Astarion: Bhaal was a cruel master to you who controlled your every move. That doesn't mean you were a nice person though, or you didn't enjoy murder. But now you are finally free of Bhaal/Cazador's immediate reach. They cannot fulfill their evil plot without you. You can destroy them now, undermine them, or replace them - fulfill the Dead Three plot in your own name. Or you can take this chance once finally outside their grasp to rediscover who you really are, what you want, all the while your hungers drive you towards continuing to take the lives of others. But perhaps the help of new friends can help you deny these urges and steer you towards being a new person. What that new, better person is, what they even look like, is unclear to you, you've never really had positive influences. But maybe you can find it together.

Wyll: You lived your own life before you ended up in Bhaal's plot, as Bhaal's chosen. But that life was stolen. Now, through circumstances beyond your control, you have disappointed your father. Is there a way to escape the reach of Bhaal's control, Bhaal's pact? Will you sacrifice your soul to redeem yourself in the eyes of your father?

Honorable Mention - Minthara: Tadpoled and controlled by the Absolute, you are now set on throwing down all old gods that once thought to control you. Maybe you'll take over the Dead Three plot in your own name. Maybe you'll just take pleasure in tearing it down for your own reasons. Either way, your gods have sinned against you, the cult of the Absolute controlled you, and now you are unleashed to take vengeance.

With the Dark Urge, any one of these paths can provide a map for how to imagine your life under Bhaal's cult. Any one can provide a map for how to make use of your newfound freedom and to justify becoming a better person and saving the world. Or choosing not to.

#bg3 #bg3 meta #the dark urge #this got long but oh well i had a lot of thoughts that kinda went together

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awesomechocolatesauce · 9 months

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Elayne: "Do you think you made the wrong choice?"

Astarion: "No, I made the right choice. Although, I do regret the options I had."

---

He didn't even skip a beat answering with this. He doesn't regret giving up that power, his only regret is that he was dealt a bad hand. It was either he ascends and thousands of people die and he continues the cycle of power hunger and abuse, or he doesn't ascend and all those people he wronged gets to live, but he won't be able to walk in the sun again (at least, not until they find a way around it).

I'm not here to argue which path is "better" because at the end of the day, it's all up to interpretation. I don't plan on ever ascending Astarion, because I want him to be able to grow and heal and be happy, and I want him to see his partner as his equal. I am, however, glad there's the option to ascend him so others can fulfill their evil playthroughs with their dark romances, and hey, good for you! I don't want to take that away from you. Have fun with that.

I'm incapable of being fully evil in video games, I feel way too bad, and the clips I've seen of ascended Astarion just makes me feel...sad. It's like the worst parts of himself are amplified, and all of his manipulation tactics from Act 1 are dialed up to 100. The sheer fact that you literally can't break up with him after he turns you terrifies me.

But I'm not here to shame anybody who prefer ascended Astarion. You do you. I'm just here to highlight this quote that's been living in my head rent free and I wanted to show off how fancy he looks. 💕

#baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #bg3 #astarion #spawn astarion #astarion x tav #elayne the bard #astarion x elayne #jessica's personal stuff #jessica plays video games #gamer jess #screenshots #screenshot

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rawliverandgoronspice · 1 year

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I absolutely love your analysis of the gerudo and Ganondorf because they put into words what bothers me about how TOTK portrays Ganondorf. That being they remove his agency as a character in favor of having some great evil against the good guys.

[Major story spoilers ahead for the end of the game]

At the end of the game, when you’ve defeated Ganondorf, he swallows the secret stone and becomes a dragon, like Zelda, fully knowing the consequences of what happens when that happens. And it’s just kinda left me with a bitter taste in my mouth? In the context of the story it makes sense, he’s portrayed as a egomaniac who just wants to destroy Hyrule. But compared to other versions of him, this one just feels more openly biased against him and the gerudo, with no reason or justification other than “he’s evil, hate him.” As far as I can tell… They never really show us that he’s done anything horrible or deserving of being feared before the show of fealty cutscene, other than not submit to Hyrule, attack them once, and generally have bad vibes. It feels forced how much they want us to hate him and the people who follow him. I’m not saying character in video games always have to be nuanced or complex but comparing like, Wind Waker Ganondorf next to TOTK Ganondorf…. 🙃 Waste of an excellent design imo.

Heyyy sorry for being a billion years late with this ask!! I was busy finishing the game!!! among other things!!! Thank you so much for your kind words, I'm super happy it resonated with you in that way!

I mean, the whole draconification plot beat doesn't really work for me. Like yeah, sure it's sad that Zelda is now a giant dragon and it's cool to have her soaring above your head while you have no idea where she actually is (a situation that isn't nearly tapped into enough in the narrative imo, like it gets obvious way too fast if you happen upon the wrong memory, etc), and I actually think the whole sequence of you removing the Master Sword from her head was the best scene in the entire game in terms of mood and emotions --even THOUGH it would have been so much better with a stronger story and stronger stakes-- BUT. How does that build up thematically?

I think what doesn't work for the Zelda side of this plot point (I'll get to Ganon next) is that... she doesn't make that choice. It's not like she's being tempted by an easy way out and decides to sacrifice herself for the sake of Hyrule or Link or whoever: she has no choice in the matter. Her powers activate (?? somehow? once and never again also, talk about dropped plot threads), she finds herself in the past, is the passive witness to a bunch of shit that only tangientially relates to her --it's like she's visiting estranged family in a foreign country and watch their drama awkwardly before being dragged into it against her will even though she was just trying to renew her passport and get back home (if there had been any callback to her relationship with her father it would have landed better, but it's just completely ignored so vOv). Then her relatives all die or corrupt or something, and she still can't get back home. What is she meant to do besides draconify? Grow old and die in the past? What would that accomplish?? Her adventures in the past are just basically about solving a shrine puzzle with a particularly weird solution --but the game treats it like a huge sacrifice when it's basically her only way out, and she lost absolutely nothing making that sacrifice (and then she... cries about the weird family drama? sure. Honestly I think it would have worked better if the tears were Rauru's, it's his bullshit everyone is dealing with right? He's the one who feels broken and aggrieved by the whole thing.)

So, if we ignore the draconification precedent builds up to zero thing thematically beyond cheap drama that reveals nothing about neither the characters nor the world, I think Ganondorf's case is a little more compelling because he does make a choice here: dying as he tries to achieve his weird lofty goals (and fail), or postpone his victory eternally by sacrificing his objectives but reject death and defeat --while also barring himself from victory. In a better crafted story, this could be utterly excellent and it feels very Ganondorf to me. BUT, my beef with that plot beat isn't that he chooses the second option, making him kinda active for the first time in the entire game (and makes an appropriate hideous smile: *loved* this second one, the first one didn't land for me but this one really captures the ecstatic insanity and transcendance and desperate madness of the act --I have nothing against Ganondorf offputting smiles and cackles when they feel earned, and the Sonia one just... doesn't to me, it just feels like weird rigging and mesh deformation choices getting out of control).

