#honestly if we could get a remake to make it make sense that would be wonderful

[stoat-party]

My ideas for a New Vegas remake:

The Fallout 4 theme plays whenever the NCR is onscreen for some reason

Boone says “yeah it’s been pretty hard for me ever since my entire family in shady sands exploded four years ago. and now this?”

House breaks into maniacal giggling every so often, specifically when discussing human tragedy. Like ten seconds straight of giggling.

The Forecaster has an extra prediction option for the far future but he just shakes his head silently and gives you your money back.

When Joshua discusses the Dam he goes “With their capital city AND the trade route to the Mojave both being destroyed, we definitely never thought the NCR would fight for the Dam, let alone win. I guess we were just literally that incompetent.”

Dean is actually a valiant hero trying to stop the Brotherhood cult and get revenge on Sinclair for the unimaginable amount of suffering he apparently intentionally caused. He did torture a woman for weeks, though.

Caesar or Kimball or anyone mentions how the NCR has abandoned the entirety of Southern California and their seat of government is now 150 people in an observatory.

[parfaitblogs]

risk ❀ s. reid x reader

in which you have the sweetest regular, and it’s probably too soon to tell him you love him!

pairing: spencer reid x barista!reader genre: fluff tags: s1 spencer. who rambles. biblically accurate career!reader sorry if some of the coffee talk makes no sense to you. reader makes all the first moves. y'all kiss (aww). written in timeskip sorta it's not crazy (like maybe a month). not proofread sorryyy (im not). word count: 2.2k a/n: first instalment of my spencer reid eras tour🙂‍↕️ season 1 spencer reid i freaking adore you. he's so cute. gif!! i thought gifs in this series could be cute lol. envisioned 1x10 spencer bc of his nightmares if that means anything. enjoyyy ily im off to work ��� 

series masterlist

There are many reasons you come to work each morning. The money (an obvious one), your coworkers who usually make each day a little bit more bearable. And Spencer. A regular who had become a little notorious for having an odd coffee order, that most of the store workers hated making. 

Except for you. 

It wasn't especially odd. But in a store that thrived on making the perfect cup of coffee, sometimes it meant remaking it three or four times because the shots didn't pour at the right amount of time, and recalibrating the machine was a hassle you all didn't want to deal with in the middle of the morning rush he usually came during. 

You had taken note of him the first few times he came in — always keeping to himself, flashing the most awkward smile you think you've ever seen on a human being, and ordering his old order (a large latte with as much sugar as you could fit in the cup). It was by the seventh time that had you thinking of him a little more often than just while you were at work. 

He looked a lot more exhausted than usual. His usually tame hair now loose and hanging over his face as he took a weary step towards the counter, fingers brushing strands away and tucking them behind his ears. 

"The latte, right?" you had asked him, and he had frozen, and you stood in fear of this not being the Spencer you thought he was, and you had just asked a total stranger about a coffee they've never ordered. 

But then he let out a nervous laugh, shaking his head. "Uh, no. Not today. Um—do you guys have a limit on how much coffee I can have?"

Your eyebrows furrowed. "No... we don't. I wouldn't recommend any more than like five shots in our largest size, though. It'd probably taste gross. But we can add as much as you need."

"Five's good. Yeah," he nodded his head, fingers wrapped tightly around the leather strap of his messenger bag. 

"Just... a five shot latte?" you clarified, and he froze again, shaking his head once more. 

"Do you recommend anything else? I—uh, I want it to be sweet enough still."

"I can do you a mocha?" you offered. "White chocolate mocha if you're looking for it to be even sweeter."

"I'll try that," he nodded his head, and out came his awkward smile, which had you smiling back just as awkwardly. 

Which was how he got to his current usual. It honestly became a test to ensure your coffee machines were actually running well, considering pulling five well-done espresso shots at once was no easy feat. And, again, most of your coworkers hated making his drink. 

Which was why it was palmed off to you. Every single morning without fail. And maybe in another universe you would join them in the hatred for this man's frustrating drink order. But then, in that universe, you wouldn't get to talk to him every morning (and slowly break him out of whatever shell he had locked himself up in). 

"I never asked," you began, staring at him over the top of the coffee machine while putting white chocolate fudge into the bottom of the cup. "Why did you change your order randomly?"

He parted his lips and his eyebrows creased together for a few seconds, as if he was deciding whether or not to tell you. You were kind of grateful he concluded on trusting you. 

"I wasn't really sleeping. When I asked about changing my order," he explained, hands letting go of the bag strap so he could talk with them. "Then I guess I just liked the taste of it? And it kept me awake. Which is a bonus."

"I can imagine it would," you nodded your head in agreement, flashing him a small smile, which he returned, bashfully. "Why weren't you sleeping?"

He went silent, and you almost cursed yourself for asking. Maybe you had gone too far. It was why, when you had begun to busy yourself with making his drink a little faster, you jumped when he spoke up again.

"I was getting these nightmares," he said, and your head lifted from the milk you were steaming. "Because of what I do for work."

"Law, right?" you asked, and he let out a small laugh, tucking hair behind his ear. 

"Sort of. I'm with the FBI."

"Oh, that's right," you replied, nodding your head in recognition. He had said that to you at some point in the earlier days when he first started coming in, because you had asked where he works so close by to be coming in as often as he did. "Can you tell me what part? Or is that confidential?"

"No, no, I can. I'm with the Behavioural Analysis Unit," when your face twisted into confusion, he added, "We use psychology to analyse serial killers and catch them. Well, not just serial killers, actually. But that's what we focus on."

"And it works?" you asked, eyebrows rising as you placed a lid atop his coffee, sliding it out on the pick-up section where he was standing by. His face fell slightly, and so you were quick to add, "Not—I didn't mean it like that. I just mean I'm shocked. That psychology is all you really need to catch a serial killer."

"It's not all we need. There's a lot of other elements that go into finding one. But our primary focus is how their brain works and we use behavioural science to figure that out. Actually, we used to be called the Behavioural Science Unit when it was first created."

He was too busy talking animatedly with his hands for him to have picked up his coffee, and you were too busy watching him with a smile to remind him it was ready. 

When he did reach for it, you could feel the familiar pang of disappointment that had started shooting through you every time he was picking up his coffee and leaving. A weird sensation that left you clawing at the walls of your brain to come up with something to say to keep him there. 

It was probably why you blurted out, "Are you seeing anyone?" Which was followed by stunned silence from him, and regretful silence from yourself. What a question. 

Slowly, he began to shake his head, his lips twitching into a confused frown. "No. I'm—I'm not." 

It shocked you a little. He wasn't jaw dropping, per se. But he was attractive. You had said it a few times to your coworkers whenever they asked why you talked to him so much — there was a running joke that you were already secretly dating him behind their backs. Not funny.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to..." you hesitated. "Go out for dinner? Maybe? I'm so sorry if I'm totally overstepping. In fact, I encourage you to say no, because this is a little weird. I'm so sorry," you rambled when you were met with only silence from him, wondering if you had weirded him out of the ability to talk. 

"With me?" he pushed out, his voice a little higher pitched than usual, and you nodded your head, because maybe he wasn't weirded out. Maybe you had just flustered him. You hoped so, at least.

"Yeah," you said. "Is that weird? Or is it okay? To ask that?"

"It's okay. Yeah. Yes. I would love—like to. I mean, that would be nice. Yeah," he stammered, and you smiled. 

"Here," you held your hand out and gestured for his coffee, taking it back and picking up a Sharpie to write your number atop the lid, before you slid it back to him. "I get off work at one. Call me?"

"I will," he nodded, eyes fixated on the number for a few seconds more, before he returned his eyes to you. "I will. Um—bye!" he took a step back, and you let out a loud laugh when he stumbled into a chair behind him. 

He was sheepish as he waved to you, bidding you another goodbye, the sound of the bell above the door ringing once, and then again when it fell shut. 

And you had, somehow, secured a date with Spencer.

Which turned into two dates. Then three. And then, with some weird stroke of luck and twist of fate, you were spending every evening you could at his apartment, and him at yours. 

But you were yet to kiss. 

Not by any particular reason. Really, nothing either of you did ever really called for a kiss. Which was as frustrating as it was understandable. Frustrating, because you felt like you were simply friends, who sometimes went out for dinner, and had feelings for each other. But he had told you very early on he'd never been with anyone before, let alone ever been on a date. Hence; understandable. 

But frustration was more overwhelming than you had thought, because you were on his couch, blanket draped over both of your bodies, as he read you a book — The Chameleon. A short story by Anton Chekhov (an author whom you were only barely familiar with). And yet, all you could think about was kissing him. 

In your defence, he was very kissable, as you stared at his lips while he spoke, your heart stuttering quite uncomfortably in your chest. You weren't sure what it was precisely about him that made him like that. Maybe it was the natural pout of his lips, or how they twitched in humour at the little jokes Chekhov had written into the book that only made sense in Russian, despite him attempting to translate it for you. 

Whatever it was, it was overriding your senses, and in true Spencer fashion, he hadn't noticed you weren't intently listening to his reading until he glanced down to catch a reaction to something he said. You caught as he closed the book and placed it off to the side, jostling you from your haze. 

"You don't like the book, do you?" he asked, and you were quick to shake your head. 

"No, I do," which was true. The parts you were actively listening to you enjoyed. "Sorry, I'm distracted."

"By what?" he shifted on the couch to face you.

