#still on my disco elysium bullshit

[shu-bullshit]

My favorite find from unfortunately losing Kim once. When you're with Cuno you can see Kim actually named the case "The Furies" although he rejected this suggestion before. But if you're with Kim he'll stop you before you can find out about it lol.

[keymintt]

fuck it, disco elysium (ish) style lio fotia

[cryptiduni]

signature skills

[am-rrt]

sketchbook kim

(has alt text)

[rainbowgod666]

So I just remembered Way Back When i watched a movie that was like "truth or dare but like, a demon" and the one thing that makes me wonder why the movie even exist is that the demon doesnt even die/get banished

Which would explain why some of my intrusive thoughts are shaped like biblical demons and shitty blasphemous nonsense, and no i dont mean "le bestemmie italiane" those are funny, no i mean shit that sounds like an insane man. But anyways yeah i think im everyday getting closer to entrino a new charter of my life. After all, luffy's timeskip was until he was 19!-

[SUCCESS: PSYCHOLOGY/THEOLOGY/MEDIA LITERACY/OPINION ON THE INTERNET]

...

《SON OF A MONG US-》

[artbyblastweave]

Let’s get some abandoned effortposts on disco Elysium in the list. Liked what analysis on it you had, would be great to see more, or fail to see as the case may be

Here’s one of the last insights on Disco Elysium I care to put to paper for a good long while; I really enjoy the nested futility and self-defeat of the central murder mystery, the way it structured to constantly raise the question of how anyone could possibly benefit from what you’re doing.

I mean off the bat the murder victim is a fascist stormtrooper, so there’s that. I personally maintain that it’s still good in a general sense to investigate murders regardless of the moral standing of the victim, but to get real, it’s a very convenient time for me to embrace universalist rhetoric given how little support the neighborhood receives with problems that don’t involve someone well connected. And then, over the course of the game, you can kill all four people left on the planet to whom the initial victim actually mattered on a personal level. Three in clear-cut self-defense, the fourth as an optional casualty to the same mindless, trusting proceduralism that’s admittedly and unfortunately intertwined with my “ no murder left unsolved” stance.

And then! You finally run down the murderer, and from a public safety perspective it turns out that if you’d just gone home after the mercenary tribunal, nothing would have changed; Dros is on his last legs, the odds he’s gonna kill anyone else are very very low.

The last redoubt is the ideological angle- there could be a narrative here about how you’re crushing the last vestige of the revolution, how the killing and the subsequent investigation was the last theatre of the old war- but I think the narrative resists even this attempt to read meaning into it. From an ideological perspective Dros committed the killing off the clock. It was spite, not praxis- informed in the moment by his misanthropy, his neuroses about women, and his obsession with Klaasje more than it was about striking a blow for communism. He killed Lely while Lely was doing probably the least objectionable thing he ever did. Obviously Dros’s neuroses and living situation were downstream of ideology, of material circumstances, in the way everything else is- but to try and elevate the killing by making it about that feels disingenuous.

And this is great, because Disco Elysium isn’t really about the murder mystery in the same way that Fallout: New Vegas isn’t really about finding the guy who shot you in the head-it’s an injection point, it’s a thread you pull for guidance, but the real meat is all the other stuff and people you encounter while poking around. The killing isn’t unimportant, per se, but the mystery surrounding it kinda is! Given the repeated anti-climax, it’s definitely *less* important than the harm you can cause to people in order to push the investigation forward, or the good you can do for the community by going off-script and helping people out with random bullshit. It’s neat!

[shufflerock-jam]

Hello house of leaves + disco elysium fans. Would u read a fic formatted like this:

Oftentimes the film seems to highlight just how alone Harry appears to be. But, it turns out that the contrary was actually the case (1). In numerous interviews afterwards, Dora claims that Harry spoke to himself, and the voices in his head answered. When questioned further on why she chose to stay with a madman for so long, her mood fell and she refused anymore questions along that matter (2).

(1). The Furies Additions (3)

(2). Interview with Harrison’s wife, ‘54, Jamrock 5W.

(3). What kind of citing is this? It doesn’t make any sense. I’ve looked further through Kim’s notes and while he cites this source again, he never goes into anymore detail on where it came from. Considering how uptight he was in life, it’s surprisingly how sloppy his manuscript- or, rather, pile of notebooks- are. Maybe it’s shitkid’s(4) fault. I didn’t keep in touch with either of them once they left the force.

And now all I have of Harry is second-hand bullshit like this. Furies? At the very least, definitely Mad.

(4). Jean’s most consistent nickname for Harrison- Ed.

———————

The voices in Harry’s head prove to be an essential part of the Harrison Records, almost as essential as the house itself. They allowed Harry to see (5) and think (6) things that everyone else around him missed. This wealth of extra information would prove invaluable for the trials to come (8).

(5) The Furies Additions- Perception (7)

(6) The Furies Additions- Conceptualization

(7) Yeah, I don’t get these extra ‘clarifiers’. Like, is it just a more fancy way of saying ‘see’? What the HELL is a Fury?

(8) Well, that’s oh-so-great for shitkid. I wouldn’t mind some of that ‘wealth’ right now. Confusion clouds my mind even when I return to the precinct, far away from this trunk of old notes. I find myself snapping at officers more, jerking at shadows more. I’m weakening, learning about what happened to Harry is draining me- somehow, even when he’s not even my partner anymore, the bastard still finds a way to ruin me.

[danse--macabre]

20 questions for writers

thank you for @jiubilant for the tag! :)

tagging anyone who'd like to do this.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Across all accounts, 33 works.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

203,958. damn!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currently, just BG3. in the past I've written pieces relating to elder scrolls (mostly Morrowind), star wars, and avatar: the last airbender though.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

The Eyeliner Incident

seeds of darkness planted within you

To pull a heart apart strand by strand

Flowers for Zuko

Considering the Weekend

I've bolded and linked the ones here worth reading; the other two are ancient star wars ficlets that I'm not particularly fussed by.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Where possible I do! If people leave comments on older works or fandoms I've moved on from, I sometimes don't always get around to it.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably Considering the Weekend. Which makes sense given it's a Disco Elysium fic about mostly-closeted gay/bi cops in love, who will not be able to break their chains until they realise the police is a violent force of capital.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

A lot of my ATLA pieces have lighter endings given the source material is a lot lighter. The Eyeliner Incident and Follow the Rhinestones are both fics which I think could have had worse endings - but didn't. I wanted to be optimistic in both circumstances.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Luckily, no.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not really?

