#coming back to this I also thing the original issue also rings true

[jokin-around]

I made a Twitter thread about this, but I've been reading early issues of Batman lately and something I've noticed is how differently the contrast between Batman and "Bruce Wayne" is depicted

obviously, in many things today, "Bruce" (ESPECIALLY in fandom) is often depicted as a happy-go-lucky himbo in order to draw contrast with a grim and "tortured" batman

so how does this hold up when you look at older depictions? the answer: it doesn't. in fact it was almost the opposite.

way back in the very first issues of the official Batman title, Bruce Wayne, no matter WHAT he's doing, isn't the one who laughs and smiles, Batman is.

and these are comics that were published BEFORE the comics code authority caused a dramatic shift in tone

Bruce Wayne (or least the cardboard cutout refered to as Bruce Wayne) isn't nessecarily described as grim, but he isn't a very happy person either, he's still a rich airhead, but not so much a "himbo" or even a dedicated businessman, he's depicted as a BORED, uninterested, aristocrat:

this Bruce seems to spend of his time smoking a pipe at home or mingling with other upperclass individuals, that in-between we tend to see MUCH more often in modern comics doesn't seem to exist yet (in part because the batcave Is non-existent which I suspect has given him a bit more privacy as a character)

MEANWHILE Batman, who's investigates murders every other night almost seems to be having the time of his life:

the early comics seem to routinely depict the burgoise as cold, snobbish & bored, in contrast to batman who seems particularly expressive and joyful, for all we know Batman may partially exist as some millionaires weird passtime, but of course Bruce Wayne (the real guy, not the facade) is written as someone who genuinely seems to care due to his own past experiences:

but , with all of that layed out, one can conclude that when ppl say Batman is the "true persona" ect. originally, it wasn't (just) because of his coping or whatever it was because when he wasn't Batman he was forced to live life as a cold, "useless" millionaire:

"what if a rich a guy gave a fuck?" is still very much the base concept here, but what's surprising is how much BITE there is to it

the concept wasn't being proposed because it's like… a plausible thing to happen or attainable on a personal level, but because the rich reliably and consitently do not care

the rich ppl in this book, "Bruce Wayne" included, are not written to be envied as people. they're written to be insufferable. ppl with endless resources who are still somehow unsatisfied with life and choose to do nothing useful or direct with the amount wealth they've accumulated

but ofc it shouldn't be ALL THAT surprising, Batman debuted in Detective Comics in 1939…. ONE year after the great depression, Bob and Bill had more than a good reason to feel a bit bitter

but rolling back to the point of this analysis, whenever I say "let batman be happy" I mean "let Batman enjoy his job" despite the pain, despite the death, despite the murder, despite the hypocritical nature of it all and how problematic it may be because it's a life he also chooses, not just out of compulsion, but because it's hands on, direct & purposeful. it gives him something to do & it gives him a chance to punch a problem in the face (which may be good or bad depending on what that problem is, but still)

that kind of depiction is what set up the groundwork for nearly every deconstruction that's come since but it's so buried in time at this point that lines from characters claiming bruce "loves being batman" seem to ring completely hollow

tbh, I think the old way of depicting Batman can be ( and as been in some media) woven into the way he's depicted today, in the past Batman was an outlet for every emotion Bruce Wayne had to hide elsewhere, a symbol of empathy, fury and passion, for modern Batman, I imagine those three things still hold true, layered on top of an alter ego that allows a modern Bruce Wayne to be weird and damaged and dark.

so uh, ln conclusion, I think batman enjoying what he does to a certain extent is a crucial aspect of his character that's been lost and withered and forgotten about, let him a have a little fun, we can discuss the ramifications of all that when discussion seems necessary

[mischeva]

Fuck this stupid baka show man I’m gonna do whatever I want

ramblings under cut

Okay so here’s a little summary of the reimaginings of each character

Alastor - A hellborn demon that was tasked by Satan to watch over Dani and basically be like a nanny to her and help her with her endeavors. He doesn't particularly like Dani, but he'll put on a bright smile and be a good sport about things. He owes Satan big time and this is his debt being paid. Whatever that means....

Husk - A greedy, grumpy old manticore that becomes the bartender/chef of the hotel. Has a soul contract with Alastor so works under him for Dani. Actually becomes really good at his job and even begins to enjoy it and spending time with the others. Out of everyone though he seems to spend the most time with Angel Dust. They talk to each other like they know each other. Who knows… maybe they do.

Sir Pentious - Becomes the second tenant of the hotel. He originally tried destroying it because he wanted the land where it was, but he didn’t know that the Princess of Hell was behind the idea (he doesn’t watch tv lol). Once he finds out the hard way he gives up on his devious plans and wishes to join the hotel and try to be redeemed. Dani was more than thrilled to already have a second tenant! His design is loosely based off a yellow cape cobra mixed with a steampunk fashion sense and weaponry theme. He always tried to one up Angel Dust in weapon design and even considered him a rival, but they eventually get along.

Selene - Dani’s beloved bodyguard and girlfriend. She is appointed head of security for the hotel and takes her job very seriously. She’s based off of a lunar moth and is the moon to Dani’s sun. She is extremely devoted to Dani and adores her optimistic ideas… even if sometimes they sound a little too out of reach. Also there’s no real twist that she’s a fallen angel. I mean only Dani knows because she understands how traumatizing it was for her and also it’s nobody’s business. They’re a true power couple and always have each other’s backs.

Dani - Hell’s darling Princess and the apple of her father’s eye, her dream is to help sinner’s be redeemed to Heaven. She does this not only to fix the overpopulation of Hell, but also because she truly believes that people can change for the better if only given the right opportunity and help. She’s extremely optimistic, but she isn’t stupid. She would never force anyone to come to the hotel because she knows people have to want to change to be better. Luckily she has found those who believe in her and want to help her with her goal. The only issue is everyone else in Hell not taking her seriously and thinking her goal is useless and stupid. Boy are they in for a rude awakening.

Ms. Kino - A small one eyed, one horned purple oni that becomes the hotel cleaner and other chef. Much like Husk she too has a soul contract with Alastor. She doesn’t seem to care as much about it as he does though. She’s more than happy to spiffy up a dusty old hotel and make things nice and presentable. It’s her true passion to make things beautiful after all.

Angel Dust - Currently the overlord of the Lust ring and one of the main and best weapons dealer in all of Hell. Why he would ever want to help out and manage a dusty old hotel and help the Princess with her deranged goal is unknown. He does have a reason though. He becomes head of management and basically the host of the hotel. He has the natural charisma and people skills needed to run the place and actually volunteers to become the first tenant as well.

[kimberlyannharts]

So I may have been slightly hyped for this book the past few months

For the three of you who haven't heard about this, MMPR: The Return is a story set in the future of an alternate universe of the MMPRs; one where Jason, Zack, and Trini didn't give up their powers upon the eve of the Peace Conference, and thus the team stayed together even after high school. But fast forward twenty-two years later, and the team has broken up due to some sort of tragedy - we know from the Re-Imagine prologue in the 30 Year Anniversary book, Zordon and Alpha were destroyed by Zedd and Rita. But other stuff seems to have happened too. What is that stuff? I guess we're about to find out!

Oh, and I should mention this was written by the original Pink Ranger herself, Amy Jo Johnson. (and her partner, Matt Hotson.) That might be important to know.

It's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #1!

= Three pages in and Jason's already getting his ass kicked. You're forty-five years old, man, you should be at the club

= I know this was debated a bit when the book was announced - how it would line up with Thuy and JDF's passings, especially after coming off the heels of Once and Always, where the focal point was Trini's daughter taking up her powers after Trini's death. (For what it's worth, this book was first conceived pre-pandemic, long before OaA. Making comics takes a long time.) And while Tommy is still a bit up in the air (despite what we'll see in a few pages) Trini does seem to have definitively passed due to illness.

While I definitely get the frustration of Thuy's passing essentially sealing Trini's fate - especially in a comic book, where you don't have to worry about actor restrictions - I'm a little more generous towards it here because Amy and Thuy were close friends and she actually dealt with her death personally compared to how the OaA writers, well......didn't. And this issue is clearly paralleling Kimberly's motivations and feelings to Amy's real-life ones, so this just feels like another part of that.

