#but maybe i can expand on the ideas i explore/play with in that story in my poem for this prompt

[silhouettecrow]

365 Days of Writing Prompts: Day 177

Adjective: Bioluminescent

Noun: Deer

Definitions for those who need/want them:

Bioluminescent: a living organism, such as fireflies and deep-sea fishes, that have the capabilities of emitting light biochemically; of the light emitted by organisms such as fireflies and deep-sea fishes

Deer: a hoofed grazing or browsing animal, with branched bony antlers that are shed annually and typically borne only by the male

#two of my favourite prompts that ive made so far back-to-back? #maybe this is a sign that things are turning around after a long and stressful and scary week #or at least i hope so #and seriously i fucking love this prompt #i have always been fascinated by bioluminescence #and i have always (and especially in the past few years) felt a special connection to deer #so this prompt feels like a beautiful marriage between two of my favourite things #but also now that im thinking about it #ive already kind of written about 'bioluminescent' 'deer' in a short story i wrote while in college called 'metanoia' #(maybe i will post that short or an excerpt from it on here someday) #but maybe i can expand on the ideas i explore/play with in that story in my poem for this prompt #thanks for reading #writing #writer #creative writing #writing prompt #writeblr #trying to be a writeblr at least

[stormikins]

Mass Effect: Failed Opportunities.

An informal rant essay about my opinions and thoughts (and ideas/suggestions) about the choices made in Mass Effect Three. This is all because of this one post, and my friend (@xoshepard) giving me a compliment about my Shepard came back wrong headcanons. So. I’m fueled by validation and rage. A summary of the mentioned post is anonymous regrets that BioWare didn't explore the implications of Shepard dying and coming back and the fact that Liara helped Cerberus in doing so.

Disclaimer: I am a hater in this. I am. No doubt about it. If you like the story and think it’s great and nothing is wrong with it— then I am so happy for you. Truly. I wish I was the same. So, this post might not be for you. Also, this is a rant, and I try to keep it sensible so apologies if it’s not.

Word Count: 3k

TLDR: BioWare flip flops between decisions and choices and never truly settles, disregards choices already made, and leaves players wanting (AND THEIR MOTHERS!) while eviscerating character personalities. Consistency is not in BioWare’s vocabulary. Or dictionary. Or thesaurus.

One of the things that I dislike the most about BioWare's choices regarding this matter is that Shepard starts having these crisis thoughts/questions about if their body is theirs or not, etc. not only in the third game, but at the end of it. The player is literally doing the mission that marks the point of no return in the end, the last of two until the game is finished, and now Shepard is voicing these thoughts. Roughly sixty-ish hours since the beginning of me2 if the player is a completionist. (not to mention how much more time in between playing bc people have lives but I digress). This isn’t a plot hole, it’s a speed bump the player trips over and then the game expects us to get back and get going while asking why our nose is bleeding. Fuck you BioWare.

Now, one could construe this into being part of Shepard's character; squashing down all these conflicting and worrying thoughts to focus on their mission, bc they are a soldier. They literally don't have time for this. But now they're physically confronted with their reconstruction post-awakening haze and/or denial about it all bc Cerberus could be them lying to Shepard bc of manipulation. All right. If that is supposed to be the implication, Shepard putting their mental focus on their mission, why didn't Shepard have this crisis when they were in lock-up for six months, aka where they literally only have time to think?

James having a throwaway comment to Shepard, or another crew member (bc they talk to each other now between missions!), about how he's worried about them, about how Shepard had a freak out some point in lock down, the level of 'freak out' does not need to be expanded upon. Hell, James can just say maybe they passed the time asking each other philosophical questions, maybe about consent and choices and bodily autonomy. It could help lend more weight with Shepard posing these questions during the Cerberus HQ bc these thoughts are still plaguing Shepard. Shepard dies-again-without getting closure-again. This would fall into the cycle theme that the games have.

But, like always, Bioware fails to capitalize on opportunity.

Now. The Citadel DLC. sighs Shepard's repeated variations of "don't want to talk about it" it being the clone and everything else that's happening in the DLC, lends more to the theory of Shepard's supposed to be repressing this all. But the counter point about Shepard having their crisis in lock-up still stands.

What could have been interesting is if Shepard had these identity issues in 2 and potentially in three and given that the Citadel DLC ends with the clone always dying canonically, it can be a pivotal moment for Shepard to realize that they are who they are, different than their me1 counterpart or not (it also would be cool if characters mentioned if the player was choosing choices that an imported me1 Shepard normally would not have) and to have a clarity moment that they are Shepard. This clone and these logs could have provided a clean tying of loose ends of Shepard having identity issues instead of the teammates saying two lines about how they know that Shepard is Shepard and Shepard simply... moving on bc you do all this in the middle of a base attack. The player's mind is already set on defeating Cerberus (finally) and getting revenge, on being so close to the end of the game! It's also OPTIONAL. Yes, the player is automatically entered into a dialogue wheel but the choice to leave without seeing what's on the logs is immediately available.

Another thing the previous post went into was Liara's involvement. Her part in Shepard's reconstruction is not explored in the game. The player never learns about how Liara helped, just that she did and that she lost Feron because of it all to the Shadow Broker. I will not go into the comics, bc 1. I have not read them and 2. If developers must depend on supplemental media to explain key plot points, they are in fact doing it wrong (this is a conversation for another time).

I would not be as bitter about Liara's involvement if the game treated it better. The player has to complete two quests to unlock the dialogue of Liara telling Shepard that she gave their body to Cerberus. Shepard’s renegade dialogue to Liara apologizing about giving their body over is as follows, “all this time, it wasn’t your sources. You knowingly gave me over to Cerberus. You did this to me!” SHEPARD DOESN’T SAY ANYTHING ELSE. JUST SITS BACK DOWN AND THE RENEGADE RESPONSE TO HER SECOND APOLOGY IS TO SAY, “Let me know if you need any more help,” AND YOU LEAVE. WHY IS THIS THE ONLY TIME SHEPARD ACKNOWLEDGES THIS. wow. AND WHY IS IT LIKE THIS? ITS OPTIONAL. I— Again, this could tie into Shepard bottling up feelings and acknowledging them in Me3, could show Shepard as an actual person is the game lets us choose to be mean or turn her off but alas, the player cannot because the game likes ruining Shepard’s character (which I’ll save that for later).

One could say that Liara would go to any lengths for those she loves, whether the player romanced her or not, but in the first game, we have no indication that she is willing to go this far. I have a belief that nothing is 'out of character' if the circumstances are right. Now, these circumstances are right: two important figures in Liara's life die (Shepard and her mother), Liara's only connection to her theories on the extinction of the reapers dies as well, the threat of the Reapers, and all the traumatic experiences she had during me1 and then the destruction of the Normandy all collide together to make it realistic that Liara wouldn't be able to let Shepard go. There is one thing, though, is that this is all boiled down into “I couldn't let you go” and the game doesn't show it. Doesn’t show Liara's descent down into this rabbit hole, doesn't show the switch getting flipped of her turning much more ruthless compared to her me1 characterization.

She does show ruthlessness in some regards in me1, willing to kill her mother no matter their relationship. But out of all the SR1 cast, she is one of the most paragon characters. The game does not show the shift into Liara's characterization. No commentary from Me1 companions about how Liara suddenly shut them out, or from Feron talking about the things Liara was willing to do to get Shepard. No comments from Miranda and Jacob who I do know were part of the retrieval mission about how Liara acted. Liara is just immediately introduced with quoting her mother’s threats. WHICH IS SO INTERESTING! Again AGAIN the game goes nowhere with this. We get optional dialogue from Aethyta about the Matriarch’s being concerned about her but that is optional, and only if the player talked to her in Me2 does she show up in Me3 and deliver said dialogue. Liara herself never confronts this. Even when SHE TALKS ABOUT HER MOTHER. LISTEN— LIARA COULD HAVE TURNED INTO A SCIENTIST THAT WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR HER RESEARCH. TO PROVE HERSELF RIGHT BECAUSE SHE IS, SHE KNOWS IT AND SHE’LL DO ANYTHING LIKE BRINGING SOMEONE’S DEAD BODY TO A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION TO RESSURECT AND YET—

Garrus, on the other hand, gets his new characterization explained. In me1 he already tends to be reckless, ruthless, and selfish. It is no surprise that when Shepard died and the Council buried the truth, he went vigilante. The game shows his new bleak outlook on life bc we find him fighting for his life in a base full of dead bodies and then he explains he got betrayed. We deal with his character arc. We do not deal with Liara’s.

One could argue that could go and show how Shepard wakes up two years in the future and everything is different and confusing. Which I will agree with. If it was purposeful. And I don’t think it is, personally.

She doesn’t stay this new ruthless way. I am not saying she can’t be more than one-dimensional; I like that she can be soft with Shepard and the other companions. But all of a sudden, she, the character whose introduction in Me3 is her popping a singularity and gunning down two Cerberus goons with a cold look on her face, “can’t be that callous” about not focusing on the death numbers in the middle of a war zone because “that’s my home down there”. A home she rarely talks about, and she’s also been in numerous war zones just as bad as this. Liara, who spent more time in digs or collecting intel than with people, feels a sudden connection with her people.

I would like Liara a lot more if they didn’t eviscerate her character, thank you. Don’t take this the wrong way, I love her, I think she’s great. She just has the potential to be so much more.

Like—

Mass Effect for some reason, tries not to be an RPG. They don't give the players a proper choice/dialogue to allow Shepard to be mad at Liara about what she did. Or to stay mad. (I am not going to get into the debate of whether being mad at Liara should be a renegade option or paragon). It would make sense for someone to get pissed at the person who gave their dead body over to scientists to reanimate, but also terrorist scientists. The same terrorists that Shepard potentially fought in Me1 and also potentially discovered were behind the whole sale slaughter of their entire platoon and the torture of the only other survivor of the incident.

(I can’t remember if Shepard ever mentions Akuze to Cerberus. Funny, isn’t it. How the games like to take away Shepard’s agency but not in any compelling way.) 

Besides, simply not choosing paragon options, it’s never mentioned again what Liara did to Shepard, which makes sense if Shepard accepted Liara’s apology. But what if Shepard, and the player, doesn’t? Liara’s forced on the player in Me3 as Shepard potential confidant, showing up repeatedly to Shepard’s cabin to move the plot forward, give Shepard missions/updates. Yes, the player can refuse to get personal with her which I do appreciate it. Like I said, Liara’s actions never get brought up in any meaningful way to help Shepard on a character journey.

Another failed opportunity about Shepard’s character is when the games don’t get into what Shepard is like post-resurrection. The game seems to be in the middle ground of making Shepard different but not still human, but in actuality, they can in the words of Hannah Montana, have “the best of both worlds”.

Me2 shows how Shepard is different now. “I’ve noticed a few upgrades,” Shepard states when talking to the Illusive Man on Minute Man station. Shepard can have multiple hard-hitting drinks in a row along with Ryncol in Dark Star, Zakera Ward. A poison tailored for humans served by a batarian bartender in the lower segment of Afterlife only knocks Shepard out, not killing them like it does to every human before.

