#rambly DDW

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

When writing Khan Doorman, I always keep in mind one thing; Mining is one of the worst jobs there is. It is important, but it is also extremely deadly. I don't even mean cave-ins or accidents, if you work in a coal mine, you WILL end up with lung cancer. Nevermind poisoning from metals or encountering Asbestos 2.0. That and the 'company store' are the reason why miners are very prone to strikes. The conditions are, even today, extremely bad even at the best of times. Now imagine all of that plus the company literally owning you and being the only source of healthcare you can get. Also, you have no rights and you can be easily replaced thanks to the on-site factory. To say Khan would have a deep dislike of humans would be an understatement. Plus, the need to survive day to day would be a priority even during safer times.

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

Social Darwinistic people are interesting to study, because their thinking relies on a very faulty perception of humanity. Basically, they see living as a competition. Not just survival, everything is a race to the top. Even things that don't actually benefit them.

It is from these people that the whole 'alpha,beta,etc' male thing comes from. What makes it interesting is that the truest alpha is someone who is alone both socially and emotionally. The same people also think the only reason we have a society that cares for the weak is because of the laws. At times those laws are treated as stifling. This is best seen in how in some post-apocalyptic movies/games/comics the lone wanderer is treated as the truest expression of personhood. While any effort to rebuild society is doomed to fail because people are selfish and with no government they don't have to follow laws anymore.

Social Darwinists have more in common with big cats than social predators. They are alone, they want to be alone, and they will remain alone.

them: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST MEANS HUMANS MUST BE INDIVIDUALLY SELF-SUFFICIENT AND COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT

biologist:

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

Dragon Age: Lore reminder

With Veilguard coming out this year, it is time to remind people once more how Dragon Age lore works. Dragon Age lore is written like a historical document, this means that reading ANY piece of lore requires you to do some source criticism. Every piece of lore in DA has an author and that author has a bias. Whether it's the Chantry's take on the Fade, Dalish keeping their mages a secret, Tevinter nobles denying blood magic, etc. When reading DA lore, you must also look at the source of that lore. Who said it? Who or what is it about? What is the relationship between the author and the subject? Is there information you -know- the author got wrong? This applies to the characters as well, they can be wrong, prejudiced, predicting doom, etc. So before you blame Bioware for getting their lore wrong, please make sure the actual lore is wrong and not the source.

[purkinje-effect]

I’ve been wanting to redo the cover art for First Instar for some time now, and I finally let myself. Hopefully it scans visually as a high rise office. Rambling under the cut.

If you’re interested in The Anatomy of Melancholy, the most recent chapter’s always pinned on my blog, and a table of contents link is at the top of it. All likes and reblogs welcome. (Extensive CWs for horror esp. body horror, drug use, insects, and miles of characters with grey-to-scalding karma including the MC. I try to label CWs as thoroughly as possible at the beginning of each chapter: do heed them. There’s two DDW chapters in First Instar, and I mean that warning very strongly, especially as I illustrate these things from time to time. This fic is not suitable for minors or the squeamish.)

I didn’t break up AoM by Instar until about halfway through Second Instar. Lexington & Concord was supposed to be a placeholder until I thought of something better. Location wordplay’s going to be the common tie for all five Instars, I think, and I like this subtle change a lot.

I really liked the original 2019 cover when I did it, but I didn’t think it was all too representative of the fic itself. Too, it’s the first book of the pentalogy: it’s deserving of something a little more intense than what I had, now that I’m more capable of putting it together. That, and I really needed to include the visual detail that he’s a wheelchair user. For being one myself, I sure don’t draw them as often as I’d like.

I’d never really been happy calling the DDW chapters “Rexford Press” because it suggests ‘Choly ends up with a printing press in Goodneighbor, and at this point I seriously doubt it. The Rexton Nova’s his typewriter, owing to his Naked Lunch roots.

I promise I’ll do a revision pass soon and add footnotes and author’s notes to the first two Instars. Thanks for sticking with me almost five years now!

[papakennmedia]

PAPAKENN RAMBLES: "MIDNA, SCALPERS, & DDW"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-R6BZlo32Q

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

Yeah, treating N as incapable of violence also misses the joke of his character in the pilot.

The expectation is that he is your typical edgy and broody loner à la supernatural YA romance. Instead, he is this happy-go-lucky bubbly dude who is more than willing to be friendly to Uzi. While Uzi is the edgy and broody one out of the duo. The joke doesn't work if N is just soft, it needs him to be the scary murder drone that could easily take Uzi out. N is the YA protagonist and Uzi is the scary love interest, even though their actual roles are the reverse. And yeah, I can totally see N teaching Uzi how to hunt in a way that makes it easier for her to do it. N seems very instinct drive, so teaching Uzi how to harness hers would be in his wheelhouse.

With your comments to my post on N, yeah I feel people seem to forget/not understand that an apex predator can be the kindest and nicest thing to its own kind. It will still hunt and kill to eat. Like how wolves and lions will let their cubs chew on them and play with their tails. But will still snap at any threat or prey.