You fell silent at that, the answer hanging on the tip of your tongue, unsure whether or not saying it could ruin things. You didn't think it would. "You."

"I'm distracting?" he asked, eyebrows creasing together and a confused frown pulling his lips down. 

Which confused you. "Yes?"

"I don't think I'm meant to be sorry for that," he said. "But I am."

"You shouldn't be," you breathed out with a small laugh. 

"Right," he nodded his head, laughing too, awkwardly. "How am I distracting?"

You studied his face for a few moments, which ended up being a pathetic excuse for a lip study, because you were fixated on them again, and you decided Spencer probably didn't even realise that that was what you were doing. 

"We haven't kissed yet," you told him, instead. 

"No. We haven't," he agreed. 

"Do you just not want to kiss me?" you asked.

He did that thing he does when he's thinking — furrowed eyebrows and parted lips, eyes blinking a few times, before he comes up with his response. 

"I just don't want you to be disappointed. I've never kissed anyone before."

"I concluded that," you answered. "I won't be disappointed."

"You might be," he mumbled, and his gaze averted from your own, which had another smile stretching across your lips. 

"Only one way to find out, right?"

He hesitated before nodding his head, lifting his eyes back up to look at you. It was then that you learned that, like everything else, you might have to make the first move on him. Again.

The thought made you laugh, and though he wanted to, he didn't get a chance to question why you were laughing, because your hands were on his face and you were pulling him into you, lips meeting his in a gentle kiss that elicited a surprised squeak from him. 

"You've gotta kiss me back," you murmured against his lips, and his response was a quiet 'oh'. 

But he was a fast learner, because soon after he was. Objectively, it wasn't the best kiss you've ever had in your life. But it got better by the second, and he was doing enough to make your heart stutter in your chest, his hands reaching up to cup your own face, palms and fingers covering the mass of your cheeks. 

His hands there provided him the ability to keep you there, and you had to pry them off your face so you were able to pull back for air, breaths coming out in short pants. Only for a short second, because he was chasing your lips again, and you laughed, before letting him kiss you again. And again. And again. 

Until both of you were out of air, and he was glassy-eyed and pink-lipped. Though, you were probably his mirror image of that.

And he smiled at you, crookedly. And you wondered if it was too soon to say you loved him. 

your reblogs and replies are always appreciated dearly ♡

[jadeazora]

Honestly tho, this is years off, probably more than a decade, but I hope just because we're getting a Kalosian Legends game, that they don't skimp out on giving Kalos an actually GOOD remake when the time comes.

Especially as far as Team Flare-centric characters go. They had the most potential as a villain team, and XY dropped the ball so bad with them, I would hate for a BDSP-esque remake to do the same. No joke, these guys were most of the reason I wanted Z back in Gen6.

Like, Lysandre is pretty much at the forefront of Kalos' tech and communication, and is a very influential person there, they could do something with Malva running cover-ups for Flare in the news media, the entire organization is probably full of politically powerful people given the wealth of their members (Kalos could be quite corrupt for all we know), they have this secret stranglehold on the region, and it's scary, like no one in Kalos really had any idea how fucked they were until it was (almost) too late. Even the Champion was likely completely in the dark, their strongest line of defense was a total no-show, even when the Ultimate Weapon had been raised.

We can definitely pin that on Malva tho, since she keeps all of Kalos in the dark with her job in the news media, and as a mole in the E4, she likely keeps any sensitive information from Diantha too. And she gets away with ALL OF IT. Diantha never even knows, like even as far as Masters, she doesn't seem to be aware of Malva's true allegiance. And Malva never shows any regret or anything for what she did, she tries to justify it. She's even actively hostile to the player for taking them down, and routinely threatens to burn them up where they stand. (And this is before she becomes an accessory to murder in Masters, like, this woman smiles as Lysandre prepares to have Volcanion flash-boil a couple Rocket grunts. What is wrong with her.)

Even the grunts, they're essentially a genocidal secret police of elitist fuckheads who don't give a single flying shit about throwing everyone else under the bus so long as they survive, listening in on Holocaster conversations and having some implicit plainclothes agents (showcased more in Masters tho), and given how wealthy the organization is, it would be very easy for them to make problem people disappear. Imagine if they played up that paranoia factor they have, like, you're on their radar getting into battles with them and interfering with their plans on the regular, Lysandre calls you at multiple points (and definitely knows you're the one causing trouble before the player character finds out he's their leader), you're definitely not safe.

Also, it would have been neat if Sycamore had been in on it too somehow, maybe a joint leadership with Lysandre or something with how he plays off the man's blatant bloodlust as just him being "passionate"? I was side-eyeing him my entire first playthru. But even tho that turned out to not be the case, it would have been cool if one of them tried to save the other, be it Lysandre kidnapping Sycamore to try to spare his friend from the culling, or Sycamore joining you on the front lines to try to talk some sense into his friend. It was such an interesting dynamic at the time, and it was always such a waste it barely got any development. (At least Masters and Evolutions have made steps to fix that complaint since, but still.)

[violinn]

i’m so fucking tired of all this complaining about the mean girls movie musical.

1) it’s the musical, not the original movie, so if you havent seen the musical before, things are going to be fucking different because ITS NOT THE MOVIE !!!!!! they dress different, they act diff, they talk diff, even the dynamics are a little diff.

2) people need to stop acting like the decision to make regina gay is the most angering, out-of-pocket thing in the world, because it fucking isn’t. people are acting like it’s the most absurd decision ever, and it isn’t. if you’re really that fucking upset over it, then the movie was obviously not fucking made FOR YOU. nobody is forcing you to watch it. (and i’m sure renee rapp would not want the $0.001 she makes off of your view)

istg, all i see everyday is all of these identical looking twinks complaining about how out of pocket it is, and how it doesn’t make any sense. if it was the opposite, nobody would be complaining. if aaron was gay, everyone would think it’s so cool. if there was a remake of like any other movie and they made a man gay, tik tok and everyone else would be so excited, praising it for its ingenious and its creativeness. but as soon as it’s a lesbian, people flip out. gay men have no issue iconizing all these women, until they’re lesbian.

so, here is me directly addressing some of these points that these people are making:

“it came out of nowhere” - did it really? literally the main conflict between the two sides in the movie is because regina told everyone that janis was a lesbian, and janis was like extremely hurt about it, even how many years later. it would make sense that the falling out had something to do with regina having feelings for her, or something along those lines

“regina was into aaron” - did you even watch the movie? like honestly, seriously, did you? she isn’t even into him. even if she dated him, it’s like one of the most common things for lgbtq people to have dated the opposite sex, even if they aren’t attracted to them, either for appearance, or simply not yet knowing, and this is like the most prevalent in teenagers. regina, in all honesty, did not seem all too into aaron when you look back on it. she used him quite literally as a pawn in front of cady’s face. she sat there in the one scene and purposefully used the fact that they were dating to aggravate cady. also, why are we acting like it isn’t a thing to be bisexual? she could literally just be bisexual. (just saying, y’all never seem to deny comphet when it’s a man 🙄)

“there’s no way an entire school was bullied by a lesbian” - WHAT? i’m sorry but what. i don’t even know what point this person was trying to make, but even so, they completely missed. aside from all of the things i could pick apart about this statement, i thought it was like a running joke that usually the popular bully in high school, usually turns out to be closeted (male or female). like not even saying that this is true, but this is like a popular generalization and joke, so this point doesn’t even make sense.

finally, reneé literally said she isn’t explicitly gay. she said it was just her vibes. people are getting this mad over a character who is just the slightest bit hinted about being a lesbian.

just leave it the fuck alone. let gay girls be happy over the slightest chance at representation, because we all know that gay men get almost all of it.

thank you

- a girl who likes girls and reneé rapp, who just wants a little bit of representation in something popular.

[ranchstoryblog]

Nendoroid Dreams

With the recent release of the Claire Nendoroid, the natural question I've seen asked on social media and in our own Discord is what could we get next? Granted, usually only really big series get multiple Nendoroids, but it's nice to dream... So, let's get dreamin'!

The Bare Minimum: Pete

Honestly, if any other Story of Seasons figures are going to happen, it'd feel wild to me if Goodsmile didn't make Pete. Claire going first makes sense, the most popular figures tend to be the girls, but, well, I'll let Pete himself say it:

So, while trying to imagine what he'd come with, we'll use Claire as a basis: Two animals, a crop, and a tool. Since Claire came with the watering can, I feel like the obvious choice for Pete is the hoe. They're the two most essential tools for a farmer, since you can't till soil without one, and you can't water crops without the other. The most iconic animals Claire didn't bring are also easily the dog and horse, which most players are likely to get even if they never set foot in their barn. All that's left after that is the crop. My first idea was probably the carrot, since it'd fit well with the horse and could easily have the same gimmick as Claire's turnip by letting you plant it in the ground, but the power berry is a tempting option too.

My Ideal: Pete + Candidate Pair

The most important aspect of the series outside the farm is the townsfolk, and the most important townsfolk are the marriage candidates, so it'd be nice to get at least one pair of them. Getting four Story of Seasons Nendoroids sounds impossible, but, let's have fun trying to imagine how they'd do it anyway.

