#people act like a character disliking the main character is somehow an offending the player

[sun-marie]

Out of the original four champions, Revali is the best character specifically because he doesn't think highly of Link and isn't convinced by a shiny relic saying he's special

[wellship]

Hello hi I just wanted to say I am absolutely here for Leah and Haley being girlfriends... hippie artist and pretty fashion girl??? Match made in heaven. Thank you. My crops are watered.

LISTEN…….. You have hereby given me permission to wall-of-text about why I love this ship so much lmao…

I already started off loving Haley because she’s IMO the best bachelorette in the game. I love not only how she grows as a character (compared to some of the others who can feel stagnant, even though I love them all too) but how her “growth” doesn’t mean that she sacrifices her personality completely.She was the first villager I ever romanced playing SDV because I was curious to see how she would be written and I was so, so pleasantly surprised. It’s so easy and common for characters like Haley to either stay as a shallow caricature of a “mean, girly girl” forever as a punching-bag for the writers’ projections, OR for her to do a complete 180 as if being girly, or interested in fashion, or not academic are bad traits to be “fixed” in order for the character to become likeable - especially since this was essentially a first-person dating sim, which often plays into the fantasy where a mean girl is turned into a totally pacified wifey-type by the (usually male) PC. I was fully expecting and bracing for Haley to go from being a caricature of a “mall brat” Mean Girl to being a caricature of an “I’m not like other girls” Cool Girl (or worse, “I’m so glad I Grew Up and realised all I need in my life is my hubby!”, but I wasn’t quite getting that vibe from SDV).

But that didn’t happen. Major props to CA for creating a character who DID grow and learn to appreciate things outside of her little bubble without feeling the need to abandon/criticise the things she used to like. She learns that shopping/makeup/boys (wink) etc. aren’t the only important things in her life, and she expands her horizons, but those things are still important to her. As someone who’s also interested in fashion and makeup it was refreshing to see those hobbies still portrayed in a positive light as opposed to something she had to “move past”.

So. Anyway. That’s why I love Haley so much and why I particularly like a narrative of her discovering she’s a wlw (thank you Stardew Valley for watering MY crops by giving everyone canon bi~ reads) as it ties in with her growing and maturing as a person.

And so when I looked at the roster of girls in Stardew Valley I felt like Leah was the best one to complement her character in a relationship:

Haley’s biggest obstacle in her life right now is that she’s very sheltered and, as a result, a little spoiled. Her parents are globe-trotting and her older sister has been left to look after her. The age gap between the sisters doesn’t seem to be that big and Emily isn’t very confrontational at the best of times, so I think she just took the path of least resistance, which was to do everything herself rather than argue with Haley who still sees her as a peer and not an authority figure.Leah, conversely, has had to become extremely independent and self-sufficient, very recently. Her narrative plot line about leaving an (if not abusive, then at least implied to be toxic/unhealthy) relationship and a position where she was “comfortable” but unhappy is very fresh and it’s exactly where Haley needs to be. Leah is in a prime position to, basically, give Haley a kick up the rear and tell her to get her act together, but without it coming off as too sanctimonious or parental since Leah is still going through it and learning herself. Two young adults navigating their way through adulthood and pulling each other along rather than one grabbing the other by the hand and “fixing” them.

The flipside of this is that Leah is in her position through choice, which she was privileged to be able to make. She CHOSE to leave behind a life in the big city and a stable career to pursue the aesthetic of living in a little country cabin and making art all day. Haley wants the opposite, but can’t make it happen. Haley would KILL to be able to pack up her life and move to the city to pursue her dreams - Fashion? Photography? Fashion photography? - but she can’t. She’s sheltered because she has everything provided for her in Pelican Town, but that doesn’t translate to having the same opportunities for forward momentum as Leah. Her parents aren’t implied to be very supportive of her dreams, so they’re not going to fund a move for her, and we constantly see that there are limited employment opportunities in Pelican Town unless she wants to work for minimum wage at Joja. So she’s kind of stuck. Narratively, we’re supposed to see Leah’s desire to move from the city to the country as a positive story arc (because it mirrors the player’s) while we’re supposed to see Haley’s desire to move from the country to the city as somehow being shallow or consumerist, and I think Leah herself would fall into the trap of thinking that way, which would be eye-opening for her.When you look at it, their narratives mirror each other. It’s easy to say that Haley is spoiled and out of touch with the “real world”, but Leah is also out of touch with reality in that not everyone can do what she did. I like Leah a lot and I’m not saying her life or her decisions were easy - and she definitely does seem to be genuinely “roughing it” and struggling for money when we meet her in-game - but she still got there by choice and she still does have a safety net of sorts, since it’s implied she could probably get re-hired in whatever lucrative field she worked in before moving. Haley doesn’t have that - her “safety net” of her parents’ house and her sister only works to support her as long as she stays put.I can see this being a really delicious and rewarding narrative point between them as they started to get to know each other, because I think they would probably HATE each other at first, lol. Leah would think Haley was childish and represented everything she disliked about “fake” city living while Haley would think Leah was pretentious and ungrateful.

