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essycogany · 9 months

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Rare But Not So Rare Sonic Moments. Character Analysis.

Crying

A weird topic I’m more then happy to discuss.

Mandate: “Sonic’s not allowed to get overly emotional.”

I’m starting to think the mandates do break in a few instances. This one specifically is something I’m quite interested in because this is probably one of the rarest emotions Sonic displays. Getting sad/emotional.

Hopefully this essay will be a positive outlook on the mandate.

(Despite being a discussion about negative emotions.)

Examples Of Sonic Getting Emotional

I might not include everything, but the examples I have knowledge of will be stated. If you have anymore examples, I’d love to see them.

SATAM: Sonic cried when he and the Freedomfighters had to leave his Uncle Chuck in Robotnik’s lab.

Archie: The times Sonic cried/teared up was when the weight of a situation got to him, when something tragic occurred and all hope was lost, or when he was filled with joy after those instances ended. Those moments like others, didn’t go too far. (For the most part)

Pretty sure he never out right sobbed.

Underground: I think Sonic only cried when he was a little kid.

Correct me if I’m wrong.

X: In episode 52 Sonic allowed his tears to shed with his head turned away from us. He and Chris ran one last time before Sonic left through a portal to go home forever. It obviously crushed him even if we didn’t see his face.

Boom: Sonic cried/teared up in two episodes of the show. First when Tails was reminiscing about the Tornado and noticed Sonic wiping his eyes. Sonic replied, “What?” Then he, Knuckles, and Tails all cried when they thought the baby they took care of was gone. Also, in Archie when Stick’s rock friend broke or “Died,” everyone in team Boom morned it. Sonic included.

IDW: Sonic shed tears in the Scrapnick Island Issue. Even if it was “Mecha Sonic’s” tears I’ll count it anyways because it’s a good loophole and it came out of Sonic’s eyes.

Movie 1: It’s implied he indeed cried during the baseball scene. The sources being a deleted scene and story-board of the film.

Prime: This doesn’t really count, but Sonic teared up in the first episode when he was held captive by the Chaos Council and had light blasted in his eyes, when he was in darkness. Then Sonic actually cried in episode 7 when he ate a seadog. Either because he was home-sick or starving.

(In the last episode of season two it’s implied he might cry in the next episode. Especially with the shot of him looking on the verge of tears and then covered his eyes in the background of the last shot, but we’ll see.)

By the way. You can see the instant improvement from episode 1 to 7 of the tears animation. Just thought I’d say that.

My Overall Thoughts

Hold on because this is going to be a long ride.

First thing I’d like to discuss is the mandate itself.

I personally don’t believe it means, “Sonic shouldn’t cry.”

(Which has been stated a bunch)

If that were the case, I don’t think this majority of moments (specifically the recent ones) would’ve happened. I think the mandate meant Sonic couldn’t and or shouldn’t go too far with his emotions. I don’t think the mandate existing makes any since, but I won’t get into that.

My point is, Sonic can cry, just not in an overly dramatized way unless it’s done for comedic purposes.

(I say that because of Sonic Boom and the 7th episode of Prime examples. Which are obviously not meant to be taken seriously)

My opinions on Sonic crying.

It’s not necessarily needed, but I don’t mind if it’s done well. I do believe Sonic shouldn’t go too far unless the situation does.

One Issue in Archie when Sonic’s entire life was basically ruined, is a good example. If you’re going to have such calamities happen to him, especially since he has zero ego or mask to hold onto, I think it’s a fair enough scenario for him to react as drastic as his misfortune.

But I believe if he were to cry in something like the Metal Virus. (Just for an example) it could be like how Espio teared up after Vector’s sacrifice.

Crazy idea. Let’s talk about Shadow for a minute.

Shadow is one of the most stoic characters in the entire franchise. He barely smiles, gets excited, or displays any overly positive emotions. While Sonic rarely cries, gets angry, or shows any harsh negative emotions. Shadow and Sonic are opposites because of that.

Sonic’s overall a positive and outgoing guy who wants to keep moving forward. Whenever he has the time to worry, he runs. Faces his problems head on. Sonic only let’s a small amount of his true emotions out when helping someone else. In general Sonic’s a pretty optimistic character.

Shadow on the other hand is a reserved and serious guy. Who wants what’s best for the world too, but in a more calculated and planned out manner. But for some reason, in Sonic Adventure 2 after Amy encouraged Shadow to save the world, (Which reminded him of Maria’s real wish) He sheds a tear.

I repeat. Shadow is the most stoic character in the entire franchise. Who rarely shows his emotions. And yet he cries.

Why can’t Sonic? To be fair, Sonic usually doesn’t have time to think, let alone worry about how he feels. But if Shadow himself can have a short moment of releasing his emotional baggage, why can’t the blue blur?

Is Sonic even as happy as he let’s on?

I’d say he’s genuinely happy half of the time. Then the other half Sonic’s internalizing everything negative in him. Everyone knows Sonic’s overall upbeat, but we’ve seen plenty of times (In the Metal Virus specifically) when he’s thinking, or enduring the chaos around him, he doubts himself. Sonic has these insecurities and emotions he barely let’s anyone see.

Besides Issue #24

Even in Sonic Prime while Sonic shows the most guilt, sincerity, anger, fear, and sadness in the show. He sometimes still puts on a front and acts like everything’s fine.

Sonic Unleashed I’m pretty sure was the first and only time we’ve seen him mope for a minute. All because Amy didn’t know who he was. So, he does have some level of insecurities lingering every once in a while.

Can Sonic crying even work?

How I interpret him crying is when he’s alone. Some people theorize in certain instances like SA2 and Unleashed with Shadow and Chip’s sacrifices, he cried a little. I’m fascinated by this idea. I believe it’s the most in character way to let him cry. Maybe even something like X when his face isn’t shown, but you know how he’s feeling.

Even if we do see Sonic’s face, him crying or tearing up could be shown without being over the top. Normalize it in a way that doesn’t fly off the handle. His expression could have a hint of frustration, anger, or exhaustion. Crying is normal and I don’t see Sonic crying as out of character because it’s been done plenty of times.

It’d be nice if it happened in order to make Sonic feel more believable and sympathetic. As long as the dude’s not on the floor whaling, I’m sure it can work.

Final Thoughts

There are other ways to show Sonic’s emotions. Again, crying doesn’t have to happen, but it does help the writing feel less unnecessarily limited of what kind of emotions can be displayed on this character.

Though there are benefits too. Like finding fun loopholes or small animated details like in IDW and Prime. Sonic not crying so much makes the times he does (or may do in the future) feel earned and impactful. The examples before prove it can be done without taking away what makes Sonic who he is. It just needs to be subtle, quiet, and quick. (Or humorous) Depends on what you think.

At the end of it all, Sonic’s a tough hedgehog. Him shedding a few tears won’t ever change that.

Stay Creative! 💜

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meenah · 8 months

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actual thoughts on new upd8:

1. i did laugh. this is a bar i need passing for homestuck. it made me feel things beyond bored numb apathy. laughing is an emotion i felt.

2. considering we have an all new team, i am willing to give this a new shot. for now, i'll take things in good faith. if this burns me, it burns me, but i'll still give it an honest shot

3. i really enjoyed the art this update! it felt very classic act 4-5 homestuck, which was fun to look at! it was very weighted and flowed well with the words on the page (something i really had issues with in previous postcanon content - i felt like a lot of panels felt disconnected continually with the words under them, and generally didn't have much emotional beat or comedic timing. this update had both!)

