#who still romanticize this franchise

[alvadee]

harry potter fans wanna be oppressed SO bad. if you would just shut up about and not post about it no one would know if you play that shitty game in your home but you need the privilege to support a deranged terf monetary AND post about it without backlash.

how can you be so stupid. for example, if you're a big fan of russian literature or something like that and idk have a shirt with the russian flag printed on it and walk around with it rn? yeah, people will think you're pro putin and pro russia winning the war. that's what it looks like, that's the message you're sending. it was not always like that but now it is.

if you now buy an antisemitic terf game and act like that's a neutral action people will think you don't give a shit about trans people and jewish people if you want it or not. you can decide which message you want to send, nothing was ever apolitical.

again, if you so fucking desperately can't quit the shitty harry potter world and haaaave to buy/play this game... you could do so quietly. literally no one can stop you. but that's already too much to ask, isn't it?

[paixarina]

everyday i question why people find himaruya's creation (especially hetalia) hot

[blue-thief]

begging everyone who is NOT a part of a group historically targeted by the nazis and/or the japanese imperial army to just listen for a moment. while the INTENTION may have been to portray kaiser in a WWI uniform, his clothing does still resemble what actual nazis wore. furthermore, you can't have a conversation about german history by ignoring the connections between WWI and WWII. the IMPACT is the repeated romanticization of the image of the axis powers in animanga, fuelling further ignorance in general japanese society.

korean fans are pissed, and rightfully so, because how many more times are non-japanese east and southeast asians supposed to forgive japanese ignorance when we've repeatedly criticized the romanticization of modern and contemporary japanese militarization in so many animanga franchises?? it's happened with hetalia, attack on titan, bungou stray dogs, and so many other franchises. it's not fun seeing the people who have raped, murdered, and tortured your relatives and their allies be portrayed in a cool and bad-ass way in anime.

there may be some mistakes here but i literally just woke up, and i woke up to this. dumb comments from non-affected groups will be blocked.

[door-insurance]

So I played Life is Strange 2 for the first time ever

I didn’t wanna play it for a long time not cause it didn’t have Chloe or max (tbh I got sick of their asses around BtS they’re not even my faves)

By that point I was in college and had lost interest in the whole franchise but also I was very apprehensive of white creatives writing racism with no input from the group they’re portraying, they don’t usually do a good job

Sometimes they make it cartoony, sometimes they trivialize it, sometimes they romanticize it

So years later adulthood kicked my ass and I came back crawling to this franchise for some comfort, I finished True colors annnnd I finally started 2 after hesitating annnnd

^sketched this while playing

SPOILERS

I actually liked it

I liked Sean, the drawing segment he does- he was such a likable main guy, deserved better honestly.

I also liked Daniel, he was very adorable and I never got it when people called him annoying like no shit the 9 year old is gonna act like a 9 year old- just don’t be a jerk to him, I know he can be frustrating but that’s what taking care of a kid is like

And lis had always been about realistic complex characters, y’all can’t handle a traumatized nine year?

I have two younger siblings and two nieces plus I’ve been a bratty younger sibling to two older sisters

Maybe I’m just used to it?? But honestly Daniel wasn’t that bad

The racism portrayal in the first few episodes was not all that cartoony and it actually felt real at times, like I can check for American news rn and find stories similar to what you see in episodes 1-3 (minus the telekinesis)

Although the gas station racist hick spouting trump slogans was a bit on the nose, it’s more of dialogue thing

Some people thought the gas station detainment was egregious but it can happen unfortunately, especially to vulnerable people in rural areas and by someone of a higher systematic advantage

One other thing I did not like was the love interests, I thought Finn and Cassidy were alright characters on their own but why do we need romance in this game where the protagonists are always on the run?

I don’t like to compare lis 1 to 2 but when it comes to the romance the former did a better job as it spent more time establishing it, plus max stayed in the same place for the majority of the game- but you know what? Sean doesn’t have to be in a relationship right? It can be a one off thing, that’s fine

Which brings me to my next point

How old are Cassidy and Finn?

Cause Sean is still 16 and no, being on the road didn’t mentally age him- he’s not “mature” for his age

He is still a kid

So for some reason Dontnod never really specified their ages but some articles described them as teens (they look 30 to me) and they can be around 18 right? Their lives are hard stress ages you- it happens, we can with live that, it’s just a two years difference

But teens or not

why did they animate a whole knocking the boots scene???

Of all the games in the series, the only one that gets a sex scene is the one with the much younger protagonist and his ambiguously aged older looking love interest and I think it’s only with Cassidy you get to do it in the tent

Alex Chen was robbed of a on screen booty call from a beanie wearing lesbian with a sexy radio voice or a buff ass Adonis of a man who was Smokey the bear’s regional manager or something

Anyways I’m gonna move on I’m uncomfortable lmao

*im not hating on people who ship Sean with either Finn or Cassidy, I’m not even tagging your ship names- im just stating my personal preferences on my blog

One last thing I did not like about LiS 2 and it was the one thing that kept me from playing it for years

That one scene from episode 4

So at this point Sean Diaz went through the following:

-lost his father, had to abandoned his loved ones, education and home

-was accused of killing a cop

-had to take care of his little brother on his own while on the run, the same brother with telekinesis and none of them know how to control it

-was harassed, beaten then detained by a racist white man

-had to take refuge in an abandoned cabin with little resources

-the dog that they adopted at the gas station eventually gets mauled

-the one time they found solace at their grandparents house they had to leave abruptly cause the police was hot on their trail

-on their way out they can potentially witness the neighbors kid that they befriended get hit by the police car that’s chasing them

-they find shelter at a nomad campground but oh no they get involved with drug trafficking cause they barely have any other options to make money (unfortunately this happens a lot IRL this isnt egregious)

-Sean now has to deal with the trafficking, making sure that Daniel doesn’t get into any trouble with his powers while fake ass giancarlo esposito is breathing down his neck

-and guess what happens next… Daniel gets robbed into pulling a heist on temu gus fring and it goes badly, Sean can potentially lose a love interest/friend in Finn

-Sean gets hurt, Daniel goes so mad that he blows the whole place up; a shard glass flies into Sean’s eye and he ends up losing it

