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#i didnt question it at all i thought that was just the obviously intended meaning of the song
officialspec · 3 months
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can i say something. for years i thought the joke of the song short skirt/long jacket by cake was that he wanted a woman who was hung like a horse. like i thought when he says jacket it was a last-second fakeout because he very obviously meant to say cock. and the rest of the things in the song were just her personality and interests. which were secondary to her awesome penis
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transhoverfish · 3 months
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OK SO IM LATE BUT. MORE SUB3 NEWS!!!
so a few days ago, krafton (their publisher), apparently had this like presentation of their plans over the next like 2 years. and during that they talked a bit about sub 3!
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and this obviously creates a LOT of questions. not to worry, though, because unknown worlds added on to this:
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im honestly not surprised by this. iirc, when below zero released they said it would be a WHILE before the next game, and they only announced this back in like... january? now, the first game's release was in january, and bz was in may, so it's definitely possible early access with be in spring of 2025. those games did not have multiplayer aspections tho! its possible we'll wait until mid 2025, and full release will likely not be until 2026. but who knows? the first game took like ten to be fully finished!!
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and honestly. THANK GOD. i can't imagine any subnautica game having BATTLE PASSES or LOOT BOXES. i would have just straight up ignored this game 😭
i do wonder what these updates will entail! "many years to come" is definitely something interesting to me, because other than bug fixes... i dont remember sub or bz getting many updates post full release. is this referring to bug fixes, or is it implying that it will be in a state of early access for much longer? are they going to just keep adding new things (like the building update for sub1) and taking fandom suggestions? very interested!!
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maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but i actually,,,, dont want multiplayer. now i do like bz, and these games arent really intended to be horror games, but also bz is very noticeablely less scary than sub1. and some of it i think definitely has to do with all the extra characters and dialogue. its hard to feel isolated when you know al-an and marg are nearby. so im very happy that it's optional, bc i know i will probably enjoy single player a lot more enjoyable!!
so now... SPECULATION.
so the first thing im curious about that the development team didnt mention:
"uncover the mysteries on an entirely new alien planet"
apprently we are NOT returning to 4546b. which im kind of sad about!! ik the story is very obviously done there, but it feels weird that its going to be some other planet this time around. THERE WONT BE PEEPERS!!!! (well there could be but it would be weird if some other random planet had the exact same lifeforms)
now my next immediate thought is: is this a direct continuation of below zero? my opinion is: no. probably not.
mostly because it mentions up to four players, and robin and alan are, if you look very closely, only two people. now they COULD just create two new characters to go alongside them (my fanfic brain loves the au idea of marg and ryley 🥺) but im just going to assume that with the addition of a new planet, we're going to drop the old storylines. which means no more degasi, sunbeam, aurora, or ayou sisters. we might move away from architects/precursors altogether! (my basis on this is absolutely nothing and i could be wrong, this is 100% just theorizing)
also, i imagine that it would be difficult to keep the plot the exact same with two established characters and then two new ones, depending on how this multiplayer aspect works. if its another crash, it would be a lot easier to just have the extra players die/survive, then try to work in a balancing act of one guy playing al-an.
(also i like keeping the ending of bz vauge. if they show up again, they would have to mention what happened to the rest of the architects, and i think it's much more fun if thats a mystery!)
((also also, im gonna drop a bomb on u all for a second. i actually,,, dont like al-an. i have a deeper connection to probably every single other character in bz. i think they really fumbled al's character and story and he is so incredibly bland to me. it feels like they go nowhere with how he was responsible for the kharra outbreak because the game ends immediately after he confesses! it would be nice to give him another chance, sure, but i personally dread the idea of even more al-an. sorry everyone for this horrible news))
HERE'S A CONCEPT IMAGE
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i hope they bring back some cut content creatures for this!! i noticed this new area looks VERY similar to the safe shallows, and several of the fish seem to be variations of ones we've already seen (im already seeing bladderfish and hoopfish color pallettes, and the shark resmbles some early concept art for the shadow leviathan, but with the ice worm's colors...)
will there be more land areas?? is it going to entirely underwater?? more kharra?? NO DISEASE AT ALL?? AAAAAA!!!!
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vesemirsexual · 5 months
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read the entire series recently and saw your recent ask about yennefer and being abusive. question: why do people only think yennefer is bad/bitch/mean/abusive? bc reading the entire series i found that while i still liked geralt, i also didnt really think of him as a poor meow meow in the way fandom had made him seem and there were points i really didnt like him?
Putting the ask here for reference.
I have some thoughts on this that I think will be unpopular and not go down well. I'll throw them below the cut to be respectful. I think this is probably going to come across much harsher than I intend, which I just want to state: not the goal! Just more of some thoughts I have on this topic, fandom cultural, and general social-cultural trends.
Obviously, there's the argument of male vs females character, which I really do think holds merit here. There's not a lot I can say on the topic, because I think that horse has been beaten to death. I think it's safe to say that Yennefer does have traits that are better received in male characters, and rub people the wrong way otherwise.
Another minor point I want to make quickly that I mentioned in the other ask reply: a lot of the heavy criticism of Yennefer comes from her behaviour early in the story. Realistically, the characters all develop throughout the story, and are not the same people they are in the beginning that they are by the end. It's whether you look at a character as who they are at a specific place in their storyline vs across the whole development. Both Yen and Geralt develop from people who cannot sustain a relationship, cannot be together, and are forced by their experiences to grow and learn.
Now comes the part I think is going to be unpopular. I talked in the previous ask reply about both Geralt and Yennefer having terrible childhoods that left them with a myriad of trauma and baggage. The way they interact with the world as a result of this trauma is very different though - Yennefer faces her problems head on, much of the time with arrogance, steps into a role as an aggressor before she can be the victim. Geralt on the other hand, repeatedly repositions himself as a victim, often coming back to feeling negative about himself/sorry for himself, bitter and sardonic.
From this, I think two things happen:
• People identify with Geralt more. Yennefer falls into the "bad survivor trope", who's behaviour as a result of trauma minimises sympathy you might feel for her, and makes people flinching away from empathising with her further. Geralt is much easier to project, to see yourself in - it's much easier see your behaviour as someone you can imagine as a victim, than someone who is behaving as an aggressor.
• It also means it's easier to excuse when Geralt behaves badly, or in a way that isn't conducive or healthy. It's much more sympathetic and relatable in a way that isn't uncomfortable to identify with. Realistically, no one wants to identify with negative behaviour that could be cast as abusive or aggressive, let alone admit it to other people (i.e, fandom). It's much easier to identify with how Geralt responds to situations instead. I think this kind of identification also makes it a lot easier for in-group bias to form; it's an easy step to call Yennefer a bitch for her response to a situation than to critically analyse how Geralt is responding as well.
What both Yennefer and Geralt share is that they're both incredibly stubborn and difficult people. Neither of them thinks they're capable of love, and suddenly they're neck deep in it (and the wish really has nothing to do with it). Yennefer is absolutely a nightmare at times; at the same time, she's facing someone who is actively trying to convince themselves they don't have feelings or humanity, which is not pleasant or easy to face either.
Yennefer gets raked over the coals for all her flaws. Geralt is many good things, but he's also a cynic, irritable and takes the people around him for granted frequently. He's easily offended, sulks and is prone to self-pity. He can also be incredibly ignorant of other people's perspective and how they feel. He bases his morality and consequent actions on his own views and experiences. In his conversation with Nenneke, it's made pretty clear that he's as culpable for things going wrong for them as she is. After living together for a year doesn't work, he literally ditches her in Vengerberg with a note and flowers because he doesn't want to face her. Yennefer breaks up with him and Istredd after making it clear she would choose him because he won't admit he loves her, and instead retreats into his victim stance.
This is not to say that I excuse all of Yennefer's actions. She actively fucks up in many places, and seriously crosses the line (e.g. throwing jars at him). But I also don't think it's realistic to say that she is the only toxic one, or that their pre-Ciri relationship is the same beast as the post-Ciri relationship.
In many ways, Geralt and Yen are the same character. They're abused, abandoned and set on a life path they don't choose for themselves. They don't know how to love, and they don't think they deserve to be loved. They're a mirror of each other, which is how they end up in the shitty pre-Ciri cycle: infatuation, passion, sex, fight, break up, spend time apart, think about each other, miss one another, seek the other out. Ciri is the catalyst for them to leave this cycle, get their shit together and grow forward from it.
Honestly, I blame CDPR for a lot of Yennefer hate, because most of their portrayal of her sucked, and the rumor that the writers didn't like her is incredibly suspicious considering. I think a lot of the other overly harsh criticism about Yennefer comes from how we identify with characters and their struggles, and how we view the real life complexities of abuse survivors, trauma and relationships.
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lordsooga · 2 years
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For the ask game; 6 and 26! Your art is so so so good, so I'm very interested to learn more of your process and stuff :D
6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn’t supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)
MMMM IT'S A GOOD QUESTION!! There ARE some artists on here/twitter who have inspired me. Not always subconsciously but sometimes I'll notice I've done something and realize later it's because one of them. @/ganondoodle, @/somesleepyfreak, @/scolopendraws, @/fembard, and @/ballpitbee are some but definitely not ALL the artists who have influenced how I make things :0!!
But as far as, like, other series/games/shows that have subconsciously inspired me, I'm not sure??? I mean, obviously I draw/write a lot about zelda, but that's not subconscious XD If my art looks like something else, I can't tell, but I would be very interested in hearing it!
26. What’s a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended
HMMM!!! As far as art goes, I'm not sure any piece was interpreted too differently than what I was expecting. Though sometimes I do START a piece intending to go one direction then pull a 180 and doing something else. Usually it's with monsters or villains and I tell myself "okay, they're gonna be creepy this time!" and then I end up with a little bean at the end lmao
With writing, there's nothing TOO crazy either. Mostly, we just got some predictions that were different than what we were foreshadowing (which is a good thing I think XD! I liked hearing what other people thought might happen! or seeing another way a line might have been read). The only ones I can remember off the top of my head right now are a prediction that the footsoldier with the crooked mask could end up being Koh. And another that said there was no way Kohga just died by a random rockslide and they suspected it was actually intentional and someone killed him (which, honestly 👀 Kohga's death being a murder could have been really interesting tbh. and iirc we did even talk about that comment and that possibility. but we didnt have time to do something like that because we already had another totally different tangent to go off on with the history of Kohga and Greg ahahah)
Though mostly I always think I'm making things WAY too obvious with the foreshadowing somehow XD I'm always like "Wow, just print it out on a neon sign why dont you" only to realize later it does, in fact, only seem way too obvious to me because I know exactly what's gonna happen and I wrote the dam thing XD
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friesian · 2 years
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U seem stuck awake like me, so I'm here to plague you with quastions about Marwyd! What's his birthday if he has one? Does he celebrate it? How did he go from being an outlaw to being commander? How'd he first react to Aurene latching onto him as a parental figure? Did he and canach meet the canonical way or earlier? And how long did it take for him to get a crush on the fellow grumpy cactus?
oh i am VERY MUCH stuck awake so THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTIONS!! it certainly helps with the pain.
his birthday is (in game and canonically) april fucking 1st. which is great. i didnt even intend for this to happen. i thought i made him in the ass end of march but i was VERY DELIGHTED when i found out months later that wasn't the case!! as for celebrating his birthday, i think he doesn't really?? i think he tries to keep it on the down low but probably like taimi or canach make a HUGE FUCKING DEAL about a birthday party for him and then the cat is out of the bag. so he'll attend if it means thar his friends will be happy, however if he had it his way he'd probably just light up a cigar that day and call it quits.
for being an outlaw to commander that one is kinda funny. essentially he got in a scrap with this norn named niddhiem who was like a wandering bounty hunter/trader/guy who helps out where he can. they like totally wreck each other and come to a truce that obviously, they're not gonna be able to kill one another and he says if marwyd will stop doing all his robbing that he can use his ability to get on a ship to take him to kryta and start over. but no more outlaw-ing. he agrees and they quickly become friends. he was marwyds first true friend, and got him in with some of the priory. thats how he ends up being really good with machines!!! he literally just read all the books on deadly engineering all the time. and also unionizing. he did unionizing laws and machining. and well that got him noticed!! especially since he wasnt from the pale tree so everything sort of snowballed from there, niddhiem at his side.
SO. when aurene hatched he was in a lot of pain. losing trahearne and all. he also loses niddhiem, technically, but thats a complicated story for another time. either way he was really not in a good place mentally at all. he was mad at the world. VERY mad. but aurene was so innocent, and gave him unconditional love that he never knew that he wanted. let alone needed. that was something that tore down a wall in his heart. i'll say this, that i think if not for aurene that he wouldn't be himself, let alone around as long as he is now.
