I think there's no greater indication that disco elysium is sympathetic towards communism when it literally says "communism is failure" and then the literal gameplay itself rewards trying and failing. The most obvious one being the Shivers check at the FELD mural, which is an Impossible 20 check BUT opens itself up again and again the longer you spend in the world doing things, but even just looking at sheer probabilities, for any given white check, rolling first and THEN putting a point into that skill upon failure is more likely to grant you success than putting a point first and then rolling, but that would require failing first.

Other things too: Precarious world saying you'll 100% fail red checks no matter what (not necessarily a bad thing, btw!! throwing the boule into the sea is a success but like. in some other ways one would want a perfect petanque throw instead. but people wouldn't typically assume that failure is desirable sometimes from the start) persuading you to accept that you'll fail some things that is irrevocable, for a world where everything is just a tiny bit easier.

The faux game over screen when you faint after reading Dora's letter— emulating a sense of failure on the scale of the entire game. When it rolls up most people go "What?? Game over?? No way, what did I do wrong!!" and waking up after that, with no huge or lasting impact on Harry's health or morale really tells the player, "Sometimes things will seem so bad that it all seems like it's coming to an end, but it's not the end, it's really not the end, go drink so water, you can still go on despite this failure"

I'm sure there are other things as well that are eluding me but like. The literal gameplay rewards failing and succeeding far more so than simply succeeding every single time, and I think you get a fuller experience of Elysium that way too

I lied. It was 7 pages. 🙃

I always find it particularly funny when people say that Ranni is just manipulating the player and that she’s using them as a means to a much more nefarious secret end, because if you actually pay attention to the game and character then one thing becomes abundantly clear.

Ranni literally cannot lie to save her life.

No seriously, she’s a cunning mastermind but she is a fucking terrible liar. When a random tarnished comes looking for her and accuses her of the assassination of Godwyn, she just goes “yeah? And what of it?” as if she’s not admitting to being the one behind the biggest act of heresy in known history. That's not something you should just say to people, least of all a tarnished!

You get her alone with you and within seconds she’s rambling about her plan, her past, her family, her friends that she adores with all of her heart, how you’re actually a lot like them, nevermind forget that last part please-

Sorry to burst the bubble of all the nihilist theorists out there that really want age of stars to secretly be a bad ending but if Ranni was planning anything nefarious with her godhood then I’m willing to bet that she wouldn’t be able to keep quiet about it until the end of her questline.

Even though the fandom usually sees 42Aaron as a "bad influence" on Miles G or (less often) an ideal father figure or actually a replacement for Jeff, I'm very interested in his characterization as a good person who really wants to help, though not a perfect uncle.

Because, listen to me, 1610 Miles saw Aaron as some kind of unwavering image of coolness, lightness, an alternative way of looking at the world, looking to him more than his own father. And yet Aaron was not the way Miles saw him - he was much harder, much more difficult, much more complex than just a "cool uncle" in the eyes of a rebellious teenage boy.

Now imagine. Jeff has died, and - although they haven't spoken in years and will never be able to again - Aaron knows that the only thing he could ask of his brother is to look after his family, his wife and son. And so Aaron does. Aaron comes to their home almost immediately after the news of his brother's death, he tries to talk to Rio, brings his nephew a couple of old tapes as a gift, and pushes his own heartbreak far away because it is the only way he can thank his brother and shed light on his memory.

He becomes a loyal helper and friend for Rio, and for Miles G, he becomes a mentor, a role model, and a father figure.

But there is a small problem here - Aaron is not a family man. Aaron is not a father. He really thought that he was a good uncle, a cool uncle who could make a child happy, but all of that shattered as soon as he had to actually LOOK after this child.

Because it's one thing when he comes to your house once a month, you eat popcorn, listen to music and talk about school and girls, and then go out to paint graffiti. And it's completely different when you see a little boy literally falling apart and breaking down before your eyes, when you know that he can't sleep at night because he's afraid of nightmares, when you see him exhausting himself, reaching for some unknown goals, trying to grow up as fast as possible to become a person he was never meant to be... and there's nothing - nothing - you can do about it. You don't know how to approach him, how to open up, how to talk to children. Because you have never been able to deal with your own feelings, let alone the feelings of a small child who is just quietly suffering in front of you.

