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mageknight14 · 6 months

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What It Means to be Friends: The Differences between Neku/Beat and Rindo/Fret

I’m feeling in the mood for another TWEWY analysis post and for today’s topic of discussion, this will be centered around Beat and Neku’s friendship in comparison to Rindo and Fret’s own and how they contrast in very interesting ways that are reflective of their respective game's writing styles.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Neku and Beat didn’t exactly get off to the best start in the beginning of their relationship in the original. Hell, if anything, they flat out disliked each other. Beat saw Neku as nothing more than an emotionally distant asshole who made his little sister feel bad for trying to help him out and Neku saw Beat as nothing more than an overly emotional idiot who’s way too energetic for his own good and initially wants nothing to do with him.

There are little cracks that start to form in the walls between them, however, where their respective duos start coming together to help each other out in the Game and they start to form a little friendly rivalry between them. Mostly on Beat’s side since Neku could care less. However, that bit of bonding gets interrupted by a cruel twist of fate: Rhyme’s sacrifice and subsequent erasure. In which Beat, in a mix of grief and desperation to save his little sister, begs to and subsequently joins the Reapers, much to Neku and Shiki’s shock.

And then, Kitaniji asks Beat to do one task to show his dedication to the Reaper cause: kill Neku! (and Joshua). Initially, Beat tries to draw upon his dislike of Neku from the start of the game to motivate himself into completing his task but he just can’t go through with it no matter what, a feeling that only gets worse when Neku gives him Rhyme’s pendant that he dropped, thus invalidating Beat's previous resentment towards him. Seeing Neku go out of his way to return something precious to Beat even after he had antagonized him throughout the week causes Beat to drop his animosity completely and the next time we see him, he’s rescuing Neku from a unwinnable scenario by becoming his partner in Week 3.

From then on, we see Neku and Beat’s dynamic start to become more whole, opening up to each other more and helping the other through their struggles and ultimately culminating with them becoming genuine friends by the end. By the time W3 starts, they’re the only actual Players left in the Game, in the middle of a life-or-death situation, AND have the entirety of the UG after them due to Kitaniji activating Emergency Call. With circumstances like those, it’s no wonder they become as thick as thieves. Beat relies on Neku to help keep his head on straight and set him on the right path so that his temper and rash personality doesn’t end up screwing them over when things get rough, something Beat can't afford whatsoever when it comes to his mission of trying to save Rhyme.

Likewise, Neku relies on Beat to help keep his feet moving instead of allowing him to wallow in his own head when aspects such as Hanekoma potentially becoming the Composer becomes emotionally and be strong enough to catch him when he stumbles and falls. On top of that, he also trusts Beat’s emotional intelligence and honesty in matters such as when Beat convinces him to spare Uzuki and Kariya.

You see this dynamic persist in NEO as well even after all of the time they spent separated, in which Beat is heavily implied to have physically searched for Neku throughout all of Shibuya (remind you of anything?) and even take up some of his aspects, like the headphones, to honor his friend. And considering how Neku has helped him save his little sister and supported him when the chips were down, it's honestly no wonder.

Beat even flat out admits to Nagi that he was in some measure putting up a front to mask his fears and doubts and is quite calmer when Neku is around compared to NEO’s weeks 1-2. Not that his hot-blooded energy is gone but he notably isn’t as prone towards picking fights or shouting. Meanwhile, Neku is out of the loop after having been away for three years but Beat is again there to pick him up where he falters and help guide him around. The two of them are best friends through and through.

By contrast, we have Rindo and Fret, whose dynamic is quite different from Neku and Beat’s but is nonetheless just as well-written. I think the start of the game does an excellent job at setting up their relationship, where their early dynamic is fully on display in which Fret drags Rindo around and Rindo just casually goes with it despite internally bitching and moaning along the way. Like Beat and Neku, their friendship is mutually beneficial towards the other but in a much more casual and "shallow" way that’s very interesting.

They both want to be around one another in order to cover up for each other’s faults and their flaws feed into a loop that prevents the friendship advancing so that they don’t have to try but when it actually comes under serious strain, the flaws are exposed. Rindo being closed-off and content with just letting things stay on the surface level is perfect for Fret since he doesn't need to address his true feelings whatsoever and also fulfills his desire for someone to talk to because Fret is a pretty social guy and the class clown, letting him ignore his own problems. For Rindo, Fret allows him to also fulfill his desire for social companionship while not digging too deep and delude himself into thinking he’s autonomous and avoid the hurdles that comes with decision-making, which Fret is aware of and fine with because he’s more of a follower. The restaurant choice at the beginning of the game is a perfect example of this. At first glance, you think it’s just Rindo making a choice until you realize that it’s mainly Fret narrowing down the choices for Rindo without his input and he’s perfectly okay with that.

You also see this pop up again when Fret makes Rindo the leader of the group ALSO without his input so that he doesn’t have to get emotionally invested in the role and put the spotlight on himself. And initially, both are content with this and continue this dynamic throughout the first week of the Game, that is until shit hits the fan in Week 2. With the stakes becoming far more apparent and serious than they initially thought, and having to start another Game after getting cheated out of their victory, along with Sho just flat out ditching them and leaving the team to fend for themselves, tensions start to rise high between Rindo and Fret, which this ends up putting a strain on their relationship and we see the flaws in the friendship get exposed.

They start becoming more casually dismissive of each other’s interests whereas before they were just cool with whatever with Rindo not giving any regard to Fret’s interest in fashion and Fret mocking Rindo’s friendship with Swallow out of frustration, where Fret is pushing for Rindo to do anything regarding them considering Swallow's obvious involvement in the Game, and Rindo doesn’t want them to get upset so he pushes the issue away for later. Whereas Rindo is getting frustrated with Fret's self-defeatist attitude while not doing anything to help out with the situation that they're in, thus having them go back-and-forth and arguing with one another.

What makes this hit harder in hindsight is that this aspect was always apparent when you look back at the beginning. They bicker, like, a lot and the most noticeable example in W1 is the Nagi argument, where Rindo doesn’t see how she can help, worried about being held down by strangers, while Fret pushes for recruiting her, worried about having to handle a tougher burden on his own.

The part where they were in the ramen shop at the start of the game also does a good job at setting up this kind of relationship. Fret didn't know that Rindo played FanGO or was friends with Swallow, which heavily implies that they don't know that much about each other before entering the Game and later on, you see how Rindo constantly keeps Fret at arm’s length and opens up mainly to Swallow while Fret didn’t even talk to Rindo about his best friend that committed suicide. And in Week 2, these aspects become far more pronounced and the two become far more prone to taking passive-aggressive shots towards one another, culminating in their argument at the end of W2D4. I think what Rindo says to Fret in particular here is pretty telling of how he doesn't think that Fret is taking the situation seriously in spite of him actually showing otherwise what with his constant prodding. It's also hilariously indicative of Rindo's hypocrisy considering how he's constantly relying on others' input before making any actual decisions on his own, such as with Swallow in the very next scene and the day after.