- Sean wakes up from a coma and learns that his brother is missing and he’s about to be taken to jail

- the one thing that consistently brought him joy during this trip was his art and because of the missing eye he can’t even do it the same anymore cause it hurts now

- Sean has to escape the hospital with a hot wired car, little money and has to drive across two states just to get to his brother

-on the way he dreams of his father, he wants him back he wants his old life back but that’s not gonna happen so he has to move forward

Im not listing all this as examples of bad story telling, a lot of these are real life experiences of homeless people. im just painting a picture of the shit that Sean had went through so far

Cause right after the dream sequence, Dontnod didn’t think all that was enough no you had to see Sean get hate crimed by two lifetime movie, sitcom special of the week racists- be made to either sing or suffer a brutal beating

It added nothing to the plot, it didn’t need a choice system either- it’s a hate crime, you’re not asking Joyce for fucking pancakes or eggs n bacon at the whales diner or hosing down Lisa the fckin plant.

This to me went straight to trauma p*rn category, it’s wheelchair Chloe all over again

I hated it then in LiS 1 and I hated now in LiS 2, this is why I don’t dick ride Dontnod that often

They always had this tendency right before the end they single out a particular character and mentally whip them, they become the writing teams punching bag- they think we didn’t get it the first time that this character is going through it, they just hammer it in with the subtlety of a heart attack and I hate it

“Yeah but it’s there to show Sean’s resolve to find Daniel-“

HE ESCAPED FROM THE HOSPITAL AND THE FEDS, HE HOT WIRED A CAR TO DRIVE ACROSS TWO STATES

He’s starving, dehydrated, suffering from chronic pain

That’s enough

Let the character breathe

You ask why not a lot of people wanna play this game and I’m gonna tell you, as much I enjoyed it myself it’s not an easy game to play- it gets brutal, especially right around the end

I’m not against bleakness or extreme conflict, I’m into that but sometimes that doesn’t translate well to any gaming format- especially a choices matter game that’s meant to be replayed

Some people have asinine reasons not to play LiS 2 like it dealing with racism and those people suck, lis had always dealt with progressive themes like calling out objectification, cyberbullying and sl*tshaming

Racism shouldn’t be the exemption

but misuse of racial trauma and not knowing when it’s appropriate to invoke it is a huge turn off and hella triggering to a lot of non white players and I remember when LiS 2 dropped I’ve seen (mostly white) lis fans at the time proclaiming that not wanting to play it meant that you were racist

Like I said there were probably racists who didn’t wanna touch the games cause of the main characters skin but there were people like me who were apprehensive of the “Let’s go to the mosh pit Shaka brah” people handling racism

This is the same studio that had Ms Grant (one of the few black characters from LiS 1) claim that the white settlers peacefully shared the stolen land with the native Americans

I find that shit harder to believe than the time traveling powers

And they were doing alright in the first episodes they covered stuff like unconscious biases slipping through, dog whistles, polite racism from the grandparents segment, police brutality, racial profiling and being targeted/othered- some of these things I went through when I visited western countries

Then they did the bullshit I feared theyd do…

I really don’t blame myself for being hyper vigilant at the time and honestly I was going through a lot then, even if I wanted to I wouldn’t have touched LiS 2 cause it’s a very heavy tasking game to play

I know I kinda made it seem like I didn’t like this game but I did, its the best one in terms of the choice system

It had more weight to it, seeing Daniel internalizing what you say to him or how you act around him was so cool

Also what the second game has over the first one aside from the choices system is the ending selection- I never liked picking the endings for max, I wanted her to pick the ending or her coding/script to do that

Its definitely more fleshed out technically even though LiS 1 has a special place in my heart it’s always gonna be no. 1- but im also glad that I got to experience the 2nd game for the first time, I liked it

Personal lis ranking

1: Lis 1

2: Lis 2

3: True colors

Discount bin: BtS

My personal fave moments from LiS 2:

- beating up the racist bully and giving him a concussion

-mushroom (rip icon)

- victorias letter

-winning that that bear from that claw machine

-gorillaz song that was not feel good inc

-Brody pointing at a fucked up looking arcadia bay yelling “that’s the past!”- that was hilarious

-Sean paying tribute to Arcadia bay in his sketchbook (this fucking kid man, he’s so sweet he deserves the world- what did he do to make DONTNOD mad at him)

- the wolf animation and the story that plays before every chapter

-this was the worst hate crime in the whole game

[starsaroundsaturn]

why do we accept the way that men (and yes, women too) act towards their partners in the romantic genre?

in this post, I'll be discussing sarah j maas, colleen hoover, the pretty little liars franchise, twilight, the vampire diaries, and many more.

many of these I happened upon as a teenager. even as a teenager, I saw some of these as overdramatic and even problematic, but I could see the appeal.

the love interests, all men in these instances, were obsessed with their partners. they were distracted about them.

regardless of the novel, the protagonist can be the stand in for the reader--I am almost certainly not the only one who imagined myself fighting the white witch in Narnia, eating at the Redwall feasts with my companions, dancing with a special someone at a ball, or saving the world with the spy kids. protagonists are made to be relatable, to be appealing, to be somebody we'd love to be or at least like to listen to throughout the story.

and in these romances, the main character is super special. she is the obsession, the person who drives others distracted, she is so, so wonderful that the love interest cannot resist her.

we all want to be that kind of special. we all want to be seen and known and loved and admired. it's not just human, it's human instinct. we want to be accepted, we want to be loved, because that's family, and family means we survive. we need people.

so this is a really attractive premise. this person who we can see ourselves in--she or he is irresistible.