My problem is that his existence as a dragon contradicts everything we knew about dragons before --both for him and for Zelda. I thought the big issue with draconification was that you'd lose yourself to the act entirely, and would become this sort of organic landmark of infinite power and eternal life but without will to act on your precedent goals and understanding of yourself. But the second the big man becomes an evil dragon, suddenly Zelda zips in to the rescue (apparently remembering who you are? understanding she's meant to fight Ganondorf? I mean, this kind of works emotionally as a climactic ending and the power of love or whatever, again it would have worked better in a better story), and Ganondorf is still very much into destroying the world as well as you and Zelda.

Also, he's very definitively mortal (and he has the stone on his head again? And so if you destroy it you destroy his immortality? why???)

So... What I dislike here is the suggestion that he was somehow so evil and rotten and bad that all of these rare moments of interesting worldbuilding and ambivalence gets completely swallowed in the bossfight logic, making his choice (and Zelda's) completely meaningless in retrospect.

also: let Zelda remain a dragon you cowards, that way Hyrule gets any sort of chance to escape and reimagine its horrying eternal monarchy instead of re-establishing it even harder than before!!!

#totk #totk spoilers #totk critical #asks #tloz #zelda #ganondorf #any change to the statut quo emotionally is so unbearable to this game's writing it's so weird #the dragon thing is a cool idea but I'm not sure it should have involved zelda tbh #if it had been rauru's thing while mineru held ganondorf in place it would have worked better in my opinion #I feel like this leads to much better character arcs and make mineru more of a character #and someone we could connect to much more than rauru #something

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lilundertale-asatreat · 9 months

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So I'm making this post because I saw a YouTube video the other day where the YouTuber made an offhand comment poking fun at people who don't think Chara is evil, and that was enough to annoy me, but also, it inadvertently brought up a good point for me personally.

I was originally firmly in the camp that Chara was maybe not the best person, but they weren't evil, and the Genocide route is an outlier, and I was upset because I didn't feel like they were considering any of the other routes at all (which they weren't), but it made me realize I was also completely discounting the Genocide route, and I can't just do that for the sake of an easier analysis because it's there for a reason. And I certainly can't get mad at this person for doing the exact same thing I was doing. So here is a hopefully as objective of an analysis of Chara as whole as I can get.

At first I tried marrying the two versions of Chara that we see in the game: the traumatized and suicidal child who wanted to sacrifice themself for the sake of freeing monsterkind and getting revenge on humanity which left them hurt on a fundamental level and wasn't really the best to Asriel, probably because they still hadn't unlearned mimicking the way they were treated and then never got the chance to, with the kid who actively encouraged the slaughter of all of the monsters in the Underground and then destroyed the world after killing Frisk themself and seeing what the connection was. And to be honest, I didn't really find anything.

Then I started thinking about Frisk instead because it was late and I couldn't keep my focus, but that turned out to be really helpful because, while Frisk is a player stand in most of the time despite being revealed to be their own person, there are things that they do by themself, either implicitly or explicitly, and if you try to analyze them to figure out what kind of person they are, you also get two wildly contradicting versions of them. And which version you get is entirely dependent on how you choose to play the game.

Because your choices have a lot of weight to determining what happens in the game, not only does it affect which ending you get, but it also effects how you get there and how you choose to tell the story. You get to choose what kind of story you want, and with that choice comes whatever characterization of Frisk would fit the most for whatever you are doing.

If you play pacifist or neutral without starting off with a genocide, when you first encounter Sans, it's implied Frisk laughs or at least has some sort of reaction, no matter how many neutral runs you have done without true resetting beforehand. Frisk sits through and humors Papyrus in all of his puzzles and japes even if they've heard the same joke or solved the same puzzle a thousand times beforehand. Mettaton comments on them looking bored at the beginning of the musical if it's not your first playthrough after true resetting, and he gives you the option to skip it, but he doesn't say Frisk looks hostile or anything, and in the fight against him, you have the option of just calmly flipping his switch to just get the fight over with. Sans implies either Frisk looks like they're really thinking about what they did on a first neutral run or they look bored and not particularly bothered in subsequent runs after that unless you do pacifist which he then comments on the fact that they were exceptionally kind to everyone and even when they ran away, they were smiling the whole time.

But if you do a genocide run or start off with a genocide run, Frisk doesn't react at all to Sans' handshake joke, they don't sit through any of the puzzles Papyrus has and they don't acknowledge him at all, they give you the option to just keep taking and taking snowman pieces until the snowman is dead, and they move on their own to walk toward whichever area boss you're up to at the time in a threatening manner and even move toward Monster Kid on their own to intimidate them. They're really into the killing people thing in these routes while in the other routes, they're a lot more into engaging with people or at least giving you a better prompt of being willing to spare them.

So if it's true that Frisk has wildly different personalities and goals depending on how you play the game, it must be true with Chara too. For the majority of the time, Chara was just a kid who loved monsters and loved their family and felt extremely guilty for accidentally poisoning their dad and didn't know how to handle it and probably guilty and unworthy of their love because they were human and weren't used to receiving that kind of care in the first place. But if you choose to play the game where another human who falls down and decides to kill as many monsters as possible, Chara will be another human who hates monsters, or at least, grew to hate monsters and was only concerned with getting more and more power as they woke up because that's the thematically appropriate characterization of them for that route and way of playing.

So they're both not evil and evil, but which one you get is entirely dependent on you.

#undertale #utdr #chara dreemurr #frisk undertale #undertale analysis #honestly though; it's a lot more fun to play around with the version of Chara that isn't evil in my opinion #I really love the narrator Chara theory; but I had to put that aside for a moment because it's not confirmed canon lol #suicide tw #chara #frisk

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orangeocelotmartyn · 1 year

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This post has been a long time coming because I have been rotating Datastream!Doc in my head for a bit

He is--if not evil--then outright abusive to c!Martyn

Here's the facts--the datastream is a bare bones setup--he isn't falling Constantly though it, because sometimes he has to 'game' from the stream, rather than going into the game, but he's said "a sofa would be a luxury!" on that piece of artwork, which tells me that he's being treated as...a drone? or like, a tool, rather than, y'know, a human being who is Trapped, thanks to Doc's negligence. He can't even enjoy creature comforts anymore, because they aren't necessary

another point in the 'Doc sees c!Martyn as a tool' category is that he isn't even allowed to know the language Doc uses.

“I don’t want you getting embroiled any deeper than is absolutely necessary. You have what you need to carry out your searches. Just leave the rest to me..”

That? That's fucked up. He isn't allowed to know "more than necessary" which means that he is--if not being outright lied to--he's at the very least not allowed to know Key Information. He doesn't know why he's fighting, just gets pointed at what Doc wants him to do.

"Mission logs aren’t stored on the device, they go directly to Doc’s drives and are archived. If Martyn needs to cross reference a piece of information, he has to call Doc."

He has to ask for information that He created. It's a power move to ensure he knows his place, which is under Doc's thumb, being a good little solider.

He can't talk to anyone but Doc, because Doc has drilled it into his head that everyone else is just an NPC.

