#but you know something more developed with actual pathos

[righteousdelusions]

I'm the opposite of people who hate DE because it was trying too hard to be deep and literate. Give me an Out3r W*ld with actual depth I beg you

[the-astronome]

Saw a post here about names of pathologic characters, and decided to share some thoughts regarding our beloathed Bachelor, because I realised something and have to share it with you.

So, what do we know? Well, his name is certainly Daniil and his surname is Dankovsky. “What about his patronymic?” you might ask. Here it’s a bit more complicated, but knowing that he once signed a letter with D.D.D. we can safely assume his patronymic starts with a D, and as a matter of fact, I’m quite sure that it’s actually Daniilovich (i.e. his father’s name was also Daniil), though my arguments in favour of this are rather funny

1)Name:

Daniil, what does this name mean? To begin with, the name comes from Hebrew (“Dānīyyēʾl” in romanised version) and literally means “God is my judge”. What is more interesting, in my opinion, is that this name is partially formed by another Jewish name, “Dan”. “Dan” literally means “judge” and its most known bearer is Dan, son of Jacob (also known as Israel, the angel-wrestling guy), who was (according to the Bible) the founder of the Tribe of Dan. Moreover, the symbol of this tribe is a serpent, because of Dan’s sly, scheming, and calculating character.

Apart from that, Bachelor’s a doctor, and one of the most famous symbols of medicine (at least in Russia) is a Bowl of Hygieia, see a simple example below

This also could be an intended symbolism, which probably started with IPL thinking how they would name their genius-doctor-character, and then spiralling down into all these snake-related topics, eventually choosing Daniil. It might have been just a funny coincidence. Someone can probably text them on Twitter and ask.

2)Surname:

Here it’s a bit tricky, and please do feel free to correct me, because the info I’ll give here might be false. Anyway. When I first started P1, I was a bit puzzled by Bachelor’s surname. You see, even though it is defo a Slavic surname (e.g. -sky ending), it doesn’t make much sense to a Russian speaking person, since what the hell is “Dankov”? A surname in a surname, now ending with “-ov”? Well, here is a potential explanation:

Western Slavs have a form of “Daniel”, namely “Danko”. As far as I understand, it can be a surname (and it is, in various forms, at least in Slovakia and Ukraine). This makes the surname “Dankovsky” mean something like “of the Danko” “son of Danko” “belonging to Danko” etc. All this suggests that, if we translate his surname to Russian in the literal manner, it would change to “Daniilov”. So you see where I’m going, right..?

3)Patronymic:

So. What do we have. “Daniil” as a name, and a surname which apparently (through numerous layers of linguistic irony) is also formed from the name “Daniil”. And we know that his patronymic starts with D. Do I dare suggest that his patronymic follows this silly pattern as well, so it would be “Daniilovich”?

This leaves us with a beautiful name of Daniil Daniilovich Daniilov, which sounds rather humorous and comical to russian-speaking folks (reminds us of the legendary Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov). As a close friend of mine suggested, that could have been a placeholder of sorts during the early development of the game and/or character, when IPL only came up with a name, but not with everything else. Then they decided not to over-invent things, and just obscure the surname via translating and adapting it to Western Slavic languages (Polish and apparently Slovak, I would guess), and basically never mentioning his patronymic. Ingenious if you ask me

4)Takeaways:

Not much, unless you see a sentence where I’m talking out of my ass, please I beg you speak up if messed up the Western Slavic part, I’m not native to those languages, so could’ve missed something there.

More importantly! For me, all these layers behind DDD name form a very concrete foundation for my headcanon that Bachelor is of Polish-Jewish origin. In general, his surname suggests lots of interesting stuff, so explore the linguistic opportunities my fellow patho people

[carlyraejepsans]

> YOOOOOOOOOO 👀👀

The room goes dark, a convenient puff of air snuffing out the flames in the fireplace. For a terrifying moment, as your eyes struggle to adjust, you are blind.

"Beauties and gentle-beauties," the robotic voice booms again, "Welcome…"

A drum rolls into a crescendo.

Then from blind, you are blinded.

The light returns like a blade, cutting a sharp circle around you and Sans' figures. He's not alone in the spotlight, however.

"To tonight's melodrama!" The King concludes with a flourish.

Like a switch being flipped, the room explodes into noise and color. Colorful heart shaped lights dance along the walls, produced by drone-like machines that flutter in the air from the open window as soon as the cues are given. Cameras, screens, microphones. They fill the once quiet room with their mechanical whirring. From somewhere above you, confetti rains to the floor.

The King flashes a dashing smile at the cameras. At least, you think he does. As close to a smile as he can get in his rectangular form, anyway.

He waves one arm in the air, saluting; the other clasping Sans' shoulder in apparent good humor. Sans' smile is frozen but unfazed.

Privately, you're relieved for him that skeletons don't have much in terms of soft tissues. That grip looks like it would bruise.

"Everyone give a big hand to our two wonderful protagonists!"

The King lets go of his bodyguard to clap along to the audio track that automatically begins to play. Sans shrugs his shoulders—the characteristic gesture masking any signs of physical discomfort—before popping a lazy salute at the cameras.

Your terrified eyes meet his for a moment, but he doesn't seem to acknowledge you.

"My dear viewers, I must first of all offer you an apology. Dragging you out of your beds at this ungodly hour… where have my manners gone. However! An unforeseen development has recently unfolded."

He's fast. He's very fast for something that moves like a military grade unicycle. In the blink of an eye, he's by your side. The colorful panel of his face is unreadable; the lights of the improvised studio catch on the golden crown atop his head.

"The ghost of tears…"

His gloved hand reaches up to gently grab at your chin and turn your once crying face to the cameras.

"A midnight rendez-vous… turned to tragedy."

As fast as he came, he's gone, rolling to the centre of the room and spreading his arms to his sides with pathos.

"Could this be? A heart wrenching tale of unrequited love?!!"

Where you stare dumbfounded and frozen, Sans laughs. He takes a few steps forward, planting himself right by Mettaton's side, then throws a wink, first at you, then at the cameras.

He doesn't break a sweat. The movement is so natural it seems like second nature. You wonder, for a second, just how long he's been working for Him.

"oh you know. nothing like some light heartbreaking and entering to end the night, am i right?"

A rimshot rings out. You're not sure why, but you feel like it wasn't part of the planned sound design. The king's robotic laugh sounds even hollower than usual.

"Of course! Of course! My agent's penchant for humor is more than well known. But!"

He turns to you—and with him your knees to jelly. The King tilts his royal microphone at you, teasingly. Threateningly.

"Everyone is waiting for the real scoop, darling! Our special human guest. What do YOU have to say in all of this?"

[dannyreviews]

Let Him Have It (1991)

"Let Him Have It". Four simple words, but put in different contexts can mean completely different actions and motivations. Does it mean, take the officer out or give the gun to the officer? That would be the statement that could make or break the freedom and life of a mentally deficient 19 year old on trial for the murder of a cop. Peter Medak's 1991 film with the very appropriate title of "Let Him Have It" chronicles one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in the English legal system and the weight that those four words have in the study of law and jurisprudence to this very day.

In 1953 England, 19 year old Derek Bentley (Christopher Eccleston) lives with his very supportive family that includes his parents William and Lillian (Tom Courtenay and Eileen Atkins) and sister Iris (Clare Holman). Derek has a history of petty crime which is caused by him being taken advantage of by local criminals. After being expelled from an Approved School, Derek is lonely and secludes himself from the outside world. That all changes when he crosses paths with the teenaged but more dominant Christopher Craig (Paul Reynolds). Christopher comes from a broken home that consists of a criminal older brother Nevin (Mark McGann). When Nevin is sent to prison for robbery, Christopher develops a hatred for all authority. That hatred culminates one night when Derek and Christopher break into private property and are confronted by police. Christopher kills one cop and wounds another while Derek utters the four words that becomes the center of the entire trial and sad aftermath.

"Let Him Have It" is a film where the viewer already knows the ending before the opening credits have rolled if they did research on the case before. Derek Bentley would be found guilty of murder, despite not being the one who fired the fatal shot, and would be sentenced to death by hanging. Christopher Craig, who was the actual murderer, was only 16 and therefore ineligible for the death penalty, instead receiving an indeterminate sentence. Craig was released after 10 years inside and by all accounts has since become a productive member of society. Bentley would sadly not live into old age and would die by hanging despite a huge campaign to free him.

