#so i'd like to see him play the remake when it does come out. i know he really liked that game

[sodafrog13]

in an ideal world, i will get to see mark play the remake of OFF when it comes out later this year

[galaxy-fleur]

re: Leon's longtime friend

How would his first time with them be like? if they're in the same branch of work and have worked out their feelings and all that :)

So, I kinda answered both of these with just a single post, hope it's ok! Pretty much just general thoughts here. Written with Remake-verse Leon in mind <3

When it comes to sex, honestly.... I feel like he's pretty basic with his partner, unless they suggest to try out something new to him themselves, in which case he's totally down for it. That's not at all a bad thing though, basic positions are known as basic for a reason, and that's because they feel good! I kind of feel like he'll want to be able see his partner's eyes during intercourse, so he tends to prefer something like missionary (a classic, but for good reason!), or holding his partner up against the wall if we're talking more spontaneous quickie. At least there's something good to come out of his grueling training, y'know. He's definitely the type to either rest his forehead against yours or make-out with you in the middle of fucking.

And while I actually don't think he's big on dirty talk, I do think he's actually pretty communicative with his partner. He's a bit blunt about it, but it's a good kind of blunt. Especially when your brain is all fuzzy and woozy with hormones.

Something like: 'Does this feel good?', 'You wanna switch?', 'Faster, yeah?'

He's easy to communicate with, and that makes for a really comfortable experience.

He sucks at actual dirty talk though. Please don't ask him to do that; he'll either make you laugh out loud when you two are getting rowdy and then feel horribly embarrassed about the whole ordeal, or he'll die of embarrassment attempting to mimic some awful porn dialogue he's seen beforehand. That's not to say he can't learn! You'll just have to guide him in that department. It's sweet of him to try. He'll get there with some practice. He certainly won't mind some dirty talk on your end, however. Perhaps you could teach him the basics.

And while he may not be good at dirty talk, he doesn't even need it more often than not.

When he's being genuine instead of trying to play up some role, it's hot as hell. Lots of small praises and occasional swears along with situational comments. He's also very good at giving directions and commands. Has the perfect intonation for it, too. Very curt with his words, but it honestly just makes it hotter in the heat of the moment.

Something like: 'Eyes up.' 'Lift your leg.' 'Lay back.'

Massive cowgirl lover, with his partner facing him. He folds every time his partner is the one in charge, and he wants to be able to look at them and grope at them the entire time they're doing their thing. Again, probably lots of soft praises sprinkled in here and there. And yes, that includes 'good girl/boy'. Also gets kind of whiney during cowgirl specifically. Something about just sitting back and letting go of control for a while just makes him fall apart in the best way possible. He loves it when his brain gets blissfully empty, with nothing but the other's touch being there to fill it.

I'd say another one of his favorites is sideways missionary during lazy mornings and after his assignments. When he's feeling especially tired but craves to experience that feeling of intimacy regardless. This one is reserved for lazy sex with feelings, so he gets especially soft with this one. Peppering light kisses all over and whispering sweet nothings in that raspy, drowsy voice of his. It's special in its own wonderful way.

This probably goes without saying, but Leon's a massive oral enjoyer. Primarily on the giving end, whether it's eating pussy or sucking dick. Once more, he would rather stare at his partner all the while, hence positions that allow him to do so are preferred. He gets off on his partner feeling good, so you can very well expect him to give you his all each and every time. And with him being a naturally perceptive person, it won't take him long to figure out what makes you tick the most. I'd say that... most times he has sex will include him giving oral in it. It's kinda cute, because he will get all huffy about it if you are in a hurry, and he can't enjoy himself too much.

While he does prefer giving oral, he's more than happy to be on the receiving end, too. Like I said before, being given the opportunity to just let go and not think about anything is something he definitely craves. What better way to do that than have his partner suck him off? Again, gets all whiney and breathless with it. Regardless of the taste of his own cum on your lips, he always gives you a deep thank-you kiss afterward.

On that note, he's also pretty gross. Not in a weird way or anything, but he is utterly unfazed by getting any bodily fluids on him or inside him. He'll probably just shrug and say that it's way better than sewage water or bioweapon gunk. It's hard to argue with that. And it's hot, in a way. Him being so unperturbed by leaking up whatever mess you've made. Still best to brush your teeth and take a shower afterwards, though.

And while all of this is pretty basic, it stands true that he's willing to try anything with his partner if they're a bit more adventurous and experimental. It's more about him just not knowing most of the stuff than his unwillingness to try. However, I do believe that the idea of very rough sex would lead to some problems with him. And that's something that only really happens with his s/o. He has no issue fucking a one-night stand into the mattress to get his frustrations out, knowing they're enjoying it, but if he has feelings for that person, he'll kinda feel bad about it if he gets too in the moment and misuses his strength on them. It's not impossible by any means, but he'll have to be eased into it a bit. The last thing he wants is to hurt the one person he strives to protects the most. It's a difficult dichotomy for him to overcome. But with care and effective communication, anything is possible!

I also don't think he would enjoy getting choked. For obvious reasons.

His sex life is honestly very different depending on who he's having sex with. For example, I'd say he's actually a huge doggy style enjoyer with casual hookups, but with his partner, he'll automatically prefer something that will let him look them in the face directly. Both feel good in different ways.

In terms of his style of fucking and how loud or quiet he is, I don't see him moaning in a pornographic way or anything, but he's also not completely silent. Although I do think he actually made that mistake early on in his life because he had this popular misconception that men being vocal during sex is somehow weird. So he was stiff as hell and trying to stay quiet with his first couple of partners. It's why I think that his first couple of times sucked ass for both parties involved.

He doesn't figure it out until he has a partner who goes all: 'hold the fuck up, why are you stiff as a wooden pole and trying to be quiet?? I wanna hear you feel good?'

And he goes: '....wait, you do?'

I'll just say that rookie Leon experienced his fair share of learning curves.

Once more, I believe it all depends on the type of sex he is having and with whom. Your typical, everyday fucking session? Rough pants waffling over your ear, occasional grunts and groans when he feels real good. The deep, rumbly ones that emanate directly from the middle of his chest. These noises are hot as hell, especially when he is pressed up flush against you, and you can literally feel the vibrations. Will probably either gasp or let out a choked groan when he cums, but it'll be muffled. Either by kissing his partner or by pressing his face against their shoulder.

He's noticeably more vocal when it's an emotionally charged intimacy, especially if he's pent-up with emotions. If he wants this person, for more than their body and fun personality, everything just feels that much more intense. (on that note, I do think his hookups are chosen on more than just him finding someone hot physically, he actually has to enjoy their company to wanna stick his dick into them, and he does care about his casual partners too. He's not just having sex without caring for the needs of the one he's having sex with.) More than anything, Leon wants to feel wanted, and while he's fine with someone just wanting his body and status - hell, he even seeks out that sort of physical comfort - being touched by and being wanted like that by someone who he has an emotional attachment to? Oh, he's in a completely different headspace here. Lots of breath hitches and an occasional muffled 'mmh' noises from him during foreplay. That's because he'll find himself attempting to hold back a little.