Of course, this does not mean that they do not have good relationships. They have their own local jokes, gags, and inventions. Miles G can spend hours at Aaron's apartment practicing something, and he will pass on his knowledge to him.

But (and Aaron has made sure of this) this does not make him a really good uncle. Because he just doesn't know what it's like to be a full-fledged father figure, a supervisor, how to be anyone beyond being a "cool uncle" - and he blames himself for this more than anyone else, but he just can't seem to learn. He tries to talk to Miles, but every time he meets an iron wall with the code words "I'm fine" that he just CAN'T break through.

He had no experience. He had no normal parents. There was no one who could explain to him how to do it, and the only person who really cared about him all these years is six feet under the ground.

How often do you think he stood by Jeff's mural, muttering a quiet "I'm sorry" to him? Because for the first time in his life, just making and giving money was not enough. Because he can't be the help he wants to be. Because he hates seeing Rio so tired, too, and he knows Jeff would hate it as well, but he can't do anything but hear a clear "no" to every his suggestion about her resting or taking a day off from from work.

How often do you think he's thought Jeff would be angry at him If he knew the role he gave his child, seeing the scars on his face and soul?

How often do you think he's wondered if Jeff would hate him if he found out what he's doing, even though he's doing the best he can.

How often do you think he thinks his "I'm sorry" doesn't mean anything anymore?

That's how I see him.

It’s the way that Nathan Ford is BY FAR the least interesting character of the original Leverage five, and yet he’s the one who gets SO much backstory and context to himself. I’m literally watching the season 4 finale and I just don’t care that his father was murdered because Nate’s being incredibly annoying. Trying to be empathetic about a character grieving doesn’t even work for me here because his entire team is trying to make sure he doesn’t MURDER the man/men responsible for his father’s death and he’s not letting them in at all. It’s part of the reason I dislike his character so much. There’s hardly ever moments when he is genuinely vulnerable, not even with Sophie, who he is supposed to be in love with (yeah yeah, I know, they’re “friends with benefits” right now, but that’s not fooling anyone with eyes even without the knowledge that they end up together at the end). Nate is this mastermind of a character and it’s cool and intriguing for all of half of season before you’re scratching your head like, where’s the care for his team? He was kind to Hardison in the evaluation form and he didn’t want to make Eliot kill again, for any reason, but it’s so hard to appreciate his humanity when he’s spent the past three(ish) seasons on the verge of drinking himself to death, verbally bashing Sophie, and only being about the work. Sophie having a notebook full of moments when Nate put her or her ideas down isn’t funny or a moment of character growth. Nate doesn’t fully understands how that’s so shitty of him, as team leader, but also as her sexual (romantic?) partner. Every moment of Sophie and Nate’s relationship has to be fought for BY SOPHIE, and at this point, I don’t even know why she even wants him. He may be acting as Robin Hood and helping people, but he’s barely even a person while he’s doing it. I’ve never liked Nate, but making my way through season 4 has definitely given me the hardest time with remembering his redeeming qualities. Every time he’s vaguely misogynistic or acts like an immature man child when it comes to processing his emotions without alcohol (which happens: never), I question why he’s the main character, why my screen isn’t filled up with Hardison being the sassiest mf of them all or OT3 moments or Sophie conning the hell out of men who are led by their dicks and not their minds. When I’m watching the Nate centric scenes/episodes, I’m never wishing for more, I’m wishing the rest of the team was in the spotlight instead

The last chapter of Palmarosa has been SO interesting re: feedback dsalfkjasd because Raphael appears to get angry/impatient and walks away, with 'I'll try again tomorrow' and it's like...

Raphael definitely wanted Astarion to feel like he was angry/annoyed, and he definitely wanted things to be perceived a certain way, but Astarion's not a very reliable narrator, and Raphael's personal annoyance at having to share a stage with Cazador is different to him not expecting the results he's getting.

It's another technique to keep Astarion on the back foot and make sure he feels like he failed, but Raphael also knows Astarion hasn't 'failed' anything. He had a predictable response.