Peter Medak's recreation of the era in which this crime occurred is impeccable. Everything from the working class atmosphere, to the organized crime underworlds and especially the rigidness of the Old Bailey courthouse. It's the latter of these three characteristics that is the most impressive. All the trial scenes are played straight, without the forced language or histrionics that one might find in a primetime show on one of the major networks. The performance by Michael Gough as the judge is one of natural authority, whose strict demeanor invokes tension one can cut with a knife. It's the smaller details like that which only heightens why "Let Him Have It" is a cut above the rest

Christopher Eccleston gives a breathtaking performance as Derek Bentley, completely filled with pathos and hubris. He does not ham up his character and finds the right underplayed tone. Tom Courtenay as William Bentley also finds that same tone to play a parent who is controlled and headstrong, while Eileen Atkins is the right counterpart as the more emotive parent. Clare Holman as Iris is a great combination of her parent's traits as she is the glue that holds the family together. The last scene when they huddle together and cry as the clock strikes to the minute of their son's execution is hauntingly scary and gives you goosebumps. Paul Reynolds as Christopher Craig is a standout and a once in a blue moon performance that hits all the right notes. He's a hoodlum that acts tough and fearless, but deep down is still a child with insecurities. To play those two types of people simultaneously is something that is underused in today's films. It's one of those performances that stays with you long after the film ends and especially one that the Academy Awards should have taken notice of at the time. It's a shame that he didn't become a bigger name in films and television like Eccleston, but he at least makes his mark in a great way.

"Let Him Have It" premiered at the 1991 Toronto Film Festival, the stepping stone of the Academy Awards season and unfortunately, that's as far as it got. My guess is that it was not promoted well like Medak's previous hit "The Krays" and possibly, audiences saw it as a carbon copy of that film. Awards aside, the best thing this film could have done was drum up more interest in the Derek Bentley case. The epilogue mentions how the fight to clear Derek's name was spearheaded by his parents until their deaths in the 1970s, in which Iris later took the reins. Her persistence paid off, albeit after her death, because in 1998, 45 years after his execution, the courts overturned Bentley's conviction, giving him the vindication that he should have gotten when he was alive. "Let Him Have It", is one the best true crime films about a miscarriage of justice and while it leave you angry that such damage could have been done, acknowledging these wrongs years later is better than sweeping it under the rug.

9/10

[cina-full-moon-xanadium]

Just finished WING-MAN. It's okay, but I feel like none of the characters really grow beyond their basic intended roles or develop any relationships beyond what is strictly necessary and that really hurts the show and the drama it's trying to achieve. It's a 10-episode miniseries so I can only expect so much, but it really robs the show of a lot of pathos when say, the reporter girl who's in the club to expose Wingman's secret doesn't form any genuine attachment or love for the club to make her hesitant to do what she's doing; or when the love interest Miku doesn't have, like, any relationship with anyone other than Kenta and sometimes Aoi being jealous of her. To say nothing of the really weird plot pulls and character decisions of episode 7 and 8, or how a lot of promising developments just sorta fall flat. By the end of the show you feel like everything in it is only in it to perform their basic function, and the lack of any kind of backstory or furthered relationships between anyone leaves you wanting for so much more than what's here.

But it is, also, a 10-episode miniseries with a lot of surprisingly great Tokusatsu action and a lot of funny references (more in the sense of "they're comparing this situation to Megaranger?? lmao") that's just a joy to experience if you're into the genre enough. As is watching a group of high school students trying to create their own little Toku show and going through those processes and visiting an actual Gavan stageshow and popular Tokusatsu shooting locations and doing explosions and shit. Those parts are a lot of genuine fun.

But for something that's also pushing itself as a romance drama... it really feels lacking in that area, especially when that romance and action is what the last few episodes are focusing on so much and it really intensifies the sense that you just don't know enough about these people or what's been going on with the villains to get truly invested. It's a nice enough show to burn a few hours on, but I wish it was more than that.

[guyofthing]

Fun fact: obviously we all know that the trolls in Homestuck were initially inspired by, well, internet trolls. There's kind of an aspect of that in Fragments, but less the troll part and more the internet part. They're partially based on the ways we use the internet to harm each other. Wait, actually. This was gonna be a quick little paragraph but it's turning into an essay.

CONTENT WARNINGS: I don't think there's any strong content warnings but if there is, someone please let me know so I can update this.

WARNING THE SECOND (joke): my formatting is shit and my essay is EXTREMELY long. I'm still learning how to do long-form shit in a way that's concise and readable.

I first gained unrestricted access to the internet in 2019. Most of the fixtures of the internet that I talk about here came to fruition in 2020-2022, far as I can tell, though they'd been developing much longer than that.

I could write all fucking day about what makes our current internet the way it is (and in fact had to delete two long paragraphs of speculation on why people my age acted the way we did online as tweens), but it doesn't really matter. What does matter is how it impacts Fragments.

Fragments, fundamentally, is a comic about relationships. It's about how people affect each other. Indirectly and directly. Externally and internally. Positively and negatively. And just like the trolls in Homestuck are inspired by internet trolls and internet culture, the trolls in fragments are inspired by the unique ways online spaces affect people, usually negatively.

Leusse and Mentis' kismesissitude, for instance, is inspired by something I have witnessed so many fucking times on this fucking website. The moment someone in a marginalized position does something someone else doesn't like (primarily trans women, primarily the terrible, terrible crime of not wanting to have to plaster themselves with warning signs just to be allowed to exist), the offended party with find any and every excuse to label them as "problematic".

They will play to your pathos by positioning the party they are attacking (again, nearly always a trans woman) as having done something that strikes people as an unforgiveable moral wrong. A very popular tactic (surprise surprise, also done by the popular media to trans women) is to accuse them of grooming. This creates an environment in which a lot of trans women are afraid to even interact with anyone under the age of eighteen online, let alone be openly horny or engage with adult content.

Leusse and Mentis's relationship is not a direct translation of this phenomenon. That was, however, the inspiration. Mentis wants to control Leusse, and so she positions her as being dangerous. Leusse's whole thing, her whole fucking thing, is that she likes to pretend at being a villain. Key word being pretend. It's fucking campy, it's fucking cartoonish. She's not a bad person, she's Dr. Doofenshmirtz. She's Team Rocket. Mentis weaponizes this to make her look like a threat, and everyone fucking believes it, despite knowing that Leusse doesn't want to hurt anyone. I'll let you do the math. You've seen the witch hunts for trans women on this site. You've seen them get obliterated for something as innocuous as enjoying a piece of fictional media that's been deemed problematic.

Another cool example that's a little lighter is Rephel Eangil's relentless posturing. Rephel, being a mutant initially from Beforus, is easily the most similar character in Fragments to her Homestuck counterpart, Kankri Vantas, though it may not seem like it on the surface. In fact, the Eangils as a whole are incredibly inspired by the Vantases, especially so far as their relationship to authority. I'm not here to talk about Kankri, but if you actually understand his character, that fact is pretty enlightening. Rephel is a poser. This is incredibly important to remember.

Rephel is representative of the prioritization of optics over action in internet politics. Contributing in any way to activism or raising awareness doesn't matter. What matters is pronouncing your support for the Correct Thing. This applies to her identity as punk as well. She lacks the punk ethos completely, and doesn't actually stand for any of the things her favorite bands stand for. But she listens to the music, right? She doesn't just buy the merch, that's a no-no, she makes her own. She's loud and rowdy and rebellious. But politically? She falls completely flat. Her views don't differ at all from the clown cult she grew up on.

Meanwhile, she attacks her dancestor, Gabrie, for not rejecting the clurch (clown clurch). Of course, Gabrie's optics are terrible. She claims to be a rebel, claims to want to follow in the footsteps of her Ancestor, and yet she's a soft spoken little juggalo in clown paint and her highblood brother's colors. This is where the harm comes in. Rephel claims to be an advocate for lowblood's rights. She isn't even friends with any. Gabrie, meanwhile, used her connections within the Clurch to get better opportunities for lowbloods on Alternia. Gabrie spends all her time with a lowblood activist and a midblood class traitor, neither of whom fit Rephel's definition of what a revolutionary is supposed to be with. She sees this as a threat to her own self-identification as a rebel and a punk, and so she does everything in her power to undermine them. She is actively sabotaging her own movement just to make herself look better, and it's so incredibly similar to the kind of performative activism you see a lot here.

There's probably more, but I'm tired. But the bottom line is that the worst parts of today's internet are on full display in Fragments, and in that way I think it is very Homestuck indeed.

[go-go-devil]

for the character ask i send you 3: clara the changeling, somsnosa, reah of thorolund?

Excellent picks, my friend! Though I'm going to exclude the favorite picture of them segments since they all come from video games and I don't wanna overthink which screenshots of them I find the most interesting.

