#player insight

[robdtsmith]

Freddie Ljungberg • Arsenal 2003/04, The Invincibles • Masterclass

[oddeyes588]

A little late to the party but I do have some thoughts about Fantasy High Junior Year now that it's over. First of all, overall? Great season, had lots of laughs... but man, is it just me, or were there a lot of parts in this season that just... were kind of annoying? For me specifically, two big things... and no, I'm not talking about the Rat Grinders. While I'm a little disappointed with how that ended, I'm not too bothered.

Like, idk if this is a hot take or not, because they were arguably the biggest parts of this season... but I found myself especially annoyed and/or disappointed about K2 and Porter.

Like, don't get me wrong, I thought K2 was funny—especially at first—and Porter being the main villain of the season was 100% for the bit and I can respect that... but man, I couldn't help but be disappointed with Porter going full irredeemably evil, as well as just straight-up annoyed by K2's existence (at least in regards to the story. gameplaywise, making a homunculus of their cleric was VERY smart) (oh god if K2 exists in our world now she might come after me. dont forget me).

In regards to Porter... he was for sure an ass, he caused Gorgug a lot of grief with the MCAT, but he also had such a really sweet moment with him when that thing finally got signed?? It was very, like, not a perfect teacher but someone who did have his best interests in mind, paired with a really nice message about how it's alright to get mad. It was an important part of Gorgug's character growth this season! Integral to unlocking his Barbificer subclass!

...and then all of that just gets thrown away because turns out Porter was evil the whole time and this was all just leading up to his big master plan of killing a god and becoming a god of war. He was never offering genuine advice, he never cared about Gorgug or had his best interests in mind, he thought Gorgug's fascination with Artificing was stupid... and now he's dead. The End.

And that just feels... really disappointing, honestly. He was a chill guy, and yeah he had no right to bar Gorgug from pursuing what he wants and force him to take so many years of school in a single year, but it also resulted in some serious growth on Gorgug's part! It was great! Him being Evil The Whole Time felt... almost like a character assassination, honestly.

And then... there's K2...

I'm gonna be real here. I don't care if using a homunculus and shit for multiple divine intervention rolls is how it actually works in the rulebooks, and I know that objectively having more rolls is always better, especially when the stakes are high... and especially considering that Ally was not getting the rolls they needed otherwise.

This was hilarious. It was also supremely annoying, because it just fully took away from any big moment Kristen could've had this season regarding her and Cassandra after her creation... and this happened TWICE.

Like, from a storytelling perspective, I feel Brennan's pain viscerally. These episodes were truly such an experience for me, because on one hand, I was laughing at the sheer comedy of it all... but there was another part of my brain thinking this truly, truly sucked.

Kristen was figuring out her devotion to Cassandra, finding an understanding in what her role as Cassandra's cleric is... and right at the end of the season all of that kind of comes to a halt because in the end K2 did the divine interventions.

...Well, at least that still leaves some room for whatever Kristen will have to deal with in Senior year. Unlike Porter, who is dead and gone and we're definitely not bringing him back.

[cerunilea]

Can't wait to see @v@/Forever ominously walking up to start interacting with other players only to be brutally attacked on-sight by half the parents before he can get half a word out

[razrogue]

channeling energy (Minthara x Tav)

It takes Minthara some time to come to terms with the force that Gan is.

Someone being so in sync with her and wasn't trying to kill her to take it all was like a fever dream. All the right words are said, almost all the right moves are made, Minthara found it unsettling at first. Many nights she wanted to push into Gan's mind to really find out if there was a dagger waiting for her. The one night her curiosity got the better of her and she did, it was illuminating and incredibly frustrating.

Gan felt Minthara's tadpole engaging hers as they got situated in Rivington. She knew it couldn't really be anyone else because it was a sensation she'd known before with Minthara given how she often intruded into her thoughts long before now. Minthara hadn't done it since before the shadow cursed lands when she last saw her after the party so Gan was a little annoyed at the intrusion now. She dropped the bag she'd been holding and stared at her, waiting for her to use her words. It surprised Minthara for a moment before she finally tells her.

