#multiple protagonists

[englishotomegames]

The Key to Us

Release date (Windows, Mac OS, Linux) English: April 1st, 2025

"In a colorless world, three protagonists live their empty routines, trapped in an existence that brings them neither joy nor pain. They have no dreams, ambitions, or the strength to change their lives. But all of that is about to end.

Without warning, three strangers enter their lives—captivating, magnetic, and intense. 

Each path is a dive into the unknown, where the line between passion and terror dissolves. Is there a way out? Or, deep down, was this always the only way to feel something real?"

This is a free game created by Honey Bunny for NaNoRenO 2025! You can download it here.

[joncronshawauthor]

The Evolution of the Chosen One Trope in Fantasy Literature

Ah, the Chosen One—that special individual, often plucked from obscurity, destined to save the world. It’s a trope as old as storytelling itself, but one that has seen quite the evolution in fantasy literature. Today, we’re going to delve into this ubiquitous trope. We will explore how it’s changed over time and examine how “The Fall of Wolfsbane” turns this concept on its head. The Classic…

[rustedhills]

Somewhat articulate Kris thoughts, ch. 3+4 edition. Heads-up for spoilers and discussion of the series' themes of familial abuse. And why "Kris is evil actually" sucks.

Man, the ending of ch. 4 is genuinely kind of heartbreaking, and even more terrible in a way than any of the others--because it's so obvious that Kris is just a kid dealing with way too much.

Beyond the Knight stuff, the delta warrior stuff, the prophecy... Kris is just the town weird kid who came home with a friend, saw their mom dancing wine-drunk with the convenience store guy (after an entire Divorce Gameshow Extravaganza and a Horrible Visit to Noelle's Household ft. her abusive mom ft. horrible soul hockey, not to mention all the exhausting darkworld adventuring), and who just has to deal with all that. Unrelated but someone noted that Susie saw a drunk parent and immediately left and I can't stop thinking about it.

Kris is pulling their soul out more and more--maybe we just haven't seen it until now, but it seems like they've had to do this for a while (Toriel mentions that Kris just runs the tap and acts chaotic on impulse sometimes, lol how quirky amirite anyways) and no-one has recognized or been able to help, except now Noelle (hopefully that proceeds well?). But of course, monsters don't have souls--and Kris needs a lot of help with a lot of things that their parents etc. just can't handle. Toriel checking out that book on human care so much speaks to that lack of resources / knowledge.

Even amongst their family, Asgore is a complete outcast, Asriel is away at college, and a lot of the adults in town are nice but ultimately unable to help them. Take away the fantasy, and you're left with a community of friendly but ineffectual guardians who can't--or won't--recognize that Kris is dealing with chronic mental and physical issues. Susie is the bad kid, Kris is a nobody, and Noelle is the nice girl. They all have to fight to be seen as anything other than the stereotypes people envision them as.

Maybe that's why the dark world is so fun(?) for Susie and Noelle--you can literally fight the things that hurt you. Lancer's dad sucks, so Susie gets to have her big arc by telling him off. Queen is controlling, so Noelle triumphantly says "no" to her. But Kris...?

HOLY [[Cungadero1997]]!!! KRIS, YOU [[little sponge]], YOU'RE FUCKED!!

Every character whose insecurity ties into Kris' own--Tenna's desperation as a tool turned to trash, trying to keep a drifting family together, Spamton's garbage life as a puppet controlled by a voice on the phone... they fucking fail. I think they're ok on some level? Even Berdly gets to have a more cathartic end-of-chapter arc than Kris!

Kris isn't Evil, or the ultimate secret bad guy, or whatever. They're a traumatized kid clinging to any guardian figure they have, even when that guardian is overly controlling and potentially abusive towards them, just so long as they promise a way out of the present situation. Especially Carol and Mike (if the voice on the phone is indeed Mike).

Like, with all the marionette strings and fucked up families in the previous chapters, it's safe to say that Kris is in a bad situation (thematically and narratively), and deserves empathy--even when / if they do hurt others. In the next few chapters, they'll likely lash out in some really nasty and terrible ways, but... so would a lot of people.

So would a lot of [[BIG SHOT]] [[puppets]]

[mollysunder]

The thing I never got about the fan reaction to Mel and Jayce's relationship (in general) is that people were incensed on Jayce's behalf that Mel used him for political gain, but like... that's what happens when the government sponsors your research. Obviously the funding mechanisms aren't the same because Piltover is an oligarchy where civic functions such as the Enforcers and even Zaun's ventilation system are privately funded instead of through a common pool of taxpayer money, but the purpose is the same, which is to benefit from the conclusions drawn from the results of the research.

I don't understand how anyone in the audience could be shocked or angry that when Mel, a high ranking representative of Piltover’s government, chose to invest in hextech it wasn't clear that she and Piltover would benefit. And it's not like this foreign concept to Jayce, he was originally being SPONSORED by the Kirammans', which is almost the same relationship except it's more explicitly private to the Kirammans' benefit, but I didn't see any pitchforks out for Tobias and Cassandra.