Clara the Changeling (specifically from Pathologic Classic since I really haven't seen much of her in Patho 2 in comparison):

favorite thing about them: I love her sense of humor, even despite the horrible situations she's forced into. I swear Classic's Changeling route has some of the funniest dialogue exchanges in the entire game largely coming from how snarky and overall DONE she is in dealing with all the nonsense of the adults around her.

least favorite thing about them: How her religious ideology often leads her to show a very black and white understanding of morality. Obviously she's not an adult and is largely being manipulated into these ideas by her adoptive parents, but that doesn't mean she's innocent of some of the legitimately rude things she can say to other people's faces (or even just racist since I'm pretty sure I remember her calling Aspity a "heathen" or something along those lines).

favorite line: Of course the "I detest trickery" line is one of the most iconic quotes in the whole game, but I also really love that one line she can say to Daniil on Day 11 when he asks how she was able to get to Peter's loft unscathed: "I can walk through bullets and flames." It's so needlessly dramatic and untrue but also EXACTLY the kind of thing Clara would say to hype herself up XD

brOTP: I will constantly remind people that Classic tells us that she has a friendship with Sticky and Murky. The fact that the devs either ran out of time or simply forgot to show us this friendship in Changeling Route is one of the saddest missed opportunities of the whole game T_T

OTP: I don't really "ship" Clara with anyone, but I do think Clara/Grace is cute. Creepy neurodivergent girl relationships are always a win in my book, and honestly I could see these two getting together when they grow up.

nOTP: I'm not gonna get into this in detail here, but for the love of god people STOP FUCKING SHIPPING HER WITH BLOCK, OR ANY OF THE OTHER THE ADULTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

random headcanon: I truly do adore the idea of her having pet rats 🐀🐀🐀

unpopular opinion: I don't believe her going away with Commander Block is in any way the "good ending" for her. He certainly cares about her, more than the vast majority of the other characters even, but also literally says to her face that he wants bring her into a WAR solely because he too is so consumed by religious prophesies that he believes this malnourished teenage girl will be able to lead his troops to victory with her miraculous powers! What I'm saying is that he's got the spirit, but is also basically just as insane as the Saburovs when it comes to how he chooses to see her.

song i associate with them: As far as I'm concerned "Crucify" by Tori Amos and "Precious" by Depeche Mode are basically Clara's two theme songs. They just fit her storyline SO PERFECTLY T_T

Somsnosa:

favorite thing about them: I can't go into too much detail about this since you haven't listened to Absent Moon yet, but I love how much actual character development (and even character regression) she goes through in this series. Considering how extremely space characterization is in this series, that's very impressive!

least favorite thing about them: Nothing. She's literally perfect 💙

favorite line: Oh man I dunno... "Oh hey Wayne. I left my magic gauntlets in the basement... and now its infested with ambulant skulls." is a very iconic line from the Hylics 1. Wonderfully absurd premise for a "mission," and it's unique in how it implies her and Wayne already know each other!

brOTP: Wayne, Pongorma, and Dedusmuln

OTP: Wayne, Pongorma, and Dedusmuln. They're all in a queerplatonic polycule together 💛💙❤️💚

nOTP: Gibby and/or Odozier, I guess.

random headcanon: Her cat in H1 is named Bug. Unlike Wayne's cat it doesn't own the house she resides in, but does help her hunt insects on occasion and has agreed to guard her fridge as long as it gets free access to any fish held inside.

unpopular opinion: I don't think I even have one lol

song i associate with them: Since I'm nearly done making a character mixtape for her, I'll go ahead and say "The World Backwards" by Broadcast. Both the melody and the lyrics give me major Somsnosa vibes, largely because I imagine her being the one singing it.

Reah/Rhea of Thorolund:

favorite thing about them: Her determination for sure. When you find her in the pit Patches kicks you down into she's the only one of her party who's kept her sanity, and I always read her request for you to put down Hollowed Vince and Nico as less of her lacking the skills to do so on her part and more so that she can't bring herself to kill her two friends herself. Also that one line she says to you in the parish about how she's lost everyone she's ever cared about really hit me emotionally when I least expected it T_T

least favorite thing about them: How we never actually get to SEE her preform any of the powerful miracles she teaches us, even when we aggro her. My assumption is that she wants to be a pacifist whenever she can, which makes sense for her character and explains why she brought knights along with her to do all the dirty work for her, but still I hate being denied women showing off their powers, and she clearly has them!

favorite line: I always loved her end of conversation line in the parish: "Vereor nox." Which translates (roughly) to "Fear the night." It's a cool line by itself, but also does so much to tell us how Reah's viewpoint on the state of this dying world and how she's aligned with linking the fire without her having to outright tell us.

brOTP: Vince and Nico for sure!

OTP: Like with Soms & the Crew, I too enjoy the idea of her having wanted to be in a polycule with her two friends, only it was never meant to be due to the mission they would never return from.

nOTP: I hope I never stumble upon anyone who ships her with Petrus...

random headcanon: The reason Vince and Nico were chosen to be Reah's knights was because she specifically requested it to her father, the ruler of Thorolund. Petrus, however, she has no close relationship with. She let him join the mission out of pity, since after he naturally died and became undead this mission would be his only way out of being carted off to an asylum.

unpopular opinion: Reah is NOT innocent. She may prefer to be a lonesome pacifist, but there's no way in hell she's a fully helpless little maiden. Only the highest ranking clerics are given the mission to seek the Rite of Kindling, and she is objectively the most powerful in her squad thanks to the ivory talisman she carries and which Petrus wants to desperately to steal for himself. She also has a frankly absurd amount of humanity held within her if you steal it via the dark hand: 12 to be exact. That's more than Sieglinde, the only character canonically not an undead, and much more than Lautrec, Patches, and Maneater Mildred, the three of which all having so much because they're MURDERERS! Reah fucking stole humanity from many undead to reach that number, either by her own hands or using her knights to harvest them for her. She hates herself for what she's done for the sake of the mission, but she still let it happen...

song i associate with them: I... honestly haven't thought of that yet. Let's pray that maybe one day it'll come to me 🙏

[shmowder]

Do you have any tips for developing OCs? I want to fill out the template you did on your BG3 blog so bad but my Patho OC isn't very well-defined yet and as of now, I feel like it would take me 800 years to fill it out. Did it come easily to you or did you have to spend a long time thinking of your answers? How can I make sure I don't just end up describing myself?

Aside from the mini heart attack I had at the information that ended up being just a dream, I want to say DEWWWWW IT to your "tell me about your Patho OC" event. I feel awkward sending my Sim to you unsolicited (silly, I know) but at the same time I don't know if I'll ever be ready! I catch myself making the tiniest changes to her (and then reverting to the way she was before, lol). She's a plague doctor. *cough* assistant to a plague doctor. I actually found a beak mask to use <3

Have you turned any of the reader concepts/backstories you had into an OC? This is your invitation to tell me about them!!

🐿️ anon

Do I have a tip? Yes, and it's pink

But seriously, my only advice is to be as cringe and authentic as you can. OCs are just dolls for you to play with, you can gift them a fragment of your soul to love your less than ideal sides through them, you can also just make them bc you wanna make a cool little guy.

Be as creative as you want, make them a mary sue, or edgy, or loveable by all or whatever you think is cool. Make something you actually like, a purée of self-indulgence.

It might be hard to fill out because you're unsure of if you're going to change your mind about a certain subject or side of them later, it's scary to put things in stone.

Good news! OCs are as fluid as water. You can simply go back and update it whenever you want. There is no consistency required. Much like real life, people aren't always consistent in their beliefs and valus.

Your OC will evolve with time with you. No matter what, you can always tweak them and make a million different versions.

"How do I make sure I don't just end up describing myself?"

So what if you do? you're the person you know most. Of course, you'll use yourself for reference when told to come up with a whole new person on the spot.

Your OC can still share a lot of traits with you without being a self-insert—if that's what you're aiming for. You can also use yourself as the opposite of a reference sheet? Since you know yourself well, you also know what you're not, and you can give them that.

You can also base them around a concept! Personification of an object. For me, Sol, was a Personification of the sun and the worst of the worst of bpd symptoms. I wanted a character that is horrible and can't control being a bad person, not only that but they do not want to change themselves, they don't want to put in all that effort just to meet the minimum standards that others take for granted. They like their bad traits.

Sol is also very red-dragon insp heavy. So shallow, greedy, self serving and possessive.

Don't be afraid to give your OCs bad traits, it humanises them more, if anything. But also try to come up with why, no one is evil for the sake of evil.

Or you can simply not. There are no rules. You are the judge, jury, and executioner! Who gives a shit what I or anyone else has to say about your OC? IT'S YOURS. I don't go into people's bedrooms, rummage through their drawers just to comment on their choice of socks

Start with something simple and watered down then build off of it. Three abstract ideas to define your character, their basic form, their essence.

For Sol, it's red dragon, sun and bpd. A major oversimplisation.

