#And most players care more about the overall 'good' than the MOMENT

[breadedsinner]

I wonder how people *wanted* Sebastian to react at the endgame but I also don't want to know, you feel me.

[lullabyes22-blog]

hi <3

i am once again asking your thoughts on the latest act of arcane?

Honestly, my feelings on S2 so far are pretty mixed.

:')

On the one hand, visually, it's absolutely heartstopping. The cinematography is incredible, and it's the first time in a while where every episode felt like an experience I had to endure in a good way. Plus the score, the voice-acting, and the sound design is, as usual, top notch.

Buuuut when you have all these stellar spheres working on this show, it makes the areas where they drop the ball stand out.

For me, that's the plot.

Alot of folks have criticized the pacing and how there's too much piled into one season. Personally, at this point I've made peace with the breakneck speed and sort of taken it as a given in a series where 'War' is the overarching theme. I can even let go of the fact that certain plot beats don't feel earned, as there's so much subtlety and foreshadowing that you can easily make the case for them via long-drawn out analyses of every frame.

But the writing, ohhhh boy. The writing. It feels like there's a disconnect between the overall plot and the individual character moments.

It's really hard to articulate, but I'll do my best.

I love that we're getting so much characterization for the main cast. Every episode, it feels like there's a new layer peeled back, and each of our leads has an opportunity to shine.

And that's exactly the problem. They're all shining.

Separately.

When I think about it, the reason why S1 worked so well was because every episode gave us a glimpse into the mind of someone different. We got a taste of what it was like to be in the head of every major player in the cast, and through this, we grew to understand their motivations, their fears, their hopes. I've used the 'gem' analogy in previous reviews, and the way the show handled that concept was amazing. Every character was a facet of the gem that was Arcane, and each shift of PoV allowed us to see them from a new angle.

There was coherence. There was cohesion. And there was a sense of complexity told in a concise and well-planned format.

S2, for me, doesn't quite work the same way.

It's not that I don't understand the characters, or that I don't appreciate the way they're handled. It's just that their individual journeys are so self-contained. I'm not getting a sense of their interpersonal connections. More as if they're crashing into and out of each other's lives, without ever stopping to have a proper conversation.

It's a common complaint with ensemble casts, and I don't mind it for the most part, but the problem here is that Arcane has been very careful about establishing its characters as part of a cohesive whole. They're not just random individuals who happen to share a stage. They're siblings, lovers, colleagues, friends, enemies, etc. And the reason why we can relate to them is because, on some level, they mirror our own relationships. We've seen how they treat each other, and we've come to care about them.

But in this season, I feel like there's been a failure to communicate.

Scenes between characters feel like a series of disconnected vignettes, some of which are great and some of which are not so great. It's as if the writers are trying to force the characters to react to the plot rather than the other way around.

I don't want to be overly critical. So much love and effort has gone into making this show, and I'd never want to disparage the efforts of so many talented artists.

But, yeah. Coherence is a bit of an issue.

I will say, however, that re: the subject of grief, especially in Jinx's journey, this season has delivered some beautiful moments. It's a surprisingly nuanced treatment of a complicated and ugly emotion, and it's something I wish more shows would tackle. The problem with a lot of modern storytelling is that, because it's trying so hard to be edgy, complex and subversive, it doesn't really leave any room for just letting characters exist. And Jinx's arc in particular is a perfect example of this.

I was worried, going into the season, that they'd take the easy route and paint her as a pure monster, utterly deranged from her loss. That's what the fandom seems to want, anyway, and it's what you'd probably expect given the general climate.

But instead, the show has chosen for Jinx to be vulnerable, and to let her arc be honest. Granted, Isha, though she's adorable, still doesn't quite feel like a full-fleshed out person, but Jinx's bond with her has been written with such heartbreaking realism that I'm inclined to forgive the former for the sake of the latter. It's just refreshing to see the series not to take that insulting and reductive 'but Jinx is crazy' route, and instead allow her to grapple with the pain of losing her family and the horror of what she's done, but to also heal old wounds with brand-new connections.

'Crazy' does not mean 'irredeemable.'

And it's about time more mainstream media got this memo.

The series also continues to be stellar at showcasing so much with such restraint. A lot of the scenes don't last longer than a few minutes, and yet you can feel so much conveyed in that brief window. And the framing and composition is consistently masterful.

Overall, though, I'm a bit underwhelmed by this season so far. It feels like an incomplete masterpiece, and the sense that the narrative has lost control is starting to get overwhelming. We've still got Act 3 left, and I'm hoping the final stretch is able to tie things together a little more neatly.

Anyway, thank you for reading this mess! And feel free to share your thoughts as well. I'm curious to hear how other people are finding the series.

<3

[graveyardcuddles]

There's this post I saw on here about how if the player turns Shadowheart over to the Sharans, the rest of the party should all turn on you. I completely agree, and I think they should also mutiny against Tav/Durge if they tell Orin to just go ahead and kill the party member she takes hostage. Act 3 feels like the act where everyone in the group should care about each other the most and yet it's the act where they arguably feel most disconnected from one another. And this is all probably a symptom of the overall lack of reactions and responses to major events in Act 3 from the companions in general.

But another similar example that drives me insane is how, if you ascend Astarion and then immediately turn on him and side with the Gur, ALL of the companions will just be like "Nice work taking out the trash, team. Job well done. Another vampire lord vanquished, " without so much as a hint of emotion after you betray him, gang up on him and KILL HIM?? As if they hadn't spent weeks and possibly months traveling with Astarion, getting to know him, bonding with him, ect. As if they hadn't just all stood there and let him complete the ritual. But the moment Paladin Karen and the Gur show up, they just abandon all that over what? Some vague ideal of "evil is evil black and white no nuace" nonsense? (which is even more ridiculous if some of the other companions are evil like DJ Shadowheart or Minthara).

The only companion with a reasonable reaction is Halsin, who correctly points out you should have tried harder to stop the ascension rather than betray Astarion and kill him after it happened. I understand that not all of the companions have the best relationship with him. And I understand all of them very much disapprove of him ascending. So I don't expect the whole party to mutiny over this particular decision. But the fact that they ALL uniformly turn on him so quickly for these people they don't even know is disappointing. There should have realistically been some pushback/objections. Or at least some guilt and sadness and reflection over the fact that they all just had to kill their former traveling companion/friend that THEY allowed to become this threat they felt warranted putting down.

It feels like it should be an incredibly tragic and cathartic moment, and it just falls spectacularly flat. I tried to rationalize their reactions as just part of the shitty lack of responses the companions all generally have in Act 3. But at least with Shadowheart and the hostage situation with Orin the companions will still be ANGRY at you and express their disaproval. Whereas here it really comes off like they just don't give a shit about Astarion and never really did. It's depressing.

I feel like it unintentionally and very sadly lends validation to the idea that what Astarion says about no one else being like Tav/Durge. No one else will look out for him. No one else will have that same kindness for him. No one has a heart like them. I don't actually agree with this notion. I think based on the good epilogue for his spawn ending he's definitely capable of making friends and genuine human connections. But Tav/Durge HAS to come first. They have to be the example that shows him how.

Also why I can't stop repeatedly romancing him. Astarion needs Tav/Durge arguably more than any other companion. He has nothing and no one else.