However, despite all of this, they still do genuinely care for each other. Rindo’s first use of Replay was spurred on via wanting to save Fret from getting flattened by a truck and Fret is always pushing Rindo towards becoming more and more decisive in small ways. Most notably, when everyone except for Rindo gets erased by Soul Pulvis and he’s the only one to make it back to the UG, who’s the first one he calls out and tries to look for? Fret.

I’ve seen some people complain about how Rindo and Fret’s friendship doesn’t feel especially deep when compared to some of the other relationships in the series when I’d argue that’s the entire point. They’re not childhood friends who know every single thing about each other from the start unlike some JRPGs out there or a duo who starts off hating one another before gradually becoming closer to one another due to the stakes of the situation they’re in. They’re really casual school friends who keep each other at arms’ length out of an attempt to keep themselves protected. Their relationship is interesting to analyze because it's layered, much like a real friendship would be, due to them dealing with their own personal issues. And yet it never feels like one can just call it shallow or deep and have either be a definite despcriptor, just a well developed bond. Fret is still reeling from his previous best friend’s suicide and Rindo has social anxiety out the ass so their bond makes perfect sense.

And on top of that, they do gradually become closer to one another. Fret starts taking Rindo’s interests more seriously, even becoming disgusted at Motoi on Rindo’s behalf and sad for him as well as showing understanding to him concerning his Swallow situation.

And Rindo starts taking Fret more seriously as a person, with W3D3 being a prime example. He brings up the possibility that Kanon is acting strangely and might be possessed, brings up calm, rational points that the others have no choice but to agree to and doesn’t try to force Fret to keep his feelings for her down, rationalizing that there might just be another way to save her and assuring him that it’s ultimately Fret’s choice because he respects his input. And when Fret shows up anyway to try and save Kanon, he doesn't hesitate to support his buddy in his endeavors and does his damndest to help. On top of that, he becomes far more supportive towards Fret’s interests, particularly with EleStra, and is happy for him.

I think that shift from the ingenuine to genuine is what NEO excels at with its character relationships and by the end, you can really see Rindo and Fret really coming together as friends that genuinely respect and trust one another.

Neku and Beat’s friendship is much more bombastic and in-your-face while Rindo’s and Fret’s friendship relies on the more little details and I think both work well for their respective game and themes. You have the story of a distant and hostile kid having developed into a more personable young man using his lessons to relate with a seemingly gruff and bullheaded guy only to find a shockingly self aware young man who hates himself and lost his only support become more sure of himself vs. the story of two seemingly close friends grinding against each other due to their underlying issues surfacing, deepening their bond through their honesty and growing self-awareness. The first is more conventionally written while the second is a bit more subtle and requires deeper inspection in order to get the full picture.

#twewy #the world ends with you #neo twewy #ntwewy #rindo kanade #neku sakuraba #daisukenojo bito #beat bito #tosai furesawa #fret furesawa #analysis post

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centaurianthropology · 1 year

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Why C3E51 worked so well (a DM’s perspective)

I have seen a lot of absolutely bananas critiques of C3E51 (thankfully not nearly as many around here, far more on Reddit, which I should not have visited). And the ongoing theme of those critiques is that Matt should not have imperiled former PCs, and if he brought them in should have either done lengthy side-bars with those characters or let them win the fight against Ludinis and have a chance to take him out themselves, since they’re ‘god tier’ or ‘high level’ and that makes ‘logical sense’. What these critiques really boil down to, IMO, are people who were really invested in the former campaigns upset that their faves didn’t get to do cool things, treating it more like a TV show than a game. But even as a TV show, that would have been disappointing from a narrative perspective. Because even in a TV show, this is a sequel spin-off show, starring new characters. The story is about THEM. And more importantly, the game is about the players and about telling their story.

So let’s break this down from a DM perspective. How do you build a Kobiashi Maru situation for your characters? For those of you who aren’t familiar, the Kobiashi Maru is a Star Trek term for a scenario designed from the jump to be unwinnable (Kirk beat it by creativity, but later admitted that he missed the point of it). In Star Trek this was done to test what a future officer would do if faced with certain failure. In a D&D game it’s a little more complicated. Part of it is to set up the BBEG, put their plan in motion, and set the stage for the next leg of the game. But it’s also to give your players, who are clearly into it, a darkest-hour scenario. Not every player group is going to be into facing down the Kobiashi Maru, and it’s clear from the aforementioned critiques that a lot of them are on Reddit. Power-gamers who always want to win are not going to enjoy this sort of storytelling, but players who are really into RP and working through difficult times and failures will eat this stuff up. And this is absolutely the sort of table playing on Critical Role. There is a level of trust there that can only be built after years of working together, and this was finally the moment when Matt could pay off years of planning and campaign-spanning set-up.

Matt carefully plotted the structure of this episode out to give maximum agency and impact to a party of dramatically under-leveled characters. And they knew going in they were under-leveled. This wasn’t a surprise, but a potential suicide run by people who knew they weren’t the heroes they needed to be, but were the only heroes in the right place at the right time to try anything. So they came up with as good a plan as they could, and executed it fairly well, all things considered.

They knew they couldn’t take on Ludinus directly (and this was a great way to demonstrate exactly how much he had planned and how long, to bring in elements from C2, hints we’ve had for years about Ludinis, only to reveal it went deeper than any of the characters could have imagined), so Matt gave them some winnable objectives. This is a great way to keep the characters invested in an unwinnable scenario: the ultimate outcome may be beyond the characters, barring some insane genius or incredible rolls, but they can still help. They can do something that will have a tangible impact on events and hinder the baddies enough to give them another chance at a rematch and a way to stop the apocalypse when they’re higher level. So Matt gave them the batteries: take out as many as you can. While this would not stop the ritual, I suspect that the more they took out the more Ludinis would have to drain his own power to make the key work, and the longer the process would take. Knocking out the feywild key, as well as multiple power sources turned what would have been an instantaneous event if they had done nothing into a more drawn-out affair which, I suspect, could be stopped or even reversed. It gave them a window to come back and demand a rematch.

Then we have the high-level PC allies, and how to play with those sorts of characters without pulling focus from the PCs. Matt handled this very well, by having the players roll for their former PCs, taking the specifics of their actions out of his hands and letting the dice of the former players decide. He also revealed that Keyleth’s involvement, and baiting Vax with Otohan’s permadeath poison, was key to Ludinis’ ritual, which was why she couldn’t just dive in and clean everything up. But again, because of this story, it ties less back to Keyleth and more back to Orym. That was the point of the attack on Zephrah, to get her attention by getting her to look into who did it and then coming to get some payback, but the little guy on the ground has always been caught in the middle. Orym has been Ludinis’ unwitting pawn from the off, his family’s deaths merely a means to an end, and that is vicious and amazing set-up for character growth for him.