I think that's where we fell into this pit. he can't resist her. he wants her so much he loses control over himself.

it sounded super romantic.

till it didn't anymore.

she is so special and irresistible that he ignores it when she says no (hoover). he's lost control so much that he obsesses over her and watches her when she sleeps and stalks her, because he wants to be with her all the time (twilight). she's so special to him that she's his (soul)mate, and he can't help it if he acts possessively over her all the time and can't bear men looking at her, because she's just that important and irreplaceable (maas). she might be his student, but that doesn't mean they don't belong together! (pretty little liars).

yeah.

when you say it like that.

but the thing is, if you don't think about it too hard--like a smaller me might not have--it sounds exactly like the dream. it sounds like Mr Darcy falling in love with Elizabeth against his better judgement--but then, when she doesn't want him, he leaves her alone, takes the advice she gives, helps her family when it's needed because he wants to take accountability for his mistakes. only when she initiates does he tentatively bring up his interest in her again. when he's accepted, he's overjoyed, and grateful for her love for him.

huh. crazy.

the fact is, I think we've gotten to be so used to the idea that love is madness that we don't realize when it really is unstable, unhealthy--and awful.

we want people to do great things for us. we want demonstrations of love that often we've lacked in our lives. we want somebody to be willing to drop everything to help us and make it better when we're lost. we want a pair of solid arms around us (and I include myself, uninterested in romantic relationships, in that population). (there's a reason I'm obsessed with friendships and father figures and siblings).

we want passion and adventure and excitement.

and I think romance novels, and those who still romanticize these relationships, look in the wrong direction. they take the phrases madly in love and irresistible in the direction of unstable, passionate desperation rather than steadfast care and devotion.

I loved the phrase madly in love when I was a kid. not so much anymore.

[arkus-rhapsode]

Fire Emblem and Aesthetics-A Mini Discussion

So for those who don't know, I don't really play Fire Emblem Heroes, but I still have an interest in seeing what units they release. Usually for fanfic purposes or just keeping track of new resplendent designs. But recently, FEH had an update for the original character of Dagr and it got me thinking about how resplendent from jotunheim look

Combined with FEH's ongoing storyline of taking from Norse mythology it really made me think-"Wait, why don't we have a Norse Fire Emblem game?"

Now look, I'm not here to bemoan that FEH don't have a console version, non gacha style game, but it really got me thinking about how we may be missing out on something relating to the use of a rich mythology and it only being in a mobile game more about collecting waifus and husbandos.

You see, Fire Emblem is no stranger to cribbing from existing mythologies like Norse in Genealogy, Arthurian myth and the matters of France in Elibe, and several characters just straight up being named after mythological/classic literature characters like Beowulf, Sampson, Priam etc. But its always done in this relatively Anglo-Saxon-British-French homogeny of aesthetics for their tales. So we can have a character named Sigurd, but he's not gonna look like he's fresh off the Viking Ship. Now Fire Emblem isn't the only franchise to do this, many pieces of media made by other countries draw upon these sort of exaggerated/romanticized look for fantasy stories all the time. And I want to be clear I am not advocating for "Medieval accuracy," I think that's silly. What I'm more getting at is I feel like FE could do with changing up its setting/aesthetics to perhaps inspire newer experiences.

Now I'm not saying FE as a franchise needs to be reinvented. In fact, I think FE has one of the most universal accessible mechanics in turn-based gaming. Simple to pick up, but still able to create many difficult maps and challenges. And by this point has made the support system one of the most iconic in gaming. But if the mechanics are good, doesn't that mean it could be transplanted into another setting? Well, In a way, yes. But once again, I'm not advocating for FE to stop being this fantasy style sword and sorcery story and become like the Napoleonic wars.

(That is a real Nintendo game by the way. Its wild!)

No what I'm saying is that the broad terms of "Middle Ages Warfare" is much more than simply a certain type Eurocentric fantasy.

I'll tell you what, as much as people like to rip on Birthright, I'm still shocked how it took so long for Fire Emblem to have a game where Japanese culture and aesthetics is super prominent and a main setting for a game. Fire Emblem tends to have one character who is obviously inspired by Japanese culture or even sometimes a single country. But a full blown game where so many characters come from and embrace this Japanese backdrop was unique.

Now of course it was still Birthright, so while you got these cool glimpses of a unique world and story like the Oni inspired Flame Tribe, the start of having a lot of retainers as main characters, the monk class and using fans as a weapons, and even roping in Kitsune. It still doesn't really do much than an average FE adventure with them. But it did at lease prove the the FE formula *could* still work removed from its conventional trappings.

Another in the different aesthetic, but missed opportunity category would be Fire Emblem Three Houses country of Almyra being pretty heavily inspired by Persian/Middle Eastern culture. A country that was gesturing so hard at an interesting idea that its left fan artist and fanfic writers to swoon over the idea of a possible FE game set in Almyra.

And if you want an even more recent example, for all the desert backdrops we've had in Fire Emblem, its kinda astounding it wasn't until Engage that we got a lightly (And admittedly exaggerated) African inspired country.

When I see stuff like this and what FEH is doing it makes me realize that we could be getting more. Im sure the next FE will likely still lean on its typical fantastical Anglo-Saxon look, but eventually there's got to be some spice to it. Sure it may be different, but Fire Emblem is a franchise that with each entry does try to be something different while maintaining certain core gameplay elements. So what is the harm of trying to approach something that looks a bit different?

Im not asking for an extreme change right away. Maybe start lighter. We have tons of pirates in Fire Emblem, why not a pirate/sea based game? We've even had the rare few pirate as a playable character. Its a type of story that could be told within the typical Fire Emblem world.

Then perhaps maybe something a bit more culturally ubiquitous like Greeco-Roman inspired FE? There's plenty of gods and magic, but also swords and spears to draw forth on. Heck, that may even open up new potential enemies or stories to tell with like an Evil Senate or a Gladiator culture. It could even push FE to maybe drop or reinvent certain tropes like how they approach the knighthood type of character where a certain culture's version of knight is different. Maybe even make new classes the way Birthright had to.

Overall, I think Fire Emblem is and always has been a malleable franchise. And because of that, I think it can afford to take certain risks on something as simple as drawing from another culture during the medieval magic era, while still being able to provide things that people still love about the franchise like the combat system and support system. Will there be push back on it looking different? Of course, I remember when Three Houses first teasers dropped and everyone was wondering what was up with the military school outfits and what even race was Claude. And of course a different aesthetic doesn't make the game automatically good. But let's remember, that people were judgmental of Birthright not because it went all in on looking Japanese, but because the general story and writing was lackluster for many.

But if you can make an interesting and likable cast of a characters that elevate the story, and make a memorable world for people to wage war in, I see no reason why you couldn't make Fire Emblem work set in the Netherlands.