[heymangoart]

LAST MOUTHWASHING POST I SWEAR. SRRY GUYS.

but the way the game shows Jimmy's lack of guilt for anya, INSTEAD caring more about the unborn child. he doesn't want to think about what he did, and no one is left to confront him on it. this is done very nicely visually, for example...

had to use jacksepticeye 4 this srry lol

jimmy is ACTIVELY blocking her out here!!!!! the med bay glitches her out and her face is hidden behind all the other employee IDs. he genuinely doesn't want to think about how much hes hurt her, but is shown to have much more guilt over the other crewmates. I can't get over him thinking more about the unborn child who would've likely died either way, given the lack of food and just the ships conditions overall. not that the child is any less deserving of life but would jimmy actually care for this child if it were born?

he never even listens to anya and constantly dismisses her feelings. when daisuke is injured, he goes and looks for mouthwash, even though anya explains that it wouldn't make a good disinfectant. as the player you might start off thinking that anya may be overreacting, because you don't know how much she's struggling. we then realise that her reactions are perfectly understandable. not to mention how he knew how to make that special cocktail that would MOST DEFINITELY 1. knock someone out and 2. ensure theyd still be fine when they woke back up. if yall r thinking what I'm thinking then this is incredibly fucked up

Also the message "our worst moments don't define us" reappearing is very interesting. esp considering that the player mostly sees anya through jimmys lense, who put her through the worst, and she's either only seen in thst context or ignored completely. jimmy caused the worst moments and yet that's all she'll be known for. not for her kindness or intelligence (notable because. she managed to even keep curly alive which is crazy.) it's likely they'll never ever be found there.

when talking to jimmy, she rephrased this to "I have to believe that our worst moments don't make us monsters, Jim." i wonder if this was her trying to justify that jimmy could be redeemable, or at least someone she can believe in. especially bc he's got so much more power over her

it's very important to acknowledge that what happened to anya was non-consensual — not just a case of jimmy being scared to be a father. anya was constantly being mistreated even before the crash occured. there is far more to that situation than just the pregnancy too, that i think curly was not quick enough at confronting jimmy with. i don't fully blame curly but his character seems like he wants to see the best in people. its interesting because when jimmy is in charge and curly needs help, jimmy is reckless and harsh. he still gets the cryo pod but at what cost???

this is so interesting to me so lmk if anyone actually cares or interpreted some parts differently lol Byebye

[ushouldwatchhaikyuu]

Haikyu!! dumpster battle ramble akdbsjsbdd

warning for slight spoilers?? (i mention scenes but i dont say anything about who won or stuff like that lmfao) and also caps lock lmfao

aight. HINATA BEING TERRIFIED THAT KAGEYAMA WAS GONNA STOP SETTING FOR HIM. JUST LIKE HE SAID WHEN THEY FIRST MET. CAUSE HINATA WASN'T BEING NECESSARY TO WIN. AND HINATA TRYING SO HARD AND BEING NOT ONLY FRUSTRATED THAT IT WASN'T ENOUGH, BUT ALSO SCARED THAT IF KAGEYAMA SAW HE WASN'T USEFUL. HE'D LOSE INTEREST IN HIM AND STOP SETTING FOR HIM. nekoma cutting off Hinata's wings not only to stop him from flying, but to make kageyama stop helping him fly.

and kageyama sees that. realizes that hinata isn't being useful to him or the team. AND HE FINDS A WAY TO SET FOR HIM ANYWAY.

he sees Hinata can't get up on his own and everything is telling him to drop him- the most reasonable & rational thing would be to stop setting for him. and y'know what kageyama does? HE TELLS HIM "GO AHEAD, FLY"

HE SETS FOR HIM ANYWAY and finds a way to make him fly even higher. WHICH IS SO DKSBSKSJSJSKS IDEK HOW TO DESCRIBE IT. like not only does that tell hinata that no matter how much people try to stop him, kageyama will help him fly anyway- but it also speaks about kageyama A LOT. cause there wasn't a strategic reason to keep trying to use hinata- in fact, he could've used nekoma's focus on him on their favor and instead set for other players.

BUT NO, he chose to keep setting for hinata. because at that point it wasn't just about winning, for kageyama. yknow how important is that? kageyama, who only ever cared about winning, thought setting for hinata was more important to him than winning.

IF THAT DOESNT SAY A LOT ABOUT HIS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IDK WHAT WOULD

also??? kenma feeling like shit about doing that to hinata?? EVEN THOUGH HE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA. kenhina bffs they're so adorable wtf.

but then again the "we're just friends scene"??? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK???? DKSBSJSK it made me feel stuff lmfao such a good way to portray their friendship & rivalry

also!!! kuroo, bokuto & tsukki crumbs!!! i love their friendship sm its so cool that they had their moments in the movie. bokuto was adorable sksnsjsjsj

the animation was also so cool tbh, specially that one scene of hinata and kenma staring at each other. yknow the one.

this one lmfao

ALSO everyone's talked about the scene where kenma keeps hinata in a birdcage but i still gotta mention it cause ITS SO COOL WTF

and everyone also said it but like. literally a kuroken movie (/p or /r). i loved how they showed that development of kenma's love for volleyball and how hinata felt so proud and happy and accomplished when kenma said their match had been so fun fksbdjdjdjdj HE HAD THE PERFECT REACTION.

also kuroo's laugh??? BEAUTIFUL and also a very good reaction lmfao.

yeah those r my main thoughts. overall a very good movie, perhaps the pacing could've been a bit more intense/nerve-wrecking for my liking? like i wasnt so "in it" as i was with many matches in the anime. still, i think it had a bit more of a focus on relationships and background stories and character development, specially through flashbacks, symbolism & but impactful quotes, so it's still chefs kiss. very much recommend watching it if u haven't.

[galedekarios]

that interview is driving me insane i've been thinking about it for the past hour and i still can't wrap my head around it. i think what really gets under my skin is it just... contradicts with the text of the game. the most positive possible reading of the ending where gale blows himself up is that it was an unavoidable tragedy dictated by fate but even that's a stretch. to say it's a good ending?? or a satisfying conclusion to his arc?? i call bull. it's more infuriating because there is such a clear good ending for gale's character arc and it's the professor ending! his arc was about learning to accept himself as he was, to value who he is as he is flaws and all, and he's done that in the professor ending! and the god of ambition ending is a bad end for him but still ties into his overall arc in a satisfying if sad way (imo). the ending where he dies just... doesn't. which is fine as a tragedy but to imply it isn't exactly that, a tragedy, is wild to me. and it being so blatantly contradictory to the actual events of the game makes me think that whole thing was just catering to people who hate gale which like... why? people who don't like him don't care about his story so why pander to them like this?

uhg. i am sorry for blowing up your inbox like this i just feel like i'm gonna rip my hair out and need to express that to a fellow gale appreciator. i love gale's epilogue SO MUCH it made me feel for a bit like maybe the writers had actually changed how they felt about him but. nope! silly of me to hope for that. wish i could memory wipe that whole interview from my brain dark urge style.

don't be sorry at all! 🖤 i feel the same way in a lot of ways. altho i feel the need to mention that gale's writer, jan van dosselaer, was not involved in this interview.