NOW FOR CANACH. they absolutely meet technically the canonical way. in my minds eye i know he saw those wanted posters. in his mind he thought "oh he's cute... damn," and would marvel at it. he would also think the same thing of him in person. the crush was pretty instant. marwyd LOVES short sylvari men. or just short men. but if you're a short guy who is a sylvari its like an ant to honey. anyways, he gets to see him in person and then a fucking shrapnel mine goes right up his ass. and in that split moment it went from "oh hes cute he can't be that bad" to "you know what??? FUCK this guy. i HATE this guy." not to mention the countless banter in LWS2.
btw. marwyd HATES anise. says her name like how taimi says "AHN-KA" but its growly, low, and huffy (i like to think she got the ahnka thing from marwyd saying AH-NISE). he heard those conversations and this bitch is JEALOUS from knowing NO CONTEXT. we LOVE a petty king!
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loopy777 · 1 month
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So one of the more obscure and facinating parts of Tolkien's legendarium i recently stumbled unto was The Debate of Finrod and Andreth from Morgoth's ring, which turned a lot of what i thought i knew about Tolkien lore and themes on it's head.
It's mostly a short tale about a wise woman of thr Edain and an Elven King of Nargothrond discussing the early days of man, how they were from before the first sin, how they were after, how they differed in both role in the universe and nature to elves, and so on.
It has some very interesting parts, like how it describes the Early mankind sounding very, very similar to the Numenoreans in the period right after they got their great gifts(greater in spirit and strength than they were after the fall, capable of making wonders that put even the Valar's potential to shame, no fear of death, long life(though the way its spoken about suggests humanity just didnt manage exist long enough for any of them to die of first age), and being far less susceptible to the influence of evil).
This suggests that the Numenoreans gifts(which diminished over time, not by dilluting blood as in universe characters often believe, but by the inheritors of such becoming wickedand evil, and passing off their weakened gift onwards, where innevitably it weakens during another generation, until it begins to fizzle out completely) was actually the Numenoreans not being blessed with some special supernatural gift unique to them, but by being cleansed of Morgoth's influence, and recovering the natural state that was all of humanity's birthright.
And when they turned to wickedness and gave in to the influence of Morgoth anew, they began to revert back.
There is also a bit where Humanity will one day "Enlarge the Music to Surpass the Vision of the World." Which is a fanciful way of saying that we'd one day leave Arda behind and conquer the stars(Which in and of itself has an interesting story behind it, as Tolkien originally thought space travel through the void was actually physically impossible, and that Earendil's travels through space was a miracle no humans could ever repeat. Then the moon landings happened XD. you gotta wonder if the reason why Tolkien eventually began quietly dropping the references to the destined final battle in his works was because he realised that the end of Earth might not be as decisive as he'd once though).
However, the single most interesting part of the entire bit is a bit about a discussion of the long defeat and marring of Arda. For amongst what we learn through King Finrod having a moment of Sight(i really wish tolkien invented a better descriptive word for these psychic visions characters like Frodo, Gandalf and Aragorn sometimes have) which gives him clarity into Humanity's true nature, we learn that Humanity's main role as the Inheritors of Arda, the Race's true destiny from the word go, was that they were intended to heal the marring of Arda. Which then obviously got derailed at the first sin.
Now he has a sorta sight intot he remaking of the world, or at least one version of it, but the implication that it was humanity's intended purpose, means that 1. It was possibly to do so in some way, even after Morgoth imbued the world itself with his essence, and 2. That by extension, the healing of Arda(In whatever form that might be, as it could not be completely removed from thr world withouth breaking it) was always meant to be undone, and not necessarily at the end of the world.
This obviously puts Eru's plans in a much more positive light, but the thing im way more interested in, and the actual question this entire thing was leading up to, when do you think that the "Healing of Arda" became impossible?
Because there clearly was a point of no return, when the nature of the world crystalized into the world we get to see in LOTR, a world in eternal, innevitable decline, where the elves were doomed and magic would go eventually, like it or not.
The most boring answer is of course that it became impossible with the first sin, but im not so sure im satisfied with that.
Beyond being boring, it kinda seems like the second age was an era where the magic and wonder of the world was resurging, and the conflict was wheter or not good or evil would win.
To me, looking at the bigger picture it seems that the Numenoreans, and the way they first interacted with the outside world seems to be an example of them acting in the way Humanity was always meant to be, as they tried to lift their fellow man up, and aid the Elves as best they could.
Of course Evil won the "greater conflict" of that age, and though Sauron was defeated, the sinking of Numenor, and the bending of the world seems to, in my opinion at least, be THE moment when the marring of Arda became completely irreversible, and could only be undone by the the breaking of the world.
However i'll addmit that's just my thoughts on it.
If you believe that the reason Beleriand fell into the sea was that by the end Morgoth had poured so much of himself and his essence into Beleriand, that he had made himself an effective Keystone of the land that by physically removing him broke it on a fundamental level, the point of no return would probably be the battle of unnumbered tears and the period afterwards, where his evil began to creep southwards withouth any checks beyond Turins two brief periods of leading a sucessfull resistance. That was the period where Morgoth's corruption of the world around him was acellerated until he was a weak, frail ogre like figure by the end.
Or if you believe the magic in the world was doomed the moment the one ring was forged, because it put an expiration date tied to it's existence then obviously that would be the point of no return.
Or maybe there was no single, massive turning point, and all of these just stacked on top of each other until it all just became too much.
Regardless, what do you think?
Wow! The more shallow accusations of racism in Tolkien's works could be defused completely with that point about the fall of Numenor and how it was their choices that diminished their power.
But before I give my answer, your follow-up:
Also one more detail about the fall of numenor you wouldn't know unless you read the aforementioned story from Morgoth's ring. The first sin in Tolkien's legendarium was turning away from Eru... but it's the method they did so that is the most important for my opinion that it was the fall of numenor that was the decisive point of no return. See in the beginning humanity was guided by illuvatar, similar to how the elves were originally sought and guided by the valar, but eru was a bit more hands off, basically the story of the garden of eden, the devil creeps in, yada yada... Then over time morgoth worms his way into the hearts of men and turns them from illuvatar with lies. Where the tale truly differs from the actual christian tale(which funnily enough, the medieval catholic church believed was an allegorical recounting of something that happened, and not a literal recounting of events :D), is by which means they turned against god. In the story of adam and eve, the two first humans ate the apple of knowledge, and so took sin unto themselves, along with knowledge. In tolkien's universe, the human race(before they splintered during the following events) as a whole built a giant temple to Morgoth, where they worshiped him, and it was said that not a single human being alive at the time had not at the very least set foot in this temple of devil worship... But the final straw so to say, was that not only did the human race turn away from Eru to worship Morgoth(whether it be out of fear or genuine belief) but in this dread temple, they began to sacrifice their fellow men as sacrifices to the dark lord. That was the last straw for Eru, and the aftermath of that was when Morogth fled back west to angband, abandoning the humans he'd corrupted, while the now greatly diminished human race splintered completely from one people into the various different peoples of the Earth(im guessing this is basically incorporating the story of the tower of babel as well). With this in mind you can probably see why i put the downfall of numenor as the moment where any hope of humanity ultimately reversing the marring of arda eithouth the world having to be destroyed, died. It was literately the first sin being repeated, beat for beat, in a realm given as a divine gift, perpetrated by the very people who seemingly got a taste of what humanity was always meant to be, who's purpose was to be the shining beacon on the hill for the entire human race, only to in the end completely squander it, and go back to the exact same sin that broke the human race apart and led to their marring to begin with. There is a distinct symbolism there that is impossible to miss... In a world where symbolism has enormous power.
I'll admit the symbolism is potent, and dramatically it works better to have a single point of no return. This is something where I think the 'prequels' being unfinished really hampers our ability to analyze them as a story, as I would normally say that Tolkien would have called out such a moment explicitly, but this feels like the kind of thing where an author feels their way into making a decision as they settle the details and see the shape of the story.
So in the story's current form, I think it feels more like an accumulation of darkness. However, as you note, that echo of the original sin is a satisfying reflection, the same sin ending the journey into darkness as started it. But I can also see an argument that intervention is necessary, that the Devil tempting humanity is the fulcrum on which the Creation Myth turns, so perhaps giving it to Morgoth's action has better weight.
I'm less inclined to give it to Sauron and the One Ring, since that feels like a separate story and more 'modern' than the formative stuff, even though it's supposed to all be our Earth's pre-history.
I admit I'm a bit ambivalent about the idea of humanity being meant to repair the damage Morgoth did at the outset. Like you, I'm unsure what that would even look like, and I personally find something compelling about the idea that the 'material' world has always too flawed to last forever and its destiny being to fade slash fall into fire slash grow cold without a sun, etc. (I mean, I was born a Catholic, so that makes sense. XD) So the idea that this was all avoidable according to the grand design -- but then that failed -- is something I'm having a hard time swallowing. If we go with the idea that this was all Eru's grand plan, it seems simpler and more elegant to just let the initial corruption always maintain its influence, rather than build in an attempt to undo it that never comes to fruition.
However, I think that's the part of the story that needs to be defined and gives its proper place and weight before we can make a real decision about the Point of No Return. If humanity was special and had the collective ability to somehow counter Morgoth's corruption, then perhaps he leveraged that power to guarantee their fall, if their initial sins weren't enough to do it.
But perhaps that can be tied to your preference for the Numenoreans' fall. However they were meant to repair the world, that same power was the only thing that could ruin the plan.
So I guess I just have a bunch of thoughts instead of a clear preference. Still, that's some fascinating stuff. Thanks for sharing!
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n1k1tty · 3 years
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kiss me ! part 2
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“hawaii!” niki yells, throwing as fist in the air as he enters the van “riki, it’s 3am in the morning, please shut up” jay retorts, going back to sleep as he leans on the window
as if it was almost planned, you and jake sat beside each other at the furthest seat. it was complicated, you didn’t know if you were comfortable or not, you felt tense, afraid of jake’s teasing if you touch him even the slightest. yet you also didn’t want to leave your seat.
you let out a huff, trying to find a position where you could comfortably sleep in. you were spooked at the sudden hand that leans your head on their shoulders “you can sleep on my shoulders, it’s alright” jake chuckles, already drifting to sleep the second after he did that “thanks” you mumble, easing into his warmth.
you laugh a little at his aching figure “this is funny to you? after i’ve been so kind to let you sleep on my shoulder?” he pouts “i deserve a long massage during our flight” he jokes, continuing to carry your bags.
dumbfounded by the fact that you stayed with him, giving him a glance filled with guilt “y/n seriously, i’m fine. it’ll go away sooner or later” he reassures you, his heart exploding at the sight of you with glimmering eyes, feeling the guilt you expressed them with.
“what do you wanna eat for breakfast?” you mumble, taking the luggage cart from his grasp. he laughs at your attempt to make him feel better “sorry? didnt quite hear that well” he teases, making you give him a glare, almost forgetting that he was ‘injured’ you raise your hand to almost give him a punch “good thing you’re hurting or i would’ve punched your ass back to australia” you roll your eyes “you heard what i said!” eyebrows frowning as you look away “alright alright, i’m fine with coffee really—” he lets out a breathy chuckle, dragging his feet as he follows you around “—nonsense! breakfast is important. don’t give me that type of bullshit sim” you cut him off, stopping by a little restaurant as you tell the other members to go ahead “im getting you pancakes. better finish it or you’re not living to see another day”
he laughs “this is quite a unique way to care for someone don’t you think” you roll your eyes "eat the damn pancakes sim jaeyun"
"yas ma'am"
--
after everyone had met up, you all started finding your seats. you were bewildered, somehow, because now you found yourself wanting to switch seats with sunghoon for obvious reasons. but of course, you --again, didn't have the guts to do so.
a few hours into the flight and a few glances from jake here and there, you received a message
jake :):
hey pretty girl, do me a favour and go to the washroom behind you
you:
and why exactly?
jake :):
no questions asked. i just miss you ;)
you swore you wanted to jump off the plane. pretty girl?! he misses me?!. you feel the heat creeping up in your face as you asked jungwon "hey, could you get up of a sec. i gotta go to the washroom" you whisper, mumbling a small 'thank you' before you walked to the washroom.
you felt a hand pull you "hey" he giggles, arms wrapped around your waist "you scared me! i thought i was getting abducted" you slap his shoulder. although you would be lying if you said you didn't want to just grab him and kiss him right at this moment.
he looked so good with his button up shirt, showing off his collar bones, neck wearing the beaded necklace you made for him during the summer and your birthstone necklace. his hair was messy, and you couldn't deny how hot he looked with his glasses on.
"you should consider buttoning up" you hesitantly say, looking anywhere but his eyes. of course he catches on to your intentions, but he felt like pissing you off "why? i'm showing off your necklace" he giggles "i even bought your birthstone" he grabs the necklace with his thumb, making you roll your eyes as you cross your arms, making sim jaeyun giggle.
he places his hand under your chin, finally letting you looking at him "switch seats with sunghoon please. i don't think i like the sight of you sleeping on jungwon's shoulders" now it was your time to piss him off.