I wrote exactly one piece of smut for Elder Scrolls (The Sword that Lies Between Them), which was a fairly chaste piece of lesbian smut all about two rival queens/political leaders in the 1st era circling around each other while one is about to be married off, politically, to a man she has complex, not entirely romantic feelings for. It was my first attempt at it and I think it shows.

Since then, I've tried to write smut for BG3, but it hasn't really ever materialised.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I don't write these, but I do frequently think about the Elder Scrolls/BG3 crossover where my weird dwarven Elder Scrolls OC Bthemetz gets yeeted out of her universe by the nautiloid -- which, tbh, doesn't feel that out there, Mindflayers are Aberrations that originate from Far Away in at least one iteration of D&D lore.

She'd get on with them swimmingly. She's a highly traumatised 3,000 year old ex-priest + ex-revolutionary who got turned into an automaton after dying in a revolution who is 1. technically undead, 2. had her heart literally stolen for lore/plot reasons, so she is shaking hands very firmly with astarion and karlach for various reasons. She'd have the funniest rivalry with gale given she hides much of her bullshit under the appearance of being an eccentric professor, but also she hates wizards on principle.

It would be a hoot. Nobody would read it. I am not writing something no one would read <3

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, luckily enough.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I've had a request for this once on a popular ATLA oneshot I made - but I don't think this was ever realised. I also had one ATLA oneshot turned into a podfic for charity.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

I've attempted this, but it never materialised into anything.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

f!Kagrenac/Bthemetz from my Morrowind dwemer fanfiction. First loves whose codependent 500 year old lesbian relationship turns toxic after the discovery of a deity's remains. Breaks down with an academic feud, treason, attempts at apotheosis, and the revelation they killed each other in a past life. Despite the fact that one sends assassins after the other to kill them, they're still utterly obsessed with each other. Literally nobody else is doing it like them.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The Tragedy of Lady Noriko. This was an Ursa-centric ATLA fic that explored her familial relationships & relationship with the Avatar, and wanted to provide an 'alternate universe' Ursa who would not abandon her children - for better or worse. A Covid-19 project that ran out of steam once work picked up.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I have a few! My current favourite thing about my writing is that I think I have a very strong sense of narrative voice. I'm able to capture how different characters sound very well. I have historically (though less nowadays) been very good at poetic prose too.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plots! Particularly mysteries, or plots that require lots of pieces. My writing is mostly embellished character pieces and I would like to tackle something where more happens one of these days. I also think I have issues pacing and knowing when to start/finish scenes.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

I think it depends on the audience, the language, the length of dialogue, and the intent. It can sometimes be very meaningful, especially if one is trying to make a point about the importance of languages, languages as a means of bridging divides, and lack of language as something alienating, potentially, or isolating.

However I will say in a large number of circumstances I find it deeply pretentious. I was reading... a well-loved literary fiction classic by a well-loved London novellist recently, and the fact that the French dialogue was not translated drove me up the fucking wall. There is no reason not to provide translation unless you want to show off how clever you are.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

When I was nine years old I wrote a diary from the perspective of Jack Spicer from Xiaolin Showdown. I definitely didn't know what fanfiction was at that age, I just had an urge to create things using fictional characters. I didn't even use the internet back then, I remember this was back on 'the family computer' in 2003 or whatever.

If we're talking about published pieces, I put some (sigh) Eragon fanfiction up on ff.net back in 2010. I was a teenager, obviously.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

it's the Eyeliner Incident. It's a combination of interesting worldbuilding + fun characterisation + formally interesting without being overly wanky. I also wrote it in about five days, in time for my birthday (<3), and because I wrote it in such a short time, I didn't have time to resent it.

A Thesis: On Twelve Tones is close to my heart as well but I have a MUCH more mixed relationship with that in terms of pure writing quality even if I think it's one of the most significant pieces I've written in terms of developing as a writer.

[jacktorrancekinny]

Disco Elysium Swap AU Headcanons!

I wanted to think of a swap Disco Elysium AU that was still sensitive to the themes of the game, and thus preserved the racial bias that Kim faces in the police force. He would not be able to get away with as much as Harry did, because of course, Harry is white.

KIM

Kim’s breakdown began with the death of Eyes, his partner, obviously. Eyes, however, had been his shield from the rest of the 57th. Eyes was his Jean, but he was also Eyes’ Jean. They both supported each other through shitty times. Eyes was the one most likely to get promoted, and if he was promoted, it forced the Captain to promote Kim too because Kim was the competent of the two of them, and not promoting Kim as well would show his racial bias. Kim, treated as an outsider, was able to glimpse the world through Eyes, figuratively and literally, which is why Kim’s Esprit De Corps equivalent is called ‘Eyes’.

When Eyes died, Kim was not assigned to a new partner, and is still waiting for a new one, because they were preparing to get rid of him. That is the reason why Kim is sent to Martinaise in this AU, because the 57th expects him to fail, and are going to use the opportunity to demote him or dishonorably discharge him from the RCM. Depending on the ending in this Swap Game, Kim can absolutely be forced to leave the RCM if Harry does not ask him to join the 41st.

Kim’s breakdown is not at all like Harry’s. He’s come into work late a few times and his solve rate is not as good as it was. He has started drinking and doing more drugs, and this is eating into his savings, meaning he’s no longer able to care for himself as he once was able to. His appearance has degraded as a result. He’s a bit scruffier, less well groomed, he cuts his own hair because he can’t afford the barber. Because he is no longer ‘model’, he is seen as a delinquent foreigner, and perceived as a troublemaker in his precinct, despite no real evidence for it. He’s also more involved in the punk scene in his free time. (His Superstar Cop equivalent is Punk or ACAB Cop.)

Kim’s signature is still Authority, but it comes from a different place. Original Kim’s authority comes from his composure, poise, and self-assurity. This Kim’s Authority comes from a place like Half-Light. He appears like a man with nothing left to lose, so if you don’t obey him, who knows what will happen?

Kim’s amnesia can either come from a head injury (most likely) or an excessive drug binge (least likely) or some other medical event. Kim doesn’t have objects talk to him or anything like that, but he does get uncanny ‘hunches’ that are usually right.

HARRY

I read Harry in canon as being OSDD/DID(?), ADHD, and BPD coded, so my interpretation of Swap Harry comes from a place like that, but can be interpreted without that.

Specifically, the OSDD comes into play where the old host was starting to become too self-destructive about Dora, so, only a year into this Harry’s breakdown, the system split a new host, and the old host fused with Half-Light, who holds all the Dora sad. This means there is also some layer of amnesia, but that’s normal OSDD stuff.