(Also to contrast OaA's handling of Trini - a) her passing here isn't caused by a graphic onscreen explosion, proving the whole "well they HAD to show it onscreen for more impact!!!" was bullshit b) her friends AND THE WIDER COMMUNITY are actually grieving and talking about her impact on everyone as well as using the non-actor-restriction to SHOW it and c) The book actually gives her a JOB. TWO jobs!!!!!!! Yeah OaA why the fuck did you send ZACK to Congress WHEN IT CLEARLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN TRINI

also I like her middle-aged design. prettyyyyyy)

= onto lighter topics HEYYYY IT'S THESE GUYS!! Bulk and Skull are married and you just can't see the ring through Bulk's gloves, it's real and true

= speaking of which this whole flashback is adorable and nostalgic but I want to point out some background details

= Ernie is just trying to run a fucking business here

= go white boy go

= ZACK/KIM HAS FINALLY COME BACK TO ME MY FUCKING BELOVEDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God, when WAS the last time they actually talked one-on-one in the main series

= FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

= so along with some other stuff I'm definitely taking this as foreshadowing that Trini wasn't cut off from Kim like the boys were. That's the power of WOMEN (and also if we get Aunt Trini flashbacks with Olivia I'll fucking CRYYYYYY)

= Absolutely obsessed with Billy's face here

= D:

= So besides the Trini stuff I want to the keep the Once and Always comparisons to a minimum but it's very funny how both storylines involve Billy using a company as a front for his embezzlement schemes. At least his telecom company PROBABLY isn't war profiteering

= also Alpha's rose <3

= so anyway Jason's gone rogue and was pretending he's the main character until he suddenly went missing, as shown in the first few pages. And Billy and Zack want to become Rangers again to try and find him.

= but the thing is guys, Kim has won the idgaf war. She's depressed, she's traumatized, she spent twenty-two years raising a child with Tommy's genes all by herself, she's tired. She does NOT want to be wrapped up in Jason's midlife crisis drama

= Zack getting so mad and wanting to risk it all for Jason hell yeah those are my Jason/Zack crumbs

= Mysterious shadowy figure watching the old people drama from a distance, you are just like me fr

= OLIVIA THAT'S FUCKING OLIVIAAAAAAAAAAAA and she already sounds so CUTE. If you go back to the diner scene you can see the phone constantly buzzing until Kim finally puts it away. She's like mom. mom. mom. MOM

= also just because the tragic Tomberly family storyline already makes me want to kms do you think that ring is kind of small and plain because Tommy and Kim were so young when they got married and it's all Tommy could afford. And Kim still wears it to this day. I want to die

= It's already been confirmed that Selena is indeed referring to Sylvia here, so I won't talk about that. What I DO want to talk about is Kim's casual momwear. Those sweatpants!!!!!!!!!!

= It would be really funny if Kim just. immediately slammed the door shut

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Adrien's feather allergy as foreshadow of his status as sentimonster is reaching on fandom part. But fandom claimed Felix being one isn't. His name being the episode name definitely foreshadowing his status as sentimonste, considering in s1-3, the episode always named after either akuma or sentimonster bar the Origins. That's what I call foreshadowing. Not whatever feather BS people like to claim.

Felix being a sentimonster is just make senses, always make senses for me, considering he seems harbor a jealousy toward Adrien especially at his remark "You always do everything your father tells you to do?" Considering as sentimonster he couldn't disobey whoever had his amok while human Adrien can disobey anytime he want yet choose not to, in his view.

Then come s4 and 5 with a huge retcon.

Also prior to s4 I don't believe the rings is amok, Felix want it because his mother want it since it's her family heirloom. Again, make senses that she want one of it considering Emilie is dead at this point. She has the right to own one of her family heirloom, Gabriel don't.

One of the episode in s5 implied that Felix always know that the rings are amok and this doesn't make senses if we were to connect back to his debut episode where he just give the ring he stole to his mother, even if say Amelie is a better parents/human than Gabriel, Felix who claimed to love his cousin and want to free him, should know better than to give his cousin's amok to his mother. The math is just not mathing, unless Felix doesn't know the rings are the amok in his debut episode and only know later which is a huge plot hole.

The retcon isn't inherently bad per se, in initial plot Luka is supposed to be Juleka's brother older by two years, s4 retcon him to be her twin. This isn't a problem because it's a minor thing that people either doesn't notice or doesn't care. But when what retconned is almost about the whole world building and lore, that's when it become a big problem. S4 onward doesn't seems like the same series as it's prior season.

,

Would you also argue that Nathalie is a sentimonster given the name of the final episode of season two?

[Image showing that episode 25 of Miraculous season two is named "Mayura"]

And what about the first episode of the origins two parter? Does this mean that Marinette and Adrien are both not humans?

[Image showing that episode 11 of Miraculous season one is named "Ladybug & Chat Noir"]

In seasons 1 to 4, episodes were mostly named for akumas and sentimonsters, but it wasn't a hard rule, so that's a pretty weak argument for Felix being a sentimonster. Even if he was human, he's still the episode's main antagonist, so naming it after him isn't weird even if he was fully human. This is extra true since Chat Noir was originally named Felix, so calling the episode "Felix" apparently drove up hype from fans who were saddened by the change. People wanted to see Felix make at least a cameo and would even pester the head writer about it prior to this episode. A lot of people wanted him to be a former Chat Noir or Adrien's older brother or something like that. You can find a lot of fanfics that did this long before season three was even airing.

Plus what else would you call this episode? There wasn't a single akuma, there were three, and "Princess Fragrance, Lady Wifi, Reflekta" is both an awkward name and something of a spoiler since I think this was the first time that we saw one item lead to multiple akumas.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, I would actually buy that Felix was planned to be a sentimonster from the start. That doesn't feel like a retcon in the same way that Adrien and Kagami do because there is some setup for Felix. The "always do what your told" line fits him being a senti and evil "twins" are often revealed to be magical in origin in these kinds of shows. Plus sentimonsters were a thing at this point, so yeah, I'd totally buy it.

The big reason I still call it a retcon is because of the issue you bring up about the rings. The way they're handled in that episode makes no sense if they're supposedly Adrien's amoks because how would Felix even know that? Who told him? Amelie?

I mean, I'd buy that Amelie knew because it's implied that she was somewhat close to her sister, but that just raises more questions! Why is she demanding her nephew's amok? Why does she give it to Felix? What does she think he's going to do with it? What is going on here?

And, of course, there's the biggest issue of them all: why is Gabriel only mildly annoyed that Felix and Amelie have Adrien's amok? If that was me, I'd be demanding it back! I'd be sending akumas! I'd go to war! You are not controlling my kid!

But Gabriel does nothing. He just waits for Felix to bring it back in the next season. Like this is how he greets Ameilie the next time he sees her:

Amelie: Gabriel! I'm so happy to be able to thank you in person for giving our family's ring (kisses his cheeks) back to Félix. Gabriel: It was the sensible thing to do, Amelie. Adrien: That was very thoughtful of you, Father.

Dude, what are you doing? Why didn't you just tell her that Felix stole the ring? What is going on here? Why does this episode (Gabriel Agreste) end will Gabriel totally fine that he didn't get the ring back because he finally got his hands on one of Ladybug's magical charms? It seriously comes across like he the completely forgot about the ring even though this is the season where Adrien is finally foreshadowed to be a sentimonster! Writers, what are you doing???

A better version of the episode Felix would see Felix show up with the goal of learning if Adrien is also a sentimonster and - if yes - figuring out what the amok is. Have Gabriel give Adrien a command to be nice to Felix so Felix is a total brat to see what his cousin will do. This would be excellent foreshadowing because you could do all of that without directly stating what Felix is doing, but once the reveal happens, it would be a major "oh!" moment on a rewatch.

As-is, the episode is just weird. It may have been intending to set Felix up as a sentimonster, but why? What was the plan? What's with the rings? Why did Felix try to take away all of Adrien's friends and ruin his reputation? There are just so many questions raised here that - sentimonster or not - Felix was still massively retconned.

I will also agree that a retcon isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the writers claim to have planned everything out which is why I will point out every one as it clearly refutes that claim. Plus most of them aren't minor things like the weirdness of Luka's age. It's big stuff like all of the above, which does negatively impact the show. Everything about Felix is extremely unsatisfying and I don't think we're getting answers to any of the questions I asked in this post.

[semi-sketchy]

That...was it?

I mean, yeah, I probably should've expected it to end in a "adventure continues in SXSG" but that was very abrupt.

GUN, Rouge and Omega know there's something big coming, but just fuck off after this? There's no glimpse of what awaits Shadow? No real cliffhanger, it just stops? This wasn't satisfying.

It started with "Black Doom might be back I have to get to the ARK" and ended with "Black Doom might be back I'm on my way to the ARK." I stopped to look at the timer near the end because I was like "wait it's just gonna end here? We watched a travel animation?"

Maybe this is because I haven't been following SXSG super closely, but I don't understand how Shadow's campaign is going to start so I have no context for how this leads into the game. That's probably partly why it feels so abrupt right now.

I liked the music and action scenes, though I thought some lines should've been cut.

Like this is pretty obvious, but it keeps going.

The scene would've been better had this line been cut. Same thing happens in part 2.

Sometimes, silence speaks volumes. But of course, everything needs to be "spelled out" though that's an issue with the Maria scenes in general.

Man this shot of Shadow though with that music swelling, holy cow.

Hits you in the feels.

