#and i think logan has spent their lives finding ways to undermine that | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pynkhues · 11 months

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Okay, feel free not to answer this but does it feel like the fandom has generally had a harsher/less sympathetic view of Kendall in a post-finale/S4 world or is that just me? I feel like I see a lot more takes that position Kendall as the sole or primary inheritor of Logan’s poison when all of the siblings have elements of Logan dripping through and they’ve all suffered from his abuse (as opposed to just certain siblings - which I see way more than I previously did). It might just be me, but does it seem like the views/commentary around the siblings has changed? (Please note I mean no shade to anyone, just generally super interested in how the fandom view of characters evolves over time/morphs with recency bias)

Hey! Sorry it took me a few days to get to this (I'm a little slow across the board these days), but yeah, I'd say that I agree with you. There tends to be this fixation in fandom on which sibling was abused the most or which is the most likely to be abusive in the future, when the reality is their experiences aren't numbers you can compare. You can't compare Roman maybe being hit more (which again, isn't something we actually even know), with the psychological abuse of Logan humiliating Kendall as a boy by making him compete with and then wait on one of the few relationships he has outside of the family.

These aren't things that are quantifiable, and similarly, the insidious ways that the golden trio behave in the final season (or throughout the show's run) aren't things that can be plugged into a pie graph to give a sense of which of the three of them is the 'worst'.

I do think Roman and Shiv in some ways feel more defensible in the final season for some because Roman does seem to accept his ousting while Shiv's narrative feels so doomed, but I think a lot of that comes down to the woobification of Roman by a vocal portion of the fandom and the very specific and gendered bleakness of Shiv's arc.

It doesn't help of course that there's a sense that if it weren't for Shiv, Kendall would've 'won', which I think is a false reading of the show in general. The show has worn all its opinions on its sleeve since season 1, and Kendall as a character isn't one who wins even when he does. He, in Roman's words in 3.01 after Kendall's arguably had the biggest win he does across the course of the show, self-destructs. I don't imagine had he become CEO it would've gone any differently.

I do think there's also this desire to see all three of the golden trio's acts in s3 in isolation - it's easier to end sympathetically with Roman because he broke at his father's funeral, when literally an episode earlier he was instating a fascist in one of the most powerful roles in the worlds. It's easier to end sympathetically with Shiv, who kills her brother and faces a broken end. It's harder to end sympathetically with Kendall, who alienates his family, threatens to take custody of his children off his wife, takes back a crucial truth and has to be forced out of a legacy he feels entitled to.

There's a sense of character death there, but no more than there is for Shiv or Roman, the former who has lost any ethical or moral core she may have ever had, and the latter who's lost any sense of purpose and destroyed a country in the process (even if in the end it was Kendall's choice, Mencken was always Roman's man).

To look at Kendall's actions in isolation though negates the particular insidious abuse Kendall faced in his life, and even in death. Kendall's alienation from his children takes on a far greater depth for instance when you consider it in the context of Roman echoing their father's words that they were never family to begin with, just as his terrible treatment of both Rava and Jess at his father's funeral takes on added weight when you consider the fact that he's not only grieving his father, but is feeling increasingly alone after his sister betrayed him and he's worried his brother's going to cut him out now that Mencken's president.

Does that make his behaviour okay? Of course not! But to view these moments in isolation paints them as inherently abusive instead of the long tail of abuse in a very lonely man who's only sense of self-worth is tied to the ghost of a dead man

The fandom's always been fickle with the characters though, so I imagine it'll come full circle. Don't forget at the start of the season a loud portion of the fandom was arguing Connor was the worst one because Kieran said he bought a person in an interview, haha.

