#i'm not mad at all i just don't get how other people lack critical thought

[snowtamale]

it's a little bit amusing that when my cousin realized her friend is starting to show signs of a bipolar manic episode that she reached out to me to let me know so that i don't facilitate any risky behaviors for this friend

the funny part is that my cousin thinks i engage in risky behavior. sure, i moved to utah to learn how to safely snowboard off cliffs (after spending 20 years of my life on snow/skis). sure, i solo hike a ton. sure, i moved to montana for the mountains and the pandemic (and a girl). sure, i grew some fun mushrooms once upon a time.

BUT, i'm not the one running around in 2024, going to concerts and traveling internationally, pretending covid doesn't exist.

[bloodsbane]

what i love about laios is that he's actually very good at putting puzzle pieces together BUT HERE'S THE THING 1) he needs to HAVE the information, and 2) (this is important) he needs to KNOW it is information he should care about

and i think this could be said of anyone but the thing with laios is that people tend to view his lack of awareness wrt social etiquette and memory problems as pure indifference and/or obliviousness; sometimes they misinterpret his motives based on their inaccurate expectations of him and therefore don't give his thoughts on a subject the credit he deserves

one of the most obvious examples of this happens at least twice in the manga as i remember it, but the most recent incident was when they were trying to resurrect falin. there's a moment where laios mentions reconstructing both of the warg skeletons, as their bones are mixed in with hers. both chilchuck and senshi balk at this, with chilchuck complaining aloud, questioning laios' priorities,

and laios quickly, angrily retorts. his reason for making the suggestion is perfectly logical and practical, but because his friends are used to his interest in monsters influencing his judgement, often in ways they see as frivolous or dangerous, they don't come to the same conclusion. one which i'd argue is kind of obvious considering the situation

we see it again during his fight with toshiro, where toshiro demands to know what laios plans to do to save falin. laios takes a minute to answer, but he DOES answer, following the logic that if falin is a chimera because of (and controlled by) the mad mage, then the logical next step is to confront/defeat/usurp them

then in the following episode, when chilchuck brings it up again, laios explains what he (now) knows about thistle, mentioning that he's the same elf that laios saw in the living paintings, which is why he knows thistle's connection to delgal. the party reacts like this:

i'd say this is an example of them feeling frustration over laios' habit of having 'bad timing', not knowing when or how to speak at appropriate moments. theyre judging him for not saying something earlier, as if he already knew all this but didn't think to mention it when it was relevant, when the reality is that laios only just now had all the pieces he needed to understand the full picture

and i mention this bit specifically because i think it's a great way to explain what i mean by point 2: laios needs to know when information is important and worth considering

which, again, feels fucking obvious. but as someone who ALSO has debilitating issues with remembering important shit, i find this particular element of it pretty relatable and critical to my overall point. it's not laios' fault that he didn't know who thistle was or his significance - why the hell would he assume that a person he met in a living painting, presumably long since dead in reality, should be someone who's face, name, or motives he keeps in mind?

ultimately, i guess what i'm trying to say with all this is that the way others treat laios' intelligence is not congruent to how actually smart he is. one of the things i love most about laios, what is possibly his biggest strength and the reason he is such a great protagonist, is that laios is willing to think things through and find the most logical conclusion to a problem, no matter how outlandish or dangerous or seemingly impossible that conclusion may be. sister got eaten? race back down to go get her. can't afford food? fight, defeat, and eat dangerous monsters. sister's fully digested? use black magic to bring her back. now she's a chimera? defeat the mage controlling her and use that power to fix it.

anyways. what was even my point with this post? i guess it is that laios is smart, at least as smart as anyone else in the cast, arguably smarter than some. he is intelligent and utilizes that intelligence in many ways, not JUST when it comes to monster info (though that is his best and sexiest brand of knowledge)

and also please be nice to your friends with memory problems. it's rough out here for forgetful bitches

[allmannerofmalady]

In continuation of my clownery, I started a new DATV playthrough because my beloved Inquisitor looked so jarring I had to remake her and replay like 20 hours of the game. But hey, I made peace with the fact that I am playing DATV to wrap up Inquisition and get an ending scene at this point, I'm not currently foreseeing a second playthrough, so I gotta do it right, y'know?

Spoilers, and me complaining at extreme length, yet again, about my own personal expectations vs reality into the void. Please ignore if DATV negativity is something you prefer to stay away from, protect your peace & what you enjoy.

So I replay HOURS. I'm having fun killing everything as fast as I can - I don't know what it is about playing as a rogue in this game that has tickled my ADHD brain so much, but I'm surprisingly really good at the arrow bonanza and relentless enemy aggro?! This turn based bitch? I digress.

I see my bb Inquisitor Lavellan - she still doesn't look like herself, but I can live with it. She got some ill-advised fillers in Tevinter, she's been through a lot, let her LIVE.

This time around my strategy is pure lore hunting. I'm getting every codex, I'm SQUEEZING this playthrough for whatever lore/easter eggs I can get because idk if I'm going to play again. I got all of Solas' murals early on, got Mythal's essence before Weisshaupt even, I think. BUT WAIT! I have one more treat! The locked room in the Lighthouse! Solas' study! There must be something juicy for all the effort, right? RIGHT? :'D

I know it's been beaten to death, but PERSONALLY, the game still feels incredibly flat to me, jarringly so. If I'm in the Dreadwolf's home, I want to snoop. I want Rook to look through his library, his books, his garbage bin. I even remember the devs saying they wanted being in the Lighthouse to feel an old friends house, or something? I could be wrong, my brain is fried. It's not just a Solas thing - I'm playing this game because I'm desperate for info about the characters I love, but as Rook, we are IN Solas' HQ and I want to rip open the floorboards. I'm trying to RP as much as I can RP in this G.

Anyway, I was so thirsty for something more, something deeper than just these lovely environments I cant do much with, and notes on how Solas hoards raisins - so I collected the wisps and did all the things to unlock the second door in the Lighthouse, forever booboo the fool, thinking I would get some juicy content or something. Trying to stay positive.

No. NO. I got some gear, another empty room Rook has no comments on, and fine, some of Solas' observations on the anchor. It does seem to confirm he kept the Inquisitor’s arm aaaand I love him your honour.

Back to backflipping and shooting arrows in the air, and wanting to grab Emmrich by the beautiful lapels to shake him and ask about the Pentaghast family. Where's my WIFE --

On to the Weisshaupt mission, which was actually ridiculously fun to play - until I was told Weisshaupt is gone haha wow great love that at least the Inquisitor & gang are keeping Southern Thedas safe *subtle foreshadowing* 😃🤞 weeee

I was SO MAD at myself for expecting more like the clown that I am, it was something dumb but just annoyed me all over again and got me all… opinionated 🫠

So, I'm mad again. I cannot begin to articulate my feelings about the incredible amount of storylines and lore we've lost with the decisions made in DATV's writing - they've already been written so eloquently by much greater minds than myself. SO I'm just laughing my way through the pain 🤡

People pleaser that I am, I see other creators I've followed and loved for ages defend the game's choices, tell others they lack media literacy, that your criticisms mean you have rose tinted glasses about the previous games - whatever, your opinion can be valid without tearing others down. So, I genuinely thought something was wrong with me for being so hung up on details. But I can't even engage in fan theories anymore because I'm so jaded at this point. When I see new deep dives into lore-based theories on the game, 99% of the time my mind goes "There is no deeper meaning. They just wanted to wrap it up." Why do you think this thing happened? What do you think that thing is hinting? Nothing. And this is coming from someone who played all the games, owns all the novels, art books, World of Thedas I and II, the bloody Inquisitor lamp from the BioWare store LOL, I was primed and ready to engage in these conversations, but I can't. I have nothing to say that won't end in a cynical answer, and maybe that's because I'm also jaded by working in the game-adjacent VFX industry.

