#especially if the character is masculine as heck

[mk-wizard]

Top 15 Games that SHOULD get a 100% Reboot/Restart

Hi. I felt like doing something positive especially after my last post, so as a follow up, here is a list of games that I think should get the reboot treatment. And when I say reboot, I don’t just mean remake with fancier graphics and bonus features. I mean restart altogether with fresh new storylines that go their own way though in some specific cases, all they need is a new look. Note that this is my subjective opinion and nobody here has to agree with it. It’s just a fun suggestion.

1- Metal Gear - I don’t mean Metal Gear Solid, I mean Metal Gear in general. In fact, I think the “Solid” should be retconned entirely because it not only stopped being about Solid Snake who is the hero, he was done dirty with a pathetic ending and the only sequels we get now are prequels. Not to mention the constant drama and tragedy became nauseating. My advice is to restart from the beginning by rebooting the games that date back to the NES as are with better writing and then after that, only do a half-reboot of Metal Gear Solid and then go its own way while respecting Snake as a main character. Solid Snake is a staple in war themed games and set the standard of how we create them. He should REMAIN the main character and have his endings always remain open with him still standing with dignity.

2- Dino Crisis - I don’t think I need to say much here. Everyone is dying to see this game get remade and it’s not hard to see why. With the exception of the third game and the spin off, Dino Crisis 1 and 2 are amazing. They are dinosaur themed games that actually feel like survivor horror games and not like shooter games with the dinosaur gimmick. This series deserved a reboot and a third game that gives it proper closure.

3- Parasite Eve - Like Metal Gear, this series did dirty to its main character (Aya Brea) in such a way that they wrote themselves into a corner. Only the first game feels unique and special while the second and third instalments have an identity crisis, a confusing weapons and spell system, and a tank control that never belonged. Only the first game should stay as is with a simple remake and then, its sequels should actually be true sequels that keep the battle, spell and control system as are. Let’s just forget that PE2 and The Third Birthday ever happened.

4- Silent Hill - Let’s be honest. Harry Mason is the most underrated male protagonist in survivor horror because unlike all the others, he is not a man of action, not a badass and very relatable for it. He is a widower, a writer, a pacifist and one heck of a dad who literally jumped into the underworld to save his daughter. Now, while I like a lot of the sequels, this series lost its way. With the exception of Silent Hill 2, I think Harry and his daughter should have remained the main protagonists of the series. Harry is proof that real men come in all flavors and having one like him is different while still showing the best attributes of masculinity.

PS: I know Silent Hill 1 got a reboot, but it was bad. Period.

5- Turok - Before there was Dino Crisis (and I’m not discrediting it), there was Turok. The titular hero who might I also add is aboriginal which is a very underrepresented group in fiction period who literally kills dinosaurs with his bare hands. He is a badass and he while he has gotten reboots before, none of them hit the mark yet, but creators should not give up on him. He is worth the effort and if they keep trying, they will strike gold.

6- Castlevania - This series is ICONIC and nobody ever gets tired of it. It should make a comeback and it is one of the few series where being 3D would make it better. And considering that medieval settings in video games is all the rage now, it would be great to see Simon Belmont back in action. Heck, I would even be open to seeing a Belmont fighting evil in our modern times in 3D.

7- The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time - Now, I stand by that this series doesn’t need a reboot, I think this game specifically should get a remake because it is a great game that reshaped the series into how we know and love it now, but it was very buggy and the graphics were not that great even for their time. Everything else about it is great, but it does need a facelift.

8- Prototype - A forgotten gem if there ever was one. This series is unique in that it is the one game where you play as the monster who is also an anti-hero. Yet again, its series did its main character (Alex Mercer) dirty though on top of that, left too many questions unanswered. This series needs a reboot with a much better storyline. If you haven’t seen it, play the first game and you’ll see my point.

9- Tomb Raider - Now, we can all agree that this series has lost its way. While I am all for origin stories and I admit it makes sense for Lara Croft to not be hardened or toughened up from the start. Keeping her as a weak frightened girl doesn’t make her realistic nor does it make her a likeable heroine. And I am woman enough to admit that being athletic, confident, daring and badass is a part of Lara Croft’s character. I don’t want her to be realistic. I want her to be cool and fun to play. This series needs to go back to its roots when it was fun and Lara was allowed to shamelessly be herself.

10- Dead Rising - Another case of a game losing its way and its main protagonist becomes someone they’re not. The second instalment was the only game that felt true to what the series is supposed to be and even then, it felt like a spinoff not a part of the main story because Dead Rising is Frank West’s story. Another thing that also stood out about this game is that unlike most zombie themed games, the main character is not only not a fighter, he’s a total lover in all the great ways. Frank is (or rather, was) compassionate, honest and it isn’t for nothing that you only got the best ending when you would save everyone. Heck, he would save people who tried to kill him. This series should get a total reboot and a total rewrite after game 1. And can we please not give Frank a heart of stone? Him being loving is what made him great.

11- ObsCure - Another lost gem with a unique premise and group of protagonists. This game plays up our childhood fear of the dark because the monsters in this game literally are allergic to the light and the setting is in a highschool. It feels like Scream meets the Blair Witch Project making it a lot of fun, and the monsters are so delightfully creepy. Plus, the story was compelling. Sadly this series only got one sequel which was actually great, but never got that third instalment that would wrap everything up. I say we give this series a reboot, so it can finally finish what it started.

12- Resident Evil Outbreak - I know this is a spinoff series, but it’s one of the best in the series. It fills in a lot of gaps in the main storyline and any game that allows you to have your own tyrant fighting alongside you is awesome. It also has a multiple ending system which was well done and very rewarding when you get the best ending. I think this should get the reboot treatment and even have a third game that expands the aftermath further.

13- Resident Evil Dead Aim - Another one of the best spinoffs in the RE series because it expands the story specifically in how tyrants are made and how the variants work. And to be honest, I even liked the characters. I would love see new life breathed into this compelling game even if it just remains the only one of its kind.

14- Days Gone - I don’t care what anyone says. Any game that allows to play a biker with the spirit of an honourable warrior is badass. Also, can we talk about how this is one of the few games where the main protagonist is married and remains loyal to his wife even long after?! He may be white, male, straight and Christian, but he is still pretty progressive and embodies the BEST part of masculinity. The parts that drive a man to be romantic, noble and heroic. This game with extremely misjudged to the point of bigotry and it deserves a proper reintroduction because it was going places.

15- Half-Life - This series helped Valve get its jump start and it had the most unique and most iffy type of protagonist in an action/sci-fi game possible yet worked: a scientist. After all, who expect the skinny nerd with the big thick glasses to save the day? Yet, it worked and this game has tons of monsters that became iconic in video game lore. What’s really sad is that a third game was in works, but never saw the light of day. I say we reboot this series and give it the chance to honour its promise to give that third game at long last.

Bonus - Other honourable mentions here are Left 4 Dead because Back 4 Blood stinks, Alone in the Dark though I hear a reboot is in the works, Doom, Devil May Cry and the right way please, Bloody Roar, The Suffering, Fatal Frame, The Evil Within and any other fantastic game series that either went bad due to bad sequels or never got the chance to keep going.

[rubykgrant]

(Sorry I should've specified rvb lol) I'm confused on the anxiety explanation. This might just be a me thing, but as a kinda chubby AMAB person who is genderfluid, I get serious gender envy towards thinner girls (think Maylene from Pokémon or DVa or Juno from Overwatch), tomboys (like Connie from RvB), or androgynous characters (like Rika from Pokémon or Venture from Overwatch), as in I wish I had a body and appearance more like these characters.

