#everywhere else she's depicted as a princess 100% of the time

[can-of-w0rmz]

No but rich people (especially rich Americans) are ACTUALLY fucking mental, and not even on big scale shit, but on really small everyday stuff too. Like it’s crazy, I fully saw a video that was one of those ones where it was like, “THIS is not a healthy amount of food”, and then it was a few varying portions, some of them were pretty small, some were really really normal and average, and then “THIS is healthy :)” and then it’s the most fucking MASSIVE bowl of food with the biggest portions you’ve ever seen in your life. Am I insane or is that crazy patronising???

Like ok yeah, I get people struggle with food, and if you’re purposefully eating teeny tiny portions even though you have more because of psychological reasons, of COURSE that’s unhealthy, but the amount of food these people eat in these kinds of videos is actually insane. It might just be because they’re American, bc American portions are massive, but there’s something absolutely mad to me in these posts that they go “oh so you know this perfectly average meal? This very affordable normal amount of food to eat for a meal? You should be eating this instead :)” and then show a medieval king ass feast. OR, “here’s what I eat in a day! (Realistic <3 bc social media isn’t real)” and then it’s a sandwich the size of her fucking arm.

It’s not even just food too, it’s overindulgence in everything, and it’s such a weird fucking thing, and imo it leads to this weird Americanised sense of entitlement sometimes??? Like there’ve been a few times as a kid where I’ve tried imitating these American ass trends, which are ALWAYS framed as “this is healthy” or “this is realistic”, and ofc every time I’d get my ma laughing in my face with some variation of “what do you think I am? Made of money?” or “are you some kind of princess now?”, and she was 100% right every time, and as I started getting older and having more of an actual concept of money, I ALWAYS thought “it’s crazy how Americans can afford this much shit.”

I REALLY fucking hate the Americanisation of everything tbh. You can’t escape it. Election season comes around, a thousand videos “we have to vote guys!” ???who the fuck is “we”. Also in shit like general culture too, ideas about culture and race which are only relevant for America. Not to say that racism only exists in America, but this “you can’t be racist towards white people/ahhhh oh no that’s cultural appropriation you can’t do that!!!!” stance on racism. I’ve lived in Ireland my entire life, not that it really matters bc being Irish is not really a “race”, it’s a nationality, but my ancestors were all celtic, I have a culture. And even tho personally I don’t think being Irish is a race (aka: I don’t think if you’re American and your great grandad was Irish, you’re Irish, and I also think a black guy or whoever else who’s lived here his whole life and fully understands Irish culture has just as much of a right to call himself Irish as someone like me with Celtic heritage), the English sure viewed us that way! “You can’t be racist towards white people”? In the 1800s they depicted us as rats and drunks and tried to starve us. But sure go whine about cultural appropriation and then go dye the rivers green this St. Patrick’s Day!

I just really hate the Americanisation of shit in general fr. And I don’t even hate some American stuff that much, southern gothic shit is cool, the old west is interesting asf, you’ve got some cool shit, but this weird rich elite corporate social media America shit is fucking everywhere, and it’s just infuriating at worst and kind of sad at best. Feels like everyone’s forgetting where they come from and why they act how they do to fall in line with some looming corporate capitalist American idea of “progress” that erases every shred of art and love and differing experience and history and culture and beauty. Americans will whine about colonisation, and that’s real, it’s true, it’s horrific, but they’re doing the exact same shit psychologically.

Anyway I hope trump wins the election not because I support any of his policies but because it think it’d be funny to watch. Also democracy is a lie constructed by the government to give the illusion of individual choice don’t bother voting it just encourages them. Communism is fucking stupid and idealist but so is the idea that individuals can have true choice under a democracy fuck the government and go love and make art thank you and goodnight

Also since we’re talking about our individual culture and how much I hate corpo Americans spreading their weird shit everywhere have some cool selkie art I found and a silly wee selkie ballad I like

[penwarrior11]

I find it fascinating that Cinderella is in all three of the It’s a Small Worlds with Disney characters (OG, Tokyo, and Hong Kong), and in both the second and third of these she is dressed as a princess and holding hands with Charming while waving to the crowd:

While only in DL is she like this:

No fancy dress, no Prince, no castle.  Just her in her maid’s outfit with the mice.

[awfully-sadistic]

Wanted

As usual, taking some liberties with my interpretation of characters. I hope it’s okay even if some of the details are... bent... to fit what I am trying to convey.

It was a funny thing to be thrust into the spotlight. You’re so popular, you’re suddenly wanted everywhere.

No. Wait. Let me take that back; It’s honesty horrible.

I am Spider-Noir. Peter Parker to those who know my identity which, let me tell you, has been an awful lot of people lately. That part doesn’t bother me. People I know and care for knowing who I am? Those very same people that understand the responsibility I have to shoulder? They’re great for the support.

What worries me are the avid fans I seem to be accumulating. But that’s not a new thing in New Senzannini. Superheroes and yes, even villains, have their own... fanbase.

I don’t understand it and I don’t think I ever will. I’m just regular ol’ Peter Parker. I grew up during the Great Depression and true to its name, everything about it was as depressing. That time period is a dark place and I cannot understand why anyone seems to glorify anything from that era and before that. But there’s probably a reason.

I recently saw a movie depicting myself and it was almost surreal. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it. It was light-hearted, funny, and even had a nice message.

But me? I don’t get nice messages. The last “message” I got was my Uncle Ben, his mutilated body almost unrecognizable to me, tortured to death just for standing up for what he believed in.

I was almost a joke. Rubik cubes? Egg creams? Nicholas Cage? I don’t even sound like that.

Rubik cubes were something new. Never seen a nifty little toy like that before because, hello, it’s the Great Depression. What else am I going to do for entertainment? And egg creams are occasionally good just like how Dot Dreadful seems to enjoy her chocolate milk. She doesn’t drink it all the time, right? It’s a nice treat. I also enjoy a nice treat. And if I’m not careful, Spider-Noir is going to be synonymous with these things just like Wade Wilson and chimichangas, whatever those are. People take that way too far, Gwen has said the phenomenon was a meme. I was a meme.

Do you know what I like to do in my spare time? I like to head down to Felicia Hardy’s place and have myself a whiskey so I can get through another day. From there, I study my notes, my next plan of action. I like to find how I can nail the bastards that killed my uncle. But taking down crooks who work in an even more crooked government is hard work. Almost impossible.

I don’t think people really know me. I am not just “punching nazis” in my time. I was angry. I still am. People believe I see in black and white but I see in color. It’s like Noir has to be black and white but let me tell you that the world is not that simple. 