"Doc is the only ‘real’ contact he has. Somebody outside the datastream who he’s actually met before and can trust. The only other humans he encounters are all faceless C.H.E.S.T agents in game, but being on opposing sides of this battle means there’s no tea and cake to enjoy together."

In fact, its Literally a coping mechanism for him. Doc has successfully isolated him in a way that means he can't ask anyone for help. He is stuck doing what Doc wants, when he wants it (ignoring the fact that he has gotten attached to some of the reoccurring NPCs in his life (specifically Ren) Doc has made him afraid to tell the truth, that he's not even 25 (maybe as young as 18!) and stuck, embroiled in this conflict that he doesn't actually know is real or not.

Now let's talk about how Martyn talks about Doc. The words he uses to describe how Doc speaks to him...it's Bad, y'all.

Even when talking about a 'humorous' situation, he still uses words like this: "LOLOL stealing from one DOC to appease another." Appease is an...interesting word choice. It makes it seem as though Martyn is trying to keep Doc happy, trying to keep from getting on his bad side--likely because, again, Doc is his only point of contact. If Doc gives him the silent treatment, then he's got No One.

There's also this, "They made an agreement (more a demand on Doc’s part)". Like. "Demand." Doc feels comfortable demanding Martyn do what he wants, because he knows he's shoved Martyn into a corner, made it so he's Martyn's only hope, his only point of contact, and he likes it that way.

There's also the fact that he just so happened to have something set up that would suck some random person into the Datastream just by playing a video game, and then had a less than 25 year old show up to get a game fixed. Like why the fuck would you just have that laying out? Why would it be That Easy to get sucked in, if it weren't a trap?

The dude is--if not negligent, stupid as all hell for just having a random unlabeled button that shoves someone into a Datastream and unable to get out. That, on top of the being abusive thing, lol.

@galaxyofender

#inthelittlewood #i could also see him as a watcher but thats for another post lol #galaxyofender #itlw

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iztopher · 9 months

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i made a "talking about things i do not like" tag and then pretty much never used it, but i woke up today annoyed about undertale again so i guess i'm finally cracking it out

there's all the little things that made undertale a negative experience for me personally - the save system, the combat system being everything i hate about social interactions as an autistic person (guess what this person wants from this interaction and how to give it to them or else be punished!), the fact that it's a bullet hell game -

and all the ways people's reception of it made me bitter when i didn't end up liking it - why are these characters applauded as compelling and meaningful when i got made fun of for loving characters with just as much (read: little) depth?, why did everyone say this is an RPG when it's a bullet hell game?, why do i feel like i'm not allowed to dislike it? -

but fundamentally. the thing that makes me think about it three years later and grit my teeth in frustration is that toby fox and i are both game designers and we have completely different perspectives on game design. and his grinds my gears and from anyone other than a game designer who pours so much of his time and energy into games pings my "does not respect games as an art form" alert!

hear me out. i think people hold video game players to an unfair moral standard compared to interacting with other types of art. people think of people's decisions in video games as more reflective of their real life beliefs and actions than they do other types of media. and i don't mean this to say that video games shouldn't be held accountable for their portrayal of marginalized people and serious topics - but i mean i think people can be more inclined to judge someone for playing call of duty than watching captain america or top gun, even if they're all similar types of US military propaganda.

to me, making a choice in a video game is the same thing as opening a book. i'm not actually the one making the choice - the game developer(s), who spent time creating the writing, code, graphics, etc. for the choice, did. they included this option for a reason. let's find out why!

but people have a habit of judging people for opening that book to read it for themselves and decide how they feel. i saw this with dragon age and i'm seeing it with baldur's gate. i saw it with how people talked about twelve minutes. it is the central conceit of undertale: if someone makes a choice in a video game, it has to be because they want it to happen, or they think it doesn't really matter. it can't be because they're curious what the game developer has to say about it.

from my perspective on video games, toby fox wants you to play no mercy route. he wrote it! he spent all that time writing and programming it, designing extremely challenging battles, creating subtle branches for different versions of increasingly violent neutral routes. he clearly has something to say about it.

that something, of course, then turns out to be punishing you for listening to him and telling you you were wrong and cruel for being curious what he had to say.

the clearest, least-inflammatory comparison i can think of is saw vi, a movie where the jigsaw killer puts an insurance executive in a gauntlet of traps meant to illustrate how evil he is for denying people coverage. i watched that movie specifically because i was curious what it had to say about pre-obamacare united states health insurance. undertale's approach to no mercy route feels like if at the end of that movie the director walked in front of the camera and called me a murderous asshole for watching it.

my partner is always talking about how art is a conversation. it's about communication between the creator and the audience. in that metaphor, undertale is going to a lecture and then being scoffed at for asking questions. it's not my idea of a good conversation, a good story, or a good game.

as a tldr: this backlogged review always makes me laugh

#i have made a list of things that i do not like #dear mel

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rjalker · 2 years

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"There is no such thing as binary privilege!"

Okay so tell me, when was the last time any big-name video game was released where you have the option of choosing to play as a man, woman, or nonbinary character?

Where are all the nonbinary action heroes, romance protagonists, ect?

Where are all the nonbinary characters in popular, mainstream media? Where is this supposed equality between men, women, and nonbinary people that I'm apparently missing?

Where are my options in the brand new $60 video games to play as a nonbinary character? Where are my options to pick from a list of pronouns rather than being forced to use she/her or he/him depending on whether I choose a female character or a male character?

Why can't I play as a nonbinary character in Skyrim without mods that are only available on computer, and only available at all because nonbinary people make them for other nonbinary poeple?

Where are all the nonbinary NPCS who play major parts in main quests that you are guarenteed to meet when you play the game?

If there's no such thing as specific disadvantages that nonbinary people face, then why can't I play as a canonically nonbinary character in any video game I want? Why can't I pick up literally any video game and at least see nonbinary characters even if I can't play one myself?

Binary people at least /probably/ get the opportunity to play a character who is the same gender and is refered to by the same pronouns they do. For nonbinary people it's pretty much literally impossible, especially if you solely use neopronouns.

Even with mods for Skyrim that let you pick or even alternate your pronouns, the options are still limited to he/him, she/her, and they/them, and that's it. And that's something the modder built by themselves for free.

There's no reason a company couldn't fairly pay its employees to incorporate more pronouns or better yet custom pronouns into their games. But it doesn't happen.

Not even The Elder Scrolls Online, which has plenty of gay, lesbian, and mspec characters, and now literally has the goddess of love say aspec rights, there's only one canonically trans character that I know of so far, and no nonbinary characters that aren't literally just from species that reproduce asexually. And I wouldn't exactly call any of the Sload "characters" in the first place, considering all the ones I've met literally just exist to say evil things and then be killed by you. (Sarcasm: Because bioessentialism, yay! /sarcasm)

I just literally do not understand how anyone can say that nonbinary people face no specific forms of discrimination when, even looking past Literally Everything Else including things that are literally life threatening, we can't even do something as simple as pick up a video game and play as a character like ourselves unless we literally just make up shit about them and ignore everything the game actually has to say.