Otherwise, Harry responded to his breakup with Dora, instead of begging her to come back, to prove her wrong or prove himself better than her, or at least appear better than her, so she’d eventually come back and see how wrong she’d been (it hasn’t happened yet.) It’s not that he is fully sober or anything like that, but he’s just better at containing and managing, and especially hiding his drug habits. He is a chronic liar, and extremely good at reading people and telling them what they want to hear.

He’s a can-opener not because of amazing insight, but because he’s able to bullshit his way through any conversation.

It’s a point that Harry has absolutely done way worse than Kim at work and is still considered to be fascinatingly competent. Functioning at ALL makes him seem amazing. His legend has not been diminished by any habits, and his cases solved are more around 215 when the game starts. He wants to get 500 before retirement. He’s actually reached the never-before-seen status of Triple-yfreitor, and is very proud of it. He is also far more condescending to Jean and is way more in control of the 41st than in canon.

He’s kind of oblivious to social problems, and starts the game as a centrist, but can be guided to the left or the right by the player. He would say that Kim isn’t trying hard enough to be accepted by his precinct, and that they just need to have the right conversation, but if he bonds enough to Kim, he will ask him to join the 41st. Without Harry singing his praises to the rooftops, Kim will not remain in the RCM.

Overall, Swap Harry Du Bois is morally dubious because he is far more prideful and far surer in his abilities. He kind of still talks like a gym teacher and is a little condescending to Kim, but is willing to stick anything out, because of his ‘Yes, and’ attitude from a Drama signature. He does not talk about the Skills to anyone although he desperately needs therapy. feel free to add to this and if this gets popular, I might draw art/comics for this au.

[sangfielle]

if its okay to ask, ive been listeing through all of f@tt for the last like, have a year or so, and im finally getting close to the end (close as in im about to start sangfielle, but grand scheme i still think thats close, lol). do you have any podcasts / webcomics / books / etc that you feel have a similar tone, or that you really like as well?

thank you!

okay! hi. sorry this took forever to get around to because i honestly don't know a lot of things that i would consider to be in the same vein as f@tt? the two immediate ones that sprung to my mind were heaven will be mine and gundam, but i get the strangest feeling you already know about both of those. i do have some suggestions that, while not really like friends at the table, i feel you're liable to get something out of if you like it.

podcastwise, something rotten and the ranged touch podcasts (i've only listened to homestuck made this world, but am going to get around to the others, any my friends like them, lol) are nonfiction analysis podcasts. i'm pretty sure austin was actually on the most recent ranged touch patreon episode? but i don't have the money for many subscription things right now, so i can't confirm if that was actually the latest one or anything. + batman unburied is honestly a pretty good podcast that i would recommend if you can buy into the bullshit that is required to get into any major superhero setting. i've also enjoyed what i listened to of campaign: star wars, though that has been very limited. my interest in star wars varies pretty heavily, so i can only listen to it when i'm in a specific mood, and when i am in that mood i'm usually working on catching up on a more civilized age instead.

webcomics: brainchild, fairmeadow, the last halloween, prague race, soil that binds us, and white noise i've all enjoyed what's been put out so far & think other fatt fans may like. i'm a particularly devoted longtime fan of prague race, and i've been really liking white noise.

books: discworld is a very mixed bag for me, but i can't pretend i don't get anything out of it, and i feel if you haven't already read it that there's going to be a lot of appeal overlap for parts of fatt. this is how you lose the time war, obviously. i've moved recently, and have basically a full storage unit's worth of books, but not easy access to them, so i can't really go through and give you recommendations at the moment, because most of the books/series i'm taken with are bad but interesting, and most things that i file under that category i don't know if everyone else will similarly appreciate. i can give you a reading list when i actually get settled in at some point, lol.

shows & movies: nope 2022, the boys (if you can get past the grossout shock humor part of it), the expanse (i am intending to read the books but can't speak to the quality of those yet), the get down, event horizon, palm springs, his house, star trek (especially tng/ds9), princess tutu. this is just off the top of my head, i'm sure i could actually find more shit that i feel like i could put here if i combed through everything i've ever watched.

video games: if you like janine's characters in specific, dragon age will probably be up your alley. other than that, weird west, fallen london and the games surrounding it, disco elysium (obviously), the dishonored series, elder scrolls, zero escape, slay the spire, a mortician's tale, king of the castle (obviously, again), fallen hero, manor hill, vespertines, & dr langeskov (^^) i've all found charming and to hold some level of interest.

i have a lot more things i could recommend if you don't specifically want something good, but i figure i should leave it at things i can actually recommend without too many disclaimers (besides discworld) for this.

[itsbenedict]

Last year, rather than pick a new years' resolution, I made over a dozen new years' resolutions and tried to get them all done. I paced myself with the objective of fitting them all into the year, but... ran into an unexpected obstacle where I kind of didn't have an October, November, or December due to my company abruptly getting sold and my life turning into a nonstop living hell. With that in mind... how'd I do?

get star seeker sequel adventure thing up and running and through the first case

Didn't finish this one! I did start it in September, and I was making good progress and probably would've had it done by the end of the year if I'd had three months to work on it.

get datasouls combat toy complete up to the first miniboss combat

Did it! Tutorial section combat toy is playable on the site.

catch up on TFJ recap logs

Didn't do it! There were a lot of them, and I kind of got bottlenecked on one where I wanted to wait for an art commission to come in that got put off for most of the year. I got sixteen of them done, but more sessions than that happened during the year, so overall I'm behind. Womp womp.

become an accredited AWS Certified Solutions Architect and get that raise my boss has been talking about for ages

Ha ha ha ha did it technically. I did get certified, and I did get the raise, but the raise was more a product of aggressive salary negotiation when the company got sold and my boss got fired. Also accomplishing the second part of that one resulted in me losing a quarter of my year to nightmarish IT bullshit. Oops.

get an adjustable standing desk and under-desk elliptical thingy, and otherwise get an ergonomic workstation set up

Kinda did it. I did, technically, get both things, but the elliptical I got turns out isn't rated for standing use, so I couldn't combine them into a standing workflow the way I wanted. Gotta get a new one and actually put this into practice.

fix the light situation in the bathroom

Yeah just had to call an electrician. Did it no problem.

get through The Sekimeiya and really go to town on that mystery until it’s solved

Nope! Again, probably would've managed it if I'd had time, but I put it off till last since I figured it'd be an easy thing I could fit in around the busy holidays, and it turned out there was a lot worse than just the holidays going on at that time.