Shaky breaths and moans poured into the kisses. If he's the one giving oral, will full out whine and growl against you because you feeling good because of him just turns him on that much. Actually moans out and gets a bit chatty if he's the one getting head. He'll sorta hold back at first, but will have his head thrown back and prolonged moans and groans leaving his lips soon after. Along with a strings of: 'fuck, just like that', or 'you feel so fucking good', or, if you find a particularly weak spot of his, a sharp gasp followed by 'oh God!' And your name sprinkled in there, too.

When it comes to actual intercourse, once again: sharp pants and an occasional rumbly groan. But this time he'll probably either be looking into your eyes or having your foreheads touching, so every noise is kinda that much more intense with that. He'll also kiss... a lot, and will straight up moan out into these kisses. In a somewhat higher pitch as well. Will probably chant your name before cumming. Which sounds hot as hell and probably have you get close just by hearing that. Once more, will most likely cum while kissing you.

Leon's pretty big on communicating through touch, though he is probably more subtle about it than his OG counterpart would be. I genuinely think he's way more obvious about him wanting to fuck than he thinks he is, once you figure him out. Will keep staring at you like a cat almost without as much as blinking. (Which is... a bit creepy, but don't tell him that bc he'll get self-conscious about it ☹). Will persist in attempting to touch you in some way, whether it's fumbling with the belt loop of your jeans or keeping a hand on your lower back wherever you go, for no apparent reason. Overall just acting real clingy.

As you're cooking, he might approach you to wrap his arms around your waist and plant feather-light kisses from your jawline down the side of your neck, which would eventually grow into hot, open-mouthed kisses. Or him putting a hand on your thigh as you're seating on the couch (or maybe at a meeting if we're feeling extra frisky here) and kneading at it gently before tilting his head to press a kiss to your lips that, too, turns more heated once it starts. Sometimes, though, he will just be honest about it. Like when you're making out in the kitchen and he just pulls back and says: '...Bedroom'.

Leon's also great at aftercare. A bit too great sometimes, because he tends to focus solely on you, so make sure to pamper him, too! Will have you all nice and cleaned up with you not having to lift a finger. Even with a snack offered to you as a bonus. His favorite is taking a bath together, if you're feeling up to it, though. Something about the soft intimacy of it just makes his heart feel warm.

[bogleech]

been reading up on your old Silent Hill Prompts and the fanart people drew of them, and not I kind of want to see what you'd come up with if you could the later games. Like what would you do for a War Veteran or a Lonely Trucker Who's Maybe A Bit Too Into True Crime?

Okay so for people not really up on Silent Hill or my opinions on it, the second game (series-defining and still considered the all time best) established that no two people have the same Silent Hill and that the town manifests vague nightmare forms out of their memories. Despite this, most of the series kept repeating monsters designed specifically for SH2's protagonist, and modeled all other monsters loosely around how his looked. In Homecoming you play a war veteran, and it has some cool monsters honestly, but none of them feel remotely war themed. In fact they're mostly themed around sexuality, which was also already the theme for a lot of 2's monsters.

The only one that feels like "war imagery" is the Smog, but it's kind of bland. The only thing that really sticks out about it to me is that its fleshy tumors kind of look like an explosion. I think that's what I'd have run with. Creatures that look like they're exploding or even look themselves like "blasts," roiling and moving like fireballs and gas clouds but they're solid, meaty things. Maybe some with vague figures writhing inside?

Not mangled gory Hellraiser haunted house stuff but abstract impressions of destruction hastily formed from flesh, burning and dissolving everything they touch.

Environmentally, instead of the rusty look of all the other silent hills I'd made his look like everything is the inside of a military vehicle. This is the interior of a tank apparently:

So other SH games indicated your proximity to the other world by the degree of blood, rot, rust and arbitrary metal stuff, and arguably that still fits in with war, but I'd define this guy's nightmare realm by extreme claustrophobia and convoluted mechanical bits. At first perhaps just a couple more buttons and dials than you'd expect, and in odd places like the outsides of houses. When he's fully immersed in his Silent Hill it looks like that photo and all that stuff is pulsing and churning and threatening to swallow him up.

This went on longer than I thought so I'll have to think on the Lonely Trucker game a bit more.

For those who don't know though, there's an upcoming brand new Silent Hill (not the shitty Bloober remake of 2) that actually does finally test out a radically new and different visual theme and that looks VERY promising, exactly how far I always wanted the games to vary:

[kennediffed]

Reflections

pairing: Leon Kennedy x Reader

description: you're casually playing the RE4 remake when you learn that the main character that you've been crushing on can talk directly to you (aka 4th wall breaking shenanigans)

word count: 548

contents/warnings: 4th wall break, gender neutral reader (no pronoun usage), ooc leon(?), shenanigans ensuing, barely edited/proofread

this is so fucking goofy im so sorry MASTERLIST

AO3 VERSION

REQUEST BOX

~

You couldnt help but stare at your screen while in a safe area at the character you've been controlling. The sight of him made you want to kick your feet and twirl your hair like a schoolgirl who had a crush.

You see, the remake to one of your favorite games had just come out and you intended on spending the whole weekend playing the game from start to finish. Well, that was the plan, until you started staring at the protagonist with heart eyes. The way the devs modeled him was… oh boy. The things you would do to him.

You couldnt help it though, Leon Kennedy was a looker, there was a reason why you, among many other people, simped heavily for him.

Man, why cant you be real? you thought silently to yourself, continuing to stare directly at him. Although you were alone, you couldnt help but feel like someone was watching you while you eyed him.

that was when something unexpected happened.

"y'know, im flattered, but are you gonna keep ogling me or are we gonna get a move on?" a familiar voice spoke in an annoyed tone.

that earned a jump from you. did… did leon just… address you? you looked at your screen to see Leon looking at you, a disappointed look present on his face and arms crossed.

"Yeah, you… y'know its rude to stare, right?"

You sat there in shock, he WAS talking to you. but HOW? this was supposed to be something that was one-sided. why was he talking to you?

"cat got your tongue?" he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"w…wait have you been able to see me this whole time?" you asked hesitantly. "and… hear what i say??"

He gave you a small smirk "yeah, you could say that"

"uhhh" you trailed off, scratching the back of your head gently "well this is embarrassing". Since you deducted that he could hear you, you realized that he most likely had heard your thirsty comments about him. and that was enough to fluster you. "sorry for the comments" you mumbled, almost embarrassed by your actions

you heard a soft chuckle in response "dont worry, im used to it by now…" he replied "but i bet youre confused right about now, am i right?"

you sat up in your chair, putting down your controller before making eye contact with him once more. You had so many questions but you werent even sure if you were to get any answers to them. you started out with a simple one; "so… how long have you been able to hear what ive been saying?"

"since you started playing the other day, i'd say" he responded flatly.

"gotcha, gotcha…" you responded. "guess i gotta watch what i saw now since i know you can hear me now…" you twiddled your thumbs in pure embarrassment.