Overall though, it was okay!

My biggest compliment really goes to the sound design. I just love how the music and sound effects come together. Also really enjoy how snappy the animation is. By part 3 I definitely was able to tell I was looking at 3D models, but honestly I don't really care which medium it is as long as it's done well. This looked good!

Writing wise, I think part 1 was the worst and that's due to the stiff, on-the-nose interactions between Shadow and Maria (plus the slip-in of "low-gravity remission"). I definitely preferred the action scenes and interactions with Rouge, sadly Omega was just kinda there in the corner like "I CALL DIBS" and didn't contribute anything noteworthy.

I said this about Xenoblade 3 and it rings true here: this felt like watching a draft rather than a finished script. Some parts are cooked and others are raw. If Omega had nothing to do but blow a few things up in the background, why was he here? Even Shadow was the one to take down the GUN ship Omega originally engaged. Give him a bigger purpose or cut him.

The Maria scenes play out the most like a draft, something you'd write to get the basics of what you want the characters to convey before going back over and replacing those lines with actual dialogue. (This is something I do if I'm struggling.)

Now do I really care that the GUN Commander got his Archie name? No. Of all the things in this animation, Sonic Twitter picked the stupidest one to blow up about. I think the "low gravity remission" and Shadow knowing he's part alien is an actual issue. (Although I guess this could be argued since in ShTH he still had amnesia, he wouldn't remember so this wouldn't matter. Still, wasn't it supposed to be a secret? The Commander only found out by accident?)

Some things just aren't as well thought-out as others, which cements my thought that this script needed polishing.

All that said, this is the biggest promo animation project we've seen in Sonic yet and it's quite different from others before it. I don't think I'd call it "the best", I think the Frontiers one was super cool, but it also didn't have the run-time of Dark Beginnings. Like with XC3: Future Redeemed, it simply didn't have the time to screw stuff up as much.

There's good, there's ehh, so overall Dark Beginnings was just okay for me.

My biggest disappointment is still the fact that this animation simply wasn't what I wanted, which isn't its fault. I saw the teaser of Shadow and Maria on the ARK, I thought it was going to be about them on the ARK and it ended up just being about Shadow traveling to space. I wanted and was expecting something this animation was never going to be.

I guess we'll find out soon how the final game handles Shadow's story, though if this animation is anything to go off of, I'm keeping my expectations in check.

[olderthannetfic]

Do you have any advice on endings? I have multiple writing projects going and I always find I run into trouble while plotting because I can never figure out an ending. This has been my biggest struggle and I have been trying to write for decades at this point. I always feel like I write myself into a corner where I build to a climax where my characters are stuck in a situation that is SO dire that I can’t think of a reasonable wait out of it, or else the problem is so large it requires a huge systemic solution. In real life, boring legislature is what solves problems but that is not necessarily emotionally or narratively satisfying.

I always think of the end of The Lord of the Rings, right? Where they come back to the shire and then have to spend a hundred odd pages sorting out local politics. Which I think works beautifully, but I worry that since it murders the pacing, most readers won’t touch it. This project has a lot of elements that I think are already a hard sell so I am already worried that I will have no audience. Then again I know I’m getting ahead of myself because maybe the audience would be very small, but the readership if I don’t even finish is zero. So maybe I should go work on that instead of rambling in your inbox.

Anyway, endings. How do you build to a climax that is dire, but no so dire that there’s no way out? How do you stop nattering around tying up loose ends and just end the damn thing?

--

Well...

You know I'm an extreme planner, right? Almost all of my ideas start with the ending and are completely plotted backwards from there before I write a word of the main prose.

But big picture, don't take on systemic issues or try for an epic scope if you aren't prepared to write an ending to match. Pick a more personal and local set of conflicts.

I also do almost all of my high level structure based on emotional logic. The true climax of my first book isn't "Who is the murderer?" but "What would make the jealous, insecure character finally stop being so wrapped up in his own pain such that he could finally recognize how much he meant to that other guy and vice versa?" The initial plotbunny was him clutching the other guy's jacket to his chest and crying. (If you've read my book, that whole scene is basically unchanged from the original idea.)

If you start without knowing the ending then, yes, you will write yourself into a corner. Rescuing an existing project depends on the project.

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Wait wait no I'm not over this I need to talk about it.

So I've been reading Archie Sonic. And besides the fact that the lore and plot of most of the comics is just a blindfolded guy throwing darts at a dartboard, random things will just like come back after 50 issues of no longer being relevant or not being talked about.

Two of these things? Shard/Original Mecha Sonic, and Sonic's experience during the Metal Madness special, during which he was the True Mecha Sonic.

ㅤ

So for context, let's back up to the Mecha Madness special.

So, I will be so clear right now. As Sonic was roboticized, during his stint as Mecha Sonic he is completely fine doing what Robotnik instructs. I am completely aware that he lost his free will, and I do not blame him for this. He is under Robotnik's control (or his robotic "programming" if you will) when he starts attacking Sally, the freedom fighters, Metal Knuckles, and Knothole.

But part way through that special issue, something happens that allows him to regain some of that free will. It allows him to feel a moral dilemma, and it gives him the chance to fight against Robotnik's programming.

Again, I will be clear. Up to this point, unless one of the roboticized characters has had their free will restored, the only thing allowing them to "fight their programming" or become aware in any way was as long as they were holding a working power ring (and later, the sword of acorns). This tells us just how powerful a force the programming to be a mindless Robotnik slave built into roboticization is.

And yet Sonic M. Hedgehog, the true mecha Sonic, manages to gain awareness without the usage of a power ring.

How?

Is it because he just couldn't hurt Sally, his love interest? Is it because he couldn't hurt his friends? Is it because he couldn't stand destroying his home?

NOPE (don't believe me? Read Archie Sonic issue 39 and then the mecha madness special)

He starts to regain a semblance of his free will because he almost killed Tails.

It's such a small thing, and it doesn't end up amounting to much in the moment just because he and Metal Knuckles end up duking it out until Sonic falls, damaged, but it’s highly important.

ㅤ

Now let's fast forward to the return of the original Mecha Sonic. This event spans issues 86 and 87.

Now, the big conflict of this arc is that Mecha/Metal Sonic has kidnapped Tails and restrained him at the top of a volcano that is going to erupt very soon. Tails spends most of the arc in the damsel in distress role and acts as motivation for Sonic to fight Metal.

And really, Sonic isn’t having any of this Metal kidnapping Tails business

He spends much of the issues fantasizing about/trying to destroy Metal while trying desperately to get to Tails, but there are two moments that stand out from this in issue 87. Namely, the moment when Sonic realizes how similar Metal is to him when he was Mecha Sonic, and during the Tails + Sonic vs Metal fight, where he tries to relate to Metal. During the former:

At this point, Sonic first realizes how similar he and Metal are, but he doesn't think too hard on this. Instead, he ops to think about what makes them different (Metal's lack of humanity, or at least the lack of attempt in keeping a semblance of humanity).

During the latter:

Here, although Sonic spent much of the arc trying to save Tails and dealing with his anger towards Metal, he tries to reason with Metal. Whether he really believes he can get through to him or not, the point is that he tries. Even if he can't convince Metal, at least he can distract him enough for Tails to fly to safety.

Now, here's what's also interesting about these scenes. Sonic doesn’t actually mention how he began to fight his programming, only that he had to to preserve his last bits of humanity. We will come back to this.

Now, during this scene, Sonic bids Tails to escape, but Tails will not.

This scene is important. Sonic is having difficulty getting through to Metal, he bids Tails to leave, and while Metal goes on about how feelings make them weak, and then about how Tails *is* actually going to leave Sonic, Tails flies back to his side.

"No! I'm coming to be at his side so we can stop you together!"

And then...

Metal saves them. He not only saves them, he stands in the way of the magma, melts down to his core, to save the Mobians he's been fighting and toying with all day.

And despite the conversation he JUST had with Sonic, not even a page or two ago, he's going off about how he understands compassion, what it means to have the ability to go past your programming.

What happened between point A and point B? How did Metal flip flop so quickly even though Sonic's words didn't do anything.

Well, here's how Sonic puts it:

"But I think you turned the tide, Tails."

"Me? How?"

"Whatever words I said to the metal guy were just words. But when you wouldn't abandon me... That's when what I said became real to him...as if he gained some kind of robotic soul."

Now that's interesting.

If I remember correctly, later character bio type stuff on Mecha Sonic/Metal Sonic/Shard just mentions that he changed his mind after seeing Sonic and Tails' display.

But what Sonic says is pointed. It's not just after seeing Sonic and Tails' bond that Metal opened his mind. To him it's specifically what Tails did.

And I think there's some truth we can see to that! Metal would not listen when Sonic tried to relate to him using his time as Mecha Sonic, but when Tails expressed that he wouldn't leave Sonic, that he'd stay and fight to the end...