Haha, again, no worries~

I guess to expand a little, it gets a little blurry with some of the RVB characters, because; depending on what their gender identity is (and this is also nebulous, the actual series is what it is, but many fans will see the LAYERS in there), is there an "ideal" they aspire to physically or as an attitude, etc (Simmons DEFINITELY has a whole mess of "manliness" issues to unpack thanks to his dad, and I don't think anybody can deny he IS a trans dude... I imagine he wanted to be stronger/more athletic, but he also has a whole classy/sophisticated ambition for himself... but any guy he ever saw who looked comfortable with themselves made him "envious". even Grif- heck, especially Grif. Tucker has been described as having "metrosexual good looks", which most people have translated as him being a pretty boy, and he's VERY comfortable with his appearance... but he gets a little awkward about being seen as "less masculine", at least early on when he isn't as secure. when he just kinda lets himself chill, he actually has an attitude that can lean toward flamboyant or soft. then he feels insecure, and has to posture again). I guess the only reason I have trouble answering the "gender envy" question with much depth is- I'm not sure WHO they may each feel than envy toward (as you have described your feelings with certain characters), but I CAN imagine what makes them sort of insecure (and that ranges from gender/gender presenting, and general physical appearances). Sorry for not being more clear! I'm sure a LOT of other RVB fans have had thoughts in this regard that actually answer the question better (and any thoughts of your own are obviously as accurate as any others~)

[grayrro]

Finished Blue Eye Samurai. Some thoughts, especially on the trans allegory

I actually really expected to like this a lot, so I’m a little bummed that I didn’t actually love it like I wanted to but have complicated feelings about it

If you’re trans masc and dysphoric, I recommend skipping some scenes because you definitely get a full eyeful of Mizu. Which, yeah, a lot of that basically felt like, look! She’s a woman!! Not a man! She’s got breasts and everything

(More on this under the cut + major spoilers)

And if you combine that with the “official” story where the mother who raised her forced her to always “look like a boy” because the “bad men will be looking for a girl”, you get the impression that she’s a cis woman who was forced to be a man for survival. Except I just don’t see that, personally. Just seeing it from a trans perspective—heck, even a cis one—where is the dysphoria? If she was a woman, we don’t really ever see her distressed about dressing as a boy and looking like one. We don’t see her really mourning the loss of her hair or even trying to explore her femininity (appearance-wise) when she begins to hit puberty. You don’t see her comparing herself to other girls and seeing what she “could have had”

Nah, when they start developing breasts, they start binding with bandages and that’s such a trans masc media staple you can’t help but snort. When Mizu gets a husband and becomes a wife, you don’t even see her use that newfound freedom to explore “finally being a woman”. You don’t see her awe at her new silhouette with the more feminine hairstyle and kimono. The most you see is her trying to learn to cook (which, still, is a stretch since that is more her trying to fulfill wife duties), letting down her hair, and having sex with a man with her tits out and all (more of the tits out, frankly, but how much of that is her being a woman vs the show’s addiction to showing boobs).

Also, while you do eventually see Mizu as a “wife”, as properly as she can be, I can’t help but think it looks so… awkward. On her. With the odd-looking makeup and the still-masculine-looking torso covered by a feminine kimono, I can’t help but think she resembles many of my butch and trans masc friends who have been forced into makeup and a dress. Who lower the cinch on their waist down to their hips or flatten their chest to emulate a more masculine silhouette until it looks a little goofy, and like you’re forcing a square peg into a round hole. And that Mizu looks infinitely more comfortable in their own skin as a very male-passing rogue samurai. But maybe I’m just projecting hard

But laying all these side-by-side make it a pretty confusing picture. Freaking Nimona was a more straightforward trans allegory and the character in question is not even human

If I had to conclude anything, though, just based on my opinion, I wouldn’t say Mizu is cis. But maybe not strictly a trans man either. While they do bind, it’s not suggested to be because of any dysphoria reasons—in fact it might be pure practicality. I mean, imagine posing as a man with your chest out in full view or doing all those epic fights without a sports bra. Basically, agreed with other posts that Mizu is probably just very disconnected to gender. Man or woman, they don’t care. Revenge comes first, after all. Gender crisis is further down the ladder of priorities

[nerissalmao]

Unlikely Genderfluid Icons- Anastasia Romanov

So, we all know Nimona, the main character of my hyperfixation movie, is a genderfluid icon. We all know Acht from Splatoon is a non-binary vibe and icon goddess. And that’s not even to mention the rigid-looking dominatrix of gender euphoric femininity that is Callie Cuttlefish (also from Splatoon). Don’t make me mention Shiver from Splatoon! Or Camilo from Encanto! FREAKING LOKI FROM MARVEL!! As someone whose gender is a bit fluid, I’ve always loved characters like that, and it’s natural I’ve been looking for more of these characters I can project my juicy headcanons onto. And it so happens a friend of mine is in the musical “Anastasia” right now, so..

Anastasia Romanov is a genderfluid icon. Yes, you read that right. It’s not because she necessarily has to be genderfluid— it’s because she pulls off both feminine and masculine looks so well, which all fluid peeps have been wanting to do since forever. She’s an inspiration, honestly. And I’ll prove it with some delectable photos!!

See, here she is killing the newsboy look, short-looking hair included..

She may not be entirely masculine, but the baggy clothes and raggedy appearance certainly give newsboy vibes.

BUT! She’s also killing the “tomboy of your dreams” look, with a ripped up dress-that-isn’t-really-a-dress, the spiky ponytail, and in this scene specifically the bike.

Just a girl who happens to be a princess, biking with the commoners in baggy clothes, looking like Jo March from Little Women if she was a redhead with a dog.

So far she’s killing the tomboy look, but you know what else our villain-life-source-stomping not-Disney princess can pull off? That very specific kind of not-super-girly-but-also-very-pink look that was basically invented by that one god-awful pink polo shirt worn by Cady Heron in mean girls!

She’d make a great Plastic. “My name is Anya Romanovvvv, and I am a massive deallll! I will grind your reliquary to sanddd beneath my fancy heeeellll!!”

Don’t forget that she also can be the most feminine, glittery, sparkly roaring twenties icon in the entire world..

How is it possible that she can go from looking like a newsboy to looking like THIS?! And her hairstyle shifts more than Nimona herself!

I could share more pictures, but then I think we’d be here for hours. Especially more pictures of girly’s constantly-changing hairstyles, because heck! She has so many hairstyle changes, she’s genuinely a hair chameleon. And I’ve often wished I could just change my hair on the dot like that, so I’m pretty jealous. Maybe I’m crazy, but I think she’s a genderfluid icon. Or at least an icon in general, crushing gender roles by being the one to save her prince from Rasputin and slouching openly and being a scrappy badarse who knows what she wants. So yeah, respect for Anya, that movie is underrated, the musical made me cry, buy gold, byeee!

[ryuichirou]

I was the anon asking about chap 6!! Omg I loved reading ur response so much. I feel the same about pretty much everything you said, especially your thoughts on Ortho, on how he had much more love for idia than originally programmed. So now taking the opportunity to ask about ur thoughts on the pomefiore trio!! I love rook and vil's relationship so much too so I can't wait to read what you'll say about it!!!

I’m so happy you’ve read and liked the reply, Anon!  I’m glad that we agree on the Idia and Ortho topic.

