#what if this is some end game marketing shit so that they can make dead characters playable and keep new banners coming after the game ends

[notthemonthbutmarch]

Genshin People I have a theory! The Traveler is gonna die, but not the one you think.

So, I know I’m late to this but I just did the third act of the Sumeru quest where we learn our Traveler is the Fourth Descender, and I thought the number was really odd. I’d usually expect our protagonist to follow the rule of three and be either the first, second, or (most likely) third. But we’re number Four, and it’s told to us at least twice that the Traveler’s Abyss Twin isn’t one of the previous three. 

I’ve also seen some Genshin Edits pointing out a trend: Two becomes One. The two Scaramouches became one, Nahida erased Rukkhadevata, and even in Calibert the Traveler sees their twin in the reflection. There’s also that one Xiao video where two Xiaos show up. You could technically say it’s the same case with the other archons: Venti took the form of his dead friend, there were two Azhdaha’s, Makoto died and Ei was her shadow, and then there’s Ei and the Raiden Shogun Puppet, and there’s even Focalors who (I think) killed the previous Hydro Archon. 

Two is always becoming One in Genshin, and our Traveler is marked as the Fourth Descender. Four is typically seen as the unlucky number in China because it sounds like die, so it’s associated with death. 

What if the end of Genshin is a fight between the Traveler and the Abyss Twin but it’s fated that the Abyss Twin wins?

[strawberries-and-summer-days]

NO WAY IN HELL ‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅

| percy jackson x popstar au

| au masterlist ☽

warnings: swearing and i think thats just about it!

a/n: i return from the actual dead guys. live has been hectic as hell recently so im staying up late so i can get the part out to you!! its like 12am when im posting this so delusion is feeding me here

lia and riley crowd around you as you recount for the millionth time what happened at the rooftop party.

they've been at you all week asking what happened - it definitely didn't help when that stupid gossip account posted about it. so now you face the downfall of trying to be a decent human being.

clearly it worked out oh so well and everything is perfectly fine.

you've been drained all week working out a few details for your upcoming shows, going to the gym every day to stay in shape for said shows, dealing with lia and riley, the pile of emails and work related things you should probably answer but haven't gotten around to yet.

honestly all you want to do is curl up into bed and sleep.

a nap would be really good right now.

instead you're stuck here with lia pestering you about the whole rooftop ordeal.

"oh my gosh, we've been over this, as i said the last time you asked - which by the way was," you check your watch. "thirty minutes ago. i said hello, we stood there awkwardly for about six minutes i asked how his day was he said decent, he asked me how my day was, i said decent, i randomly blurted out that the stars were pretty and then proceeded to complain about the party, then said i was going home. end of goddamn fucking story."

riley just laughs at your frustration and lia grins sheepishly at you.

"im sorry, please let me stay here tonight."

shaking your head you get up off the couch to start making dinner. your phone starts blaring as you do and lia picks it up and launches it across the room. "its stacey." she says as you catch it.

"hey, stacey what's up?" you ask your assistant/ agent. she does a lot of shit for you honestly, its hard to keep up with what she does.

"i just got a call from someone on percy jackson's marketing team-" you drop the onion you were holding. "and they want to schedule a meeting with you sometime this week." the silence is loud.

"why?" you croak out

"they want to discuss the rumours going around." fucking finally you hiss internally.

"okay...."

"okay you'll do it? or okay you want to tell them where to shove their discussions?" stacey asks skeptically, having worked with you long enough to know your tones.

sighing you answer her, "okay i'll do it, but i want riley and lia there with me."

"of course," stacey replies likely jotting this down.

"and for the love of god not in a public space."

you hash out some more details and hang up turning to face to very eager eavesdroppers, "what do you want us for?" lia asks.

letting out another sigh, "guess who's meeting us this week?"

☾. ⋅

percyjackson

liked by underovergrover, chris.rodriguez, lukecastellan, the.annabethchase, lia.mandel, rileywest and 923, 872 others

percyjackson i won both games btw

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underovergrover only cause you cheated!

percyjackson don't be bitter because i won

underovergrover fucker

user1 these little bits of his life only make him more hot oml

user2 i so wanna know if y/n was there

user3 no cause real??? i wanna know if us percy/n shippers have a chance

user4 im in love with him holy

user5 Y/N'S FRIENDS LIKED THE POST AGAIN AHHHHHH

user6 oml i ship them so hard i need to know if they're dating

☾. ⋅

percy was pissed.

ok that's an understatement. he was- is livid.

he had only agreed to this stupid meeting because he managers had suggested to him it might be good to clear the air. what he wasn't expecting was y/n to agree, let alone agree with a list of fucking demands.

and not only did she come with demands she shows up thirty minutes late with her friends in tow.

what. the. fuck?

once she settles in her agent leans froward and addresses percy's team as if y/n is incapable to do so.

"hello there everyone, how are you all doing today?"

percy's manager reply's out of curtesy before getting right down to business. "ok, i'd like to start by introducing myself, y/n i'm lauren i'm percy's manager and i organised this meeting because of the rumours i'm sure you've heard all about."

y/n nods. "yes i've heard of them."

"good because my team and yours have come up with a few ways to deal with the rumours." she place's a her hands on the table and leans forward when she talks. "the first and most obvious is for both of you to post an announcement that you aren't dating, but are simply friends and or acquaintances." you both nod at that. "the second option is to address the rumours via getting into another relationship - but obviously since you're both single right now its a poor decision." she takes a deep breath and flicks her eyes over to y/n's managers. "and the third and mine and stacey's most favoured one is that you.... fake date."

the silence the follows is deafening.

percy practically leaps out of his chair. "what the hell?"

"no fucking way-" y/n says at the same time.

"you've got to be kidding me," you both say at he same time you eyes shooting up to meet, stacey's and lauren's hidden smiles don't help the situation either.

"obviously if you don't feel comfortable doing that we understand," stacey says calmly.

"but if you are okay with that we can move forward with that plan... if that's what you wish for."

percy glares at y/n as she gathers her stuff and mutters "no way in hell am i doing that," before storming off.

her friends... lia? and... riley? stand up after her hastily making apologies, "we'll go.. get her, i'm so sorry about that."

stacey obviously knowing that y/n isn't coming back starts to gather all her stuff. "so sorry about all that," she looks at me and then lauren. "we'll have an answer by the end of the week."

☾. ⋅

yn.official

liked by underovergrover, lia.mandel, rileywest, lukecastellan, maisiehpeters, gracieabrams and 1, 489, 326 others

yn.official life's been good 😊

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lia.mandel im so excited to for our dinner tmr night!!

user1 mother posted!!!

user2 percy's friends liking this is my roman empire

user3 ikr i need to know if they're dating

user4 ugh seeing y/n happy make me smile

rileywest coffee with you was fun!!

underovergrover new album maybe??

yn.official maybe 🤭

user5 GROVER COMMENTED??? AND Y/N RESPONDED???? THIS IS NOT A DRILL GUYS.

user6 HOLY FUCK!!!!

☾. ⋅

you pace the room, stacey watches you with lia and riley on the couch as the phone dials.

lauren picks up on the third ring. "hello this is lauren smyth speaking."

"hi lauren, its stacey here. i was just ringing about our answer to your offer," she makes one more glance at you before focusing back on the call. "our answer is...."

TAGLIST‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅ [if you're name is white it mean i couldn't tag you]

@lauptimist, @itzmeme, @mariaaaaaahhhh, @paankhaleyaar, @maybxlle,

@lara20aral, @cxp1d, @user-3113s-blog, @pleasingregulus,

@avihashearts4lix, @inlovewithmorales, @brokecollegebitch, @user-3113s-blog, @officiallyalbino

@gloryhaddock, @kozumesphone, @moonlightwonderlan, @starxshining, @taintedrosee [if you want to be added just let me know!]