It's just such a double whammy headache to end up reading posts where Mel is hypervillainized while Jayce is practically infantilized because as an adult man in his 30s he simply can't understand complex relationships or make his own decisions. The way some fans have been offended on Jayce's behalf straight up erases any agency or even intelligence he has.

[bogkeep]

shangri-la frontier is a really fun anime. it's a VR videogame story, but if you die in the game you do NOT die in real life. it's just about having fun playing games. the plot is the plot of the videogame. the stakes are getting cool loot and unlocking new events. there's no underlying evil plot. and it's still fun and compelling!!! wow!!!!!

disclaimer - i have not watched a lot of VR game animes beyond sword art online (i heartily recommend the abridged version on youtube instead) or wish fulfillment isekais that tend to fall into the same formula (bland guy is dropped into a fantasy world and has some kind of gimmick that makes him better than everyone else and develops a harem of supporting female characters), so i'm definitely not saying this is the Only Good One, just that i'm comparing it with a very narrow point of reference.

the gimmick here is that the protagonist enjoys playing "trash games" - games that are full of bad designs and bugs. he has the mentality of people who do speedruns and challenge runs and impose unhinged restrictions on themselves - and is let loose into an actual Good Game where all of his skills and experiences really pay off. but he's not the Only good player, and he's also a latecomer to the game so other characters already have accomplishments and history before he shows up, and the fact that he can die in the game means he gets to be stupid and mess up. and as a friend of mine pointed out, this anime really gets why people love games, not just Good Popular mmorpgs but also the trash games that still have tight knit communities logging in regularly. it's such a sincere sentiment!!!!! i love it!!!!

also!!!! a whole cascade of female characters who are both varied and competent, and only one of them has a crush on the protagonist, and she's never put in a fanservicey position because she's wearing big, intimidating armor that obscures her entire body. I Just Think That's Very Fun.

anyway i recommend this for anyone who just wants to watch something chill that still has a lot of action and adventure!

[crowns-of-violets-and-roses]

Remember when Wildbow used to do interludes? I miss interludes

[tropicalcontinental]

After Parkour Civilization can we all collectively watch Oneshef's videos

[tomurakii]

I do think character design diversity is important but pls let's not act like the boys in dandadan are diverse when they're all skinny white-skinned generically attractive boys with ONE exception

The point of the post wasn't even so much diversity as it was just character distinguishability. Whether you think Okarun's design is "attractive" or not he still has notably different features and a different build from Jiji, meanwhile Momo and Aira are identical aside from their hair and eyebrows.

And then there's obviously the aliens.

Where the male ones look weird in their base forms and have even weirder transformations, but the one female alien just happens to be a girl with antenna 100% of the time.

This weird need for female characters to be one specific kind of attractive all the time just gets in the way of decent character design.

[shouts-into-the-void]

Begging Komahina and Hinanami shippers to realize that it is possible for multiple people to be attracted to Hajime Hinata at once

[slightly-gay-pogohammer]

yknow what i did it w pokemon might as well do it w final fantasy too

im willing to explain my thoughts if anyone asks fndsamgdf anyway. these are the most unpopular ones i have lmao

also *Lenna not lenne i forgor lmao

[notbecauseofvictories]

Hi, just wanted to say that you post sometimes about how important it is just to go to things sometimes and socialise. One of your posts inspired me to join the meetup website and since then I've been to 3 groups and had a really nice time and talked to some potential new friends! I moved to a new city a few years back and never really made friends and now I feel really pleased to be getting out there so thank you!

I don't know why this particular lesson took me so long to learn (or why I have to keep learning it, over and over again) but the simple act of forcing yourself out of your space to do things really does make an appreciable difference. Life gets richer and deeper the more you engage with it, and you will never, ever know if you stay inside the four walls of your apartment and wait for it to come to you.

[faeriedoodles]

I give you … them

[spectrum-color]

(Disclaimer: this isn’t necessarily what I actually think will happen with the characters, all of whom I like; it’s just compelling dark routes they could go down)

[lemonlurkrr]

posts where two brothers declare a thing. blond on the right brunette on the left. same face syndrome but its not just an artist thing it's because they're actually the same guy. but like not EXACTLY exactly the same guy. they have the same name though.

[dairyfreenugget]

I've been playing on the wolf quest saga beta, and my wolf and his mate bore this creature. He perplexes me

[i-like-forcefem]

Hav you ever seen an anime called Ranma 1/2? I get the feeling that you'd like it. No particular reason why.

I LOVE IT!!!

I watched the first couple episodes of the remake, and am now saving it for a rainy day! It’s so so fun

Anyone reading this should give it a watch!!! You’ll love it cuties!