"hey, like i said, its all good," he reassured "im kinda flattered that people see me like that"

you picked up your controller again, ready to move on with the game "i think im gonna keep playing now" you mumbled "do you just… emulate what im doing with my controller or… how does this work?"

"something like that… lead the way" you heard him say in response.

[delusinalandpassionate]

So hello...I kinda disappeared for a moment after Don's Canto was announced. After seeing that, I immediately remembered my list, and I wanted to remake it to be ready for her Canto. However, when I started to do it, and then I read shit tone of theories about her, and everything became confusing, and I am kinda procrastinated everything. But I'm back! And well, that's the mini list. It's all shady things that happened with Don in our main story and events. To save some time and energy, I only mentioned things that are definitely shady, and I'm certain 99% will play a role in her Canto, but it's still pretty chaotic.

I am also going to make analysises of all her IDs and EGOs in two separate parts and what I think they will lead to.

I didn't write a lot about any theories because there are A LOT of them, but I would love to hear your personal favorites and promise to give my best opinion about them

Also to the person who wrote to me about Discord, I tried to find you, but it well there wasn't enough information for me to understand how, so if you are still interested in talking about Don, please just write me in Messeges.

Okay back to the List

.

1. REDACTED

That thing appears in her character description, in a list of particulars , and none of the other characters has anything like this. Also, her list mentions Delusional of Grandiore. However, she does not show any symptoms (yet)

2. Ferris wheel and Carnival

We already saw a Ferris wheel in form of windmill on her character art and carousel in the window of her persinal EGO art and now with a cover for her Canto, we can with certainty say that she has something to do with this theme. The closest thing to Carnival we saw in the City idb Oswald's 8 o'clock Circus. Which is extremely fucked up place and if Don is really was part if it I would be surprised that she looks so normal(both physically and mentally)

Oswald's ideology also has a lot of about wishes and performance, which could suit her character arc quite well, but with him being dead, I am not sure who is left to control Circus.

3. Eyes and dance

Two little hints from second Canto from which my obsession with Don began. We still have no idea what that could possibly mean.

I should mention that there was a theory that her eyes are cognito filters, but I doubt that.

(There were also theories that she's blood fiend, which is interesting.)

4. Deal

In Canto III Episode 10 we get a first mention of mysterious deal that Don Quixote made with Vergilius. It's important to mention that while he beat shit out of her she still argued about her point, but only he mentioned that "deal" she immediately backed up.

Second mention of a deal happens in Canto IV Episode 28 where sinners wonder outloud about their wishes that brought them to the Limbus and Don only gets "...". Which is fucking weird, because there were other sinners who didn't say anything, but only Don was singled out.

Also it seems like a person with whom she made a deal was Vergilius, which I'd already unusual because it's Faust who does this kind of job.

5. Old friends, rampages and distortions

Canto III Episode 19 where Don Quixote beats Sinclair to bring him to his senses and than says "Pardon my rash action. Often I would find myself overcome by fervor, rampaging much the same as a riderless horse. At such moments, mine old friends helped me to come to myself—by beating me senseless. ‘Twas, at times, the only remedy to the fever that had overtaken me."

And well, that's only time she speaks about her past, giving us this little story. And it sounds horrible. However, we can not deny that this type of therapy works in Project moon world really well. I mean, we just finished Canto, where we beat Heatcliff to bring him to his senses.

Actually, if you think about that, most of "rampages" in these games( excluding "panic" from Lopotomy) happen while characters experience Distorting or EGO corruption and surprisingly Don Quixote have some sort of experience with Distortions?

In Canto IV Episode: 53, when we see DongRang Don Quixote is the first to understand that he's experiencing Distortion. And then, in Risk Levels & Classifications, she mentions that Moses(the DISTORTION detective) sounds familiar to her.

Which makes us wonder if she or someone in her past experienced Distortions?

6. Miguel

Don Quixote's quote "Sueno Imposible" is a direct reference to the musical Man Of La Mancha, and Miguel is a main character of this musical author of the story of Don Quixote who trying to live up to his heroic life.

Also, at old sprites, she had MIGUEL written on the bottom of her coat, but it was removed from the model now. HOWEVER, on her official stand, there is still written MIGUEL.

And that kind of makes us wonder if her character arc could be more inspired by musical than book, or if her real name would Miguel. We still not sure, but it definitely should play a role in her Canto.

[dutchdread]

From one of your answer: "Personally I think that while Cloud is totally unsure of who or what he is, that he is 100% aware that he deeply loves Tifa, even at the start of Remake."

I'd love to see you talk more about this. Do you think that, while he's aware that he loves her, does he remember that he's has been loving her ever since they were young?

Now I haven't played Rebirth (but I spoiled myself a lot). But from Remake and what I gather, I personally think he doesn't remember, or be aware of his feelings. However, I think that he's unconsciously and instinctively attracted to her as well as be protective of her, at least from the beginning of Remake. He can't exactly define his feeling, but he knows what he wants to do with her (getting jealous, being touchy-touchy, being protective). Then he grows to realize his feeling all over again over the course of the game, without even remember he has always been in love with her this whole time.

Also, as far as I know, Cloud isn't the type who ponders "what is this ache in my heart?". He's the man of action. He cares for Tifa and wants to do things for Tifa, regardless of whatever he feels for her is called a crush, infatuation, or love.

But that's my take. And I'd like to hear yours :D

I have to preface this by saying that this is 100% conjecture. My hope is that this is essentially exactly the question that we get answered in part 3, because it is something I really wonder about myself. Hell it might be the thing I am MOST curious to know. So when I give my thought on this, know that it I think it really is up in the air and could go either way, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if this is left up to interpretation. There are things that I think Cloud legitimately doesn't know. His confusion about Nibelheim for instance is 100% unfaked. But when Tifa asks him where he was these past 5 years and he responds with "you know I can't tell you that", what was that? Was that a straight up lie? I think it's clear he doesn't know where he was these past years. But does he know that he doesn't know where he was? And did he lie to hide that fact? If he simply had no recollections of the past 5 years but is otherwise mostly lucid then he could have simply answered "that's odd, I don't remember".

