#this is one of the things that makes kim such a perfect foil to harry

[justdecadentcollectiondestiny]

One thing about disco elysium that really intrigues me is how it doesn't exactly break the fourth wall, it bends it. It doesn't have anything explicit where either the narrator or Harry acknowledge that "hey we know we're in a video game", but Harry's video-game-y-ness is still acknowledged and either explained by Harry's character or acknowledged that this is a weird thing that Harry does and not how Normal people act. Real life people don't constantly zip from one "interactable" object or "container" to the other, but Harry does because that's just the preferred method of officers in his precinct. Real life people can't/don't run everywhere they go, but Harry does/can. Because he used to be a gym teacher. On the other side of the "weird", it's a total mystery to everyone else how Harry can get people to just reveal anything he wants to know. That's just how Harry is. It's weird, and people acknowledge how weird it is. He literally has a reputation as the "human can-opener". Real life people don't speak in "lists" or "trees" of questions, and Harry can even acknowledge that he only has a limited number of "options", to which everyone replies "What the hell are you talking about." Many people can even remark how much Harry loves questions, which Harry usually just chalks up to being a cop, but that's never the full answer. So Harry is either the weirdest person in the world because Normal people don't act like video game protagonists, or he's the only normal one because he's the only one who's actually acting like he's in a video game (which he is).

#this is one of the things that makes kim such a perfect foil to harry #because kim is extremely normal and decidedly Not a Video Game Protagonist #having him there as contrast makes harry's weirdness even weirder #it's the 'lists' that are possibly the most intriguing to me #because even *dora* picked up on them (as evidenced in the dolores dei dream) #which means harry was a Video Game Protagonist before the game began #disco elysium #harrier du bois #harry du bois #dc destiny yells about video games #dc descants

[nonbinaryeye]

One thing I really love about Disco Elysium is how it subverts your expectations based on stereotypes and clichés you've learnt to expect from media.

There are the Hardie boys. Obvious first suspects and vigilanties given questionable authority by the Union and what more do they appear at the first glance than some mean boys gang. Except they *are* trying to make Martinaise better and safer place and they are willing to help their neighbours and people who seek refugee there - that's what the arranged lynching was about in the end. And yes their remarks are still sexist, they do not hesitate to use brutal force (I was testing what if I chose the worst option and they killed me and Kim on like three separate occasions). But also they could quite easily be abusing the power they have.

There is Evrat Claire fitting into evil fat ceo stereotype and you expect to learn that he does not really care about his workers and that the whole Union strike and getting benefits for the workers is some evil scheme but no! Turns out he really wants the Union to work out and he fights for his workers. He is using his influence to prevent organized crime and build up infrastructure and he cares about people of Martinaise - enough to create superficial job for René, enough to fund education for Elizabeth. And he is still not a best person. He is trying to bribe Harry. He does not hesitate to get rid of threats to his goals. His plans for Fishing village are not good either. And his refusal to acknowledge the danger mercenaries poses is questionable at best.

There is Cuno, delinquent kid screaming slurs at you and you expect him to be more of one gimmick character that is there just to make place feel more alive but you can actually bond with him and learn not only about his life and domestic abuse but also about his hobbies and you would not expect him to be your companion but there he can be if you fail to save Kim and you can recruit him to RCM.

There is Insulindian Phasmid. Mythical creature that is obviously fake and how ridiculous would it be to really believe in its existence? You expect all the mission surrounding it to be just a treasure hunt in vain that is really not about the Phasmid and more about relantionship of Lena and Morrell but no. The Phasmid is very much real and you can encounter it and it is much bigger and smarter than you would expect even if you did believe in its existence.

And then there is of course Kim Kitsuragi, your partner from precinct 57 and where can one even begin to describe all the contradictions Kim is? He just fits into that boring and very serious cop who is there to serve as your foil and hold you back and guide you and who will always be polite and kind. But no, he is genuinely funny and mean. He will not coddle you he just wants to do his job. He will not hesitate to call you on your bullshit but also he can play along with whatever scheme you are attempting. And he is actually very competitive and he can be silly and he is willing to agree even to some of your straight out crazy ideas. But he does care about you and he is quite amused by some of your stereo investigations. And when you learn about his past you understand why he always tris to keep up his perfect composure. And I will rather stop here because there is just so much to say about Kim.

I could go on and on I do not even know where to begin with our player character Harry and the journey of discovering who he is, who he was and who he could be. I could just keep listing characters and what are you supposed to notice about them at first and who you are supposed to assume they are in contrast what you can actually learn about them as you progress. And, yes, sometimes things are as they appear and the Racist Lorry Driver is just a racist and a lorry driver.

