#the ethan winters debacle

[lady-lazagna]

hello tumblr user lady-lazagna.

what are your current tsubasa thoughts?

i know you like to think about him so i'm putting him in your head

Hello tumblr user fullcaps-ethan.

It is true, I do like to have him in my head. I keep him in a little cage up there. Don't worry about it, he has a hamster wheel, a water bottle, and some grain to nibble on👍 While he's up there, I like to do a little Angsty Projection.

The main projection point came from the "outsider looking in" feeling. I had already had this portrayal of him in my mind for a while, but after Metal Fury and the Legendary Bladers debacle, it solidified.

Almost all of the bladers in Fury are hoping that they were chosen to have star fragments, unaware that this was mostly predetermined by ancestors. And when they're told about this, and how the remaining chosen blader has to fit into the specific category of Winter constellations, hope is lost for a lot of them- Tsubasa included.

The show doesn't dwell too much on this for him, since the "not feeling worthy" storyline is given to Masamune (for good reason, that storyline fucked💚❤), but I like to dive into how my main boy Tsoobs feels about this (because I need his perspective in every situation, because I am sick and unwell).

A fun little tidbit about Tsubasa's constellation, Aquila, is that it's mainly a Summer constellation (appears between June and October, and is a point in the Summer triangle). And who ends up being chosen as the legendary blader of Summer? His absolute favourite guy on the planet, Ryuga.

That has got to be salt in the wound of not being chosen; to have the guy who not only tried to destroy the world and hurt all your friends in the process, but hurt you specifically in a deeply personal and traumatising way, be chosen as some kind of hero destined to save the world from the ultimate evil. And he doesn't even do it! He fucks up Zeus's Barrier and then dies because he was too prideful to work with the team. How unbelievably insulting to every other blader on the planet who would've been 100 times more worthy.

Tsubasa spent the whole of Masters learning to rely on and work with his friends. He knows he never would've fucked up like Ryuga did because he doesn't have a problem working with the team. But instead, Ryuga got the power, wasted it, and traumatised yet another one of Tsubasa's friends in the only selfless act he'd ever committed. Dying was the only good thing he'd ever done, Tsubasa would think, spitefully.

But oh my god he absolutely Cannot say that in front of any of his friends; they all admired and respected him as a true blader, no matter what he'd done! So he must keep all these feelings to himself, or they'll all think he's a terrible person with no compassion. Just continue to say nothing, and you'll keep the peace. Besides, the legendary blader of Summer is someone who deserves it now, right? Why continue to be angry?

The legendary bladers are the saviours of the planet. Even though every other blader in the world contributed to taking down Nemesis, they were the ones that assembled and fought the villains all the way through. Everyone around them fades into the background. Tsubasa wishes he could fade like that too, and be able to do his own thing without having to stand beside people far superior to him every second of the day. But for some reason, Director Ryo just won't let him. He continues to drag him to the forefront of every issue alongside the legendary bladers, so he's always feeling like he's working with people who don't need him. What is being a trained spy to having the power of a star, anyway?

So there he stays, bitter and utterly inferior with a pointless existence. Maybe if he bothered to communicate any of his feelings to his non-legendary friends, he could get some support- or maybe he'd just make them feel worse as well. Who's to say?

[i-revolve-around-you]

I think it's about time I wrote a proper introduction post

Hey y'all, welcome to my blog! I'm a tumblr veteran but decided to start over on a new account recently. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.

🎵 the basics 🎵

nick ~ 28 ~ he/him ~ bi ~ white author ~ musician ~ gamer ~ nerd multi-fandom/shitposting this blog will be (mostly) SFW, but i still would rather not have minors following me. i just prefer interacting with adults, sorry. it's not personal. my likes, however, will be N/SFW, so be warned

my messages and ask box are always open! feel free to hit me up!

more info (including other links, and a list of fandoms/things i like) under the cut

tags: my ramblings | my face

🤩 a bit more about me 🤩

heya! the name's nick. i've been on tumblr since like...2011 or so? i was really big into it in my college years (2012-2017) but after The Great Tumblr Porn Ban of 2017 I've sorta been drifting in an out. When The Great Twitter Debacle of 2022 happened, I decided to migrate back on a new account so I could start fresh.

this account was immediately suspended because of my side-blog. which was a bit too unsafe for work for tumblr's guidelines ig 🙄 not mentioning that they had just recently updated their policy and everything i was posting was PERFECTLY FINE under them but w/e

so i started another one lmao and that's the one that you're looking at right now! my other account has since been restored but at that point I was already situated over here so like. whatever i guess. lol

i'm currently 28, and bisexual. semi-recently out of the closed as bi, actually. for years i identified as gay, but over time i started realizing "actually...i do kinda like girls?" i still identified as "gay" cuz it was easier than saying "so like i'm bi-sexual but mostly homo-romantic but also maybe potentially demi-sexual but only when it comes to real people?" then around 2020 it just kinda clicked with me, and the label of "bisexual" just felt right

anywho you didn't come here for my full life story. here's just a little bit more about me:

i'm a total nerd. i love video games, playing Yugioh, DND (just starting to get into that one), etc. i'm a writer. i've written several fanfics (some of which i'm really proud of, some of which i'm...less), and have a goal of one day publishing a novel (my main genre is YA contemporary with queer themes and characters). i'm a musician. i actually got my bachelor's degree in music (BA in Music). my main instrument is drums/percussion, but i'm learning a bit of guitar and can play a little bit of piano. i'm also a composer/songwriter, though haven't been writing as much these days. if i write anything cool i'll be sure to post it here!

🎭 the artist formerly known as 🎭

previous account: @excuuuseme-princess other previous urls: musicdork, sincerely-whelmed, futuremehatesme, @nickplayswhat, @spearfeld, among others, probably

🔍 other places to find me 🔎

tumblr sideblog (N/SFW, seriously be warned): @fadingfast1 twitter: @libromancerfire n/sfw twitter (again...be warned): @whatifitspriv tiktok: @libromancer_fireburst ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkjaden825698

⚔ fandoms/things i like ⚔

Books 📚

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz

Darius the Great is Not Okay / Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram

TV shows 📺

Arrowverse (especially Legend of Tomorrow [r.i.p. 😢])

Doctor Who

Travelers

Manifest

Movies 📽

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse

Love, Simon

Cartoons/Anime 🍞

Yu-Gi-Oh! (DM, GX, 5Ds, ZeXal, Arc-V, currently watching VRAINS and Sevens, have yet to start Go-Rush)

Code Lyoko*

Video Games 🎮

Resident Evil (played all mainline games, some spinoffs, faves are RE2make, Village, and Revelations 2, Ethan Winters is my husband)

