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neoflect · 5 months

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sharing some of my disorganized jojo musical thoughts now that ive had a week to sit on it and ive rewatched it several times over. i intended to wait to publish something like this until a subtitled version was available, but im not seeing any indication that thats happening any time soon so for now youll have to deal with my loose interpretations from my extremely rudimentary and rusty japanese… so take what i have to say about the finer points of characterization with a grain of salt. gratuitous spoilers below obviously, both for the original source material and the changes made in the stage production

my feelings are OVERWHELMINGLY positive. of course there are things i can criticize or that i would have personally done differently but oh man… i have literally not thought about anything besides this fucking show for a week. im 100% confident in saying this is a better adaptation of the source material than the tv anime. sorry to the davidpro staff, i respect their hard work and their love for jojo and their dedication to what is by any metric a pretty difficult property to adapt off of the page, but i dont know if i can ever forgive them for leaving half of the first episode’s storyboard on the cutting room floor in order to fit a standard half-hour tv slot, especially considering that what they cut is some of the really crucial character-building stuff. happily those scenes are not only reproduced in the stage version, some of them are expanded upon!

with the quick disclaimer that i’ve only managed to get my hands on the final 4/14 performance with shotaro arisawa and yoshihisa higashiyama, from what i’ve seen the casting is perfect. i’m sure there’s a rip of the 4/13 performance somewhere (i’ve seen clips) but i haven’t been able to find one… every single performer knocks it out of the fucking park, the cast chemistry is incredible and even the minor characters are loaded with charisma. and mamoru miyano… my god… mamoru miyano i owe you an apology. i was not familiar with your game. of course hes been killing it for decades at this point but i had soured on him a little bit recently because i felt like he was overcast in everything and i just didnt connect with his dnt reinhard at all, so when the casting was initially announced back in august i was underwhelmed, and of course my standards for the dio role in particular were astronomically high… i’ll go more into detail later in the post because i have so so many things to say about dio’s characterization here but mamoru miyano’s performance is like, life-changing. i had impossible expectations and he exceeded them.

sorry if im gushing. i am a hater by nature. its unusual for me to be so thoroughly pleased with something. im not even a musical theater guy. these are strange new feelings for me.

just to balance things out i’ll talk about a couple of the things that didn’t really work for me: first of all, the music is just ok. my initial draft of this post called the music “bad” but three additional viewings later i have warmed up to some of the songs. i don’t know if this is a shortcoming by dove attia as the composer or if it’s just me, as i said i’m not a musical guy and a lot of the genre conventions of musical theatre are not really the things i look for in music that i enjoy, but like… even at their worst they are serviceable. nothing here is sonically unpleasant to me. high points are “resolve of the ripple” (zeppeli’s hamon training song, a jazzy swing number - it’s simply catchy and fun to listen to) and the closer “phantom blood” (a sweeping ballad that reprises the earlier “light and darkness”/”golden spirit” leitmotifs into an epic duet between jonathan and dio as they join hands and walk off into the darkness together… made me cry! i wont lie! on every single one of my numerous viewings this one got me misty eyed!)

wait i forgot this is supposed to be the part where i’m being critical. ok my most loathed song in the musical is “dio’s world”. sorry dio nation. it doesn’t really work for me. i think this might be a case of my standards/expectations being too impossibly high because it’s not even really the worst song in the whole thing. and of course miyano eats it up so it’s not really his fault. i just find it kind of underwhelming… i find the melody a little grating, it’s kind of just a generic rock number, it’s just missing a particular je ne sais quoi…. the essence of dio isn’t there… lyrically though i am obsessed with the premise of dio recruiting his minions by selling himself as a kind of social revolutionary who is upending and inverting the brutal hierarchy of post-industrial victorian society with zombie blood magic. you win some you lose some.

the second sticking point for me is the costumes. they’re perfectly serviceable… adequate… but i mean when it comes to jojo “serviceable” and “adequate” costume design obviously falls well below what’s expected, right? a lot of the outfits have kind of a boxy, almost flat-looking kind of unflattering fit on the actors, which if i wanted to be generous i could attribute to the challenge of bridging the gap between these frail slender musical theater twinks and the two-meter-tall 250lb roided-out beefcakes theyre meant to be embodying. (bearing this discrepancy in mind a lot of the insane martial arts stuff in the second act doesn’t really land with the oomph that it should, but i also understand logistically why this kind of casting is not practical, and all things considered i think shotaro arisawa does a really incredible job of embodying jonathan joestar even though he kind of looks like i could snap him in half over my knee like a twig. he’s very cute. so i’m not mad about it.) of course, again, logistically, i understand that in a stage musical production, where actors only have minutes to complete costume changes, some sacrifices have to be made to the creative vision in the name of practicality. nevertheless this is jojos bizarre adventure!! i want to see some fucking baubles!!!!!!

which is all to say that… after carefully considering it for some weeks… i still have extremely mixed feelings about dio’s grink ass feather bathrobe look. it’s not that i dont think its something he could wear (the concept of dio lounging around in his gothic vampire palace doing re-animator style body horror experiments on the local wildlife in this “officer i have no idea what happened to my husband”-ass nightgown is nothing short of hysterical to me) but then he wears it into combat and i felt a little disappointed… it has the same unflattering fit issue as the other outfits in the show, and it is just such an un-araki-like design… where are the gaudy color combinations? the bizarre geometric patterns? the tease of an exposed boob/thigh/midriff? erina gets a stage-original dress design that i have fewer issues with because the excessive pleats and ruffles have more of an araki-esque sensibility, but every time i look at dio’s robe it feels like there’s something missing. i’m going to choose to be nice about it because it’s not at all a deal breaker and, again, mamoru miyano devours the look. it’s fine. it’s always fun to have a new dio outfit. if anything, the fact that the blu-rays are being marketed as “2024 cast version” gives me hope for the possibility of a future production with a new vision for the costume design. (although the fact that this was such a difficult production - with stunts and pyrotechnics and moving setpieces - that its entire first week was cancelled indicates to me that the prospects for a future production from a different company are impossibly slim. i guess there’s always hope?)

in terms of the writing and the changes that were made from the original narrative, honestly i don’t really have an issue with anything that was cut. sorry if there are any diehard stans of Poco’s Unnamed Sister out there who are steamed that their favorite minor late phantom blood character got the axe, i kind of understand how you feel because i’ve been malding over david pro cutting the Danny Lore for eleven years, but i think it was the right choice and the story flows so much better. the real juicy meat at the core of phantom blood as a narrative and the thing that brings it head and shoulders above so much of the rest of jjba is the character-driven drama - that deliciously pulpy victorian gothic family tragedy - and the relationship between jonathan and dio. the musical beefs up the character drama and slims down the action-driven second half by trimming out the extraneous battles. the only real downside i see to this is that the absence of tompetty and his prophecy makes zeppeli’s arc and death feel INSANELY abrupt, but tbf that’s not a deal breaker for me. sorry zeppeli. you were born to die.

okay. okay. i think 1500 words into the post is enough fucking around so let’s talk about the real reason why you and i both know we’re here

musical dio is SO fucking sad. he’s positively wretched, you guys. he was born in a wet cardboard box all alone and forced to eat cement when he was six. he cries even more than he does in the source material and even when he’s not crying he frequently delivers his lines as though he is moments away from bursting into tears. back when the musical first opened i was snooping on the reactions on jpn twitter and one commenter said they could see miyano’s tears and snot from the nosebleeds even without opera glasses, a remark i initially assumed was hyperbole but that i now think probably was not. araki’s dio is certainly tortured and a deeply pathetic crybaby beneath all the cruelty and posturing, but changes in the musical and miyano’s embodiment of the character bring this pathos to the fore. he is literally haunted: dario’s ghost lingers, a manifestation of all of dio’s traumas and insecurities that emerges from the recesses of his memory to taunt him with the reminder that he will always be his father’s son, all the way up until the very minute that jonathan breaks down the door to his vampire lair. i am OBSESSED with this - not only for the obvious reason that i delight in dio’s suffering personally but also because kong kuwata is a delight and he fucking kills it every time. also lends itself to a category 10 leitmotif moment at the top of the second act when dio emerges from the charred ruins of the joestar estate singing dario’s theme and calling out to jonathan - if i had to pinpoint this is probably the moment when this musical stuck for me as the Real Deal. they Get It.

the first solo number in the show is dio’s disney princess I Want song (amazingly, simply titled “dio”) where he weeps for his late mother and his wretched lot in life, and then - in a creative decision that made me clap my hands and hoot and holler at my screen in real life - there is a reprise of this number (delivered, naturally, through tears) when dio is almost arrested for murder and decides to become a vampire instead. so there’s this amazing hopeful uplifting inspirational orchestral music accompanying the onstage action of dio ruthlessly slaying jonathan’s dad and then getting pumped full of lead by a bunch of cops. it is brilliant. 10/10 no notes. it’s moments like this that i think really sell the “softening” of dio in the stage version for me, even though i am historically Not A Fan of fanworks that take a similar angle - like, yes, he is sad, but specifically he is narcissistically obsessed with the spectacle of his own suffering, he is boiling over with bitterness and rage for everyone around him who (by his own estimation) could never hope to have suffered as much as he has. this sensitivity and self-pity he wallows in are not expressions of a guilty conscience or a desire to change - they’re entirely the opposite - every cruel and monstrous deed dio commits is always justified to himself because he is simply the saddest little boy who has ever existed. he has been done wrong by the world and so there is no limit to the depravity he may reasonably respond with. i’ve seen several commenters describe this as a drastically different interpretation of the character from araki’s dio (and someone told me on twitter that mamoru miyano himself has also said this, but i cba to go digging for an actual source so take it with a grain of salt?), but i… dont think thats the case! dio’s obsession with his own weakness and his self-perception as the eternal underdog (as compared to jonathan) are certainly more exaggerated in miyano’s performance, but i don’t think this is an angle to the character that’s been manufactured out of whole cloth. the genre conventions of the stage musical force the melodrama up to eleven and dio’s incredibly repressed angst is the most rich vein to mine for that. hair-trigger sadist dio is still here, it’s the same guy, he’s still killing people mercilessly, you’re just getting to see him sing a big ballad about his feelings instead of confining those to an internal monologue.

if anything, the exaggeration of dio’s pathetic/cowardly/crybaby traits combined with his megalomaniacal aspirations and bottomless well of cruelty is just right. it’s perfect. fucking around, finding out, and then trying to weasel his way out of the consequences with crocodile tears just so you don’t see him drawing his knife to cut you clean open… yeah. thats the stuff. thats my one true blorbo. sad to say i will love him for ten thousand years.

i think that might be all i have to say… or at least all i feel like saying here… most likely ill come back and edit this post later. i certainly have some additional thoughts and some more esoteric/controversial takes but they’re not suited for a public blog. real ones will understand. im keeping my eyes peeled for somebody to translate this thing but to be frank i am kind of enjoying this little corner of fandom as it is right now: just the asians and the true hardcore phantom blood phreaks. i have not had this much fun in jojo fandom in almost a fucking decade. as soon as somebody publishes an english version my timelines going to get flooded with all the most deeply annoying “kono dio da” “speedwagon waifu” reddit guys and 15 year olds and my suffering will proceed. unfortunately this is my lot in life and i am doomed to be here forever because dio put a worm in my brain

#⚰️#jjba tag for blacklisting purposes but i dont want this in the main tag

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scarriestmarlowe · 11 months

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my dndads2 main pcs nd npcs lineup! left to right (mildly obvi) is linc, scary, normal, taylor, hermie, and dood!

zooms as well as minor details and headcanons downstairs.

LINCOLN

bisexual

mozambican

i themed him after purple because i relate grant to red and marco to blue!

i honestly don't quite have a reason for why i made his soccer number 15. i did google it though, and apparently, it indicates a major turn, as well as relationships and love. crazy how that shook out, huh?

he's autistic, special interest in soccer (ofc)

he's got a major crush on taylor!

favorite bands are tv girl, the cranberries, and of course, olivia rodrigo. also maybe taylor swift the woman not taylor swift not that one

SCARY

genderfluid lesbian, she/he/bat pronouns, oscilates wildly between high femme and stone butch in a way i find inspirational!

north indian!

of course themed her pink, it's her favorite color, gotta love it.

adhd girlie <33 as well as HPD. never seen a boy with more hpd than shes got!

cute little crush on erica. erica has one on her as well.

her favorite bands are type o negative, kittie, and evanescence

NORMAL

ambiguosly queer, and transmasc!!

mex/italian/irish, i just forgot to add that hes irish

i themed him brown because i consider his mom like. beige. and i think he takes a lot after his mom just a more saturated, extreme version imo.

of COURSE, hermie and dood crushes. gotta love it. hes polyamorous and disastrous and fighting for his life.

his favorite bands are all obviously, big band and school band versions of any song ever, one i can't write the name of because it's not got any kind of letters.

dependent personality disorder is just. GOD hes so dpd coded.

autistic with a teeny special interest, and adhd.

TAYLOR

intersex, also ambiguosly queer, nebulously trans.

chinese + native hawaiian (on his mum's side)

autistic, anime special interest, adhd and npd coded. my sweet sweet npd boy. its so obvious. hes got it. his dads got it. his granddads got it. his great granddads got it. if youre a streep/close/foster/swift boy then chances are you've got npd

i themed him orange just cause honestly? i was originally gonna go for red but i was gonna theme hermie all red and then i just didnt like that for him. taylor fucking swift (not that one) is orange coded and i cant explain why.

he also has a little nerdboy crush on linc theyre both terrible with it.

shocking nobody, weezer, viagra boys, and system of a down.

HERMIE

also intersex, and omnisexual

half chinese half scam

autistic with a theatre special interest.

crush on normal. hates that hes got it.

i themed him after grey because hes just all things merged to me in my soul. i nearly made him rainbow then almost threw up at the idea of coloring that.

his favorite bands...cor, i think i'd call him a listener of...gosh, david bowie, pansy division, and glass animals. also duh, musical theatre.

DOODLER

pansexual and agender

nebulously eldritch

audhd king

crush on normal...maybe baby platonic crushes on the others as well, but major romantic crush on normal

i themed him after white! i originally planned to build him as purple themed, then black themed, then screwed with him a light more, and ended up going into white and lovin it.

listens to everything, but his favorite bands are laughter, and music, and love

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icyschreviews · 2 years

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A Review of Dragon Age: Inquisition

Part 1: Playing a Broken PC Port

This is part 1 of a multi-part review of Dragon Age: Inquisition. Click here for part 2 and part 3.

God, why do I keep doing this? I tell myself I��ll only play a game for fun and next thing you know I’m five pages and half a bottle of tequila down a review. It’s you, BioWare, isn’t it? We keep doing this with every other game you release. Andromeda was the reason I got into this futile hobby in the first place. Well shame on you, you and your nerdy DnD mechanics and your campy fantasy drama and your thirst traps you call companions. Yes, I’m going to trash Inquisition now. Consider yourselves responsible.

Where do I even begin with this game? It’s safe to say that I’m a fan of Origins through and throughout. There are many RPGs out there that call themselves old-school, but not one quite like Origins. Sure, I’m into action RPGs as well (I play Dark Souls just like any other hoe), but few games can match Origins’ juicy blend of stellar writing and complex combat.

So let’s not treasure that. Let’s piss all over it and burn it in a dumpster, eh EA? All the cool kids are doing open-worlds now, so we have to follow the trends. Cram as much content as you can in it. God forbid the next Assassin’s Creed has one more minute of gameplay than we do. Give us crafting. Can’t have a triple-A game without that. And bigger maps. I said bigger! Copy-paste the stuff we already have. More quest markers. So many quest markers that they overlap on the map. MOAR!

Oh dear, we got so worked up we forgot about the graphics. There’s no way we’re releasing this game if you can’t see every scale on a dragon’s ass. It’s called Dragon Age after all. Say what now, BioWare? Your engine can’t keep up with that level of detail? Hush baby, we’re not going to license someone else’s well documented and well tested engine. Mama’s got Unreal at home.

Goat’s blood all over you edifice, EA.

Listen, I don’t have anything against console players. People should play games wherever its the most convenient for them. I also have nothing against bringing games to more platforms. Sure, adapt Dragon Age for consoles. Why not make it available to a larger crowd? But why, oh why would you do that at the expense of the PC version? Tell me, BioWare, please.

I booted up Inquisition for the first time, took control after the initial cut-scene, pressed space on my keyboard and almost had a heart attack. Instead of pausing the game my character jumped. Jumped, I tell you! What is this blasphemy in my Dragon Age game? I quickly remapped the controls. Off with you, filthy jump button!