It feels like the "safest" way to look at it is from a marketing perspective: Who, in such a large series, would most easily get fans to open their wallets? The cast of FoMT/64 are still easily the most iconic, and we already have Claire, but are the FoMT designs iconic? That seems like probably the most important question. Largely because, at least in my observations, Gray is far and away the favorite among the male candidates in Europe, US, Japan, China, and Indonesia, with Cliff trailing somewhere behind him. The girls are a much closer race, but if the pairing is with Gray, we basically only have two options here:

With Gray as the constant, the remaining question to answer ends up being between Popuri or Marie depending entirely on Gray's design. Personally, I find it a really hard choice to make. The 64 designs are more iconic, but Claire already being sold as a Friends of Mineral Town character kind of sets a precedent if they're aiming to make a set. There's always the possibility of 64 getting a remake, or perhaps celebrating its 25th anniversary though...

There's also accessories to consider, with both possible sets feeling pretty different. 64's version of Gray is a rancher, so he could do with more animal stuff while FoMT's could deal with more mine related items, and both 64 Popuri and FoMT Marie have a lot of association with plants, so maybe they could have non-crop plants like herbs and flowers. Items from their heart events would be a good idea, too... Regardless, someone needs to have the Blue Feather. If I had to rank the most iconic items in the series, it'd easily be at the very top, so it's wild to me that Claire didn't come with it in the first place.

Endless Possibilities

I kind of intentionally narrowed the scope for the sake of making the article not go on forever, but there's honestly a ton of routes they could go if we do actually get more figures though. I know tons of folks would go crazy for A Wonderful Life characters, and even just sticking with protagonists from past and future games could reasonably cover all the possibilities for animals, tools, and lots of crops.

Currently it looks like the Claire figure sold out on Goodsmile US's store, so hopefully that's a good sign that she was decently popular. Goodsmile Japan lists her as "few left in stock," so she seemed to sell decently well over there too. If you want more Story of Seasons figures enough to read this whole dang thing, be sure to let them know by using the request form too! We made a guide on it a while ago:

[whyohwhydoris]

(Read on, but let me say this first: Watch Furiosa in a cinema as soon as possible!)

I hate "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga".... Because it should just be called "Furiosa" as it stands on its own in every way, shape and form, and I wish they didn't need to lean into the Mad Max branding to get bums in seats.

Furiosa is every bit a great movie. I think it is a little thin in places, but the actresses playing Furiosa do so well, and the first time we hear adult Furiosa's voice is sent a bolt through me. Both Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Brown knock it out of the park, and I'm honestly not sure when the actresses switch. I felt like I was imagining in my mind's eye chapters from Furiosa's life as related to me by a History Man, not a movie. They are both captivating.

When Fury Road released, I fell in love with Furiosa - like every sane person would - but still don't like Tom Hardy's Max as much as I wish I could. After so many outings with Gibson, something felt off. It felt like a separate universe somehow. But Alyla Brown, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Charlize Theron are a perfect continuity. There is no hiccup. No sense of oddity. They are all perfectly Furiosa. And, for me, retroactively Furiosa marries Fury Road into the Mad Max legends so well. This movie remakes Fury Road for me in a subtle way.

Something feels like a passing of a torch here. We spent Mad Max with the dying world and the emerging Max, then Road Warrior and Thunderdome were Max's movies. Mad Max: Fury Road - and I always took the "Fury Road" part to be a shibboleth for Furiosa - is the meeting point. The film ends not following Max into legend, but watching him fade into legend. Furiosa makes me wonder if, maybe, it is time for her to take the wheel a little longer. It makes me ask "Do we need Max anymore?" Which is a question I would never have believed I would ask before.

Even more so, I want Max Rockatansky the character to see this movie. I want him to know who Furiosa is. It felt like Furiosa understood Max. But, Max doesn't ever seem to connect to people the same way. I want Max to know who Furiosa is the way I now do, having seen the movie.

I love this movie. It has the legendary quality of a Road Warrior - you understand why Furiosa is such a mythic figure in universe after this - and the intimacy of the Original Mad Max. It is less bombastic than earlier works, less visceral. But it alludes to all the violence you expect of the waste. And in place of that loud worldly horror is a quiet emotive pain which is an enthralling story to engage with.

Go. Go now. Fire up your War Rig, make convoy down to the nearest theatre, and witness Furiosa.

[robbyrobinson]

Speak No Evil: 2022 v. 2024 (Spoilers)

So, watched Blumhouse's remake of Speak No Evil, and honestly really enjoyed it. James McAvoy kills it as Paddy. I had also seen the original Danish film and did actually re-watch the original just recently. With the original, it was honestly something that I only watched once because I honestly just hated the movie. Though not for the reasons I'll get into. The first film was well-directed and truly suspenseful, but the characters, my goodness... they were not likable at all. Well, maybe besides Agnes and Abel but that's because they're kids so I'll give them a pass.

Bjorn and Louise were just bad with Bjorn being the bigger offender. He was a spineless, pathetic man who seemed to be the one that was weighing his wife down to where any time she voices concerns with their Dutch hosts, he would gloss over that. Like... it's just really irritating with how much he tries to befriend Patrick that he is completely underprepared when he learns the truth about him. And when that happens... he does not even use common sense. Sure he tries to get his wife and daughter and escape, but he stops at a gas station where he does not bother telling the authorities that there were some dangerous serial killers out there.

Really, it gets to the point that the main deuteragonists are just so unlikable, you feel nothing for them when they are stoned to death. Like... they kind of had it coming for being so passive. As for the other thing, it isn't really so much that the movie has a bleak ending that made me dislike it. There are several good movies that have bleak endings; The Mist. Smile 2022. Drag Me to Hell. What I felt differentiated them from the ending of SNE 2022 is that the characters at the least exhausted their options or they were in situations where it was only logical that it would end on a depressing note.

Even if you could try to argue that the original SNE is "realistic," and it is the modus operandi of Patrick and Karin to go after weak families, there is often a point to where anyone in that situation would just go "screw it" and try to fight back or retaliate. Honestly, just felt like dragging. We get it: there is something amiss about the Dutch couple.

As for the film being "realistic," I... disagree. For starters, there is no reason I can see for why the Danish couple go to the Netherlands after they met Patrick and Karin once. Just because they seemed nice does not make that the case. The fact they think nothing about the fact that there were no neighbors around when they come to their cabin. Even the twist ending of Patrick and Karin being serial killers makes no sense because if they killed around 50 or hundreds of families... why are there no continent-wide manhunts or missing people reports? But we are expected to push all of that to the side because "ending."

I understand the point that the original director was trying to say that being how being nice and nonconfrontational to a fault is bad because there are monsters out there who would take advantage of your naivety. I just think the way that we got to the ending was what made it bad in my eyes.

Now as for SNE 2024, it fixed several of the problems I had with the original such as having it be that Ben and Louise get more moments and days with Paddy and Ciara to where the idea of them accepting an invitation made slightly more sense and they were obviously cautious even then deciding to only go because they thought it would help their daughter. It also gives the main couple more of a spine to where they actively retaliate once things start going south.

Didn't really care much for them giving the killers an actual motivation here, but nothing too bad. Patrick and Karin in the original film have no motive for why they psychologically torture and murder the parents and cut the tongues out of the kids besides "evil." That in itself isn't a bad reason, but as for the remake, Paddy had a stillborn daughter and Ciara was a victim rather than a willing accomplice who Paddy kidnapped and groomed. It also did fix the issue I alluded to earlier with the OG couple killing fifty families where here, they were active for about 17 years so it made it more believable.

The remake was very suspenseful and explored themes of child abuse and other dark subject matter which makes the ending not as memorable as the original's, but I think it's because of them pursuing a different means of conveying the story to where it is cathartic, but it also makes the characters develop. SNE 2022 has implications of character development with Bjorn and Louise, but it ultimately goes nowhere because the film relies too much on contrivances to make its ending bleak. As much as people like to harp on saying that SNE 2024 has a happy ending... really, there is none. The characters may have escaped, but they were scarred metaphorically and physically. There is no real way that they could ever adjust to the way things used to be.

So, yeah. Both at the end of the day can be watched on their own merits, which is a good thing. To me, I think both endings can be enjoyed with the acknowledgement they are two different visions. It is also completely valid to feel one film works better thematically over the other.

[thewisecheerio]

Elden Ring - An Alternative Crackship

Seemingly no one is perfectly happy with the Miquella-Radahn-Mohg polycule we ended up with in Elden Ring's DLC final boss sequence. And honestly, I think there's an even better trio that is still a crackship, but makes more sense for the alchemical metaphor being made with this boss.

You can read more about the foundations of this alchemical metaphor, as well as many ways Elden Ring uses alchemy throughout its story, in the post linked below. But basically I argue that the metaphor is based on the filius filosophorum, or Alchemical Child. This is like a Next Generation Level Up compared to the rebis that is Marika/Radagon (the previous generation), and so naturally follows as the product of the rebis's children. Importantly, the Alchemical Child has three fathers, which is why I think we ended up with three masculine characters melded into the end product.

The Alchemical Child isn't meant to be taken literally. It's not about an actual child of three fathers; that's just kooky symbolism meant to get its idea across. Rather, alchemists' dream was the Unified Theory of Everything, where completely disparate ideas could be melded into a single, cohesive whole. And so the idea of a child being born of many fathers was meant to symbolize a Perfect Philosophy born of learnings from many viewpoints. It was meant to justify the pursuit of all knowledge in ultimate service to complete and total understanding, i.e. the Alchemical Child.

In that sense, Miquella and Radahn are actually a pretty good pair. Miquella is all about control through compassion. Radahn is all about control through war and force. These are certainly disparate ideas that alchemists would have been looking to unify.