Suddenly Metal understood what Sonic is saying. Suddenly...he understood what it meant to feel, to have something to fight for.

While issues after Mecha Madness are vague about what exactly caused the true Mecha Sonic to try to fight his programming, the evidence speaks for itself.

It is so highly interesting to me that it was seeing Tails that allowed the Mecha Sonic to fight his programming, and then it was seeing Tails and his demonstration of fighting with Sonic til the end that inspired Metal Sonic to fight his own programming and give his life for Sonic and Tails.

It drives me crazy that if you boil it down, one thing that makes Original Metal/Shard so similar to Sonic/The True Mecha Sonic is that it was due to Tails that they fought their programming.

And given the evidence (using Uncle Chuck, Muttski, and both iterations of Mecha Sally as examples) of just how hard it is to maintain any sense of free will, the fact that Tails existence helped Mecha Sonic and his actions helped Metal/Shard means a lot.

[roobylavender]

im fairly new to batcomics so forgive me for this dumb ask/being uninformed, but do you ever have like. doubt in your reading for bruce as a character, or feel bleak about it (?) im aware you dont really like the reading of him as an abuser, but from what ive seen he most often does emotional neglect/distance and parentification of a child, which /are still/ abuse, and this happens very consistently. from what i can tell there is more evidence of him being a bad parent than otherwise. people often say hes incapable of having a child without messing them up beyond repair, and from what ive seen that rings true😭 i also know you said u dont like alot of his modern portrays, but these types of abuse also occur in older comics as well from what i can tell. i myself often have doubt (perhaps this is because i havent read everything yet and im still informing myself on his character)-that maybe this /is/ just his character, bc of HOW consistent the pattern is. idk if im really asking a specific question. im more so wondering what your thoughts are, like on parentificafion of his kids and emotional neglect/distance, would this be different if DC portrayed him more empathetically/based on your reading, and/or is he just fundamentally unable to parent someone without abusing them like some ppl say. i understand i may have just opened a whole can of worms lol but im so curious

you are totally fine! canon is quite overwhelming in both volume and scope, and conversations about bruce being an abuser definitely dominate at present (not wrongfully btw), so i don't blame people for ascribing to them early on. i will say at least from what i have read (and i will admit here that my pre-bronze age reading is not nearly as consistent as my post-bronze age reading so i have kept less track of specific writers and runs there) that i think the aspects that largely define present interpretations of bruce as an abuser tend to take from canon post-crisis onward. so that's probably why in a sense it looks like bruce has "always" been an abuser, bc realistically speaking if you're a new dc reader it makes most sense to start with the aftermath of the crisis and go from there. most conversations about "canon" tend to be about post-crisis canon (ie what has taken place on new earth/prime earth) and usually when you're looking up batman reading lists they will start with year one rather than with anything in pre-crisis. the crisis was nearly forty years ago after all! it covers a lot of territory and unless you're a really dedicated comic reader with a lot of time on your hands i don't think most people have the time or energy to go further back (to no fault of their own obv)

all that being said. pre-crisis canon is obv not monolithic in nature and there are definitely blogs out there who have dedicated themselves to compiling individual issues or moments they would personally interpret as evocative of abusive behaviors on bruce's behalf. i don't think that's inherently wrong to do per se and to each their own reading but my primary divide with that practice is that it's often performed within a vacuum. to me the most important thing when it comes to being a comics reader (or any kind of reader really) is taking into account real life context and genre conventions. how do the politics or culture of the time shape the way a given narrative is written and with what tone it's written? all of that is crucial to incorporate into an analysis. i'm going to use a pretty famous example of why. world's finest comics #153 (1965) is the origin of a pretty famous panel you may be familiar with:

on its face this looks pretty bad (and it'll actually factor into when i discuss parentification later) but contextually this issue imagined an alternate reality wherein superman was responsible for the death of bruce's parents and subsequently became the face of bruce's relentless revenge and pursuit of criminal activity. obv that's not a bruce who actually exists in reality and this was merely written for the sake of exaggeration and entertainment but it can also give rise to some interesting questions about what the writer here was specifically trying to satirize and why. primarily it's obv trying to poke some fun at the idea of bruce's crusade to begin with (which i am sure most people would agree was quite cartoonish in the early decades of dc despite the more layered portrayal and analysis it was afforded in later decades). but what's also pertinent here is the sort of "natural" exaggeration of bruce's dynamic with dick. in even as far back as the original bob kane comics, bruce and dick had a dynamic where dick was comedically portrayed as the more morally responsible one of the two. it wasn't much reason for concern back then bc the stakes weren't nearly as high and dick's tendency to question some of bruce's decisions (eg his tendency to always let selina go or to allow some villains to die horrifically) was almost always played off with a laugh. but the foundation was still there and you can recognize it in these panels despite that foundation obv being taken to an extreme. all of which is to say: the portrayal of bruce as an abuser largely depends on what a writer is willing to exaggerate, and why, and how. this issue was obv a one-off with no relevance to actual canon but it was nonetheless a peek into what that dynamic between bruce and dick could look like given a writer willing to pursue a darker tone and to explore the potential extremes of what was on its face merely a gag

the novelty of cape comics is that they are a place to explore anything and everything. extremes are possible bc no writer/artist and no editorial staff are ever on a book forever. what creatives want to explore with what they're given can hugely vary esp if a particular editorial staff is liberal enough to allow that exploration. and i think it's fair to say that a lot of writers are interested by the idea of that what if the above issue explored. not out of malice per se but certainly out of a growing curiosity as to how far disbelief with respect to the internal reality of cape comics can actually be suspended. the big question for batman in the 80s was whether having a kid sidekick constituted child abuse. this was primarily explored via the starlin run that ended in a death in the family. and obv following that we got the triple whammie of year three, a lonely place of dying, and knightfall. these arcs to me were what really cemented the foray into parentification in batman comics. the fledgling idea of it had always existed in a sense. dick was the more morally upright character of the two known for chiding some of bruce's decisions. he was the leader of the original teen titans, who historically demanded more respect and support of their mentors (i do not think it all inconsequential that dick and roy were developed so closely). and increasingly as we moved from the bronze age into the modern age we saw a dick who simultaneously desired to be independent of bruce and to be recognized by him. so the components to take that fledgling idea to its natural extreme were all there. editorial merely had to create the right circumstances to mesh those components together, and those circumstances were the buildup to and execution of the death of jason todd

i really do not think it can be underestimated in any sense what an enormous impact that event has had on the entire bat mythos at large. beyond utterly shattering the readers' suspension of disbelief wrt sidekicks' place in cape comics what a death in the family did was create an unavoidable void. this was not an event that could merely be skimmed over and moved on from. the aftermath and the consequences had to be dissected to their fullest extent otherwise batman editorial risked falling into the exact same problem the crisis was written to avoid: circular and aimless continuity. everything had to have concrete, forward moving direction and the consequences had to matter long term for there to be meaningful character development. so when you created the circumstances for a child dying bc batman had him gallivanting around as a masked vigilante, he had to retreat into his shell and utterly fall apart from the guilt of it all while everyone else fought like hell to keep him standing. it was pretty riveting and compelling. knightfall is probably one of my favorite arcs ever despite how utterly boring it is bc the introspection into bruce and his breakdown following jason's death was superb. but the circumstances it created for everyone else in bruce's vicinity to act like his emotional crutch while he took the next decade to recover obv had significant long-lasting consequences. dick had to be relegated to acting as the go-to family man rather than ever again pursuing his own dreams as he had in the 80s and early 90s. when jason came back he had to deal with all of bruce's grief and guilt being projected onto him while his own concerns went unheard. tim had to spend his teenage years deluding himself into believing he was the only one who could hold gotham together while bruce was falling apart. cass had to expend an enormous effort trying to prove herself to bruce bc all of the built up circumstances from the last decade drove him to insane paranoia about having sidekicks at all. and damian had to deal with whatever bruce had become by the time all of that was over

all of this to say: do i think bruce was always meant to become an abuser? not really. but did editorial avail themselves of and relentlessly pursue narrative circumstances that allowed that path to be realistically taken? absolutely. it's ultimately a debate of whether or not you agree they should have taken that direction long term. and i know it may look like i would probably be a hard no on that but personally i find myself more in the middle between these two imaginary camps. bc i'm not unsatisfied with what knightfall explored. i found it hugely interesting to explore the natural conclusion of bruce taking all burdens upon his shoulders and making himself highly vulnerable to collapse bc he refused to open up to anyone out of a fear of burdening them in turn. but knightfall was also followed by contagion and legacy and no man's land and murderer and fugitive. it was bruce taking one hit after another until he was utterly ripped to the core and had to start over from scratch and ig that's what i fundamentally disagree with. i don't think they needed to have gone any further than where knightfall took him and to me the end of knightfall should have signaled that bruce was ready to turn a new leaf where he could healthily balance his emotional commitments without letting them be guided by fear. publishing comics takes a long time so i think people often forget that despite there being a decade worth of comics between the events i immediately listed above what actually transpired in real time in the pages was two years or less. if we want to go all of the way back to a death in the family and account for that as well it becomes four years. four years isn't at all a long time nor is it unsalvageable. but by the time knightfall was over i truly think editorial was so obsessed with its own ideas on exploring bruce's collapse that it failed to see little else in the way of that. everything became about how people responded to him rather than about how bruce responded to the world. ironically by being the main character of his books he became the maker of his own demise. bc everything and everyone had to relate to him and his problems first before they could ever have any of their own. that is why keeping him in a perpetual state of emotional collapse has been so profitable. it is the easiest way to tell a story without ever having to make an effort on anyone else in it

note: one clarification i forgot to make earlier is that everything i wrote above is specifically with respect to bruce’s emotional abuse. i personally think there is zero justification for bruce’s physical abuse and that it can’t actually be extrapolated from anything about him as a character at the core, so whenever writers resort to it in the pages i dismiss it completely