Next came pressing the tab button. Tab. Tab! Tab, goddamn, why is it not responding? Ok, back to the key bindings. How do I highlight items in the area? Right, by pressing the V key. Lets remap that real quick. Now press tab…

It echoed. The highlight is now an echo. Wha— Why? Why would you do that, BioWare? How is that more convenient than the way it was before? You used to hold down tab and all interactable items in the area would stay highlighted as long you had your finger on the button. The new echo only marks objects for a short while. You don’t even have enough time to make a full circle before the highlight starts fading. What am I supposed to do with this? If the highlight didn’t also flash on the mini-map, it’d be practically unusable.

I didn’t realize what caused this change until I switched over to a gamepad (spoiler alert). There the highlight is mapped to L3. Of course it fucking is. Who would want to hold down L3 for a prolonged period of time? Alright, BioWare, but why not have two separate implementations of this feature for different platforms? You can’t tell me the echo was the easier one to implement. At least it beeps differently when there aren’t any items around.

Ok, deep breaths. Remember what you learned in therapy. All of these are just minor inconveniences. I’m sure the rest of the game plays just fine. Look, what’s that item in the corner? Let’s check it out. Click on it. Click. Right click on it. Again. Click…

Oh my god, your character doesn’t automatically approach faraway items to interact with them any more. You have to walk over to them and then click. What’s worse the collision boxes went on a diet. Picking up a slim little elfroot requires a surgeon’s precision. I’d consistently walk over to one, only to overshoot it by a tiny bit. If this didn’t make me blow my brains out, nothing ever will.

Blasphemy!

And that’s not even half of it. The real war crimes were committed against the game’s combat. I can’t even begin to describe it. The combat was desecrated. Defiled. Abolished. Torn to pieces and processed through a meat grinder. The tactical mode is the stuff of which nightmares are made of. It feels finicky at best and rage inducing at worst.

I can’t believe Origins is the oldest Dragon Age game, yet the only one to have its shit together when it comes to the camera. Does regression count as some sort of progress? Dragon Age 2 trimmed the maximum zoom level, but Inquisition went one step further and let the camera clip into the ceiling. Visibility in closed spaces is miserable and it only gets worse in poorly lit dungeons.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the game randomly kicks you out of the tactical mode while adjusting the camera’s zoom level. There’s no pattern to this behavior. Sometimes it’ll do what it’s supposed to and sometimes it’ll slap you in the face and continue the action at top speed. And why don’t orders from the tactical mode carry over outside of it? Do I really have to keep smashing the attack button? Even when I go into the tactical mode and tell someone to do something, chances are they might just ignore me.

To go even further, when you hover over abilities in the quick bar nothing pops up. Am I seriously supposed to pause the game and open up the menu each time I want to check an ability’s description? Alright, Inquisition, I’ll do that. Just tell me, why are all of the UI elements flipping out? I can’t scroll down a simple list without the cursor losing its goddamn mind and jumping all over the place. Similarly there’s no information when you hover over your companions’ images, no health, no XP, no stats, no nothing. Status effect are presented as these small specks in the corner of your screen. I needed a magnifying glass to properly identify them.

Just checking for cobwebs up here.

But wait, humble reviewer, why are you using the tactical mode? Don’t you know it’s useless? No one plays Inquisition like that. Just get into the action and start smashing the buttons. Tactics - who needs them? I finished the game on Nightmare and only had to fire up like two brain cells. Trust me, you should forget about the tactical mode all toge—

No, you forget about the tactical mode! If I wanted to play an action RPG, I would have booted up The Witcher 3. I’m sick of triple-A games converging into this indistinguishable hodgepodge of recycled ideas. This is Dragon Age, goddammit. I won’t let EA trick me into believing this is where the franchise should be heading. I’ll get my share of tactical combat out of this game, so god help me!

…

Ok, but maybe I won’t be doing that with a mouse and keyboard. Once I realized my old approach wasn’t working any more, I decided to try my luck with a gamepad. Lo and behold things started falling into place. Suddenly I wasn’t playing a busted PC port, but a decent console exclusive.

Without a mouse and keyboard in my hands I wasn’t compelled to play the game the way I used to. The gamepad tricked my mind into approaching Inquisition with a fresh set of eyes. The menus started responding to my inputs. I wasn’t looking for overlays because I had nothing I could use for hovering. No more mouse, so no more futile clicking on objects in the distance. Just tilt the stick and press A. Feels good, don’t it?

If someone had told me I’d be playing a Dragon Age game with a gamepad, I would have urged them to take that filth elsewhere. Today if someone else were to put a gun to my head and order me to play Inquisition with a mouse and keyboard, I would tell them to shoot and end my misery. It’s like BioWare unironically developed a console exclusive and then smashed together a shabby port. To think this franchise was once home on the PC.

Well pardon me, but from now on I’ll be reviewing Dragon Age Inquisition, a spin-off from the main Dragon Age series. This time exclusively on consoles and totally not playable on PC. Don’t let Steam fool you, this thing don’t run with a mouse and keyboard.

You have to flip a switch and restart the game just to use a gamepad? Whaaat?

Once I was sure the simple act of picking up herbs wasn’t going to make me blow my brains out, I decided to give Inquisition another shot. The tactical mode was still waiting for me. Oh, you didn’t think I was done with it just because I switched over to a gamepad? Silly you.

The gamepad made me feel like I was playing a completely different game. In the PC version the tactical mode worked more or less the same way it did in the previous two games. Pardon me, it tried to work. In the console version time is stopped by default the moment you enter the tactical mode. You don’t press a button to unfreeze time, instead you hold down the trigger to make time move forward. The moment you release the trigger time stops again.

At first this didn’t seem like much of a change. You still issue commands the way you did before. However this gives an entirely new flavor to the combat. Applying different amounts of pressure on the trigger makes time move at different speeds. This means you can let little bits of time slip by if you want tight control over the combat, i.e. you can let it rip at top speed if you feel comfortable with the decisions you’ve made.

To boot some of the issues which were present in the PC version simply aren’t there any more. You don’t get thrown out of the tactical mode for changing the zoom level. Then why on earth was this a problem with a mouse and keyboard? I quickly grew accustomed to the new control scheme and was able to cruise through the tactical mode with ease. However the more time I spent with it, the more I realized just how many holes were drilled through the sides of this ship.

One of the first challenges was figuring out how to zoom in on a particular party member. When selecting the next person using the D-pad the game would reposition the camera onto that person. At least this is how it works outside of the tactical mode. Inside the mode the camera stays put regardless of your selection. This means switching over between ranged and melee units requires you to move the cursor back and forth across the battlefield. Or you could quickly exit the tactical mode, switch to the desired character and then dive back in. Talk about an ideal solution.

The problems don’t stop there. During combat you can open up a hot wheel with additional tactical options as well as access to potions. The potions work as you’d expect them to, but the special commands can only be applied to the entire party. Meaning if I wanted to move Sera to an advantageous position and tell her to stay put, that command would make the entire party stop dead in their tracks.

Orders that should be simple are thus a headache to execute—except, hold on a minute. It turns out you can tell only one party member to hold their ground. You just need to double tap the desired location. I’m going to give the game the benefit of a doubt and say I missed this information because I played the tutorial with a mouse and keyboard. Still, why does this command work differently when issued from the hot wheel?

At least telling your companions to smack someone on the head is easy enough. Have you seen that new warrior skill tree? It has an ability which lets you pull an enemy using a chain and then ceremoniously kick them in the face. Here, let me show you. Come on, Inquisitor, let it rattle. Wait… Why did my Inquisitor miss her shot? She turned 90 degrees away from her target and flipped the chain towards a rock. What a bizarre bug. Let’s try that one more time. It happened again! And again! Now Sera is also shooting at trees.

What’s going on here? My companions keep directing their shots in random directions at random times. Is it because they’re out of range? I’m pretty sure that’s not the case. Are obstacles a problem? No, my Inquisitor is able to chain-pull people through carts. Elevation maybe? No, then she flips her chain in the right direction, but it sinks through the terrain. What the heck then? Am I supposed to make peace with this as well? At lest the ability doesn’t go into cooldown when you miss.

Never mind, Cassandra, go defend that position. Cassandra? Where are you, girl? Why haven’t you moved at all? Are you stuck? Did someone apply some sort of status effect on you? Not that I’d know since the UI doesn’t tell me… Let me just exit the tactical mode and see if I can move you. Yes, I can. Another bizarre bug, I guess. Wait, why is my Inquisitor stuck now? And now Blackwall! And Bull! Stop it, it’s contagious!

Come to mama.

I remembered somewhere along the way that this was a Dragon Age game and that I didn’t have to manage every single breath a companion takes. So I rolled up my sleeves and opened up the menus looking for the tactical settings. Except there wasn’t much to play around with. The only behavior you can change is potion consumption and the auto-usage of specific abilities.

Where are the in-depth settings that were part of the previous games? Where are the fine-grained conditions? What about behavioral presets? How do my companions act by default? Are they aggressive? Are they defensive? Does this vary based on class? How would I even know?

During this search, I stumbled across a menu letting me tweak various aspects of the gameplay. Among those was an option to toggle friendly fire. Since I was dearly missing the feature in Dragon Age 2, I decided to turn it on. Immediately after Varric blasted me and Cassandra out of Thedas. It did not last long before I relented and turned the feature back off. Some abilities are just to unpredictable to use, chain lightning for example. I let Vivienne zap some poor bastard thinking he was well out of range, only to have the entire party light up like Christmas candles.

The next thing that came to my attention was the cursor and how busted it is. Inside the tactical mode you can move it using a stick. However it can’t go through obstacles. If there’s a log standing between you and your target, you need to circle around it. Why on earth would the cursor be affected by collisions?

Elevations create a new set of problems. You literally have to walk the cursor up the goddamn stairs. But what if there aren’t any stairs? What if my target is perched upon a cliff? There’s absolutely no way to reach them without exiting the tactical mode. The cursor also disappears on slopes. This problem is the most prominent in the desert maps. There’s no way to select a target if it’s standing on the steep sides of a dune.

And don’t even get me started on the cursor’s range. You can’t move it far away from the currently selected character. What if my party members are spread apart? Because of this I couldn’t command my ranged units to attack a target next to my melee ones. So what if they need to move in closer before firing? Make them do that automatically.

Not the stairs again.

Left to their own devices companions can usually find their way. Usually. This is handled rather well during exploration. Even if a companion gets stuck and left behind, the game will teleport them behind you when you’re not looking. This is simple and seamless.

The same magic trick does not work in combat. Once you press the button launching you into the tactical mode, your companions are left standing wherever they were before that. I once slid down a hill straight into combat and left Vivienne and Sera staring down at me from the top. I powered my way through the encounter out of sheer spite while the ladies must have spent their time bickering.

The very worst example of this is a cave up on the Storm Coast. It’s your usual case of spider infestation, but it was the level’s geometry and not the enemies that my companions could not get their heads around. The first time I entered the cave I engaged in combat only to realize I was alone. Upon closer inspection I found my party stuck outside trying to burrow their way in through a solid wall. The entrance of the cave was 5 feet to the side.

On the second go I made sure everyone was lined up in front of the entrance, but only Solas successfully made it in. He then proceeded to climb up a ladder on his own incentive. I switched over to him, wanting to bring Mr elven supremacy down to earth, only for the entire party to be teleported somewhere outside of the cave. My Inquisitor retained their default combat pose and slid down a hill.

Even when I managed to get all of them inside, they constantly kept getting stuck on walls. The camera was losing its mind and entering and exiting the tactical mode teleported me to random corners of the cave. It’s safe to say I never entered that dungeon again.

How the hell did you get in here?

You could say I was perplexed the first time I opened up the skill trees. Dragon Age 2 did a good job of tidying up Origins’ level-up system, but on first glance Inquisition went a bit too far. I counted 4 trees per class which was a downgrade from the 6 you had in DA2. Lots of abilities seemed to be missing. Mages only had 3 elemental skill trees and 1 you could call defensive. What happened to entropy? Or blood magic? How am I supposed to create different builds with all these ability points coming in?

The game just stayed quiet and chuckled until I reached Skyhold. After receiving my first Fade ability I opened up the level-up screen and—wait, what’s this? New skill trees? There was a new one per character. I repeat per character, not per class. Dragon Age, I could kiss you right now.

This is hands down the best level-up system in all three games. Not only is it tidy, not only is it measured, but it also guarantees unique builds across different characters. The first thing I did was re-spec the entire party. Now every member has a specific role to play. Blackwall is my indestructible tank, Cassandra is an expert for handling demons and Cole is my precious little glass canon. The only flaw is that those unique skill trees are the exact same ones used for your Inquisitor’s specialization. This means that depending on your class and play-style someone in your party might become redundant. Since I reveled in ripping people to shreds this ended up being Bull for me.

I also like how they handled your stats. The previous two games worked like most traditional RPGs. After a level-up, you’d get a certain amount of points you could invest in your attributes. However Inquisition doesn’t grant these types of points. Instead unlocking certain abilities automatically increases some of your attributes. This is brilliant because it ensures that your character’s stats stay consistent with your desired play-style. So if you want to be a defensive warrior, the defensive skills will pump up your constitution for you.

Besides the skills you’re already familiar with Inquisition introduces some new ones. I admit, I couldn’t immediately see the use for all of them. Varric is a prime example of this. His unique skill tree is all about setting traps, but to what end? You’re rarely ever in the position to lure someone in. Either you stumble upon a pack enemies or you raid their camp. So what am I supposed to do with bear traps?

The game helped me change my mind during the boss fight against the Grand Duchess Florianne. The damn woman kept jumping behind my squishies, sending them to the Maker’s side and then escaping onto a banister where the pathing system said I couldn’t touch her. That’s when I remembered Varric.

Previously I invested points into an ability that let him scatter a bunch of mines. The catch is that each mine applies random elemental damage to anyone who steps on it. At first I didn’t know what to do with it. Enemies usually have one elemental weakness and it’s that particular one you want to exploit. However it turns out you can go to town with this ability as long as an enemy isn’t immune to a particular element or if you’re trying to cover a wider area. Once I let Varric do his thing, I sat back and watched the Duchess destroy her own health bar just by pouncing around the place. It was like an early birthday present.

Inquisition frequently rewards you for playing around like this. During the last fight in Haven I was tasked with holding out against multiple waves of Red Templars. This was by far the most grueling challenge in the game up to that point. Scouring for options, I noticed a convenient bottleneck in the terrain. A giant trebuchet was occupying a corner of the battlements and Solas just so happened to have his ice wall ability. What ensued might be called cheesing by some. I blocked off one side of the trebuchet forcing the Templars to trickle in the other way around. This let me pick them off at my own leisure.

To list one more example, I often had to deal with shadow warriors and harlequins. Rogues have a cloaking ability which makes them invisible long enough to come slash your tendons. You can sort of make out their silhouette, but it’s much better to flush them out as early as possible. So for example, Vivienne can throw Chain Lightning on the closest visible enemy which will then bounce off hidden ones as well.

Smash his face in, Cassandra!

All of those abilities wouldn’t be as impressive if you couldn’t put them to use. Luckily Inquisition has got you covered. The enemy variety is excellent across the board. For a game of this size it’s remarkable that I only started getting bored of beating people up after the 100+ hour mark. Even then, I’d blame the lack of fun on needless repetition and not on diminishing quality.

There’s a bit of something for everyone. Human opponents come in all shapes and sizes. There are the standard swordsman. There are the bulkier ones with shields whom you have to flank as best you can. Archers are able to knock your head off if you leave them be for too long. Mages are of course as deadly as ever, spawning lethal mines, teleporting out of the way and all in all making your life miserable. Each of the Red Templar variations has something new to offer. Knights are tasked with charging up other units, but they’re sturdy and not so easily taken out. Horrors are dangerous on their own, but instantaneously fatal if you let them get buffed.

There’s also the usual assortment of beasts: wolves, bears, spiders and such. There are a bunch of mini bosses scattered around the world who, unlike regular enemies, are large enough for you to target their individual body parts. This allows for shrewd tactics like crippling a giant’s legs to get access to its head. Overall the enemy variety is so abundant that Inquisition only needs to mix things up a little to keep you engaged long term.

You might have noticed I listed a bunch of things, but still haven’t mentioned the most interesting addition to the combat - the Fade rifts. Not only are they important from a story perspective, but they’re also elegantly designed. Each Fade rift is a perfect combination of known and unknown factors.

A rift usually has two rounds (though I seem to remember encountering ones with three). The first round welcomes you on arrival. It’s a done deal with a set number of enemies. You can gauge the danger from a far and choose to engage of your own accord. The fun starts after you’ve beaten the first round. The rift gives you time for a breather before marking the spots where the next wave of enemies will spawn. It only tells you the number of enemies, but their type and level is up to you to deduce based on the composition of the first round. You only know for certain that the second one will be harder than the first. This allows you to think strategically while also spicing things up with a little bit of randomness.