But what about Mohg? Does he provide a third, disparate idea we can meld with the other two? I don't think so, personally. Mohg is just as forceful as Radahn, using methods like kidnapping (not just of Miquella), torture, and coercion. He's not a new idea added into the mixture. But you know who is?

Godwyn.

(If you didn't have a kneejerk reaction of, "Godwyn is DEAD-dead, it can't be him", you can skip the section at the end after the text breaker.**)

Godwyn is not rule by compassion like Miquella. Godwyn is also not rule by war/force like Radahn. Godwyn is thought to have potentially negotiated with enemies like the dragons, even while besting them in battle, as that's how he ended up with Fortissax as his bestie. He is an alternative to the two ideas of complete compassion and complete war. He is rule by negotiation and compromise. He is the third disparate philosophy that helps to make the unified filius filosophorum. And in that sense, he would make an excellent choice as the third father of the Alchemical Child. Compassion, war, and compromise: three disparate ideas melded—dare I say grafted—into a unified theory of everything.

Anyway, look what we could have had and weep:

Fin

**To those who did have that kneejerk reaction to me mentioning Godwyn: y'all are not invited to this post; complain elsewhere. We've heard your arguments already and discarded them.

This is a fantasy story where people return back to life, in whole or in part, for all sorts of ludicrous reasons. It seems like y'all have forgotten the part about becoming a literal god. The rules of godship are unclear but involve things like remaking the world however you want, up to and including removing death entirely. Or did we just forget that was the entire point of Marika's godhood?

Did we also forget that retconning time and past events is also a part of the base game? Did we forget Miquella's Needle and the Place Beyond Time where you use it to undo the influence of an outer god that you have already accepted? Or maybe, like me until I saw a lore post about it, you just never realized that is WHY you have to go to the Place Beyond Time—to quite literally and fantastically retcon that event. So why draw the line at staving off outer gods? Retcon whatever you want! It's in the lore! Have some fun with it! Live a little!

[akiumzeno]

A Dive Into Ushirono Fuyu's Relationships

I intend this to be a character analysis but I was thinking of this while on the bus and going ice skating and got really passionate that I had to write down the words. If you already can't tell from my pfp and banner, I love Fuyu so I made him his own dedicated analysis because he's the best.

ZENO remake and ZENO daily life SPOILERS

Fuyu and Maeno's relationship

Well, the most dominant thing about Fuyu and Maeno's dynamic is the revenge part. All throughout the game, Fuyu is chasing Maeno (and Tsugino) down to kill him. And his additional part in the story is about redefining that revenge.

And well, it's understandable; Maeno ate his sister. Granted, he didn't want to and was forced into it but Fuyu had no way to know that. How could you forgive someone who did something who did so atrocious?

But... there's something to be discussed about that.

Fuyu didn't see the event happen. One day, Maeno and Natsu both went missing. It was strange. How could both of the people he cared about just disappear without a trace?

So he set out to find out (or even better, Maeno and Natsu). And he did. After years, he finally found Maeno... but not Natsu.

And likely, that's when the awful truth came out. Natsu died because Maeno cannibalized her. And it's likely when he found out, he gained ZENO and was determined to kill Maeno in revenge.

Fuyu got hired as a researcher/doctor and tried to hide his ZENO and suppress his ZENO (likely through treating himself with the Memory Control Device). (Also, one of the doctors had a feeling he had ZENO).

And he waited for the perfect opportunity to get his revenge (which we all knows that opportunity comes).

Although Fuyu wants to kill Maeno and will never forgive him for what he did, that doesn't mean he hates him. In fact, he cares for Maeno. And you can see this in different endings.

Fuyu begs Maeno to not leave him in the Oblivion ending, Fuyu seems shocked or concerned when Maeno dies in the punishment ending and, hell, even Fuyu chooses to help out Maeno and work with him rather than leave him alone to die by Tsugino and get his revenge. He could completely just not choose to help him and escape the facility on his own and there would be no problem but he can't because he still cares enough to try to help him.

Despite what Maeno did, Fuyu can't not care for Maeno. They had known each other since they were 4 years old. They've been together and sharing their lives together. They always had each other. And nothing will change that. Fuyu may not forgive him for what he did, but there will always be that part of him caring for Maeno.

And it's probably because he cares for Maeno is the reason why he wants to kill Maeno. The first reason is that ZENO makes you want to kill your loved ones. But it's because he cares that it's why it hurts so badly. It was his friend, of all people, to eat Natsu, let alone the friend he spent years trying to find. (Maybe his only friend.)

And it's also why he doesn't feel fulfilled when he kills Maeno. Because there's still a sense of emptiness after killing his friend. Sure, he might've gotten his revenge but there's still a hole of sadness and anger still inside fo him and he doesn't feel better from killing one of the only pieces of his left still left, after Kanrai destroys his workplace and all his friends are gone and the only family he has left are all shitty people. He loses the one good thing left in his life. And revenge is not a thing that'll make you feel happy for long, if at all.

Fuyu and his family

Fuyu's family. ...Yeah.

Hoo boy. Won't this be fun?

Uh, I'll get into Natsu first because I honestly cannot dissect much about Fuyu and Kanrai's relationship aside from what's in the wiki, the two English translation videos of ZENO daily life and TV Tropes.

So, Natsu is clearly one of the only people who is close to Fuyu (the other being Aki and later on Haruno, I believe). So a ton of Fuyu's prime motivations are hinged on Natsu since his and Maeno's relationship ranges from strained to enemies after Maeno eats Natsu.

Considering Kanrai's just... garbage personality and Ritsuka deciding to be a free woman over taking care of her children, Fuyu had to be the one to take care of Natsu bc they have about a 10-year age gap, whether it be just giving her a father figure or straight-up defending Natsu from danger. (Also, second thought, Fuyu also had to take care of Maeno considering he was home alone at 4 and all Maeno would want to do was just stay inside and read books all day. Bro's fr a single dad since childhood.)

With this in mind, it's very easy to understand why Fuyu is so protective of Natsu. She quite literally had no one else to look up to, aside from Maeno. He was her one and only protector and they shared a relationship that was very close because of this. Hell, he even takes a stab for her.

And it's also hard to not love Natsu. She's sweet, polite, curious, cheerful and selfless. Aside from being her brother, her personality also made it easy for Fuyu to want to protect her.

So when she died, that must've left a hole in his heart. She was gone forever and he couldn't do anything about it, especially because he was the one who was always taking care of her. (And why it hurts so much that Maeno was the one to take her away.)

While we never explore Fuyu's grief (much) with Natsu in the game, we can very much assume he grieved for Natsu a lot. And the reason for his revenge was likely trying to fill up the hole in his heart. And Fuyu chases after that, thinking it would please or avenge Natsu, when we know that's not true.

And it takes talking with Natsu or seeing her memories to see that isn't what Natsu wants nor how he'll be able to heal.

And even though he did want revenge, he's more than willing to give it up or change way of revenge for Natsu. Because, no matter what, what she wants will always be priority because he loves her and always will. Nothing will change that, ever.

Now, the parents. They're so lovely.

Let's start with Ritsuka. Ritsuka never took care of Fuyu, only occasionally making contact and sending him fruit as a gift. She valued being free over being a good mother, likely because she felt adverse to it because she was told to do that her entire life. But of course, that is selfish as fuck.

Fuyu (and Natsu) grew up without a mother figure and he had to provide for himself (mostly, I believe Kanrai's secretary might've helped), which led to him being rude and blunt as he grew older. He never had anyone telling him to be a good person or had someone to take care of him, making him way more independent at a younger age than any normal kid, especially because he had to take care of Maeno and Natsu, as mentioned before.

While Ritsuka did end up gaining just a bit more concern for Fuyu after Natsu died (emphasis on bit) and tried to visit more frequently, but by then, the damage had already been done. Fuyu had already grown into his stern and cold self, and her actions were too little and too late.

Now, Kanrai.

Kanrai and Fuyu have anything but a loving and respectful relationship. Fuyu wants nothing to do with Kanrai and Kanrai is only concerned with Fuyu when he's able to be used as a tool for himself. But well, how did we get here?

Well, let's begin with how Fuyu was even conceived. As mentioned before, Ritsuka was told to be a wife and mother, and not only that but it was already decided who she'd marry, with that man being Kanrai. However, around the time they were getting married, Kanrai said to her that the only expectation of her was to bear one child and then she was free as a bird. She wasn't even expected to raise the child, just give birth to them.

But this begs the question of why Kanrai wanted a child, anyway. Did he want to be a father? Did he enjoy taking care of children? Maybe he just needed to continue his lineage.

Hah, NO!

He wanted a child... to try to spread ZENO.

He wanted to have the child develop ZENO and then have a person which he can influence under his own will to go do whatever he wants. And if that child never developed ZENO then he didn't care for them at all. How fun.

While I'm not sure if Fuyu knew he was even created for the sake for ZENO, but regardless, his father didn't pay attention to him. And it likely stayed that way until Natsu gained ZENO and Fuyu himself got involved with the issue, considering Kanrai does try to ask Maeno to tell Fuyu to call him back. And that probably frustrated Fuyu more with his father than his mother's neglect did.

For Fuyu, his father never bothered to take care of him until he got involved with this illness that Kanrai has based his entire, wicked and horrible, life on. To him, that likely felt like a slap in the face. He didn't care before and now he cares once he begins getting involved with ZENO; the disease that led to his sister's death because his best friend had ZENO and ate her because of it. Not to mention, Kanrai wants to spread that same disease.

