#and this game with its flaws is kind of a masterpiece

[rawliverandgoronspice]

the more viddyagames I'm involved with and the more the notion that Majora's Mask was made in a year becomes buckwild insane to me like what do you MEANNNNN!!!!!!!

[palefacestudentlove]

Kintsugi.— lewis hamilton

In Japanese culture, there is an art form that provides solace with sacred touch. Kintsugi. A broken object is put together again, glued and repaired with gold. A proof of how the deepest wounds and the darkest days have no power in destroying what one chooses to fight for. A story, telling the power of healing that love and care holds. Highlighting the flaws of the object with a golden shine. Unleashing the beauty of the history that every unique piece carries. Kintsugi. A symbol of solace even in the middle of chaos the world offers. The same kind of love we are about to learn from two beautiful souls.

Mercury. The planet that orbits the sun the fastest. Glorious in its game. Beautiful to imagine. This one however, happened faster than Mercury’s game. It raced light and time, painting shame with bold colours on those two fastest elements. Swift. Quick. No longer than a blink. Everything muted the second his car hit the barrier. Everything went silent. As if the world had lost its music and the birds forgot how to sing. And it was suffocating, how the blue sky in its glory appeared mocking that afternoon. 

He was smoothly weaving through the pack, making his way to the front as he overtook. One car. Two. Three cars. Majestically painting another masterpiece of his own on the track. A master leading and teaching the pack and the whole world, to engrave a beautiful story, carved by blood, sweat, tears, and respect. It was graceful, the way he danced on the track. Refined and poetic. And like all other dances, this one carried a story too, a plot of its own. One that is about to make the whole world whisper. One that would dull all notes of melody, even the most majestic orchestra. One that would make the dictionary lose its purpose in giving meanings to things. And definitely one that would make one person’s heart stop. Y/N.

Love, on its own, is a cruel game. It'll give you the most unimaginable. Painting a million different shades on the canvas of life. Building a huge tree house for you to lay in, safe from the danger and threat offered by the world below. Unfortunately, like every other thing this world has seen, it carries a darkness too. One second you look away, it'll rip out the carpet from beneath your feet, letting you fall into an endless abyss. Pushing you off the cliff even if your hands are clawing to hold on, to climb back. 

Lap 50. A car slammed into the barrier of Turn 7 with a force that shook the whole track. Making every single garage went silent. And when the dust cleared, she saw it. She couldn’t even whisper when the world demanded her to scream. Car number 44. Red flags raised. Safety car and medical car deployed. Little Gracie was kept close to her hip. One hand drawing circles on the little girl’s back. She didn’t have the power to look down, to look into those same brown eyes the little girl inherited. Her gaze was on Bono. Unmoving. The man hasn’t looked at her yet, his hand on his headset. Calling. Asking. Checking.

“Lewis, are you okay?”

Trying to be as calm as possible, as demanded for his job, Bono’s voice broke through. Steady but still noticeably strained. A few seconds passed. Silence. A few more seconds stretched longer, carving an open wound in her chest that grew longer and deeper as the seconds passed. Loneliness tapping a gun to the back of her skull. Waiting to claim its desired bullseye. Every single second that passed, every single murmur, every single whisper, every single turn of head, she was hoping it's to tell her that this was all just a dream. A stupid nightmare she'll wake up from soon. But there’s nothing. Not even the faintest sound of his breath. He’s not hitting the radio button. He’s not moving. In vivid details, complete with their own music, her mind orchestrated every worst case scenario like a finale. Someone will always have to be the first one to leave. This story is a centuries long inevitable fate. No one holds the power to deny it. But even then, her heart begged. No, not yet. Not today. Give us more time, please.

In every single love story the world had witnessed, it always spoke of sacrifice. Things like: I would die for you, I would burn for you. But that wasn't the case with Y/N and Lewis. Never had been, never will be. For these two beating hearts, it has always been different. I would live for you. I want to try, for you. That's how it has always been for them. Y/N is a midnight storm. A dark cloud stood loyally on top of her head, wherever she went. She had long accepted and made peace with that. But Lewis. Oh Lewis. He had shown her and gave her every single reason to live. Teaching her that she deserves way more than just surviving. 

So how? How will she find a way to survive this? If Bono turned his head toward her, and  told her that they had failed Lewis. That they had failed her, Grace. How will she go through her Sundays at home? Waking up to his side of the bed cold and empty? Eating breakfast alone after sending Grace to school? God, Grace's first day of school without her daddy? Will his chair at her school's sports day be empty too? No one to carve a poetic line along her shoulder with soft kisses while she prepares breakfast? Every single one hitting the harbour in waves. And she's drowning. But Bono called again, more urgent, but still calm. There’s two people waiting inside the garage for Lewis, and he couldn’t, he didn’t even want to imagine how he’s going to face those two if this ends badly.

“Lewis, talk to me mate.”

As if the heavens saw the scenarios her mind orchestrated, a faint whisper of breath went through the radio. Say something. Please.

“Yeah mate, I’m okay. Just… thinking about how I’m going to explain that to Y/N.”

Bono turned toward her and Grace, nodding calmly, exhaling a tension he’s been holding in too. Only after that, she could finally remember how to inhale and exhale. A relief. Like a clueless tiny toddler who just conquered the world with their very first wobbly step. Her hold on Grace was tighter, grounding herself in the safety of her daughter’s hair. Closing her eyes, because fear still lingers at the corner of the garage, and silence still has its hands on her shoulder. 

On the screen, the paramedics were rushing to his side as he carefully climbed out of the metal wreckage that no longer has the silhouette of a car. He was walking, but slow. Way too slow through the lens of her eyes as she watched in silence.

Lewis, on the other side of the page, was trying to not lay a single touch on his ribs as he made his way to the medical car. Don’t. She’s watching. His right hand however, raised two fingers shaped like a peace hand sign, before tapping it on the top front of his helmet, where his forehead should be. A sign. A language only him and her understand. A way of saying or showing i’ll be fine or you’ll be fine. She saw it. He knows she’s watching, witnessing. I’m living, Y/N. For you. For us. She turned her attention away, gathering their things, following Anthony who had stood beside her the whole time. Preparing for what would be a painful evening at the hospital, no matter how short or long. 

Everything that happened at the hospital was a blur to her. Pale fluorescent lights, murmured conversations with the doctor. Something about bruised ribs and nothing broken but he’ll be sore for a while. The hospital room they were in was too cold. Was it just the temperature playing its part, or the eerie chill in her bones that refused to leave? She didn’t even know. Y/N stood stiff at the corner of his hospital bed, Grace nestled in the crook of her neck, dozing off. Anthony sat on one side of the bed, one hand on Lewis’ thigh as the two men spoke in hushed tones, not wanting to wake Grace up, or pushing Y/N more to the edge of the cliff. 

She heard it all, as the words floated freely in the cold air of the room, but her eyes were too focused on the floor. And it’s torturous, how his eyes kept darting to his wife even as he was talking to his dad. Searching, calling, yearning, but her eyes refused to meet him. She couldn't even bring herself to even whisper. When all he wanted at that very moment was for her to scream in his face. Yelling. Telling him how worried she was. Put the blame on him. But she couldn't. Maybe, if she loved him less, her mouth would be able to do its job, spitting words, sentences. 

He had so much power over her. One that no one possesses. One that would make even the mightiest knights to lay down their shields on the ground, surrendering in defeat. She gave him that power. Handed it to him in a delicate box, wrapped with a fragile ribbon of love. Anthony’s gentle voice broke her unmoving gaze, offering her to take Grace into his arms, noticing how she hadn’t let go of the little sunshine since they left the track.

“No. She’s fine here. I’m fine.”

Hesitantly, Anthony nodded. Because he understood. She needed Grace in her arms. Not only because the little girl needed her, but also and mainly because she needed something to keep her from breaking down. Something to hold on to, to hide her shaking hands, to silence the trembles in her fingers. What isn't a part of ourselves will never hold the power to disturb us in any way. And maybe, just maybe, that's why all this shit disturbed her so much. Because it's a part of her that the track threatened to silence earlier today. Him. Her Lewis. That's why every tick, every breath, every whisper disturbed her mind so deeply, like a tsunami claiming its dominance through the alley it keeps on swallowing. So when Lewis called her name, she abruptly walked out in a careful manner. Leaving the room without sparing a glance at her husband. Something about wanting to check everything with the nurse before they leave, she said.

The flight home was unbearable. The luxury of the private jet did little to ease the tension. Nothing changed during the car ride home too. Suffocating him harder than his bruised ribs. Her eyes never left the window. Arms and hands hugging and caressing Grace’s back as she fell asleep in her arms. A rare occasion whenever Lewis is present. 

His brown eyes however, never left her tired face. Flickering to her every few minutes. His heart further declined, stretching its descent deeper and deeper as the tension in her jaw became apparent to him. The same one his lips had traced a thousand times in between the sheets, in the mornings where he would hug her from behind as she prepared breakfast.

Once the car pulled into the driveway of their house, Y/N immediately got out, carrying Grace inside without waiting for the man who had been waiting to see her eyes, hear her voice. Lewis stayed in the car for a silent few minutes. Weakly, his head fell back against the headrest that felt harder and rougher than the gravel. A long breath was exhaled. Shaky. His tears were pooling in his eyes. This wasn’t how he wanted to come back to her. This wasn’t what he meant every time he promised her to come home safe before every single race.

Come home safe. A phrase that she never missed to whisper in his ears as she hugged him, before every single race. Since the first race she attended after he handed her his heart, body, and soul. A promise. One that he would always reply with a soft I will, before kissing her lips and leaving another one on her forehead. 

Time. That’s what she needs right now. So that’s what he gave. When he finally stepped inside the house, he beelined his way straight to their bedroom. She wasn’t there. Probably in Grace’s room. In the kitchen maybe. Anywhere but close to him. Anywhere but in his arms. The shower he took was longer than usual. His body was in pain, but the wound in his heart was the one that digs deeper, through the flesh, deep into the marrow. Marking its territory in his heart with a bold move.

