#he’s dope as hell and a very fully developed character

[lithiumseven]

Y’all ever think about how Leverage could have very easily written a black pain story with Hardison, a black foster kid, but instead made him the happiest one in the group and literally the ONLY ONE without a tragic backstory

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep13: How to Get Away With Cheating in the Card Olympics

It’s been a little while since Pegasus made a card that screwed us years after it was developed...and so it’s time for it to happen again. Good ol Pegasus, screwing us all and not even knowing he’s doing it.

First off, it took me until this episode to realize that Leon and Zigfried are German and Leon is playing a Grimm Brother’s deck. I guess I didn’t notice before now because Leon was hiding his identity. But now that I know his deck is because he’s just German it’s like...well OK. That’s kind of cute. Better than that time they had the American play a deck filled with guns.

And that actually...fully explains why they are all dressed old timey. I didn’t pick up on it until just now...they’re referencing old ass fairy tales. But wtv, I still like my reaching theories of why Zigfried dresses like...that.

PS, my twitter just notified me that lots of people are getting a ‘Hime Haircut’, which is exactly the doo that Zigfried wears this season with the cropped side bangs. And like...are we sure? I see Kpop wearing it and Tik Tok kids wearing wigs but...I have yet to see a Hime in the wild. Course I haven’t gone outside in like a year so...maybe tens of thousands of people really did do a Hime Haircut during the Quarantine.

But, damn it, I decided to look at some photos, and a bunch of them looked pretty bad, but a couple looked pretty dope, and now I’m a little bit tempted to get a Hime...but I feel like it took a decade to get out of my bangs phase and like...Do I need two layers of bangs? I have naturally straight hair, I could do this, this haircut was made for me, but...

I just don’t know if I should get a haircut that looks like I’m an anime cosplayer when I can’t back it up. Nope. Cannot get this haircut. I know this haircut was made for teenagers or artists in their 30′s, and literally no one else, but no, this will be a mistake just like the side bangs I gave myself in 2006.

(looks over at scissors)

(read more under the cut)

(get it? Cut?)

Leon recalls that his brother very nicely gave him a card, and he’s so excited to finally do any activity involving his crazy ass family, that he just blindly does it.

This entire episode is about Yami not doing a hellscape when he witnesses cheating, and like...it is S5...it’s been a little while since anyone’s done a real good cheat on him, and he opened the door to darkness, and they got devoured by their own Tamagachi. It’s been a while.

And like the curse of Episode 13 was just a theory I had--but this particular Episode 13 is probably the most tame of all the 13′s (and yet, the most un-tame of this arc, which is a pretty chill arc, overall)

Yet...while this episode still fits in with their universe because the Kaiba’s are very proud so they can’t admit their duel disk has a flaw and therefore can’t forfeit the game, it kind of stretches the imagination a bit for the sake of the plot. Straight up we have a LOT of characters in this arc and they all just stood there and watched it happened.

It could have been also because this is like...televised...that no one wants to start throwing this little boy off the nearest blimp. I just wish that was addressed in the episode, other than “listen...Kaiba must allow this card to be played...or all his Duel Disks are lies.”

His Duel Disk almost caused the end of planet Earth a few weeks back, so I think it’s fine. I think this is a negligible problem to have when your disk shoots projectiles out of each end and has sharp folding edges in the shape of a blade--almost attempting to slice your face off every time you wave that thing around.

Yes, he’s trying to restore his reputation after the whole Dartz thing...but this is like...not that bad in the scale of things that have happened in the past several seasons. Maybe it’s just the last straw that broke the camels back here? One thing too far--’your disk played a broke card, Kaiba, I am pulling my investments and I refuse to go to your theme parks. I was here when you blew up that island. I was here when your company was literally bought out by the illluminati...but if that duel disk can’t play cards correctly--we’re done here.’ And TBH...that’s a very Yugioh mentality to have.

Like remember that time that Elon musk threw a brick at one of his new weird looking cars and the windshield cracked? But he was like “Oh...that was just a...listen the windshields don’t shatter, you saw nothing.” and still released the car anyway? Was kind of reminded of that.

Now...he didn’t actually go into the Dev room, we’ll go into how the hell he got this card, but first, a visit to the Kaiba Dev room.

OOOOOOooooooooh

That’s so bright!

It reminds me of how in the 90′s, the only real thing I knew to do on my computer was change the colors of the UI, so I just used the ugliest ass UI known to man for my family’s computers. I hope these computers have a mouse that leaves a tail behind and I hope that mouse is in the shape of a flying sparkling dragon.

Anyway, Duke speaks what’s on our minds:

Meanwhile, Pegasus, watching this happen over a glass of wine from inside his bathtub at Castle Pegasus, takes one very long sip while sinking into a pile of bubbles.

Seto at first is like “I literally own this tournament so thanks for losing? I don’t know why you threw it out into the trash but thanks?” But Zigfried pressured him so hard that everyone on Earth would judge his ass, and tried so hard to change the definition of what cheating even is, that Seto relented almost as if to shut Zigfried the hell up.

Zigfried explained that, technically, it’s still reads as a legal card on the disk and isn’t reaaally against the rules. Even though the rules say it’s against the rules--what are rules anyway?

Thankfully we have the King of “I dictate what the rules are AKA the rules of the universe, which I would show you, I just don’t feel like it right now, and I’m a little worried about opening that Pandora’s box, but I clearly know the rules of this card game, as stated on this Home Depot plaque that Seto gave me after I won the last tourney.”

Leon gets pretty upset about this--not so much screwing Seto Kaiba, but over the fact his brother stole his only chance at trying to beat Yugi Muto fair and square. So, trying to retain what little card honor he has left, Leon tries to self sabotage so everyone can just go the hell home.

OK so...do you think he put a floppy disk into the paper card? Like straight up how did he do that? Feel free to post your theories because like...how do you hack a paper card? Like do we even have a canon explanation of what these cards are or what they are made out of and how they theoretically work?

Anyway, now that they’ve spent a good portion of this episode discussing if this card should or should not be played, and the ethics and philosophy surrounding that, we find out that none of this matters because Zigfried was actually just stalling.

(He hacked the card so it had a virus like straight up how did he DO that without making a new card?)

Huh.

Y’all, what if I could just delete Google?

Can you imagine?

Like I know this is a kid’s show so it follows kid’s show logic and I will absolutely allow this ridiculous master plan and I will not question it, but think with me for a sec:

What if you could just delete Disney?

Damn. That’s some Y2K scare tactics propaganda right there. That’s some good YA dystopian fiction stuff.

Yo is Zigfried the good guy? He’s not, but if this were a YA novel he would be, right? Good on him.

I...do not know how the logic in Zigfried’s brain works, but if someone deleted all the files in my collaborators company and showed up at my front door and was like “I heard you were looking for a new collaborator?” I’d stick him face first into a blank paper card.

Which is, logically, the next step to Zigfried’s plan that no one has bothered to tell him yet. You just don’t mess with Pegasus, especially after all the stuff he went though with getting murdered by Mai, and Dartz showing up, he’d be so pissed right now. He might not be technically magical anymore--but it’s clear after last season that he’s still magical enough. This is a man who’s let out into the wild maybe a couple of scary cards--but hell knows how many are buried in his huge ass castle just waiting to do a murder.

This is just Zigfried hassling a hornet and the hornets nest is like...right there.

And so next episode we are going to...destroy the card? Hell, next episode might be entirely a card game and I might only have 2 caps.

Anyway, just letting you know that I typed this last night, and then had dreams that I got a Hime Haircut and hella loved it, woke up at 5:30 AM thinking about that haircut, and have since been just...

...I mean I shouldn’t do it...I cannot give myself unironic Von Schroeder hair...

...

...but what if it’s dope though?

(and here’s the link to read these from the beginning in chrono order from S1. Wish I categorized in seasons but alas I did not have that forsight back when I thought there were only 3 seasons of Yugioh total. I have since learned.)

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[dragqueenpentheus]

Okay no one has to read this but i DO have to write it:

PYROC VS FATHER PAUL

Ya bitch needs an art break bc im getting angry about voices existing as i try to keep myself entertained. Today is NOT a god one for sinking into repetitive line work and that’s just about all i have on the table atm

SO! Im gunna do a little thinking about my little meow meows all fucked up by religion. Just a comparison for my sanity and interests. Pyroc is my baby i wrote him for the first time years ago. Five?????????? Whadda hell. Going on six.

ANYWAY john joined religion because of his trauma. His sister died and he felt lost. He was unmoored in this fishing village and looking for reason looking for hope. Hed had his heart broken and trying to make sense of tragedy on his own was totally beyond him. Thats why his interactions with riley in AA are SO good like. He knows that confusion and he knows the rhetoric that’s supposed to combat it. Only it dooesnt work for riley.

The same sort of thing happens for pyrc, only inverted. Loss urns him away from god and religion because its SO strong in his family and not only is he loosing trust in god, but his kin as well. He’s suspicious there’s mre they arent telling him, at the point of his fathers death. And he agrees to, on the surface, absolutely wholly throw himself in to being the second the family and the village need. But he’s keeping his treachery under wraps.

That’s one of the coolest things about father paul imo is like. That slow unraveling of what is. Frankly. An awful half assed plan, driven by fear and loneliness and desperation and dementia and love. Even VERY obvious things like. Taking down the newspaper photo of his young self ‘slip’ by him. I think, on some level, its DEEPLY intentional. He wants people to CHOOSE this. He wants people like bev. He wants people who see him and are in aw of him beating god. Of killing death. He wants to be worshiped and adored and for people to come to him willingly, no tragedy driving them to his arms.

Pyroc also wnats to be worshipped, but he ALSO wants to do the worshipping. He really longs for an element of almost????? But not quite??? Subjection?? He wants to be shown something and for a Great Voice to tell him, unquestioningly and unerringly that it is GOOD. Full stop. And then he wants to spend his life worshipping it. But this booko is an exploration of how….. no such thing exists. And more importantly no great voice exists either. There is nothing wholly good, nothing wholy evil. His lack of faith in himself once he becomes god is him starting to understand that as well. Thats on purpose baked into the lore. The starting point was ‘what if god was a position and in order to get promoted you had to be a murderer. No matter what’. He understands things are not wholly good, at that point. I onder how long it will be for him to realize they are not fully evil as well?

Bc pruitt does hm hm hm an interesting move. Where he takes something the narritve is very sure to communicate is EVIL no wiggle room just fact. Even if its driven by animal instinct its. Evil. And he makes it, not just good, but HOLY. And god i LOVEEEE that for him i ADOREEE that what a MOVE. Driven by desperation and dementia and relief and ‘if god saved me than maybe i can be good despite loving and sinning and maybe if i defeat god then i will be Thee Good’. SO sexy of him. Im really fascinated by his morality. He seems to have an understanding of the shades of grey in some respects??? But if he had a BETTER one with more forgiveness in his heart i feel like hed have left the church anyway after sarah was born??? Even if millie didnt ask him??? That might just be my own sensibilities creeping in but ….. like he culd have seen her on the weekends. He can do other jobs. Hes straight (??? Not totally convinced of this) he could have just dated her that makes me crazy. LIKE OBV HE HAD LINES HE THOUGHT THAT WOULD CROSS AND HE HAD INTERNALIZED THE CHURCH AND THE RULES AND SHE WAS MARRIED AND ECT ECT i know he couldnt have really but. Thye were straight. They coulda.

Im not gunna do fantasy homophobia bc i think its …………….. Boring. But i think some element of??? The vindlegaurd line MUST be passed along and for that particular rules must be applied. But thats also boring as hell :/ maybe i can work in my parthenogenesis lore?????????? I bet pyroc would love building that spell in any universe. That’s the sequal when he goes to magic university in helsin. But yeah i do like the concept that. Anyone can have a baby thru magic its just a time and energy commitment. Just a matter of wanting it enough together. Every baby is so deeply wanted and its mere existence is proof. Thats dope i love that. HMMM to be decided at a later date when im deeper into the story i think. I still havent figured out fully how and where and why orion is going to be invovled and if???? Pyroc and orion are even going to be romantic??????? Im torn im TORn…….

Thikns about john bonding w sarah over science and learning and starts wEEPING…. Like theres some surity beloved. Its just a matter of uncovering. I think sarah felt that same thirst for answers and hunted them differently. Her faith is in logic and science. I loveeee her god. Every scene w her and her dad absolutely RUIN me like!!!!!! SHE DOESNT KNOW!!! SHE DOESNT KNOW HOW LOVED SHE IS!!!!!! I hope at hte very end she saw the blood as the gesture of love it SO clearly was and not him trying to poison her. God i love that she spat it out. GOD. Thats about being gay, btw. Spits the religious offering that could save you across the gasoline soaked church floor like BABE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think we as a collective should talk about the possibiites around sarah/erin more. Bc their defiance combined would be. Earth SHATTERING for crockett.

In the future pyroc gets a kid. Ever since that campaign where Enemy ended up playing his daughter im like. How did i NOT know this idiot wanted nothing more in the entire world than to travel it with his daughter. I dont care how or why hes getting a kid. Hed be so doting and awful abut it. He would need orion as a co-parent for the kids self esteem to be normal levels. thINKS ABOUT PAUL GETTING TO RAISE SARAH AND JUST ABSOLUTELY GASSING HER UPPPPPPPP HANGING EVERY DOODLE SHE EVER MADE ON TEH FRIDGE. BOASTING ABOUT HER SCEINECE PROJECT OT ANYONE WITHIN EYESIGHT EVEN THOUGH ‘WE K N O W JOHNWE WERE ALL AT THE SCEINCE FAIR’!!!!!!!!!!! Let these fuck ups be doting fathers im fucking begging. That scene where paul is like. You take ccare of everyone on the island sarah. Its more than being a doctor. You comfort them.