"why?" you pout, "his shoulders are so comfortable, and we don't want your shoulders aching again now do we?" you give him a slight smile, well it wasn't like you weren't planning to switch with sunghoon way before the flight even started anyway.
jake rolls his eyes "that leaves you no choice--"
"can y'all hurry up? i'll switch with you y/n gosh! just let me pee!" sunghoon bangs on the door, making jake laugh "well that was easy"
--
oh how you regret changing seats.
because now you get to fully witness the flight attendants obviously flirting with him.
"good morning sir" she annoyingly giggles, biting her lip as she leans in way too close. jake leans back, letting out a small laugh out of politeness "hi, yeah i'd like..." he orders his food while you glare at the girl who's been displeasingly close to him "what can i get for you ma'am?"
"oh my girlfriend would like the same thing" jake interrupts, giving you a sly wink after placing his hand on top of yours. you let out a small scoff after seeing the disappointed look on the girl as she hands you the food. your skips a beat. girlfriend? you thought
now he was starting to piss you off. he was doing everything but ask you out. and with every ounce of pride you had in your soul, you hated to admit that you were starting to get really impatient. were you not obvious about your feelings? was the handmade necklace and the concern you have for him not obvious enough?
"ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Hawaii" the pilot announces, after you got your hand carry, you didn't even bother waiting for jake. immediately walking out of the plane, causing him to tilt his head out of confusion.
he didn't get a chance to talk to you, i mean, how could he when you would immediately start walking away from him whenever he tried to walk towards you.
as you sat beside jay in the tour bus, he gives you a weird look "why are you here" you give him a lost look "can i not...?" that's when he knew something happened between you and jake "y/n if this is because of jake--" you place your hand on his mouth, leaning way too close. but luck wasn't on your side today, because jake saw.
"shut up please! and yes! it is about him. so please spare me and let me sit here for the meantime" jay chuckles, "jake's going to kill me for this" he mumbles, leaning back to the chair "what?"
"nothing" he gives you a grin
--
after you guys arrived to jay's beach house you immediately grab your bag before jake could help you
"alright riki and sunoo are sharing a room, jungwon and heeseung are sharing, and...." jay looks at you, sunghoon and jake, not knowing what to do "you three figure it out. i'm just letting you know one gets to have their own room" jay starts to head to his own room, shrugging his shoulders as he walks past you with widened eyes.
"we already know what's about to happen. i'm getting my own room-"
"no!" you yell
"yes!" jake yells in unison,
"well......" sunghoon stood there, waiting for the both of you to talk "well, i just think i should get the room since you know-- i'm a girl and-- you and jake are best friends so you should be roommates" you explain, giving sunghoon an awkward smile "yeah sure whatever- ow!" jake hits sunghoon in the arm "you idiot! take the goddamn room!" jake grits through his teeth "you know what y/n! i change my mind. i uh, i think im going to take the room"
"why?!" you whisper with a harsh tone. poor sunghoon "IM GOING TO JERK OFF OR SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW" he yells, although he regrets it after the maids give him a weird look "ayo what?" heeseung peaks through the door "nothing! i didn't mean that. just --ugh! i'm heading out" he grabs his luggage, stomping through the hallways as he walks to the room. leaving you with jake.
--
you were about to have a mental breakdown "jay! you're seriously not helping me at all!" you give him a shove "ow! you need to control your strength sometimes! and i'm sorry okay? i just panicked, and i think you and jake being roommates wouldn't be a mistake. it's better to fix your problems instead of just sweeping it under the rug. you can't avoid him forever y/n" he was right. and you knew that. but you couldn't bring yourself to tell jake what was bothering you. even the thought of it was embarrassing, because what if he wasn't even intending to date you at all?
you walk back to the room, hesitating whether you should open it or not. but after hearing no noise, you open the door "AH OH MY GOD SORRY--" there you saw a shirtless jake, hair wet and his glasses having a few drops of water from his hair. he grabs your hand before you could walk out again "y/n, please talk to me" he places his hands on both sides of your shoulders "did i do something wrong? whatever it is, i'm really sorry" he panics, slightly pouting at the silent treatment you gave him "jake i-"
"dinners ready!" riki barges in, freezing at the sight of you two "oh- hey! riki, let's go!" you grab his arm, walking towards the dining room "please don't mention it" you whisper, sitting in between riki and jay.
jake later follows, now in his grey shirt and the checkered pajamas he wore earlier, he gives you a small smile before sitting next to heeseung.
"so, sunghoon. did you have fun?" heeseung teases
"shut up!"
--
"this wasn't going as planned anymore!" jake groans, he was currently in jay's room, ranting his frustrations out while jay listened. when jake had heard about the trip to hawaii, he originally planned to confess when you guys went to the party, it's not like the party had already happened, but it was already tomorrow "i already apologized, yet she still wouldn't speak"
"do you even know why she's mad?" jay asked, leaning on the bad with his arms as he watched jake pacing around his room "...no?"
"jake sim you idiot"
it was 1 am in the morning and you finally finished playing games with riki and heeseung. you were hesitating to open the door once again. afraid of letting the incident happen once more. you knock lightly, hoping that he was there and you could finally make up
but before you could open the door, jake already opened it. immediately embracing you "please talk to me" he whispers gently in your ear. you couldn't help but burst out crying, causing him to panic, he caresses your hair "let's go for a walk yeah?" he grabs your wrist, his touch so gentle as if you were fragile.
he wipes your tears as you walk along the shore "i missed you. you know?" he holds your hand as you both drag your feet along the sand. you hit him on his shoulder "ow!"
"that's what you get!" you sniffle, looking at the reflection of the moon on the sea "what did i do?" he chuckles, searching for your eyes. he tilts his head when you don't respond "hello?"
"cause! you always flirt with me, calling me your girlfriend and hugging me! i hate it! i hate it because my heart always skips a beat every time and i always expect you to ask me out soon yet you never do!" you yell, your skin was glowing under the moonlight. jake was in awe the moment he saw your glistening eyes that had tears threatening to fall.
he had the sudden urge to kiss you and tell you how he felt.
and he did. because jake was a man who never doubted his feelings when it came to you.
he pulls you by the waist, causing you to let out a yelp. his lips touches yours, and it stayed like that for a while, to make up for the moments he wasted without you this whole vacation. you wrap your hands around his neck, playing with his hair
"can i be your boyfriend?" he cheekily says, his smile making you smile as well "suck my ass. sim jaeyun. yes, i'd love for you to be my boyfriend"
"i'd gladly suck your a--"
"sim jaeyun!"
--
[bonus bcs i haven't posted in a while]
it was the morning of the party, you were in jake's arms "finally you're awake! good morning!" he excitedly says, peppering you with kisses "the guys are in the pool so get changed" he informs you, smacking your ass as soon as you got up "getting too comfortable for our first day aren't we?" you tilt your head, giving him a smirk "can't help it" he send a wink your way.
as soon as you got out in your swimsuit, jake's mouth drops "do a little turn for me" he smirks, twirling you around as he hypes you up "holy shit! i'm so lucky aren't i" he checks you out, earning a smack from you "ow! alright but i'm not letting them check you out like that! wear my shirt"
(he didn't let you go from the jacuzzi after heeseung hyped you up lol)
--
[party]
you told jake to go ahead, wanting to surprise him with the dress you bought.
after arriving to the party jake almost dropped the drink he had in his hand after he saw you. he was smiling so hard when the little girl put a Lei (flower neck lace) on you. he felt so proud when the other men at the party look at you giving him a hug
"that's right, she's mine" he thought
after you walked to wards him he grabs you by the waist "you look so pretty in red" he says, hugging you tightly "is that so?" you ask, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips, making him all giddy
--
part 1
taglist: @zylenes @hwalllllllelujah @theskzvibe
HI GUYS :D. i will be posting the visuals for this fic so pls wait :)
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standingappablog · 3 years
Text
My interpretation of Toni and Shelbys relationship.
I am re-watching the wilds and I wanna talk about a few things I missed in my first viewing. 
Toni
Starting off in episode one, which I think a lot of us picked up on the gay vibe from both of them, was Tonis front with shelby at the beginning of the show. All talk, and takes no shit. But you can spot her flustered moment easily when Shelby puts her hands on her shoulders and when she begins to sing (while she pees yes lol) But you can just SEE IT on her face. This quickly subsides though as not long after Toni lets a tree branch fly back in her face.
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The writers also try confuse you and make you think the reason why Toni  dislikes Shelby so much (at least untill episode 6 before the homophobia) is becuase of her possibly stealing her best friend away. Which of course played a part in it too.
The scenes of her looking at Martha and shelby was a common 0occurrence. You notice though, in most scenes how Martha is sort of out focus and in the backround while shelby takes up most of the shot. Indicating that shelby is the person Tonis gaze is fixed on.
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I think the reason why Toni so strongly disliked Shelby in the beginning  is becuase she found herself attracted to her, which she obviously didnt like. With shelby having this happy go lucky optimistic front, and all the jesus talk really clashed with her pretty pesimistic personality. Not to mention how Toni thinks Shelby is extreamly privileged,which in a lot of aspects of her life she is. Considerably more after you find out Tonis backstory. So with that knowledge of her backround you could see why she would assume her life is better than hers. I mean she is a rich white girl from texas, so her assumption wasnt unreasonable. To Toni the idea of liking someone like Shelby is unexpected for her, so she does as much as possible to push her away. Explaining why she was pretty rude to her for the first half of the series. 
Along with Shelbys little “westburo baptist” moment Toni got pretty angry (rightly so) and this probably solidified the irationality of thease feelings she had for Shelby. Giving her even more of a reason to dislike her.
 Despite this Toni finds it in herself to try cheer her up when the two run into each other in the woods after Shelbys biggest insecurity is revealed by leahs theories. Tonis feelings for Shelby are on view a little bit here. Beforehand she barely could interact with her without expressing her dislike for Shelby.
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 Though the mood shifts again after Shelby brings up the subject of her views on being gay.
Right up until shelby kisses her, Toni outwardly berates Shelby on how medieval her veiws are, and what a priveleged life she leads. She tells her on this island they are free, and Shelby takes this opportunity to show who she really is.
The kiss the two share as we all saw was in no way one sided, Toni does kiss her back. Obvioiusly this shocks Toni, as well as shelby herself. WIth shelby running off as she tries to escape what she just did with a girl who she thought hated her.
You immideatly see Toni run after her. Her feelings for this girl who Toni thought hated who she was where reciprocated. In this moment her whole attitude towards Shelby changes as she begins to understand why she is the way she is.
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Shelby
Shelbys sexuality was pretty obvious to many of the LGBT viewers, we have all been there, obviously not the religious cult part, but putting up a front, hiding who we are. So it was easy to tell that she was gay from the beggining. Its also pretty common in the media to portray a closeted LGBT person like this. The question was how the writers where going to go about revealing the fact that she is gay.
You notice Shelbys attempts to be friendly towards Toni pretty early on with inviting her out to the first exhibition. Of course we all know it ends with her getting a branch to the face. But when questioned about the cut on her temple, she doesnt reveal that Toni was the one who caused it. 
Though as we all know as Shelby begins to become friends with Martha, Toni becomes increasingly more hostile towards her. Probably shattering the hopes of being friends. So we see less of Shelbys perspective of the relestionship between the two from her, and more from Toni. The two become pretty bitter with each other after the shelter building contest, the tension rising pretty quickly, although it seems that Toni is always the one who initiates the fights they have. Even after Toni destroys the hut and storms off, Shelby goes to find her and still tries to have a friendly conversation, possibly she went to comfort her, but of course we know from watching Toni interact with those around her she only initates in deep conversation with those she trusts, and the weird feelings she has for Shelby probably didnt help. 
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Fast forward to episode six and Shelby has her little moment when the others are joking around with the shellfish. Of course this one isnt as subtle as previous scenes but it shows Shelbys internalized homophobia.The gestures Toni demonstrated made her uncomfortable becuase she knew thats who she was, the idea of being gay freaked her out, so she did the only thing to stop it. To lash out and reveal how she truely felt about herself. She proably never intended on revealing this, becuase really she doesnt hate the fact that Toni is gay. She hated the fact that she is gay herself. This probably shattered any hope of frienship with Toni after this incedent. (She also mentioned to martha afterwards that she knew it would happen, this revealation pushed everyone away from her considerably for the rest of the season)
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When everyone begins to get sick, we see Shelby desperatly trying to prove to everyone and Toni that, she doesnt hate her. Ofcourse we knew by now that the two felt something for each other. In a way this was Shelbys feelings acting out. Her romantic feelings yes, but mostly guilt.Ignoring the others offers to let them give her the pill, instead she desperatly overcomes Tonis pride. Making her take the pill  forcably, so that she would stay alive.