Also I definitely love that hippie girl/mall girl contrast BUT please consider - Haley is also an artist and I think they’d both “get” each other on that level. Nobody in town considers Haley an artist. Leah is a “real” artist, a fine artist and a sculptor. Elliott is a “real” artist by way of being an author. Emily is a “real” artist for her sewing and… y’know… general aura. Those are defining aspects of their character. But to the other people in town, and even to the player, art is not one of Haley’s notable features. Her photography is just a throwaway idea. She’s the shallow, frilly, pink, bubblegum-scented boy-crazy “girly girl” who just also happens to take photos sometimes.But photography is serious TO HALEY. It’s pretty much the only thing she does around town other than wandering aimlessly. She has some pretty impressive equipment and she even builds a dark room for herself, either implicitly converting it from a walk-in wardrobe (which demonstrates how she sees her own priorities, regardless of how others see her) OR she builds it from scratch, which is even more dedicated. I think Leah is the best person in town to recognise that Haley is also an artist who’s dedicated to her craft and probably the only person to really encourage her to pursue it, to tell her that it’s worthwhile and not just some silly hobby. Leah would be able to see a lot of her own internal struggles over art in Haley, about whether it was “good enough”.

Conversely if there’s one thing Haley has which Leah lacks, it’s confidence. Leah is full of self-doubt about her art, her life choices, etc. whereas Haley’s main issue is apathy; once she finds something she’s actually passionate about, she’s very self-assured. I think once they broke the ice and started to become friends, if Leah expressed even a smidgen of self-doubt Haley would shut it down with very over-the-top but sincere pep talks.

I also just think their personalities contrast well, lol. Haley is extremely blunt but she’s not really trying to be rude, it’s just that the things she say often come from a sheltered perspective (i.e. “appearance is important to me” -> “[my concept of] appearance is important to everyone” -> “I should tell people if they’re doing Appearance wrong”). Leah on the other hand is very casual and polite but also hard to offend. She’s mostly content to let the odd comment roll off her back, but as we’ve seen with Kel, she’s also not afraid to tell people off when they’re being inconsiderate, which is what Haley needs - someone who won’t ditch her for putting her foot in her mouth, like most would/do, but also someone who won’t just enable her to stay sheltered.

Also in the context of this being a wlw ship/narrative, I think Haley would need a partner who was comfortable in their own sexuality since Haley (and her thematic counterpart Alex) are both extremely stuck in compulsive heterosexuality and sort of need a partner who… isn’t? Or else they’d just get sucked into a “will-they-won’t-they” vortex for a million years where neither of them know how to make the first move. Leah is the only bachelor(ette) who by default has any canonical LGBTQ relationship before the farmer, and that energy just translates well for Haley, IMO. I think if Haley found out Leah was a wlw then it would force Haley to reconsider her assumptions about her own sexuality.

Leah would go absolutely googoo gaga over Haley IMO and it’s just fun to picture her at the start of their interactions being like “god dammit she annoys me so much but DAMB .. .. .. girl pretty”

I doubt anyone read all of this but I HAD FUN and I’m really really glad to see such a positive response to that art!! I would love it if more people started shipping and making content for them 👀

[kindcstguardian]

The art of disguise is             — knowing how to hide in plain sight.

Name. ( 한주민 )   Han Jumin

Nickname. Ice Prince, Cat Lover

Age. Korean: 24 | International: 23

Star sign. Libra  ( October 5th )

Religion. Christian  ( brought up; former )

Sexual Orientation. Pansexual

Languages. Korean, Italian, Spanish, French, English & Arabic.

Height. 184 cm

Weight. 78 kg

Specialty. Acting, rehearsing, paperwork

Likes. Elizabeth the 2rd, reading, wine-tasting, walking

Dislikes. Big dogs, his father, tight schedules, stalkers

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

Heir of the C&R International Company as well as the face of it, Han Jumin is widely known as the 'Ice Prince' due to being devoid of emotions everywhere else except in stage. .

BACKGROUND.

   Still born heir of C&R International Company, he comes from a divorce caused by his womanizer father and, for a while, the man contemplated how lonely he felt raising a child on his own but that soon ended when he got married again.    It's from childhood that he started to suppress emotions, his anger towards his father, the pity towards his mother, the anxiety he felt when responsibilities would be shoved at him and expected to be fulfilled with no mistakes—he started to suppress it all to the point of becoming numb.    V, his best friend, had recommended him taking acting classes when in middle school, as a way to vent his emotions—and it worked, marvelously. His father, too, used this to his advantage ( having the upper hand ) and made Jumin take part of plays and musicals, to give an image of C&R that showed that they could truly cover all fields to satisfy people's needs.

VERSES.

MAIN VERSE.

TAG.  「 V000 ; Jumin  ／ ᴵᵗ’ˢ ᵉᵃˢʸ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉᶜᵒᵐᵉ ᶜᵃʳᵉˡᵉˢˢ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ᶜˡᵒˢᵉ ᵗᵒ ʸᵒᵘ 」

Pre-meeting MC.