4. i liked sollux in this update. him and jegbert never talked one on one in homestuck original. this was a funny look at their first person to person interaction. i think sollux is the only dude in homestuck who is qualified to call jegbert bitchless and a bitch also.

5. i really miss second person pov writing homestuck narration. wish terezi's section had it. it's okay it didn't. but i hope we get it in the future.

#grace post #upd8

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aihoshiino · 6 months

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can i interest you in a penny for your thoughts about aqua and ruby's relationship in the current stages of the manga? ruby's clearly projecting and im pretty sure aqua is kind of blocking that entire conversation? hes acknowledged it but i think hes avoiding thinking too much about it (in part due to *waves hand at entire movie arc* all that)

gosh since you've twisted my arm i have NO CHOICE...

But yeah, I think Ruby is pretty clearly doing a lot of projecting here — the consistency with which she's started calling Aqua 'Sensei' really jumps out to me and it makes me pretty certain she's basically completely overwritten Aqua with Gorou in her brain, completely discarding the 18ish years he's lived as her brother in favour of just viewing him as the doctor who supported her.

This is a two-part process of denial, imo. The first and most obvious is Ruby trying to convince herself that her supposed romance with Gorou can still happen and it's not the first time her sort of naive stubbornness on that topic has come up — we saw this before during the Private arc when it came to their age gap.

Like girl, I respect the cope but he would be nearly fifty old by now. That man would be old enough to be your dad LMFAO.

If Ruby can delulu herself about an age gap of that size, she can easily also come up with an excuse for herself as to why she would be able to date him now he's her brother. I mean, if you think about it, they're not really actually twins, right? They're just strangers who happened to be born together! Since he's really Gorou and NOT!!!!! her brother, there's nothing wrong with it!

It should go without saying that this is a pretty absurd justification and imo, not one I think the manga is wanting the reader to uncritically buy into. Ruby's feelings here are, I think, intentionally being portrayed as naive and pretty childish. The framing around Ruby when she talks about Aqua in this regard is consistently exaggerated and comedic in a way that is a pretty clear signal, at least to me, that she should not be taken seriously.

This could only read more plainly as shoujo brainrot exaggeration if Aqua's chin was seven inches long and sharp enough to cut glass...

Beyond the denial of convincing herself that this romance still has any chance to happen, I also think this is denial in the sense of grief, too. In a very real sense, by entirely superimposing Gorou over Aqua, Ruby is denying that his death has happened at all. She doesn't want to acknowledge the possibility that he could be different now, especially not in any way that is emotionally inconvenient for her. Because acknowledging that this change occurred and that Gorou is no longer the Gorou she needs him to be would force Ruby to accept that her beloved sensei really is gone forever.

It should go without saying but this erasure of Aqua's identity is, of course, cruel. It's a dehumanizing rejection of his personhood. That's not to say that Ruby is A Bad Person for doing this— she's a fucked up kid dealing with a INSANELY fucked up situation and I think it would be unreasonable to expect her to handle all this entirely gracefully. But I also don't know that Ruby is even aware that she's doing what she's doing, because she doesn't quite get that her relationship with her identities and her reincarnation is different to his.

The continuity of identity between Sarina and Ruby is more or less entirely unbroken— she sees herself equally as both girls. More specifically, as Ruby herself puts it in 115, Sarina and Ruby are both 'roles' played by the 'real her'; both equal in weight and authenticity. I think she expects this to be the same for Aqua as well but this simply is not the case, or at least it's not anymore.

My read on Aqua's identity is that while he used to have a similarly unbroken continuity of identity, the trauma of witnessing Ai's death created a split and separated the two. It's not that Aqua is entirely separate from Gorou or entirely unaffected by his past life but Aqua himself & the supporting framing of the manga draws a pretty clear line of distinction between the two of them that does not seem to exist for Ruby and Sarina. In fact, Gorou is explicitly portrayed as a negative, invading force, an unnatural encroacher whose presence in Aqua's life is actively preventing him from finding happiness and stability.

To Ruby, it seems natural for these two identities to comingle, or for one's priorities to cancel the other's out. For Aqua, this same overriding of priorities is the thing that causes him anguish. In fact, I don't think it's too much of a leap for me to say that Aqua does not want to be Gorou full stop.

With all that laid out, I think you can pretty easily see how that conflict starts writing itself. Ruby ignoring and erasing the 18 years that Aqua has lived as her brother to assign him the identity of a man he doesn't want to be... the discomfort of someone he has only ever had familial feelings towards projecting romance onto him... the Squick of it all... no wonder Aqua is doing his best to just not deal with it. I can't really blame him.

Something I also think is informing Aqua's behavior right now is guilt. As he puts it to Memcho in 130, he's using everything he can to ensure the movie's success and I think this also includes manipulating Ruby.

We get some hints at this idea from Crow Girl both in 123 and 127. She sardonically notes "aren't you glad?" that Ruby seems to have reacted so positively to this reveal and explicitly ties Ruby's wellbeing to Aqua being able to make the movie. Later, after Aqua's just witnessed the final script be delivered to the B-Komachi girls, she notes that Aqua has the expression of a person who has made the choice to "hurt people and to get hurt".

Ruby's shoujo brain reads of Aqua's intentions also are important in establishing this, I think -- these clearly read as intended comedy beats to me, both in their exaggeration and the fact that she is so obviously misreading Aqua's character and his intentions because of her rose tinted glasses. As that Netflix show about the cartoon show once said, the thing about seeing someone through rose tinted glasses is that all the red flags just look like flags. In keeping Ruby happy, Aqua is making sure she herself doesn't become inconvenient to the movie's creation.

I think you can see that idea of like, guilt and discomfort manifesting as avoidance in the twins' first proper on-page exchange since this reveal, in 132:

I didn't catch this initially (so sorry to the person on the OnK subreddit who did -- I completely forgot your UN!) but not only do we never get a proper unobscured look at Aqua's face during this exchange but he also never once looks directly at Ruby as they talk. His body language & expression at the end (literally averting his gaze!) just screams discomfort to me.

That's not to say that Aqua revealing himself to her was entirely cynically motivated -- I think he completely genuinely loves her both as her brother, Aqua, and as Gorou, the man who cared for a deathly sick child when she had no one else in the world by her side. But that's just the problem— Aqua's love for her is the thing that makes his manipulation of her so painful. He's taking advantage of his sister's emotional vulnerability and their unique connection to use her in a way that completely betrays and desecrates the bond of trust they should otherwise share. And he's aware that if (or, as I'm beginning to worry, when) this comes out, Ruby is going to crash even harder as a result.

#oshi no posting #oshi no ko #aqua hoshino #ruby hoshino #hoshino family

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butterflydm · 8 months

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The news about Tanchico does confirm that when Rafe said a closer adaptation of TSR, he really meant a close adaptation, because that was definitely the easiest storyline to shift to another city that would appear again later on if he wanted to combine storylines (Perrin's plotline could only happen in the Two Rivers, and Rand's plotline can only happen in the Aiel Waste).

So I think a reread of TSR is in my future, lol, so I can refresh myself on the story beats.

Tanchico means Egeanin, I would guess. Otherwise you'd move their story closer to everyone else's action. So the show likely plans to keep the pressure on re: the Seanchan.

It does make going to White Tower feel even less likely (and I already had the likelihood of it pretty low) because that would be a LOT of ping-ponging for Elayne and Nynaeve, to go from the west coast to the middle of the continent and then back over to the west coast in the space of something like two or three episodes purely dedicated to traveling around. At least for Egwene, the White Tower is kinda 'on the way' to the Waste. The White Tower is definitely NOT on the way to Tanchico from Falme, lol.