also finally play Disco Elysium

This one though- did it, that game is fucking phenomenal.

finish TFTBN character portraits

Did it! Proud of how those turned out.

get a beatrice portrait for my poster wall

run some TPIVW games

Didn't do it, mainly because of an awkward social situation with one of the server participants involving my role as a mod on a different server. Still working that one out. It's rough.

badger the condo association landlady until she does something about the junk clogging up that basement storage room i’m supposed to own, and clean unused bulky stuff out of my house

Did it! Mostly. Still need to get rid of this huge elliptical- it's not selling on craigslist for some reason.

clearly this waitlist thing isn’t working out so take some steps to see an actual doctor for the first time in like three years (and maybe get a cancer screening, or do something about that closed sinus)

Did it! Didn't get the cancer screening mainly because my doctor insisted it'd be unnecessary until I was at least 40, which sounds fake but I don't know enough about cancer to dispute it. I tried various nasal sprays for the sinus thing but I'm pretty sure mucus overproduction is not the issue and I'm gonna need to get surgery, which I didn't get yet. But I did see a doctor finally!

get through the remaining 7 WaniKani levels

Did it! Still need to finish off the remainder of the reviews and do a practice pass and get back on the horse with grammar, but I'm pretty happy about that accomplishment.

Overall, despite a weak finish due to factors mainly outside of my control, I think I did pretty well, and I think having the big list meant I had a much more productive 2023 than I would've had otherwise. Probably gonna make this a recurring thing!

[palin-tropos]

I think one of the reasons I rag on jorts vicquemare a lot is that his words and actions aren’t consistent and that’s a tough thing for a fandom to deal with because in real life actions are more meaningful than words but in fiction, actions and words are kind of on equal footing when it comes to authorial intention

unless you trust that the story is really tight and controlled and that no plot actions happen for dramatic necessity. that the author has created a really consistent world (IMO consistency is satisfying but it alone doesn’t equal entertainment value so it’s ok for a story to prioritize having interesting stuff happen)

so much fandom discourse is about characters who say one thing and act another way, because people disagree on how to read that discrepancy. is the character bullshitting or does the author “not care about the character like I do” (which sounds silly but could be true! an author might not be emotionally invested in every character)

maybe jorts got thrown the asshole ball in the end of the story because there needed to be a scene where the game reacted to all your choices throughout the game, but maybe they didn’t want radically diverging endings because they were thinking sequels were in the cards, so this scene has to feel responsive to all your possible actions but end with more or less the same general thing

and so jorts has to put you on the spot for all your potential sins, but that means he couldn’t have reconciled with you after the tribunal event by coming to visit and talking more personally because that event can happen any time in the second half of the game and that’s where so many harry variables (the harriables?) are up in the air

but that still means the specific story structure chosen for disco elysium means that harry is neglected past the point of “maybe he was too volatile and they were unsure of what to do” or “they might have been busy with something” being a good enough excuse

and then the game emphasizes that neglect a lot and has it be a whole theme of the game because it’s packed full of social commentary (people have made long posts about this already so this is a long post about something else)

where am I even going with this lmfao I think my point is that I can understand why jorts is sympathetic and why people might overlook his worst choices, without assuming it’s because they are all ableist (but! I have seen some fans being obviously ableist to real people so I do know what those particular people’s problem is). it could be because those actions feel “forced by the plot” while the snippets of character from EDC checks is the “real character”. but for me, I see the in game choices as true character actions that contribute to his characterization

suspending disbelief for a narrative is a complex process that I genuinely am interested in from like a philosophy of mind perspective. the little choices your brain makes of which thing is “real” and which thing is “storycraft” is not going to be consistent with every audience member

[shuttershocky]

How was AI: somnium as a detective game? I've got an itch for some mystery solving, is it just a good VN or does it drift into that sort of Ace Attorney territory?

Oh man I don't know if I should be the one to ask.

Most people really liked the mystery and how the twist was handled, but I fucking hated it when I saw what they actually did lmao. It felt like none of my guesswork or engagement in the mystery ever mattered because they introduced an entirely new mechanic / concept in the latter half OF the latter half, and it wasn't just one missing piece, but the entire puzzle. I almost quit the game out of how bullshit that felt when most of the game's focus was the mystery. "Do not introduce a new important concept past the halfway point" is common writing advice for a reason, pulling it off in a satisfying manner is very difficult, and personally I didn't like how AITSF handled it at all. I had guessed that a certain thing had happened and was wondering how they were going to arrive at that thing, but introducing a new concept late in the game to explain how they did that thing did not sit right with me.

I personally can't recommend AITSF as a detective game because of it.

However, it is a very good VN. Outstanding character work with some of the most outlandishly funny dialogue I've read. I've said before that Date and Harry from Disco Elysium sit on the opposite sides of the same scale, not just because both are extremely memorable disaster detectives, but because their respective games also balance comedy with some real emotional devastation on a tightrope. It's so good that despite how much I hated the twist, when the credits rolled it was still easily a highly recommendable title. One of the best, even.

[spar-kie]

I'm posting this on Tumblr just to have somewhere that isn't a google doc to post this. But recently I went through and made a full set of Disco Elysium style skills for Audrey Mondale (pictured below in art done by the wonderful @honnojis), my Pokemon Rejuvenation OC, and on account of really liking how it turned out, I wanted to share it with the world under the cut. Hope you enjoy!

Intellect

Analysis - Solve puzzles. Put the pieces together.

Cool for: Braniacs. Intellectuals. Problem solvers.

Analysis is your basic problem solving skills. Looking at a situation, taking in the facts, and then proceeding from there. It searches for the disparate pieces of the puzzle, and tries to fit them together from there. Be it a computer on the fritz or a string of murders, Analysis won’t rest until every piece of the puzzle is put in place, and it all makes sense.

At high levels Analysis will help you put together any puzzle, so long as you know you have all the pieces. But if a clue is out of place, it may be determined to ignore its absence. Without it however, you will be hard pressed to put even the most basic of pieces together, assuming you can find them.

Recall - Comb through your brain. Remember things.

Cool for: Trivia buffs. Book readers. Those without amnesia.

Recall is your ability to dredge thoughts and memories up from the depths of your mind. From facts as simple as your name, age, and basic nature of reality, to as complex as a list of error codes and their meanings off the top of your head. It also provides far more esoteric and out there knowledge at times, some of it coming in handy.

At high levels Recall will fill your mind with memories and factoids to an overwhelming degree, many of which may be completely irrelevant to the matter at hand, making it hard to focus. However at low levels basic facts may slip your mind, and you will have no background knowledge to support you in your endeavors.