If there is a personal aesthetic or theme you'd like to see Fire Emblem tackle, sound off in the replies. I'd love to hear what you guys think.

[kavalyera]

5 DILFS of the John Wick franchise who aren’t John Wick: very put together list by me and I’m definitely not writing this after getting up from like an hour nap

5.) Kirill - he may not be a father but Daniel Bernhardt is so he counts. I love how constantly stressed he looks in every scene and at this point we might aswell consider Iosef as his kid from how many grey hairs he has because of him💀 anyways, dilf bodyguard. Pros: strong, hot, actually a quick-thinker, cool. Cons: pushed a woman, will continue to push women.

4.) Viggo - what else do you want. Mob boss, actually does have a kid, probably the most coolest mafia boss I’ve ever seen. He’s the funniest guy ever and also I will romanticize his actions from hell to back. He’s also a shit father but let’s not talk about that🥰 (He literally put his son in danger) (He punched said son two times) (He ALSO grieved his son BEFORE he died). Pros: generally powerful socially, has networks and influence across New York, the only villain who knew John’s power. Cons: shit father, punches his own kid, still stupid enough to fight John in the rain without a weapon but at least he looked cool doing so.

3.) Harbinger - im sorry I find Clancy Brown hot that’s all there is to this. He’s enigmatic, he serves as a (kind of) father figure to Marquis if you really think about it. He’s also dressed in black always, and also he has a sick ass scar. John Wick Chapter 4 screenplay calls him a “behemoth of a man”. Michael Finch and Shay Hatten’s words not mine. Pros: actually chill, wiseful and mindful👍, the most respectful High Table emissary. Cons: high table emissary.

2.) Koji - Hirouyuki Sanada with a sword. He’s also a father of a very mean daughter which is funny cause he’s actually really chill (what is it with mean kids and their chill dads in this movie series??) anyways. He owns a cool ass hotel, he’s hot, I don’t think he has a wife (or a husband.) Pros: he’s super respectful and gracious!!! Also, really puts relationships above all things. Cons: he gets betrayed.

1.) Caine - now we have mean dad and chill daughter. Well, we don’t know exactly if Mia is chill yet but she kinda looks chill so. Anyways, Caine!! Ngl the cuntiest person in JW4 I don’t care if John Wick is there or Akira or Vincent, Caine is by far the coolest fucking guy in that movie and I will die on this hill. Pros: will fight for his family, funny, won’t kill certain types people. Cons: pissed off a friend’s daughter😨

[avichor]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

— u and i both have a lot of conversations about this and i'm sure we'll post ranty posts about this in the near future but. i'm tired of the lack of respect asian cultures get. they're used as aesthetics, interchanged, mocked, fetishized, and then disregarded when they don't suit what people want out of it. not entirely unpopular opinion, but it might as well be with how literally the entire world treats it llsgjlskdgskd

— as someone who's made blogs for and have tried to initiate interactions with original characters, AND have struggled to get those interactions — i do think a lot of interactions, or lack thereof, can be attributed to the lack of content or effort put out. usually. like i usually think it's the case. like it obvs sucks that ppl with ocs need to put in more work, but sometimes u just gotta. whether it's making verses, adding more info about the lore, breaking lengthy info down into something digestible ( bullets bc lbr not everyone will read novels of info nor will they retain it ). this is aside from people blatantly ignoring the effort you put in, thats a whole diff thing. but if i struggle to int with ocs it's bc there's nothing for me to work with and sometimes. SOMETIMES i fear the information just isn't digestible for me and i cannot like, visualize? the character beyond words on a page................ yeah idk. i think bullet lists are really good in getting important info out in a quick and easy way to supplement a novel biography ( esp if it has heavy prose ).

— im gonna be so fr my brain is frying but. i feel like there hasn't been any new tv that HITS the way the vampire diaries did. and i miss that era tbh like it actually makes me kinda sad :clown: but in that same vein of tvd, the way the current climate of fandoms interact with it is very offputting to me like none of the characters are meant to be morally good. the show's gonna have assholes who do heinous things beyond basic vampire stuff ( damon ) and outright erasing him or banning him or vilifying writers who choose to write him from a non - romanticized lens is very weird to me. its just the whole cherrypicking all over again

— ON THAT TOPIC, i miss tw. lol. the fandom is RANCID as are sterek shippers, i wish them a very [redacted]. but i will eat up whatever content that franchise puts out. even that shitty new movie i was eating it up just for the vibes like i couldnt tell you one thing that happened in the movie but i sure watched it and enjoyed the brief serotonin it gave me.

— duplicate anxiety is weird and it's weird to impose it on others i'm tired of pretending to be sympathetic about it

— korean stiles was still the weirdest fucking thing i've ever had to witness on tumblr dot com

[kristailine]

Tekken 8 storymode thoughts/rant/review

Obviously will contain spoilers

But I have to say that

Surprisingly, I really liked Tekken 8's story (which is something I really didn't expect. I was preparing to gaslight myself that I liked the story because I was expecting a mid plot. But I can definitely say that I genuinely enjoyed this installment's storymode)

I'm going to remove my kazujun stan lens for this review

Jin has always been an after thought to me. The only time I care about him is if it's connected either to Kazuya or Jun (as a kazujun shipper). But the way he was written in Tekken 8 added layers to him and developed his character well. Don't get me wrong though, IT WOULD NEVER REALLY ERASE THE FUCKED UP SHIT THEY DID WITH TK5-7, but Tekken 8 was sweeping up some of the garbage left behind.

I always joke about Jin and his war crimes. Obviously, waging war is bad irl, but this is fiction okay. Anyway, Tekken 8 somehow managed to make me really feel like Jin didn't want to wage war. It was more of a result of his own self deprecation. Add to this, he was already suicidal before he took over the Zaibatsu, but after Tk6, he just really sulked into the idea of having to carry his sins and let it define him for the rest of his life.