[rpking99]

Jessica Cruz Origin and how she was fucked up for a while

Ah, Jessica Cruz. My fave Green Lantern

Okay so to start us off simple... Why do I love her? Well... As someone who suffers from anxiety and depression, and has so for years, I always found her inspiring and good representation of what living with that condition can be like

She doesn't just magically get better after getting the ring. She is so scared that some days it's hard for her to leave the house

That pain hits me so hard because it is so relatable to me.

But it also shows why she is PERFECT for the Green Lanterns. Their power comes from Will, from their courage. Their ability to overcome Great Fear. And she overcomes great fear every time she gets out of bed.

Her origin though? Ironically, super complicated. Gonna go with her personal origin first before hero one.

Jessica Cruz and her friend went out camping when... They where basically caught in a slasher movie. All her friends killed. And she only survived thanks to lick

As you can guess: lots of survivors guilt and trauma from this, leading to her mental health issues

And then three months later... She was met with a magical ring

This is how she originally looked, using the code name Power Ring.

So... We all know Earth-3, correct? Evil earth. Batman is Owlman, Superman is Ultraman, Wonder Woman is Superwoman, Flash is Johnny Quick. Evil wins, everyone's the opposite of who they normally are. Going by the Crime Syndicate. We got that? We got that

Okay. So during an event called Forever Evil, the Syndicate invaded earth. Big dramatic fight. The Hal Jordon of Earth-3 died and his ring flew off to find a new user like every Lantern Ring

Now the thing of the Ring of Volthoom, the Ring Power Ring has, it that it is a parasite. It latches onto someone filled with fear and then uses that fear to control them

It found Jess... But so did the Justice League. And they all helped her. Helped her heal, supported her, helped her resist the ring

And then, eventually, she destroyed the Ring of Volthoom.... Summoning a new ring in its place

After all, what shows the ability to ober come fear more than literally shattering a parasitic ring that feeds in fear?

And she rises... As the sixth Lantern of sector 2814

And it was glorious!

What is Jessica Cruz about? Not letting trauma define you. She is about healing and true bravery. She has social anxiety, she has depression, she has self loathing. But she works had to over come it all

...

And then DC fucks or up and makes her a Yellow Lantern! Because heaven help us if we have nice things!

And the worst part for me?

I hate that she ACTUALLY LOOKS GOOD JN YELLOW!

Ugh!

Anyway. On to the Yellow Lantern thing and why THAT is bad.

So first off they turned a disabled character, as well as a character of colour, into a villain

Now. Onto the main issues

Jessica Cruz. She suffers from anxiety and depression. Social anxiety, stress issues, all this sort of stuff.

The Yellow Corps is all about GIVING INTO great fear, as well as being able to CAUSE great feed into others.

I feel like it should be super clear what the issue is here!

It's character regression, it's turning her into the type of person who slaughtered her friends, it's insulting to people with these mental health issues as it implies they should just give into them and lash out at others!

And they have Jess say that the reason she is doing this is because it is "exposure therapy"

Which... NO! NO! FUCKING NO!

Exposure therapy should only be done with a professional there in order to help pull you out when it becomes too much, as well as making sure the exposure is a gradual build. Stepping stones. Not jumping into LITERALLY ALL THE FEAR AT ONCE!

Also it is a bit dubeous on if it works with cases like Jess', classes built from trauma rather than pure paranoia/stress. But I'm not a professional and don't wanna give my opinion as fact here

Luckily she is back in green at this point of the comics but.... Yeah. It's been rocky

[rebelsofshield]

Star Wars Ahsoka: "Time to Fly" - Review

Ahsoka and Sabine begin their mission and the series starts to find its footing in an improved, if not great, third chapter.

As Hera Syndulla reaches out to New Republic leadership for help, Ahsoka and Sabine set out for the mysterious world of Seatos. However, they find much more than they expected upon arrival.

Finally, things are starting to come into shape. "Time to Fly" doesn't exactly solve the many issues that plagued Ahsoka's two part premiere, but it takes some decent strides towards getting back on course. Despite it's remarkably short runtime, Dave Filoni manages to accomplish a decent amount in "Time to Fly" delivering some much needed exposition and character study and an entertainingly unique action sequence.

While it may be a strange thing to be thankful for, I'm very glad that such a large portion of this chapter is spent simply letting Ahsoka, Sabine, and Huyang interact with one another. Sure, Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka is still too detached and mysterious to make much of, but we are finally starting to understand the ins and outs of her mentoring of Sabine Wren. Unlike the premiere where both women were defined mostly by quiet frustration, we begin to see a more fruitful, fluid, and dynamic relationship between both characters here. Ahsoka wonders aloud if she's a quitter and too eager to abandon her callings. Sabine struggles to live up to the steep expectations that come with being a Jedi. We are still missing the origins of this dynamic and Ahsoka's rationale for wanting to change a non-Force Sensitive in the Jedi arts to begin with, but "Time to Fly" at least lets us understand a bit more why this is a dynamic worth following. And even if Dawson's performance is still failing to land, Bordizzo seems to be settling into Sabine while creating her own spin on the character.

There's also some welcome clarification on the state of the larger galaxy in "Time to Fly" as Hera Syndulla approaches members of the New Republic with concerns about Grand Admiral Thrawn's return. Intentionally or not, Ahsoka seems to put the audience in the position of the skeptic here. While Hera is one of the show's heroines and a beloved character to franchise fans, viewers who are new to all of this have no context as to why they should care about Thrawn's return or about Hera's desire to rescue Ezra Bridger. We may understand that Hera wants this, but viewers haven't exactly been given reason to stand by her side during her debate with Mon Mothma and Kazuda Xiono's asshole dad. It's a bizarre moment of narrative dissonance and if intentional, could be an interesting move in the long run. I'm not inclined to give that level of credit, but it still makes for an interesting sequence

Also Jacen is here. He still has green hair. He looks a little less like a horrific mash up of a Rugrats character and a head of broccoli.

The highlight of "Time to Fly" is undoubtedly the extended dogfight that takes place above and in the skies of Seatos. The initial reveal of an ornate and massive hyperspace ring is a fun spin on Star Wars' forever fascination with big secret space objects and I like that for a change it isn't a superweapon. And the dogfight that follows is fun Star Wars spectacle. It may be lacking in any form of true narrative tension, but the execution by director Steph Green and the production team is pretty damn fun. I mean, Ahsoka gets in a space suit and slices at any enemy ships in zero gravity. It's the kind of Star Wars set piece that many fans have dreamed about for years and the results are filled with all of the whirring laserswords and sliced up starfighters that you'd hope for.

And then, "Time to Fly" just kind of stops. Given the episode's short runtime it doesn't really make sense why Dave Filoni didn't write more of a coherent third act to this chapter. It speaks to the clunky serialization of Mandoverse shows that want to be episodic without the actual storytelling chops to do so.

All in all, "Time to Fly" feels remarkably more competent than its predecessors. Sure, this is faint praise, but I do want to see this show succeed. There's some genuine joy and creativity bubbling beneath the surface in Ahsoka and I want to see it break free. Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come.

Score: B

[francescacollie]

( olivia cooke, cisfemale, she/her ) have you met francesca collie yet? you know, the 26 year old graduate student majoring in secondary education with a focus in drama. ring a bell yet? every time i walk past their dorm i hear heart it races by dr. dog blasting through the door. everyone who meets them say they’re admirable but can also be a little invasive. guess when you meet them you’ll figure that out yourself. — carita, 24, she/her, est, triggers: sexual harrassment/sexual assault

meet francesca ‘franny’ collie!

FULL NAME: Francesca (Franny to close friends) Joanne Collie

AGE: 26 years old

BIRTHDAY: December 24th

GENDER & PRONOUNS: Cisfemale, she/her

SEXUALITY: Heterosexual

POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS: Witty, sweet, generous, intelligent, outgoing

WEAKNESSES: Nosy, stubborn, pessimistic, blunt

 THE STORY SO FAR ...