Beau and Caleb had to be there by the logic of the story. It didn’t make sense that Caleb would sit out a world-ending event orchestrated by a Cerberus Assembly member after spending years trying to take them down. Beau would obviously go with him. It also made sense that they would be the only two there, because they were scouting when Ryn got taken down, and after that were trying to keep a low profile. Shit accelerated too fast for them to call in reinforcements.

Which is the in-story reason for them to be there, but isolated and vulnerable, making them useful allies and wildcards (who likely could have been more useful if ultimately failing as well, but failed early thanks to Liam and Marisha’s rolls). But they were still outmatched. I have no idea what the challenge rating of Otohan, Leliana, and Ludinis are, but we know Otohan was considered ‘beatable’ back in Bassuras. That indicates she’s the lowest CR, particularly with the glowing weak-spot on her back. But she can still wreck a level-20 PC if she gets the jump on her, which she did. And that meant that she remained a massive threat. Caleb and Beau were playing it smart, keeping to the shadows, but still got caught by Leliana. Between dice rolls, careful planning, and some great enemy design, Matt really set up a team that could take on high-level players and win. And he made it clear that Ludinis did not leave this to chance. He has the best people he could muster after 1000 years of planning. Nothing short of a miracle could have truly stopped them.

Which is why we cut back to Bells Hells. Because ultimately this particular story isn’t about Keyleth or Vax or Caleb or Beau or any other former PCs. This is about the current party being caught up in events much larger than them and having to rise to the occasion. This is the story of the schmucks sent in to take out the batteries, but who have personal beef with the big bads. Ludinis orchestrated the plan to attack Zephrah to bait Keyleth and draw out Vax, and Otohan carried it out. And he used Orym as a pawn throughout all of it. This makes taking them down, but especially taking Otohan down, the cornerstone of Orym’s personal quest. Letting an NPC take her down would be taking away a critical part of his motivation and goals, which is an absolute no-no for a DM. NEVER bring in a god-tier NPC and take away player agency or story beats. Especially never have them resolve important player goals and backstory events! Every NPC, even the powerful ones, are there to support the story the players are telling. So of course Keyleth wasn’t going to take out Otohan. Of course she wasn’t going to stop the ritual. Beau and Caleb might have been able to do something more if Liam and Marisha hadn’t rolled so badly for them, but ultimately, they had to get caught or fail in another way.

For the sake of gameplay, Bell’s Hells had to be the only functional team. They had to be the ants that were beneath Ludinis’ notice long enough to really accomplish something. And as much as it feels like they failed, they had minor victories: Laudna and Ashton took out more batteries, making Ludinis drain his own power to kick off the apocalypse. They only failed to take out Otohan’s backpack by 2 HP, which showed them that she was an achievable goal in the future. If they had rolled a little better, they probably could have taken her out entirely, which would have felt like a big accomplishment for them. Imogen made her mother pause in her assault before doubling down. This leaves open very interesting future beats for their interactions. Can she ultimately redeem her mother or would she have to take her out? Every step that Matt set up in this episode, from the reveals about Ludinis’ plans and Orym’s past, to Imogen’s interactions with her mother, to Chetney and likely Ashton finding themselves staring down their own backstories after the party split, was focused on this party, on getting them ready to step out of low-level play and advance.

And that’s the point of E51. It’s not a climax of the story, but the ultimate set-up. It’s putting all the pieces onto the board in a way that all the characters can now recognize. Yes, unless the players came up with something genius, the apocalypse was going to kick off, but their actions slowed everything down to a place where it could be combatted. Yes, the god-tier former PCs were always going to get neutered, because this is Bells Hells’ story, and you cannot have NPCs fix PC problems. They might have been able to do a little more before this happened, but the dice rolled.

And it’s honestly good for the PCs how things turned out. They have a clear objective, but are split up. This gives them great incentive to level up, explore character backstory, deal with their personal shit, get stronger, and then come back to kick the asses of all three of these villains (or possibly redeem one, we’ll see). Their powerful allies are now temporarily side-lined. Keyleth is badly hurt and will need time to recover. Caleb is collared and will need time to get that removed. Beau is likely up and moving now, but will need to safeguard Caleb for a while.

The Bells Hells are on their own. The Darkest Hour has come, and it’s time for them to rise up and go from nobodies to heroes. This is their true call to adventure. And as a DM, it was so cool seeing how Matt set up all the pieces over the campaign, only to pay them out in such a satisfying and motivating way in this episode.

#Critical Role #Critical Role spoilers #I really liked this episode #both as storytelling #and in terms of structure #this is how you do long-term setup #and payoff for a villain #he had planned for everything #but this annoying party of gnats muching up his works #and the gnats are going to be what takes him down #that is such a good way to let a low-level party get set up to take on a high-level villain!!#anyway #this is to combat some of the negativity I've seen toward this episode

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cosmerelists · 10 months

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Why I Think Dalinar Will Lose

[MAJOR spoilers for Rhythm of War! Spoilers also for Mistborn included in #1]

At the end of Rhythm of War, Odium and Dalinar set terms for the Contest of Champions: it’s happening in 10 days, and they’re each picking a willing champion to fight to the death on the top of Urithiru. Dalinar has decided to be his own champion, but we don’t yet know who Odium’s champion will be. We also don’t know what the outcome will be.

And personally? I’m wagering that Dalinar will lose the fight. And here’s why.

1. We’re halfway through a 10-book series.

I mean, it’s like when the protagonists of a TV show have a great plan...10 minutes into the episode. You know it’s not going to work out. Now, this is a little different, since there’s going to be a time jump before Stormlight 6 and who knows what the plot of the second half of the series is going to be--it could be like Mistborn Era 1, in which [spoilers ahead] the Lord Ruler did really die at the end of Book 1 and then the next two books dealt with the fallout. But still. I feel very suspicious about our protagonists winning against Odium this early.

2. Taravangian’s now in charge.

Dalinar could handle the old Odium--they’d verbally sparred a few times already, and Dalinar always came out on top. This Contest of Champions business itself is Rayse making what seems to be a pretty bad deal--he’s bound to the system no matter the outcome. But now it’s not Rayse any longer; it’s Taravangian. And Taravangian is scarier--even Hoid freaked out before his memories were wiped. And in that same scene, Taravangian realized something. We don’t know what, but I am not optimistic about what it means for Dalinar.

3. The Mysterious Odium Champion

My previous list/poll about who Odium’s champion might be raised a number of seeming no-win situations for Dalinar--especially once you take into account the comments I got on my poll. What is Dalinar supposed to do if his grandson Gavinor is the champion? Or Adolin? What if it’s Taln, and killing him will mean breaking the oathpact and letting Odium free after all? And if WE can come up with these seemingly unwinnable situations for Dalinar, what could Brandon Sanderson come up with?? The fact that we don’t know who the champion is makes it seem much worse for Dalinar, somehow.