Thank you for being patient, reading it and even asking about the Pomefiore trio, you made my dreams come true lol So I’ll do my best to convey my main thoughts…

Pomefiore is another group of characters that I didn’t expect to love as much as do now. Boy was I wrong; ch5 ended up being one of my favourites for the topics it handled and the relationships between the characters. We didn’t hate the ending (we’ve heard that people generally don’t like it), in fact, I personally think that if Rook voted for Vil’s team it would’ve been more of a betrayal than what actually ended up happening, but that’s a hot take and a story for another day.

Starting with Epel, I am so proud of this boy lol His relationship with Pomefiore (well, with Vil in particular) started on such a bad note, but he managed to develop such a good connection with them. I love how their conflict in ch5 was handled: it was obvious that both of them were both right and wrong. Yes, Vil was harsh with him and was basically acting like an overly strict step-mother that wants a child to succeed in a way that she envisions; but Epel isn’t really an angel either and he is quite close-minded when it comes to him protecting his fragile feeling of masculinity. And, as weird as it sounds, for a good reason: even though you might roll your eyes when you listen to Epel’s reasoning, his mindset is perfectly understandable when you think about his upbringing and the fact that he constantly had to fight people for underestimating and misjudging him because of how he looks. Isn’t it ironic that Vil is dealing with the exact same problem, but in a different way? Anyhow- I really love how twst handled this conflict and that Epel ended up becoming more comfortable in his own skin without fully copying Vil, so to speak, and that he ended up having a lot of respect for Vil. To the point that he chased Rook when he ran away alone to save him lol

In general, we don’t really like the “awww they’re family” or “he is their son” jokes as they tend to become tiresome really quickly, but with these three I just couldn’t stop joking about it for the entirety of ch6, I don’t know what is this magic lol But the way Rook and Epel just couldn’t sit without helping Vil, the way Rook and Vil were celebrating Epel discovering his unique magic (while giving him advice and supporting him and teaching him about how not to overdo it and stuff), the way Epel was so eager to learn how the heck Rook and Vil met god it was agonizingly long wait before we finally heard their story fully.

… And what a story that was sigh I love them so much. It was very nice.

I think it showcases what they love the most about each other, because this is exactly what made them drawn towards each other in the first place: Rook is brutally honest, but also surprisingly insightful, so his remarks are actually quite useful and constructive; Vil is a perfectionist who is always open to listening to other and paying attention to what’s being said in order to better himself and his craft. And, what the most important thing is in my opinion, they share this burning passion towards theatre, acting and art in general. And this is, like, Vil’s entire life, so of course someone like Rook would be quite special. I am very biased, because this does hit close to home, but still I feel like Rook and Vil found themselves a perfect partner in that regard.

I love all the other aspects of their story too: the fact that they did just sit and talk way past their curfew and during cold winter days to the point that they got ill… If you enjoy a conversation so much you completely ignore the fact that your ass is freezing, this is serious lol

The fact that Rook decided that pursuing the concept of beauty and seeing Vil every day is more important to him than hanging out with beast boys is up there too. There is too much stuff to list everything, I had a minor crisis every time they dropped a new piece of information, which is why it took me two days to watch this part. This is a little bit embarrassing to admit lol

(I also want to mention that I really appreciate Vil clowning Rook every single time he had to speak as him while telling their story, this was hilarious)

Oh and of course we can joke around for ages about my man Rook running away from his responsibilities because bringing skincare to his queen is more important, but the fact that he just couldn’t sit still and do nothing is amazing and even inspiring to a certain ai-robot boy who feels like he also wants to save his loved ones, you know what I mean, you’ve read my post from yesterday lol

And Vil… I love Vil so much it’s pathetic at this point, I love how at the very beginning of ch6 he took full responsibility for what happened in ch5; out of every character that has overblotted so far his reaction to it is the most mature, and the way he handled all the ch6 is also quite mature. I love his kind-of-antagonism/kind-of-not towards Idia: he was his counterpart for the entire book and even though he never agreed with his and Ortho’s plans, he kind of very quickly understood where they were coming from. It’s like he’s been empathetic towards them this entire time, ever since he saw Ortho being super happy after he got compared to Idia.

Pomefiore, and especially Rook and Vil together, are kind of unhinged and surprisingly wise at the same time. Like… they are wholesome but not in a way that would become boring: their craziness and love towards what they do helps to balance things out for us.

Thank you again for letting me rant about how much I love Pomefiore (and book 6 for that matter) and for reading <3

Have a great day!

[katyspersonal]

3, 4, 6 for some VIOLENCE please

Yeah don't worry, I always default to Bloodborne when not specificed, it is my main qualification in the series after all! (Ask from this ( x ) meme)

3) screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

They're kind of becoming a blur, and usually come down to the same complains and topics, but one of them particularly stood out! Granted I should not have been exposed to it because OP blocked me over that time I talked back at a Gehrman-hater that went as far as bullying other fans (oh how rude of me... :/ ) , but I have been anyway because a new mutual shown it to me over featuring "theory that Fauxsefka got pregnant like Arianna is MiSoGyNiStIc uwu" bit because they wanted and explanation!

Basically, a lot of bashing Bloodborne as misogynistic piece of garbage for featuring themes of motherhood, portraying motherhood as a good thing, something about how it was a bad thing that "even" Maria ended up having compassionate side and that "we as fans had the power to change that", Fauxsefka bit I've mentioned and so on. Ending with the "well but don't think that I dislike Bloodborne, it is still one of my favourite games" that gave me severe abusive talk vibe for some reason. "Yes you are so ugly and stupid and useless but don't worry, I love and accept you and will fix you :3".

Like... it requires a whole separate essay to disagree with that logic, but that is not even relevant! Because even under assumption that Miyazaki is a misogynistic freak for putting emphasis on themes of motherhood in his work, I absolutely abhor the logic of "We as a fandom have the power to disrespect the author's intention (that I made up btw because I am eager for reasons to be mad) and make our own ecosystem of headcanons and interpretations that is better". Of course not everyone will accept the creation unconditionally, especially if it has problems or bigotry, but that is on them, and making it a problem of the fandom is just terrible! Spreading that attitude creates that clique/fandom leaders dynamic, which brings me DIRECTLY to one of the questions, so I'll skip ahead:

6) which ship fans are the most annoying?

Mariadeline fans.

^ Lmao ya'll probably fsdgsdf But it is not just because of how they generally treat characters or other fans, but even how they treat other Mariadeline shippers! I've noticed that whenever there is a Mariadeline shipper who is very nice, level-headed and quiet, a type to 'just enjoy their thing', they get obnoxiously neglected.

Look, I WANT to give it benefit of the doubt and say that maybe it is coincidental, but it doesn't seem like it. Mariadeline shippers are a clique of very popular artists and writers that always support each other's creativity and instantly pull in new Mariadeline shippers into a hug, regardless of art skill. ....EXCEPT for the times when the fellow fan doesn't constantly bitch about "wrong" interpretations of Maria or Adeline, doesn't start Maria's masculinity disco horse every other weak, doesn't put a focus on how Adeline had no agency over her choices and was 'groomed' (even though everyone already knows that 'grooming' of Blood Saints was a translational mistake but okay fine), doesn't portray is as perfect lovely cottage core fluff while only faking the possible problem(atic moments), doesn't-

Like, it can only happen so many times before I start to see the trend of the "leaders"/chosen spokespeople/whatever conveniently excluding fans who sees the characters and the ship the "wrong" way. They've decided that this dynamic can only work like this and the characters in it can only be like this, and any varied take is not celebrated as refreshing with the novelty but passively-aggressively side-eyed as disturbance of their peace of rinsing the same exact thing over and over for years, unaltered. Heck, not even novel takes. Novel approach of the person. I swear, they GOTTA be side-eyeing fellow fans that don't constantly start discourse, because why else the 'chill' Mariadeline fans are left in the dust? It feels like hatred is the part of the requirement for the clique, the 'cool kids' and only those they've 'blessed' with their approval, and this ship never SHOULD have gotten into claws of the clique in the first place!