HM HM comfort is such a thing for Miss Bitch like!! He sees it as a Good Thing. He tries to bring it for riley by asking to hold the AA meetings on island ((also manipulation. Obvously also manipulation. I wouldnt have bene shocked if he was slipping the vampire blood into the coffee every meeting either. But thats just a theory. A game theory.)) ANYWAY he sees comfort as hly. The church gave it to him when he needed it. The angel gave it to him in the cave. Feeling safe and warm is HIGH on his list of priorities and what makes him hand over respect.

I think pyroc has lived a very comfortable life in SO many ways, but in none he. Activly recognizes. A key part of his character arc his him…. Opening his eyes to the world around them. Seeing the privilege he has and being like. Wait. This isnt Right. We have to change thi. And when no one agrees ti shifts to I have to change this. With Violence. A little revolutionary <3 it only costs the life of his whole ass family

Thats more fun comparison ground like…… paul is SO much about I know whats right and there is a cost but i AM ignoring it. Like HE KNOOOOWSSSS he knooooows he just doesnt want o See. I’m not sure if im going to surprise yroc with the ……megadeath of. His whole family. Or if it’s a choice he has to activly make. I think a choice makes it more compelling, more layerd. It has to be in the moment though, becaus ei think thats. A key difference between them. Pyroc wouldnt do it.. hed just leave hed peace out and do what he could in small ways. But he wouldnt do his big stand off with god. Hed shrink his goals in order to not hurt his family. Out of love?? Intimidation?? Some instinct wihtin him that balks at the idea of disobedience??? I think even he doesnt know. But i LOVE john becaue he jsut decides to lie. He closes his eyes and says i am being stupid on purpose. I think thats PERHAPS more compelling than good guy coward pyroc BUT!!!!! Thats who he is rip to ths little man. Cant change him now hes a whole ass child in my head. The PLOT i can change. Him….. not without massive character development <3

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MM set my brain on FIRE!!!! Im so glad nano is coming up. I love sharpening pyroc against the comparison of other AMAZING characters. Father paul hill my beloved millstone <3 anyway sorry to anyone who reads this its literally me unhinging my jaw and emptying my brain out. I had to write stuff that wasn’t novel or fic. A little character time down and dirty. I wil NOT be editing this love and light to future me trying to decode this

[lilfellasblog]

Devil’s Nectar

Summary: What happens to Thomas and the Sides when the stressed out, responsible man drinks wine after Putting Others First? Hint: it involves humor and character development.

This is my first fix-it fic, and it comes at the request of @heavy-metal-papillon​, who came up with the premise of the fic! I hope you enjoy this!

A/N: If you liked this, please reblog. It is the only way to help this fic reach a wider audience.

TW: very light angst, like almost no angst, fairly heavy drinking, drunkeness, and a bit of social awkwardness.

Word count: 1469

AO3 here!

Fic Masterlist here!

Ughhhhhhh, why’d they have to be nice? Why couldn’t they be rude? That would be so much easier! Wait, shit, no it wouldn’t what the fuck is wrong with me?! No, it’s okay, bad thoughts don’t mean I’m a bad person.

Thomas took a deep breath and ran his hands over his face. Guess I’m not the only one having a crisis. Shit, poor Roman, poor… everyone.

He turned idea after idea over in his mind, trying to figure out how to repair the relationships between his Sides. He was realizing more and more how very little he actually knew about them. He could see why Roman would be upset, hell, Thomas figured he himself would be pretty pissed off. And Virgil, Janus, and Remus had a history, and it didn’t seem very positive.

Thomas took a break from his thoughts to ground himself. Looking around the room, his eyes landed on the video lights.

I just released a video, I should be good for a while. No meetings tomorrow, everyone’s getting a break… fuck it.

He pushed himself up from the couch, walked over to the cabinets, opened them, and realized he had no wine glasses left. He felt Logan looking over his glasses at him.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Thomas muttered. He grabbed his largest coffee mug, opened a cheap bottle of wine, and filled his mug. He downed half of it in one go, coughing a bit at the end. He refilled his mug, grabbed the rest of the bottle, and flopped onto the couch. A noir film, Lost Highway, caught his attention. He was sold when he saw it had Bill Pullman in it.

He drank mindlessly, until the movie was almost done and he went to pour himself another mug of wine, when no more wine came out of the bottle. Thomas frowned.

I don’t even feel tipsy, is this wine company ripping people off? He stood, or at least tried to, but fell back on the couch.

Oh shit. Guess they’re not ripping people off.

Thomas leaned back and spread his arms over the back of the couch, only for Virgil to appear.

“You good?” Virgil slurred.

Thomas raised his eyebrows. “You good?”

Virgil swayed, said “No,”, and fell onto the couch, face on the top of the cushion. Thomas sighed deeply and patted his head, earning him a hiss.

“You’re drunk, I gotta protect you.”

“And you’re doing awesome. I’m not injured.”

“Dope.”

Thomas chuckled. “Didn’t realize I was drinking that much.”

“And you’re a lightweight,” Virgil added, voice muffled.

“Whatever, you’re worse off than I am,” Thomas teased.

“I’m your autono- autota- automor- I’m your breathing brain stuff, I’m gonna get more affected.”

“‘Breathing brain stuff’?”

“Shut up.”

Thomas laughed heartily.

“I believe what Virgil was trying to say is ‘autonomic nervous system’.”

Virgil snapped and finger-gunned at Logan. Thomas and Logan got Virgil situated so his head was laying on Thomas’ lap, and in less than a minute he was passed out. Logan kept infodumping as he got a blanket and glass of water for Virgil.

“...ethanol is broken down in many steps, most notably in the liver, where it is broken down into acetaldehyde via interaction with alcohol dehydrogenase. Acetaldehyde is extremely toxic and a powerful carcinogen, but it’s usually quickly metabolized into acetate, and then turned into water and carbon dioxide in places besides the liver. Acetate has many industrial uses, and is the base for many more complex molecules...”

Thomas nodded and made sounds at what he hoped were appropriate intervals, alcohol causing him to lose track of the conversation frequently.

“‘TIS I, YOUR CREATIVITY!!!”

Thomas and Virgil both jumped, although Virgil settled quickly, not fully regaining consciousness.

“Do not wake the Virgil,” Logan warned.

Roman waved carelessly, and the next moment Virgil had thick headphones on.

“There! Now our emo won’t hear a thing!” Roman declared. “Who wants to sing karaoke?”

Thomas looked down at Virgil, who was sleeping soundly. “Sure, why not.”

“Wonderful!” Roman summoned a speaker, microphone, and lyric display. “I’ll begin! Celine Dion, what do you have in store for us tonight?!”

“Celine Dion?!” Patton said excitedly, rising up next to the couch. “Oh Roman, you’re always such a good singer!” his voice cracked as he started getting choked up. He brought his fists up to his face and whispered, “You truly have a gift.”

“Well of course I do!” Roman said as the opening strains to My Heart Will Go On. Patton sat down next to Logan, moved to tears by Roman’s performance. Logan gave him a tissue and awkwardly patted his back while spouting facts, more quietly now that Roman was taking the spotlight.

A few more songs later, and Patton had settled against Logan, who was starting to drift off. Thomas had cracked open another bottle of wine to keep his buzz, and Roman was living for the attention.

“Thank you, thank you! What shall I sing next?”

“How about Evil Night Together?”

Roman jumped and looked at Janus warily. “I do quite enjoy that song, I know how it goes of course, but it’s been a while since I’ve sang it.”

Janus twirled his hand, and a sparkly yellow and black microphone appeared in his hand. “I can accompany you, if you’d like?”

Roman was still watching him from out of the corner of his eye. “Accompany?”

Janus nodded his head, looking Roman head-on. “Yes, accompany. It’s your turn to take center stage.”

Roman was still for a moment, before nodding and sending Janus a small smile. “Right then. Shall we?”

The opening strains played, sultry chords moving through the air.

“I'll hold your hand while they drag the river

“I'll cuddle you in the undertow

“I'll keep my hand on your trigger finger

“I'll take you down where the train tracks go

“Let's wile away the hours

“Let's spend an evil night together”

Patton was watching them, transfixed. Logan had fully passed out, lightly snoring with his head leaning against the back of the couch. Roman started singing less confidently, and Patton gasped in shock.

Janus took over, switching to sing the first part while Roman took the harmony.

“Who's gonna make you a hero

“Who's gonna blow you away

“Who's gonna make you a hero

“Hold it right there

“It's a multiple down in solitary

“And you'll uncover the evidence

“Shanghaied by a fishnet stocking

“I'll hold you close while they dust for prints.”

Roman looked at Janus, surprised. Janus met Roman’s gaze, earnest and vulnerable. Roman straightened his back, the ghost of a smile on his face.

“No need for cake or flowers

“Let's spend an evil night together.”

The song died down, and Roman grinned, offering his hand. Janus took his silently, and they shared a firm handshake while Patton squealed.

“I’m so happy for you two!!”

Roman puffed out his chest. “Glad you are, padre!”

Patton bounced in his seat. “Let me get Logan settled, and then let’s dance!!”

He got Logan a blanket and a glass of water to match Virgil’s while Roman and Janus set up an elaborate dance floor.

“Will you be joining us, Thomas?”

Thomas affectionately patted Virgil’s shoulder. “Nah, I’m a pillow right now, and I think I’m too drunk to dance anyways.”

“Fair enough! Let’s dance bitches!” Roman exclaimed as he snapped. Disco lights came on, and Patton joined the two other Sides on the dance floor.

“Do you remember

“The very first night of September,”

Roman lifted Patton by the waist and spun him, Patton and Thomas laughing. The songs cycled through, the Sides never losing energy, until a slow song came on.

Roman was panting. “I should sit this one out, I need to hydrate!” Roman sat on the couch next to Logan, closed his eyes, and immediately began snoring loudly.

Patton giggled quietly. Janus moved to stand in front of Patton.

“Patton, may I have this dance?”

Patton bit his lip. “You sure? I’m no good at dancing.”

“That’s quite alright, I can lead.”

Patton smiled meaningfully. “As long as you lead, we should be good.”

Janus swallowed to hide how choked up he was getting. “Very well.”

Thomas watched as the two new friends danced slowly, Patton giggling and looking down nervously, and Janus carefully leading him through simple steps. The song wound down, and Janus waved the scene away.

“I think it’s time to get some sleep, what do you think?” Patton asked.

Janus just nodded over towards Thomas, who had joined the other Sides in sleep. Patton smiled.

“Good point. I’ll… see you later, Janus?”

Janus smiled, unguarded. “Yes, you will.”

The next morning, everyone was hungover, and Roman, Virgil, and Thomas barely remembered a thing, but they didn’t miss how much more comfortable Patton and Janus seemed around each other.

[davidmann95]

Might as well get this out of the way... RWBY is Disappointing and Here’s Why: thoughts?

No interest. I guess I’ve mostly heard that hbomberguy is good, but I don’t care to listen to 2+ hours about how a thing I like is bad actually; I’ve gotta exceptionally despise something to care to listen to that about something I hate. Plus from what I’ve heard he spends most of it talking about the first two seasons not working, and that along with the Faunus allegory ultimately spinning into extremely dicey respectability politics are my main issues with the series anyway, so why spend the time going “I already know this and agree with it, but it brings me no pleasure to hear it reiterated”? Pretty much every complaint I’ve seen about it from assorted corners of the internet in the last year or so that I started paying attention falls anyway into either those categories, or anime nerd nitpicking about power scaling/disagreeing with plot decisions or character motivations/not seeing for the forest for the trees regarding character development, so I just don’t really care. This is something where I’m mostly content to just enjoy the thing on my own rather than taking up the banner of defending it from all comers.

everythingsucksbutthatsokay said: I want to like RWBY, but it just has not grabbed me any of the times I’ve tried to start it. The character designs and fight choreography are awesome, but the characters and storyline just don’t hook me. What is it about the show that made you keep watching?

I’m not surprised it hasn’t grabbed you, because I’m gonna hit you with what’s apparently considered a Hot Take among the longtime RWBY fan community: those first two seasons ain’t very good, which is a situation only tenable because they’re only a couple hours apiece and still breezy enough fun. I only started watching it because I heard “Hey, Marguerite Bennett, who I quite like, is doing a miniseries for DC based on that internet kinda-anime I’ve seen references to and a couple cool fights from on Youtube. Well, it’s free online, what the hell”,* and it was exactly good enough to occupy my attention on the treadmill watching it on my phone without caring enough yet to switch to my laptop. It isn’t until season 3 that the plot seeds and character threads start to come together into something really engaging (and not until season 4 that they switch from the original extremely dated visuals to the current graphics system, even if the choreography from the early parts still holds up), but once it did I unexpectedly found myself profoundly taken with it.

* And then of course the last physical issue of that was cancelled due to the cornoavirus comics industry hiatus; I, a dope, will get the trade, because I liked it and I want it all in one format.

It is when it comes fully into its own a story about pain - abandonment, disaster, political terror and paranoia, endless generational war, oppression, inadequacy, abuse, displacement, long-term emotional trauma, unfair responsibility, and the losses of every stripe of loved one - and how people live with theirs and work to do the right thing and care for one another with that weight bearing on their shoulders, or fail to with monstrous consequences. It actually strikes a very similar chord to me as Kingdom Hearts even if it’s the slightly more ‘grown-up’ take, with its archetypal character templates and old-school fantasy worlds (even if it’s an old-school fantasy world in this case that’s progressed into flying cars and cellphone territory ala latter-day Final Fantasy) and unabashed emotional sincerity. It’s just that for the most part instead of struggling with relatively abstract notions of personhood or literal inner darkness, the people here are outright dealing with death and shame and resentment and uncertainty, even if it’s just as earnest as its counterpart in its belief that those challenges can be overcome, in this case through the power of love or friendship or pride or principles or simple respect for your fellow man or punching a fool with a shotgun blast. Also there are gauntlets that make punches shotgun blasts, and dogs are occasionally fastball specialed at robots, and there’re rock-pop tracks about food fights and fucking up fascists.