His choice to walk away is twofold. He gets to replicate / retraumatise Astarion along the axis of abandonment and actually give him a tangible break to reassess his circumstances and calm down (which works in Raphael's favour), his aim is to get Astarion behaving in a more favourable way towards him, once Astarion realises things are somewhat different to what he expects. Which he does.

So far, while Raphael doesn't exactly have a plan, everything is kind of going the way he wants it to go. For a guy that talked constantly about everything being a game / a performance with actors / a play, this dude is constantly in a role, and since he knows other people expect his short-tempered/impatient nature, he'll play into that as well if it's convenient to him.

But I think he actually had a rather good night, all in all, lol

TL;DR Y'all giving him the same amount of credit as Astarion is, but Raphael is genuinely familiar with torture effects and he genuinely didn't expect Astarion to enjoy what he was doing (he knew there was a small chance, and I honestly think he expected more violence / struggling than what he got, and is still looking for more of it).

You're telling me Kol would use his empty hand to grab the second stake, leaving both hands occupied against any further attacks, without dropping either? You're telling me a thousand year old vampire who's been on the run from an Original hunter his entire immortality, would make that mistake?

they just need time and space that's it! that's all! because the whole time they've known each other they have put all their feelings in the "deal with that later" pile! dean and cas both think feelings are a luxury and a liability so if there's any kind of crisis (which there always is) the feelings get put on hold. so when they finally can focus on the pile (and the feelings) they can do it. it won't be easy but it is very, very simple.

This look came to me in a dream and i am absolutely loving it🥰😱

A little sketch I've been meaning to take out of my sketchbook of my main Elden Ring alt (I have so many send help), Cleanrot Blade ! She doesnt have a name yet haha. I haven't gotten her all figured out, but so far I think she's one of the Cleanrot Knights that survived the war in Caelid. While Finlay took charge of transporting Malenia back to the Haligtree, Cleanrot Blade went out in search of information on how to help their Lady with the rot and the blooming etc etc... Out there she learned about the Outer God of Rot and about the Blue Dancer (making the link with Malenia's old blademaster too probably). From there she came back to the Lands Between and has to make her way to the Haligtree (I'm still in the process of it in game).

Underrated line in first Simpsons episode is when Marge says the dog is the best gift Homer could have possibly given the family because unlike a typical present, it’s “something to share our love.”

I look forward to their atonement arcs. Lyle killed Neteyam, Neytiri tried to kill spider. One is seen as a hero the other a villain. Their actions the same. Perhaps you are more like your enemy than you think.

Me: The PMD anime specials are fun but man they do so many little things and changes to the plot of the games that they bug me and I'm glad there isn't really a question that they're canon to the games or superior in any way

Also Me: Fuck you Special Episode 5 if you check the anime special you CLEARLY see that the Sableye do NOT fear Dusknoir and are his special little guys!!!!!!!!!!

one thing about me is that i’m ALWAYS thinking about chapter 4 kokichi ouma

sada and turo are fascinating characters for the obvious reasons and it definitely drives me crazy thinking about how they were willing to do a bunch of insane and dangerous things for the sake of bringing about paradise on earth, but i don’t think we acknowledge enough the fact that their idea of ‘paradise’ consists of a bunch of dinosaurs and robots running around. no world peace, no sociopolitical movements, no bringing back long-lost people. they straight up just wanted to play with cool toys they read about in picture books and that ended up driving them insane. they’re so funny

Shows for the gays, in that they're full of queer characters and that's just their default and the story they feel like telling, and I wish that would've been normal growing up but it wasn't so I'm fucking real happy it is now (but mostly for Me because everyone's tastes vary and there's many shows for us that are probs not my thing or your thing etc). It's just like... I genuinely remember when I grew up, if you wanted anything with even one main gay character you pretty much had to watch the gay channel, a specific cable channel, and then rhe big shows were romance life focused which isn't my personal cup of tea or romance movies and like. You were thankful you even got ahold of them. Then gradually a single 1-2 queer characters cropped up in some sci fi shows, and a handful of high drama life type shows. And now? Now if I just want a fun comedic show or supernatural show or just More Genres of things? At least there's some options with queer characters, more than there certainly used to be.

Comedy vampires: what we do in the shadows

Comedy pirates: our flag means death

High drama vampires: interview with the vampire

High drama pirates: black sails