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#this is fantasy franchises in general but like
dittomander · 5 months
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okay, but I feel like a live-action Zelda actually could really work IF it's similar in tone to the Dungeons and Dragons movie.
like yes by all means have big, high-stakes fantasy battles and serious moments of genuine grief and tragedy but it has got to wholeheartedly embrace the inherent silliness of the source material or it's just not gonna feel right.
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willosword · 10 months
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thinking about 👉👈 maybe playing a final fantasy game for the first time
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holdharmonysacred · 1 year
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Started writing a post about unit blorbofication and story depth in FE in light of the latest round of past FEs VS 3H VS Engage discourse, someone remind me to go back to writing it later when I get my brainpower back.
#tl;dr preview i think what's going on is kind of a conflict between differing tastes in terms of Level Of Character Depth In Units#caused by the franchise's struggle with balancing the blorbo genre of emergent gameplay#it's definitely stupid to act as if character depth and intensive backstories are somehow exclusive to 3H#and all other FEs run on flat gimmick characters#BUT ALSO it's stupid to act like FE hasn't historically also run on flat gimmick characters#because the fact is that flat gimmick characters are just what happens in any game where the cast is too damn big#and the game doesn't have the colossal space needed to give everybody depth#+ the franchise's permadeath mechanics tend to impede the writers' ability to develop said units anyway#in 3H's case i would argue that it also has a problem with faux depth where the writers WANT it to be complicated and deep#but also it's REALLY goddamn obvious that they're interested in some parts of their story more than other#and that they bit off way way WAY more than they could chew when it comes to building their fantasy world#and these other issues just compound the problems that normally come with 'too big cast in a game where permadeath real'#it is kind of a sad reality that someone would fall into 'the players have to make up their depth' eventually#because it's just kinda impossible to develop *EVERYONE* if you don't have infinite ongoing serialized story space#but there are ways of managing that cast scope creep that the FE writers aren't quite good at wrangling#do to the aforementioned conflicts of interest in mechanics and general care#engage i haven't actually played yet or watched somebody else play so the best i've got is 'it's fun trash/trashy fun'#so i can't judge how it handles its own cast scope creep#but i get the impression that it falls back to flat characters and generic plot#which obviously isn't going to be very filling if you prefer meatier narratives and characters#but that's just how the nightmare tightrope of cast scope creep rolls
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sitting in my room for a half hour thinking about how if we lived in a better world Ada Wong would be the Ilsa Faust of Resident Evil (primarily in how she's introduced in Rogue Nation), with a dynamic to leon not unlike Fujiko Mine's and Lupin's in which they are both extremely competent and in situations in which they may have to work against and occasionally with each other on a mission, but ultimately are forced to stay apart and while they may be apart and even have different love interests from each other, ultimately still care deeply for one another. They are compelled to go after each other in part because it's so difficult and they are so often in circumstances in which they can't be with each other. The thrill of the chase and all that.
Ada being only tangentially related to the other character's stories because the world is simply larger than them and she has her own concerns and problems to deal with, and to have that be given any care or weight in a story, let alone focus. That she can be cunning and even manipulative but because she needs to and will still choose not to when the chips are down because she is genuinely caring--which I know none of that is new ground for her but I wish it was done in a more interesting way and *without leon at all*. She chooses to show mercy in a key point not because she's in love with that other character.
And also that she has more personality. I dig the subdued nature of her in 4r and her subtle sarcasm but it's just crumbs. I want her to be silly on occasion and say dumb jokes because she's alone like in 2r. I want her to shed a bit of that seriousness when she's on the clock because she's confident in herself as a professional and again has no one to put up a façade to.
It's honestly kinda embarrassing reading this back as I realize most of what I'm writing is not only already present in the games but incredibly tropey in and of itself, and wouldn't improve the character much. Dear god I think too much of my view of the character has been marred by shallow fanworks depicting her. I think if anything it's a sign that:
I'm a shit writer and need to do way more than watch movies and gesture vaguely at them to come up w a decent story or character (that being said as much as I prefer Fallout as a film, I stand by my earlier statement of Ilsa Faust being the ideal spy woman as she's depicted in Rogue Nation as she has a distinct set of goals and needs that are complex and developed largely tangentially to the protagonist's, at least initially).
It's going to take a completely new approach to her character to get something remotely interesting and that takes advantage of her potential.
For as mired in tropes as she and every other character and story in Resident Evil is, Ada could be far more memorable and enjoyable if only there was more care and effort to giver at least some interests and goals (perhaps even...characterization) on her own other than being a sexy love interest and potentially traitorous (as so many femme fatales already are).