You can also do the same with already established fiction characters! Pick any character you like and try to condense them down to three abstract ideas–not personality traits but concepts.

Yulia, indifference of the universe, mathematics and circulation.

Artemy? Love, the past, faith.

Daniil? Spite, the future, science.

Clara? life and death, stasis, magic.

Think about the basics of the basic building blocks making your OC, what resides at the root of the tree? It doesn't have to be three, it can be as many as you want.

And since we talk regularly, feel free to send me concepts and ramble about your OC in dm! I'd love to try and help you with the sheet as well.

-

God you made a plague doctor-er assistant of one and NEVER showed me? Betrayal, agony, mistrust. Jail. Jail for squirrel for 1000 years.

Sim OC pictures NOW or you're staying there.

-

Thank you for the offer for me to ramble about my OC, how could I ever refuse it.

For patho, I don't have any defined named ones. I just jump from concept to concept and reinvent a new person each time.

Rn I'm thinking about an OC that's part of the inquisiton.

Okay so, we never see how Aglaya dies, correct? And it's a little suspicious that the army stopped the train immediately after her attempted escape with Artemy, as if someone tiped them off.

So I thought, what if I made an OC that was the person who did that, the one who killed Aglaya.

Now we need a motive, why?

They're also part of the inquisiton, but they're still in training if it makes sense? They haven't earned the inquisitor title, authority, or privileges yet. They need a way to prove themselves, a first case to show their abilities.

That's where the town and the plague come into place, if they solve it, it will definitely earn them respect and a title.

They need to keep Aglaya alive until the very end before they kill her themselves in order to take all the credits for curing the plague instead of having to share it with her.

Now we have a motive and a goal. What's their personality like.

Manipulative, clever and cunning with an innocent facade.

They want you to think they're your friends so they can use you. They want the other healers to confide in them so they may steal their research. Coming from the capital and looking very cute, it's so easy to underestimate them and buy into their enthusiastic kind facade.

They have no shame, they will lie cheat and constantly play the victim. Spin false tales to make themselves look better, pretend to help only to sabotage instead, like a fox with no good intentions.

Why are they like that?

Well, the inquisiton takes kids from when they're young and raises them. This character stood out bc of their lying ability, inventing trophies they pretend to win at school for their parents to praise them, inventing sad stories for the teachers at school in order to raise their grades. The inquisiton simply nurtured these traits.

I'm not sure if I want to make them a healer or a side character.

For now, I want them to be so used to lying all the time that they eventually realise they forgot their true self. Who they are, what is even the truth anymore. They can't tell if they genuinely like a person or are simply pretending.

Also, I like the idea of them protecting Aglaya from all the assassination attempts by the army, only to end up being the one to kill her.

[fzzr]

Horimiya really is the best romance since Toradora!

And it's not just "Toradora! but not quite as good." There are tons of those out there already. No, Horimiya is something else. Instead of being about the long prelude to a relationship, it's about the whole process of a relationship forming, developing, and maturing. It's also a true slice of life, dipping into the lives of its characters rather than putting the characters into a story.

The premise is simple enough. Popular high school girl Kyouko Hori and quiet nerd Izumi Miyamura have no reason whatsoever to interact. An actual nice guy move by Miyamura happens to bring them together when they're showing their private faces. Far from an active social life, Hori spends virtually all her free time on housework. Miyamura has the piercings and tattoos of a delinquent, handily explaining his reserved style of dress at school.

These shared secrets establish an immediate companionship between our title characters. For various reasons, Miyamura continues to visit Hori's house until it becomes a habit. Over several months they get to know each other's quirks, likes, and dislikes. Eventually, this domestic intimacy develops into a young romance. There's no whirlwind here, nor sudden escalation — it's simply the natural next step in their relationship.

Said relationship doesn't develop in isolation. As they grow closer, Miyamura becomes linked in with Hori's social circle, and expands it in turn. Each of their friends is fully realized, experiencing their own desires, disappointments, mistakes, achievements, and growth. Not everyone gets along all the times. Sometimes they hurt each other, or let themselves be hurt. No fundamental attribution error is to be found here. The characters are people, and people have reasons for the things they do and the way they are. If a character is loud and attention-grabbing, there's a reason for that. The same goes for one who is quiet and reserved, rude and confrontational, or kind and overly generous.

Pacing and Storytelling

Horimiya isn't telling a story with a set end goal it needs to speed toward. Moments of high energy exist, but the characters aren't sprinting from situation to situation. They're just going through life, facing the mundane daily struggles and social consternation that comes with it. It doesn't feel obligated to force characters into relationships in order to tie up every loose end, nor is every (or any) character arc implied to have reached some final state. After every milestone comes another day. You know, like in real life.

Art, Animation, and Music

Horimiya's art style is distinct without being over the top. It has slightly uneven lines, giving them an organic feeling. The color allows the important characters to stand out without giving them too many Obvious Anime Protagonist features.

The signature feature is the whited out background and colored character shadows that highlight the small but important events. These moments are rarely if ever high drama, so the background change serves to focus your attention when it's important and clear away any distractions.

The music in Horimiya is strong as well. It makes good use of a handful of incidental tracks, and the OP is well matched with the art and shows off the animators' abilities well.

Horimiya: Piece

The original anime adapted the source material efficiently, focusing on the parts that most closely surround the core relationship. Given the constrained episode count and already sedate pace of the main story, this was the right call. Horimiya: Piece collects several more stories that the original adaptation cut for time.

Conclusion

Horimiya deserves to be a classic. When someone wants to get into anime and they're interested in romance, this is should at least be in the top five, maybe the top two. Not every show needs to tackle big issues like Fruits Basket or wring pathos from irreality like Clannad. When you get down to it, all you need is two characters who brighten each other's lives and all those around them.

Score: 9/10. Watch it.

Recommendation: This is for everyone. No exceptions.

Comparisons

OK, we need to talk about Toradora! There are a number of superficial similarities — the high school romance premise, the shared secrets that launch the story, the misunderstood main characters, and a title created by approximately fusing the principal protagonists' names. When it comes to the important things, however, they could hardly be more different. Toradora! is intense, dramatic, and follows a storyline that traverses distinct steps in getting from each checkpoint to the next. Don't get me wrong, it's full of subtle and quiet moments, but it's the larger-than-life characters and deeply impactful moments that make it what it is. By contrast, Horimiya builds its characters slowly. We learn about them through how they learn about each other, and it's them learning about each other that deepens their relationship. In the end, Toradora! and Horimiya are so different as to not need a head-to-head comparison after all.

Hyouka is another slow-and-steady anime. It shares the slice-of-life high school experience background with Horimiya, but it keeps the cast and premise constrained to the four members of the Classic Literature Club and the mundane mysteries they unravel together. With twice the episode count to work with, it really takes its time with each arc. Like Horimiya, it accents certain important moments with a special artistic flourish. The point of contrast here is that by lacking an extra binding agent pulling the cast together, Horimiya gets to show that sometimes people hang out just because their lives bring them together and they find they like it that way.

One of the things that makes Saekano so great is the way it develops the title character, Megumi. Every other character is a big personality from the start, but Megumi is just a regular person. Instead of having her component tropes announced from a mountaintop, we get to know her by watching how she changes. Somehow, Horimiya pulls this trick with nearly every character. Truly incredible.

Final Thoughts

I have this fantasy, the "what would you do if you won a billion dollars" plan. I would get a degree in English and Japanese, become an English teacher in Japan, and go to Akihabara at least twice a month. Horimiya made me update that fantasy. Now I also want to be the advisor to the anime club at that school so I can get even just one person to watch Horimiya when it matters.

I watched this at the wrong time in my life. Unfortunately, the right time would have been before it came out. I should have read the manga fifteen years ago. The anime should have come out when I was in high school instead of now. If this had hit me at just the right moment I honestly believe it could have changed my life (very much for the better). Who knows, maybe it still will.