In other words, making the groups of 'cool kids' to look up to is one way to ruin a dynamic/ship for everyone else, and ruin fandoms in general. Like, one of my mutuals ended up disliking the ship because of its prevalent association with the most toxic fans, and I kinda helped them to like it again, on their own terms and with their own (based) headcanons! The illusion of "supportive wholesome community" falls at the seams here and there if you just stand aside and watch for 2 minutes, and how this ship is supported and perpetuated is one of the biggest examples.

4) what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

To be honest, it is ridiculously hard to make me block someone. Usually people whose stuff I don't really want to see coincidentally block me first because, again, there is always a big chance that I pick a very strong language to disagree, so the problem solves itself! Even when I do block someone, in 90% I unblock later for this or that reason!

But yeah, there were a couple of exceptions. Only one of them qualifies as 'annoying' to begin with, though 'petty, smug and insecure in the worst way' fits more? They already gave me enough signs of the mean girl (gender neutral!), and what really sealed it was when they acted as though I grossly disrespected them over pointing out a piece of dialogue from the canon when in NO way I was rude or Redditor brand of condescending. Even told me that I "baited" them. They didn't block me, but I blocked them. Not instantly, but the next time I saw their art on my dashboard. The thing is, earlier during that mess of a "conversation" they've admitted on not actually caring about Bloodborne lore but just collecting prompts from it to create their own thing. It just changed my perception of their creativity and it felt empty all of a sudden, like just a lot of glitter and lights without any actual substance within. I can be unhappy with someone while still liking their creativity, but I decided it was better to not invest any admiration for works that had no real care and passion for the source material within. Normally when I realise the gap between me and another fan's level of investment I simply don't follow, but they were frequient presence on the dashboard, so..

[bellybiologist]

More Advance Wars Reboot rambling!!

I just finished the AW2 campaign! So i have more thoughts! (Possible Spoilers below!)

-Sensei's Theme's did NOT need to SLAP that hard!!!!

-Colin's co power song slaps too.

-I also really like Flak's, tbh.

-Adder's features seem very "round" compared to how jagged his original incarnation is. I think it was so he fit in the style better, but his vibe is definitely a lil different (not that im complaining! His movements are so smooth, and that gives its own kind of appeal). His CO power animation is A Lot, haha.

-Hawk's theme feels a little weird... but i wasnt really a big fan of his theme in the first place.

-I'm sorta mixed on Jess's redesign and theme remix. She had a specific, masculine vibe i really liked in AW2 and AWDS especially, and now she has a very strong Power Lesbian feel in a different direction. Which is good! I still like it, but it's different. It feels like they decided on making her pretty, which wasnt really her thing? I think part of her appeal to me was she was pretty androgynous, and that isnt there in this design. her theme Has all the parts I like, but has some additional things that I think i just gotta get used to. 🤔

-What the heck is Sturm doing with ANOTHER special last boss theme? Geez, this game has so much music!

-I also forgot how insane Sturm's stats were in the AW2 campaign. my god, this guy.

-I'm glad they animated Hawke blowing Sturm up, lmao.

-Oooooh New design room pieces 👀 I can make the 3v1 final boss map i always dreamed of when i was 13, lmao! This is awesome~

This remake makes me insanely happy. The past week has been pretty productive cuz the Brain chemicals released from playing has been doing me good for my mood (though they are tapering off now. Good things dont last forever!)

Ultimately, i do think the Voice acting was probably the weakest part. The awkwardness i mentioned in my last post aside, It still feels very weird for Andy to be sounding like OG Ash Ketchum (Veronica Taylor), and a lot of the voices arent what I originally imagined them to be. But that's sorta expected when a game has had 20 years to kinda fester in your brain :P

I really hope they remake Dual Strike in the future, or even just had Updates/DLC that added new stuff! I honestly miss the units from Days of Ruin, cuz the Anti-tanks, gunboats, rebalanced Carriers, and bike infantry were awesome, and it'd be really neat to see how they interact with the older cast.

I still gotta go back and 100% the campaigns, buy all the characters, art, and music, and maybe do some war room maps. Lots to do still :V.

[pedge-page]

Hello!

I hope this isn’t weird but I think you and Romana are friends, or at least mutuals.

Have you ever read The Wrong Way by her? Whenever you post about musk and liking Joel’s smell I think of the mc in that story. She was so obsessed with Joel I can see her loving his smell after a long day because she seemed really into licking him like after he killed the guy 🙈

I wasn’t sure how Romana would respond to this sort of ask or if it was rude to say, but I thought you might agree.

Hello there!

Firstly, I LOVE Roman, and I ESPECIALLY love The Wrong Way. I may have said it before but it was one of the catalyst fics/series that inspired me to start writing. Roman is also such a wonderful person so if you haven't checked out his blog or heck, haven't even read TWW, wtf are you doing here still.

On that note, I think that's an interesting idea! I actually mentioned this to him (and he also said he wouldn't take any offense or weirdness to a question like that!) Here's his consesus:

" I think there’s two ways that it could go. I am inclined to think that yes she would be all about smelling Joel especially if she knew it made him happy. She would never complain. Of course I think a lot of what attracts her to Joel is that Pure masculinity. Like the fact that he is strong, can and will protect her from bad men, and as long as she is good to him, she will be safe.

However, I do think there’s a part of her that might not like it. Considering the abuse she grew up in the smell of rough and tumble. Men has never bode well for her, and it may trigger memories of abuse. "

I do love this analysis as it's a double sided coin for Little One.

If you do have any questions related to TWW, Roman is super chill and LOVES hearing all of it. Thats his baby so he loves to think about all scenarios and situations involving those characters. I'd go on about all his other works as well (GUARD DOG JOEL IS RIGHT UP MY ALLEY) but you should all definitely catch up on their masterlist!

[hnnny]

The purpose of this poll was not to bash on all male Revan interpretations, just to bash on this one specific interpretation, which stems mostly from mischaracterization in both SWTOR and the Revan novel if you know of the horrors of that book, and then topped off with a really weird looking character design. I'll also add that it's definitely valid to be upset at the oversaturation of white male protagonists in just about every medium even still.

Revan can be a woman and nonbinary or other queer gender identities, but they can also be a man. I know a lot of y'all are really just frustrated they defined Revan's gender in general, and I respect that, but the answer is to not place someone's individual choice for their Revan above another's.

There are some great male Revan ocs out there, same with female and nonbinary/genderqueer Revans. Heck, my Revan is a woman and I love her with all my heart.

In this house, many of us just think this design or his characterization in the Revan novel especially does not do him any justice when Revan is a really awesome and beloved character.

There's something to be said about the automatic assumption that cool armored characters are perceived masculine and such and how that rightfully sucks, how Kotor 1 flipped that assumption on its head only to turn back and feed right back into it. But again, the answer is not to say "men bad, women better", because that can invite others to then say "Women better, nonbinary bad" or any other manner of hateful and close minded ideas for people who resonate with Revan in different ways than we do.

Not trying to come after anyone, just trying to make sure we're careful about how we're arguing our preferences here so this post can remain lighthearted as it should. Go ahead. Enjoy ragging on the man a little :)

Thanks for reading :)

Edit: This reblog is meant specifically for being open-minded about Revan ocs for the most part. I am perfectly fine with criticizing the fact that white male protagonists definitely oversaturate the market in just about every medium, as can be seen here. It's just not the point I'm trying to make in this. Again, still a valid and well-founded argument.

