#i can't take anymore the stupid takes on that game and the constant hatred it gets

[yanderefairyangel]

*sight*

Alright I have two rants to do because this fandom is very exhausting.

1/ the minor one because I still saw people arguing whether or not the Fell twins are Alear's sibling and I am being like "How are you still involved into this stupid discourse it's been 6 month since the Dlc came out I though it was finally over 4 month ago (ಥ﹏ಥ)". They are confirmed to be romance, that mean they aren't. Idc if you think it makes you morally superior to acts like they are siblings when the writing doesn't treat them as such, it just makes you looks like a weirdo for arguing you can date your half sibling in a video game and dumb as it shows you don't even pay attention to the writing of said game ! And I know they aren't genuinely wanting to view Alear and them as a platonic/family relationship because if they did they wouldn't even try to argue on them being canon related. I am the first one to correct people on Byleth's lack of kinship with the Nabateans, doesn't prevent me from having some draft of Byleth acting as family with Sothie and Rhea and the whole point of Engage is that family is based on connection through bond not blood ! The only reason why they want to prove that is because they don't like the option being a thing, even though the Fell twins's relationship with Alear has no relevance in the main story outside of shipping. I am tired to see that the only thing people have to say about them is that, they don't deserves it. And I am not even saying you have no right to prefer to view them as family, if you genuinely like them like that please go on, you are doing an amazing job and have fun, but the fact that those people who argue clearly are doing it just to shame anyone who want to waifu Nel or Rafal is annoying and toxic when IS themselves allowed it to be a thing. I respect not liking it, but I don't respect using it as way to look down on others and claim to be moraly superior.

2/The biggest one because I am tired : NO liking 3H and disliking Engage doesn't make you more intelligent or superior then fans who don't. I am tired of people acting as if Engage fans had low IQ and calling us "weeb trash with no taste". This is the exact same mentality as people liking "modern trendy songs"looking down on people who likes doujin music. I am so sorry for liking a game who has an enjoyable gameplay and is an actual strategy game with funny custom and an actual place where I can take a break from the story and do little mini games, griding or skip it to my heart's content over the one that is very easy to break, punishes me for not playing it "the correct way" forcing me to do boring shores for support or training grinding, being an actual paradox of a game with features making it all easy yet punishing me for skipping the most boring part of the game with this monastery and hellish calendar system that breaks the pacing. I am sorry for liking a game with much smaller and tamer world builing using most basic references that French/European speakers like me can get over one that has this gigantic wordbuliding barely using it correctly and shoved with 1 000 of references that most people I am sure have no idea existed or are familiar with. I am sorry for liking a game that uses symbolism as a way to strenghen its narrative over one that uses symbolism as a way to tell its story. I am sorry for liking a story that actually rewards me for replaying it by letting me noticing the amount of thoughts that were put into it since it's obvious that everything was planned as confirmed by the early concept art of Alear and its sheer amount of foreshadowing and clever use of japanese over a story that objectively lacks focus and was confirmed to not be planned by the devs in the interview where they joked about 3H seeming to write itself on its own without them understanding how or about the 1000 year worth worldbuiliding that "no one truly knew about" and it shows that needs me to play all the routes to feel emotionally invested despite it not making sense with the context of said route despite having a team of 3 writers. I am sorry to prefer a tame worldbuiling I can actually explore and feel immersed into over that gigantic worldbuilings that is the epitome of tell don't show, infodumped on me 99% of the time with some of them never used again and so big that even the writers got lost into it as they confirmed themselves in the interview. I am sorry for liking the anime chessey opening that has more variety in its musicality and feels like a love song to the fans and franchise over the opening song that feels like an anime ending sung by a character who I ended up feeling nothing but indifference and that is being recycled over and over and over again in 99% of the soundtracks. I am sorry for liking a game that is so fun to replay that I have problem switching to another one over a game that is very tedious at some point and would actually gave you a burn out if you don't do some break. I am sorry for liking a game with beautiful graphics and animations, colorful, going as far as changing the sheath the character is wearing depending on which sword they are using over the game whose graphics makes it look bleak and unappealing and whose fruits looks like that