And that's likely the reason why Fuyu refuses to return his calls and constantly says for Kanrai to die. He was created for the sake of ZENO, something that ruined his life and made his life just suck. No matter what, Fuyu could never live as a normal kid because Kanrai had set it up to be that way. If Fuyu had never gained or gotten involved with ZENO, his family had no desire to ever raise him and he meant practically nothing to them. And it probably hurt more for his family to exist and never take care of him rather than just never having one that was alive. His whole life was just doomed from the start and all he has to blame for it is Kanrai. Because it was Kanrai who wanted him to exist, not his mother.

Fuyu's life is the worst and it's his father that made it that way. Fuyu hates the circumstances that made him the way he is. The circumstances created by the horrid, vile, wretched, awful and evil Kanrai.

[yeyinde]

Haha, I also spoil myself intentionally, but for the plot of movies, tv shows, and games I’m not super invested in. If I accidentally spoil myself (especially if I learn a character dies) I’ll cope by telling myself “I don’t know how/when it happened though”

Anyways Major Character Death!!

I’m SO disappointed in them killing off Soap and especially in how they did it! No buildup or anything! To me it was disrespectful to the character and to Neil Ellice. And then the 141 don’t even say anything and it cuts to them spreading his ashes with a simple goodbye! They could have at least made them a little more upset 🥲 also I hate how abruptly the game ended. Makarov gets away, but no mention to that at the end.

I had also initially requested what would become infinity in the palm of your hand (eternity in an hour) as a way to “cope” with 2009 Soap’s death because it’s always been on the back of my mind for years (weird, I know). But now after playing the new MW3 campaign I look like boo boo the fool because of who went and got killed off 😭 now every time I go back to reread it, it will be painful knowing what’s in store for reader for their current reincarnation of Soap.

Tldr I’m kinda not okay with MW3.

From what I've seen, it feels like they pulled it out of a hat. All names went in, but his (amongst others) came out. And I guess it's safe because he died in the OG, so the backlash can easily be deflected from within their own community when other fans come to their defence over this choice. But idk.

I agree with everything you said. It doesn't make any sense. It's jarring and misplaced, and canonically pointless. I'm not against character death. Grief is a powerful thing. But I just hate when it's so contrived and needless. It was definitely done for shock value over plot/character growth and I think they were trying to re-create the massive storm that happened when OG Soap died because they know they don't have much else going for them. It just massively missed the mark because: a) Price and Gaz had no tangible in-game relationship with Soap the same way Ghost did; and b) what does his death really amount to in the end? Nothing. It feels cobbled together and poorly thought out. It's sad when Portal 2 has better writing than your whole remake combined. Honestly, it's kind of impressive how little thought they put into this. I'm getting flash backs to DGG's Halloween.

If it's any consolation, the mythology I based the reincarnation off of in infinity would essentially just be neverending. An ouroboros. The events would happen much the same way. A knock on the door. Spiral of grief. A bog. A deal. Restart. So, you'd just wake up again and live life until whatever the old you made a deal with decides it's time to collect. You're forever stuck in a loop with your soulmate until you get it right.

The rest is just how I kinda wish it went, but this was getting very long because I have more thoughts on this than I anticipated lmao 😅

Personally, I think it would have been much more interesting if they brought in a new passel of characters and slowly chipped off the main cast in a series of horrible decisions that slowly begin to feel hollow and empty. That leave you, the player, feeling emotionally gutted with each new chapter because the choices previously are absolutely impacting the way they move forward, but they're too deep into their own revenge fantasy to see it until the very end when it's too late. Give me actions have consequences and every choice you make is directly responsible for someone's death. The realities of war. And what happens when you give a group of people the power to play god in countries they know nothing about. It would have matched the gritty tone they tried to go for with the trailers and actually served as an interesting conversation about war and how we tend to deify the military when they're just men with too much power in their hands. Instead, we have a death that means nothing. That arguably happened much too early in the series so the payoff is solely meant for clicks and reaction channels. Pointless.

And Makarov. A Russian Ultra Nationalist. I feel like that title alone says everything for me, and yet. They still somehow managed to give a Russian War Criminal so many wins. I'm just so irritated by it all.

[basil-does-arttt]

How do you feel about the new anime after seeing the teaser? Are you excited, maybe nervous, even worried about the course the anime takes?

I don't think its a remake of the mangas, although the rabbit is a reference to the manga. How do you feel about that? (Honestly I don't mind, itd be nice to have more lore to obsess over. I mostly just want the characters to be done justice and to be characterised properly)

I am very excited, it looks pretty cool so far and i cant wait to see where it goes.

Like you said, i dont think its a remake of any one thing specifically, rather it seems to be taking elements from everywhere in the series all at once for its story and design. (Including the reboot apparently, considering Dante is wearing a necklace that's very close to Donte's necklace.)

Its going to be different, considering it seems to be taking elements from the written material as well (dmc 3 manga, maybe even the novels) more than the games themself, and we dont even know if its going to be canon to the series yet or just its own fun thing (i saw someone saying its in the same universe as castlevania?) But regardless, i still think its going to be absolutely amazing in its own right.

Now i am nervous about one thing: Who did they cast for Vergil.

Its been confirmed he's showing up. I personally cant imagine him as anybody else other than Daniel Southworth, so i hope they casted him for Vergil. If they didnt, then i can only hope that they casted someone just as good (and just as nasally /hj)

I also do think its interesting they cast Nero's dmc 5 VA for Dante. It will definitely take me a bit to get used to it once the anime comes out and im actually watching it, but i dont think its a bad decision by any means. He's a wonderful VA.

And i am very curious to find out who that female voice in the trailer was. At first i assumed it was Patty, but if the anime goes in a younger-dante direction then it wouldnt make sense because Patty wouldn't even exist at that point. My second thought was Lady, which would be amazing to have her show up again (and hopefully have more of a personality other than "dante you owe me money"), but my last thought - if the anime is taking most of its inspiration from the written dmc material - was Grue's daughters. I havent actually finished the dmc 1 novel so idk how true that could be but its a thought at least lol.

Overall i am very excited and the anime seems to be going well. Now we just have to hope expectations live up to reality lol.

[winter-tospring]

You know I'm so maaaad seeing multiple videos with titles like "The ATLA live action actually sucks" on my feed. It's so freaking upsetting to hear the worst takes trying to justify their negativity just because the show is not point for point exactly like the cartoon. NEWSFLASH, IT WAS NEVER GOING TO BE EXACTLY THE SAME, IT DOESN'T MAKE IT BAD. The crew clearly cares a ton about the show. The additions they made truly ADD to the scenes we already know. The meshing of episodes/settings necessary to go through the whole first season in only eight episodes is honestly as clever as it could be, things make sense.

Fans just decided from the get-go, from the very announcement of the show, that they would hate it, that they would be disappointed, that it would be terrible. It's really unfair to the creators and young actors who clearly put their hearts into this, to have the fandom just shit on their work, and for what. What do you really want? You would've shat on any live action remake. Do you realize how rare it is to have a cast and crew like the one on this show???? Feels so ungrateful whek they're simply reviving something beloved for new and wider audiences to get to know and love. It's truly shameful to see the lazy take down takes given as reasons to hate this. Really ashamed of what I'm seeing. Wish we could just appreciate getting this new content because it's freaking amazing.

[grievedifferent]

CHRIS 4 JOSH? let's talk about it ... and let's be honest.

read more for length only, it's all pretty sfw and non-triggering content.

speaking with otter first and foremost, here are her thoughts on the matter:

for context, she has a degree in video game art & design, so she knows the entire pipeline for how video games were and are made currently. she actually graduated like right around when UD came out, so this is perfect because she also helped me understand some of the modeling and why the original game is just honestly more fluid in mechanics versus the remake, so i've been giving the remake a pass in a lot of big ways and just sort of accepting everything else as is in conjunction with the original game (and in our case, the 2013 prototype).

basically, she said it originally looked like this is what likely happened: a texture artist was given permission to do a heart, someone else or that same artist put in CHRIS + JOSH and basically whoever was in charge of them (i have no names for this) likely said "you absolutely cannot confirm a fan ship, it's not happening" which is why it became CHRIS 4 JOSH. otter was explaining how the 4 looks a little off like it wasn't there originally but more of something to replace what was underneath. like a 4 covering a +.

still likely meant to be a joke, maybe it could go so far as to that texture artist shipping it, but either way, it was never going to make it into the official game as a way to be interpreted as josh and chris are canon. i know the app contradicts one major thing for chris and ash because the game itself literally confirms they both like each other in various scenes and context clues and all of that content we get in-game for them.

based on my own time being in school for video games, this makes a lot of sense. i might not have finished, but i did learn this lol. so, what she's saying is pretty on point. that's how companies are, even if it's "supermassive" ... they are working under sony.

so, does it mean anything? not really. i know this was probably huge for the other side of the UD fandom (i see it being two sides: rpc and non-rpc, which can be similar but are generally very different ... in-between those spaces are typically the fanfic writers and then the sub-genre of reader insert fanfic writers if that makes sense? anyways). but it really means nothing.

it's just a little easter egg. if we want to look into it at all? it was likely done by chris (otherwise it would say josh 4 chris if it was from josh), and also ... i know this sounds probably so lame, but that's just how guys are. they act like that, especially if you're super comfortable with a long-term friend. people have probably wondered about it based on how close and jokey they can act, they don't seem like the type to "shy away" from any sort of intimacy, especially for a joke, and idk, they're just like that? that's pretty normal.