i started to make a meta post about this yesterday, but reading things like this from gale:

act ii [after elminster] Player: An old man with a craving for cheese. Hardly the great wizard of legend. Gale: A wizard doesn't reach Elminster's age without enjoying their home comforts. Those who seek danger over cheese don't tend to live as long. Gale: For Mystra to have sent him... The severity of her bidding could not be clearer. Or weigh more heavily on me. devnote: reflecting on mystra sending elminster, of all people - a powerful individual, becoming reflective. Gale: Time seems so infinite when you are young... a month is an age, a year is a lifetime... it is a strange feeling, to realise how little of it one might have left. Player: You're seriously considering doing what Elminster said?   Gale: Of course - he offered the clearest solution to our problem. All I have to do is find the right place and time, close my eyes, and let go... devnote: Trying to sound upbeat, not fully engaging with what he's saying (that he's going to kill himself). Gale: Then the slate will be clean, wrongs will be righted, the Absolute will be gone... devnote: Trying to sound upbeat, not fully engaging with what he's saying (that he's going to kill himself). Gale: ...and I along with it. devnote: Still trying to sound upbeat, though this time the reality that this means he will die weighs a bit heavier

and:

act ii [act ii romance scene] Gale: I am terrified - I will not claim otherwise. My face could scarcely conceal it even if my words sought to deny it. nodecontext: Hushed, vulnerable Gale: There is no point in running from the inevitable. Better to meet it, on my own terms. nodecontext: Resigned

as well as this:

act ii [act ii friendship version] Gale: Yes... but there is so much to live for, and so few moments in which to house it all. Gale: Damn you. Damn you for giving me so much to care about. Our friends, our adventures... this would have been so much easier if it was just me. But it isn't. Gale: If there is a way - any way - to save all that's grown dear to me, I want to seize it. I just cannot fathom what that might be, other than to fail Mystra and condemn the world. Gale: Stay with me, will you? I don't want to think of it any more, but I don't want to be alone either.

act iii [before the netherbrain] Player: Gale... I think we should consider using the orb as Mystra intended. To blow up the Netherbrain. Gale: I'm getting rather tired of how often those I care about seem to reach the same conclusion.

when you have this:

and i just... couldn't finish the meta.

it's absolutely beyond comprehension for me how anyone could try to frame this as an ending that is the right one in "many ways", as the "guy who starts off annoying everyone", eating your "most priced possessions", having to "give back to the world".

for the founder of the company to say he wasn't "ready" the "first time", but he's finally "ready" now.

gale's death isn't only unnecessary, an instruction given to him by his former mentor on the behalf of a goddess, who would've sacrificed not only him but thousands of others to achieve her own goals, he doesn't want to die. he's terrified. he wants to live. he is offering this because he believes that his time has run out. because he wants his death to have purpose if it must happen. because he feels he made a mistake far bigger than he can ever make up for. because he doesn't want others to waste their chance at life like he feels he has. the will he leaves behind in the epilogue if he sacrifices himself isn't finished because he thought there would be more time. i could go on and on.

and again, the question is too... for what exactly does he need to "give back to the world"?

being perceived as annoying after coming out of what is presented as isolation and depression? asking for help with a now chronic impairment that feeds on his very soul and wreaks havoc on his body? for making a mistake? by that logic every companion deserves the same fate.

which brings me to the contrast to how most of the other companions are framed in this interview: k*rlach, "the labrador of the party". l*e'zel, "she's so young". ast*rion, "much of what he does it out of fear". sh*dowheart, "the jason bourne" and "victim of religous trauma". w*ll, "the true baldur's gate hero".

the difference is staggering. there's empathy here. there's at least a surface level understanding and/or appreciation of the characters there.

...and then you have gale.

it's alienating and disappointing to see devs have so little respect and care for their own character, as well as for the parts of their fandom who have grown attached to the character exactly for the strengths and flaws he has, for the struggles he faces and for the healing journey he can have if he is helped and lives.

[the-travelling-witch]

i originally wrote this when gushing to someone about my love for keishin but i thought i might as well post it here now that it's already been brought into existence

We can all agree that Ukai Keishin is the best coach Karasuno could have asked for and in this essay I will rekindle my undying love for him by rambling about why that is.

First of all Ukai “I’m not interested in being a coach” Keishin adapted the time of his shifts at the store as well as woke up at the asscrack of dawn to help on his family’s farm, so he could coach these kids, which we see is quite exhausting for him as Takeda (our hero) asks him about it. It’s pretty easy to assume that you would not go to that length if you did not care about these students. 

Keishin also got the Neighbourhood Association on board, initially as practice partners but indirectly introducing some very loyal supporters to the team (seriously these guys watch every match, even if they have to rush to the gym from their jobs), as well as opportunities to learn something new (think Yamaguchi’s float serve).

As a very young coach, Keishin might not be the most experienced at teaching but he makes up for it easily by being able to relate to his players, putting himself in their shoes and acknowledging that not every practice method works for everyone. We also see that the players don’t hesitate to approach him, like Hinata does during the Shiratorizawa training camp. When he calls his coach -well outside of practice hours mind you- Ukai firstly does not reprimand him for it but also gladly helps Hinata with the questions he has around building a balanced diet, since he knows it will help his players grow.

Sure, being able to empathise with the students is not always a good thing as a coach, as we see when he hesitated between choosing Kageyama or Suga for the setter position in season 1, projecting his own feelings onto Suga. But after Suga approaches him, he listens to what he has to say and compliments him for making such a tough decision.

Similarly, when Hinata first brought up the idea of changing up the quick, Ukai was against it too, but after listening to Hinata felt, he decided to trust in his players and try a few different practice methods, even going so far as to separate the two and introduce Hinata to his grandpa. I don’t think any coach would have taken the risk of changing up a useful attack if it wasn’t clear that whatever they’d practise for would pay off.

The summer training camp is a good example for the healthy mindset Keishin tries to impart on his students. Over the course of the whole show, he shows that learning and growing means more to him than winning. Mistakes, failures and losses are all part of the progress to him as long as you can take something away from them for the future. I don’t think Karasuno would have picked themselves up as well or as fast from the Aoba Johsai loss in season 1 if they didn’t have Coach Ukai.I also really love his mentality around food and that you need to eat plenty of good stuff to replenish your energy and give your body the fuel it needs. Also treats his teams to meals regardless of the outcome of a match.

Overall, Keishin is much more encouraging rather than reprimanding. He will obviously tell them off when they mess up, it’s not like he coddles the kids, but he always makes sure to compliment them or nudge them in the right direction. Sure, he lets Hinata know that breaking into the Shiratorizawa camp was a reckless idea but also tips him off on how he can capitalise off the opportunity. Another great moment happens after Kageyama comes back from Youth camp and a fight breaks out as he returns to being the egocentric king for a moment. Takeda asks if they should step in but Ukai tells him that it’s necessary for them to communicate and sort out themselves. Knowing not to step in at that moment leads to Kageyama learning a lesson without which I don’t think they could have won against Inarizaki (and which would have left him lacking in the grand scheme of professional volleyball later on, I suppose).

Also, side note, despite the bleached hair and him saying he never was a model student to Hinata, we see him take out his piercings while he’s coaching and also see that he went back to his natural hair colour post timeskip (plus he still coaches Karasuno then, he clearly loves this job). Sure you could say he takes them out for safety reasons but I’m not sure he’d be the type to care much for that (I know I’ve never taken out or taped over my piercings) but even so, look at him being a good role model. (Not saying piercings and bleached hair are bad, I love them…. But sOcIeTy /lh)

There are of course many more great scenes I could get into for Keishin (since every scene he’s in is great) but I think these are like the major aspects that make me love him so much. We see that he goes to great lengths to support his students, be it through advice, getting video recordings of opponents and analysing them or working out the best practice strategies together with his students. Yes he’s new to being a coach but together with Takeda, I don’t know if Karasuno could have had a coach which fits in better with them than Ukai Keishin.