Horizon (Zero Dawn, Forbidden West)

Persona (mostly 3 and 5, still need to finish 4, but Kanji is bae)

Fire Emblem (have played all except FE1, 2, 3, and about halfway through 5 but keep losing interest, Engage was FANTASTIC, but Ike is my favorite character)

Zero Escape (999, VLR, ZTD, Sigma Klim is my husband)

Life is Strange (particularly LiS2, but I love them all)

The Legend of Zelda

Golden Sun*

Music Artists 🎼

Paramore

Neck Deep

The Wonder Years*

Other

Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG

*fandoms/media I was once very involved in, but not as much anymore, still enjoy though fandoms/media i consider to be some of my faves/am very active in will (try and remember to) update as new things become relevant to me lmfaoo

[freezegirl]

in the meantime, how are you handling this? // from principal powers

winter soldier: 2018-2019 / @helpjustone (principal powers)

theodore and ann-marie stronghold would be fools if they threw an end of the year party and did not invite penthesilea powers. not even because powerhouse is, coincidentally, one of the strongest heroes - if not the strongest hero - in the community, but more so because they brought skybourne high and skybourne university to life, sure, but penthesilea had breathed life into both institutions.

why shouldn't she be commended for that?

"honestly, i'm just glad i made it to the end of the year. more importantly, i'm glad that my friends made it as well. it's been... eventful."

school, as a whole, has been more than eventful.

her freshman year of high school had been filled with bouts of bullying and the bestowal of the perpetual nickname 'freeze girl' upon her by lash, who had asked her out.

(khione had rebuffed him, for his own safety, sure, but lash had never realized that.)

her sophomore year of high school consisted not only of the whole royal pain debacle, but also came with the knowledge that her father - evander, permafrost - had cheated on her mother - saraswati, ganga - with mrs braun, knocking her up, only a month after finding out his wife was expecting, too.

(he and mrs braun broke it off, but the damage had already been done. the consequences of the fall-out followed her around far into junior year. that's exactly why her parents had insisted upon a very public vow renewal. it's all about the optics.)

then came nurse spex's death in senior year. her grandson didn't take it well. of course he wouldn't. who would? his parents had already died on the job; his grandma had been the last person he'd had.

(even so, as much as her heart went out to him, she hadn't appreciated his laser eyes. she's glad that farzana and jawaharel spoke to the teachers about it.)

the transitional period afterwards had been grueling too: that brief moment between high school and college? tough would be an understatement. too kind a word. the entire superhero community had been turned upside down because of josie stronghold's death, as well as will's grandparents coming to town in the aftermath.

"i mean, college is... something." barron battle broke out of the maximum security prison in her first year, rampaged through town, kidnapped ethan in the process. "i thought i would be stressed about majors and minors instead of, you know, the katie baxter of it all during my second go-around."

she shivers, adding quietly: "or, you know, pro and anti super-sentiment. not to mention mr medulla's exploded particle accelerator. however did you find out that he hadn't actually destroyed the pacifier when he said he had?"

[fusrodie]

@le-cat-nipp​

No, they did. There is a short flashback from rose perspective, after u collect all flasks and put them in this chalice thing. You can see all of them are reachin to her, as to torn her apart. And its not like they are all controlled by mother miranda, as we see heisenberg, as well as lady d are still able to disobey her. Also invading others houses? Well what about Ethans house? His wife was killed in front of him,his child taken away.

His sole inetntion was to retrive rose, he wasn't into fight till he wasn't attack. And they didn't do that to protect their houses. They wanted to hunt him and let him suffer. And beside all of that they also killed everyone in the village, so yeah def not innocent people, whose houses bein invaded. Heisenberg show to be anythin but trustworthy, when after their first meetin he impaled Ethan.

guess I’ll have to pay closer attention to the cutscenes on my next playthrough, because I definitely didn’t catch that. still, I honestly doubt it. none of the lords had control over the megamycete and never touched it directly, otherwise they would have all the knowledge and powers Miranda did. they couldn’t dismember her moldy ass even if they wanted to. and again, I’m not saying they were blameless, what I’m saying is that Ethan was just as much of a shit as they were.

they are not able to disobey her, they disagree with her, which is different. they were all brainwashed into obedience like every other villager, and getting out of a toxic family dynamic isn’t as easy as going “boo you whore I’m out”, otherwise Heisenberg would have bolted long before Rosemary came out of Ethan’s ballsack. still murder on Ethan’s end.

the lords didn’t invade Ethan’s house and shot his wife, Chris did, and offered 0 explanations later. Chris’ soldier also knocked him out with a gun, shoved his incapacitated body inside a truck, and a third dude actually berated him for answering the phone. Ethan killed none of these people. in fact, Ethan died not knowing the first thing about their plan. so, we come back to: murder.

I think saying that they wanted to hunt him is a pretty bold statement, because they actually didn’t do that, at like, any point. they were all in their bases/houses and Ethan went to them. Lady D started hunting him around the house because he killed her fucking daughters. was she wrong? yep, murder is still murder. was he wrong? yep! murder is still murder, particularly because none of them had laid a hand on him until he was hung from the ceiling. they could have killed him there, but they didn’t. Alcina could have killed him in her room, and she didn’t. the lords were told not to kill Ethan. Alcina is mad about it over the phone, Moreau complains that Ethan will be there for the ceremony but not him. he was never truly in danger of dying until he managed to royally piss off Lady D, because Miranda wanted him alive. where we at? oh yeah, murder.

we don’t actually know who ordered the lycan attack, at least not yet. I’ve scoured the files and cutscenes and even reddit while I was researching for my fanfic, and it’s unclear why the village was razed to the ground and who actually ordered it. we can’t really place the blame on anyone in particular.

Ethan’s sole intention was not to save Rose. in fact he tells Heisenberg he “won’t let him get away with it”, “it” being... fuck if I know, man. guess he thought Heisenberg supported the whole thing even if, you know, he straight up told Ethan otherwise.

I never said they were innocent. in fact I explicitly mentioned that they were shit, my point is that Ethan isn’t any better. he murdered people unprovoked and thought he was right about it. he was as much a monster as all others. we can do intricate gymnastics around it to try and justify it, the bottom line is still the same. good character, tragic shit human being.

[thefanficmonster]

Partner

Ethan Winters (Resident Evil Biohazard) x Reader (Gender Neutral)

Warnings: Spoilers for Resident Evil 8:Village, Swearing, Mentions of injury

Genre: Angsty Fluff, Comfort

Summary: Following the final battle in the Dimitrescu Castle, Ethan is surprised to stumble upon a person who witnessed the whole debacle, offering him a safe place to patch up his wounds and rest for a little while.