The factions are, yet again, fun but shallow, the logic confusing, and lack much of a backstory for Rook (I think Grey Wardens and Mourn Watchers seem to be the best developed from other reviews and playthroughs, I've only played extensively as a Shadow Dragon, to be fair). Why are you a mage in this one faction? Why are you a rogue in another when it doesn't make sense without a story to support it? It's all this beautiful candy floss that melts away the minute I stop and think about it. And then the cynic in me thinks - these are probably vestiges of the live service part of the game that EA was pushing for. I have to slap myself and stop looking for deeper meaning within corporate decisionsssss there is no swimming pool behind that closed door you needed 7 wisps for 😃

I desperately did not want this to be the case. I was hyped. I preordered the game and organized vacation around it, I'm too old and dealing with way too many crappy personal things to just be a hater for the sake of being a hater. Gaming and Dragon Age are my comfort spaces. But for the LIFE of me, I can't imagine playing DATV again once I finish, let alone more times than I can count like the previous games. Or imagine listening to 4 hours of Youtube videos of party banter to analyze, or even imagine how companions would react to certain things because they feel so stiff. Everything is beautiful, but sterile.

I do love Emmrich - I'm enjoying his storyline and romance, it's like the loveliest most whimsical Vincent Price Pixar romance, but still, something is always missing with the characters even as some do grow on me. I can't imagine anything close to just the party banter ALONE between Solas and Iron Bull. Cole. Fenris and Anders. And to be clear - the whole DA was GRITTY and DARK, DAO supremacy - NOT ME. I love all the games but they have always been whimsical and silly, cringey at times, and did not take themselves seriously. I remember doing the quest where Hawke is running around trying to keep Aveline's date with Donnic from going south, cracking up at how ridiculous it was, and just thinking - gods I LOVE this game.

Speaking of romance, while I'm enjoying how sweet the romance with Emmrich is, when I see others complaining about lack of spice... ahem. I still cannot get over the art style when it comes to characters. This is subjective, and a me problem - I still find it jarring. I don't like the proportions, the bloom, how smooth everyone looks. They still mostly look like cartoons to me, with no body hair and the big heads, and I find everyone's hands so distracting because they look like plasticine. I'm ok with no spice between these characters with their current designs lol let me leave it at that. Ok, except for Felassan and Solas, chef's kiss, no notes.

Solas and story elements directly around him still mostly hold the familiar weight, for the most part. I think credit goes to his amazing VA and the strength of what was likely written for his arc from the very start, before the rewrites and dev hell the game went through. I still have opinions, obviously, but even as a ride or die Solavellan I don't like having the Solavellan angle hijack conversations, so I'm not going to go there. If I'm going to criticize stuff I'll do it as a gamer/DA fan first, egg lover and apologist second.

As I reach the end of Act 2, the game continues to makes me feel like I'm stripped of all agency after a lifetime of playing choice-based games. I talk to companions when it allows me to, then they are relegated to set dressing. My conversation choices all feel the same, or don't match what I'm choosing sometimes. The Lighthouse does not feel like the vibrant hub it was sold as. I am on quests I mostly cannot accept or reject. I cannot interact with my surroundings unless it is gameified (light a candle, move a crystal). The companions abilities are all just - platforming? I know I sound hyperbolic, but it's all I can see currently.

I played Persona 5 from end to end, twice. I played FFXVI. I loved both, had no issues with their linear storytelling, and how the game led you to their end points. Those games are not DA, they did not have the expectations you would have from a BioWare title 10 years in the making. You were not lured in by tales of an incredible character creator, teased about what might be coming from previous games, told this was a sequel to an immersive fantasy RPG series in a beloved fantasy world where the defining studio mechanic was CHOICES MATTER, even when they changed a lot of other things from title to title. In P5/FFXVI you were Clive, you were Joker, you were playing out their story. They were not direct sequels to anything. I'm loathe to be seen as a mindless critic who just wants to shit on things, but a part of me does feel emotionally manipulated for $$$. I still resent how much hype was built for the game by maligning the previous ones (we're fixing Inquisition's mistakes!!).

I'm back to my mission of finishing the game I paid for, enjoy what I can, and get my Solavellan ending scene cause I'm down BAD for literally the only ship I have ever shipped🧍🏻‍♀️I appreciate that it was included. But also - wow does it exacerbate what wasn't included for everyone else's choices.

Something I hate is how everyone immediately jumped on the Baldur's Gate 3 comparisons - BG3 was a life changing game for me, but it's not perfect, and the comparisons are not fair. The one thing I will say is that when I first played BG3, despite its issues and the later criticisms of how Larian reacted to pressure from fans, I remember my earliest impression was - it feels good to be respected as a player. I didn't feel the game was talking down to me, and I got SO much for what I paid for (700 hours baybeee). Jaheira and Minsc were included as companions in homage to the previous games. Yes, they did Viconia dirty, nothing is perfect - but for example, Jaheira would tell you about her husband Khalid from the original games, which came out in 1998 and 2000. There was a lot of world building/easter eggs that not everyone was familiar with or even noticed, because not every player played BG1 and 2, or were familiar with DND 5e - but it was included. Drizzt Do’urden was mentioned ffs, they didn’t overthink about who read those books or not. I’m aware of my biases and I may very well be looking through rose tinted glasses, but I did not feel like the information was presented like I was dumb, or "ah they'll never understand this - SCRAP IT". It just feels like it’s there to honour the past and out of love for the world Larian were playing in.

—> edit to say that I do notice and enjoy the codex entries, callbacks to Tevinter Nights, Masked Empire, the older games. I wish that care and detail was woven into the main story and overall end product and not just background fluff. I know others are satisfied with those additions, wish that were me. I saw a tweet saying that every callback to a previous game or storyline actually pissed them off even more lol, I relate.

I don't feel that respect for the player in DATV, I'm sorry. There is love there, but as hard as I try, it feels like it's there despite of the overall design of the game, not part of it. I keep remembering interviews before the game was released and things that were promised, and I don't see it. At all. No more meaningless fetch quests!! Most companion-focused game! The quests are largely boring or formulaic, but addictive and fun because they are so packed with mindless combat that my brain enjoys. Sometimes it feels like filler - we didn't know what to add here, FIGHT! You unlocked a poignantly named gate in the Crossroads? NO STORY MORE FIGHT! And I'm eating it up, let me not be a hypocrite, I have 80 hours in the game. But personally, it feels designed to pad out this beautiful, sometimes fun, but bitterly shallow game. I can't even go into companion specifics because I have nothing to say, no story I want to analyze. Some have grown on me, but there is no bite or nuance to the writing that compels me and I have no urge to know more. In the previous DA games I would take the long route wherever I went just to get more banter from my companions, and I was instantly interested in them, even if I disliked them. I've seen the comments, I tried, I don't think it's because "I haven't spent enough time" with the DATV companions.

The level design of long narrow corridors, which do remind me of DA2 and FFXVI, has become so predictable to me that I almost always know exactly where I'm going to find loot. So it becomes this admittedly satisfying run of grabbing and fighting to the end point, getting the dopamine hits of collecting pointless stuff, but not really taking in the environments and enjoying the adventure. The level design is not immersive. These do not feel like real cities or real people, and that was intentional. It feels like “levels”, not a World. No one reacts to a single thing you do. Even in the ultra minimalist style of Zelda BOTW, townspeople would react to things you did. Sometimes I walk up to yet another obvious fight arena where the enemies are just chilling, waiting for me while standing still - almost like they're on shift at a haunted house LOL. I can imagine the Venatori stubbing out a cigarette, "C'mon guys, she's here, showtime". The funny part is this has all been seen before in older games, and it never bothered me. My own expectations and overhype might be to blame, but it feels like a big step back when so many games are stepping forward. Me = clown

I keep going back to my first reaction when the disappointment hit me. It feels like being given Persona 5 Strikers or Hyrule Warriors, and told that it's the sequel to the actual RPG. It's fun, it wears the skin of the thing you like that makes you happy, but stops there.

Other things I shake my fist at

Cheap ass The 6th Sense ass Varric death. Yes, yes, Solas villain arc whatever - it was cheap. Way to honour a multi-game beloved character and the player, even if the time had come for him to die in the story.

No, I cannot find a single redeeming reaction from a companion that makes Varric dying make sense in hindsight, except that they are all made of cardboard. I saw comments saying on a second playthrough it's clear Harding is in mourning - sorry, I don't see it.