[marictheirins]

know your enemy fallacy unlocked in my brain so ive played 10hrs of datv after snapping & the review isnt looking good. ive limited spoilers to just one minor one but look at thyne own risk my honest review thus far---

this game is optimized worse than early access bg3, whole environments just dont load or even unload as i run around sometimes stuff not loading for minutes at a time. i have collected loot from chests locked away clearly from places im not meant to be because the damn wall never loaded sooooooooo

dragon age 2: the sequel right down to varric clearly telling the story like he's written it already. this is not a benefit for me, thats a big negative

the prologue is incredibly disappointing after inquisition's MASTER CLASS in how to begin a game. i could literally play by play moment by moment go into why the prologue of inquisition is one of gamings best openings but haha its funny rook beat up people in bar because bad ass teehee

actually the writing overall has taken a step backwards, most quests are uncreatively predictable & the dialogue is flat & lacks any sort of life. its giving MMO quests.

the combat is fun but it doesnt work half the time with the game forgetting the mouse buttons or number buttons exist ive died twice solely because i couldnt actually attack bc the game didnt register i was clicking my mouse or pressing hotkey 1

custom character gets reset at random & i have to reload the game several times for the game to spawn the correct edited character

i would love to care about neve but its hard to give a shit when her voice actress doesnt give a shit about delivering her lines. bellana's actress over acts and thats fine considering her character but these two have scenes together and its soooooooooooo embarrassing to see which actor cared and who wanted a paycheck

actually it feels like 70% of the various cast of npcs are just flatly reading the script & its violently immersion breaking not to mention the game treats the player, the protag, AND the npcs like they are stupid. rook parroting information to a character who parrots it back is not effective or good writing thats just repeating the same words several times so the player doesnt forget, addled by this happens in scenes back to back multiple times about any major plot point which wastes time & paints me, the player, as too stupid to pay attention when i was told the first time

$80 for 40hrs of main story. youre joking. supposedly theres 60-80 overall if you 100% it but the main story can be beat in 40 flat. for eighty goddamn dollars.

so far this has been a mid tier triple a game with dragon age packaging, it took about 4hrs before i actually felt like i was playing a dragon age game vs a copycat styled game. over the shoulder camera sucks im so over this goddamn pov. it plays, looks, & feels like a sony ip in a bad way. god of war last of us resident evil ass controls camera and gameplay.

its jank, the animations glitch & ragdolling just happens, hair textures muck up, again my enVIORNENTS DISAPPEAR. despite running on ultra bc my rig can handle it the textures & some of the models are plain ps3 looking, not nice at all not a loading issue they are just poor assets.

corridor simulator. i sure love that we finally broke free of the curse origins put on da2 where we had repeat maps long hallways & got to never explore bc dai was more open world & while some of the maps were too big we have regressed to going in a straight line, limited exploration, & each widdle level gives you a chest as a pat on the head because we are playing a very pretty platformer :)c $80

why do i have health pots in boss battles, is this a zelda

companion ai is nonexistent & the tab to open the spell / ability menu to tell my companions to do their job is clunky & invasive & in previous games companion ai let the party fend for themselves just fine why does harding have to be told to heal me when any mage in origins 2 or inquisi just already knew because low health trigger

rook is just hawke again. 3 options for dialogue red purple green dont fix it if its not broke i guess but the inquisitor had more options AND the warden had tons of dialogue choices to really flesh out a character. multiple origins are nice but whats the point of these elaborate backgrounds that are constantly mentioned by both rook & npcs if i didnt get to see or play these events. it feels like im playing someone elses character or that rook isnt a player protag its just the character you play vs one you create

f to jump, not spacebar ???? thats not how video games work bioware even you know this because spacebar to jump is the default in inquisition you absolute morons

if you survived this far heres some positives, the first being that i heavily enjoy the legacy characters popping up to support various factions maevaris tilani the bad bitch that you are i gasped when she walked into frame & i could recognize her INSTANTLY which dai failed to do with its legacy cameos like teagan fiona hell even loghain and alistair are uhhhhh not great so im glad we took greater care in making these characters more identifiable

sorry, lucanis hot. im a stupid bitch who likes the crows leave me alone.

it is pretty, i will give it that its a pretty game. the artstyle is a hit or miss tho

i like when rook smiles its the same smile animation the inquisitor had in dai its very cute

transmog is cool ig

u can call solas an asshole within the first hour of the game and that makes up for negative number six bc its my review and i make the rules

im not having fun. like honestly im not. this game is disappointing but im at this point willing to finish the main story at least to get the lore and closure i want from this franchise. this game is this odd thing that doesnt fit in the series & is vastly different from its predecessors in what i see is a detriment. gaider and weeks are VERY different directors and have split this franchise in two for better or worse. while i love dai its not perfect and started the stray away from the formula leading into scary new territory but at least it felt like dragon age. veilguard just feels generic and boring as any EA or ubisoft title out there it feels like a product im aware im playing a product instead of a game. that hurts the most honestly

[adinafay]

Someone smarter than me needs to do an analysis of characters who can decide their own arcs vs the characters who rely on Tav for pivotal moments in their arcs and what that really means for the character/the overall narrative.

I am coming at this as someone who - although I have spoiled myself to oblivion - hasn't actually completed 100% of the game so maybe take this with a grain of salt, but for example:

- Astarion and Shadowheart have moments where they can be left to decide their own "good"/"bad" fate at a pivotal moment by the player either through action (having the rest of the party leave the room before Astarion pulls Cazador from the sarcophagus) or dialogue (letting Shadowheart make the decision on whether to kill or save the Nightsong). With either, they choose the "good" option, but is that always what they would do? Astarion literally has no choice because he can't see his own back, if he could would he still, on his own, resist that temptation? Is he actually choosing or just defaulting to the spawn path in that case? For Shadowheart, if she didn't have an audience of people she trusts and, clearly, trust in her would she still save the Nightsong? Or would she default to all of her previous teachings? -Wyll and Gale have their more pivotal decisions almost entirely based on Tav's input. I actually get frustrated everytime I have to make an opinion-laced choice when Mizora comes back to offer Wyll the information on his father. Wyll just goes along with whatever Tav says, and that's not a decision my Tav wants to make for him when they care most about freedom of choice. Also when you meet Karlach and there's no option to let him decide what to do? It's 100% Tav's call. Even if Gale is a modicum better he still relies SO heavily on Tav's input for his more pivotal choices, like what to say to Mystra when he goes to her in the temple. As far as I know neither of these characters have an option for their story to progress sans Tav's direct opinion. Does this say something about them as people, that they rely so heavily on another person's approval/opinions? Or is it just a [worse] writing/storytelling choice?

[fernsnailz]

OH ALSO. ik you said something abt how some aspects of your feelings on the shth game have changed - what would you say is different now? (again feel free to ignore this)

oh yeah! overall, most of my feelings about shth2005 have remained the same - that game is a contradictory mess and i adore it. i mostly have a few minor grievances with my big shadow 2005 analysis essay. i'll talk under the cut about some specific moments that i think a little differently on - if you haven't read the big shadow essay, i'd say read it first and then come back to read this post.

grievance #1: The Doom

"being Good or Neutral around Maria makes WAY more sense than taking the Dark path. The game’s morality system breaks so badly in [The Doom] that things start to make sense again."

i still mostly agree with my thoughts on The Doom, and the game's failure in design affecting the morality system is something that i think could prompt further discussion. but a couple of people pointed out that the hero mission is still an interesting indicator to shadow's emotional state on the darker paths, and i don't want to completely discredit that concept because i like it a lot.