The way they turned Jin from this guy who's hopeless and is submerged in his own hatred towards his bloodline and himself to this guy who finally acknowledges that all of the bad things are a part of who he is, but it doesn't have to be who he completely is, was really really really written decently. This whole character development with Jin instantly makes Tekken 8 on par, if not equal to, Tekken 4 story writing. And I was really impressed and blown away with how they unfolded the development. Because I really didn't want the romanticization of all his past mistakes, and his allies just cheering him on. Instead, his allies actually acknowledge JIN AS A DEVIL literally and figuratively (e.g Hwoa saying Jin has those dope-ass powers, Leroy asking Jin who is he, Xiaoyu saying she isn't scared of Jin despite the devil look), but they all believed in the chance they gave him to atone for everything he's done wrong.

I wish we could've gotten more about the history of the devil gene. It's still a very vague concept, and I was kinda expecting Tekken 8 to answer most of the questions about it, but still no.

Although as a Jun stan, I'm upset she never really appeared in the real world, I have to say that I really like how they still kept going with Jun's persona as a mysterious woman. If you see a previous post of mine, I have always been scared that Tekken 8 would finally be the franchise who would ruin Jun's character, but they played safe with it. She's still as mysterious as ever, but they allowed her to show more of her kindheartedness.

Like I said, I really wish we could've gotten more. I wish we could've also got to explore Kazuya's perspective. It's been like 6 consecutive games, and we still haven't had a storymode that focuses on Kazuya's character (always the one sided villain). Although, I understand why they couldn't do it (maybe because of budget constraints, and it would really diminish and compress the quality of Jin's char dev if they're gonna focus on both of them). I'm assuming at least that we get Tekken 9 and have it shine a spotlight on Kaz.

Overall, I really liked it. It gets an 8/10 for me!

More things I kinda didn't like:

- Where the hell is Yoshimitsu???? He appears in the tournament and then goes Bye Felicia once Kazuya absorbed Azazel LMAOOOOO. His bio about investigating the Mishima bloodline and whatever didn't really reflect on the storymode :<<

- Nina and Steve.... Uhhh.... We already had them in Tk 7, and I was at least expecting that they would continue it in Tk 8

- The Asuka Kazama erasure.... She's just treated as another one of the side characters at this point. I fear she's just only in the game now because of Lili. She's very underdeveloped and underutilized and I feel so sad about it :<<

Tekken has a very interesting set of characters with amazing dynamics and chemistry with everyone else. It has a huge amount of lore to explore as well. And they could really do better by exploring and developing most of the characters. Here's to hoping we get a story expansion DLC not just for the main story, but also for the other beloved characters in the game.

[jinglebellrockstars]

word on the street is that pirates of the caribbean is getting rebooted and apparently everyone is moanin and groanin about johnny depp not being there any more and im like. the only one who thinks that the potc as a brand will be just fine without johnny depp or jack sparrow, not even just because of them allegations against depp, but because jack sparrow was absolutely not the only good part of potc. like yea jack sparrow is cool and all but potc's greatness was a group effort of pirate romanticism and mysticism in the writing, memorable characters other than jack such as will and elizabeth and davy jones, and meticulously well crafted filmmaking that brought these elements to life

i believe that gore verbinski, jerry bruckheimer, and terry rossio all have the sauce to create epic swashbuckling adventures without relying on one individual actor or character, and much like a well run pirate crew, its not just the captain that takes all the booty. also i believe that the only people who claim jack sparrow was the only best part of potc are just trying to make a martyr out of him

which brings me to my next point that personally i wouldnt have rebooted pirates of the caribbean, but used the universe already there to explore other characters besides being beholden to jack and the pearl crew all the time, however im still hopeful for the reboot. im of the belief that being beholden to specific franchise characters without daring to create or explore new ones that are at least mostly apart from them is how we keep getting star wars stories about the origins of the womp rats luke skywalker used to shoot at and shit like that. comfortable nostalgia is the mind killer and whatnot.

in conclusion, i believe the peoples love of high seas adventures, as evidenced by avatar 2, is stronger than one lone character and the reboot will do well hopefully. in short, yarrrgh

[fantasyinvader]

The fact that Edelgard and her path is meant to be attractive, even with symbolism supporting it, is merely an explanation for the game's writing, not an excuse. The purpose of storytelling is the ability to get that meaning across, and while symbolism is nice symbols are not universal. If people don't know what those symbols are and what they mean, they mean nothing. Even then, it shouldn't give the translation free reign to remove those symbols and change the meaning of the story, as they're not the writers. This wasn't their story, and there's a reason why Japanese fans get upset when the story is changed in the West. They view it as arrogance on the part of the translators.

You can argue that Houses shouldn't hold your hand. That it's treating you like an adult, putting the responsibility of piecing together it's meaning on the player. And that's a decent defense, but it the fact still remains. It's trying to make Edelgard, her actions and her beliefs out to be attractive.

Take for instance Ferdinand's paralogue. We learn that Edelgard is conscripting the people of the Empire while having those who resist executed, and through it all Duke Aegir is made out to be a scapegoat for this and the management of Thales. Yet we're supposed to feel bad about fighting Edelgard. She can starve her people, send her armies to kill anyone who doesn't submit to her rule, and is called out for her tyrannical rule of the Western Kingdom in Moon, yet the focus is on how sad it is we can't walk the same path as her. Claude can call her out on military rule, but then tries to talk her down only for her to say she wants/has to kill him, and then after the reveal that she was manipulated it's made out part of fighting the Agarthans is for her sake. Her ideals are meant to be toxic, her views of Fodlan should be nonsensical considering the deeper setting, yet they're still rarely called out.

All because the game doesn't actually want to address them, because Edelgard is meant to be attractive. And in the end, it's like the same problem Starship Troopers has where people argue it makes fascism sexy. That despite it being intended as satire, people looked at it and didn't see the it as such. People took it at face value for a long time, including Roger Ebert. Even today, with knowledge of the intent people still call it out for glorifying what it's trying to criticize.

Houses isn't meant to be satire. It just romanticizes the hell out of Edelgard and her beliefs despite those same beliefs being the antithesis to not just the rest of the game, but the franchise as a whole.