She wanted to know if this was all a dream. If she had to be worried that they would eventually end up on opposing sides. Gan looks at her before finally agreeing to let her in. Minthara is hesitant at first. She had to admit to herself that her intrusion was not entirely about finding out if she was only a rest away from a dagger to her throat, not unlike how she'd once done to her. Whispers of companionship had also crossed her mind. She knew the elf was coupled with the vampire spawn. She'd seen them cavorting about but he was of no consequence to her, he barely registered as a threat, let alone a rival. Minthara did find it puzzling how such a formidable person had gotten tangled up with such a fiend but being on the surface had introduced her to many strange customs.

The two of them went into the barn, away from prying eyes, and allowed their minds to mingle.

Minthara pushed in, gently at first, bracing for whatever lie in the thick of it all. She found herself greeted by hesitation of Gan wondering if they should trust them then admirable scenes of the two of them side by side slicing and smiting their foes. It brings Minthara joy to see them removing threats to their claim. But then Minthara pushed further and saw something a lot more personal. The two of them embracing each other by firelight. Gan lying beneath her, hands palming her ass, running her tongue along the edge of her ear. Quickly nibbling its point as she slides her hand further down until it reaches warmth.

Minthara pulls back. It is a revelation indeed. She tells her that she is a little surprised, not that they had not connected physically before. But the vision Gan had shown her held far more intimacy than she anticipated.

She reached for her hand, letting her know her feelings were not one sided. Then she had to lay everything out - that she did not share those she cared about.

Gan runs her thumb across the back of her hand, along a freshly healed scar. She understood that Minthara felt that way but she could not live like that. She told her how she grew up in a family with many parents who all loved and embraced each other freely. She found it incredibly selfish to want to consume someone wholly when you are capable of loving many as love and the capacity to love was not finite. The irony wasn't lost on Gan how she could be unapologetically selfish in so many aspects of her life but loving and sharing herself with others was not one of them. She understood that Minthara felt how she did but she was not one to hoard her affection for others. Gan grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm as she stood up. 

She valued Minthara, not only as an ally but as someone she was starting to care about in a sense, but she would not be made to conform to someone else's definition or expectations. And so Minthara takes that knowledge and response in stride.

It was not her way and she knew the surface folk moved very differently than those in the Underdark. She couldn't fathom having to share her affections with others because when she loved, she only wanted to love one.

But time and insight had a way of bringing clarity. When they were engaged they were no less attended to than the spawn was. Even if it hadn't been in a romantic capacity at the time, Minthara felt no less important to her. Minthara slowly came to see what Gan meant. It may not have been her way but it was a sight to see and to be a part of. So when she finally decided she was willing to partake, she did so with the full knowledge that she wouldn't feel lesser.

[marshmallowprotection]

I keep seeing headcanons and imagines about us/self-inserts being like..;;; always on Unknown's lap or being held there by him as like a comfort thing (I think?) or just to chill there with him

But like ;;;

I wholeheartedly know that they're are all just requests and stuff and it seems to be an idea accepted by so many people and how they like to imagine being with Unknown

But like;;

Me personally, I just. I just...don't like it..(??)

It just makes me uncomfortable for some reason and actually kinda scares me a little, the thought of being just;; grabbed and held? And;; on his lap??

It wouldn't be something I'd want to do, I mean. ;;

So I guess

Is there like..;; anything else I could do with him that wouldn't involve being so close?

See, when I thought of that concept years ago and I started working with it in my writing, it wasn't meant to be perceived as a comfort in the beginning. It was a power play. It was meant to make you feel as uncomfortable as it sounds. Unknown took you from the apartment as a knee-jerk reaction to the fact that you didn't know how to listen to him.

What's the very best way to make you feel uncertain of yourself in a situation where you have no control?

Well, in Unknown's rationale, that's to make you see what he's doing with no escape. This can be particularly even more unsettling if you were close to the RFA. Unknown's not a morally sound person, he's driven by apathy and revenge, and there's a reason why he's not the one with the route. To be able to capture his heart would take you a long time, and that kind of story arc isn't one you can complete in a mere cycle of 11 days, even for a game like MM which does it best to speed-run what would take months already.

This isn't meant to be seen as a good thing, not by any means. I don't always write the unsettling parts because I like to focus on the parts that come later once his walls are down, but this is just one of those things that people like to talk about with Unknown. What would he do in a situation where he has his assistant? He won't do what Ray does. I can affirm that. Ray wanted you to be with him and Unknown didn't want you like that.

The concept changes when we explore the foundation of these ideas.