[gone-series-orchid]

do you think any of the villains are written well? i think caine's crew was good in Gone, but after that they just got. stereotype-y. and a little two-dimensional.

that’s a good question! i’ll hesitantly say yes—though the best antagonists, captain orc and his gang on bully row, don’t stay antagonistic for long (unfortunately).

i think having orc and howard and their group stay the ostensible leaders of the fayz would be really interesting. it could lay some of the groundwork for orc’s development early on, precluding his murder of bette. it would be fascinating for michael grant to have to toe the line between keeping orc and howard as firmly antagonistic figures while still underlining their general ineffectiveness as leaders.

not to mention, keeping orc in power for a longer time would give more “oomph” to the whole bette situation—there would be more suspense leading up to it. hypothetically, at this point we’ve gotten a pretty good insight into orc and howard’s specific petty antagonism. they’re the schoolyard bullies given an unprecedented amount of power…but they don’t really know what to do with it. they’re still menaces, and dangerous because they’re so confident (howard) and stupid (orc), but at the same time they don’t know any more than any other kid does about this new world little pete has created. they’re bad kids hopped up on this new influx of authority, but they’re not evil.

so when orc does accidentally kill bette, it’s even more of a shock than it is in canon, because we’ve seen what his rule is actually like and we know what kind of person he is.

maybe bette’s death could be built up to even more. maybe orc at this point is used to punishing people with his baseball bat if they don’t do what he says (always below the chest, though). he does it to intimidate and shock kids, and it works. sam and co. are of course concerned and disgusted by his and howard’s schoolyard tyranny.

maybe orc starts drinking at first to celebrate his captaincy (his gang has confiscated all the town’s alcohol for themselves because haha, the adults aren’t around and they can do whatever they want). he drinks to heighten his enjoyment, lower his inhibitions, and numb whatever mild stressors he’s dealing with as the fayz’s captain. he probably doesn’t even connect his drinking with his dad (that’s how different the context of said drinking is!) at that point. he’s on top of the world. he’s riding high. why shouldn’t he have fun and get drunk with his friends? it’s the fayz, after all. it’s a party.

it’s only after bette’s death that he drinks to dull his suffering and guilt.

sorry, i kind of went off on a tangent. anyway!

in a similar vein, i enjoy the human crew for their very human awfulness. i think mg writes them well. i just wish they had a lasting effect on the fayz as a whole and were generally taken more seriously as threats—the gaiaphage, drake, and caine were always prioritized over the call coming from inside the house. which of course, they’re bigger threats, but there’s something a lot more compelling about rooting out the villains festering in the fayz itself. zil and the human crew are driven by bigotry and resentment that have grown because of the power dynamic of the council that the protagonists have spearheaded.

i guess i just love pathetic bullies being the big bad antagonists of the fayz. they’re more interesting because they’re so fallible and human. i just don’t find caine or drake or the gaiaphage interesting in comparison.

on the coates trio, i definitely think they were at their peak in the first book. in hindsight i’m really surprised mg didn’t refer back to their alliance in later books. that might give drake a little bit more pathos, if he half-genuinely looks back on his time with cementing kids with caine and diana through a rose-tinted lens. sure, it’s mostly the torture he enjoys, but being a weird whip-handed servant to a radioactive alien in a mineshaft sounds pretty lonely. maybe he misses being a normal sadistic kid instead of a weird monstrosity, at least to a point. once the shine has worn off. 🤷‍♀️

anyway once again! sorry this got a bit more scattershot than i meant it to be. i hope i answered your question!

please feel free to send more asks!

[everygame]

Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS4)

Developed/Published by: Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment Released: 12/11/2020 Completed: 11/01/2023 Completion: 100% playthrough. Trophies / Achievements: 82%

Well,  I wrote “see you in a year, Miles Morales” after playing through Spider-Man’s DLC and it took me about a year and a half to get to this, but I'll count it. I’ve written about two of these, so let’s just bullet point this one out, no order.

Peter Parker’s new face suuucks. I know it’s a done deal and it’s not even like the original face actor (John Bubniak) does his voice, but the new guy doesn’t fit the voice at all and does, as everyone says, looks like “we’ve got Tom Holland at home” except even more of a twat. At least he’s only in this briefly, but man, it’s going to be tough to play the next one. And I like the PS4 Spider-Man suit so much, too! It might even be my favourite Spidey design.

Miles is a great character. He’s completely out of his depth, and I love that they’ve drilled down on this even down to how he moves through the world, with a more awkward swinging style than the OG Spidey.

Unfortunately the main storyline here is a bit… cliche? Not only does it hit all the beats you expect, there’s far too much convenience to it. You’re in serious trouble when the mysterious baddie turns out to be like, the only other character that’s in the game, and without spoiling too much, super-hero stories are (imho) at their weakest when you think the existence of the hero might be the reason why the villains exist (rather than vice versa) and ending with the same “Eyyyy, New York protects it’s own, Spider-Man” beat again is played-out.

The worst thing about this is that the game is absolutely at it’s strongest when Miles Morales is doing what it feels like he set out to do, which is be his neighbourhood Spider-Man. I can’t tell if this is something that happened when they turned this from something DLC-adjacent into a full-priced game, but there’s a thread of missions where he’s helping out his local bodega and stuff that basically gets dropped completely and it actually feels unfinished. The conclusion is given in a… podcast, where your side-kick Ganke literally names every person in Harlem that helped which made me think it was going to lead to a conclusion where the big-bad kidnaps them all or something, but… no. Nothing.

To be honest, actually, that this uses the whole city is a weakness. Whenever I play these big open world games I think about how I never really learn the city, they’re just a backdrop to whatever I’m doing, unlike your Yakuzas and that, where you’re intimately familiar with the map and it becomes ever more real. Why couldn’t Harlem have been that? I don’t really need to be swinging all the way to the bloody financial district. Fence me in!

Yet… the game still feels great to play, all the side-missions and collectibles and shit are a breeze to play/fun to collect, and you don’t even notice that just as in the original the upgrades barely matter. Even here when combat and stealth are even more complicated with new invisibility and electricity powers (that aren’t especially well tutorialised) you can just basically play the game as competently as you wish and enjoy it.

Why does this game have a museum flashback? Is this something that all PlayStation Studios games have to have? It feels like such an afterthought here though, adding nothing to the major problem that the main baddie is a big-time idiot who, at the end of the game is basically running around with their fingers in their ears shouting “la la la I’m not listening” and it really, really undoes the pathos. I ain’t crying about a museum visit again, Sony!

I’m so very tired of Ashley Burch’s one voice. I guess I never played enough Nolan North games to feel this before.

Will I ever play it again? I like that the main storyline is so quick and actually, I did briefly consider beating the NG+ quickly to platinum this. But my backlog spreadsheet has more than 700 games on it. Really.

Final Thought: Starting to feel a bit weird about how much of my media consumption is Marvel now. At the time of writing I play about an hour of Marvel Snap a day and the next game I’ve downloaded to play through is Guardians of the Galaxy. Ah well, I did spend the Christmas period watching Rogers and Hammerstein musicals, I’ll let myself away with it.

Support Every Game I’ve Finished on ko-fi, either via a one-off donation (pay what you like) or by joining as a supporter at just $1 a month.

[longagoitwastuesday]

Do you have favorite actors for the various roles in "Cyrano de Bergerac"? I would love to hear your thoughts!

I do! I actually rambled a lot about this while I was watching the different productions I could get my hands on (I tagged it "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "I talk too much").

My favorite productions are the one with José Ferrer and the one with Benoit Solès, and those actors make the best Cyranos in my opinion. Though that's probably something in part beyond the actors' choice, their dynamic with their respective Roxane and Christian are the best ones, I think, and I find how Cyrano moves around these two particular characters at the core of a good Cyrano characterisation.

José Ferrer's use of his voice, which is arguably Cyrano's true most characteristic feature, is unmatched imo (although McAvoy does a very good job with this too), and he manauvers very well several of the different aspects of the character, such as his playfulness, his shittiness and longing. By the end of the play you believe he is the most beautiful man on Earth. Cyrano, however, is a bit pathetic (not just in a "pathos" way), and I'd say Ferrer gives off an air full of dignity very fitting of many scenes, but that eats almost entirely this aspect of Cyrano; Benoit Solès manages this very well, while also playing well with some of the other ones, such as the playfulness, the longing, the pain and the despair. Both Ferrer and Solès are hilarious, tender, a bit shitty, vulnerable, playful and sad. Albeit neither of them portrays 100% what Cyrano is, I think both come pretty close in slightly different flavours, and by the end of the play one ends up being terribly fond of them.

My favourite Roxane is Clara Huet in the production with Benoit Solès, but Mala Powers in the 1950 film is a close second. I think they portray wonderfully Roxane's spunk, and her mix of honest playful cheerfulness and her haughtiness, her intelligence and wit, and how much like Cyrano she is.

I've not come to love for now any Christian as much as I've loved Ferrer, Solès, Huet and Powers, but again I think the Christians in the 1950 film and the Solès productions are very very good. I love the dynamic they have with their Cyranos, especially the one Christian and Cyrano have in the 1950 film, enhanced positively by the added scenes (they actually work so well in showing their developing as friends, their deep love and care for each other!). I don't want to expand too much on this to avoid spoilers (beyond the already known 'Christian dies' ones I mean), but some things they do with both these Christians are a thing of genius, and both feel vulnerable, kind, ready to fight and truly desperate at times; I like when they do that.