When he came down, the smell of curry hit him. Warm, but still unsettling. She had cooked his favourite dish. As he stepped into the kitchen, she was already placing his plate out. Just one. On his seat at their dining table. For him alone and him only. She’s not eating with me. He hesitated as he sat down, heart clenching. Eyes not meeting her. The soft hum from the kitchen light was the only calming thing in the room. It mingles with the clinks and clatters of the dishes and kitchen appliances as she moves mechanically. Creating a melody he never heard before, hating it as soon as the first note hit.

“Love,” a call to her. Soft and gentle. Even while his hands are clammy, shaking, to reach her skin. Not a single spoonful had gotten into his stomach ever since he sat down.

“Eat, Lewis.”

Even while her heart was breaking, leaving cracks as it declines and descends, she still prepared him dinner. Straightaway once they’re home, not caring about herself not getting even a single beat of rest. Making sure he’s not eating his meds on an empty stomach. But god, he hates how it sounded when that “Lewis” fell out of her soft lips just now. He always loved how his name sounded when she said it. How it sounded when she’s ‘mad’ at him for stealing her chocolates, how it sounded whenever he came up with stupid unhinged ideas, and how it sounded as he slipped in and out of her, pouring himself empty for her.

So he willed himself to finally find her, her eyes. A silent but loud plea. 

Look at me please.

She didn’t

Y/N please, look at me. Please. 

Again, nothing. But the knife plunged deeper this time. Because this time, he saw it. She was deliberately dancing around the kitchen, keeping her hands and mind busy. Cleaning, rearranging, wiping every single useless thing in the kitchen. Even the ones he had never seen or touched before. And it was so bright and loud. In visions and sounds. How she wasn’t even half as delicate and gentle as she usually was with everything. She’s retreating. He knows she was silently retreating into that one dark place in her beautiful mind. The one place she only pays a visit when the whole world is too much, when she feels like she is not safe. As if not a single corner on this earth is safe for her anymore. Not even in their house. Not even in his arms. She’s not feeling safe. He couldn’t let her retreat and seek shelter there. And he needs her eyes. Hell, he missed them.

“Sweetheart.”

The sweet nickname fell out of his mouth softly, but still stern. Enough to catch her attention, forcing her to slowly turn her tired body around, facing him. The man she almost lost. The man that made her almost lost herself. Finally, that pair of eyes. Those deep beautiful eyes that never failed to draw him in, calming him. Those eyes that hold so many layers he never wanted to stop peeling and discover. Those eyes that made him surrender, leaving him breathless. Finally, those exact same eyes that he fell in love with and still, will always be in love with landed on him. Soft and warm, a gentle kiss from the sunrise, before they shifted in just one swift blink. A cold flame, scolding him, scorching his face, leaving him no place to seek refuge. 

But fuck. She’s… beautiful.

“Come here please…”

She sighed, running her hand through her hair, pushing it back. Her hair is getting longer. A beat of silence. Please, come to me. And slowly, very slowly, she walked over to him. Crossing the small physical space between them that felt a thousand miles away emotionally. Once her body was close enough, reachable to him, he reached for her. His hands crawled its way back to one of their homes, her waist. Reminding him what he almost lost today. Tattooing a thought in his mind, about no matter how often his hands had laid there, it would never be enough. He pulled her closer to him, leaving no space in between except for the thin material of her soft blue shirt. His eyes were threatening to cry in relief, when she didn’t even fight him as she claimed her way in between his legs. Weakly, he let go. He let his head fall onto her soft stomach. I should have kissed it longer this morning. Breathing her in, inhaling a deep one. Unbelievably grounding and calming. Her right hand that hung loosely on her side now made its way into the collar of his white t-shirt. A soft caress before softly massaging away the tension in his left shoulder. 

Oh gosh. Her touch. Her scent. Her. 

It’s still not enough. These weren’t enough. If his body wasn’t sore and screaming in pain, he would have begged her to let him give and pour. He would have been on his knees tracing his favourite path inside her thighs whispering his apologies again and again like a broken record before carrying her into their bedroom. So he moved his hands to her small back, drawing soft and gentle circles against it. She got it. The whole exchange was him talking. It’s him laying down his apologies. It’s him pulling her out of that dark place in her mind, saving her. A knight even in his low point. It’s him asking her to be with him, right here, right now. 

I love you. I need you. Please.

“Eat with me.” “I’m not hu–”

Immediately, he raised his throbbing head. Don’t lie. He was looking her deep in the eyes, silencing her mouth and mind. Staring and reminding her. I know you. Reminding her he knows her. His wife. His last love. His home. The mother of his child. His safest place. He knows that her throat hasn’t swallowed a single drop of water since they left the pale and sickening hospital, let alone touching the tiniest bit of food. Even in this weak and fragile state, he cares. About her, more than himself. So please, let him care and lay down the safety net she needed. Let him catch her like she always does for him without a miss, not even once. Let me take care of you, love.

It’s a losing game, this whole exchange. This whole conversation that they are having only with their eyes. Honest. Open. It’s a game she should have surrendered before she even started playing. He’s patient. Persistent. Always the same strategy. Always the same tactic. Although this time, it took him more and longer to claim the gold medal. She swallowed an empty lump. 

He won.

“The food is getting cold.” “Sit down with me then.”

Her hand reached the nearest chair, placing it next to his before sitting down. His eyes never left hers. Not even for a second since they were laid on hers just now. His right hand found a way home to her small back as she started with the food. Gentle circles, ups and downs under her shirt, against her skin as she fed him the first spoonful. Warm. Safe. Soft. She stared at him after the first spoonful, waiting for a reaction. He gave her a soft wholesome smile. It’s delicious. 

But her stare lingered, hands unmoving, not preparing for a second one. He stared back, delicately.

She nodded. You’re okay.

He nodded. I’m okay.

She had no strength left to hold it in anymore. The dam had been destroyed. Freeing her tears that were flooding. Her head nestled into the crook of his neck. A lost traveler taking shelter and seeking solace under the shade of an enduring tree canopy. Stopping the downpour of her fears. Letting time pass without a worry. Like Neptune travelling its orbit. His arms wrapped around her. A blanket draped over her trembling figure. Silencing the noise outside. Not forgetting to kiss her long on top of her head. A constant so grounding and reassuring. 

He saw it today. It wasn’t the first time. But today, it shone brighter, sang louder, danced bolder, and stood stronger. Her strength. Her trying to keep it all in her together, all alone, for him, for little Grace. But at that moment, he didn’t want her to. He wanted her to lay her fears and worries bare and naked in front of him. He wanted her to feel safe, be safe. Here, in his embrace. The only place where he will give everything to silence her storms, leaving them weakened, lifeless. 

His wife. The woman who has a hold of his whole heart. Had fought herself violently today. Baring her teeth to her own emotions. Drowning it down with all her might. All because of an almost. But this moment, right now. Her, safe in the hold of his arms, the fog finally cleared out. Both of them had no hold on perfection. And the world won’t sit still. At any time, at any given moment, it will send down cruel war and games to make them crack. Today however, it became clear as a sky. Bleed if they must, cry if they have to, but neither him or Y/N will ever let go. With her, it’s worth it. With his Y/N.  Every crack worth a story to tell.

This is the kind of love Lewis and Y/N fights for. Fractured with cracks at times, but made and built stronger, more historical, more beautiful, through the tears and smiles they pour empty to mend it. Their own piece of Kintsugi.

“You came home.” “For you.”

[moeitsu]

Alright, we need to have a little chat about Dutch van der Linde and some of the truly bizarre discourse I’ve come across here recently. If you’re someone who ships Arthur and Dutch, that’s your business. Enjoy what you enjoy. But—and it’s a big but—if you’re going to ship them and simultaneously argue that Dutch isn’t narcissistic or manipulative, I’m going to need you to take several seats.

I just stumbled across a post where someone was upset about how the fandom "dogpiles" on Dutch because "he’s only human, and humans make mistakes." Fair enough, I thought—everyone is entitled to their perspective. But then I got curious and looked into their blog and realized this same person is reposting Arthur x Dutch dub-con content like it’s a casual Tuesday. Look, read whatever you want, it’s your life—but you can’t sit here and preach empathy for Dutch while simultaneously engaging with material that explicitly highlights his manipulative nature.

This kind of double standard? It's exhausting.

Dutch van der Linde is one of the most unique characters in Rdr2. He’s charismatic, intelligent, and passionate—qualities that draw people to him, including the members of his gang. But he’s also deeply narcissistic, manipulative, and utterly incapable of taking responsibility for his actions. These traits are the very foundation of his downfall, and they’re written so clearly into his character arc that it’s impossible to miss.

Dutch weaponizes loyalty. He preys on the vulnerabilities of people who trust him, especially Arthur and John. He creates an illusion of a "better world" to justify his increasingly erratic and self-serving decisions, all while framing himself as the misunderstood hero of his own story. This isn’t slander; it’s canon.

So when a big portion of the fandom calls Dutch out for being manipulative, it’s not because we’re "ignoring his humanity." It’s because we’re recognizing that his humanity is deeply flawed. That’s the point. You can empathize with his complexities without excusing his actions or demanding others do the same.

It’s wonderful that more people are discovering the game. Seriously, welcome aboard! The more people who experience this masterpiece, the better. But if you’re new here, take a moment to read the room. Dive into the rich narrative, explore the characters, and engage with the fandom thoughtfully. Don’t come in hot with takes like “disliking Dutch is ableist” or accusing people of lacking empathy for pointing out his glaring flaws. Not only does it derail meaningful conversations, but it also alienates people who are here to discuss the complexities of these characters in good faith.

Also, using heavy terms like "ableism" in a context that doesn’t apply? That’s not it. Critiquing a character’s actions isn’t an attack on their humanity—it’s an acknowledgment of it. Let’s save those terms for situations where they’re actually relevant, not for defending fictional characters.