So. Dorian, the Inquisitor, Charter, Harding, your party, Maevaris, Isabella, list goes on - not a single one of them asks about Varric or mentions his death? Expresses condolences? Nothing? Cheap. Even if Solas was playing with your mind, doesn't it make the overall characters in the game seem even more wooden and unrealistic to the player? It was not the gotcha they seem to think it is.

When the novelty of the cameos and the emotion associated wore off, they were just flat and felt random. Cassandra should have been there, doing Seeker shit (my WIFE). Ok no cameo? Casual dialogue with Emmrich about having a Nevarran in the Inquisition (or as the Divine?!) Lucanis info dumping about Josephine as an Antivan, Zevran as a Crow, nvm, time for a coffee joke. Merrill, eluvian queen, how is she a nonentity? Habibi Fenris should have been in the Shadow Dragons, spitting on the ground after being approached by Solas to join his uprising (lol what uprising amirite). Ok I'm cooking hire me Bioware 🍳 but at least they can remain untainted by the Isabella Treatment (tm)

This leads into the yeeting of the Keep, world states, choices, and hypocrisy around claiming to want to level the playing field for new players. No, all I can see is - it was treated as a buffet that they picked from as it suited. This is the one disappointment I will never let go of. Facsimile's of beloved character cameos were tossed in, you could not really talk to them outside of what limited dialogue you were allowed. Certain world states are now canon apparently - Dorian being recruited in the Inquisition, Morrigan drinking from the Well etc. You want a reboot and you've committed to tossing the choices and burning down Thedas (literally)? Go down with GLORY! Have all the previous main characters/companions alive. Have them all mentioned, even in passing. A portrait on a wall. Say goodbye to them, get your reboot. Honour what you built your business on. But yeah, Emmrich and Harding get to have their picnic in Fereldan fml bye

The argument of: well, the games are old now, it shouldn't matter. Ah - not too old to capitalize on the IP and DA name? Not too old to use some cameos to lure old players? The argument of - it was too many choices to track. Ok cut them down, but don't go scorched earth? 3 choices, mostly irrelevant to those who don't care about Solas (could never be me), and then literally telling you everything else in the South and Weisshaupt is now razed to the ground. But also the illuminati did everything.

FINALLY - the Inquisition should have been in charge of the hunt for Solas, hill I will die on. Fine, have Rook, but Inquisitor should have been the other protagonist. The people... who knew Solas best and betrayed by him... who were in an organization to save the world... Why did we have that cunty dagger stabbed into the map of Tevinter cliffhanger to have the Inquisitor reduced to a pyjama wearing husk BIOWAAAAAAAARE

It's this stuff that builds up, and makes me think - does this game hate its fanbase and source material that much? I very obviously need to go touch some grass 🤠

I keep engaging with Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter - all to my detriment because it makes me feel like there's something wrong with me for not loving it, all over again. I also desperately have a fic in me I would love to write, an ode to the story in my head from years of loving the world of Thedas, a love letter to my Lavellan and others - but idk what to do with the post-DATV world atp. I just want to get through Act 2/3, get my Solavellan smooch, ignore the ~secret Illuminati ending, and be grateful I'm not a Mass Effect fan so I don't have to go through this again 🐣

[neodreamgirl]

I have something to say...I was very annoyed with what I saw on X the day the news about Taeil being dropped from NCT because he is under investigation for sex crimes came out. Of course when something like this comes out people immediately try to point their fingers to the other members and question if they had known all along that someone they've been working with for 8+ years was capable of committing sex crimes. That's a valid question, I'm not going to sit here and deny it, but what annoyed me was the fact people kept talking as if anything related to the other members came out and confirmed these suspicions. Nothing specific about this incident came out for people to be all like, "There's NOOO WAY they didn't know!" How do YOU know? What detail between Taeil and his victim has you so convinced that the other members knew what was going on? We know nothing. Nothing official about his victim and his actions have been reported so why are we running rampant with all these rumors? Not only that, but all these hypotheticals are just taking the attention away from Taeil, the one that's under investigation for sex crimes. Now you're directing your attention to people who weren't reported to have done anything to anyone. You're paying attention to speculation instead of official reports from the police. Please...

Another thing that pissed me off was the spread of unofficial information provided by random twitter users. Information that hasn't even been confirmed being spread around like it is fact. There are threads that are full of random screenshots and translations that any non Korean speaker would have no choice but to believe is correct. Then, there are threads debunking these rumors or criticizing some of the translations because, according to native Korean speakers, they don't make sense and the hangul is fucked. Wouldn't anyone seeing this online just think to themselves: "Hey, you know what, since there is so much back and forth about this information, let me ignore this and believe the things that have been reported as facts. The facts being that Moon Taeil was kicked out of NCT because he is being investigated for sex crimes. If all those screenshots and stuff turn out to be true, okay." It's not that deep. I don't understand. The whole, "BELIEVE ALL VICTIMS" thing is dope and all but it has rotted some of your guys' brains, especially because it has become some sort of performative activism. You aren't thinking straight at all. You just want some random that ends up on your profile to see you're not a "Taeil apologist" (???) because you're retweeting or reposting all this random information. Go outside, please. Also, in this instance, we don't even know if the woman that filed charges against him is the same woman in these screenshots going around. So whose story are you really spreading around? YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW.

This lack of...media literacy is devastating to say the least. Again, all we know is that a woman filed charges against Moon Taeil and he is now under investigation for sex crimes. That is enough for me to tune his bitch ass out and never want to see his face again.

Lastly, something that is also getting on my nerves is that some fans are wording their issues strangely...They're saying things like Taeil "betrayed" his members...girl. No the hell he didn't. He showed them nothing but love and commitment. "We all waited for you and you go on and do this?!" Girl...You are not a victim. NCT is not a group of victims and NCTzens are definitely not victims. You don't know that man and that man has never touched you or violated you. You're just mad because you never thought you would have to hate him. That's all. You're acting like it's a personal attack to you when it isn't and you also don't know him personally so chill out. Now you're making this about yourself and non victims. LIke, can we FOCUS? MOON TAEIL WAS KICKED OUT OF NCT BECAUSE HE IS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR COMMITTING A SEX CRIME AGAINST A WOMAN.

[chiarrara]

the core idea i'm working with concerning the jjk finale discourse is that people are mad about the wrong things.

I have had serious problems with the writing in jjk since at least shibuya, and I even found criticism in the hidden inventory arc and the sister school exchange arc (though the main problem there is that it was boring pre-disaster curses and the characters suck).

Similar to Game of Thrones, some people were criticizing the broken writing choices as far back as seasons 3 and 4 while most people were glazing the series until the cracks in the foundation caused the entire story to crumble right at the end, leaving most of the fanbase confused how it "suddenly" got so bad.

The commonly held sentiment is that JJK fell off after Shibuya. I disagree. I think it fell off during Shibuya where the entire worldbuilding, power system, and plot broke irreparably.

HOWEVER where JJK never fell off was in character writing, relationship writing, and the overall themes of the story which were all consistent, had strong throughlines, were well integrated into the action (another strength), and were in my opinion, the core appeal of the the entire project.

And yet, most of what I hear people complaining about is either a) missing or dissatisfying character moments and a lack of satisfying exploration of the themes, or b) contradictory outrage over plot and worldbuilding elements not lining up as if these issues haven't been there from the start.

I know a lot of people don't operate this way, but when there are fundamental problems with the storytelling, but there are other parts of the story that I find incredibly meaningful and impactful, I find it really easy to glaze over those problems and even justify and rewrite them in my head so they make more sense. When good character writing shows up in JJK, I stop caring that the plot sucks.

The finale chapters of JJK had amazing character writing, delivered on the main themes of the story, and made literally all the broken plot elements, lack of focus, and shoddy worldbuilding secondary concerns for me. They don't break the important parts of the story, I don't care that they aren't wrapped up because I didn't like them in the first place, and their lack of exploration just cedes more ground to fan creation allowing the story to thrive for years into the future.