So I’d recommend either watching those first two seasons as basically background noise TV or make a marathon night of it, and then give season 3 a real chance to win you over. It’s far from flawless by any metric, but it becomes something really special given time to grow. And don’t forget the little character shorts that go before some of the seasons, they’re not super-important but they do flesh things out.

[aspiring-wildfire]

MAG 167

Finally listened to this weeks episode so LETS GO BABEY

Jon accidentally Knowing things is rude

I’m so proud of Martin for setting boundaries and making Jon share good job babe

“That’s not fair! I share!” Babe

God he’s so bad at being emotionally open I love Jonathan sims more and more with every day protect this dummy

I’m so glad they’re having real conversations but at the same time it makes me very worried and sad for them to be tense with each other

“Methinks the spider doth protest too much” Jon you fuckin nerd

“When you do the whole ‘curse this flesh prison’ thing” fucking dorks

“I bet Gertrude would be able to do this, yknow? She would eat a hellscape like this for breakfast” Martin voicing all our feelings abt granny fuckoff

Oh Gertrude getting character development love that

Gertrude also having an inclination to be careful very much explains why jonathan ‘fuck self-preservation’ sims has had such a different Archivist experience

I’m glad jonalias spent upwards of a century being just consistently frustrated with his archivist letdowns

Really love that passing out is a viable survival strategy in this nightmare world

Honestly I’m just imagining horrifying eldritch fear monsters closing in on this chick and then she just. Faints. And totally ruins the game!!! It’s not fun anymore!!!! Fuck this!!!!!

Am I hearing Emma/Gertrude??? Is that what I’m hearing???????

Well she certainly sounds like enough of a cold bitch for Gertrude

WOW Emma’s really trying to get Fiona killed for Science huh

Holy shit she is not fucking around huh

Ooooo web!emma

Oh

Oh wait

Oh no

The archivist and their trusted Web s.o.

THIS IS HOW WEB!MARTIN CAN STILL WIN

oh poor Michael

Is Emma maybe the real manipulative emotionless bitch of the Gertrude-era archives???

Sarah carpenter sounds dope as hell frankly

Gertrude is Busy and Does Not Have Time For This

The fact that no one seems to notice that Emma’s fucking picking off assistants

Oh wait do we know Sarah

My shit memory comes back to bite me yet again

Ah no she’s just dead

It rly took the death of half the archive staff for Gertrude to notice that Emma was up to some shit

It’s interesting to see Gertrude cast as something of an oblivious moral crusader, especially because we’ve really only ever seen that in Jon—he’s kind and he wants to do good and he’s SO OBLIVIOUS, but he doesn’t believe ends justify means and Gertrude clearly does

Gertrude burning Emma’s house down with her inside and then fully spiraling into cold detachment is. Oof

Gertrude needing a reason is interesting and I feel like it makes a lot of sense for her character

“So... if you say Gertrude wouldn’t have been able to go on without a reason...” “yes Martin, you are my reason” BABIES

They love each other a lot and Jon sounds so heart eyes when Martin talks I’m emotional

Why does Martin think he has a domain that he’s feeding off of?

WHY DOES JON THINK MARTIN HAS A DOMAIN HES FEEDING OFF OF

I am Worried

“If you had died, would the others have been able to quit?” Oh that upsets me

Jon doesn’t need another reason to blame himself this poor fucking boy

Someone hug him pls

[inheritorofmemories-archive]

Twitter is not a good place and I have opinions.

Okay so, just visited Twitter to see how they like The Old Guard and please remind to never go there for anything more than artist’s posts and memes.

(This is more of a rant than a cohesive explanation of my thoughts but I won’t lose my time on Twitter for that and I still need to talk about it, so we’re here. Okay, here goes-)

Of course spoiler warning for the whole movie.

"it's bad, it's not creative, it's boring, there's no story apart from bad guys pharma and good guys mercenaries."

Did we watch the same movie?? It's like those Mad Max Fury Road reviews who kept saying "they leave and come back, no plot har har I’m very funny" when the whole point of the movie is about staying where you live and make this place better, not abandoning it because you risk abandoning your true self with the land (amongst other things the movies tries to say).

Yeah maybe the story is a bit seen, pharma and all. But the whole plot revolve around the Old Guards and their emotions. It's about a tired warrior finding hope, and a young immortal finding her place, and how to deal with loss and grief and solitude, it's about finding purpose in helping other because that's what human do, help each other. It's a lot more than fight scenes and bad pharma (which, maybe it's an old trope but it's still very true to this day, please keep portraying pharma CEO as comically bad because they are!)

It's like men can't understand a story unless there's lots of death and unnecessary trauma. Can't you enjoy a story about found family and hope and kindness for one another like everyone else?

Here are the critics I saw, and why I think it’s bullshit, point by point because I’m petty like that:

The characters are flat and two dimensional: I mean, no? Sure, Joe and Nicky are not the center of attention, and we see Booker tired and a traitor, and the human ones are bit glossed over (though we see enough to understand them, Copley and his wife, the scientist that thinks she’s helping humanity, etc.), but Andy and Nile are fully developed? What else do you need?

Andy is a very old, very tired immortal that has a very complicated past (that we see a lot of) and her motivations, state of mind and thoughts are well explained (they all say she’s old, and tired, we know about Quynh; hell, Andy’s first line is about that) and we know she lost purpose, and she finds it within the film! She changes! Her character evolves in interactions to other but mostly Nile. Speaking of her- i know I’m repeating myself but what else do you need to consider a character not flat? She loves her family but doesn’t run to them because she’s not an idiot. She’s a fighter, a marine, a very competent one at that, but she still gets scared by being an immortal, she asks questions, she’s compassionate, she feels! All while being a bad ass fighter. She has agency, makes her own choices and choose her way, she has motivation and she know what she brings to the team and is not afraid of saying her thoughts and needs.

And even Booker and Nicky and Joe have full character, even if shown less. We have Booker’s back story, and we know he cares a lot despite all his hurt (he says he did it to help Andy die, which was still wrong and selfish, but he was genuinely trying to do something because he hurt so much). Nicky and Joe have a softer side, and sure it’s mostly conveyed through their own love story but they hug the other Guards and Nicky brings food for Andy and Joe jokes around (still thinking about that “faster than the elevator” line). Yeah it’s not a deep character study but it’s more than about half action movies today, and it’s enough in the story to make me care about all of them, even Copley. Although a lot of that may come form the actors too.

The fights scenes are bad: apparently they’re boring and do not do justice to the comics. I can’t speak for the last one, but boring? Again, did we watch the same movie? Yeah, there’s no big explosions and fire everywhere and collapsing buildings, but they’re not boring. I’m sorry my tastes are superior but I’d rather be shown the talents of a covert team of immortal warriors though discretion and efficiency. Why would they need explosions when they can juggle swords, axes, rifles and guns so smoothly you don’t even see a shift in their stance? See first fight in South Sudan. Why would I need collapsing buildings when I can have a team of fighters swapping weapons together like nothing? That scene at Merricks’s building where they all reload and change guns and the camera turns around and panel over all of them? That was dope and a very creative way to show how smooth they work together (with Nile added! So way to go to show the new group dynamics.) through a smooth and continuous camera movement. I could go on, but where did you see the boring fight scene. Yes there’s no cool lights and tricks a la John Wick, but if it did they would have complained it was a rip off, so...

The cinematography is bad: Just because it’s more understated doesn’t mean it’s bad. Yes, there’s no neon lights or cool shots like other might have (looking at you John Wick, since everyone seems to compare the two movie) but it serves the story. It’s because it’s so simple visually that you can get into the feelings and story. You don’t look at the light, you look at the actions and the faces. And honestly, I think it suits the Guards better. They look timeless, they fit in everywhere. A photography that’s striped down to the necessary only serves the story. I don’t see them in safe houses with a bunch of lights and modern furniture, just like I don’t see expensive shots and over the top choreography for them. As I said, they’re a covert team, they’re smooth and efficient, I like that the photography align on that and show them in simple shots.

tl;dr: Just because it’s simple doesn't mean it’s bad, sometimes that's what you need to work with the story and its characters and themes.

Not enough story and too much nothing to fill in: I mean, they die 12 minutes in, you get all the stakes, antagonist and themes in like 20 minutes, what else do you need? There’s break in the actions to expose plot and concept, but it never feels wrong or too much of a info dump, it’s fluid and natural because we’re following Nile into the immortal world.

Bad Pharma is Bad: Yeah, let’s talk about that. (Cautions, purely opinions, no real arguments to change someone’s mind here) I don’t care if it’s cliché, not when pharma in the US keep rising the price of Insulin every month, not when pharma all over the world send their faulty medicine to third world country because there’s no one that cares enough there, not when you know they purposefully don’t finance HIV researches because triple therapy gets them a lot of money, not when you hear about the experimentation and how they get their resources and literally everything that I’m not getting into right now. Who cares if they’re show as bad people once again, they are! You think CEO care about anything but money? If it feels wrong in the movie it’s because it is wrong.

Tell me no one in our world would kidnap and torture immortals to find their power. And don’t talk to me about bad representation of CEO and exceptions, I don’t care. One exception doesn’t make all the other suddenly better or worth the wrong they’re doing. So yeah, give me more cliché good guys fight bad CEO, I love it.

They did not use their concept enough: Again, where? To me, they did all they could with that concept, you get all the things you can only get with the concept, interesting and fun one. They are still afraid of dying one day, and even if they’re not (i.e. Andy or Booker) their brand of immortality doesn’t mean they’re not afraid of being captured: the Quynh scene happens literally just before Nicky and Joe are kidnapped exposing us the stake of being immortal, talk about good script work, right? Talking about fun trope: you have the millennium old couple that use to kill each other but now love each other, the classic ennemies to lovers we all love, you have the strategy of using your immortality to your advantage and destabilize your opponent: Nile walking into Merrick’s building and getting herself killed on purpose only to stand again and use the guard’s shock and lack of preparation against them, you have the fun references to real historical figures that comes with immortality: Rodin, Napoleon, etc...

I’ll link to this video I found that talks about this better than me, but basically, they did use their concept, a lot, and well.

The music: I can’t really say anything about that one. Maybe you don’t like the style they used, and that’s fair. To each their own. But it wasn’t too much like other Netflix’s movie (Looking at you 6 Underground. Four (4) song of the same artist in one movie?) but again, it’s Netflix, they use modern songs in their soudtracks, you should expect it. I didn’t bother with the lyrics accuracy to the actions, but each time the music fit well in tune and mood of the scene. And the actual score made for the movie was really good, not too much but still supported the actions and dialogues on screen like it should.

And my favorite yet, we’ve already seen it. I don’t have any smart answer to that apart from I’m sorry you’re a cishet, but found family is the superior trope and I hope you can one day see it too. Who cares if we’ve already seen it, it’s a different flavor! It’s no X-Men flavor, it’s Old Guard flavor and I love it. Have you heard of the Hero’s Journey? How Lord of the Ring, Star Wars and Harry Potter all have the basic same plot? And yet you can like all three of them for different reasons? Because they’re not the same flavors? Well, apply that to the immortal group of fighters and enjoy it.

Okay, that’s most of my thoughts on the film for now, but to make it short: it’s good and those people can’t appreciate good things that are more feelings and humanity than fist fights and nihilism. How dare a movie say we’re good and need each other and not end in a pathetic discovery that all the word deserves to burn.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z 265

Last time, Majin Buu got his ass kicked by Gohan, so he blew himself up and came back an hour later.... to challenge Gotenks instead.    No one knows why he would want to do this, but Goten and Trunks insist on taking him on, and Gohan doesn’t seem very firm about stopping them.

Meanwhile, some flesh off of Buu’s back has sloughed off and is slithering around among all the rocks, but that probably doesn’t mean anything...

So there’s a few things at play here.   First of all, no one gives Buu any credit for intelligence.   He’s demonstrated on more than one occasion that he’s smarter than he lets on.   The problem is that the characters who know that aren’t around to warn the boys.   Babidi got killed, and Goku’s stuck in Otherworld.  The Supreme Kai’s been warning anyone who will listen not to underestimate Buu, but no one’s ever listened to him on this point.  

Of course, Goten and Trunks’ immaturity plays into this as well.    They take Buu’s challenge at face value, and wonder why he’d ask for something so stupid.   It never occurs to them that maybe he’s asking to fight Gotenks precisely because it isn’t stupid at all, so maybe they shouldn’t play into his hands like this.  

What’s really dumb about this is that Buu made it pretty clear in the last episode that he was never in any real danger of losing his last battle with Gotenks.    He only kept fighting so he’d have something to do while he waited for Gohan to show up.   Gotenks knows this, but he doesn’t seem to care.

Finally, and most crucially, why is Gohan just standing around letting this unfold.    He knows it’s risky to let Gotenks fight instead, but when they complain, he just yields the floor and lets them fight in his place.   What was the point of getting that power up from the Old Kai if he wasn’t going to deal with Buu himself?   Why isn’t he attacking Buu right now, instead of standing there like a dope waiting for Buu to make his move?

It’s inexperience, pure and simple.   Gohan dominated Buu in their last encounter, and he probably figures that there’s no harm in letting Gotenks go first.    If the kid loses, Gohan can step in to help, right?  