[batunatu]

is there a backstory behind ur jeffery art n ur chr.... if there is plllssssss info dump i want to know SO bad im absolutely obsessed w ur work w him

HEHEHE THE MOMENT HAS COME

(yap warning)

It all happens around 2008, a year after Nicole arrived at school. On Nat's side (yes, it's a shameless self insert), she is an Argentine girl who, after her parents experienced the crisis of 2001 (one of the most screwed-up economic crises in the country) had to work outside the country. Nat was taken care of by her grandparents and they saved everything on her education as she was an only child.

When she turned 17 she won a scholarship to be an exchange student in the United States, everything was going well but Nat is naturally shy and somewhat nervous, always closed off so it was a lot of mental and emotional weight for her.

Upon arriving in America, she studied at an ordinary high school until it caught fire and the major damage caused it to be temporarily closed and the students were transferred to nearby schools in the area, so Nat had to go to THAT SCHOOL.

She didn't understand the teenage culture of that country, it was much more complex and Nat's social skills were few. But she didn't know anyone so she was naive, based only on appearances and the way they treated her.

She stayed as a roommate with Karen (kinda gay yk) She met Jeffery in one of the classes, let's say that she was naive and believed that he was just a weird but harmless boy, she felt empathy for him and that she was also kind of geeky and in Argentina it was difficult to find a circle like that in his school, always isolated in the cybercafe.

She began to get closer to him, it was a too casual relationship between friends but Jeffery obviously understood everything as flirting and he began to idealize Nat, she increasingly noticed that Jeff was worrying, at a certain point she just stayed with him for It hurts, believing that he just needed a friend.

Anyway, I have a LOT of concepts about this au, I no longer like shipping both and I certainly distanced myself from the fandom and the game but I still love this story.

This is like a spoiler (? but everything is a game unrelated to class of 09, I mean yes, it is a game in this au but let's imagine that the co09 franchise does not exist.

let's say that jeffery, now a grown ass guy can't get over his loneliness and He decides to create an indie game about him having a girlfriend in his teens.

a typical anime style dating game. Nat is the protagonist but the gameplay shows you something at first very fictional and romanticized but at the same time it plays with the theme of "breaking the game."

What if Nat realized it was all a game? Everything is convenient for her, she wouldn't hang out with a weirdo like him, she couldn't just casually win a scholarship, she feels flat and everything feels artificial.

As if some weird guy in his chair was the god and creator of this entire world.

That is my biggest concept, I have many notes that I should write in another post.

I'm not looking to romanticize anyone, and I like that this "fake game" is a way of showing that you can't fix someone who is broken and that the world teaches you to cut off your empathy in unfair ways. I don't want Jeffery to be the typical cartoon guys Otaku they made in flipside, in fact, I like to think that in this au the adult Jeffery first did flipside as a way to get revenge on Jecka and Nicole.

If you want to know more things you would have to ask specifically since I don't have anything organized, sorry ◉⁠‿⁠◉

my brain rots.

[thealexchen]

Thanks for answering! Was interesting hearing your thoughts espeiclaly about TC and LIS2 (totally agree about Cassidy and Finn’s hair - even at the time felt weird but tbh I’ve soured on their romances especially Cassidy’s as times gone on).

Wanted to ask another question (more positive this time) but what parts of LIS franchise do you think has aged the best? Moments, plot lines or even characters count 😄

No problem! By far, the theme of nostalgia has aged the best in the original LiS. I don’t think Dontnod even intended for the game to age so well because they were a struggling studio at the time not sure if this game would garner a following, much less a 10-year long legacy and dedicated fan base. But since nostalgia is so dependent on time passing and the players’ memories, it’s brilliant that a game all about nostalgia would develop its own meta nostalgia over time.

The sense of nostalgia is aided in part due to setting (time and place) and characters. Firstly, all the games are set in the recent past, making the players nostalgic for 2013 even when the game first came out in 2015. Two years is just far back enough for players to think back on that time, maybe in their own lives, and reflect on how people or events may have changed since then.

On top of that, Max and Chloe are both extremely sentimental characters. They are constantly reminiscing about their childhood together and again, it encourages players to reconsider how much of their early lives they may have forgotten. Who have they lost touch with? What do they regret? How much has their life or their worldview changed since they were 18? At the same time, Life is Strange is a classic coming of age story with some sci-fi elements. Max is in an extremely pivotal and transitory stage of her life, on the brink of adulthood, and the plot proceeds to plunge her into difficult and eventually traumatizing situations. Another theme of the game is innocence, and as Max makes some of the best and worst memories of her life in that one crazy week and loses some of that youthful innocence, it reflects the dual happy-sad nature of nostalgia itself.

Finally, the art direction has aged quite well. Stiff facial expressions and lipsync aside, Dontnod has such a precise command of color and light in this game. The magical, perpetual golden hour and hazy skies contribute to this romanticized depiction of reality, as if the events of the game are through a nostalgic filter. Basically: the vibes are still immaculate.✨

Thank you for asking!

[thisdreamplace]

hi dream. it’s 😵‍💫 anon.

for your previous message; your halloween plans sound like so much fun. I didn’t watch any this month 💀. in my head, I always say “I can’t wait for *insert holiday* so I can watch movies” I never do lol. Michael Myers used to scare me so much as a child but it became one of my favorite franchises. do you like Nightmare on Elm Street? that’s the ONE for me. love Freddy.

just to update, I’m going to dance and trick or treating. 🥳 I also went to a party but it was complete shit. but there’s always next year.

I took in what you said about unstable perception of self. at the moment, I guess I’m feeling a bit of sadness over it. I look back when I had some type of confidence and there was definitely a difference in my appearance vs when my rapid insecurity started. don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been insecure but there was a time I viewed myself higher. it’s insane. it was when I was a freshman in highschool. I enjoyed life more then too. it just feels crazy how much life feels like it went down hill from there. I find myself even reminiscing about people. it kind of hurts a little, you know? I don’t exactly want to go back but I wish I could go back and appreciate who I was & where I was. I’ve never been the same since then. I found myself wishing I looked like that again & had a similar life like that again. the heartbreak is that I can’t feel that anymore and I wonder if life will ever be like that again. the pictures I took a year after my freshman year, I look so different & worse. that was when I became massively insecure. it reflected. it’s just so crazy how that worked.

but here I am sad & constantly in love with a past so much so that I don’t know how to navigate my present. regrets of not choosing a certain school, not keeping in touch with people, not saving my memories. my soul & heart are stuck craving my freshman year. not the age (I kind of miss that too but I was literally just a teenager last year lol) but the confidence, the opportunity, the people, my home, culture surrounding me. everything.