HOWEVER ... where this gets even more interesting for me is this part: bringing in the 2011-2013 prototype, the game that was being pumped out for demos and such before supermassive did an entire rehaul of the original 2010 game (so, this is not london studio's project anymore, it hasn't been for a while, and their original iteration actually had hannah and josh as a couple named hannah and clayton).

why is this interesting? i've mentioned before several things about that prototype specifically: a) mike and chris never changed from design to actor, they were always solid (so it's weird to not even consider using their old voice banks for new content for the 2024 remake but okay??), b) this had originally intended (all the way back to london studio) to really be a "couples game" that "couples play together", giving the controller back and forth, and c) the fact that sam clearly liked josh in the original iteration, josh did not feel the same, but he had basically the same relationship with chris, who seemed to still like ash and vice versa, but josh also had a pretty high energy by comparison both in general to rami's josh and also to specifically chris in comparison to (that verison of) sam.

let's dig into 'c' a bit more. the sam and josh problem. it's not really a "problem" but i think there's somewhat of a general misunderstanding as to what their relationship is realistically like based on their connections and affiliations over what is sort of "expected of them".

here's what we know for facts:

sam and josh know each other, we can maybe assume from childhood or middle school era, but long enough for sam to be considered hannah's best friend.

which brings me to my next point: sam is hannah's best friend, not josh's. not even "hannah and beth's best friend". she is hannah's best friend. this is josh's little sister's best friend. i have to reiterate this because i see this huge sort of blackhole when it comes to this fact about sam and hannah. this is literally sam's entire tagline! even the game sort of forgets that sometimes? sam actually somewhat harshly criticizes hannah in her bedroom, something that is only open to sam and no one else. i'm not sure where this idea that sam is there for josh when she should be there for hannah. you can also tell sam and josh weren't that close over that year because she needs chris to confirm that a) this entire getting back together is a good idea and b) if josh is doing okay. if they were close, wouldn't she know? also, josh wasn't that close to anyone besides seemingly chris? which sort of makes sense but even he only lets chris see certain sides of himself. so, they aren't as close as people i think mistake them to be.

they were supposed to have something one-sided in the prototype before the finalized release. in the protoype, sam likes josh, but josh seems to not reciprocate. it's heavily hinted at when she flirts with him in the scene at the lodge door, which is very different but also somewhat the same as the version we get.

the finalized verison of sam (ie "hayden-sam") doesn't seem to have a crush on josh ("rami-josh") ... at least, from what i can tell. i think she actually feels somewhat uncomfortable around him, if we're being honest. maybe not before the prank, we can see they are comfortable together briefly in the new snapshots on the camera, but after? definitely so. this makes sense. they are somewhat avoiding each other. why would she go back there? both hannah and beth are dead, leaving josh.

finally: josh is hannah's older brother, thus acts as an older brother to the group ... sam included. this is literally in josh's characterization.

so, delving into probably headcanon territory here, and i'm not even going into my own sam headcanons ... basically, i think sam sees josh as an older brother and josh sees sam as a little sister figure. ik ik it's boring.

hear me out here: i think this was done simply because there are so many couples in the game already, which is so funny because it was supposed to be a couple's game but then got changed to a sort of "play alone or pass the controller".

now? UD is meant to be played either on your own or between multiple people, you can assign one person to each person you're playing with or just split the cast up the way otter and i do. it's more liberal and intentional to be that way versus its original intention. think about it: when you really start actually playing, there are two for sure couples, one maybe "will they won't they", and then two that aren't dating. that does feel more realistic just in general in a friend group, doesn't it? people date each other, break up, bring new members in, etc, but not everyone always dates everyone all the time.

also, i think just blanketed, supermassive wasn't even considering that likely at least one of those characters is probably gay or bisexual. until dawn is only so deep because it can only go so deep, and if they were going to go deep? it was going down the mental illness rabbit hole along with the background story they were trying to flesh together coupled with the mo-cap technology they were working with.

also, not to be that person, but life is strange came out in 2013 and kind of nailed it, right? they had their own set of issues they tackled incredibly well, whereas it doesn't really fit into UD. UD is about being a true "classic horror" story with the heavy use of intentional character tropes. so, give UD some grace here, i'd say.

cause let's get real for a second: there were so many last-minute changes while holding onto the threads of what they wanted. some stuff from the prototype for example is pretty shot-for-shot or word-for-word and some is super different. like ... im sorry, but the wolves aren't in the prototype (just as an example), so you can see how fast they decided to put those in because those wolves are literally broken animals.

back to sam and josh: taking my own headcanons aside, i don't think it's impossible to headcanon sam having a crush on josh at any point in her life that she knew him pre-UD. it's not uncommon, of course. he's classic older brother, he's fun, he's cute, he's friendly, and he's always around. again, while i think at least narratively they took that aspect of sam's character out when they cast hayden (she gives a much different, honestly better vibe for sam from the original actress, whereas ashley is like the same ngl), there is something to be said about not saying anything, i suppose. i just don't see it as something that was meant to be noticed, if that makes sense. not that it's not fitting? i guess?

but it's how josh feels, more the position he's in, that i sort of get caught up in why i'm sometimes hesitant with outright sam/josh with no plotting beforehand (as if it's canon). josh is the older brother. for him, there's sort of some lines he feels he isn't supposed to cross, trust he isn't supposed to break, and just sort of general boundaries? like, age isn't necessarily his factor here, it's literally how they met and how they know each other. it would be likely hurtful to hannah, probably awkward? i imagine?

so, is josh willing to cross his sister's comfort like that? yes, he lies to her ... about his mental health. it's never implied anywhere else that josh lies to hannah or beth about anything else. also, we can argue it's the parents hiding it from his sister's, wanting them to have a certain view of their brother.

then, post-death, we know there's a huge change in their relationship. josh and sam become distant, as i've discussed above.

with a lot of plotting and specifics, i could do it. just blanketed? or like ... how i see these characters without anyone else's interpretations in consideration? like just playing the game as is without even considering rpc? i don't see it.

so, what about josh and chris then? i'm not going to lie, i've only even recently come around to the idea, and even that comes off to me as still one-sided if it were ever even considered. likely? it would have been chris like ash, ash like chris, josh maybe likes chris? but that's so pushing it to assume supermassive would imply, though it's actually more sound for inferences in the prototype.

the chemistry josh and chris have is very natural. we can give that partially to the actors, of course, and partially to the writing. they have known each other a long time, and i've talked about it above how that's just how these types of guys are sometimes. they're just comfortable with each other.

so, even i'm just writing general headcanons without taking anyone else's specific interpretation in mind? i see it like this:

josh and chris? best friends from childhood.

chris and ash? the intended "will they / won't they" of the game.

josh and sam? older brother figure to younger sister figure (ie the friendship that can form with this type of bond, but likely nothing else).

but josh flirts with sam, remember? he infers he'd help her with the bath. he also calls mike and jess pornstars, says he wants to get friendly with ashley in the snow (and calls her a sleeper hit), etc. he's pretty mouthy about that sort of thing. it's just how he is. i guarantee if that were jessica in the bath, he'd say the same thing, and might even be more persistent about it (given that jessica is more playful than sam in that regard). however, were that emily in the bath? not a chance, he probably wouldn't have said anything tbh. i also write sam as a lesbian.

okay, so this is all "canon and great" and everything ... but what about me? what are my personal ships?

i can see so many with josh. i think that he's probably more gay than straight. he sees himself as open-minded.

does he lean more towards men or women? privately: sexually and romantically speaking, men. socially: women.

i have it that he chooses the "women make me uncomfortable" option when i play. i think this makes sense for josh.

why do women make him uncomfortable, but he socially pursues them? is he actually attracted to women? what is his sexuality for real? so, why women: it's socially understandable and acceptable. it's what he's relied on since puberty / actively encouraged to pursue since dating was on the table. he's with such a "bro" crowd — and so bro-coded both in being written that way narratively speaking while also just self-imposing that sort of role to himself ... while also naturally filling that role. his sexuality with labels: bisexual with a heavier male leaning preference, would be considered more demisexual when it comes to women. he is attracted to men romantically and sexually, and he is attracted to women, but there has to be a relationship fostered for it to be more romantic than sexual. i think he's fooled around with girls, but never had penetrative sex with them. he's likely never been with a guy, as he's very closeted, despite this being his active preference. women intimidate josh and make him uncomfortable.

further on him being more closeted despite being in the industry: josh has his family's reputation to consider. the world doesn't always agree that being bisexual is natural and non-offensive. he would be outright just called and labeled gay (which isn't entirely inaccurate but is not accurate). it could hurt his family. this isn't 2024, this is the 2010s, and yes it was getting "big" in the way we see acceptance now, but it wasn't so seen. people were (and still are) hiding. think of it like this: if josh has to hide his mental illness the way he does, he's likely having to hide his sexuality.

i think that's why the traits we do see in josh are so exacerbated because he has to stifle so much of himself down that the parts he's allowed to express become the loudest to hear.

all of that to get us here: my ships for josh.

personally? again, no other interpretations are considered necessarily, just ships i like based on various things from simply aesthetics to actual connections i can see them having.