4. It’s just the more interesting outcome

Like, if Dalinar loses, he becomes Odium’s agent in the wider Cosmere: evil, worldhopping Dalinar working for Odium and presumably doing what he can to undermine him at the same time. Flavors of Marsh from Mistborn Era 1. To me, that just feels more narratologically interesting than Dalinar winning, getting some land back, and then the borders freezing where they are.

5. There’s always another secret.

I feel pretty secure in stating that there will be SOMETHING unexpected about this duel. Maybe it won’t be Dalinar losing--maybe it will be someone other than Dalinar being his champion (I haven’t given up on a Kaladin vs. Moash fight). Maybe the fight won’t happen at all, due to some sort of Taravangian machinations. Maybe we’ll finally find out what made the Radiants break their oaths in the first place and the fight will take on new and more terrible connotations. I’m not that good at guessing. So for me, the simple “twist” to expect is Dalinar losing.

What do you all think? Take the poll to share your thoughts!

#cosmerelists #cosmere #dalinar #odium #stormlight archives #stormlight archives spoilers

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antianakin · 2 years

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I wanted to discuss a comparison between the exercise Anakin sets Ahsoka to in Practice Makes Perfect, and the Kobayashi Maru from Star Trek.

LOOK NO ONE HATE ME, I KNOW STAR WARS AND STAR TREK ARE RIVALS BUT I LOVE BOTH AND THE COMPARISON IS INTERESTING SO SUE ME

Anyway, the Kobayashi Maru is famously an unbeatable test. It's a test that all prospective Captains while they're still in training are asked to take at some point. It puts the prospective Captain and their volunteer crew into a situation where they end up in battle against an enemy and, ultimately, they can't win. They always lose.

(Jim Kirk manages to "win" the Kobayashi Maru by hacking into the test and changing the parameters in order to give himself the opportunity to win, he does not win the test by normal means)

The point of the test is not actually to win, though. The point of the test is to force all prospective Captains into a situation where there IS no winning in order to see how they react. The ideal reaction is actually to admit defeat and call for an evacuation or to flee or something along those lines, because it places the lives of the crew above the Captain's arrogance and need for glory. The Captain has to acknowledge their own defeat, the lack of options, and prioritize the needs of the many over their own desires.

It's an unbeatable test, yes, there's no way to win. But there IS a point to the Kobayashi Maru, there's a REASON that Starfleet asks its prospective Captains to take the test. It's to force them to face their own morality in a situation without any stakes, no one's actually about to die here if they fail. It takes a situation that actual Captains can 100% end up facing out in the galaxy and evaluates their cadets looking to one day lead an entire crew based on how they respond to defeat.

In Tales of the Jedi, we see Anakin give Ahsoka a test that also seems unbeatable. There's no actual stated goal, no ideal time she's supposed to be reaching before she gets hit. It's most similar to a game of Tetris where she's always going to lose at some point and the goal is just to see how much longer she can hold out this time than the last.

But not unlike Tetris, too, you don't necessarily learn anything from doing this over and over that will help you survive longer later. And whether you survive longer can often just depend on your mood that day, how many distractions you get, and how tired you are in that moment. And pure sheer luck, obviously.

Ahsoka's given an unbeatable test, but she's not actually learning anything from it. There's no moral lesson at the end for her to figure out. There could have been. The test could have been for Ahsoka to recognize that she won't always be able to just defeat all of her enemies easily the way she does in the Jedi's test and to put her in a situation that she absolutely CANNOT win without running. That the only way to "win" was to run. This 100% could've been the ENTIRE POINT behind Anakin's test, that instead of just giving her an unbeatable drill, he's asking her to admit defeat, to let go of her overconfidence and her arrogance and recognize a situation that is just impossible to survive by brute force and skill alone.

Because this would really fit in with the flaws they gave Ahsoka back in early seasons of The Clone Wars, that Ahsoka is advanced and so she is also often overconfident to the point of arrogance and putting her own men in danger, not to mention herself. Anakin forcing Ahsoka to recognize a situation being unwinnable would've been a really interesting new level to their dynamic.

But that's not really in character for Anakin is it?

#tales of the jedi #totj #kobayashi maru #ahsoka tano #tales of the jedi spoilers #totj spoilers #star trek #anti anakin #anti anakin skywalker

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invaders-cookbook · 1 year

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Invader's Cookbook #3: Keeping your mind and body healthy

Invasions in Elden Ring are insanely difficult to the point of being unwinnable sometimes. It's part of the charm, it's what makes them so appealing to people like me. The game doesn't shy away from putting you into situations where your winning chances are absolutely random, and it's up to you to deal with them. You never know when the tides are going to turn, which makes them so exciting.

But this excitement comes at a cost of risking extreme frustration. Winning against the odds feels great, but not everyone is going to beat the odds, especially if you're new to invasions! Frustration can come both from outwards (the game put you into an unwinnable situation) and inwards (You see that you're underperforming and lose a winnable situation) That's why it's important to keep your cool and mitigate the effects of frustration.

Here are the things that help me personally to not only to mitigate frustration, but also significantly improve

1. Keep your body healthy.

I am not exaggerating when I'm saying this, your winrate spikes tenfold when you take care of yourself! This is so important. I know it's kinda general life advice, but you'll be surprised how much it actually matters.

I am not kidding, you play 200% better after a shower. Try it, I'm serious.

Remember to eat healthy food sometimes! Full regular meals improve your mood and performance drastically! I can't overstate how much better you play when you have a full meal!

And PLEASE sleep well. I am serious. Sleep is integral part of your physical and mental health. I know it's tough to keep a good sleep schedule, and not everyone has time to sleep, but please do, whenever you can, try your best to have regular sleep! If you're reading this post when it's past your bedtime, first of all, reblog and tell me in the tags, and second, GO TO SLEEP! NOW!!!

2. You are not going to beat the odds every time. That's how odds work. But you can set them in your favour.

You lost again, because the coop has already completed the entire area and you were backed against a fogwall against multiple players. What were you supposed to do?

I agree, that situation is really, really bullshit. But that's invasions. Every time you use that bloody finger you roll a cosmic dice, and if you roll low, you simply don't get a good situation. What works for me is changing my goals in a particular invasion. It goes from "Kill the host" to "Kill that single phantom" or "Deal the most damage I can possibly do" or just simply "Not die for as long as I can". Land a cool combo! Befriend the host*! Poison them! Go out on your own terms!

Sometimes changing your goal according to the situation is enough to offset your frustration.

* – DO NOT do this when there is another phantom around. You're getting blocked for this. You are not only a dickhead, you also lower the pool of possible co-invaders that can connect with you and help you out in the future. Respect your teammates.