The game also lets you be cheeky and dispel the demons before they spawn. Only certain abilities can do this, so Cassandra quickly became one of my most valued allies. If you can grasp the opportunity, you can even disrupt the rift to further hinder your foes. Moreover Fade rifts feature enemies you don’t usually encounter outside of them, giving the fights a whole new dimension. You’re already familiar with shades and rages demons, but you’ll soon get acquainted with terrors and despair demons. The former will jump over to knock you on the ground while the latter coats you with a barrage of ice.

Andraste’s tits, what is that thing?

If there’s one major thing I’d like to criticize about the enemies, it’s the spawning algorithm. I usually like to clean out an area and not worry about it any more. However the designers seemed worried that my goldfish brain would wander off if not constantly massaged with stimuli. Random enemies keep spawning around you all of the time. It’s unbearable.

Every map is affected by this disease. Amidst the Hinterlands, bands of mages and Templars spawn in front of your eyes. Yes, I get it, I need to take care of their respected camps, but could you chill for just a sec? On another occasion I was clearing out a Venatori hideout. I decided to peek inside the next room, with most of my party still behind me. The game thought this would be the perfect opportunity to repopulate the room I had just cleared out while everyone was still standing there. Meanwhile in the desert, bloody hyenas keep appearing behind your back.

And don’t even get me started on the bears. There’s one particular area in the Hinterlands where these bastards spawn. Upon entering it they swarm you like freaking barracudas. I decided to run away except they kept spawning in front of me even after I’ve escaped their designated area. I thought reloading would get me to safety, but the game chose this moment to bug out and overflow me with bears wherever I went.

I think I reached the peak of my frustration in the Emerald Graves. I had just discovered the stag mounts and was instantly in love with them. My Qunari Inquisitor looked ridiculous on regular horses, yet the majestic red stag was just my size. I thought I’d have my Princess Mononoke moment riding through the imposing trees of the ancient forest. Except the game had other plans. I didn’t even get past the first curve in the road before two squads of Freemen sprung up in front of me. Why, hello there. Were you getting lonely?

The only upside is that different enemies don’t tolerate one another. If they cross paths, they’ll waste no time jumping at each other’s throats. So Templars will be kind enough to clear out mages and giants might stomp Red Behemoths on your behalf. Though on one occasion I encountered a group of mercenaries relaxing near a Fade rift. Maybe they were enjoying some afternoon tea with the wisps. Who am I to judge?

Run wild, my precious.

Concerning bosses, fighting dragons has become sort of a tradition in the series (rather fittingly I guess). The way Inquisition introduces you to the first one in the game is undoubtedly memorable. You walk through a mysterious cave in the Hinterlands and emerge onto a hidden valley. What’s this pretty place? What sort of things are here to explore, I wonder? Oh look, is that a bird in the sky? No, wait… Five seconds later your whole party is running ablaze, wailing in agony.

I love it when games mess with you like this. The things is, there isn’t just one or two dragons in the game. There are ten of these mother fuckers in Inquisition! This is not even counting the two tied to the main quest and the two found in the DLCs. Emprise du Lion (the second worst map in the game btw) has three, I repeat, THREE of them chained together in one corner of the map. Why on earth!?

This wouldn’t be a problem if each dragon wasn’t more of the same. It’s fine if you fight them once or twice, but it quickly starts loosing its charm after that. Their behavior consists of a couple of things. First, they have a phase where they fly over you and bombard you with their designated elemental attack. Second, they can spew out the same elemental attack while on the ground. Third, they have a couple of melee attacks, none too perilous considering you’re up against a dragon. Forth (now this one is interesting), they have a wing flapping attack.

If you’ve fought the dragons in the previous two games, you’ll know the best tactic is to hit them from a afar. Andraste’s dragon becomes a scared little salamander once you’ve spread out your archers and started harassing it from a distance. Inquisition thought of a neat counter to this strategy.

Once in a while the beast will flap its wings sucking in everyone who isn’t already glued to its ass, all the while doing damage with each flap. As far as I could tell this does nothing to the units at its feet, but it rains havoc on your squishies who thought they were safe at a distance. Running away does not work, so ironically the best strategy is to run towards it and then run back out once it finishes. It’s a good dynamic to break up the otherwise monotone fight against a bullet sponge.

The other notable exception are the electrical dragons. Most of the dragons’ elemental attack are easy enough to dodge. These bastards however have a static cage which they can use to infect everyone in your party no matter where they are standing. This thing will wreck your day. The first electrical dragon I came across was 4 levels bellow me and it still ended up being one of the trickiest fights I had in the game. My poor mage had to keep throwing a barrier over us to try to absorb as much damage as possible.

Hm, do I need a pet lizard?

Considering it regards itself as an open-world game, Inquisition's exploration left me somewhat polarized. There are a dozen of maps for you to explore, ranging from small to absolutely humongous (looking at you Hinterlands). The sheer number of maps is frankly overwhelming. The game sections off most of them until you’ve reached Skyhold, but just glancing at them on the war table made me sweat pin balls.

What’s surprising is that despite their quantity each map has its own thing going on. Crestwood is centered around the submerged settlement, the Fallow Mire’s shtick are its endless waves of undead and the Forbidden Oasis is a maze of arches and hidden passageways. Even the Hinterlands, being the default fantasy map, have a story to tell about the conflict between the mages and the Templar taking over the farmlands.

Despite the fact that each map was conceived with a good premise, some are spread out thinner than the rest. The best example of this might be the Exalted Plains. It’s a map of stark contradictions. The theme of the map is pretty simple: plains that suffered pogroms in the past are once again engulfed in war. Compelling, right?

Well, things get complicated once you start roaming about the place. The Plains’ main highlights are the leftover trenches infested with undead. The army losses were so great that their own fortifications got overrun by corpses of their fallen allies. They present quite a decent challenge and once cleared out are again populated with Orlesian troops. Except… These trenches are huge. There are three on them in the Plains and each takes up a sizeable chunk of the map. Once you’ve cleared them out, they’re teeming with NPCs, none of which you can interact with. They’re just a bunch of fancily dressed props.

The Exalted Plains have the potential to tell a gut wrenching story of war and anguish, but the game barely even tries. If it weren’t for mentions of the civil war in Halamshiral, I would have no idea what’s going on. Imagine coming here before doing the mission at the Winter Palace (although that seems to be the desired order of things). What’s going on in this map? Who’s fighting exactly? Were are these forces stationed? Ok, this guy Gaspard is holding the east bank of the river, but why are his trenches facing one another? Sure, the bridge across the river leading to the opposing force has been destroyed, but is no one guarding that crossing?

What about the local population? There are all these codex entries detailing how the Chantry purified the Plains from the heretic elves. What do these people think of the Orlesians once again torching their land? Where are they even? I came across burned villages, but no refugees scurrying about. There’s only one Dalish camp to the side and they’re chilling in their own bubble as if the war was not raging around them.

It’s even worse when you start filling in the gaps on the map. The designers must have been worried about leaving vast stretches of open terrain, so they copy-pasted the same rocky formation all over the Plains. Over and over and over again. It’s hard to imagine that this is the same map which tucked away ancient elven ruins covered in mist on one side and an abandoned citadel scorched by the literal eye of Sauron on the other.

So nice making all of your acquaintance.

God, I don’t want to do this, but I guess I have to. Spending time in the Exalted Plains just made me think of how much better The Witcher 3 did it. Velen is to The Witcher 3 what the Exalted Plains are to Inquisition - a land torn apart by war. Yet Velen breaths so much life it seems absurd comparing it to the Exalted Plains in the first place.

In Velen villages are filled with hungry and desperate people. Houses are burning or abandoned. The two opposing forces are clearly camped out on other sides of the Pontar river. Refuges are curled up next to army strongholds. Bandits are roaming around taking advantage of the chaos. A monster infestation is breaking out because of the increased number of corpses. You can speak to a whole bunch of people across the land. You can get involved in the little details that make up their day to day struggles. Famine, missing persons, war crimes - you name it. It’s an incredibly potent mix.

Inquisition is so lucky it came out a few months before The Witcher 3. The quality of the The Witcher 3’s open world is so vastly superior to any of its predecessor (and even most games that came after it) that it makes Inquisition feel like it came out of a different era. It’s hard not comparing it to its contemporary competitor and seeing the huge gap that exists in between. The Witcher 3 has quest markers, but it relies mainly on a form of natural exploration. It drops you onto a hill and then lets you guide yourself across the map using nothing by prominent landmarks. It never repeats itself, each small section of the map feels unique and every crossroad a familiarity I could maneuver around with certainty.

Inquisition on the other hand has its hits and misses. I could navigate the aforementioned Exalted Plains with ease, but I could not for the life of me find my way through the Storm Coast. The backbone of that map is a mountainous region covered in forests. There are hills, ravines, more trees and absolutely nothing in sight which could help you figure out your own location. It’s nice of the game to draw out the path you’ve taken across the map. Otherwise the Inquisitor might have forever been lost in the woods.

Come to think of it, Inquisition does have a lot of problems with the design of its terrain. I feel like one team of designers went into the level editor, imported a flat plain and then rustled it up a bit until it resembled mountains and hills and what not. The results often feel like they’re devoid of any real sense of topography. Then another team of designers would come in and try their best populating the maps with content. I imagine this is how you end up with dozens of castles out in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no roads leading up to them.

Where the fuck to now?

When you start counting up the tally it’s up and downs across all of the maps, though the good to bad ratio can vary drastically. For example, the Hinterlands is a hodgepodge of a bunch of different things. Its central area, where the mages and Templars clash on repeat, is a good core premise. I won’t forget the first time I went through the creepy tunnel connecting the Crossroads to the demolished village where the mages and the Templars were dueling it out. You step into this thing overgrown with ferns, cloaked in mist and silence, wondering where it will take you, only to emerge onto a hellish battlefield where everyone’s shooting at you from all sides.

Contrary to that I found a castle crammed in the corner of the map, almost as an afterthought. There’s absolutely nothing leading up to it or anything else of interest in the vicinity. You find a group of apostates held up inside. This particular group believes the apocalypse is nigh, so they’re just waiting for it to happen. There’s only one dude you can talk to in the entire keep. His girlfriend just died, but he’s mostly upset they couldn’t go out in a blaze together. For some reason you offer him to join the Inquisition and he says yes. Pardon me, he says yes? The guy who was determined to die a second ago changed his mind on a whim. This was before I gained the group’s trust by closing the breach in their backyard.

To view the glass as half-full again, you’ll see the remains of a decrepit castle perched upon a hill just outside of the Crossroads. You’ll find your way up to it and then beyond a lush lake hidden away from the atrocities of civil war. There are deer jumping around, a small waterfall overflowing into the valley where the mages and Templars are fighting bellow. Suddenly I noticed a red deer hopping through the forest. This one was nothing like the ones I’ve seen before. I chase it after. It must be some special breed, I think to myself. I catch up to it and strike. It turned into a rage demon. Lol, I did insist, didn’t I?

But again, contrary to that the game tasks you with finding a horse master to cater to the Inquisition’s need. I find the guy and his little commune peacefully going about their lives while the FREAKING TEMPLARS ARE BASHING EACH OTHER’S HEADS JUST ACROSS THE RIVER. Pardon me, I didn’t mean to shout. What were you saying, master Dennet? You want me to clear out some wolves for you? What, the angry Templars don’t bother you? You’re also cool with the Fade rift sitting in your backyard? Does it help the crops grow? Oh, I see you’ve got a copy of Hard in Hightown in your attic. Forgive my interruption. Do continue, sir.

The contradictions go on and on and on like this. It all culminates with the worst two maps in the game: Emprise du Lion and the Hissing Wastes. The former is meant to function as an endgame gauntlet. You’re supposed to fight your way up a mountain towards an abandoned castle on the top. The problem is the climb has no business being as long as it is. The aforementioned Suledin Keep is by far the largest fortification in the game, stretching room after room into infinity. The game quickly runs out of ideas, so it keeps throwing the same detachments of Red Templars at you. This is enough to make a woman go mad.

The latter map, Hissing Wastes, is best described by scout Harding’s words: “This space has nothing but… space.” It’s quite literally a desert wasteland. Nothing but vast unending dunes in sight. Playing through it felt like being smothered with a pillow. It was the first time in the game I had to unironically use my mount. Getting from point A to point B would have otherwise been excruciating.

Good boy, Roach.

All of this makes it seem like I hated Inquisition’s exploration down to its rotten core. It might then surprise you that its highlights were enough to push me through the questionable parts. Most of the time I was led through exploration by genuine curiosity and not some forced sense of obligation (except those last two maps). For all of the things it failed to put into place, Inquisition always had something cool tucked away for me to discover.

Quantity definitely ended up being its Achilles’ heel. I was satiated somewhere around the 100 hour mark and everything after that felt like I was stuffing myself with dessert just so it wouldn’t go to waste. Spoiler alert: I clocked around 140 hours for the base game alone. Inquisition is obscenely long in retrospect, souring up your experience the more you’re forced to spend time with it. It would have been miles better if it cut out half of its content and focused on enriching the essential stuff.

To give you an example, I thought all of the game’s dungeons were excellent. Valammar, Coracavus, Dirthamen, you name it. Coming across these places and realizing they’re completely unique content always put a smile on my face. Although I did stumble upon Valammar way, way before Varric’s loyalty mission became available. Varric, don’t tell poor Bianca we’ve been here before. She’s so keen on showing us around the place, we have to make her believe it’s our first time down here. Oh dear, I’ve even glitched through the secret door she was supposed to unlock for the quest.

While we’re on the subject, Inquisition spent no time at all thinking about progression. Sure, it locks out most maps until you’ve reached Shyhold, but after that it doesn’t bother telling you in what order to approach them or even the minimum level requirement. Unfortunately for the game I had enough points to unlock all of maps at once as soon as I got to Skyhold (the inevitable consequence of being diagnosed as a completionist).

Since the game gave me no guidance I picked a map at random. I went for the Hissing Wastes which, I soon discovered, contained end game content. Since I was clearly over my head I decided to try my luck with something else. That something else ended up being the Deep Roads mission which, even worse, is DLC. So I resorted to Google instead. It’s negligence like this that makes the game look stupid for trying to show me around Valammar. Of course I’ve already been here before - it’s right next to where I recruited Blackwall!

You could say the game directs you to some of the maps through the main quest, like telling you to go to Crestwood to investigate the Wardens, but it does no such thing for most. How are you supposed to know when to investigate the Fallow Mire or the Forbidden Oasis or the Exalted Plains for that matter? I went to the Plains after finishing Halamshiral because nothing else directed me to that area sooner. Upon entering the map I was greeted by level 11 tugs. I was level 18. Guess how that turned out for them.

What’s worse is that you don’t gain any XP by fighting enemies which are 3 or more levels beneath you. This made the entirety of the Exalted Plains a futile venture. The only tangible thing I got out of them are the companions’ quests. If I had been there sooner, I might have utilized the area better. Then again that might have made me over-leveled in some other map. Funny, it’s as if the game has too much content.

Say, Solas, what does that statue represent exactly?

This is part 1 of a multi-part review of Dragon Age: Inquisition. Click here for part 2 and part 3.

#game review #review #dragon age inquisition

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empty-dream · 3 years

Text

So I read 86 LN vol 1

S1 anime covers the entire Vol 1 except for the latter's epilogue, so full anime spoiler here.

And as of this writing, I'm still on Vol 2 so the things I mention here are solely those that happen in Vol 1. Idk if a thing happens in the latter volume, gotta dodge spoiler so I don't browse about it.

There was an interview with a person inside the anime industry that basically said "The point of an anime adaptation is not to be an exact replica of the original material, but to shine as its own medium for a story." I forgot who it was and I can't find the interview anywhere for the life of me, but that statement opened my eyes. I agree with it, that's why I can appreciate the differences between LN/manga and anime, especially if they turn out good and/or interesting.

And that's exactly what happens in 86. I'll start with this: I watched the anime first, and after I read the Vol1 novel, I actually like the anime more. Because there are a lot of meaningful original scenes in it

And because the Vol1 novel turns out exactly what I fear when I first watched the anime: that I won't care much about the squadron aside from the main 5. (Look, the anime promotional materials mostly only have Lena and those 5 only. As shocked as I was in the anime, I did have an idea where the story would go from those alone). The rest are barely mentioned. Not even the girls are named in the novel, even though they do talk and Lecca is even prominent in anime.