However, despite not being in that era anymore, I’ve seen a lot of stuff happen. And a lot of stuff has happened to me. It’s hard to work out that anger, this... sadness. Ironically, this depression.

Wanted? This stardom has thrust me into something I don’t want. It’s put me in an awkward light where the only one I do want is slowly wanting nothing to do with me.

It’s horrible. It’s a curse. I didn’t ask for this but I’m dealing with it in the one way I know how: terribly.

“Damn, I don’t see you in here often, Pete. What have you done?”

Spider-Noir looked up, confused. He had been here for a couple of hours and Logan had been here right alongside with him. It was the curse of being popular. “Here” was the infamous Corner--which was a room itself since Dot couldn’t literally put faces to corners; there were only four of them and there were a lot of people who belonged in this room.

But it wasn’t Noir that had been addressed. The other Peter Parker took a seat next to himself, leaning heavily against his brethren with a forlorn sigh.

“I didn’t do anything,” the other Peter spoke up. The 616 version. He continued, “Wade did and once Dot finds that out, she’s going to come get me.”

Logan scoffed, “You sound like a princess waiting to be rescued.”

“Yeah, well, if it’s Dot, I don’t mind. Besides, who do you think is going to suffer when Wade’s put into this room?”

Logan dropped his cigar on himself and released a string of curses as the hot ash splattered on the front of his shirt. It didn’t burn him. The prospect of being stuck in a room with Wade never bode well for anyone. Peter grinned, looking quite pleased with himself before turning his attention to Noir.

“Hey Twin, are you still in here for being popular?”

“Yep.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll die down eventually. I had to do my own stint in here when my movies popped up. Or whenever comic Peter decided to do something stupid--and he did a lot of stupid things. Did you know comic Peter has a sister?”

“Did you know I had an uncle?”

Peter looked horrified before he replied, “You have a sick sense of humor.”

“I get it from you.”

The both of them looked at each other and then laughed. Logan groaned from the background. If there was anything worse than one Peter, it was two who thought they were funny.

“Why don’t you two get a room?”

“Technically, we’re already in one.” Peter quipped.

“And we outnumber you.” Noir tacked on.

Logan’s claws came out with a SNIKT and both Peters quieted down immediately. After a while of silence and because neither Peters could stay quiet for too long, Noir spoke up.

“So, what did that red guy do?”

Peter’s expression grew deadpanned. Both Peter and Noir looked alike; messy brown hair, hazel eyes, all the way down to the bone structure. Except 616 Peter was a little scruffy and Noir wore round, circular glasses which made him look even nerdier than usual. And they looked nothing like the adaptation in the Spider-Verse movie meaning Peter’s nose wasn’t broken and Noir wasn’t as Nicholas Cage-y. That was just another liberty, obviously. Noir was just a moodier, more reckless version of 616 Peter but just as sarcastic and lacked the self-esteem. So, as one can imagine, they got along... very well. So it was like looking in a mirror for Noir as he watched himself twist expressions while trying to recall the incident.

“Johnny thinks I stood him up and I didn’t get the chance to explain that it was Wade who prevented me from meeting him. I mean, I didn’t push to explain myself. But I wouldn’t leave Johnny standing in front of the Haus for three hours without a good reason! But Dot found out because word spread that he had been just standing there and comic Peter had been doing a greeeeeat job on making us look like a jackass. So, I guess she went to ask and got that story out of him. It certainly made me look bad.”

“I’m surprised Storm waited that long.” Noir said.

“You know, me too.” Peter grumbled, looking awfully guilty. He felt incredibly bad for having Johnny wait that long. That was his best friend after all and Johnny did so much for him. “Before I knew it, Dot was texting me to go wait in the Corner. Knowing what that was all about, I just went because I figured it would be better if it came out that Wade was the real reason I didn’t show up. Then Dot will feel really bad for me and...” Peter trailed off and it went unsaid that Dot would have showered him with affection for the misunderstanding. It wasn’t Dot’s fault that this was a thing, either. Sometimes scenarios played out like this so others would cheat their way to earning brownie points or even a chance to be treated especially well by her. She was wanted by every damn person in the Haus so one would have to play dirty to be treated special.

Peter’s plan was perhaps a little harebrained apparent by the sad shake of the Wolverine’s head in the background, having to listen to this. Noir, however, was 100% behind this plan.

“You should act super dejected, too.”

“Ohhh, twin! That’s a good one.”

“I bet she goes crazy with the puppy dog look.”

“Yeah, that’s also great. Keep it coming...” Peter said while jotting down the suggestions in his notepad. Once he saw that Cap had one, all of a sudden Peter Parker did, too. And it helped a lot when he wrote down jokes he thought of and usually quipped when he was alone and no one else was listening. His notepad even had a title: For a Rainy Day.

“Don’t want to guilt trip her that much, though. She’ll start to get suspicious if you lay it on thick.” Noir continued, looking over Peter’s notebook. It shouldn’t be said that Noir even had his own. But he usually cited “private eye business” despite Jessica Jones stating she never had one for hers.

“How about you two knuckleheads write in how stupid this all sounds.”

Peter stopped writing and the both of them eerily turned their heads towards Logan. He didn’t want to admit it but even that put him off a little.

“...What?” he asked, gruffly.

“Sorry we’re not all born with your amazing rough exterior, commanding presence, and stunted emotional depth. Some of us have to work harder than others.” Peter pointed out with his pen. Noir was nodding in support.

Logan rolled his eyes and went back to scrolling through his phone from his stretched out position in a hammock before he really was tempted to slice and dice everyone’s favorite quippy nerd. He’d just tone out the two dorks in the corner while he let this happen to him.

Peter looked over at Noir at this point, asking, “When are you going to use those puppy eyes on Dot? You’ve been in this corner since ...well, since everyone started to pit the two of us together.”

Noir shrugged; he wanted it to seem nonchalant since he wasn’t too bothered by the fact that he was in the Corner. It was peaceful than the alternative. But the fact that he was in the Corner because Dot’s image of him was slowly souring seemingly killed him inside. His brows furrowed in the middle, scrunching up the Parker expression with a contemplative look. “I thought I’d let her come to terms with it in her own way. If I try to force her, I think she’ll end up hating me even more.”

Peter tsk’ed, holding up a finger as he slung his other arm around his twin. “Lemme tell you something, uh, me. God, this is so weird when I’m not talking to my younger self...”

“It’s even weird you have a younger self.”

“I mean, there’s a lot of us so maybe it’s not that weird after all?”

“You have a point, me.”

“Thanks, me. You’re as smart as you are handsome.”

“If you two don’t fucking knock it off, I’m going to knock the both of ya heads off and place ‘em on the other’s body.”