(trigger warnings: terminal illness, hospitals, substance abuse)

Francesca is originally from a small town in suburban Massachusetts. She is the youngest in her family, having two older brothers and a twin brother born 5 minutes earlier than her.

She was born with a genetic disease called cystic fibrosis, and initially only expected to live to be about 5 years old, but through medical advancements and participating in sports as a child, she was actually fairly healthy throughout her childhood. Most of her friends at school didn’t even know she was sick.

She lived a very cushy, privileged life, in part due to her parents wanting to give her everything they could, as well as the fact that she grew up in a moderately wealthy household, so money was never much of a worry. Two of her older brothers were highly protective of her and would do anything for her, whereas her twin brother deeply resented her for constantly being the center of attention, and was quite cruel to her growing up.

Her brother’s cruelty came in part because he was deeply struggling with mental health issues and substance abuse issues. Because the focus was always on Franny, his parents did not realize the issues he was dealing with, and instead admonished him for his behavior.

Throughout high school, Franny excelled in almost every way. She truly had an almost perfect life. Smart and athletic, whatever she set her mind to, she believed she could accomplish. She did nearly every extracurricular you could think of, from soccer to running track, and her personal favorite, theatre.

In college, Franny decided to major in both theatre and drama. She wanted to pursue acting on Broadway, or potentially try to make it as an actress in LA, where she planned on going to after Radcliffe.

Her dreams were cut short when her health quickly deteriorated after being on her own for so long. Growing up in a small town with an overbearing family, she was used to having a lot of things done for her. Taking care of her health felt like a full time job, and it didn’t take long for her to suffer the consequences of neglecting her health. She eventually moved back home and was able to recover enough to graduate with her degree online, but with serious consequences, and was no longer fit enough to chase her dreams to New York or bring herself to come to a casting in LA.

After stabilizing a bit and getting her act together somewhat, she decided she did not want to stay back home living with her parents. So, instead, she decided to move back to Radcliffe and pursue higher education. A benefit of this was that her brother already was there, so she could feel more supported and not completely on her own. She is pursuing her degree in drama education now that she has essentially given up on her true dream of being an actress herself, while also trying to figure out how to thrive in the fast life as a disabled woman. She’s resentful of her past as well as her brother, who she continues to clash with at times, but also itching to figure out what she really wants at this time in her life, and take a break from always trying to be so damn perfect. after all, life is short, right?

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Francesca is generally an empathetic and generous person. Her heart is rarely in the wrong place. However, growing up privileged and in many ways, babied by her family sometimes results in her having a hard time connecting with and understanding people from a different walk of life. She is very sensitive and empathetic to certain experiences, but struggles to connect with others.

She likes to be the center of attention ... but not for the wrong reasons. She’d much rather show off the abilities she does have, rather than focus on what she lacks. Because of that, she can appear a bit pissy and even bitter at times, but she's never truly mean. When she finds herself in trouble, she will absolutely use her situation to her advantage when it benefits her. She might have struggles, but she's used to getting a lot handed to her throughout her life and needs to be humbled sometimes.

She’s lonely, but won’t admit it (most of the time). She craves affection from others in her life, be it a friend or a romantic partner, and really just wants to know the people she finds interesting better. Sometimes this results in her coming off as a little (okay, a lot) nosy. 

She is a lover of all things nature. Loves plants and flowers. But she kills everything in her care. No green thumbs over here.

She is a massive foodie and really enjoys every type of cuisine, but definitely has a taste for fine dining.

Because she spent most of her life being somewhat self-absorbed into her appearance, she’s acquired quite the collection of clothes. Her style is very ecletic and feminine, think large colorful sweaters, tights, Mary Jane heels, and funky earrings. But she's terrible at makeup and usually just sticks to the basics.

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

Her twin brother! I’ll submit this as an official WC, but the only real criteria that needs to be filled is that he’s older than her, grew up in MA, and has struggled with substance abuse in the past (currently is fine as well). It’s a relationship I’m hoping to develop more and figure out along the way. Also, if an older brother would be preferred, we could work that out as well.

People she has collaborated with before: this could be someone she was in a play with for undergraduate, a student, a fellow TA (she helps teach drama), anyone that she's done anything with for her degree(s).

An unlikely friend: this is one of my favorite plots! Someone that comes from a completely different walk of life, have different struggles they are facing, but somehow get along and have a genuine friendship with one another. Someone who is more closed off and brooding compared to her unassuming personality is what I think of.

An ex-boyfriend - someone she left behind when she first left Radcliffe in her undergrad to move back home when she was very sick. Most likely a mutual breakup.

A former or current roommate from college: this could really go anywhere, but an easy connection for them to know one another/be friends

Anything else you can think of!

Also - I haven't gotten the invite to the OOC blog yet but hi, I'm Carita! I am an oldie from the RP community (started around 2014 I think?) and haven't in yeeeears but I'm so excited to again! I am still getting acquainted with the newest Xkit and whatnot so I may ask someone for help if I run into issues if anyone is willing, hehe. But I love plots and am super open so feel free to message me anytime!

[surveillance-0011]

Looking at Garten of BanBan II… I actually feel kind of optimistic.

This second game feels like it does have more effort put into it- and it’s more genuine, less of a cash grab especially without the merch link right there. I’m not gonna blame the devs for charging money bc it seems they are very low budget, and I’d prefer a game costing money rather than asking you to buy overpriced merch.

There’s a somewhat scarier atmosphere and I think the direction the story is heading could prove to be interesting.

Spoiler alert:

Saw the human experimentation thing coming from a mile away. Not the most original in the mascot-based horror niche, but I’m a sucker for it and am actually kinda interested in seeing why it’s happening in this facility posing as a kindergarten, of all places. Also, BanBan as a possible good guy is very interesting. Yes, Alice and Mommy Long Legs both send you on fetch quests with ulterior motives, but BanBan seems to genuinely care about saving the kids, even if it means he’s not heroic enough to do it himself.

It’s also interesting that he’s apparently not the “major” threat- that’s Stinger Flynn, apparently. Unless BanBan is lying/tricking the MC, which is like a 50/50 chance.

The game also, surprisingly, has a sense of humor. BanBan’s note telling you he’s gonna knock you out, his sheepish apology, NabNab’s misery, and Seline (the snail) reaching the chase scene too late all actually got a chuckle out of me.

However, it’s not exactly the most riveting gameplay. The game still seems kinda slow, glitchy, and like there isn’t as much of an “active” threat. Everything is very … compartmentalized? Until the last chase scene there doesn’t seem to be an active threat chasing you down.

And the story does have some pitfalls and confusing bits. It’s frustrating to me that they are dropping gradual hints in the notes alone- at this point I wish there was more of a why and maybe even more of an admission. BanBan sees himself as human still, yes, but certainly he’s aware everyone else thinks he’s BanBan? And that he’s in a lab? But he never says “yeah they mighta turned me into something I’m not, but deep down I’m human and you can trust me”

And while I like the idea of Stinger Flynn as a major threat I’m surprised NabNab isn’t more of an opposing force. Like they’re literally an obstacle for like the construction section and they peer out as a lil secret when you finish the chase scene and turn back. For someone teased as a big thing, they seem more like a needless red herring and underwhelming extra. It’d be better if they were more present in this chapter.

The … attempt at social commentary in the classroom segment was also just weird? There’s not really a popular kid weird kid bullying hierarchy in kindergarten of all places… and the metaphor is just very bland and fake deep and whatnot. Unless it’s just BanBaleena running the school like she thinks they’re run bc she’s a human experiment with no memory/knowledge of the outside world. Or some sort of commentary on the game community? Eh, it was just weirdly cynical and I didn’t dig it.

And it’s weird that they’re already advertising game 3. It’s a chapter system and it’s bound to happen, but it makes me think they’re rushing it a little.

So it’s not perfect by any means. There’s a couple of glaring issues of disorganization and rougher edges, hell some of the worries concerning it being too “kiddy” still ring true. But it also seems to confirm the game is growing into its own unique self and is a genuine attempt at making a decent game rather than something thrown together to make some money off of children. There’s some heart. It may be small or weak, but it’s there.

I never thought I’d be rooting for the Euphoric Brothers, but I do actually hope they improve from here and actually make something some people can dig. They’re not really some insidious force like people make them out to be, just two people trying in a… pretty flawed way? They gotta work on a lot of stuff, from the game to how they have taken criticism, but they’re not goddawful, the first game was just the worst first impression ever.

And…If anything BanBan’s popularity is inspiring. It’s a good reminder that anyone can make a game- and possibly succeed in getting what they wish.

Tldr: not winning any awards any time soon, but Garten of BanBan is not a total waste. I hope the Devs listen to the criticism they’ve gotten and improve from here, too.