That is how far the game will go in showing how different Shepard is, not counting renegade scarring. Which is a waste.

Shepard is The Protagonist. The main character. They have done the actual impossible. They are the Sole Survivor, the Hero of Elysium, the Butcher of Torfan, Savior of the Citadel, repeller of Geth, Collector, and Reaper armies and a host of other incredible achievements. They are a prophet, the damned, a modern-day Cassandra. The tip of the Spear, the Diplomat, the Soldier. Coats in the FOB on Earth says that it means something to the soldiers to see Shepard with them. They are “a tool, an agent with a singular purpose,” TIM calls them. (And a Karen ‘accuse her of classism’).

And yet, when Shepard gets revived—the most impossible of all things (and yes, it’s not like they had anything to do with it, it was Miranda and her team, but the Lazarus project only had one subject)—they are not made further into something larger than life. Something Other. Something that sets them out from the others. Because they’re Commander Fucking Shepard.

They literally have a vision of a dying race in their head that propels them to stop the Reapers. Me1 does a great job of playing with it. The player sees it once in Me2 and Me3, a side mission (Blue Suns: Archaeological Site) and after retrieving Javik, respectively.

Mass effect is all about cycles. The Reaper’s, Saren/Tim parallels, etc. What could have been interesting was instead of the reoccurring dream we have about a child that gets his emotional impact tarnished because of said dream and the star-child, the game does a mesh of the vision, prothean civilization in ruin, and the ruins we see of current civilizations from the missions Shepard goes on. Keep the oily shadows that whisper quotes from our dead teammates, but also have their voices coming from long dead Protheans pleading with Shepard to stop the Reapers, to save them.

Shepard can’t get any escape from the war, from the Reapers in their sleeping nor waking hours.

The game not making Shepard Other and going in the opposite direction—that despite all these upgrades Shepard is still human—would be fine if it was done better. A good stereotype of “I’m only human” is when a character fails. Shepard fails in Me3 most prominently on Thessia. I’m all for having characters fail but only when it’s done not so obnoxiously.

It’s a terrible fight. It is. Kai Leng hides behind a gunship that Shepard took down at least three separate times in Me2. Two of these instances are non-optional (Garrus and Samara’s recruitment, with Kasumi’s loyalty quest being the third). So, Shepard—Commander Shepard who literally destroyed a proto-Reaper—can’t destroy a gunship. It’s insulting how they ruin Shepard’s character in three.

In the end cutscene, Shepard clearly hears and registers that Kai Leng orders the gunship to fire on the supports of the structure and… runs further into the building. One could argue Shepard was trying to get the Prothean VI for the catalyst, but Liara is shown scanning it with her Omni-tool. What did she do, if not copy it? Why would she not? Why wouldn’t Shepard? They’re in the middle of a war zone, with enemies that were just right outside the door. Why stop for a chat here and now? (I know why, the plot demands it and lore dumping— lore that contradicts the lore dump by Vigil in Me1 so I’m even more inclined to not like these proceedings).

Kai Leng is Shepard’s nemesis in Me3 (and I’m forever mad that he is) and he’s supposed to be badass and edgy and able to go toe-to-toe with Shepard. Yet the game shows he can’t. He can’t reach his target because a terminally ill drell stopped him, or he didn’t notice Bau being cloaked in front of the Salarian councilor. (I can also go into how stupid this scene is with BOTH Thane and Bau).

He gets one over Shepard with the C-SEC sky car chase but that doubles back to BioWare ruining Shepard’s character by making them an idiot. Why not hit the brakes? Why not do a couple barrel rolls? Why fire through what should be bullet proof glass because it’s a C-SEC sky car?

Kai Leng can’t go toe-to-toe with Shepard unless Shepard gets dumbed down into an idiot and isn’t someone who reached not only Commander rank but also became the first human spectre. HELLO!?

So, Shepard failing and still being human and fallible doesn’t hit because they execute it poorly via Kai Leng and his stupid plot armor.

Who would be Shepard’s nemesis if not Kai Leng? HARBINGER. YOU KNOW THE REAPER THAT TAUNTED SHEPARD IN ME2? THE VERY FIRST REAPER MADE? THE REAPER THAT WE ONLY SEE—NOT TALK TO—SEE IN THE LAST HOUR OF THE GAME? THAT GUY. (matter of fact, throw in some of Harby’s arrogant lines about Shepard not being able to stop the Reapers in the alternative dream.) Harbinger should have possessed troops like he did in Me2 in the major Reaper battles. Earth. Menae. Thessia. He should have showed up somewhere, boasting about how they’re darkening the sky of every world. YES THAT’S A SOVEREIGN CALL BACK CYCLES! SHEPARD’S VISION IS COMING TRUE RIGHT BEFORE THEIR EYES AND HE’S NOT BRAGGING!? I THINK THE FUCK NOT! If you’re gonna make the Reapers so obsessed with Shepard as shown in Me2 with Harbinger’s comments and making a human looking Reaper, KEEP THE OBSESSION FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! I hate that the Reapers are obsessed with Shepard, Reapers who are above organics, have no weaknesses etc. and the entirety of Sovereign’s brilliant Virmire speech, because it’s not CARRIED OVER!

The enemies should have primarily been the Reapers from the start, and Cerberus the splinter group trying to sabotage the player. Make them smaller. Keep them kidnapping people for troops and biotic tests and lying about Sanctuary being a sanctuary and not run by Cerberus. Continuously have them send assassins—plural! Phantoms and nemesis— after Shepard with Kai Leng at the head of them. Even better if a strike group of baddies show up randomly during missions and watch out! Now Shepard has to deal with them as they fight the Reapers—in the same mission— because Cerberus wants to stop Shepard from killing the Reapers so they could control them and secure human dominance. Kai Leng is kept away from his target because they’re also fighting Shepard where Reapers are. Have them locked into statements until the environment falls apart literally forces them apart. Have them actually be equal adversaries.

Cerberus is introduced to be a mere group Shepard took out in Me1. They’re not all gone in Me2 surprise! Okay that’s fine and yet they not only sunk so many resources into Shepard and had so many cells gone rogue but they’re able to stage a coup on the Citadel! Pardon?? “But our resources are not unlimited, rebuilding you was a significant investment. And a significant risk,” Miranda tells Shepard in Me2. Cerberus kidnapping people on Benning would make sense if they’re scrambling for troops other than the relying on Sanctuary. (EVEN IN ME3 THERE ARE ‘ROGUE FACTIONS’— still a common occurrence for them. It’s never explained if Cerberus is lying about Benning or not). If they have these many rogue cells, again, how can they manage all they do in Me3? Especially if scientists are leaving Cerberus as well, aka the Ex-Cerberus Scientist mission Traynor gives you.

Yet, the player talks more to the Illusive Man than Harbinger in Me3, the leader of the Reapers, and we confront TIM at the end of the game, the most pivotal moment. The moment which people have sunk countless hours into, and we get a power hungry and indoctrinated TIM to… talk into shooting himself or firing a single bullet at him. There is no physical fight between the two. The conversation is similar to Saren’s and again, cycles are a theme, so why can’t we get a Reaper!TIM fight? The player, and Shepard, deserve the choice to fuck him up. This is a military game after all, they’re supposed to be encouraging our aggressive nature.

They ruin TIM but also Shepard.

Shepard never grows and changes like the characters around them, and their resurrection could have—should have—played a part in that. If they’re supposed to remain the same, be a tool for the narrative, make them it. Lean into that. The player chooses options. What would be an interesting mechanic is to make it a struggle for a certain background to get a certain morality. Have Shepard be stating doubts about who they are and if the player is contradicting a stereotypical background (Butcher trying to be paragon, a Hero trying to be renegade), they meet the camera—the players eyes—as they explain their inner turmoil. Make Shepard feel like the tool they are, like they’re not in control of their actions. A renegade overcoming it all and being a paragon hero, or a fall from grace paragon that brings the galaxy down with them. A renegade trapped in a cycle of violence (CYCLE) who can only see the world down the barrel of a gun, or a paragon who continuously chooses kindness. MAKE IT MEAN SOMETHING!

I think I’m done. So.

In conclusion, my love and passion for this game transitions into rage because of seeing possibilities squashed like a bug under a boot. To borrow Star War’s phrase: Mass Effect could be so good if it was good. 

#mass effect #yes im putting this in the tag idc #anyways this was fun #im finally dictating my thoughts on ME3 cause it fucking sucks #ive played this game the most out of the entire trilogy and any other game i own

[littledigits]

thoughts on the cut episodes and ppls reactions 'n stuff

Since it was confirmed that a few more episodes of Hilda were written but cut, I do think the reaction of people finding this out is really interesting and not just because its fairly common in the industry and isint a sign of anything bad necessarily. I mean heck, in a weird way being behind the scenes and then seeing how people interpret things, what they take as important, what they think is a thread…all of that is interesting. When your job is basically trying to get people to pick up what you're putting down storywise its kind of a neat topic, because everyone communicates in their own way.

BTW before I keep going this is not a post to say dont crit/vent/complain/whatever about whatever the heck you want in hilda or any media, you do you. I think peoples honest takes are fascinating (said in victoria van gale voice) and even just people speaking their mind shows that they are interested and they care so that matters. Also not one singular post triggered this, its just been on my mind as I surface level read things so no stressies.

When It comes to the cut episodes, I'm seeing some people assume that whatever was cut would have fixed some of the crits they may have had about the season..and who knows, maybe yes? But I'd say ultimately probably not. Not because they dont include things that people want to see, or may have some topics people want expanded on ..but because thats just impossible in the grand scheme of things.

I mean this applies to shows in general, not just hilda. Every person who watches a show has their own idea of what the show represents to them. For some of its more of the surface events or characters where as others connect it with a deeper emotion. A lot of people respond to different tones of the episodes, which there are many. Some people prefer the one off adventures that stand alone as their own stories and others want to see more of a stronger through line. Some may see a new character and expect a new arc and thread, while others wonder why we couldn't've used a previously introduced character. Some may read between the lines more and others may take what is presented as very straight forward and literal …and no one is WRONG, because our big wrinkly brain meats all have their own tastes and ways of imputing information.