Yeah absolutely! It reminded me a bit of cats. Cats are considered Apex Predators in their weight class, and they're ruthless hunters that can and will decimate a species if they can (which is a reason why outdoor cats are such a heated topic). And still, the cat that kills 100 birds can be the one you cuddle with at night, who'll seek your touch and ask for your attention.

Apex Predators are capable of personalities that do not reflect their ways of hunting, and to me personally, the headcanon of N being an incapable/bad hunter simply because he's silly or outgoing seems very flat. Assuming a silly character to be incapable to me is a trope that has little explanation or reasoning - sure this character appears carefree, but when their instincts kick in? Oh hell yeah.

That, plus N canonically being shown as very capable. That man's an apex predator and I can 100% see him teach Uzi how to hunt effectively. Which is also a very good bonding opportunity!

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

There is one scene in Gaslight District that really hit me hard and shows there is maturity in the writing. It is when Ken is holding a conked out and wounded Mel in his arms. And he tells her that he will make sure she never ends up like him or the rest of the Smiling Dead. Because no matter what sort of brutal gangster Ken is, he is also Mel's father. He worries about her, not just because she's a human but also because she is his kid. And like any good parent, Ken wants Mel to be safe. It is his responsibility. Holding her, roughed up and bleeding, it sinks in just how dangerous his line of work is and how fragile Mel is. There is a moment of 'what the fuck am I doing, I don't want Mel to suffer like this' for Ken. Because while being part of the Smiling Dead might make Mel happy? It more than likely will also be her death. A parent must make choices contrary to what the child wants, just so the child doesn't get hurt. And Ken is already controlling, so it makes sense he is desperately trying to keep Mel from danger.

Which Mel sees as Ken not trusting her, thinking he just needs to see how competent she is. But I think Ken knows Mel can handle herself, it is the reality of their world that's making him protect her. Ken and Mel's relationship is not perfect, they are both volatile people who do and say things before they think them through. But there is real care there, too.

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

One factor that cracks me up so much about the Absolute Solver, is its love for the caution tape pattern.

Purely biological form? Slap on the tape!

A stealthy kitbashed killer drone? Patterns, patterns and PATTERNS!

Test pieces? You know the drill! This gives it so much personality. Because it isn't mindlessly just creating clones, it is trying to make them look as cool as it can.

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

I don't think any series of games has ever portrayed letting go of revenge and growth as paramount to living as Project Moon's games. Because in all of them (Lobotomy Corporation, Library of Ruina, Limbus Company), the way to get the best ending is to go through the characters' issues and find peace for them. What makes this stand out from many other games where the golden ending is everyone working together, is that going through these issues is not easy nor is the end result always happy. But it is necessary if the characters want to move on.

For example, Roland and Angela both have very solid reasons for their non-Best Ending actions. Angela is sick being treated as a tool and lesser, especially after the torture that was Lob Corp. And Roland lost everything dear to him because of Angela's actions, after he had just gotten to open up to someone. Library of Ruina doesn't deny that both have their reasons, it instead asks both if reaching that goal truly is worth it and if it would make the characters happy? And, is making others suffer what you suffered truly justified? In the best ending, both Angela and Roland find that they have more to live for and other ways to express themselves than violence. In Limbus Company, each Sinner must wrestle with their issues and let go of something harmful. Ishmael letting go of her revenge, Don letting go of her father's delusions, etc.

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

Also, Uzi is the only main character who even had a childhood. And she is, canonically, 19-ish. With 19 years of life behind her.

Let's remember that J, V, N and Cyn all were drones that someone bought to do a job. This means they were 'born' as adults and had a life before the manor.

And they still might only be a few years older than Uzi, because most cutting-edge technology gets replaced fast.

Even then, only Uzi has the actual concept of childhood and growing up. The rest exist in this age limbo that most bought drones would.

N draws like a kid and gets excited over the simplest things because he is still learning to be an independent person.

You can't really argue age gaps in either direction, because most of the characters were made as adults and the only one who wasn't can drink legally in the country GLITCH is based in (Australia.)

I don't know why age is such a common argument in this fandom especially now with Liam confirming all them being older teenager age, like with nuzi of course it isn't a couple between a child and an adult, were still supposed to root for them and idk if glitch would even allow a couple like that in one of there shows. And also N is a vampire (not literally but disassembly drones are obviously meant to be robot vampires) so like most vampire fiction he ages kind of weird. Also we've known Uzi was around an older teenager age since episode 3 since one of her classmates was that age, idk why any of this is news

Also because I'm contractually obligated to mention Cyn in my posts. Cyn is an adult at least by the time she's eating planets, idk if that includes her time at the manor because Tessa did refer to her as child but that could be just Cyn manipulating them into thinking she's a kid or she just grew up between her time at the manor and the events of the series.