But he doesn't, either the Jenova cells are directly influencing him to lie or causing him to make up an excuse to change the subject. Regardless he's actively avoiding recognizing an issue that should be interesting to him "why don't I know where I was". But then in Gongaga we have Cloud admitting that he doesn't know stuff that he's supposed to know. That implies that it's not just Jenova forcing him to be unaware of the inconsistencies in his memory. He himself has been CHOOSING to hide some of them. The reason I bring this up is because there is something we have to ask ourselves. Is Cloud 100% genuinely trying to play out a personality that was not inherently his? Or does he only have a bunch of messed up memories, but is intentionally trying to play up that persona? Or something in the middle? I'd guess it's something in the middle, which explains a lot of the changes we see in his behavior based on who he is talking to. That means that when he says stuff like "Don't remember" when Yuffie asks him whether or not he used to be in love with Tifa. That could very easily be a bold faced lie. He could have all his messed up memories and still remember vividly why he wanted to be a soldier in the first place. Which is essentially what happens in the lifestream, HE tells Tifa why he did those things, HE knows when she does not, thereby proving those memories and those feelings could not have come from her. So it could easily be that Cloud, during remake and remake, not only realizes that he loves Tifa, but be aware that he was once a shy dorky kid who just wanted Tifa to notice him, and is still "internally screaming" anytime Tifa is near, but is desperate not to show that side of him to the outside world. Or it could of course be possible that he's completely blocked those embarrassing memories and feelings off even from himself and that his Soldier persona is completely genuine and that his fondness for Tifa in remake and Rebirth is just the result of that Love still simply being a part of him, even if he himself doesn't totally understand why. And that his real self only comes out during glimpses. We have quotes to corroborate this, but it's not that clear whether that means his true personality coming out means he's showing his real thoughts for once rather than acting, or that it means that his real personality literally takes over for a bit from his fake one. Again, I think the truth is in the middle. I especially wonder about this when Cloud sits down on the water tower next to Aerith. He very poignantly leaves Tifas house for last, and sits down looking at it directly. To me it feels like in that moment he is completely aware of why he did that, and is putting on a cool act when saying "sounds like something I'd do". I think that was one of the most telling scenes in the game, which on second playthrough post LS, will feel extremely telling. You will see him sitting there, and you'll know. "you mother fucker, you know EXACTLY that you did that and why, we know what you're thinking! XD" At the very least I feel like the scene was intentionally directed to strongly give off the impression that Cloud there is actively aware of what Tifa means to him, and is in that moment the same boy that would gaze at Tifa all those years back, putting up a cool guy act, but still with all his unspoken thoughts being about how this is all for her. Good question, I wish I had a better answer for you, but I think this one one of those times where speculating about the answer might be half the fun.

[sapphire-weapon]

Seeing as how I just got two asks back to back trying to claim that I'm being unfair to Leon and that his behavior towards Ada in RE4make is "justified," I figured I'd just make an independent post about it instead of answering two questions that'll have overlapping answers. (And a third one came in as I was writing, even.)

No, I'm not being unfair to Leon, and no, his behavior isn't justified. Leon's being immature in RE4make, straight up.

The way that people talk about this, and the way that Leon acts towards her -- you would think that Ada had been a childhood friend that Leon had known for years, and that she betrayed him at the zero hour and destroyed a lifetime of trust between them.

Ada is some chick that Leon knew for a total of, like, six hours, years ago. And in Remake canon, she makes it very clear to him at the end of RE2make that her lying to him wasn't personal; it was just business.

He's had six years to think about this and compartmentalize it, but he's still taking it so intensely personally that he's being petty. He spends all of RE4make trying to ensure that Ada knows how personal it is, and he digs at her in such a way that it's like he wants her to feel personally hurt in return.

He's being fucking childish.

Especially when you consider that, even if Ada had wanted to reach out to him and let him know she's not dead -- how, exactly, do you propose she do that? Just saunter right on through CIA security and surveillance? Call Leon on a phone that's definitely being tapped and traced? Come the fuck on, man.

It's also not an either/or situation. It's not like the only two options for his attitude towards her are "overtly romantic" or "total cunt." OG RE4 had him be wary of her intentions and suspicious of her motives without being a complete and total asshole about it.

Think about this honestly. If the "she's like a part of me I can't let go" line didn't exist in OG, would you think that his feelings towards her were romantic at all in that game? Because I wouldn't. Half of their interactions are him questioning her or blowing her off.

And this was done with OG Leon knowing that Ada was explicitly working for Wesker. He knows that she's working for Albert Fucking Wesker, and he's still able to pull off being suspicious without being a cunt.

Remake Leon has no idea who she's working for and never, ever has. For all he knows, she could be working for someone who's in the fight against bioterrorism. The last thing he knew about her was that she was a fellow adversary of Umbrella who was getting shot at by Annette Birkin. He has no reason to treat her like a villain outside of his own personal butthurt.

He's just being petty because she hurt his feelings six years ago, and he's refused to grow up and move on since then and, at the very least, treat her with the bare minimum of cold professionalism that she actually deserves. They both establish in their first conversation that they're both here for work. They're doing a job. And he can't get over his personal butthurt enough to be a professional about it.

She makes him look terrible by comparison, because she very clearly does still have feelings for him in RE4make, but she's able to still be an adult and recognize the reality of the situation they're in.

I'm so tired of these takes where people treat Leon like he's a perfect innocent angel baby who did nothing wrong and is right to be mean to the bad lady who hurt him. Leon was a dumbass who got played and hasn't been able to gracefully take the L and move forward in life. That's what actually happened.

Like, damn, man. I know we all love Leon, but he's not always right. He has flaws. And this is one of them. Let him be flawed. And maybe examine things a bit further the next time you want to fully lay the blame for a male character being butthurt at a female character's feet.

[ape-apocalypse]

Road To The Kingdom - Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes Film

I remember seeing the trailers for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, shaking my head at yet another remake of a long-ago franchise. In 2011, we were hearing rumors of a new Spider-Man coming to replace Tobey Maguire and now I was looking at Harry, son of the Green Goblin, becoming a scientist and creating a drug to make apes smarter. On the other hand, Andy Serkis was getting a main role, more screen time than Gollum in Lord of the Rings, where I adored him and was eager to see him again. I was going in with some hesitation but decided to just turn my brain off for a summer action movie. 

I was surprised with how much I enjoyed Rise. Many fans seem to put this as their least favorite of the reboot trilogy. I can understand why; it doesn't have nearly as much action as Dawn or War and runs at a slower pace. But what it did have was fantastic character building in Caesar, which is needed in this trilogy. I would not be as engaged with these movies if I didn't love Caesar. Seeing him start as a little baby with his human family living a carefree youth, and then grow into a mature ape questioning his place in the world really filled out his character. He could have easily just been a random lab chimp who got smarter but I think the slow-build really fleshes him out. You empathize with him when he protects James Franco's father to the point of biting a neighbor. The human world completely turns on him and Caesar is forced to realize his true nature as an ape. 

Andy Serkis is truly allowed to shine in this role. Gollum was fun and had the two different sides to play with but there is such a powerful subtlety to this performance. Though Caesar can sign, it's mostly not translated into subtitles; only in two conversations with Maurice does the audience get a translation. The majority of the film and Caesar's story is carried out entirely through his expressions, gestures, and body language. Look at the tall confident walk he has when directing Rocket to give cookies to the other apes. The heartbreak I felt as Caesar's expression falls when his human family says he can't go home. The wordless fury when Buck the gorilla sacrifices himself on the bridge to bring down the helicopter and save the escaping apes. Even when the story can get bogged down a bit in the constant science explanations, I immediately perk up when the focus switches back to Caesar and can soak in the incredible performance of Andy Serkis.