The point is you should never judge others based on the first impression even if they are just video game characters who appear to be cardboard cutout of overused cliché.

#disco elysium #disco elysium meta #disco elysium analysis #kim kitsuragi #insulindian phasmid #Hardie boy #Evrat Claire #cuno de ruyter #disco elysium spoilers #mEye post

[skyberia]

Think Harry ever talked up Jean that much?

GOOD QUESTION, the normal answer is: given harry's track record, it sure is likely!

the not normal answer which is-- like all things jean related given how little info there is about him in the game itself and how harry does not fucking help at all with this by forgetting every single goddamn thing about him-- just me grasping wildly at the loose vibes that hang around him and reading too much into vague symbolism: is that while it's possible, if he did i don't think it was as intense as what he did with dora and is doing with kim. the way i see jean is that he is more or less like an "equal" (for a lack of a better word, i think there's still some power imbalance there, rank and 10 year age difference and all) to harry as opposed to a foil, which i feel kind of makes this kind of idolization and deification harder (something something self loathing or whatever)

additionally: jean's portrait's square halo-- which while still a halo-- carries completely different meaning than kim's more traditional one. square halos were used (as far as i can gather) in depictions of regular human beings to directly contrast them with saints and other divine beings' round halos. the square is also considered an "imperfect shape" and it represents the earth/earthly beings, while the circle is "perfect" and used to symbolise the divine. so you. you know. you know how it is

#Sorry i like blacked out for a second. you like activated the part of me that's a little too invested in this character again #Sorry. Sorry i promise i'll be normal about the french guy who yells at you now #de

[katy-133]

What's your favorite thing about Kim? Mine are those moments where he shows genuine concern for Harry. He stops what he's doing and just observes Harry. (Also when he tries playing it cool, but the little voice tells you "Kim absolutely wants you fuck shit up right now. Talk crazy, say wack shit, this is perfect. Drive this mother fucker UP THE WALL.")

Gonna put this under a read more line.

There’s several reasons, now that I’ve started thinking about answering this question. Like you said, I like how he cares about Harry, ever thought they’ve just met.

I also like how you get to discover more and more about him as the game progresses. He starts off more as a straight-laced, stoic detective. Which is a great foil to Harry. And then you discover that Kim’s got a chaotic streak too. He’s willing to play DnD with you in the middle of a murder investigation. I also love the moment where he’s sitting with Harry on the swing set when you wait for the tide to come in.

It makes Kim’s partnership with Harry more equal, because we want to do right by Kim, but Kim is also willing to let Harry do things in a roundabout way without always getting mad at Harry.

Also, on a more personal note--I really appreciate that Kim is canonically bi-racial (specifically, he can be read as being coded European and Asian) in the game (he says that he’s half-Seolite). I basically never talk about this or draw too much attention to this, but one of the reasons why I code some of my games’ protagonists and characters (Tuski Brown, Morwenna, Charles) as Eurasian is because I want to see more characters who look like me. When I come across a cool character who is canonically--or can be read as--Eurasian, it makes me smile.

#Disco Elysium #spoilers #question #personal #my text #diversity #my games #The Butler Detective #Three Guys That Paint #MaFAEa

[klaudiafmp]

Seven of Nine

“Seven of Nine (full designation: Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01) was a former Borg drone, born Annika Hansen, a Human female. Assimilated by the Borg at the age of six, Seven was liberated by the crew of the USS Voyager in 2374. She joined the crew and returned to the Alpha Quadrant with the starship in 2378. After her time on Voyager, she joined the Fenris Rangers, helping instill justice in lawless and dangerous regions of the galaxy. “

“Seven of Nine (born Annika Hansen) is a fictional character introduced in the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. Portrayed by Jeri Ryan, she is a former Borg drone who joins the crew of the Federation starship Voyager. Her full Borg designation is Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One. Her real name was known to her crewmates, but after joining the Voyager crew she chose to continue to be called Seven of Nine, though she allowed "Seven" to be used informally.

Seven of Nine was introduced in the fourth-season premiere, "Scorpion, Part II". The character replaced Kes in the main cast, and was intended to introduce a foil to Captain Kathryn Janeway similarly to how Spock does to Captain Kirk in Star Trek: The Original Series. Seven was featured in many episodes despite coming later to the series. The character appeared through the final episode, "Endgame". Stories related to her relationship with Captain Janeway and with The Doctor appeared throughout the series.