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

One of my biggest petpeeves when it comes to xenofiction and xenofiction roleplay, is what I can only call the felinification of canines.

Whenever it comes to fighting, canines will often use their claws to scratch their foes or scar them. When it comes to biting, the damage is often muscle deep at the worst and the wounds mostly just bleed a lot.

This ignores so much of what makes canines so deadly over giving them the same deadly traits as a feline. A (wolf relative) canine can easily break the bones of their foes in a single bite and often the deadliest thing they can do is not let go. As for claws, while they can leave shallow scratches, canine claws are dull and are used for digging and running. Feline claws are sharp because they do not use them for running or digging, literally keeping them safe until they need to be used. I understand that internal injuries are often a step too far for most media, and that broken bones and bruises aren't hardcore enough. But I still think there could be a balanced depiction of a canine that uses their actual anatomy and doesn't just paste feline traits on them.

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

If nothing else, Hunter the Parenting did one stellar job at depicting why the garou truly are dangerous to other supernaturals. Which I think is important to grasp, because quite often a garou is in fact NOT enough when it comes to fighting their foes.

Consider this, what Mabel pulled in ep 5 is only enough to take out lower-level foes of the garou. All of that power, strength and sheer badassery can be taken out by a single Scrag bane. Garou are fighting against the very forces of nature gone wrong. Their fight is so intense that they need to eclipse most supernaturals just to make a dent.

Garou are not designed to fight against hunters, vampires or mages. They are designed to fight against forces so powerful nothing else can touch them.

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

One of the things that Guild Wars 2 really masters, that I don't often see in other setting, is treating species and an individual as two different things. And that no species is truly evil. You can see this in the core game with how only a few factions are made up of one species. Even then, those are usually the 'evil' faction within the species. All others can have Charr, Asura, Norn, humans and Sylvari as random mooks.

Through the Living World story, we also get to see members of the 'bad' factions redeem themselves. Flame Legion is now trying to be better and Gorrik was a former Inquest member. It doesn't even stop at playable species, because by Living World season 4's end, the Awakened are free from Joko and resume their lives with their families. Cue a lot of complaining from people whose parents are now undead and nagging them. Or, with the latest Living World story over, the Kryptis. What at first seemed like mindless horror hordes are actually just people. You get to see these creatures that look like standard baddies try to paint or get nervous over jumping from a diving board. I think this is great, because it goes into the message of unity the game is about. Every species has their arseholes and saints, even those that at first seem evil.

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

Well he still wanted to take down the Veil, we just interrupted him moving the Evanuris to a safer spot so they wouldn't come back. Basically making a safety save.

But to answer your question; The man is not only bad at communicating and letting others in, he is also stubborn and refuses to give up once he has decided he wants to do something. It took Coryfish Blight savescumming, nearly all of the south becoming a warzone, a year with the Inquisition's motley crew and potentially Lavellan romancing him for Solas to go "Wait, these are actually real people!?" And he STILL decided to go off alone, not trusting his friends to help him and then creating a situation where the Inquisitor has to give up their arm powers and gets the worst impression of him. Enough that everyone of the companions, even Spirit!Cole, is like 'we need to stop him.' As far we can see, Solas is alone doing the ritual. He has his spies but he can't trust them to help him. When Varric tries to get him to stop, Solas doesn't even try to say that he is NOT doing that and in fact he is putting the Evanuris into a safer box. He lets Varric and the rest think he is bringing down the Veil at that moment. Which means they will try anything to stop him.

The funny thing is that his two modern tries at destroying the Veil have both gone awry because he didn't consider other people to also have plans.

I'm confused why, if Solas just wanted to move the Evanuris to a stronger prison, why he didn't just SAY that?

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

There is a sort of sad hilarity to how Werewolf the Apocalypse exposes people's indifference towards nature, thinking environmental preservation and such is childish and naive or just outright nihilistic doomerism. I have seen so many takes that boil down to a refusal to believe things can be fixed, feeling fixing things in fantasy is unrealistic or don't want things to be fixed at all. Or they ask what is horrifying about nature and its loss ("Hippie Horror")? Wanting personal horror instead. And often, these reactions are very telling.

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

For what seems like an easy thing, writing the Absolute Solver's dialogue is actually quite hard.

It isn't just it describing its emotions and what it does. It Pauses Its Sentences A Lot And Is Usually Laconic. Unlike, say, GlaDos or SHODAN, the Solver also knows and uses slang. So you have to balance robot speech with phrases like 'lame' or 'get snuck upon.' The problem with this is that slang has its own cadence, different from the formal way most fictional robots speak. So when you write the Solver saying, for example, 'what a loser' you have to structure it so the word loser is understood as 'lo-ser' rather than 'loooser.' The fact that the AS/Cyn is 99% just her/its VA copying robot speech with only a slight effect added on top is, honestly, really amazing. To those writing the ASCyn, I recommend tapping your finger to time the pauses right. Though they won't show in the text, the sentence still feels more Solver than not.