   His life is quite stressful therefore he surrounds his everyday with work, every possible role he can take—he’ll do it, main, extra, anything will do just not to think. Jumin Han has been labeled as a workaholic and they are right, but no one complains because even if he does fill his schedule to a madness point, it’s always impeccable without a single mistake done.    That’s how much he’s devoted to acting and taking the role, the life of another character and feeling it as if it were his own. Whether it’s worse, better or something bittersweet—directors have the highest expectations out of him, and Jumin never disappoints.

MEETING MC VERSE.

TAG.  「 001 ; Jumin  ／ ᴼⁿᵉ ᵐᵘˢᵗ ᵇᵉ ᶜᵃᵘᵗⁱᵒᵘˢ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ⁱⁿᶠᵒʳᵐᵃᵗⁱᵒⁿ ᵒᵇᵗᵃⁱⁿᵉᵈ ᵗʰʳᵒᵘᵍʰ ˢᵒᶜⁱᵃˡ ᵐᵉᵈⁱᵃ 」

   Certainly, a new face brought a certain refreshing touch to his life despite under what circumstances they have joined the RFA. Someone so caring and understanding, it was nice to have such a company.    Their personality was nice too, making Jumin trust them with ease regardless of not showing it. Of course, the RFA was divided into those who trusted and those who did not because of Rika’s words: she did trust them, which proved to be enough for Jumin and others.

PRE- V’S DEATH VERSE.

TAG.  「 002 ; Jumin  ／ ᵉᵛᵉʳʸᵈᵃʸ ⁱˢ ᵃ ʲᵒʸᶠᵘˡ ᵐᵉᵐᵒʳʸ ⁱ ᵗʳᵉᵃˢᵘʳᵉ 」

   Jumin is often seen smiling even after practice in the studio, he’s a content man who gets to hang out as often as he can with his best and childhood friend—someone he loves deeply and means the world for him to the point that a meeting everyday is a must: in his tight schedule he, somehow, manages to make an hour or even thirty minutes work.    He has an unhealthy dependable relationship with V that neither had quite realized for he’s attached to him. Both depend on each other’s mood and situations to an extent. It’s safe to assume V is the reason Jumin is unable to connect with anyone emotionally wise speaking due himself having emotions towards V that are unclear for him.

AFTER V’S DEATH VERSE.

TAG.  「 003 ; Jumin ／ ʷʰᵉʳᵉ ⁱˢ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵘⁿ ?  ᶠᵒʳ ⁱᵗˢ ᵈᵃʳᵏⁿᵉˢˢ ⁱˢ ᵇˡⁱⁿᵈⁱⁿᵍ ᵐᵉ 」

   After V died and Rika had to take care of the RFA, Jumin had changed drastically and for the worst.    He had locked himself within his penthouse, always in the floor that is his place to live—never leaving, everyday losing weight and will to live despite maids leaving food inside his room and Elizabeth the 3rd being by his side.    Jumin has severe depression and seems unable to move on, went as far as to quit acting. Calling it a hiatus and ditching everything he was currently working on, his father paying the price for everything which made him utterly mad but even a womanizer and easy to brainwash man like his father could understand what and who V meant to Jumin.

BAD ENDING VERSE.

TAG.  「 004 ; Jumin ／ ᴵ ᵍᵘᵉˢˢ ⁱᶠ ᴵ'ᵐ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵘˢᵉ ᵍᵒ ᵃʰᵉᵃᵈ ʸᵒᵘ ᶜᵃⁿ ᶜᵘᵗ ᵐᵉ ˡᵒᵒˢᵉ 」

   Failing to make Jumin slow down with his jobs and taking care of himself, this leads for him to increase his unhealthy coping mechanisms much like drinking copious amounts of alcohol and smoking as if his life depended on it.    His image is starting to rotten despite his former meticulous care since, once again, he can’t bring himself to care about anything despite surviving and barely covering everyday needs like eating and sleep—choosing to ditch his dream of being an actor; he becomes the president of C&R International and is a copy of his father. A womanizer, trying to fill the emptiness and broken being that MC has left for an excuse of a human being.    Except, he stirs much more scandal due to dating men as well.

BAD RELATIONSHIP VERSE.

TAG.  「 005 ; Jumin ／ ᴬⁿᵈ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵗⁱᵐᵉˢ ʸᵒᵘ ˢᵉᵉ ᵉᵛᵉʳʸᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ ʸᵒᵘ ʷⁱˢʰ ʸᵒᵘ ʰᵃᵈ 」

   Failing to properly show how love works and to help him move on from V’s death, causes Jumin to become dependable of MC much like he was of V.    He doesn’t go as far as to assume they are the same person, but he can’t live a day without MC by their side. Threatening to end it all if they do leave him alone because he can’t afford to feel that emptiness again, because no one else can that empty hole within his chest, where his heart is supposed to be.

MINT EYE VERSE.