[randomnameless]

Not to bring irl shit but when you consider that there are people who believe in their own moral superiority, that everything should burn to the ground, people should die for their cause and those they don't like deserve to die for justice, it makes sense why there would be Agarthan stans despite how comically evil they are in the games. Not saying it's good (it's not), but it's the same sort of edgelord doomer nihilist mentality. Or maybe I'm thinking way too hard about this and they just support them because their waifu is working with them and they can't be bad if she's "purely good" despite their actions in game saying otherwise.

Uh...

I guess everyone knows there are people who are pos around, but what became more and more annoying with the years is how some of those beliefs have been romanticed for X and Y reason (marketing purposes because earl grey sells) and if you add to that the performative era - where being a fan of a character means you have to endorse everything this character says or does, we end up with some mess.

And I think while the devoted fans we all know and love have their part of responsability in this - as you say - supporting characters no matter what to the point of swallowing their nauseabond rhetoric because waifu allies with them before backstabbing them offscreen...

I still believe content creators are sort of also to blame with this, see the earlier earl grey marketing reasons.

IIRC, in the Marvel movies the purple guy who erases half of the universe is/was/got a cup bcs sad uwus he's ready to sacrifice his daughter for the greater good?

Cry me a fucking river !

What about the rest of the world who was zapped due to his whims? Why should I care about the feefees of someone who slaughters billions and not the feelings of the ones slaughtered?

Take Kishimoto : trying too hard to make people sympathise with his anti-heroes ultimately means that their victims have no voice to any chapter, Ramen Guy will never be able to express anger (if he wasn't dead when Konoha was flattened) at Nagato turning his daughter in a pancake, or Sakura will never weep for her parents, etc etc... but we get a long FB about Nagato's sad backstory with, what can be summed up as "the world fucked me over so I'll fuck over the world and you can't stop that unless you decide to fuck me over too" without anyone telling him that his reasoning is puerile and quite frankly stupid.

Madara being very sad not being elected big boss so he takes out his salt by launching repeated attacks at the village and its inhabitants? "Who cares, he was very sad (tm) when Hashirama decided to kill him to protect the village, what a hypocrite !!!"

The less is said about AoT, the better we all are lol, but in honor of MHA ending I'll just say that... I fucking loved the panels at the end (or last chapters?) where randoms civilians are shitting on Shigaraki, even if the panel with the old lady who blames herself for not helping him back then or taking his hand was hilarious, considering that in his FB, he said he would have killed her too "oh poor him if only i died for his sake he might not have grown up as a vilain" come on that's too much earl grey i'm out of this.

As for FE Fodlan, given how earl grey was used to sell and advertise the game, I guess you can't talk to Garcias or Nathalies and ask what they're thinking about the war that is razing their homes because someone wants to unify the world and is willing to sacrifice them to do so, or hell, we can't even listen to Merlinus voice his thoughts about the strange plague in Remire and how horrible it is, to Amy wonder why the fuck her parents transformed in demonic beasts and tried to kill her.

So when even content creators believe that their vilains have to get a pass regardless of the amount of shit they pulled off - I can't exclusively blame devoted fans for going very very far with their takes to support the bae.

Special mention to Miura (rip) who never lost an occasion to portray Griffith as manipulative and conniving, and yet some people really believed (and some still do?) he did nothing wrong...

[trlvsn]

Random question since I know you like to have opinions, do you think phoenix should’ve gone back to lawyering after aa4? I feel like he would’ve been like nah I’m too old for this shit

OH MY GOD ANON. OH I HAVE A BIIIG OPINION ON THIS ONE.

listen. i have seen some people say he shouldn't have become a lawyer again and that it was more of a marketing strategy than a rational decision for his character, but phoenix didn't just become a lawyer, he became a mentor by becoming a lawyer.

phoenix's character arc is many things, but mostly, it's about finding yourself. at the end of aa1, we see quite an unexpected phrase about phoenix promising to figure out who he really is in the next cases, which doesn't really confirm to the other messages and ideas in the game. it makes sense later on though: he loses his memory in aa2, recalls his memories in aa3 and aa4... well, aa4 gives us a lot about his identity. either way, phoenix starts off as a guy with a savior complex, a guy who doesn't quite know who he is and a guy who doesn't know how to live up to his dead mentor and be something good. he learns, he gains a better sense of his identity and gets rid of the said savior complex, and then goes through a very huge development on his lonesome own, gaining awareness of the system and the world around him, how he can change that world and what really matters in general.

the only thing that remains, the thing that he carries with him is the desire to help those who are abandoned. in aa4, the entire legal system is: dark, cold, and full of despair, so he pulls it out of it's misery. he adopted trucy, for god's sake, that trait of his is something he will never get rid of because it's at his very core, it's just that now it's more healthy and reasonable.

so what does a man like him do, when the scene is set and there are brilliant young minds to be helped? what does a man like him do, when he remembers mia fey, a woman who worked alone for years to expose a man for his crimes, but took him in and became and excellent mentor? what does he do, when the only way to help people that he knows is from the defense's bench? he gets his badge back. he pretends to be clueless like in the old days, "whoopsie daisy, athena, i don't have a clue what evidence we should present... maybe you try?", because he's kind of an asshole and because it works, he is there as backup, as someone to rely on, but not too much, only if things get especially tough. if he wasn't a lawyer and simply acted as a consultant, could he really provide that much of an assistance in times of need? would he have the power? the authority?

to me, the badge was a formality, a tool, but a strategically necessary one. phoenix goes from mentee to loner to mentor, not from lawyer to poker player to lawyer. it's a progression that makes sense and that could have admittedly been executed better, but it still makes sense in my mind.

also, mia and phoenix parallels are very important to me, okay.

[betterbemeta]

"despairpilled whatevercore" is how I would describe Cyberpunk 2077 itself so far. Maybe it will surprise me. But I doubt it. let me explain but backwards:

Whatevercore,,,

The first thing that stands out to me about this setting is that there is no concept of 'counterculture.' In a game that has 'punk' in the title! That may be part of the 'point', that because the dominant culture's capitalist nightmare has consumed every possible human choice, motivation, emotional experience or expression it's all for sale and therefore it's extremely difficult to meaningfully oppose it. The police is normative culture. fuck the police is normative culture. conformity is normative, non-conformity is normative, rage against the machine is normative as a part of the machine... But what this means is that every possible aesthetic is blasting in your face at any given time at maximum volume surrounded by the trashiest possible conditions even in the supposedly high-class areas, so there are very few coherent emotional statements, reactions to the conditions (come back to this later) that could constitute 'punk art.'

And no, faking some kind of future-street-slanguage stand-in for AAVE does not constitute 'urban' punky flavor.

(Caption: ugh)

It's just aesthetic 'whatever' made with voyeurism to a racialized, class-linked idea of 'subculture' in mind, with no authentic foundation.

Now, I can understand the type of satire that exaggerates current conditions to express dissatisfaction with them, a desire to blow them all to bits. Warhammer 40k is a bit like this. But Cyberpunk 2077 makes the same mistake as Warhammer 40k: earnestly marketing the dystopian conditions as 'cool.' In reality everyone in this entire Cyberpunk 2077 world is deeply deeply uncool because none of them are fighting the currents that deposit them like sand in the suffering river, or at least not in any way that doesn't just replicate its conditions. you're never 'cool' if you follow the dominant hierarchical authoritarian thought in the world you live in, yes even if you mean to oppose it and YES! THAT MEANS YOU, KEANU REEVES! HOW DID PLAYING PRESIDENT TRUMAN SIMULATOR WORK OUT FOR YOU?