I’d ask why Piccolo doesn’t object to any of this, but he had a nervous breakdown three or four episodes ago, so who can blame the guy?  The only one who does suspect something’s up is Bee.   I guess he can smell deception in the air?   Anyway, no one listens to him because he’s a dog.

So he has to run towards the fight and show them what he’s seen, but by then it’s too late.

Suddenly, the pieces of Buu’s body jump on Piccolo and Gotenks and envelop them...

Then they recombine with Buu, apparently infusing Piccolo and Gotenks into his body somehow.

Look, I don’t want to be too hard on Gohan, but this is EXACTLY HOW CELL TRICKED HIM SEVEN YEARS AGO.   Gohan was stronger than Cell, and he could beat him senseless without even trying, and then Cell revealed that he had a power Gohan couldn’t stop with punching.   Yeah, Gohan had no idea he could do this, but why did he let Buu live long enough to demonstrate this kind of ability.    In theory, he has the power to kill Buu with a single Kamehameha.    If he doesn’t, then there was no point in sending him down here, but if he does, then he should have just done that two episodes back.

Incidentally, why didn’t the Supreme Kai tell anyone about this?   We haven’t gotten to that episode yet, but later, he’ll explain how he’s seen Buu absorb people before, so it seems kind of odd that he didn’t anticipate this, or warn Gohan about it.   

When the process is complete, Buu has Gotenks’s Fusion vest, a longer tentacle, and a nose.    Also, he talks more eloquently.   This form is sometimes referred to as “Super Buu 2″.   I think I’ve seen “Buutenks” used before, but that sounds kind of dumb.  

Buu declares himself to be the “Mightiest Majin”, which is a line I’ve never understood.   Throughout this story, characters have referred to him as a “Majin”, as if he were one of a group of other Majin, and I’m pretty sure it’s just a word Toriyama made up for this story.   It’s supposed to be a portmanteau of “ma”, the Japanese word for “evil” and “djinn”, or “genie”.   Are there other Majins?  Does Buu know of any besides himself?  Wasn’t he already stronger than any of them to begin with?

Anyway, this whole development reveals a crucial flaw in any anti-Buu strategy.   As powerful as Majin Buu is, it’s not enough to just match him in strength.  If he runs into anyone strong enough to defeat him, he’ll just absorb that guy, or however many other guys he need to in order to stay on top.   It almost feels like this is some overriding aspect of Buu’s nature, like Bibidi programmed this into him.  

So why didn’t Buu just absorb Gohan, since he’s the strongest one.   Ah, but Buu wanted to have someone to fight once he increased his power.   There’s an element of risk to this plan, because Buu’s power-up is mostly contributed by Gotenks, and the fusion will expire soon.   That’s why Buu waited an hour before coming back to pull this stunt.   He didn’t want to absorb Gotenks back in Episode 262, because he didn’t know how much longer they would last.   This way, he got them right after they fused, so he has the full time at his disposal, however short it is.   

Even so, he has to beat Gohan before that time runs out.   It probably would have been smarter to just absorb Gohan, but Buu loves a good fight too much to pass this up.    Besides, he can always absorb Gohan later.

Seriously, why did anyone think Toriyama was going to make Gohan the main character?   More to the point, why did anyone want Gohan to become the main character?  

Let me back up and explain that for anyone who didn’t know about the story.   Years ago, there was this legend that Toriyama planned to make Gohan the protagonist of the Buu arc, but fans in Japan sent him death threats or something, demanding that he bring Goku back, so he changed the ending.  Kanzenshuu.com has a pretty thorough article debunking this rumor, but the quick version is that Toriyama did plan on Gohan taking the lead, then changed his mind at some point, because he felt Gohan wasn’t suited for the role.  

I’m pretty sure the rumor only got started because of wishful thinking and changed premises.    There was a time, however brief, where Toriyama made it clear that he was making Gohan inherit the role from Goku.    And then Goku came back anyway.    The simplest explanation is that he changed his mind, but I think fans have trouble accepting the possibility of authors calling an audible in the middle of a story.   They like to imagine that the story exists fully-formed in the creator’s mind, and any inconsistencies or changes are due to outside influences.   When Gohan got sidelined from the Buu Saga, it was easier for fans to believe that there was some sort of conspiracy at work.    Either Toriyama’s editor made him change it, or Toei pressured him to bring the more marketable Goku back, or misguided Japanese fans coerced him into rewriting the story.  

My take on this is that the situation looks pretty obvious when you watch the show.   Maybe I shouldn’t say “obvious”, because when I first watched the Buu Saga, I kept obsessively checking Funimation.com’s episode list to see what would happen in upcoming installments, and I knew that Goku and Vegeta would somehow return, use fusion, and fight Buu themselves.  And that was the main event, as far as I was concerned.   For my money, the whole point of this fusion business was to see Goku and Vegeta use it, so what do we need Gohan for?  

But besides that, what exactly is the alternate scenario here if Gohan remained the protagonist?   Presumably, we’d get this far, I would think.   Gohan is too much for Super Buu, so he absorbs Piccolo and Gotenks to give our hero a greater challenge.   And it’s not an impossible task.    If Gohan can hold out until Gotenks’ fusion expires, he’ll have the advantage again.

But then what?    Do Goku and Vegeta come back to help him anyway?  Does Gohan journey into Buu’s body to rescue his pals, or does he just kill Super Buu and wait four months on an empty planet to wish everyone back to life?   Does Kid Buu ever factor into any of this?  

These aren’t insignificant questions.    I get the impression that anyone who believes that Toriyama changed the story because of fan pressure or editorial pressure or whatever, they believe this because they’re huge Gohan fans who resent him getting a raw deal.    Or they just don’t care for the Buu Saga in general, and they like the idea that there’s a better version floating around in Toriyama’s brain, or maybe even scribbled into a notebook.   Basically, they’re just rejecting this story, the one we got, and they’re clinging to a potentially better story that probably doesn’t exist.   

But I think that’s unfair.   It’s easy to say that an imaginary comic is better than the one that saw print.   It’s completely safe from criticism, because no one can read it, and no one can say for certain what is and isn’t in it.   So my question to the Gohan-truthers is: What was supposed to have happened instead?   How does Gohan being in the lead and beating Buu improve anything?    Because the way I see it, the story we got kicks ass. 

This part of it?   Not so much.   This is just Super Buu dominating Gohan for three episodes.   That wouldn’t be such a bad thing, except that we’ve been getting a steady diet of Majin Buu steamrolling everyone this whole time.    Hell, this isn’t even the first time he’s beaten Gohan.    It’s just taking a little longer tis time, that’s all. 

What does work is that this new development only adds to the burden on Goku’s conscience.    He was the one who insisted on staying dead, that he was the one putting the Earth in harm’s way, and that Gohan could protect the world better than he ever could.    He was the one who taught the boys the fusion technique, and assured his wife that they would be more than powerful enough to stop Buu and save the world.   And none of it is working.  

For me, that’s the most compelling thing about this leg of the story.    There was a period where, yeah, it looked like Goku was going to stay dead, by choice, and for keeps this time.    And everyone was comfortable that he was making the right decision.    But this arc is revealing that Goku was wrong.  He never should have left, and the world now suffers for his mistake.   

That’s a sort of pathos that Gohan just can’t grasp.   He’s a good character and maybe you could make him the protagonist of some other story, but he’ll never be quite as compelling as his father.    These are fictional characters, after all.   Gohan can’t just inherit his father’s qualifications as a heroic archetype.   Goku’s an alien refugee who grew up in the woods.    He’s an outsider to everyone, and somehow he keeps making miracles happen.   He has friends and family, but he never quite feels like he belongs.   He has a restlessness to him, and a profound modesty.   That’s why he was so sure that staying dead and trusting his sons to carry on in his stead was the right call.   He just blithely assumed others could do the things he did.   But he’s lightning in a bottle.   The Legendary Super Saiyan.   Others can learn to imitate his powers, or even surpass him in strength, but that still doesn’t change the fact that there’s something special about him. 

Let me blow your mind with a crackpot theory of my own.   I think Toriyama changed his mind about making Gohan the main character pretty early on.   A lot earlier than people may think.    Goku died in Episode 188, but he continued to appear in the show all the way up to Episode 199.   And then... he returned in Episode 205, to tell Gohan that he would return to Earth for the tournament.     From there on, the whole story revolved around Goku.   Everyone wanted to see Goku again, and even though Gohan was still in the lead role for a few more episodes, all he was interested in was hanging out with his dad. 

To put this in terms of the manga, Gohan’s first chapter as the main character was #421, published on May 11, 1993.    The chapter where Goku announced his return was #426, published on June 15, 1993.   Goku’s actual return to the comics happened in Chapter 430, published July 13, 1993.   From there, he remained a fixture in the manga until it concluded two years later.  

My point here is that Goku never really went away.   He was absent from the Namek Saga longer than he was absent from the post-Cell Games era.  In-universe, yes, he’d been dead for seven years, but for us, the audience, we basically flashed forward right up to the point where he returns.    My suspicion is that Toriyama tried telling new stories with Gohan and Videl in Satan City, got frustrated with it, and decided to bring back Goku after about a month.   But fans who took Gohan-as-protagonist as a guarentee, they assumed that Goku was returning as a supporting character, and he would eventually leave and let Gohan have the reins again.    When that didn’t happen, they assumed foul play.  

Anyway, Super Buu is clobbering Gohan at will.   If Goku doesn’t save him, who will?   Tien?   Pfft, yeah right, like Tien’s gonna... oh, wait.  

[francisthegreat]

I still have more character asks. Imma need you to tell me what you think about one very blue flamey psycho, and also a grown ass man who never learned what chapstick is. I mean to say a very Hot Frankenstein and a Where-the-Fuck-Did-You-Get-the-Hands boy. Dabi and Shigarki, Ajax. Tell me everything.

el the energy coming from this ask is unhinged did you adopt it from these two or 

favorite thing about them: 

     DABI: for real the way it looks when his quirk is animated in the show. like. what the fuck. who the fuck why the fuck is it so goddamn gorgeous to look at and how DARE yall deprive me of more of that beautiful blue sparkly cartoon fire do you have ANY idea how fun that is to look at when you’re high 

     SHIGARAKI: his straight up nightmarish character design. also the fact that he is a foil to Deku, which is just so fascinating for a villain i mean yall they are growing TOGETHER like how interesting is that they’re both learning how to be better/worse at like the same pace and shit i’m just hella interested in that as a narrative device 

least favorite thing about them:

    DABI: he does NOT have enough scenes, he does not use his goddamn quirk enough, there’s just not enough fire overall have i told you guys how much i like the fire. its so beautiful. also, does Horikoshi think he’s being fucking sneaky by refusing to give us the Todoroki reveal or what because i’m TIRED of it. just tell us. just. please god just finally tell us

    SHIGARAKI: none of the villains in bnha are developed enough. there are all these hints but nothing is anywhere near as realized as it could be. also someone get the boy some goddamn moisturizer. 

favorite line:

    DABI: says some shit about some dudes being trash and then burning to ash or something and it was dope af 

    SHIGARAKI: in one of the dumb little things in the manga kurogiri is trying to get them all to work together on some desert island and shigaraki says WE WILL OVER YOUR MANGLED CORPSE like all super cheery and shit 

brOTP: 

    DABI: dabi & toga, dabi & shigaraki, touya & natsuo now i’m sad 

    SHIGARAKI: shigaraki & the entire league of villains

OTP: 

    DABI: fuckin’ hawks. hotwings, goddamn it i hate myself but goddamn it. also dabi x therapy, dabi x finally killing endeavor, dabi x face staples 

    SHIGARAKI: shigaraki x chapstick, shigaraki x moisturizer, shigaraki x mental instability lets be real his insane energy is amazing, shigaraki x fully realized villainous potential  

nOTP:

    DABI: don’t have one

    SHIGARAKI: shigaraki x deku, gross. get away from my perfect son  

random headcanon: 

    DABI: definitely is in excruciating pain every time he uses his quirk, definitely got those scars from burning himself, definitely is the ultimate king of daddy issues to be challenged only by shouto in what must be the coolest family drama episode of Maury ever made

    SHIGARAKI: secretly thinks of the league of villains as his friends, but would still not hesitate to cut a single bitch. 

unpopular opinion:

    DABI: idk what opinions of him are popular or not i’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume that finding this weird abomination attractive is not exactly a one-in-a-million instance tho

    SHIGARAKI: i legit am rooting for him to get more evil and more intelligent/ grow tf up so that he can become the new All for One and eventually annihilate us all as the biggest bad there ever was 

song i associate with them: I LOVE THIS ONE BECAUSE THESE TWO HAVE PERFECT SONGS FOR THEIR DUMB ASSES 

    DABI: Twisted by MISSIO, fuckin hell it was written for him. ALSO, Play With Fire by Sam Tinnesz   

    SHIGARAKI: fucking I Can’t Decide by the Scissor Sisters

favorite picture of them: any and all comics of the league fucking the fuck around like the dumbasses they are

[jinjojess]

Opinion on each zanki zero character?

While I’m here, I should also answer this fantastic ask:

Anonymous said: Are the Zanki Zero characters names as stupid as Danganronpa character names? ‘cause one of the characters is named after a type of tractor

I also need to post my feelings on ZZ in general, but so far it’s pretty cool. The characters aren’t really out of their introductory shallow stages yet but they show promise. I don’t care what the haters say, I find Extend TV amusing. The game’s premise is cool, the 3D character models look nice, and the system of exploring new islands that wash up as dungeons to gather resources and get story beats is cool.

This may be the closest thing I get to DanRon Mystery Dungeon.