The biggest question that I have is how long we'll get before the characters split up into their various plotlines and if any of them come back together again at the end of the season. From what else Rafe said at NYCC, it sounds like they are not dipping very far into TFoH at all, because he talked about focusing on a single book this season. There will definitely be things from books 1-3 in there, because we know Elaida, etc. have been cast and need some kind of introduction, but the main focus will be book 4.

A pretty good chunk of TSR does take place before anyone goes to the Waste, so I wonder how much of that we'll get. I do expect us to get the official final breakup of Rand & Egwene, though I doubt it will be comedic like it is in the books. I feel like they shouldn't rush right into Rand & Elayne afterwards (which is a major reason that I do hope they're planning to reunite Elayne & Nynaeve with Rand's side of the storyline at the end of the season, because that gives some space in between the breakup and then Rand and Elayne having serious emotions about each other), and Rand & Aviendha are built for a slow-burn. Plus I would expect Lan and Nynaeve to get some time together (their only time together in s2 was Nynaeve's vision in the third archway) before they split up (for the rest of the season?).

If Doman is the one who carries Elayne & Nynaeve to Tanchico, then that's the set-up for him to meet Egeanin there. Then Elayne and Nynaeve could potentially take a Sea Folk raker at the end of the season to reunite with Rand's half of the cast? But that really depends on how quickly Rand's side of the story is moving.

I definitely don't remember all the plot beats of Nynaeve & Elayne's side of TSR, so that reread is in order, yeah. But their TFoH plotline of having Nynaeve and Elayne just wandering the continent for most of s4 because Nynaeve can't remember the word 'Salidar' would feel like such a random & pointless sidequest especially since Rand & Elayne and Nynaeve & Lan still need a lot more weight in their romances at this point (and I'm saying that as someone who likes a lot of their circus arc in TFoH).

Even with knowing that they'll be following TSR more closely, I am definitely expecting a lot of surprises in s3. They did a really good job in putting in some elements in this season that I was not expecting but that I really loved (having Mat be the one to give Rand the wound in his side was so galaxy-brained of them; and having Elayne be the one to heal it really tied together her original meeting with Rand into the different way that the show has introduced her).

#wot s3 speculation #wot speculation #wot s2 spoilers #wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #wot book spoilers #the shadow rising #the fires of heaven

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3collecurei · 8 months

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Homestucktober 2023 (1-5)

1) Patron Troll

Seer gang rise up ✊🏽 (I'd done two classpect tests since 2012 and both times I was a Seer, my aspect just changed from Void to Doom which isn't a good sign lol...although the one I just tried from 4chan is telling me I'm a Page of Void now...I mean I'll take it because it's an aspect I've gotten before but I'm not really trying to be Jake or Tavros out here they both got so screwed over lol)

Anyway if she were my actual patron in a game session I'd be fucking terrified because of what she puts John and Dave through but also probably laughing my ass off at her antics and impressed by her intense sensing ability despite the blindness

2) Favorite Beta Kid

Dave Strider is much needed comedic relief in such a tragic tale and his ramblings are often as deeply philosophical as they are deeply ridiculous. I don't even have the right words to describe all this character has done for me. I'm in love with the Time aspect even though it's probably the last aspect I'd be assigned to because I think Time players have to deal with the multiplicity of the self the most out of everyone (except maybe Space players), and what a fucking difficult thing that must be. I will always wonder how he managed to spend IIRC weeks in the game whereas for everyone else it was just 24 hours (and of course Davesprite spending IIRC four months trying to fix his doomed session...my heart)

3) Favorite Beta Troll

(IIRC the beta trolls are technically the dancestors but I just call the original 12 the betas sometimes because they deal with the beta kids and we meet them first. Anyway)

Again I don't have words enough to describe what Karkat has done for me. Karkat rounding up and trying to lead eleven other insane motherfuckers and losing his cool often but almost always asserting, in his way, that it's because he deeply cares. You really see this in Act 6 Post Murderstuck when we find him in Openbound and he's obviously dealing with the weight of having failed at leadership so hard that over half of his teammates are dead. It probably took him a while of raging at how long the meteor trip would be (and upset Sollux didn't stay after "dying" in front of him again) before the sadness set in, but if there's one thing Karkat isn't, it's afraid of emotion. Also the PCG, CCG, FCG conversations remain some of my favorites in the entire canon, especially the one where FCG berates CCG for "wanting [Terezi] in every quadrant like a desperate fool." If there's one thing I can relate to about Karkat it's that I will also always read past me for filth even if it's hard. I use it as a form of self pruning and improvement and eventually I think FCG gets that too.

4) Favorite Alpha Kid

It was Dirk for a long time until maybe the last year or two, but I realized after re-reading the Epilogues that relating to him as much as I do is probably really bad lol, but Roxy was always a close second. Obsessed with the fact that the wild alcoholic, who one might think would be the worst team member because of that, instead sobers up and fully embodies John's role as the "friendleader" which is why I think they end up getting along so well. Despite the obstacles Roxy is full of love for their friends, and with friends like the people who they end up becoming in the Epilogues, you gotta hand it to them for their persistence. Considering that they were in a Void session their positivity throughout was pretty amazing to me, also shout out to them for fully embracing Calliope's skull appearance and finding them beautiful anyway. Alien love wins

5) Favorite Alpha Troll

Okay but can we talk about the fact that she ends up alive??? As a huge stan of hers since we started seeing her I was fucking living my best life lol I can't hate it whatsoever even though it was at John's expense 😭 Meenah's one of the most determined characters in the entire thing fr, she really said "fuck being dead for millions of years after isolating myself on the moon to avoid responsibility, now I want all the responsibility, all of it." Fully meets Karkat again in Candy and is like "lemme reverse what HIC did and use my ancient Queen powers to benefit the mutant," imo an incredible foil to her future self even though they're very much the same troll and speak pretty much exactly the same. Fish puns are hysterical to me most of the time, her unwavering dedication to the shtick 4x as hard as Feferi did it and editing/improving ones she doesn't like in the middle of her sentences 😂 I cosplayed as her at AX 2013 and had a blast, except for that Cronus cosplayer who tried to hit on me in character, I had no idea what to do lmao

#homestuck #homestucktober #terezi pyrope #dave strider #karkat vantas #roxy lalonde #meenah peixes

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peemanne · 2 days

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Disco Elysium Review: REACTION SPEED [Medium: Success] - "Uhm... Uh..."

wow hey that's not yakuza is it wowzers wowza

Yeah the game was like, really really really good so I really wanted to write something about it. Haven't done anything in a while I have to be honest so that's another reason for me to thank this game. Thank you, game

This review contains MINOR SPOILERS (but they're all out of context so honestly uhhhh you should be fine)

Reviewed on May 29, 2024. Last completed on May 26, 2023

Completed on PC

Rating: 10/10 (5 Stars)

Disco Elysium fans be like: "Oh, damn! Good thing I stocked up on healing items and quicksaved earlier! There's a really tough paragraph ahead!" It's me. I'm Disco Elysium fans.

It's hard for me to try to properly put into words how much I adore everything about this game. Every little detail, every single aspect, each and every one of those 1.2 million words in the script combine to grab you by the hand and wisp you away into its world.