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Just before the two share their first kiss, shelby finally opens up about how miserable she finds her life. Toni as we know with a troubled backround claims that she cant “out sad” her. The only thing that Toni has that Shelby doesnt is freedom. Toni seeing the solution around them points out she is more free than ever and that moment you see the contemplation in her face, you can almost see whats going on in her mind just before she leans in and impulsively kisses Toni.
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She then runs, obviously horrified with herself. The immeanse internalised homohpbia making her feel ashamed for following her heart.
I honestly loved watching this couple come together, their chemistry and writing was great and super intriuging to watch. I am glad a rewatched it again, there was a few things I missed out on in the first veiwing becuase i was too busy chanting “kiss! kiss! kiss!” everytime they appeared on screen together. This is completley my interpretation of their releationship and how the scenes are done, I honestly could be completley wrong and they are as they are shown to be on the surface. I just really enjoy delving deep into the motives and feelings of characters I enjoy watching. :)
*Edit* My apologies if this is written bad! At the time when I wrote this I was extremely tired. I hadn't slept the night before and I was just back from a full day of school.
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maschotch · 2 years
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the stranger for hotch reid and derek
the stranger: has your character ever thought they knew someone, and then found out they were completely wrong about them? have they ever felt betrayed?
oh my god i was typing up my response to this ask in the notes app of my phone while making dinner.. got to my laptop all excited to answer ur ask and i realized u didnt just ask for hotch aksdgljd so they uh. got kinda long. i felt bad if hotchs was like 5 paragraphs and everyone else got two sentences but i think i overdid it
its all getting a little much, may have to put this under a read more
hotch:
a full on betrayal? no. if only because he’s skeptical, good at reading people, and doesnt give his trust easily. between those three things, he’s avoided being completely blindsided by someone other than my love and human remains college fic i’ll never write. but he’s been lied to, and he realized he may have trusted someone more than he should have.
emily obviously comes to mind. she’s been lying to him—to all of them—since the day she stepped into his office. there was an entire part of her life that she kept secret. she’d been places, done things, knew people he never would've expected. but it wasn’t quite a full on betrayal, because his trust in her was never broken.
sure he was angry about her deception. of course he was, they all were. but i firmly believe that what went on between them “in name and blood” cemented their trust in each other. nothing was going to change that, not even keeping an entire world hidden. whatever happened, whatever was going on, there had to be a reason. he never lost faith in the person he knew she was. he knows she would do anything to protect the team, and so he tries to do everything to protect her.
ok this one may not necessarily be a betrayal, but it definitely had hotch questioning himself and who he’s chosen to follow. gideon trying to alleviate his guilt by attempting to justify his rash decisions that ended with elle getting shot was something that seemed to take hotch by surprise. he had to reassess the man he’d spent the last decade looking up to.
out of all the former bau members, gideon was somehow the chillest and, even though he certainly had his quirks, he earned everyone’s respect with his unparalleled profiling skills and keen insight into the human mind. hotch held gideon in high esteem. we see him in season one bending over backwards trying to protect gideon, defending him with a ferocity that we don’t often see in hotch. he saw him as a sort of father figure—less so than reid, but hotch had been with gideon far longer. he looked up to him. and when elle gets shot and the only thing he can think of is trying to excuse himself from any blame, hotch was hit with the brunt of reality: gideon’s flaws ran deeper than hotch had imagined.
we know how personally hotch takes it when one of the team gets hurt and how he holds himself accountable for anything bad that happens to them, even when its not his fault. he values responsibility. hotch has only been unit chief for a short while and, even though he’d undoubtedly been handling many unit chief tasks on gideon’s behalf, he’s still new at being a leader. he’s figuring out his style and the principles he intends to uphold as the head of the team. i think witnessing gideon manuevering around any culpability for elle’s trauma and hotch’s personal mentality of the obligation he has to others, solidifies in hotch’s mind the importance of accountability. he looked at gideon and said this isn’t who i want to be as a leader. its the first time he’s had to disagree with gideon on a fundamental level, and it catches him off guard. the man he loved may not be a good man.
morgan:
emily’s past resurfacing hit morgan the hardest. he’s far less trusting than hotch (which is saying something), so anytime he does decide to let someone into the fold, it means a lot. he allows himself to be vulnerable around very very few people: not even everyone on the team—probably not anyone outside the team either. so to discover that he’s been lied to the whole time is damn near apocalyptic.
we see him wrestle with that in "lauren" and we see him struggle with coming to terms with his anger after her death. in their final moments, he holds her hands and tells her that she’s his partner and how much she means to him—that’s not something that just goes away. especially when the reason she did all of this was something that’s so in character for her.. even though she lied to them, she was protecting a child. and when her past resurfaces, she lies to protect them. it’s so emily prentiss that he questions if he has to doubt her at all.
he barely processes all of this as she’s dying in his arms and when she comes back, its the same thing all over again. she’d lied. morgan still loves her and trusts her with some things, but he’s not as open as he once was. he can’t. after a betrayal like that, it affirms his skepticism, even if it’s not as black and white as he may think. he doesnt blame her for it. he understands why she had to do it. but that unease stays with him and never quite leaves.
morgan probably felt more betrayed by hotch when emily returns. a man he’s trusted for at least eight years. a man he’s looked up to, respected, confided in. probably the only one morgan trusted more than emily was hotch, so losing two of them at once… he’s too tired for anger. because there are reasons and justifications and layers to their decision—and it clearly wasn’t one either of them took lightly—it makes everything convoluted in a way that he doesn’t want to bother untangling. he’s quicker to reestablish trust with hotch (he's not the one who's been lying to him from day one) but it cut the deepest because it came from someone he least suspected.
morgan doesn’t trust readily. in general he’s not easily fooled and his careful guard he maintains around others keeps him from the betrayals he anticipates. he’s quick to make judgements of people. even though they’re rarely wrong—he is a profiler after all—he’s surprised when he realizes they’re not who he thought they were. ultimately he’s too cautious to allow for genuine betrayals, which is why hes so wounded when it happens anyway.
spencer:
reid.. for lack of a better word… is rather petulant. he got so used to being mocked and ridiculed by others when he was a kid, and joined the bau so soon after it all, that he carries that suspicion with him in the initial seasons. but he’s also a hopeful, almost naive, kind of guy. he wants to have faith in others, which is why he’s so quick to snap at someone who he feels has wronged him. thinking specifically of “the popular kids” where he accuses derek of betraying him by telling hotch and gideon about what he’s going through. he’s so used to humiliation that he hasn’t figured out that there’s a distinction between humiliating someone for the sake of it and doing something painful because its best for somebody. he’s so used to being demeaned by his peers that he hasn’t yet discovered that there’s a difference between being humiliated by malicious bullies and feeling humiliated by someone trying to do what’s best for you. essentially, he’s felt many betrayals, even if thats not the reality of the situation.
by season 5 he’s shaken off a lot of that immaturity. he may still grumble about being pushed to grow in ways that would be inevitably uncomfortable, but overall he has a better sense of genuine betrayals. he’s not as easily offended. he’s more willing to open up to others—certain people about certain things, knowing how likely they are to just listen and talk him through it or get the others involved—and that settles him down.
the issue is that when he trusts, he trusts completely. again, his optimistic nature leads him to only pay attention to the traits he admires and ignore their flaws (its not like garcia where she actively tries to focus on the good in everyone). put simply: when he trusts someone, he lets his guard down. like all the way down.
reid wasn’t as bothered as emily’s secrets as the others. but his faith in jj was clearly shaken. it just didnt occur to him that she would do something like that because he hadn’t even considered it before.
i think its more interesting that reid believes he betrayed his mother by putting her in a hospital. diana accuses him of betrayal and he takes it to heart. he does feel guilty for sending her away—so much so that it takes him years to comfortably visit regularly. its something that needed to be done; she needed help and care that a hospital provides, even if she’s initially reluctant. ultimately its for her benefit. but for a long time he was scared he would have to face her resentment. his initial misconception of betrayals was probably fueled by this. and even though he’s a genius, there are still things that he has trouble learning.
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majimemegoro · 3 years
Text
mr okudera’s exposé was nonsense and heres why
*spoilers for frozen roar/hunting storyline in y5 obviously*
edit: this.. may not be worth reading, i really gave up at the end and you can tell. this is a thornier issue than i thought and i didnt achieve anywhere near the clarity i aim to have on my meta posts. be warned.
heres what mr okduera (whom i will henceforth call sato, for clarity) says about the attack by yama-oroshi:
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it’s pretty simple. 1. og okudera is attacked by yama-oroshi. 2. sato passes out. 3. og okudera ends up dead.
ive already talked before about the oddness of sato’s passing out, but theres a bigger question that suddenly struck me, and I think it’s an important one: why didnt either of them see yama-oroshi coming?
it was a blizzard, fine. they were distracted by a very emotinally intense encounter, fine. but if the visibility was so bad that they couldnt see a massive black/brown bear from within pouncing distance, the visibility should have also been so bad that okudera wuoldnt know that sato was there and pointing the gun at him. so i ask again: why didnt either of them see yama-oroshi coming? that doesnt make sense. so whats going on?
option 1: the story sato tells in the screenshots above is inaccurate or a lie.
we can neither confirm nor deny based on the evidence we have, and we cant say anything about the motives or circumstances for the lie. if we can’t trust sato’s testimony, we know next to nothing about okduera, about sato’s relationship with okudera, and about what happened 9 years ago. i cant get interpretive traction, so let’s move on.
option 2: the story sato tells in the screenshots is accurate but missing important details.
also impossible to confirm or deny based on what we have, but lets look at a couple of models and try to understand the possibilities.
model A: yama-oroshi comes up behind okduera.
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sato cant possibly have missed seeing yama-oroshi in this case, and i cant see any motive for sato to not remark on the bear, since he decided that he didnt want okduera to die. lets scratch off model A.
model B: yama-oroshi approaches from the side.
im gonna also disregard this one because i think one of them would have noticed a GIANT BEAR approaching from the side. yes, even in a blizzard. and there isnt any reasonable motive for them to collectively ignore the bear.
model C: yama-oroshi comes up behind sato.
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ah. now it’s starting to make sense.
why would okudera pretend not to see the giant bear coming up behind sato? well, SATO IS POINTING A GUN AT HIM. of course this all depends on whether or not og okudera could SEE that sato was aiming the gun at him. but if he could, then he could have been lying about the bear to buy time. the whole ‘i knew you were going to kill me’ thing could also just be okudera buying time while he waits for sato to get mauled by a bear. who knows if it was true.
ok, well then how & why did yama-oroshi attack okudera if he came up behind sato?
easy. model C.i: yama-oroshi comes up behind sato on a cliff.
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yama-oroshi jumps off the cliff, but instead of attacking sato (as okudera expected/hoped for), yama-oroshi goes for okduera. but he also clips sato on the way down.
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alternatively, sato is untouched but seeing okduera go down sets off his vasovagal syncope.
model D (C.ii?? im getting confused..): yama-oroshi was up on a cliff, which is why neither okudera nor sato noticed him.
but theres still a problem with models C.i/D (WHATVER THEY ARE, THE ONES WITH A BEAR ON A CLIFF!!!). that is, it seems unlikely that sato would have ended up at the foot of a cliff given a) he followed okduer out of the village, meaning as the pursuer he wouldnt get cornered like that, and b) he was  trained assassin and intended to kill okduera; he wouldnt LET himself get in a position like that.
model E: okudera or sato up on a cliff?
idk maybe sato could have been up on a cliff trying to snipe okudera, which would explain how okudera didnt see the bear coming, but not why sato didnt notice it until it attacked okduera (by jumping down from hte cliff)
model F idk i give up im gonna go with “the blizzard was toonabd for them to see anything they couldnt even see each other they were communicating telepathically’
ok whatever im giving up then i wanted to make this systematic but its too hard i give up
tldr; either a) in his big exposé, sato lied about what happened 9 years ago; or b) okudera was hoping that sato would get killed when yama-oroshi jumped on him from a cliff.. maybe. idk this is all very confusing. im
tldr: there are some weird confusion in mr okduera’s story about what hapepnd 9 years ago
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sanchoyo · 3 years
Text
danny phantom season 2, episode 17-20 thoughts! finishing up season two! the finale is the THIRD 2-PARTER OF SEASON 2. that's so many! I wonder how many season 3 will have?
see prev episode thoughts in this tag <3
-UERGH WHY DOES VLAD HAVE AN AI WITH MADDIE'S FACE ON IT. SOOO CREEPY. AND MORE 'CREATIONS' waiiiit. vlad is Dr. Frankenstein! (despite his ghost design obviously referencing vampires) HE HAS 'CREATIONS' HE MAKES THEN WONT TAKE REAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR!!! this bitch.
-danny was late and his friends immediately start going off about how hes inconsiderate, and has been treating them like sidekicks??? he just overslept, my god. chill. even if he has, be nicer about talking about it with him?? he really can't help that he sometimes has to chase the ghosts, or has a secret identity to protect...