Television animation is rife with factors that actually futz with the quality and ability of the team to make a beautiful, amazing product like EVERY DAY. The script process and what goes into production is just one. The team is made up of many creatives all with their own varied experiences and voices just like the audience. In order for people to have their own voices and say, you are going to end up with some things that hit better then others, especially if the team is allowed to grow and experiment and play a little. Hilda has always been a show where we've been able to have a lot of creative say, and i think that sincerity comes through ! but with the sincerity and that humanity, it also means that there are going to be things that arnt going to make sense in the grand scheme of things lol. Even the writers and creators and producers have differing opinions on what to explore and dive into, probably more so then fandoms haha. Having more episodes may scratch some itches but not all, HECK, those episodes being cut could have re-allocated resources to other areas that helped elevate your fav ep of the season ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ who knows! Schrodinger's episodes! (also ngl I was having cold sweats over the scope of some of them as cool as they were. The season may have been shorter but it was intense..it takes a long time to do stuff that looks that clean and crisp)

Imperfect art is very human! Do the best you can at the time with the factors you have. I was given so much trust and freedom on my episodes, and I was just happy to do something fun that allowed me and my team to grow and learn. I was fucking STOKED to get a one off story because it was way less pressure for me to take my next step directing cuz just doing the thing is a feat. Any sincerity you feel cant come through if that means we're afraid that we cant make mistakes, or do a story choice ppl wont vibe with. All you can do is do the best you can, see if people are picking up what you're putting down, and grow from it for next time.

Anyway, just a thought ramble. Its not to say do or dont do this or think this way blah blah. I just love that storytelling is messy and complex and everyones gonna take it a lil differently, especially if you have a team where you allow lots of voices to have input. It is all just a big experiment to see if people leave with a particular experience by putting your resources into the things you have that matter, and try you best to distract from burnt edges or patched up holes that happened throughout the process of making the dang thing lol.

#me as marge simpson holding up a potato of communication #I just think they're NEAT #it is cool to see who vibes with what episodes and why #lil rambley bits #I personally strive for a good 7/10 #maybe a 7.5 if im feeling spicy #everything else is luck

[stranger-theory]

Expand on current narrative that means byler? Because biased based theories aren’t a narrative I could argue a whole theory that Joyce and Karen want to get down and dirty with time and screenshots and easily led “narrative”

Although i'm not as articulate or as expert in expressing my opinions on this as I would like, i'm willing to try my best to explain to anyone who will politely listen.

Quick note: Using "bias" would mean that I treat Byler with higher status, and that I don't listen to any Mileven perspective, even if it's objectively the right one. Both ships have a shot, I just lean to the Byler side, but that doesn't mean i'll never listen to a Mileven. I'm more than open to hear why that perspective makes sense to them.

That being said, the first thing I would like to say is that technically, yes. You could argue that Karen and Joyce would be into something like that. But it's obviously not anything like Byler, specifically considering that there isn't a love triangle situation going on between Joyce, Karen, and Hopper.

Again, you are correct in the sense that these are simply theories, and anything can be the outcome at the end of the day, but it's more likely for Byler to happen than Joyce/Karen. The relationship between Mike and Will has been explored far more than an example like that. By that comparison, Byler's chance skyrockets.

-Karen/Joyce haven't had scenes with [tender, emotional music playing],

-Karen/Joyce haven't had the most obvious queer coding,

-Karen/Joyce haven't been confirmed by the Duffers that one has been canonically in love with the other through the whole show,

-Karen/Joyce don't have a famous love triangle where people debate wether or not Joyce wants to leave Hopper for Karen,

-Karen/Joyce aren't being promoted along with the other couples in posters or general media for the show,

-Karen/Joyce are not in a similar situation to Byler.

Now that we've established which is more likely, let's remove the comparison, and talk of Byler generally.

I've always said: there's always a ship for anything. So it isn't really a surprise that there were big Byler stans back in 2016, and I can't count that as proof. What's bigger proof to me is how many people have become stans now. There's such a large community of Bylers on tumblr who genuinely believe they'll end up together, and they're dedicated fans. I've seen this show sixteen times, and the past six watches have given me confidence that they stand a good chance. Their story makes sense to me in a lot of ways, mainly being the general idea for the love triangle.

Let me explain the Byler plot through my lens.

Imagine this: Two best friends since kindergarten. One day, Boy1 meets Girl. Their friend group keeps insisting that they like each other, so Boy1 gives in and says, "Why not? It's all part of growing up anyway, right?". Boy2 becomes jealous and sad that Boy1 is pushing him away for Girl. What Boy2 doesn't know is that Boy1 and Girl aren't the happy couple he thinks they are. Boy1 feels unfulfilled in this relationship, and he feels strange about his friend. In hopes that these feelings leave, he pushes Boy2 further away. Because of obvious tension, Girl confronts Boy1 about why he can't say "I love you". And it's simple. He can't say what he doesn't mean. Friends don't lie. Girl and Boy1 know they aren't in love, but for the sake of normality, they pretend. (Next is my idea of after canon) They eventually talk about everything, and feel at peace. They become best friends who want nothing more. Boy1 grows more comfortable with his feelings for Boy2, and they even flirt sometimes. Something dangerous has returned to their small town, and stress is high. Through this stress, their bond is even closer, and they confess the years of feelings they have. Maybe a smooch?? Who knows. They're secret for a bit, but when they tell people, everyone is happy for them. Boys who've been pining for years, but couldn't say anything about it because of heteronormativity(rip), finally have their happy end.

That's a dramatic run down of how I see their relationship going. Again, you don't have to agree, but since you asked, that's how I see it. There are also other things that aren't in the show itself, that I find interesting. They constantly promote Byler along with Jancy, Lumax, and Jopper, meanwhile El always has her own posters/pictures. They use a song between Lumax for a Byler scene (we know how important music is). Mike's top Spotify song is "Smalltown Boy", a song about being gay in a smalltown and wanting to run away so you can be out. There's also "Are Friends Electric?" in the playlist (I think the title explains itself). Honestly there's a lot his playlist says, but those are my top picks for kinda fruity.

ANYWAY, i'm sorry that this was a bit long, i'm just not one who's very good at explaining what I mean with fewer words. I hope you understand better why I see them becoming a thing, and why I wouldn't say it's an unfair bias. I think both have a chance, but this is my take on why this makes more sense to me. Thank you for asking! This took me way too long to write, but I hope it helped.

#byler #stranger things #mike wheeler #will byers #byler endgame #byler is canon #byler nation #byler tumblr #byler is real #stranger things theory #anti milkvan #anti mileven #mileven #asks #anon asks #anon ask #byler parallels #byler proof #byler theories #byler stranger things #byler analysis

[dongshancai]

i never say this, especially for a slice of life kdrama, but samdalri is really set up to have a season 2. it doesnt even have to be a full 16 episodes—12 is honestly enough, maybe even 8 or 10 :0

there is so much potential to explore the side characters, but also to show how samdal supports yongpil and his dreams when he supported her throughout this entire show (i like the idea of yongpil being like “samdal is my dream” BUT THAT IS BESIDES THE POINT LOL). there has been complaints about how it almost seems like yongpil is too in love with samdal, but in the context of the story where samdal’s career and life pretty much falls apart, it makes sense for him to be the major support in the plot to complete her character arc of finding herself again. so i think it would be really nice to see it reversed and samdal supporting him in the hypothetical second season.

that also means we get to explore the side relationships that they teased throughout the whole show. i like that we really focused on samdal and yongpil and didnt give more than necessary screentime to the side characters (as many other kdramas do and it ends up being filler that no one cares about), but it almost seems like we didnt get ENOUGH.

our favorite haedal x dolphin boy NEEDS more screentime, and i really want them to explore more of the relationship of a family unit with hayul if they end up dating. also just haedal and training to become a haenyo—i wonder why they gave us that information so late, as well as hayul wanting to be a swimmer! that is such a good plotline on its own!! because then we also get to explore the relationship of ko mija passing on her beloved career to a daughter, and i think that is super intriguing.

i know jindal and her ex are somewhat comedic relief, but they also need to have a proper resolution? because he seems to really care for her, and it would be nice seeing him become someone she can rely on and eventually fall back in love with. i’m not sure which route would be better: him leaving his rich life or him completely inheriting the company, but both have a lot of potential. i think it would have to focus more on his character development rather than jindal’s, but i don’t mind seeing how their relationship plays out because it’s such an interesting dynamic and kind of unfortunate for them the way they broke up if they really loved each other. in fact, there’s also the minor relationship between him and jindal’s dad if his own relationship with his father isn’t the greatest

and i cannot belieVEE they introduced us to gyeongtae and eunbi AN EPISODE BEFORE THE FINALE?! AND THEN DROPPING THE “it’s been twenty years since his first love” LIKE HELLO?! THE POTENTIAL?! once again, another ship for comedic purposes, but it’s almost kind of sweet and i want to see more!! especially the classic “i wasn’t loved for me, but i can be myself around you and you don’t mind it” type of trope!! it’s very city girl x country boy too HAHA

i also just want to see more of eunu and see him and his wife and daughters!!! LET ME SEE HIM AS A DAD BUT ALSO LET THE OTHER CHARACTERS INTERACT WITH HIS KIDS!!! and imagine A LEGITIMATE CHA EUNWOO CAMEO that would be so FUN!!! especially if his daughter has a crush on him HAH

there is so much potential to expand on these characters for a couple more episodes and i really think they deserve it :’)

#welcome to samdalri #.txt #i just dont want it to end just yet #and i usually never agree with a s2 for kdramas but this one is almost setting it up in a way that we NEED a s2 #ALSO #ARE SAMDAL AND YONGPIL GETTING MARRIED?! #ISTG IF WE DONT GET A MARRIAGE SCENE I DEMAND A S2 #THEYRE ALMOST FORTY OMG 😭

[theinstagrahame]

💡 A game that inspired my own design or creative practice.

Shall I make this an excuse to talk about The Quiet Year?

Why not?

So, let's set the scene: it's maybe 2017 or 2018. I have discovered D&D through Critical Role, and I am hyperfixating on it. Tabletop RPGs do all the things I wanted out of creative fiction writing, but with all of the stuff that I find tedious about writing fiction creatively. This is quickly becoming my whole personality.

Then (and I'm not even sure how I stumbled upon it) I discover The Quiet Year.

I felt my brain expand. A Game doesn't have to just be A Character who Levels Up and Explores Dungeons forever (or until the campaign collapses due to scheduling conflicts).

It can be a community, growing over the course of a single, contained year. It can be cards, with questions, that could be presented in any order--but are here, presented in the exact order you need to tell this story. It can be a map, which you and your friends label over time, rather than one that has been planned by one Master. It can be Contempt Tokens, which exist simply to remind you that you have harmed or offended another community, and have no further mechanical effect.

... And I didn't actually *play* the game until maybe 2020? My partner got me a physical copy for my birthday one year (probably 2019?), and I eventually managed to find a fellow player. We didn't finish, but it was amazing.

Somewhere between those two points in time, I started designing games of my own. I think The Quiet Year really gave me the idea, for the first time, that it was possible. I didn't have to be Wizards of the Coast to make something, I could just be a person--like Avery Alder--and put my heart into every word.

So like, if you don't already have it, go buy yourself The Quiet Year.

>> TTRPG Ask Game >>

#indie ttrpg #ttrpg dev #ttrpg #ttrpg design #understory games

[ollieoliver910]

Under Night In Birth: Sys Celes (The Last Game I Will Set High Expectations For)

I need to get this off my chest because how French Bread rumored UNI2 as a "sequel" still bothers me to this day.