TAG.  「 006 ; Jumin ／ ᵀᵉˡˡⁱⁿᵍ ᵃˡˡ ʸᵒᵘʳ ˡⁱᵉˢ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ˢᵉᶜᵒⁿᵈ ⁿᵃᵗᵘʳᵉ, ᵇʸ ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵃʸ, ʷʰᵃᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ʰᵉˡˡ ᵃʳᵉ ᵐᵒʳᵃˡˢ 」

   Figuring out V had never been dead but had become a cult leader made him go mad, hysterically laughing it off and ditching it all: his life, future, RFA.    The man who was once known as Han Jumin, recognized actor for his talent and fame due being an heir no longer existed—tons of rumors that he had committed suicide, been kidnapped or murdered due venomous glares spread everywhere. His father put a reward for his son to be found dead or alive but it would be impossible since he had ceased to exist.    Brainwashed and acting as a loyal dog to V, his once grey eyes had been turned to mint and he’s the one operating in the shadows like some sort of hitman for V in case any follower misbehaved or the RFA tried to break into the mansion.ba.

ACCIDENT / AMNESIA VERSE.

TAG.  「 007 ; Jumin ／ ᴵ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ˢʷᵒʳⁿ ᴵ ˢᵃʷ ᵃ ˡⁱᵍʰᵗ ᶜᵒᵐⁱⁿᵍ ᵒⁿ 」

   Both Driver Kim and himself had been involved in an accident of three cars and a truck; his driver had died before the ambulance had arrived but Jumin had barely made it.    Once he was taken to the hospital and everything that could be done, was done—it took three months for him to wake up with no memories of whom he was, to begin with.    Yet, oddly enough, he could recall the faces of the RFA members and has labeled as important—unlike his father, whom he loved deeply, disliked seeing him cry but could not recall any memory of him acting as family or support in any way.

IDOL VERSE.

TAG.  「 008 ; Jumin ／ ᶠᵉᵉˡ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵒʳˢᵗ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉᶠᵒʳᵉ ᶜʳᵘˢʰ ᵗʰᵉᵐ ʷⁱᵗʰ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵇᵉˢᵗ 」

   Dancing, having a radio-show, appearing on reality and cooking shows, singing on stage and being cheered on but, more importantly, acting—how happier could he be?    This time around, his connection to the RFA is complicated given he doesn’t have that much time to interact with them. Little to nothing and has become an invisible presence like Rika herself has.    But Jumin adores working this much, except this time he does put limits on himself given he’s not part of a unit and is a single.

WRECK IT, RALPH VERSE.

TAG.  「 009 ; Jumin  ／  」

Tba.

MUTANT / FOR CROSSOVERS WITHHEROES,ETC. VERSE.

TAG.  「 010 ; Jumin  ／ ᴵᵗ'ˢ ᵉˢˢᵉⁿᵗⁱᵃˡ ᵗᵒ ᵏᵉᵉᵖ ᵃ ˡᵉᵛᵉˡ ʰᵉᵃᵈ ʷʰᵉⁿ ᶜⁱʳᶜᵘᵐˢᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉˢ ᶜʰᵃⁿᵍᵉ ʳᵃᵖⁱᵈˡʸ 」

   A drunk man and a mother who is little known about to nothing, Han Jumin is a product of that combination.    Except when growing up, and seeing how much the pressure was starting to be put on his shoulders—he wished there were more of him. Unaware that he was a mutant himself due his mother’s DNA, what he said was actually his power.    He could multiply himself and give them orders since they have a limited free will—sometimes, he abuses of this but no one in the media needs to figure this out or else he’d be in problems.ba.

SELF-AWARE VERSE.

TAG.  「 011 ; Jumin  ／ ᴱᵛᵉʳʸᵒⁿᵉ ᵐᵃᵏᵉˢ ᵗʰᵉⁱʳ ᵒʷⁿ  ‘ᶜʰᵒⁱᶜᵉˢ’ 」

# 694512919

   Mystic Messenger game was corrupted when a virus corrupted the device of the user and therefore many files along with it, causing Jumin to become aware that he is a game—a dating simulator game with no choices in his own fate, the choices the player made where the ones that decided whether he’d earn a good or a miserable life.    Offended by this, and partially enraged, he’s trying to pair up with the other one character who knew about this all along to make everyone else become free themselves.ba.

DREAM DADDY VERSE.

TAG.  「 012 ; Jumin  ／ ᶠᵃⁱʳ ᵗʳᵃᵈᵉ, ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵒʳᵈˢ ᴵ ᵐᵘˢᵗ ᶜᵃʳᵛᵉ ⁱⁿᵗᵒ ᵐʸ ʰᵉᵃʳᵗ ᵃˢ ᵃ ᵇᵘˢⁱⁿᵉˢˢᵐᵃⁿ 」

   In this verse, he had been once a married man and is currently in his late 30′s.    After his father’s retirement and him assuming his role of heir, therefore quitting acting his only passion, Jumin has been taking care of C&R International but, even someone like him, needs a vacation.    Plus, he had a child, Amanda, to raise on his own after his beloved one has passed away due an illness. Without asking Amanda who did protest without much effort and just for the sake of it, he left things in charge of his second hand and went on a vacation to Maple Bay, a quiet and small town.    A nice and tranquil change of pace.ba.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE VERSE.