what about chris/josh? honestly? i never even considered it until recently, and now that i have, it seems more obviously (if anything) one-sided by josh (the giver) to chris (the receiver). i don't think chris has ever consciously thought about it. josh (probably) has. as a default, however, i write them as bros. i do genuinely love their friendship. that being said, i do like it as a ship. i don't write my main plotlines with that in mind, though.

quickly: if anything, i think chris is the most compatible for josh (and vice versa). there is a lot of game evidence to support this, but that's for its own post.

josh/ashley -> this had always been my previous top ship for josh, but as more context becomes available via the remake and data mining the game, my opinions have swayed a bit, but i will always love joshley. it's a demi thing with them, i think. i also think josh is kind of jealous of ashley's relationship with chris (chapter 2 is called jealousy, and yes, that refers to the matt-mike-em-jess stuff but could be inferred to the trio), yet actively supports his bro, so doesn't really "get in the way". in fact, he encourages it.

josh/ashley/chris -> i see this as mostly ashley dating both chris and josh, maybe josh having some feelings for chris? from there, it's open-ended, but it's mostly "ashley has two boyfriends", and i am here for that. i love her.

additionally, i do ship chris/ashley. i like that josh is actively trying to get them together, and i think while it's for "nefarious reasons" or whatever you want to say when we see it in-game, josh is acting as a direct reflection to how he always has been ... so we can assume he's always been trying to get chris to make the move on ash.

josh/jess -> this is primarily aesthetically speaking, i think they just would look good together? opposites attract? pre-prank of hannah, it's definitely that ... opposites attract. he's not really her type, lbr, but she's probably his type in the way she's pretty ... but she is also intimidating to him. it's funny because, ultimately, that sort of confession to mike that jess gives about her insecurities would be very understood by josh (and actually matt, who i see as insecure), and i like all three of those boys with jess. yes, i hold jess accountable for the prank, but just character traits and such? i can see some vibes here. also! a lot of my fondness for this ship probably comes from post!verse stuff, like retribution, etc. honestly, i just like these two together not even romantically? i just want to see more of them interacting idk josh and jess are very contrasting characters that could go really well or horribly wrong together. also, i just have to say that i feel like there was some genuine interest when jess suggested that josh might be flirting with her and mike (jokingly) asked to basically have a threesome together, like she was kind of into it ngl.

why none of the other UD boys with josh? like mike and matt? we don't really see too much matt and josh unfortunately. i'm also a huge matt/jess shipper idk but i just don't see matt and josh being compatible, and i also write matt ... and i also write matt as straight, so. there's that aspect. but generally? i don't see it.

so, no em and josh? i literally do not have enough canonically to go by to even say what their default dynamic is like! they never talk!! like ever. so ... once i can establish with an emily writer what that is, i'd be more down to clown.

i can't with mike, either. i love mike btw, literally no shade to him, i don't think josh is the right fit for mike either by any means. mike is great at "handling" josh at his worst in a crisis (kind of? idk it depends sort of on the choices you make, but i get his vibe, i do get it) to get him from points a to b, but that's about it. mike also just comes off as very straight (to me).

all of that to say this: i generally write things as they are from the game unless there's a pretty good clue, inference, or some sort of thread i can unravel to make something make sense. it has to make sense for me, i'm just that type of person.

but ... with the right chemistry, plotting, and a bit of time? anything can happen. just because i default see something one way doesn't mean that i cannot be convinced otherwise ... or still hold that belief for the game itself but write enough development that i love something else in an rp sense. i'm a very "this is game, this is rp" and then from there, i take from the game to make the rp experience more game-like. does that make sense? did any of this make sense?

[idontplaytrack]

✧ Crying in the grocery store

Jos Cleary-Lopez x fem! reader

Warnings: coarse language, angst, fluff, implied domestic violence/abuse. Reader discretion is advised.

“Loving me gets messy.”

— Reneé Rapp, Messy

You’ve had this horrible sense of dread for the past three days. You simply could not shake it off, until this morning. You were at work when you abruptly got flooded with messages by your Mother about how you Dad was going off on a tangent about how he hated the home, how he hated the family, photos of the apartment — trashed. As always, that endless stream of texts from your Mother would progress to ones that blamed you for past mistakes that you thought had been hashed out.

But apparently not. You had too high of hopes for them, it seems. They never failed in making you feel like the worst person on earth when all you’ve been trying to do, was your best. There it was. The dread, the dread that your body just somehow knew to have and prepare you for this.

“…y/n.” You heard a voice by your ear.

You blink rapidly, trying to snap out of your daze.

“y/n! Aísle 7, clean up.” A voice cut through your mind, you focused on his face, “Then put out new shirts in the Kids’ section. Sam doesn’t want to do it.”

“…Okay.” You swallowed painfully, “I— I’ll do that.”

“Go, do it.” He gestured dramatically, glaring at you. Tears prick at your eyes as you turned on your heel and got on with your tasks. “And while you’re at it, wrap up that nasty gash on your arm.”

While you mopped up the spilled slushy, your mind was once again racing and filled with your Dad’s yelling. You didn’t even have to physically be there to hear it, not today. It happens so frequently that you could recite his words, but they bothered you deeply nonetheless.

“y/n, Daniel says you have to cover for Jace in the cafe 4-7pm. He had to leave.”

“He had to leave?” You repeated, in disbelief. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath to let out the frustration, “Okay, yeah. I’ll be over at the cafe area at 4.”

You were supposed to get off work at 4. You started at 8:30. You could only sigh and carry on, you needed this job, because you needed money. So really, more hours of work was a good thing.

Countless clean ups, restocks and entitled customers— and some crying later, you were finally at 4pm, getting a slight change in your environment in the supermarket’s cafe. At least you just had three hours to go, right?

Oh, no. You’d forgotten to reply to Jos’ text message. She'd texted you to confirm what time you were getting off work. So right now, you quickly got your phone out from your pocket to text her that you'd be getting off at 7pm. A customer walks towards the counter, you slid your phone back into your pocket.

"Hi! What may I get you today?"

"Hey, can I get the BLT without the tomato?"

"Sure thing." You were faking your enthusiasm, not wanting to get caught and reprimanded by your manager Daniel for 'not serving customers with a smile'.

Once the customer had left, you let out a sigh, and then you were honestly just pretending to be busy for a few minutes until another customer came up to the counter. When dinnertime rolled around, that's when a line formed at the cafe. A little line, which you had a love-hate relationship with. It made time pass faster since you were actually doing something with barely a pause, but when it was truly crowded, your brain would honestly short circuit and there had been a couple times where you'd fucked up a customer's orders. But thanks to those 'experiences', you've been learning and eventually went on autopilot mode once it gets busy.

"Nora, I need this iced, please." You handed the drink back.

"Oh, shit." She mutters, "I'm sorry." "You're good, just remake it and they're good to go. We don't have a line now."

You turned back to look at the clock on the wall— 6:32pm. Thank goodness you'd be able to get out soon.

As Norah handed the correct drink to the customer with an apology, you excused yourself to go use the restroom. "Sure, are you okay?"

"Yeah, of course." With that, you slip away to the back. Sitting on the toilet, you took the chance to check your phone.

Another text from Jos. 17 minutes ago to be exact. God, you hope she wasn’t mad at you.

Sliding your phone back into your pocket, you did your business, washed your hands and went back out onto the floor. 21 minutes to home time. Well, you were going over to Jos’ home. You could not be home right now. Or ever, preferably. It was…dangerous.

————

With your backpack lazily slung over your shoulder, you exited the store. Feet aching, head pounding, and having at least a handful of new bruises or cuts— thanks to your own clumsiness at work or from home for other reasons…

When your vision finally came into focus, you spot Jos’ car. It drives up to you and stops, you get in. Jos leaned over to kiss you on the cheek. While you appreciated and loved the affection, you could not react. You were so tired and she knew it, so she wasn’t upset about it.

“Mom made your favourite.” Jos says as she started to drive away from your workplace.

“That’s nice.” You said, your voice nearly a mumble. “I need to stay over at your place, Jos. Likely for awhile. Is that okay?”

“y/n, of course that’s okay. You can stay for as long as you want to.” Jos promised. “Do you want to listen to some music, baby?”

“It’s okay.” You shook your head no, then leaned it against the window.

“Okay.” Jos nodded, her hand carefully placed on your thigh.

Your eyes fluttered shut a little while later, the exhaustion taking over your body. Jos wakes you up when you two got to her house. She only shook you gently, but you jumped, absolutely startled to your core.

She was equally shocked and worried by your reaction, her hand that she placed on your arm to shake you awake was swiftly retracted, balled into a fist.

Without saying a word, you opened the front passenger door and got out. Jos gets out of the car too after turning the engine off. Jos unlocks the front door and you entered immediately, making your way up to her room. You had ignored every single person on your way. And they sensed that something was going on so they didn’t bother you with any other questions, letting you go upstairs as you wished. You didn’t see Jos until a few minutes later: she’d brought you and herself a plate of food each.

“Get changed, and let’s eat. Hm?” She sets down the tray on her desk and got you her clothes to change into: A hoodie and a pair of sweatpants.

You quietly did so then sat on her mattress, “I’m tired.”

“I know, baby. That’s okay.”

You sighed softly, turning to face her wanting to tell her something but decided not to. You took a sharp inhale and said, “Let’s eat.”