3. Take breaks

Invasions are intense as hell, and you can't just invade back to back untill you exhaust yourself! Try to take breaks from the game, so your skills are always at 80-100%! The more you play without breaks the worse it gets.

This also helps if you're having a bad losing streak. Generally I'm trying to take 10 minute breaks if I get two consecutive losses. Interestingly enough, putting myself on a 10 minute time-out forces me to find something else to do, which kinda helps me with chores. It's not for everyone, but my ADHD ass loves this.

You can use your break to do some stretches, or go for a walk, or do the dishes. Anything, really! It's up to you! Whatever frustration you had will fade away and you will be at your maximum capacity again!

Another thing you can use your break for is some wrist and eye exercises! It's good for your health and will make you more relaxed and focused.

4. Change things up: try a new build, start a new playthrough!

This is what I personally enjoy doing. Experiment with different playstyles and try invading at different level ranges. For that of course you need a new build and a new character. Creating a character with invading in mind is very fun and challenging, and it allows you to do some more calm stuff on the side when you're not in the mood for invading on your main character.

Not sure what build to choose? Ask @huggingentacles for build suggestions!

#elden ring #elden ring invasions #elden ring pvp #invader's cookbook

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monsterkissed · 7 months

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the utterly infuriating thing is that i am an absolute sucker for a good final act turnaround where the situation that seemed hopeless and unwinnable is suddenly and dramatically cracked open in a way that sends chills down my spine or gets me pumped up, that is some good shit storytelling-wise when it's done well

but it has to be done well. and i think i find hopepunk and similar sanitised approaches to media most offputting when i am wearing my writer hat. as a writer, you need to love despair and misery and hopelessness and grief and pain and suffering. you can and should love more positive things as well! but if you are going to write something that grips people and makes them feel something you need to be able to immerse yourself in the creation of bleakness and revel in making it sting. making hope (the character's and the reader's) work for it and being fully prepared to dash it to bits if that's what makes the better story. you have to be the face of cruelty for a little while and i feel like that does not gel with this ideology of art as sweet and wholesome and healing and imparting onto everyone the good and healthy way to keep finding reasons to get out of bed every day.

idk if you set out to tell me a story about how hope is good i think you're going to waste my time a lot more than the guy who's setting out to tell me a story about how much it sucks to be tortured to death and the latter is probably going to give me a much better lesson in what it means to cling to hope when things look pretty fucking bleak

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utilitycaster · 1 year

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Hi there! Thanks for writing so much great commentary on CR; I always look forwards to reading your takes and seeing your arguments. If you're ok with doing so, would you mind going into what overbalanced encounters you think weren't signalled well in the game and why? Just curious, no pressure though!

Hey anon! Thank you, and absolutely.

Honestly, there are only two that really stand out. Everything else is either too speculative on my part, or ended up okay in the end.

They are the fight in 2x26 where Molly dies, and the fight against Otohan in 3x33, and while they do both have character death, that's really a symptom, not the problem; assume character death or even a TPK is fine by me.

The things these fights share:

really low-level or drained party with no healing/very little healing left

Intended BBEG about whom the party knows very little

Enemy who will deliberately take death saves

Most of the signals are either subtle or directed towards a specific party member and are in the thick of combat when people aren't focusing on interpretation, especially when it's not a death spiral

Not a super clear "out" for the party nor the BBEG.

Like, it's very normal to set up an unwinnable or at least incredibly difficult encounter with an intended BBEG that does go well and is read accurately by the party but still isn't really a win. Some good examples are the initial Chroma Conclave attacks (fend off the dragons long enough, but the "19 MISSES?" line is truly all you need, they pick up on the need to run right away), the initial Briarwoods fight, the initial Vecna fight (which is, canonically, lethal), and the Tombtakers fight on the same day the Nein had fought Gelidon.

In all those cases, the situation is really clearly outlined, the party is either powerful enough to have tons of tricks up their sleeve or the enemy genuinely doesn't care enough to go for the kill shot, and there's no special tricks or traps.

The issue with the Iron Shepherds fight is that the signals that the Nein didn't have complete information were fairly subtle and relied on remembering pretty fine details from Keg's intel; by the time they realized how truly inaccurate it was, it was too late.

The issue with the Otohan fight is that honestly, it's...still not entirely clear how Otohan goading Imogen ties into the mechanics of the fight (larger plot, sure, kinda, although I still think Otohan is perhaps one of the least successful villains CR has ever had in terms of "do I give a shit"; it's just that Ludinus and Liliana are fantastic villains so it's fine; but it really wasn't clear what she wanted Imogen to do or why that mattered), and the switch in strategy mid-way through to taking death saves also threw people off, and all the party really knew going in was "head of organization we're infiltrating, kind of a badass, has a weird backpack". They really had no reason to understand how powerful she was; all the dream lore relating to Ruidusborn showed up later.

With both of these, also, the party were following like...pretty heavily dropped hints and signaled signposts and a general ambience of "here be The Plot/MacGuffin" and then it was a huge trap.

With something like, say, the Chroma Conclave, the party knew absolutely nothing - they just showed up to a political speech and dragons attacked. That matters! They knew in and out of game that it was a complete surprise and could act accordingly. Which I think brings me to the point: there is a metagaming element here, not in the sense of specific knowledge your character wouldn't know, but in terms of vibes your character could not technically pick up on. A non-combat example is Allura showing up in C2. Allura showing up says "this is the right path" to the players, even if the Mighty Nein do not know Allura. Beau and Caleb being kind of wary about what's going on? That's a huge sign that this is really fucking dangerous, and so Bells Hells was able to make smart choices and infiltrate slowly, which also gave them less high-pressure moments in which to, for example, notice how deeply entrenched Liliana was, or how brutal and unforgiving the Call and Vanguard are (all those bodies).

I think on the most basic level? If the party only realizes through extended combat how fucked they are, you have failed - and that's fine, DM's are human and fallible, but it should really be like, a 19 MISSES! moment if you need the reveal to be during combat, not something that happens a full initiative round in or requires any deeper analysis.

Also: a lot of these bets are off once parties hit like...L11 or so because at that point you should have enough resources to deal. Like, if you want to spring a nasty trap on a L17 party, do it. They should be able to deal.

#answered #Anonymous #cr tag

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commander-krios · 2 years

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okay okay I have a few more prompts, feel free to combine and/or discard as you see fit. I'd love to see more Aurora and Joker ! I nabbed these from your Aurora/Joker tag (and I'm crazy so I typed out the stupid post numbers myself instead of copy/pasting because I wrote this ask on my phone but was looking at the posts on PC browser gkdhgk)

/post/670041871231467520/hand-holding ; 6: running their thumb over the others hand

/post/682191034873266176/some-sleepy-scenarios ; tracing your lover's features as they sleep

/post/678564232705474560/staying-the-night-prompts ; "don't be ridiculous, there's enough room on this bed for the both of us." ; "can you just.... stay here ? and hold me."