Rolling around being a super cool cyber assassin as a power fantasy is not counterculture in the world of Cyberpunk 2077 itself. at all. I have no choice but to be V who is one, and my experience is smooth and requires no thinking or friction besides two shit plot options that will both end bad for me sometimes, or how to blow up a buncha guys with my mind bullets and regular bullets. I swooce between cyber gang bandit lairs cleaning them out for the police. My wardrobe is mostly clothes i take from my dead enemies. I look horrible and I cant do anything about it right now.

I tried to design my V as a cute goth trans girl because if the game is going to force me to have a gender, that's the only correct answer. Sure, they have a bunch of lipstick shapes but they all kind of suck and ONLY ONE SHADE OF BLACK?! perish by my hand!!! There are a lot of 'options' for the character creator but all and all you can't actually execute them well as part of a 'look' anywhere near the start of the game so right away spiritually, physically, aesthetically, you're doomed to basically be 'whatevercore.' I could understand 'you gain the right to express yourself as you become more badass and accumulate more stuff' except for 1) the game LEADS with that this is a world of 'style over substance' in the character creator (an anti-punk statement if I ever heard one!!! the right to be so substantial you make people SICK is a punk fundamental RIGHT!) and 2) if a 14 year old could be a goth in middle school how come nobody running around is really 'anything' including me????

Despairpilled,,,

An important question and what I suspect is the theme of this game comes pretty early, from Dexter DeShawn: "Would you rather live in peace as Mr. Nobody, die ripe, old and smelling slightly of urine? Or go down for all times in a blaze of glory, smelling near like posies, without seeing your thirtieth?"

He's asking if I'm suicidal.

Everywhere I turn in Night City there's graffiti like, NO FUTURE or, THE END IS HERE. I think I saw an ACAB once but it was under a bunch of other stuff.

Even at the top of society, suicide seems like a prevalent theme given its relevance to Saburo Arasaka and his various children. Hell, Saburo wants you (an American) to be suicidal. It seems to be his goal, in how the Arasaka corporation targets the USA in specific. He is fighting a war against 'America' personally, like it's WWII. In a literal sense. The Japanese dominance in this story is primarily a dated one formed of American guilt, a fear of repercussions for atrocities of the atomic bomb from an enemy that committed (and denies) its own atrocities.

I don't want to say suicide isn't a powerful theme for a story. But the execution of this (no pun intended?) has very little relevance in a video game where your future does not move forward unless you do it yourself and moving forward often means like... roaming around barging into people's homes and getting into a zillion gunfights to no permanent consequences for you.

When I think of 'punk' attitudes, I don't really think about suicide by cop or drug overdose or a detachment from reality. I think like, 'we're not going to take this.' I think about Pride. I think about black activism. I think about die-ins on the steps at Capitol Hill. I think about a desire to live, demanding others not look away from those who are living and feeling. I think about anger at human sacrifice. Riots typically are about the right to not die, they aren't about a death wish.

[atanx]

WARNING SPOILERS FOR Y0, YK1, Y3, Y4, JUDGE EYES SERIES!!

Honestly getting a bit annoyed with entirely preventable events occuring because of chronic stupidity. Namely: not securing defeated enemies.

How, HOW is it that throughout his years of experience of (almost) getting fucked over by enemies not being properly dealt with once they're defeated Kiryu DOESNT LEARN to maybe carry rope or some shit and immediately secure the enemy?

I'm talking pat them down for weapons (especially guns) and tie them up.

Like Yakuza 0: that annoying dude at Dojima HQ that ends up killing Tachibana and that keeps trying to smash Kiryu's head in with bowls.

Yakuza 1: Jingu. And also Nishiki, in a way, because had Kiryu immobilised him properly he would not have been able to get up and commit suicide. SHIMANO. FUCKER GETS UP AGAIN AND THROWS A BOMB.

Yakuza 2: uhhh don't remember rn.

Yakuza 3: WHATS HIS NAME TAMASHIRO OR STH. Also fucking Andre Richardson.

Yakuza 4: the dude with the extremely fucked up hairline that kills Yasuko. (Saejima literally goes: that fucker aint dead yet, reveals him to be wearing a bulletproof vest and then just goes like huh okay and DOESNT TAKE HIS GUN LIKE IM SORRY BUT THAT WAS SO PREVENTABLE AND UNNECESSARY.) Also Akiyama would literally be dead if it weren't for sheer dumb luck and that cash.

Lol imagine the game had the stack of cash programmed to how much cash you have (because it gets pooled together for the finale and Akiyama manages it) and if you don't have like 1Mil yen Akiyama just straight up dies

Yakuza 5,6,7: still need to play that

LIKE DO YAKUZA JUST HAVE MUSH FOR BRAINS. DID THEY SELL THEIR BRAINCELLS ON THE BLACK MARKET??? WHY DOES NO ONE EVER THINK ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT ENEMIES CANT GET TO GUNS ESPECIALLY.

Like it's tragic and all the first few times but like why do you keep making the same mistake??? By now it just feels bad and not in a good way.

Rules of RGG writing:

If there's an unattended gun, it will be used.

If an enemy has been defeated, they will get back up again unless killed.

"ANIKI!"-guys die

Redeemed villains always die.

It just stood out to me. They might have been changing things up especially for newer games: f. Ex. The Judge Eyes series does a lot better with this.

In Judgement, Hamura doesn't die. Kuroiwa is stopped before he can kill Shono (thanks Kaito).

In Lost Judgement, they tie up Soma (THANK FUCK) and Kuwana lives.

So maybe the difference is just that Yagami has braincells. For now. With the amount of head injuries he rakes in that might change.

But seriously considering how fucking traumatic all of these events must have been to Kiryu: how does he not learn??? It's just so unbelievably unnecessary. Like find a different way to kill off characters since you want to do that so bad please.

[dm-clockwork-dragon]

Another Unpopular Opinion

I was asked to delete my earlier reblog by the OP, so they didn’t get sucked into discourse, so I’m reposing this as it’s own thing Well, here I go publicly stating another opinion that will probably get me cancelled. To be entirely fair, I’m sort of beyond caring at this point?

I think people need to calm their fucking tits - homegrown, surgical, or happily removed - over not just this game, but about HP stuff in general.

I’m a recently hatched egg, but I’ve considered myself non-binary for almost 15 years, and been an ally for as long as I knew what an ally was. I also have no particular love for the franchise, despite enjoying it a lot when I was a kid. That’s not virtue signally, or an attempt to defend my position - just letting you all know a little context, and that I do actually have a horse in this race.

I get it, I really do. JK is a fucking terrible person, and should burn in a thousand multicolored hells for the bullshit she spews and the hate she engenders in others. On top of that, she’s a shitty writer, to the point where she accidentally created an entire wizarding world where the difference between the good guys and the bad guys is just what flavor of Nazi you want to choose. But there’s a couple reasons I think that people really need to try and separate her from the franchise that she started.

1. Death of the Author.

This is the one that everyone else gives. It’s possible to enjoy, appreciate, or interpret a creative work in absence of it’s author or their intent. We do it with music, we do it with painting. and Like OP here points out: if we were to burn every book written by a problematic author, we would leave glaring wholes not just in our understanding of our own history and society, but in our understanding of how to avoid the same injustices and suffering caused by those authors. Dead or alive, the author’s right and control over who others interpret their work the moment they share it with the outside world.

2. You guys don’t know how JK makes money, do you?

I see all kinds of arguments out there about how engaging with, or - dare I even mention - paying for HP content is somehow a crime against transfolk because it directly supports a raging TERF and her platform. It doesn’t. Aside from the argument that JK makes all her money through investments and stock market trades - just like any rich person - She also DOESN’T OWN THE FRANCHISE. She retains intellectual property rights: AKA, she can write new books or shit if she likes (we have seen how that goes for her), and she is still treated as the primary source, but the IP and all production rights are owned by Warner Bros. JK doesn’t make a dime off of game, movies, or anything else that WB license or produce based on THEIR franchise. She already made her money by selling the franchise to them years ago. Honestly, she probably got the raw end of the deal at this point. At most, she might get some meager royalties that are eaten up entirely by the cost of paying someone to process them. That’s how publishing contracts and movie deals work - they are a fucking racket.  3. HP isn’t just something some people can throw away.