Requested by Anon. Hi dear! Thank you so much for your request! So sorry you’ve had to wait so long but here it finally is! Hope you come across it and enjoy reading it! Love, Vy ❤

“That was...something else.“ Ethan Winters mutters to himself as he limps his way out of the Dimitrescu Castle which is now vacant in terms of residence - his doing. He killed Alcina Dimitrescu and her daughters, all arguably in self defense and with little guilt to follow. However, plenty of trauma’s definitely attached to him following the horrific events he had to go through and the things he had to see between the walls of those luxurious rooms hiding dark secrets of the vampires who took pleasure in torturing people, and wreaking havoc over the villagers who feared them.

“At least they won’t hurt anyone any longer.“ He tells himself, giving the monster of a structure one final look before he continues back towards the center of the village where he’s gonna rethink what he’s got to do next, gather his bearings, take a breath and keep going. He has no other option but to keep going, he won’t allow himself to quit no matter what danger he faces. In his mind, he’s convinced himself that he’s already seen the worst, it’s easier on him that way, it suppresses the fear he’d feel otherwise. The last thing he wants is to think what’s in store for him ahead, he’d rather focus on what’s up to him to do next.

“And we can’t thank you enough.“

The sudden presence of an unfamiliar voice startles him, causing him to whip out his gun and point it in the direction it came from. However, he quickly finds his deadly tight grip loosening ever so slightly because he realizes he’s pointing the barrel at a very human-looking and seemingly harmless person.

“Who are you? Who’s ‘we’?“ Ethan still refuses to let his guard down though, just cause it may not be a life or death situation, doesn’t mean this person won’t bring him trouble and Lord knows that’s the last thing he needs right now.

On instinct, the person takes a step back, “I speak on the behalf of all the remaining villagers. I mean, it was only a matter of time before we too became victims in the Dimitrescu Castle basement. I was next, actually, but the commotion you created allowed for me to escape. I owe you my life, foreigner.“ The speak hurriedly and in a hushed tone, as if the fear of their torturers overhearing them still lives within them despite the monsters being deceased.

“Glad I could help you.“ He nods curtly, remaining at the distance of seven feet between them, “My name’s Ethan Winters by the way.“

They give him the tiniest of smiles, “Y/N L/N, pleased to meet you.” Their gaze gives him a quick onceover, assessing the damage the horrors of the castle have inflicted on him. Their eyes widen in shock at the many bleeding wounds all over his body but what appears to rattle them most is the severe injury that’s causing his limp as well as the missing finger - a poorly wrapped would that has surprisingly not started getting infected yet. “Look, I know you don’t trust me, but I don’t trust you to take care of yourself either. I live in that windmill over there in the outskirts, come with me, I’ll help you with...well, with all that. You seem rather hopeless at medical care.”

While he could refuse their offer, he wouldn’t be able to deny the fact that they’re right - he knows the basics of first aid, but his injuries are far too gone for simple first aid, especially when taken into account that he doesn’t even have any supplies. How he’s not died from blood loss is a surprise to him as much as it is to them.

“What’s my guarantee you won’t turn on me?“ He finally asks after a decent amount of time contemplating it.

They shrug, “You have none. But, you have the guarantee that if I turn on you, you’ll be the one coming out of that altercation alive.” Their gaze sizes up the guns he’s got on him, emphasizing their point.

Suddenly, Ethan feels sorta ridiculous - after all, guns or no guns, he could probably take on them easily with just his knife. Regardless, no one can blame him for being cautious. “Fine.“ He mutters, “But please don’t turn on me, I’ve already had one hell of a day.“

Y/N nods, motioning for him to follow them, “I promise I won’t.”

                                                               *  *  *

“Wow, what a back-stabber! Some friends you have, Winters.“ Y/N comments as they set down a cup of tea on the small wooden table in front of the freshly patched up Ethan.

Turns out, he made the right move by trusting them - they used to be the village’s main nurse until it all went to hell and they went to hide in the shadows of their windmill where they, as evidenced, still are today. That being said, not only did they have all the necessary equipment to fix him up, but they also had the skills and knowledge needed to use that equipment.

“There are those friends who borrow money from you and never pay you back and there are those who shoot your wife randomly while you two are trying to have dinner. Two types of friends out there really.“ He sighs, his tired, a thousand yard stare following the path of the steam levitating from the cup that’s been placed in front of him. “I have no time to dwell on that right now though. My daughter is in grave danger and I have no idea where I should even start looking for her.“

Y/N sits down on a chair opposite his, “Well, you’ve already defeated one of the village Lords looking for Rose, process of elimination should reveal where she is - wherever she is, it has to be one of the Lords’ residence. Mother Miranda trusted Lady Dimitrescu most so it’s a wonder why she wasn’t there, but then again, Heisenberg’s factory is damn near impenetrable, one cannot enter unless he wants them to so she could have entrusted her precious cargo to him.”

“How do I get to that fucker?“ Ethan tightens his hand into a fist, squeezing so tightly his knuckles turn white. There’s so much within him, so much that’s happened to him, so much in such a short amount of time and he’s had no time to deal with any of it. He’s a volcano waiting to erupt, but he has to do so at the right time - in front of the right danger to show he’s not hopeless or weak as his opponent may think. “Where do I find him?“

“He’s in the outskirts too just on the other side of the village.“ They sigh, regretting every word they are saying since they know they are just feeding him information on how to get himself in the worst kind of danger he’s probably ever been in. “That key you have, it’s not complete to access his quarters yet. By the looks of it...“ they observe the key Ethan has placed on the table, “You can only get to Lord Donna Beneviento’s estate, and I wouldn’t suggest heading there before you heal at least a bit more. Her and her dolls are a real nightmare. Of course, I haven’t experienced it for myself, but the stories are enough to get an idea.“

“So you’re telling me I have to waste my time with the little fish before I can finally get to Rose? You know how long that’ll take? You know how long she’ll have to be at the mercy of a fucking lunatic until I can finally save her?!“ Ethan snaps, banging his fist against the table, bad idea considering his hand’s been just patched up. The impact sends a jolt of pain up his arm that makes him hiss.