/post/666974128883073024/kisses ; 15: soothing kisses ; 31: gentle stroking of cheeks ; 34: jaw kisses ; 39: kisses for comfort ; 45: sleepy kisses

in my head I'm picturing hurt/comfort and someone is in a hospital bed (okay and by someone I mean Joker but I'm not picky either of them works), but you do you and ofc no pressure <3333 I really loved the one you just posted today. (yesterday ? blargh, timezones.)

Here is some angst with a happy ending. Enjoy!

The silence was the worst. After a war that felt unwinnable, after the destruction of the mass relays and the rebuilding of worlds and colonies, after everything she had been through in the last few years, silence should’ve been a welcome change. But it wasn’t.

Not when she was expected to enjoy it alone.

Not when her entire world, the man she called her home, was lying in a hospital bed.

Six months had already passed since the Reapers were destroyed, but the Normandy had only returned a few weeks ago, hull barely holding together, limping into drydock with the whole of her crew. They had survived. But they weren’t all completely intact.

Jeff had sustained some broken bones during the crash landing they’d made and Chakwas didn’t have the ability to set them the way she would’ve at a hospital. She didn’t want to think about the months he was probably in excruciating pain, unable to walk, the crew unsure if they would make it back to Sol.

If there was even anything to return to.

A tear fell and she hastily wiped it away, knowing that it was past the time to mourn. Earth had started rebuilding. The Alliance needed her help to unravel the mess that the government was in. The Council needed to be apprised of the situation, a new councilor needed to be chosen, a new prime minister elected…

But she couldn’t find it in herself to care about any of it anymore.

Reaching out, she took Jeff’s hand in hers, the warmth of his skin reminding her that he was here, that he was alive, that they had a chance for a real future. A future without war hanging over their heads, without worrying about extinction, without fear of their relationship ending their careers. Running her thumb against his knuckles, she noted the scars that had formed on his delicate skin.

Had those come from the crash or something else? How many other scars would she find on his skin? How much damage would remain unhealed… for both of them?

Lifting his hand, she pressed a soft kiss to his palm, grateful for the ability to do so.

Jeff stirred at the touch, a groan leaving his lips, eyes fluttering open to the bright lights of the hospital room. In his drug-addled state, he attempted to sit up. Aurora immediately dropped his hand, standing so that she could rest her hand on his chest, gentle as can be. “Hey… I’m here, Jeff. Try not to move too much. Please.”

His eyes, that familiar green that she’d been missing for months, widened at the sight of her. Almost as if he couldn’t believe what he saw. “Aurora? You’re alive.”

His voice broke on the last word. That’s what did her in, in the end. The wide eyes, the look of disbelief mixed with relief on his face, his hand reaching out to brush against her cheek. The dam holding her tears back broke and she was in his arms, her entire body shaking from the force of her sobs. His arms wrapped around her, pressing her as close as he could without hurting himself.

Jeff’s lips brushed against her hair, the touch as soothing as it was electrifying. He was alive, he was here in her arms, and she could finally breathe again.

“I- I thought I was going to lose you.” She managed to get out, voice thick with her tears. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

He was silent as Aurora poured her heart out, holding her as if she’d disappear if he let her go.

“I’ve never been so scared of something in my entire life.”

Jeff took a deep breath, pressing his face into the crook of her neck. “That’s how I felt over Alchera. The thought of my own death wasn’t nearly as terrifying as knowing… that I lost you. That I wouldn’t get a chance to tell you that I was in love with you.”

It hurt her even now to think about those two years after Alchera. She had no idea how Jeff had kept going. If she’d lost him, she didn’t know if she could’ve done the same. They had loved each other for so long, as friends and more. It had taken them too long to admit that they wanted to be with each other and they had almost missed the chance. Akuze, Ilos, the Battle of the Citadel, Alchera, The Collector Base, Earth.

When he next spoke, it was almost as if he knew what her thoughts were. “Rori… can you stay here? I don’t want to be alone.”

Aurora pulled back so she could meet his gaze. Tears were trailing down his cheeks. Reaching out, she brushed one away with her thumb. “I will never leave you again.”

Leaning forward as best as he could, Jeff captured her lips with his own. All of the fear, the uncertainty, and the doubts faded, locked up as they were in each other. He shifted so that he could pull her onto the bed with him, tucking her body against his as comfortably as they could.

Aurora broke the kiss, blue eyes wide as she glanced at how she was almost laying on him. He was still injured, but she knew how stubborn he was. Mentioning his situation would only irritate him. “Are you sure this is ok?”

“There’s plenty of room for two people. These hospital beds are huge.” Jeff wagged his eyebrows at her. “I can think of other ways to make us more comfortable.”

The teasing tone made her grin like an idiot. God, she missed everything about him, but this was her favorite. He never failed to bring a smile to her face. “I love you, Jeff. I’m so happy you’re home.”

He rested his forehead against hers, eyes fluttering closed in what was obviously exhaustion, but he still had a grin on his face. She would do everything in her power to make sure it never faded. “You’re home for me, Aurora. As long as you’re here, that’s all I need.”

#cronusamporaofficial #my writing #mass effect #mass effect fanfic #shoker #aurora shepard #jeff joker moreau #jeff moreau #femshep x joker #aurora shepard x jeff joker moreau #otp: i'll follow you into hell #post-war #post-canon #angst #angst with a happy ending

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everygame · 1 year

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King's Quest II: Romancing The Throne (PC)

Developed/Published by: Sierra On-Line Released: 5/1985 Completed: 22/07/2022 Completion: Finished it, 152/185. Trophies / Achievements: n/a

Huh! I wasn’t especially looking forward to this one, because having played the 1990 version of King’s Quest I felt like this was going to feel like a huge step backwards, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the 1990 King’s Quest was so faithful that this feels pretty much the same to play, it’s just got crappier graphics. Only mildly less crappy than the original King’s Quest, though there’s still a very childish lack of consistency in perspective and scale that makes the average screenshot look like the “artist’s corner” of an old computer magazine that has “Keith, 12” under it.

Anyway. This one hews very closely to the formula set up in the first King’s Quest: you’ve got a big map, so walk around it, check all the trees and rocks and that for items, then work out what you can do with those items. Maybe it’s just coming off the back of Wishbringer, which requires a bit more lateral thinking, or maybe I just fully internalised the system after playing the first King’s Quest, but I found this an absolute doddle once I got the hang of it.

If I had problems with Wishbringer’s rather weak excuses for its setting, though, woah nellie with King’s Quest II. King Graham has been informed he’s got to find a wife in what appears to be a bit of a Santa Claus II situation, but then he meets all the eligible birds in the kingdom and is amusingly snotty about them (they’re clumsy, annoying, etc.). So it’s lucky then that his magic mirror shows there’s a woman trapped in a tower somewhere that he instantly falls in love with and decides to quest to rescue.