-'what kind of ghost haunts a miniature golf course' umm. me as a ghost. next question
-imagine going home and theres a tiny child on your bed claiming to be your cousin. with as many cousins I have, I would probably believe her. but the 'ran away from home' BIT....SHES 12?? SHES SO TINY. I hate that they have her belly out in her ghost form, but I like how her colors are asymmetrical. something about her design...maybe the proportions?? are weird to me...anyway danny was good to feed her, but he shouldve taken her to his parents FIRST. or, tbh, probably jazz. (JAZZ DIDNT EVEN GET TO MEET HER!!! NOOO. I mean she said she'll be BACK BUT STILL)
-ANYWAY. shes voiced by AnnaSophia Robb, the girl who was in because of winn dixie, played as violet from charlie and the chocolate factory, and was the girl from bridge to terrabithia. (the movie that made me cry hysterically when I was 12 and I never watched it again because it Broke Me!) thats super cool.
-vlad sucks: the episode, basically. what's new!! I love how he's like, I'm Not A Villain. *immediately cuts to him torturing danny to make him transform, to get mid-transformation DNA, to perfect a Clone.* *immediately shows that he doesnt give a shit about his new daughter Dani and just wants a ''more perfect clone'' and will put her in danger to get that. will let her DIE to get that*
-Dani is danny's clone and is a girl? transgenderism....one of them has to be trans. or they both are.
-dani just. leaving at the end. WHAT? SHES 12. DONT JUST. NO!!! SHE WAS PROBABLY JUST BORN, A MONTH AGO AT MOST, RIGHT?? SHE NEEDS...SOMEWHERE TO LIVE. MONEY? FOOD?? A FAMILY?? AN EDUCATION???! WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S LEAVING!!! OKAY BYE I GUESS!!! D: concern!!!
-the next ep opens with skulker chasing a ghost down. ...does skulker count as a ghost hunter in the way valerie and danny do? I mean, sure, he hunts the good guys too, but he. he hunts ghosts...also, we haven't seen his Real Form since his debut episode! tiny...
-the guys in white are back! ngl, I assumed they were a gag for that one episode. you're telling me they might actually be a threat? ok.
-valerie in her lil nasty burger uniform looks so cute!! glad shes not in that mascot uniform this time. I guess she stopped hiding that she's working there now?
-gregor having white hair, dressed in black and white...and green eyes...sam has a Type, I guess.
-danny being unnecessarily hostile about gregor. danny!!! hes been nice so far. he looks a little...tall to be 14, but. danny doesnt know anything about him! (he does Suspect, but...you cant just spy on people and be rude to them from a hunch.) also, gregor kissed her, and when she freaked out, he was like 'oh no!! sorry, we can take it slow! I understand!' which was NICE. I hate jealousy plots still tho.
-altho. umm. tucker, being concerned about danny spying on them??? SAM AND YOU WERE SPYING ON DANNY AND VALERIE A FEW EPISODES AGO!!!!! im not saying its RIGHT, but dont be a hypocrite!!! AND THEN SAM BEING MAD ABOUT IT, TOO.
-DANNY IS A 7 ON THE SCALE OF ECTOPLASMIC POWER!!! out of 10? so I want to know where the other ghosts rank...I mean it's a list from the guys in white, so, it may not even be accurate, like, they havent seen ALL of his powers, have they?
-Lancer being like 'im not cooperating with the FEDS' until they said they could access his tax records. they already did that joke with jack, but like, its still funny. kings of tax evasion.
-tucker's aggressive third-wheeling. but gregor being super into it. gregor/tucker is the real ship here. then gregor kissing danny on both cheeks after hugging him. bi poly king gregor. (he does turn out to be a liar with a phoney accent. unsurprising, BUT THE CONCEPT OF HIM BEING GENUINE AND THEM ALL DATING IS FUN)
-THE...GUYS IN WHITE THINKING GREGOR IS DANNY PHANTOM. LMAOOO. GET HIS ASS. or,, Elliot. lmfao
-sam saying tucker is part of the package because theyre friends was super sweet <3 but also 'part of the package'...polyships are obviously the solution to these dumb jealousy/love triangle plots.
-danny crashed a whole plane. the collateral damage...
-is he....
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-you know....
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.... (ITS NOT GAY IF YOU'RE DOING IT TO PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE YOU'RE NOT, AND LIE TO A GIRL. RIGHT? he was getting a little too into pretending to enjoy tucker's company, and the above...c'mon, guy.)
-lmao, freakshow is in actual prison. I didn't expect a follow up, or for him to show back up! in the finale of this season, too!
-THE SICK TATTOO GHOST IS NAMED LYDIA!!! more Lore On her. freakshow seemed genuinely concerned about her. also, is she mute? I don't think she talked the first time we saw her, either. and we didn't know freakshow 'envied' ghosts, either, the first time, we just knew he was controlling them. interesting!
-...they literally stole the infinity gauntlet from marvel and called it the reality gauntlet. is that legal. what the fuck. even with the gems in the lil slots, having different powers...they had freakshow in jail, but didnt check his pockets??! hes just still in his lil outfit??? what kind of ...oh, its in amity park. yeah, all of the adults are idiots, okay, sure.
-'freakshow!' 'in the anemic flesh!' dude take some iron pills then. also, sure, the red eyes could be contacts for his aesthetic, but the whites of his eyes are yellow! does he have jaundice?! he severely needs more...like, every kind of vitamin. (this is what im worried about as freakshow attacks danny with giant robots)
-again, goth circus is a sick theme, and I love his goth train.
-oh FUCK every single person saw danny transform. on a stage. including his parents via TV. oh god. the guys in white and immediately like 'youre coming in for experiments!' SCARY. at least the crowd is willing to help him to escape...perks of now being a local celeb! even the kids at school are accepting :) this is what, the third time his family has found out? its always been an alt timeline tho. and danny fully intending to just rewrite things again instead of...I dunno, trying to roll with it this time? hes really worried his family won't accept him, huh...
-'maybe our son IS THE GHOST BOY, but its not as if our family's ghostly activities have EVER PUT YOUR FAMILIES IN DANGER' maddie. mmmmmmmmmmmm. okay.
-danny 100% prepared to run away from home because of this :( oh :( and saying his parents are 'looking for him, or a scalpel to dissect him with' ouch...
-THE GUYS IN WHITE TRYING TO ARREST A 14 YEAR OLD. fuck da feds.
-side note (another one about voice actors...) freakshow's voice actor, Jon Cryer, was lex luthor in pretty much every DC tv show, which is why I recognized his voice, because my dad loves those shows so I've seen a good bit of them without seeking them out...)
-the old man saying 'hey, i still had minutes left!' and danny saying 'you gotta watch those roaming charges!' about danny destroying the people in the diner's phones so no one could report seeing him...would kids today understand these things. can you even BUY minutes anymore...I remember my first phone being a flip phone, and the fact I always had minutes when my sister ran out super fast, because I didnt have friends calling or texting me like she did...:/
-the fentons being genuinely like 'why didnt danny trust us and tell us this, we love him :(' and JAZZ LAYING INTO THEM WITH THE 'DISSECTION/MOLECULE BY MOLECULE' LINES. LITERALLLLY. they need to apologize
-technically, lydias stronger than you! -jazz lesbianism moments! when did you even learn her name!!! but also get freakshows ass. lydia is also cooler looking. looove her design sm still.
-jazz psychoanalyzing freakshow... (also, her also having ghost envy? au where jazz is a ghost!! id like to see it)
-im glad the kids still got to go to their respective vacation things, even if they cant really stick around and enjoy them much...
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-furry: confirmed. (also tucker calling her hot. tucker is a furry confirmed)
-danny being mad someone at the comic con is selling comics of him without permission, lmfao. give him his royalties!
-freakshow > thanos because hes a drama clown and does use his gauntlet to be FLASHY AND DRAMATIC.
-jazz's 'USE PYSCOLOGY' to danny about freakshow LMAOO. AND THEN IT WORKING. but, oh, freakshow's ghost form sucks. I like him as a clown better tbh. good thing danny took away his ghost powers!
-his parents hugging him and saying theyre proud :"( and saying 'of course you lied to us, we never gave you a reason not to!' and saying they were in the wrong basically for always talking about hurting ghosts aaaa :""(
-then he WIPED THEIR MEMORIES AGAIN!!! FUCK. I can understand him wiping the goverments/student bodies' memories, but why his parents?? they were being accepting!! ARGHHH. season 3 couldve been them all trying to adjust to them knowing!
-I know, on a meta level the showrunners probably wanted to just reset things to the status quo of him having a secret identity. But. We've been doing that for (2) seasons, I'd love if season 3 could be like, his parents adjusting to this and trying way harder to learn more and accept it (and the shenanigans that could come from that) and for fun, if he didn't wipe the students memories, it could be him being popular for a while, then everyone slowly realizing, oh, he's still Danny. Like. he might have ghost powers but hes Just The Same Guy instead of putting him on a pedestal (and seeing them all try and help him hide it from the giw/people who don't know!!)
-fuck they didn't even explain WHY he wiped everyone except sam, tucker and jazz's memories. he just Did It right when his parents were saying they loved/accepted him!! and sam and tucker didnt question it at all!!! HELLO??? very annoyed about this turn of events.
-anyway. onto season 3! I know its shorter than the first two seasons, and is the last season... I might just do it in 2 bursts if I can... :3c depends on the episodes' content and how much I want to say about each!
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misterbitches · 3 years
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i had the misfortune of finally watching/getting through what happened in whatever episode where he gets raped so im gonna talk about it and tag it cos that's what a bitch fuckin feels like, got it? i do what i want aint no limit bad ass bitch aint never been timid. woopsie realized i got the nicknames confused oh well lmao
it's just logistically and plot wise like there's literal plot holes in this and i'm taking the production and set-up into account along with the actual content and development. im an ARTIST OKAY im jk i mean i am and i am pretentious and terrible but look. i didnt get that degree and im not in a house worth of debt for nothing ok. it's called writing on tumblr about my grievances of shows that dont matter and do not respect me as a fat black american woman either so it is my fault yet here i am.
anyway it was worse than i imagined and their talk after (with chengren) was even worse. that's what i mean about making the lines their own (the actors) bc teng teng sounded like a straight up motherfucking moron and im like
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bECAUSE IT'S HIM EVEN THO IM LIKE WHAT THE FUCK DID U JUST SAY U STUPID BITCH? but then it's like awwww and they also care about his wellbeing obviously??? but no? but it's like ok still teng teng said it even if it's stupid because he is a character and charles puts that forth. the people that fail the most to do that are xing si's family but that's not the actors fault because it's the literal material. you're like wait what but you just said...?
so i know they have no script editors i guess i think i find this season ACTUALLY fascinating because of just how egregious it is. i also went back and watched history: obsessed which i thought i liked because of their chemistry even though god the production....but i tried rewatching it and i was like wow this is worse than i remembered and the production issues were even worse because some of the music was SO LOUD AND BAD HOLY FUCK and their whole rship isssssss a sight to behold lmao
so man i guess it really is the power of anson/charles. which is good cos we love to see it...sort of but also a lot.
i honestly....because i've been able to pay attn more to the aftermath of the rape going back and putting it into more context and focusing (just barely lmao) is hm even worse. the inconsistencies are insane. it's not even just about the act but the writers have zero idea where they are going because they have no interest in exploring it. but the way in which it happens is like fascinating. yong jie literally thinks he owns xing si and it doesn't matter if he was kissing him or not or asked for a kiss on the lips (which dude what the fuck? i'll get to that) because he was plied with "extremely strong drinks" and his mom knew about it....which girl congrats you're an accomplice to the rape of your son by your other son?
but first of all...the kissing thing. in what fucking world would he (xing si) want that unless he thought he (yong jie) was someone else. i can't say their attraction is evident because we are being lead by this team to think so; they create this false sense of sensuality already so to me that signifies that they never intended for them to have a bond as brothers. it just feels cheap and fucking lazy (which it is.) even if he did, which doesn't make sense considering the context THEY CONSTRUCTED, it wouldn't matter because he was so fucking drunk which.... at that point nothing is fun, you feel sick, who wants sex like that? does he not have whiskey dick? did they have a condom? was it not painful for him considering? even if this was something to easily get over like was the dick good? it couldn't have been. and then, on top of that, there's the fact that you can change your mind or whatever but also that people do get aroused in these situations bc it is human nature (that's if they can literally get aroused which if the drinks were allegedly sooooo strong that nigga would be out so....again like even practically here it doesnt add up. have these people ever been drunk? if not, write what you know girl. cos sometimes it's like i think some of u r trying to be cool when u dont have 2 b lmao)
so yong jie coming on to him previously may be seen as like push-and-pull but here's the thing. right after it happens (the rape and it's rape so call it that you'll be okay) xing si gets up and goes home and is terrified and upset. he acts like what we have seen or even felt after a violation. he's scared, clutching his bag, it's like...you know...decently coming off as truly distressing (the actor isn't bad at all and i like that he's dark. i just massively hate this for him but hey at least he can show some chops.) like honestly man that fucking sucks and hurts to see. if we've been there we feel it. or part of it is realizing belatedly what happened. a lot of times that drop in your stomach is the worst.