I also edited my argument to be a little less all over the place and to not accidentally accuse probably well meaning people of being something that I have really no cause for concern over yet. Sorry to anyone I may have offended. Truly, I did not see much wrong, just wanted to quickly course correct on something I saw

If this is your first time seeing him, I'm so sorry for your loss, the loss being that you have now seen him. Please vote based on your initial reaction to him.

Behold:

[roostertuftart]

Obligatory green hat kid ask

GOTTA do kyle yes ofc.

Ask meme

Sexuality Headcanon: I'm so divided on this for Kyle! Really love him being gay, but also I love making like. Every character bisexual for maximum shipping potential- Plus like!! Kyle being a biromantic demisexual makes me so happy :)) He's definitely demi for me no matter what!!! And I think he has a male preference if he is bisexual. I have the headcanon that he actually thought he was gay for a long time because he only really had crushes on his close friends, all of them being guys, until he becomes friends with like, Wendy or someone and realizes "oh shit, I like girls too???"

Gender Headcanon: Another thing I'm mixed on. But I think I'm leaning a binary man (I can see him as both cis or trans) and he doesn't really care about it that much. He seems extremely comfortable with his masculinity which has always been one of my favorites traits he has! Overall I just see him being mostly masculine presenting but not minding being gender nonconforming and not really being super troubled by the thought of gender or gender presentation. Like, oh, his friends are all cross dressing for fun? Sure, he'll join in just for the heck of it. But it's not something he thinks deeply about at the same time, if that makes sense. I like agender Kyle too :)

A ship I have with said character: My favorite favorite favorite ship with Kyle is Stendylenny but to go for more of the popular ones, style and K2 both are pretty good and I think about them often. I love Kyle's dynamic with those two! K2 is always really wholesome and loving and I really like how spicy and complicated style can be! I could go for like an hour listing off rairpairs and crackships I like for Kyle because he's so shippable, but some of my other favorites for him are cryle, kyndy, and one sided kyman

A BROTP I have with said character: Kyndy probably? When I'm not shipping Kyle and Wendy, I love them as best friends. There's this popular trend of them hating each other in the fandom and that's fine but I just cannot see it, they're so alike and they've only ever gotten along, you know? I think they'd be even closer as they got older, especially with how they've both shed a lot of their more toxic traits with time. Idk if it counts but Kyle and his relationship with Ike is also iconic and deserves way more attention.

A NOTP I have with said character: Kymannnnnn I'm sorry lol. Really love it one sided and I have had AUs and stuff where I've been able to stomach them both being romantically involved but overall something about the ship just tends to make me extremely uncomfortable. I can see the appeal but as I've said before, I just cannot fathom Kyle having returned feelings for Eric Cartman unless it was from some sort of fucked up trauma response, which is interesting for plot but if that's as far as it can go for me, I don't think I count as a shipper.

A random headcanon: Kyle has freckles supremacy!!! Also he's autistic and has cPTSD. And he gets a cat at some point even though he's lightly allergic.

General Opinion over said character: Favorite boy love him so much. I want to pick him up and throw him as far as I can

[trikis-turntables]

Dislyte Chinese Names pt. 2

After writing my long ass post about the Chinese Espers’ names I did one for the other Espers too, here you go

Generally, the non-chinese esper names are just phonetically sinonized. Conventionally, pinyin is does not use capitalization so ignore the capitals cause i can’t be arsed to change them lol Note: most of their names are conventional Anglophone names, so there’s a corresponding conventional translation of their names, i think it’s just interesting to note that some are changed for whatever reason

5 Stars// Legendaries: Donar 多纳尔 duō nà ěr Tiye 泰伊 tài yī Lewis 刘易斯 liú yì sī Raven 瑞雯 ruì wén (notably, her name can be a common given chinese girl's name) Narmer 纳尔迈 nà ěr mài Triki 特里基 tè lǐ jī Hyde 海德 hǎi dé Biondina 翁迪娜 wēng dí nà Gabrielle 加贝莉 jiā bèi lì (note: though it would be more accurate phonetically to use 加贝尔 Jia Bei Er for Gabrielle, to keep that feminine -elle form, they used li 莉 instead cause 加贝尔 Jia Bei Er is the usual sinonized form of masculine Gabriel) Sally 萨丽 sà lì (note: 萨 Sa here is the word used in 菩萨 Pu Sa, Bodhisavatta/Buddha, possible association with the fact that she's a saintly healer figure)   Ollie 奥利 Ào lì Unas 乌纳斯 wū nà sī Lucas 卢克斯 lú kè sī (usually Lucas is sinonized as 卢卡斯 Lú kǎ sī, but by using  卢克斯 lú kè sī instead, it reads as "Lux") Clara 克莱拉 Kè lái lā Cecilia 西西莉娅 xī xī lì yà (Pronounciation of Xi Xi is close to english 'sissy'; her nickname in chinese circles afaik is 西西 Sissy which i think is kinda cute) Sienna 席安娜 xí ān nà Tevor 崔佛 cuī fó (okay. so. There's not really a "Te/Tre" sound in chinese with the soft ‘e’ sound; Cui Fo is the conventional sinonization of Trevor) Ahmed 亚罕莫德 Yà hǎn mò dé (Ah- sounds are usually translated as 亚 Ya for proper names, especially in the front; another way to sinonize Ah- sound is 阿, but it risks reading the name as a nickname bc 阿- is a common way to dimunitivize someone's name) Zora 佐拉  zuǒ lā

4 Stars// Epics: Asenath 安瑟尼斯 Ān sè ní sī Djoser 左塞尔 zuǒ sài ěr (I’ve mentioned, but Djoser’s name follow CN naming convention with the surname-given name,  左 is an uncommon surname tho!) Mona 莫娜 mò nà Celine 席琳 xí lín Kara 卡拉 kǎ lā Eira 艾拉 Ài lā Falken 佛肯 fó kěn Fabrice 法布里斯 fǎ bù lǐsī Arcana 阿卡纳 Ā kǎ nà Sander 桑德 sāng dé Alexa 阿莱莎 Ā lái shā Chloe 克洛伊 kè luò yī Catherine 凯瑟琳 kǎi sè lín Pritzker 普利兹克 pǔ lì zī kè Jacob 雅格 yǎ gé (Jacob is usually translated as 雅各布 Yǎ gè bù, so it's interesting that they used 雅格 yǎ gé, which reads more as Jager) Lynn 琳恩 lín ēn (also can be a common cn girl given name) Anesidora 安妮斯朵拉 Ān nī sī duǒ lā Bonnie 邦妮 bāng nī Dhalia 达利亚 dá lì yǎ Taylor 泰勒 tài lēi Nicole 妮可 nī kě Laura 劳拉 láo lā Meredith 梅丽达 méi lì dá (reads as Merida rather than Meredith) Kaylee 凯丽 kǎi lì Aurelius 欧雷尔斯  Ōu léi ěr sī Stewart 斯图尔特 sī tú ěr tè

3 Stars// Rares: Bardon 巴顿 bā dùn (also same sinonization as Patton lol) Brynn 布琳 bù lín Drew 德鲁 dé lǔ Q 丘比 qiū bǐ (lit. Cupid, interesting they changed it to Q but explains his design fr; also also, it fits the chinese naming convention, 丘qiū is a surname) Melanie 梅兰妮 méi lán nī Zelmer 赛默 sài mò Hall 霍尔 huò ěr (no note, i just had to dig out my old dictionary cause i had no idea what the heck that first character was lmao) Freddy 弗雷迪 fú léi dí David 大卫 dà wèi Lauren 洛伦 luò lún Chalmers 查尔姆斯 chá ěr mǔ sī Berenice 贝蕾妮斯 bèi lěi nī sī Layla 莱拉 lái lā Leon 里昂 lǐ áng Helena 海伦娜 hǎi lún nà Jeanne 雅妮 yǎ nī (another instance where 珍妮 zhēn nī might have been a more direct translation for Jeanne's name, im inclined to think the dislyte dev Team reads Jeanne's name as Jean-nie rather than how the fandom reads it as Jean)

Bonus: Sieg 齐格 qí gé (which reads more like Zig than Sieg, usually Sieg is translated as 西格 xī gé)

[smokestarrules]

What the heck is a "mean lesbian"?