This game's writing is seriously just something else. It's beautiful when it needs to be. Disturbing and haunting at times. Its comedic timing is perfect when it wants to. It's utterly heartbreaking when the time comes. The characters are all memorable, with even the seemingly insignificant side characters carrying with them bottomless depth. The amnesiac we play as oozes personality out of every alcohol-stained crevice, and carries himself through no matter which path you decide to take. Your inner monologue with your "stats" talking to you was a stroke of genius, and it does so much to inject life into every little thing you do. From hyping you up to sing karaoke, to telling you to lick spilled spirits on a table, to composing yourself to take a vital shot at an adversary, to trying to convince an old war vet to surrender their sandwich. Every little thing you do is painted before your very eyes, and you get to appreciate all of its stunning writing even more with the whole experience being fully voice-acted. Seriously, the prose in here is insane. Really inspires an idiot hobbyist like me.

And haha yeah I really enjoyed playing through this book alright alright, but I really must stress that Disco Elysium makes FULL use out of the game portion of "Computer Role Playing Game". The gameplay elements do an amazing job of bringing everything together. Your skills dictate which ones influence you the most, and which ones you're gonna hear from, further influenced by whatever ridiculous outfit you end up wearing. Not only is the skill system a great way to illustrate to the player their skills returning to them after the whole amnesia thing, but this does a lot to separate each playthrough from the last. One playthrough you'll have Encyclopedia inform you on some awesome fun facts about the chair you're sitting on, as you make use of Drama to crack open the man you're interviewing like a can. In the very next, you'll have Half-Light tell you to sucker punch a child who called you a homophobic slur. You experience the lives of almost entirely different men every time you hit "NEW GAME", despite most of the major points of the story remaining the same (and obviously the fact that you're still playing the same actual guy). But the biggest strength of the gameplay is how expertly it weaves everything together. It feels like even the smallest, most insignificant of checks will come back later to influence your next course of action. Lifted some weights in front of your partner to maybe show off a little earlier? Now you get a +2 advantage on your roll if you want to do a 360 spin kick on the head of a beefed-up racist guard. Messed up a pickup line really badly on a girl you met just after waking up? Ah, that's gonna be a -2 when you're trying to keep yourself composed when her name happens to get thrown in during an interrogation. The game will remember everything you say and do, no matter how insignificant it may seem at first. Even your check fails can open up new paths for you to take. I found myself not save-scumming as often as I thought I would, simply because messing things up would sometimes give me much funnier results than if I just succeeded as normal. I didn't find myself doing what I did for some arbitrary good or bad ending to aim for, I found myself doing what I felt like I would do. No, I found myself doing everything based on what I felt like my character would do, which might be the ultimate win for any RPG.

Most of all, Disco Elysium is a deeply human experience. This isn't a power fantasy where you play some untouchable god amongst men, you play as a broken, alcoholic man who drank so hard he can't remember what money is. Even with your physical skills as high as you can make them, the game makes it abundantly clear that you're still out of shape. Even if you're playing the whole thing sober, its characters still point out that you've downed barrels before and that you could probably break at a moment's notice. Even with Composure and Volition in your corner, keeping you up and letting you open your eyes every morning, you'll still get your heart broken again and again as memories start to resurface. And I love how the side cases never feel like lower-effort detours, but rather supplement your character, like you're simply walking through life. At one moment you'll be talking to your distractingly gaudy tie, and the next you'll try to talk a guy who yells "HARD-CORE!" at the top of his lungs whenever you approach him into becoming a communist. One second you'll repeat the same sentence over and over in front of an important ambassador like a broken record as your skills try to get you working normally again, and the next you'll try your best to tell a woman her husband's been found dead. And this game isn't afraid to get ugly: there are some downright horrific things showcased in its plot.

But after all of it, you get back up again. Your partner extends a hand to you. You put the bottle down and stretch your arms. Despite everything that's been thrown at you, every thought that's raced through your head, every rock thrown at your body, you keep living. It's a new day, and you've got a damn case to solve.

Sunrise, Parabellum.

#ramblings of the pee-man #disco elysium

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 1 year

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On a scale of Blegh to Slay Girl, which OB character design is the best and worst?

I'll be talking about my own thoughts in this post, but if you're interested in seeing a larger sample size's opinion on this question, you can check out the results of this poll! Vil was initially hardcore in the lead, but over time (I think because someone datamined and shared Malleus's full body OB design during the period in which the poll ran) Malleus overtook him.

From personal Blegh (worst/least liked) to Slay Girl (best/most liked):

Azul — This is the first “real” look we’ve had of his true form, and it doesn’t leave a good impression on me. It’s not that I don’t like Azul’s look as an octopus, the proportions of his tentacles just seem… off?? Like I feel like they should be much longer than they actually are. Additionally, the design of the tentacles makes them look plasticy and fake, almost like pool toys you’d blow up and then whack around in the water.

I also feel like because of Azul being an octopus, the design feels a little empty and the designers overcompensated by cover up the empty space (ie slapping random stuff on). The placement of the shells on his lower body is very weird on him, and compared to his collar (the necklace, the coral spiking off his shoulders) there’s not a lot happening here. The harsh black blot against the grey-purple of his skin also looks very jarring (which, as you’ll see, will continue to be a point of contention for me as we get into other OBs). Perhaps the only element I like in Azul’s OB is his crown, which resembles King Triton’s (you know, after Ursula yoinked it from him). It’s not too much embellishment like the elements at his collar, and it’s not oddly placed like the shells are.

Vil — I like his sleeves, veil, and little metal talons!! I also appreciate this his single glowing eye has blot running down like tears or running mascara! … That’s about it. I find that nothing else about his look does it for me 💦 Vil’s chest feels… oddly empty?? It’s like he has no form at all there because of how unnaturally smooth it is. And while I kind of get where the devs are going with the religious imagery and the incorporation of peacock feathers, I don’t think it all visually meshes very well together. The blot that his fabric fades into ends up looking like weird clumps of hair sticking onto the ends of Vil’s train and sleeves because no one was there to hold them up for him to keep them clean.

His crown is meant to make him look regal and imposing, but I just giggle a little because it looks so… chunky that it comes off as comedic and top-heavy (like he’ll keel over from the weight of it any second now). Yes, I understand it’s the same crown as that of the Beautiful Queen; I just think the extra things they added to it (ie the peacock feathers in the halo) gives additional weight that isn’t needed. I’m not sure if I get the weird spikes at his waist either; it was probably to better color distribute the scarce white in his look, but I feel like some other design element would have made it look less disjointed.

Malleus — This look is what I jokingly call “Nosferatu”; it reminds me a LOT of a stereotypical vampire, from the cape and slicked back hair to the zombie-like tint to the skin and draconian is this considered a pun clothing. The skin (being a reference to Maleficent) is, of course, a muted green color. That… just makes Malleus look hella seasick to me DX maybe like he has some cyanosis coming on??? In any case, I don’t like it. hdisbskskxos ANOTHER THING, THE GLOW IN THE DARK/LIGHT UP HORNS AND TAIL ARE SO FUNNY 😂 It doesn’t make me take him seriously as a threat when he’s over here lighting up like a lava lamp.

The main thing that makes me like this design a little over Vil’s is that the colors of neon green and deep blue-purple offer a greater contrast between the super dark parts of his clothing. There are also little details I appreciate, like how the blot on Malleus’s face forms little black scales like that of a dragon or a lizard and the continuous incorporation of thorns throughout the design. There are thorns over his torso, thorns crawling up his waist, thorns forming the “cage” of his skirt, and thorns climbing up from his cape—it really sells the imagery that his own insecurities and loneliness are swallowing him. The thorns on his chest are of particular interest to me 👁️ It’s like Malleus has “walled off” his heart to intruders, refusing to let them into his perfect dream world where no one leaves him. It just works well thematically!!