#I mean she basically already is Fujiko I just wish it was more fun and gave her shit to do that didn't exclusively revolve around leon#I have a lot of thoughts about leon as a character and as much as I enjoy their over-the-top mr & mrs smith romance also fuck leon#Sighs....I know I'm asking too much from a franchise that has famously bad writing and largely archetypal characters but it's maddening#Mostly to me personally because I love spy shit and femme fatales for how messy and misogynistic the archetype is it's my favorite#So it kills me that a cool femme fatale like Ada who has so much potential as a character is relentlessly squandered#And it's the most annoying thing in the world to me to complain about fandoms/fans but I'll be a hypocrite and vent that it bugs me#How much fan media revolves around a*on and coming up with idealized domestic fantasies for them which can be chopped up to misogyny#And how tropey fan shit is but still it's so dull and often bends Ada into an ideal wife/gf for leon but not explore Anything Else At All#Not every romance has to end in marriage and kids like what about the inherent drama of them being forced apart isn't#Compelling to fans? What I'm trying to say is I want them to have a painfully messy divorce and a game or movie exclusively about Ada#*and I mean like they never marry just break up but emotionally it's a messy divorce that's ultimately for the best given their jobs#Also I am far too out of my depth to go into it but many have pointed out how her characterization often falls into pretty#nasty tropes that Asian women often fall into in Hollywood films which considering how much US blockbusters influence re it's not surprisin#But it's unfortunate and I'd be remised to at least mention that it feels at best dicey to have the only recurring Asian woman be mostly#reduced to a love interest of the white protagonist and sexualized with little else to go off of as a character#Yes she's competent and a super spy and saves his life constantly but I Want More And She Deserves Better#And yes everyone is super tropey and flat and the women in general often take a back seat to male charas but like I said#this whole franchise is badly written and honestly it kills me how women are written in general in re but I was thinking too hard about Ada#And maybe a sign that this series needs an even bigger overhaul than the remakes are doing character writing-wise#Or just don't and jettison the bloated lore once and for all and be episodic and silly b-horror idk if I can care about established charas#Coming back if they're in such dull forms. Maybe the mercy kill option is ideal and have re9 and all new installments be different#Ugh why can't I care about something useful like computers or cooking or job applications
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You know....
Ive seen star wars....like all the older movies....
But ive retained like no information about them outside of common pop culture references
Like one year on May 4th there was a channel doing a star wars marathon and my dad had it on in the living room all day
And I sat in the living room and watched all of them cuz my best friend at the time was really into star wars
And all I remember about that day is random out of context scenes from the movies and extreme boredom and being so understimulated the entire time that I spent like half of one movie hanging upside down off my couch
So for all intents and purposes I did not watch star wars
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elodieunderglass · 6 months
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When does Tolkien start entering the public domain?
(In reference to this poll https://www.tumblr.com/elodieunderglass/730451774219190272 where I tagged it supporting my own personal theory and added that when Tolkien enters the public domain WATCH OUT)
Tolkien’s works enter the public domain in the USA, uk and Canada 70 years after his death - so 2043 with open season starting 2044.
If we’re all still around in 20 years’ time, make a note of it! I’ll write you a story with unhinged hobbit family structures, the Shire being a place that dampens magic, and the unauthorised yet strangely canonical adventures of Belladonna Took and the Silmarils. It will be 200,000 words long and written in the correct tone, and I promise to do completely immersive research to colour in the background: every linguistic reference, Anglo-Saxon folkway, Icelandic influence, weirdly deep dives into topics like kinship moiety and subtle mischief that characterises Tolkien’s work. This would be so funny to me.
Everyone will be racing to publish basic porn and games; the d&d franchise which will be world-eating in 20 years will finally get to drop the pretense of “halflings,” Witcher and other franchises ditto; all the fantasy writers who have tugged at the tit for so many generations will finally be able to do it openly, and the films will be constant and abysmal. But we, we alone, we happy few alone and free; we will be giggling together, like playing dolls, over what the people REALLY want: constructing elaborate conlang puns with a 200k textual payoff.
It will be my honor to work on this for no reason at all, and I will ceremoniously give it to you in exchange for £7.99. And we will laugh and laugh and laugh
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shyshitter · 3 months
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holy shit watching the pjo movie for shits and giggles and i forgot how TERRIBLE it is as an adaptation. it is. However. herculeanly CAMP. the joss wheden level shallow interpretation of Percy Jackson ever. i don’t have the brain power to explain so i will just dump. percy and grover are canonically in high school. percy lives with his mom. they BLACK SIDEKICKED GROVER. percy’s boy band emo fringe. WEARING HEADPHONES IN THE MUSEUM WHILE BRUNNER WAS TALKING. “leaving you was the hardest thing he ever did” speech. pierce brosnan is chiron. alexandra daddario. the high school lock eyes across the field “she’ll eat you alive” shot. leather harnesses instead of camp shirts. the hogwartsification of camp half blood. “my father is poseidon. yup, we’ve known all along. here’s a quest that i forbid you from going on.” no clarise. annabeth and percy fight at the end of capture the flag. luke’s private cabin with an entire video game system. “i broke into my dads house and stole these shoes and shield hope they help you on your quest to find fUCKING PEARLS i guess also here’s a glowing map that tells you exactly where to go.” the complete misinterpretation of the major plot points/locations/relationships/characters in general. annabeth is a 90s bridewife heroine who makes snarky does she like him does she hate him comments the entire time. percy is a 16 yo dweebjock who makes incel turned hero comments the entire time. grover is a polyamorous slut who makes black sidekick comments the entire time. percabeth’s h2o just add water pool scene. “our parents speak to us in our minds and give us advice” THEY DRIVE MOST OF THE TIME. percy uses the flying shoes multiple times. they get high in a las vegas casino. the entirety of the casino scene. GROVER TRIES TO PAY CHARON, GUARDIAN OF THE UNDERWORLD, WITH $170 AMERICAN DOLLARS CASH. rosario dawson persephone hits on grover IMMEDIATELY. gay roman soldier miniature as hades. the bolt was in the shield luke gave them. persephone’s kissem and stab ‘em move to take the bolt. “you can’t take your mom because you only have three pearls :(“ grover volunteers to stay and percy like doesn’t fight it at all and persephone immediately has offscreen sex with him. luke’s “im the lightning thief” speech. the sky battle with the flying shoes. “maybe they were wrong. maybe you’re not a son of poseidon.” *immediately drowns in electrically charged water* “idk. maybe i am i the son of poseidon.” *makes a water trident and throws it at luke, careening him across nyc into the hudson river* the way the movie takes away all agency or criticism from poseidon’s/the gods’ shitting parenting by inventing a law by zeus forbidding gods from making PHYSICAL contact with their children. grover getting horns and elevating him to “senior protector” bc i guess they had to rate his protection skills for some reason. percabeth’s almost kiss turned “never let your enemy distract you” ya novel vomit. PERCY PUTTING MEDUSAS UNCOVERED HEAD IN HIS KITCHEN FRIDGE WITH A “NEVER OPEN THE FRIDGE EVER LOVE PERCY” NOTE, PROMPTING A PETTY GABE TO OPEN IT AND GET ROCKED BY MEDUSA. truly the rick and morty parody of a 2010 YA fantasy novel turned franchise movie. it’s defining redeeming factor: annabeth is taller than percy.