For example, the second half of the first episode, the one that shows Spearhead squadron's daily life right before Lena contacts them, is anime original scenes. Kujo already dies the moment the novel starts focusing on the squadron. Simply put, a lot of the squadron members that aren't the main 5 or Kaie get a *lot* more focus in the anime, like Daiya, Haruto (For characters who appear on the introduction page, their novel screen time is less than I'd expect), Kujo and Lecca. While the other members often appear in the background and actually behave like equal members instead of glue-them-on figurines.

(Idk if those other members are named and/or designed in the light novel before the anime is a thing or when the anime becomes a thing.)

The anime also adds relevant information in the Raiden's talk with Lena in EP7, like Kaie receiving racial abuse from 86 (in fact in both versions, she is the first one to get highlighted about this) and Haruto also having prominent Giadian Empire blood like Anju and Shin. These weren't in the novel.

I might be just nitpicking here because I love Kaie and Haruto, but see, this scene is amazing on its own. This is where Raiden and the squad reveal the weight of their motivation all along, that they *each* have different backgrounds and different kinds of sufferings, yet they are all sentenced to die, and they all choose to fight because they know no side is saintly but some things are still worth fighting for.

The prominent characters' deaths (besides Kaie's) are often mentioned with only one or two dry lines. I expected at least Daiya's to be detailed more, but it's just that so matter-of-fact-ly. Well I came from the anime, so I guess it's normal if I expected something as heartbreaking.

I broke down HARD at the last half of EP10 and that is nowhere in the Vol 1 novel. (Having Hands Up to the Sky playing in the background is also an advantage for being an anime. Fuck that song, I now play it 24/7 in despair)

Having a lot of original anime scenes really complement the story's nature. That there are two different sides of life here, it's not just Lena's or 86's only. And those couldn't have intertwined if not for their willingness to listen and communicate.

I know I mentioned this some days ago but really, I can't get over how many of the merch are Lena (and Annette) being cute doing cute stuff while the story itself is actually depressing. Merch staffs know the market lol.

- Novel side -

That said, the novel does have an advantage that the anime/visual media doesn't: Internal explorations and explanations.

It's obvious from the get-go, but Asato confirms that the inspiration of Republic of San Magnolia and its racial discrimination and genocide is taken from Nazi Germany in WW2. The Republic who favors the white/silver haired-eyed Alba drives Colorata out of the 85 sectors, overtakes their properties, and forcibly sends the now-called-86 to either fight their war and die, or work on the wall and die.

The life inside the Republic is also elaborated on. Class always exists, even inside one race only. The center of the republic is for the elites, Lena and Annette's families included. The farther a sector is from the center, the lower the education and economy there is. Most of the military come from these areas, which explains why Lena herself is in difficult situation. Since no one in the military is either capable or willing to bring change.

It's *insane* how easily the Republic could create such vile lies, and how easily the majority of the citizens go along with it.

Gotta admit, Asato does a good job at foreshadowing the fate of the 86, the truth that we can only see after Ep7 of anime. It is mentioned that supposedly, 86 soldiers will be welcomed back once their 5-years term is up. Lena once wonders about it, but ultimately she buys it thinking that surely they must have come back to another sector. She only realizes it's utter bullshit after Annette points out how, 9 years later, they have never seen even one Colorata inside the Republic when they should have seen at least some. This also shows that Lena has never ventured to the other sectors to find out more, probably due to work or maybe she's still a sheltered noblewoman in the end.

And the mentality of the majority of Alba is shown differently. Whereas the anime uses the academy classroom to show how deeply rooted the racism against 86 is, the novel uses Lena's mother who a) more or less does the same as the classroom, and b) presses Lena to get married and preserve their pure noble bloodline. This, when the nobility doesn't actually mean anything anymore. This version shows not only Alba's racism but also Lena's strained family life.

There is a scene of an Alba high school valedictorian who, during his graduating speech, says “My friends died fighting the Legion.” I’m not sure this will make it to the anime, and it’s just a minor scene in the novel, but the weight of that scene is heavy.

The science of Para-Raid is explained, which has something to do with tapping the collective consciousness of humanity and connecting it to one another. A bit far-etched but I guess that works, science fiction and all. But I like the part where despite (or maybe because?) of connecting via hearing only, the other senses are faintly receptive as well. For example, one can sense that the other side is biting their lips in frustration, something like that. Of course, actual real life things like sensing the hidden bitterness or elation in a talking partner's words are present, this being a story where listening matters.

The novel elaborates on Raiden's stay with the Alba old woman. He calls her Old Hag, but it's clear he greatly respects her. The part where she screams and curses in the middle of the road at the Republic soldiers who take Raiden and the other children away stays in Raiden's mind forever, and so it does to me. Ngl it is quite a chilling scene.

Same with the story of the previous Laughing Fox, Theo's Alba commander. It turns out, the entirety of Theo's first squadron didn't like him at all and bet on how fast he'd tuck tail and run back to the Republic. When he faced his death the way Theo explained, he sent a message to Theo revealing he knew about it and knew his place to not ask for acknowledgment or forgiveness. This made Theo regret why he didn't try to talk more with his commander and he keeps thinking about it forever. Now it makes even more sense why Theo, blunt as he is, is willing to listen to Lena and when he snaps, he wonders if his late commander would do the same.

What actually happens in Kurena's backstory is also touched upon. While in the anime some viewers could think "Man, I get where you're coming from but chill out." The novel graphically shows her parents being toyed on by the Alba soldiers while her sister protected her, the two could only watch, and then the same sister got sent to the battlefield to die. Now at that, anyone would think "Man, no wonder she can't chill out. Not with all that trauma."

I also like the addition that Lena can sense Kurena is the one who dislikes her the most.

The novel describes greatly that it isn't just Alba and Non-Alba. Essentially speaking, Non-Alba is called Colorata, and they consist of different race groups as well. Just as Alba is associated with the color silver/white, the other race have their associated colors as well. Asato assigns races to the named members in Vol1 and what their distinguished color features are. This also explains why Anju is exiled despite looking like an Alba.

It's a question that I pondered on when I first saw Shin's armor plates, and that I pondered harder on when Chise died: What happens if there is no armor plate to carve its processor's name's on? So it turns out Shin would substitute it with anything; piece of wood or some random piece of metal. For Chise's case, Raiden, Chise's leader, suggested using the wing of Chise's in-progress airplane model. Which did my heart so bad because I'm strangely fond of Chise and finding out that in his spare time in his limited lifespan, he was working on an airplane model made me sob.

I'm not particularly into mecha, and could care less about how it moves. But Asato did a good job describing the fight between a glorified suicide car and a line of brand-new solid A-grade tanks. Special mention to I-IV because wow the concept arts for all the mechas are so cool, even though I don't really understand. (Asato even said to I-IV "Go draw a tank so horrible it's stupid for the Juggernaut" and I-IV came up with the current Juggernaut)

You know how the Republic greeting is "Glory to San Magnolia and the five-colored flag"? I won't disclose who says this in what situation, but there is someone of Colorata saying "If you hate colors so much, you should have just colored your flag white" AND OOOH THE BURN SO HOT HOT HOT

Tl;dr: Bottom line is, I personally enjoy Vol 1 because I already watched the anime and got attached to it. If I were to read the vol 1 first, most likely I wouldn't fall this hard for the series. Hell, maybe I wouldn't even pick it up in the first place because I knew it'd be depressing. But this is not to say that the LN is bad. It’s very good, it just does not really touch the lives of other soldiers whereas that’s the very thing that I love from the anime.

#86 #eighty six #random saying #not sure if i have put all my thoughts here so maybe ill edit sometime later

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dreamteamspace · 4 years

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Introduction

Gen

My Blogs/accounts:

@dreamspace-originals ONLY Reblogs of all my original (mcyt) content

@correct-mcyt-quotes Sideblog, posts only

(@allet-trash Main blog)

My MCYT Fanfics

Justice Well Served (AO3)

- “Dream has been fleeing his three persistant hunters for two months now. Life hasn’t been the same ever since the King demanded his head, and the more time goes on, the more he sees his future crumble. Maybe he never should have crossed him in the first place.

George and his two best friends have been sent on a neckbreaking mission to catch the most dangerous criminal in the kingdom of Rua. Guided by compasses and orders from the King, they’re determined to catch up very, very soon.”

(Long on-going work. I am writing this as chapter 20 is posted, and the work stands at 84.5k words currently. Here’s its tumblr post.)

Road Trip (If You Mean It) (AO3)

“George giggles despite himself. “Dream,” he says, and Dream feels his heart firmly punch his chest. Somehow, the same effect of Sapnap looking more attractive in reality applies to George, except fucking ten-fold. Sapnap teasingly whines something along the lines of ‘what about me?’, but Dream barely hears him.

Dream takes a step closer, suddenly very aware that George is as small as Sapnap is, a good head smaller than him, only really reaching up to his chest. George has to look up at him, a silent question in his eyes.

The glance upwards, all glittering dark eyes and dark hair and just George, is enough to slay him on the spot.

Dream doesn’t mean to sound so soft, his voice to be so drawled. “Can I hug you?”

George slides his bag off his shoulder, letting it hit the ground. “I- yeah.””

(“heat-waves-esque” but the song is Road Trip by Dreamwastaken himself this time, because Road Trip has been stuck in my head and Heat Waves has left me emotionally in pain. Long on-going work. Tumblr post)

Obsidian (AO3)

- “Despite all his divine power, Dream ends up trapped in his own prison… surrounded by nothing but the darkness, his torturously immortal mind and four cold, obsidian walls.” (Complete oneshot. Please read tags/warnings on ao3 before proceeding to read. ~3.4k words. Tumblr post.)

(For more of my writing, you can check out the tag #space writes on my blog.)

✨ More details and tags/dni/personal info under the cut ✨

Info

This is a side-blog so you won’t see me in notes/likes! My main is allet-trash but I don’t post any mcyt there at all.

This blog is 95% mcyt. I lov the mcytblrs with all my heart and I’m happy to be part of this cool community. I browse the mcyt tag a lot. Feel free to yell at my inbox/DMs if u wanna.

If I leave you on read in DMs that’s cause tumblr ate my notifs, I read it and forgot to respond or I haven’t figured out what to say yet sdlkfj. I’ll get back to you eventually (But you can also toss me an ask to remind me if you want as soon as I haven’t responded within about 48 hours).

ABOUT ME

Name: I typically go by Space here, but feel free to call me whatever.

Pronouns/gender: they/them/he/him, with a preference for he/him. I’m nonbinary.

I support the lgbtqa+ community wholeheartedly: Aro/ace, Biromantic/bisexual, Trans (whether that be ftm, mtf, mtn or ftn), Lesbian/gay/their romantic versions, Panromantic/pansexual, agender, nonbinary, genderfluid and people with neopronouns. PLEASE tell me if I forgot something. Knowing me, I might have. If it’s not p*dophilia, I probably just forgot to mention it here.

Age: I’m a young adult, 18-26. When talking to someone in DMs, especially about ships/fanfic/nsfw, I might ask if you’re a minor or not to make sure I know who I’m talking to!

PERSONAL TAGS

#dreamteamspace speaks

Asks that I answer, oneshots, any original posts, when I add a lot of my own ideas/writing/opinions on posts that I reblog, and my digital art if I make any.

#space writes

In cases of oneshots, lore, ideas, sometimes vividly depicted theories and generally creative writing, I will tag posts with #dreamteamspace speaks AND #space writes.

#space art

my digital art!

#liveblogging - Whenever I’m liveblogging about a vod/stream/premier/etc.

#srb - self reblog, when reblogging a post I myself made, sometimes with an addition.

#fav - This tag saves things for me for later. Things I might want to rewatch/reread and that give me serotonin.

#ask - any asks I answer.

#anonymous ask - any anonymous asks I answer.

On tagging asks: When answering an ask, I can’t tag it immedietly, but have to go back to edit the ask and tag it (If there’s a way around this please tell me). If an ask isn’t tagged at all, wait about 20 seconds and refresh.

#negativity

Any non-positive posts, including fandom drama, valid criticism of ccs, warning posts, venting, ranting, pessimism and shipping discourse. /j’d posts that are meant positively do not fall under this tag.

I won’t reblog posts I fundamentally and fully disagree with, rather, I may fully agree with a post and still tag it as #negativity.

If you would like something tagged #negativity that is not tagged, do not be afraid to toss me an ask/DM and ask for me to tag it. If you’re not sure if it’s reasonable or not, just ask! I don’t bite.

I use this tag less than once a day on average.

#criticism

Any posts that are ALREADY tagged #negativity but are about valid criticism of ccs or the fandom, usually making a good point I agree with.

((I generally will not reblog political posts onto this blog. Instead I do that to my main blog, @allet-trash, where they are tagged #politics.))

IMPORTANT! I do not tag my swearing.

I fully understand it can be bothersome to some people, and I’ve tried to tag it on other blogs in the past and I just- don’t manage. I don’t swear every second sentence and sometimes I’ll try to tone it down. If you’re very bothered by swearing, either filter the words themselves or keep your distance.

TWs

I’ll tag general things such as blood/death/selfharm/etc. If you need something triggering tagged that is not tagged, please tell me. If I tag something #blood tw I will also tag it #blood for easier filtering. I sometimes tag mentions.

Tone indicators

I use /lh (light hearted), /hj (half-joking), /j (joking), /srs (serious)

DNI (Do not interact)

-anybody who thinks p*dophilia is a kink/orientation or in any way part of the lgbtqa community

-if you romantically ship ccs that are minors with other ccs. Same goes for shipping ccs in ways they’ve confirmed to not be okay with or if they’re not okay with shipping in general

-Please just respect CCs boundaries I beg of you it’s the least we can do

#dreamteamspace speaks #this is the most boring post Ive ever had to make #but i know its neccessary

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midnight-marimba · 4 years

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Mar’s DQXI Fic OCs

It’s Dragon Quest OC And NPC Week, and I’m going to approach it from the other direction than what’s described in the event proposal, because I rarely end up inventing a detailed character without context, but I often find a specific need for a character in a piece of fanfiction and build them up out of that prompt into something better than a footnote. So I’m going to take the opportunity to talk about some of my fics and the original characters and NPCs who wandered into them and made themselves interesting enough that I’m eager to share a little extra detail or commentary about them. (Under the cut)

Hair Tie That Binds

A comedic story about Hendrik recruiting Erik for a heist to help fix his own mistake. (9k words)

I needed a minor villain, so I invented Lady Druzy (named off of an obscure corner of a gem list, so as to suit a minor Heliodoran noble). She is petty, spiteful, vengeful, and apparently my favorite archetype of OC to write. She is awful and I loved writing her.

After Rain, The Sun Will Shine

A Sylv/Hendrik one-shot involving Hendrik’s memories of Sylv’s mother. (8k words)

When I wrote this, I had not yet heard the detail from the voice drama (please somebody translate the whole thing?? <3) that Sylv's mom's given name was Gerbera and her stage name was Sylvia (that is, exactly the same stage name Sylv took in the Japanese version of the game). I had only heard a broader rumor about the drama and Sylv choosing a stage name in honor of their mother.

So when I went to write a story about her, I looked at a list of Dutch names (to match Arnout and Hendrik — Zwaardsrust is Dutch) and hunted for one a name with a "Syl" sound. I landed on Silke, which is also satisfying from a word association perspective (since it looks like "silk" which sounds highly appropriate for a "famous Zwaardsrustian beauty" — one of the few canon details we get for her).

I tried to make her stubborn and determined, inspiring and willfully optimistic for the sake of the people she had under her leadership. Sylv-like, but with a slightly more intense philosophical flavor than canon Sylv, as she’s walking out of an arguably even greater tragedy (or at least more personal at a larger scale?)

Silk and Swagger

Faris/Reader, from the point of view of a Heliodor guard. (1.7k words)

The guard is nameless and the fic is relatively short, but my goodness it was fun inventing someone who is instantly smitten with Faris and believes the best of him at all times.

When Home Isn't Marked on the Map

A Sylv/Erik longfic set a couple years after the end of the game, in which Erik is coming out of a period of self-imposed isolation after a disastrous attempt at confessing his one-sided romantic feelings for the Luminary, and he begins by going looking for Sylv, the one old companion he dares hope won’t yell at him for his absence. (74k words)

Since the ultimate seed of the idea behind this fic was "Erik would be protective towards orphans and Sylv would like that about him" I needed some kids to put in the story. There are two sets of four that I named and included.

First is the group from the rural area near Puerto Valor, and thus they have Spanish names: Isabella, Serafito, Paz, Ana. I'm pretty sure I named the younger ones with shorter names to help myself keep them straight. In my head, they have a darker complexion than the rest of the kids in the story, since I always wish the DQ world was a little more diverse on that front, but I fear that I forgot to actually write that detail in. (Room for improvement...)