I mean, so far, so traditional, I guess, but it starts to go south once you start playing. I mean first off King Graham is on the beach of a new lands with absolutely no explanation how he got there? I guess the big change since King’s Quest I is that you can swim after you fall in water, so… did he swim? Or did a boat just drop him off?

I suppose that matters less than the truly weird challenge you actually face in the game. Once you’ve explored the full map, you’ll stumble upon a magic door with an inscription. Your goal for most of the game is to open three layered doors to get to a different location where the tower and princess actually are.

I actually have no idea what the thinking behind this is other than that Roberta Williams wanted to make the game more linear, to have you do the puzzle chains in order, but it’s kind of staggeringly inelegant. The game is full of such inelegance, all of which you can tell exists because in many cases it’s the simplest fix to progression rather than making any sense or really being a puzzle. So you get things like a fish that rewards you for saving him (even though you’re the one that caught him) and a key item that you need to finish the game just lying on a beach.

It’s all very strange, but at least, for the majority of the game, the puzzles are pretty logical even if their context isn’t, and characters are quite happy to explain what they need. So you find Red Riding Hood’s basket in Granny’s mailbox (maybe she put it there because Granny was out?) and Granny tells you to return it to Red, so you do, and so on. There’s nothing like Rumplestiltskin here, and because of the linear design, most of the time what you need to finish the section you’re in is available to you right in the section, with only a few nasty gotchas that render the game unwinnable.

It also maintains the multiple solutions of the original game, with a “right” way to do things for maximum points and, well, other ways. Sometimes the “right” way to do things is downright illogical however–I have absolutely no idea why I’d put a bridle on a snake. Is that from a fairy tale I’ve never heard of??? Plus it’s weird for the game to be so moralistic at points considering King Graham is out here stealing soup from dwarves and shit.

So even costing myself some time by doing things the hard way (nothing like needing pixel perfect movement through a path of nettles because you didn’t get the… sugar??? that would protect you from the poison) because the game is generous with alternate solutions and you can fly around the map with on “Fast” or “Fastest” mode, I was able to complete this in a couple of hours even when laid up in bed with the side effects of my fourth booster (worth it). I looked up a couple of hints for things that just didn’t make any sense but it was overall a rather pleasant little jaunt.

Will I ever play it again? I don’t see why I would, to be honest.

Final Thought: There’s some moments of very strange irreverence in King’s Quest II. I was completely baffled by the random event where I saw the 60s Batmobile driving in and out of Hagatha’s cave, for example. I’d blame Al Lowe, but apparently he only did the music for this (I had no idea he was an accomplished Jazz musician, but there it is, right in his Wikipedia.)

Support Every Game I’ve Finished on ko-fi, either via a one-off donation (pay what you like) or by joining as a supporter at just $1 a month.

#video games #games #gaming #sierra #sierra on-line #roberta williams #review #text #txt #1985 #king's quest #king's quest II #king's quest II: romancing the throne

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eightiesblast · 30 days

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Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter, released in 1986 for MS-DOS, is a classic adventure game developed by Sierra On-Line and designed by Scott Murphy and Mark Crowe. Set in a humorous science fiction universe, the game follows the adventures of a hapless space janitor named Roger Wilco as he unwittingly becomes embroiled in a galaxy-spanning quest to save the universe.

Pros:

Humorous Writing: Space Quest I is known for its witty and irreverent humor, with clever dialogue, puns, and pop culture references sprinkled throughout the game. The humor adds charm and personality to the game, making it a memorable experience for players.

Creative Setting: Set in a colorful and imaginative sci-fi universe, the game features a diverse array of planets, alien species, and spacefaring hazards. The world-building is inventive, with each location offering unique challenges and opportunities for exploration.

Puzzle Design: Like other Sierra adventure games of its time, Space Quest I features a variety of puzzles and challenges that require logic, exploration, and lateral thinking to solve. The puzzles are generally well-designed and satisfying to overcome, with a good balance of difficulty.

Graphics and Sound: For its time, Space Quest I boasted impressive VGA graphics and sound effects that brought its sci-fi world to life. The colorful pixel art and catchy music contribute to the game's retro charm and immersive atmosphere.

Nostalgic Value: Space Quest I holds a special place in the hearts of many gamers who grew up playing classic adventure games in the 1980s and 1990s. Its nostalgic appeal and enduring popularity have led to several re-releases and remakes over the years.

Cons:

Text Parser Interface: Like other Sierra adventure games of its era, Space Quest I relies on a text parser interface for player input. While innovative at the time, this interface can be clunky and unintuitive by modern standards, requiring players to type specific commands to interact with the game world.

Pixel-Hunting: Some puzzles in the game require players to pixel-hunt for interactive objects, which can be frustrating and tedious. This aspect of the gameplay may lead to trial-and-error and detract from the overall experience.

Dead Ends: As with many classic adventure games, Space Quest I features several potential "dead ends" or unwinnable situations that can result from player mistakes or missed opportunities. These dead ends may require players to restart the game or reload from a previous save point.

Overall, Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter is a beloved classic adventure game known for its humor, creativity, and nostalgic charm. While it may show its age in certain aspects, its enduring popularity and influence on the adventure gaming genre make it a must-play for fans of retro gaming and sci-fi comedy.

#1986 #space quest i #space quest 1 #sierra #roger wilco #ms-dos

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toku-explained · 9 months

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Kamen Rider Game

Blazar: For this special, TV producer Sabu, and assistant Matsu, are reviewing footage relating to recent Kaiju for a TV special, and start consulting with reporter Reiko for suggestions of what to use aside from archive footage. Just as they've settled to try and get an interview with the GGF, Sabu is told by the higher-ups to make the programme animated by sponsor request.

Geats: Kekera is allowed to make a wish through the duplicate Tsumuri, which turns all the active Riders except Keiwa into items so he can get revenge on him, though Daichi surprisingly arrives to help using his Jamato powers, Kekera eventually takes Keiwa and Daichi, while Jitto uses the Zillion Driver to go to Ace, and attempt to erase his will. Trapped together, Keiwa and Daichi reconcile, before Kekera announces the Kamen Rider Game, having the world's only Kamen Rider prove his worthiness by saving 3 people from Jamato, set up as unwinnable, Kekera tries to goad him into using a wish after beating him, but Keiwa refuses. Fortunately, the Jamato are from Daichi's stock, so no he can just have them free the hostages, and as Tycoon Ninja resumes fighting Premium Kekera, Ace finds the will to break free of the shackles. Jitto, annoyed, becomes Kamen Rider Regard, attempting to remove Geats-IX. Tycoon uses the now red-eyes Bujin Sword to defeat Kekera, thanking him only for allowing him to become a Kamen Rider. Geats-IX is struggling with Regard, marching his speed only to be stuck due to his weapon summoning ability, until the audience of this world, wishing for a happy end, allow him to power up and defeat Regard. Jitto, a creation of Suel, is reabsorbed. Ace reunites with Keiwa, as Suel announces to the world a new DGP, the duplicate Tsumuri welcoming many to become Kamen Riders, as Suel declares to the audience their wills are one, donning the Zillion Driver to merge with them as Regard Omega.