The Doom's hero mission is grueling. 60 gun soldiers to defeat in a maze level is not something most players would be willing to do. but it may be something that shadow is willing to do on a darker path - rage leading him to hunt and eliminate every single human he can find is harrowing, and it's a malevolence that the darker paths of this game fail to really show. so as much as i dislike the morality missions in this game, i do think they're an interesting measurement of the lengths shadow is willing to go to if it means defeating his enemy. the guy just doesn't stop.

grievance #2: boy what on earth is that take about the hero cast

"They want Shadow to work for them because of a desire to prove their side of the cycle is the right one."

i'll be real with you i think there was a bit too much analysis going on here lol. the heroes want shadow's help because there's a literal alien invasion threatening to wipe out all life on earth. are they manipulative towards shadow? i mean sometimes, but i don't think most of them do it out of malice or intentionally, and i definitely don't think they really care about proving their side of the moral compass right during the Fucking Alien Armageddon.

the only hero character that i think would be deliberately manipulative (minus eggman) is sonic, and i don't think he would consciously realize it. best example i have of sonic's occasional manipulative attitude towards shadow is the whole "if he can't be forgiven, can you?" bit from the mr tinker arc in IDW. and this is really only something he does to shadow - sometimes he just wants to get under shadow's skin without realizing what he's actually saying. sometimes sonic's just an asshole! and i like that, it's an interesting aspect to sonic that i wish was explored a little more in shth2005, the game about his rival. idk that's all i have to say here

grievance #3: who is shadow even?

"to him, doing what’s “right” means giving as many people as possible that same chance at life. It’s not a justification of morals or a desire to be heroic that leads Shadow down this path - it’s just what he wants to do."

i've circled around my final opinions in my shadow 2005 essay a lot because honestly. i don't really know where i stand on these thoughts currently lol. shadow is inconsistent enough that i struggle to really pin down what exactly he deems as "right" or what he even wants to do most of the time - it's especially difficult to pin these things down when trying to cover shadow as a whole across the entire franchise, which is what i was trying to do here. because man, does this guy feel all over the place when you look at everything.

i think there's truth in the idea that shadow doesn't really care about protecting the people of sonic's world (this sonic channel story explores that concept a bit). at the same time, i think it's also entirely possible that this "i don't care what happens to others" attitude is a bit of a front he puts up (especially around sonic). and as silly and non-canon as i think the sonic twitter takeovers are, i do think they were kinda cooking something when they made shadow work at a soup kitchen. these are all somewhat different ideas and interpretations of shadow, but i think they're all plausible for this character. personally, i'd rather embrace the inconsistency then try to limit him to one worldview.

the only solid "truth" i can formulate about shadow's motivations right now is this: whatever he deems right, or whatever he wants to do, he decides for himself because it's his life. he doesn't do these things for maria, or for gerald, or for the rest of the world. his choices and actions are his own - maybe inspired by others, but not for them. and the things he decides to do are often inconsistent because he's an immortal, traumatized, teenage hedgehog - a paradoxical creation that's still learning how to live. he might be the ultimate life form, but it's more important to me that he's just shadow.

[bonesandthebees]

Ok, so, I've never watched any of the qsmp streams, but I read your rambling about it and read your one shots abt it, and uh do you have any advice on how to get into watching the streams? Like where do I start? How to catch up on missed lore? Stuff like that

well there are a lot of different POVs you can choose to catch up on and which one(s) you choose will definitely affect your understanding of what's going on. if you want to just catch up on the primary major story beats overall (federation lore, main egg lore) this channel on youtube has made 3 videos so far summarizing the lore as it goes on. I haven't watched these videos myself so I can't say how accurate they are or if they leave anything important out, but I've heard positive things!

now if you wanna catch up on more individual lore/character dynamics and all that then you're facing a bit more of a challenge. I believe quackity has most of his qsmp vods uploaded on his vod channel so you can definitely check those out for his story stuff. if you wanna understand my fics better wilbur has the smallest number of qsmp vods out of the cc's at least somewhat tied into the storyline so it shouldn't be too hard to catch up on his stuff. his vod from day 1 of the qsmp has one of the funniest moments from any wilbur stream ever (yes I am referring to that moment he was talking to max) but I don't think you need to watch a ton from any of the day 1 POV's after the first hour or so.

while phil is the pov I watch the most for qsmp, he's definitely less involved in the plot. but unlike what I keep seeing some people on twt and tumblr say, he DOES participate in the rp and does care about the lore. he just doesn't go out of his way to get super involved in it and likes making 4th wall breaking jokes. but yeah if you're looking for more lore based stuff, phil might not be a great pov to watch as your primary.

now bad is the english speaking cc most involved in the heavy federation lore stuff, so his vods are definitely good to check out if you're looking for an english speaking cc to watch. jaiden's also definitely tied into it and has her own very interesting plotline going on atm involving the federation, but she doesn't stream as often so there are a few more gaps with her compared to bad who's been daily streaming for months now.

now for the cc's who don't primarily speak english, it's definitely a bit more of a challenge to watch those POVs if you don't speak the cc's language, but when many cc's are in a group they'll usually switch to english since that's the most common language on the server. also there's the translator that most of them have up on their screen, but it's not super accurate and a lot of the time cc's forget to switch it between languages so I don't rely on it much. for lore stuff, cellbit is a great choice because he's been heavily involved in investigating the federation and solving puzzles and all that since he first got on the server. from the french side, baghera jumped into lore stuff pretty quickly too so I highly recommend her pov as well

again I don't know how detailed/what the summary videos do and don't include but if you see clips from certain streams on that summary video that look interesting, I definitely recommend going to the vod itself and watching at least a bit of it. the group dynamic between all the players on the island is so delightful to watch. so many great friendships have formed bc of this server and it's so much fun to watch them grow in real time.

more than anything though when you're trying to catch up, go through the tumblr tag! follow people who liveblog a lot! follow the updates accounts on twitter! I actually don't catch many streams, but I'm usually pretty up to date on the big plot stuff happening on the server at all times just from what I see on my dash. read posts and check out the tags to absorb info via dash osmosis. that's how I caught up on dsmp when I first got into it back in january 2021 lol

hope this helps :)

[concorp]

hello! I’m new to watching aypierre POV, and want to get into his lore and know more about his character. I’ve already watch a lot of his vods (he’s very funny) but I feel like I might’ve missed a bunch of details since I was relying on the translator xd. I feel like you might know a bit more then me, so can you tell me a summary of q!aypierre’s character? If not then that’s fine too! Thank you!

-anon!

hi! yes. there’s a lot of various little things, but here’s some of the major stuff:

a major plotline of his has to do with ayrobot. for backstory on ayrobot, i highly recommend this video by ash.

but as for what’s happened on the qsmp itself. pierre had strange dreams for awhile, and eventually found out that it’s flashbacks of the federation, and cucurucho specifically, experimenting on him. he finds out from fred that cucurucho has “a special place in their heart for him”

he makes a supercomputer and a program to get information about his past from the federation. this happens just in time for when the federation erases his memories of his dreams in order to keep him from looking deeper. the computer restores his memories, as well as is slowly finding logs of the federation spying on aypierre as far back as 2015.

in addition to this, we as the audience see a memory that it seems pierre is still unaware of: he and ayrobot underwent some sort of mind transfer. it is still unclear exactly what this entailed, other than they exist in the same body now. how separate they are is also very unclear, other than ayrobot briefly taking full control during purgatory.

the other big thing is aypierre’s relationships, namely his love life.

at the start, he pretty much just wanted to get anyone into his bed, all the time. but things changed with maximus. he truly fell in love with maximus, and eventually asked for an exclusive relationship. to which maxo agreed, but in part due to using aypierre to get materials for his nuke.