TAG.  「 013 ; Jumin  ／ ᴴᵘᵐᵃⁿ'ˢ ᵖˢʸᶜʰᵒˡᵒᵍʸ ˢᵗᵃᵗᵉ ⁱˢ ᵛᵉʳʸ ᶜᵒᵐᵖˡᵉˣᵉᵈ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵖᵉʳᵖˡᵉˣᵉᵈ 」

Android /  694512919

   Cheritz is a world-known company that creates androids for people as companions—friends, assistants, lovers included.    Han Jumin is one of the many popular ones, however, the alternative version didn’t gain much popularity as the original one with a background story and everything settled if one wished to roleplay with it. Thus, the project of the alternative was stopped much to the few fans dismay that had ordered it but only a small amount of people received their Han Jumin, Ice Prince.

LOVESICK VERSE.

TAG.  「 014 ; Jumin  ／ ᴬˡʷᵃʸˢ ˢᵗᵃⁿᵈ ˢᵗʳᵃⁱᵍʰᵗ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵗᵃˡˡ, ᵐʸ ᶠᵃᵗʰᵉʳ'ˢ ʷᵒʳᵈˢ 」

Theatre professor.

Tba.

? VERSE.

TAG.  「 0? ; Jumin  ／  」

Tba.

TAGS.

「 Han Jumin ／ ᴹⁱʳʳᵒʳ ⁱⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵃˡˡ, ᶜᵃⁿ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗᵉˡˡ ᵐᵉ ʷʰᵒ ᴵ ᵃᵐ ? 」

「 Han Jumin ／ INQUIRY」

「 Han Jumin ／ MUSINGS 」

「 Han Jumin ／ VISAGE 」

「 Han Jumin ／ MANNERISMS 」

「 Han Jumin ／ HEADCANON 」

「 Han Jumin ／ INTROSPECTION」

「 Han Jumin ／ ROMANCE 」

「 Han Jumin ／ CRACK 」

RELATIONSHIPS.

✘ ·  ♡（   ）

[allistair-right]

hey.. i'd be interested in reading that ready player one criticism you wrote, even if it's not done, you should totally post that

Thanks for the interest in my late night ramblings anon! Well since I can just copy-paste it, why the fuck not. It’s… long and despite me saying that i’ll try not to let my anger/feelings take over, you can kinda see me starting to break near the end of the document :))) 

 I’m pasting the document in it’s entirety (I haven’t changed a word of it) Below the cut are my thoughts about Ready Player One on 10 ‎April ‎2017, ‏‎1:13:40 AM:

READY PLAYER ONE

I finished listening to the audiobook ofready player one around a week ago and I’ve discussed said book with a friend/sof mine although not too in depth since they have yet to read the book but havegraciously allowed me ramble on about it to them. Thanks guys you’re the best.

Disclaimer: Everything that I will bestating regarding the book are only my opinions and are, of course, flawed andit is not my intention to anger or offend anybody. I will try my hardest totackle the book logically without getting too caught up about how I feltregarding certain parts of the book. This is in no way a review of the book andis mostly just a random person’s ramblings and thoughts about this book.

SPOILER WARNING: I will be discussing thebook in its entirety meaning that there will be spoilers EVERYWHERE. I will nothold back.

·        The book is fun.

o  If I have to describe the bookin a sentence it would be: “A lot of Sci Fi, retro and nerdy fun” If you’reinto games, movies and even series, especially old school ones beginning fromthe 80’s, you would enjoy this book very much.

o  For people who grew up in the80’s this book is probably a love letter to you all and you’d either enjoy theconstant nostalgia porn or you’d all get fed up with it. Cause trust me,there’s a LOT of 80’s in this book.

o  The world building of this bookis very well done. You can actually visualize the world and what state it’s in.As an artist this book gave my imagination a lot to work with and I canmentally convince myself that the world is real.

·        I wish you’d show me ratherthan tell me.

o  There are times the book withgo into a sort of information dump in an attempt to flesh out the world. I’veread a review stating that it’s a bad case of “telling rather than showing” andI have to agree. It would usually begin when the writer is fleshing out theworld but then it would keep going and going and at times it feels too muchsince it’s not really essential to the story. Luckily, I’m a bit of aninformation hoard and I enjoy reading books and articles on random topics thatI would find interesting so when I run into information dumps that would go onand on, I’m not 100% put off by it. I will be stating samples of informationdumps throughout this rambling since I don’t think there’s a chapter or an Actwithout some kind of information dump/montage.

·        Limited characters and they’reall variations of Vanilla.

o  There is a very limited cast ofcharacters in this story, and sadly, they’re not all fleshed out that well. Themain characters are Wayde(Parzival), Samantha(Art3mis), Aech and maybe even themain antagonist Sorento (though it could be argued that Sorento is just arepresentative of IOI and that they’re the real antagonists). Every othercharacter are supporting characters and “Disposable characters”.  Yes, Daito and Shoto were part of the “HighFive” and have interacted with Wayde and the other main characters a handful oftimes but, sadly, I did not find them that fleshed out and are just a littleover the rank of Disposable characters.

o  Though there are very fewcharacters, I couldn’t get myself to be 100% invested in any of them, not evenin the main protagonist, Wayde. In fact, I found him to be annoying 50% of thetime. The character that I could say that I was sort of interested in was Aechbut sadly s/he wasn’t given much time until near the end of the book.

o  When I say “they’re allvariations of Vanilla” I meant that they’re all essentially a clone of the maincharacter Wayde. Now I’m not a professional writer and this maybe a stretch butto me, in their essence, they’re all just a variation of Wayde. Maybe that’sthe reason why I couldn’t get invested in any of the characters since they’rejust a different version of Wayde and I’m not even interested in him. Theircharacters are all basically this:

§ Obsessed with findingHalliday’s Easter egg.