Several episodes, such as "The Raven", explored her background and earlier life as Annika Hansen before she was assimilated by the Borg. Her romantic life is a mystery due to her Borg emotional restrictions; she does proposition Harry Kim but he turns her down. Later on, with the Doctor's assistance, she tries dating other crew unsuccessfully, while later exploring intimate relationships with a hologram of Chakotay. Finally, in Endgame she is involved in a romantic relationship with Chakotay which includes at least three dates and a first kiss. However, in one alternate timeline they married, and in another she is killed along with the rest of the Voyager crew ("Timeless").”

“Annika's parents were exobiologists investigating the existence of the Borg. After a great deal of persuasion, the Federation granted the Hansens the use of the USS Raven, a small long-range craft, to aid them in their investigation.

In 2353, they took Annika, then aged three, along with them. They spent a good deal of time aboard the Raven in search of the Borg; Annika celebrated three birthdays aboard the ship. Eventually, the Hansens encountered a Borg cube and followed it through its transwarp conduit into the Delta Quadrant, the Borg's region of origin. They gathered a great deal of scientific data on the biology of Borg drones and the nature of the Collective by moving undetected through Borg space due to multi-adaptive shielding, invented by Magnus Hansen. They even went aboard Borg vessels, using bio-dampeners to remain undetected.”

“Annika was placed in a maturation chamber, where the hive mind began to restructure her synaptic pathways and purge her individuality. She emerged as a Borg drone five years later in 2361, the turmoil of having been forcibly assimilated replaced with order, and spent the next thirteen years in the Collective with the designation Seven of Nine. As a drone, she assisted in the assimilation of millions, from individuals to entire species. She personally assimilated many individuals from a variety of species, including Humans, Klingons, Ferengi, Bajorans, Bolians, Krenim, and Cardassians. “

“In early 2368, Seven of Nine, along with three other drones in her unimatrix, crash landed on a planet in the Delta Quadrant. The other drones, who were assimilated as adults, began to regain their identities upon being severed from the Borg Collective, but Seven was frightened as she knew nothing else but life as a drone. She forcibly linked the other drones together into a temporary collective in order to suppress their identities, and they were retrieved soon after.”

“The Collective assigned Seven of Nine to work with Voyager to develop the weapon. When her cube sacrificed itself to save Voyager from an attacking 8472 bio-ship, she and a small number of drones beamed onto Voyager to continue the work. Janeway was severely injured, leaving her first officer, Commander Chakotay, in command. Seven of Nine wanted Voyager to go to another cube, but Chakotay refused. The drones attempted to commandeer Voyager's navigation systems to take it to the nearest cube, but Chakotay decompressed the deck the drones were on, blowing them into space. Seven of Nine, however, managed to remain aboard. Instructed to do so by the Collective, she took Voyager into Species 8472's realm, forcing deployment of the modified nanoprobe torpedoes to protect the ship. A recovered Janeway resumed command and reinstated the alliance. The torpedoes proved effective. Now vulnerable, 8472 retreated. However, the Collective broke the alliance and Seven of Nine attempted to take Voyager to be assimilated. But this was anticipated and a contingency plan was successfully enacted which permanently severed her link to the Collective. Janeway decided to keep Seven of Nine aboard.”

“The transition back to Humanity was difficult for Seven of Nine. She appeared to accept her severance from the Collective, but tried to contact it at the first opportunity. She was stopped, however. “

“The Doctor, Voyager's holographic chief medical officer, was able to remove most of her implants and restore most of her Human appearance, but her long-term assimilation meant that some parts were vital to her survival and could not be removed. She also refused to be called by her name of Annika Hansen as Seven of Nine was the designation she had always known.“

I quite like her design of some robot and some human parts, even though I seen similar things in other movies here she looks like she could actually be a real person. Usuall when in a show somebody has a prostetic robot arm or any cyborg parts in their body it’s usually done in a way that romanticises that idea and makes them better than they were before but here just by looking at this character you can see she’s not really happy with her current state and realisticly this isn’t something she would’ve wanted in the first place or she can fix. I really like how tired she looks especially after reading her backstory and getting some insight into her character it’s really suiting she would be tired and broken after all she’s been through. Also I really love the fact about her design that it doesn’t look modern or realistic because it’s not supposed to be. The whole story is taking place way in the future and everything is super sci fi and futuristic meanwhile she looks like a scrapped robod design and I really enjoy the fact her character was designed this way. It makes sense she wont be a perfect looking cyborg with all the latest tech and I think the look really suits her character and the story revolved around her.

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Seven_of_Nine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_of_Nine