Enjoy the content you like, ship the pairings that make you happy, but don’t expect people to turn a blind eye to Dutch’s faults just because you’ve decided to romanticize him. The beauty of Red Dead lies in its ability to spark debates about morality, loyalty, and the gray areas of human nature. Let’s not dilute that by refusing to acknowledge the darker sides of certain characters.

And for the love of all things, let’s stop accusing people of lacking empathy for engaging critically with the narrative. There’s a difference between analyzing a character and trashing them, and most of the fandom is doing the former.

If you’re out here dropping takes that don’t hold water, don’t be surprised when people disengage—or, in my case, hit that block button.

[thecourtscorkboard]

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Review - A Flawed but Charming Masterpiece

As we finish up Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, we discuss this game's legacy: and how it stacks up in modern times.

I'm... not exactly sure where to start here.

It would be a bit spoiler-y to say how I think of PW:AA in relation to other games, but I guess there's nowhere else to put it. I think PW:AA is one of the best games in the series, and an incredibly strong starting point. It's my second favorite game in the overall series, and for quite a few very good reasons; it's one of the few games in the entire franchise that I don't think has a single bad case. In fact, it has two of my favorites back-to-back; 1-4 and 1-5.

Here's how we're gonna order this. I'm gonna go through an overall list of pros and cons, giving a few paragraphs explaining them. After that, I'm going to give some closing thoughts and an overall ranking of the cases and top 5 characters. Sounds good? Sounds good.

PROS

Pro One: Tone-Setting.

PW:AA knows how to set a tone. Each case has a very unique feel to it, from the frantic and almost manic speed and nerves of 1-1 to the depressing and bleak atmosphere of 1-4 to the downright oppressive and confounding nature of 1-5. Each case is very easy to distinguish from one another: they have different "vibes", I guess is the best way to put it.

Each case establishes these vibes in different ways. 1-1 puts you straight into the deep end; Mia's still holding your hand, but the case is relatively simple and the stakes aren't very high. 1-2's tone is unfamiliar but not depressingly so, still managing to be relatively lighthearted and fun. 1-3 is incredibly fun and filled to the brim with excitement; we get to see a movie studio! 1-4 and 1-5 take on very bleak tones, but it's different types of bleak; 1-4 is incredibly high-stakes and rather straightforward, setting its bleak atmosphere through the time of year and the overall aesthetic of the case surrounding it all (DL-6), while 1-5's tone is created over time as the corruption and rot at the center of SL-9 comes to light. For example, in 1-5, Gant starts off as a goofy and kind of lovable old codger. By the end, you want to punch him in the face.

This is all done through some of the strongest opening cutscenes in the mainline series. Each case has an incredibly unique and tone-setting opening, from 1-3's exciting showdown between the Steel Samurai and Evil Magistrate to 1-5 starting on an overview of the city during a thunderstorm and ending on a reminiscence theme; tones are made with opening cutscenes, and PW:AA does it nearly flawlessly.

Pro Two: Characterization.

PW:AA is one of those very rare AA games where there's not any characters I downright hate. Hell, the only character I dislike is Sal Manella for obvious reasons, but if you took that away I honestly wouldn't mind him that much. Even from the first case this game sets up its characters and keeps their core values intact; Phoenix believes in his clients no matter what, Edgeworth cares about bringing criminals to justice, Larry is awkward but well-meaning, Mia is a veteran who teaches Phoenix what she knows, Maya is experiencing new stuff and exploring, and so on. Even one-off characters stick around in your head!

One thing I really like about AA in general but PW:AA in particular is that, to some extent, every character we see has some sort of flaw. Phoenix acts first and thinks later. Maya does the same but with a far less mature outlook. Edgeworth gets tunnel-visioned and others, like Manfred, Gant, and even White, will take advantage of that. Even minor characters have flaws; the Bellboy is easy to embarass, Cody lies to protect his favorite hero, Angel has an incredibly personal vendetta, and so on. Even minor flaws exist; Vasquez smokes, Jake (implicitly) drinks, Gumshoe is forgetful, and so on. It all makes these characters feel like real people.

Every culprit has something about them that makes them stick out as their own unique character. Frank is a nervous wreck, Redd is rich and corrupt, Vasquez is aloof and deeply tragic, Yogi is a great actor, Manfred is hilariously aggressive, and Gant gets under your skin. Even the victims have levels of characterization! Hammond was corrupt, Goodman was diligent and liked by many, Hammer was vengeful, and so on. Even Sal is recognizable. No character in this entire game just fades into the background; they all stick.

While we're on the topic of characterization, I'd also like to point out the dialogue in this game. It can go from downright hilarious to deeply personal in just a few lines and the tone can change seamlessly. It's great.

Pro Three: Mystery

At its core, Ace Attorney is a mystery series: a mix of whodunnits and howcatchems. PW:AA has some of the strongest in the series in that regard. 1-3, 1-4, and 1-5 are all standouts: 1-3 is the purest howcatchem in the series while 1-5 is a brilliant example of a whodunnit turning into a howcatchem. Even 1-2 carries its own weight here. Its mystery is lackluster, sure, but it's still engaging!

Circling back to those opening cutscenes, 1-2's, 1-4's, and 1-5's all set up their mysteries within just a minute very well. 1-3's mystery is set up over the course of the first couple of minutes in the case, and they're all articulated well and feel, for lack of a better word, believable. These are things that could feasibly happen, but at the same time some of them are downright challenging (lookin' at you, 1-5!) in very good ways.

The clues provided to us, in most cases, are easy to piece together but not handholdingly so; this game trusts that the player can piece things together by themselves, including things that are seemingly unrelated or mentioned aaaaaaages ago like the parking stub in 1-5, the bent fencepost in 1-3, or the metal detector in 1-4. It's all a really neat and effective way of engaging the player in, generally, well-crafted mystery narratives.

Pro Four: Worldbuilding.

Yeah, bet you didn't expect that one.

PW:AA is a very grounded game. As such, it has pretty grounded worldbuilding; it all makes sense in its confines, which is the type I enjoy. Evidence Law makes sense for what we see, and at times the worldbuilding actively works its way into cases like 1-4's statute of limitations or 1-5's taking 30 minutes to go from the Prosecutor's Office to the Police Station. 1-3 makes the Steel Samurai feel alive, mostly thanks to its opening cutscene: even 1-2 expands on a wider outside world, with Redd White's role in the suicides and blackmailing of political and business figures.

Stuff that doesn't need to be explained, like prosecutor's badges or why trials can only take three days, are! There's also elements that exist behind the scenes, like guilty defendants having to face a higher court or the bureaucracy present in the Police Department. It's all meshed together into a believable world; which, speaking from experience, is not easy to do.

Pro Five: Aesthetic.

I know this is kind of lame to give to PW:AA given that all AA games have similar aesthetics, but I feel like PW:AA gets some leeway because it was the first game in the franchise and therefore set the series's aesthetic going forward. I love it. Characters are portrayed realistically (more or less): nobody in this game feels cartoony at all, which I appreciate. In addition, this game's setpieces are very grounded: lakes, law enforcement buildings, offices, and of course the courtroom.

The courtroom itself is incredibly well introduced and designed; one of my favorite bits is how when Edgeworth points at von Karma he points to the side of the room von Karma is on instead of just forward. The defendant's lobby is probably my favorite setpiece; it's just... cozy.

Like, look at the courtroom! It's so grandiose yet so grounded at the same time. I could see myself in this room! It's a treat for the eyes; the clashing light browns of the desks and Judge's seat with the golden and white walls is awesome. PW:AA knows color theory and it shows. I particularly love the white pillars in the back.

Pro Six: Music.

PW:AA has the most memorable music in the series and for pretty good reason. The Pursuit theme is my second-favorite in the entire series, and it's instantly iconic. This is the Ace Attorney song to many people, including myself! That's not mentioning the Reminiscence themes, which all set and fit the tones of each case perfectly. DL-6 and SL-9's reminiscence themes are perfect for their cases, but I'd also like to point out Maya's own specific reminiscence theme; this plays after Manfred tases her and Phoenix in 1-4, and it fits the inner turmoil and the line where she says she wishes she'd never woken up perfectly. Speaking of DL-6 and SL-9's themes, they both do something very different that fit each case; DL-6's is somewhat hopeful, like there's still a mystery to be solved. SL-9 has come and gone. There's nothing left but despair.

This game plays with your emotions with its music in a very, very, very good way. There's the adrenaline-pumping octane energy of the Pursuit theme and the sadness of the reminiscence themes, but also the sense of relieved finality you get with the Victory music or the "let's get busy" feel to the Investigation theme: and we're not even mentioning character themes yet.

Every character theme has a sense of purpose. Jake Marshall's establishes his rough-and-tumble attitude: the song is wild, carefree, like if you told it to slow down it wouldn't listen. Gumshoe's is weathered and basic but still strong and good at heart; it fills your chest, y'know? I think overall, though, there are two standouts: Maya's, which is upbeat, cheery, and maybe a little scared to be on its own; and Gant's, which immediately makes itself known and takes over the room. Each theme has a purpose and a feeling; it's an incredible use of music.

CONS

Con One: Pacing.

PW:AA is not... the best paced game ever. Out of all the baseline cases, 1-2 is probably the best paced; 1-3 and 1-4's final days feel rushed, with 1-3 being the biggest offender. The DL-6 trial is criminally short for an already short game; 1-5 is nearly half of the game's length on its own! 1-3 is too long and 1-4 is too short, whereas 1-2 is perfectly passable; but I don't think I'd call it excellently paced by any means. 1-5, as much as it pains me to say it, is also a bit too long at times. There's only one excellently paced case (1-5), one case that's paced well (1-2), and three cases that have pacing that's a little all over the place.

One argument I've seen is that another case could easily fit between 1-1 and 1-2, and I'm honestly inclined to disagree. I just think that 1-3 could've been shorter and 1-4 could've been longer: like I said, the DL-6 trial is far too short for one of the most pivotal moments of the series! I get this was their first attempt, and it was a decent showing, but it's still lackluster.