Both Peters ignored Logan and Peter B. continued his train of thought. “If you play the nice guy role here, you’re really going to come in last.” Noir looked skeptical before Peter added, “I’m serious! I was nice when I came here. But now look at me,” he exclaims while holding up his notebook. “There are tons of schemes in here. Schemes!”

“You’re... still nice, Pete.” Noir told himself.

“...I don’t know about that, I think I have a little bit of a bad boy streak in me.” Peter said sulkily.

Logan scoffed from his spot. “Noir’s more edgy than you are.”

Noir looked happy about that. Peter, not so much.

“Neither are compliments,” Logan tacked on like an anvil that fell on Noir’s head. “You’re both still fuckin’ nerds.”

“Ouch,” Noir started.

“Our feelings.” Peter finished.

Logan finally shifted in his hammock, placing his long, sturdy legs over the side. His large upper-half sat crouched and he remained there, perched, while he stared over both Spider-Men. “For fuck’s sake.” he finally muttered like a disappointed parent. “You don’t need schemes. You’re a goddamn hero.”

“Wade plays dirty, Lo.”

“Don’t I know it. Just cut through him a couple of times,” Logan said, giving advice that both Peters would not have taken. It was only Wolverine advice Logan would ever use. “That’ll shut him up.”

“...That’s...” Noir struggled to find the right words.

“Pretty mean.” Peter supplied.

“I thought you were a bad boy, Pete.”

“...I can be,” he argued. “When I feel like it.”

“Sure.” Logan said in a way that made Peter bristle. 

He sat up a little straighter and his tone pitched a slight whine. “I can be! Logan. Look at me. Hey, Logan.”

Logan was in the middle of lighting another cigar when he finally looked at Peter. Then, he pointed his cigar at the webslinger. “If you have to beg me to prove your point, you’re probably not cut out for this bad boy role.”

Noir gave Peter a pat on the back. “That’s alright, me. I can be edgy enough for the both of us.” There was a slight pause before Noir asked, “That’s a good thing, right? Edgy? That means what I think it means?”

“Yes.” / “No.” Peter and Logan said at the same time. The two merely stared at each other for a while before Peter spoke up again, giving Noir another nod. “Yes, yes it does. Logan doesn’t want to admit that he gave you a compliment because he’s out of touch with his feelings.”

Logan grunted. “Watch it, bub.”

“Thanks, Logan.”

“Whatever.” The Wolverine figured it was easier to go back to ignoring the two instead of trying to keep up with their strange, delusional conversation. If Peter and Noir wanted to believe they were as bad as they thought, he’d let them. It’d be amusing when they’d come to find out otherwise.

“You should try a stronger hand with her,” Peter said, bringing the conversation back to its heart. “You know as well as I do that she likes to be forced, sometimes.” Peter looked mildly embarrassed about that tidbit and a finger came up to bashfully scratch at the rough stubble covering his jawline. “Even I admit to getting a little forceful because... it’s really hard sharing her attention. I’ve had her webbed to the bed once because she was going out to see Otto... and you know about my webbing. She didn’t get out of it for hours. She was understandably not happy about that but... she didn’t see Otto, did she?”

Noir’s gaze widened from behind round glasses. “Maybe I ought to write that down, too.”

Peter laughed, “...Believe me, you’ll just act on it.”

“It’s okay to do these things?”

Peter looked conflicted. He obviously knew right from wrong and from the way he’s staunchly lived his life before, this was pretty hard to answer because then he’d end up sounding like a hypocrite. “...I mean, no... it’s not right but... it’s Dot. Rhyme or reason just doesn’t... apply here. I’ve found myself doing things I’ve never thought I’d do. Change my mind on things I never thought I’d budge on. It’s... different here.”

There was a moment of silence as the two Peters thought this over. Both so alike yet raised in different times and environments and backgrounds. If Peter could start toeing the line between his beliefs just for Dot, Noir thought he would also find himself doing the same. She certainly does make one question a lot. He never put much stock in changing out of love, or rather, he never understood that sentiment. How did the saying even go? Love changes people? Yeah. That. He was certain Peter would have felt the same before Dot. But now? Noir’s sure Peter has done some strange things out of desperation in her name and he couldn’t blame him. He also felt tempted to cross that line if only to step out of this Corner business, grab Dot by the shoulders and shake her, make her understand. Make her love him. Make her want him.

He shook his head free of these thoughts, for now. Instead, he replied with, “I think I understand.”

Peter gave Noir a supportive pat on the back. “Good. This has been a nice talk, huh?”

Noir gave Peter a genuine smile, “Yeah.”

The door opened and everyone’s eyes shifted at the movement. Dot slowly poked her head inside, looking a little sheepish. “Um...” she gazed at the faces, surprised to actually see anyone besides Peter in the room. “...Wait, what are you guys doing in here? I only sent Peter to the Corner today...”

Noir spoke up with a clearing of his throat, sounding like the usual Peter awkwardness. “I’m staying in the Corner until my popularity winds down.” He didn’t want to chance anything tipping the delicate balance where he might find himself thrown outside the Haus along with the riff raff at the front gates, still trying to get inside.

Dot looked taken aback. Slowly, the rest of her came into view as she started to walk in and settled the door closed behind her with a soft click. 

“Noir...” she floundered for a bit because while there was the very real disturbance of his popularity spiraling out of hand, she knew he really had no hand in that. A major factor of the whole problem was seeing other people compare both Noir and Peter and yet, tear down Peter while hoisting Noir on a pedestal. It hurt to see that especially since she loved Peter in all of his incarnations, but she couldn’t help having a strong reaction to it. But she didn’t hate Noir. She felt bad, looking a little perturbed at the initiative he had shown by putting himself in the corner. “Love,” she put delicately with the emphasis on the term of endearment. She noted the way Noir seemed to sit up straighter at it. “I’m not punishing you over anything. I’m... I may be a little vocal about how everyone’s treating you and Peter but... that doesn’t mean I’m upset with you. It was never meant to be taken seriously, I’m sorry--”

“No, don’t do that.” Noir stood up and seemingly crossed the expanse of the Corner in one long stride. It took Dot wholly off-guard that she gently bumped into the door. Even Peter looked surprised, looking at the spot where Noir had been to where he was now.

“Do you have super spider speed, too, or what?” he asked, perplexed. Much like most of his quips, it went unheard. “Because that’s not fair.”

“Don’t... don’t do that.” Noir had all of Dot’s attention standing in her personal space, hesitant at first but finally taking her hands in his and giving them a squeeze that matched the almost pleading tone in his voice. 