there’s a bunch of stuff that happens here, but a lot of it is maxo lore that aypierre was unaware of, so i won’t go over it here.

a few months into their relationship, a whole month of which maxo is entirely absent for, maxo breaks up with pierre, feeling guilty for leading him on when he’s convinced he doesn’t have a future.

pierre is devastated, and through spying on maxo finds out about both his code infection and the work in progress nuke. pierre helps him get the last materials he needs regardless.

to which at the end of purgatory, of course maxo used it and died. pierre doesn’t know this and is still looking for him.

as for other relationships. he’s of course good friends with the other (active) french speakers, and while probably not the most responsible, a decent dad to pomme. he also seems to have a soft spot for pepito, being the first one to meet pepito and taking care of pepito on pepito’s first day.

but absolutely the islander he’s currently closest to at the moment is bad. he was the only player to defend bad when he was accused of stealing furniture. the two are absolute enablers of each other and escalating pranks. especially against tubbo.

overall. pierre is known for his create machines, and ability to abuse mechanics. he has a massive factory producing all sorts of stuff under his chateau.

also. there’s the furry club. which he started with maxo. it’s technically cover for a cult worshiping lobo nocto. but also it’s just a furry club. his fursona is a unicorn named mcfurry. he’s currently working on a furry fight club under the main club.

[traceofexistence]

here's some Karlach meta that is about Karlach and not her abusers.

What we know lore wise, is that Karlach is very big in size (210cm tall) that is like a tall basketball player in human terms, and teiflings are like humans in size (as they were humans themselves once)

so she's big for a tiefling.

Karlach lost her parents in a young age, the assumption is that she was a teen. (a very crucial age to have guidance and support)

she's not the smartest cookie in the jar, and there is a line she says that indicates she didn't finish school (whatever level of education there is in fearun). her actor Sam even suggests that she dropped out school the moment her father died(her mom died before her dad)

we know also that she's an immature person, we can see that based on her reactions and wording, and kiddo enthusiasm at times, and also in terms of romance.

what immaturity mean in her case:

prone to be manipulated

prone to affiliate with the wrong crowds

prone to use substances (soul coins) without thinking of the consequences

emotionally vulnerable

a kid without guidance is more likely to be taken advantage off

there is also something that Sam said that puts in perspective the point about her size, and I think it is an extremely valid point.

Sam has a friend who was a very big build when he was young, and while as kid he was a good kid, with well meaning parents overall. because of his body type he was clocked by gangs for recruitment. and his parents had to do extra work to protect him from something that had nothing to do with their parenting, or his character but his body type. because as Sam pointed out when you are 14 and look like 20 and even big for that age, gangs want muscles, and a 14 year old doesn't have the maturity to see the red flags and flee. Sam said that story specifically to put Karlach in perspective for us, they also of course told us that their friend is a whole grown up now with family of his own, and he managed to avoid the wrong crowds as his parents did the utmost to protect him. Karlach did not have that, because her parents were dead at the time she needed them most.

see for example the orphaned tiefling kids in act 1, they do petty crimes all around because there are no adults around who care to guide them.

Karlach probably started in the same way in her teens, because of her huge body she got into protection/intimidation (her friend Fytz asked her if she's still in the business of intimidation, so we know that was something she was doing)

and when she was old enough and deep enough to not have an alternative, G got her, a slaver, an abuser, and a master manipulator. Karlach was in need of a decent job, he gave her that. it was what she could do, it paid well, and it gave her a lot of freedom too, being the bodyguard of someone like him certainly opened doors for her way easier.

on top of that in terms of her romantic life, she never loved, and she was never loved, as she says herself whatever walked on two legs she would climb aboard, no strings attached. her first fantasy out of the hells is for her to fuck her way through baldur's gates, two at a time. the way she can not manage her own feelings when she meets us and falls in love for the first time. all those things are indications of her immaturity.

she also trusts very easily, whoever will help her. G was someone who helped her so she trusted him, protected him, did his bidding. she was fully aware he was one of those shady fucks who had his tentacles everywhere, she says so when we ask her. but in her naivety she thought he cared enough for her to keep her around.

instead he manipulated her quite easily to do the job until he didn't need her anymore, or more precisely she was more valuable sold to a devil and experimented on, to him, than being his bodyguard. he could find plenty of muscle if he wanted to. but someone who could go through mutilation and survive enough time to get his prototype?

she trusted him so much that if he was to tell her his plan, she would probably agree to do it, get an engine for a heart and all. but no he betrayed her he didn't even inform her what will happen to her, he just made a deal without her, he treated her like a thing, like a tool.

and lets not forget that when we meet Fytz, she tells us that he told everyone that Karlach just left, he LIED about what he did. blamed Karlach made everyone believe she just abandoned everyone without a goodbye.

he sold her to slavery, and then assassinated her character, so nobody would look for her.

she was the perfect victim, she didnt have anyone who would look for her, and she was completely in the dark of what he had planned to do.

Karlach was not a bad person, she was just loyal to a horrible disgusting abuser.

she tells Jaheira, that she wished she had met her before G, that way she would put her talents in good cause instead of doing what she had to do.

she never wanted that life, she never chose that life, she had ambitions, and she had heroes she looked up to.

I dont think the game through Karlach really puts in perspective the amount of torment Karlach suffered in hells.

they way she mourned her heart that her mama gave her, it is the only concrete enough indication of how torturous and sadistic the process of the engine installment was.

there is not reference that her heart is kept somewhere, and she can go and retrieve it. from the mourning what I personally get is that her heart was extracted and then mutilated, and thrown to the imps to eat. and Karlach was conscious during the entire process so she could feel all the pain. physical and mental

zariel made karlach her possession, all the tattoos and burns scars, the carving on her horn. she was marked, so everyone could know who her slaver was.

and then she made her an addict as well (soul coins)

Karlach managed to survive slavery, and escape, but the impact that had on her is unimaginable.

so yes she tries to live, she tries to leave the past behind her, Faerun is like a child's play in comparison to what she had to do to survive in the hells.

so she becomes loyal to the first people she meets. the first people who showed her compassion.

but she also is being upfront, she doesnt hide who she is, who she was, what she has done to survive. when we asked her about the asshole she tells us all about what her life was like.

when we ask her as tav what she thinks she would be doing in not for the tadpole, and she asks us back, and if we choose the adventurer answer, she's thrilled about us doing all kinds of shit, and wants to join us.

she's the type of "wherever life takes me" as long as it's not the hells, but even that, we can convinces her to go so a little while until we find a way to fix her.

final verdict is that

Karlach is best girl, with a past, and also a victim of abuse and slavery. and all the blame goes to the abusers and slavers and nobody else, especially not her.

[itsprjc]

Well, Season 2 of TDI Reloaded (TDI Rematch) has had its first four episodes out for about a week. I figured I’d share my thoughts about what we’ve gotten so far:

-The challenges are a little more fun than in Season 1. They have a good amount of variety and the often led to really fun moments between the characters. From the Skunks clogging the toilet slide, to basically all the Rat Faces being carried by Caleb, and of course the AB questions challenge. My girlfriend and I straight up paused the episode each question to try and guess the answers. (We got over half of them right.) As for my personal ranks on the challenges:

-Taking it to the Rim Reaper (Ep. 2): Memorable concept, without going too overboard with it. Also, I’m a bit of a simpleton sucker for the pratfalls.

-Choosin’ for a Bruisin’ (Ep. 4): Great challenge for both character insights and just playing along with it during a first-time viewing.

-You Poor Saps (Ep. 3): I technically prefer Ep.1’s challenge, but this one led to so many gold character moments.