This game just kind of feels a little bit all over the place. There's never really a great time to stop outside of days shifting over for a lot of these cases, which makes sense, but pausing in the middle of an investigation or trial to do something else feels awkward. It's not a satisfying game to put down, which is probably a good thing for some people; but it isn't for me.

Con Two: Original Pixel Art.

Oh, man. I know I just praised this game's aesthetics, and this still holds up, but good God some of the original pixel art sprites were ugly. Edgeworth's stands out the most: it looks like he's trying to see something from far away without his glasses on (which DD later shows is probably what he's doing, but I digress).

It's not like Edgeworth is the only example, either. The contrast between 1-5's sprites and the rest of the game is painfully apparent on the original DS release, which makes sense—1-5 was released in 2006, 5 years after the first game and when AJ was being developed, so of course it matched that aesthetic—and the witness stand backdrop just... isn't great.

Con Three: Navigation.

Bear with me for not having a photo for this one. PW:AA's navigation system is very outdated; and it shows. I complimented it for setting up the general aesthetic, so I guess I can point out that it brought in my least favorite feature that would last until DD. The navigation system is occasionally pretty cool, but more often than not it's just a hassle. I get why it exists, and like I said it's occasionally cool, but on the whole... it gets in the way.

Having to go through two separate locations to get to another is annoying, and it's easy to lose track of the map in your head. It's not "you need to write it down on paper" bad like the first Zelda, but it's definitely not great.

We've still got one promised place to go; my top 5 favorite characters. We'll do this ascending, so let's start with #5!

Number Five: Damon Gant

I think Damon Gant is the best example AA has for "affably evil". He's a heartless piece of shit, sure, but he's also the kind of guy I'd go out and get a beer or watch a movie with. This alone speaks to the power of his character; he's a masterful manipulator, an open abuser, and a two-time murderer, but still a rather fun and swell guy to be around. Have you ever watched Django Unchained by Quentin Tarantino? He reminds me a little bit of Calvin Candie, just... y'know, actually smart. And not a racist. Sometimes he's fun to be around and it is incredibly uncomfortable to be fun around him. It feels almost... wrong, you know?

Over the course of 1-5, as Gant's mask slowly slips, so does the overall tone of the case; a double murder mystery becomes an incredibly thrilling conspiracy, all with this man behind it. He influences every little part of this case: there is nothing that his grimy hands do not touch.

And I love it. His shadow looms over the case, and once you go from "whodunnit?" to "howcatchem?" and finally piece together how you're going to take him down? Oh, man. Peak cinema.

And God, is it satisfying to take him down! Watching him slowly crumble into nothing is one of the most satisfying moments in the entire series, and us doing it nearly singlehandedly (with a little help here and there from Edgeworth and Ema, of course) is an absolute perfect way to cap off Phoenix's arc.

Let's talk about his design, too. Orange is his most prominent color; his suit is orange, his skin is orange, even the gold police badge on his tie looks orange, and it's on a red tie; red and yellow make orange. Orange is a color of happiness, enthusiasm, and youth, but it's also a color of spontaneity, superficiality, and in Confucianism is associated with transformation. It's a color that perfectly fits Gant's charming and goofy mask slowly transforming into the man that spontaneously killed Bruce Goodman and keeps up his charades through superficial charm and goodness.

Number Four: Maya Fey

I'll be the first to admit that she is way lower on this list than I expected: but this is not a diss at all. Maya is at her second-best in her debut appearance, and for good reason; this is just as much her game as it is Phoenix and Edgeworth's, making up the last part of this game's core three cast.

Maya is incredibly fun and plain enjoyable, but she also brings a very tragic and emotionally heavy element to this game. Throughout the game she's constantly battling feelings of inadequacy; this all comes to a head in 1-4, but it's hinted as early as 1-2. Maya's arc through this game is trying to find a place to fit in: Phoenix is a defense attorney, Miles is a prosecutor, even Larry is a bachelor... but Maya is just a "spirit medium in training". She's not even good at the one job she has yet.

The climax of her arc and the end of 1-4 tie into each other and it's an incredibly emotional moment; her relationship with Phoenix evolves from an employer-employee one to siblingesque very naturally. By the end of the game, you'd be hard-pressed to say they weren't related if you didn't know their surnames!

Let's go back to color theory. Maya's main colors are purple, black, and white: her robe is purple, her underrobe is a very light lilac, her hair is black, her pearls are white, and so on. It's a color of royalty and creativity: much like how Maya is the heir to the Kurain Channeling Technique through her mom, the heir to Mia's legacy, and the driving force behind some of Phoenix's big breakthroughs like drilling witnesses to get information in 1-2 and that von Karma killed Gregory Edgeworth in 1-4. Black is a strange color and hard to pin down to have a single meaning; it's a color of defiance, sadness, death and life, and so on. In Japan, it's a color of mystery and the unknown; much like how her psychic powers are never fully explained and are incredibly alien and out of place (but in a good way!) throughout the game.

White, meanwhile, is associated in China and Japan with grief: and hooh boy, does Maya carry a lot of it. Grief over her sister and mother, grief over not living up to anyone's (perceived) standards, the grief she gives Phoenix, and so on. White is a color of death: perfect for a spirit medium. Also: red and blue make purple and her pearls are white. Redd, White, Blue[Corp]...

Number Three: Phoenix Wright

Phoenix is at the top of his game: which makes sense, given that he literally is! This is some of his best characterization in the series and an incredibly strong first showing. Mia calls him a genius and it really shows; he pieces together some pretty complex theories by himself, like the entirety of 1-5 and the first half of 1-4. I like to equate him to a chainsaw; he needs time to rev up, but once he does he'll cut down anything in his path.

And boy does that show up here! His thought processes can easily match the player's, and his own arc does as well; over the course of the game he slowly comes into his own as an attorney and problem solver just like the player. By the end of the game he's experienced but not seasoned: again, just like the player.

He has incredibly solid relationships with the entire main cast, and his chemistry with every character is awesome; I particularly like his chemistry with Maya and Edgeworth of course, but he also has some incredibly strong dynamics with Ema, Gumshoe, Lana... even His Honor and Redd White of all people! He's a great bouncing off point for every other character as well as the player.

Talking about color theory a bit more, his main color is obviously blue. It's an old color, and people described it before they had a name for it. It's a color of business—which makes sense, given his role as CEO and owner of the Wright and Co. Law Offices—but it's also a color of authority and nobility: when people think of police officers, the color blue comes to mind, doesn't it? It's a color of the law! Blue is also associated with Heaven and immortality in some Asian cultures, giving Phoenix an almost divine presence; a gift to his clients, saving them from darkness.

Number Two: Miles Edgeworth

Edgeworth has my favorite arc in this game. I think this game really did a good job in making him fascinating: he's an incredibly tough nut to crack, but under his exterior he's very soft and sensitive. He's initially presented as this incredibly intimidating and corrupt conviction machine, but over the course of the game it becomes clear that he doesn't believe in convictions. He believes in justice. Instead of caring about a win record, he cares about what that words to his very twisted worldview.

This all stems from DL-6, the core lynchpin of the game. I'd actually argue that even more than Phoenix and Maya this is Edgeworth's game: I think that JFA and T&T fill Phoenix and Maya respectively. But PW:AA, despite being named after Phoenix, revolves around Edgeworth's trauma and beliefs. When those are shaken in 1-4 and 1-5, he becomes frazzled, dazed, incredibly irritable. His arc breaks down barriers he's kept up for years and doesn't know how to handle coming down. This is his story.

I think that his transition through 1-5 is one of the best parts of this game. To see him slowly realize he has absolutely nothing left to lose and just go full steam ahead on the person who has ruined his career, Damon Gant, is satisfying: it gives Edgeworth even more agency and coolness than he already had, which was already a lot!

His main color is red, obviously. Red is a color of passion and desire, but it's also one of blood and intimidation; it's complex and has two faces, just like Edgeworth. It's also a color of religious reverence, showing up frequently in Catholic art: Edgeworth himself almost looks like a pastor with his black undershirt and white collar. In that respect, there's the opportunity to view his arc through the lens of Christian (specifically more modern, Western, and sometimes secularized) themes of redemption: a dark and tortured soul brought to the light, finding a sort of peace through both the light and his struggle towards it. It's also a color of anger, which Edgeworth has no shortage of: anger at the world, anger at himself, anger at us.

Number One: Ema Skye

I'm admittedly very biased by her later appearances, but Ema is also an incredibly fascinating and amazing character in her first appearance. She is the heart and soul of 1-5, both as your assistant and the reason for the case's existence: it was Gant's fabrication of her murder of Neil, after all, that led Lana to forge evidence.

She has an incredibly active role throughout all of 1-5, as your assistant, suspect, and pseudo-charge: it's hard not to feel like you have to take care of her. Her personality is incredibly bubbly and endearing, creating adorable dynamics with Phoenix and Lana as well as an incredibly hilarious mini-crush on Edgeworth that she's so unsubtle about. Takumi really shows his maturity as a writer with 1-5 as a whole, but Ema is a great example of how he's become a better character writer over time.

As your assistant, she's spunky and fun; she's not even somewhat reserved like Maya is from time to time, but at the same time her spontaneity is far more mental than physical. A lot of people call her a Maya clone, but I disagree: she's a Maya mirror, just like how 1-5 is a mirror of 1-2. Whereas Maya is spiritual, Ema is scientific and materialist; Ema's main color is pink, in a similar spectrum to Maya's purple; her hair is brown, like Mia's, instead of black, and so on. The dynamic that she leads with Lana is incredibly captivating.