Dot swallowed dryly, having to crane her head back to get a better look at him. For some reason, Noir was taller than Peter? He was at least a head taller than his “twin” and boasted broader shoulders and a more thicker physique that she had assumed was mostly the trench coat. But he didn’t have one on. Noir dressed like he was still in the 1930′s when he went without his trench coat and Spider-costume. Right now, he was in a white button-up dress shirt, a vest, and slacks. It certainly catered to that nerdy aspect all Peter Parkers were known for. And Peter seemingly came in all shapes and sizes--if Peter Porker wasn’t proof enough. This was just the first time Dot had the thought force itself to the forefront of her mind.

“D-Do what?” Dot asked. She tried to seem unfazed by the close proximity but this was still Peter. It seemed in any incarnation, he was able to fluster her (even) sometimes.

“Apologize,” Noir frowned, unaware of the affect he had on her. This meant he still stood in her space, still held onto her hand afraid that she might pull it away at any second; his grip tightened that he hadn’t noticed. But Dot had. “It’s not your fault. I understand. I get upset hearing about people pit Peter and myself against each other, too.”

“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Peter asked from the background.

“If I could, I would have all of them stop. The last thing I want is Peter to get a bad reputation from all this.”

“Eh, I’m used to it.”

“So, I understand your feelings. I have them, too. That’s why I’m putting myself in the Corner so you don’t have to. So you can have the time you need to heal from all this booshwash and when you can decide when it’s okay to move on.”

“Whoa, your age is showing, Noir.”

Despite Peter’s commentary, Dot stared up at Noir, her heart squeezing at the desperate look on his face. She saw Peter but it was like she was seeing Noir for the first time. Like the shatter of glass, the illusion she had of him, the impression that had been circulating around nearly every social media outlet cracked. That wasn’t Noir. Noir was here, with her. Noir was her good boy, just like Peter was.

She smiled, no, beamed, at him gently pulling one of her hands away from his hands just so she can stretch up and rest it on his cheek. She noticed the way he responded immediately, closing his eyes and resting against the palm of her hand. “Thank you for explaining this to me, sweetheart. Now that I know what you’re doing, I want to reassure you that you don’t have to. I think... this just took me by surprise. Everyone always has something to say about Peter, I should be used to it--”

“Honestly, me too.”

Dot stopped talking and finally gave Peter her attention. “Honey. I swear to god.” but she was laughing. She hadn’t missed his commentary but she couldn’t NOT acknowledge it anymore. She returned her attention to Noir who had his eyes open again, searching Dot’s face as if trying to guess what she was going to say next. She picked up her smile and continued.

“I should be used to it and sometimes I even anticipate it but since I love Peter--since I love all of you guys--so much, I don’t know how to handle it ...better, sometimes. I ignore it, I push it away. I don’t want to have anything to do with it until I feel it’s safe for me to come back and pick up the pieces after everyone’s finished... abusing it. But what I should have been doing is protecting it.”

Noir had a soft expression on his face. There was no mistaking that he was his own person who had his own experiences and hardships even if he shared some of Peter’s features. It was actually tough to imagine this Noir the same as the one that has been circulating around. 

“No one blames you for coping how you must. I’m sure it’s hard to have to be subjected to people’s opinions about us. It’s rough listening to people say Peter is a bad person or isn’t as good as the other Spider-people when... most of us share the same traits with him. It’s kind of insulting to us at the same time.”

“I know, love.” Dot reassured. “It’s nice that you guys stick together.” If she hadn’t seen both Noir and Peter hanging out as much as they did and be as supportive to each other versus what everyone says about the two, things probably would have turned out differently. Luckily, she wasn’t at that point where she had to push anyone away. 

“But you don’t have to go to the Corner to ...punish yourself. Honestly, this place is for things people have done wrong, things that have already happened by your own hand. I put popular people in here more like a joke--” she paused as she realized something again. “Yeah, um, Logan. Why are you in here?”

Everyone shifted their gaze to Logan now. He had been trying to look as if he wasn’t paying attention. But now that the attention was on him, it was obvious he had been.

“Wait, he’s not supposed to be in here?” Peter asked. Dot shook her head and once again, there was another lapse of silence.

“What? Can’t I just be in here?” he asked with a gruff tone reminiscent of the gruff exterior he always boasted. 

Dot perked an eyebrow.

“...I might have done something.”

Dot sighed heavily. Peter and Noir all of a sudden looked really interested. The big bad Wolverine was admitting he did something wrong? AND voluntarily checked himself into the Corner? Wooooow. Peter couldn’t keep the gleeful look off his face.

“What’d you do, Logan?” Peter asked, cozying up to the grouchy looking mutant. There was no regard for his safety as if Logan won’t push him off the hammock at any second.

“Nunya damn business.”

“Logan...” Dot warned using her disappointed Mom tone. She had dropped her hand but part of her refused to let go of Noir’s. Either for herself or Noir, she didn’t quite know but she was content on allowing herself to think she was doing it for him. To reassure him. But truthfully, it was reassuring to her as well.

“Babe.”

“Nah uh, don’t babe me. What did you do?”

Logan mumbled something as he looked away. Things that no one in the room caught... maybe perhaps Peter because he started to laugh, immediately.

“Oh! Man! I bet he looks ridiculous!”

“What?” Dot asked with a squinting gaze. “What did he say?”

Peter was too busy in semi-hysterics to even try to answer. Noir didn’t hear either but he might not have heard anything even if Logan had spoken clearly. Dot was willingly holding onto his hand and he was content to focus on that much. Logan, however, finally turned around to speak up.

“...I said I yanked Scott’s glasses off his head. He’s wanderin’ ‘round the Haus without ‘em on.”

Dot took a sharp intake of breath knowing she was going to have to deal with that. Helping Scott wasn’t the problem... not that there was a problem with Scott. The fact that as soon as he realized it was her, she was going to have a very separate “problem” on her hands. He was... awfully possessive and obsessively so. As soon as she snapped those red visors on his face again, he was going to be glued to her side. For now, she focused on the reason why Logan decided to act out.

“...Why?”

“Why not?”

“Golden,” Peter grinned, wiping his eyes. “Oh man. I wish I could see that.”

“Well, you might get your wish.” Dot sighed out. “Where are they, Logan?”

“Where are what? His glasses?”

“...Yes, love. His glasses.”

“...I’unno. Flung ‘em somewhere.”

Dot rubbed a hand over her face. She had an inkling it wasn’t going to be that easy as just handing them back to Scott. She knew Logan must have done something petty about it. She turned to Peter and Noir. “I was actually coming in to release you, Peter. Wade confessed. But now, can you help me find his glasses? Logan’s not leaving the Corner for the rest of the night.”