It's not supposed to sound appealing at first. Though, it becomes a point of comfort for many people because not only does this make you vulnerable, it forces Unknown to be vulnerable as well. You can hear the sound of his every heartbeat, the way his hands twitch, and feel how his body strains itself every step of the way. At some point, it's impossible for him to maintain the air of unsettling fear. You're first when it comes to witnessing this man at his worst.

I understand that it makes you feel uncomfortable, though. That's not everyone's cup of tea. I hope you know that this is just one concept a lot of Unknown fans lot to navigate but it's not a definitive of who he is as a person. We don't know what Unknown would do with someone as his assistant, and there's just things that we've agreed on as a fan collective over the years that have shaped how we write him as your boss.

Just because some fans write him doing this doesn't mean you have to write him doing that, and it certainly doesn't mean you have to imagine something that makes you uncomfortable.

I'm glad you reached out to say something because you're afraid that this concept means Unknown would pointedly make you feel bad and that's not good when you're hunting for fluff. You don't have to like it. That's down to personal preference! You should request stuff from us imagine blogs with the things you're into! I know that my mutuals will be more than happy to write you stuff like I am.

The last thing any of us wants to make someone feel left out.

When it comes to Unknown's proximity, it's hard for me to tell you that he'll leave you with your own personal space. Even in the game, his voice is a whisper that gets louder the closer he gets to you, and that implies that he will get closer to you if he thinks it would be to his benefit to cage you like an animal. But, by that, I mean, the worst you can deal with is him whispering in your ears, pushing you against the wall to laugh at your fear-stricken face, or circling you when you try to explain how you did something.

He doesn't have to pin you to his lap to prove that he's got the upper hand.

But, if you're looking for a comfort thing as opposed to trying to find something that doesn't unnerve you like the lap stuff, I suppose you could be subjected to hand-holding. He's not big on cuddling or stuff like that. But, let's see, I don't think he's immune to holding your hand while you sit on opposite ends of the couch. He hates proximity until it benefits him somehow. Sitting with you is a big thing for him, so if it brings you comfort, he'll stargaze with you when he's got time for a break. Apart but together.

This kind of overlaps later on with him as SE Saeran pushes away most physical contact outside of parallel play and sitting together. Because SE Saeran is just Unknown after the Secret Ending. They hold onto the same ideals, the only difference is that there's no more elixir and anger to drive his ideals.

[bean-writes]

“And then he’ll just be a sad bard, twerking in a field alone.”

[gabriestat]

deep down men really yearn for rpf and many of them speak about players like they are haikyuu yaoi characters. those borussia dortmund guys are just iwazumi and oikawa

[ratatatastic]

wait what was the media storm during game 7?

media storm as in after going up 3 and dropping the ball the next 3 there was a lot of headlines/media attention that was bandwagoning on edm and calling the cats the worst sports meltdown in history because of the possibility of a reverse sweep when in their opinion the cats shouldve closed this out long before and pauls talked about it right after winning the cup especially the whole TURN THE TVS OFF episode

and montys mentioned walking in on game 7 and seeing the tvs still on when they were supposed to be off (presumably because of said media from what we know of because of what paul said)

lets not even mention how pro-edm a lot of the tnt panel was even during the series and spittin chiclets was notoriously very pro-edm its why during the cam&strick podcast when they bring up the whole "do you pay attention to media? do you know whos on your side?" to ekky (especially considering how much pressure they were under the whole finals) that ekky brings up the spittin chiclets podcast like "i saw all those spittin chiclets guys all over edms bandwagon" and then proceeds to try not elaborate too much about it

[sigmaleph]

i assume this has to exist, are there any games where the player character's asab is fixed but you get to explicitly choose your gender? e.g. you can be a cis woman or trans man or afab nonbinary but not a cis man?

[delightfuldevin]

Been seein some rather cold takes about Daisy lately…

I’ve seen some people say that she has no personality outside of fanon, but that’s just not true. There is a very very common misconception among the fandom (at least that I’ve noticed) that if a character doesn’t appear in a “mainline” game, then they have no personality. But I’d argue that the spinoffs actually offer waaaaay more in terms of looking into character personalities. And no, I’m not talking about the RPGs ala M&L and Paper Mario as those are obviously full of personality (and Daisy isn’t in those). I’m talking about the Party, Kart, Tennis, and other sports games.