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shuunnico · 4 months
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You like rpgs. Do you recommend any games like baldurs gate 3?
Absolutely. I'll assume you mean CRPGs and not RPGs in general.
Computer Roleplaying Games (CRPGs) refers to a style and genre of game that BG3 follows. Some have started calling CRPGs "Classic RPGs" instead. CRPGs are typically identified by an isometric, top down view style, a heavy focus on story and exploration.
I'm going to split my list it three main categories based on accessibility factors. These factors include the amount of reading involved, the depth of mechanics and the level of abstraction/math required.
Easy Entry Level
Baldur's Gate 3 - 2023 - Larian Studios. The current gold star for easy entry CRPGs. Exceptional graphics, every character voice acted, very little reading and fairly straightforward mechanics and concepts.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 DE- 2017 - Larian Studios. This is basically a less polished, more complex version of BG3 and made by the same studio.
Disco Elysium, Final Cut - 2019 - ZA/UM. Disco Elysium is a detective/social focus game that dives into heavy narrative concepts. Failing rolls is just as viable for the story as succeeding them, making the game's mechanics take a backseat to story. However, there is a lot of reading and that may be a barrier to entry.
Tyranny - 2016 - Obsidian Entertainment. A game about being evil, it's mechanically pretty simple, but there's a fair bit of jank due to it's low budget, and the game ends on a cliffhanger, but it's story is very solid.
Mid Entry Level
Wasteland 3 - 2020 - inExile Entertainment. The long awaited third installment of the Wasteland franchise and significantly less complex than its predecessors. Post apocalyptic, frozen Colorado, grim reality and goofy ideas. This is the franchise that originally inspired Fallout.
Shadowrun: Dragonfall DC/ Shadowrun: Hong Kong EE - 2014/2015 - Harebrained Schemes. Set in the Fantasy/Cyberpunk hybrid setting of Shadowrun. Fair bit of reading, but the game's mechanics are relatively easy to grasp and don't require a lot of math. Always play Dragonfall before Hong Kong.
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire - 2018 - Obsidian Entertainment. A unique setting, exploring a fictional parallel to the age of piracy. Very wordy (but a lot is voice acted), with a lot of world building, but well worth engaging with. The first game, Pillars of Eternity, is less accessible, but still good.
Kingmaker/Wrath of the Righteous/Rogue Trader - 2020/2022/2023 - Owlcat Games. Owlcat adapts existing systems into CRPGs, like how BG3 is an adaption of DnD 5e. Do not be fooled, these games are where you start hitting a lot of complexity, a lot of math and a lot potential to damage your playthroughs by accident. This is where things start to get difficult.
Difficult Entry Level
Baldur's Gate 1/2 - Bioware - 1998/2000. The prequels to BG3, these games use an older, much more complex version of DnD's rules. Be prepared for a lot of reading and complex mechanics, but you'll be rewarded with some amazing storytelling.
Planescape Torment - Interplay - 1999. Another game using DnD's older mechanics, Planescape is a completely different beast from BG3. Many consider this series mechanically inferior to the Baldur's Gate franchise, but with better storytelling and world building to compensate.
Fallout 1/2 - 1997/1998 - Interplay/Black Isle. One of the most widely known game franchises started as an isometric CRPG. Universally considered more complex, rewarding and deeper than the Bethesda portion of the franchise, you'll need some experience to get into them, but you'll be happy you did.
Games I haven't played but I've heard good things of:
Wasteland 2, DC - 2015 - inExile
Torment: Tides Of Numenera - 2017 - inExile
Neverwinter Nights - 2002 - Bioware
Arcanum - 2001 - Troika Games
Ultima 7 Part 1/Part 2 - 1992/1993 - Origin Systems
Icewind Dale - 2000 - Black Isle Studio
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h-worksrambles · 2 months
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Sonic X Shadow Generations fascinates me. Because it feels like something I shouldn’t be excited for. And yet I absolutely am.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Sonic Generations. It’s my third favourite game in the series and my favourite 3D Sonic game (with Sonic Adventure 2 in a close second). I’m very happy to see it getting a re release to expose it to new audiences, and playing it in 4K60fps on my PS5 is a very enticing. Likewise, I really like Shadow as a character and I’m excited to play as him again.