…I’m assuming you’re looking for an answer other than just “a lesbian who is mean.”

I mean, essentially, it’s a literary trope, and it’s a somewhat outdated and stereotypical literary trope at that. It’s the idea that if a female character is particularly aggressive towards other characters, especially men, then a lot of people will headcanon her as a lesbian, and often in canon, she is one. There’s probably some age-old queer theory behind this phenomenon, but all I can think of is, like. something something masculinity. That’s about all I’ve got.

Now, this trope is not necessarily a bad one, it’s just a tad overused at this point, and if you’re declaring every girl who snaps at people as a lesbian, it’s just. a little weird. I think. But that’s just my opinion.

[blood-starved-beast]

Vi's mischaracterization is also very wrong and is why imho the fandom reception towards her in s2 is so skewed - people assumed a character a lot more heroic and driven than what we got. As Powder in s2ep7 said - her main motivation has always been to protect the ones she loved, not to be a revolutionary. This care led itself to having people gravitate towards her, but she did not take to leadership that say Ekko does. She is not a revolutionary, and part of that reason is cause any potential she had was choked out of her in Stillwater. She has no community really. Only Caitlyn, Jinx, and to a lesser extent, Ekko.

That being said, I think Caitlyn was always kinda worse? Like I read a lot of fanfic and oh boy fanon Caitlyn was arguably very bad. I think on occasion I would see in character Vi, but Caitlyn was always idk. like generically femme. Heck, I think I'd see Vi's more parental/affectionate traits placed on her for example. And Caitlyn's brand of drive placed on Vi.

It's an interesting conundrum. Caitvi gets hit with the queer people heteronormative beam. Caitlyn who is more femme than Vi is not the way she is often portrayed in fandom you know? She's got traits more associated with masculinity (and her role of coming into that leadership, head of House Kiramman) but she isn't herself completely. Vi is butch but she has a lot of more feminine associated traits (her parentification, care for her family, putting her loved ones before her). And these things are important to understand the characters, their arcs, and with each other. Caitlyn had to learn to let her obsession of Jinx go (and let Vi make the choice to go with Jinx if she wanted to, which essentially is what she did easing Vi's way into breaking Jinx out prison), and Vi had to make a decision for herself. That is, break away from Jinx, and by proxy the burden of being parentified. Put her own wishes first (no surprise then, that fandom who expects older sister figures, especially ones who serve as a second mother, are mad that Vi made that choice this time).

@julietwiskey1 Sort of answers your question, though the other additions also are good.

Controversial opinion removed from the political discussions surrounding arcane s2 and such but like - Caitlyn was always kinda mischaracterized in Arcane fandom imho. A lot of ppl never got her and when s2 came got her even less cause it's not the second floor that's the problem the foundation of fanon Cait is just flat out wrong.

[lacrimosathedark]

I am sick of DC killing off their heroes

I'm also sick of them keeping the same heroes and having them in like stasis age. It's annoying, especially as new characters are created.

You know what I want instead?

Let them retire.

Let Bruce hang up his cowl and hand the mantle to Cassandra, and maybe Terry later. His boys are already taking after him in other ways; Dick's become a wealthy philanthropist, Jason's probably gonna be the one to adopt 50 kids just by who he is as a person (Tyler, Bao, my personal headcanon for Shoes/Lian), and Tim is the world's greatest detective. Damian is...Damian. But he's finding his way. Let Bruce's children take an aspect of his and surpass him in it. Let him grow old with Selina!!! Also GIVE THEM HELENA!!!!

Speaking of Selina, let one of the Strays or eventually Helena take up her mantle. Maybe Lian can take her mantle, considering Emiko is Red Arrow and Roy is active...sorta. Just more cool cat ladies who aren't freakin Jade Nguyen please (no offense to any fans I just don't like her).

Let Clark be a guide and a guardian for Kon and Jon but sit back and be a person with a family unless there's a crisis. Let him just be a dorky reporter/farmboy with a loving wife looking after his aging parent(s? Is his dad alive? Continuity is weird) and being with his son and actually treating his other son like a son. Because Kon deserves it.

Let Diana stay in Themyscira or make a home on Earth. Or both! Let Donna take up the Wonder Woman mantle! Heck, let there be more than one! Nubia is a cool WW. And imagine Artemis! Maybe Cassie one day!

Fucking retire Hal Jordan. There are like 10 other earthbound Green Lanterns. John Stewart and Guy Gardner and even Kyle Rayner have had a shine in the limelight (heh limelight). Let people like Jessica Cruz and Jo Mullein and Keli Quintela get a little spotlight!

Let Arthur be a fucking king-dad. Let him just live a happy, mostly peaceful life with Mera. Let him have weird father-son bonding with Garth and Jackson. Let him raise Andy! Let him have Jr.!

Ollie will be a stubborn bitch until he fuckin dies, but put him on grandpa duty once this whole "Shoes has amnesia" thing is sorted out! He loved that when Lian was little and it was so fuckin cute. Imagine him teaching her how to shoot and she continually one-ups him because she's definitely Jade and Roy's kid, well-trained by Selina, and constantly reminds Ollie he's getting old. Once Connor's shit gets sorted, let him take up the mantle of Green Arrow again! Heck, he could do it just to prove he's better than Ollie and it'd be great.

Let. Dinah. Have. A. CHILD. She is such a good mom to Roy and to Connor even when she and Ollie are at odds, let her have her own child, even just by weird science! Give her a kiddo that can scream just like her, BAM new Canary. Bonus points if it's a boy or otherwise generally masculine kid and they still wear the fishnets as an adult. Power move.

Can Barry Allen have a break? Please? Heck, give Wally a break too, just for a bit! They've been through so much, let them chill with their wives (and maybe a boyfriend in Wally's case, I see those Nightwing crossovers) and kids and have normal-ish lives. There's so many cool speedsters! Don and Dawn Allen! Bart Allen! Wallace West! Jai and Irey West! Our enby Jesse Chambers! And that's not even all of them, there are so many fuckin speedsters.

I admittedly know next to nothing about J'onn J'onzz, but like, he's been through some shit too. M'gann can take over she seems pretty badass.

Like, just let the old heroes grow old. They don't even have to die, they can be weird wizened mentors with a running gag of 'how the fuck are you still alive?' and they just yknow, stick around. Like Alfred. (Fuck you he'll be back)

The new blood can shine without obliterating what came before.

[pianostarinwonderland]

I agree with you on Ch. 5 and have spent lots of time thinking what I'd change. Like maybe Vil is unintentionally (metaphorically) poisoning Epel in an obsessive attempt to make him the ultimate weapon against Neige or make Neige's backstory relevant in probably the only chapter he'll be important in. Maybe people know his history and admire him more for his humble beginnings than Vil, who grew up more privileged. Idk, those are just some random ideas of mine. How would you change Ch. 5?