I am sorry for liking a game who had actual care and fun put into its developpement despite a lesser budget as felt throught the gameplay and the writing who despite not being the priority still felt more prepared and though about then the game who has a rushed developpement, was delayed for non covid reason, was literaly a collab because of the budget put into it and has far more cut content that were essential to its writing, including entire chapters. I am sorry for liking a game that has villain who are actual character with some depth even if they aren't morally conflicted individual over villains who are nothing of character but pure comically evil in a so called "morally grey" masterpiece and whose motivation needs you to get Buddhist references leaving room for people to make up story about how they were colonized. I am sorry for liking a game who has a satifisfactory ending over one that solve no conflict and every big thing happens off screen. I am sorry for liking a game capable of showing and not telling over one that keeps telling me stuff and barely shows anything. I am sorry for liking a game that despite being linear has a freaking bad ending over the one that is a split route and that should have some by laws but doesn't because you actually have no meaningful decision. I am sorry for liking a game where character have actual moral compass working on a moral system that speaks to my mind over one that ended up falling into moral relativism. I am sorry for liking a game whose story is much simplier and a breath of fresh air over the one who was so complex and over the top that people still have no idea what happened in said story 4 years later while keeping in mind that the only canon event is chapter 1-2. I am so so sorry for liking a game whose cast is fun and doesn't infodump you on their personal trauma 99% of the time creating convoluted backstory over a game that keeps making fun of the traumatic experience of their character and their ptsd. I am so very sorry so sorry sorry for liking a game whose protagonist might be an avatar but is an established characters with quality, flaws and struggles, dream to pursue, a character arc, character developpement, who is very endearing, whose female counterpart has an outfit that i love and has actual interaction with the cast even if it took a whole DLC to have one character having genuine chemistry with them to give me shipping brainrot over an avatar that is hated by it's own game and was the only thing I ended up liking from said game since they were the only reason why I kept on playing it and who makes me looks at them with sad eyes because of how much a spin off did them better and is the reason why the game's quality in story telling is lesser then it was supposed to be while waiting for an entire spin off to have someone having genuine chemistry with them and give me shipbrainrot. I am definetely very soorry for having things used in the game, having character whose backstory actually matter over the game that pretends to tackle serious subject but ignoring an entire freaking genocide. I am sooo very sorry for liking a game that is essentially a love letter to the franchise and to me and the others fans over one that divided the fandom into the most toxic conversation ever. Really sorry for being that stupid and tasteless.

Look, I might look like I do, but I don't hate 3H, it was still an enjoyable experience and I still think its a competent game that has a lot of strengh, but story and gameplay aren't its strengh. 3H still has one of the best cast in the entire franchise but I am tired of seeing people constantly accusing you of sheeting on the game for poiting its legitimate flaws and deluded or telling you to cope when you have actual reason to points out that there is things Engage objectively does better then 3H when it comes to writing. And I am tired to see tons of pathetic bad reviews that keeps proving to me that people lacks basic reading skills or are unable to understand the most basic and simple things with whatsmore no freaking body ever correcting their straight up wrong bad takes !! I am not saying Engage is a perfect masterpiece with no flaws, it has flaws, perfection is something that doesn't exist but the amount of bad faith criticism against that game is just baffling and it makes it worse since for some reason if you are an Engage fan and have some critics against 3H's way of handling things then you are automatically "just salty and jealous because 3h is more awesome then that L boring anime story" creating a magic shiel against critics 3h received 3 years before Engage ever came out and that we knew about it existing that are now deemed to be "being salty" or "drinking copium to thing Engage is good". I have encountered many 3H fans that are the first one to point out how the game creates its own plot holes because it was so ambitious it tripped over what it tried to do and said fans said they didn't talked as much about Engage because they though that they were less "fixing to do" which isn't surprising since the story was actually planned even if some moments still needs polishing. And I can't help but die a little inside each time I see comments or take of the style "if only we could get a game with the gameplay of Engage and the story of 3H then we would have the perfect fire emblem game" because No. Never, ever again. I don't want any more 3H style kind of story. Because I know that IS or rather KT is incapable of improving this mess. I though they would with the demo of 3 hopes seeing how it did the prologue better by miles but quickly realised they are unable to write this kind of story properly. They simply cannot improve Houses/Hopes kind of story. The perfect fire emblem would be an Engage 2.0 : not only from the gameplay, but with the story because Engage has genuinely little to improve and can be improved very easily unlike what the people who try to rewrite it completely changing the story or showing they didn't even understand it to begin with tries to gaslight you into thinking. That kind of storytelling works with Fire Emblem and is easy to do better. I want a good Fe game but a good Fe game would be an improved version of Engage's story that is to say with polishing rather then bringing back 3H kind of narrative. Never again.