The reason why I bring this up and why I feel it's important to discuss is because a lot of people fall into this trap of setting high expectations for a game that causes your brain to run wild with imagination.

When UNI2 was rumored to be a sequel, I thought that this game was getting a complete makeover from the ground up. An anime opening, new sprites, English voice acting, a story mode that lets more characters interact with each other. I put too much faith in this game ever developing their characters further. So much so that I REALLY wanted Hyde and Gordeau to get SOMETHING. They don't even talk a single time throughout any of their games (Though Gord does talk to Linne and Seth...huh.)

Since I write in my free time. Sometimes I go into "What if" mode when I feel characters can be developed further or can have an interesting relationship if the creators ever decide to explore it. Since parents rarely exist in UNI2 (other than maybe one or two exceptions), I liked the idea of Hyde looking up to Gordeau like a father figure since they are very similar in personality. To be fair, I always had a love for the "spiritually adopted" plot when it came to any type of story (This is what I call it unless there is an official name for this plot out there.) Anime seems to use this plot more than most. Hell, I'm pretty sure One Piece is infamous for this, but other than the redemption arc or enemies to lovers plot, the spiritually adopted plot is one of my favorite stories if done well.

I think the only reason why I felt that relationship could work between Hyde and Gord was because of BBTAG. BBTAG's story mode is the only time they are allowed to talk to each other...EVER, and it's not even in their own game and that drives me BONKERS! Things like Gordeau calling Hyde kid before fighting Blake and Makoto only for Hyde to ask Gordeau if they can stay together... I hate reading into stuff like this because it ends up with me yelling at my TV screen "Expand on it, expand on it! God damn it you have a good idea here! AAAARRGH!"

I won't go too much more into my problems with UNI2, but one of my biggest grievances when it comes to writing in general is watching or playing as a character that either should have been the main character or had the potential to be expanded on so much more. Think Diamant from Engage or Jotaro from Stardust Crusaders (I haven't watched past that so if I'm wrong, please let me know.) Diamant, for example, gets so much strong writing and character development that I felt he should have been the main protagonist instead of Alear while Jotaro has the opposite effect where, as the main character, he gets very little development, but clearly has themes centered around his family and powers that could have been expanded upon, but aren't. Stuff like this drives me up a wall where I can see the potential to get a better story from a character than what we got...but it doesn't happen. That's why fanfics exist!...I just wish it was the real thing sometimes.

Anyway, sorry for my rambling here. I definitely don't expect a lot of people to read this all the way through, but it's here if you want to see it. Lesson about not setting high expectations for a game finally learned. I hope you guys have a lovely summer.

#under night in birth #uniclr #bbtag #video games #uni 2

[himehikoshrine]

Mary Jane and Frankenstein 

In honor of Spooky Month and the imminent arrival of Mary Jane Day, I have done the scariest thing imaginable, returned to tumblr dot com to write a meta/analysis post.

[image description: images side by side of the top of the Mary Jane poster, showing Mary looking down sewing Jacob, next to the 1831 edition front panel illustration of Frankenstein, showing Victor looking down on his creature in horror]

This is a mostly informal attempt to collect my thoughts on the fact that Neji’s little spooktacular, in addition to being a very pointed exploration, as all of his plays are, of art and theater, the school, himself and his classmates (without their permission, the menace) and just, a lot of fun, is perhaps one of the best piece of Frankenstein related media I have EVER seen in relation to the original novel. 

This is pulling a lot of things from the Stage Script rather than the in game version, which summarizes a lot of the things I'm mentioning specifically. You can find the full Stage Script in the game menu, or

[ here ]

because I love this play so much that I needed a searchable version.

Caveat Emptor here is that it’s been a long time since I’ve read the novel in its entirety. If this game gets me to read it again, I may have to revamp things. But again, largely informal. But very long, somehow.

Oooops.

If you're curious about anything in here and want to expand on it more, or hear my thoughts on it, please feel free to reblog, send an ask, or message. Or ask me elsewhere if we're already connected there. There's a lot I glossed over, especially at the end of this. I have a lot to say, and if we're back to writing metas on tumblr dot com the chances of stopping at one are slim.

Mary as Frankenstein, Mary as Mother

Mary’s name is acting as several allusions at once. I mean, there are at least 3 Mary’s in the bible one could point to - Mary, Mother of Jesus is absolutely at play. But Lazarus’s sister is also a Mary. And while technically Mary Magdalene is often misrepresented and amalgamated with other characters in retellings, the idea of “purifying” her has canon precedent - having had seven demons driven out of her.

Of course, Neji’s twisting all of it, in his Neji way.

(Interestingly enough, these are the Three Marys of the Quem Quaeritis - widely considered a point of "rebirth" of theatre in Europe during the middle ages.)

But Mary is also the name of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of Frankenstein. And this, this is a Frankenstein story. It is, in fact, a beautiful inversion of so much about the book that gets left out in most far more serious attempts at a Frankenstein story. 

The original book is about motherhood and its inversion. Much could be said about when during her life she wrote it, or her own mother’s death shortly after she was born, or any number of things that have been hashed and rehashed a thousand times from AP English to the ivoriest of towers. But, fan of Death of the Author that I am, I posit you don’t need any of that to see in the text.

Victor creates a person with science, rather than by ‘nature’. It is an unnatural birth. And Victor is just about the shittiest possible parent. The Creature spends a good deal of time explaining to him, when they meet up again, that Victor is his father, and that he was literally abandoned as a newborn, and maybe that was kind of the worst possible thing he could have done. It’s not a mantle Victor has any desire to take up, the role of a parent. He wanted to create life, but he didn’t want to be a parent. But that’s what it means to create life. 

By gender swapping the role, you’re already inverting the inversion - but Mary’s creation is no more “natural” than Victors. But it is different. Neji, ever witch-coded himself, has Mary put one of her own hairs into every doll. It’s returning the shared body to the act of bringing these creations into being.

But even without that. Mary considers herself a mother. She considers herself a mother despite having no memory of one herself - Mary knows lots of things she shouldn’t, and doesn’t know many things she should. But she calls herself a mother. Even before any of the dolls move, she is their mother. A motherhood she wants to desperately share with others. She considers the act of selling a doll a kind of ‘adoption’. These are her children. And they know it. It’s stitched into every stitch in their doll bodies. They know Mary is their mother. And they know she loves them.

[image description: screenshot of Mary in her workshop. The text shows Mary's line saying "I'm back, dear dolls. Mommy's home."]

The Creature comes to think of Victor as a father - an absentee one at that, and craves that love, a love he is never shown. Mary averts this spectacularly. She creates out of love. 

Names

Mary takes great care in naming Jacob, and ends up doing so, though she doesn’t say it, after a biblical pun (Jacob, in the bible, is explicitly named such as a pun on the word “Heel”). But names are important to Mary, and she is sure to give one to Jacob as soon as he’s fully formed, even before she sees him wake up. Victor very particularly does not name his creature. Instead, he tends to throw around insults, many of which are demonic or satanic. When they finally meet again, the Creature says to him “I should have been thy Adam.” Mary averts this mistake, among so many others, spectacularly. Being called by her name is important to her, and she extends that offer to Jacob even before he’s fully “born.” Like a good mother.

[image description: a screenshot showing Fumi and Kai dressed as Mary and Jacob, as seen from the stage with the audience in the background. Kai is saying Jacob's line "I did, Mary. You are Mary Jane. My mother."]

Not only does she give him a nice biblical pun of a first name, she shares her last name with him, again before he’s even more than a doll. That’s her boy, that’s her best friend. That’s her family.

The song here, which is only sung and dance AFTER Mary has given him a name is called "A Friend Without A Name" Almost as if specifically calling attention to this fact. Mary is as much the friend without a name as Jacob, if not more. She is the one that has never heard another voice say her name, where as Jacob is called his before he's even awakened by the Island's magic and Mary's love.

[image description: the screen from just before A Friend Without A Name showing Mary and Jacob's CG of Mary Stitching Jacob.]

Mary as a Good Mother

Some of the weirder moments in the play actually make a lot more sense when you look at them through this light. Jacob randomly saying he hates Mary in a fit of jealousy? It’s because he’s a child. He’s a baby. That’s a baby boy. Mary, herself quite childish, forgetting so much of what’s important, as the Island is known for, reacts incorrectly, but understandably. This is her first friend - and far more of one than the others she thinks she’s made, in terms of mutual respect, compassion, and small acts of kindness. But this level of connection and emotional reciprocation is still new to her. She’s hurt. She runs.

And The Order of Shadow’s duo is quick to tell her that that’s just the nature of ghosts, telling themselves a little joke about how they have been lying to her from the start, and fully intend to stab her in the back, far more than any ghost. Victor’s instinct is to consider his creature a monster, a fiend, a demon. Mary is told by characters positioned as far more knowledgeable about the world than her that he must be exactly that.

And how does Mary react? She refuses to believe it. Even hurt as she was, even with someone who just said this is their entire expertise telling her it’s in his nature to be cruel, Mary refuses to accept it. She still loves him. She makes the right choice. That’s her best friend. That’s her family. That’s a (un)life she brought into this world, and she stands by him. No matter what. She would risk her life to rescue him. She will fight for him.

This is why that scene has to be there. Because she has to be given that temptation, that trial. And she passes spectacularly in a way Victor will not, to the end.

It’s also a thematic explanation for the garbage scene, which is probably there as much to be silly as anything. I mean, it’s also there to show many other things — Mary’s eccentricity is ingenious in its own quirky way — the islanders who hated her, who she didn’t understand, give her the tools to save Jacob and the others — Mary not even considering the same level of violence — it being a moment of empathy between Mary and the islanders who never showed her even a shred of it back — she understands that they couldn’t tell which food was rotten. She sees things from their point of view. And many more besides.

But, from the point of view of Mary as a Mother, Mary succeeding brilliantly where Victor failed… Mary is literally willing to coat herself in filth to rescue Jacob. Parenthood is messy. It involves a lot of gross things. Even Victor's, sanitized of the normal processes and cloaked in science, was made of corpse parts. But the play actually brings back a part of parenthood that Mary had been able to avoid thus far - the mess. Mary, once again, doesn’t hesitate. For Jacob? She’ll do anything.

Jacob is shown love and kindness, and he responds with the same. He has the same unnatural strength as Victor’s creature, but he’s only ever shown using it to rescue himself and others. When Mary asks for a handshake, he replies that he can’t, because such would be an invitation for a duel. And that they should hug, instead. Mary didn’t even know what that was. Far from disgusted by the lack of warmth she feels from his skin, she looks beyond that, to the emotional warmth and connection.

Frankenstein’s creature, famously, lashes out in violence. While Victor views this as his responsibility only in so far as he brought a demon into the world, he doesn’t understand, even when the Creature eloquently explains it, that the Creature was a being who had only known cruelty.