§ Doesn’t have a family

·        Yes, Art3mis lived with hergrandparents but that was pretty much it. She never mentions how her home lifeis and she didn’t even bring them up when Wayde tells them to get out of theirhomes because IOI has information on them and plans to abduct them. When shecontacts them again at the airport she’s complaining about how she’s panickingand doesn’t have anything on her except for the clothes on her back. She doesnot express any concern for her grandparents.

·        Shoto may or may not have afamily. This was not clarified since when Wayde tells them to get out of theirhomes. Shoto runs off to a manga café. Like Art3mis, he does not expressconcern for his family if he had any.

§ Are all hiding some sort ofsecret about their self from everyone

§ Spends 95% of their timeplugged into the Oasis and have a heavy dislike and disconnect regarding thereal world.

§ Are all hardcore gunters andhave memorized facts about Halliday and his obsessions as if it was a religion

§ Are all exceptionally good withold school games.

§ Hates IOI with a passion

§ Very savvy with 80’s popculture references or just the 80’s in general.

·        The characters are okay I guess:

o  Wayde (Parzival):  The main character of the story which as I’vementioned before is high schooler with no family and has learned to becomeself-sufficient and provide for himself using his natural talents with computersand technology. I could not get myself to care about this character. To behonest the only thing I care about this entire book is the puzzle revolvingaround Halliday’s Easter egg and how they’re going to figure it out.Like I said, I found his character mostly annoying 50% of the time, now maybethis is because he’s written as a bit of a naïve high schooler and he doesn’thave everything sorted out but there are times that he’s been shown anddepicted as being very clever, smart and, as Daito and Shoto would say,“Honorable”. So I couldn’t convince myself of the very obvious mistakes thathe’s running into when it has been shown that he COULD have avoided saidmistakes.When IOI/Sorento blew up his Aunt’s trailer home along with most of the othertrailers surrounding that area, it didn’t really shake him as much as Iexpected it to other than feeling sad about a sweet old lady cause she didn’tdeserve to die in an explosion. I understand prioritizing hiding from the enemybut shouldn’t this have haunted him a bit more? I can understand him not caringabout his aunt’s fate along with her ex-con boyfriend but what about the otherfamilies that live with them? What about the young kinds in all the othertrailers? Why doesn’t it ever really dawn on him that if he just played it safeand stopped being cocky all those lives wouldn’t have been lost? If I remembercorrectly he mentions this like maybe once in the later part of the story buteven so it didn’t have any weight. Poor old lady that’s it. How am I supposedto care about a character that doesn’t seem to care?There was also a part where when he became the first person to ever find thefirst key, he received a lot of emails asking for interviews and a lot ofcompanies asking him to become a promoter. He smartly avoided the requests forinterviews but he immediately jumps on all the companies that want to make hima promoter? He mentions that the amount of money is enough to provide for hisneeds and that in a year he could afford an economy apartment and those are allunderstandable but it’s not enough for someone to just ignore a really longcontract and just simply state a few conditions and sign away on all thecontracts cause he can’t afford a lawyer to help him read the contracts.I remember being a 18-19 year old and a company wanted to use my art for somepromo material and since it was fan art I was fine but then they sent a 3 pagecontract and I panicked cause I don’t know what this contained and I had mymother read it for me to make sure it was alright to sign on it. This was asimple contract regarding a simple matter but since I was young andinexperienced regarding the professional world, I tackled it carefully. Wayde is also a young 18 year old high schooler in the story and he hasexperienced way more intense things in the world he lives in, he understandsthe great value of privacy and ensuring ones cyber-safety and takes a lot ofcounter measures to stay anonymous and keep his information private but hesomehow just decides to ignore a really lengthy contract from a bunch ofcompanies? Earlier on in the story when his aunt saw his laptop and demandedhim to give it to her, he quickly entered a command to clear out the entirecomputer and he mentions how he has a backup of all that information includingback up laptops. He even has a secret entrance and exit in his aunt’s trailerso he can sneak in and out to his hideout where all his important personalbelongings are. So I can’t convince myself that this really careful andpractically anal person about his privacy decides to just sign away on allcontracts and think that it’s okay since they all expire in 2 years and becausehe stated a few conditions. How can he be sure that there are not clauses orloop holes in those contracts that those companies can abuse and he has nopower over it? It just not convincing for his character to do something soobviously wrong and it doesn’t make any sense.