Real Talk - Cut through the bullshit. Find the heart of the matter.

Cool for: The honest. Simple folk. Assholes.

Real Talk is your skill for being completely straightforward in your thoughts and actions. It’s you putting aside your pride and machinations to be honest with the people you are talking to, and it enables you to get people to do the same with you. It’s useful for pulling yourself, and others, out of spiraling thoughts, and keeping you grounded in what’s real.

At high levels Real Talk may have you dispense your simple wisdom at the drop of a hat, to whoever you may feel needs to hear it. You will be unable to fathom anything that doesn’t fit into your view of the world, or anything slightly fantastical. At low levels however you will find yourself thinking in circles, unable to defend your ideas from yourself or others

Wit - Trade verbal barbs. Get the final word in.

Cool for: The insubordinate. Those “too smart”. Snarky jackasses.

Wit is your ability to complain about anything and everything while still having people listen to you, and to take those who don’t want to put up with your whining to task in the arena of words. Wit allows you to sew together the perfect tapestry of insults, simile, swear words, and observations about the current situation into something that will make your displeasure with the now known.

At high levels, Wit will have you constantly making snide comments about the current situation, even when it isn’t that bad. Refusing to let anyone else get a word in edgewise. At low levels however, you will be unable to respond to anyone who comes after you with any amount of grace.

Questioning - Search for answers. Solve mysteries.

Cool for: Detectives. Interrogators. Investigators.

Questioning is the part of you that always looks for answers. That will not rest until all the puzzle pieces are in place. It allows you to poke holes in people’s arguments, find inconsistencies in their stories, and unravel them into tapestries that tell the full story. It enables you to double check yourself, make sure that you have not missed anything.

At high levels Questioning will make you relentless, making you hound people for the smallest of perceived inconsistencies that will hide nothing at all, or a secret you were not looking for. At low levels however, you will be oblivious to even the most blatant lies.

Mind's Eye - Envision scenarios. See what you have not.

Cool for: Artists. Theorists. The Bored.

Mind’s Eye is what allows you to think critically and creatively. It lets you answer “what if?” questions. It allows you to devine just what happened in a scenario when you only arrived to see the aftermath and tie together seemingly disparate concepts into one great big ball of meaning, be that in reality, or in a piece of art. It also enables you to see the beauty in the world and art, if you just take a second.

At high levels your Mind’s Eye will have you daydreaming various hypotheticals and analyzing the last novel you’d read at the expense of your perception of the world in front of you. But at low levels, your Mind’s Eye will be completely shut, you will be stuck only seeing what is in front of you and be unable to imagine anything more.

Psyche

Stability - Keep calm. Stay positive

Cool for: The well adjusted. The sane. The normal

Stability is the voice in your head that tells you not to freak out. That tells you others are doing their best and so are you. No need to be too harsh on either. It’s your grounding rock. Stability is one that will keep you sane. The one that prevents you from drinking yourself to death with cheap wine in the cafeteria. The one that prevents you from trying to murder someone just to get out.

At high levels Stability will keep you normal, when the situation you are in isn't. You can’t get funky, weird, or freaked out if you try. At low levels you’ll lose your mind at the slightest incident, unable to keep yourself composed through the smallest of challenges.

Sixth Sense - Subconscious thought. Feel for just one more thing.

Cool for: The superstitious. The suspicious. The wise.

Sixth Sense is gut feeling. Your subconscious putting something together before your conscious. Honed exclusively through a course at the University of Hard Knocks, taught by professor Life, it is the ability to sense when something is off. It’s your sense of Deja Vu. It’s knowing something before you should know it. The ability of your gut to solve the puzzle while your brain is still tying its shoes.

At high levels Sixth Sense will feel the slightest disturbance, have more hunches and possible leads than you could hope to follow up on, and come up with fantastic explanations for the mundane. At low levels, you’ll be ignorant of anything not directly in front of you, and have a hard time fathoming anything out of the ordinary. 

Commisery - Feel your pain. Feel others’ pain.

Cool For: The lonely. The miserable. Their companions.

Commisery is processing your misery through others, and processing others’ misery through yourself. It lets you open up and talk about your feelings, and be tender with people. It helps people be open with you, making them feel like they can share their problems and anxieties with you.

At high levels Commisery will attempt to shoulder the burden of the misery of everyone trapped in the same circumstances as you, and in turn you will share your sorrows with the world. At lower levels you will be unable to get anyone to be open with you, even yourself.

Hearts On Fire - Force of will. Refusal to give up.

Cool for: The passionate. The stubborn. Hot heads.

Hearts on Fire is your self respect. Your drive. Your emotional heart. Your will to see any task through no matter how impossible it may seem. It provides the motivation to keep pushing in a completely hopeless situation. It enables you to see through the doubts of both yourself and others to the light on the other side. It makes sure you don’t take any shit from anyone, and you get the respect you deserve.

At high levels Hearts on Fire will turn you into a creature of pure, unrefined emotion. You will jump head first into challenges you have no chance of succeeding at, perceiving any doubt as an attack against you. Your temper will be unleashed onto the world at full force, with no regard for who’s on the receiving end. At low levels you will be unremarkable. People will walk all over you, and you will have no spark to drive yourself forward.

Savoir Faire - Who’s who. What’s what.

Cool for: The superior. Those who wish to be. Those who used to be

Savoir Faire tells you how those in positions of power act. Their culture, their lifestyle, their motives. What the people behind the curtains think, how they pull the strings, and why. What is in, and what is out. Who’s on the shitlist, and who’s up for promotion. What pleases them, and what enrages them. It tells you the story of the fallen. Who flew too close to the sun, and what burned them up.

At high levels Savoir Faire will give you designs above your station, alienating you from your peers and be seen as a pretender by those above. You’ll lose the here and now fantasizing where you could be. At low levels you’ll be flying blind at the whims of those who you cannot see.

Charm - Make yourself beloved. Implant suggestions.

Cool for: Friends. Lovers. Manipulators.

Charm is the skill of talking nicely. Showing people that you’re fun to be around, and that you can be a friend. It allows you to build a rapport with people. It enables you to convince them through emotional appeals rather than cold hard facts. In turn, it will make people more liable to trust you with information they might otherwise wish to hide.

At high levels Charm makes it so you will always be wearing a mask, one you cannot take off lest your entire social life come crumbling down. Your whole life will be a lie, and the only one who knows will be you. Though at low levels, you will have no one to talk to, and will find it impossible to make any connection with anyone.

Physique

Vitality - Grin and bear it. Push forward.