but somehow for some reason, to which i cannot understand, the three of them begin to talk as if xing si pressured him? which maybe i missed something and that is possible—dont feel like going back to look—but that also made no sense. like what kind of false memory is this? why would he think he wasn't willing? and if he thought yong jie wasn't and that he pressured him how does he remember like...anything about the sex?!?!??!? besides waking up and being with him. like i guess he felt yong jie's MASSIVE DONG imprint but ??!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!!!!!
god then the logic of the top/bottom thing is like i said i wasnt going to get into it but it's actually really funny. this whole thing was hilarious. honestly because I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS. he could have totally raped him in that way but how did you get to this CONCLUSION FROM THAT??????? BY YOUR LOGIC THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS? IF HE IS THE BOTTOM AND PENETRATION IS THE ONLY FORM OF TRUE CONSUMMATION AND RAPE BECAUSE APPARENTLY, BASED ON ANATOMY, IF YOU HAVE A DICK IN UR BUTT UR A GIRL THEN HOW. DOES. THIS. MAKE. SENSE. AND THEN
AND THEN
AND THEN
AND THEN
this whole stupid conversation happens so we get to the conclusion that xing si violated him ok cool but that means that something is wrong. that is the CONCLUSION WE CAME TO A SECOND AGO?
also the other rapist is a villain and muren isn't in love with him so, once again, you're breaking the rules of your own world about acceptability which is why most of this is absolutely mind bogggglinG that iit's fuckign comical. like i actually when i can stomach it start laughing or my jaw is slack because it's so insulting as a viewer because there is like 0 logical followthrough.
because whatshisface barges in, kisses him in front of his friends without permission, then says whether you were willing or not which is hm. at that point how u gonna change that around but let's not bother with logic here. i am simply here to point out how this makes no sense according to the rules they set up even outside of the basic rule of life which is hm dont rape people maybe.
so now we know xing si was raped, they believe he was raped, he himself believes he was raped, and whatshisface literally says he doesn't care even if he was willing (he wasn't) so he admits to rape. i don't believe in the police and i hate them (BL industry needs the cops but dont get me down that road) but no one...thought to go?
because according to history 4 logic nothing matters so im sure if he went to the police you could handwave the homophobia since there's no actual context for anything besides their whimsy. but they dont want to do that because they aren't interested in an arc of growth; redemption isn't possible unless he is removed from the family but again no work on thinking this through or thinking about the victim's feelings. because gay sex? who fucking knows. supposedly progressive taiwanese writers of gay shit (like how supposedly progressive the world is. as in it is not and this behavior is the norm and bl perpetuates that) can't think of transformative justice?
and then they gave bad advice so we wont acknowledge that because teng teng doing anything wrong/stupid is frequent but hurts me and also that storyline is not real so i pretend they are not there outside of this post
so all of this is just straihgt up clownery now because it's fucking absurd like logically, practically, human-wise. the kissing thing is inconsequential but it was such a lazy cheap way out lmao cos they really wanted it to seem consensual but that's not how it works. on top of that their attraction makes no sense because whatshisface is just there. he is just there. he's nothing and no one so the sentiments are even more empty and on top of that he doesnt listen to a single request fucking obviously because the basis of their relationship is fucking rape so fucking listening and respecting his partner is not on his list of fucking priorities. he's literally so fucking annoying even without being a rapist it's like someone please beat his ass.
and then after all of that you want us to feel bad? with your horrible writing, poorly misplaced music, stupid costumes (those fucking SHOES THEY ARE HIDEOUS, AND MOST OF THIER CLOTHES DO NOT FIT IT'S LIKE WHY), questionable fucking editing. we're supposed to wnat them together? this sounds literally fucking crazy but bear with me lmao even with the rape they could at least have SOMETHING i mean like i cant believe im fucking saaying this. but like in addicted heroin which is fuckin tragic and awful at least there's a MODICUM of interest but honestly that show s a fucknig drag. idk they lookd good together? here we have 0. nothing. and it doesnt motivate. watching obsessed again i can see why i liked it in the beginning bc they have good chemistry but the acting and production adn like everything about it plus the rape-y vibes it's just too much. you need to pick one thing so if you're going to be a shit writer at least supplement it with something. this thing is nothing.
and even more nonsensical and what boggles my mind frankly out of all this is the mother's involvement and the father's final response. there are NO consequences? theyre all happy?
ok so lets go through this:
1. 2 boys grow up 2gether, one of the boys is fucking psycho, the mother knows but does nothing??????????????
2. one of the sons moves out so his father doesn't get a hint that's he's fucking gay. ok fine. he has 2 best friends, a job, an apt. he is fine.
3. aforementioned brother is obsessed with him for SOME REASON besides being crazy?
3.5 no one has done anything during him growing up to help him not be crazy?
4. mom says to husband who is their father also just in case we forget "im afraid he will lose his humanity"
4.5 again, do nothing. 0. just like oh man hes crazy. guess that's just our son ;)
4. who cares. plies him with alcohol purposefully to rape him. not even dubious (even though dubious is fucked and not okay or is just not. fucking real. these shows are contextless when they want to be or even movies or whatever so it's like largely not up to the task to understand complexity in human rships and then oversimplifies it constantly because that's what we do IRL. but people have fucking feelings you know and we realize when things don't feel good or right to us either very quickly after or having to process it. and once you're eyes are opened you may feel as something was fucking ripped away from you. for the modc couple this would be a very logical conclusion for the high schooler the thirty year old dated but again logic or feelings are up to their whimsy. no one cares bc everything can be counted as dubious so honestly it's a fucking stupid fucking topic like again why are we litigating what is and isnt consent when you could just like idk. read cues? consent? wait? not be a freak? like we all know what is proper human shit so even if we are watching this uncritically which u cant bc it's glaring and stupid it's just even more dumb) so it was honestly a rape plot like he literally planned it soooooooooo??!?!
5. aftermath of rape the victim is like literally fucking bereft and confused. and a rape victim. like that's what they are insinuating and what also he is to be clear.
6. boy tells him "idc if i raped u i luv u lmao"
7. mom ENCOURAGED THE BOY to get him drunk because her other son was too nice? she encouraged her adult son to rape her adult step-son (but her real son because she repeatedly says you are my son and the dad does too THEY GREW UP TOGETHER WHEN THE KID WAS IN AN IMPRESSIONABLE STATE) so THIS ALSO MAKES EVEN LESS MOTHERFUCKING SENSE
8. everyone finds out about his rape and he isnt mortified he's just concerned about himself being gay to his dad?????? except it's not really about his gayness bc now it's about his sudden love for his rapist brother? which? hm ok. understandable the dad is like wow i do not think i like this
9. dad knows all of it is fucked up, everyone does, knows the mother fucked up, knows he fucked up. doesnt like it because he is normal. so we know this is terrible? ok great so—
10. father says "i can't accept this...but i'm willing to give you my blessing" ok see here's the thing. when you write you have to think about the things you are putting on the page and what you have written previously. this quite literally made no sense how the fuck are you going to not accept them but give them your blessing? does this crew know what the fuck words are? i'm assuming they went to some sort of school to obtain jobs here bc there cannot be natural talent or experience. maybe most of them are rich. fuck i do not know but this also makes no sense. just the literal logic of it it's like fucking insane the whiplash.
10.5 apparently this father is also shitty. everyone here sucks and they are basically begging me to think xing si is a fucking idiot so i dont even want to look at him if he is an object he doesnt matter so now i want to kick him. thanks a lot you made the victim get absolutely fucking nothing
they KEEP PUSHING the brother thing it is so insane and it's liek GUYS WE GET IT WE UNDERSTAND THEYRE "RELATED" BUT NOT RELATED SO IT'S OK HE WAS "RAPED" BUT NOT RAPED but you're GOING BACK ON YOUR OWN RULES!!!!!!!!!! WE GET THAT THEY ARE BROTHERS!!! WE'RE OVER IT NOW BUT WHAT IS THIS WHEN WE ALREADY ESTABLISHED SOMETHING? I AM CONFUSION? they flip flop between my son, my brother my actual brother, and cannot fucking distinguish between love for your father and love for your romantic partner? so to me what i see is that the father wants to fuck the son. that's the conclusion i am garnering now considering nothing matters and his love for his "brother" is the same as his love for his dad lmao. they couldnt even do that in a way that made sense. like damn anybody can get anything. these ppl who are doing this have to be fucking rich and/or have connections.
also this guy sounds literally like a textbook abuser like he says constantly "im the best choice" is a rapist is awful holds capital (oh hees "saving" smh ur trapping her!!!!! RETIRE!!!!) also wears terrible shoes so i am like ur alllllllllLLLLL FUCKING CRAZY ur all literally crazy and then they are trying to set rules and boundaries in their fucking house like WHY ARE THEY LIVING TOGETHER EVEN? even tho oh my god they know he raped him and for some reason they are both allowing to live in the house but they dont want them to have sex??!?!?!??!??!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?! i get that this is their house but this is like at this point these ppl are writing anything and now whatshisface is acting like a 2 yr old again and we are supposed to find this cute? like it makes 0 sense why do u fucking care u literally encouraged ur son to rape him so they cant have consensual sex under your nose now and have to wait four years? this is coming from the son who couldnt wait until someone was sober enough to realize hes fucking psychotic and should be killed also the fact that they act like being 20 means u have no fucking brain like this kid is in med school supposedly how do we know like hes a liar and an idiot so. also wait do they mean undergrad? how are you in med school at 20? is he a genius? girl i dont care lmao i guess i missed that but it's not like it matters so whatever
even if we ignore the stupidity of the literal acts, the grossness of the content, the absolute inability to write coherently or even remotely in a way where we would even want to see them together which is like....u set it up at the beginning so he punches "the love his life's best friend" also holy fuck im sorry remember when he punches muren because xing si got too drunk. so i'm guessing whatshisface is that good of a bartender that he makes super strong drinks and gets xing si drunk but his alcohol is magical therefore it doesn't make him sick. his alcohol is the type that gets you drunk but somehow doesnt get to your liver even though that's how we get drunk but dont ask guys he's only in med school and a bartender so i think he knows best (seriously have the main writers had a day of fun in their lives? have they ever been drunk? are they toddlers? drunk babies could probably do better tho.) i get that he was also jealous but if this kid is SOOOOOO genius (he understands social cues lmao he has the cpacity to project onto his victim so im like miss me with the not understanding shit. go to a fucking therapist like seriously did no one care abt this kid? his mother thinks he's like almost a goddamn murderer. how is she not dead? how are they all not dead? how do any of them know how to drive with this type of brain?) then he would understand that they are very clearly friends since he watched them part in a very platonic way and since he apparently knows what love is cos he thinks....he can....make someone fall in love with him bc he loves them? again, i wouldnt know hes 20 and taiwanese and im 29 and black from AMERICA so im WESTERN* so you know. different life experiences i guess XD
even if we do mental gymnastics to get it to a place where they "had sex" and he didnt rape him there's 0 ZERO ZERO ZERO ZERO ties to the literal story they wrote and the rules they set up. i'm going ot assume they dont know wtf theyre doing and i know for a fact we all care more about their dumb show than they do but it's actually startling how piss poor this is it's like idek what to compare it to. the continuity is awful awful awful they needed a script supervisor majorly and they are making bank and are going to make fucking bank fof this shit. and itll just continue like that until IRL material changes and that's facilitated by these very same groups they choose to profit off of and exploit by propelling it into the mainstream and litigating homosexuality through capitalism. and i'm being specific with homosexuality. i dont want a GL market like at all and i know why we wouldnt have it either and that has everything to do with the nature of BL, capitalism, coercion, and the fanbase being young girls and women. i don't think in this day and age we can safely say all the fans are straight; i'm sure a majority but many women or people on the gender spectrum and sexuality spectrum also consume it. frankly, it's possible the women who write it could be or something too. i dont rly believe any1 is str8 lmao but im just saying it's not out of the realm of possibility. but it isnt about that at all. that's why we wont see "good" female characters (like well written) often that's why we won't see trans women or kathoeys or fat people or black asians in it. a lot of it is is a choice we participate in whatever. but holy fuck dude u could at least respect the audience's fucking intelligence. i'm talking about everything i think that is encapsulated in the project but it's even more jarring and worse because it's so insanely inconsistent and poorly done. like how we jump from one conclusion to another is wild to me. even their first "night together" and he wakes up im like girl....u no ur ass felt it. this nigga broke into his house and was like "im gonna have u" like it's getting weird
just make xing si suffer offscreen not us the stupidity is staggering, mind blowing, hilarious.