If you were reading JJK for the complicated plot, complex scheming, or intricate worldbuilding, I can see why you're upset, but you made a mistake a long time ago because that stuff has sucked for ages. But I know most of you fuckers on this website were reading for good characters, impactful themes about love, and yaoi bait, so why are you mad????? I really don't get it.

Who cares that the shittily written American Military subplot didn't come back? The fucking basis of the power system doesn't make any sense and isn't well thought out, so how was it ever going to deliver on the solution/potential for cursed energy? You're mad that the random New Shadow School subplot was randomly thrown in at the end, I've been mad since that random fucking grasshopper showed up in the fucking subway!

And some of you are literally admitting YOU DIDN'T EVEN READ THE TRANSLATED CHAPTERS so how would you KNOW if the story themes and character writing had been delivered on? based on summaries? that is the absolute worst delivery system for a story, you have to know this. you're getting mad at machine translations of out of context pages like WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT.

In conclusion, most of you are mad at the wrong things and none of what I wrote up there is really about what the things you should be mad about are, because they don't matter. The point of a story is to mean something and JJK did. It was always good at what it was good at, and I wish people were engaging more with the story in it's own domain instead of being mad it wasn't exactly what they wanted it to be. The finale delivered on everything that made me care about this story. It made me love it even more, and I'm never going to regret spending so much time on this series. Everything else is just criticism for fun.

[wesleysniperking]

25 things I remember and tell myself when it's tough to support Usopp in a shonen world.

1. If Usopp had a solo movie, it would make up for his lack of screen time.

2. If When Elbaf is his moment to shine, it can absolutely counter everything haters say he lacks. Usopp is fabulous regardless; he just doesn't see it himself.

3. I'm not sure why other fans get mad when people defend their favorite character. If an Usopp fan sees a comment like "Usopp needs to go die in a hole," it's natural to respond. Insulting someone's favorite character invites a reaction.

4. Usopp is awesome and has nothing to prove.

5. There's a beauty in retrospect. I believe he'll receive better reception by the time I'm using a walker. Yesterday's taboos are today's norms.

6. You can't take away Usopp's sniping abilities. He may be called the weakest, but no one can deny he's the best sniper. Look at his dad.

7. I believe people have forgotten storyteller Usopp, especially when they don't understand why Elbaf is significant.

8. If Usopp doesn't get his moment in Elbaf, fans will be justifiably upset. Franky's Egghead and Zoro's Wano arcs had different build-ups. Who's the outlier here?

9. Saying Usopp doesn't have Observation Haki is the dumbest thing haters say. Even non-canon reminds us that he has it. Some are just mad that he got it.

10. I don't understand how someone can passionately hate Usopp and how he's written without blaming Oda. Criticizing Usopp's writing implies Oda's done some bad writing, which is okay! No one is perfect.

11. Of all the reasons Usopp is hated, the Wano situation where he told Nami to lie is the most frustrating to defend. It genuinely beats out Water 7.

12. Usopp is the most flawed Straw Hat in the fandom's eyes. I compare him to King David a lot, especially since David is considered a warrior king who fought Goliath and was heavily flawed, yet God still loved him. Like King David, who was one of God's favorites because he had a good heart and held no pride, Usopp isn't as prideful, arrogant, or selfish as he seems. He doesn't even lie that much. People wonder why Luffy let Usopp join; it's because Luffy, like God with David, sees a good heart with no pride in Usopp.

13. Whatever happens, flaws and all, Usopp will always be my favorite.

14. I don't understand how fans can talk so badly about Usopp. Yes, people find him grating and irredeemable. But neglecting a humanist approach is scary. If you can't tolerate a character like Usopp and put him down as weak, inferior, and irredeemable, something's wrong.

15. I might project onto Usopp, and he might be my comfort character, but I root for him and accept him for who he is. Recently, I thought I wouldn't pass my finance class at university but managed to get a B with enough grit and tenacity. Usopp faces that all the time!

16. If you're waiting for Usopp to "finally be brave," you might need to find another character. It's like picking a university degree; Usopp isn't for you.

17. Despite everything, Usopp is still awesome. No one will ever overshadow him to me. I'm all in with tunnel vision.

18. Usopp embodies the idea that the greatest are the least, and the least are the greatest.

19. 19. Usopp is only 19. People need to give him grace. At 19, I was still a kid!

20. If Usopp is such a bum, why do people remember him? How does he bring the crew down? Recently, there's nothing to suggest he's hindered the crew's success.

21. Sniper King doesn't need to come back. It annoys me when haters say he needs to return because they hate the current Usopp. It's a weird flex.

22. Yes, Yasopp isn't a good dad, but he's not the worst anime dad. It bothers me when people emphasize this to prove Usopp is a “bum” compared to his crewmates. It's unfair.

23. I believe Oda is saving something big for him. If I'm wrong, it will be devastating, but I'll find a way to defend it. I won't be alone.

24. Syrup Village is a goated arc. Usopp is the reason the crew got a ship.

25. Disregarding all agendas, ships, headcanons, theories, and projections, Usopp is still a character worth respecting and rooting for. This will be MORE evident 20+ years from now. Just wait.

usopp community I created. feel free to join. (still wip, but you can post anything!).

Gif credit

[fromtheseventhhell]

calling targ fans neo-nazis because they enjoy a fictional family of dragonlords is insane. it's also super disgusting because a majority of targ nation are poc and/or jewish themselves. and where the fuck do they get the idea that targaryens are nazis to begin with? which race are they trying to systematically exterminate? when did they impose valyrian lebensraum on westeros? how the fuck can they be white supremacists against the other whites of an entirely white continent?

Honestly, I think this is why we just have to start being meaner to these people. There's no way they should feel comfortable casually calling people "neo-nazis" because of the fictional characters they like in a fantasy series. I'm so tired of the superiority complex they have because they think they're enjoying the series in the "right" way in comparison to the rest of us. The Targaryens are "Nazis" because they don't like them and need Dany to go mad to fit their idea of what the story should be. In other words, they lack any concept of critical thinking skills and their only reference for the story is that god-awful show that George has said multiple times has a different ending than his. "Targ restoration is neo-nazi rhetoric" and the Targ restoration in question is a former bridal slave who's spent the majority of her life in poverty and danger + who is currently enacting a wide-scale revolution and fighting for slaves getting the family and happiness she's always wanted. Not to mention that people never have these "bad blood" takes about Jon, despite him being Half-Targaryen. The Starks are colonizers who took over the North and decimated the COTF...but I don't see any takes saying it's bad to hope the Starks regain their home. Where are all the metas/theories about the remaining COTF returning and regrowing their numbers? I thought we weren't supposed to like colonizers responsible for the destruction of an entire species? Funny how that hypocrisy works. Meanwhile, the actual author of the series is a Targ stan who has written more for House Targaryen than any other house. But sure...it's our moral obligation as readers to not like them and root for their extinction 🙄

[skayafair]

Ok so we've all went through some stages regarding the finale and The Great Divorce (or lack thereof) in S5.

I'm not a patron so I have no idea which turn the plot is going to take in reality, but after some insight from the others I've noticed which way would have been the most enterteining for me.

So a lot of people already noticed that Arthur probably isn't going to be pissed at John all that much. Yeah the situation isn't peachy but they had worse, and I don't even mean like "part 18 The Madness" kind of worse. Whom Arthur took his rage on was Kayne, so the "you lied" might have referred to him as well. (REALLY, THANK YOU to those who noticed that, it made the finale MUCH better for me, although it was good and fun as is.)

If Arthur IS mad at Kayne:

Why did he sound so defeated in the end? Was it an act to gain some time to figure out how to get out of this predicament? Or was he shocked to witness two of his allies die or disappear (and I think he IS worried for Noel a fair amount), maybe spiraling to "everyone around you dies" and "nothing gold can stay" as a possible future implication again?

A fun part for me would be if there is some self-blaming, too. Because after hearing the whole story it's easy to arrive to a horried realization: after Arthur's deal John was supposed to be safe, and he wasn't, therefore, Arthur failed him.