Cool for: The fit. The enduring. The unconquerable.

Vitality is just how many hits you can take before you get knocked down. Vitality is the one that will keep you going. It also determines how much power you can put out in return. It doesn’t matter if your big mouth gets you into trouble if you can take the punishment that comes with it.

At high levels Vitality will keep you going strong when you’re being pushed down, and allow you to push right back. But will leave you giving little quarter for those who can’t take or put out as much punishment as you. At low levels you’ll be able to be pushed around, no matter what, unable to take the smallest of hits.

Tenacity - Get knocked down. Get back up again.

Cool for: The unstoppable. Masochists. Those who don’t know when to quit.

Tenacity is for when you get knocked on your ass. When it hurts like a bitch. When your muscles ache and your body burns. When your mind is screaming and tears are streaming down your face. Its your resolve to get back on your feet and carry on. Both physically and mentally.

At high levels Tenacity will actively have you seek out seriously dangerous situations, put yourself in jeopardy to feel that rush of overcoming the odds, and nearly losing it all in doing so. However, at low levels, you won’t be able to come back from anything. When you’re down, you’re out.

Contortion - Squeeze into small spaces. Hold awkward positions.

Cool for: Gymnasts. Maintenance workers. Those going where they shouldn’t.

Contortion is being able to manipulate your body into places it otherwise wouldn’t fit. It’s being able to make yourself small, and hold a position you hastily took to avoid being spotted. It’s your ability to sneak around, and get where you should not be by unconventional means.

At high levels, Contortion will get you to where others can not follow, at least not easily. And you will be frustrated when they can’t, or unpleasantly surprised when they can depending on the situation. At low levels you’ll find yourself having a hard time manipulating your body, feeling rigid as a board

Bon Vivant - Live a little. Enjoy yourself.

Cool For: Thrill seekers. Love makers. The irresponsible.

Bon Vivant encourages you to enjoy the finer things in life. That glass of wine, that dress that shows just the right amount of skin, that sexy thing across the room who can’t keep their eyes off you. It gives you the knowledge and the stomach to engage in the scandalous matters that lurk below the surface of high society. Everyone has their vices. Bon Vivant lets you indulge yours, hide them, and find others’.

At high levels Bon Vivant will make you unrepentant in your enjoyment of your pleasures, and desperately hiding how much of a hedonist you are from others. At low levels you’ll be unable to let loose, and won’t have the stomach to engage in lurid matters.

Soul - Know yourself. Know the world.

Cool for: Self seekers. Star gazers. World wanderers.

Soul is the invisible force that connects everyone. It is what you feel atop a building on a starry night, in somewhere once thought abandoned so long ago, seeing the same stars you have seen no matter where you went. The same stars everyone sees. The stars billions are looking up at. That shared experience among so many so different. Occasionally that shared experience will leave you with a realization you could have gotten nowhere else.

At high levels, Soul will leave you innately in tune with itself, making you look mad to the outsiders when you listen to your Soul and ignore them, regardless of how it turns out. At low levels you will be cut off from this connection completely, only able to rely on yourself.

Hair Raising - Don’t get caught off guard. Trust your instincts.

Cool for: The anxious. Survivors. Scared children.

Hair Raising is your other sixth sense. The one that can tell when things are about to go down and soon you will be in trouble. Either verbally or physically, Hair Raising can feel it in the air and is ready to pump you full of adrenaline so you’re ready to deal with it in kind. It helps you focus your outbursts into putting the fear of god into others.

At high levels Hair Raising will be ultra sensitive, with even the slightest shift in mood being cause for alarm, and enough to tell your brain to pre-empt them, before it’s too late. But at low levels the alarm will not be raised at all, leaving you blindsided by any outbursts, and unable to control your own.

Motorics

Fine Motor Skills - Hands steady. Stay coordinated.

Cool for: IT Workers. Doctors. Mechanics

Fine Motor Skills is your hand/eye coordination. It’s what enables you to get down and dirty with wiring and not wreck everything as you do so. You can tell at a glance the make and model of any part inside a computer, as well as some other machinery, thanks to the experience gained working with Fine Motor Skills.

At high levels Fine Motor Skills will let you finesse any repairs or bypasses you have to do with ease, so long as it’s hardware, but may leave you overconfident, and too absorbed in your work to notice what’s going on around you. But at low levels, you best hope the issues are in software. If not you’re liable to just wreck things more.

Senses - Sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Take it all in.

Cool for: Trainers. Scavengers. The romantic.

Senses are the lenses through which you experience the world. They let you stay vigilant for the things others might miss. Or give you a deeper appreciation of the things others might take for granted. The soft breeze on a summer night. The slight burning smell that beholds an inferno in its infancy, the slight pooling of blood outside a door leading to the discovery of a murder. Whatever it is, your Senses will lead you to it.

At high levels, your Senses take in everything that surrounds you, not taking care to filter out the unimportant because everything is important, enough to completely overstimulate you if you’re not careful. At low levels however, keep those glasses on or you’re at risk of missing everything.

Think Fast - Dodge and weave. Don’t let them touch you.

Cool for: Boxers. Brawlers. Men of action.

Think Fast is your ability to stay on your toes. It’s what determines how fast your brain and body will react to any given situation. It is what lets you dodge punches, knives, and whatever else is thrown at you. Additionally, it works to keep your thoughts moving quickly too, making sure you’ll never be left behind in any conversations or battles of wits.

At high levels Think Fast will have you reacting before anything has even happened, making you jumpy and twitchy. You might just jump at the wrong thing and make things worse than if you’d just let it happen. At low levels you’ll be slow on the uptake, and will have a hard time keeping up. And forget about reacting in time to anything coming at you.

Light Feet - Float by. Wait for when the time is right.

Cool for: Cat burglars. Dancers. Stealth operatives.

Light Feet is your ability to be quick, and go unnoticed until just the right moment. This skill isn’t about hitting someone hard, though that certainly helps, it’s about hitting when someone least expects it. Assuming you want to hit them at all. This skill will give you all the smooth moves you need to float by without needing to swing at anyone.

At high levels Light Feet will make you able to sneak on by without so much as a sound, remaining unnoticed wherever you go. But you will still go unnoticed when you need to be seen. However at low levels you will be unable to go anywhere without causing a ruckus.

Technics - Interface with computers. Dive into the digital world.

Cool for: Typists. Office Workers. Hackers.

Technics is your ability to work with computers on a technical, software level. Any issues that come after the computer is turned on are most likely in this area of expertise. It also allows you to gain access to things you should not have, so long as they are stored digitally. With Technics, the digital world will be at your fingertips, with limitless possibilities.