-The Pink Painter Strikes Again (Ep.1): Solid start. Simple challenge, nothing too crazy.

-Animation is pretty much on the same level as Season 1. The facial expressions are GOLD! I’d argue some parts feel more dynamic than Season 1, like the slide moments in Episode 2, but overall, no complaints.

-The characters feel like they never left:

-Priya: I kinda get why she’d fall hard for Caleb, as keep in mind, she’s been stuck with this training with hardly any friends. This also explaining why she instantly jumped to befriending Millie when it seemed they got along. It’s clear that she does value the friendship as she was the only one to give Millie a chance after Episode 2. She also did work as an effective leader in the same episode, instantly taking advantage of the challenge’s slide order rule. Overall, I’m okay with Priya.

-Bowie: I dig his plot. Bowie made it clear at the end of Season 1 that he’s willing to bend the rules…and it’s clear that he probably cares about Raj more. Since people are more weary of him after the finale, it makes sense to have his conflict be more about whether he’d play dirty again. Also, this joker in Episode 4! As a captain (assuming those roles are official) I feel Priya’s more effective, though.

Millie: It’s clear she had alot more learning to do about being a good friend. (I still say both her and Damien could have taken the two-point slide together if they were both weary on the third.) Though her elimination was pretty anticlimactic, unfortunately. I do prefer her in Season 1, but I’m not against the plot they gave her.

Julia & MK: I’m putting them both together because they’re basically a package deal this time around. Overall, live their dynamic. It was a sudden jump from animosity to friendship, but that’s just because they know game when they see it. They have so much fun just being underhanded together, and it’s honestly a refreshing take on villain alliances. While I’d say MK is the breakout of the two, since she’s the brains of the whole alliance, Julia’s dialogue is so on point that it hurts. My hopes is that MK does succeed in backstabbing Julia, but she doesn’t even get mad. She just respects a player and roots for her to win…underhandedly, of course.

Emma: Compared to Millie…honestly not that mixed. I’m glad she cut the chord with Chase early and she got him booted in a clever way. The one thing that’s kinda backwards is how she ends up being a poor judge of character in Episode 4 when she basically red Chase like a book in Episode 2. But then again, I guess that’s just chalked down to being used to his sorry butt the most?

Chase: Everybody (including me) called that he’d be an early boot…and he was. I’m perfectly content with that, as it’s clear that character development was never the end-goal with Chase. And the moment he left, the Skunk Butts became the de facto best team. Props on his ballsy attempt to outrun the balloons in challenge 1, though.

Zee: All I wanted from Zee in Season 2 is for him to still be Zee…Good news, Zee is still Zee. I honestly got worried the “soda influencer” plot would be a cheap and easy way to make him an early boot…and they make him Papa Zee instead. I love this lanky boy.

Ripper: My one complaint on Ripper is that he feels like he’s really not there that much. In Episode 2, he disappears for a good while until the mid-end. And he doesn’t really get to interact with his new team that much. The only real time he interacts with the other skunks is when he asks about how to approach Axel. Let’s talk about Ripaxel…I honestly really wanna see what they do with it! It is a little sudden how it starts, but in its defense, so was Rajbow. Their interactions in Episode 3 were fun to watch, and that POEM. Hey, fanfic writers…Raj and Ripper having a poetry battle…think about it. Despite him disappearing sometimes, what we do get from him is enjoyable. Here’s to more!

Wayne and Raj: My boys are untouched! The one blessing is that they NEVER went for some stupid jealousy plot! (Wayne cares too much for Raj for petty stuff like that.) And they are arguably goofier than in Season 1. (Shoutouts to them wanting burgers after seeing the slides and the “Cyclone-Spin Cycle”) It is funny how many people (again, including me) wanted to see their mischievous side more, but instead the boys are even bigger boy scouts with their understandable disgust at cheating. While I still think one leaving earlier is more likely, I really, REALLY hope that they stick for a little. Imagine them against Julia and MK for at least an episode or two! And while I still would love a Damien VS. MK finale, Wayne or Raj VS. MK works great! Fair and honest player against a crafty cheater. It would be gold!

Damien: I’m really holding out for him since he’s pretty much jogging in place a bit. Sure, he wants to take more risks, but it’s not to a great extent. Then again, the season’s only gotten started. I just hope his crafty side comes out more later. He’s not too afraid anymore, so now he needs to push his brains to the forefront.

Scary Girl: I dig the “Lauren” design. Unfortunately, the “normal” bit wasn’t really used all that much, as she barely had a presence in Episode 1. She had some small scenes, but nothing outstanding until she got herself eliminated. Though given how she was enjoyable, but pretty one-note last season, I feel she works well as a first-boot. Will she return to stalk everyone? Who knows. Probably.

Nichelle: I dig her more confident attitude. Part of me wishes we saw her gaining that confidence DURING the season, rather than all that development being off-screen, though. It makes sense for her to train beforehand, but I would have just as easily liked her having a bit of fire in her and then training throughout the season. As she is, I like how she’s so done with her old Hollywood life. Hopefully she does interact with Damien more, as they seem to have a friendship growing.

Axel: Besides MK, Axel was the biggest relief of the S1 pre-mergers. She’s still hostile and hardcore, but I find her showings of care towards the team being well-needed additions. Examples being her helping Damien back to camp after the four-point slide, and her warning her team to be cautious about getting stuck with the sap. I already said my piece on Ripaxel, so my personal hope is that there is a survival or stealth challenge where the two have to work together. (Ala Hide and Be Sneaky, Eat, Puke, and be Wary, or Hurl and Go Seek if you wanna count the “zombie” thing.)

Caleb: Caleb was simple, and he still kinda is. I like how paranoid he was in Episode 1, but overall he’s just a more effective Justin. I do prefer him over Justin, as he can be a massive asset to the team, as shown in Episode 3. Like Zee, I’m fine with him as is, and can only wait and see what he does in later episodes. Will his alliance become genuine romance or just a tool for Caleb to outlast Priya? Probably the ladder, as he doesn’t seem to show any romantic interest in her that feels genuine.

And that’s Total Drama Island Rematch so far. Tomorrow should be the debuts of Episodes 5 and 6, so here’s to a great season. I was honestly shocked at how much I loved this cast, and how refreshing it felt seeing the show after a seven (eight if you ignore Ridonculous) year hiatus. I will be making sure to watch the series again when it comes to MAX in seventy years. As for whether or not I wanna see the Gen 4 cast again…I’ll probably be content with them stopping their run after Season 2. Reloaded and Rematch work as just two halves of a nice little package, and I really don’t want them to risk having this lovable cast go through what Gen 1 did. If we do get a new season, I’d be fine with them having a new cast. Fans will probably like them as much as they do with Gen 4.

[emptymanuscript]

Black Men Read "Project 2025" And Share Their Unfiltered Reactions

I feel like this is a really good campaign video. It doesn’t feel like a campaign ad. It feels like a documentary. It feels like it will belong in one if we continue to document history instead of fairy tales.

But for some reason, I feel like this video finally clarified the redundancy problem for me.

I’ve heard people complain that every election they hear that

 “This election is the most important election ever.” 

They’re tired of the same talking point and are starting to feel like it is the boy who cried wolf story playing out in reality. It can’t always be the most important election.

I think what this really clarified for me, and I can’t exactly explain how - other than the guy mentioning it - is that the issue is a matter of history vs the moment. 