Like I said above, I sorta grew out of my HP phase, long before any of the issue of JK being a TERF ever came up. And I know that a lot of people who considered themselves fans have also willingly distanced themselves from the franchise in light of her shitty views and actions. But not everyone has that ability. To give you a different example: I grew up reading the Dune books. I finished the core series for the first time when I was 8, and have re-read the entire extended series more than a dozen times since then. It’s more than just my favorite book series, it’s a formative part of who I am as a person. So much of my beliefs and identity as a person have been informed or inspired by those books that I would argue it is impossible to truly understand myself without them. Hell - I’d argue the entire reason I started explore my gender and sexuality in the first place is because of the emphasis those books placed on the “Quisach Haderach” as the perfect fusion of male and female. Even if I were to verbally disavow the series for some reason, those books still define who I am today, and It would be physically impossible for me to separate myself from them Harry Potter is the same way for a lot of people. I think some of us loose sight of just how meaningful those books are to a generation. Not all of us - even within that generation - had the same connection, but for a lot of people who grew up reading them from the time they could turn a page, those books are just as formative and intrinsic to who they are as Dune is to me. they couldn’t separate themselves, even if they wanted to. And pissing all over someone for something they can’t change about themselves is exactly the sort of thing we are supposed to be fighting against! Same can be said of the bible, the Torah, the Quran or any other work that was meaningful and formative to a persons cultural upbringing. Even within the trans community, there are countless Christians, Jews, and Islamic followers. They make the faith their own, because it is an intrinsic and immutable part of who they are. If you are going to condemn Trans or Allies who can’t separate themselves form HP, then you are also condemning any Ally or Transperson who still practices or believes in some form of the religion the grew up with.  4. If we can reclaim slurs, we can reclaim this! I see so many of the same people who rail against HP, also writing or relogging posts about how important it is to reclaim slurs and other labels that have been historically used against us, and I agree. But that shit goes a lot further than just the names we have been called. Reclaiming something from those who would hurt you with it is like picking up the rock that was thrown at you, and saying “neat, this is mine now, you cant have it back”, as opposed to just kicking it back to the abuser so they can hurl it at you again. JK is a terrible person. which is all the more reason that we have a responsibility to take this beloved franchise away from her. She doesn’t deserve it, and as long as it remains in her power, she can continue to use it as a platform to hurt people. And this isn’t without precedent: Look at Butch Hartman, or Joss Wheaton, or Notch, or Gary Gygax. We have a history and a present filled with examples of taking beloved content away from shitty people a deciding “this is ours now, you can’t have it back.” We take those things that were or are important to us, and reframe them, re-write them, or reimagine them into something positive and supportive.  As an author myself, I know quite well how painful it can be to see your work taken away from you, and transformed by people who don’t share your vision. So lets hurt JK where it counts! Not in the wallet, not by railing against her on social media, but by taking away the one meaningful thing she has ever created in her miserable life. Because she doesn’t fucking deserve it.

[puckish-rogue-archive-deux]

Something that I hope to further explore in the main verse—because this was barely touched upon in the original series—are the long-lasting consequences of the Saints' victories over various gangs. And I don't mean just towards themselves, because I think that's more or less a given. I feel like there's plenty that's been left unsaid regarding what happens when gangs who hold a certain amount of power are just completely wiped out. Let me throw out a few examples.

The Carnales in the first game have the backing of the Colombian cartel behind them; supplying the gang with both drugs to sell and weapons to use. They are a dominant force across Stilwater, to the point of having a stranglehold on the city's southern end. So the fact that a relatively new street gang were able to demolish them and take their place in the partnership with the Colombians says a lot.

SR2 is where these concepts really start to latch onto my brain and shake it around violently with ideas. Now, the Ronin and the Sons of Samedi have a lot more influence than the Brotherhood given that the latter is solely focused in Stilwater, despite certain connections being hinted at. The Ronin are a bit tricky for me to speak about given their presentation (heavily influenced by Bōsōzoku biker gangs, but also implied to be a Yakuza clan). And while I have my own ideas over how something like that could be easily explained, that's not my focus here.

The point is that their leader, Kazuo Akuji, has a great deal of influence back in Japan. A transnational criminal organization like this gives me the impression that they hold a great deal of power and a sizeable amount of connections. Which is why the Saints—who had effectively just come back from the dead—were able to take them down during one Summer, while also taking on two other gangs, is CRAZY.

And the same goes for the Sons of Samedi, who are said to have cornered the entire Caribbean drug market. Imagine how many dealers must have been working for them, or how many drug runners they had employed. The connections they made. The territories they probably owned. All of it gone in an instant once the Saints get to them. And their parting gift simply being a sizable power vacuum.

Now, there's plenty I could talk about regarding the Syndicate. God knows how much time I've spent thinking about them and how far their reach must have been. In the future I'd like to do a whole write up about them and go into my revision ideas given how disappointed I was with the third game. But I can at least say that there is, without a doubt, a ripple affect once the Saints destroy the Syndicate.

A criminal organization that big and that powerful—to the point where they could essentially buy out an entire city—would absolutely have such a big stake in the game. There have to be assets left across the globe; prime real estate, different fronts, banks, anything you could possible imagine. And let's not forget that Loren's connections ran deep. If the unused homie dialogue is anything to go by, this man was in talks with a whole bunch of politicians and other people in high positions of power. People who themselves have great power and influence.

Which is why the Saints ultimately winning that war is a big fucking deal.

I don't know, man. I have so many thoughts about this shit. There's so much I want to explore. But man is it frustrating that they never really took advantage of any of this because (at least to me) it's great setup! Forget about all that weird running for the US presidency and then fighting aliens by using superpowers nonsense. You have the makings of some really interesting crime shit already! Like, I'm well aware of why things turned out the way they did. But it doesn't change my opinion that there was so so much potential for where the series could've gone.

And well, I guess I hope in some way I can capture that on here.

[thoselethalarts]

ℙ𝕙𝕠𝕓𝕠𝕤 𝔹𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕣 - ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪

(SSR) Birthday Suit Up (Part 3): “Happy Birthday!”

(Ignihyde Dorm: Birthday Venue)

“Have you heard from your family?”

Phobos: Family? Well… no. Not that I have anyone to hear from, anyway.

“What do you mean?”

Phobos: I don’t have any family. Not anyone I’m still in touch with, anyway. Phobos: I haven’t had anyone like that in my life for… maybe around four or five years now.

“Oh… my condolences.”

Phobos: It’s fine. I’m not bothered by it. It’s a natural question to ask, anyway.

“Could you tell us about what your family was like?”

Phobos: Hm… Well, the only person I think I’d ever be able to call my family was my previous “caretaker”, as it were.

Phobos: His name was Theodore Banner. A twenty-something that adopted me when my parents were no longer in the picture. Phobos: He was a typical guy. Worked and lost multiple dead-end jobs, ordered lots of takeout, played video games and watched mind-numbing amounts of TV, cycled through girlfriends faster than he changed socks. You get the drift. Phobos: I lived with him in his apartment through my youth. He was kind of annoying, all things considered. Fed me almost the same thing every day, these bland and soggy meals from a can… Would never let me eat the same thing he did. Phobos: He gave me this stupid little nickname, too… ugh. The first thing I did after I left was leave that behind. Phobos: I resented him for all that… still do to some degree. But he wasn’t a bad person, I guess. Just annoying.

“What happened to him?”