At high levels Technics will leave any information that could possibly be gleaned from digital data ripe for the taking, and deal with any technical issues easily. But it will leave you isolated, why do you need to talk to people for information when you can find it digitally? At low levels however, you will be completely cut off from the digital world.

Self Control - Calm down. Don’t let them get under your skin.

Cool for: The calm. The collected. The cool.

Self Control is the thing working to keep you calm. It’s what lets you put on a brave expression and face the world. It won’t do you any good if you fly off the handle at the slightest inconvenience, and Self Control is what keeps it from happening. It also helps keep unpleasant memories out of your head, making sure they don’t bubble up at unpleasant times. It keeps your emotions in check, and in turn can sense when others are starting to crack.

At high levels your Self Control will never let you show any emotions that aren’t mild amusement or slight disappointment. Even when you’re all alone. You will feel it welling up inside, but there will never be any release. Anything unpleasant that hurts to remember may be completely repressed. But at low levels, you will crack incredibly easily, flying into rage and making yourself an easy target for tormentors.

Items

Hair Tie

+1 Fine Motor Skills: Hair out of your face

- 1 Hair Raising: Tied down.

Prescription Specs

+2 Senses: I can see!

-1 Senses: Out of date prescription. 

+1 Third Eye: The prescription helps it too.

(Pre-Demotion)

Alolan Shirt

+1 Charm: Charmingly casual!

+1 Hearts on Fire: Breaking the dress code.

+2 Real Talk: Talking by the beach at night. 

-1 Real Talk: Just in spirit. 

Worn-Under Tank Top

+1 Fine Motor Skills: Easy to maneuver in.

+1 Bon Vivant: A tasteful amount of skin.

Cargo Shorts

+1 Light Feet: Comfortable and easy to wear!

-1 Bon Vivant: Dude.

Sandals With Socks

+1 Hearts on Fire: Don’t care what anyone says.

-2 Bon Vivant: Dude.

(Post-Demotion)

Team Xen Uniform Vest

+1 Tenacity: It is armor, after all.

+1 Commisery: Same as everyone else.

-1 Hearts on Fire: Following the dress code.

Team Xen Jumpsuit

+1 Bon Vivant: Tight in all the right places! 

-1 Contortion: And all the wrong ones too.

Team Xen Gloves

+1 Fine Motor Skills: Insulated gloves.

-1 Technics: Fat Fingering the keyboard.

Team Xen Uniform Shorts

+1 Hair Raising: Your ass is on the line.

Team Xen Work Boots

+1 Think Fast: On your toes.

-1 Light Feet: These boots are made for stomping.

[psalacanthea]

was listening to the Disco Elysium soundtrack (video link to song) and thinking about Kirkwall, as one does.  1500 words, just a small thing about love.

...

“Hey.”

The call didn’t pull her from her staring across the city, eyes focused past the facade of Hightown.  Lights gleamed on the dark water, but they were pale reflections of the glow of Hightown, like the ocean revealed the truth of that fragile and bitter shell of respectability and power.  Her eyes weren’t there, but deeper, into a place where the darkness of the water swallowed any light, where crumbling cliffside walks and hollowed homes clung desperately to what remained in hope of survival.

The real heart of the city, where she’d lived when things were hopeful.

Down there it was poor and dirty, people living on the edge of starvation, but that was when her life had been happy.  Well, no.  Happier.  Varric wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her genuinely, only happy…while sober.

“What does it mean anymore?”

“I don’t know,” Varric said to Hawke, leaning up against the railing next to her.  

“Something has to plug this hole in me that seems to keep losing things drip by drip.  But I can’t seem to.  I feel so hollowed out.”

“You’re the one with all the platitudes.  Do you want me to pull them out?  Sometimes it can be good to hear things you already know, I’ve heard.”  He smiled, faintly, at the blank sidelong look she gave him.  “No.  Not me, huh?”

Her chin fell into her hand, and then she winced at the contact with the wound on her neck and jerked back.  The blood on her fingers didn’t gleam as she stared at them in the moonlight, it was dried, dark.  Old.  “Platitudes don’t work unless one of us believes in them.”

“I know what optimism is, at least.”

“I don’t,” she said, a quaver in her voice, a splinter of pain that hurt too much for her to feel the full truth right now.

“Sorry, Hawke.  One of us has to be the optimist, and I already called ‘not it’.”

She fell into silence, so they just watched the city and its lights for a while.  Lights that gleamed across the feet of the statues of slaves standing sentinel in the harbor, chained forever to the city that had slaughtered them.  The bridges, the pits, the quarries.  The statues.

“Weep,” the statues said to the refugees who had come here seeking hope.  “Weep, because your suffering has only begun.”

But her eyes weren’t on the statues.  They never were.  She said it was because they made her too angry, and bad things happened when she was angry.  Varric knew it was true.  She’d lost too much to not be a dangerous person, and with Bethany gone…

No, Hawke didn’t look at the statues, and she didn’t look at Hightown, or even its reflection in the water.  She looked at the dark places, the pits, the quarries.  The places where there were grooves in the roads to carry the blood of slaves.  The places where people still died for no reason.

No reason at all.

Hawke breathed in, reaching up and wiping dry eyes.  “She said I made her proud.  But that was bullshit.  Because I knew…I knew if she hadn’t died, in the next breath she would have turned around and made it my fault.  And– and now that she’s not here, that’s the only voice I hear.  The one blaming me.”

“Leandra was a complicated woman.  It’s hard.  Having a mother who can’t seem to give you what you need.”  Varric braced his hand against her lower back, and she leaned in towards him.

“Maker.  I know you’re not talking about your feelings because you’re incapable of it, but please don’t let this be a metaphor, either.”

There it was.

The spark, the little light that never seemed to go out.  The grace of humor.  Who could live in Kirkwall without it?  This whole place was just one of the Maker’s funny little jokes, after all.  But, well…she was right.

“Sorry.  It’s a metaphor.”

“Shit, Varric.”

They laughed together, bitter and sweet, staring down at the city that seemed to go on forever, deeper and deeper into the desecrated earth.  It should have been rotten to the core.  But it wasn’t.

There were people down there who were living, despite it all.

To spite it all.

“Love is…complicated.  Or so they tell me.  Especially love for our parents.”

“It’s like I can’t think about her without resenting her, and that’s not what I want for my memory.  That’s not what I want for my life.”

“Give it time.  It’ll get better.”