how wong kar wai, a straight man from HK (or at least married to a woman), or barry jenkins, a striahgt black man, write/do stories well about people they wouldnt knw about their experiences directly is....well thinking like using their brains and like knowing all types of people? the man who co-wrote moonlight is a hOMOSEXUAL, leslie cheung was fucking gay or queer (and he committed suicide and that's important also RIP homie) both are hailed as queer cinema like WKW wanted to do something else and invested time into it, changed the way he played around with structure, moved away from his crime oriented stuff. he THOUGHT about it and this film is about their reality. it's a harsh film, idk how i feel about it (but my fav movies of his are the crime ones or the messy ones where it's clear he didnt write a script lmao fallen angels is one of my fav movies its' abt assassins kinda) but i know it means something. and he didnt like what HK had previously wasnt enough. it is not the only cinema that should be shown since it's such a stark reality and depressing but it is a real depiction so we can have all sorts of stuff. no this isnt WKW level or moonlight level but i know for a fact these people think they are doing something because artists always do i say this as one and someone who is equally as useless. you're making a statement.
i also hate the westerner component of peoples analyses. first of all dont do cultural relativism. we can critique and respect. but second of all how are we going to keep saying "dont put western ideals on this" when that is what is happening anyway because that's part and parcel for soft power and capitalism. how about taiwan's history with the KMT? what about the regimes young people fought about? aided by US imperialism which permeates through society and affects material conditions, views, democracy, identity and that goes into culture and media. hm? what about that? is that reality too fucking western for people? that we are doing the same thing again now? is that okay to talk about or is that only on your time?
then there's the argument that this is just entertainment. yea no shit but the thing is if we r gonna talk about marginalized groups and watch bc of marginalized groups and then be expected to identify then i dont see why i cant put this in context. even if it wasnt fucking serious we'd still judge it. but it's so pompous and again like i wouldnt say EYE think it's art but it is "art" in the literal sense and no self respecting artist would ever go "man this means nothing." of course im not sure if they do respect themselves so hey but u cant just go oh man it's entertainment when it literally rests on the fact that HOMOS are MARGINALIZED. it literally rests on the fact that WOMEN ARE OBJECTS. you either want progress or you dont. i dont understand being so demanding but not beign specific in the demands and not trying to use your brain. if you dont want to use your brain don't. but if you are looking , engaging, and keep making these arguments or telling ppl it doesnt matter whilst complaining about how much others care is hypocritical at best, willfully obtuse at worst. both bad. :)
(also all this + another thing; it is insulting to have this like wedding happen based off of this stupid relationship when people fought so hard and had to push it. now they can use the material conditions to their advantage but it's so ridiculous. also because there is difficulty still in getting married in taiwan i'm honestly like....the boldness of the writers...)
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unicyclehippo · 4 years
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for a prompt like. jes goes to bed early and beau figures she’s just talking to the traveler, when she goes up she hears her talking to marion about beau and she’s just like oh. in my head it was sending but more content if they’re in nicodranas.,, idk u decide! idk how to sign this off so.,, may your microwave work for the foreseeable future :) okaybye!
they’ve been in town for a couple days and it’s great, it’s really great. nott is veth again and she’s all but disappeared with yeza and luc, spending all her time with them on the beach and in their rooms, hearing all the stories luc has about everything he has seen—twice. jester is likewise absorbed in spending time with her mum and so it’s just beau, caleb, fjord, yasha and cad. which is actually most of them but it feels odd, missing their loudest members. they spent the day—last of the three they set aside for a small vacation before orly is set to take them east to the volcano—at the beach, mostly, and then in a bookstore for a faintly smiling caleb, even though they all smell of seaweed and salt and they’re leaving sand behind them wherever they go. when he’s content and the books hidden in fjord’s bag of holding, they lose themselves in the warren of winding streets and find the diviest of bars to drink in until the whole world is warm and slightly blurred and they fling arms over shoulders and walk in a stumbling lockstep back to the chateau, not nearly drunk enough to forget the way back, not drunk at all. just—content.
jester meets them at the bottom of the steps, her hair in a new style that makes beau blink and then wink each eye in case that’ll help her focus.
‘you - changed your hair,’ she blurts.
caleb, whose shoulders her arm hangs around, staggers when she lurches forward a step.
jester lifts her hand to the short ends, runs it through the shorter curls. it’s been cut into a sweet bob, one that frames her heart-shaped face and—
‘is it bad?’ she asks, nose crinkling with worry.
beau blinks stupidly at her. ‘no,’ she says.
jester waits. then, ‘oh. okay.’
‘looks good, jessie,’ fjord calls. he looks suspiciously put together and beau wonders if it’s a paladin thing or if he’d been smart to let her win their drinking contest. she’s still thinking about it, and grinning because it had been a good, fun night, when he asks gently, ‘ready for tomorrow morning?’
‘oh. well, yes and no. i’m excited to go to traveller con of course but,’ she catches her bottom lip between her teeth. shrugs delicately. ‘i always miss my mama.’
there’s a round of nods.
beau stares at jester’s curls. her fingers burn to touch them, to feel if the curls are actually heavy or if it’s just the way they fall, if they’re as soft as they look.
‘we should—get to sleep,’ caleb says, and the words slur the slightest bit with alcohol and a weighted accent. ‘jester, the hairdresser must be a transmutation wizard. they have changed you,’ he says, and then laughs a quick laugh, which he quickly contains. but his eyes are happy and that has everyone laughing too.
‘that’s a terrible joke,’ jester tells him. ‘go to bed, all of you. and caleb—teleportation circle for tomorrow’s spells.’
‘ja, ja, i will remember.’ he taps the side of his long nose. ‘i remember.’
he and fjord and caduceus begin to climb the steps to their room. yasha makes excuses oddly fast to follow, and beau catches her eyes as she slides behind jester. yasha shoots her a look beau can’t decipher and the woman must realise that because she sighs, smiles, and continues on up the steps.
‘did you have fun tonight, beau?’
‘i missed you.’ jester eyes widen slightly. beau hurries to explain. ‘not that it’s not cool that you spent it with your mum, of course you should do that, we all know you miss her heaps which is - wow - really nice, actually? and she loves you so, duh. it’s just,’ beau shrugs, and she thinks maybe she’s a little more drunk than she originally thought because the slow clumsiness of it is catching up, makes her feel a little awkward in her own feet. ‘it’s different without you an’ nott. veth. i guess it’s not as fun for you ‘cause you don’t drink but there were card games you woulda liked. and it’s—we were just hanging out, y’know? ‘s’not the same without you. nicer when you’re there.’ she smiles then, and when jester just stares at her, she smiles wider, trying to push all the sincerity as she can into it. jester loves nicodranas and her mum, beau knows, and she’s not afraid that jester will stay behind, certainly not so close to traveller con, but beau thinks it’s not a bad time to remind jester that actually they all really, really adore her and she was missed.
the re-doubled smile must work because jester blinks a few times and then returns the smile.
‘beau,’ she says teasingly, ‘you’re so sweet when you’re drunk.’
‘i’m not that drunk.’
‘you’re pretty drunk,’ jester tells her with faux solemnity. ‘want me to take you to bed? i mean, to bed! like, to your bed to sleep.’
beau grins. ‘you’re blushing.’
jester scowls. ‘no.’
‘mhm.’ she steps closer. taps jester’s cheek. she’s gentle about it, pushes all her attention to it so she doesn’t drunkenly jab her hard. it has the effect she intended—soft, not painful—and one she didn’t, in that she feels with perfect clarity how soft jester’s cheek is, the warmth of her flush. she lets her finger drop. wavers a little where she stands only a few inches from jester. ‘um. i can make it,’ she tells jester. ‘you came down for cookies, right?’
jester frowns. ‘how did you—‘
‘not as drunk as i look,’ beau tells her cheerfully. ‘we definitely caught you out, you were trying to be sneaky ‘bout it. it’s after dinner and you’re better about sweets when you’re with your mum. an’ you were talking about ‘em this morning.’ jester stares up at her, shakes her head slowly. she looks confused, and really pretty, and beau is filled with sudden warmth at the idea of knowing someone as well as she knows jester. ‘have fun, drink some good milk. you would’ve hated the bar, the milk was bad.’
‘you had some?’
beau shrugs. ‘i ordered one for you, forgot you weren’t there. we all drank some.’ she pulls a face. then kisses jester’s cheek, presses her own flushed cheek to jester’s, who holds very still.
then, beau carries herself happily up the stairs and to jester’s room, collapsing boneless to the bed.
//
her head feels like it’s been filled with angry bees when she wakes. that might be the dream she’d had. her mouth tastes like she licked a dirty boot, too. disgusting.
if she holds herself very still, though, she can ignore all of that and maybe, maybe, fall back to sleep.
just as she thinks about it, beau knows it’s not gonna happen. her neck cricks and her bladder screams from the pressure and so with a groan she rolls to the side and carefully stands. her headache pounds a little more forcefully but it’s far from the worst she’s ever had. a little water and she’ll be grand.
speaking of water.
beau adjusts her pants back into place, wipes wet hands absently on her shirt as she leaves the washroom, steps out into the hall. it’s early still and the chateau is still. quiet. faint music and conversation lifts up to jester’s level from the one below and beau follows it like she’s caught.
by the time she has come down the stairs, she knows it’s marion’s room, and knows the voices are hers and jester’s. she thinks about turning away but the sun has started to lift and she knows jester hasn’t started to pack. how she had managed to scatter her things literally everywhere across the room beau can’t begin to understand. she’ll peek in, remind jester about it, head down for an early run on the beach maybe. and breakfast. the chateau does a damn good breakfast.
‘—don’t know what to do about it.’ jester, beau’s mind supplies. distressed.
‘what do you want to do about it?’ marion. decidedly not at all distressed. amused?
‘i don’t know,’ jester wails. ‘why can’t this be easy?’
‘the worthwhile things in life rarely are, little sapphire.’
beau grins. jester will hate being told that. her grin widens when she hears jester grumble a reluctant agreement; in her mind’s eye she can see her clearly, nose crinkled, grumpy face on, strewn over one of her mother’s fainting couches maybe.
‘can’t you just tell me what to do?’ jester wheedles. ‘you know everything!’
‘about sex, perhaps. about love? not as much as i would like.’ the room is quiet for a moment, and beau thinks her suddenly racing heart will give her away. love? they’re talking about love? ‘matters of the heart always seem simple from the outside. when you’re the one tangled in it, it seems impossible, doesn’t it?’
jester makes a pitiful sound of agreement.
beau nearly does too.
‘well, what do you think then? even if you’re on the outside?’
‘i think... that you could do far worse.’
‘mama.’
‘what do you want me to say, jester?’
‘the truth!’
‘the truth?’ marion asks in an arch tone, and oh beau is less familiar with her but jester is not so removed from her mother that she can’t imagine it. the cool look, the raised brows, the pursed lips as the expression coalesces into one simple question—are you sure?
‘please, mama.’
‘very well. i don’t think you would have come to me all in a flutter if you weren’t feeling something. and you obviously hold her in high regard, or you wouldn’t have spent all of the last two days talking about her.’
‘i didnt—not all,’ jester denies, weakly.
‘you spoke of her a lot, my darling,’ marion tells her gently. a moment passes, then, ‘i think you enjoy her attention. i think you care for her very much. and i think you know how she cares for you. didn’t you tell me you thought she was going to kiss you?’
‘you should have seen the way she smiled,’ jester whispers. ‘beau was—‘
the mention of her name breaks the spell beau was held by, frozen in place listening to the conversation play out. guilt mingles hot with hope and fear, churning in her gut, but she manages to step back softly, and again until she reaches the stairs. she takes the next flight quietly before all but sprinting down the rest, flying out the door.
a run. a run along the beach. she’ll forget all about this and when she comes back to breakfast, she’ll be ready. she won’t encroach on jester, she won’t upset her with what she had hoped had been subtle. she’ll be better about it.
the sand crunches beneath her boots, the tide washing it harder underfoot than the soft white dunes, and beau runs.
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fullmetalscullyy · 4 years
Note
For the angst prompt, can i get "I didnt mean the things I said" for royai? And roy is the one who being mean. Thank you ♥️
so…. this stumped me for a while but i finally had an idea come to me… this is a prequel oneshot to a fic i wrote a while back. it’s called “hold my hand” and you don’t have to read to understand this one! basically it’s a modern au mostly focussed on their relationship.
also, if you want anon, i do have another fic all about this (with riza and al being badasses uwu) which fills your request too! you can find it here. but of course no pressure or drama if you don’t want to read a longer one!
i hope you enjoy and i hope this is ok!! <3
rated: t | words: 1302
“Hey, Hawkeye. You okay?” Roy squinted at her and it made her eye twitch.