Jamil — I know Jamil’s OB design is really unpopular. I didn’t initially like it that much either, but the more and more I thought about it, the more I realized that while I don’t think the outfit is awful, it’s Jamil’s physical traits that drive people off from him. I actually really enjoy many elements of his OB: the tattered veil, how his skirt flares out at the end, the shoes, the beads, the draping cloth of his sleeves… The problem is, that’s not what my eyes are immediately drawn to. I’m way too busy staring at his snake hair and fake facial hair to notice anything else 😂

The snake hair looks so goofy (I think because of them lacking a lot of detail), and I'm not sure if the hair turban was a good choice either. I think it gives kind of clashing ideas as well??? The idea of snake hair invokes thoughts of Medusa, who is more closely linked to Greek mythology (which, thematically speaking, is more of an Ignihyde thing than a Scarabia thing; I’m not saying that Idia should have snake hair, but the fact that it was put on Jamil who had no association with Greek mythology may feel slightly off). The blot pooling at his chin and forming pseudo facial hair is also pretty silly (I know it's to mimic Jafar's goatee, but it's still weird to see on Jamil). Altogether, it creates a weird initial impression, especially when combined with the various over-the-top facial expressions Jamil makes while in this form.

Riddle — Here’s the part where I admit I probably ranked Riddle high due in part to nostalgia and because I’m really into Alice in Wonderland motifs 🤡 I think it’s a nicely balanced design, not only because of the even distribution of black and red in the dress (plus white as a much needed accent color), but you very clearly get the “Queen of Hearts” vibe without the very obvious overabundance of hearts everywhere. There’s a lot of neat little details, like the roses at his waist, the “spider legs” of playing cards, the loops of the bow that form a “heart” behind him, and the incorporation of suits into his choker and various other areas.

One thing that I think helps Riddle really stand out is just how small he is compared to everyone else; his OB outfit helps to further emphasize that, with the length of his dress’s train curling around him. We see the size difference highlighted in the battle against him as well. Riddle’s Phantom looks over him while he floats slightly hunched over, as if a puppet on strings. It makes me think of how his mother still has a strong hold on him, so she’s the one “in control” of his strings, the one influencing his toxic behavior. That lends Riddle’s OB a lot more personality in my eyes.

Idia — Cringe lines aside, I like how different and dynamic Idia’s OB is! The electronic mouth guard helps him be a lot more expressive than he usually is, and all the blue flames and swirling blot creates a super distinctive look. (I’m especially a fan of the vortex of blot that makes up the lower half of his design.) Blue and black work really well together, and I also feel like that color combination is good for emphasizing the sleek, cybernetic armor Idia sports, with the black part being metal and the blue part being the lights/energy/magic/electricity coursing through that powers it.

I guess the one big con against Idia’s design is that it doesn’t much resemble Hades. However, I tend to find that I have a preference for more subtle design elements in OBs, so I don’t really mind this. There’s enough sprinkled in to get the idea, from the stripe of cloth hanging from Idia’s clavicle to the slender (resembling the robes of Hades), pointed fingers of his gloves (again, similar to Hades), and even the vortex of his armor (like the spirits of the underworld swirling around). A lot of the tech elements help make Idia stand out and tie back to the trauma he experienced, so I think retaining the robotic nature of the OB is a must!

Leona — The single major qualm I have with this design is his lack of footwear 🥲 I never want to see bare feet (I won’t go into detail, but let’s just say it’s related to a traumatic childhood memory). Other than that, I think this is the most cohesive design of the OB boys. It's not too much, but it's also not too little, and the colors aren't too garish, nor too much black. The slicked back hair and furry collar resemble a lion's mane, and even something as understated as Leona's silhouette is made to better resemble his Disney counterpart (Scar's body shape is replicated using a corset of sorts). The blot covering his hands also gives him sharper nails, similar to a lion's claws. Leona's jewelry is also an interesting choice; the necklaces, of course, resemble the teeth of a predator, but everywhere else the jewelry seems very shackle and chain-like, perhaps alluding to how Leona feels resigned to his fate because of something he cannot control (his birth order). He's trying to break free of those attempts to keep him down, rebelling against people's low expectations of him.

The fabric that's draped over his lower half is a little on-the-nose; it's ramshackle and stitched together, resembling "scars" (geddit, cuz "Scar"). In the context of an OB though, I think I can overlook this. All of them feel broken, so seeing torn and ruined elements only makes sense. You can see his tail chilling inside of that cage of stitched fabric, but just barely because there's also golden cloth in front mostly covering it. To me, this is a good thing because tails on humanoid characters kind of unnerves me 😅

Anyway, those are my thoughts on all the OB designs ^^ I hope that was at least somewhat interesting to read.

#Malleus Draconia #Leona Kingscholar #Azul Ashengrotto #Jamil Viper #Vil Schoenheit #Idia Shroud #Riddle Rosehearts #notes from the writing raven #question #spoilers #Ursula #King Triton #Evil Queen #Maleficent #Scar #Queen of Hearts #Hades

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carlando · 1 year

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i have this terrifying issue where i can’t understand why i like all three of alina’s partners in the show:

mal is just wholesome and increasingly fleshed out as a caring and selfless character with logic and his own belief in living a good life. alina to him is more than a partner or a saint, she’s just alina. protects her because she is apart of who he is, his nature. loves her for not her ambition or belief but her care and the love she carries. for her bravery. it’s a “you have a piece of my soul in the palm of your hand” type of thing.

aleksander’s a product of choices which he made out of pain, devolving into a monster who manipulates, lashes out and calculates inhumanely. to only have a connection and vulnerability in hundreds of years with the one person (alina) who knows what it’s like to have this power, to be feared and hated. he has this respect for her resolve and i think he genuinely does love and care for her even though he fails at this. you can see that he is lost to his trauma and notions. i wish they met in another time, because if given the chance, it’d be a “you make me lose my mind and help me find my thoughts” type of thing.

then nikolai who is comedic and a lost individual who feels a great need to help people but struggles with being good enough for his post. he cares deeply about correcting his family’s sins and his country’s wounds. he is just as giving, even when he’s falling in love with this saint who is so similar to him in principle and belief. alina is honest and open with him, as he is to her. a weight to bring peace to a nation rests on their shoulders and i think they help each other carry it. like a “we hold each other up and end up holding each other for too long” kind of thing.

#i really love all three of them #they are all three fucking handsome and why?!?!!??!#i live a sad life #shadow and bone #darklina #malina #nikolina #shadow and bone spoilers #grishaverse spoilers #sab spoilers

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heckyeahponyscans · 1 year

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The Jinxie Games

Thoughts on G5 MLP Make Your Mark Ch. 4, Episode 3

This episode has three subplots: Hitch competing in the Forest Critter Field Day event, Pipp and Zipp discovering their mom is dating Alphabittle, and Misty attempting to find something in the Brighthouse that she can take home to appease Opaline.

The latter two plotlines are pretty good, the first one drags and I think they should've moved it into the background more. Maybe have Pipp and Zipp find out about Queen Haven's date earlier and try to scuttle it, but then see that their mom is truly happy and have a change of heart?

Anyway, I feel very vindicated in having shipped Queen Haven and Alphabittle as far back as the original G5 movie. They just had that vibe.