There's an Italian production which has a Cyrano I truly enjoy as well, despite how they dumbify him more than I usually like my Christians. His mix of anger and deep pain when he discovers Cyrano's feelings for Roxane were so well made, and his physical presence makes you identify who Christian is even before the play starts.

The Podalydès production has two different Christians. The one in the version on youtube isn't bad, but @ride-a-dromedary likes Éric Ruf a lot. I actually adore him based on the clips and gifs she's posted of him, but I haven't been able to find the version with him online, so I can't know. But he truly seems one of the best. Based on what little I've seen, I love his intense gazes and subtle gestures.

I'm not entirely sold on any Le Bret, De Guiche or Ragueneau yet.

I think the German musical has a decent Ragueneau in vibes, and the 1990 French film does as well. I found his poem made song for what I think is a Spanish production (I'm not sure if it's a fan creation based on the Spanish production), and while I've not been able to find that production online, the song works well in vibes too I think.

The German musical's Le Bret in vibes is very good. He encompasses well his deep love and worry for Cyrano while also being done with his shit. They truly feel like close friends. The 1950 film kind of combines Gaston de Castel-Jaloux and Le Bret into one character, which sadly changes Le Bret's dynamic with Cyrano a bit, but that's a very good Le Bret as well. The one in Solès' production is pretty good too. He has my favourite delivery of the scene in which Le Bret chastises Cyrano for risking his life sending letters.

De Guiche is complicated. I think productions often make him too pathetic and laughable or too bad, so bad it makes the last act kind of not make sense. The 1950 one, the 1990 French one, the Kevin Kline one and the Solès one are all good, but I am not passionate for any of them either.

And basically that's it!

[asm5129]

Flash thoughts 9x03

Okay, things are really heating up! (no pun intended, what with a heat-based meta appearing this week and all)

This was a really fun episode. I’m not personally invested in the Flash’s rogues but I know a lot of folks are, so i hope they’re enjoying this season cuz it’s going all in. This episode was delightfully comic-book-y. Great banter, fun camp, a little macgunffin-ish type thing, and a smidge of pathos to tie it all together.

was this the best episode? Nah. Not really any standout emotional moments or big reveals (i know there’s the ending, but we’ll get there) or anything, and it definitely doesn’t hit the heights of the previous episode's ethical core, but it was really fun, and it progressed the plot well along the way--so not a waste of time in my book. 

Hartley is delightfully smug, Goldface is campy fun as always, and Jago is a delight in his Regular Guy-ness--with the nuance of his son in the picture as well of course. (side note, the flirting between him and Fiddler was a lot of fun)

It was pretty clear Mark was heading down the path of teaming up with red death but i didn’t expect him to get there so quickly (damn you shorter episode count). Still, i think it works. 

Anyways the whole heist thing with Barry in a bit of a gray area was really fun. And yeah, while Barry has every right not to trust Goldface--or even Mark at this point--Hartley and Jago definitely didn’t deserve to be lumped in with them. Especially Jago, as he rightfully points out to Barry. It’s funny that these Rogues knew every one of them was going to try and steal it for themselves, but since they were all on the same page there they could kind of “trust” each other to be selfish. they knew exactly where each other stood. Barry would have tried to stop ALL of them, so they couldn’t couldn’t on him the same way.

Side note, I’m glad Barry’s “i have to give them a reason to trust me first” instinct wasn't to reveal his identity YET AGAIN. Probably only because half of them already knew it, but still--it was refreshing for him to try and figure some other way to get people to trust him. Plus the fact that the other two figured it out anyway was actually a lot more fun.

The Allegra and Chester thing has been going on for a while now, and while i didn’t love it in the beginning i have to say it’s grown on me. they’ve taken their time, had these two build up a rapport and a regular social life together outside star labs, and really leaned into the actor’s chemistry together. I’ve always been found it odd just how averse they are to dating when they both are pretty clearly on the same page there, so I’m happy we’re at least getting Alelgra’s side to that conflict finally. 

Khione continues to shine with her piercing insights. I really like her. 

WestAllen is still being written better than anything pre-s8 imo.

There’s not as much meat to this episode so i don’t have as much to say, so let’s finish off talking about the red Death developments.

So yeah, look, I knew it was Ryan Wilder months ago. It was announced officially i think. That wasn’t really a reveal. The question is, why? The next time teaser hints that Barry believes it’s current day Ryan corrupted by the Negative Speed Force, but Eric Wallace has hinted at something much deeper than that in interviews--so for the time being, I’m sticking to my theory that this is Armageddon Ryan, and we’ll see present day earth prime Ryan in the very near future--perhaps kidnapped by the Red Death so she could take her place and Wayne Enterprises wouldn’t be answering to two Ryans? I dunno. 

but MAN it feels good to see Javicia Leslie back in the Arrowverse one last time. A little bit of a missed opportunity to not have her say “I am justice” as opposed to “I am Vengeance” cuz i really liked that she was saying “justice will be served” last episode, but maybe’s she’s conflated the two? We’ll see. I’m very intrigued to see Javicia’s villainous turn. 

[da2supremacy]

Essentially the ethos of a dragon age game has always been something you can roll around in your hands and interrogate. Dragon Age games have never been some great awesome piece of art that belongs in the MoMA or whatever. Honestly, I haven't really enjoyed the gameplay of a single one except Veilguard and the OG devs personal prejudices are glaringly obvious with even just a cursory read. But the World Building is magnificent and the game let's you disagree with it. Some people hate that. It's why they're constantly whinging about the "all sidesism" or whatever. I don't really think the rampant centrism and borderline fascism was present until Inquisition. CAN you be a fascist in 2? Terrible in origins? Sure. But there's a world around you that reacts to that and when you're a truly awful prick there actually are gameplay and story consequences.

The Inquisition is a righteous religious army taking over sovereign lands for the greater good and the only person who ever questions that gets treated like he's gone insane. Yet even Inquisition gives you more opportunity to interrogate the justness of the Inquisition's existence than Veilguard allows you to question the merits of Solas' goals.

Because some of his goals (as stated in Trespasser anyway) DO have merit. While I may not personally agree with the notion of tearing down the Veil it IS a wound that he carved onto the world and he probably is the only person who could get rid of it. Not to mention they've spent 3 games all but telling us that the Veil was falling apart already anyway. If Solas did nothing the reckoning with the fall of the Veil would have to be addressed eventually because it was happening whether he did anything about it or not. Maybe his method actually would have been better than him sitting back and letting the Blights and the blood magic and the all the other things that were weakening the Veil collapse it naturally. We've seen places where that happened and it's always been pretty bad actually.

But the game never lets you sit with that. I am willing to believe that the 10 years and the region shift could have allowed enough events to equalize most world states but in trying not to say anything about Worldstates they straight up didn't engage with ANYTHING that came beforehand at all. John Epler's insane misunderstanding that people sympathizing with Solas is a FEATURE and not a bug, this is the franchise that gave us Meredith and Loghain and Anders, decided that the pathos of the game's supposed main antagonist and final boss could not be mentioned at all???

The game proves that the Chantry is based off of a woman's misinterpretations of visions she could in no way have ever understood (if you squint you can kind of see the shades of both the Evanuris and the Titans in the the story of the Chantry. Add that to the theory that Andraste was an OGB and well...) and the game itself doesn't mention the Maker or the doctrine of the Chantry at all. All sides of the Western Schism were still Catholics. Being in Tevinter does not actually justify why apparently no one is devout to the Chantry.

This game is great but it's a standard hero's journey. Rook grapples with nothing and sacrifices nothing. Even the one mandatory Companion death really isn't Rook's fault. I don't know how Solas ever thought that prison would hold them. I never actually have to think or question anything. I never actually made a difficult decision. You could replace the place names and file Solas off of the narrative and this could be literally any other fantasy title. The things that made Thedas unique are not there.

I am not calling this game poorly written. It's fine for what it is. It's not a WRONG decision to not include things that weren't directly relevant to the game's narrative and all things considered this game only actually got 3 years of real development time. There's probably a lot that got cut. But I do think still centering Solas as the final boss and the preservation of the Veil as the final obstacle to overcome and then not actually engaging with WHY he is really doing what he's doing and WHY that's actually wrong is a bizarre choice. It really does seem like John Epler was scared they couldn't convince the player as to why they needed to not rip it down and so they sidestepped the question entirely.

The thing about Solas in DAtV is that because they were fundamentally unwilling to engage with the question of whether or not the Veil should actually come down (which is a symptom of them refusing to engage with anything remotely 'problematic' in the franchise to date: slavery, elven oppression, treatment of both city elves and Dalish etc.) he goes from a character who is supposed to be the embodiment of wisdom to a character who is kinda stupid. And further, it affects our questions surrounding his motives and relationships, his actions in inquisition and how compelling he is.