“I get it, I understand, Ethan. But you are a lot less likely to get to your daughter if you’re dead, you know.“ Y/N cautiously explains, their eyes narrowing a bit as they wait for the pearl white bandages to soak crimson, sighing in relief when they don’t. “Speaking of how likely you may or may not be to get to her on time, I’d also have to mention your odds would be significantly higher if you were to receive help from someone else. You’d need someone to have your back throughout all the shit you’re about to go through, especially Heisenberg’s factory where two eyes are not enough to track each and every threat that might pounce at you.“

Calmer now, Ethan gives them a puzzled look, “What are you suggesting?“

“I’m suggesting - well, I’m offering you my partnership.“ They explain, watching his expression change to one of knowing and understanding. “Of course, you’d have to give up one of those guns and hand it down to me, but I think that’s a small price to pay in exchange for an extra pair of eyes and limbs to guard and help you.“

Ethan’s first instinct is to decline. He can’t afford to see another person dying around him or because of him, he wouldn’t be able to stand it. But then again, just like he had no guarantee they wouldn’t turn on him, he has none that they’ll die. Of course, he’ll do everything in his power to keep them and himself alive and they don’t seem like they are in it to half-ass it either. Quite the contrary, they seem perfectly determined and ready to face the same shit he’s about to.

“What do you get in return?“ He asks, his gaze suspiciously measuring each line on their face to gauge their true intentions. He’s a complete stranger to them, they’d have no reason to be this selfless for him, it’s obvious they are aiming at something bigger.

Y/N scoffs, leaning back in their chair with a small bitter smile on their face, their gaze resting on the tabletop and avoiding his, “You really wanna know? I want my revenge - revenge for what they did to this village, to me, to so many people I cared about and to those I didn’t even know. But...” they trail off, pausing to sigh out a heavy sigh before continuing, “But I also wanna redeem myself. I knew I should’ve done all in my power to stop them when their havoc was still on the rise, I knew I should’ve done more, but I didn’t. And now I’ll die trying.”

“You won’t die.“ He says sharply, barely a second after the last word left their lips, “I won’t allow it.“ He adds, taking a bit of the edge off his voice.

Their eyes come up to meet his, searching for what he means, “Does that mean...“

“It sure does, partner.“ Within the blink of an eye, his pistol is on the table, fully loaded and free for their taking, “You just give a green light and we’re off.“

Y/N lets out a sound between a laugh and a gasp as their hands quickly wrap around the gun, looking at it in disbelief before whispering a quick ‘thank you’. Ethan allows them to marvel at it for a bit longer but they don’t wait another second. “Get your ass up, Winters. We have monsters to kill.”

He needn’t be told twice

[weregreatatcrime]

Ooh me! I would like to ask about High Lord Karl and the Winter Seizure!

For starters,

- what was the catalyst for him finally getting his army up and running and going at Miranda? In game it was Ethan and the whole jigsaw baby debacle, so did this time he just decide 'aight, she's distracted with making weird plots, we'll get her while she's in her office daydreaming on nothing but coffee and 1 hour of sleep'

- how's the Winters' marriage? They good? Get their therapists sorted?

- and on that note is Chris on better terms with them?

- oh and who's the better bedtime story teller: Mia or Ethan?

- also, who does Karl almost knock himself out cold for as he was walking down the street and slammed head first into a tree when he saw them? Mia or Ethan?

- or is it the bug triplets who see them first?

- or Anja? Is she in this au? Does good girl accidentally wander into their yard and Mia and Ethan just look at each other like "Again? AGAIN!?" but then they're like "oh she's just a puppy, are you hungry puppy? need a blanket? want a leg of this turkey? it's fresh from the oven~

Also, might as well add that I'm in love with 'Go Tell Aunt Rhody'. Some of the scenes read like memes and they're hilarious.

*wheeze* holy shit this is a lot hell yeah let's go

- this sort of addresses the question about Anja! Anja is a good good girl and she got Really mad about the shit Miranda does to Karl, so she loses it and goes to attack Miranda. Good Girl got very very hurt and Karl found out. He exploded. It... didn't go well for either of them (or the village) but he won in the end

-Mia and Ethan are doing great! They've been seeing some therapists, they're working together to tackle their trauma, (Mia still hasn't told Ethan about moldy business) but they've decided for their own safety and peace of mind they're moving somewhere quiet and very far from home so that they can deal with,,, the vast amounts of PTSD they both have

- Chris kind went off the radar for some reason soon after he reunited them

- it's Ethan, actually, because his comedic timing is great. But baby Rose doesn't care about that yet hsdfgjk so his humor is wasted

- Karl didn't have an Immediate pan disaster but he definitely was checking Ethan out. Ethan got lost in the snow and Karl pretended he Wasn't a fancy Lord and took Ethan to Luiza's house where Luiza and her husband proceeded to have fucking heart attacks as The Crow Bane flirted with some outsider who didn't actually realize he was speaking to the village leader

No, KARL’S pan crisis happened when Ethan found HIM out in the rain having a PTSD episode and dragged him home, where Mia and Ethan proceeded to shower him in absolute warmth and affection and Karl got to Hold A Baby for the first time. He cried. Rose cried. He cried in panic because he made a baby cry. It was great times.

- Bug Girls do not leave the castle since it's Fucking Cold out there lmfao, but they hear about Uncle Karl’s stupid mancrush and IMMEDIATELY pester him about it nonstop

- the first time the Winters see Anja they panic bcz there's been no signs of freaky things in the village yet but Anja comes trotting up like a dorky puppy to say hello to new people

Thanks a ton!! I'm loving the reaction the fic is getting. I'm hoping i can keep this ball rolling without too much burnout, since I've been posting updates like every other day as soon as I write them and have friends beta

[kyndaris]

Parables of Our Times

Right after finishing a very high-octane, action-heavy title, I thought it best to slow down and try my hand at a game that had tickled my curiosity for a good long while. Considering how much I enjoyed Gone Home, Tacoma and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, it came as a surprise when I finished Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture with very mixed feelings. Instead of falling in love with a quaint English town and the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the people that had lived there, I was tempted after an hour or so of play to stop and try my hand at something else.

I can’t rightly pinpoint what exactly about the game, from developer The Chinese Room, did not sit right with me. After scouring the internet, I feel like it must have been the pace of the game and the lack of objects that could be interacted with. From the very beginning, it felt as if the playable character moved at a snail’s pace. Other titles that might be considered ‘walking simulators’ in their own right felt faster, or were perhaps more dense. Even holding down R2 did not elevate how slow I moved around the world. In fact, the speed was also detrimental to my desire to explore and see more of the town I found myself in. Why bother heading to a particular point of interest if it took forever and a day to reach it and head back to the critical path?

Additionally, the lack of objects that could be picked up and studied also served to dull my interest. In fact, other than with doors and the occasional radio, the only other thing that I could interact with were strange globules of light that required the controller be tilted either left or right. The controls for this, in particular, did not seem very intuitive and the prompt at the beginning did not anchor in my head until I found my third ball of light. 

What I did like were the revelations about each named character and the other individuals that lived in the town. Whether that was Wendy trying to meddle in the love lives of her son and his previous beau (as well as her disdain for his American wife), to the interactions between Jeremy and those that attended his church.