Yes, Daisy hasn’t appeared in any mainline game since her debut, but she’s been in nearly every sports game and her traits, stats, abilities, victory/loss animations, and various other tiny details add up to her personality. The fact that she’s nearly always yelling or just speaking really loud in general (noticeably more than any other character), the fact that she constantly feels a need to say her name and make herself known, how she loves flowers and considers even a small patch of flowers worth protecting, how she’s easily bored by tasks that don’t excite her and isn’t so reliable for them. She tends to jump around a lot, and spin and dance around when she’s excited! She’s apparently a rather fast runner and that is considered her specialty! These are all traits that are displayed in the spinoffs, and there’s probably soooo many more that I just can’t remember right now.

Now, I do think her tomboyish nature is probably fanon, as I don’t really remember seeing anything to show that she acts that way in the games. I think people probably think she’s tomboyish due to how loud and energetic she is. But hey, there’s plenty of fanon for just about any character from any fandom out there. And what’s so wrong with that? Isn’t the whole point of making fanworks to expand on the framework already provided by canon? If we want to stick to what’s actually “canon” then nearly everything the fandom has created would have to be tossed, because there really isn’t much to work with. Fanworks and fandoms thrive on what fans can create based on the canon work, not just sticking to it perfectly.

It’s fine if you think the “fanon” Daisy outshines the “canon” Daisy and you dislike that. But to say that she has no personality aside from fanon interpretations just tells me that you have a very narrow idea of what counts as “canon” in an already rather simplistic world. The Mario games are very simple and straightforward without much consistent lore that actually makes sense cohesively, but the characters are what keep everything tied together despite that. The characters are nearly always consistent, and that includes Daisy. Even when the setting is completely different and some random new villain shows up with some random new power source to steal or species to torment, our same well-known lovable characters will be the center of the story and that’s what makes it fun!

[hearty-an0n]

army talking about him being traded. i know it couldnt have been easy. shut up!!!!! i will cry

[playerkingsley]

there's a very distinctive way in which murph ties PC backstories & flashbacks that is actively engaging throughout campaigns that I really enjoy—not to say other DMs don't, but he's crafted multiple encounters featuring specific mechanics to reveal & push characterization (most notably bahumia's fight against the queen->the broken heart spell, and recently for me eldermourne's rescue of syb/disruption of the execution, but there are SO many smaller scenarios that fit, too)

and in a practical sense it's obviously easier and perhaps less tedious to pull off with a smaller party, but it's really one of the most effective ways I've seen to establish the characters as fully realized and dynamic within the narrative structure even during seemingly inconsequential moments

[grapecaseschoices]

now im pondering. like if any of my inkys would still be mad re: solas. i mean i know kendis would be mad bc kendis is petty af, but i wonder if kendis would still be AS MAD. like maybe over the years the anger sorta wanes, it's in the back of their mind like a very old pain (pops up whenver they crack an egg with vegeance when making omelettes but otherwise ... nah). but when she sees him again ... it's like rush back.

or maybe their rage is burning the midnight oil.

[powdermelonkeg]

Oh I feel like a genius

I haven't quite finished the game but I HAVE been spoiled on the whole Emperor/Orpheus decision. And everyone complains about the Emperor's sudden defection to the Netherbrain's side.

I think I know why he does it.

Going to withhold my judgement until I see it in person. But at the very least, I've contrived a motivation for my fanfictions as to why he turns so swiftly.

[amatres]

gonna be honest, while she is a wonderfully played character, i do not like karna as a person at all lol. usually i love morally grey characters but i think im too attached to amangeaux to appreciate karna's character. like the scene where amangeaux had to beg karna on her knees just to be able to flee for her life with her child made my skin crawl and was probably the final nail in the coffin for me

and that on top of karna without remorse offering up amangeaux's child's life, which she didn't even have conformation was the heir to vegetania, and then her speech of getting 'drops of recognition' from amangeaux for 'her own protection and happiness' i had no sympathy for her after everything she did. it felt like she was getting mad at a woman she was trying to take advantage of who decided to prioritize herself and her year old child, who karna just agreed to kill

like yes, theres the political standing difference between them, but by that time amangeaux had no political safety and was discarded by her allies, and only a few hours ago in the game's universe was it proven by their own actions how even with supposed political advantage means nothing anything anyway and just

her careless 'im damned to rot so i have no care what suffering i put people through to get to my goal' just rubs me the wrong way along with everything else

this is no hate towards aabria, she's playing the character wonderfully and every move she makes makes sense for the character she has made, it's just karna makes me so inherently uncomfortable