I know I will feel better eventually. I guess I just needed to be honest with myself. I’ll let the feelings pass as they need.

hiii im sorry for the late reply omg <33

ahhh i love that hehe the halloween franchise is so underrated (in my circle of friends anyway djsjs) AAAAND AH YOU GET IT. nightmare on elm street is the ultimate when it comes to old school slashers for me. but no i literally have the nightmare on elm street collectors edition for dvds 🙈🥰 they could never make me hate freddy lmfao

i hope your halloween was SO much fun!! :D i actually ended up going trick or treating as well and it was super cute :3

sometimes going down memory lane like that can be a dangerous slippery slope. we romanticize the past a lot bc its so out of reach, things really DID feel better then and from where we stand now, it seems like it’ll never be that way again. well, you still have some power though. because you dont need to have that again. instead, you can look forward to that and SO much better. dont let that one point in your past be the ultimate of your life, when you still have so much more life left to live!! you dont need to go back, believe the best times yet are still ahead 💌 (easier said than done ofc, but little steps amount up to big leaps)

i hope youre doing well 💓 with much love!!

[ncisfranchise-source]

The NCIS franchise has continued its dynasty, striking more gold with NCIS: Origins.

In fact, the compelling prequel has scored a full-season order, to my absolute delight, at a time when the television landscape and its offerings seem bleak.

But the thing about Origins is that it doesn’t feel like Gibbs’ show at all.

And shockingly, that’s the best thing about it.

The series manages to utilize the stalwart, most renowned character of the NCIS universe, Gibbs, as a Trojan Horse to tell Mike Franks’ story, and I love every damn second of it.

Make no mistake — it’s Gibbs’ story, and Austin Stowell is sublime as a young Gibbs.

But while it’s Gibbs’ story, it’s undeniably Mike Franks’ show.

Franks is the very heart of NCIS: Origins, and there isn’t a single scene that man doesn’t steal.

Mike Franks was always a fan-favorite character in the original series.

His relationship with Gibbs was unique and one of the best dynamics the series has ever produced.

Thanks to NCIS: Origins, we can totally understand why.

The series gives us context for one of the franchise’s best mentorships, and knowing that Franks was there in the aftermath of the most devastating time in Gibbs’ life certainly makes sense for their close bond.

The truth is that without Mike Franks, Gibbs and the legacy that Gibbs left behind on NCIS would not exist.

So much of what we know and love about this staple character in the franchise is due to this gruff but kind-hearted man who opened the door and allowed Gibbs to step into his eventual legacy.

And the series earning the name NCIS: Origins initially felt like a misfire.

But in hindsight, now that we’re a few episodes in, “Origins” is a perfectly clever title for this series.

Because it’s about the origins of NCIS and Gibbs, sure, but it broadens the scope of what the series can explore as it carries on into a multi-season run.

And I desperately need this series to have a few seasons under its belt buckle.

But it especially can focus more on Franks, which the series has done thus far.

It’s like they lured us in with Gibbs’ story and sucker-punched us with Mike Franks’ chronicles and his origin story, one that can last a while in the time frame of NCIS: Origins.

We know Mike Franks’ fate in the original series, but what’s lovely about Origins is that he’s suspended in time because of the era the series is fixated on.

This means we get to deep-dive into this character and unpeel all of these layers.

He was more than just this snarky, sharp-witted curmudgeon — an old dog who still could learn a few tricks.

And NCIS: Origins gets to tell that story and is doing so beautifully.

Kyle Schmid is splendid as a young Mike Franks.

He is so eerily fabulous at capturing all the nuances and mannerisms of his predecessor, Muse Watson, that it should be studied.

Franks is rough around the edges and doesn’t have anything remotely close to a filler, but he has such a big damn heart that shines through in such a way that it reiterates what I mentioned above: Mike Franks is the heart of this prequel.

NCIS: Origins is fascinating because it is surprisingly effusive as a series.

Two of the most deceptively stoic, pinnacle of masculinity characters in the franchise helm an evocative series that isn’t afraid to show how strong men can still feel.

And they feel everything, not just anger or aggression.

He’s a passionate man, and the series fixates on this well in every episode as it applies to all aspects of his life.

It showcases his passion, romanticism, reverence, and softness through his relationship with Tish.

We see it in cases with NCIS: Origins Season 1 Episode 5 serving as a strong example of how far he goes and how emotionally invested he can get on the job.

But most importantly and consistently, we see it with his team and how someone who is supremely fucked up in his own way, too, does whatever it takes to protect his people and ensure that they’re okay.

Few seem to grasp his fondness and admiration for Gibbs and why he’s willing to take the risk of allowing a grieving man who, to most, seems like an open wound and danger to himself and potentially others to join his team.

Sure, NCIS: Origins Season 1 Episode 1 teased that an underdeveloped Lala is somehow at the center of this story — someone Gibbs never spoke about in all the time we’ve known him.

And the implication is that this story is very much meant to be about her.

But we have yet to see that.

What we have seen is that the most charismatic, multilayered, and sexiest mustachioed man since This Is Us‘ Jack Pearson has been at the center of everything.

Via Franks, we get the best insight into Gibbs’ state of mind in some of the most exhilarating and least toxic, albeit subtle, depictions of brotherhood and male camaraderie presently on air.

And it’s via Franks that we get some of the best interpersonal conflicts — I eagerly await the series to explore further how he and Vera’s relationship became so strained.

It’s easy to imagine that part of that is due to the realistic but forgivable political incorrectness that has him simultaneously revering and slighting the strong women surrounding him.

Through Franks, we get some of the most endearing moments and touching dynamics, too.

I don’t know where NCIS: Origins intends to go this season (and the many hopeful seasons to come).

I am curious how they’ll expand their focus amongst the team and explore various characters and their respective stories.

But I do know that while NCIS: Origins lured me in with the promise of exploring Gibbs (and is delivering on that), Mike Franks is why I return week after week.

NCIS: Origins belongs to Mike Franks, and I love every second of that.