The meal proceeded in silence. The whole time, you were debating whether or not to talk to Jos about what was going on at home. It was right at the tip of your tongue, you needed to get at least some of it out of your system because it has been weighing down on you to the point where you were on the verge of tears at any given moment. Yes, even at work. You were literally just crying in the grocery store today.

After finishing your food, you brought your plate and cutlery downstairs to wash them. “Sweetie.” Margot came up next to you, “If you need to talk about anything, I’m here to listen, I’m here to help.”

“Okay.”

What else could you say?

‘Say it, tell her. Tell her now.’ A little voice rang through your head, growing louder each time that sentence repeated itself. He deserves to be punished.

“I can’t go home.” You said quietly, drying the plate with a small rag. “It’s not safe, I…don’t feel safe.”

“You can stay here with us, y/n. Do not go back there. I don’t want you to get hurt.” Margot replied, seemingly getting what you meant so quickly. “Are you able to tell me more, sweetie?”

You took a deep breath, licking your drying lips, “I don’t know.” You put the dried cutlery back in its drawer, then turned around, leaning again the countertop as you stood.

“I get it.” Margot continues, “If you’re not ready to tell me any more, you don’t have to force yourself. What matters to me is that you’re safe, so please stay here and do not go back to your house.”

“Thank you.” You swallowed your tears.

“Do you want to cover up that gash?” She notices it. Shit. You forgot about that.

“Okay.” Your cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

“Sit down.” She says softly, “I’ll help you with that.”

Margot grabbed the first aid kit and helped you clean the wound again, you seethed, fidgeting uncomfortably in your seat as she finished it off. Jos came down around this moment to check on you. “Oh, good. There you are, I was wondering what was taking you so long.” She sits down beside you.

“Do you have any other…wounds?” Margot asks apprehensively.

You only shook your head.

“Alright.”

After that was done, you were back upstairs with Jos again, ready to go to bed and for this day to be over. Jos brushed her teeth first while you were laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling trying not to fall asleep. “You gotta brush your teeth first, baby.” She laughs, “C’mon.”

You dragged yourself out of bed and to the bathroom, accepting the toothbrush she’d just held out for you. Naturally, she was done with her routine first so she was waiting for you in bed while you were washing the facial cleanser off your face and drying it off.

You climbed into her bed and laid on her directly, your cheek on her chest and one hand on the surface while the other hung off her side, you kind of just…straddled her. Reflexively, she combed her hand through your hair, giving you soothing head scratches at the same time.

“Jos?” You ask, voice cracking.

“Hm?” She hums, the motions of her hand still consistent.

“I wanna cry.” You revealed quietly.

“That’s okay.” Jos said back, “Go ahead, baby. You are safe here with me. Okay? Let it all out.” Her hand on your head smoothly moves down to rub your back, and as if on cue, the tears you have been attempting to swallow all day, spills from your eyes. But, you were still keeping quiet, not wanting to make any noise.

With Jos silently rubbing your back and pressing occasional kisses to your head, that’s somehow all you needed to feel truly safe and secure to feel what you needed to feel. After enough time, you eventually only felt sleepy, thanks to her calming presence and what she was doing. “Feel better?”

You nodded, mumbling a soft ‘yeah’.

“Are you comfortable like this with the bandage on your arm?” Jos asks, you could feel her eyes on you intensely,

“I am.” You sniffed, breathing out shakily as your fingers picked at a frayed little string on her tank top.

Jos kisses you on your head for the umpteenth time this evening, “Good. Think you could get some sleep, baby?”

“Mm.” You mumbled incoherently, but nodded so she knew what you meant after all.

“Good night, baby.” She smiles to herself, watching your little action of picking at the string on her top, eyes so focused on the material. “I love you.”

Those three words cause a painful lump in your throat to arise, swallowing the almost-too-rapidly forming tears, you said ‘I love you’ back.

“And thank you.” You gnawed on your lower lip, “For…everything.”

“No need to thank me, y/n.” She replied honestly, “I love you, I care about you. That’s all you need to know, to remember. I’ll always be here for you, just like you have been for me, even though it could be hard for you to do so on some days.”

You didn’t say anything but listened, focusing on the warmth of her palm against your back, slowly but surely getting coaxed to sleep.

“Just close your eyes, go to sleep. Rest. No one’s gonna hurt you here, baby. I’m right here with you.”

🏷️Tag list:

@ashecampos @auliisflower @cheesysoup-arlo @frogs00 @ludoesartandstuff @pda128

[maverickcalf]

I have some thoughts on Twisters, i will honestly remake these posts without the spoiler tag once the movie has been out for a while but fot now. Spoilers under the cut. Warning major spoilers and i ramble a lot.

So it's not too shocking that Kate's friends and boyfriend are killed off in the beginning. But i was surprised how while it is cleqr one visibly haunts her more than the others, when it comes to talking about who she lost it's always "friends". Even if she lost her significant other, there isn't like any line from Tyler about him. Honestly it's just nice that he treats her pain as legitimate.

The only time i feel it is implied "you lost your boyfriend" is when Javi says that he lost friends and that could be seen as him downplaying her lose because he lost multiple friends and she lost a boyfriend but i also think that would be a stretch and the trouble is they haven't talked about their trauma.

Javi feels guilty he left them all to die; Kate feels guilty because of the experiment.

I honestly love how friendship is portrayed as important. Tyler's team is his team but it's pretty clear they are all close. I like the friendship Kate and Javi have, especially after the time skip, it's very awkward and forced at time but that makes total sense.

Honestly i like Tyler in general, he comes off as a show off and that's what makes it so interesting! Because we have the wrong point of view and i like when the movie sets up stuff like that.

Also Tyler is very smart but also sort of silly and people are calling him a himbo and... no thats just what streamers are like. He does seem like a nice person and i like how he is also allowed to fail in saving someone.

I totally love the parallels. The failing to save someone while the tornado is on them. The hitting the machine to get to work. The injured leg! And how both her and Katie are allowed to succeed where they failed before. Katie saves everyone because her experiment works and Tyler saves Lilly, where he had failed to save the man earlier.

I really like Ben and how he does drop the camera and help people rather than document people's panic. And he is just like funny bystander.

Scott Javi's partner.... should've been gay and honestly until the end where he became full Saturday morning cartoon villain, the vibes were Bill Hader's character in Tropic Thunder but... ya know less interesting. Les and Rob actually seem to like each other though and Javi.... yeah picking up straight vibes. So a bit disappointing.

Last of all Katie. Oh boy, this girl has the weight of global warming on her shoulders. Like holy shit, i just wanna give her a hug. I love how the truama doesn't stop her from being smart and i also love the realism of being a bit rusty. But also she is just fun and funny. I loved when she and Tyler were trying to trick each other. Wouldn't be if they both turned into looney toons characters and feld the scene.

But also i like how she is a well rounded character. I didn't know going in we were following her story but i am honestly so glad, she is such a good protagonist.

Yeah okay i think i have rambled enough, if someone has thoughts they want to share please do.

[s1urpjuic3]

More Scathing hot takes

RANDOM DISCLAIMER I have not watched not a nan lick of g3 Monster High, this is entirely based off of Tumblr post, y'all please inform me of wtf be going on over there.

Tonight, I will be touching on Monster High, because honestly, I don't see enough people talking about my opinions so I'm forcing y'all to see it lmaoo

THE WORLD SHALL KNOW PAIN

Anyways, I feel like this is gonna come out so wrong omgggg but

I DON'T LIKE HOW THEY BROKE OFF ICONIC SHIPS AND MADE EVERYONE LGBT+!!! I don't even care that their gay, it's just the fact that I feel like when shows/media wants to be inclusive when they remake/bring back old shows, they get lazy and just rewrite the existing characters to fit their agenda.

The only time in media it really makes sense (to me) is when a character is going through change, or left a traumatic situation, OR they were always written as a queer character

ie: Harley Quinn. Yeah, I (think) she's always been Bi, but i'd definitely wanna stay the hell away from men after The Joker. I say this as a lifelong Jarley fan. #GoJivey.

And before I go any further, girlllll everybody alr new Clawdeen was lesbian she wasn't fooling nobody💀 it makes SENSE for her character.

Like I know there are now hardcore Cleo x Frankie shippers, and that's fine, I love when people ship characters like that, it's expression of the love for the show, but making it canon??? *Faints*

Maybe i'm just a diehard Cleuce fan idk lmaooo

What I (personally) think they should have done is just introduce new queer/gender neutral/LGBTQ+ characters! I think that would have been so cute and unique cs I feel like no show does that and it's lame.

Like, I just feel like it's such a missed opportunity to make their love interest dynamic, y'know? Like, give them actual depth outside of liking their ghoul.

ie: Deuce. They could've gone into depth about his career and his hopes dreams and aspirations was, and it still ties into Cleo because of her dad and things of that nature.

(Sidenote: Clawd & Jackson/Holt could literally take over the Monster High fandom if they wrote him better in all the gens but y'all not ready for that Convo.)

THERE WAS SO MUCH POTENTIAL FOR JACKSON/HOLT OMG

I WANT NEW QUEER/LGBTQ+ CHARACTERS

Especially the boys ;)

Anyways, that's my hot take for tn, first moderately sized post (Hooray)

Post Script: What is this narrative that G1 Frankie liked too many boys?? Y'all be so frl. She liked 2 people. Jackson and Holt were the same people stop playing in my Tumblr space like that :|

Post Post Script: They had low-key pmo not giving lala some depth we all know she a bad bitch stop acting like she static.