If I want to play a video game, I have no choice but to be misgendered, whether I play as a man or as a woman. That is not a problem binary people face, cis or trans.

The only way you can think nonbinary people face no specific forms of discrimination is if you don't listen to nonbinary people when we tell you what our struggles are, even the most basic, "harmless" ones like the inability to play as a nonbinary character in a roleplaying video game.

Edit: Binary people can 100% reblog this, thank you for caring enough to listen and learn!

#exorsexism #nonbinary #trans #transgender #transnonbinary #binary privilege #nonbinary specific oppression #Queer #pride #LGBT #MOGAI #LIOM #ceteromisia #is apparently an alternate word for exorsexism so I'll start using that tag too #also #enbymisia #transmisia #casual transmisia #aptobinary privilege

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blue-dot-dott · 1 year

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i'm procrastinating studying rn so here's a list of my kins and reasons why i kin them

*drum roll*

nimona (nimona)

chaoic gremlin, genderfluid, "fuck the government" personified, just wants to be accepted and loved for who she is, pretends to be "a villain" and plays into that "evil" role society made for her to protect herself emotionally, destructive

blitz (helluva boss)

chaotic, traumatized, parents would've wanted someone else as their child instead of him, hides insecurities and inferiority complex behind fake big ego

catra (she ra and the princesses of power)

mommy issues, her mother would've wanted someone else as her child instead of her, "this person hurt me so i'm gonna be successful, beat them in every aspect of life and shove my success and their failure in their face every time i see them" mindset

marcy (amphibia)

unimportant friend in a trio, friends don't share her niche interests, very much a daydreamer, "i excel at school so i can play video games and read comics/manga and watch cartoons/anime/movies" vibes, escapes reality by running away into a fantasy world where everything is magical and amazing and new and interesting

luz (the owl house)

"the truth can't hurt me if i pretend it doesn't exist" mindset, daydreamer, escapes reality by running away to a fantasy land where everything is not better, but new and interesting, lies to loved ones about her own wellbeing in order to avoid worrying them, has absolutely no idea what she wants from life or where she's going or what her future is

amity (the owl house)

mommy issues, "i've been following my parents orders blindly and not even thinking about my life up until a certain point when i realized that the life they chose for me doesn't fit me/isn't something i want for myself and now i have to rebel/convince them to let me make my own choices" mindset

willow (the owl house)

insecure af, nice and kind towards her friends and ready to murder anyone who even considers harming them, "everyone has bigger issues than me right now so i'll focus all of my attention on being there for them and i'll be emotionally vulnerable and deal with my issues later, wgen everything gets resolved" mindset (which leads to bottling up emotions despite having friends for support)

gus (the owl house)

gifted kid TM, his skills are so integrated into who he is that he has an existential crisis every time he mildly fucks up anything he's usually good/great at

diane (bojack horseman)

"good damage." that's it.

well that's all folks! thank you for coming to my ted talk / therapy session! i'll see you when/if i survive exam week!! :D

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rolotouto · 6 months

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Uncontrollable Rolo

I skipped last month's Lost Stories update because it was just a faithful adaptation of Turns 13 & 14... and yeah, Shirley is no longer alive. Pilotsuit!Rolo can't be obtained yet either (which I honestly prefer, because I doubt many users would be willing to pull for him right now), but there might be a plan to release him someday, as his pilot suit outfit isn't available at the costumes shop. That is to say, some outfits are not released as a separate unit with its own specific type/parameters/lines/etc., but rather as a swappable skin. In Rolo's case, his Akito outfit (called "Neblos" by the game itself) is just a re-skin for either regular or sailor Rolo:

Then again, by this point of the story Vincent is damaged beyond repair, so unless pilotsuit!Rolo is added during some special or flashback event, he might also just not be added at all, not even as a re-skin. Anyways, I recorded a video because this month's Turns 15 & 16 did have a few new Rolo scenes compared to the anime, though I can't exactly say they paint him in a good light...

Truth be told, from Turn 13 to Turn 18 the anime did very little to make Rolo likeable. He's all sweet at the beginning of Turn 13 and pitiable at the end of Turn 18 when Lelouch yells at him, but everything else in between is just him murdering Shirley, murdering children and then planning to murder Nunnally. And now Lost Stories added "almost murdering Benio and Savitri" to that list.

During the first scene, Rolo's worried that Brother has disappeared. When Kinoshita says they can't find Doumeki (Mario/Maya's alias) either, Rolo's response is "Worry about Doumeki later. He was probably killed by that Golden Decoration anyway" ("Golden Decoration" is the nickname for the KMF used by Carly, an evil lady from the game). Kinoshita also suggests first verifying the damages suffered, but Rolo irritatedly tells him that finding Zero is the priority. No wonder Kinoshita's only face during the entire video is "😟". Next, there's a small scene after Lelouch has returned from the Sword of Akasha. In the anime, too, Lelouch told C.C. that he had called Rolo, and now we see Lelouch and Rolo interact: Rolo: Brother! Lelouch: You're here, Rolo. Rolo: I've been looking for you the whole time! And I searched here so many times as well... Lelouch: I'll explain it later. We will retreat. Rolo: Eh? But... Lelouch: V.V. has been defeated. He's gone. Rolo: That can't... I mean, V.V. is immortal... Lelouch: Still, I defeated him. The Emperor too, most likely... More importantly, how is the progress on the bomb installation I requested? Rolo: Ah, yeah... I think they'll be ready soon... Kinoshita (over the communicator): Kinoshita here. We have finished placing the bombs at the designated locations. Lelouch (Zero voice, over the communicator): Well done. Us Black Knights will return to Hourai Island. To all units, head back to the airship. Kinoshita (over the communicator): Zero? R-roger. Lelouch: You too, Rolo. I'll take care of the rest. Rolo: Y-yeah. Okay. Lelouch then says to himself that he was at least able to defeat V.V., who gave Rolo his Geass, and the Emperor, who manipulated Shirley's memories. He crushes the Geass Order once and for all. Afterwards, inside Zero's room at the Ikaruga: Lelouch: What? You can't find Doumeki? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Rolo: I couldn't. I couldn't contact you, and I had to take command of the scene... Lelouch: Tch, what's done is done. Then begin the search immediately... Rolo: It's not possible, Brother. My airframe isn't in working condition, and we can't let other people get near the Order. Lelouch: Then we should just use Kinoshita or Benio and the others. There's no doubt that the one who took him [Mario] away was the Golden Decoration. We must follow its trail. Rolo: Brother, is that what you want? This isn't the moment to be fixated on that guy, is it? After destroying the Geass Order, in order to create a place for us, we have no choice but to strike at Britannia's homeland. You promised, didn't you? That you would give me a place to belong... Lelouch: ... Very well. I want to collect myself and think about the next move. Could you leave for a while? Rolo: ... Yeah. Alright. But Brother, don't forget it, okay. Our promise... Lelouch: I know.