“Ah,” she said quietly, voice holding a rasp of weariness.  “Platitudes.  But no.  Love is…love isn’t complicated at all, Varric.”

“No?”

Hawke shook her head, eyes finally shifting, gazing slowly across the cliff face in the distance, higher and higher.  “No. It’s everything else.  I wanted to be– be a dam.”

“A damn what?”

Hawke smiled reluctantly.  “A damn hero.  I wanted to be the one to hold back the tide, but I’m…”

“Full of holes?” he guessed.

“Full of holes,” she agreed, chin dropping, eyes falling.  “And the things that escape only ever seem to hurt the people I care about, and I– is it worth it?  To lose everything to keep this place from being washed out into the sea?  Is it worth it?  Should I let them drown?”

They both fell silent as he tried to think of what to say.  His instincts said no, but was that for her, or for him?  He never knew.  Usually, his instincts led him in that direction, and that was fine, it was smart, but…that wasn’t good enough.

Not for Hawke.

“It is,” she said to herself, and to him.  “And you have to promise to believe it, for me.  I know it goes against…against who you are, and what you care about.  I know.  You look to your people first, and damn the world, but…I just can’t do it, Varric.  If you really are my friend, you’ll do it for me.  Believe it when I can’t, that this is all worth it.”

“Well, I am a pretty good liar,” he acknowledged, not really comfortable with what she was asking of him.  “You can’t badger people into belief, Hawke, trust me.  It doesn’t end well.”

And she knew that, because she gave him a sidelong smile that held a shadow of the wicked mischief that would crop up at the worst possible time.  “You believe in things beyond your friends.  You just don’t want to.  But you’ll do this for me.  Because if I’m gone–”

“Come on, stop it,” he interrupted her, discomfort growing worse.  Unconsciously, his fingers tightened, holding onto the back of her shirt.

“Because if I’m gone, I know you’ll protect them for me.  And you’ll love them.  Because love…love is the easy part, Varric.”  She didn’t wipe her eyes this time, and they stayed dry apart from a single tear that gathered in the corner and never fell.  Her eyes were back on the city, the edge of a smile on her lips.  “It’s everything else that’s hard.”

It brought up things he didn’t want to think about, not here.  Not now.  She was already going through so much, and it wasn’t like his life was ever going to get unknotted, so…what was the point?  It wasn’t about him.

It was about her.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

“And miss the soiree at Lord What’s-His-Face’s?”  she asked with playful sarcasm.  Her voice lowered, bitterness creeping back in.  “Yeah.  I want to get the hell out of here.”

He pulled back and extended his hand to her, and she took it, pushing away from the railing.  Leading her out of Hightown and back to the pits and quarries, they walked side by side with the ocean crashing below, a darkness that swallowed the lights of Lowtown.  Back into the darkness; home.

In the distance, above it all, centuries-old statues of weeping slaves heralded the fate of those who dared to live and love in Kirkwall.  Pain, suffering, death.  Why had he ever thought they could escape that fate?  Why had he ever thought she could?

But even if he wanted to condemn the damn place for everything it had done to her, everything it had taken…

He couldn’t.

It was his fault, not the city; that was what had betrayed her in the end.  He’d done everything in his power to save her, to keep the world from consuming her whole, but he couldn’t do it.  In the end, it had him.  When their eyes had met for just a moment at the end, he hadn’t seen blame, or regret, or pain and suffering.  

Only love.

And so he took her burden onto his shoulders and went home to try and find a way to save her city.  It wasn’t going to be easy.  The place was rotten to the core and cleaning it up would take more than his lifetime, but damned if Varric wasn’t going to try.  Because he loved her, and she loved Kirkwall.  And Kirkwall...loved her.

He could take care of the rest.

[funnywormz]

whats ur opinion on jean vicquemare? like. his relationship w harry n whatnot

ohhh jean is such a fascinating and complex character........ likewise with his relationship with harry. i am gonna put my thoughts under the cut so i don't annoy anyone too much with a long rant lol

i think jean, much like many other characters in disco elysium, is a shitty person but not without good intentions. he's got a pretty abrasive and callous personality at times, and we do get hints that he's harmed and mistreated people through his role at the rcm. but regardless of that, he's still a deeply fascinating character. in himself, he can be relatable and pitiable and unintentionally hilarious to me at times. but a lot of my interest in him comes from his dynamic with harry.

to me ive always interpreted his relationship with harry as a platonic but nonetheless deeply close and codependent one, at least before martinaise......... i think that maybe jean once looked up to harry, and even when he realises what harry is actually like, he still admires his can-opening abilities and tenacity. over the years they would have had to have a deep understanding of one another to solve so many cases together. jean does seem to genuinely care abt harry.

jean has clearly grown burnt out and tired with dealing with harry over all of these years. but i also think that at least harry's dumpster fire of a life/personality was something that was familiar to him, something he understood. throughout the game, the player has the potential to make harry "better", to lead him to choices which are better for himself and others.

it's clear that jean believes harry's behaviour in-game is a passing phase/completely fake, which is interesting. obviously it's probably a logical inference based on things he's seen harry do before, he knows that harry will go through phases of trying to get better only to crash and burn, and he knows that harry is capable of being manipulative. but i think it's also a form of wishful thinking.

a drunk, unhinged harrier is something jean knows very well, and it's the "version" of harry that he's always seen. this "new" harry, while still being the same person, is also very different. he doesn't recognise jean, he doesn't laugh at his jokes, he doesn't react as intended to jean's insults or jabs at him. he's also doing better (although this depends on how you play the game ofc).

i can't help but wonder how that makes jean feel. probably a bit left behind. harry gets to completely shed his old life, to move on and become something better, while jean is stuck dealing with all of the bullshit and emotional baggage the old harry left him with. i doubt that it feels very fair from his perspective. it probably feels like harry ditched him, left him holding the bag and bounced.

i also think that there's an aspect of mourning to their relationship now. the old harry was shitty, sure, but he was jean's friend and they understood each other very deeply. now that harry is just. gone. he's basically dead. but also harry is still there right in front of him, and he's different now, he's better, and yet jean can't help but miss the old harry, feel like he lost him. he's mourning someone who's still alive. someone who's right there in front of him. the old harry, and all of their memories together, are gone forever, and yet he can't rlly process it properly because harry is still there. fucked up.

those are basically my thoughts abt their relationship. i think it was deeply unhealthy for both of them and it's probably better for jean's mental health to have a less toxically codependent friendship with harry. but nonetheless there was a strong friendship there which is gone now........... sorry these thoughts aren't very well collected or articulated lol i hope you enjoyed reading them anyways