[autisticsupervillain]

Ace Attorney: Crossover Cases

The Show where we take Ace Attorney characters and have them solve cases in other franchises.

Today's Crossover: Hitman

Today's Case: Turnabout Cohabitation

Case Details:

Mumbai, India has a dark criminal underbelly hidden underneath its surface. The Maelstrom, a notorious pirate whose true face and name are unknown, has recently moved in, along with his lieutenants Vanya Shaw and Dawood Rangan. Rangan has restired to become an egotistical Bollywood film producer, releasing heavily romanticized films on his "adventures" with the Maelstrom, though truthfully the sinister pitate he is still lurks underneath. Vanya Shaw meanwhile, has become the self appointed queen of Mumbai's criminal underworld, working her gang to near death in strick slum conditions. The Maelstrom has gone back to running his old gang, The Crows, but the three do stay in contact to assist an underground international terrorist group known only as the Militia.

The Kashmirian is a local assassin looking to assassinate both Rangan and Shaw as a job interview to get hired by the Maelstrom, seeing the two as just "loose ends" in the Maelstrom's operations. Meanwhile, however, an entirely different conspiracy is afoot. Agent 47, international assassin extraordinaire, has been sent in to eliminate Abdul Chabra, Hemant Laghari, and Vivaan Dhar, a trio of thieves whose MO is working as security for years at highly secure buildings under fake identities in order to case them for theft. A previous employer whom they stole from tracked them to Mumbai and hired 47 to eliminate them.

47 entered the country under the alias Tobias Rieper and moved into the local Chawl to case the area. The Kashmirian happens to be living in the same building at the same time, where his neighbors have taken notice of his suspicious behavior. Namely, they saw him with a conspicuously large briefcase and what seemed to be a sniper rifle stand. Overhearing this conversation, 47 decides to use the Kashmirian as his scapegoat in his operation.

Abdul and Hemant work as private security at Rangan tower, where Rangan is shooting his latest movie. The Chawl is across the street from it, where the Kashmirian has his sniper rifle set up to aim for Rangan from his apartment balcony. However, the Kashmirian isn't a very good assassin, as he can't adjust the scope right to aim for Rangan's window. Seeing his opportunity, 47 steals the rifle and sneaks out, prompting the Kashmirian to panic. Assuming he's been caught, the Kashmirian books it to the street and catches the bus to get out of town at roughly 5:15 pm, with his ticket stamped with the time.

47 sneaks back into the apartment with the rifle and takes his shots. First, he shoots a propane tank near the top of the building, causing it to explode when Laghari goes for his smoke break nearby, sending his body hurling from the top of the building to the bushes below. Then, 47 shoots an oil barrel near the bottom of Rangan tower. Abdul, who hadn't heard the explosion due to guarding the loud construction area at the bottom of thr building where Rangan tower is still under construction, blows himself up when he lights his cigarette nearby.

47's final target, however, cannot be hit from his current vantage point in the Kashmirian's apartment, as Dhar is posing as a guard at the train yard to cover the thieves intended escape route. As such, 47 needs to break into another apartment room on the opposite side of the Chawl to use its balcony as a vantage point. The problem being that two neighbors are gossiping just outside the door he needs to lockpick into. Knowing that they'd see him with a rifle on his back no matter which route he took, 47 ditched the rifle for now and took a route between the apartment rooms where he could break in through the apartments locked window, unlocking the door from within. Then, to remove the neighbors from his path, 47 lured them into the room by leaving the door adjar and creating a loud crash by throwing utensils around. Then, 47 bludgeons them unconscious from behind and stuffs them in the closet. Finally, with all obstacles removed, 47 retrives the sniper rifle again and takes his shot, popping Dhar in the head from a specific angle through a hole in the train yard roof.

His task done, 47 plants the rifle back on the stand exactly as the Kashmirian left it to frame him. However, he cannot take his leave just yet. A new contract has come in for Dawood Rangan, Vanya Shaw, and the Maelstrom, so 47 must remain at his apartment for the time being to scope out new targets.

This is where the Ace Attorney cast comes in. Interpol had been monitoring Rangan for quite some time now in an attempt to link him and the Maelstrom back to the Militia. An apparent threat on his life threatens to undo all that hard work, so they call in Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth to examine the scene. Miles quickly finds the smoldering bullets in both the propane tank and the oil. While the bullets are too fried for ballistic markings to be applied, Miles is able to determine the only vantage point from which both shots could be fired to be the Kashmirian's apartment room. There, he finds the Kashmirian's rifle set up to aim for Rangan's office. Furthermore, when Dhar's body is discovered, Miles matches the bullet's markings to the rifle. Time of death is marked down as 5:17 for Laghari, 5:19 for Abdul and 5:25 for Dhar. Miles then takes the testimony of the neighbors who were assaulted in someone else's apartment and realizes the killer must've broken in to get his shot on Dhar. He also takes the testimony of the neighbors who were suspicious of the Kashmirian and "Tobias Rieper", a "tourist" who claims he was taking a bus tour at the time. Miles now thinks he has a clear idea what happened and the Kashmirian is swiftly arrested at a nearby airport.

This is where Phoenix Wright enters the picture. Phoenix is taking a family vacation with Trucy around the world when he finds Miles investigating the crime scene. Miles informs him that he's been called in to investigate a major crime scene and that he's not at liberty to discuss it with civilians. But, Nick can tell something's bugging him and Miles admits as cryptically as he can that one of the three killings didn't have a motive. As in, Miles is bothered by the fact that the Kashmirian seemingly had no motive to kill Dhar as he has no obvious ties to Rangan, especially as he went out of his way to do so.

Interested, Phoenix visits the Kashmirian at the detention center. Knowing Phoenix vaguely by reputation, the Kashmirian admits to everything in his plot to kill Rangan and Shaw, assuming that the Maelstrom brought him in to get him released. When the Kashmirian denies killing Abdul, Laghari, and Dhar and protests he had no motive to and doesn't even know who they are, the Magatama shows he isn't lying, prompting Phoenix to take his case so the real killer doesn't escape.

Oh, and for conveniences sake, lets assume the Ace Attorney characters read up on another Marathi to be able to talk to people here.