Phobos: Well… let’s just say that when my magic first started to develop, he got a little too excited about it. Phobos: He thought my powers were astounding, and all he wanted to parade me around like some kind of show pony to all his friends and fickle lovers. It was humiliating. Phobos: Not to mention even though I was then seemingly more attractive to him as a newfound magical being, he still refused to change my meals to something better. Can you believe that shit? Phobos: When I realized I was strong enough and smart enough to take care of myself and live on my own… I decided it was time to cut ties with him. Phobos: So that’s what I did. I cut my ties with him. Phobos: Since then I’ve been bouncing from place to place, finding little niches of my own. Phobos: Everyone I tell that to thinks it’s a depressing way to live, but honestly I’m quite content. Living in one place for too long makes me feel too trapped and confined. Phobos: Moving around feels good. It feels freeing. For now I’m here at NRC, and I live in the dorms, but when I graduate I’ll just keep moving unless I find something worthwhile to make a home.

“Do you have any plans for the future?”

Phobos: Work on building my brand online and finding some stable customers, mostly. Phobos: There’s a big market out there for my current career. People want people like me, that will do the dirty work for them with no questions asked and money up front. All I have to do is get my name out in the right circles and I’ll be set. Phobos: Other than that, I’m just going to keep living the way I’ve been living: taking it day by day and seeing where life takes me.

“Thank you for your time, and happy birthday again!”

/ End

[rottenbrainstuff]

BG3 playthrough: patches, Astarion thoughts, Grymforge

(Spoilers)

Patch 4 is a thing: People are complaining that the patch made Cazador stronger and removed the way to end the fight quicker by yeeting him over the edge of a platform… I dunno. I think you SHOULDN’T be able to cheese the fight like that. I think he SHOULD be hard to beat. He’s such a crusty unimpressive little dickwad, making the fight super hard is going to be the only way I can take that dried up asshole seriously. I’ve also seen some people complain the update made them redownload the whole game again? Or doubled the size of the game in their storage? Wut? Didn’t happen over here, for me, the update was about 10 gigs and only took a few minutes to complete??

Also some discussion about how the patch has added the ability for a dark urge to blame a murder on Astarion. Am I going nuts? I STG I saw that option already. Was that an early access thing or something? When I read the patch notes I was surprised it was a NEW addition. There’s some cranky discussion that Larian just wants to be mean to Astarion - look guys, I think Astarion is probably the favourite character, judging from the amount of his content and the marketing. What’s that old saying about how it’s a terrible thing to be the favourite of the narrative? Because then all the bad stuff happens to you? Anyways if a dark urge is going to blame a murder on anyone, Astarion the VAMPIRE is the obvious choice. So myeh. I think it’s nothing to get offended by, folks. The dialogue that triggers if you do this BTW is hilarious, the team is just like “ah yes, murderous Astarion, that makes sense” and they seem generally ok with it. “Oh Astarion! You and your murder!” Astarion is not happy you accused him, but he seems more offended not simply just by being accused of murder, but by being accused of murdering someone and wasting all the blood.

So I’m working through the grymforge now. In the beginning I was getting horribly lost constantly, because the map changes around as you go to different areas. I think I’m good now but it was funny at first. Even in a video game with a map right there, my sense of direction is terrible.

I liked the little touch of Astarion disapproving if you bow your head in respect by the large group of dead gnome slaves. He is totally fine if you vow to get revenge on their murderers, but useless thoughts and prayers don’t do shit to help anyone. I think I’ve mentioned that he seemed like he was getting better about being huffy when I decide to help people, but then I grabbed a chunk of disapproval for arguing with Nere and Brithvar in support of the slaves. Guess my man still has some issues to sort through. I know that we have his dislike of gnomes in general, lol, but he doesn’t have objections to me helping the gnomes in other situations - IE inviting Barcus to stay at our camp - he specifically objects to me insisting the slaves be let go. In my head I imagine that he gets angry seeing someone jump in like a knight in shining armor saving these people being hurt and killed under their cruel masters, not even asking for any payment in return, when there was no one, not a single soul at all, who helped him in the almost 200 years he spent enslaved by Cazador. I feel like the more someone is in a situation that reminds him of himself, the more uncomfortable and angry he gets about it.

Poor dumbass. My big buff drow is gonna scruff him like a feral cat and feed him churus until he stops hissing.

I’m reading a lot of thoughts about how sad Astarion’s ending is if he stays a spawn and loses his ability to be in the sun, I’m reading drabbles about him crying about being burned in the sun, never able to be in the sun again etc, and it’s like…

I’m not saying it’s not sad, cause it is. His origin scene of waking up in the sunlight is good, his romance morning-after where he’s literally basking in the sunrise (and perhaps it can be assumed, is something he does most mornings) is so nice. For some reason though, I’m just not as moved by it all as much as other people seem to be. Maybe it’s because I have a drow tav who really isn’t… like, the idea of never being able to be in the sun, just in and of itself, it doesn’t feel like that much of a tragedy to him and to me, as a single issue. I know it’s not a single issue, I know the sun thing is symbolic of all the other vampire spawn issues coming back. But in fics and discussion people really do fixate on the sunlight, even suggest that it’s a good enough reason to do the ascendant ending, just to fix it, and yeah. Man. Look, my guy over here knows plenty of people who lived their whole lives without sunlight at all, sunlight is certainly lovely, and it’s certainly not a great thing if the choice is totally removed from you, but this enormous TRAGEDY? I just don’t feel it.

Plus I dunno guys. Maybe I’m weird, but I don’t think the answer to everyone’s story arcs is necessarily erasing everything that’s been done to them and doing a factory reset. It’s too bad Astarion isn’t able to keep the fun perks of the tadpole, but, like, that’s ok. That’s something that can be moved on from. If doing the right thing was always easy and without any tradeoffs or consequences ever, everyone would always do the right thing. Something something you can never really go back because you have been changed by the journey. I don’t know. I don’t know how to explain. I’m not that sad about it and honestly I find it more satisfying in his epilogue that he now has some spawn limitations to contend with again, more satisfying than if everything had just been magically fixed forever like a handy little factory reset. I really like the post-game idea of my drow tav and him traveling through the underdark together to try and organize the freed spawn.

Anyways back to the Grymforge: I met Nere and kicked his stupid slimy ass. I was really mad there seems to be no way to save that poor gnome he flings into the lava. I had no idea you could invite Barcus to stay at your camp? I’ve thoroughly spoiled a lot of things with this game for myself, so I’m always really delighted when I run into something I legit didn’t know. Man dude, I hope this guy you’ve been chasing is worth it. Somehow I rather suspect he isn’t. But you what makes me a bit bemused……. So drow are supposed to have a matriarchal culture, a TERRIBLE matriarchal culture, where males are enslaved or even just freaking killed. And yet, even so, of all the drow characters I’ve run into so far, two have been women and six have been men. (and that’s not even counting the petrified drow that stayed petrified in that field, who I’m assuming are also all guys!) Even in a matriarchal culture, there’s still more important male characters than female ones?... kinda bemused by that. Oh well. Small niggle.

I think there’s an elevator here that leads straight to act 2??? Am I already that close to being done act 1??? When I’m done in the underdark I’m doubling back to do the stuff in the mountain pass.

A personal side note: Astarion’s face is starting to piss me off. I had an ex with an extremely similar face, similar fine bone structure and high cheekbones. He was much younger though. Guy was the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen, and dumb as a box of rocks. (Stupid, anti-Semitic rocks) I am constantly reminded of my stupid ex while I contemplate Astarion’s cheekbones, and I mourn that that man was not blessed with more sense or else I might still be with him.