Each moment, each THIS election, does not literally carry the same weight and importance, when considered independently of each other. In that sense, those considering the talking point the political equivalent of crying wolf, are correct. Even this year, me voting for Adam Schiff (D) vs Steve Garvey (R) to represent California in the Senate, is simply a less weighty matter than people in Ohio voting between Sherrod Brown (D) and Bernie Moreno (R). Adam Schiff is going to win. The race is not even remotely close or competitive. It’s going to keep things pretty steady state in that regard. It is simply not too big a deal considered independently of other factors. Brown and Moreno are polling closer together than statistical error. The outcome will come down to careful, individual vote counting. It’s going to be days, possibly weeks, after the election before the result is known because it is so close. Brown is an important Democratic Senator. He is chair of the Banking, Housing, and Urban development committee. He campaigns within the senate to move the Democratic Party, as a whole, to the left. He is a constant lightning rod for Republican funds to try and oust him, his strength keeping the full weight of the Right’s purse from devouring less powerful left-leaning candidates. And, the Senate is extremely vulnerable this year - making holding incumbent seats an extreme necessity because the status quo is a tie, making things essentially sit at a standstill favoring the President’s Party (since the current VP is allowed to vote in order to settle a tie). Brown vs Moreno is an IMPORTANT election merely to hold the line, forget improving things.

While I would argue that THIS election is still the most important one in our lifetimes, even considering it as independent of history. Once you consider elections as a product of historical trends, the redundancy problem suddenly stops being about redundancy and becomes a problem of progress. This is the most important election BECAUSE the last election was the most important one and we were only able to advance far enough to advance, not to outpace the opposition. We are running the same election again, policy trend wise. We’re simply tacking back and forth. And if we only advance enough to merely advance again, that’s good, but we’ll be right back to the most important election ever, AGAIN, the next time, BECAUSE we won’t have outpaced the other side’s capabilities to tack back to their direction.

This continually creates the circumstances of most important election ever. Because overall, considered as a historical trend from the election of 1968, Republicans have been winning the overall movement. They manage to tack just a little more to the Right each time than Democrats manage to tack to the Left when it is “their turn.” This has dragged the entire nation Rightward, inch by inch, politically even as the general society of just the average citizens has done the opposite and very slowly drifted Leftward, centimeter by centimeter, since the election of 1960 - which is exactly what lead to the election of 1968 and on. Many of the senior players today are the last remnants of the people who got started in the Nixon administration and especially his re-election campaign of Nixon in 1972. Their political trend - of which Project 2025 and a final Trump term is a fairly naked declaration - was a reaction to 1960 and realizing they were going to lose the public and had to take steps to keep power in the face of ever diminishing societal support. There simply isn’t the right leaning population to support the right’s intended policies. So, they had to figure out how to rule with necessarily only minority support.

Project 2025 is a way to institutionalize many of their worst measures for ensuring that minority support will be sufficient to hold power well into the future. Essentially for the foreseeable future of the nation.

That voting is dumb and a waste of time is a previous plan of theirs that has worked very well.

The next time you run into someone who thinks voting is meaningless and a waste of their time because both sides are nothing but shit stains. Ask them to imagine a magical scenario.

The will get a magic ballot. 

The Ballot has a blank space, Harris, and Trump. That’s it. Nothing else. No cheats. No casting a regular ballot, too, this time around. It’s all they get.

The ballot will only allow them to write in one name in the blank space and to erase one name out of Harris or Trump. That’s it. No abusing the ballot. No writing more names. No erasing both names. All they can do is fill it out as directed and cast it. The Ballot will not work at all if you put the erased name into the blank space to reduce it back to the same choices.

But then, the magic of the ballot WORKS.

Something goes wrong with this election - it’s magic, what, why, and how don’t matter. It simply happens, the magic works. 

There has to be an entire do-over Election in December. A whole new quick emergency election that will be decided by January 10th so a new president from that second election can take office on January 20th.

The second election WILL be 100% fair. No one will be able to cheat. The majority vote will be the electoral vote. Everything will work right. No magic can affect the second election. It’s entirely normal and works.

That second election WILL be between the Person they write in the blank on their magic ballot AND whoever is left after they erase a name. No third choices. Just a weird impossible run off. Don’t question it. It simply happens.

What name do they put in? What name do they erase?

The name they put in is a pipe dream. It doesn’t really mean anything. If they’re smart, they put in themselves. Or their best friend. Or the smartest person they know. The surest way to get power aligned with their belief system. But it really doesn’t matter. They can put God in there. By the rules of magic, yeah, God can be president. Or Aang from Avatar who can consult all his incarnations. Fiction. Someone dead. Washington can rise from the grave and have two more terms but he’ll still step down because he just is like that. Whatever. Sky is the limit. It could happen. It’s a test of imagination more than anything.

The really important name is the one they erase when they’ve got no choice except to pick one.

How many erase Trump, to make sure he has no chance AND they can reduce the likelihood that Harris will be President, too?

How many erase Harris, to make sure she has no chance AND they can reduce the likelihood that Trump will be President, too?

If you manage to ask more than one person, is there agreement on who gets erased?

Is there any similarity of logic to who gets picked to be erased?

I’d bet you what you want that there is a general trend line. That the majority of people who are interested in this magic ballot because they can’t make up their minds about the real one, are generally more liberal socially than the Republicans allow AND don’t trust Democrats to follow through or be up to the job. Oh, they may say they’re to the right, and hate Trump, as a person, politician, or candidate and just want Ronald Regan again... but - again - I’ll bet it’s Trump’s name most of them erase and not Harris’.

Because it’s always been about reducing the number left leaning voters and their influence. The idea that it doesn’t matter who you vote for came out of Right Wing Think Tanks. It does effect people to the Right of center but it’s affecting those who would still, overall, be dragging the party leftward of where it is actually sitting. The idea has ALWAYS been to make the majority less meaningful as a measure than the desired minority.

[aerithium]

FFXIV Shadowbringers Review!

★ Score: 8.5/10 ★ Date Finished: April 29th, 2024 ★ Final Thoughts: This expansion is so good it made me lower my rating of Stormblood. I'm that serious. From the very second you truly enter this expansion, you are utterly entranced by it. The extremely subtle build up in Stormblood explodes in your face within the span of a quest and all of a sudden you are the intro card to Shadowbringers. The beginning area is beautiful and the game does an amazing job of slowly letting the player realize they are in an entirely different world and then perfectly introducing that world. I found it odd how accustomed I became to the First after playing 3 expansions in the Source. This expansion genuinely leaves me at a loss for words. The stakes are high from the get go and you are quickly shown what those stakes drive people to do. At times the story could seem repetitive, kill one lightwarden and then on to the next, but the story, dialouge, and new areas make these overarching tasks different each time. The entire expansion is just banger after banger when it comes to the dungeons and trials. Especially the final two, I was sucked into the story and enraptured in each cutscene until reaching the final conclusion. The characters were written beautifully in this expansion, a sort of contrast from before. I found myself caring for each major character in this expansion, more than I did before. I feel as though we learn a lot about some of the Scions personalities, strengths, and their weaknesses. But the character that shocked me the most was my own, how the hell do you write a "self-insert" so perfectly. Square Enix and the devs for this game have done an amazing job at making sure the player's character truly stands out and that the journey feels unique to them. Wrapping up on the good notes, the music is stellar across the board for this one. I could probably listen to this ost on repeat. I find that my only complaints are a few slower moments, sometimes in areas I didn't care too much for but that is very subjective to each individual. Areas I disliked might be other's favorite parts of the game! Overall this expansion blows the previous 3 out of the water, provides great plot points, introduces new characters while building on previous ones, and brings in a lot of intrigue with the final cliffhangers.