Jacob knows love. He knows kindness. He knows sadness and loneliness and pain. And refuses to engage in any form of touch that could even be considered violence. They hug.

Which is not to say Mary’s creatures can’t kill. But they do only to protect their mother, and only after Mary has risked everything to protect Jacob. They are Mary’s children, not Victor’s. Even their violence is an act of love. And in another inversion - they are the ones telling Mary to run. Something she does not want to do. She doesn't want to leave them behind. After all, they are her children. She departs from them only at Jacob's literal tug away, and with an apology and a thanks.

[Image description: screenshot of Fumi, dressed as Mary Jane, shown from stage view, with the audience behind, while a Doll's lines "Protect Mommy, let mommy run away." are shown below.]

Boats and Framing

But the parallels are not only in the most famous part of the novel - consider this - Frankenstein, the novel, is written as a series of nesting framing narratives. The bookend narrative, the one we open and close on, is a boat. Most Frankenstein adaptations cut the boat trip frame, but Mary Jane very specifically opens and closes on a boat at sea, and its ending is EXACTLY the reverse of Frankenstein’s. If for some reason you’re this far in and don’t want more spoilers for a 200 year old book, now’s the time to click away, I guess.

The boat is on a course to the Arctic. Victor is on board, telling his story, because his creature has fled there, away from humanity. Victor intends to pursue him endlessly, to kill him, fully aware that he is almost certainly going to die, frozen and alone, in the process. We don’t get to see this happen - the story ends merely with the certainty that this is what is coming. Victor, on a boat, intending to go to the ends of the earth alone to kill the Creature he brought into the world, treating it like some burden and punishment. 

[image description: a screenshot from Mary Jane, with the CG of Mary and the Ghosts on the ship, with the summary text overlayed on it reading "Friends together, fun forever."]

How does Mary Jane end? With Mary, and Jacob, and a cast of playful characters — her friends — sailing off for the ends of the world, together, in pursuit of life and happiness - even in death.

Ghost Party ends the play because its a triumph. Neji throwing out Horace’s Ode to Cleopatra in there because he can’t not do silly things like that — but Frankenstein famously contains many references to classics — many made by the Creature himself, who was forced to educate himself via books, lacking a parent to help him. 

Mary Jane takes a section of sheer joy out of a poem of complex mixed emotions, and says them repeatedly. This is a party. This is a triumph. Mary leaves on a boat for the ends of the world a success, a good mother, a friend. And a human.

Humanity, Connection, Isolation

The play deconstructs so wonderfully this question of humanity. Mary doesn’t find any joy in it, despite barely understanding it herself - until she is able to use it to help others. The first time in her life she’s been glad to be human - something she only really understands as “needing to eat food” - is when it gives her the ability to save her ghost friends. If that’s what humanity is, the ability to care for others, the ghosts of the chapel, the play is telling us, are far more human. 

One of my favorite exchanges in the play is after Charles and Figaro explain to Mary that the corpse parts used to make Jacob were their friends. Mary is not malicious in the least. She has no concept of this act as sacrilege or desecration. She is genuinely childishly innocent in most of what she does. And she can’t understand it.

Mary says “If you can love unmoving corpses so much… How can you not feel for living ghosts...?"

[image description: Mary in front of the burning town. She's saying "How can you not feel for living ghosts...?"]

Charles responds that she must be completely off her rocker. But she’s correct. Mary sees life in front of her, even undead life, and wants to protect it. Even the Islanders, who only ever treated her with distain, who only ever made her miserable — she doesn’t want them to die, even knowing they are already dead. 

Outside of Mary, her oddball eccentric self, in this play, the more human someone is, the crueler they are. Figaro and Charles are only ever here to mess with her before dragging her off to be killed. They have no willingness to even try to understand anything outside their world view. The Islanders, who think themselves human, revile Mary, and make up terrible rumors about her. 

Both of these groups do so, in part, for similar reasons. Because to have empathy would force a realization on them they cannot bear. The last thing Figaro realizes, before he’s dragged into the most poetic of justices, is that the dolls have SOULS. They are ALIVE. It’s a moment of anger and madness, but it’s a last minute realization that he’s been wrong now that it’s too late. Of course it’s not a revelation he’ll remember. You tend to forget what’s important on Kakuriyo Island.

If Mary averts all of Victor’s mistakes, Charles and Figaro make many of them. Seeing the Creature as a collection of corpses, as demonic, as an abomination against God. Reacting only in anger, in cruelty, in violence. Chasing something they view, wrongly, as an abomination to the ends of the earth, until it kills them. Mary has Victor’s role, but Victor’s actions and outlook are given to the antagonists. 

It’s fascinating to me, then, that there are two of them. In the version of the play that gets performed, they’re twins - doubles. Two halves of one whole, who egg each other along in their cruelty. But they also exist to show that even these two are capable of empathy and connection. They do in fact understand the thing they tease Mary with. They have the ability and understanding to extend that to Ghosts, or to Mary. They simply refuse to. Figaro really does love his brother - his grief at his death is genuine. It’s a clever way to show that.

In the book, Victor is extremely isolated, by his own choice. He withdraws from everyone in order to work on his creature, and after he runs from it, he keeps to himself just as much, now blaming the idea that he can tell no one what he’s done. Even when he’s surrounded by family, he is utterly alone. By choice. The Creature eventually lashes out and kills the woman Victor intended to marry. In Victor’s mind, he cares about this girl, but it is not in his actions. Like much else, she exists more as a creation of Victors mind than something in the world for him to interact with and care about. Until she dies. Then he’s furious. And decides to spend the rest of his life chasing down the Creature to kill him for it. 

This contradiction in Victor has always read as intentional to me. The book is calling out his hypocrisy here. He doesn’t actually desire connection - the connection his Creature eloquently explains his longing for. But if it is denied him, he acts like he’s been affronted, painted with a shallow layer of sanctimoniousness or justice. Murder is bad, of course, and the Creature shouldn’t have killed an innocent young woman to get at Victor, of course. But the discrepancy between the way Victor reacts to her in death and the way he does when she’s alive is intentional.

Victor has every chance for human connection. Time and time and time again he’s given that chance and refuses it. Even to the very end, on that boat. He could stay with the crew. Sail back home. Let it go. The Creature has run away from humanity which it has come to despise as much as its absentee father disdained it. There is no need to keep chasing. But Victor cannot let it go. 

The Creature longs for connection and is denied it. Victor disdains and refuses it, even when it’s available to him.

Mary as The Creature

Contrast this with Mary — It is Mary, rather than Jacob, that is in the Creature’s situation here. Mary is constantly chasing connection. Constantly trying to find something to reflect humanity (compassion, life, emotions — rather than the matter of blood and flesh that Figaro and Charles always talk about it as) back at her. And she can’t get it. She, like the Creature, hides in the bushes and watches it from afar. She, like the Creature, chases after it only for people to run away, to treat her with cruelty. Mary is Frankenstein, but she is also a reflection of the Creature. She is both in one, in this sense.

[image description: screenshot of summary text over the church and figures of the church ghosts. it reads "The friendless Mary dreamily watched the ghosts as they sang a happy song.]

Her costume specifically makes her look nearly as much the doll as the ones she makes - in the world of the story, because she's sewing both - but thematically, it ties her to them not only as their mother, but as a reflection of the Creature, herself.

Like the Creature, Mary is an odd mix of naivety and childishness, with startling gaps in her knowledge, and extreme skill and adult abilities. She knows what she knows well. Like the Creature, Mary has no memory of kindness, of family, of parents. She has only ever seen it in the way the Islanders interact with each other. She is the Creature here - raising herself, learning of the world through watching it, being reviled for every attempt she makes to reach out.

One thing the Creature explains to Victor is that he didn’t even understand, at the time, why he was being treated this way. He had no awareness of his own nature and what he looked like in the eyes of others. Only that they ran in fear and chased him away, and reacted with violence.

Mary Jane inverts this. Mary is human, but the humans around her are something she cannot understand. Like the Creature, Mary doesn’t understand why people react this way. The book expects you to come to the same conclusion as the play - the fault lies not with the Creature anymore more than it does with Mary, at this point. It is those around him, those around her, that are at fault, that are a thing neither can understand. Human’s are cruel. Ghosts who think they’re humans are cruel. It is a disconnect between themselves and the world around them they don’t understand, and desperately try to bridge over and over.

Even Mary, as quirky and childlike as she is, is on the verge of giving up, of being consumed by the Lonely Darkness. We don't know what her fate would have been if the Order of Shadows had not come. Victor's Creature, far more morose than Mary, gives up on connection, as well. He is denied the most basic of needs, and eventually, he learns the violence and hatred being directed at him, and, newborn that he is, lashes out.

But, ultimately, companionship and connection are the Creature’s goals, and it is that that he requests of Victor, who refuses to provide it himself. Make for me a mate. Mary is the Creature, and she is Frankenstein. She makes a friend for herself. Her motivation in creating Jacob is not science, it is not in defiance of  death or God — very pointedly — it is out of loneliness - the same motivation that the Creature gives for his desire that Victor make him another like him. And when Mary does so, she’s a good mother, and a good friend.

Religion

Frankenstein’s full title is Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus - it is about forming people, but it is also about stealing fire from the Gods. The question of if creating life out of death the way Victor does is an affront to God is something that Victor himself thinks about, but the book is much more interested in exploring it as the way characters view it. Victor punishes himself, it is not the Divine that punishes him. The Divine acts not as a force, but as an idea. One that both Victor and the Creature end up grappling with and trying to find their place within.

So that Mary herself seemingly has no concept of it, is fascinating. She goes to watch a chapel every night, but I don’t know she knows what a chapel even is. She mentions God once herself, saying that the smell of the garbage would be enough to affect even God, but she also talks to the Moon as a companion and a friend. Her worldview is uniquely hers, in relation to all things. As I said, the idea that making the dolls the way she does, or using corpse parts to do it might be sacrilege does not even occur to her.

Rather than go the route of the novel, Mary Jane twists this around too. In the world of Mary Jane, religious objects hold not only the power of an idea but an actual force. And it is a force that is completely, within the world of the show, amoral and nonsensical. The blessed weapons and fire the Order of the Shadows use are “holy” as a property, but that gives it no moral weight within the world of the play. And the play is messing with it the whole time. Holy wood or water can destroy a ghost, but they live in a church. Something that Charles and Figaro comment on, but cannot interrogate in terms of what it means for their conviction. But they’re split on how to proceed - the fact that ghosts can live in it doesn’t shake their faith, though. Sister Ghost is there largely for this joke. A nun who is constantly evoking the divine, who would be killed by a consecrated item. 

[image description: the summary text over the chapel backdrop with the text of "the chapel where Jacob and the others were left behind was being filled with the scent of holy water.]

If I could add something to Mary Jane, I would have loved for Mary or Jacob to ask Sister Ghost what “God” means (this is a conversation that happens in bonus material for Tokyo Ghoul once, actually). I would have loved to have that brought up more explicitly. But it’s also very funny that it never is.