And yet, his new bonus campaign promises to basically be a bunch of nostalgic pandering for Shadow the Hedgehog, a game which I consider to be, simply put, crap. It was boring, dull, colourless and embarrassing trend chasing. And pretty much everything I hated about it is on display in this trailer.
We’ve got gritty, grey cityscapes, we’ve got the rather blah alien villain, Black Doom returning, we’ve got the looming return of the series’…bafflingly executed lore. In a word, Shadow was a pretty much everything I didn’t want Sonic to be shoved into a blender. I’ve given my thoughts on revisiting past excesses and failures for the sake of nostalgia. I wrote a whole thing about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and my fears that it would go overboard pandering to the 2000s spin offs (which I dislike a for lot of the same reasons as a lot of Sonic stuff from the mid 2000s). A faux attempt at maturity that sacrifices Sonic’s camp and colour, and lacks the writing competency to make its tone shift work is pretty much my worst case scenario for the series. And now we’re invoking that for nostalgia? Again, I should hate this.
So if I dislike Shadow the Hedgehog so much. If it really is so emblematic of Sonic’s worst excesses that I want it to leave behind in the 2000s…then why am I so damn hyped for this? Why am I not feeling the same dread as whenever VII Remake implicitly threatens to bring back Genesis?
I think it’s because of the specific relationship Sonic has had with its past for the last decade. So much of the stuff from that time period is material that Sega has seemed actively scared to touch again. Sometimes with good reason. But I think that’s why some material from that time has gained such a strong nostalgic cult following, and why they’re held up as such bastions of missed potential. There’s never been anything quite like Shadow or 06 since they came out with how safe Sega has subsequently played things. And in many respects, that’s a good thing. But I can see how it build a sense of mystique around them. It was kind of sad to see 2010s Sonic so…scared of itself. Terrified to invoke its own history but not really committed to a new direction either. And this is pretty much the exact opposite of that hesitancy.
Basically, the reason I react to seeing Westopolis or Black Doom with ‘holy shit let’s go!!!’ rather than ‘why, god, why?’ is because I genuinely never thought I would see them again after this long. It’s just exciting to see Sonic Team throw caution to the wind and embrace all the parts of their franchise. Even the parts I personally dislike. Plus, Sonic Generations is kind of the perfect game in which to reimagine that stuff and make it..actually good this time. This was the game that made Crisis City of all things into a banger level. The game that took Silver, one of the most notorious boss fights in the series, and gave him a kickass encounter.
If they can fix that, they can do anything.
Plus, the fact that the trailers already show all these trippy stage effects and anime af boss fights and set pieces tells me we’re not just gonna be running through the same drab washed out burning cities that made Shadow 2005 so boring. Again, there’s evidently an effort being made to rehabilitate and reimagine this stuff, not just repeat all the same mistakes. And that’s exciting.
So yeah, Sonic X Shadow Generations has somehow managed to get me genuinely excited for all the parts of the series I typically balk at. And that’s pretty impressive.
That said, if I see Mephiles again, I’m leaving.
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yuikomorii · 5 months
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// I’m making this post, as a result of seeing way too much hate and misinfo regarding every character. Nobody stops anyone from voicing their opinion but the need to degrade a character, while providing BAD reasons or stating incorrect/out-of-context facts about them only for the sake of internet validation, is such a loser move.
We’re all in this fandom to have fun and even if you have something negative to say about a character you don’t like, keep it to yourself or in private with your friends.
Ayato:
“I don’t like Ayato, he’s overrated”, omg you’re just sooo different! Definitely not like other girls/guys!
Everyone is allowed to dislike whatever they want but if Ayato is your least/one of your least favorite DL characters, then your opinion ISN’T valid. This is a franchise full of abusive characters and he’s literally the most heroic love interest. Why would you hate the hero…?
“He’s dumb and annoying”, says the person who spends their time insulting FICTIONAL characters. 1) Japanese fans like dumb characters, since they come off as endearing; 2) Ayato outdid everyone throughout the routes.
He did more good than all of his brothers and saying that X, Y or Z deserves the main role more, is fake fan behavior because at this point you’re just setting up your favs.
Kanato:
No, you’re not cool for calling him ugly. It’s okay if you’re not into that type of characters but his design is not bad at all.
“He had no development”, he does in CL. It’s not major but it can still be visible.
The whole Teddy thing might be annoying to some of you, but his fans get why he acts that way. Let’s not forget that he is a victim of neglect.
Yes, he was sexually exploited too. Don’t forget this x2.
Laito:
“I hate Laito so much, he was so cruel in HDB 😢”; stop living in the past and move on already.
His development shouldn’t be overlooked only because your opinion about him was formed on something that came out more than 10 years ago.
He’s still the most fascinating DL character and I get that he might make some of you feel uncomfortable but don’t project your triggers on a character that’s merely made after a trope.
Shu:
No, it’s not Shu’s fault for the way Reiji acted. Envy is never a good reason to hurt someone.
“Shu roasts the heroine the most!”, I get that it’s rude but his insults are actually funny?? A bunch of people will like him for being brutally honest or a jerk because it’s literally a game for players with masochistic fantasies. They WANT to be roasted by good-looking men. That’s the point.
“Shu is lazy and stupid, he’s the only one who failed his school year”, genuine question: If you were an immortal creature that doesn’t need food or sleep to survive, would you still care about grades? Besides, he’s really smart.