[sherbovania]

on demonic society: culture

long post. buckle up

general questions if everyone is freely allowed to steal and loot in a lawless world, how are shops still operating? it may be a “lawless” world but that doesn’t mean its inhabitants are completely rabid. most of them are former humans stuck in the societal grooves of their past life anyways, so there’s always at least some money in circulation out of a sense of obligation. it’s a lawless world for shop owners too so who’s stopping them from hitting thieves with the .38 special. on the flip side some shops are just running for the love of the game babey

cultural values (quick overview version)

hedonism is awesome

i got mine, fuck you

despite everything they love a tight-knit community

ur completely bitchmade if you cave to what others expect of you

your lineage means jack shit

naming conventions draw upon the macabre, the evil and the esoteric for names, as well as variants on lucifer (ex. lucille, vice, maljean, and venom)

family structure biological family ties are extremely loose, so most don’t even end up living with their children (who instead look for that found family type beat). the most common structure is in groups of 4 or 5 with equally shared responsibilities. groups are usually formed out of a need to stick together, plus combined income and so on. younger demons will live with their parents for a brief period of time, and since there is no central education system they must learn life essentials via osmosis.

non-hereditary demons may end up reuniting with their family from their previous life or choosing to start fresh, most choosing the latter. some are also known to move into pre-existing groups for their first few years down under.

angel relationship/cohabitation aren’t foaming at the mouth to obliterate their divine counterparts like the angels are. there’s a sizable number of them down under since a bunch of angels defected when lucifer fell, and afterwards a lot have been exiled from utopia. most want to hide their angelic features or not make a big deal out of them, since opinions on angels differ wildly from person to person.

cultural divides wife wars small sect of the population that thinks hellion society was at its best when [REDACTED] was lucifer’s wife and want to “reject modernity, return to the green top” as they say

anti-angel sentiment some people are bigoted idk what to tell u. they form a sort of "square vs rectangle" idea with the fundies, not all anti-angel people are fundies but every fundie is anti-angel.

the fundies they’re their own cultural divide. basically militant extremists that violently oppose technological and cultural progress (trans-humanism especially) because it strays father from the “peak” of hellion civilization when you could easily kill angels with the flick of your wrist and eat the drywall with no consequences (and lucy had NO wife). they want to send your ass back to the stone age so bad

the doomsday cultists

…will be discussed at a later date

niche subcultures homebrew freaky little basement rats that wanna hurt you so bad (with their own homemade atrocities of course). put that basement dwelling to work by making pipe bombs, flashbangs, hand grenades and bootleg spell charms (lab-synthesized magic in a marble-like capsule) to use in…street fights mostly. they make up a good percent of both the buying and selling portion of the weapons black market. the especially weird ones are currently innovating the homebrew meta by adding canisters of Unspecified Chemicals to their creations. and anthrax spores that too

magicians dnd nerd club that wants to revive the dead art of magic (they can’t on a wide scale unfortunately, more on magic here) but they can sure try. think that spell charms are a farce and they’re so above using them guys trust me

fashion the most common aesthetic seen down under is largely 2000s punk/scene inspired; mostly blacks, neon accents, funky accessories, the works. other popular styles include neo-military, proto-military, victorian, oddcore, jester/clown, futuristic, delinquent, and archaic. NAGAJAM is a popular designer brand that falls under the futuristic category.

makeup isn't stigmatized and is widely used by the public in smaller amounts. for most it’s only really used to accent features or pull attention to their facial markings/ drawing on the appearance of markings, but some are dedicated to creating bright and angular looks.

angelpunk counterculture a notable subset have adopted the fashion and aesthetics of their angelic counterparts, in part to spite them. angel-like features and clothing are viewed as radical/punk, since it’s interpreted as them ‘wearing the skin’ of those who want them dead.

emeralds culturally significant stone. fell out of lucifer’s crown when he was cast out of heaven and struck with a sword by the archangel michael. symbolizes pride, greed, and hellion nationalism. commonly paired with rubies in jewelry.

food my stummy hurts 🥺 (eats a meal’s worth of goods that can’t even be classified as food when exported out of the United States)

mmm i love heavily processed foods yum

i eat-a the onion like an apple haha

anything sour or acidic is a staple of their food culture. green apples, onions, citrus fruits and the like are very common in native dishes. get ready for canker sores babey

a lotta stuff is heavily salted/preserved since depending on where you live electricity is not a constant

very meat-centric, mostly chicken since they’re fairly inexpensive to raise down under

they can and will drink petrol like it's orange juice

the thing about cans energy drink cans (monster in particular) are extremely valuable down under. they don’t have the licensing to sell them there so the only way you can get one firsthand is traveling to the overworld to get one (which nobody really wants to do) so they’re automatically quite rare and considered a commodity. most don’t actually drink it but keep it for the can which can essentially act as a secondary currency in some places. due to their status, people will want to flex them in outlandish ways. you’ll see people making candles with theirs and selling the cut-off tops or some completely goofy shit

pop tabs collected from these cans are also a popular accessory, strung into necklaces, earrings, made into chains, sewn on pants as accents, etc. colorful ones are the most sought after.

the old gods killed by lucifer a long time ago during his deicide era but still permeate through pop culture. cosmic horror and kaiju are popular genres throughout multiple mediums. one thing they have in common with the great upstairs is that they both worship long-dead idols from years past, though not to the same extent the angels do with the Old Divines. they’re not petrifying their corpses and hanging them up for all to see whilst deifying them post-mortem like the angels are but i think it would be quirky if they did

[imbellarosa]

i thought about not writing anything bc I'm late to the discourse game this time round and bc I've been so unplugged for so long that I don't get anons asking me things anymore but then I was talking to @twopoppies and like actually - I have shit to say

the first thing i have to say is that the British economy is overwhelmingly failing the working class. Teachers, train workers, and the fire service have all voted to go on strike in the last month. and the reason that this is happening is twofold: the first is that the MPs are self-absorbed dicks. The second is that the UK pulled out of one of the largest single-market economies in the international community, which hit every sector of the economy bc new taxes tariffs trade agreements erc. So like - don't talk to a Brit about what their utilities are doing. The third reason that these towns are dying though is because of the practice of outsourcing labour to cheaper countries/cities/communities. This is why people began to blame immigrants for the decline of the working class. Which like - if a Brit wants to come and teach my kids and write my PhD, they can pry it from my cold dead hands.

That's a really roundabout way of explaining that if you don't live in a larger city, you're gonna have loads of poverty in the area. And that - for the most part - your distance from London is directly proportional to the poverty rate. I work in *small British coastal town* in a *large comprehensive school* (that's like a US public school), and my kids are about 13-16 years old. The 16-year-olds are doing their GCSEs (like GEDs) in the spring, and loads of them don't believe that they can do it. Out of the Y11s that I know, I know maybe one or two that have concrete plans to go to university. Most don't believe that they can succeed, and are unwilling to go anywhere far from home. A comparable region of the world would be Appalachia in the US. The school I teach at is right across the street from council estates, and some of the kids have never left the town - even though there's a 2 hr train that takes you into London. Loads of their lives are really tough. I obviously can't give specifics, but I've definitely had days I can't shake off at the end of them.

This is all to say that out of the hundreds of kids I know, I don't know a single one that's gonna win a Grammy in 15 years time. Or a Pulitzer, or an Oscar or a Tony or an Olivier or a BAFTA. and this is absolutely not because they're not capable of doing it - they 100% have the capacity to succeed and the talent to be amazing. We just don't have the resources to nurture that talent in a way that would make them competitive to the people in the first ring of the ladder to success. I have a kid who wants to be a detective, and another teacher (!) told me 'well that's just not realistic. kids like him don't get into the programs he'd need to get into to do that'. That's just the reality of life for them. To them, I'm the anomaly. I'm the one who made it out! I left a tough home and a rough couple of years to become a PhD student and a young woman with a stable job, a guy who agrees to watch my cat, and loads of good friends. And I'm DEFINITELY not winning any Grammys hahaha - but by their metric their TEACHERS are some of the most successful or educated people they know, and they don't see themselves as those people.