Kingohger: Deathnarok tells Kamejin he intends to destroy Tikyu, sending Zarigajim to the sun within Tikyu, which causes flares out to the surface in the various kingdoms, Gerojim, infiltrating the court using his disguise abilities, realises he has to report this to Jeramie, as temperatures arise across the planet, Jeramie comes to our Deathnarok in his place. Gira and the others discuss the situation, and after Gira is forced to send Boone away to save face, the decision is made to hold a festival of all 5 nations in Shugoddom. Jeramie and Deathnarok battle, Jerami knows Deathnarok intends to grow giant within the core to destroy the planet, and urges talk. Kogane and Boone try out N'Kosopa, Toufu and Gokkan's booths, as Gira worries about his image if he hangs out with them but is advised by the others to do what he wants. Deathnarok argues the Bugnarok are only considered evil, and subsequently imprisoned beneath the earth, for the crim dog attempting to conquer humanity 2000 years ago, but they are not the ones who did that, and there are no records from before the war to prove that even happend. Jeramie too seeks to know what happened in ancient times, but argues for the peace he seeks to brink about, as Gira realises he doesn't need to be a Tyrant. Boone sees Jeramie at the festival and takes him for a Bugnarok, when he explains why he fears the Bugnarok, Jeramie realises that, as the one who told the legend of the Ohsama Sentai, he has actually conditioned humanity to view the Bugnarok as evil. Zarigajim appears to prepare another tunnel, so the kings form Extreme King-Ohger and at Boone's suggestion fish him out using God Kumo before using the Legends to defeat him. Deathnarok challenges the kings so he can enter the pit, Jeramie stood thinking as the battle comes to have Deathnarok wounded having knocked the others down. Instead of webbing Deathnarok, Spider Kumonos webs up HachiOhger, and declares himself as Jeramie Idomonarok de Brasieri. As Deathnarok's relative, and the one responsible for the state of affairs, he urges him to turn back. Deathnarok refuses, instead consuming the amber,and leaping into the abyss.

#toku explained #kamen rider geats #ohsama sentai kingohger #ultraman blazar

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garudabluffs · 1 year

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“Unwinnable War��? Calls Grow for Negotiated End to Ukraine War

V.Z. "My idea was to map out how would it look after Russia has to accept its defeat, and how to make it a more palatable solution for some parts of the Russian elites that want to switch from this attitude of aggression, aggression and imperialism, to a different, more pragmatic approach to the West.

So, I went through several obvious aspects of possible maps. First of all, continue to help Ukraine, of course, to achieve military gains, but also indicate on a political level to Russian elites and Russian populace that this war is unwinnable for them, and they — the longer the war continues, there will be a greater danger of another collapse, just as what happened to the Soviet Union 30 years ago.

The second part of this map is to offer some possible carrots, up to negotiations, up to tradeoffs, to return Russia, after it accepts its defeat and withdraws its forces from Ukraine, into the international economic, financial and political space. In political sense, I wrote that we need to offer the return of legitimacy to certain individuals and certain groups of Russian elites as a trade-off for them accepting a defeat. In the economic field, there should be some talk about the conditions for removing sanctions, because we know from the Cold War that — and, actually, from the history of World War I, after Germany accepted an armistice, it was still subject to very humiliating and painful blockade by the Allies. So, there should be some discussion: What will the Russians gain economically if they accept status quo ante and agree to talk with Ukraine on the damage control. And financially, there’s an issue, of course, of frozen assets and compensation to Ukraine."

All we hear from some supporters of Ukraine and Ukrainians themselves is about sticks and punishment. We don’t hear anything about carrots, which is understandable. We are in the midst of brutal war, while Russians committed so many atrocities. But without certain carrots, at least addressed for the postwar period, we risk repeating the dangerous path after World War I."

S.W. :"However, I think it is a mistake to believe that these Minsk agreements, just because they did not lead to full implementation, were actually a complete failure, because they were not. And this is where we can learn potentially some things for the situation today. The Minsk agreements did not solve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. They did not. But they did bring about certain humanitarian positive steps. They brought about temporary ceasefires. They brought about disengagement zones around the humanitarian facilities. They brought about the reconstruction of critical infrastructure. So, they brought about humanitarian steps. They did a second thing. And this is, they kept a minimum of trust between the sides, between the Russians and the Ukraine — between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, because they were simply meeting every two weeks, and they had a real possibility to voice their concerns, to talk to each other, to talk to each other officially, but also to talk to each other outside of the official settings, which is something that brings a minimum minimum of trust.

So, and therefore, my proposal was to somehow try to get to proper negotiations, to real political negotiations, of a ceasefire in the current conflict via first really small steps. That means: Why can Russia and Ukraine not find a forum, an internationally mediated forum, where they will talk about exactly humanitarian protection zones, about a disengagement around the atomic power plant in Zaporizhzhia, about small potential ceasefires for the beginning of school, for the harvest, for the sowing of the fields? This would bring about these exact same advantages, namely humanitarian advantages. And every life saved is a big step in the right direction. Secondly, the ground could be prepared to establish some kind of little, small trust, which has been completely lost by now by both — by the sides. And thirdly, such a forum, where the sides would meet and be in a position to interact on a permanent basis, with neutral mediation, but with other countries, such as the West, as observers, would probably also have a deescalatory effect. This would probably and likely have the effect of preventing escalation that may otherwise take place. So, this is what we can maybe take from the failed Minsk negotiations forward into some kind of segue into negotiations, how they could start now."

"Now, the question is: Why should the sides to the conflict, at this point in time, be ready to engage in something like this? Let me just underline, participating in such negotiations does not cost the sides anything. It does not mean a change in the position in the field. It does not mean giving up any type of political or military position that you have held so far. So this would be negotiations that could be entered into at zero cost for the sides, but with potentially great benefit, but, therefore, they should also be entered into with no preconditions. And I think it would be the duty of the West, on the one side, and of China and India, on the other side, to convince both Russia and Ukraine to inform them, constructively, that participation in such negotiations would be deemed as highly welcome.

LISTEN 42:12 READ MORE https://www.democracynow.org/2023/3/2/ukraine_war_g20_meeting

The post-Soviet roots of the war in Ukraine 26 February 2022 by Vladislav Zubok

#Russia war Ukraine #oppositon

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