Let's finish this off with a discussion of her main color; pink. Yes, I know that most of her design is white, but her design is splattered with splotches of pink that stand out and are meant to be eye-catching, from her glasses to her necktie and undershirt to her watch and even her bag. Pink is her color and it's a color of soothing, love, and in Japan is a rather masculine color. She tries to soothe Lana's worries through her unconditional love, and it's that love that shines through the darkest parts of 1-5; be it Ema's love for Lana or vice-versa. In full honesty, I just decided to bring up pink being a masculine color in Japan because I wanted to share a headcanon I have that Ema is trans. Sue me. There's even an element of her relationship with Lana in the color alone; until the 1850s pink was seen as a masculine, immature and boyish shade of red; a color of young boys in contrast to the crimson worn by men and seen as a symbol of authority. Edgeworth's jacket? Lana's muffler? It's not hard to see the connection.

Overall Thoughts

PW:AA is a treat. It's my second favorite game in the franchise, and for good reason! It's a very very solid mix of mystery and character-driven storytelling, with a whole host of standout moments and an incredibly fun cast. The core cast is generally at their best here; not to degrade his latest appearances, but I think this game by far has Edgeworth's best characterization. I also think Gumshoe and His Honor are at his best here, and even with characters who have their weakest showings in this game still have standout moments that make them incredibly loveable.

My favorite thing from PW:AA isn't its characters, cases, or even its music, though. It's how it slowly builds up Phoenix alongside the player! We mimic his journey; we start off being handheld by Mia, and then we're thrust into a situation without her that we get through with her help. We also rely heavily on Maya but still get to shine on our own terms. In 1-3, we're finally on equal footing with Maya, solving the mystery with her. In 1-4, we take it on in a leading role; Maya takes an understandable backfoot for Phoenix's strong showing, but we still need her to finish the case and Mia still needs to intervene near the end. In 1-5, the core moments—the final trial especially—are nearly done entirely by Phoenix alone. It's an incredibly awesome buildup of development for both the player and Phoenix.

As a fic writer, I'd also like to point out some standout ships. While I don't ship it, Phoenix/Edgeworth ultimately finds its roots in this game; and it roots itself in very well! There's a reason it's the most popular. They have great chemistry. Some ships I do ship that also find their roots in this game are Lana/Mia, Ema/Maya, and some of my favorite non-romantic ships (be they platonic, adversarial, or something in-between): Phoenix and Ema, Gant and Ema, Edgeworth and Gumshoe, Phoenix and Maya, and Phoenix and Mia all shine through in my mind and find their roots in this game. It's a lynchpin for the fic-writing, shipping side of me!

PW:AA isn't a perfect game, but I think that's where a lot of its charm comes from. It's rough around the edges when you really look, but those rough edges make what shines really shine: the highs of 1-4 and 1-5, the dynamic between Maya and Mia in 1-2, the incredible way it sets up themes and vibes, and so on. It does a lot in its limitations and sets up an awesome format for the later games to follow.

Overall? It's fantastic. It's very understandably cemented itself as one of the greatest mystery games of all time! It's aged incredibly gracefully and is a perfect introduction to one of my favorite series of all time.

PW:AA holds a very special place in my heart as the second Ace Attorney game I've ever played and the first one I finished. It was a very fundamental part of my childhood; I started playing Ace Attorney in elementary school. It's incredibly nostalgic for me and this game is a massive reason why.

To wrap it all up, we'll give this one an overall rating and place its cases on our case tier list. See you for 2-1 and Justice for All!

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

[minas-linkverse]

What do you think about Skyward Sword? I'm playing it for the first time now and it's really enjoyable

Long story short, skyward sword is the game that got me into this fandom! in 2011 when I was but a 10 yo, I watched a let's play that released weekly (or was it daily?) and I was OBSESSED. It was kind of the first time I really got into a game with a proper narrative, and it blew my little mind. It's easily in my top 3 just because of that.

I can admit that now that I'm older it does have its flaws. The story pacing can be frustrating, and to some revisiting old areas isn't as charming as it is to me. Demise's design is racist garbage and I can see why the massive shift in the lore felt like a betrayal to some older fans.

The fact is that to me it is an utterly whimsical and unique experience full of characters I adore so very deeply. Every segment of the game reminds me of another morning I woke up excited to watch another episode. Like a bottle of sunshine!!!! And as I've grown I've found myself marveling how each element of the game comes together in such a solid way. Sure it isn't a masterpiece but the game will always hold a magical place in my heart.

I also own a copy of the original wii version myself, and feel the gameplay is wonderful. There's a lot that can be said about the motion controls, especially discussions of accessibility are important, but I feel it is far from the game ruin-er people make it seem like it is. (Or maybe I just got lucky.) I hear the switch version is great too.

I guess the conclusion is that it's a game that holds a very special place in my heart and without it this webcomic would likely not exist.

[nikibogwater]

Aight, y’all know the deal by now. I’m someone who takes stories way more seriously than I’m probably supposed to. I revel in a good emotional shake-down brought on by an epic tale. Time to put on my Sentimental Goggles and really dig into this latest Zelda game, and see if I can explain why I feel it has the darkest and hardest-hitting story of any in the series so far. TotK Spoilers begin below the cut. 

To start, we must acknowledge the precedent set by Breath of the Wild. BotW, despite being set in a post-apocalyptic wilderness teetering on the brink of destruction, is very much a story about hope. Zelda even says as much during the game’s opening: “You are the light--our light--that must shine upon Hyrule once again.” In the midst of a devastating catastrophe, one little seed of hope survived--Link. BotW follows this little seed as it at last blossoms into a force that is powerful enough to defeat the Calamity and put Hyrule back to rights. It’s a pretty straightforward and feel-good plot, even if it does have its fair share of bittersweet elements.

The thing that makes Tears of the Kingdom so effectively dark is that it begins by mercilessly ripping away that sense of hope that was a constant in its predecessor. Everything Link and Zelda fought for is undone in an instant. Hyrule is in even greater peril than before. This is no longer a tale of a budding seed of hope, it’s a frantic, desperate scramble to preserve what little remains of their world. 

Throughout much of this story, Link’s biggest motivation is reuniting with Zelda. While he serves as a light for Hyrule as a whole, Zelda has always been a light for him, and for us as the players. I don’t think it’s too much of a controversial statement to say that BotW’s iteration of Princess Zelda is the most well-developed in the series to date. Zelda has always been the heart and soul of the series, but this is especially true for BotW because she is no longer just Link’s partner in destiny or childhood friend. She is a fully-realized protagonist with a character arc that endears her to us as the players. She isn’t just important to Link, or to Hyrule at large. She’s important to us. Which is why I felt a legitimate sense of grief and despair when Link discovered that she couldn’t be rescued this time. No joke, there were a few minutes where I actually wanted to stop playing after seeing the final Dragon’s Tear memory. 

Breath of the Wild’s story is a statement of hope. By contrast, Tears of the Kingdom’s story is a question, one that most of us don’t want to even consider: What do you do when hope dies? What do you do when your light is taken away from you? The answer is perhaps as merciless as the question: you just keep going. Even if there is no Zelda waiting for you at the end of the fight (at least as far as Link knows), you still have a job to do. You still have to face the dark depths and the nightmares that dwell within. You still have to fight, even when it seems like there is no chance of winning. 

In this way, both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom feel like more than just games to me. They’re the kind of story that I carry with me into the real world. The kind that I look back on when I need to feel hopeful, or push through my own dark depths. Sure, it’s not a masterpiece of literature or anything, but it was a story that resonated with me all the same, thanks in no small part to TotK’s commitment to embracing the dark and the hopeless. There are times when it is enough to be reminded that I am strong, that I am capable of overcoming any challenge set before me. But when that challenge is no longer a puzzle or a personal flaw--when it’s say, grieving the loss of a loved one or longing to return to a happier time, it is just as comforting to be told, with brutal honesty, that yes, this feels hopeless. This feels like it could never possibly turn out alright in the end. But you must keep going. You must fight until you find your hope again, even if it can’t be the same as it was before. After all, that is what it means to be the light--their light--that must shine upon the world once again. 

[narwhalandchill]

ok not to randomly go off on a somewhat negative ramble But. (general genshin story direction worries basically)

while there are a bunch of stunts i fear the genshin story slash lore could end up pulling that would serve as not only disappointments but to varying degrees also just retroactively ruin a lot of games writing for me. i dont think theres anything that im as genuinely concerned about as the possibility of like. completely losing their narrative marbles to an overdone time travel/temporal manipulation in one way or another like just the thought of that shit haunts me

bc like. while i dont find them particularly compelling as an argument for that to be the case regarding Everything in the narrative in current lore/theory circles (like. makoto n ei teaming up w istaroth once doesnt automatically establish universal time travel). it is unfortunately true that in canon lore there are many of the kind of lore pieces present that you could use to set that kind of reveal and complete restructuring of the story up. istaroth and the sacred sakura and some shady things said by various characters and how you could argue Any time loop or travel adjacent is just hidden by the irminsul 5head (another piece of writing whose potential misuse seriously alarms me, mind you). and so on.

and i am just. Not about any of that shit. like. for me absolutely any plot device or element that has the risk of fundamentally fucking up a storys continuity and coherence sideways to the degree BOTH the

"genshins gonna turn out to be ALL time travel/time loop/simulation to make [sudden endgame twist X heavily at odds with what was established in the central lore prior] appear sensible"

and

"celestia just irminsuls away all evidence for [that twist X again] so achsually it was always genius and compatible with lore"

tier of nightmare scenarios will have. is just. Not fucking worth it. this shit has ruined countless stories with vastly better writing and way more competent authors because its just. not the kind of stuff you can just insert in a massive fucking story willy nilly to explain away the mystery box you didnt bother to set up together so it ultimately comes together in a cohesive way that Doesnt need to be broken on multiple levels to scrape together some conclusion. and its just hhhhhhhhhhhhhh

and like ive never expected some massive masterpiece out of genshin like at best its gonna be one of those stories that once finished gets some really fucking banger fanwork as its community expands upon and explores a solid but flawed canon groundwork. theres fundamental flaws and limitations to its storytelling and format and that cant be helped. so im expecting no miracles on that front.

but the one fucking thing i dont want them to fall for is that misguided at best and outright pretentious and disrespectful at worst allure of. SEE! we outsmarted the audience! the theories! we broke our own story continuity to force a twist because our established worldbuilding technically makes it an option! isnt this smart!