Rise is much less action filled than its sequel films because it has to cover a lot as set up for the apocalypse to come. That set up is good, but again the science is a lot and can be a bore. However I think the pay off works. The horror of a simple graphic of the Earth, where one line splits and becomes many more, spreading across the planet, was very effective for me. I've heard people who didn't like that the apocalypse that destroys the human race is done in the credits, that it feels more like an afterthought. But for me, I think it was a powerful hook. Halfway through watching the film for the first time, I'd forgotten that this was Rise of the PLANET of the Apes. So I was excited for Caesar and his apes to escape, just happy that they'd gotten their freedom. Then the sick pilot and the spreading sickness animation hit me like a ton of bricks like "Oh shit, I forgot the humans have to die for the ape world to happen!" This probably didn't happen for everyone, especially those familiar with the original movies, but I liked the ending, undercutting the triumph of the apes with the doom of humanity.

Other than Will and his father Charles, the rest of the human cast is mostly forgettable, servicing the story where needed. Tom Felton of Harry Potter fame is a bit fun in his over-the-top hatred of the apes. When he gets to say the iconic "get your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape", my movie theater laughed at how forced the line felt, which I'm sure was not the intention. The weirdness of the line was swallowed up by the excitement of Caesar speaking for the first time and leading the apes out of the shelter, but I still remember the laughter of the audience when rewatching this movie. 

Overall, I think it's a great start to the series. Not the most exciting of the films, definitely dragged down by a lot of science exposition and unremarkable human characters, but a good intro to the world, setting up the apocalypse and making you root for a bunch of apes over the humans. You probably could jump directly into Dawn and War if you wanted, just knowing that humanity was wiped out by an illness that made apes smarter and Caesar is the leader, but I think getting to know Caesar makes it worth a watch before the more exciting films.

(Note that this is the only movie in this trilogy that does not have a novelization, likely because it was the first film and they didn't know how well the trilogy would do. It's a shame because I would have loved to read the thoughts of Caesar finding his place among both humans and apes.)

Intro / Next

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Dead Friend Forever ep 1

I finally got sucked into watching. And since there's so much speculation around the characters and their actions/motives I thought I'd document my observations as I go. (small comments in brackets are things I've gone back to after the ep ended)

Who did the axe man hit for the guy on his own (Non, right?) to get splashed with blood, because the guy with him (Jin, right?) had already run off, unless it was his own blood from a wound lower down on this body... (So I'm guessing this is the original film that they made with Non years ago...no, wait, if Non was the 'killer' in the mask in the film then why is he running away from another masked person with Jin here? Is this also the film or is this their real experience. Oh ho hooo the mystery thickens...what's real and what's played out for the 'camera' [including for us]?...).

Also, I can't believed I'm watching this 🙈

I think the only way I'll get through the scary gore bits is to analyse their believability.

Ok, let's go! I like the opening credits music.

It's a good job it's difficult for me to figure out all their names because the things I've seen/read about the show so far mean nothing or very little.

The first believable thing! - no phone signal and no wifi in the middle of nowhere. I used to experience the same thing in the Swedish countryside.

Ok, I see those looks between Fluke and green-shirt-big-money guy...what secret do they have about what's on that external drive... And embroidered shirt guy doesn't know...or does he and he's a good liar?

EVERYONE IS JUST SO SUS.

So green shirt guy, Fluke, Jin, and embroidered shirt guy (Top!) were in this movie? And Non was the 'killer'. And Phee pretends he doesn't know who Non is even though I've seen that he and Non knew-knew each other... The two who don't know Non (for realsies?) is brown jacket guy (White?) and the guy sat opposite Jin.

Wow green shirt guy was quick to jump in to say he had a camera in the house to remake the film - that Phee suggested. SO SUS. Jin and tall guy (Tee!) did NOT like that.

"I don't want him [White] to get involved in what we have done" - What HAVE you done Tee? 👀

Also I love that all this is happening with White in a "Sexy Summer Time" t-shirt on 😂

An asthmatic who smokes 🤦🏽‍♀️ Yeah, he's definitely not going to find his inhaler when he needs it. (Is that Tan?).

Oh what if White isn't the innocent cherub he's made out to be? What if he's manipulating this to get revenge for Non? I've seen people say they want him to be the last girl standing (or whatever the phrase is) but what if he's orchestrating all this?

Whyyyyyy did green shirt guy (Por!) leave the house and go into the woods???

So, interestingly, Tee and Fluke instigated the search for Por, then Phee doled out instructions once they found him... Hmmmm...SUS

Por seems alive and conscious, why is no one asking how it happened? Also, even in his second year, Fluke should know to stay calm so as not to panic the patient more...

Who keeps jump cables in the house and not either in the car or in a garage/outbuilding, especially somewhere like that??!?

Again, they're in a house in the woods. Surely there would be a saw in some kind of garage/workshop? Why are they looking in a kitchen for a knife to cut a tree branch?? WHY IS THE SAW IN THE KITCHEN UNDER THE SINK?! 😂

It's incheresting that White concludes it's an attempted murder 👀 Thus sowing the seed in everyone else's mind...

BOYS, proving that there's a ninth person is NOT the priority here. Getting Por to a hospital is. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Also incheresting are the deleted scenes 👀 HOW COULD POR GO INTO THE WOODS ALONE ESPECIALLY AFTER HE COUNTED NINE PEOPLE?! Also, Tan was not part of the failed re-staging of the film...SUS.

Alright. I'm hooked on the mystery. I should make clear that I in NO WAY want any answers that will spoil the mystery for later in the series. Please and thank you! 🙏🏽 I'm just laying down some thoughts to come back to once more info gets revealed. Comments that don't spoil anything are absolutely welcome though! 😁

[regalautumn]

Why I hate Jack Krauser for all the right reasons

Okay, so before I get lynched by someone; this is just my opinion and thoughts, I haven't played much of the original and so I'm solely going off the remake here. [I'm sorry in advance if I end up upsetting anyone. I'd be more than happy to hear other's thoughts on the topic of Krauser.] I wanna start with the obvious reason why. Killing off one of my favourites, Luis Serra. [Listen, I know it was different in the original RE4 where it was Saddler instead but let me be salty for a moment.] Luis had the Amber, he had his ticket out. He could've escaped with Ada yet helped Leon and Ashley at the same time (I know he technically still does help even after he dies by giving the lab key) But then Krauser had to come in, kill the beloved Spaniard to retrieve the Amber and proceeded to duel Leon with the intention of killing him. Just the pure malice in his voice when he says the word "Rookie". It's enough to practically send a chill. And then when Leon had originally reached for his gun and Krauser puts the same knife he killed Luis with to Leon's throat. The speed at which he moves at is terrifying. I know there's the counterargument of Krauser being controlled by the Plaga. But I still wanna go over the boss fight Krauser was Leon's mentor, that is pretty common knowledge. But just the build up to the fight. The dog tags that were left on display and the photo of rookie Leon with the words "I'M WAITING". Like, he didn't need to do that. But he did anyway.