We do our best for these kids, but it 1000% makes sense that someone from a background like this would say that the kind of success and fame and resources it takes to be an international pop star doesn't happen to people like him. Because it's a million to one. For every Harry Styles, a million David Smiths (not a real kid) don't make it out. So maybe shut up, have some empathy and celebrate an unlikely success? Or like. Eat cake if that fails.

[sapphireclawe]

*raises hand* This is a tangent that's vaguely related to this, but how many games are there of "thing children enjoy but creepypasta" now? Hell, as a kid I could find a video, full gore and everything, of Cupcakes on YouTube. (I was horrified by this because I saw it tossed around with no warning, and then looked it up, and stopped watching it. I was maybe 13ish. Also I am an avid advocate for saying WHY something belongs in a certain category as opposed to the trend of trying to make content creators hide this kind of content in untagged spaces to prevent, y'know, demonetization over being impure only to traumatize children watching it without any kind of filters)

There's games where you have to not only escape Pinkie Pie and save the others, games where you try to escape Sonic.EXE only to fail and die horribly, there's a version of that with Sally.EXE and one with fucking Rainbow Dash.EXE which are all... what the actual fuck. If it were tagged "horror", "gore", "characters you love are now monsters" shit like that, and possibly suicide warnings for some of the games above as well (I'm not a fan of Doki Doki Literature Club but Dan Salvado DID put a warning before playing so that's on me for trying to play it so he gets a pass)(and relating back to the above everyone wants to be FNAF, BATIM, or DDLC but try to market it to kids which... yikes) then there would be way fewer people waking up at 4 AM with nightmares (myself included).

Also on the topic of "games that REALLY should have warnings" and "games that kids played for some reason", why was there an obsession with fucking Corpse Party of all things? Like, the first 10 minutes into the game you wind up not only seeing one girl hanging herself, but if you fuck it up, there's two girls hanging at the first "you failed, bad end # whatever" and the artwork for that is immensely disturbing. There's also ghosts of kids missing their tongues or half of their fucking heads, and YOU SEE THE GRISLY BOTCHED DECAPITATION IN THE GHOSTLY FORM.

And then we have fucking Slenderman. It's basically a game based on either Dead by Daylight or the mock DBD game from the series Reboot (in which you collect a certain number of pages from a book and then put them in the book in order to end the game) where you're hunted by Slenderman while you try to collect all 8 pages. I don't know why this was popular in 2012-2013, nor do I know why suddenly afterwards there were a LOT of "creepypasta" characters that were either glorified serial killers with no rhyme or reason to victims or uwu-beaned versions of those characters that are 90% able to be traced back to Roblox specifically, but the fact that THIS exists

I took this photo in the leadup to Halloween. I don't even know what the younger generation is chasing for horror games now but I feel like Poppy Playtime is trying to cash in on the horror game for kids thing way too hard, and causing a lot of problems.

Also yes, you can find cheaply made FNAF costumes that are glorified "murdered kids" vibe costumes as opposed to straight up the cool shit with glowing eyes and everything that cosplayers make. And FNAF party stuff, BUT I see one reason to do this that would be interesting: market that towards the young adults/teens who see FNAF cosplay and want to do a themed birthday like being a kid but have it feel more "adult" by it being based around kids being fucking killed. Or rather, so adults can do Pizzeria Simulator IRL for fun. Or an inside joke for new parents that the kids don't get yet.

Sorry for the rant tangent.

[code-sumeragi]

As for my thoughts on DA Veilguard

First off it's a solid 7 out of 10 game. And everyone needs to apologize to Inquisition because Inquisition is a good game with flaws and Veilguard is an okay game with this weird bloat to it that's hard to describe but once you play it, you'll understand.

It suffers from too many cooks and too much time in the kitchen. You can also tell it was made by Mass Effect people and not by Dragon Age people and I feel that it makes it a weaker game because of it. Because when I play Dragon Age, I want Dragon Age not Mass Effect.

With that out of the way, all the people bitching about the inclusion and 'dei' shit can stuff it. It was fine. Dragon Age has always been like that and it didn't take away anything. Though there were some dialogue bits that we weird and cringe inducing in that regard; they tended to be the minority so it was whatever. You don't notice it if you aren't looking for it and they only place it sticks out is Taash. And just don't do their quests. Simple.

I feel like some of the lore was fucked up. The crows for one thing. Felt too happy and less one murder cult thing that was implied in Origins.

And it also kinda felt like they just took fan theories and added that into the story. But I genuinely have no idea how far in advance they had plotted any of this out because the threads are there but it feels too much like a coincidence. That or someone from the team was actual sharing what they were planning on doing as meta, which, jerk.

Varric. I actually figured that he was dead from the beginning. From the marketing pretty much. It was suspicious how no one talked to him and he was just in the infirmary the whole time, so I just done knew. Didn't figure for the blood magic though. I know some people are pretty mad about Varric, but I didn't hate it.

Morrigan. I don't like what they did with her. I thought the well of sorrows was multiple elves and not just mythal. Not to mention that she rejected mythal in Inquisition. It makes it weird for her to suddenly have her memories. And be okay with everything. I also hate her top. Keep thinking she has four boobs.

Isabela. Not who I expected to come back. She seems in character for what I remember. Of course, some people's Isabela betrayed them, so I can see how they might not be happy with her.

Kept hoping that we'd seen another warden we once knew. Nathaniel, Sigrun, Oghrun, Blackwall. That was a bummer and a missed opportunity.

Velanna and Merill could have shown up with the Veil jumpers. Shale could have gone to Kal Sharok or shown up near the titan. Zevran could have been with the Crows. Fenris could have been fighting Venatori in Minrathous. Iron Bull could have been with the Lords of Fortune. Sera could have been with the Shadow Dragons.

And I don't mean that they would have to be their physically. Ambiant dialogue or a note would have been cool too. The others got a mention or even appeared. I know they want limited contact so they don't contradict each other, but a single line won't damage that.

Feels like they play favorites a little.

Marketing for the game sucked. Seriously. Following the marketing it seemed like Ghilanan and Elgarnan weren't going to be the only big bads, but they were???? Like, I felt like there was an implication there was going to be a switch like a 1/3 of the way through the game and it never happened and I was like, what is going on and it was just those two the whole time. Which, quite frankly, is on me, I should know better than to listen to marketing. Marketing fucking lies and doesn't market products correctly. Hell, they were showing actual fucking spoilers for pivotal moments through halfway through the game!! What the fuck is wrong with marketing departments???

I usually don't follow marketing, but I guess I was just so excited that I didn't listen to my better judgement and ignore it so I could have a better and clean start.

I don't like how one character /had/ to die for the best ending. And it was a character I wanted to romance on my next playthrough. It wasn't satisfying. It was shocking and somewhat disappointing. That character was one of the only characters I got attached to in the group. The companions are okay for the most part, but I just don't vibe with them as much.

It feels like the work you do for the personal quests don't matter if the character dies anyway.

In some ways I get it. But in other ways, fuck the writers.

For as much dialogue there is in this game, it sure is annoying to get it. I don't know why it annoys me. It just does? I feel like they were trying too hard to mimic the Normandy with the Lighthouse, but the Lighthouse just doesn't have the same vibe as the Normandy. And maybe it's the size of the place too.

The linear-ness of the game is both a positive and a negative. I appreciate Knowing where I need to go, but at the same time, having very little to explore sucks. I enjoy being rewarded for going off the path and finding an optional boss or puzzle that isn't literally right there. I also like the ability to see an enemy levels above you in an area, try to fight it, say fuck no, then leave. There were only a few bosses like that, but no common enemies and I think that was to the games detriment.