“Shu doesn’t care about Yuma, he just feels guilty”, in LE he sacrificed himself for him and reincarnated merely because he wished to meet Yuma again and get on well with him in another life—
Reiji:
“He hurt Shu and Yuma”, well yeah but he was shown plenty of times regretting it and trying to fix things. Stop reminding this to Reiji stans because that conflict is already closed.
“He is so mean in other routes”, obviously?? If you don’t teach him how to love, he won’t suddenly act nice towards anyone.
Without him Yui would fail her tests and the Sakamaki household would be in chaos.
Subaru:
“W-What do you mean baby Tsundere is not soft innocent virgin boy? 🥺”; he has never been like that, that’s how YOU perceived him. Stop acting so shocked every time Subaru does something bad because he’s still a vampire after all??
Also, why are so many people reducing his character to Kou and/or Yui—? He’s much more than that and has his own interests, struggles, likes, dislikes, and so on.
“He’s irrelevant”; Diabolik Lovers has 13 love interests, they can’t make everyone extremely important to the general plot. Just enjoy a character as it is, it’s not that hard.
Ruki:
The cat jokes were funny when the Meow Meow Vampire art came out but MOVE ON. I hate that scene and Ruki was in the wrong but come on now, that’s not even the worst thing he has done and MB happened in 2013.
I understand not liking Ruki as a person, because he’s mostly not a good one, but this doesn’t mean he’s not a good character.
“Ruki deserved what happened to him in the past because he was cruel towards everyone”; while I agree that Karma hit him, I wouldn’t say any child really deserves to go through that. He was just a spoiled brat, who most likely wasn’t taught by his parents about modesty or kindness.
Kou:
“He was so cruel in MB 😣”, and HE HAD DEVELOPMENT! He’s not the same anymore, nobody is.
“He overreacts”, sometimes he’s not in the wrong and has all rights to be angry.
Kou isn’t afraid of going against Ruki, even if he’s the brother he admires the most, as long as he knows that what Ruki is doing isn’t good.
Yuma:
“He beat Yui up in the MB bad ending!😡😡”, it’s a bad ending for a reason, lol.
Pretty reminder that Yuma always tries to help others with Kou and Azusa, and was even willing to save the ghouls in LE.
“Yuma doesn’t care about Shu”, did we play the same game or…?
Azusa:
“Azusa is so horrible, he threw Teddy in the fire!”; and he only did it to save Yui, it was not intentional.
While not all his actions are good, keep in mind that he never means any harm and is overall such a sweet guy.
“He is too clingy”; I know that might not be everyone’s cup of tea but is it really worth hating a character just for wanting affection?
The Tsukinamis and Kino:
“They were too easy to defeat in DF!”; Dark Fate wasn’t entirely about them to begin with. Most routes focused on the boys’ internal struggles with their trauma and how to move past it.
“Kino is sometimes mean for the sake of being mean”; it’s almost as if he’s the ✨villain✨
It’s dumb questioning the morals of characters supposed to have an antagonistic role.
“Kino hurt Ayato in LE”; out of all characters who have wronged Ayato, at least Kino felt bad and wanted to apologize.
Yui:
“She’s dumb and ugly”; Japanese fans literally love her for being an idiot because it wouldn’t be fun to see the heroine being the best at everything or not making mistakes at all. Plus, her design is definitely not ugly.
Stop creating your own version of Yui in your head and ending up disappointed when she doesn’t act the way you expect her to. No, Yui is not OOC for liking being bitten, having a low learning ability or saying things she shouldn’t in the wrong moments. Nobody is perfect and everyone has their own kinks and flaws.
“She’s too innocent”; she’s not?? If you really want to see her thirsty, go play Ayato’s routes, especially the heaven scenarios.
“She’s weak”, she’s the opposite. Yui is one of the most mentally strong DL characters.
I can’t understand people who hate on heroines when they’re present in all routes and are the most positive characters.
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ohnoitstbskyen · 5 months
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Why do you think Diablo has disenged on it's core themes? (I mean I agree) I've always considered it to be a franchise with some insane wasted potential, but my perspective comes more from Diablo 3 and 4. Id be nice if you could expand on that.
I mean, my argument is that Diablo 1 was a dungeon crawler with a randomized loot mechanic that existed mostly to enable the roguelike random level generation that ensured replayability for the adventure. Players shouldn't be able to simply beeline it to the most powerful items in the game once they figure out exactly where they are, so randomization made each journey into the Tristram Cathedral a new process of discovery.
It's a game that, yes, wants to provide engaging gameplay, but just as much as the discovery of loot, it is driven by discovery of its world and story - multiple NPCs in the game exist that have no function or benefit to the player except as characters to interact with. You find lore tomes in the labyrinth which give you exposition about the world, but offer no tangible benefits. Shrines will randomize your stats, transform your potions, curse your items, randomly teleport you into a horde of monsters. The world is populated by objects, people and events that entice a player with curiosity to see what happens as much as they entice the player with the power fantasy of Making Number Go Up, and plenty of interactions have no hard gameplay benefit. "Sub dungeons" in the labyrinth, like the Halls of the Blind or Chamber of Bone, exist in part to give the player lootable rewards and monsters to fight, but also each of them have their own exposition, lore and worldbuilding (however limited by budget and technical limitations).
Diablo 2 realized that the skinner box thrill of randomized loot drops and number-go-up optimization was by far the most primally emotionally engaging part of Diablo 1's gameplay, and began the process of reorienting the franchise ENTIRELY to enable that specific pleasure. The loot system expands exponentially, crafting, gem slotting, etc all get introduced, and loot mechanics are given pride of place in terms of how the game engages the players. Shrines all provide knowable, specific benefits, every NPC is either a quest-giver or a merchant, there are HUNDREDS of randomized sub-dungeons on every map, and the vast majority of them have absolutely no narrative content whatsoever, they are merely slot machine arms for the player to pull, hoping for a chance of a jackpot loot drop.