And then the back and forth between them before the actual fight. Leon tries to talk sense into Krauser, but it's evident that Krauser was already too far gone. That is a shell of who he once was, and now he just wants to end Leon. Also the way his body mutates during the boss fight really puts the final nail in the coffin. The line "Dead? No, I've been reborn..." really shows just how lost the actual Krauser is inside that body. Now it was just a husk of a man, a mindless mutant that's set out to kill.

And by the end, when Leon hold Krauser's knife, he sees a reflection of himself in it. Unlike earlier when in that one sequence after Verdugo it was Krauser's reflection looking right back at Leon. It really just reflects for a moment as to what had occurred. Leon had defeated his mentor, the very person who had trained him to be the agent he was today. I know this isn't normally the type of stuff I post and this is just a rant that could've been summed up with "I don't like Krauser because he killed Luis :(" and me being salty about it. But I do see the appeal! I can see why people like him. Hell, I think he is a pretty damn good rival to Leon due to both their past together and how Krauser matches his skill and strength level (I know, he used to be his mentor, no shit). [Though I don't see why some people ship them. That's just not my thing.} Anyways, if you read all of that: I'm sorry. Why? It felt like I just pointed to the obvious things that happened in game with some parts probably being overlooked. Okay rant over. Have a nice rest of your time awake.

[s1urpjuic3]

More Scathing hot takes

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

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

THE WORLD SHALL KNOW PAIN

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

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

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

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

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

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

Maybe i'm just a diehard Cleuce fan idk lmaooo

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

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

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

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

THERE WAS SO MUCH POTENTIAL FOR JACKSON/HOLT OMG

I WANT NEW QUEER/LGBTQ+ CHARACTERS

Especially the boys ;)

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

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

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

[phaeton-flier]

Dump of thoughts from The Apocalypse of Herschel Schoen, produced while I was in flight and couldn't Post;

So Frederick's speech about prediction of airplane movement is the opposite philosophy to Herschel's: there is one specific answer you need to find, one place the airplane will go, and everywhere else is wrong.

Herschel's "fitting into the pattern", the masking, is doing this: do whatever it is people expect, move in the straight line, don't explore or care about the majesty of all the options you have.

Except that's sort of the opposite of "water runs to the bottom of the bowl, unless something/someone is stopping it"?

“Except our ‘pilot,’ inside the circuitry of the fire-control system, will act a little faster than the one up there, in the plane.  Tipping us off, about where he’ll go next.”

It's not clear if the implication is that they're actually simulating a full mind, in there, or just putting together a quick-running, game theoretic sort of algorithm. Either way, it's going to seem like the former to Herschel's philosophy. That's the whole thing, isn't it, we're trapped in here in this false simplified reality, compared to the real world, used for the Adversary's purpose?

The "world replaced by straw men" is, on some level, the way the world will slowly grind you into a husk that hides whatever you actually are from the world. You change how you act to hide being different, like the negative feedback to outputs. You change how you interpret others actions, so you don't recognize others like you, like the negative feedback to inputs.

The water droplet always goes to the bottom, naturally; if you just acted like you wanted to act, like a baby does, naturally, you would be happy, you would see we're all the same. You think we're different, but we're not.

This is Miriam, this is why if you could pick her out from a crowd you haven't found her. She's already fit herself into the back of normality, she has no identifying features, she has no interests, nothing that would move her off the straight line path. Just a bunch of habits of what a person would do if they had interests. Like knowing everything about how to order your favorite meal, all the inflections about how to describe the fixing, except what the meal is.

There's this thing I have where it's irritating to talk to people, to switch on the part of my brain that pays attention to others spoken words, and form my own, and speak them, and it makes it annoying to talk to people when I'd rather read or scroll or play games. It's why I enjoy talking while scrolling or playing a game. I suspect it's ADHD.

Anyhow the result of that is less close relationships with people in real life, so I have to get over it. Ending up like Miriam, wanting connection without doing any connecting.

Someone has to.  What else are the televisions for, and the radio sets?

The shameful thing would be to imagine that I am like him.  The shameful thing would be to broadcast my own nothing — in place of what he has to “bring to the table.”

I don’t have anything to bring to the table.  I am the one who sits, at the table, and eats the meal.

Someone has to.

I understand this.  There is no shame in what I am.  So long as I understand what it is, that I am.

Miriam is a reader where others are writers.

The way she's talking, about accepting this viewpoint, feels untrue, feels like cope; it sounds too much, in cadence if not in details, like how I've justified viewpoints that were in hindsight unhealthy.

Vincent's description of the coming broadcast, one which goes from one transmitter to all earth, which will need us only as vessels, is some flipped view of Herschel's; what's more interesting is that he and Miriam both want it. To be a vessel that need only listen and absorb and witness.

The Latter-Day Emendation projects like a lance through the body of creation, but it does not move through and across that body over time. It acts at a right angle to time, and remakes eternity without disturbing its constancy.

Something you realize about yourself, something which was always there yet never part of your self image. Something that once you see it was clearly a thread running through you all along yet feels like a new piece of infinity.

[prismatoxic]

for anyone who is not into metal gear, who is wondering how the fuck my queer military-hating ass got into what appears to be a military shooter series, allow me to explain:

the story of the games (i am mostly talking about mgs but the original 2 metal gears are probably the same) are very anti-military down the road, as in, "i trust and believe in the military, i am a good soldier, Oh No They Have Betrayed Me because the military is corrupt, i am now my own man fighting for my own beliefs"

on top of that, they take themselves seriously only about 50% of the time (mostly 2 and 3, but 1 and 4 have their moments and even 5 is occasionally a little cheeky). these games are very silly, and they know they are very silly. they also know how to deliver an emotional gut-punch that will leave you writhing on the floor. (looking at you mgs3, and side-eyeing you mgs4)

the plot may sound convoluted from the outside, and... well, it is, but probably less than kingdom hearts is. or maybe about the same. if you can handle kingdom hearts you can handle metal gear. either way, the 45-minute cutscenes are not just filler, they do genuinely try and explain everything. i'd say 4 is the most batshit, story-wise, but it also ties a ribbon on the story of the entire solid saga, so it's worth seeing if you like the other 3. (you are then free to disregard or fix as much as you want in fanwork, natch.)

the game does geek out over guns and mechs, i'm not going to lie. however it does not ask you to do the same. there is no mechanic wherein you must know the exact specifications of a gun to win the game. the game also uses a lot of military jargon, and also makes a bunch of shit up. however i personally found that context clues explained most things. suspension of disbelief is also wildly important.

the characters are good. that's it, that's the point of this paragraph. the characters are very good. they are over-the-top a lot of the time and the dialogue is often very hokey and the voice acting is sometimes particularly hammy, and i hear everyone but david hayter phoned it in for the gamecube remake of the first game, but it all spells out a cohesive cast of bozos whom i love.

are there issues? yes. david hayter was shitcanned for mgs5 and all surrounding materials because hideo kojima wanted a bigger name in his lead role, despite david hayter having voiced (almost) every snake in every english voiced game up until that point. (kojima claimed it was to make the game more serious, but the japanese voice actor did not change at all despite being equally hammy, and otacon's eng VA voices otacon's father in mgs5, so. make of that what you will.)