While the conversations proved illuminating when it came to understanding the many different individuals that lived in Yaughton, Shropshire, I feel like it was a missed opportunity that other ways to tell the story were not included.

The mystery behind the disappearing populace - supposedly a sudden influx of Spanish influenza - did prove to be intriguing. After exploring the first area, it was clear that this was something more. The tissues covered in blood and the recording made by the local physician only served to heighten the possibilities of what was truly going on. As the story continues, the player learns that a strange phenomenon may be the actual cause. Fearful, Stephen Appleton calls on the government to spray nerve gas over the entire town to stop the spread of this alien contagion.

In many ways, the quarantine that surrounded the town is reminiscent of our current battle with COVID-19. Locked in our homes, unable to venture overseas or even cross state lines has proven a difficult enterprise for many. And like some of the characters in the game, there have been the occasional individuals that have tried to sneak past borders or lied to authorities their actual movements in order to be allowed sanctuary in another state or city.

Fortunately, we have yet to be turned into dust and sucked up into a glowing pattern of light. Whether it’s meant to be considered an alien or a concept of faith is unclear. What is strange in Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is that only humans were infected. Birds and cows simply dropped dead. There was no dusting a la the Thanos Snap in Avengers: Infinity War. 

Speaking of which, Stephen feared that the contagion of light had traversed the phone lines and had spread outside the valley where the town of Yaughton was located. If that was the case, who is the playable character? Are we also a ball of light? After all, I had no feet or hands. I hardly heard any indication of footsteps. Yet, somehow, I could still get trapped on random geometry in the environment.  Alas, a mystery to solve another time.

On the other side of the spectrum of games that I managed to finish quite quickly was The Walking Dead: The Final Season. After the whole debacle of Telltale shutting its doors due to unsustainable business practices and the game initially being released on Epic Games Store, I wasn’t quite certain if I would ever see Clementine’s story through to completion. Yet, fast forward a year or two and I managed to purchase it on Steam.

Clementine has always had a special place in my heart. After looking after her while playing as Lee Everett, I had watched as she grew up in a world that was very different from our own. Each subsequent game only seemed to further paint a grim and bleak future for humanity after the zombie apocalypse and I feared something terrible would happen to the little girl I found nestled in her tree house, waiting for her parents to return home.

In The Final Season, several years have passed and Clementine is in her late teens. With her is AJ, the son of Rebecca and a very precocious five year old. He seems incredibly mature for his age and behaves basically like a rebellious teenager. Except, of course, that he still has a very black and white view of the world. Shoot monsters in the head. Food and bullets are good. Clementine is the best.

What felt different in this title, rather than the ones before, is that after an encounter at an old railway station, Clementine is welcomed to a small community that is largely run by kids. Or, at the very least, teenagers that have also lived through the traumatic beginnings of the apocalypse. There are no adults - for many of the teachers abandoned these troubled youth at the first sign of danger. And instead of trying to prove herself in a world full of adults, Clementine is able to interact with people her own age or younger. Coupled with looking after AJ, she is the one that needs to be responsible and make sure that AJ doesn’t grow up to become a completely jaded ten-year old.

The narrative of The Final Season is centred around the Erikson Boarding School and the students there. Leader of the small group is Marlon, voiced by none other than Prince Noctis himself, Ray Chase. Violet and Louis came next in import. Then came Willy, Aasim, Ruby, Mitch, Omar and Tennessee. Oh, and mustn’t forget Brody. Voiced by Hedy Burress (or Yuna from Final Fantasy X)! 

Interacting with this gaggle of kids was refreshing. Instead of suspicion, Clementine and AJ were met with curiosity. While Ruby might not have liked the fact that AJ bit her, or his eating habits, it was very easy to like each character and not have to dwell on what each person’s agenda was and wondering if they would betray the group.

Alas, Clementine’s good deed in trying to find more food leads to Brody freaking out when Clementine mentions meeting a scavenger also looking for food: Abel. The climax of the first chapter ends with the discovery that raiders have previously taken two members of the Erikson Boarding School kids and may have returned. But before Marlon could atone for his crimes, he is shot dead by AJ. Plot contrivances somehow allowed the five year old kid to pick up the gun that Marlon dropped by his feet, sneak up behind him and shoot him right in the head. Don’t ask me how.

The next two chapters proved excellent in building up the tension of confronting the raiders, one of which was Season 1 Lilly. I knew the instant that I had to once again select my choices from the previous titles that she would be making a reappearance. After all, she was a plot thread that had yet to be neatly tied into a bow. And despite everything - like the hardening of Clementine and making her a ruthless survivor - I could not order AJ to shoot the conniving ex-military woman.

In fact, I played Clementine as I did most of my other characters when it comes to role-playing games. Emphatic and desperately trying to make the right choices. 

While the story did feel a little cliched with many familiar beats, I did feel strongly invested in trying to pass on everything I could to little AJ. In that, The Final Season felt like it came full circle with Clementine getting bitten and faced with the dilemma of turning or allowing herself to be killed. Rather than repeat what happened in the first season of The Walking Dead, however, the epilogue shows Clementine surviving her leg been haphazardly chopped off with an axe covered in walker guts.

How did she not manage to bleed out? Did the other kids manage to find her in the barn and free both her and AJ? How did she not die from infection?

Like many mediums that are set after the apocalypse, the humans here are hardy and tenacious. In a world where many of us are struggling with a pandemic that does not appear to be seasonal and with long-lasting symptoms that can affect individuals months after the initial diagnosis, it does feel like we’ve entered a nebulous stage of despair. Whole countries have been shut down, re-opened and sent straight back into lockdown when numbers have climbed. With summer approaching in Australia, it feels like the worst may have passed. But for the rest of the world in the northern hemisphere, winter is coming. With it comes the additional risks of normal flu and cold. 

But what The Walking Dead: The Final Season left me with, despite how glum a zombie outbreak would bring, is that there is still the chance for hope. Of creating a family and living instead of surviving. 

Even when society has collapsed and most have returned to old bartering systems or looking after their own crops, there is still light at the end of the tunnel. 

[junker-town]

How you should feel about the NHL skipping the 2018 Winter Olympics

Six stages of hockey grief.

The NHL isn’t going to the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. No doubt you have some feelings about this.

So do I. A lot of them. Too many to just pick one.

And I bet at least one of them is shared by a lot of you dear readers. For the sake of catharsis, let’s go through each of them together. A little international hockey “Stages of Grief” forced upon us by the owners of the teams you love to root for.

Argh.

Exasperation

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Loving hockey is fun. Loving hockey is different than loving the NHL. Because the league makes it so hard to love hockey in the first place.