Even though getting John back with no memory was selfish (because erasing the memory would have critically affected John when he didn't have a say in it, and that's obviously messed up) and not ideal (it still put him at least with his friend instead and gave a chance to develop on his own again rather than being consumed by the King, which... yeah... I often forget how fucked up Arthur's behaviour with Yellow actually was from this POV :')), it still helped them both. They had better chances at survival together rather than on their own. It wasn't the worst outcome, Arthur didn't betray his friend. John being safe(-er) was an equally important part of the deal as Arthur not being alone. But since Kayne didn't hold his end of the bargain, John wasn't just in danger. He was in the Dark World, for indefinite amount of time. That was a complete opposite to the conditions of the deal. If Kayne didn't strike another deal with John, they wouldn't have met again, probably. John would have stayed in the DW while Arthur could still have his life and a chance at a new friendship, however sour it turned in the end. So, in a distant, inderect way it was like Arthur was betraying John while not even knowing this. Because he thought he could trust Kayne on this deal. It's not exactly logical and is rather a stretch but it's easy to leap to this conclusion, especially for someone with self-depricating tendencies like Arthur's. He's doing better but I don't think he's completely past it yet. He was failing someone dear to him without knowing, again. We know how he feels about that.

Moreover, we know how Kayne emphasises time and again how powerless John is before him, but Arthur is just as helpless. His rage at Kayne seemed to die out in a span of a few minutes, giving way to a lifeless "I'll come" after Kayne's demonstration of power. Which feels unltimately out of character and I know HG knows his characters well, so there HAS to be an explanation and I'm just... WHICH ONE GRRR I NEED TO KNOW!11 He may be furious about Kayne's actions but still not be able to do anything about this. And in my mind this relates to the talk about faith he had with John: that if he believed in God, Arthur would have had to believe all the deaths around him, as well as Faroe's, was God's plan, and he just can't agree with that. Not said but I think implied: it would have meant that some very powerful entity decided to kill or hurt a person he deeply cares about with his own hands/ignorance, and Arthur doesn't have a say in this while being the one at fault. It's the same here.

Oh, wait, this isn't even the second time it would have happened! It's the third, the second was John's doing, with Parker's death. Arthur has a streak!

So all in all, if the finale revelations don't trigger some trauma in this department that needs dealing with, I'd be a bit sad. But not much, part 40 gave A LOT of new opportunities, so I feel like a kid in a candy store anyway. I wonder which ones are going to be explored in the show, and will be waiting for the ficwriters to do their magic, too :D

[demdems]

kinda told myself i wasnt gonna post about natlan for a while since what else is there to be said but here we are

so pinocchio, how's that nose growth going

talked about natlan before in this post [written after the first trailer dropped] and this one [written after the 5.0 livestream] if ur one to be curious

i sent smth to my friends and its the basis of this post so for simplicity's sake i'm pasting it here in its entirety then I'm seeing what else i have to add

I think smth that bothers me about this natlan thing [read the comments on some short now I'm cursed] is that an argument is that people are only getting upset about the skin color part of cultural rep which to them reads as shallow but the thing is, people did get upset at everything else in sumeru and natlan like even before the characters got revealed people got mad that hyv was hodge podging several cultures into one fictional culture for those two nations but at most the other nations took inspo from like, two or three, and people got upset about the really poor interpretation of cultural clothing, and they got upset about real life names getting tacked onto white characters. Just is that now w skin color being a debate point, they can use a loud minority of "pale skinned people from these cultures exist too" to support their point

ive seen people actually be upset about more than skin color with natlan & sumeru but it's apparently just much easier to vilify people over wanting dark skinned characters vs wanting characters to be dressed appropriately or wanting characters to not take names from real life figures

Like even outside these two nations ive seen people get upset over more than just skin color but as long as u can slap on the excuse of "other people think it's fine" or something similar, then it gets swept under the rug [like it's been years and i still think raiden & miko have some of the worst designs in inazuma just because visual appeal was overprioritized, but its impossible to critique how inappropriate/disrespectful it was for genshin to effectively sexualize traditional japanese outfits without getting shredded to pieces if u post ur thoughts in the wrong circle]

I digress, back to my main point.

[most] people who are criticizing genshin have their issues run much deeper than simply, i want a character with dark skin. real life cultures are incorporated in many different ways in genshin, but character designs in genshin hugely draw on clothing, names, and skin color [for the very few characters who don't get sentenced to #FFFFFF]. thing is tho, even with all the real life inspiration to draw on, the design team still majorly drops the ball.

nahida's white on white on white is a crime against character design, tighnari's palette made me consider dropping art forever so i never have to even attempt to color pick the seven million colors in his splash art, several natlan characters are walking talking fashion crimes who have a severe lack of overall cohesion, dori

people very much did drag character designs apart from their skin colors, and they were justified since the design team seemed very pick and choose when it came to deciding who gets the good design and who gets the not so good one

My point is, there have been people who've had issues with genshin's inclusion/depictions of real life cultures since the beginning and it's been more than just disliking pale skinned characters being the majority in regions that would have more than the two skin tones included in game [white and off white], and anyone worth their salt in this discussion about genshins colorism and appropriation understands that skin color isn't just something to toss into the ring willy nilly to stir debate cuz if you wanna have an actual discussion u gotta know what ur gonna be talking about

These are just my thoughts though, sorry if it's very scrambled i wrote as i went, if i managed to shoot myself in the foot and say something terribly egregious please lmk

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

Is it me or do other people find it jarring how Taika's haters try and distort reality and act like everyone loves him and they are the only one? Or that everyone acts like he's perfect and heaps him with praise for doing the bare minimum when from what I've seen no one who actually likes him does that.

I've seen people like 'if you're cancelling the last of us cancel ofmd cos Taika is zionist scum who supports genocide'.

Hi Anon! Oh interesting question. I don't know if I've personally seen a lot of that specific situation where they think everyone is blindly supporting him (I do tend to block after a certain point so maybe that's why?). If I'm understanding you correctly it sounds a lot like they're seeing any support of Taika as "HE IS PERFECT AND NO ONE SHALL CHALLENGE HIM" when most people who support him know he's not perfect (as no one is) and we accept him anyway.

Which is one of the things OFMD really drives home-- you're not perfect, that's okay! You can do better if you mess up! You are deserving of being forgiven!

Which I mean, in general I think that really points to your first point, that folks who are mad at him are kind of living in this distorted reality. But also too... I've seen this a lot in my personal life with ... various folks that some people see the world in a very black and white state. They see things as "if it's not this, it MUST mean THIS" -- in this case "If people support Taika, it MUST BE BECAUSE THEY THINK HES PERFECT", same with "If he asked for hostages to be released, HE MUST BE SUPPORTIVE OF GENOCIDE".

--- sorry long post is long, I'm in a rambling mood today sorry!---

Which.. to be fair there's a lot of cultural training for that.. as some folks have put in tags of other posts, it's lack of critical thinking and questioning skills. I know where I grew up they were super big into us questioning everything, but when I talk to some friends who grew up in other states here in the US, they didn't get the same focus on critical thinking in public school, and got more of it in college (and not everyone can afford to go to college). I had a really cool 11th grade English teacher who showed us a video in class one day. It was a parody of a documentary and was explaining how the earth was flat (which we didn't know at the time, they didn't tell us this wasn't real). It was weird because it didn't come out and say "the earth was flat" though, it came out with kind of vaguely reasonable sounding arguments from people with "Dr" in front of their name.

I remember looking at my friend who was really confused too and saying something like "wait is this for real?" and them shrugging at me. It wasn't until this part of the video where there's literally cows running around Antarctica that a lot of us were like, "wait this is totally not real". That English teacher.. after we got done with the movie started asking us when it was that we started questioning the validity of the video, and then went into this whole lecture about how especially when we're young, we're so used to just being FED information that sometimes we get fed completely false information and we just DONT know it. The whole exercise was all about questioning and critical thinking skills and how not every "teacher" or "doctor" is going to be as qualified as they try to tell you they are.

I found that whole exercise really eye opening because I had never really thought of people purposely trying to bias my education like that before. I'm sure there's thousands of ways that people learn these kinds of skills (and I know mine aren't perfect) but I found that one to really hit home-- so imagine never being taught that. Never being taught that if you start feeling like the thing being said doesn't sound quite right to question it.