And I repeat I don't hate 3H but I am tired of having to pretend it's a masterpiece and Engage is trashfire bad just because the fandom insist on comparing the incomparable when Engage ends up doing much better then 3H by far on both gameplay and storytelling, that's why I have much more fun dissecting Engage then 3H and the fandom's attitude plus the ambitions of 3H makes me less and less and less forgiving of it's flaws as time pass. And I also hate this stupid mentality that if a products fails then that means it's not finished or were made by incompetent people or had no care put into it because even if you dislike Engage, there is no denying the game is a finished products where love and care where put into and doing everything to make the player feel loved and rewarded each time they grab their switch because Engage was finished by 2019-2020 and would have launched if it were not for Covid, it might have sold less then 3H but it doesn't make it a failure because it never was supposed to and seeing the budget that was put into it, its current sale might be considered to be a success by the team compared to the game that was definetely delayed and costed much more just for the voice actors. I would never apply it to Houses because while I think it's story isn't its strengh at ALL, I can't deny that the devs genuinely wanted it to be a success on the story with the amount of references and worldbuiling showing they spend maybe days or weeks working and making researches for their work and I still enjoy 3H story analysis a lot like that super interesting essay on 3H's use of its soundtrack and I respect 3H for what it was trying to do, I even respect it more then Hopes that I did enjoyed more because it at least didn't ruin its story in an pathetic attempt to pander to the fandom as a bigger fanservice then implementing Marth and turning him into a mentor and angel guardian for Alear, because it was the biggest hommage FE could have done for its very first hero, showing how much he matured as a hero and paying hommage to his role as a Guide/Hero king.

In short I am tired to see people who don't even read the freaking game thinking they have the right to critize it and trash on it and be quoted religiously as references when freaking nobody bother correcting them even though anyone that has been paying attention to the events of the game would be able to answer their stupid bad takes that exist just for the sake of clickbaiting and looking down on other fans for loving and cherishing the love letter they have been given !!! I just want to enjoy all Fire Emblem games for what they do right and despite their flaws without having to feel like I have the IQ of a goldfish or doubting my intelligence for being able to do that. And I hate that people try to defend Engage by brining down Fe as a whole : No, Fe doesn't have all bad story, all story have their strengh and their weakness. No, Fe didn't always had bad writing, all of FE game's writing have their strengh and flaws even if some are improvements over others. And NO, FREAKING NO on Engage isn't meant to be taken seriously and wasn't meant to be good : this is a light hearted game with very vanilla shouneny writing, but it still takes itself seriously, even if it's not as much as game like Fe4 or Fe16 tried to. Yes it takes itself as seriously as Sailor Moon but when you write a vanilla kind of story that is inevitable. And BIG NO on that second part because Engage story is genuinely competent and good. Maybe not the greatest of Fe but it does more good things then bad things, it has more quality then flaws and trust me when something is really, reallly bad the redeeming quality can be counted on the finger's hand.