While I normally don’t like stories where death is impermanent, this seems like it will tackle more the psychological strain of immortality and the goal will be to get your zanki (extra lives) to zero, linking the end/goal of the game to the way it started: with suicide. If so, I’m here for that.

Anyway, my thoughts on the characters.

Minor Spoilers!

Higurashi Haruto - Basic SpikeChun VN protag so far: kinda bland, ahoge, etc. I do like his glasses, though, and the fact he was an editor. That’s a unique detail. Aside from oversleeping once, hasn’t exhibited much slothfulness, unless you count his inability to act when he and Susukino took a ride on the Tentacle Express. As for his suicide attempt (completion?), I suspect that’s true of everyone, not just Higurashi.

How Stupid Is That Name?Low. Higurashi means living hand-to-mouth, which is very on the nose for this situation (also likely a reference to that other VN series…). Haruto, like all the given names in this game, doesn’t have kanji, so it’s a bit tough to assign specific meaning to it. You could write it as 温人, for instance, which would mean “warm person”. Both names are real names, and fairly common at that.

Hirasaka Sachika - All I can say is, thank god she has a side besides “adowable widdle gurl!” because I am not a fan of that. It is cool to have a disabled character though. So far aside from Higurashi being a bit tactless and presumptive, it’s been handled fairly well? Sachika’s clearly extremely intelligent, likely playing everyone (she’s the one who urges everyone to go inside Mashiro Garden Tower), and appears to be the only character who doesn’t age. Since she’s original sin, wouldn’t that make her knowledge? Interesting…

How Stupid Is That Name?Moderately stupid. Hirasaka is a real name, but if it’s written that way, it’s pretty rare. The kanji used are “compare, good, hill” which you could take as comparing how well the others reform and atone for their sins. Sachika is indeed a name, and it could include a bunch of different kanji, including the ones for “happiness” or “knowledge”. Sachika’s name is what I’d consider to be the DR standard level of stupid.

Mikajime Ryou - His design was one of the ones I was the least interested in, but so far he’s been pretty amusing. I hope he doesn’t end up typecast as the “protag’s best buddy” type from DR. Real jealousy explored in a game like this would be pretty dope though.

How Stupid Is That Name?Well, as far as I know, Mikajime is not a real name, so we’re already treading pretty silly waters. The kanji basically come out to read “three flowers tied up” which is fitting the theme. Ryou is a very, very common male name, though if I had to hazard a guess here, I’d say it’s in reference to 量, which means “quantity” (as in, how much you have in the way of resources, and could feed into the envy theme).

Susukino Rinko - As is often the case with things like this, I like her design but her archetype is one that puts my teeth on edge. Please shake this Yamato Nadeshiko BS please, girl. Also, assign Lust to the beefcake dude, you cowards! I did like that I chose her and Higurashi as my least faves that I’d be cool with killing to complete the cloning mission, and lo!

How Stupid Is That Name?Susuki is the Japanese name for Chinese Silver Grass/Zebra Grass, which is already pretty silly given that she’s a florist. The “no” part means field, so duh on that, but it often gets used in dumb animanga names to stand in for the particle の which will make it a possessive. The reason I bring this up is because susuki is sometimes called “maiden grass” and Susukino’s sin is Lust. While Susukino isn’t a real surname as far as I can tell, it is the name of a neighborhood in Yokohama! Rinko’s a pretty normal lady name with the ko almost always being “child” while the Rin part can be all kinds of stuff, like forest, cold, and interestingly enough, ethics. …it also rhymes with one of the Japanese words for “penis”.

Kubota Zen - I am sad that this guy will likely become the Cursed Character of this game, because I actually find him pretty interesting. It’s always great to have a wild card in the mix, and while he’s being a little too openly Komaeda/Ouma-like in this instigator department, it seems more clearly to come from a distinctly different place than either of them. I dig it.

How Stupid Is That Name?Look at this fucking normal-ass name. Sure, the Ku part of Kubota isn’t the usual one, instead being swapped for the legal version of 9 (…suffering…), and yeah, Kubota is a brand of tractor, and okay, it’s a bit openly ironic to have your Wrath character named Zen, but honestly this is one of the least surprising names here. (It could also be one of the other zens, like the one from nature or something.)

Setouchi Minamo - The only thing stopping me from fully embracing this character as my fave is the fact that Nate likes her best. Design? Fantastic. Lady cop? Hell yes. Speaks in Osaka-ben?! FUCK YEAH. I like that she’s Pride, too, which is considered the worst one of the bunch (aside from knowledge, I guess) since she seems like she’s so…Asahina-like. Setouchi is a fucking cutie and I love her, the end. Pride Month, baby.

How Stupid Is That Name?I swear to god, her last name has to be a reference to the Seto Inland Sea since it’s written in Japanese as 瀬戸内海 and is even colloquially referred to as “Setouchi”. It also just so happens to be located…in Kansai! In fact, it feeds into Osaka Bay and is a major transportation hub around the Kansai region. Minamo is a common girl’s name, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it written with kanji before. I mean I guess the Mi could be “beauty” which might fit the Pride theme? Or you could read it as a pun that means “and everyone else too” or something? The jisho is telling me that it can be an alternate way to read the word for “water surface” which could fit with the theme of being named after a sea.

Ichiyou Mamoru - Right now he’s leaning a bit too hard on the Gonta gap-moe thing, where he’s an intelligent sciencey type who’s also mega buff, but I like the idea of him being actually really anxious underneath his go-with-the-flow exterior. As long as he develops into a more round character, I will like him a lot. Also, he’s tied with Setouchi as hottest character. Not really sure how the Greed thing comes in yet though. Ugh, he should’ve been Lust, SpikeChun, get it together.

How Stupid Is That Name?Not very. Ichiyou means “one leaf” which evokes (in me at least) the idea of an Adonis statue with a single leaf over its groin. Ichiyou is a real surname, and Mamoru is very much a real given name. The most obvious meaning being 守る, “to protect” which in this case can mean his patients or maybe his dragon horde because Greed. 

Mashiro Yuma - She is my favorite character right now, because hot damn, do I relate. This game is so fucking diverse for a Japanese game–a disabled girl and a chubby chick?! God, it’s like Togami and Celes had a daughter who was raised by Sagishi and I fucking love her. The Gluttony thing is pretty surface level right now, though I suspect that she’s going to be fairly relevant to the story given how important the Touwa Mashiro Group is in this world. She’s right behind Setouchi and Ichiyou for character I’d be most attracted to irl, cause I like thicc girls. Not a big fan of her fashion sense, but everything else is fucking great.I especially appreciate that she’s not really that spoiled or nasty, either? Like she’s snarky, yeah, but not the full Togami. Anyway I love Mashiro.

How Stupid Is That Name?Mashiro means “pure white” which could refer to a lot of things–being free from sin, being ironically NOT free from sin, etc. Pretty sure Mashiro is a real last name. Yuma is pretty uncommon, though. The kanji that you can use for it often include ones for “freedom” or “friend” or “kind” and so on for the “Yu” part, while the “ma” could be “center” (making her name end the way it begins), “hemp/cannabis”, or “jasmine”. It would be really funny if her given name was written as “freedom cannabis” since it would be like “free to be high”.

Terashima Shou - He’s a boke and I think his unnervingly Tezuka-like art style is kind of fun. I dunno, like I said, I don’t care what you kids think, I love manzai.

How Stupid Is That Name?I need to assume that they intend to write the surname as 照島 (illuminated island) considering the catchphrase and the locale, though I guess you could also interpret it as like “tereru” for “embarrassed”? Shou’s usually written as “soar”, but I suspect that this is just a pun based on the English word “show” (as in, TV show). Might also be a little nod to best friend Genocider.

Mirai - The straightman of the manzai team. I like her too–I think she does a great job of being expressive and her comedic timing is pretty good. She’s also fairly cute, so like Nate said, I wouldn’t mind merch of her.

How Stupid Is That Name?tHe jApAnEsE wOrD fOr FuTuRe

[musings-on-bucky-barnes]

Q & A with Owlet re: The Infinite Coffee & Protection Detail series

Along with many other people, one of my favourite Bucky Barnes fic series is The Infinite Coffee & Protection Detail. I was very happy when its author, Owlet @vmohlere kindly agreed to do the below Q&A with me about it, which is under a cut for length.

Q. How did This, You Protect come about?

1. After my third time seeing the movie [Captain America: The Winter Soldier], I thought it would be fun to write a one-shot about how obnoxious it would be to only partially remember and have to look after Steve.

2. "Oh great," says I, "I can practice writing humor."

3. Hundreds of thousands of words later: what even is my life.

 Q. From your comments as you were writing This, You Protect, you did not set out to write such a long fic or a series, but you kept having more ideas and tangents and loved writing Grumpy Bucky?

Accurate! It really did just take over my brain.

 Q. Now that the main stories in the series are done, after you have a well-earned rest and work on your other writing and poems, are any one shots likely in due course for the IC&PD?

Mmmmmmaaaaaaaybe. I have notes for a few, that take Steve & Barnes out to the end of their lives, but I hesitate to commit, because I need to focus on my original stuff for now.

 BUCKY BARNES:

Q. Coffee addict (did he like it in his old life?) and quick to get back to personal grooming (he was a metrosexual before it was popular).

In my mind, coffee: no – the Bucky-Person drank coffee for warmth & caffeine, but I do picture him as pretty dang vain, until his time under Zola’s “tender care” broke him.

 Q. What appealed to you about Bucky? What did you learn about him when writing this?

Initially, in Winter Soldier, I immediately latched onto this character who was set up to be remorseless & relentless, but who was confused in a way he didn’t understand by that *face*. In the fight on the helicarrier, you know his handlers would’ve been incensed by his hesitation, when he was obviously standing there thinking, “Okay, asshole: input me some data so I can determine just what kind of irritant you are.”

 Q. Where did you get the idea for the Mission and the Briefing?

You see the Briefing in Winter Soldier, in the memory flashes during the bank vault scene. Mission just erupted into my head out of this sense that there are parts of him HYDRA never tore down.

 Q. The climax of This, You Protect – when did you decide that sheep pants would help save the day?

It was one of those beautiful surprises that happen when you make stuff, and I cried all over my notebook.

 Q. Bucky’s recovery – a slow, realistic process with some setbacks, pain and humor: learning how to open up to others, to get used to physical contact again eventually, how he helps himself and lets others in, safe spots, good things list, reading, long baths, personal care, baking, sheep pants, coffee, helping others and much more.

There have been a couple of times when a really small thing has saved my life. Everyone’s small lifesaving thing is different. Barnes’s are PJs, baking, and concrete assistive actions.

 Q. What I love particularly about this Bucky is how others are drawn to him like Steve was as his true, kind self is able to start emerging again, and how his involvement with those people affects them in turn, like the Avengers interacting with each other in new ways (e.g. the ice cream tasting) and them getting to meet the Olds, which is beneficial all around.

People who don’t recognize how valued they are is a trope I never, ever, ever get tired of. We’re all stuck in our meat bodies, and we see all the messy bits in the inside (my best friend says, “Oh Virginia, you will never irritate anyone as much as you irritate yourself”), and we forget that there exist people who just LIKE us, and that that’s enough. I’ll be writing about that my whole life.

 STEVE:

Q. The readers find out in this series that Steve tends to cheat at card games and has been doing so for a long time. Is that because it was the only edge he had when he was sick and frail and tired of being underestimated & he can’t or doesn’t want to break the habit now?

Steve’s a snotball and a contrarian. In my head, he learned to cheat from the women in the Star-Spangled Man show, because they liked to fleece guys who were looking to get the women drunk & take advantage of them. So to him, it’s both a habit and a tool to annoy jerks. Also, he thinks it’s funny to be Captain America, Cheater At Cards. Because the one thing other than Bucky that has always been a constant in his life is people underestimating him/trying to define him by one thing (illness/size vs the costume & shield).

 Q. And why does he cheat against LYDIA (which is asking her to serve his ass to him on a platter!)? Does he have a death wish?

He recognizes a similar level of sarcasm in her and thinks it’s hilarious to try to fool her and then get walloped by her.

 Q. What things did you discover about Steve along the way?

The cheating at cards thing, which was a throwaway line in the first chapter where I referenced it and then grew in the back corner of my mind like a “volunteer tomato” in a compost heap until it became A Thing. Writing “Truth, Justice, and the Cheating Cheater Way” was SO fun.

It was important to me to give Steve a temper and a wide impetuous streak, which I felt both Avengers and Age of Ultron TOTALLY got wrong about him. Except that we pretend Age of Ultron doesn’t exist.

 Q. In A Chance to Try Bravery, we get to see Bucky and his behavior from Steve’s perspective, including that Bucky talks out loud to himself, seemingly without realizing he’s doing so. How often does Bucky do that, or does it vary/lessen as time goes on? And what things does Bucky ramble to Steve and others about when high on medication after the robot fight?

At the beginning, he talks to himself out loud a LOT. There are some hints about that in the text. Over time, that does lessen, except when he’s stressed, which makes him mutter pretty constantly.

Doped-up Barnes is verbally affectionate and has a little bit of the Bucky-person’s Brooklyn twang.

 TONY:

Look, I HATE what Civil War did to Tony. There is too much in Barnes’s history for Tony to IDENTIFY with. Tony's arc in Iron Man - capture, body modification, his tech being stolen for nefarious use - has similar touch points to Barnes's story.

Also, for pity’s sake, do we believe for one second that Pepper didn’t make him go to therapy? We do not.

 PEPPER:

I am not a Gwyneth Paltrow fan, so it surprised the hell out of me how much affection I developed for Pepper approximately 5 words after she popped up in This, You Protect. I just loved writing her, because she’s so dang together and sensible.