Now of course, some folks are purposefully ignorant and that's a whole other issue, but I do think we need better critical thinking education all over the world (but especially in America what with the vastly different education depending on which region you're in).

ANYWAY omg im sorry -- I dont know if I even really addressed your point, so I apologize if I didn't (the ADHD is strong today I tell you)-- so if I didn't please let me know and I'll try again!

I hope the trolls aren't getting to you too much today, sending love anon <3

[skubean]

Ohohoho have you written angst yet?

Maybe a reader who got assigned a character very similar with a graduated member and everyone gets mad on the reader or smth 🤭

Honestly sounds really juicy

oh my god anon first of all i am SO sorry this took so long, i was a little burnt out and busy but IM BACK (hopefully). second of all, I WROTE THIS AND DID NOT SAVE IT SO MY PROGRESS IS GONE so im starting from scratch again, im sorry if it isnt to your liking T.T also probably a bit controversial ksskkssk

where did it go wrong? ft. gn reader (nijisanji based)

cw: mentions of graduated member, pls dont take this srsly this is a fiction, lots of misunderstandings, angst to the core, this ones short bcs angst sucks!

you were beyond joy, ecstatic even. how could you not when you finally received the news you've been waiting for months. "i got in", you thought. it was probably the most happy you've ever been, especially considering how anxious you were the past few months, worried sick that you were going to get rejected. you were a part of the company now, the company you wanted to work with for streaming, it almost felt so unreal. when you sat in a meeting w the staffs, and went through some designs for your model, you were quick to notice one seeing quite familiar. and it broke your heart. it reminded you so much of them. but what hurt you more was when they urged you to use the exact model that you hoped you wouldn't get. their reasonings being that it suited you best, or that it makes up for the lost of one, something like that. you were shattered, scared, terrified, but lack the guts to reject anything. when you were introduced to the other members of the company, they all welcomed you warmly. the other members who were to debut alongside you quickly became acquainted w the others and it almost felt as if they've known them for so long. worried that you would be left behind, you had personally messaged some of your senpais to seek for guidance and to make conversations, only to be treated so coldly. "oh sorry, y/n. i can't help you i'm busy", while they helped the others earnestly. "you don't know how to start stream? what are you, an amateur?", while they guided your debut mates side by side. "if you want to have people like you, you gotta be more original. don't stoop so low and be a fake like this" you were beyond confusion. what the hell was all this treatment you were getting? did you say something wrong? were you rude? did you offend anybody? why, just why were they ignoring you so openly, and multiple at that too. but you held strong, you stayed calm. if you wanted to debut, then this prejudice was nothing. you could do it. it was going to be fine. except it wasn't. when debut day came, you were the last in line to stream. technical issues, internet problems. you couldn't bare to see twitter, to see the hate that was being thrown at you for being unprofessional. at last, when you finally got the stream to work, you were shocked to see the criticism they were throwing at you in the live chat. "rip-off" "faker" "unoriginal" "give us back what we lost" you wanted to cry. why is it your fault? you noticed how shaky your voice was, and you tried so so hard to hold back your tears. your hands were trembling, and you kept fumbling on your words. it was just so unfair. why should you bear the sins of other people? post debut, you were looking at the tweets and were just so heartbroken to see the double treatment people were giving you. you hated everything at that moment, and were rethinking if you did the right thing. it wasn't fair. you were human too. months passed by and you were never free from the foul mouths of the people on the internet, and it drained you so much. you wanted to make a living, wanted to do your best to provide content for people just as it makes you happy. but if happiness wasn't destined for you, and if people couldn't see your sincerity, then maybe it was all your fault in the end.

a/n: bro can i just say i hate angst skskssksk this sucks

[skiimbii]

> planes passing in the night

I am truly on a roll here, looking at all my hastily written ideas on scraps around the desk. Either way, miscommunication is the topic this time - common trope, but it does get a lot of shit online. Of course I have an opinion on that, haha.

Is the miscommunication trope a good or bad one? Every couple of months, it feels like the internet forgets that they've talked about it before and everyone on Twitter reiterates their thoughts on how much they absolutely despise the trope. Originally, I usually agreed with their sentiments - if these dumbasses simply sat still for two seconds and just listened, 90 percent of the plot would disappear into smoke, so why the hell do I have to continue to be here, frustrated? It's a valid criticism. To a point!

Lately, I've looped back around to thinking about things that I've previously written off ages ago in the writing sphere, to ask myself if my stance has remained stagnant. At some point I was reminded by the internet about this, but it got me thinking about what the miscommunication trope is, and what specifically makes it bad. And thus, we come to a new metaphor: planes passing in the night. (I know the original saying is ships passing in the night, but I can't use boat terminology in all of these. So, planes.)

I know the original idiom talks about people meeting for a moment, only to separate to never see each other again, but I'm changing the meaning here, bear with me.

It's nighttime. Two planes quietly pass each other in the airspace, on their own separate paths. Maybe this could be read as something sad and evitable. But honestly, who's to say that they won't ever end up in the same airport, in the same hangar? How the hell do we know that they weren't both in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and that if they had met in that exact time it wouldn't have gone to shit? It was cloudy; they couldn't spot each other. Neither pilot asked for help; no one picked up their radios. Passenger and helicopter, international and local, taking off and landing ... there are a million reasons why. And that, that fucking convoluted mess of reasons, is why miscommunication is so often so bad. Funnily enough, it's all because of a lack of communication.

It's another relatively straightforward way I've made up to start fixing this problem in writing, but, again, it's shoddy and won't fix everything, so heed that. To make miscommunication work, think about a flight cancellation. To cancel it, you'd want a damn good reason, or else you sit and stare at the terminal and you just get mad. Make the reason why these characters are unable to get their stories straight like a tornado - which is to say, unavoidable and impossible to stop, not something you'd want to get caught up in, not worth the sacrifice to venture into. It doesn't have to be clear to readers right away, that would be boring. But it should be something that will take that extra second of hesitation to get over, because kiddie gates aren't stopping grown adults who have yearning in their hearts. (If you don't want one big wall, a series of kiddie gates is capable of crippling even the strongest athletes.)

And don't just think of these obstacles as one type of wall, especially if you're a visual guy like I am. To get to your flight, there's checkout counters and gates and sliding doors and people, so many people until you can finally sit and rest and wait for boarding. On good days, you'll breeze through and hop on in a timely fashion. Bad days have you being pat down and missing your flight. Miscommunication isn't always standing behind a brick wall and hearing a conversation out of context, just like airports are unpredictable and stupid.

And that's the sinch, isn't it? We all love a version of this dumbass trope, whether we realise it or not. It's just one version of miscommunication that we hate, when the planes are so close, almost touching, nothing stopping them - and they just don't, for no good reason (bad weather? the skies are clear). It can be anything - a fight, a commotion outside the window, a second of hesitation that lets the other character overthink, a bad piece of outside advice, thinking that they actually understood when they didn't, death, life, whatever - but make it a tornado.

Most importantly, make it feel fun. Airports aren't, but this isn't an airport anymore shut up forget the metaphor for this. Frustration is good, but leaving people suspended in that feeling for too long will turn it into genuine frustration, which we don't want. You want these guys to kiss and make up! They keep missing and missing and zooming past each other but it's amusing and maddening and we want them to stop and turn back at some point to land at the same destination. (In fanfic, this is easier. We already like these guys from the canon media, so of course we'll stick with their antics. Still, don't let that keep you from making a good F5 tornado.)

It's still nighttime. Two planes pass each other in the airspace. Maybe someone sees this as a sad inevitability. But tonight, or tomorrow, or next week or month or year, they'll find each other again on the landing strip, or the lot, or the hangar. They just need to avoid the tornadoes until then.