Diablo 3 is the apotheosis of this process - a game which drops all pretense that the nature of your loot matters in favor of orienting every part of it around chasing the high of Getting A Bigger Number. You're a sorcerer running around with a greatsword? No problem! You cast all your spells as normal. So long as the greatsword has Bigger Numbers, anything works. Templar with a Wand? Equally viable! Damage numbers inflate into the millions, hordes of monsters swell with ever greater numbers, your spells and abilities clear entire screens in seconds, and everything in the game revolves around enabling the player's power fantasy.
In Diablo 1 you are an unimportant adventurer, the latest in a long line of unremarkable hopefuls, stepping alone into the bowels of a middle-of-nowhere village church, creeping slowly through its doors and hallways, fighting its monsters primarily one by one. Any group of ranged monsters can kill you in seconds, even in the late-game, and if you get surrounded, likely as not you are quite simply dead. It's tense, lonely, unglamorous and often desperate. Unwieldy inventory management puts constraints on your ability to heal and restore mana. You can only carry so many potions while leaving room for loot, and remember to leave room for your Town Portals and Identify scrolls, and for your all-important gold, which will clog your inventory almost totally by the end. Slay a unique monster and hope to god that the item it dropped wasn't cursed. Touch a shrine and you might lose 2 Strength points and suddenly be unable to equip your armor. When you kill Diablo, you find he is nothing but the possessed body of a young boy who was abducted and abused by a corrupt priest, an ugly and mundane tragedy leading to extraordinary suffering.
In Diablo 3 you are the most specialest most important incredible super-hero that has ever existed. You are a half-angel half-demon unstoppable killing machine, mowing down hordes of demons and corrupted angels like nothing, absolutely BATHING in infinite showers of ultra-powerful legendary loot, each more ultra-powerful and legendary than the last. You deal ten million damage with a single ability. You fight Ultra Diablo, the special super-powered SUPER SAIYING MEGA ULTRA super-powered extra special Prime Evil who is the most powerful evil bad guy who has ever existed and YOU are the only one in the whole universe who can beat him because you're SO special, yes you are! Identify shit by clicking on it! Cast town portal whenever you want! Enemies drop infinite health potions whenever you need them! Fuck it, you even KILL DEATH by the end because you are invincible and immortal and unstoppable and perfect. Fear has no hold on you, never in your life will you know uncertainty or doubt. AND it's your birthday! Buy a sword that is 3.2% better than your magic wand with real money in the auction house as a treat!
tl;dr Diablo 1 is an adventure game, Diablo 3 is Cookie Clicker.
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mushroom-madness · 8 months
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🍄ROUND 4: QUARTERFINALS: MATCH 2🍄
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🍄 Vote for your Favorite Fungi! 🍄
Descriptions Below ⬇️
Danielle Barkstock
"Erika Ishii... uwu 🍄” - Submission 23
“✌️😌✌️” - Submission 43
"you already know what's up i'm just here to pad the numbers" - Submission 62
"Shes got the hat and I love her, that is all your honour." - Submission 128
"Danielle Barkstock is a student at the Aguefort Adventuring Academy and a member of the Maidens adventuring party. During Fantasy High and Dimension 20 LIVE, she is an NPC played by Brennan Lee Mulligan. During The Seven, she is a PC played by Erika Ishii." - Dimension 20 Wiki
Click Here for links & propaganda, or search the characters tag on my blog for more information!
Todd (From Mario)
"Todd is a baby possum who has a Mushroom on his head. He is a precious darling with big, soulful eyes, and is one of the most popular characters from Drawfee." - Submission 118
"You know who he is
You said none of the examples were not guaranteed and I really want Todd in there so submission here " - Submission 188
youtube
Timestamp ~ 1:25:00
Click Here for links & propaganda, or search the characters tag on my blog for more information!
Toad Berry
Shrub Berry
"shes the last of her kind she has ladybug wings she can talk to wolves and i love her lots" - Submission 183
"Shrub's empire is called the Undergrove and is located in the forest hills. She has gone for a general mushroom & forest-inspired cottagecore vibe for most of her builds, with several hobbit hole-like villager soon-to-be villager homes as well as a big colorful mushroom castle with multiple levels for her to live in.
The empire's main exports consist of nether-based building materials such as warped and crimson stems, as well as shroomlights and different kinds of mushrooms." - Empires SMP Wiki
Toad
"You know him you love him" - Submission 32
"Toad is one of the main characters of the Mario franchise. He is Princess Peach's attendant and a longtime protector of the Mushroom Kingdom. He is actually a singular character among an entire species of look- alikes (much like Yoshi is to the Yoshi species). leading to confusion over some of his appearances. He usually has the role of a supporting character who tries to help Mario and Luigi on their adventures" - Super Mario Wiki
Click Here for links & propaganda, or search the characters tag on my blog for more information! Toad Berry has a special tag, go check out #Toad Berry Saga for the full lore!
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elierlick · 8 months
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This photo series teases the absurdity of anti-trans beliefs. Taking a critical lens to right-wing, pseudo-feminist, and medicalized attacks on trans identity, the photo series asks what it would mean to be trans when you are a body without organs.