I am also tired to see people act as if Engage was a total failure when it is not : it still sold well for a title of this year, it still is played to this day by the likes of me, the only reason why I had to wait before buying it rather then preordering it was because I wanted to have a game I had the time to play and wanted to wait to be on holidays so I could have all my freetime occupied by it. It has people who likes it for what it is and aren't blind on its flaws, that loves the cast, loves the world building and makes content for it. And I hate that people justify comparing it to 3H by saying "we have to compare it to the previous entry" because it's not even true, would it be the case you would compare it to 3 Hopes, the game which Engage pull the rug out from under since we weren't supposed to have a Hopes in the first place but no one does that because they just want to compare it to something they think is superior to have the pleasure to trash on it while looking objective and smart just because they didn't liked it and want to feel right in doing so! To give an example, for my literary study one year ago I had to read Le Journal du Voleur by Jean Genet. I didn't liked it. My classmate didn't like it. Even the teacher didn't like it. But not because it was trash, but because it's not tasteful and is too dark for my and visibly their tastes too, to the point we had a pikachu face when our teacher told us we were studying the censored version of the book and even now I still can't believe it, and when we were finished with it, I got rid of it immediately. But objectively speaking, it has to be one of the most well written book I have ever read with a unique style and a writing showing its author is capable of turning the most rancy thing into the most poetic thing ever and you can feel it was empowering for him to write his life like that and that he loved the world he re-created. So while I wouldn't recommend it to anybody because I care about you, I will never ever claim I didn't like it because it was badly written because that would be dumb and stupid of me, it definetely deserves to be considered a literary work and I do think it's underrated for what it does with language. And if I did based things only on my taste then I'd call Houses garbage without any redeeming quality, but it's not true and we all know it.

I like both games even if I do it differentely and I can't stand people looking down on me for it or thinking I can't have genuine good points, especially when I spend over 400 hours into Engage, and I am not even counting the time I rewatched the over 1 long hour full movie version uploaded on youtube despite the salty and hateful comments just for the sake of making analysis when I could just check that because in that case I would have spend over 800 hours into the story. I even played with the JPN dub and checked the OG script to give the writing a fair chance, something I never did for any FE game before and wished I did.

If you asked me to pick Engage or 3H, I'd pick Engage any day because of how much more welcoming it is with it's simplier story and fun gameplay compared to Houses, a game that each time I had the wish to replay it ended up giving up because of how tedious it gets. I still try to be positive of Houses because of the genuine fun I had despite my personal gripes and the fact it has genius character writing, but the constant negativity against Engage to literaly worship Houses is so annoying it sour me on it, and it makes me fear that from now one every single game IS release will constantly end up being compared to 3H. I just can't.

[atangledfate]

It was Sonic turn to shift after all being in the war and beaten by a new threat - Infinite had been the toucgest enemy back then. Eggman was Eggman he was use to the daily tricks but Infinite taking him away making everyone assume he's dead. Not the mention being locked up until his friends found him. Comparing that defeat to Jet fights, he had preferred and enjoyed their banter too. Just not out for the others death.

"Even you wasn't happy I lost to him? I don't want to ruin the talk - serious as it is but man.. it makes me happy to hear me being around pushes you to reach and push forward, further." Another smug smirk but his eyes are soft a look of acceptance and respect he never shown Jet ever at all. This still felt weird to openly talk. He gave a half hearted glare looking away in annoyance. "You say it like our banter going to just stop. Don't make me say it.. That I liked our banter too. It became my normal daily or monthly drama really..Ah yeah him--Maybe worse who knows. If you're the thief and rival in this time and there was an anti you in Scourges… would you be a Hero? That's a scary thought." Sonic trails off stepping forward arms crossing he knows the topic he just asked was serious so to lighten Jet stress or not the Hero started to joke after all thats why he was here in the first place. "Lets not forget the previous questions at you Jet. You thought this lame Hero or not was attractive. And suure that doesn't mean anything but i can't be that lame for you too consider that question with an answer, am i wrong?" Waving a hand off topic to let the other know there was no malice or pressure in his teasing.