[resizura]

you know i think it readily becomes apparent where the creators of re movies’ loyalties lie where you realize that really the only organization that our heroes work for that gets routinely criticized…is the human rights organization

like in degeneration, they pin the blame for the terrorist attack and lack of resources to put it out on terrasave acting on the knowledge they had at the time to try and stop big evil pharma, and although they end up being right, the blame falls entirely on claire/terrasave and claire spends a good amount of time believing it, even saying “it’s all our fault” and when leon comforts her, he says what she does is noble but the creators also have to slip in “well leon and chris, they’re fighters, they’re cool guys. but uh feel bad for claire i guess” then in infinite darkness we barely even see her doing terrasave work, just at the beginning, then she researches the mad dogs and finds the suicide, then she gets kidnapped, then the climax. like claire really has NO bearing on the actual PLOT going on except for exposition, meanwhile all the stuff we WANNA watch goes to cool government agent man. then in fucking death island, the one time i thought the movie was GOING to actually criticize the institutions these guys work for, who’s organization gets shit on the most by other characters and even called terrorists between the government, a private military, and a human rights ngo? go ahead. guess.

its actually kinda crazy you sent this because i was just thinking about it while i rewatched death island.

like, i literally was thinking about how messed up it is that an organization that works completely independently from a government, that gets its funding through things like donations, grants, and membership dues, that has to meet legal requirements to get registers to administer aid, that has hundreds, maybe even thousands of employees across the globe, is so heavily criticized in a series where the government literally nuked a city and covered it up to save a huge corporation's ass

and like idk, how realistic is it for terrasave to even get away with all this stuff? i'm not saying it can't happen, but so far terrasave has been called out for so much, like starting outbreaks, members secretly working with terrorist orgs, and other vague bad stuff the series won't go into detail on. i feel like if an anti-terrorist ngo was always in trouble for doing terrorism, they wouldn't be able to work. especially since governments will sometimes try to limit their power and diminish the aid they can give out.

and consider this: the BSAA works with the united nations. you know who else works with the united nations? ngos. granted, they're different since terrasave is a humanitarian group and the bsaa is a paramilitary agency, but considering the point is to combat bioterrorism, the difference between how they're treated in the games is ridiculous. i know now the bsaa is corrupt as of re village (i think), terrasave has been called corrupt since the moment it was shown.

i feel like if they wanted to go through with the "corrupt ngo" route they could do something more along the lines of terrasave destabilizing the communities it works in or maybe the people within it take bribes or don't use the money for its intended purpose. but yeah the way capcom goes "look at how UNRELIABLE these humanitarian groups are! the only ones who can save them are the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and SOLDIERS and COOL PEOPLE" like gtfo

[3416]

The nylander convo pre covid years was def reaching the pervasiveness, but never quite got as personal the way it has with mitch. like I distinctly remember don cherry (just threw up in my mouth a little bit) continuously going off about nylander which then made everyone else talk about him and it was just an endless cycle. they painted him as aloof and felt that he didn't care about toronto, but they never really got as mean as people have with mitch now. everyone wanted him out of toronto, but they weren't saying he should never play in the nhl again

but honestly the biggest difference was that the things they were saying about willy weren't exactly wrong either. like they would get mad at his lack of production or sloppy defense or careless plays, which like, yeah. that's exactly what was happening. they didn't have to go on and on about it but he wasn't producing like they thought he would and that was that.

And the thing I can't really pinpoint is when and why the nylander hate train stopped. again, I don't think anyone's faults deserve to be pointed out and dissected on a nightly basis, but he hasn't exactly improved exponentially in any of those categories? maybe the caring about toronto bit? but he still makes careless plays and his career point totals are still less than marner/matthews so? what gives?

I don't know why the blame was shifted to mitch, and again, another guy has to take ALL the blame for this teams shortcomings and have his character be questioned every single day. Nothing about it makes sense.

oh yeah and i'm not making light of the types of xenophobia that can be seen when talking about nhlers. there's plenty of it and i'm not even saying willy wasn't a negative talking point bc i'm sure he was. don cherry is an old ass hag whose opinion shouldn't matter at all 50 years after he stopped playing like jfc. but i do think one man's vendetta and constant bitching is different from like.. proper media outlets going out of their way to misinterpret something (or EVERYTHING) a player says time and time again to drum up talk. i just think things on the internet have somehow gotten worse in terms of clickbait so everything feels even more terrible too. someone does always have to be the scapegoat with toronto but i have a hard time buying that a rookie was taking up as much air time as the public punching bag than a now star player who has an obligation and routine to be in the media more often and all of it follows constant playoff failure from the TEAM. even elliott friedman covering the entire LEAGUE having to stop talking about anything to do with mitch hypothetically unless it was actual insider info bc his mentions went nuts is so........ trash.

and lol about the stuff they were saying about willy. it certainly isn't a nice way to say it... calling him lazy and insinuating shit about his work ethic is attacking his character when i don't think that's the way to put it, but i do think those are still problems in his game, you're right! the thing is... willy was not always productive as he has been right now, lol. his game has grown but mostly in just offensive production and that's it. he hasn't put in the work on the less flashy side of things (while mitch has. mitch's offense has always been top tier but he's dedicated time to growing defensively clearly) and i think it's a valid criticism of him and also a lot of hockey fans don't fully know how to evaluate or value skills away from the puck (myself included to some extent too, it's harder). he's great at creating offense solo... he's a great puck carrier and in transition... he's great when he's out there with a loaded up line like the power play (hence why some of his 'clutch' moments come in those situations too). but i also think everyone talking about his ability to pay attention for a full 82 game span being unproven is right, lol. i saw a tweet abt how he does 'just enough' the other day and was a 'load management king' and like. maybe so but imagine if a forward you've agreed to pay 11.5 would do a little more than that and work on consistency, lol. i get why people are a fan of his game, don't get me wrong. it's fun to watch graceful bursts of offense... i just think there's still irresponsibility there. if he were more willing to buy in, we have a better shot at racking up more points during the regular season and putting us in a better position for the playoffs too... wouldn't need some of those moments of saving lol. it's not just about only 'showing up' in the playoffs moments considered big, which i still think is a stupid argument when every game is important and the best playoff run by a current leaf was 22-23 mitch but. idk. i'm kind of glad berube is trying him at center to give the leafs and willy's game some versatility. i hope it comes with growth, the team will be better for it.

the shift in blame is hard to pinpoint for me too, lol. i don't get why beyond like.. willy bulking up... putting up 40 goals? idk what the threshold is for why things changed this time when mitch was our mvp 2 yrs ago with auston hurt. willy going on a run in a contract year was part of it probably, but it's silly of leaf fans to just decide Now is the year it all just doesn't work just bc only 2/4 core guys are signed on and then declare those are the best 2 we've had the the loss of the others is marginal. bc lol and it's pure coincidence that the major contracts line up in tandem like that. we still only saw them all play under 2 coaches that whole time... anyway. i have no clue what's next, lol. i'm excited to see them play in a different system for real, but i think the dumbest people among us need someone to solely blame for why everything up to this point hasn't worked and why getting rid of that 1 person will result in immediate success while refusing to acknowledge luck plays any sort of role year after year. it's not a fun truth but it's a truth... having 3/4 of ur best players dealing with something in some capacity is crazy work by the universe.

[woodchipp]

In my critique of OMORI, I cite this particular interview as the source for several of my claims.

Today, I'd like to try and dissect that interview as well.

Given that this interview is (apparently) supposed to be a lecture on game design and writing, I believe there is a lot to unpack here.

NOTE: Reader discretion is advised. By clicking on “Keep reading”, you willingly choose to continue reading the post.

IMO, "a sense of spontaneity and randomness" does not equal a lack of a coherent plot, but hey, what do I know?

"My goal was to think very little and let my stream of consciousness flow..." Allowing your thoughts to flow freely is still thinking, though. Besides, what kind of writer advises people to think about the story they're writing as little as possible?

"my goal was to think very little" oh, I can tell

Yume Nikki had eerie piers and quiet trains too. This is not as innovative as they seem to think it is.

"Certain dungeons were only workshopped for only a week or even days." It seems that the game was really rushed.

Keep this in mind. It will become relevant later.

A direct manifestation of one's subconscious that progressively becomes more nightmarish and unpredictable is exactly what Silent Hill is.