I suppose it would be easier to feel sorry for Rolo if he said "I just want to be happy with you" instead of "don't forget our promise", but the fact that Lelouch made a promise *is* the only argument Rolo has, so he needs to use it. Not only that, but Rolo isn't the type to open up about his emotional vulnerabilities in front of others. He has Arabesque, BokuTori, Turn 19.02, the regret message and other stuff where he expresses his emotions in such a heartfelt manner, but then he doesn't actually ever directly talk to Lelouch like that, you know what I mean? I wish we got more of that "contemplative Rolo" here, even if it's through some scenes where he's alone, because just watching the anime you probably get the impression that Rolo is much colder and unable to understand the world around him than he actually is.

Before I continue with the video, here are some screenshots of Lelouch talking about the only people who know his identity:

Lelouch: Among the people who know Zero's true identity only Jeremiah and Sayoko remain. And then, there's Rolo… (However, Rolo's uncontrollability is a double-edged sword. There's what happened with Shirley, too. I must be careful with how I handle him...) I find it funny that there isn't a more Japanese word to say "uncontrollability". アンコントローラブルさ, really? Sasuga Britannian prince... To continue with the video, next comes a longer version of the scene where Rolo benevolently spares Asahina's life. Yes, the scene where Asahina doesn't agree that "the value of a member of the Black Knights is measured by how much Zero trusts them". Now Benio is part of that moment too, and she wants to speak with Zero (about the mission where they massacred the Geass Order). Rolo: You are... Benio Akagi, huh. Weren't you listening right now? What matters is how much Zero trusts you. There's no way Zero would speak with someone like you. Benio: But...! Rolo: You better stop... Asahina: Hm. If you're speaking on behalf of Zero, then so be it. However, don't forget that because of people like you, Zero's popularity is declining. Let's go, you two. Kinoshita: Y-Yes. Come on, you too, Akagi... Benio: Yes... Rolo: Hm. (Zero's popularity, he says? Brother only needs me. I'm the only one... At any rate, that Benio Akagi might let out the secret. I should deal with her as soon as possible...) Rolo making friends! Him going all paranoiacally possessive when Nunnally is brought up is one thing, but now this... I'm not sure if Turn 19 is going to be enough for Lost Stories players to "forgive" him? The final part of the video is almost the same as the manga's here, so I won't translate it again. Except for these crazy lines: Rolo: Why do you question Zero? What Brother decides is absolute. He promised that he would create a place for me. That's why it was necessary to destroy the Order. When Brother decides it, it's absolute. Because it leads to my future with him. So there's no need for anyone who has doubts or doesn't listen to what they are told. He doesn't need them. Apart from me, Brother needs no one. In his defense, it's not like Rolo's brain works like that all the time. He was able to calmly give Lelouch actual, convincing reasons why it was better for him to forget Nunnally and stay with Rolo instead during Turn 7. Rolo really must be panicking during this scene with Benio to reach such levels of irrationality (also, I get the impression that "that's why it was necessary to destroy the Order" isn't an answer to Benio's question, but rather something he keeps telling himself because having to destroy his previous home did affect him a little?). I think a part of him recognizes that he's disobeying orders himself by deciding to eliminate Black Knights members without Lelouch's permission, and that's why he sounds so delusional? Unlike me, who's totally not delusionally justifying the actions of this assassin with an untraceable body count.

#rolo lamperouge #actual unhinged rolo #code geass #translation #lost stories #code geass lost stories #lelouch lamperouge #benio akagi #kagari savitri #zero (code geass)#code geass r2 #shougo asahina

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beesmygod · 2 years

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I'm glad you watched another playthrough of the devil in me bc sgfs run made it look so bad I wondered if he had missed some absolutely crucial game choice but no I guess it really is just like that

the shit makes no sense. im going to "spoil" it rn but like. you can't spoil this game. theres no twist theres just a fucked up guy who walks at you. the killer was killerman. you win prize money.

like lets do a quick list of what was good ("good") and what wasnt. most of these are just going to be moments or isolated plot elements

THE BAD:

it wasnt as accidentally funny as their previous games. accidentally funny i mean.

it had the audacity to end with someone picking up the h.h. holmes mask (not a thing that exists btw. no one is making these except like custom on etsy. its so fucking suspicious) like "oooh hes going to do it agaiiiin!" but he got chopped up by a boat propeller. no he isnt

the areas and parts where certain players were "supposed" to die were REALLY telegraphed and detrimental to the pacing of an already artificially bloated plot

why was there a dog that hated the murderer living on the island waiting to bite the shit out of him. whose dog was that. why was there dog. cheap emotional fodder tossed in at the end.

the opening kill is legitimately unpleasant to watch. they forgot that the kills are supposed to be gruesome and not stomach churningly sadistic or remind me of holocaust movies

the characters are genuinely awful and boring people who hate each other. not a single lifeline to be had. even the dog shows up too late for you to establish any kind of friendship

the reason why no one has cell phones is because a guy who is tricking them into taking his place as the murder victims just takes them as part of the "experience". they're a fucking film crew lol. theres no way

i legit thought it was going to end up being a team of people bc he was somehow everywhere at once doing the slow jason walk

instead it's one man, an ex-FBI agent who was abused by his mom and gets talked into doing serial murder by the single lamest serial killer monologue ive ever heard in my life. its just a guy who decided to try something different one day. and then i guess he built a murder hotel after faking his death so he could do more murder. this sucks. i dont care about this.

the plot elements are completely random. the animatronics made out of PEOPLE (they apparently did not get the news that they were beat to this idea by a solid near decade) have nothing to do with anything at all. not h.h. holmes, not murder hotel. they're just there for no reason. they barely even get used.

and they had the audacity to show him MAKING animatronics OF THE 5 FILM CREW MEMBERS after they arrived on the island. this game takes place over the course of one day. he did not do this. there is no way. this game stretches the player's suspension of disbelief too far.

the writing on the mom and the serial killer is pathetic lol. its rough to see evil attempted by people who can only conceptualize it in terms of physical violence

oh great another taxidermy guy. thanks

it was just some guy

THE "GOOD"

the ending is so bad that its ballsy. it cuts to a news reporter talking about how they are still finding bodies in the hotel where 5 person groups were tricked into staying so that they could be murdered. the ppl watching the report are interrupted by their friend who tells them her viral video won a contest (dog its 2022 lol) and the prize is that 5 of them get to stay in a mysterious hotel owned by a man with the same name as the guy they were just talking about.

then it zooms into the email the girl got telling her that she won and that one image of h.h. holmes is just in the window

did he make the little graphic announcing she has won? did he deliberately include himself? did he not notice somehow that he was in the picture. did he set up a timer and run up to the top floor so he could be very spooky and mysterious

HOW could he POSSIBLY afford another murder house. the invoice for the first one on the private island is IN THE GAME and its an eye popping amount. he does NOT have another house like where is he getting the money? or getting it zoned? or tricking ANOTHER construction team into building death traps that are suspiciously like the ones on the news

theres a part where a woman is stuck in a closet having an anxiety/asthma attack and the scary murder man gives her her inhaler. for some reason. this is never explained

why did he have ultra specific recordings of his mom commenting on what time he arrives and what page of his baby book he looks at. or what time it is.