“Can I at least have my beer?”

“I don’t know Logan, can you?” Dot snapped back without much of a thought. She instantly regretted it as soon as she saw the darkening look on his face. “Y-You’re in trouble. You shouldn’t get anything.”

“Yeah, I came in here as a courtesy.”

Peter gasped, “You’re trying to earn brownie points with her too! What was all that “you’re a hero” business earlier then?!”

This time Logan did shove Peter off the hammock with one hand pushed at his face. Peter hit the ground all limbs and flailing with a semi-startled yelp. Dot didn’t even want to ask. Instead, she turned up to Noir.

“I guess it’s just going to be us then.”

Noir smiled and actually looked at ease for the first time... in a very long time, actually. “That’s perfectly fine. We can treat it like a case and retrace Logan’s steps.”

Dot looked interested in that. “Yeah? That sounds fun! I’m going to go borrow Jessica’s notebook--”

“Wait, she has a notebook?” Noir asked. 

Dot nodded, wide-eyed. “Uh huh! She just got one and it’s nice and big.”

Both Noir and Peter looked offended, “She got a bigger notebook than us?!” they both said, weirding out Logan and making Dot double-take at the synchronicity.

“Can you guys not do that again?” Logan grumbled, laying back down in his hammock again. He put his arm over his face and figured he might as well catch up on some sleep. Peter was scrambling up to his feet, coming to stand besides both himself and Dot.

“We have to get bigger notebooks, too.”

Noir nodded in agreement but Dot looked skeptical. 

“Why?”

“Because, sweetheart, it’s... just... it’s important.”

Again, Dot looked skeptical. “...because Jessica has a bigger notebook?”

Noir replied honestly, “Yes.”

Peter, however, replied differently. 

“That’s definitely not the reason--Noir, you can’t just--You have to... Man, we have to work on that. You have to play it cool.”

Dot poked Peter in the chest. “I know for a fact you can’t keep anything cool. Remember that time Johnny told you a secret and what was the first thing you did?”

“...Told you?”

“Uh huh. Mr. Play-It-Cool.”

“But there’s no secrets between us,” Peter grinned, pressing his cheek against Dot’s and snaking an arm around her small, tiny tucked in waist. Dot was laughing as his gesture soon turned into affectionate nuzzles and small, butterfly kisses. Dot turned away because they tickled, still smiling, before her gaze landed on Noir.

“S-Stop taking notes!”

“...But Peter’s really cool right now.”

Peter straightened, his tone incredulous. “Really?!”

Dot rolled her eyes and the gesture seemed to match Logan’s groan in the background. She couldn’t help but give a little humorous laugh at the scene. 

“Okay, Logan. When we find the glasses, you can come out.” She couldn’t help the good mood she found herself in and figured she might as well continue making it a good day. She watched as the larger man slowly started to stir again until he faced her and the Peters.

“In that case, I’ll help you find ‘em.”

“Then it looks like we’re on the case.” Noir stated.

“Yeah. Don’t say that.” Logan grunted as he finally stood up and straightened to his full height. His huge, bulky body was amplified by the imposing height he boasted as he stood towering over the three. He might be a Wolverine but he honestly reflected the scary big bad wolf tropes in fairy tales; he was all bark and bite. Dot found herself shrinking back and had the inward thought that Logan would have to put himself in the Corner considering she couldn’t quite commit to enforcing the act herself.

She also couldn’t tell Logan that he still had to serve out his time in the Corner for what he did to Scott so she “allowed” him to help. As the four of them piled out of the Corner, the door clicked shut behind them. For as much as she said she put people in the Corner and the fact that there was even a room designated for this, she really was glad when there wasn’t anyone in it. 

It gave her a lot of comfort to know the room was almost always empty and that her loved ones were here, quite literally beside her.

[realworldforum]

Does ‘Mulan’ Pass the Bechdel Test? - Evan :)

I would just like to preface this by saying wow I have not used Tumblr since sixth grade and tbh I didn’t know it still existed but I guess it does !! So good to have made my return !!!

Anyways, the Bechdel Test! I’ll admit I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole with this one and spent way too long scrolling through forums of random people arguing with each other over whether or not a certain TV show or movie passes the test. Personally, as a Disney lover, I wanted to see how many Disney movies pass the test because I’m pretty sure we’re all aware of how the VAST majority of Disney princesses/all other characters are straight, white, thin, etc. Through this process, I realized that the Bechdel Test definitely isn’t perfect (and now having just read Kate’s post I’m realizing how similar our opinions are so I love that for us <3).

First of all, I found this article (https://www.hercampus.com/school/ucsb/so-how-many-disney-movies-pass-bechdel-test) from 2017, and out of the 41 Disney movies that were released at the time, only 23 passed the test (with nine barely passing). I’m gay and can’t do math but I’m pretty sure that ratio is less than amazing. 

I was most curious about what the test would say about Mulan and the fact that this movie sparked some pretty fiery internet debates on whether or not it passes made me all the more certain that I wanted to write this post about it. It’s an interesting movie because the entire cast are characters of colour (I might be wrong but I think it’s one of only two or three Disney movies that pass the Racial Bechdel Test?) and it breaks down gendered stereotypes unlike any Disney movie before it. When it comes to checking whether or not it passes the test or not, though, is where my issues with the Bechdel Test come into play.

So let’s look at each of the three criteria of the Bechdel Test that determine whether a movie/TV show passes or not:

1. Two named female characters? There are three named female characters in the movie (Mulan, Fa Li, and Grandmother Fa) as well as the (unnamed) Matchmaker, unnamed bridesmaids, and several female ancestors (although they are also unnamed) so the movie passes this part of the test.

2. Do they talk to each other? Obviously, the majority of the movie takes place amongst an army of men, but Mulan, Fa Li, and Grandmother Fa have a few very minimal conversations (as do the unnamed ancestors), so the movie meets this requirement too.

Now, this third question is where I’m conflicted (and where I spent way too much time reading the spicy forums with all of the very angry people) with conflicting opinions)

3. Do they discuss something other than men? I meannnn … I guess? The female ancestors spoke with one another, but they were nameless. Mulan, Fa Li, and Grandma Fa’s dialogue while Mulan is being prepared to see the Matchmaker is almost entirely centred around marriage, and I know that ‘marriage’ and ‘men’ don’t equal the same thing, but still - are these the standards for female representation in movies? The film just barely meets this third requirement with this short bit of dialogue, as well as another quick exchange between Mulan and Fa Li that’s like two seconds long:

Fa Li: I should have prayed to the ancestors for luck.

Grandmother Fa: How lucky can they be? They’re dead. Besides, I’ve got all the luck we’ll need.