like just please. no. no clue how unpopular this is but im already quite conflicted on the established use of irminsul in sumeru and how it arguably voided a lot of important characterization (nahidas inferiority complex) and narrative potential (scara literally becoming a non factor in the grander story more or less) for good but like. for now. fine. it hasnt become overused yet. i dont think its inherently bad as a factor of worldbuilding. i like how it recontextualizes fact and fiction and the significance of stories that appear mere fables in the world of teyvat. but as it stands the irminsul is still a deus ex machina. and thats a dangerous tool for any writer to have in careless use. and when combined with the sprinkles of lore involving the possibility of time manipulation and such to be further explored. its like powder and keg. two tools that can absolutely gut a story of its narrative cohesion and the weight of its stakes in an instant. its really fucking worrisome.

genshins writing is flawed but the one thing this game has going for it that i REALLY hope the writers will understand to respect is its world. how much the marriage between this massive and beautifully crafted immersive open world and the intricacies of lore and history afforded to all corners of it truly do in tandem to establish the world of genshin as more Real. as weightier. as a place you grow and remain attached to even when the main storys writing stumbles. the world is so important and to let it remain feeling real is just. i hope they understand how fragile of a gem that is.

featuring an artificial world order established by fraudulent divinity and that involving some degree of cosmic fuck-uppery of the natural order and all-encompassing illusion to maintain it is fine. this is a story heavily referencing gnosticism that theme is literally a given. but it needs to be an artificial world order imposed on a real world that remains feeling real the entire time through. and for that to be preserved it needs to remain grounded.

but the problem is that once a story truly commits to the "anything could be altered and fundamentally reversed with the right mcguffin at play with seeming impunity" there is no going back. it becomes very fucking difficult to keep the figurative feet of a narrative even touching the ground for even the most skilled of writers afforded absolute creative freedom to work with (which genshin does not have). and just that much more easier for the stakes to be lost completely. and i dont want to see that scenario become reality

[spinningbuster98]

I love this game

I REALLY love this game

If I had to choose a favorite game of all time then I feel it would come down to either Sonic 3 & Knuckles or this one, the former shaped my gaming tastes during my childhood while the latter did the same for my adolescence

I have a lot of great things to say about this game, but also some negatives as well because no game is perfect and this is very important to remember especially in the case of games that have become so universally beloved that people have come to believe they have no flaws or areas to improve, which is never truly the case

I think the first thing to note about Super Metroid, and one of its most beloved aspects, is its atmosphere and general aesthetics

It's often said that Metroid has a dark and foreboding atmosphere and nowhere is this more evident than in Super Metroid

This game's spritework is detailed, grotesque at times. Its locations dark, eerie, grimey, organic. The colors are dark yes, but not washed out, in fact I'd say the color pallette is rich just enough to keep the game from looking dull while not compromising the element of general creepiness and darkness

The music is booming, melodieìc, creepy, cavernous, everything in this game is meant to make you feel like you really are going deeper and deeper into the inner bowels of an alien planet

I especially love how the overall artstyle feels like an evolution of Metroid 1's: the old Tourian looks like an SNES upgrade from the original, as does the beginning of Brinstar and the returning enemies from that game, though of course guys like Ridley and Kraid have been given massive redesigns. It really drives home the idea that this is Metroid 1 but MORE, it tells you "hey remember this place on the NES 8 years ago? Yeah here it is now like you remember it but looking better than ever". It truly is SUPER Metroid. Just compare this with how Zero Mission just completely altered the artstyle for something much more stylized and cartoony

The beginning acts are just a masterclass in atmospheric setup: from Samus narrating the prologue while mostly encased in shadow while the game's unnerving theme plays, to the Ceres Colony being all dark and lifeless with only the low humming of machinery keeping you company, to how deserted and foreboding Crateria looks at first before springing to life. A true masterpiece

I mentioned before that no other game after the original trilogy managed to truly recapture this kind of atmosphere and I believe it's true: no other game feels this ominous, so foreboding, so cavernous, so....dark. All the other 2D games after this usually go for a more....generic kind of atmospheric feel, the kind that checks a box off a list

Fusion can be creepy and unsettling yes...but the actual areas themselves are pretty standard

Zero Mission barely even tries to feel atmospheric, mostly just being really energetic and adventurous

Samus Returns and Dread, again, are a bit generic in the atmosphere department, save for specific moments such as the EMMI zones.

The Prime games on the other hand are indeed very atmospheric, even more than Super, but they mostly go for a different kind of atmosphere than that of the OG trilogy, which is all fine of course

I think a good way to illustrate what I'm saying is to compare the various versions of the Theme of Super Metroid that have been made over the years: they're all good versions in their own right, but none manage to capture that sense of pure menace, of sheer foreboding that the original has, rather mostly focusing on the more upbeat parts of the track

To change the subject: poor Kraid. He was the toughest of the two main bosses in the original game but now, despite having received a literally colossal redesign and looking more menacing he's actually much easier now and has been reduced to "first boss bitch". Unfortunately for him this is only the start of his misfortunes :P

[fishingonurano]

As an ex-genshin player who quit because Paimon was extremely annoying (plis don't eat me over this), seeing Dan Heng and March 7th with the MC is so endearing to me, they play off of eachother really well and it feels extremely natural compared to the former.

I also really don't know where to put this but I like how the MC has such a neutral palette on both genders, because on Genshin I always felt like Lumine was coded as the abyss princess due to her colour palette being so cold compared to Aether's.

ALSO LIKE THEY CAN TALK and I shouldn't be overly excited about this but Genshin made me feel like the MC was so inconsequential to other characters, with the exception of maybe Albedo, even so I haven't been able to stomach playing the game since inazuma (sorry guys. I tried).

Ik I'm like Byleth trash but FE3H is a complete game where self-insertion is kind of the point while Genshin's story clearly begs for you to believe that the MC you picked is a nuanced person.

I love Stelle and Caelus both of them have such a charm that even when most of their dialogue is there for the player to choose it has a certain consistency to it that makes them feel like a character on this world rather than an omnipotent force on it that should be worshipped, thanks to the other members of the cast reacting positively or negatively to how rude or strange your choices are, even if it might be a slight deviation it feels natural unlike GI.

I know the game is on its early stages for me to claim it's a masterpiece and I too would be lying if I said I wasn't this excited for Genshin back when it released, however looking back I can't unsee some flaws on the first two chapters of the game, what I'm trying to say is, go try HSR if you haven't yet, and keep loving Genshin, this in no way of form is me hating the game it's just me getting off my chest some things that truly have been bothering me for almost two years now.

[white-tulips]

it makes me kind of sad thinking about the potential of OMORI

it's a great game but it could have been an actual masterpiece, all the pieces are there

im not the type of person to make mods but god if the desire isn't there to at least remove some of the unnecessary padding by modding it myself

some of the flaws might run too deep though

do you ever feel similar to that? like it could have been my favorite game of all time

while the faraway town sections have flaws (aubrey's rushed development sticks out to me) headspace is where most of the problems lie

idk, it just kind of sucks, replaying the game and remembering how much people waited for this only to see that the game is filled with unnecessary meandering

i would have loved to see the dreamworld crumble more and more as sunny going outside changes his perspective on a lot of things and people, like for example aubrey becoming agressive in headspace due to hooligan aubrey's impact on sunny's perception, would have been cool

just things i think about

yes, I tend to think very similarly

OMORI was successful in a lot of ways of course, and there are so many things I love and enjoy about it, but the missed potential is really hard to ignore when analyzing and thinking about the game as a whole. I think it really comes down to the fact that it was OMOCAT's first game; I almost wonder how things could have been different if they had done some other smaller projects first before leaping right into a huge passion project. (though, I doubt if they expected OMORI to get so huge in the beginning.) like, there's a lot that they achieved that's honestly incredible for first time game devs but imo the lack of experience really shows

and it's a little upsetting to think about sometimes. I've been invested in OMORI since like 2014 or so and it felt like the final product had strayed a ways away from what it was originally envisioned to be. which is fine, stories changing over the writing process is normal and fine, but I think OMORI was a little haphazard in its attempt to blend new ideas with the original ones that were already set in stone

it can be fun discussing how things could have been but I really wish OMORI was as good as how it exists in our minds

[skaruresonic]

Coming from someone who has played SH2 a grand total of once I have never found myself ever having issues with the load times.

The only issues I did have were with how empty and overly spacious the town's streets are (which is probably the point given the setting but that only goes so far to make up for how uninteresting it is to explore imo) and how overly generous it was with resources which led to enemies being little more than nuisances

Coming from someone who is not a fan of the series I think these are the only aspects that would need improving and it could be done with a remaster of sorts that maybe added an option to have less resources laying around or something. A full blown remake should be reserved for those games that are truly rotten at the foundation and as such require complete workarounds

Of the original four, SH2 is the least in need of a remake because it already has so many different ports and rereleases. So you know Konami is only trying to cash in on nostalgia. PT whomst? What's really burning my ass is the fact that even people who call themselves hardcore SH fans are falling for the technical limitations cruft, in this quasi-condescending "uwu poor lambs did their best with what they could" kind of way. As if the artistic direction counts for nothing because the tech they used wasn't as advanced as it is today. This kind of thing is why I think game preservation and history are incredibly important. We keep losing the history in which games are made, lack the context necessary to understand them, and then make up erroneous narratives as a result. Such attitudes wouldn't be so prevalent toward the original if we remembered the quantum leap between the PS2 and the PS1, what an amazing artistic vision the "limiting" tech of the time helped Team Silent to realize. People often cite SH1's limited draw distance as if it's a flaw Team Silent worked around, but forget that it wasn't a problem on the PS2 - so why do later games in the series still feature heavy fog? At some point you have to stop thinking about it in terms of technical limitations and give the creators credit where credit is due. In fact, the reason the fog looks like ass on even later consoles is because the PS2 is capable of layers of transparency that others are not. Team Silent knew this, and they baked these quirks into their design. Folks are so ready to trot out "old graphics are old" as an excuse, like shut your entire ahistorical ass up and respect your elders. You think Sato lived in the office for three years in order to work on SH1's FMVs just so you could sneer at him?