Even though Misty spent most of the episode in one place, rifling through the Mane 5's belongings, this was a really good episode for her, first exhibiting her bitterness and jealousy at the main cast ("Ohhh, we're so HAPPY, we all have cutie marks and we get to live with our best friends!"), which helps the audience understand why a fundamentally nice pony keeps spying on / trying to steal from the other ponies, and then coming to a turning point when Misty finds that Sunny has included a picture of her, Misty, in her journal.

Misty's VA is so good; the gasp she gives when Misty finds the picture tells you everything you need to know. The foundations of her world have been shaken.

Later, Misty has a chance to kidnap Sparky--Opaline's main objective--and instead she leaves him at the Brighthouse, purposely disobeying Opaline's orders even though she knows she'll be in trouble.

Here's Misty, nervous because Opaline just called bellowed for her, metaphorically stuck between the two pictures: a childhood picture of Opaline and the photo of herself with the Mane 5.

Even though I do think this episode, and some others, have parts that drag, I do think Misty's story being spread out across the entire season is genius. It lets us really see what Misty's going through, the toxic push-and-pull of serving Opaline. There's no way her story would be as impactful if it was condensed into one or two episodes; we would get an info-dump of facts, but we wouldn't feel the weight of her burden

Random notes on this episode:

Queen Haven sending Zipp a text that just said "Don't" was extremely funny

the Forest Critter Field Day occurs every 4th purple moon

there's reference to bits as currency (Hitch mentions "flipping a bit" to see who goes first in a game)

When Hitch and Izzy initially explain what Forest Critter Field Day is, Pipp is zoning out on her phone

Queen Haven postponing brunch to "a time that's more inconvenient to you both" is the funniest bit of the episode

"Unicorns didn't have access to their magic for many thousands of moons." As previously noted, a moon seems to be the equivalent of a year. How many thousands is "many"? It's got to be 3000 minimum, right? Assuming Skye Silver is correct about this information, that is.

Speaking of Sky Silver and Dazzle (the reporters), one thing G5 does much better than G4 is parody. G4 is leaning towards Looney Tunes in its style of humor (slapstick, pianos dropping on people, Pinkie Pie leaping out of mirrors, etc) and whenever they tried to do parody on top of that already exaggerated humor it was juuust terrible. With Sky and Dazzle, they don't do anything specifically "comedic" but their performances are just over-the-top enough to be funny. Like the way they do scripted lines to "each other", but they're turned towards the camera because it's actually for the TV audience's benefit . . . Man, that is the kind of humor G5 should harness more.

I assume this ZBS special is based on a real life show about the British Royal family or something, because the ponies look so dour . . . lmk if this is the case, I don't watch TV anymore except cartoons based on Hasbro properties.

literally a wedding ring chilling in the background there, nice touch

Nice to see Hitch isn't the only non-unicorn contestant, Windy is there too. The purple unicorn, Elderflower, was mentioned in a previous episode as being the oldest and wisest unicorn in Bridlewood.

Once again Sparky shows some kind of earth or plant magic

"This is what every sport looks like to me." Same Pipp, same.

#My Little Pony #G5 #Make Your Mark #spoilers #The Jinxie Games #Hitch Trailblazer #Pipp Petals #Queen Haven #Alphabittle #Misty Brightdawn #Zipp Storm #Sparky Sparkeroni

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eemcintyre · 8 months

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"Stretch" (2014) review

Aka ✨ why this movie is one of the most underrated ones I've ever seen and why it is some of Patrick Wilson's best work ✨

"If you like stories about chance and coincidence, here's one you've never heard" gives me the chills every time 😮‍💨

Patrick Wilson is one of the most underappreciated actors of his time, like, not only do his other projects demonstrate that he has drama, romance, instruments, and singing down ✨, but here he is finally given a chance to flaunt his impeccable comedic timing, vocalizations, and expressions

Idk maybe I just love movies with narration (ex., "Heathers," "Jerry Maguire," "Amelie," "Eloise at Christmastime," "Megamind," "American Made," "The Outsiders," etc.)

But jokes aside, I will defend Patrick Wilson's narration throughout the movie no matter whAT ANYONE SAYS YOU CAN PRY IT FROM MY COLD DEAD FINGIES; IT IS AT TURNS FUNNY AND RELATABLE AND PROFOUND AND WE GET TO KNOW THE MAIN CHARACTER BETTER 😤😤

It does start a bit slow, especially if you aren't as invested in Patrick Wilson as I am 🙃🫠 but if you stick with it and pay attention to the subtle comedic elements in the meantime 👌🏻

This movie is not afraid to be a bit irreverent, which is a modern and mainstream rarity

Stretch and Charlie are so cute together; I wish more of their interactions had been kept in the final cut because when I think of the quality content that we missed 😩💖

"Who gains weight in their neck?" "Sexy people." "Three months of Rosetta Stone- I HATE THE FUCKING FRENCH." "We was gettin' all romantic, watching Titan-tic..." and so, so many more

Honestly, Karl is an integral part of this film as well- he may seem overtly cartoonish to some, but again, we get to know the main character better through him, as his presence gives us a visual of Stretch's inner struggle; he contributes to the dark humor vibe, and Ed Helms was clearly having the time of his life (as was the entire cast)

Speaking of which, stellar casting all around, especially those who were cast against type; love when directors give that stuff a chance. Everyone was made for their role

Dark humor, satire of Hollywood, homage to 80s films

The Navstar scene. If you know you know

Same goes for the post-Candace club exit scene with the valet, the wannabe rapper, and the sex club exit scene (there's a man wearing only balloons. need I say more). I mean, the whole movie is basically the best part and I'm trying not to make this review me just naming every scene and going "yes. this is good" but these are some of the most standout parts

The soundtrack may be atrocious overall, but the exception is the song at the end (although I was disappointed when I read that it was originally supposed to be "Telephone Line" by ELO but they didn't have enough in the budget because that would have gone so hard) 😩💕

Speaking of the ending, why is it so incredibly pure and sweet to me that it would almost make me cry if I weren't medicated? 🥺 Something about the setting of the diner, exuding vintage charm and glowing in the sun the quiet morning after the previous night of chaos, and the serendipity of how Stretch and Charlie finally reveal how much they've obviously liked each other for a while, and after all of the danger and depravity, everything ends soft and gentle and alright 😊💖

This film is somehow so sleazy and wholesome at the same time- against the backdrop of drugs, sex clubs, threats of violence, and constant swearing, it's ultimately a story about overcoming cynicism and self-destruction, getting your "mojo" back, taking control of your life, and allowing for the possibility that things happen for a reason ✨ Honestly? 10/10

#patrick wilson #stretch 2014 #joe carnahan #chris pine #ed helms #jessica alba #brooklyn decker #action film #action movies #cult classic #cult film #cult movies #underrated movies #underrated #underappreciated

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kathrine-of-the-fandoms · 2 years

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Also, i have so many emotions about the characterisations in the Ride version of tmnt?

Cause, here's the thing. When i first looked at it, i did not watch more than like, half of the first episode? It was Splinter that really turned me off personally, but I've mainly seen complainst back then about Splinter, Raph and Leo.

And i got it! They seemed like very different characters. But i find it so interesting to dive into! How the basic building blocks of those characters could be shaped into the Rise characters instead of the usual.

Imma focus on Raph first. So Raph is the leader in the Rise universe, something that he's never been before. He is also HUGE. So here's the thing. I imagine he had anger issues, like his previous version, when he was younger. But there is only so long you can be that big and lash out before really hurting someone by accident. Which i imagine happened. So Raph pulled back. He turned that anger into some anxiety and overprotectiveness. That, added to his leadership responsibilities, gentled him considerably. Oh he is still strong, and i love to see when his older iteration bleeds through, but it's also really nice to see a Raph that is more soft than angry.