The first definitions for a God we get are them being applied to Mary herself, with plenty of ambiguity on if the Order’s faith itself has a mother figure at its center or not. And either way it’s a fascinating play on the idea, and the themes of the novel.

Closing Thoughts, Other Connections and Ideas "Beyond the Scope of this Essay"

Anyway, all of this while playing around with everything else going on in this play, Neji’s totally, without permission, commentary on Fumi, on Tsuki’s legacy (please read the stage script, somehow the game thought it was a good idea to cut that whole specific reference even when making Kisa pick between an “erase Tsuki” option) and on Kai. On himself as an artist. ("I am the one who is strange. With my changing moods, with my hobbies. That is why everyone thinks I'm strange and avoids me.”). As with several other plays, a commentary on authority, and on creation, and on isolation and friendship and connection. 

And, of course, what I’ve been holding back this whole little essay is that Mary Jane is, thematically, at its core, playing off the exact same situation as I Am Death. Like — both of these plays center around a woman pouring her emotions into an undead creature. I see you Neji. You can’t hide from me. Reading I Am Death as a Frankenstein Story remixed into an old Japanese mytho-history is a LOT of fun to do, but is, as the academics say, beyond the scope of this essay.

(and, I Am Death itself is about Neji and Chui, and the twisted, messy love-hate revenge drama they are acting out across all the routes in the game. Neji writes the plays that introduce Chui to the world. Then he runs. And spends the whole game trying to beat him (affectionate.). “Make me another like me” you say… 

Literally the only thing I’ve come up with to make the “bad end” CG more compelling to me, is that this is what it’s riffing on. I like my I Am Death costumes way weirder.)

Mary Jane is a Frankenstein Story, I Am Death is a Frankenstein Story, Jack Jeanne is a Frankenstein Story. The other, other thing I’m leaving out here is that the Order of the Shadows are OBVIOUSLY pulled from Tokyo Grand Guignol, aesthetically. And the most famous TGG play is Litchi Hikari Club, which is, say it with me, a Frankenstein Story. Also one that takes the themes of the novel (gender, love and sexuality, childhood, genius, violence, blind pursuit to the point of madness, god complexes) harder than most, but runs with it in nearly the exact opposite direction. But again, very much beyond the scope of this essay.

Also also also leaving out the fact that Tokyo Ghoul is... kind of ... not not a Frankenstein story. It certainly riffs on the motif quite a bit. Even if you've never read it, you've seen the mask design (an in universe riff on the joke.).

Even just one dimension of this play, and look how many words you've made me write Neji-senpai.

[image description: image from the bottom of the Mary Jane poster, with the cast list, showing the chapel ghosts with a focus on Ushinoko, Neji's character, looking towards the 'camera'.] Some little Halloween Spooktacular you’ve got there. Bravo.

#jack jeanne meta #jack jeanne #Mary Jane #frankenstein #lit crit #doing lit crit of stories within stories - what a trip #meta

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 12/01/2024

9​来​4s

Season 2

Featured on: THE SILVAGUNNER CHRISTMAS COMEBACK CRISIS ORIGINAL SOUNDTRAXX: vol. 1

Ripped by dante

Uh, so, hi, everyone. I'm going to apologize ahead of time if this post reads a bit more shakily, a bit less structured than what it maybe usually does. I always have a timeline of rips to cover over the week laid out ahead of time, and was really not expecting to cover 9​来​4s as part of it - I thought, naively, that today would just be a day like any other, one more on the pile. I wake up, get dressed, check the SiIvaGunner YouTube feed - and almost collapse onto the floor in shock.

The Christmas Comeback Crisis is back. Ten hours from the point of writing this sentence, the eleventh episode of the main SiIvaGunner storyline will premiere on YouTube.

I don't think I've ever done an effective job of conveying to people just how much the Christmas Comeback Crisis means to me. Sure, rips that I love are one thing, with those you can understand what I'm talking about with just a listen yourself. But the Christmas Comeback Crisis series is so difficult to truly appreciate without the knowledge, the memories and attachment to the channel from having been with it the whole time. To me, it marked the point where all of SiivaGunner's potential as a narrative, all of the loose threads of lore and jokes, all of those feelings of joy and sadness and comradery that flew like sparks throughout Season 1s 9-month run, were distilled into a streamlined narrative. It felt as if a bunch of stray thoughts were finally put to paper, a world envisioned by all of SiIva's viewers finally envisioned with an engrossing conflict and beautiful art. And it felt to me like the team themselves knew just how golden the idea they'd landed on was, as the scope of the storyline quickly expanded from just Christmas of 2016 to eventually enveloping the entirety of Season 2's run.

The final core episode of the Christmas Comeback Crisis released at the tail end of Season 2, on Christmas Day. That is to say, December 25th, 2017. It is currently January 12th 2024 - six years, two weeks, and four days have passed, as the main story of the channel has remained in limbo. When I watched that episode, live on the date of upload, I was still a teenager. I've followed the channel since, still immensely invested, still closely following and paying attention to the lore introduced since - the Side Stories and Haltmann's Archives of Season 3 and Season 4: Episode 1, the King for Another Day Tournament and its fallout across both episodes of Season 4, the many misadventures of Wood Man across Season 5, having seemingly left the Christmas Comeback Crisis canon altogether to explore different worlds where he could have fun with little consequence - only for it all to come crashing down on him in Season 6. After all of that time, all of that buildup, after Season 7 has already been one of the channel's all-around, best-ever years - the cherry on top has landed. Episode 11.

Beyond the lore, the world, the artwork, the storyline, the characters, and the community that's supported it all, what has held the Christmas Comeback Crisis together for me and many others has been the sheer passion present in all those aspects - including, of course, its outstanding soundtrack. I've talked about it before with voiceless, with 時の回廊 ＜ver. CCC＞, with vlEP, and now here - but dante is, genuinely, an *exceptionally* talented musician, possibly my favorite amidst the entire SiIvaGunner team, and he has been completely outdoing himself on the Christmas Comeback Crisis' soundtrack since the day it first began - his music, remixes, arrangement, and overall sound direction has breathed a kind of energy and life into the story that's immersed me in ways I could never have expected.

9​来​4s plays during Episode 8 of the Christmas Comeback Crisis, An Acrimonious Assault - which sort of marked a point of no return for the series. After the 6th episode, Advent of Hell, just barely managed to release during Christmas of 2016, and the 7th episode, Loves the Ladies, released four entire months later due to expressed production issues, it felt like the team had officially realized just how big the project was getting. Yet, despite the woes that the 7th episode had presented, the team pushed on - and the series continued until the end of the year. That energy, that hype and love for the channel, is echoed all throughout 9​来​4s, and it's a feeling I haven't truly felt since that Season that the series once ended during.

At least, that's what I once said. Because now, *we are so fucking back.*

#todays siivagunner #season 2 #siivagunner #siiva #dante #soundcirclet #christmas comeback crisis #siivagunner ccc #siivagunner lore #lore #hiroyuki sawano #guilty crown #Youtube #Bandcamp

[burningthemidnightcityoil]

The biggest thing I find disappointing about any of the "official" sequels to Homestuck, is that... They don't really expand on Homestuck.

They simply add problems, that weren't needed, and are churning out solutions, that didn't matter--because the problems in the first place weren't needed.

My idea of a Homestuck sequel would be to have the world-build, because now we have that idea of the "world" and how it "works", but start from scratch (haha).

Make new characters in classes and aspects we haven't seen yet, or didn't see enough of (Mages and Thieves and Sylphs, oh my, Dooms and Rages and Blood, oh my!). Make new characters that have new remixes of classes and aspects we already know of.

Make new inner memes and repetitions, Homestuck is nothing if not repetitious. Have some actual fun with your sequel. I can't imagine the current stuff being Fun, not with what's its building from.

Say something new in the story, or say something old in a different way. HS is all about ridiculous bullshit all the time anyway, just as much so as its about serious shit all the time always.

Personally, I'd rather not go through SBURB again, I'd want to see how HS works without SBURB being the main focus--or maybe have a SBURB that is completely off its knocker and is impossible to play, as its background.

( Earth C is a perfect place for that )

There are, of course, several things that can be expanded and thoroughly explored that HS leaves open.

Throughout your life, you are going to have more than one class or aspect. I know huh? Its a thing we've seen out of the Adults that pop up in HS--they always have at least one more class and aspect, and are capable of performing those classes and aspects successfully. And this even falls in line with typical character dynamics on writing and comprehension. A 3D character changes depending on what situation they're in and who they're with. And with such, we can assume that HS is about your Core unchangable Classpect--Who are you that is you?-- But now, let's have another!

All your Lives are Connected Yeah yeah sounds like Utilma-Self horseshit. But there is clearly a thing to explore here; you are connected to yourself, throughout time and space. So even if one of yourself dies, it'll still live on as long as you exist.

The Afterlife Okay, we've seen hints, maybe, but now I kinda want to know how this works without Dream Bubbles. Dream Bubbles are a SBURB thing, and even then, its only sessions that touch on the Troll Session (Like the human one), who get access. And even then... its only for Players. Everything else is a recorded memory.

What's a universe like when it has its Gods? Its clear that when SBURB makes a universe, its generally intended that its players become its gods of that universe. So... what happens when that does actually happen, and not some tomfuckery coming along.

And of course, this is just the HOmestuck World-Build stuff.

You can tell so many different stories from this, from any variety, from silly to serious (And in HS's case--both). Hell, take someone off the street, throw them randomly at this, see how they react, that sort of deal.

And it can be done, without slogging HS's characters through the murk.

If the intention of the current "sequels" were to make things tired, dragged out, and not even fun anymore... Yeah congrats. The story worked as intended. So much so that I'm not even going to keep up with it.

That's how tired its made me.

ADDENDUM:

A lot of people, found comfort, relation, and personal importance, in HS's characters.

And what was done to several character, was a horrible, disgusting, and terrible thing to do, to characters that people found comfortable, relatable and personally important.

And How it was handled afterwards, whether it was staged or not, was A Shit Way to Handle It.

Occurring at a time and place in history where you Should Not Have Fucked That Up.

Because of this, I am not going to accept the "Sequels". I'm not going to accept any justification for the "Sequels".

As far as I'm concerned, Homestuck ended with Homestuck, a silly ridiculous serious webcomic that lasted a very long time and long after the time period it was in (To a point where nobody remembers what early '10s / late 00's internet was like), no publication attached.

#homestuck

[celestialpaperhaze]

Hmmm good question! Well I'm obviously biased towards BG but here's something that's been on my mind that I thought I'd share to see if you find it privy.

Doctor H.B. advances her computer tech that was originally used to simulate combat against bosses and such. With a few new toys and upgrades, she asks Team Snakemouth to test the computer to see if the enemies follow their original thought processes as if they're there or even alive again. But low and behold...the extent of the team's memories bring their deceased enemies...and even allies...back from the dead and into the digital world. Sentient and "alive".