There’s a reason why even players share this sentiment:

Way to ruin the sport of hockey even more Gary #Olympics

— Brandon Prust (@BrandonPrust8) April 3, 2017

Of the “Big Four” sports in North America, the NHL is the one notorious for getting in its own way when it comes to promoting its own sport. The John Scott All-Star Game debacle is an example. So is running the Blackhawks in so many outdoor games that people get sick of a fun event. Not to mention something goes wrong every single time the league has the world’s attention.

Can't wait to watch the Las Vegas Place Holders! http://pic.twitter.com/aEvIRV4f1y

— SB Nation NHL (@SBNationNHL) November 23, 2016

And now this. No NHL players at the Olympics, the one event where literally the entire world is paying attention. At some point (maybe it was the two lockouts in one decade) fans stopped believing the men in charge of the league know what’s best for the sport. That it comes on the heels of the league’s failure of a World Cup of Hockey or the league’s ongoing concussion lawsuit mess doesn’t help that perception.

This Olympics decision is just another thing in a long line of things and it’s just ... UGH.

Sometimes I wonder what it must be like to cover a nice sport like the NBA or MLB. Where you can write about the sport and the fun sports things in it without the league doing something so incredibly aggravating that you want to cry tears onto your fist before throwing it through a wall.

Speaking of ...

Anger

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

This SUCKS. This royally SUCKS. And it’s insulting for Bettman and the NHL to insist over and over again that they’re doing this because the fans want this. No, really. This was part of the league’s statement:

The NHL conducted polls in both Canada and the United States to determine if fans were in favor of the League taking a break in February to allow players to compete in the Olympics. In the United States, 73 percent said they were not in favor. In Canada, it was 53 percent against the break.

"I think the overwhelming sentiment of the teams is that it's very disruptive on the season and there is somewhere between fatigue and negativity on the subject," Commissioner Bettman said at the conclusion of the General Managers' meetings on March 8 in Boca Raton, Fla.

Somewhat ironic that they follow up opinions from fans with a Bettman quote about how the owners feel.

Because we all know they’ve sealed a marketing deal with China and want to go there in 2022. The insulting part is that they negotiated that deal while they told everyone their disinterest in South Korea was for you, the fans. Doublethink is a fun thing.

And you know what’s most frustrating? The NHL playoffs are days away. Now the NHL’s marquee event is a total afterthought.

[screams internally]

Indifference

Who plays in the NHL? I, as a casual sports or hockey fan, do not know any good NHL players because the league and sport are not on my radar. I saw this Olympics stuff on the news today but didn’t recognize anyone in the pictures.

But if you showed me a picture of a random NBA team I’d probably recognize them immediately. I hope they still go to the Olympics! I want to root for the best players from my country.

The Olympics are next year? Wow. Had no idea.

Relief

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

I, fan of a contending NHL team, really enjoyed watching the NHL players play in the Olympics until I saw John Tavares get injured last time and miss the rest of the season.

Now I’ve spent the last three years quietly hoping this outcome would happen. Gold medals are cool and I like international hockey, but not if it costs my team a Stanley Cup.

I mean, I feel bad for the players. Alex Ovechkin is a wonderful human being and I want him to be happy.

But I’d also like him to be healthy and win a Stanley Cup, y’know? Or Carey Price. Or Henrik Lundqvist. And so on.

Don’t tell anyone I said this. Just keep this between you and me.

Excitement

Remember 1980?

Those weren’t NHL players. They were just college guys and amateurs. And Kurt Russell led them to a gold medal over the Soviet Union. What a moment!

I admit it sucks that NHL players won’t be at the Olympics. But doesn’t that kind of even the playing field a bit? Is Canada really a heavyweight if a bunch of kids from juniors are playing pros from Switzerland? Wouldn’t it be cool if College Star A from your college is playing for the gold medal in the Olympics? That’s grassroots interest that could be a great result of this decision.

Some players griped about young players not getting a chance at the Olympics now. Quite the opposite, actually! You’re only going to get young players from North America. Imagine the prospect development that comes out of playing on the biggest stage in the world before you even play a single NHL game.

This is good. Shut up, everyone.

Conflicted

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

This is where I, Pat Iversen, am at. And that’s why you get this article of multiple personalities instead of one long diatribe putting the league on blast.

For months, I was ready to write that article. And then the news came down on Monday and I felt ... all of the above.

Team USA’s gold medal run that fell short spectacularly in Vancouver is among my favorite sports-watching memories. I get passionate when Team USA mishandles their roster every year. The Olympics and World Juniors are my favorite events because they show off the best possible players.

But I can’t deny that some of the NHL’s arguments make sense. Nobody competes with the NHL in February aside from the NBA, and those are two different audiences with little cross-over. Shutting down for two weeks isn’t great for the sport if players are heading across the globe to play.

Amateurs in the Olympics could be fun. The NHL could be back in the Olympics in 2022. This could be fine. In the meantime, though, we have endure the NHL hitting national headlines for bad reasons again and fret about the future of the sport.

It all sucks. It’s all complicated. It’s all exhausting. Indifference seems so much easier than being a hockey fan.

[fusrodie]

@le-cat-nipp

Well, they chopped his daughter to pieces without any remorse. Also heisenberg wanted to use her as a weapon sooo. Its not like he had a choice not to shoot, when everythin around try to kill him or causin him harm 🤷

except that they didn’t. Miranda did, and that makes all the difference. Miranda has no remorse, and that was well established just by looking at her “children”, which she also butchered without consent by shoving a fungus-infected nematode in their bodies and then forcing them into servitude.

soooo this man that has no access to any of the flasks, doesn’t know how to put Rose back together, gave you the tools and the information to save your daughter and is desperately seeking his freedom said he’d use her as a weapon. how does that work? is it going to kill Rose? is she going to be fine afterwards? will Heisenberg agree to let them go after it’s all done? well we don’t know, because Ethan saw big metal man and went shoot shoot. he definitely had a choice. words are not actions, threats don’t give you the death penalty. except they did, because well, Ethan said so.

again, Ethan is not special because things were trying to harm him. that was happening to everyone. make a parallel to the real world: if you kill someone because they shot first, that’s self defense. absolutely shoot the lycan that ate one finger and a half off your hand. when you shoot first because you’re fed up with the situation, you go to jail. when you invade someone’s house on your own pretenses and murders them, you’re guilty regardless of whether you felt like your actions were justified. well yeah but RE isn’t the real world, of course it isn’t.

but we’re not really discussing whether Ethan felt like he was in the right, because he most definitely was. what we’re pointing out is that, regardless of what he thought, it still makes him a shit human being and no better than the “freaks” he killed to get from point A to point B. he did what he thought he had to do just like everyone else. just because he is the protagonist doesn’t mean that he is perfect and he must be right. those are really two different scales.