The second group is an expansion of the four child NPCs you can find playing hide-and-seek in downtown Heliodor. I could only find a canon name for Cammo (the King of Hide-and-Seek) so I gave the rest of them stone related names, figuring the pattern from Cobblestone might extend around Heliodor into the poorer and less formal areas of the kingdom (Ruby the innkeeper notwithstanding). So they are Flint, Crystal, and Mica.

There are so many of them that it was tough to give all of them a lot of characterization, but I tried to distinguish each of them at least a little. Isabella, the leader of her group, blunt in a way that reminds Erik of Mia and Veronica. Serafito, a little bit of a self-sacrificing caretaker. Paz, young but outgoing, and Ana, even younger and a little shy. Flint, the canny, cautious, and slightly manipulative leader of the Heliodor gang. Cammo, sneaky and adventurous and clever. Crystal, strong and brave and protective. Mica unfortunately ended up being most notable for the ordeals he goes through.

My favorite among them ended up being Crystal, from the instant she decided she was after Hendrik's job.

Diamond

A Sylv/Serena and Sylv/Dave fic, from Serena’s point of view. Set after Act 3 as Serena chooses a mission to research and perform healing around the world, travels alongside Sylv’s new circus troupe, and they both get to pursue some missing character development. (118k words, technically 1 chapter short of an intended ending but may not be continued.)

Mind the tags and content advisory if you go into the fic itself, because (1) for reasons of 2020, a story about a doctor-hero was simply not an ideal story to begin in the year 2019, and (2) it is NOT a utopian style world — many characters have prejudices, others are closeted in some major ways, and not all of that is gone by the end of the story. I 100% understand many folks not wanting to go roll around in that kind of fiction, and while there’s a discussion about Representation I could shoehorn in here, I’m going to set it aside for the sake of on-topic rambling about fun OC development.

For this fic, I wanted Sylv and Serena to be traveling the world together. Serena was to be motivated in part by the allure of getting to meet more new people, and also, I think it’s useful for her personal growth to spend a little time away from her blood family and most of the people from whom she would naturally take direction. I also wanted to explore Sylv as a leader in a way that’s not so easy within the canon party, and in general, I imagine Sylv both being friendly to every stranger and also having old friends pop up everywhere he goes.

Between the two of them, I ended up needing to plop in OC's left and right, both for Sylv’s new Act 3 circus troupe, and in every town they visited. Because I’m a nerd, I expanded lore for some of the regions too, and I will mention some of those details here with the characters.

Sylv’s troupe:

Chill, a contortionist from Sniflheim, where people get kind of uncomfy about magic, especially when it looks too close to evil witchery. Like, say, Zing.

Samir, a short, round bard from Gallopolis who can do amazing things with a variety of instruments, and his partner Grey, once a guard from Heliodor until he decided that job was even more bland than his name, and he ran off to Gallopolis to join the circus.

Maria and Mateo, a couple of quiet, short and slender dancers from Puerto Valor (in my head, Mateo is about 5 feet and Maria’s a couple inches shorter, though I keep gravitating away from talking in Modern Earth units of measurement when writing for this fandom). Their kids, teenaged Leo and toddler Lena, aren’t (yet) performers, but are present because I thought it was interesting to plug some kids into a story about a traveling circus troupe, and because I wanted to give Sylv an excuse to interact with kids.

Francine. A classically beautiful acrobat from Octagonia, where the only work she could find was being a bunny girl handing out flyers. She’s had a crush on Sylv, which didn’t work out, and in the aftermath she’s a little bitter and is predisposed to dislike anyone else getting too close to Sylv. She is rude and spiteful when she does not like someone (though she may do so in an overly-sweet tone), and she awkwardly overcompensates when she wants to prove she’s moved on from something, and she ended up being my favorite OC here.

Some other notable OCs in the world:

In Sniflheim: Healer Heather, the doctor who would really rather not have any magic in her house, so she doesn’t get a mob coming after her next time the tide of public opinion turns against witches.

In Lonalulu: Nohea, the charming and handsome hula dancer who isn’t quite as nice as he seems, and Pika, the shy, plain, and clumsy but kind-hearted net weaver. Both are there as potential love interests for Serena (and for contrast against Sylv, of course).

In the Inner Sea: Coral the mermaid, a singer. She's here for advancing Serena's character development, but it was fun to have other OCs react to a mermaid, and trying to write plot-advancing mermaid dialogue raised my respect for the localization team 1000%.

In Gallopolis: Doctor Zel, who is very scientific and good at her job, never makes eye contact, and lacks a comforting bedside presence. (Happily they have Faris to help with public relations during a health crisis…?)

This is only about half of the OCs and NPCs named in the story, but they’re most of the ones with the most screen time, and most of the ones that stand out in my mind. But the outgoing and friendly Sylv and Serena I was trying to write, both of whom wanted to engage with the people of the world at large, just spawned new characters around them as they went. You know those stories about mythical people where flowers bloom after them everywhere they go? This pair was like that, only with OC’s instead of flowers.

#dqxi oc npc week #dqxi #dqxi fanfiction #dq11 fanfiction #my writing #these stories are old but if you comment I will still love you forever

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adamrevi3ws · 4 years

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Zack Snyder’s Justice League (The Snyder Cut)

The so-called “Snyder Cut” of Justice League (2017) is finally out, and I have seen it!

For those of you that haven’t been constantly harangued by its online presence, Justice League had a very messy behind-the-scenes, hindered by a lot of studio meddling and the fact that its original director, Zack Snyder, left mid-production due to studio conflicts and a massive family tragedy. Snyder was replaced by the now-infamous Joss Whedon, who conducted several reshoots and was later accused of workplace misconduct and harassment, especially from the actor who played Cyborg, Ray Fisher. Many have attributed the problems with the theatrical cut to its behind the scenes chaos, and this theory, combined with the fact that other movies by Snyder have been vastly improved by their director’s cuts (see: Batman v Superman), has caused outcry from a very small but loud group of fans, demanding Snyder’s version of the movie. This basically started right after the movie itself came out, and confused many due to the……mixed… opinions on Snyder’s directing, but somehow WB caved in and gave Snyder an absurd amount of money to finish post-production and film a new scene or two, finally releasing a full four-hour director’s cut on HBO MAX this past Thursday.

Although I had some intense skepticism, I think the hype was overall worth it. Yes, I’m biased because I initially liked the movie in its crappier form, and also generally liked Snyder’s first DC movie, Man of Steel, but trust me on this one. The directing is overall a massive improvement, and unlike the original, it doesn’t look so damn ugly. The CGI is actually finished, and it has this rough and detailed quality that reminds me of the visuals from Man of Steel. Another improvement from the theatrical version is the humor, which feels much drier and thinly spread out (and less sexist), therefore giving its funny moments a lot more value. I think one of the BIGGEST improvements of the film is its character work, delivering much better pathos and characterization. While it’s no Logan, the Snyder Cut delivers some level of heart and soul to an otherwise soulless genre. I think the biggest example of this is with Cyborg, where in the original film he was in maybe two scenes, but in the Snyder Cut, he has a very fleshed out and detailed character arc. It’s very easy to understand why Ray Fisher hates Whedon and WB so much. Even without god knows how much of a toxic environment he had to deal with, literally most of the scenes he got to actually act got cut out of the original movie. This and his extended edition for Batman v Superman are only further proof that Snyder excels when he’s able to add in all the scenes and details otherwise removed by the studio, allowing his movies to be so much more coherent, compelling, and fleshed out. With this extra space, he even gets to go all out with this Chekov’s gun mentality, in which many major details and minor plot points brought up, in the beginning, are often referenced or in some way resolved in the end. Even though I nearly forgot about half of these, it’s a very rewarding experience for attentive viewers. Speaking of attention to detail, Snyder’s greater room to breathe allows him to have the film organically connect to and reference other DC movies, cementing its role in the universe and smoothing out any plotholes of the original. He even adds in a couple of extra DC characters and references to the universe, so you got to admit, this man loves comics, even if you don’t think it’s for the right reasons. This love is exactly why the Snyder cut excels, finally allowing the director to bring his grandiose and mythological vision of the DC universe to the small (but intended for big) screen. Oh, and the scenes with Darkseid are pretty cool.

Despite these clear improvements, the movie itself is still pretty flawed and makes a lot of clear sacrifices for its improvements. The first one I’d like to point out is its lack of filter. It doesn’t really justify its four-hour runtime, and while a lot of the newer scenes are necessary, a good amount feels like they go on for a bit too long and could be trimmed down a bit. The first half of the film is the biggest culprit in this, taking a bit too much time for setup and having a lot of scenes that felt like they didn’t even need to be in a specific order. While the film benefits a lot from adding, idk, nearly every scene they filmed, that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be any discretion whatsoever when it comes to editing down its content. The movie really should have been three or three and a half hours instead of a full four, because it was very easy for me to space out in this. I definitely recommend watching it more like a show than a movie, since it’s conveniently divided into “chapters” anyways. Much of my other gripes are pretty standard aspects of Snyder’s work in the DC universe and others, such as the fact that it sacrifices the color of the original for something more detailed yet… monotone (it’s almost all in this sleek, charcoal shade), the fact that Superman is a bit more of an asshole than he should, and weird soundtrack choices. Finally, the ending is a bit strange and also kind of drags, where it would be much more fitting for its final scenes to be separated into a post-credits sequence, but alas, I don’t know if that works as well in streaming.

Even though it’s definitely still a flawed product, I have reached the conclusion that the Snyder Cut was very much worth making, and definitely worth watching, if you can stomach a four-hour superhero movie. I give it a 7.9/10.

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duckapus · 6 years

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Danny Phantom Ghost Origin Categorization

First, for the sake of my sanity I’ll be limiting this to things shown or said on the show. Widely accepted fanon and wiki knowledge unfortunately do not count, and as usual Butch gets no say.

The categories are as follows: Confirmed Dead, which is self-explanatory; Presumed Dead, since most of the ghosts don’t have defined backstories; Naturally Formed, which were made from the Ghost Zone’s ectoplasm without any spirit attached; Artificial, which is also self-explanatory except for a minor detail that I’ll bring up when it becomes relevant; Concepts, which are the physical manifestation of a particular idea or natural force; and Other, for ghosts that I don’t have enough context to put in the other categories. And also Boxed Lunch. Boxed Lunch is weird.

With all that said, let’s begin.

Confirmed Dead

Desiree (died of old age, trauma of broken heart created ghost form)

Sidney Poindexter (suicide)

The Dairy King (cause of death unknown, confirmed due to picture of his living form in Vlad’s mansion)

Cujo the Ghost Dog (euthanized, the only ghost known to have changed his obsession)

The Lunch Lady (cause of death unknown, confirmed due to her knowledge of Casper High’s cafeteria menu and room layout marking her as having either worked or learned there in the past)

The Flying Dutchman (cause unknown, likely drowning via shipwreck, yes I know he’s a Spongebob character but due to the Nicktoons games he and Danny have technically met, confirmed due to admitting it outright)

Danny Phantom (electrocuted by ghost portal, instantaneous, only half)

Vlad Plasmius (electrocuted by ghost portal, succumbed to wounds in hospital long afterwards, only half)

Half-ghost Jack Fenton (electrocuted by ghost portal, succumbed to wounds in hospital long afterwards, only half, exists in alternate timeline)

Hotep RA (cause unknown, confirmed due to originally serving Tucker’s ancestor/former self, Pharaoh Duulaman)

Presumed Dead

Ember McLain (likely burned to death, fears being forgotten)

The Box Ghost (likely crushed by rectangular containers, considers them powerful weapons)

Penelope Spectra (cause unknown, lives off the misery of others, masquerades as a living human)

Nicolai Technus (probably electrocution, might actually be the Concept Ghost of technology though it’s unlikely)

Youngblood (cause unknown, dislike of and inability to be seen by adults may imply neglect)

Walker and his men (likely law enforcement who fell in the line of duty)

Lydia (cause unknown, loyal to crime lord Freakshow the Ringmaster for reasons unknown)

Elastica (cause unknown, trapped under Freakshow’s control for an indeterminate amount of time)

Goliath (cause unknown, trapped under Freakshow’s control for an indeterminate amount of time)

Green Kid (cause unknown, trapped under Freakshow’s control for an indeterminate amount of time)

Ghost Writer (cause unknown, might actually be Concept Ghost of literature)

Jonny 13 and Kitty (cause unknown, likely a motorcycle accident)

Baby Face Boyle (cause unknown)

Klemper (cause unknown, very lonely)

Some background ghosts

The Kingdom of Aragon (specifically its people)

Naturally Formed

Ectopi

Other ghost animals

Blob Ghosts

Some background ghosts (look at the happy green ghost that shows up sometimes and tell me that he doesn’t look sort of like an advanced ectopus)

Skulker (it just seems that way)

Artificial

Ecto Food (Jack Fenton is making carnivorous green macaroni and cheese and will continue to make carnivorous green macaroni and cheese unless we stop him)

Danny Clones (created by Vlad using Danny’s ghost form DNA, unstable)

Dani Phantom (created by Vlad using Danny’s ghost and human form DNA, stabilized by failed prototype of ghost weakening serum created by Jack Fenton)

Shadow (an extension of Jonny 13’s power, has a will of its own)

Lydia’s tattoos (extensions of Lydia’s power)

Sleepwalkers (extensions of Nocturne’s power, I think)

Nightmerica, Femalien and Terminatra (created by Desiree due to Sam Manson unintentionally “wishing” to hurt Paulina Sanchez)

Sayonara Pussycat (created by Desiree due to Paulina wishing to be as popular as the character, extracted from host by Danny Phantom)

Tucker Phantom (created by Desiree due to Tucker wishing for ghost powers, extracted from host by the Fenton Ghost Catcher)

Dan Plasmius (created by combining Danny Phantom and Vlad Plasmius after splitting them from their human halves in an alternate timeline, exists in the current timeline due to complicated Time Stuff)

Freakshow (created via the Reality Gauntlet, existed for all of a few minutes)

And now we get into that other part I mentioned. Basically, if something has the ghostly aura (that white outline we all love so much) without being directly affected by a ghost, I register that as the thing having its own ectoplasmic field, and thus technically a ghost itself. The Fenton Exo-suit’s Phantom form doesn’t count, since it only has the aura if a ghost is piloting it. This is mostly just so I can add more things to the list, honestly

Red Huntress 2.0 (created via a combination of the Red Huntress 1.0 suit and Technus’s power, you can pry this idea from my cold dead ectoplasmicly charged hands) (note: this does not make Valerie a ghost, just her suit)

Skulker’s Body (created by Skulker; a robotic suit of armor infused with his ectoplasmic signature; motor functions, sensors, physical projectiles and flight system do not require ectoplasm to function)

Car-Puter (remote controlled robot created by Technus, I know it’s from Phantom Planet but it was really cool guys)

The Sphinx (I think. Maybe. It seemed that way at least)

The Flying Dutchman’s Ship (an echo of his original, currently wrecked ship)

Youngblood’s Ship (possibly an extention of his power, I’m not sure, fueled by manual labor)

Jonny’s Motorcycle (the thing can fly)

Concepts

Clockwork and the Observants (spirits of Time)

Pandora and her kingdom (spirits of Greek Mythology)

Undergrowth (spirit of Vegetation)

Vortex (spirit of Weather and Natural Disasters)

Pariah Dark (the Ghost King, not actually a Concept Ghost but very similar)

Fright Knight (spirit of Fear in general and Halloween in particular, right-hand man of whoever wields the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage, usually Pariah Dark)

Nocturne (spirit of Dreams, far less powerful than the other concept ghosts without aid)

Other

Frostbite and the Yetis of the Far Frozen

Wulf (seriously, he’s cool, but Esperanto-speaking Wolf-man doesn’t exactly give me much to work off of)

Monster Cat

The Behemoth

Vlad’s Vulture Lackeys

Ember’s Band

Poindexter’s Classmates (are they extensions of Poindexter’s power turned inwards or just the ghost versions of themselves, just as consumed by what happened to him as he is?)

Pariah Dark’s Skeleton Army

Youngblood’s Skeleton Crew, especially the Parrot

Bertrand

Amorpho (shapeshifters in general, since I can’t fall back on my Warp Core theory during this)

Boxed Lunch (oh, very much Boxed Lunch)

Most of the background ghosts, especially the butcher with an eyeball for a head

Edit: Can’t believe I forgot the title. I should’ve just gone to bed.