Fa Li: Grandma, no!

Grandmother Fa: Yep! This cricket’s a lucky one! 

Wow. Groundbreaking - we stopped talking about marriage long enough for a fifteen-second exchange about crickets!!

Let’s get one thing straight - Mulan’s characterization wasn’t perfect (she’s fighting for all of China but her victory is centred around winning the approval of men: her father, the Emperor, and Li Shang) but the movie still breaks boundaries in the sense that it features a princess who favours a sword over heels and tiaras. It’s a foundation for the female representation that we NEED and that girls everywhere deserve to see on their screens way way WAAAAY more often (I’m still waiting for a fat, black, gay Disney princess, though . . . more diversity pls Disney, I’m desperate!). But if the Bechdel Test is all we’re going to use to determine whether or not a movie exhibits gender equality or not, the bar isn’t exactly being set very high. Especially in this case where the movie can basically be summed up as “girl pretends to be a man and succeeds in doing so, girl proceeds to win huge victory for China, is then offered a place as a woman in a man’s world but instead proceeds to refuse it in order to return to domesticity and then girl gets boy. The end.” ANDDD despite Mulan being the protagonist, Mushu still had 50% more lines in the movie than she did https://newrepublic.com/article/132506/even-female-driven-movies-like-frozen-hunger-games-mulan-men-lines. This makes me sad to say and I feel like a bitch roasting the movie so much but my point is that we need to raise our expectations higher than just these three simple criteria of the Bechdel Test. I know it isn’t meant to be a 100% accurate depiction of whether a movie is feminist or not but u get the point.

As for how the movie can be changed to be more inclusive … how about we start by pretending the 2020 Mulan movie just doesn’t exist? https://www.sceneandheardnu.com/content/2020/9/18/mulan-is-bad-and-that-was-inevitable. RIP to Mushu and Li Shang’s chance to be made into the bisexual icon that I always believed he was in the original. I understand that most of Mulan takes place amongst an army of men (can we make it an army of women instead?), but at the very least I think the other female characters could’ve been given more screen time. Having grown up surrounded by ‘damsel in distress’ female characters like Princess Peach who constantly rely on the actions of men has made me desperate to see more kickass female characters in video games, movies, TV, books, and basically everywhere. Sorry if this didn’t make sense, words kinda just pour out of me when I get passionately pissed off about something and this has been no exception. Bottom line: GIVE US BETTER FEMALE REPRESENTATION PLS DISNEY (and everyone else). 

kk thanks so much for reading xoxo

- Evan <3

[crystalelemental]

Atelier Escha and Logy Plus Opinions

A friend recently informed me that my opinions are, apparently, very different from general consensus, which insists that Totori is one of the best and Escha and Logy is among the worst.  I chalk this up to the same reason they thought child Rorona was a good idea in Meruru: Japan is weird, and waifu bait is more important than legitimate quality, because oh damn Escha and Logy is a fantastic game.  Yes, one of the protagonists is a male alchemist.  Yes, I am sure there are many who are upset about it.  It’s still, I think, the best put-together game in the series (that I have played), barring arguably Ayesha depending on what’s more important to you.  For me personally?  Escha and Logy outranks Ayesha by virtue of two areas where it shines beyond anything else in the series, and a single character that I just adore.  In most regards, Ayesha would have it outranked, but the things it does better are so significant that I honestly think it earns the top spot.

CHARACTERS Escha and Logy isn’t quite as fantastic as the group from Ayesha, though there are still a lot of excellent additions, as well as some of the best possible returning characters.  Odelia doesn’t come back, but hey, no one’s perfect.

Escha - Escha’s the fun, bubbly character who I am pretty sure is a furry of some kind?  I’m not entirely sure what the tail is about, but she’s got one, and it sure is a thing that is there.  She’s a fun and compassionate character who is very modest about her skills, but never to the point of self-deprication.  She’s generally very light-hearted and filled with determination to make her dream of reaching the unexplored ruins a reality.  Also her real mother passed away when she was young, so she was raised by the super cute robot mom for the town.  I bring this up because there’s a bit early on in her route where Logy seems surprised at how human Clone acts, and it’s revealed this is because Escha taught her a few phrases to add to sentences just to give the appearance of a human quirk, and it totally worked.  I really enjoy that tidbit, because it really shows how clever Escha is and how well she can read people.

Logy - I’m sure a lot of people hate this guy entirely on the basis that he is a guy protagonist in a game typically about cute girls doing cute things.  Which I get.  Atelier Ayesha’s cast was, in part, so great because it’s almost all-female.  But the guy is a solid character.  Down to earth and a good serious contrast to Escha’s bubbly personality, with a personal history that’s engaging and well developed.  In fact, I’d say he’s pretty good.

Awin - He’s alright?  A bit of a doofus, but likes to fix things and dreams of flying to the end of the world to see what it’s like.  I don’t have a ton of attachment, but like Juris, I liked him a lot better than I initially thought I would.

Reyfer - This clown on the other hand.  Reyfer kinda bugs me, and I’m not 100% sure why.  I think it just boils down to being annoying with how he interacts with a lot of the cast.  He can be kind of abrasive and a bit obnoxious.  He just comes off as a stingy dick a lot of the time.

Threia - By contrast, I really like Threia.  She’s a historian who focuses on unraveling the mysteries of the ancient civilization.  She’s related to Keith, which I guess plays in to why she’s such a good character to have build up more world history for us.

Wilbell - The best non-Odelia girl is back, and she’s as adorable as ever.  Still plucky and upbeat, and on her quest to contract with the strongest of spirits.  Not much to update, just know that she’s still excellent.

Linca - same deal.  Not much to update, she’s still very entertaining and a lot of fun.  Still trying to make 100 friends like Marion requested.  Good luck, socially awkward friend.

Marion - Not playable this time, but still her stressed-out self who is tired of paperwork forever.  She gets some good interactions with Threia, but ultimately, not a ton of change.

Solle - Solle is fun.  He’s deadpan, but gets along well with the Homunculi that exist around the office because he makes such good candy for them.  He’s a hard worker who is very methodical and serious while also coming across as very snarky, and I can appreciate that.

Grumman - Then we have Solle’s dad, who is a bit more boistrous, and is trying his best to connect to his son through his work.  Grumman isn’t particularly interesting, but he does get some nice interactions with Solle and the barkeeper.

Lucille - The best new character.  Lucille is the youngest of the group, and looks up to Escha and Logy as her seniors.  She’s a healer from a famous medical company, but is struggling to feel like she lives up to the family name, and doesn’t know what to do.  She gets a really nice character arc about how much she struggles with her academics, and in turn, how hard it is to learn the trade she’s in.  But she persists and overcomes, with a bit of help from Escha and Logy, and it’s all very sweet.  I love Lucille a lot.