Oh and the lack of side quests tied directly to the story and factions was disappointing. Felt like there was very little levity to the game. There were moments with the companions, but in the overall game, it always felt uncomfortably tense. And if the devs/writers were going for that, they certainly got it, but it started to get exhausting at the end.

Combat. At first I really disliked the combat. It was way faster than Inquisition and the spaces you fought in were way too fucking small. I got used to it over time, but I miss being able to access more abilities in the ring menu. Having three skills is just so limiting and while I found a good build, the combat really stresses that you use the detonation system or you're going to have a bad time. Which, isn't great if you're forced to use a system. A good combat system is one you should be able to use without any of the extra's built into it. I should be able to use magic or attacks to kill the majority of enemies without issue and detonation and status' should be a bonus and not an absolutely must for every encounter.

The ending. And by ending I mean that shitty slide show. I know all Bioware games do fucking slide shows but . . . what if they didn't for just one game. I'm begging you Bioware. Have like a clean up scene. A party like in Origins. Any fucking thing.

The epilogue. I like how they left it open. I was wondering about a few things. But also, I'm worried that they may do the same thing they did with Andromeda and cancel the fucking DLC when I REALLY WANT THE FUCKING DLC. I want to know what the hell the gathering storm across the fucking sea is. WHAT THE HELL DID THE ORIGINAL QUNARI RUN FROM. WHY DOES NO ONE GO ACROSS THE SEA. WHO WAS THE VOICE I CONTINOUSLY RAN INTO. WHY DID THEY SHAPE EVENTS THIS WAY??? WHAT IS HAPPENING.

There's probably other things I had criticisms about. I've just got a lot of thoughts in my head right now about this game that I'm still taking the time to process through it all.

Listen. This is still a decent game for all of my bitching. Not worth the $90 for the deluxe edition. But a decent game nonetheless. Probably get it on sale. It had some misses and it had some hits but you'll probably have a good time with it if you don't go in with too high of expectations.

Ugh. I need to catch up on stuff and decompress some more.

Edit: Also, just remembered. I don't like that you're forced into a quest that makes a huge choice after gaining a companion. That's really fucked up. There should be a marker on that quest so you know to do everything before then. I didn't and thought I could just pick up a new friend and missed out on some quests because of it because I wanted to get started with friends. The way you get companions dished out to you in this game is very much like mass effect 2 and it is very annoying.

[tiefling-with-a-gun]

Margot Thoughts #129

You know, I tried to retire. The Ringmaster was dead, I’d lost my contract, I’d burnt down the Carnevale, I’d left the Cabaret. I wanted to focus purely on business, the simple act of running a play. An innocent play, one that hurt no one (despite what the reviews said). A fresh, clean business. My life was open up to me, I could live it as someone other than a crook. Other than… this.

Ms. Lamplight was calming down north and east row, but in the south and west it was going to shit. Lines were being drawn, territories were being fought over. Despite that, though, I had my one street. A couple people came to me, looking for protection money, but I talked them out of it. Nobody wanted to touch the madwoman who killed the Ringmaster. I stayed clean for about two weeks.

One day, a kobold came to me, looking for protection money. I laughed it off as I normally did, then he made some threats about how the Scraphive would rule Scarlet Row one day. I chased him off, but decided to investigate.

With the help of Bones Malone, they’d taken much of East Row, and they had several spots in the sewers. Slavers. Scum. It was my own fault, really. I had assumed that, since we had defeated the two gangs involved in trafficking (the Carnevale and the Black Tide), the barbaric practice would stop. But there was a niche in the market, and I suppose it makes sense that someone would try to fill it.

No, I decided. I couldn’t just stand by and let it continue. The Carnevale was ash, we would not deal with meat again. I burnt as many of them as I could, but without my hellfire, well, it was a slow process. But with a few good fires, they were all but out of South Row.

Then, I saw another gang, the “Harlequin’s Horde” or some other nonsense, begin to win the street war over South Row. At first I was relieved, business tends to be better when not in a war zone. Then I checked to see what they were like.

Their leader was a man who so clearly wanted to be the next Ringmaster. He hated me for killing our old boss, as if I had not spared him from a life of agony. He kidnapped one of my stage hands, hurt them, and promised to do it again until I gave myself up. Well, I decided, if he wants the Ringmaster back, he can have it. In the end, he begged me to spare him again. The Horde disbanded a couple days later.

A few more potential victors came. None were worthy. They all had ties to the Scraphive, or used slaves, or held the Ringmaster in too high a regard. A couple times, they tried to destroy my theater or made an attempt on my life preemptively. My punishment for that was simple: I would burn down their greatest source of profit.

South Row is still at war, and the Scraphive still has a foothold in East Row. But with my magic back in full… I can get to business. It was naïve of me to think I could put it all away. I belong in this game, playing it is one of the only things I’m good at.

[cobaltsunflower]

Language accessibility issues in Vietnam

You know what fucking pissed me the fuck off? The fact that the Vietnamese landscape is slowly but surely becoming more inaccessible to Vietnamese people themselves.

What do i mean by this? So many fucking surfaces are now displaying English ONLY.

This doesn't sounds like much shits to the youths who are english-savvy or at least eating up the english stuffs since it make them feel "modern" and "trendy". But assholes who think this is fine are so self-absorbed that they forget what this country's official language is or how many percentage of the population even knows english.

You have not experienced how fucking alienating and dehumanizing this is until you have seen my grandma trying so hard just to find a mobile farming game in Vietnamese. The only good available one previously was Hay Day, which apparently the company in charge of the Vietnamese translation has gave up on and left for dead some how, i don't know the details. Now she is playing a version that must be downloaded with an american apple id, and has to ask grandpa to log into every time the game demanded an update.

This evening her hay day lagged and crashed, so she tried to find an alternative farming game. And like, there are so few options in Vietnamese it's straight up enraging me. Even those Made by Vietnamese developers are in English, and they don't even have the decency to have a Vietnamese option. She downloaded an English one and had to ask me for translation for all the tasks and dialogues in the game. And it's so sad to see she has to use another phone with ggl translate to understand it when i'm not available.

But this is just what is happening to us, a middle class family with half the members fluent in english. What about all the normal people, the older generations, the poor people who cannot study english.

On the streets i'm increasingly seeing new storefronts blasted in big shiny english names, with no further explanation of what it sells. High-end products made with english labels. Hell, i have even seen advertising billboards in all english. And like, mobile apps by foreign developers not having vietnamese is one thing, but Vietnamese-made apps not even have a second language option is just flipping people off.

And you can say these apps are trying to market for, and reach, a foreign market. But then pray tell, does it fucking hurts to made another version in vietnamese? You are literally narrowing your userbase by not selling the language of the country you are selling things in. At least don't name it in vietnamese if you can't even be bothered to put the language in.

And i'm so fucking enraged at the awful implications of this trend. This is literally volunteering to eliminate our own national language in favour of catering to foreign superpowers. Which is fucking horrible when you consider the vietnamese language has survived thousand years of imperialism and colonialism, only to be faced with the ignorant money-hungry business people jumping on the trendy bandwagon.

And ALSO, i know how ironic it is that I, the perpetually-online english-fluent youth, is saying all of this, in english nonetheless. But the matter of fact is it's a thing that looms in the horizon that scares the hell out of me. Like, speak english all you want but if your consumer products does not have basic language accessibility for the particular country then you are contributing to something larger and much more sinister.

I'm fucking pissed off rn and cannot reach a point or a conclusion for the life of me but by lord please understand how fucking horrible this this, not just for vietnam but for other non-english countries as well.

This is in the end just a big rant stemmed from shitty products inconveniencing my granny, but also i need to point out this societal problem that i've noticed for a while as well. If you have reached here thank you for your time. Here's a potato for the rant!