#danny phantom #theory crafting #list #organization #i spent way too much time on this #phandom

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sillyfudgemonkeys · 5 years

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My stance on P5 (cause apparently I need to explain myself :/)

So someone just told me someone was vagueing about me on the confessions blog (can’t say my name cause it’s against the rules but they’ll try to get as specific as they can 🙃 if you have issues just be a real anon hater and send to my inbox directly you coward). And I’m not going to do a reblog to that post, because I’m pretty sure that person must be on my blog. Because the post they were vagueing me about was......not tagged.....in the P5 tagged (I did not tag it as P5 nor Persona 5), it was just a post that was on my blog (now if it showed up in the tag or search I dunno why but I didn’t tag it for P5 for a gd reason cause I keep it to my blog). The post was me pointing out how P5 when they first enter Futaba’s dungeon they didn’t have shoes on, but after the cutscene they DID. The post was more comical (with me getting salty in the tags, but then you’d have to go out of your way to read my tags). And tbh, I’m half and half, yeah I know it’s a nitpick, and I’d just chalk it up to an animation error and let it go usually, but it’s P5 and that game is already inconsistent with it’s plot/world building/characters/anything important that I’m like “nah I’mma rag on it cause it’s just one more thing they screwed up” so I’m like half let it go and half rag on it (fun fact, when I saw they didn’t have shoes on I was gonna make a post saying “hey look this is cool, nice attention to detail” and then they messed it up literally 2 seconds later so dklsjf;afa yeah). (oh and btw, it wasn’t just “one” character, it was the whole PT cast at the time 8U” at least get it right 8U)

But the thing is......that was just a post on my blog, I’m not me berating the P5 tag. So that means you, person who vagued me, tend to go on my PERSONAL BLOG. So like....why are you on here? No, don’t ask me about me and P5, I will answer that, but you answer why are you bothering looking at my personal blog? Is it cause of certain content I post? Then just blacklist certain tags (like my “silly plays” tag cause nothing really interesting happens in that tag, or my more negative “persona problems” type tags), I know I need to be better at tagging my asks, but if you like my original content then just.....go to the OG content tags (aka videos/pictures/edits/coloring)? That way you avoid anything not made by me? Or if you don’t have a reason and you’re just here to be mad cause someone doesn’t like your game, then block me. You don’t seem to like me, so just....why are you here? You seem to want to ask why I’m here with P5, and I have my reasons, but if you don’t have a reason to be on my blog then why are you on it?

I’m not saying this to be mean, but I don’t want to be policed, esp if someone is going to be hypocritical about it. And it’s annoying to see vaguing (cause imo you are as bad as someone who sends anon hate, but you don’t have the balls to just send it to me directly XP)

Ok now where’s my stance on P5? I don’t like it, but it’s a part of a larger series and lore which I do LOVE! Which means, considering I’m a LORE WHORE, it doesn’t feel right to just skip a game esp if it could contain info about the MegaTen/Persona lore (or even Character lore) I want to know. In fact, I really hate it when I’m talking lore with someone and if expanded info is brought up from a side game they are like “Oh I didn’t play that game so it’s not canon” No Bethany, just because YOU didn’t play a game doesn’t mean it’s not canon. And no, no one is bullying you over the fact you didn’t play it, you just don’t like being wrong and the person was like “Ok well it IS canon and it’s in the game, you don’t have to play it but you.....can’t ignore this fact, also why are you arguing this part of the lore when it’s heavily established in said game you ignored???? I mean you do you but don’t get mad when someone corrects you. No one’s forcing you to do anything.” Ahhhhrrrrgggh so many convos I’ve seen happen, I’m not going to be on the end that I hate. DX<

Also, P5 is not the entire Persona fandom, so while I put up with it and indulge in it by association, it doesn’t have the ownership of the fandom (like with all the original games+ spinoffs+all remakes/ports and P5S/P5R included, but not mobile games, it’s only 23% of all of Persona in terms of game entries, and that’s overlapping with crossover games, and if we included other stuff P5 is def a minor aspect in terms of entries). It’s not that hard, I’m just a bigger all around Persona fan than I am a Persona 5 critic (I don’t want to say hater, because it feels like it sounds like I’m hating it just to hate it, when really it was a game I was excited for and loved and then it just burned me bad and I’m just dealing with the scorn). Always keep in mind, I loved P5 before I hated it, it’s probably why I’m as salty about it as I am, because I love P5′s potential and....I was just let down (it wasn’t unrealistic expectations, like I said earlier, P5 contradicts itself.....all over the place, it’s hard to ignore and it’s not something that was as big of an issue, or even an issue at all, in other games).

Why do I still post P5 stuff when I don’t like P5 (by which I mean...posting about the OG manga raws, or wanting to do a partial game to anime dub or even would be willing to help with editing a fandub for the anime)? Because I remember being a newbie Persona/Megaten fan, getting into the series, and wanting to know more about it and it’s side materials but then not being able to have access it any of it (because it was still prettty niche when I first joined and I had no money at the time). I want to give people access to it! Sure it’s harder for me to now to devote time to it (than it was a few years ago), but I want to help with giving access to this Persona/Megaten stuff now that I have some ability! And it also means P5 as well gets some of that love. 8U

As for why I was replaying P5, so this is one thing that’s making me wonder if you are a regular on my blog or not because I’ve been talking about playing the Korean version (but in my one post I forgot to type “silly plays P5/Persona 5 KOREAN” so yeah I forgot to specify Korean at the end). So tbh....I’m actually ignoring P5′s writing while I play (cause I’m just going through the gameplay motions), cause I don’t know korean. 8U And I’m mostly using that tag as a means to point out different things in the korean ver (no that much, but yes Ryu’s shoes ARE censored 8U). But why? Well.....I talk about it here and there but anon/person....1) I’m a trophy whore, I love plat trophies and P5′s is super easy I can get it (and I’m not above playing bad games, oh yeah burn, I’ve played a lot of bad games for plats, and I’ve also played the same games multiple times for plats, I do this to myself but really I don’t mind replaying P5 4+ times for 4+ plats esp since I don’t really have to pay attention). 2) I’m a big MegaTen/Persona collector, I want all the plats I can have (I plan on platting the other versions of the all the dancing games on Vita and PS4, P4G, and the versions of Catherine I don’t have, like I legit have a gd excel sheet keeping track of the versions of Megaten games I don’t have yet....I’m just doing P5 cause it’s 1) one of the easiest to do and 2) it was easier to get my hands on them atm). I don’t talk about my trophy hunting on here that much tbh, but that’s.....really a big reason why I’m doing it (plus with the Korean/CHinese ver I don’t have to pay attention to any story so it’s all good! :D) Yeah I do it to myself, but I don’t really mind. 8U And I mean I tend to keep most of my P5 issue on my blog too. I think the only two posts that I put in the P5 tag were 1) a few consistency issues I wanted to meme about (aka the I’m about to head out post, which was actually the 2nd post I made on that topic but I decided to just meme that one, so I thought it was better than me just bitching, at least I tried to make it a bit funny yet informational 8U), and 2) something that I tbh had an issue since I back when I liked P5 (aka wishing they worked on speeding up the loading times and the fast forward feature), so since I was playing the game I was like “That reminds me, man I hope they fix this in the re-release!”. As for english P5, the only reason I’ll be playing P5 OG in english is for either archiving reasons or research reasons (probably both at once so I don’t have to play through it more than once again).

As for P5R, uhhhhh I’m excited for Kasumi (Jose is cool too, and the new dungeon has me interested too, and all the P2 demons coming back to it makes me wonder what else is/if anything is coming back), she’s my main draw. Yeah it’s connected to P5R, but she looks so much like Hamuko I JUST HAVE TO KNOW WHAT’S UP WITH HER! Hamuko’s my girl, and I need to know if Atlus is going to do something with that, or if I need to be pissed for them literally lifting Hamu’s face! Am I gonna get pissy about P5R’s new add-ons (aka, I’m aware that P5R is probably going to keep the issues from OG P5, so I’mma just judge P5R based on it’s new content)? Yeah, if they kept up the same writing P5 OG had. So yeah, I’m probably going to get pissy if they eff it up, but I’m not going in pissy, going in with really low expectations tbh, but I’m giving it a chance. But if they don’t eff up the new stuff then......that’s good! It means they did something right. So far Kasumi is not Marie so we’re off to a good start. I’m hoping the keep that momentum. 8U

So yeah, I think I have valid reasons for staying, maybe you don’t like it anon/person, but they are there.

tldr; someone feels like the need to police me despite the fact they could just ignore me (even tho it seems like they specifically came to my blog to get mad, rather than me clogging up the tag, like I post there maybe once or twice every 2 months). My stance on P5 is that I deal with it cause it’s part of a bigger fandom I’m a part of and the fact I love the lore of that bigger fandom so it’s not like I can ignore it. I also have a Playstation trophy problem. 8U And I’m excited for Kasumi is that so bad???? (also I didn’t mention it, but Anne/Haru are enough to keep me around 8U)

#silly talks #i'm actually on my last 3 trophies for korean so after that i"m going to chinese #I don't mind the new teacher #not my main draw but I'll give him a shot #also mementos mission is a good manga to read #not canon and still perpetuates issues with mako's character #and the fact that those guys totally gave that one shadow a mental shutdown i'm not letting that go (esp since if they did that'd be so #INTERESTING please dont' let that go to waste mangaka ;w;)#but the mystery is really fun and I like it #i really need to post those raws tho #fdklsajf;lakjfl;a i just....oh man......it's a lot #it's easy to find me and look at my trophies #i have 151 plats yeah I have issues #getting plats is fun ok???? :w;#but yeah I'll try to get working on the P5 OG raws #i love anne and haru ok????#sure I have issues with their writing but I just really like them still

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drag-queen-jesus · 5 years

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So I finally got around to watching that Disney Nutcracker movie... like.

(warning for Spoilers for Nutcracker and the Four Realms if you haven't seen it and still care)

(TL;DR - I didn't exactly care about this movie, here's why)

okay, thats not quite true, I mean, don't get me wrong, theres not much I loved about it, but its mostly harmless in terms of Disney's live-action roster of films.

I enjoyed the design of the castle, and I appreciated the step away from the source material, like at least its something different. That being said, I felt throughout the entire run time that it was trying too hard to be something else. I felt like I'd seen all this before, and then I put it together.

Nutcracker and the Four Realms feels too much like it's trying to be Narnia (2005), Alice in Wonderland (2010), and it just rubs me the same way Beauty and the Beast (2017) did, which is to say, the wrong way. And its not even ripping the good parts of the films it's trying to be (excluding BatB, there's nothing redeeming about that film and no one can tell me otherwise, this is the hill I will die on), the main, while leagues better than Mia Wasikowska and Emma Watson, still manages to fall into the realm of "I just experienced magic for the first time and my only reaction is a disinterested sort-of-open mouth". Seriously, she enters the magical world through her godfathers house while looking for her Christmas present, and she makes it a long way - like a good 15 minutes into the adventure - before she even expresses ANY sort of emotion about it, like, girl you just walked into the set of Narnia - you think I'm joking, don't you - and you don't even comment on it???? I remember watching the commentary for the Narnia film, and Georgie Henley saying that they'd blindfolded her and led her to the lamppost set so they could film her genuine first reaction, and you can feel it in that performance, her starry-eyed wonder feels real. Its a similar situation here, but again, Clara doesn't have any reaction to suddenly stepping out of a tree trunk and being in a winter wonderland. It kinda bugged me.

Then we find out that her mother is the queen of the magical world, and she's a princess. Cool, right? No reaction, nothing, no thought as to how odd it is that her mother is queen at all, its just brushed over. Okay, we won't talk about that either, look at the pretty scenery... except the very next scenes are in a dark forest that isn't very interesting, so now I'm just thinking how weird it is that she's just going with it and not asking any questions whatsoever, or being awestruck by anything. Its like how Alice in the Burton films through over half of that movie is all "this is a dream so it doesn't matter", Clara's whole thing is "well I need to find the key to this present my mother gave me, so none of this other stuff is important". Hello child, what do you even mean, all of this is important, and I'd like to know more about it, but no we aren't gonna learn anything about anyone in this film are we? Certainly not the nutcracker soldier, Phillip, ya know, the namesake of the story?

I'm gonna go off on a tangent for a sec, bare with me. So in the story of the Nutcracker (like, the ballet and the various other variations of the story), at least, any version I've seen, the Nutcracker has always been a prince and its always been Main Girl (there's a few different name variations depending on the story) that breaks a curse or spell or choose-your-reasoning over the nutcracker that made him... well, a nutcracker. Different things happen throughout the story depending on the version, but the nutcracker is always a nutcracker. This film follows a different beat, obviously, but here's just sort of a guy. We don't learn anything about him, he's not a nutcracker we have to break the spell over - they keep calling him a nutcracker, and I guess we see him in a flashback where he's a nutcracker ornament and not, you know, the actual nutcracker we see her little brother Fritz playing with earlier in the movie - he's not very interesting, but by the end of the movie it acts like we and the main character are supposed to care about him. And maybe I missed something, but I just didn't. Like congrats on being promoted to head guard or whatever, but I'm ready to move on.

Speaking of the movie treating itself as if important things happened, I don't know where I zoned out - I didn't - but somewhere at the hour mark everybody is talking as if important life-changing things have been happening the entire movie. And I'm sitting here thinking 'what are you talking about, nothing has happened'. We met three other characters who we will proceed to learn nothing about (and also my two favorite characters in the entire film who didn't get nearly enough screen time, hats off to the two guards), and therefore not care about when things get bad, and then we had a minor scuffle with the 'bad guy' (the one thing I can say is that I understand why people have a fear of clowns now). Everyone is acting like we're at the precipice right before the final battle, and Clara's all "i thought I'd find the answers, but I'm just as lost as I was when I got here" as if anyone over the age of 8 hadn't already figured out the 'everything you need is inside' is the most obvious metaphor you could put in a movie why did you have to make it so blatant if you were gonna do it anyway???

And THEN, we finally get to the biggest trope of them all, boy am I sick of this ESPECIALLY in Disney movies. They go and pull a 'the person you thought was bad is good, and the person you thought was good is bad' with the Sugarplum fairy of all people. This is the same thing that happened with Frozen and Zootopia, where it almost basically came out of nowhere (I'd watch it again to see if I missed anything, but honestly I don't think I did, I didn't see any hints), and there's barely any rhyme or reason to it. Like they give a reason. She's sad that Clara's mom left them and she has some kind of abandonment issues that I would've LOVED to see given just a bit more screen time but NOOOOOO here's another thing we won't talk about in any kind of meaningful detail. We don't really know why she turned against Mother Ginger (the original 'bad guy') specifically, and then the movie basically kills her, like, I don't agree with what you did, but dang.

The battle at the end, which I remember being a big part of the trailers that I'd seen, but don't quote me on that, was so very underwhelming. You had an army of tin soldiers come to life and set to go attack Mother Ginger, and you had not only the real army all locked up together that you could've released, but you had the "mouse King", the nutcracker and Mousrinks, Mother ginger, and Clara and her inventor schtick basically alone with the machine that brings toys to actual life, and we get shown her holding a box full of mechanical wind-up mice, so I'm thinking I know where this is going, she's gonna distract the tin soldiers, and bring the wind-ups to life to fight against the soldiers, its gonna be a big fight before the climax. But no, we get those weird roley-poley clown matryoshka things knocking a few of them over and then Ginger with a whip attacking the soldiers while Clara tries to turn off the machine (which I'm still not entirely sure if she did).

Cue one of the "she didn't leave me alone, she didn't leave you alone" speeches where the main tries to appeal to the villains better nature. Cue probably murder, I'm not actually sure since all the residents of the realms apparently started out as toys anyway. Cue the supposed heartfelt goodbye between the nutcracker and Clara. Cue Clara going back to the party and acting like nothing happened in what looks like its supposed to be a tongue-and-cheek way with her godfather who OBVIOUSLY knows that that magic world is a thing, but doesn't mention it. Cue an apology to the father and admitting that they both miss the dead mother, because of course there's a dead mother, it's a Disney film. Cue owl we don't know anything about flying away ala Labyrinth ending. The end.

It was all very... underwhelming. Like, I appreciated what it was attempting to be, and I really appreciated the CGI more that I have in any of their other recent live action anythings, but it just didn't work for me. Like I said, it felt like it was trying to hard to be something else, to the point in which it doesn't feel like it even has an identity as Disney's Nutcracker. That coulee been something, "Disney's the Nutcracker", but honestly it's so not its own thing that I forgot it was even a thing for a whole year, it didn't have anything that drew me in, it didn't have anything that originally made me even want to see it (I remember seeing the trailers while I was still recovering from BatB and even then I could tell because it marketed itself as "from the makers of Beauty and the Beast"), the only reason I even put it on was because I'm working on another project and I was curious about different adaptations of the story. Its not the worst offender Disney's put on their team, not by a long long shot, and it is mostly harmless - to the point of boredom - but I don't know if I'll ever go back it.