Micie - This guy...is a weirdo.  He’s an auditor who checks up on the group, but is kinda flashy and doesn’t really do a whole lot?  I’ll be honest with you, outside of a few comedic scenes, I don’t remember much of what he does, aside from quote his mentor, carries a rose everywhere, and has terrible taste.

Katla - A shopkeeper who sells various goods, and is known for basically price gouging people for literal junk she sells.  I’m not her biggest fan, due to my general dislike of that type of character, but she’s not particularly abrasive either.

Nio - Nio comes back, and she’s as precious as ever.  She’s looking for her sister,  Ayesha, who is apparently also a wanted criminal like Keith?  That was...surprising.  Anyway, Nio is a pleasant and gentle character, like always, and I’m actually glad she made a return for this game.  She also has some interesting connections to another character you meet much later on, based on her experiences in Atelier Ayesha.

Clone - Escha’s robot-mom.  Since Escha’s mother died at a young age, Clone kinda took over.  Her significance is more in her history, as Clone created a storybook for Escha about the Bumblebee/Hummingbird Princess, which is basically a biography of her friend.  The story goes that one day, the plants stopped producing as much food, and a young child asked Bumblebee Princess, who always knew the answer to every problem, why the plants weren’t producing as much.  Bumblebee Princess didn’t know, but offered a magical watering can that would help them sustain their crops while she searched for an answer.  Over time, Bumblebee Princess realized that the magical watering can may have made the problem worse, and encouraged everyone to stop using them.  However, the watering can was too useful, and they all refused, which led Bumblebee Princess to be very sad and lonely.  The end.  ...for anyone wondering, when Escha was read this story as a kid, she started crying, and I imagine Clone was very perplexed about it.  I love you, robot mom.   Clone is a fun character whose late-game stories form the basis for what I, personally, think is the best character in the series thus far.

Flameu - The Bumblebee Princess herself.  Flameu is an awesome character, and is like 30% of the reason this is my favorite game in the series.  A lot of her history is implicit, so there is a lot I’m drawing from inference and personal perspective.  The story as I understand it is that Flameu was around ages ago in the time right before the Dusk began, and was an alchemist of pretty significant renown.  People would come to her with problems, and she would always find a solution.  The presence of the stone tablet you assemble (which I think is what unlocks the Bumblebee Princess fable) also hints at Flameu being considered something above normal people, and almost a deific figure given her depiction as a figure elevated above humans.  That’s how big a deal her work was.  We also learn, when she appears, that she is the administrator of a facility called Geosis, which was designed to study the problems of the Dusk and create a solution.  Unfortunately, her research didn’t turn up good answers, and the solution she starts to put into action is a potentially massive problem that may cause more long-term harm than good.  All of this is pretty decent already, but what really hooks me is that her history is one of tragedy.  Begin the interpretation!

The fable of Bumblebee Princess is a direct link to Flameu’s history.  She was a brilliant person, and was looked up to as a beacon of knowledge.  However, when she needed to know an answer most, she couldn’t find one.  She knew so much, but didn’t have an answer for how to stop the Dusk.  When she tried to come up with a fast solution, she made one that could have negative consequences long-term.  She recognized the mistake later, and attempted to make the correction, but to the people, the initial suggestion was too convenient, and present convenience was weighted as more significant than sustainability for the future.  As a result, no one else felt the need to keep searching and abandoned both Geosis and Flameu, content with the unsustainable suggestion while she continued to try desperately to find a better answer.  She doesn’t figure it out.  She doesn’t come to a good answer, and instead resorts to significant extremes in reinvigorating the planet that could put everything living nearby in danger.  There’s also the personal tragedy, where she promised Clone that, once she had an answer, she’d fix everything and they’d be able to relax together again and eat apples.  By the time you meet her, Flameu has long-since forgotten the promise she made, but they do this thing I love, where her actions are still in line with her promise to Clone, showing that on some almost subconscious level she retained what was important, even if she couldn’t remember.  Her direct links to this recurring environmental problem of the Dusk is fantastic, and her personal history is the most fascinating the series has had to offer.

STORY The story of Escha and Logy is fairly simple.  You play as either Escha, whose dream is to fly to the unexplored ruins nearby, or as Logy, whose dream was to build a new model of airship.  Both have very straight-forward premises. However, Logy's story comes with his own history of failure and trying to move past the damage he once caused to another, which was a nice inclusion, while Escha’s dream is one shared by the entire town, perhaps as a remnant of a long-forgotten hope to connect with Geosis to combat the Dusk when things went south.  The story almost entirely focuses on their work with the local government, and getting to the unexplored ruins where they discover Geosis and Flameu.  I try not to get into spoilers for things too much with this, but I kinda have to here since this is such a large element of the game.  It continues on from the history of Ayesha, in a sense.  Geosis is a facility designed to work toward re-populating the planet with plant life in an effort to combat the Dusk. Flameu, its administrator, is willing to go through with the plan to reinvigorate the planet, even if it has long-term negative impact.  There's also a storybook that Clone wrote for Escha called Adventures of Bumblebee/Hummingbird Princess, depending on your translation apparently.  The book is designed to be a history of Flameu's life, and showcases a bit about how humans may have caused the Dusk by over-utilizing the soil and causing the problems of it not sustaining crops.  Flameu researched and found this to be a central cause, tried to dissuade others from using the techniques she first recommended, but by then the problem had already taken root, and humans refused to change their methods because they were too convenient.  So, Flameu went back to Geosis to continue searching for a new answer, and in her isolation, came to her own extreme conclusions.  It's a great story for the antagonist, and it's handled in the way I absolutely adore: things aren't as directly stated, and you have to piece together their history.  I love when that happens.

SETTING Again, it continues on from Ayesha, though with less of an emphasis until the conclusion.  The start of the game is simply examining a bunch of nearby ruins to discern information about the past, and a village whose water is drying up, a clear set-up for the encroaching Dusk that happens in the next game.  We also get the fragments that show an ancient depiction of Flameu, which leads to the protagonists unlocking the story of Bumblebee Princess.  Then there's Threia's role as a historian, and her breakthrough in finding out that the ancient civilization likely banded together to combat the environmental calamity of the Dusk, rather than being at war with itself as previous records had suggested.