 MARIA:

It just made me cackle to set her up as the Alpha Badass. I love her.

 SAM:

I’m not going to go back and rewrite, but if I did, I would put in more Sam. Sam’s IMPORTANT. He’s the voice of Real People who go through similar crap to Steve & Barnes and have to deal with it all using Real People methods. He’s what it looks like when you make it to the other side of the wringer – his compassion is deep and wide, but he’s not a martyr and his energy isn’t endless.

 NATASHA:

I feel like there’s a heft to Natasha that I don’t even know about in my own fictional universe. She’s like Sam – a picture of what it looks like to Survive Some Shit, with more broken-off edges than Sam has. She carries a lot of burdens that she’ll never tell anyone about.

 CLINT:

Truly a poetry nerd.

 JARVIS:

The helpful busybody (from better surveillance equipment, to books and lubricants!)

I really enjoyed writing JARVIS, because it was cool to think about a being that was omnipresent and largely non-judgmental. I felt like I had to be careful not to use JARVIS too much or it’d turn out to be a deus ex machina.

 CAT ELEANOR:

My own personal Cat Eleanor, who was similarly judgy and protective, was a grey tabby named Boadicea (Boadie) whom I collected as a very ill stray kitten and who lived with me for 13 years. She liked to eat her dinner from a plate on the table and was a terrible stealer of French fries.

Sidebar: I still have her ashes in a bag in my sock drawer, because what the heck am I supposed to do with them?

 THOR:

Thor’s compassion & wisdom caught me off guard every time he showed up, even though I was *trying* to remember that he’s powerful and practically immortal. But he outdid my ideas for him.

 THE OLDS:

I guess in some parallel universe that I’m channeling, they must be real people, because they popped fully formed into my head like a trio of hilarious Athenas. Esther has a couple of great-nieces on the West Coast, and Ollie has a few distant step-ish younger relatives from his de facto late husband’s side of the family. Functionally, they are each other’s family.

 THE CARP, TOSHIRO HAYASHI AND KAZUE:

Based in part on Sushi Gin in Lawrence, Kansas, where I once had a delicious and fun solo meal at the sushi bar, and Masa’s Sushi and Robata Bar in Spring, Texas, whose nabeyaki udon I’m crazy for.

 THE COFFEE BAR AND KATIE:

I mentioned her briefly in Team-Building Exercises as if she were important, so then I had to create her for The Long Road Begins at Home. She was a bit of a conundrum until I thought of making her one of the victims of the Chitauri attack.

 THE ANTI-VALENTINE’S NO TOUCH CLUB

Q. What were its origins?

Honestly I just wanted to write more Hill, because I surprised myself with how much I liked writing her, and I knew she’d hate Valentine’s Day as much as Barnes. From there, it was a matter of thinking who else would hate it and then add Steve, because of all his “whither thou goest” vibe.

 Q. How do you picture the next Valentine’s Day meeting of that club, since two of the members are now bonking each other every chance they get?

That’s not until the NEXT year. And they spend the whole time very purposely not touching one another until they’re cross-eyed and jump each other in the elevator. Hill grumps at them a lot.

 THE HAIR CLUB:

It was important to me that the women of the Tower be one another’s support group in the midst of all that testosterone. One of the things that I enjoyed about writing Team-Building Exercises was that it was vignettes that appeared out of thin air without any explanation.

… That being said, it made sense to me that the women’s sense of ease with one another would draw Barnes in just like Esther did. He has no idea how much he lurked and stared at them before they invited him over. Once she Got It, Pepper’s natural caretaker tendencies kicked in, and Barnes was in. Pepper is a Fixer.

 Q. Present tense isn’t often used all the way through a long fic. I think the only time I’ve used it in a fic was when I gave the POV character amnesia, and present tense felt right, as he was in the current moment and it was all he had, with no memories to fall back on. But you used it so well that it suits and isn’t jarring. What led you to decide on present tense?

There’s no other option for that character, in my mind. Barnes experiences everything with almost complete immediacy, and present tense was the only way to convey that.

 Q. Are Bucky and Steve likely to get their own cat at some stage?

Yes.

 Q. YES!!!! Do you have a name in mind for it? And does it love Bucky more than it loves Steve?

I don't want to say anything more about their cat, in case I write that part!

 Q. When will the public find out about Bucky being alive, and when will they find out about Bucky and Steve being together?

I have no head canons for these questions. Miracle on Park Avenue is not part of Infinite Coffee, though.

 Q. It was interesting that you released Steve and Bucky getting together in Advanced Happiness Skills before you did The Long Road Begins at Home fic. Did the muse direct you to write and release it early?

I tried really hard not to write Long Road – I knew it would eat up acres of time, and I wanted to be done after Advanced Happiness. But it got to the point that I had to write notes or have my head explode, and eventually I had so many dang notes that I figured I’d better type the damn things up.

 Q. So, you actually started writing Team-Building Exercises as a standalone instead of as a teaser for The Long Road Begins at Home?

Yes, I really didn't intend to go any farther than that.

 Q. And at what point in the series did you realize that it would become Stucky?

Oh gosh, I guess it was always in the background, from the early chapters of This, You Protect. But it was a long time before I thought I’d actually write that part.

 Q. Did anything change due to fan comments? What went off in directions that you hadn’t planned on in the plotting stage? What things got left out?

There’s a funny bit about Barnes freaking that Steve will drown in the reflecting pool in the National Mall, until he discovers that it’s only about 18 inches deep.

There was one small detail that I put in because of a fan comment, but I’m sorry to say that I can’t remember what it was.

“Planned on in the plotting stage” … uh.

Um.

Er.

I wrote this whole thing by the seat of my pants.

 Q. It can be fun and fraught to do a series, as there is a lot to juggle and things to seed in to set up plots and developments for further down the track. How did you keep tabs on what needed to happen when?

Gotta be magic. I mean, I held the whole thing in my head for years and could see it as clear as day. It crowded out many other things.

 Q. What is your writing process like, or was it different for this series?

I write and tinker almost daily, but I’ve found that my best pieces tend to be the ones that build up like pressure in my head and fall out all at once. My Star Wars fic, Generational Mistakes, is over 17,000 words that literally came out all at one time, starting around 1:00 am, when it woke me up. I had to take the day off work, and by the time I had the whole draft out on paper (hand written!), I was literally crying from the pain in my hand.

That’s an extreme example, of course, usually it’s more like the beginning of a thing blooms, and sections build up until they attain enough gravity to ooze out in blobs. I generally have to start out writing by hand until I pick up some inertia and can switch to typing, though I also do a lot of editing in the first typing pass if a whole piece is hand-written.

I write very badly to self-imposed deadlines and very well to feeling like I Owe Someone, so the reader comments really propelled me along throughout the whole series.

 Q. The fics have really shown the therapeutic power of cooking, as well as different recipes, especially in the comments section.

There is not enough I can say about the comments section. It took on a life of its own in a way that I would not even have imagined – not just the screaming and the recipes, which were great, but the way people jumped in to comfort and support one another. It is really beautiful, and I’m beyond grateful, and so proud of all of them and to be a part of them.

I’m sincerely humbled by and thankful to all the comments, but especially those from people who found comforting or useful bits in Barnes’s recovery. Even if this one life isn’t the only one we get, it’s the only one we *remember*, and damaging shit is a pure fact of existence. To have provided material help to even one suffering person (much less the dozens of who’ve reached out) makes a strong place in my own heart. I have a concrete thing that I can look at with my own eyeballs and say for real and for sure that I Did Well and I Helped. That gives a human life ballast. It’s an honor.

I started Long Road at a time when I was feeling super demoralized about my original works, and the life it made for itself in fandom still just knocks me over. If y’all were going to have that much faith in me, I figure I’d better lift up my head and have faith in myself. Thank you for that.

xXx

Thank you very much to Owlet for putting up with all of my questions, and if at some stage down the road she is willing to do another one, I already have some questions written down for it!

This Q&A will also be available on Owlet’s AO3 page.

[k-frances]

For part one in which I define character arch and explain it’s importance, click here.

For part two in which I explain the difference between character arch and character motivation in relation to plot driven and character driven stories, click here.

Using Cognitive Dissonance to Define Character Arch

What the H is Cognitive Dissonance

This is, simply put, the feeling all humans get when they are conflicted about themselves. The process starts like this: “I am x. X’s cannot be Y’s, but I am also Y...wtf am I?” People do not like feeling cognitive dissonance. It’s uncomfortable, and therefore it’s [basically proven] human nature to avoid or correct cognitive dissonance whenever possible. Let me give a quick example we can all relate to.

I like to write and consider myself a writer. I never write.  

Those two thoughts about myself can exist at the same time, but I don’t like it. I have a psychological need to git rid of one of them. The graph bellow demonstrates the choice I am now forced to make in order to alleviate this uncomfortable feeling of dissonance. 

[I did not make this]

Using the previous example, my belief is that I am a writer. My action is that I don’t ever write. My dissonance goes up. I have three choices. 

A] I can change my belief about myself and accept that I am not a writer and I must not like writing because I never do it. 

B] I can change the action, and write. 

C] Or, I can change my perception of my action so it no longer upsets me, i.e. “I write when I have time and whenever I can even though that’s not very often.” 

Any of these three bring down my dissonance. 

How the H can I use this in my writing?

If you have a well developed character, you should be able to fill out the first two squares. Now, the part that says ‘action’ doesn’t really have to be an action. It can be another belief, but most of the time it will be an action or a situation. “I am a writer. I had a stroke and now suddenly don’t know how to physically write.” for example. The point is, within the scope of your story, you should be able to identify two conflicting situations your hero is in. The change that occurs within them [that forms the arch] can be any of the three green options.

Example

Hero believes he is a normal dope. But he’s called to action and has no choice because he is chosen, and it turns out he is quite special [conflicting action/belief/situation] Hero wonders, who the hell am I? 

A) I guess I’m not a normal dope after all. Consider my belief of myself changed.

B) Whoa, whoa, whoa. I’m going back home to be a dope, this adventure is not for me. Goodbye conflicting action/belief/situation, I’m not special

C) I am a normal dope at heart. Just because I have all these awesome powers doesn't change that perception of myself. 

So, this is a very simplistic story structure that I used as an example, and a very classic archetype. But this same principle can be applied to any character. This really helps when you find your character is faced with challenges in your plot driven story, but you don’t really know how they are changing to overcome these obstacles. Often in plot driven stories, the character’s change is necessary change [in order to defeat the big bad] and you as the writer might be creating this change without even realizing you’re doing it. Recognizing the ways your characters are changing is important because, by bringing out the most important and dropping more clues and drawing more attention to them for the reader, you can fully carve out your character arch within an otherwise plot driven story.

[the-real-d-sandman]

OK TLJ impressions, there be big spoilers below

I loved it and it seemed like everyone else at the theatre did too.  People were “ooing” and “ahhing” and I even heard a “holy shit”.  It was immensely enjoyable.  Visuals were spectacular, with the notable exception of some out of place aesthetics and forced CGI. That being said, because I liked the thing as a whole, Ima point out the things I didn’t like below.

I think there’s too much funny in it.  A little funny is good, but the first scene is just a joke, literally.  They turn Hux into a joke, he has no serious scene in the entire movie.  “He’s a clown now. Deal with it.” By extension, theyre turning the FO’s command structure into buffoons and have completely ruined the thing the Empire had with Tarkin and Piett and others, a sense of a cruel and ruthless machine of an empire that would be a force to be reckoned with even without a Sith ringer.

They also introduce Snoke, but than, unceremoniously kill him later on, and it leaves you thinking, “what? That’s it??” He was made to be the bigger bad, akin to the Emperor in the first movies, but really draws the short end of the stick in this.  They really want to focus on Kylo as the new Sith. We don’t even find out who snoke was. He’s just a nobody and a HUGE plot hole.  Where did this immensely powerful, if not slightly overconfident sith lord come from?

But I feel like Kylo’s all over the place now.  He’s meant to feel unstable, but a lot of his lines are just... Dry? I liked how they were making him out to be the Chaos of the Dark Side, what happens when you let anger and hate rule you fully, that with it comes extreme power, but you begin to lose yourself with it.  Now... you don’t really know what he wants.  He doesn’t feel like he wants power like Vader, or to rule like Sidious.  His biggest aspiration seems to be “be Rey’s best bud”, but he doesn’t seem like he’s trying very hard.

I’m hoping that he only told Rey that her parents were nobody as a lie.  I mean, it’s ok, I guess, that it sorta goes into what I think the last movie will be, that almost anyone can be a jedi, but it feels like a cop out, like they couldn’t think of a way to placate everyone so they just said “youre all wrong, there’s nothing there”

The new character is out of place.  I don’t even remember her name, honestly.  The actress did okay, but the character feels forced and it feels like if she’d been removed, the movie woulda flowed a bit better.  Also, she’s now a love interest and that feels horribly forced. (almost like they want to turn away all the Poe/Finn fans hmmmmmm??)

The casino planet scene felt bad. It literally felt like it was satirical, like it was from spaceballs (they even arrest them for ILLEGAL PARKING). They didn’t try hard enough to star wars-ify it, and it felt like they just CG’d some aliens into a real casino. It was there to try and flesh out the new character, but it failed to me.

The OTHER “new” character also felt like he didn’t belong. He shows up and is talked about in a way that makes it seem like we should get to know him and maybe like him, but, he’s just some douche who betrays them anyway.

Phasma shows up and she has a fight this time before being removed from the story unceremoniously again.  Will she return for a second time? Who fucking knows.