Leonardo, because his brother had all his previous responsibilities, had the chance to just be a kid. It has been pointed out before that this iteration didn't have duty instilled into them like the previous versions. They learned because they wanted to, they protect the city because they can. And that is a huge weight off of their shoulders. These kids had fun! They grew up playful and messy and fun. And it is the most obvious in Leo. He is a bit too reckless, a bit too comedic, but he can be responsible when needed, even if he has a lot to learn, like the movie touched upon. I'm so glad he finally has more of a character arc than "continue to imrove, maybe, but to be fair, we are already good". He actually has to grow into this. I love that.

Splinter...i still don't love. I like him a lot more later in the series, especially in the movie, but at the start? He is a bit neglectful, and lazy. But i think he is a prime example of my previous point of the kids growing up as kids. Most other iterations called him Sensei/Master or Father. To these kids? He is Pops and Dad, and i love that. There was always a bit of a divide between the older version's Splinter and the turtles. There was a very clear power difference. Splinter always cared, mind! He was definitely more parenty that this one most of the times! But. Here? It's family. Splinter is not some superior Sensei with all the wisdom in the world. He is just...a dad. A bit of mess of one, but he's just their dad. And it is such a nice dynamic to see.

Anyway, i love, LOVE these iterations. Hope there is more. NICKELODEON, PLS MAKE MORE!🙏

#rottmnt #can you tell that i love these characters?#cause i do #my babies #it's so interesting to see different dynamics #to see a Leo i actually like #the older ones were always almost immediately a bit stuck up #comes with their role of leader i suppose #but it never made me all that interested in his leader arc #this Leo slowly grows into it #with a loving family to support him #and an older brother to help teach him the ropes #And i LOVE that #rottmnt leonardo #rottmnt raph #rottmnt splinter #rottmnt character analysis #kind of

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cosmicjoke · 1 year

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Amazing finale to “Vinland Saga”, keeping with the stellar, incredible quality of this entire series. I especially loved the ending sequence, with Thorfinn seeing his younger self asking where to go if you want to run away from here, and Thors appearing and telling him he already knows the answer. Once again, I feel the anime improves on the manga in small, but key ways, adding just enough extra weight and drama to certain scenes to really drive this story to greatness. I hope to continue to see this as the series goes on, which I assume it will, to see them sort of cut out some of the more glaring and out of place elements from the manga and retain that more serious tone that was established early on in it. The final, quiet interaction we see between Thorfinn and his sister was really moving too, after the more comical interactions between them earlier in the episode, And that’s alright to have comic relief, (Helga after all is a comedic character and has been since the beginning) as long as it doesn’t undercut the drama, which is a minor criticism I have of the manga at times (not to rag on the manga at all, it’s absolutely stellar in its own right, and of course, the art is second to none). But they made sure to pull the comedy back here to a touching and poignant moment between brother and sister, also eliminating the continuing comedy with her cutting Thorfinm’s hair and giving him a bowl cut. I always felt like those moments in the manga detracted from the overall tone and weight of the story, and it feels like the creators working on the anime agree. Although they kept some of the comedy for this last episode, it wasn’t overwhelming or distracting like I felt it was in the manga. And of course, the reunion between Thorfinn and his mother was beautiful and heartbreaking. The manga has gotten more serious again in its most recent arcs, and that makes me happy. I’ll be interested to see how they handle certain things going forward, like with Halfdan, and his relationship with Thorfinn and his role in funding their expedition to Vinland. The manga’s, I guess the word is forgiveness, of Halfdan always struck me as a bit jarring, given the earlier characterization of him as a brutal and uncompromising slave owner. I have a feeling there isn’t really a work around for that, though, unless they simply cut Halfdan from the story entirely, or change the nature of his relationship with Thorfinn, which I also don’t really see a work around for, given his and his son’s heavy involvement in the plot moving forward. Either way, I’m sure they’ll handle it with the same grace and care and seriousness that they’ve handled everything else in this anime with. What’s really struck me about this adaptation has been the creator’s understanding of where the story needs improvement, where it needs to be toned down and taken more seriously, deviating at times from the manga in order to achieve that, but still obviously respecting the source material. It really is one of the best anime’s I’ve ever had the true pleasure of experiencing. Thorfinn’s journey, and watching it unfold the way it has here, with the magnificent direction, animation, voice acting, music, etc... has been nothing short of deeply moving and extraordinary, and I’m sure it will retain that quality moving forward. MAPPA is absolutely destroying it with their output these last, few years. Between Attack on Titan, this and JJK, there isn’t another studio I can think of which has put out such incredible work so consistently and continuously. So thank you MAPPA for bringing this, and the other deserving stories to such astonishing life. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait too long for season 3. I want to continue watching Thorfinn grow and journey to fulfill his purpose and dream. For anyone who hasn’t read the manga yet, there are some truly incredible arcs coming up which absolutely have to be animated. This is, after all, called “Vinland Saga”, and it won’t be complete until Thorfinn arrives there.

#Vinland Saga #Thorfinn #episode 24

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ctrophyduo · 2 years

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I talk a lot about my qualms with c!Phil. His behavior to c!fundy is cruel and unusual at points. But that’s the problem; it’s unusual. Because, seemingly, there is no real line of reasoning for why he treats c!fundy like that.

People often flock to surface level arguments when I say this, something something butcher army something something the time he almost scammed him something something. To which my only response is: c!Ranboo is his neighbor.

(And to the second thing- by that logic my mom should disown me because I signed up her email a few years ago for colleges and now she gets a comedic amount of emails everyday and it’s funny. But I guess I should be disowned and tormented for this. Or something. I’m not sure…)

Anyway. My point is that any excuse he makes for his hatred holds no actual weight once you realize he has little to no anger for c!Tubbo or c!Ranboo- the former of the two being far more proactive in the butcher army plot than c!Fundy was.

And here’s the thing; I couldn’t accept there was no answer. There had to be some estranged reason I didn’t get and I needed to figure out what it was.

And I reasonably think I have. Now obviously, the Morbillion words I’m about to write were probably not intentionally written (as most things on the Dream Smp tend to be) But my relationship with authors intent is a bit strained for this server. Whether Phil wrote this intentionally or not, I’ll praise it nonetheless for being an interesting piece of dots to connect that add a fascinating layer to c!Phil.

To start; c!Phil doesn’t like responsibility. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say this. Everytime he discusses c!Wilburs death with someone- he always takes partial blame, but never full blame.

The sentence will start with “I killed him… but-“ he will *always* tact on something else to blame on the end, usually the government. There is also the time he said “Because the government made me kill my son.” I don’t think it gets any more explicate than that.

The thing is too is that c!Phil killing c!Wilbur didn’t have tangible consequence. Obviously there is emotional consequence: grief, sorrow, etc. But nothing tangible; L’Manberg is gone, the new president has been selected to lead the New L’Manberg, c!Tommy and c!Tubbo- whilst found family figures are not blood related and therefore they are not c!Phils responsibility, etc.

Oh except for one thing:

c!Fundy.

You know the kid who’s an orphan because of c!phil, the kid who no longer has a dad because of c!phil, the kid who is directly impacted by the loss of his blood family… because of c!phil.