#the nutcracker #the nutcraker and the four realms #nutcracker #the nutcracker and the mouse king #nutcracker review

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gosatsuvns · 5 years

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Weekly Update #276 - Minor Details Of Major Importance

Work on background art continues! Unfortunately, I can't really show anything regarding my progress on Ryuunosuke's room just yet, not even another new preview for patrons. It's almost done now though, missing just a few more tiny details... of rather huge importance! Which leads me into today's topic and to something I can actually show you, even if you might have already seen it before: the main hall of the Kaseki Residence in its original state, prior to the incident that sparked GENBA no Kizuna's events.

It's difficult to elaborate on without getting into spoilers, but working on the BG for Ryuunosuke's room required me to go back to the main hall as well. Now that the details of the case have been set in stone, I needed to make some adjustments. The biggest difference you will notice is the addition of a giant red carpet. This actually has nothing to do with the case. It's something I decided to do due to some feedback I've received after the release of our extended demo.

The lower half of the background looked pretty dull and empty, since it merely depicted the dark floor. In many instances, you don't really notice, since the textbox is taking up that space. However, it's very noticeable during the investigation segments. So in order to bring a bit more color into all the darkness, I simply decided to add a big, red carpet.

Now, let's get to the minor changes, which you might not even really notice at all. The skull on the upper right door has changed from Velociraptor to Triceratops, indicating that this room now belongs to Terano rather than Shiku (each member of the Raptor Pack has the skull of their favorite dinosaur on the door to their room).

On the BG, this is a very tiny change. But for the story, it has major importance. Obviously, I cannot go into detail about this without getting into spoilers, but it is extremely important that that specific room now belongs to Terano.

The other change is the addition of a supporting pillar under the belly of our big ol' Rexy. Why was this necessary? Well, in order to keep her from taking a nosedive, due to the weight of all the elaborate and heavy machinery inside of her, of course (there are anchors holding her feet in place too, but those are hidden by the fake grass).

I had wanted to add this pillar for a long while now, but waited until I knew what other changes were necessary, so that I could actually finish this background up for good. And now that time has finally come! What you can see above is the final version of this background, with all the important details in place. Needless to say, that supporting pillar is going to play a big part in solving the mystery, too.

It's things like these that make background art for a murder mystery quite a headache sometimes. They need to be meticulously crafted, just like the mystery itself. The same is going on with Ryuunosuke's room right now. Just today, I noticed another tiny detail I forgot to add... which is actually of major importance. Once that one's added, however, I will finally have finished that BG as well!

Anyway, before we come to a close for today, I'd like to let our patrons know that the poll for the New Year's artwork is now up, so be sure to head over to Patreon and let us know which character you'd like to see featured first in 2020!

Now, as always, please enjoy the rest of your weekend and, until next Saturday, take care! :3

#shinrai #genba #visualnovel #visual novel #visual novel development #vn #evn #vndev #interactive fiction #game development #gamedev #indiedev #indie game #indie #murder mystery #detective game #background art

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sionnach-uaine · 5 years

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I just had an epiphany as to just how much of an impact the Fate series has had on me. This long boi (tm) is pretty personal, so go ahead and just ignore this if you don’t care.

TLDR; I have Stockholm Syndrome for Fate.

Firstly, on a whim I download a game that apparently had a character (Jekyll) whose design kind of reminded me of another character (of all characters it was America from Hetalia lmao). A couple minutes in I running around with the very first folkloric hero I’d ever heard of (Robin Hood) who also simultaneously kickstarted my interest in mythology, and this dude who’s an almost carbon copy of my brother (Cu Chulainn; for better or for worse :v). Then suddenly this blonde kid with a déjà vu inducing name (Gilgamesh [Lily]) poofs into existence. However I couldn’t remember why the name was familiar for the life of me; just that it was ancient Sumerian.

Secondly, I get around to checking out the original VN and two familiar faces show up. A little knight lady who I had only seen in passing (Artoria) and that one guy who despite being Japanese has a chant in a English who is a minor meme in the Salty Bet circle (EMIYA). Days of reading walls of text later, eventually the golden bastard, who I didn’t recognize at first to be honest, show ups and one ups literally everyone with one of the most severe cases of overkill I’ve ever seen towards another who I didn’t recognize immediate, but still knew the story of in quite detail (Medea). At this point, a bunch of terminology related Gilgamesh came around (specifically “chains of heaven” stuck quite a bit) and gave me more déjà vu.

Thirdly, I find out about a side series (Extra) in which the golden bastard can be a playable main character (CCC). In which you also have a character who’s the type to shut out, forget, and bottle up all their problems to the point of damaging their mental health (Jinako). There was also a retelling of Fate’s version of “the Epic of Gilgamesh” done in segments through the game that put the final nail in the coffin.

See when I was ~10 I made up a list to eventually work through for studying mythologies: 1. English 2. American 3. Sumerian. 4. Irish & Scottish 5. Chinese A weird jumps, I know, but I am weird so it’s whatever. When I was 12-14, I forgot everything from that time period due to mental health reaching a bit of critical point. Immediately out of that haze, I repeatedly thought “maybe it might’ve been easier to get through if I kept up with doing what I enjoy like studying myths.” As I can now remember, I did continue to study and I was onto Sumeria at that point. Unfortunately, I could only bring myself to through about half the epic however.

Years later I’m suddenly remembering 3 years worth of memories that I can see now were mostly good now that I don’t have to look through the lens of depression. All this because I took a chance on some bizarre gacha game that I didn’t know a thing about. I’ve found it in me now to be able to continue when I find the time, and I’ve also used that list as a director for another hobby of mine; learning languages.

While I’m personally someone who usually can’t stand “that waifubait/fanservice shit”, I find myself pretty accepting of it for Fate and Fate alone, because this perfect storm of a series has indirectly aided me in finding myself again that I’ll honest to God probably still be making shitty jokes about it long after the series dies off. Well, if it does die anyway. Some series have being running much longer (I.E. most of Marvel and DC properties are fucking OLD my guy).

#personal #long boi #Fate series #fate stay night #fate extra ccc #Fate Grand Order #fgo

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toffee-biscuits · 6 years

Photo

Finally decided to open commisions TvT ! See below for more info!

Prices (All prices in euros)

Bust

-Sketch: 5€

-Lines: 10€

-Flat colour: 12€

-Full colour: 15€

Mid way

-Sketch: 10€

-Lines: 15€

-Flat colour: 17€

-Full colour: 20€

Full body

-Sketch: 15€

-Lines: 20€

-Flat colour: 22€

-Full colour: 25€

Chibi

-Sketch: 10€

-Lines: 12€

-Flat colour: 15€

-Full colour: 17€

-Extra character/s

+½ for 1 extra char

+2/3 each up to 3 extra chars

[ex: If you only want one extra character, and are getting a full colour bust, you’d pay 15 for one char and 7,50 for the other; but if you wanted 2 or 3 extra, you’d pay 10 for each of them, on top of the original 15 to a total of 35 or 45.]

-Background*

+Flat: 0 (Plain, gradient, pattern, etc)

+Simple: 10€ (Lineless, unplanned)

+Complex: 20€ (Lined, planned)

[* Does not apply to sketches, they do not come with a background]

If you need more examples, feel free to check out all of my art on this blog or go to my portfolio (linked in the blog)

Will/won’t

Will

+Ocs

+Fandoms*

+Ships*

Won’t

-Nsfw/fetish

-Gore

-Mech/complicated designs**

-Animals/Furries***

-Real people****

-Hate art of any form

[ Unless…

* it makes me uncomfortable.

** I can heavily simplify.

*** it’s just cat ears or similar (ie nekogirl)

**** you personally know them (ie friends/family) ]

Terms and conditions!

By commissioning me, you agree that…

you will not edit the art work

you will not remove my signature from the art work

the art work is for personal use only and can not be redistributed without explicit permission

payments are non-refundable, unless there was a miscalculation

I retain full rights over the artwork to use for whatever purpose, including, but not limited to, profit, and posting whenever wherever I want

I reserve the right to refuse or cancel a commission at any point. Reasons include: uncomfortable subject matter, inappropriate behaviour, and refusal to cooperate

Note

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editordraws · 6 years

Photo

As I said in my short summary post, there are a few things I've left open while season 2 finishes coming out (and to be honest I might forget to add a few things that I have now). But here's everything about the AU so far (some stuff at the very bottom are just things that informed my thought process with this Moon Varian but are fine to skip). (Anything I didn't come up myself with is credited, so if something is similar to what someone else has said then it's probably just something that intuitively makes sense to a lot of people).

Plot and Assumptions

Even though the Sun is older, the Sun and the Moon each drop their magic on the Earth around the same time

The dewdrops from the Moon create the Moonstone (as opposed to the opal in the show — reasoning under the Moonstone section)

I'm leaving how the Moonstone gets to the Dark Kingdom open until I see what canon has to say, which I'll either keep if I like it or change to make it make more sense in the AU

Thanks to Quirin's royal status as King Edmund's younger brother, the Moonstone is used to help Varian's mother give birth

(I actually wasn't originally a fan of the Dark Heir theory, but now I think it has merit after finding two of @uniiiquehecrt's posts on it (x) (x) when I was looking for Varian screenshots)

I'm still deciding if the Moonstone was used to help conception or childbirth

Or both?

Because the dew drop made a stone and not a flower, Varian is able to have Moon powers while the Moonstone still exists, making him a child of the Moon(stone) instead of becoming the Moonstone itself

Side note: Varian is born during a blue moon which is why his hair is on the blue side

He was born with bluish white hair but his parents had it cut and left one streak of the original (the opposite of Rapunzel's hair situation)

The Moonstone destroys the Dark Kingdom with the black rocks and Quirin escapes to Old Corona with his wife and Varian, where he becomes a vassal to the king (x)

Varian's mother dies in Old Corona

Season one progresses with some changes (see below)

The reason the Moonstone sent out the black rocks was because there's a threat to the Sun — the Water Snake — in the Dark Kingdom

It first tried to flush the threat out by destroying the kingdom, and when that didn't work it began seeking the aid of the Sun to make a preemptive strike, since it will take both the Sun and the Moon to defeat (idea of an evil that takes both to defeat came from an anon on @ghosta-r's tumblr)

There's also going to be some sort of Fire Lion, although I haven't quite worked out the details yet

I'm also going to figure out how to work in a Sundial and Moondial

No love interests will be included that are not already in canon

Changes to Season One

First Half of Season One

The first change is that Varian doesn't get a crush on Cassandra, making it easier to do this:

One other major event takes place before "Great Expotations", which addresses Varian's hero-worship of Eugene and help sow more seeds for Varian's eventual face-heel turn

I don't have a concrete set of events yet, but the general idea is that Eugene fails to live up to Varian's expectations as a hero (while also using Varian)

Varian's hero-worship gets transferred to Cassandra, who actually has the traits he looked up to in "Flynn Rider"

I also don't have a specific event for this, but between "Great Expotations" and "Queen for a Day" the main trio are going to get Varian's help for something but each let him down in some way that he can overlook at the time

During "Queen for a Day" the bridge to the mainland is almost completely destroyed, all the boats that were in the water or left outside are inoperable, and Max & Fidella are badly injured

After "Queen for a Day", Rapunzel plans to stay long enough to make sure her parents are okay but then leave to check on Varian

When she asks her father if she can "make sure her friend is alright", he says that she'll have to wait until repairs are done

I'll see if it comes back, but if it doesn't then there's no evil spirit that got released when they used the Demanitus Device

Repairs are just being finished when "The Quest for Varian" comes around, and the three are able to go to Old Corona

This makes it seem like they forgot about Varian, but it was just more miscommunication

And there's no out-of-left-field "Varian attacked Rapunzel during the storm"

The Alchemist's Return

Varian doesn't know that people don't trust him — he just wasn't going to count on the trio's help to get in

Varian has a map of the castle that he found with his father's stuff showing the secret passageways

He doesn't go to get Rapunzel's help — Rapunzel sees him and follows him

The rumor that Rapunzel was "attacked" is introduced by Pete while under the truth serum

Nigel had told the guards that Varian attacked Rapunzel during the storm, and although the guards that were there have casually mentioned what actually happened to other guards the rumor spread pretty fast

Varian only slips up by saying the flower is for his father when he and Rapunzel get to it

Rapunzel still offers her help

Varian almost accepts, but the guards arrive at the vault and exclaim "hey, it's the kid that attacked the princess!"

Varian assumes that Rapunzel told everyone that he attacked her and no longer trusts her

He leaves with the flower before Rapunzel can explain

(Honestly, a lot of the season one changes were mostly to give Varian reasonable motivation to attempt regicide)

Secret of the Sundrop

The dialogue where Varian explains his motivation also includes the ways the trio have used and let him down since he met them

Most notably that they were always going to him for help but the one time he went to them they did nothing, even after the storm was over

During the fight, Varian is blown out of the mecha and lands next to a patch of black rocks

When he stands up, a now-exposed part of his hand touches them and his hair turns white with a blue glow (his freckles also glow)

All of the rocks in Old Corona glow, and when the light dies down everyone but Rapunzel and Varian are completely surrounded by the rocks

Varian just stands there in complete shock

Rapunzel runs over to the rocks surrounding her father and grabs onto the them, willing them away even though she "knows" it's futile

Her hair glows and, surprisingly, the rocks recede back into the ground

Rapunzel releases her friends from the rocks

Varian finally speaks up and demands that she free his father

The remaining black rocks flatten, pointing Rapunzel towards the Dark Kingdom

Rapunzel's father orders the guards to detain Varian, but Rapunzel stops them and says that she wants to try freeing Varian's father one more time

It doesn't work and Rapunzel's father tries to finish arresting Varian, but Rapunzel offers Varian the chance to come with her to see where the rocks are leading her

Varian agrees to go to get answers and to avoid being thrown in jail

I'm leaving what happens after this vague for now to wait and see what new information is presented in the rest of season two

The only solid thing I have is Adira offhandedly mentioning that the last time she saw Varian he was a baby before Cassandra tries to fight her

The Moonstone

The power the Moonstone would be known for — causing deterioration and decay in animate and inanimate things by "turning the clock forward" — is activated by humming or whistling a version of the Healing Incantation in a minor key (brilliant ideas from @eckcro! Before that I was just going to write a Moon version of the Healing Incantation lyrics and wasn't sure what the most well-known power of the Moonstone would be haha)

Other powers include making the black rocks grow, cooling things down (goes from cooling off to freezing), calming living things to the point of falling asleep/passing out), and having/causing visions

The Moonstone's powers wax and wane with the cycles of the moon

Although his hair is blue, his power is based in his hands (idea from @ghosta-r)

The black rocks didn't recognize Varian at first because he was always wearing gloves when handling them

The Moonstone seeks to protect Varian while still having the two of them work with the Sundrop to defeat the threat

The Sun and Moon's powers don't work on each other, which is why Rapunzel's hair didn't heal Varian (even though I know they did that to get rid of a deu ex machina in the show) (idea from an anon on @ghosta-r's tumblr)

Additional Powers for the Sundrop

Making the black rocks "wither" (aka go away)

Heating things up — goes from warming to burning/boiling

Affinity with animals

High stamina and energy, as well as boosting other's

Hair propulsion

She can also make her hair glow when she's not using her other powers, which makes Varian's hair glow

Rapunzel and Varian

Some of the ways they each fit their classical planet has more to do with their personalities or situation in life

Rapunzel has a bright personality, operates from her feelings, is good with animals, brings out the best in people, and is now living a life of nobility in Corona, which uses a lot of gold imagery

Varian is intelligent and seeks truth through his study of alchemy

Although he lacks the emotionally stabilizing qualities of a moonstone, those are specifically the things he needs for self-realization, which he will gain as he goes through his AU character arc

Varian also seems to be waning, starting in or close to a "full moon" state at the beginning of the show and slowly going to new moon as the "light" from Rapunzel stops shining on him

As Varian starts letting go of his anger, he'll start waxing to full moon again

A lot of the stuff for the following research sections is directly from the sources with only minor paraphrasing to cut out the unnecessary parts since they're from the notes I used for referencing while I figured out parts of the AU. I'm just including this so people can see where my ideas and interpretations came from.