the series also does not treat women well. it tries to, sometimes, but it will still sexualize them in ways that feel demeaning, often detracting from the weight of whatever story they are trying to tell.

the aforementioned 45-minute cutscenes are also... kind of an issue. (they get longer, too, especially in 4.) like, some of us have things to do, kojima.

and of course, konami booted kojima from their company sometime during 5's production; say what you will about the man, but metal gear was his baby. (personally i'd have preferred they stop at 4 anyway, and kojima had tried to quit the series several times, but wiping his credits from 5's box and continuing to make the series without him feels scummy.)

there are other issues, things i've forgotten or didn't see fit to discuss at length, but at the end of the day none of this sours the series for me. (well, maybe everything post 4, but. not the rest of them.) i enjoy the story and characters and settings a lot, and... well, i watched my partner play them, so idk about the gameplay. but i was very enraptured watching, and have already written one fic and am working on another. (both otasune.) i will draw some things when i get my art mojo back, too.

so... i hope that explains it. i mean, i can see why it might appear to come out of left field from a storied fan of persona, but really, it's not that much of a stretch. i have a lot of reasons to be here.

...did i mention the overt homoeroticism? that's. that's there too.

[noblechaton]

windamp

oh yeah i dont miss them haha. p3 is so interesting because it was the first to add social sim stuff. they've learned a lot over the years. if you were to play every game back to back it would be interesting to see all the small changes (though also a little crazy lmao). i do wonder if adding all the link episodes at night wouldve helped any with the night emptiness. or adding the guy's actual social links. they added a bunch of stat builders in reload but once thats done there's not anything new beyond a few of the computer programs and hangouts (which also have limits). actually, in p4g you can run into non party social links at night. i think that might've helped...you can w/ koro ofc but i think some w/o him wouldve been cool. i think the cats and clocks were added to try to entice people to come in more often, but tbh....it doesnt work very well lmao. i think i just kept going in the last possible day. maybe some date specific events where interesting things happen wouldve worked better?

honestly that's something I've really enjoyed about the experience so far in that I can see where a lot of the stuff that hooked me in P5R really started at - it's like seeing the skeleton in a way, which isn't to say things are bare bones or anything, I honestly kinda like how simple it is in comparison in some ways, but it's neat seeing how things started out, basically, and being able to point at things that improve in mechanical depth and such as things go on - tho it does feel weird saying this about a game that technically comes after their most recent sequel lmao

that said I do agree in that I think it'd been neat to have something like that "meeting links at night" thing going - obviously I don't fault em fer not having such a thing at this stage, as said yesterday it's kinda unfair to say this game that technically came first should have the improvements made across the sequels - but I think adding in more night stuff woulda gone a long way without really messin' with the core experience much; the Koro walks are really fun and genuinely something of a highlight for me, as they offer insight on the characters current states throughout the game (the ones after October 4th in particular were really strong imo) and more of that is never gonna be a bad thing

on that note, I also like just how much more personal the cast feels in main narrative cutscenes and such; P5R's cast felt this way too, but ya kinda had to do the confidants to really get to know em, whereas here I feel I know them really well despite the lack of social links, and when there are some they feel like expansions of the characters rather than like, the only way to know em (not that I feel this was true of P5R mind you; just that you miss out on a lotta the good stuff without doing their links, while, in lieu of them in P3/R, you get the full monty outright)

ultimately I think it kinda comes down to whether or not they should have done a proper remake or leaned more into the remaster thing - I feel what I'm playing is a very strong, very fun experience on its own, but there's definitely things I feel they coulda improved if they'd leaned more in either direction. that said I don't think I'd want a full blown remake of this narrative as I've found it really engaging and interesting in ways that are near total contrast to P5R, which is real fun for me

[justdalek]

Mario and Luigi: Brothership Review

I just finished M&L: Brothership and hoooooly cow that was a crazy game (in a very good way)

tldr: 8/10, definitely 3rd out of the 8 M&L games (yes I'm including the remakes)

Long review under cut (spoilers ahoy!)

Okay, so let me say that I have been with M&L for over a decade now. I was introduced to the series via SullyPWNZ's let's play of M&L: Partners in Time and then eventually getting my first M&L game that is Dream Team and falling in love with the series as a whole (I've played every game except the original Superstar Saga).

That being said, there's a lot to unpack with Brothership, so let's get the cons out of the way first bc there isn't a lot.

Luigi being controlled with A in battles: UUUUUUUGH Nintendo if you do one patch to the game, please let it be either Luigi is solely B or you can toggle which button to use for him in the settings. My muscle memory screwed me over in so many battles bc I'd default to pressing A with Luigi instead of B bc in battle A = Mario and B = Luigi. Lowkey felt like Luigi's commands were made more complicated instead of simplified.

More with Arc and Arc's Father: This is a weird one, but it very much felt like Arc was just tossed to the wayside after Lushgreen Sea. I was waiting for more development with him or his dad, but we don't see his dad until the end credits. Very much felt like a wasted character and (pun not intended) character arc.

Receiving Bros Attacks: I do miss the puzzle aspect from BIS and DT and it very much feels like it takes forever to receive all the Bros Attacks (like you don't receive the shells until after Gorumbla's defeat)

Yeah, that's it. Let's get to the pros.

Quality of Life Improvements: Skippable cutscenes, fast forwarding, optional or very quick tutorials wonderful to see again!

Pacing: While slow at first, the ending does go by very quickly, so I'm not complaining about it.

Bite-Sized Exploration: With the islands being on the smaller side, there's still a lot to do and a lot to come back to!

References Galore!: Every one of the M&L games are referenced and it's so cool to see it!

Burnedette and Chilliam: Oh my god I love these two so freakn much. This is very much what I've missed in media in general is to have a happy couple with little issues and that stick together through thick and thin. Their bond mission was so heartwarming and cute.

Extension Corps: Okay, I love the pun names, but also their arc was something I kinda wish M&L would do more. If I recall correctly, this is the first time that an antagonist in M&L has been first of all redeemed and second of all still relevant to the plot post redemption. The ECs did good deeds after Zokket's defeat and were even willing to help the bros when Reclusa went bonkers. They're also just dorks and I love them.

Cable puns: This may be my inner mass comm geeking out, but I love every single one of the cable puns and enemy designs that incorporated said cables. It was very much a genius move.

Bowser is largely neutral: So Bowser not being the final boss and not going after Peach is??? Amazing??? Don't get me wrong, Bowser being Bowser in M&L is always funny, but this time it was very refreshing to have the main villains be villains without Bowser sweeping in and making it all about himself.

Starlow: I very much am not a fan of Starlow (I tolerate her), and while the cameo was nice, I'm more glad that she let Snoutlet do his own thing with the bros rather than using her as a crutch when she shows up to the ship.

Peach: She isn't kidnapped?! Whaaat?! Jokes aside, like with Bowser, I'm glad that Brothership took a much different route with her by having her join IDLE and be more proactive in helping the bros find out information. It's nice that we don't have to worry about "saving the princess" and can focus on Concordia.