Yoda. Yoda. He shows up and its... not good. Maybe it would’ve been better if they used the puppet, but I don’t think so. He’s got 10 lines and they’re all bad. I think a better alternative would’ve been to bring in Ewan Mcgregor to be Obi-Wan.  It would’nt be as lore acceptable, but it would’ve made for a much better scene. Give Obi and Luke some actual human-like interaction before he evaporates from the story.

Speaking of evaporating. Luke dies in a weird way. I was confused by the whole “force-hologram” thing. Why? he jut died anyway.  I think a better thing would’ve been to have him come in in his old X-wing (which they TEASED US WITH) and have him die in the same way Ben died in A New Hope. Kylo cuts him down, turns and he’s just a robe.  That would’ve been much cooler. Also, the hologram thing takes the epicness away from the previous scene, where luke survives a withering barrage of laser fire.

BB-8 does too much, I think? He takes the piss out of the other characters, like he’s the only one who’s actually capable. He saves the day at least 3 more times than finn does.

Finn has a heroic suicide scene, but not really. They tease us with the heroic sacrifice, but it was outta nowhere anyway, and give us another heroic sacrifice from new girl, who than professes her love for finn before passing out and almost being deaded. Weak as hell.

Leia has a scene where she uses the force, which could’ve been dope AF, if not for the fact that it looks fucking terrible, like she’s being slowly pulled along a stiff zipline.  You can almost hear the pulleys in the background.

They introduce a character that you hate immediately, but than youre supposed to not hate her anymore, but they don’t give you enough time to sort out your feelings before she heroically sacrificed herself. Her costume is also badly out of place. It’s supposed to feel like she’s not a military type, but it turns out she’s basically Leia’s apprentice.  It’s confusing. She’s confusing.

You know what? I still left satisfied though. The visuals, with the exception of the above mentioned problems were spectacular.  Crait was spectacular. They utilized the openess of Star Wars possibilities to create an amazing back drop to remake the Hoth fight (although it doesn’t feel as tense and epic) which was beautiful. The lightspeed ship collision was PHENOMENAL. Someone behind me in the theater had an orgasm as it was happening. I almost cried because of how stunning it was.

From a character perspective, Luke’s development is great. It shows that, despite learning so much after the first movies, he was still naive, he was still just a boy, and he was still scared of the force and what it did to his father, that, despite being such a legendary jedi, he wasn’t himself prepared to see all the force was and could be and could do to people.

My favorite scene and what got me choked up was actually the Scene where the Falcon is leading the tie fighter thru a chasm on Crait. Just, you hear that familiar music, and it brings you back and it’s amazingly timed.

[miss-aligned]

I finished the game!

Mission complete. I’ve had some time to think it all over, and I’m just going to leave some of my Mass Effect-related thoughts right here. I’m going to try and keep it mostly spoiler-free, though I am going to tag it for you fine folks who may still not want to hear/see anything about it.

There are plenty of people out there complaining, and my heart goes out to the development team, because they worked really hard and have been met with some seriously heinous, negative, and unhelpful commentary. I prefer to focus on the things I liked, because, despite the very vocal haters, there are good things. Shocking, I know.

The ending hit me in the feels. There. I said it. My heart went out to the Ryders more than I realized as I played through that final mission. This whole time I was feeling a bit disconnected from most of the characters, but suddenly and without my recognizing it, I was locked in and ready to see what was going to happen to all these lovable dopes I’d been gallivanting around the new cluster with this entire time.

Some of the personal quests were funny, or at least had elements that got me laughing out loud. Unlike the majority of the original Mass Effect trilogy, which was often very intense or somber, these moments stood out to me. It reminded me a lot of the Citadel DLC for ME3. If you liked that, you’ll enjoy these silly moments.

As I said, I was having a bit of a disconnect with the characters, including my own. I think that’s because I was looking at this person like they should be Shepard. That error was my fault, of course, but it was there regardless. It wasn’t until I finished the final mission that I acknowledged this Pathfinder as a new hero. As everyone regroups after that mission, you can tell that the companions love Ryder. They would follow their Pathfinder to hell and back, as Joker might say. That made all the difference in the world to me, because I’d seen all the crazy stuff this person had done, too. I hope that if Mass Effect continues (and it had better or my heart will be broken), Ryder is heavily involved, preferably as protagonist again.

I like that I didn’t feel pressured to chose any particular romance option over the others. The Liara Effect (TM) was strong in the original trilogy, as you might have noticed. In Andromeda if someone wanted to get with you, they’d say it. If they didn’t, they’d say it. End of story (unless, of course, you wanted it to continue). For a long while, I was choosing every romance option offered, because, let’s face it, awkward flirting is hysterical. Sidenote: beware Reyes Vidal, that smooth bastard. Hehe.

I love the angara. They’re diverse in personality and opinions, but ultimately all about culture. They’ve been through some terrible times, but are fully invested in defeating a common enemy, even when that means giving up some precious space for those pesky Milky Way races.  They are open and honest and very expressive, whether in hatred or love. They’re just really cool, okay?

I love Drack. I loved him from the start, more than my own character. He’s just a cool, old, grumpy krogan and his banter with the other characters is fantastic. I want him to be my adopted grandpa.

I’m not sure if the choices I made really mattered, but the really hard ones did come up again through the game. One companion that I had clearly upset took a moment to remind me of the decision on more than a few occasions. I felt like a jerk, but still felt that the choice was necessary. I still think about it now. I guess that means it worked. BioWare is brutal and sneaky about making me feel feelings. Damn it.

Once the game was over, I watched the credits roll and had about a thousand fanfic-speculation-type thoughts run through my mind. Wouldn’t it be interesting if some protheans had fled to Andromeda long before the Andromeda Initiative had arrived? Wouldn’t it be fascinating if other previous intelligent Milky Way-based races had, too, thereby escaping the cycle of the reapers? What other unforeseen complications could an implanted AI have on a Pathfinder’s body/psyche? What’s the Ryder twin been doing this whole time and how’s the recovery been weighing on them? Ahh. So many questions. Maybe they could be answered by future games. Maybe they can be expanded upon by your local fanfic writers. Hehehehehehe.

I like Mass Effect. I like the story, the races, the characters, the universe. I realize now that I needed to detach myself from the crazy nostalgic view I had of the first trilogy in order to really appreciate this one. Unfortunate that I didn’t really realize it until the end, but hey...

My next run-through has already started.

[haload701]

Gta 5 Immersion Mods

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Immersive Pickups is a total overhaul of Grand Theft Auto V's pickups system for, as the name implies, immersion. Did you miss GTA IV's Pickups System? Or simply looking for a different, more immersive experience than what the game offers by default? Look no more, because this mod is tailored for you. SUMMARY OF FEATURES: Organized all pickups.meta files and documented the main. The goal of this mod is to bring about more action oriented events and eventually callouts that are more in the spirit of Grand Theft Auto. This initial release features 5 calls: Active Shooter Ambulance Hijacking - Chase down a hijacked ambulance.

Gta 5 Immersion Mods 2

Gta 5 Immersion Mods Mod

Gta 5 Immersion Mods Free

Cars are basically the core and soul of GTA V.

Grand Theft Auto V ditched this top-tier wanted level, but this mod puts it back in place. Get five-star notoriety and you’ll be pursued by the nation’s finest. Get five-star notoriety and you.

But now it's time to get serious, and talk about the mods which take elevate GTA V to a new level of immersion and realism. Sure, there's plenty of fun to be had in firing vehicles from a cannon.

But there just seems to be something missing whenever you look at the car roster that the game has to offer. There are some fantastic cars in the game, no doubt about it. But some of the world’s best and most famous car models can make a massive difference when cruising in the streets of San Andreas.

I’ve compiled a list of mods that fully changes the way you’ll see cars in Grand Theft Auto V.

Most of these mods are cars that you can add to the game, but I’ve also threw in a few mods that change certain car mechanics and visuals to make driving more realistic.

Download one, two, or all – it’s up to you how much you wanna ball out!

30. Real Wheels Pack

This fantastic mod adds plenty of new wheels to the game, mainly using the assets of the Forza Horizon games.

It introduces plenty of new rims as well as aesthetical modifications to some of the vanilla wheels in GTA.

The mod also introduces custom tires and even real-life brands to the game, which fits in perfectly with basically everything else listed below.

Combine this mod with any of the cars here and you’ll have quite a customizable selection of rides to pick from in your GTA playthrough.

29. Porsche Gauges

As its name suggests, the Porsche Gauges mod simply changes the way gauges look in the game to make them look like they belong on a sports car.

And let’s be honest, in a game like GTA we all want that look.

This is a fantastic mod if you want to get some fancy sportsy whips in your game. And even more so if you’re a fan of Porsche rides.

It’s a very simple mod, but just the thought of having these gauges makes it earn a spot on my list.

28. 2016 Honda NSX

Honda has some beautiful sports cars on the market. And the NSX 2016 has managed to make its way to the GTA universe with this fully customizable mod.

You can take this baby to any garage that you want and have it recolored to your taste. And those of you who like to play in first person will also be able to enjoy the interior of the car, which is also custom made and dope as hell.

This is the same model used in Forza Horizon 3 which is why it looks so great.

You’ll find that many of the car mods in this list are conversions from Forza games, as they fit perfectly into GTA5.

27. Maserati Ghibli S

The Ghibli S is the first Maserati in my list(yes, there will be more than one).

And even though the modder hasn’t managed to make it fully breakable, the beauty of the car and the perfection added to the model makes it a quality addition.

The Ghibli S with custom interior shows the manual transmission stick, and truly makes you feel like a millionaire while you drive.

The windows of the car are fully breakable, though. And even though the paintjob damage is not as good as it is in other mods, it’s still a brilliant car worth testing out.

26. Hummer H1

Take a trip down memory lane with the Hummer H1 in GTA V.

Remember a few years ago when everyone wanted one of these bad boys?

Well I might be a few years too late with this one, but this H1 mod will allow you to ride this beastly truck in ways you’ve always dreamed of!

The interior is fully customized and I absolutely love the way the engine looks. I’m sure you’ll love it as well if you’re a Hummer fan.

Overall it’s a very well-made car that it fits right into the GTA universe.

25. Mercedes Benz CLS 6.3

A fully customizable Mercedes Benz in GTA is the stuff dreams are made of.

This might not be one of the fanciest sports cars on the list.

But this car can be tuned to your taste at any auto shop in the game.

The Benz drives as you’d expect and with no bugs thanks to the constant work and updates from the mod creator.

The CLS is a beautiful car and you’ll be able to see its interior in excruciating virtual detail.

24. 1967 Chevrolet Camaro

No GTA V car mod list can be complete without including one or two classics.

And the ‘67 Camaro mod is surely one that should be in a spot here.

This traditional car looks absolutely beautiful in GTA V given its history in America. And I have to say, it does seem like the type of car that Franklin would love to drive. He looks pretty slick in the driver’s seat.

A Camaro never really gets old. And with this mod it’s finally time for you to give it a try!

I know you’ll love it once you hear that engine purr. It’s hard not to love this thing with how detailed this mod is.

23. 2013 Lamborghini Veneno

If you’re into these types of sports cars then you definitely need to give the Veneno a try.

What a fantastic model from any Lambo(and there are plenty!)

Not to mention how well it was implemented into GTA.

All of the car doors (including the trunk) work just like they do in the real-life model, which makes the immersion of the Veneno far greater than what you get in other cars.

The reflections of the car are truly realistic as well. The creator did an amazing job with this mod and it’s worth a gander even if you test it and uninstall afterwards.

22. 1967 Shelby Mustang

Fans of old cars rejoice.

The classic Mustang makes its way to GTA in one of the best car mods ever created.

The maker of the mod has made sure to fully map the interior or this Mustang and make it look as close to reality as possible.

Many similar colors have been used to create the most natural feeling for the car from all angles. And the ride itself feels much like any other car in GTA.

This bad boy allows you to install plenty of car parts on it as well – including some that are often seen in traditional cars such as hydraulics and even audio systems.

21. Ferrari 458 Italia

I could never finish this list without a Ferrari.

And the 458 Italia is by far one of the best models from this manufacturer.

It resembles some of the vanilla sports cars, but this one just looks fantastic. The interior is identical to the one of the real car and you can see the Ferrari logo in the center of the steering wheel.

The car looks and handles like a custom ride since the design was fully imported from Forza.

Gta 5 Immersion Mods 2

The creator of the mod did a lot of work with the retextures, though. And it shows in the way the car looks – both on the inside as well as the outside.

20. 2017 Rolls Royce Dawn

Even though there’s already one car in the game that looks like a Rolls Royce, there’s nothing better than seeing the actual brand in the game.

Sometimes we get picky, you know?

This fantastic car mod is fully customizable and comes with a 3D engine which breathes life into this classic ride.

The different paint jobs that you can do also make it quite interesting to customize, including one of the pre-designed paint jobs which gives off a wooden feeling like no other car in the game.

19. Mercedes Benz G65

I know that many of you are here mainly because of the sports cars. I’m kinda here for that too.

But let’s face it: plenty of us love Mercedes.

The G65 allows you to have an in-depth experience thanks to the realism of the collisions of its parts, and the way the car interacts with mud(very well mapped).

It might not be the car to take you from 0 to 220 mph in 10 seconds. But it’s still a beautiful car that seems to fit Michael more than any other character.

18. Range Rover Evoque

These SUVs are fantastic, and people from all over the world who can afford them seem to be getting them now more than ever.

The popularity of these SUVs is helped by the fact that they’re developed by Land Rover, and the quality of the vehicle and the beauty of its design are undeniable.

As such, adding it to GTA V seems like a no-brainer. And this mod practically requires no brains to get it installed, too!

This mod adds the Range Rover Evoque to the game with a fully custom interior, and fully HD interactions between the glass windows and the lighting outside.