#i am a kendall is a terrible father but loves his children as much as he can truther #and i think logan has spent their lives finding ways to undermine that #like in how he used dinner for winners to undermine kendall's adolescent relationship with stewy #logan's also arguably been shown to be the most possessive of kendall #which i also think is an interesting thing to account for in terms of relationships he could see as splitting his loyalty #just for the record again i love all four of the roy sibs #and i love roman a LOT #but he does get a lot more sympathy and leeway than it feels like than the others do #kendall roy #succession meta #welcome to my ama #hbo succession

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williamsjoan · 5 years

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DualShockers’ Game of the Year 2018 Staff Lists — Travis’ Top 10

As 2018 comes to a close, DualShockers and our staff are reflecting on this year’s batch of games and what were their personal highlights within the last year. Unlike the official Game of the Year 2018 awards for DualShockers, there are little-to-no-rules on our individual Top 10 posts. For instance, any game — not just 2018 releases — can be considered.

Ah, the end of the year. What’s not to love? The holiday weight gain, arguing about politics with your family members, getting invited to a loud New Year’s Eve party that you really don’t want to attend. Of course, who could forget the piece de resistance of our year-end traditions: the end of year lists.

Yes, the lists. The good, the bad, the best, the worst, the favorites, the least favorites, the this, the that. Lists are all terrific, subjective noise; they’re inflammatory by nature, they inspire debate, they create a narrative.

A lot of people blame the proliferation of list culture on BuzzFeed, which I find unfair. We love lists! We’ve always loved lists! Who could forget God’s famous listicle, titled, “The 10 Commandments?” I can’t believe “Thou Shall Not Murder” wasn’t number one. Talk about getting robbed!

You know who else loved lists? King Hammurabi of the First Babylonian Dynasty. Code of Hammurabi? Now there’s a great list. “An eye for an eye?” An absolute all-time classic. Old Hammurabi, an absolute madman. Complete legend! Don’t even get me started on ol’ Saint Nicholas. Did you see who made it on the nice list this year?

I contemplated whether or not I was going to make a year-end list for a while. Unlike literally all of my DualShockers colleagues, I don’t own a PlayStation 4, and thus, didn’t really play a lot of the capital-B Biggest games of the year.

So here’s the deal–I’m going to list my ten favorite games of the year out of the games I’ve played. Despite playing a lot of older games for the first time this year, I’m limiting the games on my list to games that were released in 2018, or games that released a substantial update this year.

Lastly, if you think I’m snubbing God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, or Red Dead Redemption 2 in some weird attempt to be controversial, you’re wrong, pal. I simply haven’t played them and have absolutely no business evaluating them. Now, without further ado, here are my favorite games of the year.

10. Enter the Gungeon

Enter the Gungeon was my first roguelike. It was the game that inspired me to jump headfirst into the genre and brought me countless hours of exploring, shooting, and most importantly, dying. This year’s Advanced Gungeons & Draguns DLC brought a ton of great additions to the game and has worked to make every run feel effortlessly unique. Seriously, I have logged over fifty hours in Enter the Gungeon and I’m still constantly uncovering new things. I can’t recommend this game highly enough, especially for Nintendo Switch owners.

9. Halo: The Master Chief Collection

For many people, Halo: The Master Chief Collection was a great disappointment. Upon its launch, the game’s ramshackle online infrastructure effortlessly undermined its glorious promise. After all, who wouldn’t want to revisit those original Halo games on today’s Xbox Live?

While Halo 4 and Halo 5 have brought more modern (*cough* Call of Duty-esque) sensibilities to the franchise, the original Halo trilogy offered a unique FPS experience. Thankfully, as a result of 343’s 2018 update campaign, players can finally experience those games’ online matchmaking without janky connectivity issues. As it stands, The Master Chief Collection is not just playable, it’s ridiculously fun.

Check out the DualShockers review of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

8. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds

2018’s “Fix PUBG” campaign and the new addition of Vikendi, the game’s snow-themed map, have kept me hooked on the classic battle royale game. Upon booting up PUBG, I don’t even have the various optimization problems that caused me to lambast the game in the past. You can read my exhaustive thoughts on the game here.

Check out the DualShockers review of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on PS4 and PC.

7. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Similar to most Nintendo fans, putting Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on my end-of-the-year list was a no-brainer. The game’s new characters are fantastic, its quality-of-life updates are palatable, and most importantly, I don’t have a reason to keep my Wii U plugged in anymore. What more can I say, it’s Smash; it’s the tried-and-true formula made better than ever.

Check out the DualShockers review of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

6. Dead Cells

Dead Cells showed me how innovative a roguelike could be. Everything about this game felt so utterly satisfying. Additionally, the game’s upgrades make it considerably easy for fans new to the genre to hit the ground running and make good progress. I would recommend this game to just about any gamer looking for a challenge.

Check out the DualShockers review of Dead Cells.

5. Super Sportsmatchen

Super Sportsmatchen essentially flew under everyone’s radar. Evoking old NES titles like Stadium Events, the game is a fantastic party game for those looking to duke it out with one another in sports-themed minigames. Above all, Super Sportsmatchen is perfect for those that don’t feel like committing to a game of Super Mario Party, or those looking for some fun on a budget.

04. Joggernauts

Joggernauts is a beautiful, wacky, couch co-op game that will make your friends get mad at you. The game is simple– each player is a different color and only they can run into a creature of that color. Players take turns switching to the front to defeat enemies, collect keys, and complete other platforming challenges. It’s ridiculously fun and extremely challenging if you play with several people.

Check out the DualShockers review of Joggernauts.

3. Minit

Minit was the first game I reviewed at DualShockers and it remains one of my favorites of the year. Minit didn’t just challenge the way I thought about game design, it challenged the way I thought about time. In a world of oversized, bloated AAA games, Minit is a refreshing breath of fresh air.

2. Mario Tennis Aces

Mario Tennis Aces is going to be the next Mario Kart: Double Dash. People bought it when it came out, enjoyed it for a month, said “yes, this new Mario Tennis title is fun,” and will forget about it until the next one comes out. However, like Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario Tennis Aces includes a treasure trove of interesting mechanics that transcend the tennis formula and will remain evergreen for years to come.

At the end of the day, as many others have already stated, Mario Tennis Aces is more of a fighting game than a sports game. Like all competitive fighting games, its meta is continually evolving, new content is regularly being added, and its die-hard fans are looking forward to the future. I hope this game sticks around for as long as possible.

1. Monster Hunter: World

Like a lot of people in North America, Monster Hunter World was my first taste of the franchise. Upon initially booting the game up I stopped playing it and wanted to return it. Unfamiliar with animation-locked combat systems and put-off by the game’s cluttered UI, Monster Hunter: World was initially too much for me.

One afternoon I decided to give it one last shot before selling it and oh boy, am I glad that I did. I spent the earliest weekends of the year sipping coffee and hunting monsters from the comfort of my living room. The game demanded a lot of me, forced me to learn, and I’m all the better for it.

Check out the other DualShockers’ staff Top 10 lists and our official Game of the Year Awards:

December 17: DualShockers Game of the Year Awards 2018 December 18: Lou Contaldi, Editor in Chief // Logan Moore, Reviews Editor December 19: Ryan Meitzler, Features Editor // Tomas Franzese, News Editor December 20: Reinhold Hoffmann, Community Manager December 21: Scott Meaney, Community Director // Ben Bayliss, Staff Writer December 22: Ben Walker, Staff Writer // Chris Compendio, Staff Writer December 23: Grant Huff, Staff Writer December 26: Jordan Boyd, Staff Writer December 27: Max Roberts, Staff Writer // Michael Ruiz, Staff Writer December 28: Rachael Fiddis, Staff Writer December 29: Steven Santana, Staff Writer // Tanner Pierce, Staff Writer December 30: Iyane Agossah, Staff Writer // Travis Verbil, Staff Writer // Zack Potter, Staff Writer

The post DualShockers’ Game of the Year 2018 Staff Lists — Travis’ Top 10 by Travis Verbil appeared first on DualShockers.

DualShockers’ Game of the Year 2018 Staff Lists — Travis’ Top 10 published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

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