Like, there's a lot of people arguing ATM about whether or not a romanced Lavellans relationship with Solas was meaningful/if she knew him compared to how Rook knows him/if he loved her more than Mythal. And I think the answer is very tied up in this particular issue with the writing.

Because if Solas is a revolutionary who believes that the veil must come down, not just to fix a perceived wrong he did, but for the good of elvenkind...if we take a Solas who says 'people are always dying, it's what they do' and realise that he's saying that because PEOPLE DIDNT USED TO DIE and the way their lives are now so short is terrifying to him, if we take a Solas who says that the world today is full of those who seem tranquil to him and take that SERIOUSLY, if we get a Solas who is sickened by the way spirits are yearning for the world the way it was but are stuck in the fade without any contact and that's twisting them into demons and those willing to possess others to taste a glimpse of what was denied to them by HIS actions...

Then we get a Solas whose actions don't just make sense but we can see WHY they make sense. We get a Solas who is, yes, committing an act of horrendous violence by tearing down the veil but is doing so to literally save the world rather than just fix a regret or because he's bound up in Mythal somehow and what she would have wanted for the world.

THAT Solas who leaves Lavellan because of his revolution he must lead, who leaves Lavellan after seeing what this world does to those who are left of the people, that Solas...I think that we could then argue more than the relationships he formed in inquisition were real and he was tragically forced away from them by his own goals. That in some way he is doing this FOR Lavellan.

There should be a sort of semi-horror tint to this world for us through Solas's eyes because we can see a world of tranquil walking around like he does, a world where life is too short, a world of injustice and pain and reasons to go ahead with his plan

But Solas....kinda lacks agency in DAtV. I don't hate the Solas Mythal plot stuff I think it's quite interesting, but mix it with us never considering the merits of what Solas wants to do, of EVERYONE unilaterally deciding it's evil with no real debate or queries, with ZERO elves in the narrative siding with Solas or taking what he has to say seriously...THATS where adding the Solas and Mythal plot rubs me the wrong way. I don't want Solas to need to be released by Mythal before he can let go of his evil plan...I want a Solas who doesn't have an evil plan but instead a complex one. I want the conviction of Anders in Solas; that what he's doing is RIGHT and the ONLY WAY to fix a great injustice. I don't want to redeem Solas or even understand him I want him to CONVINCE me and me BELIEVE him. Otherwise the Solas we see in inquisition is more shallow and the Solas we see in Veilguard through Rook...maybe Rook does know him better than the inquisition did.

[trustrosswrites]

So long story short the last quarter of the year has been total dogshit, including some truly unfortunate Christmas situations. I wanted to revel in the melancholy and finally played pathalogic 2. I have so many thoughts, spoilers below as I’m just going to be getting them out there.

Ok so first off, I think it is just, SO impressive how immersive the storytelling of this game is. It is such an example of what makes fromsoft games so engaging, the story that comes out of a struggle. For me, i remember distinctly the *vibes* of being too thirsty cuz I had to use all my bottles on tinctures. How thirsty I was running through infected districts, often looking for food or scraps all while my health got lower from the fights I would make get into. The worst one was when I had caught the plague saving murky, constantly on low health, having died once trying to sleep even with morphine, desperately low on food. Running through districts on basically one health looking for health items so I could take antibiotics and not die. Like the game is SO genuinely tense in moments like these, but it creates such satisfaction, knowing that I fucking did it (an incredibly rare things, considering how many players really made it to the final day).

Related, I think it’s impressive how well the game lies to you, telling you that your quests, or the lives of the bound matter. Just like how pathologic uses the trappings of its genre and subverts those expectations, it’s almost as if pathologic 2 subverts the expectations of pathologic. Nothing bad actually happens if you don’t save people, or even complete the missions. There’s never a hard game over, which is extremely impressive. But I didn’t know that, and so I stressed myself out trying to save everyone, especially the list, sacrificing my own health and well being for something that doesn’t matter in the end, mechanically at least. It’s the world’s most story optional rpg, or maybe it’s more apt to say it’s the most story rich survival game. And I think this is such an interesting twist on the same themes they had with the secrets of pathologic. In that game, they twist the knife by doing the whole “it’s a kids game” thing only IF you save everyone. In patho 2, the knife twists by treating everyone the same, killed everyone? Struggled with the plague to help everyone? It’s all the same events, life goes on regardless.

In a similar vein, I knew patho one had guns, I traded for a decent amounts of revolver bullets, expecting to get one even after I refused the early deal. But no. I eventually got a rifle from a soldier I shanked, I had to kill many while I starved. Which I felt awful for, I was no better than the bandits that chased me. The ones they shot on sight. But i am a doctor, so they don’ft mind me sneaking behind them.

Finally, I think the changes to the aesthetic of the ending are fascinating, and really take this game to the next level. I haven’t played patho one (yet). But from what I understand, the polyhedron is directly what causes the plague, it’s destruction removes the forward progress of the town, but also doesn’t hurt the earth. But pathologic 2 makes the moral dillema genuinely questionable on both sides by making the removal of the polyhedron equate to just another way humans take advantage of the earth, you can’t just pull out the arrow without having it bleed to death. The destruction of the polyhedron is what allows the town to move forward, for the kids to age, and create a new, better place. The questions was far more nuanced, and I didn’t feel great about either option. While the steppe people are immune to the plague, what is it worth to live like beasts, completely stagnent? But not dull, they have philosophical beliefs, wants and desires, just not those aligned with traditional western ways of being, and cultural development. OR, do you have faith in humanity to create its own future, to keep ahead of whatever struggles the earth, or fate, throw at us? Struggle creates change and progress, but it also hurts people, as we’ve seen? It’s a genuienly fantastic quandary I don’t have an answer to, I chose a warmer future over stagnation. but whose to say that in time, people’s ideals get too large, and they begin to feel overconfident in their ability to beat death, causing another plague? Either way I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it, want to write about it more. And now I’m playing pathologic one (which is, in fact, much slower and more jank).

[researchdocumentationdump]

Podcast Post #2

My Script and relevant notes.

one idea is to be unpacking silly comments made . at the beginning of Both the episodes

dispel the theories that are contributing to the misconceptions.

example. upon researching I came across a frequently searched question...

Episode 1: The context

[Intro music]

Introduce the show

Hello, Hello! everybody, this is Lucy from Media 220 The University of Waikato and you’re listening to the Sliced Bread podcast, the limited mini show all about Coeliac! the show[] that aims to inform the uninformed.

To give everyone out there a basic rundown on coeliac disease in the hopes to eliminate the misconceptions around it.

Introduce the guest and episode

Today , I’ll discuss everything there is to know about coeliac disease in an easy to digest way. I'll making two points _______.

[the episode topic: include a teaser to hook listeners (Something pathos)].

What is Coeliac Disease?

What are the common misconceptions/Misunderstandings? along with what the issues/problems that can arise from lack of knowledge/misconceptions about Coeliac, and the problem they can cause?

Right! time to slice some bread and get into it!

[Outro music ]

Annoying thing found on the internet to unpack

People also ask? Can you kiss someone with coeliac? 

[improvise and read it word for word] 

The response labels coeliac as a gluten intolerance, well, it is actually not an intolerance and that is not the right what to justify why you can kiss someone with coeliac (which of course you can obviously)

This leads to my first section of what actually is Coeliac disease 

Topic 1: What is Coeliac

Coeliac disease is actually an autoimmune condition. 

Autoimmune conditions/diseases are by definition a type of disease that occurs when your body's immune system attacks your own healthy cells and tissues by mistake. Normally, your immune system works to protect you from harmful pathogens like viruses and bacteria, but in the case of autoimmune diseases, it mistakenly identifies healthy cells as foreign invaders and attacks them. (healthlinehttps://www.healthline.com/health/autoimmune-disorders)

In coeliac disease, the immune system mistakes substances found inside gluten as a threat to the body and attacks them.

Those substances are a particular protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. This triggers the immune response that specifically attacks the small intestine lining.

Your small intestine is lined with these small fingers called villi and in simple terms , they are responsible for absorbing nutrients. inflammation and damage to the villi which is a flattening of such, done by the gluten protein, results in malabsorption of nutrients.

Genetic and environmental factors can be the reason for triggering dormant coeliac disease in people Coeliac disease is linked to the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) gene system, and people with one of three specific genetic factors are more likely to develop the disease, but possessing one of these factors is not a guarantee that you will get it. 

What this means for the person who is undiagnosed with Coeliac is they will experience a range of horrible and unpleasant uncomfortant symptoms until they can be correctly diagnosed and undertake the only known treatment. A Strict Gluten-free diet. 