And I. Do like NabNab and Stinger Flynn. And BanBan. I am not immune to silly blob thing.

[imjustabeanie]

Matchup for @blissfullyapillow

So sorry for the delay! Here it is!

Your love and deepspace match is....Xavier!

I read your description and thought ‘Yeah only Petit Prince can fit’. He will literally swipe you off your feet. He may appear as aloof and daydream a lot, but he’s really attentive and quite flirty underneath. I will keep the same plot for the meeting/befriending as the game.

Before asking you out, Xavier will test out the waters. You’ll notice him spending more time with you, more teasing and he will actively text you. There will be a lot of pinning until a certain special day. After a mission together you two had the chance to witness shooting stars. He talked about them and gave more backstory as to where he came from. He looked into your eyes and asked if you’d help him make his biggest wish come true. After your consent, he raised your chin and kissed you. The thing is….this idiot still asked what you two were a week after the kiss. Talk about a way to ruin it lol.

Xavier is a lover that seems calm but he’s wilder than you. He teases you like no tomorrow and it just goes so smoothly you can’t retaliate! The only way for you to get the upper hand is to physically pin him down or ambush him when he just woke up. He’s not very good with jokes, sometimes they just go over his head and when he tries a joke it’s just a very bad pun… He likes that you’re emotionally intelligent and empathetic because it’s something he lacks. He’s often clumsy in social situations so you’re here to save the day. You help him out with it and he’s very thankful for this. Xavier love language is acts of services (helping you behind the scenes) and physical affection. He also gives you compliments everyday by just bluntly calling you beautiful or commenting a part of your body or personality that he likes. It’s so random it catches you off guard. One of his things is to steal your glasses when he wants to change the subject.

Just like you, he has no issue cutting off toxic people or anything. Although he tries to solve all his problems by himself, once you confront him about it he’ll be more open with them. It’s not a question of trust from him, he just doesn’t want you to be endangered in any ways. He bottles up and prefers to work in the shadow to ensure your happiness. He’s even ready to sacrifice himself for this. It can be annoying for your trust issues to have someone like this nearby and honestly it’s a problem in the relationship that you’ll have to work with. With time he will stop doing it eventually.

Every time he comes back from a mission, Xavier will just…plop on top of you. He’ll say that you’re the only way for him to recharge. He’s an introvert but when he sees a fun place he just surprises you and take you there. Sometimes you’re in the middle of something when he does that! Yes it’s kidnapping but he has good intentions. Besides that Xavier prefers staying home with you. At first he’ll just follow you and watch you. That’s observation so he knows which type of games/books to get. He likes video games! His favorites are all over the place but he prefers multiplayer games to play with you. If you draw him, he’ll feign not noticing so you won’t be flustered. You and Xavier spend a lot of domestic moments together. You two are often asked how long you’ve been married (he’s looking for rings). His favorite time of the day is when you two cuddle before sleep. In these moments you get into deep conversations that can last the whole night.

In conclusion, Xavier is a lover that’s as dedicated as you. He may be secretive about his work and origins but he’s loyal and devoted to you. He jokingly calls you my little star or any space related pet name and he’s the type to use awful pick up lines.

Your hsr match is....Argenti!

Argenti, the knight of beauty wandering the cosmos to share his principles. He’s a noble and righteous soul who’s willing to die for his cause. You can be sure that he’s a very good lover. Perhaps a bit too intense for some but his love is pure and unwavering.

You two met during his travels. He was wandering around when he saw you peacefully writing. Being well…Argenti he came to say hello. He doesn’t get the clue that you want to be working is peace so he’ll ask you questions about the planet and your views on different topics. Despite his extraverted self, he is friendly and managed to put you at ease. You two had a pleasant conversation where you shared your thoughts and debated, he even asked about your book and shared some insights. Time flies when you’re having fun, in the end he escorted you back home and shared his number. He did continue to wander but your conversations are the highlights of his days. That’s why he decided to come back to you and stay for the time being. He surprised you with his visit and planned a whole thing to ask you out. He timed it with the sunset/sunrise (depends on you) and planned flowers, each one conveying its own message before getting down on one knee and asking your permission to court you. What a drama queen but go and get a more romantic guy….

Argenti is a boyfriend that will share everything with you. He’ll come clean about his past and answer all your questions honestly. Indeed he moves fast but if you tell him to slow down he will for you. If you feel stressed because he trusts you easily but you take time he will reassure you. He doesn’t want to pressure you, he wants you to bloom by yourself. But know that he will always lend an ear to you and always has your back. Communication in this couple goes on very well and sometimes you understand each other without talking. It’s because he’s also empathetic (less than you) and emotionally intelligent.

Argenti is also bubbly but not in the same way as you. He enjoys life and whole heartedly laugh at your jokes but he’s not good at making them. His thing is mostly going on a monologue about something he likes even when he’s in public, he doesn’t care about their opinion of him as long as it doesn’t hurt you. He likes that you’re energetic because it means he can take you to explore new places every day. Also when you started being flirty with him he was very happy and upped his game. His type of flirting is rather old fashioned but very charming. He shows his love by taking care of you, complimenting you and bringing you gifts. Just like a knight lol. He writes you poems and letters that he decorates. He makes you diy gifts and brings you souvenirs each time he is away on a mission. He likes to surprise you by leaving those love notes all around the house in places you’ll find them, you also have a fresh bouquet each week. When you’ll live together, he’ll have a garden for the two of you that he caters to. Each flower is picked meticulously and he takes great care of this garden! Eventually you two will always enjoy your tea and discussions in that garden, creating precious memories.

Argenti loves pda. He always has an arm around you! When you’re sleeping, good luck waking up before him he holds you so tightly! I also have a personal headcanon that he’s rather good at skincare. He has a whole routine and if you let him it’ll be his pleasure! You probably have a soace dedicated to reading/writing in your house. Argenti will rearrange it so it looks more aesthetic. If you let him he’ll make a glass room in the garden or terasse for you so that you can always look at the sky. When you show him your drawings he’ll excitedly show you his, yes he sketches you a lot especially when he is away. Your house is always filled with laughter, music and a flower like aroma (mostly roses).

Being in a relationship with Argenti is experimenting a nearly pure love. It’s very intense but he does his best to make you very happy. He’d like to bring you with him when he explores the cosmos.

[quaddmgd]

Thoughts on Yakuza

I finished the original Yakuza for PS2 with Yakuza Restored re-translation patch I was talking about. I beat the game, including every substory (except hostesses) and Amon. I enjoyed it much more than I originally assumed I would, I had a lot of fun throughout the week, however I can't say it's a must-play PS2 classic, even though I really want it to be. Yet I believe it's a good way to either start your journey with the series or play more of your favorite franchise while you wait for a new game.

First things first, the translation patch is a godsend, without which I wouldn't be able to approach this game seriously. My japanese is non-existent as of now, so the original Ryu Ga Gotoku release wouldn't be for me; on the other side the western translation + dub don't do this game justice, to put it lightly. Ability to play it with english subs more in-line with later games in the franchise, with the original dub, is a dream come true and I can confirm that now, it's writing is on Kiwami level of quality.

This review contains spoilers for Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami. Comparisons to the latter are a big focus throughout this text, so it's mostly for people familiar with the story and the overall structure of either one. This game is a good start for newcomers, especially with the patch, but this review isn't.

Plot

I'm not a fan of the plot of the first game, albeit it was much more bearable now, than when playing Kiwami, just after 0. Judging it as a first game in the franchise was much easier. People that played only Kiwami should feel right at home, and sometimes even better.

Contrary to Kiwami, Yakuza is much more straightforward. Additional Nishiki cutscenes are absent here and his Joker arc will probably raise eyebrows for most. It's not well explained at all and, due to pacing of the story leaving a lot to be desired, most of his motivations are touched upon during the finale. Fortunately, Nishiki is charismatic enough to make a good villain and I enjoyed following his development throughout the game nonetheless.

What's also missing is the entire "get the ring" quest that is forced on the player in Kiwami. Honestly, I'm happy with it being gone, as its inclusion wasn't really done well. I'd love to see those cutscenes, but during my first Kiwami playthrough in 2019 it really confused the heck out of me timeline-wise. My biggest problem with it was, that the gameplay consisted only of rage-inducing fetch quests, that don't have a place in the prologue of such a story-focused game.

I feel like I need to talk about Majima for a bit. No matter if you play the original or Kiwami, his behavior is out-of-place in context of the entire franchise. Playing Yakuza and judging it on its own merit helped me see him as this unpredictable chaotic evil psycho with a questionable motivation. The lack of "Majima Everywhere" works in favor of that feeling, as there are no longer those weird out-of-place pace-breakers, where he pauses the entire plot development to have Kiryu fight with his goofy self from future installments, after which he goes back to being his Yakuza 1 self and almost killing people for no reason (chapter 11 in Kiwami was the worst in that regard). Here, he just diversifies the cast without becoming a nuisance.