Team Silent had done everything they set out to do, no more or less. And that's before Sato came out and said technical limitations weren't an issue in SH2's development.

(And it's actually really funny because SH2 released to lukewarm reception at first, with some folks upset that its tone diverged from the more overt horror of its predecessor. It didn't become a ~masterpiece~ overnight.) SH2 was the game they spent the most time and resources on. IIRC, SH1's team was much smaller, and development was split between SH3 and SH4, with only a year's worth of crunch allotted to produce SH3. SH3 has a stronger case that they had to cut corners, but even that boiled down to time constraints. I won't pretend SH2 is some masterpiece in terms of gameplay, obviously. Mechanically, it tends to be fairly uninteresting. At the same time, however, I don't think the jank necessarily works against the game. To me it would be more brow-raising if it were a more "sound" game combat-wise. SH3 has a heavier focus on combat by giving you a variety of weapons, and it tends to make the gameplay a little goofy. Plus, Homecoming already proved that better combat doesn't necessarily equal better game. SH2 is also that rare game where even its flaws work mostly in its favor. Its idiosyncrasies are what define it. We can debate the degree to which the jankiness was deliberate forever, but for better or worse, when you sand off the rough edges, you lose some of that special quality that makes the game unique.

David Lynch-esque dialogue, or "odd" Japanese direction misaligning with English voice acting? Who cares? Does it succeed in unsettling you? Then it's done its job. Another thing I learned from Sato's interviews is that Team Silent was mostly composed of artists instead of gamers. That likely made a critical difference in how the game feels. It's not supposed to be a gamey kind of game. You play it for the atmosphere, the characters, the story.

Oh but I guess James has real boy Emoshuns now so none of that matter. Never mind the fact that the remake will probably make your laptop fucking explode.

Silent Hill 2 Will Push Your PC to Its Limits - IGN

You sure it's the original suffering from "technical limitations"? Lol. Lmao.

[do-angels-dream-of-starry-seas]

Thank you @absolutely-pedestrian for tagging me <3<3<3

Rules: List 8 tv shows for your followers to get to know you!

Our Flag Means Death - my babygirl :). But in all honesty, it's a fantastic series with amazing queer rep that explores finding yourself outside of society's expectations. Both the dark comedy and heartfelt emotions and symbolism hits me hard

Star Trek: The Original Series - a show ahead of its time (but more like three steps forward, one and half step back), it's episodically exploring the future and what we can be as a species

Are You The One? - and to take a 180 degree turn, here's my favorite trash television I've ever seen. It truly lives up to its premise and has all the ridiculous situations you expect, and then some that even left me speechless. The exact kind of drama I live for

SpongeBob SquarePants - a classic. It's adorable and leaves you warm inside, with memorable episodes and quotes; there's a reason it's the most iconic cartoon in the 21st century

Everything's Gonna Be Okay - gone but never forgotten (by me). If you never heard of it, I highly suggest checking out this comedy/drama sitcom that explores family and neurodivergency, with flawed yet sympathetic characters just trying to figure out life. Because this one really takes the cake in terms of autism rep and speaks to me more, I pick this over Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Lucifer - a police procedural with a celestial twist. It's the kind of show that takes a basic premise and flips it on its head, then overtime creates a really interesting world and characters. The entire show is about free will and similarly, who you're supposed to be vs who you are

Takin Over The Asylum - yes I may be back in my Tennant era, but this was a series that genuinely surprised me. It's a comedy show that tells a surprisingly respectful story about mental illness, and the ensemble cast is one you can watch for multiple seasons, yet the masterpiece of a miniseries is so so good

Markiplier Cinematic Universe - its not on television, but this is my tag game post, so shut up ☺️. If I can try to get everyone to watch Mark's professional projects, I could; they are all unique in terms of plot and storytelling style, and you can even watch them individually and still Get the story without needing to watch it all. I just really love his stuff, okay, now go watch Wilford Motherlovin Warfstache and Damien and In Space With Markiplier and Who Killed Markiplier and -

Tagging @sherlockig @chuplayswithfire @glamaphonic @chocolatepot @xoxoemynn @gender-snatched @wearfinethingsalltoowell @f4og @primordialervoid @chronicgoth @blakbonnet @queersforpluto @anotherlegaroundyouinthebed

[nonsubstantial]

2023 book breakdown (first half)

~most of these, I listened to as audiobooks. But this is just a list of all the books I experienced this year, chronologically~

January ++

Nemesis Games (the expanse 5) - impact: 8/10

another solid entry in the expanse series, which has become a pretty comforting *go-to* for me at this point. There are a lot of things in these books that bug me, but their suspense and wit keeps managing to cover for their flaws. I have no doubt that further entries in this series will be simultaneously annoying and enjoyable, in the same way that this was.

February ++

A Court of Thorns and Roses (acotar 1) - impact: 3/10

I’m reading this series only because some podcasters I like started doing a podcast series analyzing it. While those podcasters (and one of my friends) really loved it, I unfortunately hated it. I can appreciate what they found good about these books, but I found the author’s inane descriptors and frequent misuse of words to be too distracting to overlook. Not only that, but I found a lot of the conflict to be rather trite.

March ++

The Count of Monte Cristo - impact 10/10...

several friends recommended this to me, one even going as far as to gift me their old copy before moving away. Unfortunately, I then slept on it for years, before finally picking it up. Holy shit though, am I glad that I finally picked it up. It may be correct to call it my favorite book of all time. This goes so far beyond being a simple revenge story. In fact, nothing in this book is simple, and I really feel like it manages to touch upon nearly every conviction that can exist within the human mind. While some of the narrative is archaic, that is only natural, since this book is nearly 200 years old. But despite being that old, there are some things in this story that still feel wildly progressive, even by today’s standards. Additionally, I feel that an understanding of the past, and the evolution of our culture, is important to understanding progress today. So I swear to you, this is a true masterpiece, and I hope that I can encourage other people to read it too, because it probably deserves to live on in our collective minds for at least 200 years more.

April ++

A Court of Mist and Fury (acotar 2) - impact: 2/10

as described in my blurb about the first book, I didn’t really like this series. I was having fun with the discussions about it, but holy shit it is waaaay too long, and I honestly feel like as much as I’ve heard that people can read into it as ‘empowering’, I really just found it to be insulting and trite. I felt like the language that the author uses to describe characters and relationships reinforces gendered hegemony, and their narrative doesn’t do many favors to class or social struggles either. I think I’d categorize it as a kind of wish fulfillment fantasy, but even then it’s way too long and the author’s constant misuse (or meaningless use) of words just left me feeling frustrated and offended.

Everyone on the Moon Is Essential Personnel - impact: 9/10

this book is one of the best collections of short stories that I’ve ever come across. Jarboe’s writing is thoughtful and to the point, usually utilizing clever metaphors for queer experiences. What really impressed me is how quickly I was able to understand every character and feel a personal connection to them. I could write a lot more about it, but reading this felt freeing and inspiring, in quite a unique way.

In The Watchful City - impact: 5/10

I was interested in the premise of this book, and its use of neopronouns, but I was left feeling a little underwhelmed. I liked the author’s ambition, but I feel like it failed in communicating its setting, as well as the main character’s motivations and feelings. Really, I see it as an interesting collection of ideas, but with none of them fully explored.

May ++

I did not finish a book in May :( 

(only manga :3) (p.s. I love chainsaw man)

June++

Babylon’s Ashes (the expanse 6) - impact: 8/10

another wonderful entry in the expanse series. Way more gay representation in this one too. I feel like it brought less new ideas to the table, but it instead focused on re-examining earlier themes and really rounding out the best characters from earlier books. In fact, almost every important character makes a return here, without it ever feeling contrived... which I believe is a magnificent achievement. I’m counting this as my second favorite Expanse book, up until this point.

Leech - impact: 10/10...

a book so perfect, I'd almost believe it was written just for me. The basic plot is that (stay with me here) a brain parasite hivemind goes to a spooky castle to investigate the murder of one of its host bodies, only to discover that the death might have been caused by a *different* brain parasite hivemind. The story is gruesome and terrifying, and supported by worldbuilding that is so creative and poignant that I wanted to live in it forever. The author’s writing is also beautiful and precise, and as I said before, it really just delivered on every front.

[knightotoc]

Musician Heroes

I'm such a sucker for them! Society largely ignores musicians and treats them like shit even though they are the coolest people, so it's always fantastic when we at least throw a bone to a fictional one.

Orpheus of Greek mythology, okay musical Hadestown, and dozens of sentimental Tumblr posts

I like the idea that music on its own is this otherworldly force that can do anything, but music is never on its own, and human nature will always bring us back to reality. Though usually the flaw in human nature is more like "the musician was an antisemite" or "the executives of spotify only pay musicians $0.006," not "the musician loved his wife a lot."

Link of the big medievalist video game franchise for kids

I've seen a bunch of nerds lament that the current Link is no longer left-handed, but I think the far bigger shame is that he is no longer a musician. In past incarnations, he was perhaps the most famous and important fictional musician of them all, not least because you get to push the buttons yourself. In Link's reality, music is the source of magic; in our reality, it's the hard work of genius Koji Kondo; in both realities, it's the bedrock of community and understanding, bonds that make the world worth fighting for. David Collins has an excellent 4-part podcast on Ocarina, and this comment on a video of Majora's Astral Observatory track blew my mind:

The Close Encounters aliens and their influence

The aliens in Spielberg's weird adultery masterpiece "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" initiate first contact with a bizarre but ultimately harmless (?) plan that involves addicting subliminal imagery and a flashy John Williams concert. It's a beautiful and even logical idea that music will be the thing that brings life from other planets together.