[fusrodie]

@le-cat-nipp

Unprovoked? You had to be kiddin me. When ethan first went to the castle he tried to get away from there, till he was catched and hacked by lady's d daughers, the latter treat him as a meal, get him on meat hooks. While he was searchin for any sight of his daughter or exit he was attacked again. Even one of flies ladies stated that "he ruins the hunt". It WAS a hunt for them. All u tryin to do here is to make villains less evil

And to do so u show ethans actions (which were at least justifable) in twisted way. No, sorry to break it up to u - ethan was right to shoot the bad guys, no matter how much u like em more than him.

you are aware that people are nuanced, yes? that no one is wholly evil or wholly good? people can be likeable and still be shits. most politicians are, actually.

of course it was a hunt for them, that’s what they did for a living. still, a threat is not a death sentence. they weren’t going to kill him because, again, their mother had specifically been told that they needed Ethan alive. Ethan was also told the castle was dangerous, a place of “blood and death” and he went anyway. you ever try to get inside a person’s house? I did once, to get oranges from a farm. the owner started shooting with a bb gun at the ground to warn me away. what did Ethan expect, tea and biscuits?

I don’t think you’ve read my other posts, in which I specifically mentioned that Lady D’s segment was the easiest to justify because they are serial killers. and even then they are exactly what Miranda made them. from then on it gets harder to swallow Ethan as a goody two shoes.

justifying someone’s actions is really easy. you could absolutely justify all of the lords’ actions. justification has nothing to do with morals. I can shoot someone to defend myself and that is justified, but still murder.

look, if you want Ethan to be a paragon of justice and splendor, ship him with the whole cast, write 7 books about how he rose to the heavens to sit at Jesus’ side, I’m not going to be the one to stop you. you can feel free to curate your own experience on tumblr dot com and blacklist me, block me, whatever.

I enjoy nuanced characters and exploring things in a deeper manner, and this is not an attack on you, the fandom, or this imaginary being from a video game. it’s me putting into words the concept that people don’t exist in black and white, and that I appreciate that this was included in the game.

if you are of the opinion that hero = good / villain = bad, then we shouldn’t be having this conversation. I can frankly tell you I think that whole concept is stupid. you’re not going to convince me and I’m not going to waste my time trying to change your mind, either, because that’s not the reason you replied to my post. do what makes you happy, write what makes you happy, write me down as a horrible person on your book of villains if you feel inclined. if you’re looking for validation that what you’re doing is not wrong, that your ideas are the right ones, that I’m wrong in my analysis of a character from a video game, you’re not going to find it here and that’s ok. you don’t need my validation, just as I don’t need yours. we’re free to think whatever we want! isn’t that neat?  from what I can tell, there are other people who think the same as me and are just too afraid of voicing their opinions because they’re afraid of backlash. which is super sad, because then we can’t have healthy conversations and build something together. agree to disagree and all that.

and for me, Ethan Winters is still a morally abhorrent character with really clever writing. as are all of the other characters in the game. feel free to think and produce content that says otherwise :)

[fusrodie]

@le-cat-nipp

Yes its not debate, because u are not willing to listen (i know u want to be right, but at the end of the day none of us prob is). U still repeat same argument over and over again, as ethan wasn't considerate for villagers, as he didn't try to safe them. And for lords? Oh boy how wrong u are. Ethan doesn't need to be considerate to them- they kidnapped and dismembered his daughter, yet u expect him to put up with their own issues.

He doesn't need to understand their reasons, neither they want him to, since all they do is tryin to stop him from getting his daughter back. Its not mother miranda doing- they participate in this at their own volition. Also lords didn't have any remorse of killing villagers, yet u called ethan inconsiderate while villagers were the ones, who suffers from lords.

U r talkin about nuances in ones character, yet u only see ethan in bad light basically cause he "didn't understand their pain". I'm not goin to discuss it any longer at this point. So please keep continue in antis or this debacle tag🙂👋

I don't know why I still spend my hard earned latin but fuck it, I like arguing.

hate to say this but right back at ya. I don't want to be right, because there is no right or wrong, because I'm not Capcom, you're not Capcom, neither of our opinions is worth a single corn chip and we're both free to discuss a work of fiction for what it is: a work of fiction. if anything, you keep contradicting yourself because you keep saying that I'm wrong and trying to make characters less evil. abso fucking lutely I am, putting them in perspective is the whole point? don’t know what you’re trying to get at.

I am also very much shining a light at Ethan in a different direction because just as you accuse me of looking at him in a negative light, you can’t seem to see any of the characters in a positive one. looking at the humanity and philosophy and the issues that being human entails is what we’ve been doing with fiction for eons.

I am quite literally telling you that I’m willingly and purposedly digging into Ethan’s character to see the bad parts, not the good ones. the good ones are obvious and not interesting. I like the gory bits.

you’re trying to protect a character you like, I get that. you’re also making an ass out of yourself in the process because you’re not really getting the whole picture. again, have fun with it. I don’t personally care if you think I’m wrong in my analysis. I’ve been having wonderful interactions with people who are bringing me their own views on the issue and it’s being really enriching, which is what I wanted in the first place.

the fact that you seem to think I’m an “anti” just cements the whole thing for me. protect your precious cinammon roll, this isn’t a fan club/hate club situation. it’s literary analysis. I’m not here to diss a fictional character, I’m here to appreciate the thought and detail that went into making him sound human. and I’m extending that same courtesy to all other characters.

I really don’t get why fandom gets so riled up when someone criticizes a character. y’all need better literature teachers. or to go outside and through the shocking discovery that people are not, in fact, archetypes and tropes.

[fusrodie]

@le-cat-nipp

TYet we are still free to debate over argumentation we are usin, so u do with mine as i do with urs. You put ur opinion out there and i disagree with ur statement. As I mention many times, ethan's main objective was to retrive Rose, not engage in a fight, unless he isn't push to do so. He was fully aware of danger he is goin to meet. As u insist that they were controlled by megamycete, then u should be aware they couldn't be reason with

Therefore there was no other way than to kill em. Beside I don't understand how u can put equal mark between self defence and murder. Murder is when u have intention to kill, in ethans case he wanted to protect himself. Cool motive, still murder quote won't cut out here. And I don't say them villains were didn't have any good qualities, but its not enough. In Ethan's case i just can't see how his intentions to save his daughter would be twisted as bad.