Fighting

Before I touch on the gameplay, in need to mention that I played through the game doing every substory as soon as they became available, due to many of them being missable. That being said, I fought Amon in Chapter 11, just before visiting Shangri-La with Haruka. Soon, after visiting the place, I maxed out my skills in the menu and with Komaki.

The biggest issue of Yakuza is its fighting mechanics. Kiryu is really slow, which isn't a problem on it's own, but his inability to lock-on while performing a combo makes it hundred times worse. For the most part I didn't have an issue with that, as most enemies are quite slow (gosh Shimano was so easy in contrast to his Kiwami self), but performing almost any combo on characters that constantly dodge attacks, sends Kiryu punching air. The faster the enemy, the bigger this issue becomes, so for example, both fights with Majima were quite hard to get through. Same goes for enemies with guns, like Arase or Amon. Hell, it's safe to say that most of Amon's difficulty is related to Kiryu's slowness and lack of lock-on in this game.

That being said, most fights weren't a problem, and even those that were, were much easier and more enjoyable than in Kiwami. In the original, enemies don't heal themselves and aren't based off other bosses that made appearance in the franchise starting with PS3 games. I can count the times I died while playing main story on one hand (barely) and went through bosses with ease, including Arase, and even more surprisingly, Jingu - I hated their guts in Kiwami.

Keep in mind, that at any time, Kiryu's skills were as developed as possible, due to me focusing on beating substories over story, while I played Kiwami the opposite way. I am also a big Yakuza 3 apologist, so I don't have an issue with a more technical approach to fighting. I kinda learned how to exploit the weaknesses of most enemies, but dealing with fast enemies was problematic anyway. I can imagine that people that want to just enjoy the story, will encounter some serious difficulty spikes, whenever someone fast appears. That can be a dealbreaker for some and it's the biggest flaw of the game. It's not a good brawler. There were times where I died fighting during substories or random encounters, because my opponent happened to be good at dodging and blocking.

Playing only for the plot could be troublesome in the case of Yakuza. Kiryu doesn't even have his □□□□△ combo until he levels up a bit. Not only that, but this time Komaki won't teach him anything until he levels up quite much, and as always, there are some useful Komaki moves you want to learn. I'm not gonna try it anytime soon, but I reckon doing some of the best substories in the game would improve the overall experience greatly. Fighting in Purgatory helps to level up too.

Substories

By and large, Yakuza's substories are nothing special. Most of them are uninteresting and short. There are some quests that flesh out Kiryu's and Haruka's relationship or help develop him into a better person he becomes in the end. Most of those are in Kiwami too, but there is a caveat.

Yakuza has the biggest amount of substories with animated cutscenes. These are present in Kiwami with an exception of one, that is set entirely in the underground casino (I don't know why they left it out, it has some good implications). Yakuza, though, has a time limit for most of them. After certain points in the story (mainly finishing chapters), the most interesting substories become unavailable. It's a big flaw, obviously, especially that at times there is no mention of them being available (or, in case of "The Truth Behind Fake Mizuki", they are accessible only in-between two consecutive interactions with story characters). The fact that substory locations aren't visible on the map doesn't help; playing with a guide is essential to beat them all, especially if you don't want to fail any.

There are advantages to these substories of course, but I'm really glad they aren't like that in every game. Time-sensitivity is a thing only for the most important quests, and that ensures you play them when developers want you to, even if their availability often isn't conveyed to you at all.

I also loved how many times Kiryu can get scammed when interacting with people on the streets. In general, NPCs Kiryu's interacting with are either unpleasant or someone is being unpleasant to them. Thanks to that, fights that often break out feel more natural and Kamurocho really feels like a place you wouldn't want to be in.

There is one more upside worth of mentioning - there are substories that have animated cutscenes, whereas in Kiwami they don't. Now, there are only two I'm aware of: "The Price of an F-Cup" and "The Truth Behind Fake Mizuki". Both of them being animated like story cutscenes, enhance the weight of stories they want to tell. In the former, Mai goes into a physical contact with Kiryu, they don't just sit and awkwardly look at each other. But it's the attention to the latter that makes it worth mentioning at all. The finale of "Fake Mizuki" is really somber due to what it implies. Where in Kiwami plays a typical sad substory music and there practically no animations, in the original it's fully voiced and animated, with emotions visible on pAres's owner's face with the nightsky and snow falling in the background (the quest is time-sensitive after all), accompanied by a dedicated sorrowful track - finished with nothing but silence and the weight of implications it made.

Graphics and audio

When it comes to visuals, the original impressed me much more than Kiwami. Crowds and the environmental detail are superb for a PS2 game - Kamurocho is simply full of life, even in 2005. I completely understand decisions behind the fixed camera view and splitting Kamurocho into separate zones, even if it means constant loadings between camera cuts. While loading was getting tiresome after fifteen hours, the intended feeling remained.

Even though for the most part locations are comparable, I loved how Tojo Clan HQ looks in the original. Even if it appears only two times, it nails the atmosphere, especially in chapter 3. Contrary to sunny and clean presentation in Kiwami (a good one, I must say), the original adds to the significance of the funeral, with an overcast weather, paths laid out with fallen autumn leaves, covered in a slightly yellow-ish filter that makes it look like it's about to rain. How is it that any time Tojo Clan HQ appears in a RGG Studio game, it becomes my favorite location in that game?

My knowledge on music is non-existent, so I can't really say much about the soundtrack, other than that it's great to listen to and Kiwami's electronic spin on it is quite good too. I prefer the original due to it's use of vocals (I can't remember that well, but Yakuza seems to have more of them) and dirty guitar riffs, that in my view slowly disappeared from the franchise over time. They greatly emphasize the rawness and brutality of the combat.

What I can say, though, is that I love finally hearing original Receive You in the opening and the instrumental version during both Majima fights. I love this track so much, it defines the entire franchise, just as it should. Whenever I hear it, it's instant goosebumps for me.

Is it worth to play now?

From my standpoint, yes! But only in japanese or with Yakuza Restored patch. For the newcomers to the franchise, it's a good way to start, as long as you are ok with janky gameplay. That way you can assist Kiryu, as he and the nature of this series develop. If you're like me and already played through the franchise, but didn't play the original, why not try the game that started it all? It does some things differently than Kiwami; some even better. It's worth keeping in mind that it's a flawed PS2 title, the one to start a still ongoing franchise, but a lot of love has been put into making this game and it shows.

To think that the original western release would put me off for the entire four years since I know this series. Compared to the original version, tonally it's so different and seems out-of-place. I'm so grateful for this patch, so if you're interested, please try it and give some love to the creator.

[galaxyofhair]

Assassin's Creed's Protagonist Look Issue

Assassin's Creed has this real bad case of "Protagonist Look" where the player character is always the most detailed and overdesigned model in the game. It almost always comes to this point where the protag is so decked out in weaponry and custom made clothing that they stand out waaaaay more than an assassin who "hides in plain sight" should.

I get that the player character should feel special and unique, because it feels good to play and unique and interesting character, but I do wish I could go back and play a version of each game that was more dedicated to preserving the anonymity of the character: Like what if Altair genuinely only had the big knight and the hidden blade because that's all he could conceal before it got suspicious? What if Ezio had to actually look like an Italian noble and not an Italian Jedi?

Kenway gets a pass, he's a pirate and can do whatever the fuck he wants lmao.

Mods have given us the ability to experience some of that for AC Valhalla---Getting to use some of the same clothes that everyone else is wearing goes a long way to cleaning up and simplifying Eivor's visual language, and honestly some of the most fire outfits are on the NPCs anyways.

But I also wish I could rip the big bulky, and incredibly obvious hidden blades off of the characters in Syndicate, or take Ezio's plate armor from Brotherhood and toss it in the garbage (not that it's unrealistic, just very conspicuous)---and actually push those characters to look more innocuous in the incredibly repressive societies they live in.

Some of it is that Ubisoft went too hard in trying to preserve the hidden blade as an iconic and oddly necessary part of the assassin arsenal, even for characters who are allowed to be openly armed. Like, Conner and Edward Kenway didn't need hidden blades, they had guns strapped to their chests and sabers on their sides.

Bayak having a hidden blade was cool in so far as they got to explain the missing ring finger thing. At the same time though, that particular hidden blade really makes the game feel prequelly, and I kinda wish they hadn't explained the hidden blade, and just given Bayak a dagger---the same argument for why Han Solo didn't need to get the ship, the companion, and the iconic gun all in one film in Solo.

Idk, going back to the original point: A lot of the assassins in the series are just way overdesigned, and the joke that the Templars really only have to look for the white robed jedi in the crowd rings very true for me---and that rings particularly true for Conner and the Twins from Syndicate.