“Fine.” Her answer was curt, but she didn’t think any of the guys would notice in their drunken stupor.
Rebecca Catalina did though, and she narrowed her eyes at Roy in response as Havoc slung his arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders, laughing loudly at Roy’s joke and drawing his attention away from her.
“Be right back,” Riza muttered quietly.
Not that anyone would probably notice or bother her leaving. And, it was a lie. She had no intention of coming back to the table. She just wanted to go home and sleep. The alcohol in her system had her buzzed, but she wasn’t drunk like the rest of them. Sighing to herself, she subtly grabbed her purse from the back of her chair.
She loved her friends. She adored them and they were like a family to her. However, going out for drinks wasn’t exactly her most favourite thing to do in the world because they all got too loud and rowdy for her. Feeling incredibly guilty for thinking such a thing, Riza always tagged along and made the effort anyway.
“Riza!” Rebecca called to her as she walked away.
She cringed but turned to face her friend.
“Ignore him, all right? He’s an asshole.”
“He’s always an asshole, though,” Riza muttered.
“Exactly,” Rebecca interjected. “That’s just the way he… is… right now.” It looked like Rebecca wanted to reveal more about Roy, but she didn’t. She even frowned to herself at her poor excuse for an explanation.
Riza supposed that was fair. She was the newest addition to the friend group, and it wasn’t Rebecca’s place to share such secrets and knowledge with the newcomer so easily. They obviously didn’t trust her enough yet.
“But,” Rebecca stressed. “He’s… trying,” she finished lamely. She frowned again.
“Trying for what?” Riza was confused.
Shaking her head, Rebecca ignored her question. “Just please don’t take it to heart. They’re all drunk. It’s likely they won’t remember any of this tomorrow.”
Yes, it was likely they wouldn’t remember. But Riza would.
“I thought you were some kind of ice queen or something to begin with,” Roy drunkenly laughed inside her mind, mocking her.
It wasn’t meant to hurt. It was meant to be a joke. But it was always hard for Riza to form connections with others. Thank you, father of the year, Berthold Hawkeye. To hear someone so openly declare that they thought she was so cold… Riza tried so hard all the time but always seemed to fall short of the mark. But with these guys, it had been different. And to hear them laugh and joke about how she’d been so cold towards them in the beginning when Riza had intended to be the complete opposite… It hurt her. It hurt that they’d all laughed too. No reassurance was offered. Rebecca opened her mouth, looking directly at Riza, but was cut off by Havoc suddenly changing the topic.
“I know, and I won’t,” Riza lied. “I’m a bit tired though, so I’m just going to head home.”
Before Rebecca could reply, Riza turned around and was on her way out of the bar.
*          *          *
“Hey, Hawkeye!” a voice called to her as she stepped inside the lift. “Hold the door!”
Roy hurried over to her and she was half tempted to let the doors close on him, but that would probably be “too cold” of her. Irritably, she pressed the button to hold them open for longer.
“I missed you tonight. Where’d you go?” He leaned heavily against the wall as he tried to catch his breath. The doors closed, leaving them both in the lift together.
“I didn’t feel too well so I went home.”
Roy blinked at her. He straightened his spine and blinked again. He was staring and it was annoying her even more.
Of all the times for her to head down to the waste disposal room she just had to run into him as he arrived home. He was even drunker. His jacket was haphazardly thrown on and his hair was mussed up, some strands sticking out. He stank of alcohol and Riza tried not to wrinkle her nose in the enclosed space.
“Rebecca told me I said… some things,” he muttered. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the cold metal. “Actually, she tore into me,” he chuckled to himself. “I didn’t mean to. I really didn’t.” Groaning loudly, his head rolled forward before he opened his eyes to look at her again. “I’m such an idiot. I’m sorry.” He burped quietly and Riza scoffed in disgust as she caught a whiff of more alcohol on his breath.
“It’s okay,” she replied calmly. It wasn’t but talking to a drunk Roy would probably be like talking to a brick wall. If he still remembered and felt guilty then he could come to her in the morning. Or whenever he recovered enough from his hangover. It wasn’t like he had to make much of an effort, he lived right across the hall from her in this apartment building.
The door to the lift opened and she stepped out, leaving him behind.
“No, it’s not okay,” he slurred. “It’s really not. It was a bit of a joke, but it hurt you and I’m really sorry about that.”
“Roy, we can talk about this later –”
“No, we can’t,” he replied earnestly.
She turned to shoot him a glare, but she paused. His eyes were wide and as earnest as his tone. They were owlish, begging her to listen to him.
“We can’t do it later because I feel so guilty. You’re not cold,” he told her. “You’re the complete opposite.”
He was drunk, and he needed to go to his bed.
“You’re warm, like the sunshine,” he declared. “You’re one of the sweetest people I know. And you’re one of the best! I’m… I’m so sorry,” he mumbled. Sighing heavily, he leaned against the wall beside his apartment door. He almost fell over too, but Riza didn’t move to help him.
It’s just the alcohol talking.
Still, she could see how guilty he felt. Even if he was drunk, being this torn up about it would be hard to fake.
“Roy,” Riza called to him.
His head lifted and his eyes were so sad.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “I’m so sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean the things I said.”
Letting out a quiet breath, she exhaled slowly. “Let’s get you into bed, okay?” His face was miserable as he looked at her, so she offered him a smile. “We can talk about this in the morning. Don’t worry about it.”
*          *          *
It was well past four in the afternoon when Riza heard a knock on her apartment door. Roy looked like hell. The dark bags under his eyes were prominent and he looked slightly pale. Still, in his hands were two cups of to-go coffee in a cardboard holder and a paper bag from the bakery down the street.
“A peace offering,” he announced with a nervous smile. “And an apology.”
Riza regarded him for a moment. While he still looked slightly ill and hungover, his smile had lit up his face as soon as she opened the door and her eyes met his. It made her heart flutter inside her chest, but Riza pushed it down. And, he’d ventured into the outside world to get coffee and a sweet treat for her. The least she could do was hear him out. Although, after seeing how broken up he was last night, Riza was already willing to hear him out. That sorrow was hard to fake when one was as drunk as Roy was.
“Of course,” she smiled. “Come in.”
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radramblog · 3 years
Text
Star Wars Battlefront II (the good one)
My nonfunctional internet is preventing me not only from finishing off my essay, not only from watching the lecture that I would have shown up for were it not for mediary COVID restrictions, but it’s also stopping me from writing anything here that would require any sort of research or confirming details. That leaves me with less options that I would have thought.
Browsing through my Steam collection for ideas on what to talk about, and something jumped out at me pretty quickly.
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Star Wars Battlefront II (the 2005 game, not Star Wars Battlefront 2, the sequel to the EA remake much maligned for malicious microtransactions) is a first/third person shooter that, while showing its age, remains one of the best games the franchise has ever put out. This is, of course, an opinion coming from someone who has yet to play Knights of the Old Republic, but it feels like Star Wars as a franchise has more misses than hits. So what makes this one land?
While I’m woefully unfamiliar with the early 00s shooters that Battlefront II was competing with (aside from Counter-Strike Source, but I’d argue that’s a different target market), I am extremely familiar with this one. I think part of why Battlefront II is so fondly remembered is on account of it being almost a gateway game for people getting into shooters in general- I for one played it extensively on my mate’s PS2 in primary school, and later on someone else’s PSP, and I doubt I would later have clicked so strongly with Halo if I hadn’t.
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But what Battlefront II has more than anything else I feel is ambition. After the conclusion of the prequel trilogy, Star Wars’s universe was big, and the developers seemed interested in representing about as much of what we see of it’s style of warfare as they possibly could. As a result, the maps are a glorious smattering of worlds and terrains, loving and detailed recreations of places from the various films as well as a few that are probably new (I might just not remember them), each drizzled with vehicles and turrets and resources. Each of the game’s four factions share the basic units with very few differences (except for the Super Battle Droid), making them easy to understand and grasp for newer/younger players, with the complexity of each’s unique units paying off those willing to grapple with their weakness and play to their strengths. Some are definitely better than others, but that isn’t especially obvious at first. The basic classes reflect tropes seen in other games and while again some falter it’s not by enough that picking them in the wrong situation is a guaranteed blunder.
There are, of course, the heroes, major characters from the series granted to a player who’s doing pretty well, and I feel like this is another pretty well handled mechanic, even if a little awkward. There are enough of them, and they’re distributed enough between maps and factions, that they don’t tend to feel stale, and it’s pretty obvious that while they can absolutely ruin a team it’s also pretty easy to mishandle them. Unfortunately, heroes are related to one of my biggest complaints about the game, but we’ll get to that later.
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One of the biggest selling points in my eyes are the dogfight levels. Now, I’ve never played X-Wing or the like, in fact my experiences with dogfighting games is extremely limited. But this part of the game fucks so hard. The design ideas begun with the class selection continue with the (admittedly small) range of starfighters you can pilot, with specialised interceptors, bombers, and landing craft to go alongside the effective all-rounders. The mode offers a variety of playstyles, between hunting down opponent’s fighters to bombing their flagships to boarding said flagships and destroying their systems from the inside. There is also the option of manually controlling the turrets, as well as acting as a gunner for someone else’s bomber/lander, but these positions are unfortunately underpowered and underexplored- they’re also, ultimately, less fun. But the dogfighting just feels right. I can’t really explain it, but moving in that 3-dimensional space feels not only satisfying but accurate to the source material in a way I don’t think any future Star Wars game has yet replicated.
I suppose the various game modes are worth discussing. Skirmishing on whatever map you want is the standard, at least in multiplayer, but there are a few unique offerings you won’t see in other modes- Hunt, where it’s a faction versus some of the series’s wildlife in a mode that always feels imbalanced towards one side or the other. There’s obviously Assault- the standard name for the space dogfights but on one ground map (Mos Eisley) it is of course the ever-popular heroes free-for-all, a chaotic mess but one where you can test out each one and figure out what their abilities actually do. But in the broader strokes, you’ve got the story, and the Galactic Conquest, as the two main other modes.
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(oof, they really didnt build this with this resolution in mind huh)
That’s right, this game has a story, and it’s…okay? Ultimately it’s just a series of missions with the 501st, as they fight in the clone wars, turn on the Jedi, and ultimately become the Empire’s tool of oppression, separated by exposition. You get to run through some scenes from the movies, including the boarding at the start of the first movie and the Battle of Hoth, though some of the missions feel harder than intended- no matter how good the player is, the AI is not going to fare well in the tougher missions and you have a solid chance of ending up on your own.
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Galactic Conquest is the game’s more unique selling point, being something like a basic version of Risk but with the dice-rolling battles replaced with Star Wars Battlefront II. You earn credits over time and through victory that you can spend unlocking types of units, getting new fleets to improve how many fronts you can wage war on, and unlock powerups for use in the actual battles. It’s largely fine, feeling like a bit more controlled and strategic version of just playing randoms in Instant Action, but it suffers the most from the biggest problem this game has.
The game’s truest flaw is its AI. They are dumb as a sack of potatoes, and the main thing holding the game back from perfection. And it was the early 00s so imperfect AI was to be expected, but it’s a bit more than imperfect here, I guess. Robits standing still while shooting you (or just at all, while you’re sniping them), extremely questionable vehicle and turret usage, and literally crashing starships into you, your flagship, or their own flagship. Bumping their difficulty up doesn’t really help, either. Even more egregious is the AI’s usage of heroes- or rather, that they don’t. If you’re playing single player, the game will always give earned heroes to you rather than your robot teammates, will not let one of them take if it if you decline to use the character, and you will never see one on the opposite side. This would imply that there wasn’t code for the Ais to use them, except there clearly is because Assault Mos Eisley exists- and they’re arguably much better there than in any other mode! It’s a real shame, because the low quality of the AI combined with the nature of the games means that victory is extremely polarised based on the player’s skill- if you bad all the way up to pretty decent at the game, your input basically doesn’t affect the outcome, whether you win or lose. If you’re good at the game, you will never lose at singleplayer, possible exception again being Assault Mos Eisley. It’s a little absurd, honestly. Also, I’m not even sure they go for the flag in CTF in space.
I am, however, willing to look past these flaws. The game is far from perfect, but it’s just incredibly fun. It’s a type of gameplay that they’ve tried to replicate, but never quite recaptured- and I think part of the reason for that is because the awkwardness is part of the charm. It’s nostalgic- both for those who played it when they were younger and just those in my generation who grew up on the Prequels. It’s also way more expensive on steam (bruh 14.5 AUD for real?) than I expected, but it goes on hard sales pretty often (I think I paid like a buck fifty for it), so it’ll be within budget at some point. I don’t know if I can recommend it for those who aren’t nostalgic, though, solely on account of those awkward features you likely wouldn’t be able to ignore like I do. And that’s a shame, because it’s not like they’ve made a better version of this game.
Fuck EA, basically.
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