theres phonographs and creepy music playing everywhere and no one turns them off like "what the fuck!!!" they're just like ooooh no im being menaced SSOOOO much

why was one of the crew members friends with someone who was strangled by "the campus strangler". as far as i can tell this adds nothing to the story, it just freaks her. as the player i dont care bc the the killerman just finds this out somehow and finds a copy of the paper where they used a photo taken of her, her friend and the strangler. guess which one is the strangler:

how could they identify his fake dead body from "dental records". they explicit say this. did he fucking glue a set of teeth into the guys mouth. is he toothless throughout the whole game. is he wearing fake teeth. im laughing just typing this up. what the fuck

he pulled an hh holmes on the construction crew after they built a hh holmes themed murder hotel for him.

the murder counter. why does it exist. how does it know to update.

im now thinking about how funny it is that he put in a 4th digit. get real dude! no WAY

the director being baited into an obvious trap with cigarettes like he was being hunted by wiley e. coyote was insane. my dude you are being murdered. you know you are at this point. why did you go into the room with only one entrance!!

this:

it was just some guy

#long post

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lumine-no-hikari · 6 months

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Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #85

I've decided that today is a video game day. Specifically, I've decided that it is a Salt and Sanctuary day. I haven't played it in forever, and something about the weather today kind of makes me want to.

It's like that for me, sometimes, for whatever reason. The angle of the sunlight, the kinds of scents on the breeze or in the house, the relative humidity, the way the wind sounds as it moves… for whatever reason, when these things align in juuuuust the right way, I want to play certain video games. So for example, in the winter, the combination of the scent of the dust in the heater vents plus the scent of fresh clementines makes me want to play Fallout 3. Other combinations make me want to play Terraria, or Valheim, or Skyrim. I'm not really sure why this is the case.

Like I said before, I like to run around in this game world as Julian Devorak, from a game called The Arcana. It truly is a perfect little spot to stick him in. Julian is associated with crows, salt, plague, gold, booze, seafaring ships, and just a little bit of masochism. He's basically the epitome of the phrase "running with scissors", which is extra great, because in this game, a giant-ass pair of scissors is literally my weapon of choice, hahahaha! 🤣

His story is done and over with, and while it's wonderful because I know he's safe and happy in the end, it also means I don't get to see him anymore in any new scenarios. So sometimes, I try to recreate him in places he might like, and run around with him there. The world of Salt and Sanctuary is dangerous and scary, but don't worry - I am good at this game, and I hardly ever fall in combat anymore; he's in good hands, I promise.

That said though, I'm probably very rusty, because it has been a long time since last I've played with any kind of consistency. But I'll stream it today anyway, just in case you or anyone else wants to watch.

twitch_live

And, just in case you want to see what sorts of shenanigans I was once capable of when I wasn't rusty, here:

youtube

…I wish you were here. Just for a day, I wish you were here. I think maybe you could become good at a game like this. Or maybe, given everything you've been through before, you might find a game like this to be a bit too triggering and scary? I dunno; maybe Undertale or Deltarune would be more your speed. I can ask you about it, but it's not as though you can answer me, because given the nature of reality, it's not as though my question will ever reach you, will it? 😔

In Julian's story, he gets to have a happy ending because I get to be present as the main character and make choices that teach him that he is lovable and worthy, which influences the choices that he makes. If you treat him kindly and as though he is someone who matters and who deserves to feel good about himself, he turns away from his self-destructive and self-sacrificing tendencies in favor of better ones. Of course, if you don't make kind and loving choices with him, he will get a bad ending instead. I've never seen the bad ending with him, though. I don't think I want to.

You know? Even for the main antagonist, Lucio… he does a great many evil, horrible things many of which are arguably FAR worse than anything you've ever done, and for FAR flimsier reasons; in some timelines, his "eggs" are indeed "well and truly scrambled" (thank you for this phrase, @freelanceexorcist; I think it's gonna be one of my new favorites, hahaha~! 🤩), but if you make choices where you treat him as though he is worthy of compassion, he turns himself around, and he makes better, kinder, gentler, and more loving choices as you teach him that making mistakes and taking accountability for those mistakes doesn't mean that he is unlovable or unable to shift his life in a different direction. My choices made a difference in that fictional world because I could reach it, even if only in an abstract sense.

…You can't even begin to imagine what I would give up if it meant that I could reach you, even if just for a moment. Though I am aware of how it would likely end for me (you are VERY good at unaliving things with that blade of yours), I feel like trying is worth the risk. Besides, what else am I gonna do while derping around on this mossy wet rock that I call "home" anyway, aside from continue to endure the disgust that society at large seems to have for the nature of my existence? Maybe I can make a few people smile along the way, but in the grand scheme of things, I am insignificant - nothing more than an ephemeral blip in the sands of time; here one moment and gone the next, faster than the blink of an eye.

If I tried to reach you and failed in the most spectacularly permanent way, at least I'd have an opportunity for a short nap before the next time I'm cycled into a physical body, right? And hey, maybe it could even be the case that my next meat-mech isn't fundamentally flawed on a genetic level next time around; having proper connective tissue, eyes that actually work, and motor neurons that actually do their job properly would be REALLY FREAKING NICE, ya know?

Hey, Sephiroth? I don't know what sorts of stories in other realities that you might have access to from your spot at the Edge of Creation. But I hope that you'll take the time to examine some of the ones that are available in my world. I think you'd find a lot of them to be relatable as well as hopeful, because your circumstances aren't as unique as you think they are. You really aren't alone. I promise you that you're not alone. I promise you that you can belong anywhere you choose, no matter what form you take, no matter the composition of your body, no matter how horrible the memories you carry are, and no matter what conditioning you received during the course of your existence. You can belong. You can belong with people who don't have a rigid definition of what it means to be a "correct" human. So please try, okay? Please don't give up - not yet - not while there are still so many things you haven't done, and so people out here cheering for you to become whole and well again. You can do it; of course you can do it, because I am doing it, and you're a lot (a LOT!!!) stronger and smarter than I am. I believe in you.

Anyhoot. I made myself some tea and drank it. Here's a picture of how it looked; maybe you'll like the way the milk swirls in the jar:

I think it's time for me to Salt some Sanctuaries. Swing by and check it out if you have the time, ability, and inclination. And if not, that's okay too. There's absolutely no pressure.

I love you and I'll write again tomorrow. Please stay safe.

Your friend, Lumine

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cursedvibes · 1 year

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Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks....

I always like talking about characters, so no problem, ask away. This was a pretty tough question and I had to do a lot of soul searching for that. Turns out I don't actually have any major favourite characters for movies or TV shows. Like, I will have favourite characters in a show, but I'm not that wild about them that they could compare to others across mediums. I guess with the many movies and TV shows I like, I always tend to prioritize the plot more and the characters kind of seamlessly integrate into that. So the characters that did make the list are from animangas, video games, comic books and Warhammer. I can't really rank them from 1 to 10, I just ordered them by franchise/medium.