Dolls are symbols frozen in time. Barbie and Ken have traditionally represented core western values: consumerism, heteronormativity, and concrete gender roles (the kind that cannot exist in reality). They are intended to recall a white cisgender past that never happened. The Barbie franchise boasts the most well-known dolls in the world. Achieving this status means globalizing normative gender fantasies as universal but inaccessible to all.
How do we rethink life in plastic? Jules Gill-Peterson proposes our community develop a framework around plasticity: “the capacity of living systems to generate and take on new forms.” To Gill-Peterson, doctors took advantage of the presumed plasticity of trans children to experiment with the possibility of changing sex characteristics rather than listening to the children themselves.
Physicians now have less control over trans lives than ever. This means that adherence to gender roles is not as often required to transition. Barbie and Ken help one another transition in the photos, learning from each other as trans people free from external influence. Without clinical assessments, laws, or bigots, they choose not to reproduce existing norms. Barbie does not reject masculinity (the skateboard) and Ken does not reject femininity (cosmetics). Instead, their transness expands the horizons of gender itself. The two may switch back and forth whenever they please. Their external expression changes however and whenever they like so long as they’re happy. Their plastic bodies cannot take hormones or undergo surgery but find other ways of self-expression that are just as valid.
As society moves toward more trans representation, it is crucial we conceptualize new ways trans people may exist. At the very least, we hope this re-imagining of Barbie and Ken will upset some right-wing fanatics.
elierlick.com/lifeinplastic
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comradekatara · 4 days
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What do you think makes the original ATLA so good when practically every subsequent piece of spinoff media ranges from mediocre to downright reactionary? Considering some of the stuff the og creators were responsible for counts among the very worst, I don't think it can be blamed on their lack of involvement. Idk I've always wondered about this because it's so strange. Did ATLA end up being good purely by accident & nobody involved in its creation actually understood what they were doing or what?
lmfao i definitely do think masterpieces can be created purely by accident. not that there aren’t elements of careful deliberation and a lot of collaboration involved, but it really was a lightning in a bottle sort of project. like this is just conjecture bc i haven’t seen any of their other projects but apparently the creator of black sails has made some other, bad shows. or the creators of utena as well. see, even, the stupid lame ass ending to fionna and cake. there’s no guarantee that just because someone (or a creative team) can create a coherent, nuanced work means that they can replicate that success ad infinitum.
i think that where atla truly excels is in its character writing, which is why the fandom (a fundamentally character-focused phenomenon) still endures (not that they really get the characters lmao, but at least we’re all way too deeply attached to them in the first place). and the anti-imperialist politics are almost incidental to the show’s success. i’ve said before that it was much easier for liberals to critique american imperialism during the bush administration, because the invasion of iraq was completely inexcusable, and also very easy to criticize if you dress it up in children’s fantasy and always have the defense of going “no, don’t you see, the fire nation isn’t the us, it’s the prc, it’s imperial japan!! you know, our enemies…!” which a lot of people to this day actually believe — not that there aren’t allusions to other imperialist histories (esp wrt the air nomad genocide), but zuko’s whole speech to ozai in “the day of black sun” is literally a critique regarding what it means to live in the imperial core. it’s a western, american show for americans first and foremost.
…. and then lok was made during the obama administration. neoliberal identity politics abound. and don’t get me wrong, some of those identity politics were a good thing, because i love seeing milves and bisexuals and korra just like. in general. but it’s also a show that fundamentally revolves around capitalism as its central theme without every actually participating in a coherent class critique. the closest we get is mako and bolin visiting their family in the lower ring, which doesn’t count, bc that was established in atla.
however, just because atla endures in our consciousness, and i am truly finding new things to appreciate about it all the time, does not mean that it is without flaws, and so i do think that it’s pretty fair to assume that its success as a work of fiction and a work of art would of course be undermined by the economic forces that demanded it continued to expand its franchise for profit rather than out of any narrative or thematic need to do so. it always comes back to liberalism and capitalism. lol
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skipppppy · 1 month
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CARMEN SANDIEGO CHARACTERS + MOVIES
Boo I felt like making headcanons again bc I spend more time wondering what these assholes do in their free time than I do on my job
CARMEN
Didn’t have access to movies growing up so Player, Zack, and Ivy have been catching her up on the most popular ones
HORRIBLE to watch with. Doesn’t really understand “suspension of disbelief” as a concept and will ask stupid questions the whole time. Player almost ended their friendship because she nitpicked Lord of the Rings for being “unrealistic”
Enjoys low stakes 2000s girl chick flicks like mean girls and legally blonde. She has enough stress in her life man she just wants to relax
HATES heist movies because of how innacurate they are. Team Red has taken to watching them JUST to hear her pick them apart
PLAYER
Sci-fi/fantasy junkie. Anything and everything that has aliens/magic and shitty practical effects from the 80’s/90’s he is all over
Has never said a single kind thing about the Star Wars franchise in his life. They are his favourite movies of all time
ADORES Edgar Wright and has slowly been converting Team Red to his movies. Zack loved Baby Driver. Ivy loved Shaun of the Dead. Shadowsan loved Hot Fuzz. He considers Scott Pilgrim the pinnacle of Canadian cinema
Cannot STAND the amount of remakes happening in Hollywood recently
ZACK
Canon enjoyer of blockbuster action movies. Everyone dreads the nights when he gets to choose a film bc his taste is so generic