(Idk if I just have the “I need to over explain everything because Twitter will Misinterpret my words and kick my ass if I don’t” disease but just to elaborate: Me saying this isn’t exactly putting more importance on c!fundy than the others mentioned. It is just that he is the only *Tangible* consequences. Anyway)

c!Phil, is morally (and If we were abiding by our world rules for just a moment; legally) obligated to take on c!fundy. He is c!Phils sole responsibility.

And that’s where the problem is. He can’t push c!fundy onto something else. He can’t give c!fundy away or find an excuse to get rid of him. c!Fundy becomes synonymous with Responsibility and Blame.

And if c!phil takes c!fundy under his wing. He is *admitting* that c!Wilburs death is 100% his fault. It is nobody else’s. And he must take full responsibility; and full responsibility, means all the grief that comes with that.

Think about it. You’re an immortal, you’ve seen nations rise and fall. People die beautifully, tragically, unfairly, etc. You havn’t felt true grief in a very long time, if you felt grief for every person you’ve met that’s passed you don’t think you’d be standing where you are today.

However, your son dying- no less to *your* sword must be a hell of a lot to take on for someone who’s grown comfort in apathy.

So he doesn’t want that. He can’t handle genuine grief.

So when the opportunity arises to get rid of it. He immediately pushes c!fundy onto the one thing he’s *always* blamed c!wilburs death on; the government.

See c!Phils excuses for doomsday and similar events is that he doesn’t want another event like c!Wilbur to happen. But ironically, when c!fundy gets wrapped up into (what c!phil perceives as) government corruption, c!Phil immediately- without hesitation- disowns him right then and there.

And for someone who so badly wants to ensure nothing will happen like what happened with c!Wilbur. He’s a bit shit at that huh. But that’s the thing;

he gets to push c!fundy, the personification of responsibility and by proxy grief- onto what he *really blames for c!wilburs death* the government.

The worse part is- c!fundy would’ve listened! Had c!Phil talked with him and discussed his opinions I guarantee you c!fundy would’ve folded like an omelette (remember when c!fundy lied and said he thought Doomsday was justified just to get c!Phil to love and hang around him more? Yeah.) Hell, the last thing he says to c!phil is “I love you!” Clearly showing he cares and values c!phil and his opinions. And c!phils only response, to having a window to protect another family member from government corruption is; “you’re dead to me.”

Ah. I love irony sometimes. Isn’t it funny that government corruption supposedly led to his sons death and he wishes it upon his grandson who is currently being corrupted by the government? I think that’s funny.

TL;DR;Please shut the fuck up; c!Fundy is the personification of grief and responsibility, c!Phil pushes him away at all opportunities (especially pushing responsibility for him onto the government) to avoid having to deal with the true grief at taking responsibility for c!Wilburs death.

Yeah. That’s about it. This is lengthy. And I’m sorry for any errors. I have shit eyes but I like analysis, so. If you disagree too that’s ok. I think discussion is fun. Thanks for reading!

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missdeepend · 1 month

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The Grand Exceed- Happy

Often when we look at the main group of Team Natsu, I feel like we often discredit the two little furballs among them. You could say they contribute the least to the team with Happy and Carla both usually only being there as a set of wings and Carla's human form and foresight being a little less than useful.

But when we look at Happy as a character it is so nice to see him in all aspects. We have his silly side that he often portrays with being a comedic relief, but other times he has those epic and serious moments of being an amazing friend and standing on his own two feet? Paws?

It is a nice change for the comedic relief which most would count as useless in a story like this. A stupid silly mascot cat that can fly as his magical power. We really didn't even need a backstory as to where he came from before he hatched. Of course when Carla was brought into the show as another talking cat it raised that question, but we never needed it to be answered. Most mediocre stories most likely wouldn't have delve into that territory.

Of course leave it to Fairy Tail for our silly blue cat to have a heartbreaking past with being stripped away from his parents before meeting them and destined to kill his best friend. It is parts like this that really make Happy shine. He is young and with that comes the whole weight of the world on your shoulders for how you should grow up to be. While Carla knew what her destiny was to eventually kill Wendy, despite her unwilling to do so, Happy had no idea. He just thought he was a simple cat who was found and taken care of by his best friend and going on jobs and eating fish was going to be his life.

Thus, our Happy is then faced with a dilemma. He could either betray his best friend and do what he was always meant to do or he could save his best friend but be looked down upon in his home country after just being praised. This is when Happy's purpose changes, just a bit.

Yes, Happy is still our cute little furball who eats fish and can be sometimes annoying, but he knows where he stands. He stands for Fairy Tail and will through thick and thin. His comedic relief status is still there but when he needs to give a good talk down he will. He went against his own people and a few arcs later (Key of the Starry Heavens) he shouts at a man for his terrible morals. Not to mention the fight with Jackal and his sacrifice.

We see key points of Happy that I don't feel are represented or respected enough in the community. His willingness to stand against all odds when the world is against his small figure is a reason as to why I don't mind the fact he never gets a transformation. It just goes to show that little hearts do make an impact. We watch him go from a scared cat fighting with a stick to eventually joining head on and sacrificing himself if it means that Natsu is protected and lives to see another day.

It is something else I feel was lost in 100 Year Quest and why I dislike the events of it. It looks and sounds like Fairy Tail in many instances, but it doesn't FEEL like Fairy Tail where it matters.

So what do you guys think of Happy as a character? Do you feel he is a waste of a character or do you think that he is good the way he is now? I'm curious to know your thoughts.

As always my lovelies, I'll see you later in the Deep End!

#anime #fictional characters #manga discussion #fairy tail #fairy tail anime #fairy tail discussion #fairy tail characters #happy the exceed #fairy tail happy

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thelaughingmerman · 1 year

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I really like Croods 2 but there's some story aspects I wish they would have focused more on. (This is NOT a Croods or Croods 2 negative post so like if you die hard hate the franchise I literally don't care).

- They took a more comedic and light tone for this film which is fine however it needed a little more emotion to balance it out. The movie opens with Guy as a child seeing his parents for the very last time. And then transitions to Eep narrating which is an abrupt change in tone and confusing for the audience I feel since the opening establishes Guy as a focus but then the narration establishes Eep as a focus. Which is a little confusing imo.

- The entire premise or idea of the Bettermans trying to take Guy so Dawn has someone to connect to should have been cut entirely. Instead they should have elaborated more on the Bettermans relationship with Guy and his family since it's established they all knew each other. We can keep the conflict of them trying to keep Guy but just make it about them trying to take him and lock him away to keep him safe. Because they thought he was dead too so like of course they don't want a repeat.

- I don't deny the Bettermans didn't like Guy and his family the expressions on their face when they realize it's him and when Hope gives him the photos says as much. However far from that because they spend so much time being manipulative and condescending and NO time talking to Guy we can't really feel that they care about him at all.

- in that same vein Dawn and Guy never talk which is weird because of course if they were inseparable as kids theyd be stoked to catch up. And I'm sure they wanted to give Eep time with a new friend but again were focusing on giving the movie emotional weight. At the very least I think most of Eeps conversation with Dawn at the top of the tree could have been Guy and Dawn.

- The movie points out similarities between Phil and Grug but in a comedic fashion. No one points out the biggest similarity which is they're both willing to lock their children away to keep them safe (Like Eep said, the gate is Dawn's cave). I think if Grug pointed it out that'd help really solidify his growth from the first film carried over to this one.

I've got some more thoughts I love the movie of course. I am glad that they gave everyone something to do other franchises I love struggle with a large cast but I feel if they narrowed the focus and had a small b plot with a whole group we could have had a more cohesive narrative.

#croods a new age

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