Moonstone's Metaphysical Properties

Associated with the moon

Provides safe travel, especially over water and at night

Stone of inner growth and strength

Strengthens spiritual purity by shrinking the ego

Soothes emotional instability and stress

Helps balance the emotional body, especially any aggressive tendencies

Helps connect to all the different cycles experienced in life

Supports intelligence

Enhances intuition and insight

Promotes inspiration and freedom of expression

Encourages introspection and judgement

Promotes success, and good fortune in love and business matters

Metal energy enhances togetherness and promotes better functioning as a group

Metal energy is essential for going through life without becoming a victim, even though it is a sharp, hard energy that can be destruction

Helps with PMS, conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and breast-feeding

Putting a moonstone in a child's bedroom alleviates nightmares and provides regular sleep patterns

Blue Moonstone (aka Cat's Eye Moonstone): clarity of the mind and inner vision, keeping one focused when in an altered state of awareness, seeing emotional patterns and life lessons, and balancing energies

Gray Moonstone (aka New Moon Stone): perceiving beyond the veil — useful to the clairvoyant, moving into unseen realms, carries the "mysteries and powers of the new moon, where all things exist as potential"

White Moonstone: stimulates psychic perception, vision, and dreams; can magnify one's emotions, and supportive in children to drive away nightmares or insomnia

Peach or Yellow Moonstone: supports heart as it stimulates the mind, soothes worry or anxiety, brings out the best in people, promotes the divine in all situations, and is an emotional support for intuitive or sensitive children

Rainbow Moonstone: acts as a prism, diffuses energy throughout the area, provides psychic protection, clears the mind and senses, aids in lucid dreaming and calm sleep, deflects negativity, eases emotional trauma, and can connect with the energies and spirits of nature

(Sources: charmsoflight.com, healingcrystals.com, crystalvaults.com)

Mythological Enemies of the Sun and Moon

Apep (or Apophis) the moon serpent in Egyptian mythology: tries to eat the Sun

Apep embodies chaos or death, but was a former sun god

Sköll and Hati, the two wolves from Norse mythology: each eat one of them

(Sources: atlasobscura.com, ancientegyptonline.co.uk)

Research on Alchemy (with some astrology)

The Classical Planets

There are seven "classical planets", and each are associated with a metal, and can also be associated with a part of the body

The Sun rules gold

The Moon, silver

Mercury, quicksilver/mercury

Venus, copper

Mars, iron

Jupiter, tin

Saturn, lead

(Sources: soul-guidance.com, esotericonline.net)

The Sun (Sol)

Based on the alchemical symbol, the Sun is pure spirit

Represents gold and the heart

Signifies completion of the Great Work

In astrology, the Sun is symbolic of the Self that "shines openly" to the people around you — the part that is most visible to the world

Imagery of "the king", the "divine" spark in humans, nobility, and incorruptibility

The green lion devouring the Sun

Considered masculine

In the Rosarium, Sol is called a "great animal" and the Moon is called a "plant"

(Sources: whats-your-sign.com, alchemyfourum.com, nlm.nih.gov)

The Moon (Luna)

Based on the alchemical symbol, the Moon is pure mind

Represents silver — the Lesser Work — and the brain

Silver represents clarity, purity, and brilliance

Silver is one of the three foundation metals in the Prima Materia and is prominently places upon the triune throne of transformation

Reaches stronger potential when joined with the Sun (gold) in the Greater Work

Also has power over the occult

Regarded as a giver of moisture and the ruler of the water-sign Cancer

Strong influence on the alchemical allegory "Secrets Dew", or "The Sap of Life"

Dew from the Moon is used to bring a dragon back to life

The moon is also the aqua mirifica, that which extracts the souls from the bodies or gives bodies life and soul

Galen claimed the Moon was responsible for all physical changes in sickness and health

He also thought its aspects were decisive for prognosis

The ancient alchemical belief that the moon promoted plant growth gradually developed into the idea that moon was a plant itself

In the Rosarium, Sol is called a "great animal" and the Moon is called a "plant"

Considered feminine

Represents fertility, resurrection, occult power, immortality, and intuition

(Sources: whats-your-sign.com, themystica.com, nlm.nih.gov)

The Earth

Based on the alchemical symbol, the Earth is material and spirit in equal parts

Used the Aristotelian belief that Earth was primarily dry and secondarily cold

Earth is associated with salt

Black bile (see the four humours)

(Sources: esotericonline.com, nlm.nih.gov)

Air

One of the four classical elements

Blood since both are "hot and wet (see the four humours)

Combining the "masculine" quality of heat with the "feminine" quality of moisture

The northern point of the compass

(Sources: nlm.nih.gov, frisian.com)

The Four Humours & Temperments

Earth - black bile - black - autumn - afternoon - maturity - cold and dry - sour - spleen or liver - Saturn - Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn - melancholic temperament

Melancholic, meaning tending to depress the spirits, irascible, sad, saddening

Melancholics used to be identified by their pale, sallow looks, their lack of appetite and tendency to withdraw from society. Generally considered healthy to harbour a dose of it --> helped temper our enthusiasms, keep our feet on the ground, practice introspection and contemplation, appreciate art, and empathize with the distress of others.

Water - phlegm - white - winter - evening - old age - cold and moist - salty - brain - moon - Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces - phlegmatic temperament

Phlegmatic, meaning slow, stolid, cool, impassive

Phlegm was associated with slowness, sleepiness, runny noses and lack of drive of any sort. But when present with a relatively high proportion of choler, phlegm was thought to ensure a sense of calm, stability and serenity, as well as a capacity for prolonged concentration and for appropriate judgements and upraisals of situations and people.

Fire - yellow bile - yellow - summer - midday - youth/adolescence - hot and dry - bitter - gall bladder or spleen - Mars - Aries, Leo, Sagittarius - choleric temperament

Choler, meaning the quality or state of being irascible; choleric, meaning angry, irate, irascible; bile, meaning "inclination to anger", spleen; bilious, meaning peevish, ill-natured; gall, meaning bitterness, rancor, insolence; spleen, meaning "mingled ill-will and bad temper"; and jaundiced, meaning envy, dictate, hostility

In a balanced person, the predominance of choler ensured a reactive and quick-tempered character. A choleric was typically able to make decisions well and fast, and preferred action over contemplation. But a surplus of choler could become "burned" and eventually turn into melancholy (melan=black, choler=bile, in Greek). Character could also become acrid and negative; reactivity might then be directed at the wrong objects. This sort of choleric could get angry easily and have episodes of uncontrolled, potentially dangerous rage.

Air - blood - red - spring - morning - childhood - hot and moist - sweet - heart - Jupiter - Gemini, Aquarius, Libra - sanguine temperament

Sanguine, meaning sturdy, confident, optimistic, cheerful, happy

The sanguine person was typically balanced, equanimous, patient, thoughtful, active in a measured way, able to judge people and situations well, and to contain his or her own shifts of moods, as well as those of others. The presence of blood diminished the power exerted by other humours that might have been present in high doses. An excess of it, however, went along with a general insensitivity and indifference to the fate of others.

(Sources: nlm.nih.gov, frisian.com, passionsandtempers.com)

General

Began roughly in the year 100 CE

Reached its peak in medieval times

The word "alchemy" is thought to derive from an Egyptian word, "chem" or "qem", meaning black — a reference to the black alluvial soils bordering the Nile

Additionally, the Greek word "chyma", means to fuse or cast metals

This established itself in Arabic as "al kimia"

Many books on alchemy were translated into Arabic from the Greek before being introduced to European audiences

Allied and intertwined with traditional Babylonian-Greek style astrology

Built to complement each other in the search for hidden knowledge (knowledge that is not common i.e. the occult)

"Alchemy was an art based partly upon experimentation and partly upon magic"

Based on a misunderstanding of basic chemistry and physics

One interpretation of the alchemic planetary symbols considers the nature of spirit, mind and material in order of precedence:

The circle represents spirit, or the soul

The semicircle or crescent represents mind

The cross or arrow represents the physical, material nature

Alchemists based their theories and experiments on the Aristotelian assumption that the world and everything in it are composed of four basic elements (air, earth, fire and water)

This was along with three that were called "essential" substances: salt, mercury and sulfur

Alchemists believed metals were alive and grew inside the Earth

Base or common metals were thought to be a spiritually and physically immature form of higher metals, such as gold

To them, metals were the same thing in different stages of development or refinement on their way to spiritual perfection

(Sources: esotericonline.net, livescience.com)

#tangled the series #tts varian #varian #varian the alchemist #moon varian #moonstone varian #tts #moonstone au #tts au #tangled the series au #sorry for using the same drawing twice #i've had this typed up since sunday and I wanted to share it as soon as i could

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austencello · 6 years

Text

Level 2 - Arrow Music Notes 7x04

Oliver expects to find the Demon in Level 2 and yet ends up being tortured over his own demons. Meanwhile, the legacy of the Canaries continue in the future with Zoe and Dinah.

Oliver in Level 2

Oliver is put into solitary confinement, withheld food and drink, enduring blinking lights, and an extremely annoying buzzing. The chief psychiatrist, Dr. Parker, introduces himself and suggests that Oliver is a danger to the other inmates and himself. He is there to essentially reprogram the violent tendencies that Oliver has and as they begin, an electric guitar theme begins to play. This was first introduced in 7x02 when the guard told Oliver that while others may view him as a hero, they both know better. This theme is a repeated pattern both in the individual notes (playing the same note several times before moving to the next) and the pattern itself. It is used throughout the episode as the Doctor continues to ask him his name and where the source of becoming the Green Arrow originated. Continuous repetition for reprograming Oliver from a violent man and his sins.

The doctor finds Oliver resistant and drugs him with something to help him talk (truth serum?). As he asks Oliver about the turning point from being a playboy to the Arrow, the music from that same flashback in the pilot plays including the hero horn 1 “Sacrifice” (1x01- not to be confused with “Sacrifice” in 1x23) marking the turning point for Oliver musically. As the doctor asks Oliver what he sees, the guitar theme from earlier returns repeating over and over: you are not a hero. Oliver shares that his father asked him to right his wrongs which is why he became a vigilante. The doctor tells him that a father provides a legacy and that Robert provided a legacy of murder (killing the bodyguard), condemning him.

The next time Dr. Parker returns, he brings up William and passing along his legacy of violence on to him. Violins play a minor melody over a repeating timpani beat, reflecting Oliver’s anguish over the life he left for William. As the doctor asks him whether he is concerned that William will be a murderer like him, violins plays the beginning of “Promise Kept” (2x20), when Moira offered her life up for her children and was killed. Oliver’s parents both sacrificed themselves for him and that legacy is something Oliver is willing to do for his son. As the doctor continues to tell him that his mission was tainted from the start, infecting Oliver and his son, and that he must let go of the past, a version of the guitar theme returns. “You are not a hero.” Oliver has heard enough and tells the doctor to go to hell. The jail clanging sound returns from previous episodes over a low bass and dissonant high notes as the doctor decides to use the machine to help him respond appropriately, bringing a feeling of danger.

The machine turns out to be electric shock therapy to “reform” Oliver’s memory of that turning point with Robert. As he remembers that moment again, strings play the slow three notes (going up one note and coming back down) from that scene (and used throughout the pilot) and then switches as William suddenly appears in his memory, having switched places and roles with his own father. The theme “I forgot who I was” (1x05) begins in the cellos. Beside being very on the nose with the title in a moment where his memory is literally being reprogramed, this melody is a key one for both Oliver and William. It is about the Queen family, their lies and consequences and sacrifices. It first played as Diggle told Oliver that things were not going the way he planned when he came back: so many people having questions and doubting him especially Laurel and Thea, or how much he would have to lie to those he loves most (as Walter left Moira for an extended break after her continued lies in order to protect him). “When you were plotting your grand plan to save this city, I don’t think you planned on the effect it would have on the people in your life or how it would hurt them.” Oliver responded that he thinks about it all the time and that not being able to tell them the truth hurts him the most.

The countermelody (additional melody played at the same time) is introduced in that scene when Moira and Walter part ways. This becomes Moira’s theme for a lot of season 1 and 2 “Sad Moira” (1x10) as she deals with the consequences of lying and pushing Walter away to protect him. Both themes return in “Own Worst Enemy” (2x18) when Thea is missing, bringing back Oliver and Moira together. Moira realized that in lying to protect her family she became her own worst enemy: “From the moment your children are born you worry about what the world will do to them, not what you will do to them.” In 2x19, this countermelody returns “Dad knew” as Oliver tells Thea that their Dad knew that Thea was not his daughter but still chose her. “He chose us. He chose you.” In 3x03, “Lose you forever” Oliver tells Thea about their father sacrificing himself for him, telling her that he needs her even if she doesn’t need him. It also returns as he says goodbye to Thea in 6x16. It is a theme of family and sacrifice.

The roles begin to switch from being a son and brother to a father but the theme stays the same as Oliver discovers William’s existence and then meets him “Oliver meets William” (4x08) and then sends him away to protect him: “I wanted to give you a real childhood.” in “Message to William” (4x15) In 6x21, it plays as he says goodbye to William again with possibility of going to prison: “you are strong like me...I am always right here with you.” echoing Moira’s saying the same thing in 2x20 “Never Without Me.”

Now Oliver is reliving the moment with his Dad but as the father with his own son seeing the life cycle of violence and sacrifice being repeated. A repeated harp note tolls under the string melody almost like a death knoll (harp was used in “Message to William”) as he repeats the same words as his father “I will take care of everything. Everything will be fine.” The legacy of sacrifice that his mother and father left him continues through his words as Moira’s countermelody plays while he tells William that he will have an amazing life, he is destined for great things and tells William to forget about him and life his life before killing himself the way Robert did.

The guitar theme returns one last time as Dr Parker asks Oliver his name and Oliver responds with Inmate 4857, implying that the reprograming worked.

The legacy of the Canary

The show has had a legacy of Canaries since the introduction of Sara’s theme as the Canary in 2x03 “Canary”. Each one has their own theme based off the original theme for Sara, first introduced in horn (a hero instrument) but also used frequently in the flute especially when Laurel took over in Season 4.

When Sara was killed, Laurel wanted to find justice and in doing so became the next Canary in Sara’s legacy. She had her own theme that begin 3x02 as she wanted to go after Sara’s killer. This theme “saving the train” (4x01) had the same amount of notes (5) and rhythm as the original Canary theme and also went up but the intervals (distance between notes) were different. It was an imitation but clearly different which fit for Laurel trying to both avenge her sister and wanting to become her sister. This was her primary theme though she occasionally did have the original theme. It was used at her funeral “Laurel was the Black Canary” in 4x19 as Oliver shared her identity to the world and returned as Oliver and Diggle discussed having a new Canary on the team in 5x11 in honor of Laurel’s request.

Of course, since Black Siren is Laurel’s doppleganger, it is only fitting that her theme is both the same but different. Her theme was first introduced in the Flash (2x22) and then in Arrow 5x10 “Laurel, not Laurel.” The theme is the same except for the last note which goes up one extra half step, providing a distinguishing mark that while they may be practically the same, this one is the evil and dissonant version. Her theme returned in this episode as she prepared to scream at the Silencer for answer.

Dinah Drake joined the team in Season 5 and her theme was introduced with her character in 5x10. Her theme “Cemetery Confrontation” (5x14) is based off of Sara’s original Canary theme but like Black Siren’s changed from Laurel’s, Dinah’s changes at the last note, going up one step instead of a sixth. Carrying on the legacy but a different person.

Dinah’s theme is used very sparingly so when it appears, it means you have to take notice. During the flash-forwards, William and Roy enter Smoak Tech, discover a rubix cube from Felicity and are almost caught by the police. As they are rescued by a vigilante with a bo-staff, the music plays Dinah’s Canary theme, the hero rescuing them.

In the present day, Dinah drops by Rene’s apartment to apologize and visit Zoe after being in the hospital. She gives Zoe a canary pin as a new Canary theme plays based off of Dinah’s/Sara’s. Like Dinah’s, the theme stays practically the same except the last note goes down instead of up. The other interesting part is the instrumentation. Instead of horn or flute, Zoe’s is high electronics matching the sound of the future, foreshadowing her appearance in the flash forwards as the new Canary of the next generation (also accompanied by this theme). This electronic sound is used much for the future in this episode which is a similar to sounds used on Legends of Tomorrow in their travels to the future and on the waverider “Where to Next” (Legends 1x06)

Extra Notes:

- I ran out of time to expand on most of the other details. (and my computer keeps losing parts as well instead of saving it!) Only so much time!

- the Longbow theme returned as Felicity tried to get information from the Silencer at the beginning

- there may be a new Green Arrow theme. It played in the horn when he/she rescued Zoe and when Rene and Dinah talked about it later in the hospital. We shall if it returns or just for this episode.

- Rene’s Wild-Dog theme returned as he investigated the fire/Green Arrow

- the music for Felicity and Laurel was darker string patterns as they discuss darkness and whether she is willing to be ruthless.

- I don’t think Felicity is dead. The music are the end match more being shocked and surprised instead of using her themes and instruments (or William’s for that matter). Maybe if they give proof...

@smoakmonster @ah-maa-zing @herskirtsarentthatshort @academyofshipping @mel-loves-all @almondblossomme @scu11y22 @jorahandal @pulpklatura @green-arrows-of-karamel @thegeriatricfangirl

#arrow 7x04 #arrow music notes #oliver queen #black canary #I forgot who I was

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