·        Deus ex Machina

o  It just so happens that Waydebought the IOI access codes a few months before he made an on-the-fly suicideplan to infiltrate IOI. This was not even discussed or brushed over prior tothe fact that the time when he bought this code was during a sort ofinformation dump about him trying to turn his life around after being turneddown by Art3mis. It described how depressed and desperate he was that hebarricaded himself from the real world even more by constantly upgrading histech and that, out of desperation, he ended up going to brothels in the oasisand even buying a sort of high tech blow up doll in the real world and then feelingdisgusted, throwing it away and resorting back to good old masturbation, which JamesHalliday also mentions in his Almanac how Masturbation is natural and the worldwouldn’t have progressed without it. He also describes how he upgraded hissecurity system and how he keeps himself fed and upgraded by buying stuffonline and having them delivered and how delivery people interact with hisSecurity system. There was even a point where Wayde is describing all his hightech gear and their functions and his daily routine.

Seewhat I mean by information dumps? And I’m just summarizing the whole thing. Inall that time and detailed “world building” he couldn’t have mentioned buyingthe IOI access codes. Too much telling not enough showing.

Ijust couldn’t convince myself of how very fortunate and lucky it is that Waydebought a bunch of IOI access codes on the internet black market and completelyforgot about them until he made a plan to infiltrate IOI. It’s just not inWayde’s character. He was written as a boy who had nothing growing up andprovided for himself. He kept track of all the things that he owns even in thevirtual world Oasis. He can even remember what album a song came from and whatyear it was released. But somehow he just forgets about buying a bunch ofaccess codes that could be used against his enemies. It’s not convincing.

o   It just so happens that the only person in theentire world that had the money and power to help him and his friends has beeneaves dropping on them since Key 1. When I read this reveal I couldn’t evenrelate to the shock that was being implied by the characters. This was “hinted”at earlier on when the “High Five” first met up in Aech’s chatroom, but to me,that entire scene with the books falling off the shelf and Aech and Waydediscussing it felt like an afterthought. Like it was written in when the bookwas being edited so when Moreou appeared it wouldn’t be so out of place or wouldn’tbecome an obvious Deus ex Machina.

[sohamde]

EDITORIAL : Massive Shame How Arsenal Fans Were Sold Down The River By Their Very Own Board.