But yeah, I guess we will never agree on this subject, because for me ethan's character is as simple as this. He went trough hell twice, he want his family safe. I m not goin to debate on it any longer, i don't see point cause, as u said neither of us will be convinced.

look, I'm going to be very, very blunt with you and then we're going to put a rock over this. to call this whole exchange a "debate" would imply both of us are listening and answering accordingly. that is not the case. I presented you with arguments and you ignored them. I pointed out inconsistencies in your arguments and you went on a tangent to find something else. not a debate, you're just really hanging on to your opinion and parroting over the same things without taking mine into consideration. cool, have fun with that. I definitely would have taken your point of view into consideration if there was something there in the first place that you had really refuted me on. I can't really tell if you're doing this on purpose or something I said got lost in translation, but considering you aren't really bringing anything new to the table we're going to call it quits here. I teach people to read and write for a living, but I couldn't be arsed to do it for free for a stranger on the internet. feel free to check the Ethan Winters debacle tag on my blog if you ever feel like giving my arguments a proper read.

all that being said, if you ever feel like actually debating something, I'm game and the channel will remain open. I expect there will still be DLC to come for the game so hopefully we'll get some new lore peppered in for further experimentation with :)

now, quick recap of my entire point: Ethan showed no compassion towards the suffering of people in the village, Ethan wouldn't see past his own pain and squandered other people's emotions because they weren't human enough in his eyes. Ethan is a huge hypocrite because not only was he driven by the same motivation as them (because the game's underlying theme is family), he was also quite literally the same as them. Ethan does not get a free pass because he's the protag. we call that "passar pano" where I'm from and it's a really bad look on everyone. Ethan's suffering isn't more important than the years of torture and experimentation the lords and the village went through. Ethan's one day of fresh loss can't be quantified, let alone be compared to horrors untold that Miranda unleashed on an entire community over the course of a century because she, too, was trying to save her daughter. Ethan will now watch from the afterlife as the daughter he killed so many to save is treated exactly the same as he treated them. Ethan got exactly what he deserved.

[fusrodie]

@le-cat-nipp

The point again is- NO, u are not analysing character, u basically stated he sucks cause he is inconsiderate to others and for me it is just silly argument, u keep repeatin. Thats your whole "analysis"- Ethan is shitty character, cause he didn`t want to comply to his daughters kindappers. And, no I don`t think Ethan is ideal, but the point u trying to show here is just laughtable in my opinion.

I reply to your post cause I think ur "analysis" is rather biased. And the thing is its nothing new, cause most of the people rather symphatized with villains. Anyway I most likely make a fool of myself, being too emotional over fictional character, so that will be the end of me. Have a nice day

kindly show me how you're qualified to say my analysis is not an analysis because you disagree with it? I am examining the elements that make up Ethan's character. that's analysis. that you think I'm too harsh is very much a non-factor and doesn't make an analysis any less of an analysis lol

only you keep ignoring the 10+ posts in which I keep mentioning that yes, he sucks, as a person, which actually makes him a relatable, amazing character. Ethan is not going to jump out of the vidya game and eat your ass, he's not real. characters are not people. there is a distinction between character as part of a narrative and character as an allegory for the human experience. Ethan is great at one and shit at the other. I am a great character within the scope of my life's narrative (because I am the protagonist of it) but positively foul as a person in some areas of life. one does not anull the other. to some people, I am still likeable. the mistakes I have made may have been justified but are still mistakes. that’s Ethan for me.

that's exactly why people aren't perfect, are not supposed to be perfect, and are still appreciated despite their faults. I appreciate Ethan as a character because of his faults. I am just acknowledging he has them, as they all have them, because video games nowadays are not just for fun and instead have become a storytelling medium. my analysis is biased because this is not a court and I don’t owe a fictional character impartiality, in particular when I clearly stated that I’m taking a closer look at his bad side. it really isn't hard to understand?

I'm not judging you for being emotional over a character because that's the whole point of fiction. I actually salute you for being able to see that you have created an emotional bond with this character that is important for you. it's just going to save you a lot of stress to separate yourself from that entity. I feel like a struck a nerve that made you go feral while I’m just sitting here having a jolly good time. criticism of a character is in no way, shape or form criticism of yourself. people are not going to start hating Ethan because of my opinions - I am not influential, I am a lil tiny blogger that pops up every two to three years and that is too done with fandom to care whether other people in this hellhole of a website are going to get on my ass for voicing opinions. you don't have to defend him from the imaginary threat that is my little goblin hands. I’m not coming onto your blog to comment on your stuff that your characterization of a video game character is wrong, and I’m not going to send anonymous passive aggressive messages either. that you and I don’t seem to be speaking the same language and can’t seem to reach a middle ground is alright by me. everything is fine.

[fusrodie]

@ursulaprinze

Girl no one was saying he's perfect.

girl then why the panties in a bunch then? because that’s what I said from the very beginning and all I got back was “but he was justified he was right in what he did”. you guys are either butthurt because I don’t like the personality of a character or them reading comprehension skills need some honing

just thought I’d edit to add that people should really @ me if they want to have a conversation. vaguing’s not it loves

[fusrodie]

Why are people getting so damn riled up over a fictional character? Y’all (not you OP) act like he’s a real person walking the streets or something. He’s not real, people are allowed to criticize or not like a character. If you are getting this upset over people making analysis over characters from a video game log off your device and go touch some grass for a few hours. At this point it’s just sad if I’m honest

I guess we're all desperately trying to hang on to that little hint of serotonin that we find in the characters we come across, you know? personally, I find the explosiveness a bit much, and I sure af am not going to back down because someone looked at me funny in this wasteland of social media.

please, do feel free to come for my wig if you feel like I'm off base and you'd like to give me a piece of your mind.

unfortunately this has always been the way of tumblr, and in my experience having a pleasant fandom life takes a lot of curating the content you consume. I've just gotten into the RE fandom proper despite playing the franchise for 10+ years so I just happened to be speaking to a different crowd. I'm in the process of going through the tags, the likes and the reblogs to follow people I vibe with, so it's all going to be alright in the end.

not all is lost though, anon! I used to be downright toxic when people criticized a character in particular (dragon age, few years back) but I outgrew that given enough time and life experience. and now I'm able to enjoy fandom things without popping a vein on my forehead. it's a process.

going outside has become a meme but is very much true. I learned to appreciate people and their flaws because I had to deal with people - media can only get you so far.

[fusrodie]

@le-cat-nipp

Agree to disagree 🤝. Sorry if my arguments doesn`t seem coherent, my mind is all over the place.

no harm, no foul, dear. it’s all good. hope you’re doing alright up in the ultimate suffering dome. sorry if the whole thing upset you. I, too, am very passionate about characters, in particular the imperfect ones. have been told I can get too intense. nothing personal, didn’t mean to hurt. I’ll be sure to tag any Ethan critical opinions and posts with “the Ethan Winters debacle” so you can blacklist it if you’d rather avoid it when you’re perusing the main tag :)