"..Well that makes more sense. I mean it was you but you couldn't help..it? And yeah you was in a dark place i am not going to hold onto that anymore, the past is the past. If you was the same him as…back then yeah you and i would be this that constant loop of anger and hatred..On both sides." Sonic had been looking at Jet again so he did not miss the fearful look. "Jet. You don't need that type of gear anywhere near you to be the best. We want a fair race dob't we? You said it yourself it almost had you kill others and make you doubt your own loyal team. Leave it locked up not because i'm personally requesting you do. But As your rival i don't want you in the head space if we are to race in the future, no tricks no games just us reaching for a brighter and better future yeah?"

"I never make promises i can't keep i'll make sure it's the best baguette you'll have." He grinned.

His head shifted to one side as he had a softer look in his eyes. For a long time all he could think about was beating Sonic. His entire life revolved around it, to the point of absolute obsession! He wanted to be the best back then, well he still did. But not to the detriment of everyone around him. Losing to Sonic messed him up---no wrong his Father had. His demand that he beat sonic or kiss his blood right goodbye. He turned his desire to win into a life or death game! Being banished from Babel still scared him.

" Just Between us? When i thought Infinite killed you... i'd never been so pissed in my life. I was angry that you let yourself die, i was angry this jackass took away my chance to settle things... but i guess deep down... i was sad i'd never see your stupid smile again..."

He looked away again and his eyes were far more somber then before.

" I realized in that moment, this thing between us meant more to me then just Victory. I enjoyed what we had... as fucked up as it was at times... you gave me a reason to keep going--- and i was so angry that dumb jackal took that away. Hell i even tried to kill him myself... blew up in my face, ended up in the infirmary for awhile..."

Her rolled his eyes at sonic but he even smiled a little bit.

" An yea... i missed yer stupid jokes, and your god awful puns! but i'm glad to have it bad... glad that we'll get to share some quips in the future..."

He grumbled at Sonic asking about the attractive question--- Ancestors save him he was going to regret ever saying it. But yea Blue was hot as fuck. he never say it in public, fuck he hated even thinking it in his head---but it was true.

" ...yer not gonna let that go are you? look if this is about me liking men---fuck right off! yea i like men--- is that a problem? and yea... maybe i think yer blue face is kissable! but if that leaves this room i'm going to kick yer scrawny blue ass! "

His eyes did shift when talking about that gear. It was hard to explain, it was like it was ingrained in his DNA. That thing changed him, made him love it, want it, yearn for it. It was still in his head, sometimes he'd stop in front of the case and just stare at it like it was some long lost lover he just couldn't abandon. Sonic didn't know what that was like, maybe its a good thing he didn't.

" Don't worry... i'm done with that thing... if i'm gonna win it'll be with my own skills, my own abilities. I don't need that thing... plus i made Wave and Storm Promise to keep it away from me... that person you fought years ago is gone...for good "

[tara-l-blackmore]

"Self", ink on paper; left: original with cropping; right: filtered with cropping.

I drew this during a time of retrospect, during a time in which my mind was just speeding over and over again, over the same crash courses, the same pains and problems, the same, the same, the same.

I am a weak person. This refers both to my mind and my body. My mind has always been week, susceptible to gullibility and overeager trust, but my body's collapse, while eight years in, is difficult for me to come to terms with, because as a child, I lived a life of a rubber ball: always able to bounce back from all I'm thrown against.

But I'm old, now. I don't mean age, anymore, though yes, it's up there. My body is old. Illness has aged it. I cannot reverse how badly my body has been damaged; it's permanent til death.

It's hard to accept this, as someone used to physical freedom for the first 26 years of their life. But here I am, and this is the way it is:

This pain is permanent, and it will likely kill me.