17. Mercedes-Benz AMG GT R 2017

This two-seater is one of the latest beauties created by Mercedes.

And if you’re still playing GTA V you’ll absolutely want to see how it looks in your game.

The vehicle is textured using HQ images which makes it look insanely realistic in every part of the game.

This is one of those cars that you’ll want to have a custom lighting mod to try out, as it makes the ride look even better the way it reflects its surroundings.

16. 2017 Nissan GTR

Now here’s another one of the car mods on this list that was originally converted from Forza, which means you can expect a high-quality interior as well as fine textures all around.

The creator of the mod has made sure to make the Nissan 2017 fully capable to be tuned, as well as compatible with first-person driving thanks to the details on the wheel and the inside of the car.

Worth trying if you’re a GTR fan but totally one you could skip as well. But it’s also a more “conservative choice” for rides, which I think deserves a higher spot. We don’t all want Ferraris!

15. 2015 Koenigsegg Agera

This fantastic model is made to have some of the most realistic collisions that any car of this list is able to present.

Sure, Koenigsegg might not be as popular as Ferrari or Porsche. But this luxury sports car is by far one of the most beautiful designs that made their way to GTA(with modding, of course).

There’s been a lot of care placed into the development of this mod. You can see this in how you drive with your hands on the wheel, and everything seems to be well-made to scale.

Scale is often the most difficult part of modding any car for a game, so the creator of this mod hit the nail on its head with this one.

14. Porsche Cayman GT4 2016

A Porsche with dirt effects, breakable glass, a high-quality model, and a custom interior that allows you to play in first person?

Sign me up.

The Cayman GT4 2016 brings the traditional Porsche look to the universe of GTA V with a fantastic car mod that uses HD textures.

The scale of the car is perfect, and the mod has been updated to work with the latest GTA patch too!

13. 1970 Dodge Challenger RT 440

Being the highest-rated classic model in my list, the 1970 Dodge Challenger meets expectations with a fantastic car design.

This really does take you back to the good old days of the 70s.

The model passed the test of time and remains a fantastic vehicle to be used in today’s modern world, as well as one that looks good in the hands of a tough guy like Trevor.

12. 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder

The exterior of this car is just beautiful, but the interior is just so well done that you’ll struggle to find another car with one as fantastic as the 918 Spyder.

Some modders really take a step beyond to make sure that their creations are superior to the rest.

And the 918 is close to making one of the top 10 spots on my list because of this exact reason.

11. 2015 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4

Worry not friend: there are still a couple of Lamborghinis left.

And the 2015 Aventador could never be missing from this collection.

The car is completely destroyable for those of you that need that car damage to feel realistic in GTA. And the model of the car itself is of a fantastic quality.

Lambos are particularly difficult to map, but they’ve done a fantastic job with the Aventador on this mod.

10. 2015 Ford Mustang GT

What, you thought I wasn’t going to mention a Mustang GT on this list?

Being one of those cars that everyone seems to have wanted at some point in their lives, the Mustang GT comes to GTA and you can try out how it feels to drive it in the virtual world Rockstar has created for us.

This is another one of those cars with a fantastic interior too, so first-person players rejoice!

9. 2015 BMW i8

Probably not as aerodynamic as the rest of the cars listed here, the 2015 BMW i8 brings something unique and modern to the table.

Gta 5 Immersion Mods Mod

This car is not as destroyable as I’d like them to be, but the design is fantastic and seems to fit right into the taste of most GTA fans. The textures are extra HD as well so that’s a nice touch.

Gta 5 Immersion Mods Free

But if you’re looking for an even cooler BMW then check the next mod link.

8. 2015 BMW F82 M4

Custom spoilers, tires, and add-ons.

The BMW F82 seems to have it all in the world of car mods in GTA.

It’s a fantastic model with HD textures, which can look even better if you download one of the GTA graphic enhancement mods that we’ve covered.

I may never get a BMW in the real world but I can still ball out with this GTA alternative.

7. Bugatti Veyron

The Adder is clearly a copy of the Bugatti Veyron in GTA V. But if you’re tired of seeing it instead of the original car in the game then give this mod a try.

The Bugatti Veyron mod is fully customizable and allows you to incorporate one of the world’s most expensive cars into the game: fully functional, crushable, and destroyable!

6. 2013 Lamborghini Aventador

Another one of the Aventador models makes far up in this list, this time with the 2013 version of the car.

The rear window of the car can be lifted and the vehicle itself is fully tunable, as the modders have made sure to add many custom parts in the game to be compatible with the Aventador.

If you’re a fan of Lambos then give this one a try. It’s sure to please!

I also love the details of this car, too. It comes with an interior like the ones you see in modern racing games, which does make everything feel right in place if you like to do your GTA first person style.

5. 2014 McLaren P1

Much like the Adder is clearly the Bugatti Veyron, the T20 is basically a version of a McLaren sports car in GTA V.

Progen, the manufacturer of these cars in the game, is basically McLaren in the world of GTA.

However if you wish to try out a real McLaren in the game, then the 2014 P1 might be the first mod you’ll want to download.

It allows you to put carbon and chrome textures on it, and the engine of the vehicle is fantastically detailed to boot.

It’s an overall amazing car with an amazing modder and I fully recommend it to any McLaren lover reading this.

4. 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari

As far as single-car mods go, this 2015 Ferrari is the highest rated in our list.

This fantastic adaptation of the classic Ferrari look fits right into the game, and does a much better job at fulfilling the needs of many players who just want a clear sports car feeling.

The flaps on this ride are fully functional, the car is fantastically well mapped, and the details that it has make the immersion great. This is true of both first person and third person alike so it’s really just a brilliant car to add into your next playthrough.

3. Vanillaworks Extended Pack

Sure, it’s nice to have a ton of real vehicles added to the game.

But not everyone likes to break the vanilla feel of GTA vehicles or to push the lore too far.

In fact, to many players the brands of the GTA universe are part of what makes the experience such a unique one.

But the variety of models still leaves a lot to be desired – even with the many vehicles that come in the vanilla game. Hence this fantastic add-on to GTA 5.

The Vanillaworks mod adds countless new vehicles to the game, all of which are “manufactured” by the same companies that appear in GTA V.

It adds dozens of new cars to the game while keeping in line with the story too. This provides some much-needed variety that is sure to make even the oldest veteran GTA player feel like the game is brand new again.

2. GTA IV Vehicles in GTA V

Are you missing those classic rides from GTA IV and wondering why no one seems to have imported them to San Andreas?

Well, this mod basically does that. For free, I might add!

Imagine that a shipping container with the best GTA IV rides came to San Andreas and the cars from the previous game started being sold around the city. Then you can jack ‘em and ride them around yourself.

With this mod installed you’ll be able to drive some of your favorite classic GTA IV rides in the newest installment of the game.

1. Realistic Driving Mod

Now this mod was in development for over three years, and the quality definitely shows in the final product.

Realistic Driving is a rework of every single part of the driving mechanics in the game.

It makes cars move far better, handling is easier, and every car also feels unique. The creator of the mod really made sure to spend time developing driving mechanics for each car individually.

Now you can probably see why this took years to finish.

Even the roads and surfaces where you can drive all feel more realistic.

Basically if you want to completely overhaul the driving experience in GTA 5, you’ll want this mod in your stack.

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[thoughtswithcoffee]

Persona 5 Royal - Thoughts with Coffee

So this is going to by my first Review-ish thing where i will give my opinions on this game however Im the best at transferring my true thoughts onto paper so if anyone see’s and reads all this i would love the feedback and to help me with my basic English because I lack common grammar and punctuation skills  

I will try to make this as spoiler free as possible and i will make a post shortly after this one with spoilers in it however i will leave it with no tags so another person cannot stumble upon without getting spoiled. 

In this post i will be talking about my general feelings and the background of some scenarios that i expierenced whilst i was playing and my opinions on those whilst trying to remain spoiler free  

The game opens with a cinematic of all the characters that you will eventually met throughout the course of the game however the game semi-expects you to already know the cast of Persona 5 already. The thing is that Persona 5 royal is a retelling of the original Persona 5 with quality of life features and more gameplay time to for a newcomer to join in to. However this does not mean that newcomers to the series cannot jump into this game, they very much can and will fully understand the full story and plot, ALSO just because the game includes 5 in the name doesnt mean that you need to play the other 4 games in the series to understand this one. This game follows the final fantasy syndrome of which different numbers in front of the final fantasy means different world and different story but share some of the key aspects such as magic and names of abilities etc. 

so the game begins with this fancy cutscene of the protag flipping about and doing super dope tricks trying to escape from the a security team?? the reason why this is a question mark is because when the protag encounters them they changed into this large creatures and they try to attack you. the protag uses some kind of power that remains nameless for the introduction however this is where the games new features take form in which the protags starts to use a grappling hook to move about the facility trying to remain sneaky and undetected and then the music (which is considered the best thing i have ever listened to from a video game soundtrack) cuts off and the enemy surrounds you. you start to hear voices coming from your allies saying that the have noticed some weird energy that is closing onto you and BOOM the new character appears performing an elegant dance whilst killing half of the enemies that protag was being surrounded by and another battle begins with new music that was included into this version truly showing that this is only the beginning of the new content . you quickly defeat them and you escape them and quickly get captured and integrated by the police. a prosecutor named Sae Nijima has demanded you to tell the full story behind several cases that all relate to the phantom thieves because the protag is the leader of this criminals and is going to be put on trial etc. this is the stage of the game where you get to name the protag and goes from the very beginning of the story to retell how the protag unlocked his powers and who the hell was the other folks that were talking to him and how he got there. 

this is a very strong introduction to the story and to the whole game keeps up this trend of giving you information early on and then holding that over your head whilst you try and figure out in your head how everything goes down for example Sae says that the first target was a gym teacher who had admitted to his crimes and was the starting point of the phantom thieves, what the game does was showing the player who that character was and what he did but it leaves out how and why did these characters choose to go after that person and how were they able to make this person to admit to their crimes. 

The game truly begins when you take control of the protag who i will call MC from now on saying that he needs to find the place he was staying at because he was moved to Tokyo because of a crime he commited in the past and this is apart of his probation that he has to complete and attend school etc. 

the MC meets up with his care giver aka coffee dad called Sojiro Sakura and makes it very clear from the get go he does not care about you or the MC at all aslong as he stays out of trouble he can do what he wants. he also give MC a cute wee notebook that allows the player to finally safe the game.  all of this happens within the first i would say 15 minutes so im going to speed it up. 

MC starts to walk to school but starts raining and he goes for shelter he sees a cute girls and tries to slide into those DMS until some dude totally cockblocks you but offers to give you and the girl a ride to school. MC declines but the girl accepts and then they drive off. this is when you met the MC’s best friend Ryuji Sakamoto who firsts gives you small details on who those folks were aka the girl and the guy that pick her up. Those characters are called Ann Takamaki and a teacher called Kamoshida. according to Ryuji that kamoshida is an asshole and he totes deserved to get shot or something and that Ann is totally hooking up with him on the DL. this is when they start making thier way too the school but get transported to A big ass castle where the school is meant to be. this is the beginning of the second part of persona 5. the first being that of a ordinaray school kid hanging out with friends and then the second being going to this other world and killing monsters and fighting demons.  they walk in get captured and try to escape only to find Kamoshida with underwear and cape on talking shit and trys to excute the boys. The MC is having non of it and goes berserk by hearing a voice inside of his head telling him to “break the chains of rebellion” and he awakens to his power of the persona called Arsene. 

I will then leave the story details there because beyond this point this gets into spoilers however this is only the introduction of the game. eventually you met up with all the characters and save the world however 2 new characters that werent in the original being one called Kasumi yoshisawa and other being a counciler that all of the cast gets to have one and one convos with. To then unlock the new content you need to hang out with these folks until in game till a certain major key event in the story happens then after you make a couple of choices they new content for the story unlocks. 

However new gameplay options appear such as better menus changing the battle combat a tiny but effective bit, a new area for the MC to explore and to gain benefits from for the second side of the game. and new areas to bring friends to and a new place called the theives den. 

This is just my basic look outline of what the game brings to the table but in my own personal opinion i believe that this game brings alot to the table and however is done so well and brings this series into the mainstream media this has also increase fans expectations of previous and future games of the series and i now believe where this can become a problem. the orginal persona 5 was rushed although they had planned orginally releasing the game in 2014 it didnt land in our hands till 2017 and was still felt like the game could of landed with some polish with come characters not getting enought screentime or some elements of the game could be abused for High exp and money etc. however this version was then only a year later to be in the works and was set to be released for Japanese audiences for decemeber 2019 and for the rest of us sometime in 2020. this to me was a clear way of them saying he is the directors cut of the OG game however the only reason it was cut was because we wanted a second version of the game to be out there and i truly believe that although yes was a selfish marketing decision was a smart one because they know it works when the enhanced version of persona 4 called persona 4 golden came out it was the selling point of the console it came out on and for then the second console it came out on and was the only reason most gamers point that console to begin with creating alot of profit for the persona team. however i do believe that the changes to the game play not the story are incredible and im surprised that they made a game with interesting battle features to begin with feel even more polished. i just wish they spent more time on the story aspect of it all. 

this is not to say that the story is bad infact i believe its one of the strongest stories that a persona game has developed so far its just with some aspects they fail at explaning things in full detail or they is some things that are completely overlooked and then forgotten about until the end where the player goes back and wonders when are they gonna answer that question.  

My only other complaint about this whole game is that they have locked the new game added on story behind certain tasks that got to be completed and if a newcomer doesnt complete that they would need to either reload an early enough safe to hopefully met the requirements in time or to replay the game and to trial and error until they unlocked the new content that the bought the game for.

and that my thoughts with me coffee