Arsenal fans have acquired a reputation, in some quarters, for being a collection of negative individuals, that think they have a legal right to success. Over recent seasons there have been walkouts, banners, empty seats and protests, to remove the owner and the previous manager, in scenes normally associated with struggling clubs. https://twitter.com/afcstuff/status/1045004282414735360?s=19 It’s a relatively small section of fans that know as much about football as I know about the Kardashians and they are probably as bereft of reason as the pouting clan of tanned, designer wearing airheads. Arsenal fans are currently angry at the Kroenke administration but what a shame they weren’t more vigilant and equally as outraged in 2007. We’ll get to that in a moment. The sale of Arsenal is a tragic tale of Shakespearean proportions, dealing exclusively in deception and greed. Those involved acted in their own interest and all their words of reassurance and commitment were completely disingenuous. The main character in this footballing soap opera is the absent owner, Stan Kroenke. The ambitious American, that appears to have no interest in a game where players aren’t dressed like stormtroopers or which isn’t governed by commercial breaks. Rewind to 2004, the Arsenal side were at the pinnacle of their success, winning the premier league whilst remaining unbeaten and some said that they could rule the division for a decade. It would take less than 18 months to see that side start to break up and over the next few seasons Arsenal’s ability to compete at the highest level had virtually disappeared. Then there was the Emirates, a stadium build that was supposed to unlock the gates to the big time and reveal unlimited opportunities. In reality, it only served to strangle the club with debt and signalled the departure of some of Arsenal’s top talent. So, what happened ? Someone has to be responsible. Well, yes. There are quite a few but let’s start with someone who regularly dodges the bullets of responsibility for Kroenke’s involvement and the currrent predicament of Arsenal. David Dein. As much as I appreciate what the man achieved with Arsene Wenger, he is the man that sold Arsenal. https://twitter.com/Gooner_AK/status/784694902064025600?s=19 In 2007, David Dein was ousted for backing Stan Kroenke’s take over bid. A smited boardroom took its revenge and rid itself of one of the most influential figures in football, after an association that lasted 23 years. Dein owned 14.6% of the shares and had he gone with his initial conviction, that invisible Stan was Arsenal’s saviour, Kroenke would have owned 25% of the club and Dein could have banked around £58 million but he didn’t. Somehow, David Dein had an overnight revelation, agreed with his former employers and decided that Kroenke’s involvement was ill advised. So, he reconsidered his options and sold his shares for £75 million to the Uzbek steel magnate, Alisher Usmanov, with an understanding that he would return to his perch in the Arsenal hierarchy once the club was bought outright. https://twitter.com/AFTVMedia/status/1026828303079010304?s=19 Hypocrisy, greed and power are the labels one could apply to David Dein and all of them would be richly deserved. His desire to return to Arsenal would never be realised as Usmanov got bored waiting for a seat on the board and having his money tied up in a club where he couldn’t even take a shit without bringing his own toilet paper and asking for permission. The Arsenal board who sacked Dein for colluding with the American, eventually welcomed Kroenke with open arms, like a long lost son. It was like Narcissus looking in the mirror, kissing his own reflection and paying for the pleasure. Once Kroenke had his feet under the table, it was just a case of biding his time until everyone’s resolve could be broken and in 2009, Peter Hill-Wood sold 100 shares to the one time villain of the Arsenal panto. This happened after Hill-Wood said in 2007. “Call me old-fashioned but we don't need Kroenke's money and we don't want his sort. Our objective is to keep Arsenal English, albeit with a lot of foreign players. I don't know for certain if Kroenke will mount a hostile takeover for our club but we shall resist it with all our might." He went on in almost Churchillian fashion. "We are all being seduced that the Americans will ride into town with pots of cash for new players. It simply isn't the case. They only see an opportunity to make money. They know absolutely nothing about our football and we don't want these types involved." Well, how right he was, even though he sold out to temptation in the end, helping to make his prophecy a reality. He also went on record to deny that other members of the Arsenal board would sell to facilitate a takeover. He said, "The notion that Danny Fiszman is a seller is really farcical. He doesn't need the money. Nina is also rock solid. She likes the involvement and the tradition that lies behind the club." Fiszman did sell his shares to Kroenke in 2009, 5,000 of them worth £8,500 each (£4,250,000) and Bracewell-Smith would eventually follow suit Hill-Wood was perhaps the worst offender, his Family had connections with the club for a hundred years, his history was entwined with that of the club. Yet it appeared, he had two versions of the truth, one for each of his faces because he announced a marketing partnership with Kroenke’s Colorado Rapids in February 07 and then realising that the fans might be twitchy by that type of love in, he came out fighting two months later by clumsily saying  “We don’t want his sort over here.”. https://twitter.com/MrDtAFC/status/1026728596986097664?s=19 Undeterred, Kroenke continued to scoop up shares and in 2009 he managed to get a further 200 shares from the estate of Ernest Harrison for £3.6 million. Even dead people have their uses. Kroenke also picked up another 200 shares from Hill-Wood, who you will remember was adamant that he would not sell his shares to the American under any circumstances, unless he could hardly close the boot of his car because it had so much money in it. Perhaps the final straw was Kroenke’s acquisition of Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith’s shares. Her decision to sell her Arsenal part to the American created a domino effect among the remaining shareholders and if she felt bad about the situation, she could at least console herself that she had £116m in the bank. She was viciously removed from the board for an apparent clash with the big cheese of Arsenal, not Peter Hill-Wood but Danny Fiszman, who had an amazing amount of control for such a small holding. Or could it be, as it was reported at the time, that LBS was considering selling to Kroenke’s rival, Alisher Usmanov and the only reason that she didn’t was so that she could take the most lucrative option once a bidding war took place. Kroenke courted and convinced her, that his money and vision were good for both parties. She didn’t hesitate. Later in 2018, she talked about her regret at selling to Kroenke and her dislike for the way he runs the club. This came after she tried to sue Linklaters and the accountancy firm Deloitte for their advice which led to the decision to sell her Arsenal shares to Kroenke. Yet, the real reason for that action and token remorse, could have something to do with the capital gains tax bill of £10m which she was presented with after the sale. Her relocation to Monaco to avoid further deductions, which cost £1.25m and her legal costs, which amounted to £400,000. In a spectacular turn around in opinion Bracewell-Smith said, “Football is a business of passion and SK has no passion for AFC. (Kroenke) shows he cares very little. Why he wanted to be part of AFC I do not know.” Much too little, too late it would seem. She cost the club and the fans something far more precious with her decision to open the door to the American. Her loss just means two less sports cars, one less villa in a secluded location, a smaller bar bill at Ascot and the postponement of the yachts refit. For the fans, some lost inherited shares from Family members or their only connection to the Arsenal. When Kroenke got rid of Usmanov, it allowed him to buy up those remaining shares of Arsenal, something he was legally entitled to do but it added to the dislike an mistrust of the American. https://twitter.com/AST_arsenal/status/1106870629473677318?s=19 A spokesman for the Arsenal supporters trust said at the time “Many of these fans are AST members and hold their shares not for value as custodians who care for the future of the club. Kroenke’s actions will neuter their voice and involvement. It is in effect legalised theft to remove a brake on how Arsenal is managed. The AST is wholly against this takeover which marks a very sad day for Arsenal Football Club.” On a more personal note, another Arsenal supporter Malcom Davis said, “Myself and my brother have been shareholders for over 50 years. I had no intention that the shares should be sold in my lifetime. I left specific instructions in my will that the shares were not to be sold to Kronke. I feel disenfranchised, as if I am no longer part of this club. I have little enthusiasm for this club. Kroenke is only interested in making money, not in winning trophies. I am not interested in supporting a club with no ambition.” Last season, Arsenal fans rightly aimed the rifle in the direction of Kroenke, the dark lord and former CEO of Arsenal, Ivan Gazidis and then manager, Arsene Wenger but none of them were responsible for the biggest sell out in the history of Arsenal. https://twitter.com/ltarsenal/status/1065321771811753984?s=19 We lost our footing, we lost our way and to a degree we lost an identity. Read the full article