Imo, a tough prompt that had me thinking about the various characters and who they cherished, along with writing a story that had little to no Canon character building. On top of that is the challenge of making these characters interesting to you and the audience while pushing the story more towards an exciting and angsty read.

Obviously this is just to poke your creative block! By no means is it a request or a demand, but what do you think? There's a lot of ideas I have of Kabbu and his...past. Lmk what you think!

Ooooh I think it’s a really cool idea! I’d be most interested in seeing how different characters’ backstories are brought to light, particularly those of Kabbu and Leif. If the story’s post-canon, Kabbu’s likely to have come to terms with his past already, but I feel like there’s still so much that can be explored even before The Event—like what was life really like in the North? Did Kabbu have other friends besides Master and Bit, and if not then why did he not branch out more socially? Did he just not want to, or did people not like him? And of course, Leif’s background is a goldmine in itself. I’ve always been kind of interested in how Muse’s life played out after Leif “disappeared,” especially considering she did have a kid. Like did Leif know she was going to have one or was she putting off telling him and never got the chance? And on another note, I wonder what Chompy would see…? Would she have memories of the Mother Chomper being defeated?

I feel like I’m almost getting off-topic here but yeah, there’s a lot of potential! As far as angst goes though, if it’s post-canon it would definitely have to rely more on original concepts than canon conflicts, since Team Snakemouth’s pretty much got closure on the canon stuff by the game’s end. Maybe I'll try writing a little drabble to play around with this prompt, though I’m not the best at OC territory (I have like, three OCs). Either way, this is definitely something I’d wanna see more of if you were thinking of expanding the idea! (Plus I’m curious what you mean when you say you have a lot of ideas for Kabbu’s past 👀)

Oh and btw, I’ve been meaning to catch up on your bandits fic, hopefully will soon!

#bug fables #fanfic ideas #writing prompts #post canon

[scarlet--wiccan]

What do you think of Luna as a potential magic-user? She gives me magical girl vibes. Maybe I'm thinking of Sailor Moon. Probably. Yes.

Totally. I've mentioned this a couple times, but I have a lot of ideas about Luna and how to expand on her powers as she comes of age, and I do think that magic would be a great direction for her.

So, currently, Wanda and Pietro's official backstory is that their mother was a witch, and that the Maximoff family are part of a long lineage of Romani witches. Obviously, that can play into a lot of problematic stereotypes, but, as I've said, there's also a lot of potential to turn it into meaningful and positive representation.

Billy is Wanda's true successor, but the two of them are so entangled in chaos magic lore that the family lineage stuff tends to get slightly lost. With Luna, there is more opportunity to focus on witchcraft specifically as it relates to her Romani heritage, because she wouldn't have chaos magic. A story about Luna coming into her power as a witch and exploring this part of her family's history would be a great way to start a more authentic conversation magical practices in Romani culture/history, and start debunking some of those stereotypes. Assuming that Wanda and Billy would be involved in some way, it would help place all of these characters in a better context.

Obviously, you would need the right writer. It would absolutely need to be a Romani person with a background in these practices and solid understanding of this history. But, you know, we're out there. I know several people who fit that bill, myself included.

#luna maximoff

[unhumanrights]

Spell Trek brainstorms

Okay, so I thought it would be a good time to start brainstorming Spell Trek in earnest, since I’m giving my T’Lyn/Mariner/Tendi fic chapter a few days to marinate (probably pick it up tomorrow, actually). I decided to live-blog my thoughts and just go through the entire process here because why not. It will be messy, but fun. Plus, people could leave feedback if they wished. Maybe I’ll change my mind later, but for now, you all will witness the process. Might leave some questions unanswered, but I can at least go through possibilities. Let’s go!

In case you haven’t seen me talk about it before, and in case the naming wasn’t too obvious, Spell Trek is my fantasy conversion of Star Trek. While I’m a fan of some sci-fi (obviously), I am personally a fantasist, so I thought this would be a good way for me to write slightly bigger stories than I could if I stuck to the canon universe. My knowledge of science is not extensive. Magic, I can do.

I guess the best place to start is with the big stuff and work my way down. So, what’s the cosmology of this setting? Obviously, the original Trek is in space. Should I basically just keep it space, but magic? Planets, nebula, black holes? Maybe it would be analogous to space, but modified. Actually, if you’ve ever heard of Spelljammer, that’s a possible way to do it. I don’t know much about the setting, but I skimmed the Wikipedia article for it, and it’s kind of what I’m talking about. Might have to do more research into it.

Perhaps instead of traveling through space, it’s all interplanar travel? Each species could come from a different dimensional plane instead of planet. Might be some kind of “space” between planes that the ships would travel through, which is where the actual space stuff would occur and would allow for actual travel instead of just blinking from plane to plane. Almost the same as the previous paragraph, I guess, just…worded differently. Planets, planes, same diff. Yeah, it’s pretty much the same concept. Magic space.

It COULD all take place on one world, and each species is a different race and nation. Kind of limits the scope, though, unless I introduce some ways to expand it, like the Underdark, parallel planes, etc. Still would have a physical limit. Unless…it didn’t? Okay, THIS is new to my brain. When I’ve thought about the possible setting before, I’ve usually thought about the previous two paragraphs, really sticking as close as possible to outer space. I briefly imagined it as one world before, but dismissed it due to limited space, and therefore lacking in terms of exploration. But what if…the landscape just had no known limit? One unending (as far as anyone knows) physical landmass/watermass? Could still have ships, but they would be airships instead. Warp could still work, as the landscape is basically infinite. Exploration is still doable. It being a flat world instead of 3D space, that would make travel slightly different, but that’s not important. Actually, maybe the travel could still be 3D? Could have underground species, perhaps landmasses in the sky, too. Or maybe…what if there are multiple physical planes stacked on top of one another? A big lasagna of reality. Cosmology is fun to play around with, huh?

Well, this brainstorming session has given me some things to think about. To summarize, it seems like I have two options for the overall setting (with some sub-options thrown in):

Basically outer space, but magic instead of science (like Spelljammer).

Replace the infinite space with infinite landmass and watermass (and possibly multiple layers).

Not sure which I prefer. I like the latter because it’s the shiny new idea I just came up with, and I wouldn’t have to worry about astrophysics or anything like that, but I guess I could always fudge it all if it’s magic anyway.

Is anyone reading this? If you want to give an opinion, you can. Oh hey, I can do a poll! I love you, Tumblr. So just take the poll. Well, you can reply or reblog/tag too, if you want, but if the poll is easier for you, by all means.

Okay, bye now.

#star trek #lower decks #star trek lower decks #lwd #st lwd #stlwd #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #fic thoughts #fanfic thoughts #fanfiction thoughts #brainstorming #brainstorm #spell trek #writing #worldbuilding #poll #I hope this could be a fun project for me #both brainstorming the world #and actually writing stories in it

[loverlylight]

If I can expand the idea enough to be able to create some type of narrative, I wanna write something exploring how Richard and Eugene referred to each other throughout the years, from stuff like Eugene of all people calling Richard by his first name even after the debacle at the college to calling him "Mister Maxwell" after Waylaid and Richard asking him not to and Richard purposefully getting Eugene's name wrong when they first met to him calling Eugene "babe" when they meet up again and I just really want to explore this.

Edit: I also think if I do write this I'd like the title to be a play off of Eugene's "what I'd prefer to call you" line. Hopefully if I do so that means I can work some Longing and perhaps maybe even some Yearning into the story

#my mind is an odd place #adventures in Odyssey #people refer to Richard by his last name plenty but I can't recall anyone else using “mister”

[cathalbravecog]

since you have a lot of thoughts of whats out there in the toontown universe i wanna throw my 2 sents: so "toons" is short for carTOONS, the much is obvious. but as you & i both know cartoons can be so much more than your typical loonytunes slapstick humor. so i like to think there are other islands out there which represents a different genre, such as: a fantasy adventure land, a sci-fi land, a western land, a horror thriller land, a rom-com land, a detective mystery land, a preschool land. so on so forth. with all their own unique animation styles. with the only consistent thing is that all the land's inhabitants are anthropomorphic animals (GOLLY sorry if this is long)

OHOHOO. you caught me in a rambly day, so prepare for a long one, lol!! (i JUST talked about some world building for my deltarune AU in private) (and i just spent my whole day listening to video essays)

this MAY be ttcc specific but aside from some ttcc details, this could apply to just... toontown in general. but i am a ttcc blog and that's my hyperfixation so that's what i'll talk about.

-----

i love that idea! honestly, something like that is what i've had in mind, too! maybe not everything being placed on island - but a majority of them being. (perhaps similar themes being on bigger islands or just masses of land with some wilderness and such between?)

i already have my idea for a prehistoric toon land, but it's also still based on your looney tunes type cartoon - just populated completely by dinosaurs! it's where my OC, archie archaeopteryx comes from.

an idea like this in general would allow for a lot of interesting places to be made, stories to be told, characters to be made... all that could eventually get into toontown and interact with our typical toons and interact together in interesting ways and have jokes and themes based around their different animation styles and genres.

it would also let the toons to be expanded upon even more, since, in my opinion at least, ttcc can lack that a little bit in some ways. (but going out of my way to look at toons a bit more rather than just the cogs does bring some small interesting things into the light, even if just singular pieces of dialogue, lol. sadly, i don't have examples on my mind right now.) i'm a big cog fan and all, but i wanna see more from the toons! but then again, we play in the role of the toons - so i suppose that's our stories to tell! :]

I also like the idea of everything being anthro animals (ignore the fact i'm a furry for a second) it just allows for more fun, diversity, and just consistency. human-ness being reserved for cogs is what makes this work more in my opinion, but even with that not even all cogs are humanoid. (i am so glad ttcc brought us more robotic cog designs!!)

but the sheer contrast of a human-like robot interacting with ANY cartoon animal is what works in it's favor, y'know? makes the division more clear - even if there's a lot of stories and themes of these lines being blurried more. (like cog and toon friendship -> william and rain, misty in general, whatever dave has for the player toon, thomas warming up to the toons...) which i really like! gives more ideas for stories to be told and explored, and question the laws and logic of the world.

i guess this could also explain art style changes and design choices - like, for example, i don't exactly like the way flesh colored snouts look, it just doesn't fit my art style and so i leave them out. obviously, that's for all toons i draw - and honestly all art styles for just our regular toons are to be loved and celebrated. but y'know, this doesn't have to be! just a little idea i wanted to throw on the table as well.

one thing that could be interesting would just be different medias - i know toontown is a 3d game based on traditionally animated cartoons - but imagine the mixing you could do in art and in story telling! a classic cartoon coming across a pixar-esque cgi animated cartoon and them interacting, both baffled by one another - but still connected by their tooniness deep down!

it's a really interesting idea i like, thank you for sharing this with me and letting me ramble a bit! now, i'm going to list some genres or artstyles that i would like to see! based VERY OBVIOUSLY on my personal interests.

old kids edutainment game, i'm talking 90s - early 2000s. the jankier animation, bit-crushed voice acting, pretty off-model art... but all just very jolly and meaning to educate a young audience! could mix in cgi elements as well, since old games like this would have this. and y'know, some of these would be based on pre-existing thing.

honestly, just old games like that in general... the type of ones you don't see a lot, especially when spoken about online between more mainstream gaming places... but games you probably owned! games of mysterious origins, with very good charm tied to them despite their obvious lower production value... but maybe also something like pf magic petz! oh i'd die i'd love to see petz toons running around - except perhaps more anthro, but still four-legged since there are cartoons of non bipedal animals living more human-like lives.

just... digital in general? perhaps low poly cgi... listen i just like old games and their vibe. but we could do modern animated cartoon toons! both things from studios - but also indie things!