I think what really sells this aspect is Geosis.  It's an indication that not only were there measures to survive the Dusk, but also measures to study it long-term, even after humans were gone, and to fix the issues. It ties in nicely with Threia's breakthrough, and presents a setting that is still suffering after a millenium of study.  It really hammers home how significant the impact of the Dusk is, and that humans may be outright incapable of fixing it.  The best we can really get is a temporary and hypothetical band-aid for the larger problem.  The seed from Flameu is the only thing offering any real hope of a major change, and even then, it sounds like something that offers a regional fix, not a global one, which suggests something that, even if long-lasting, is not a perfect fix and will not last forever.  I just think it's fantastic how well this trilogy has presented concepts through implication alone, and managed to have such a heavy setting and background while maintaining a light-hearted tone throughout the game.

ALCHEMY SYSTEM And now we are in it.  I mentioned at the start that Ayesha would still hold the top spot if it weren't for two areas of Escha and Logy.  This is one of them.  In Escha and Logy, they introduce a ton of new alchemist skills, and you can use whatever you want if you have the element points.  You can add more points to elements, remove points from one element to add to others, duplicate, boost effect value; a ton of nonsense.  The end result is a system that is astonishingly complicated but very intuitive and easy to learn.  There's little real difficulty with synthesis in this game, but a ton of options you can use to adjust your final product.  I am absolutely in love with the synthesis system in this game; it's so good.  Though I guess the idea of being able to utilize a ton of skills with no downside or real limitations didn't appeal to many since they never do this again for some reason. Bunch of nonsense if you ask me.

BATTLE SYSTEM And this is the other one.  Let's start with items.  I've talked before about how items are the most valuable part of an Alchemist's abilities, and about how certain games that don't emphasize the use of items can feel a little awkward because that's supposed to be the point.  Escha and Logy falls into the category of "you don't necessarily need items." Equipment can do all the work for you. BUT!  Unlike every previous game, where using up an item's stock meant it ran out and disappeared forever, this game introduces the concept of equipping your attack and healing items.  You can use those equipped items, and when you run out, that's it for the current adventure.  But upon returning to town, items will be fully restocked by your friendly Homunculus helpers.  That's right; gone are the days of having to either buy or re-craft dozens of items to ensure you have a healthy stock.  You just equip them and run. The tradeoff is that, because you can only carry so much instead of buying/crafting an unlimited supply, item effects seem a lot stronger, to the point that super-bosses are only really beatable by exploiting your items.  Which means that, while equipment can carry you, your equipped items are essentially a trump card that can and will blast through problems you run into.  It's fantastic.

The other benefit is in regards to your equipment.  You know how, in the Arland games, you had to make different ingots to forge new weapons, and in Ayesha you had to find the weapons at all and then upgrade them with dyes and whetstones?  Escha and Logy introduces the best system ever: your base items are included as ingredients for the next step up.  What this means is, if you find excellent traits early, you can apply them to a lower-tier item, and it will naturally transfer up to the next weapon.  Armor works the same way, using any similar-category armor as a base.  I started Sophie and it seems like they got rid of this, which is a shame because this is the best way to handle upgrading equipment, no contest.

OTHER MECHANICS Let's start with the Homunculus friend.  For completing quests, Solle will give you candy that he made.  This candy can then be given to a Homunculus, who will duplicate your items.  This can be synthesized products, or ingredients.  You can also give extra candy to speed up the production, to the point you could obtain items instantly.  What does this mean?  It means that you can essentially duplicate your best rare synthesis items to use more often (Golden Apple was my most frequently used), or duplicate the finished products that you need, such as the crystal ball that has a bunch of cost up traits that sell for like 4000cole each in the early game, making you filthy rich forever as a result.  The system is just an excellent way to make sure you have resources, and considering this game still has a time limit, that is invaluable.

Then we have the field event system.  When exploring, you have a field event gauge that goes up with each battle or gathering session.  When you gain a number next to the bar, it means you can expend it to activate a field event.  It will present three options from a pool.  One is to fight a tough enemy (which can net you new weapons/armor before you can craft them), one is to gather all gathering spots on a map (HUGE time-saver, and what you should generally be doing all the time), finding a relic in the area (is the only way I know to get ultimate traits for equipment and items), and a few that increase the rarity of gatherable items or the value of relics while you're in the area.   Increasing relic value then using a Dowsing Rod to increase trait value in certain areas is the ONLY way I know of to obtain the ultimate traits for equipment.  This is...difficult for me.  I really like the system, and I think using the field events is a clever way to have to hunt things down.  However, the tradeoff is that, unless you look up this information or are exceptionally lucky, I can't think of a single way anyone is supposed to know about this.  This is the beginning of a change that I'm really not a fan of, in which the best traits are hidden behind an almost luck-based system.  Unless you're lucky or go in with the fore-knowledge of how to obtain them, it may as well be impossible. If there's any low point to this game, it is this.

Lastly, you have the...okay, I completely blanked on the name, but you can buy certain effects from Marion.  These can be getting an extra item out of a synthesis, bonus experience for combat/synthesis; the usual stuff they included in Meruru as well.  I love these kinds of things, so I'm all in favor of it.  The cost can be pretty high, but that's what you likely have a homunculus duplicating a million Crystal Balls with price increasing traits for.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS Much like Ayesha, art style is fantastic.  Just wanted to throw that out there again.

The only other point I can really bring up is the romance between Escha and Logy.  Generally speaking, I dislike any sort of forced romance between characters.  I'm all good with it if the characters are already married/dating, or if the entire point of the genre is romance, but when it's thrown into something with no reason other than "people like romance right?" it tends to bother me a bit. That being said, the game gives you dialogue options, and will tell you one is the romance option, and the other is basically just friendship, indicated by a heart or smiley-face respectively.  So it's graciously giving me a choice.  I don't remember this for a certainty, but I'm almost positive that choosing the friendship options doesn't even exclude you from the true ending bits.  So it's entirely up to you whether they're a blatant couple, or really good friends.  It's a small little detail that I actually really appreciate.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS If Ayesha is the Totori of the Dusk trilogy, Escha and Logy is the Rorona.  It's very straight-forward and simple, but in a way that's engaging and fun.  The enjoyment of the core mechanics for alchemy and combat is unbelievably fun, and I think that alone means it should rank at the top.  Including a solid story for the antagonist based on their struggle that led them to this point, and continuing the trend of emphasis on the environmental impacts of the Dusk and how humans caused this issue becomes a very nice icing on the cake.  The whole game is put together excellently, and is super enjoyable to play.

If you enjoyed this (for some reason), consider checking out the write-ups for the other games in the series as well!

Atelier Rorona Plus Atelier Totori Plus Atelier Meruru Plus Atelier Ayesha Plus Atelier Escha and Logy Plus Atelier Shallie Plus Atelier Sophie Atelier Firis