I'm not certain how. I want it to be natural causes. But sometimes, when I'm in the darkest of places, the worst aspects of my mind and soul, I yearn to give up, to stop feeling, to just go black, to make it all stop.

I've come close. Since Nim died, it's been a daily struggle, one that has eased with time and support, but one that is, like pain and depression, permanent.

It's ironic, in a way. As a child, I never thought to take care of myself. I never thought to be amazed by how resilient I was. Instead, I just kept pushing the limits, doing too much, and it feels like, by doing that, I've sapped my lifeforce dry. I don't have any to spare, because I spent it all as a child.

It would be fine, if that childhood was phenomenal. But sadly, those moments of wasted life weren't always my fault; in truth, there were countless times in which I would have to use that life to save it, in turn draining it.

Irony is never lost on me.

I'm not intelligent. I can string words together pretty well, and bullshit the rest, but I'm not a smart person. At best, I'm mediocre. At worst, I'm a buffoon.

As such, I can never truly ascertain why people react toward me like they do. The default is hatred; the rarest is friendship; the best is family.

However.

I'm too clingy. When I make friends with a person, I attach to them like a barnacle. But it's the kind that saps a person dry, of patience and kindness and love, because I need attention. I need affirmation. I need constant reassurance.

Because I'm so used to not being what kind people say I am. I'm used to being told I'm everything but worth anything.

But being too clingy means I tire people out. People are easily exhausted around me, and soon discover that what I give is not worth what they give me in return.

I've lost a lot of friends over the years, a lot of people I would've died for, without realising that I drained them dry, and without realising that I was no longer the person they thought I was.

When people see my true self, they leave. 7/10 times, they leave. Sometimes it takes more time than usual, sometimes it even takes years, but they leave. They leave, because they see that the charm I put on, the cheerful facade of fun and games, is real, but not real enough, and not enough to make me fun, anymore, amidst the rest of the bullshit that exists within me.

Over the past year, I've lost several people in my life for the above reason, people who shocked me by leaving. Their reasons were either good or stupid, but they were not the real reasons. I know the real reasons, and I wish they'd just been honest with me, and confirmed it, instead of lied to me, and hurt me even more.

I hate lies. I hate being lied to. Honesty is the most important thing to me, and it's something I take seriously. If I lie, it's either so minute it's inconsequential, or I don't know it's a lie and have been misinformed.

But I get lied to a lot. I never knew why, until I just wrote this out.

People lie to me because they can't stand me, and it's the only way to keep me away, because I keep clinging way too fucking hard. So they lie. Then they ignore. Then they ditch. Sometimes they go so far as to demonise me.

It's my fault; I'm too stupid and too trusting, too clingy and too pushy, too nosy and too open. I scare people away, because when I trust them, I show them all of myself.

And that scares most people away. Because there is ugliness in me (not just on the outside, durrhurr, fuck you), and it's too much.

And... I get that. I totally get that. I am too much. I am too pushy, too needy, too nosy.

I'm too lonely...

That's my problem. My loneliness makes me desperate, and I come on to strong, yearning for someone to please, please, please, treat me kindly, be my friend, accept my care and maybe my love (always familial/friendly). I'm so lonely that I refuse to see the red flags in front of me, warning me away from people who will break me.

Except... the people who break me are the people I love, sometimes the most. And that's when I fall.

It's hard to be this sick, and to have to also constantly sew my heart back up, again. It's... draining. It's... lethal.

It hurts.

I don't know why I wrote this. I guess to explain my distance, here, as well as in general. People have been reaching out to me, especially when I ask, but I flee, because all I can see is the inevitable heartbreak.

I know nothing is permanent in life. That's the nature of life. That's what makes it so precious, so fleeting, so... good, and so bad.

And I just want to live my life happily. It's taken years to admit it, but I'm not a lone wolf type. I'm not happiest by myself.

I love people. I love friends and family.

I love to love.

And I guess that's why I'm always fucking everything up. And why I drew this picture.

Sorry...