FLASH ANIMATED

eastern european slav cartoon toons - hey, that's where i am from! i grew up with a lot of cartoons from here (czechia), russia and poland! (these being the most notable obviously) and... the themes, animation styles and vibes are very different to anything anywhere else in the world! i would love to see that! obviously, this is hinted at older cartoons - but newer modern ones could apply, too! i'm just unfamiliar with those.

a bit more on the previous topic, since my country has a big history of this type of animation... stopmotion and/or claymation!!

i'm NOT a comic book person, but oh my god would comic book toons be interesting to see! i don't even mean super hero - just comic book style in general! comes from someone who's only comics they read and own were like... my little pony, astérix and obélix, tom and jerry, smurfs and some ducktales. very toony things!

now, most of these relate to art mediums and art styles... i think those are a bit more interesting than genres, since after all art is an art medium, and genres come second. soo many possibilities. thought there are some genres i think would be interesting to see!

detective/noir type toon world? a mysterious place filled with crimes and mysteries to be solved! could make call-backs to things like scooby-doo, too!

kid's cartoon, like you've said! something cute, fluffy, there to entertain the whole family and teach the kids a valuable lesson. not to be a bluey enjoyer on main here but... bluey toons. that would be very very cute, i think.

on that note, one could argue there could be an adult animated cartoon place, but considering a place like toontown we probably want to keep things pg 13... maybe not! but it's still a possibility - as long as you take inspiration from good animation made for adults. i will not be naming any names here...!

okay, this one is MORE an art genre/style thing but... illustrated children's book type thing? maybe not for VERY young kids, but still filled with fun stories and anthro cartoon animals regardless! could appear as 2d cutouts.

medieval toons, but in the art style of medieval styled drawings...! based on old tales and fables! could also mix with some fantasy elements, of course!

SPAAAAAAACEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE (space core portal 2 voice) (BUT LIKE... ALIEN TOONS. NOT JUST SPACESHIP TYPE STUFF THATS BORING TO ME I WAND INVADER ZIM TYPE SOMETHING RAAAA...!)

just anime. toon beastars. shoutout to that one louis fan-toon i saw some time ago

and honestly...im out of ideas for this here! i don't really look at genres too often to be honest! they kind of fly over my head, so i'd probably want these to reference specific types of stories that could be told in one of these, but not enough to base a whole place on. anyways, running a bit low on steam here, and i'd repeat myself on possible video game genre based toon worlds, so...! that's it from me! hope you had fun reading this... and my many callbacks to other medias for reference.

(also, your ask is not long! just long enough to be a delight to read! just look at my own responses here :,] )

also, question- should i get a tag for big rambles like this relating to like... world building and ideas in general? both for the cogs and the toons! would make it a bit easier to navigate, even if i am a little bit shy about people reading back through these, especially as my opinions may change. looking at you old thomas and robert ramble...

#rambles #long #[answered] #i talk about a lot of this as if toontown is a cartoon #KIND AFORGETTING ITS A VIDEO GAME BASED ON CARTOONS #but still IN UNIVERSE its cartoon world ok can make call backs to video games in that way too #i actually have plans for my cog oc the web surfer... i doodled that actually! #they can 'digitalize' toons and turn things into an retro video game ;]

[blackinquisitors]

Are there any characters or story beats that feel weak in rdr2 to you? Also, things you wished there'd been more exploration of, characters or ideas or themes

oh my god so much. I love red dead and its absolutely the best game ive ever played - and probably one of the best games ever - but its definitely not without flaws

Blessed are the peacemakers makes no sense in the plot. It does a few things: makes arthur doubt dutch, illustrates dutchs decline and his apathy (perhaps for the first time for the player), and shows that colm odriscoll is working with the pinkertons, possibly doing foreshadowing for micahs betrayal by showing you its possible for outlaws to become rats. BUT I think this could have been done in a billion other ways than "Lets torture arthur and never bring it up again!" bc he doesnt mention it, his shoulder injurt doesnt hinder him, he doesnt have ptsd from it. theres not a reason why that in particular had to happen. arthur could have been captured, but not tortured and shot, for example. maybe they could have drugged him and thru his haze he overheard colms plans and then managed to escape when he came to, only to find that it had been several days that he was missing and no one came to look for him. that sort of thing. same prinicple but without the ridiculous glossing over of TORTURE

Guarma. This one sticks in my craw and I get more annoyed every time I play it. R* originally was going to have villages and stranger missions on the island but abandoned it for some reason? time I guess? But I really would have liked to see a more personal look at the people there and how cornwall and fussar have hurt them. PLUS it would have been a very good opportunity to show how the way the rich men rob from the poor isnt too different from what dutch and the gang does. It would give arthur a really good image of how far they had fallen, that they were similar to these awful men, when they originally started off as robin hood-like men that gave back the money they stole to shanties. but no its just 3 missions of endless combat which can be fun but isnt really bc I dont even have my favortite gun with me. Also it didn't do a good job of showing Javier's sudden loyalty to Dutch/Bill/Micah. I would think that Arthur being stuck w these four, who eventually betray him, with nobody else would be a good opportunity to show how they all grow to hate him for some reason, but its not there. SIDE NOTE guarma is also glitched for me and this is a common bug. The time stays at 9am and half the guarma-exclusive animals dont spawn so I didn't get to fill out my compendium. R* never fixed this

I think all the girls could have been expanded upon. Tilly's role in the gang especially bc she was raised the same way as john and views dutch like a father, yet if you never heard her camp dialogue explaining this, you would never know. Molly especially needed more detail. She was supposed to be on the mission to go to the saint denis mayors party, and was cut for SOME REASON. but she would have done wonderfully. She should have had a part in it

The timeline of the gang and their relationships makes no fucking sense. Abigail says she always liked Mary, but Abigail joined the gang in 1894, and Mary and Arthur talk like they were in their early twenties when they were together. Theres a dialogue w Abigail and Uncle where they reminisce on her working girl days (bc Uncle was her pimp - very weird) and she says it was ten years ago. but that would mean she was working two years after she gave birth to jack which 1. didn't happen and 2. COULDNT happen bc I dont think men would want to pay for a night with a mother who had children fairly recently. the stretch marks and loose skin would give that away. Arthur has an antagonizing line to Jack that he looks like a williamson or an escuella- Javier didn't join the gang until about 1895, a year after abigail, and presumably when she was already pregnant or had given birth to jack. Theres other examples but these are the main ones I can think of

That encounter with Sonny in the swamp had no reason to be in the gang aside from R* thinking male victims of SA are funny

I wish they had more detail with Isaac. I mean clearly I wish that, ive got a 130k+ fic exploring arthur and Isaac's relationship, but within red dead I wanted just a bit more than a couple of lines. Originally Isaac and Eliza were both supposed to be in the game and Isaac was a newborn that would have frozen to death in the prologue, and I think Eliza would have ran away. Instead they went with making them a footnote in Arthur's story. On one hand, I understand why Arthur would rarely talk about them bc it would be too painful, but I also think if it was more overt, it would color his interactions with Jack/Abigail/John differently. Plus it would lean more into the themes of cycles of violence, and breaking out of it to be a father. Arthur didn't and he died childless, John tried to but he couldnt manage it and doomed his son to follow in his footsteps

THE EPILOGUE. Oh my godddd the more I play the epilogue, the more empty it feels and the more I realize why few people like it or finish it. It feels very tacked on. There needed to be a scene between the saddest video game death in history and John and Abigail arguing. The fact that there is no break inbetween like 2 hours of arthurs story wrapping up and another hour of John's story starting. Farm chores are fine but tedious if youve played it before. John being desperate for money and risking his life w sadies bounties makes no sense when Ive just done a treasure map and have $1000 in my inventory. "The gang needs money" is an endlessly attainable goal, moreso than "I need money". John's player model is just Arthur's reskinned- But they originally planned for you to play as John's npc model. You can see this in the pictures they have in the menu of John in the missions. The fact that there are NO NEW STRANGER MISSIONS aside from evelyn miller which is really nothing. They unlock new austin, but theres NOTHING to do there except collectiables and sight seeing and a couple bounties. Why even bother? When you compare how dense New Hanover is with Stuff To Do compared to New Austin which is HALF THE TOTAL MAP, its ridiculous!! I think it was just rushed and needed either more fleshing out, or cutting out completely bc John doesnt even live in new austin, and doesnt visit it until rdr1. Doesnt Bonnie give him a tour bc he doesnt know where things are? I may be misremembering that

Money. Money is so inconsistent and the values make no sense. Right its 1899. I rob a stagecoach and get $40 for it. This must be like $1000 in todays money. Wow Arthur beat a man to death for $40. This must be a lot of money. What do you mean a pair of jeans is $15. Thats how much they cost now! Wait why is this can of bean $1.40? I can buy them now for 40cents! Not to mention the Valentine bank robbery gives you $2000, essentially making money completely useless. Add on all the treasure maps as well as random gold bars lying around, which is 24 accoring to gamerant. $12,000 for all of those. So once you have this much money, all the fun outlaw stuff of robbing stagecoaches, mugging people, robbing stores and trains, is completely irrelavent. I never do any of it bc its not worth the bounty for 50 bucks. And paying off bounties isnt a big deal either bc its barely a dent in your pocket. Basically it takes the difficulty away, and the need to engage in these criminal activities for afford anything in the game. Its hard to take dutch seriously w his "We need more money" when I have a cool 8k in my man purse. Its also hard to believe Arthurs lamenting about his behaviour "I'm a bad man I rob and kill and am so terrible to people" no you aint but I dont make you do anything criminal unless the game makes me in a mission

Theres a lot of cut content and I wish almost all of it was back. Most notably, roulette tables, boat to guarma for John, more stranger missions, more companion activities in camp. I think they were orginally going to allow come sort of companion mechanic where people from camp could accomanpy Arthur on his adventures. I understand why they didnt bc that would require 10x more voice acting and would be really complicated with stranger missions, but I would have loved it all the same

Okay. I was going to add another one but tumblr said I reached my limit. my last thing is I wished they didnt play the native american flutes every time anyone in the wapiti tribe came on screen. silly.

anyway NOW I'm done. I think. Ill probably think of more but this post is already very long

#long post