Does not know what the Snyder cut is. Thank god
His only redeeming quality is a love of early dreamworks. Will not stop quoting Madnagascar
Has seen every Marvel movie and thinks all of them are good. Player has BEGGED him to watch better movies but he won’t. He’s the type to rag on Scorsese for being “boring”
Has seen Kevin Feige’s extended filmography. Does not know who that man is
IVY
Horror fanatic
Banned from choosing movies for film night after convincing them to watch her “favourite lesbian romcom” with her. That lesbian romcom was Saw
Ellen Ripley was not only her personal hero but also her gay awakening. The Xenomorph queen was her second gay awakening
Also loves period dramas. Enjoys the tiddies and knows she would look SO good in those fancy waistcoats the men wear
Watches old slashers with Carmen and laugh whenever someone dies in a stupid way
SHADOWSAN
Faculty considered movies “low brow” entertainment so he hasn’t seen a movie made before the year 2000
Loves a good mob flick. Got into Scorsese specifically because Zack hated him. Goodfellas is his favourite
Everyone assumes he enjoys samurai movies but he actually HATES them. Hideo would ramble about historical inaccuracies the whole way through and he’s still bored just thinking about it
Used to love Yakuza films back in the day but they were soured for him after actually living as one
Loved Knives Out, found Daniel Craig VERY attractive, and has since fallen down the James Bond rabbit hole
CHASE
The most pretentious film hack you’ve ever met in your life. He is taking you to a back alley screening of some arthouse eastern european gay porn on a first date and it will be the most profound thing you’ve ever seen in your life
Detective noir movies and cheesy black and white romances are his favourites. He likes falling asleep to them
He and Player both appreciate animation as a form of cinema, but while Player is referring to like. the Mario movie, Chase is talking about some 3 minute Russian stopmotion surrealist piece from 1951. He attends Annecy every year and has been banned from the Oscars due to threats of violence
He likes Poirot tho. Transmasc king
JULIA
If she has a few hours to herself she’d rather watch a documentary than go to a movie theatre, but she loves historical dramas
Enjoys biopics but thinks it’s stupid to make them for people who are alive
Likes watching movies for the sake of trash talking them, so she is the only person who can tolerate sitting through one with Carmen
LOVES Wes Anderson though. Chase got her into his stuff and the symmetry scratches an itch in her brain. But don’t tell him that
Also enjoys period dramas for the tiddies
CHIEF
Shitty cop movie enjoyer. The kind of person who insists that Die Hard is her favourite christmas movie
LOVES heist movies because of how inaccurate they are. Will mentally nitpick whatever secret service is going after them and be like “ACME wouldn’t do that lol”
She’s semi aware that she’s the antoagonist in Carmen’s own heist narrative so she’s started having fun with it
Closet lover of b-tier comedy movies. Like the ones with Adam Sandler and Kevin Hart on the cover
Does not enjoy watching movies socially. That is quality time for her and her cat. She does not have to shush Commander
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artist-issues · 8 months
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Some Things I Believe About Stories
Stories should not be PRIMARILY created to entertain. They should be created to teach, or encourage, or inspire, USING entertaining qualities. The Romans used entertainment to distract the populace from corruption. J. R. R. Tolkien, on the other hand, described "escapism" as "a prisoner of war escaping from enemy camp to go back home." You're not running from reality to fantasy when a story does it's job. You're running from the dark, twisted side of the world to something that reminds you of the good, the true, the beautiful, the correct. You've been imprisoned by bad ideas and confusion and dark perspectives, and the story shows you how to escape and get back to true and beautiful reality. It's got a point, it's not just for diversion.
Stories should be made to serve others and leave the world better than they found it. Storytellers should not only tell a story to exorcize their personal demons or point to how clever and artistic they are. That can be a nice bonus. But the point should be to serve the audience. Think about it. When it's made, it's timeless; it will be read or watched or listened to by the next generation, or the next. What are the storytellers letting fall into the hands of the people who come after they're not around to explain or gain a profit?
The storyteller should be passionate about the story while they make it. This could look like a sense of duty, or fun, or just excitement. But those outward emotions usually signal an inward understanding of how important the story is, and therefore, a level of compassion and care for the eventual audience.
You can like a story or dislike a story. You can interpret a story or misinterpret a story. Those things are subjective. But whether or not a story is good is objective: it can be measured. Does the story say what it is trying to say in the clearest, most compelling way possible? If yes, it's a good story. If no, it might be great entertainment. It might be funny. It might be cool. It might be quotable or franchise-able or profitable or even memorable. But it's not a good story if it does not say something in the clearest, most compelling way possible.
A story's main point, or theme, is the most important thing about it. The characters, the set design, the pacing, the soundtrack, the language, the use of color or lighting or blocking etc.; all of those pieces work best when they are unified in the goal of communicating that main point or theme.
Death of the author = death of the story. It's point is to say something. If you claim the speaker's intent is meaningless, so are the words spoken. If you claim it can mean anything, your words are meaningless too. We all might as well tell no stories and blabber gibberish instead. It’s one thing to say you understand what the author intended, and you like to think of it in/wish it were another way. But it’s quite another to say that what the author intended is unknowable or doesn’t matter. You’re either calling the author a bad storyteller or, again, recommending we all speak gibberish.
Both form (the quality of the story and it's elements) and content (the main point or lessons) matter. Without one you have a lecture, not a story. Without the other you have entertainment, but no valuable, timeless, beautiful truth to make it a “story.”
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