I'm not trying to say that writers using previously-explored ideas in some other form in their writing is always bad, of course. However, I believe there is a signficant difference between drawing inspiration from a particular work of fiction for your own and blatantly lifting imagery/plot beats from other works to fit your own story. Besides, OMORI doesn't even really put an original or interesting spin on any of the writing conventions and previously-explored ideas it features.

...Sunny's childhood was ideal, though. His life up until Mari's death is presented as such. He had a kind older sister, a group of loyal friends, parents rich enough to afford a grand piano and "all the newest toys". In fact, Omocat described Sunny's childhood as "very idealized".

[the passage I linked is its own can of worms lmao. "MARI, the overbearing big sister" literally at what point in the game was she overbearing]

Padding out your game with extraneous fluff just so that people don't get mad about the money they poured into your project seems... rather dishonest to me.

I personally think that length does not equal quality. A game can be 20-30 minutes long and still leave an impact.

"The experience becomes what you make of it" reads as a convenient way to deflect any sort of criticism towards their writing.

"If you found numerous holes in the story and were left dissatisfied as a result, that's your problem sweetie uwu"

The wise sage's name? Albert Einstein.

I see this as laughable writing advice. Most of the time, the "feels" are predicated on the "reals"; writing a story with its emotional impact as the one and only priority without ensuring the plot beats make sense for the story you're trying to tell first will just make it hollow glurge.

Judging by how thoroughly it permeates the plot, "Feels before reals" could be taken as Omocat's writing philosophy, and it can be seen in the character writing as well. The game sends the message Aubrey's hurt feelings are of more importance than the real harm she inflicted on Basil by bullying him, and then undermines its intended message of "acting like grief affects only you is selfish" by implying Sunny and Basil's feelings about their involvement in Mari's death outweigh the harm they've inflicted on their friends by staying silent re. the actual reason she died for 4 years.

I can see their point - that "realism-induced" horror is way scarier and hard-hitting than something blatantly supernatural/unrealistic - and I can agree with that. I can't call a scared 12 yo kid improvising a multi-step plan to cover up a murder "a believable circumstance", though.

I suppose the horror of a beloved relative and friend taking their own life due to severe mental issues they carefully hid was too unrealistic of a scenario to explore.

They come off as... mildly self-aggrandizing here. "yeah Link and Red are assumed to be self-inserts but MY silent protagonist isn't like the other girls 😤"

"actually he thinks a lot" where? what little bits of narration the player happens to get from both Sunny and Omori are incredibly basic

Not only did Aubrey snoop through her friend's personal belongings behind his back, she disowned and harassed him after that because she assumed the worst of him and instantly believed her unfounded assumption without giving him a chance to explain himself.

Man, isn't she just awesome?

I'd like to note the casual admission that Kel exists purely for the sake of being a plot device.

This also seems to (inadvertently) imply the story wouldn't need Kel in the first place if Sunny wasn't boring lmao.

There's one easily-missed bit of flavor text in Crossroads about Mari coming home tired because she's been attending cram school.

That's it.

Even if Mari's perfectionism is supposedly "present in other places", it's not given enough focus to feel like a substantial character flaw.

...well that becomes rather uncomfortable in hindsight. man, imagine if Mari treated Sunny like Omocat has allegedly treated some of their employees

As mentioned in my critique, this reads like a very convenient way to shield Basil from any criticism regarding his decision to stage Mari's death as a suicide.

Loneliness, insecurity and "very deep emotions" are not an excuse to tamper with a corpse.

You'd think such complexity would've been reserved for Sunny, the main protagonist himself. Apparently not.

"...These characters are so loveable! How can I get other people to see how wonderful they are too?"

I'd like to note the phrasing here. It's not even something like "I dearly love these characters and hope you'll grow to love them too!" They're stating that the characters are loveable, as if it is an objective truth.

I suppose that's why the characters feel so empty upon scrutiny - the writer assumed that you'll fall in love with them at first sight and thus didn't bother putting in any actual effort to make them compelling or even remotely believable.

It wouldn't lol. The game makes you look through Basil's photo album four times and outright spells out it is supposed to be "proof of [their] friendship" in case the player somehow didn't get the memo after the four times. And that's not mentioning Memory Lane and Duet, which are the game forcing the player to look through the photo album two more times.

Remember when I said that the game seems to have been rushed?

It actually was. OMORI was released in December 2020, so there's no way the development team didn't go through crunchtime that year to overhaul the game and finally release it. In fact, it is all but confirmed by Omocat's following comments

The game they're asking you $18 for is essentially a rough draft.

Oh, and by the way, the total amount of funding OMORI received via Kickstarter was $203,301.

Make of that what you will.

[bthump]

This isn’t specifically about you and more about the anons, because I’ve noticed that you sometimes get requests to respond to meta posts other people make and something about that makes me a bit uncomfortable. Since your meta posts are widely liked by a big part of this community, it sometimes feels like you’re being kinda requested to „debunk“ other meta posts. Diversity in opinions is so important for a good fandom atmosphere and some of the anons you get seem to wanna stir up hostility and I don’t like it. Since I like some of your meta posts, but also find myself agreeing with other people, I just feel weird about this dynamic, you know? How do you feel about it?

I think that's a fair concern but honestly, I don't see it as inherently a problem. This might be my 00s internet bias here lol, but I tend to view meta on a public platform as fair game for response or external commentary - which includes my own posts. My meta is here to be read by anyone who wants to, and to provoke thought and discussion, and that's generally what I assume of others' meta as well.

Like I recognize that attitudes have changed in the era of mostly unmoderated spaces and reblogs and the lack of diverse comms with their own norms and discourse running rampant lol, and so it's often considered automatically rude to disagree with people now, but I think that can only extend so far. Like, I don't reblog posts just to disagree with them (unless they're a friend and I know they're cool with discussion) because I know it sucks when you keep getting notes from people who are liking or reblogging the take you disagree with, but I don't think that should mean not discussing other people's meta at all, as long as it's done respectfully of course.

And I understand why someone might want a second opinion on something they read. I think everyone should think for themselves and form their own opinions, and I completely agree that diversity of opinion is important in any fandom. But not everyone has confidence in their own analysis, or the learned skills for criticism, and I think it's reasonable to seek out other viewpoints and decide which seems most correct to you, or use them as boucing off points to figure out what you believe. I definitely don't want to be the only Berserk meta blog out there, and I'm more than happy to agree to disagree with most people. I'm not an authority on the story lol and people are free to agree or disagree with me however they see fit.

That said, I'm always a little wary about tone and intent, especially in Berserk fandom, because I'm not here to get into arguments and I try to make that clear. But I take most asks in good faith. Sometimes I might go a little too far with that lol, but honestly I'd rather come across as naive than hostile. If I found out that someone was trying to start a fight between me and someone else, or was using my posts to dunk on someone else, or if followers of mine took it as a cue to harass someone, I'd absolutely say something and stop answering those asks. (Hopefully we're all chill enough over here that this doesn't happen, btw. As far as I'm aware I've never incited anything like that and I've personally only ever seen fandom arguments started by people mad about Griffith fans existing, but tbf I also don't pay attention to whatever's happening outside of my dash.)

But yeah I don't think that's what's happening here, and I don't want to assume someone's trying to start shit unless there's clear evidence for that. Like in the last ask I got like this, the anon did specify that they agreed with the post they wanted me to comment on, and were just seeking more opinions/wondering what my own take was, and I think that's reasonable.

Idk, this is definitely one of those things where I know there are different valid opinions about etiquette. But I generally abide by the 'do unto others' rule, including here. I blog with the expectation that anyone can read what I write and agree or disagree, and that I might inspire other discussion. Sometimes I get nervous about being linked to notably hostile fan spaces, like the berserk reddit, but it has happened with virtually the same motivation as those anons (what do you guys think of this person's take?) and ultimately I'm fine with it, and even a little flattered.

All that said, at the end of the day I do think that it would be best for anyone who sends an ask referencing someone else's analysis to be specific about what they want to know, rather than a general 'what do you think of this?' question. Both because it shows why you're asking and what you're interested in and leaves less room for doubting your motivation, and because it makes it easier to answer.