Before I get into trying to unravel the GF stigma and misconceptions that just need to be eliminated. I will give a rundown of how malabsorption can affect someone as well as the general symptoms of having untreated coeliac. 

According to the World Gastroenterology Organization, celiac disease may be divided into two types: classical and non-classical.

In classical celiac disease, patients have signs and symptoms of malabsorption, including diarrhea, steatorrhea (pale, foul-smelling, fatty stools), and weight loss or growth failure in children.

In non-classical celiac disease, patients may have mild gastrointestinal symptoms without clear signs of malabsorption or may have seemingly unrelated symptoms. They may suffer from abdominal distention and pain, and/or other symptoms such as: iron-deficiency anemia, chronic fatigue, chronic migraine, peripheral neuropathy (tingling, numbness, or pain in hands or feet), unexplained chronic hypertransaminasemia (elevated liver enzymes), reduced bone mass and bone fractures, and vitamin deficiency (folic acid and B12), difficulty losing weight, late menarche/early menopause and unexplained infertility, dental enamel defects, depression and anxiety, dermatitis herpetiformis (itchy skin rash), etc.

Silent celiac disease is also known as asymptomatic celiac disease. Patients do not complain of any symptoms, but still experience villous atrophy damage to their small intestine. Studies show that even though patients thought they had no symptoms, after going on a strict gluten-free diet, they report better health and a reduction in acid reflux, abdominal bloating, and distention and flatulence.

Here is the list of symptoms I will read out both as a child and as an adult, some are more common in children and a person can display some symptoms over others. 

Abdominal bloating and pain

Anxiety and depression

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities

Cognitive impairment

Constipation

Damage to tooth enamel

Delayed puberty

Diarrhea

Fatigue

Failure to thrive

Gas

Headaches or migraines

Iron-deficiency anemia

Irritability

Itchy, blistery skin rash (dermatitis herpetiformis)

Infertility 

Joint pain

Loss of Hair

Missed periods

Mood swings

Mouth ulcers and canker sores

Nausea and vomiting

Osteoporosis and osteomalacia

Pale, foul-smelling stools

Peripheral neuropathy

Reduced functioning of the spleen (hyposplenism)

Seizures and lack of muscle coordination

Short stature

Weight loss

Segue (can be a sound effect, short musical clip, or a phrase)

Topic 2: What are the common misconceptions/Misunderstandings? And What are the issues/problems that can arise from lack of knowledge/misconceptions about Coeliac.

Okay so i’d categorise this question into two areas. The diagnoses misunderstanding and then the social misconceptions and understandings which lead and cater to the Gluten free stigma. 

Living with Coeliac disease can be challenging due to the need for a new and permanent lifestyle, leading to social and emotional turmoil for those diagnosed. The restrictive nature of the gluten-free diet can cause social isolation.  Coeliac disease is much more common than previously thought, and it is increasing while remaining largely undiagnosed. Individuals with coeliac disease face physical, mental health, social, and financial burdens.

Misconceptions about its prevalence and symptoms can lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment, and its rarity and similarity to other gut issues can result in missed diagnosis. In the US and New Zealand, the prevalence ratios are similar, and the most alarming statistic is that an estimated 83% of people with coeliac disease are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.(LaPook, 2009) It takes an average of four years to receive a correct diagnosis due to over 200 known symptoms triggered by even a small amount of gluten. This is particularly challenging given that 80% of food products contain gluten, not to mention items like tea bags and paper straws (What Is Celiac Disease? – Celiac Disease Foundation, n.d.).

 stigma, feelings of inadequacy, and exclusion from normal social roles. Stigmas also interfere with maintaining positive self-concepts, which tends to lead to reduction in social network and support systems. 

Social stigma is the disapproval of, or discrimination against, an individual or group based on perceived characteristics that serve to distinguish them from other members of a society.

the gluten-free thing is just a fad, promoted by food companies "as a way of making money", an attention seeking thing, a way to eat ‘healthier’ which is interesting because eliminating food from your diet that you dont need to eliminate for actual health reasons is actually not the greatest for you either and its always worth consulting s docoter anyways before removing certain foods from your diet 

For these people, the phenomenal popularity of gluten-free diets has been both a blessing and a curse.

The Curse 

There is an importance of distinguishing between food preference and food-related sensitivity, allergy, and/or disease. Even trace amounts of gluten can cause extreme illness for some individuals with gluten-related health issues. The growing popularity of the gluten-free diet has resulted in increased demand for gluten-free food products, but it has also led to misconceptions about what constitutes gluten-free food. On the other, it’s born a storm of misconceptions about what actually constitutes gluten-free food, placing celiacs at risk of ingesting gluten through products advertised as so-called gluten-free.

Celiacs often feel pressure to disclose their disease in social situations or risk being misunderstood as following a gluten-free lifestyle. 

Some people afflicted with celiac disease say their disorder isn't always taken seriously when they eat out. "The biggest problem I experience is that restaurant servers don't understand the difference between being celiac and going gluten-free as a lifestyle choice," Deschamps says. "You can see the reaction where they think I'm just trying to lose weight or on a fad diet. I see eye-rolling."    

"A lot of people who don't know much about [celiac disease] liken it to the Atkins diet," Lewis says. When she tells people that she avoids gluten for medical reasons, she says, "in many cases, I'm viewed as being difficult or seeking attention instead of just trying not to get sick."

"Because so many are doing gluten-free as a lifestyle now," she says, "I'm embarrassed to ask for a gluten-free meal because of people judging me."

Adding to this for me… growing up im guilty to say i was embarrassed to eat out with my mom because shed have to ask for gluten free food and check and …. It wasnt making a big deal…. But i always felt that people would be thinking we were being picky or being karens as it has happened before. 

The Blessing 

More available gluten free foods "it was virtually impossible to find gluten-free products, and if you did, they tasted terrible."

Clear food labeling and taking dietary restrictions seriously could decrease the risk of cross-contamination and reduce the need for individuals with gluten-related health issues to disclose their disease. People need to avoid condescending attitudes towards the gluten-free diet and to respect individuals' dietary restrictions without judgment

Unfortunately, such people who simply see a health halo around gluten-free may unwittingly be making life more challenging for those with celiac disease, by contributing to an environment where food servers have come to dismiss gluten avoidance as a silly fad that isn't worth taking seriously

Segue (can be a sound effect, short musical clip, or a phrase)

Outro:

All right, I hope you enjoyed that episode about Coeliac Disease and some of the issues around misconceptions and how important it is to be careful about what we say and respond to a person's disclosure to their disease.  thank you the listener for listening all the way through. I hope that you take some valuable information from this episode and apply it in one way or another into your life. 

[next time you're about to judge someone on their gf choice of meal in the cabinet at the cafe, think, is it really your place to say something, is it affecting you. No!, is it any of your business. No. and also yes barbra i can eat bloody potatoes] 

I look forward to serving you in the next episode as well, where I'll be joined by 4 people in my life who all have coeliac disease for an open discussion around their experiences with it.  I hope to see you then. goodbye!

[Closing music]

Episode 2: The Interview

People I could interview;

My Mother (Carla)

My Auntie (Johanna)

My Grandma (Merle)

Family Friend (Tracey)

Uni Friend (Lydia)

Uni Friend (Aishlin)

Other family members

Other Uni friends

Friends of my mothers who have coeliac

The Questions Brainstorm...

[making sure my questions are open ended not yes or no] the questions are more of a guide.

tie things up at the end with quick yes no answers

what was the most difficult aspect of having to transition to a Gluten-Free diet? is there anyway that-that experience could have been avoided or improved?

what's the biggest change you had to make.

how has having Coeliac impacted you socially ?

the perception others have

what was your diagnosis story?

what's the silliest thing you've been asked because you've gt coeliac/ the most annoying

what do you wish people knew about coeliac? or what other people would do when they realise you've got coeliac (or anything else for that matter)

What's an awkward social moment that you've had with coeliac?

Start with a broad question to get people talking about the now and currently.

The interview could flow from the persons experiences with before getting diagnosed, then moving to living with living with it, then to after diagnosis

This post was to get the first basic drafts for my podcast episodes! it will be an area that will get done up more as I continue to refine the layout.

Upon recording my first episode, the things that when wrong were:

I stumbled on what I was saying and on top of that I was trying to hard to pretend I knew what I was doing...to put it simply it was very cringe worthy so I am not sharing that clip here despite the fact that this assignment requires test clips (if it means I fail or lose a decent grade on this assignment, then so be it I will sleep at night knowing my dignity is still in tack....*I'm sorry Rodrigo* )

I think the tone I was using worked well, I was trying to speak clearly while keeping on the more uplifted and cheerful side .

I can't speak properly, I think I have a lisp because I cannot pronounce my words properly