There are a ton of direct homages in subsequent works of science fiction, such as the live-action He-Man movie, which inspired this post. "The universe is made of music," Gwildor says to a young Tom Paris actor, and the Earthling teenager is able to use his perfect pitch and melody recall to calibrate the transporter-thingy and build a bridge between Earth and Eternia. The biggest fight takes place in a music store where a ton of instruments gets smashed to pieces with enthrallingly reckless abandon.

A more recent Close Encounters homage is the misunderstood villains of Discovery season 4, species 10-C; but because we can't have any fun anymore, the first-contact-light-show corresponds to hydrocarbons or primary numbers or something, not music.

NOT Cal Kestis of Jedi: Fallen Order

Speaking of musician fake-outs, I was so amped when JFO seemed to actually include music-making. For a franchise so reliant on non-diegetic music, the only musician characters we've ever really gotten have been the turtlenecked Biths in A New Hope's cantina. But Cal is yet another lonely teenage boy who leads a big-budget Star Wars project and doesn't even know how to play the guitar. In this picture, he is using psychometry, a Jedi power that lets you access memories embedded within objects, to play a song that someone else played on it before. That's so cool! But it means he's not technically playing it. It's also a microcosm of JFO's whole story, which is Cal filling in for Cere Junda, confronting people from her past, while you wonder why Cere isn't the main character herself.

Fancy Movies: "Carnival of Souls" and "Boy and the World"

These are two of the best movies about musicians who are really up against it: the nameless busker of "Boy" vs the horrors of economic exploitation, and church organist Mary Henry of "Carnival" vs the horrors of Utah. Great movies to watch while the avoiding the 4th of July fireworks.

Stupid Movies: "Cloud Atlas" and "Dungeons and Dragons"

I have beef with these movies, but that's unrelated to these put-upon, lovable musician characters. Still, Robert Frobisher is better in the book, and Edgin Darvis is better in the version of this movie in my head where death has consequences.

Sad TV Guys

Learning an instrument takes time, and Picard has more than enough of that in famously tragic TNG episode "The Inner Light." He lives an entire life through the mind-altering technology in this alien flute to become the last living memory of a dead civilization. The most musically significant thing about this episode, besides the fact that a real musician is holding the instrument to Patrick Stewart's face, is that they replaced TNG's bombastic credits music with a wistful woodwind.

Another musician who really takes the punch out of being a hero is Ishida Yamato, the bad boy of Digimon. While Yagami Taichi leads the group recklessly through the dangerous digital world, Yamato is most interested in keeping everyone safe, especially his little brother. He manifests the emotional side of their adventure by playing sad songs on his harmonica like a pint-sized cowboy.

Perhaps all this angst is exactly why there are so few Musician Heroes, and quite a few:

Musician Villains!

Tolkein's Melkor/Morgoth and Asimov's The Mule bring discord into their old-timey SFF novels; the sheer force of their free will disrupts the carefully laid plans of wiser, better men, and this free will is represented by their music. Hypnotic and miserable, they are the most interesting people in their universes, and for that the normie heroes must bring them down. Anybody else think the Devil won that fiddle contest?

Webber's Phantom and George Harvey Bone of "Hangover Square" are iconic evil incels detached from reality, exploited and despised by everyone around them, driven to murder by weird and sinister forces. As buildings go up in flames around them, they are left alone with only their music, a fate for only the most committed, and therefore most evil, of musicians.

[cuntstable]

7, 21, 22 jojos?

OUGH ty alma!! anyways…

unsuprisingly…. anasui……. like i mean ive talked about it before but in short hes an asshole cunt and clearly has no healthy boundaries towards jolyne and his backstorys about murdering his gf just has a gross taste to it, but despite that i do think hes like. tolerable once you get past the arc where hes introduced. mainly because he constaly gets shat on and is made out to be really miserable and pathetic. so coming out of reading stocean i didnt actually HATE him. but his fans constantly insist that he actually doesnt have the very obvious character flaws that he has and also push jolynes way more fleshed out relationships with the other women of the story (hermes and foof) to the side for shipping so. LOL

also honorable mention to dio because liking him as a character is a chore…… like i do like him because hes cartoonishly evil and camp and a weird bisexual party vampire but like his fans either make him one million times grosser than he already is or they alternatively woobify him and refuse to acknowledge that hes. well. like i said a cartoonishly evil manipulator who ruined every person he ever formed a relationship of any kind to. its a struggle. but i stay in my bubble and have fun for NOW

resisting the urge of just saying the entire of x parts……. but i honestly think that the fights in jojo are a bit overhyped….. i mean when theyre good theyre GOOD because of the focus on mind games and outsmarting the opponent in exeedingly outlandish ways. its fun its so stupid i love it. and some fights are written as great conduits for drama and character development, like the one where jolyne fights a random prison guard……but like. i feel like a consistent part of jojo that i dont like that most fans do is the amount of minor villains who dont serve a purpose and the fights they have. they just get boring, drag on too long and often end up very repetative, especially in parts 3 5 and 7 LOL.

as for what i like that people ignore….. number one i have to say that phantom blood as an entire part and the start to the series is good and people should acknowledge that… like its not a masterpiece but its a fun campy short story about victorians and vampires and especially post stone ocean im very appreciateov of it because of the parallers stocean has to it thematically as the ”end” of the original story. its sweet and DEFINITELY better than p2 also. peace and love

[pavlovianpanic]

mark and max: an overlook

note that this does not include anything about max's nightmare sequence. that's a whole post of its own regarding mark, nathan, and her nightmare versions of them, including cut content that i do often reference.

this also doesn't go over max in the dark room. i think that post needs to be combined with the nightmare post tbh.

okay, to start: LIS is a rated M game for the following

disturbing terror, violence, drug and alcohol material, underage drinking and drug use, some sexual content, and pervasive language throughout.

with that out of the way, here it is: mark and max, the meta we've all wanted. i finally went over rachel and mark, as well as rachel and nathan, so that leads us here:

max as the "true innocence project" or "mark's new source of inspiration" ie his masterpiece.

some noteworthy things:

max comes to blackwell because of mark. she admires him, is fond of his work, and has been a fan for a long time. meeting her idol a dream come true. learning from him? even better.

max has a poor gpa. given that she just transferred here? that's probably a followup from her old transcripts to give an idea of what kind of student she is. likely this would follow the same idea for victoria, warren, etc. they're all good reps for the school, but max is suffering. rachel and nathan's gpas are carried over from last year. these are also probably "first looks" after their first real couple months (more month) at blackwell. a lot happens in LIS all at once, october is a busy month for the plot, it's when everything happens, and they literally haven't even been in school? that long? which is another reason why nathan has to be a second year.

so ... here we are. we can attribute that, despite the fact that the timeline is very hasty, kids make friends fast. bonds are formed immediately, rivalries stoked early, etc. kids, especially teens, do everything at hyper-drive. especially being "away from home" for the first time for a lot of them (max from seattle as she returns to oregon, victoria also from seattle, nathan from florida, etc).

notably, warren and kate are arcadia bay natives.

okay, so mark is here, max is here. now we're here.

i have to also point out that certain wiki pages are just ... so flawed. particularly when it comes to mark, nathan, rachel, and sean prescott. wowzers. they assume so much about mark without any evidence! so i can't trust a lot, but i can reference it a bit. [ part of my gripe is saying he was born in arcadia bay, he wasn't imo, but he is from oregon sort of ... ]

this is what max remarks of mark in her journal:

Not only is Mark Jefferson one of the best photographers in the world, he's also my teacher. And one of the reasons I wanted to come to Blackwell. How often do you get to be mentored by one of your inspirations? I've always loved his deco and goth style and he's so versatile with all of his incredible print and advertising work. Still, Jefferson can be a bit condescending. He's pretty hip for his age, but kinda aloof and sometimes pretentious. He has this smug smile when he thinks he's right... But I do think he's preparing us for how tough it is to be a full-time "artist". He acts like he understands my own work and obsession with analog images. He really wants me to enter a photo in this "Everyday Hero" contest but I've done a good job of avoiding that. The winner gets to fly to San Francisco to represent Blackwell Academy and get national exposure. I'd like to think my work could be good enough to win and I'm honored Jefferson even bugs me about the contest.

the prize of the everyday hero contest is to go to san fran, get your work exposed publicly in a gallery, and mark will accompany the winner. it's very ... to me? intentional he wants max to win. he wants to be alone with max outside of blackwell. RED FLAG.

also interesting to note because max is our narrator, so we need to notice these things based on how "right or wrong" her interpretations are (she is a young girl who is flawed, give her a break):

mark is condescending. pretty normal for the industry. he has a smug smile when he thinks he's right, as well as an aloof nature (which makes sense for him tbh). he does embody "an aloof energy".

mark favorites max. it's implied.

mark is pressuring max to enter the contest. she kind of likes it; she likes his attention. he is all too happy to provide. RED FLAG.

he does advertisement and print mostly. he makes a lot of books that we see in-game and in other LIS games.

his style is considered (to her) "goth" and "deco".

i think that max is a couple of things for mark:

an attempt to fix his mistake with rachel (thus keeping max and nathan separate by canon, i fuck this up by having nathan TA that class lol).

this has happened before. max and rachel are recreations of another girl. the incident. it's happening again.

max is true "innocence" embodied where rachel differed. they did different things for him, but their comparisons cannot be denied. even nathan thinks max is rachel when he sees her dressed up. they do not look alike, but ... they share an energy. this fits the "rachel bestowed max with her powers / rachel is the deer (confirmed) guiding max to her with chloe" idea.

mark likes "young teen girls" around the 18-19 range. legal, but so weird. wasn't as weird when he was that age. much weirder now. it's all weird, but that seems to be his 'go-to', and when he deems himself that innocence goes two ways: reared into hard ... or lost.

he wants to see max lose her innocence. maybe.

mark notices so much about max. how she changes. what she's like. he manages to be "there" for all his students, but max is special. he even says it. max has a gift. he's obsessed with her and her work.

"Shh, I believe Max has taken what you kids call a "selfie"… A dumb word for a wonderful photographic tradition. And Max… has a gift."