Spoilers for Book 5

Oooh!! Those are interesting changes. I do like your idea of Vil unintentionally poisoning Epel into becoming as obsessive with perfection as he is. Maybe it could be a future conflict we deal with later on! 

For me, here are the things that I would keep or change in chapter 5.

First half of Pomefiore stays the same. I think it did a good job laying the groundwork for the conflict and introducing the Pomefiore characters, especially Epel and Vil, who are in conflict with each other.

The first change I’d make is Epel’s change of perception of beauty and strength. While I get that Vil is right that things such as fashion and dance shouldn’t be gendered, I think the way Epel changed his mind to end up siding with Vil was far too quick. Epel held that toxic masculinity because he was raised with such a mindset. Changing that mindset wouldn’t happen overnight, especially if it’s ingrained.

I understand the direction that the story was going. The reason why Epel even held that mindset was because it’s likely that being big and strong was the image of boys that everyone admired in his village. Heck, it’s the ideal societal image of men. Especially since he has to do farm work, Epel would also want to be big and strong to better support his family. The point of him having a change of mind upon seeing Vil’s advertisement causing a boom in his family’s business is for him to see that the beauty Vil displays is also something admired and something that can help his family, and with the kinds of looks he has, he can also be admired in a similar way.

Again, it feels a bit too quick for Epel to have that change of heart because it’s hard to let go of a mindset that you grew up with. What I would want it to be is that there’s still some reluctance on his part, but he would have an attitude that is sort of like, “Okay, you proved something to me, so I’ll follow you, but it doesn’t mean that I’m going to obey your every command.” It’s like a ‘wait and see’ kind of thing. 

The second change I would want to make is to have a bit more acknowledgement that Vil’s attitude really isn’t it. The previous chapters did not hesitate to paint their main antagonist as a villain and even show that their actions are problems that need to be confronted. However, at least to my impression, chapter 5 doesn’t paint Vil in the same light. If anything, it just makes it seem like Epel is the one in the wrong while Vil is in the right, therefore Vil’s actions, harsh or otherwise, are justified. 

This isn’t to say that Vil’s beliefs aren’t valid. Rather, many people, including myself, do agree with him on the idea that things such as dance shouldn’t be gendered. It’s a fact that gender stereotypes does a lot of harm, and he addresses this through his lifestyle and influence.

This is also not to say that I want to change Vil’s character either. I like his character. It makes sense for someone who strives for excellence and expects the same for his team, and the industry he’s in is not exactly merciful either. 

No, what I want is that someone calls him out. Especially in the scene where he defeated Epel, and the latter ran out of the room in tears (around chapter 5–37). I understand not being able to really criticize him since he is their leader, but I wished that there was acknowledgement from the characters that his actions and words have a negative effect on the team. Even a chapter dedicated to some of them (especially first years and maybe Kalim who listens to them) whisper ranting about Vil late at night would have been good enough, and heck, that could even strengthen our bond with the other members of the team! Have someone say, “Vil, I think you’re going too far.”/”Vil is being too harsh on us.”, whether in front of his face or behind his back. And I would want it to result to him saying something like, “I’m doing all this for the benefit of our team.” etc., and it would result in everyone getting shushed.

This would also give more development to his eventual Overblot and flashback. Vil entered Overblot because he hated how ugly he had become. In his flashback, he expressed how he hates being relegated to the villain role. If someone called him out for his harsh actions, that seed of guilt and self-doubt will be planted. It would have been an amazing build-up to his Overblot. Jamil preparing antidotes to poisons due to knowledge of Vil’s skill in potionology (I believe around chapter 5–21?) was the starting point. Build it up further by having other characters look at him like he’s the bad guy, but have his facade remain strong until his near attempt at poisoning Neige. 

The third change I would make pertains to Vil as well. This would revolve around his moments where he checks Mira Mira. I would want him to eventually have a monologue to himself to not think of unsavory thoughts, or at least, a peek of his thoughts. 

A general problem I have with chapter 5 is how Vil’s backstory didn’t get the proper build-up I think it could have gotten. You might argue that it’s a similar case with Azul: we don’t get much of a build-up to his backstory aside from that scene where he talks about having to eat healthy or else he’d get fat (or as Twst EN writes it, it would go straight to his thighs). But see, I think that is fine because Azul is someone who doesn’t reveal his weaknesses. It reflects his character to not throw in much hints of his backstory. 

With Vil, however, we get to see his moments of weaknesses, the times when he asks Mira Mira who’s the most beautiful. I want to see how his emotions build up from the first time we see him ask Mira Mira to the third time. Of course, the first and second times would be left relatively unchanged, but maybe for the third time, that’s when he’s telling himself, “Okay, calm down. Keep your cool.” or something. If we combine it to the second change I proposed, it would be so good to see Vil tell himself, “I’m not a villain. I’m not a bad guy.” 

This would also be the perfect time(s) to put in the backstory of Neige. It could have also been dropped in discussions of Neige, but it would be really good to see Vil tell himself, “Okay, calm down, Neige is a poor boy who works just as hard as I do.” to keep his morals about him. 

The fourth change I would make is that the conflict between Vil and Epel isn’t left ignored. This is probably one of my biggest gripes with the chapter. The first half of Pomefiore beautifully established the conflict between the two of them, but the second half acted as if it didn’t exist. It’s like... what is the point of all that? It can’t have been resolved that quickly. 

This also sort of connects to the first change I brought up, that Epel shouldn’t have had that change of heart so quickly. I would want an additional scene just before the VDC rehearsals of Epel and Vil talking. We see after Vil’s overblot that Epel asks him if he can take Vil’s place. Maybe we could have a discussion pertaining to that: that Epel been getting better, but of course, the road to improvement is long, and he still needs to learn a lot. It would still show that the conflict hasn’t been fully resolved, but it’s a bit better. 

I also do acknowledge, though, that this is a conflict that will likely be referred to again later on in the main story. I don’t know when, but I also want to look at the bigger picture. 

The fifth and last change I would make is to have Deuce have a bit more beef with Vil. This probably sounds a bit silly, but hear me out. This is one of the main reasons why I’m not satisfied with chapter 5. From the way things were going, it would have made more sense for Epel to gain his UM, but it comes out that Deuce gains his UM. And honestly, I’m really proud of Deuce, and chapter 5 highlights his growth. But it feels it came out of left field.

I think this is probably something that would be hard to fix due to the visual novel format. If it was an animation, watching Deuce struggle in dancing would make it more effective, and his growth to the point of gaining his UM would make a lot more sense. Additionally, chapter 5 had a lot of delays, so it’s possible as well that I just probably couldn’t appreciate it as much. 

But even then, since he really used the UM against OB Vil, I wish that he had more clashes with Vil where it’s not just him being forced to silence after saying a piece of dialogue. 

This would connect to the second change as well. I see Deuce being involved in tea time where they rant about Vil. I’m sure that comment Vil made about his dancing hurt him as much as it fueled his determination, and he would be a bit pissed over how Epel cried that day. Additionally, he was a delinquent at one point, and it would be pretty interesting to see his thoughts on authority and how Vil uses his authority on them. 

[mk-wizard]

Fan Theories: Do the Villains of He-Man symbolize toxic masculinity?