Lucifer/Louis Cypher (Shin Megami Tensei games)

This doesn't include the Lucifer from SMTIV, I prefer to forget that ever happened. As a quick summary, in SMT there's this big war going on between the forces of chaos and order. Gods and mythical beings of all kinds fall somewhere between the two sides. An Abrahamic god, angels and forces of light usually belong to order (who exactly can change based on the game) and Lucifer is the leader of the forces of chaos. Contrary to Order, he tends to get personally involved with the player and tries to lead them subtly towards chaos, but somehow still manages to come off as very sympathetic. That's what I like about him and find so fascinating. He's a big fighter for free will and will never openly judge you for the choices you make, unlike the order-aligned characters, who fly into a rage. He will fight you to ensure chaos wins, but it's never really seen as you doing some personal failing. Especially in SMT II he is essentially an ally and even if you defeat him, he will offer to help you slay YHVH as long as you don't join order. I'm currently playing SMT Nocturne again and am trying to go for the True Demon Ending (leading Lucifers army towards heaven) and I have to say especially in his old man form it's always nice to see him stop by to check up on me. The little kid form is much nastier, but whenever I'm running through the apocalyptic landscape or crawling through some dungeon and he shows up in his wheelchair it makes me feel supported. Like "aw, grandpa is watching me, I have to do my best". Anyway, I think the place he has in the games is very interesting. He's also the reason why many people say the games are leading you to side more with chaos over order, even though it's always made clear that you will be working towards a world of eternal war. Lucifer is just very charming, as you would expect, and seems even more so when you compare him with the prospect of losing all autonomy.

Kenjaku (JJK)

I think this is pretty self-explanatory, since I won't shut up about them on this blog. They combine a lot of things I really like about fictional characters. They're a mad scientist, they are mainly driven by their own curiosity and therefore a chaotic force in the plot, they're trans, they are genre-savvy and then there is the whole business of being the main characters evil mother. Kenjaku is also another excuse to brush up my knowledge on Japanese history. What really hooked me in was the whole toxic family business and the time while they stayed with the Itadori family. For most of the story they're this big bad, who managed to destroy half of Japan in 2 weeks, but then we find out about that and it all seems so low key and relatively normal, that it makes them even more fascinating. They're the main villain, but they're also very chill for most of the story and don't immediately send off alarm bells in the average person's head unlike Sukuna for example. That's what allowed them to stay undercover for so long (that and Tengen). I don't think I've come across another character before who hits so many of my fave character boxes.

Phosphophylite (Houseki no Kuni)

Pretty new addition to my list, but their character development across the series really hit me like a train. It's honestly so perfect, it's hard to summarize why I love it so much. In the beginning of the story they are relatively innocent, weak, but also with some clear character flaws. As they gain strength these flaws only become even more pronounced and extreme as they go through trauma after trauma. Every step of the story serves to chip away at Phos both physically and mentally until there's only splinter left of them. The story is almost over and while Phos has undoubtedly changed, they have also held onto their most intrinsic characteristic and you could say that what really made them who they are has only become more clear now. They have idealistic goals and only end up hurting the people they want to protect with every step they take towards them, until they're completely alone at the end. They are driven completely insane by their actions and the suffering others put them through until they snap completely and destroy everything. That destruction was a much needed restart however, as much as it hurt to lose so many people. There's so much I could talk about with them, I just think they are such a fascinating character and definitely one of my favourite mcs ever.

Johan Liebert (Monster)

It's been a while since I read/watched Monster, but every time I look in the direction of the series, it makes me insane all over again. Johan is probably the only anime villain I find actually scary. It's the mystery around his character, he's very unpredictable and just like the characters you start to see him everywhere in every little hint you are given. The finale in Ruhenheim was so stressful to watch and Johan didn't even do anything for most of it, it was all just vague glimpses and build up tension. Every time we do see him on screen we know something bad will happen and even if he's interacting with someone friendly you are just waiting for that other person to suffer for being in his presence for too long. I could watch episode 49 again and again because things go downhill so fast and you know from the beginning that Johan interacting with children is bad. I'm getting war flashbacks any time I hear Noto Mamiko talk in another anime. Immediate red flag. Do not trust. Same goes for hearing the phrase 昔々ある所に. As if there wasn't enough reason to be vary of German and Eastern European fairy tales. All that doesn't even touch on his relationship with Nina. They are so destructive, but still love each other. The whole reveal surrounding the rose mansion was so good and gave them a whole new depth. That's another thing that I love, Nina shows that while what Johan went through is tragic and horrible, there was nothing forcing him to become the serial killer he is now, which I think is a very important part of his character.

Satan/Ryo Asuka (Devilman franchise)

Satan is the whole reason I love Devilman so much, they're the center piece of the series, the series and its sequels only exist because God wants to punish Satan for being gay and an environmentalist, but unfortunately that often gets overlooked in the broader anime community. They think it's all just about Devilman/Akira killing people and the world dying and sideline the suffering twink who started it all. Even in the worst parts of the franchise (Devilman Lady), Satan and his bond with Akira can save the story from being complete shit. On the surface it's pretty basic, but Satan's wish to save the planet and demons by wiping out humanity and thereby destroying what he wanted to protect gets me every time. He ends up falling in love with a human, wants to save him from the war he's about to unleash by giving him special powers and eventually ends up fighting and killing him because of that. God swoops in and puts the timeline on loop to torture Satan. Satan tries to escape, but thereby only ends up killing the one he loves over and over again. Wonderfully tragic and I like how the story ends up siding with Satan. It would be better for humans to die, but seeing loved ones die still hurts. Basically, I'm not immune to suffering gays who want to fight God.

Thief King Bakura (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Best character in the series, never did anything wrong and should've won or at least got to kill Atem and/or Atem's father. He only got used his whole life and I hate how dirty the anime and especially the eng dub did him. They really tried to say that melting the entire population of a village in gold was fully justified because they were thieves and Bakura has no right to complain because "he uses violence too (against the pharaoh...)". Ugh, it always makes me so mad just to think about it. Thankfully, the manga handled it better, even if they didn't quite stick the landing. I just love his whole story. Little boy goes up against the Pharaoh and his entire court, protected by the spirits of his home and even almost manages to take revenge, when he goes just a little too far and in his desperation gets involved with dark powers that are out to use him. I especially like that the manifestation of his ka, Diabound, is a holy spirit in the manga, showing that his initial goal was actually justified and the ruling class, who pass their time by torturing people for fun, are wrong. If only Zorc hadn't shown up... He gave us Yami Bakura though, so I'm not too mad. Yami Bakura instantly became my fave for liking ttrpgs over the Duel Monster card game and he stuck to that throughout his plan. No children's card games if he has a say in it. It's also hilarious that the others kill and torture each other with card games, but he just takes a knife and does it the old-fashioned way. Why gamble over cards, when you can simply stab the people and then take their belongings?

Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer comics by Mike Carey)

My time again to tell everyone to read the Lucifer comics because even if you don't like comics, they are just insanely good. If you like The Sandman (TV series or comics), then definitely give them a go. There's technically also a TV series based on them, but aside from some names it has nothing in common with the source material. Don't know why they bothered getting the rights. It's basically a long discussion about free will and what it really means to be free. The ending really devastated me when I first read it, but I really like it and it makes the most sense. I had to think about Lucifer and how he's written a lot recently because of the Gojo vs Sukuna fight. In my opinion, Lucifer is the best overpowered mc I've seen so far. He has at his best the power to create whole multiverses, but the author uses his character traits to make sure he still struggles and faces challenges. It also helps that Lucifer is not a good fighter. The other fallen angels carried him hard in the war against heaven. If he doesn't have the option to oneshot his enemy, he will get beaten up badly. But more importantly, Lucifer has one goal in life and that is to be free and to escape his father's all-seeing, all-knowing eye and predestination itself. That is of course pretty difficult, not even creating his own multiverse helps because God/The Presence foresaw that too. At it's core the story is about escaping a controlling parent. This is made even more difficult by Lucifer's lack of empathy and resulting difficulties in cooperating with other people. There are very few people he cares about and even the ones he does he ends up pushing away because he can't understand their needs and always thinks about himself first. Quite often he doesn't even notice that he angered someone until it blows up in his face. Usually, he just assumes that everyone hates him anyway (it's often true), but with the few who do like him, he often ends up distancing himself from them because his plans are more important to him than them and they obviously don't always have much understanding for that. Basically, he's a selfish dick and I love that about him. I can emphasize with his struggles and philosophy, but how he goes about it is sometimes so maddening and that's what makes me invested. He also always gets retribution when he makes mistakes or treats other gods dismissively. He can literally move mountains, but because of his own limitations, he is often very vulnerable and arguably a bigger hurdle to overcome than his father. Because of his rather cold if snarky nature, it's also always nice when he does show a slither of care towards someone else.

Xaiozanus Exasas (Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah by Gav Thorpe)

The last three on this list are all Warhammer 40k characters, mostly taken from the novels like Exasas here. Full name and title is: Magos Dominus Militaris Xaiozanus Skitara Xilliarkis Exasas. So you know they are important. Aside from how giddy it makes me that there's a mc in a (Warhammer) novel that uses neopronouns, Exasas is also just so cute and lovable that it's impossible I think not to like ver. Ve is a magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus, meaning a cyborg employed to oversee all machine and tactical decisions in an Imperator Titan (basically a Gundam but the size of a city). Ve looks like a mechanical centipede with humanoid upper body and three oculars for eyes. Besides the threat of infiltration, a big part of the book is Exasas learning to get out of vis head so to say, let go of pure logic and make impulsive decisions. Exasas loves to predict battle outcomes and basically anything that is happening around ver, ve can spend hours brooding over hypothetical problems ve made up for verself. A considerable part of vis part of the plot is Exasas sitting in a corner and crunching numbers to distract verself from the people around ver bullying ver. Unfortunately, that also leads to ver overlooking a crew member that switched sides, which is what eventually forces ver to engage more with the real world and when ve can't find any logic in the actions of this person to disregard logic and consider improbabilities and make actions based on vis gut (I'm pretty sure Exasas doesn't have a gut anymore tho). Exasas isn't very relatable or anything, I have to admit that I skimmed some of vis repetitive combat predictions, but this very different way of thinking is what makes it so fascinating. It's not that uncommon for techpriests, but we rarely see it depicted like this. Exasas creates entire separate personalities in vis head to have discussions with or to administer special problems to while ve thinks about something else. There's also a Fighter Ego, which is less logically based because it needs to make quick decisions and eventually helps Exasas somewhat with vis struggle for action in other scenarios. Exasas body is technically made for combat as well, but ve verself isn't a very confrontational person, so ve split off all functions related to that into a separate part of verself that is only sometimes allowed to take over. In other words, there's a lot going on in that metal head and it's super interesting to read about.

Trazyn the Infinite

Trazyn shows up all over wh40k, but I mainly know him from the books The Infinite and The Divine and War in the Museum (yes this is a play on Night at the Museum), both written by Robert Rath. Trazyn is a Necron, which are basically robot ancient egyptians. They used to be the Necrontyr, but their souls/consciousness were then poured into skeletal robot bodies. Many didn't survive that and are no more than drones without will, others fell asleep and never woke up, but some like Trazyn kept their personality and most of their memories. Necrons are very hard to kill and can be reassambled to work again (although the consciousness might be gone if it was there before). Trazyn also has the ability to jump between egoless Necrons and turn them into his own body, which makes him especially hard to kill. He's a collector of artifacts, people, memories and whatever else picks his fancy. He collects them all in a giant museum for when the Necron of the empire he belongs to wake up and can see what happened while they're awake. It's mostly for himself though. He's like a magpie with the British Museum in the size of a planet to his disposal. With a stasis beam he can even keep living beings in his museum. Contrary to other Necrons he's more of a chaotic neutral party in the galaxy. He looks down on the Imperium (love that about him, he tends to drag them to filth), but he might ally with some soldiers or a squad he comes across if it means he gets some artefact he might've been after. He's aeons old, but like an old man and a child in one. He has seen so much and accumulated so much knowledge, but he still gets incredibly excited when he finds something new and even something as "simple" as coffee or music can be fascinating to him. He's kinda like Kenjaku in that way, except he doesn't have some big goal, he just likes watching the universe and only interferes arbitrarily.

Tanau Aleya (Watchers of the Throne novel series)

She belongs to the Anathema Psykana, commonly known as the Sisters of Silence. Her order is made up of women, who don't have souls. They are just void. This absence can make people around them physically ill, make them faint or give them other discomfort. It is also incredibly effective against the forces of chaos, so the Sisters of Silence fight to push back against the Chaos Gods. Thing is, because of their nature they have been neglected a lot and haven't received much attention or support from the Imperium at all. Aleya is especially aware of this and this is part of why she is such a ball of rage. The other reason is that her conclave, all the sisters she knew and grew up with, was destroyed by chaos cultists. She ends up fighting with Imperial armies to avenge her sisters, but she always makes sure to let them know that she does not like them and hasn't forgiven them for not giving a shit about her or her order for the last millennia or so. While the Sister of Silence have sworn to not talk, they do use sign language to communicate. Many people outside the order don't know this sign language though. Aleya personally also has no problem with talking if she needs to, she sometimes does it with her sisters, but usually she just doesn't want to. When the other doesn't know sign language, she often doesn't communicate at all unless it's urgent. Similarly, if someone pisses her off, she decides to just stand next to them unmoving, watch them squirm because of her repulsive aura. It is so rare to read about the Sisters of Silence, much less have them as a protagonist, and Aleya is all I was looking for from them. She hates the Imperium, she hates their cult of worship, she makes sure that she has very high priorities when it comes to who she cares about, she makes a sport out of unsettling politicians and she can crush a skull with her bare hands. What's not to love?

#asks #hope I could somewhat communicate what I like about them and wasn't too rambly...#not that analytical but it's hard to do that with so many different characters #long post

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