Mushroom Kingdom denizens as a whole: I'm going to slightly compare Brothership to Superstar Saga and Dream Team in that the MK and Bowser's minions are really used a lot here, letting the player focus more on the new world. Very much enjoy being able to explore without crazy interferences from Toad shenanigans (looking at you, Paper Jam).

Cozette as Zokket: I'm not gonna lie: I did not see that twist coming. Looking back at Cozette and how Reclusa got his mitts on her, it's such a good twist in that even the best of people can get brainwashed under the right circumstances to do evil things.

Reclusa: He's such an asshole, but I love him as a villain. Even though he's physically there towards the end of the game, his character isn't rushed and we get to see him be so unapologetically evil the entire time.

Connie and Snoutlet: These two were so much fun to have on this journey. I like their energy and banter more than Starlow and Prince Dreambert, and I hope there's more of this kind of energy in future M&L games.

Vibes: I feel like M&L has down spiraled in terms of having a lot of negative humor since Bowser's Inside Story, with it really being ugly in Paper Jam. However, Brothership literally turns the ship around and has a much more positive atmosphere about it, and it's so refreashing.

Music: While this game doesn't have the most memorable soundtrack, when it does have bangers they are super good. Standouts for me include the battle and boss themes and Twistee Island.

The Message: I usually see this more in the Paper Mario series, but the overall message that while being alone, having bonds with people is important is such a good message that needs to be told more. The fact that this game displays that there are multiple kinds of bonds (family, friends, romantic, rivals, etc) is so cool and validating to see.

Mario and Luigi: Easily one of their best performances alongside Dream Team. They bounce off of each other and truly show the power of brothership. Also having Luigi cook so much in this game was so freakn funny but also, "he has an idea! Let him cook!"

There's so much more I could say, but I really love this game overall and can ramble about all day

[sapphire-weapon]

(1) Hey there! I've been totally engrossed in your meta analyses on RE. You've nailed everything I've felt about the Aeon ship but couldn't express. It's tough to share views on Aeon nowadays without backlash. Their dynamic always puzzled me, like I get the trauma bonding and that they care abt each other, but come on, she keeps being part of the world Leon swore to destroy and that's not enough of a red flag for him? (cont)

(2) With the RE4 remake, it looks like they're trying to change their whole relationship, and I'm here for it. It's obvious he's rejecting her, but people blindly try to convince themselves they're a thing. They will look for the dumbest or overanalyze things to prove Aeon is alive and well, but will ignore the devs' clear attempts to show Leon flirting with Ashley. Like it's right there. There's dialogue and everything lol (3) I've got a few questions for you, if that's okay. There are still some things about Ada I can't figure out (though I guess that's what makes her interesting), and I'd love to hear your thoughts. 1. Why does Leon let Ada take the sample? Do you think she knew he wouldn't stop her?

Just for clarity's sake -- you said later that this was about Remake, so we're talking about the Amber, not the Sample.

Leon lets Ada take it for two reasons:

He trusts Luis. And if Luis and Ada had an arrangement, then Leon trusts that Ada's not going to sell the Amber to someone who shouldn't have their hands on it.

He knows what happened the last time he got between Ada and her mission objective: she almost fucking died. Would've died if not for something breaking her fall.

I don't know if Ada knew that Leon wouldn't stop her, but I'd be willing to bet that that was the reason why she namedropped Luis in the first place. She saw the "for Luis" scene; she probably banked on Leon trusting Luis more than he distrusted her.

And she was right.

2. In SW, Ada shows concern for Leon, like her voice softening when she talks about him. She's clearly into him sexually, but do you think she'd want something more than just a physical relationship? (cont.) (4) Could this be tied to her self-perception, like maybe she's pursuing Leon to prove something to herself, maybe a sign of insecurity?

Still talking about Remake, just to be clear.

I'mma be real wit u homie: I don't see what you see here. I've played through SW a few times, but I never noticed her voice softening for him in this way. I saw her speaking at a lower volume because she's talking to herself, but that's because... she was talking to herself.

So the answer is no and no. None of Ada's sense of self is wrapped up in Leon. At all. She has some sentimental attachment to him because Ada gets sentimental about people and things (for reference, see: Ada being sincerely hurt when Wesker rejects her in chapter 3, also Ada honoring Luis's memory and dying wishes for the remainder of SW after he dies), but she has no real concern for him otherwise. He's just a Thing that she wants, and Ada goes after what she wants.

3. What future do you see for Aeon? How could their relationship evolve if it's not just about tension or hints of a physical relationship like in the OG timeline? Do you think Ada will have some character growth, especially in RE6? They tried so hard to show Ada had a heart, and Aeon seemed almost like a couple, but that didnt go anywhere... again lol. (cont.)

Still talking about Remake.

In order:

There is no future for Aeon.

Right now, there is no evolution possible for their relationship, because Ada isn't there yet as a character. She needs to be someone that Leon can actually trust, and she isn't. He explicitly pushes her away in 4 for that reason. Her character change in 4 is a good start, but that's all it is. Ada still has a lot of independent growing to do in order for Leon to even tolerate her, and I honestly don't know when they could possibly fit that into the events of the series. They would have to create whole-ass new games that take place in between numbered titles just for the Remake timeline, and I really just don't see them doing that.

I've said this over and over again, but: we need to see what RE5make does. It doesn't sound like Wesker's just going to let her betrayal go this time like he did in OG, and there's a real possibility that RE5make won't kill him off. It is impossible to speculate on RE6make right now, and I wish people would stop asking me to.

Don't forget that RE6 OG ends with Leon rejecting Ada, too. There's no point to building up Leon and Ada's relationship just to have him reject her again. He's already rejected her now in 4. We're past that. Moving on. There's a real opportunity for Capcom to do something completely new with Ada's character now that they've wrapped up the Aeon melodrama early, so let's just... let them.

(5) Do you think Leon being on his own in Infinite Darkness and Death Island, with no Ada references, means CAPCOM is rethinking the ship in the OG timeline? Could CAPCOM's preference for keeping characters single be part of this (if thats even true and not another random news some fans made up)? or maybe they don't know what to do with them?

RE6 ends with Leon rejecting Ada. It's already been rethought. It's over. It's done. It's been decided. The Aeon arc has concluded. The focus of Leon's character going into the end of his story is now his relationship with the government -- which is where it should've been all along.

If they go back on that rejection in RE9, that's bad storytelling. And I actually trust the current writing staff at Capcom to know that and stick to the script. But who knows, they could always make a fool of me in the end.

I also don't know where "Capcom prefers the characters to stay single" even comes from. I've never seen a source, never read a quote, never been linked to an interview. I'm pretty sure it's shit that fans made up because they're salty their ship isn't canon yet lmao

Thanks a ton for your insights. They've really helped me get more out of the games and improve my own analysis. I'll definitely support you on Kofi! 💖

<3333333333 I don't have a functioning Ko-Fi currently, but I appreciate the sentiment all the same.