Hi, everyone

A little reminder, I don’t just analyze Transformers. I also delve into several 80s and present day gems like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Anyway, I once mentioned in another essay that after seeing MotU: Revelations and several other reboots, I have come to the conclusion that not only is He-Man a progressive character, but also a feminist who dared to take a stand against toxic masculinity by embracing one’s softer side to be a better man. After all, feminism helps men too. With that said, could it be that the different villains represent the different forms of toxic masculinity? After some examination, I think they do and it just reinforces to what extent it is a great series for boys by showing us how destructive toxic masculinity can be.

Evil-Lyn: The misconception that only bad women are strong and independent.

First up is Evil-Lyn which I know already what you’re thinking; dudette, she’s a lady. How does she relate to toxic masculinity? More than you think. Evil-Lyn represents the most negative view men have of strong independent women. They see them as witches who hate men, are unladylike, cruel and wicked. In other words, she represents what misguided men think women will become if they become their equals and why many men mistakenly think feminism bad. Evil-Lyn is not actually a bad person though. She had an extremely bad life that traumatized her. She was so poor that her own parents tried to kill her so they eat her and even when she escaped, she hid in sewers for many years before being found by a witch who trained her in the art of magic. Later on, she found Skeletor who she fell in love with, but was soon burnt by him because he abused her in every way thinkable. And even with all that, Revelations reveals that all she wants is to be free which is not an evil desire at all. And who made her turn good? Teela who is ALSO a strong independent woman.

Beastman: The misconception that real men must be carnal and aggressive to be strong.

This guy is obvious. Beastman embodies the wrong idea that manly men are animalistic, rude, savage and violent which we all know all too well will actually only get you into nothing, but trouble. Yet, even in today’s day and age, the idea of men not being governed by their hormones is one that even women struggle with believing, but it’s true. Even the real Beastman isn’t like that. This is all a facade to appear strong and fearless, but reality, he is sensitive, a romantic and has good in him. We finally see his true colours in Revelations and we are pleasantly surprised at how sweet he really is deep down. It turns out that Beastman selflessly loves Evil-Lyn, he has a sense of honour and is also intelligent enough to identify abuse when he sees it or experience it. In other words, when Beastman acts more like a man instead of beast, we respect him. Heck, when I saw what kind of person Beastman really is deep down, I started rooting for him and wanted him to get the girl.

Tri-Klops: The misconception that men must be cold and unfeeling to be invincible.

When I look at him, I definitely see a lot of parallels between him and the office worker especially one who is into technology. Tri-Klops is completely consumed by his work and research in technology. He sees flesh (feelings) as weak and magic (spirituality) as something that holds you back. He thinks the solution to all of life’s problem’s is to become a computer. Tri-Klops is not a far cry at all from the man who has given up on life and buries himself in his work instead, but what he fails to realize is that he is hurting himself with isolation. Not to mention that no matter how many robotic implants Tri-Klops, he is still human and deep down, he craves a human connection hence always taking that small step out every now and then. Even the fact that he started a cult is not a far cry either from how men become so resentful towards the world, that they start preaching to others to give up and become cold with him to be free from pain. The harder a man tries to be a machine, the more obvious it becomes that he still is just a man. And while never allowing yourself to love spares you from pain, you also deprive yourself from the joy of being loved.

Trapjaw: The misconception that it’s a dog-eat-dog world where you can only look out for yourself.

Another heavy metal man, but with different baggage. Trapjaw’s big glaring problem is that he’s an opportunist. Every situation he is thrown into, his first thought is ‘how does this benefit ME?’ and even his special ability which consists of eating technology can be seen as a metaphor for greed. He is like a big shot CEO who got to the top by stepping on the necks of others, divorced at least three times and backhandedly mocks those who have less. Underneath all of that is a man who overcompensates and whose power is as flimsy as a house of cards. What is worse is that when you get to where you are alone, you wind up alone when it’s all gone. No one is there to catch you, help you, comfort you and you have no choice, but to scrape to get by. It is great to support yourself and be independent, but taking to Trapjaw’s extent is self-destructive. When everyone is in your way, no one is on your side.

Skeletor: The misconception that real men are perpetually dominant in order to be respected.

And here we come to the bone daddy himself. Skeletor is iconic for being one of the worst evil bosses in fiction as he is always abusing his minions even when they do good just to keep them in line and also because he is that sadistic. Even by other villains’ standards, Skeletor is a disgusting person for that. And as mentioned before, no one had it worse than Evil-Lyn. She was the one person who ever loved him and showed true selfless loyalty to him, and how did he repay her? He not only broke her heart. He practically ate it to make submit to him. Behind of all that cruelty is a huge coward who makes everyone think they’re nothing without him, but in reality, he’s nothing without everyone else. This is why one of the other most iconic traits about Skeletor is that he is actually a big loser who always digs his own graves by constantly being so mean and wanting it all. He is exactly like that guy who thinks he’s cool because he threatens everyone and hits his girlfriend, but in reality, he’s a failure who isn’t man enough to face his demons.

EDIT: @avenger09 pointed that Skeletor can also be a metaphor for how a real man MUST take down his rival at all costs to the point of obsession when in reality, this is not only self-destructive, it hurts everyone around you. Skeletor’s entire life is devoted to taking down He-Man to the point where he cannot focus on anything else even when he does win a little and in doing so, he always winds up losing everything. If he took even just a little break from trying to beat He-Man, he would make some progress at his goals and perhaps even realize that He-Man isn’t the real problem in his life (but that’s an analysis all on its own). A lot of men in real life are more like this bone-head than we think. They are fixated on being better or best at something that really doesn’t even matter. We even see a lot of male characters in other fiction be this way especially in tournament themed anime. In real life, it is never heroic or admirable to have one single goal and purpose in your life. You need to be aware of the other attachments and responsibilities in your life and the people in your life. And sometimes, the bravest and healthiest thing you can do is give up. Does it really matter if you’re the best or not at football, martial arts or whatever? And also, what has being obsessed allowed you to do with your life really? And suppose you do finally beat your rival, in real world, is anyone really going to care? Did ever even matter to the people who mattered to you? And if someone only admires you for your trophies and status, is that really a person you want to have around?

Whiplash: The misconception that being a bad boy is cool.

This is a pretty simple, but relevant one. Whiplash is a criminal who got recruited by Skeletor because he is willing to play so dirty, but what does the guy really have to show for it? Whiplash was exiled from his home, he is wanted man and he’s under the thumb of another bad man. We have an old saying that boys will be boys when they act out of line, but this mentality allows boys to go on a bad path. Being bad is not a phase. It is a choice. Being a criminal or a bad person is not cool. It will mess up your life. Period.

Mer-Man: The misconception that being privileged makes you better than everyone.

This one was a challenge for me, but in the end, I managed to pinpoint Mer-Man’s problem; he’s a showboat (no pun intended). He loves to show off in every way he can at any chance he gets hence why in the 2002 reboot, he just had to bring in a giant flying monster fish, but what did it really do? It swallowed Man-At-Arms twice and he came out of it ok both times. Just the fact that most people forget that Mer-Man is a king speaks volumes about his character. He is no different from a privileged boy who goes around showing off the nice car, nice clothes and nice gadgets that his parents got him thinking it makes him great, but really... what has he done with his life that makes him memorable? Does he even get remembered? It’s ok to like nice things, but status is an illusion. Things and simply being the rich kid won’t leave a long lasting impression on anyone. The only thing you achieve by showing off the things your parents got you is that it makes people want to forget you even more because you’re just being childish.

And that’s it. I chose this set of villains because I know them. I know there are others too and I would love to hear which forms of toxic masculinity they represent.

Thank you for reading and as always, have a great day and stay safe.