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tirsynni · 1 year

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Okay. I’ve written about people’s takes on age before. Usually in the form of rants. Now I’m seeing some things pop up regarding the characters’ ages and their appearance in the upcoming RE animated movie and I’m flailing a bit. Too tired to do it too energetically, but I hope everyone knows that the thought is there.

If I have the timeline right, the characters in the new Death Island (someone just told me the correct name) should be in their late 30s to early/mid 40s. Now, we all know that Capcom is weird with ages. They like to make characters unrealistically young for the amount of experience/rank/education they have. They do that fucking ageist shit with women where they always look young and beautiful and perky, and btw, here’s some unnecessary skin shots. (Do some fucking skin shots with Leon, you cowards.) Thus, frustrated fan responses are to be expected.

Except some of these fan responses are just... wtf, people??? I’m cool with “Let characters look their age,” but then they get specific with how they think the characters should look. “Give them wrinkles! Give them grey hair! Give them things that don’t actually match their ages!”

How old do people think that age range is? People are considered young adult until they hit thirty-five years old. Thirty-five. 35. 3. 5. After that? Adult. You’re still going through puberty until you hit 25. At 35? At the bridge between young adult and adult. You still have years to go before you hit retirement age. I promise.

This reminds me too much of that bullshit online where people get on adults (especially women) when they reach a certain age and they’re still online. Like, once you reach a certain age, you’re no longer allowed to have fun. You are no longer allowed to interact with people below that line without being considered a predator. You’re supposed to follow this normative (typically heteronormative, ironically enough) pattern of being married with kids and only dealing with “adult, boring” things. “Wait, you’re how old? Get offline, you weirdo, and do your taxes or something.”

It feels like people want to deny to the death that they’re influenced by societal ageism. They have unrealistic, often creepy expectations of how people are supposed to look and act when they hit a number which usually has a creepy parallel with Conservative purist beliefs. They get angry when they hear about the ageism in Hollywood and then say the same things but just with different wording. Isn’t that funny? How you have two, supposedly opposing sides with the same exact nasty opinion? It’s all in the language and wording. Each side has a different dictionary, and as long as they use the words appropriate for their individual sides, it doesn’t matter if the message is the same.”Ugh. You’re a woman and you’re how old and still writing fanfiction? Shouldn’t you be taking care of your kids?”

A popular argument is that these people are traumatized and of course that would age them. That further enrages me. Can trauma have a physical impact like that? Yes. But there seems to be this popular concept that trauma must have a visible impact. I’ve seen over and over again that finally Leon looks as traumatized as he actually is in the RE4 Remake. Trauma has to have a physical appearance: otherwise, is that person truly traumatized?

That’s not how it works. That’s not how it works at all. I’ve written a fic myself where Leon experiences heavy trauma and it leads to premature greying, but that was for individual fic purposes and I hope people recognize the difference, how one fic or one instance doesn’t make something automatic or universal. People can go through horrific trauma without a physical mark to show for it. No scarring, no premature wrinkles. Their hair won’t magically turn white overnight. Fuck, some people go through trauma without PTSD or lifelong issues. It is based on their history, their genetics, their role in the traumatic action, level of support, what happened before/during/after, etc. Not everyone goes through trauma and welp! Immediate PTSD and triggers and nightmares and grey hair and weeping fits. (And no, for fuck’s sake, this isn’t an insult to anyone who went through trauma and now deal with these issues: the point is that trauma and trauma response is individualized and needs to be recognized as so.)

There are an insane amount of real stories where someone commits suicide and everyone comments that they never saw it coming, that there was no indication prior. The person seemed so happy! They were always friendly! Hell, maybe they were even the group comedian! If you look at warning signs for suicide, sometimes visible depression is one of them but it is usually far more subtle things.

Trauma hits people differently, with different responses, different signs. Two people can go through the same exact thing and one comes out with PTSD and the other not. One person has nightmares and the other doesn’t. One has nightmares but no triggers, no PTSD. One can’t stand certain smells or sounds anymore but sleeps reasonably well and has a good life.

People have this thing where, if your trauma isn’t visible, if you aren’t acting appropriately, it didn’t happen or it wasn’t that bad. Raped women are often told that surely it couldn’t have been rape: they weren’t acting traumatized. One airplane crash survivor was scorned and called heartless for not being in hysterics when she was just in shock and oblivious to the fact that she was the only survivor. If you don’t show your trauma in certain ways, people dismiss you or insult you. To be accepted, you have to act traumatized. It has to show like the blood is still painting your skin. You have to have dark circles under your eyes. You must always, always visibly carry your pain and grief.

It’s exhausting to see this everywhere, but it’s even more frustrating to have supposedly “woke” people parroting these lines: if you are above a certain age you are old and you better look it; if you really went through trauma it had better show.

Fuck, too much time in the sun and too much smoking will age your skin more than trauma will. Yes, I want them to make the women look like they can legally drink, and when the time comes, I would love to see these characters with grey in their hair and wrinkles. In their 30s/early-to-mid!40s? Probably not going to see too much unless you have the genetic disposition for it.

Sincerely, someone who is in the same age range as these characters and who is sick and tired of hearing comments about her young appearance.

#resident evil #rant #ageism #purity culture #because that's what it is #tw: rape mention #you don't experience trauma #and then have it appear on your skin #a tattoo for every tragedy #you don't it a certain age #and immediately pop wrinkles #wtf people #long post #longer than expected

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4ragon · 3 years

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Thoughts on Athena? She’s my favorite and I feel that she’s so underrated :/

Oh I love Athena so much and DD and SoJ did her so dirty.

I keep saying this, but I really do feel like there needed to be SOME kind of buffer between AJ and DD. They needed something else before introducing such a fun, bright, wonderful new character to the cast, because by DD we now have 3 main characters competing for the spotlight and it’s clearly so much of a struggle for the writers to juggle them. One of them always gets shafted, and a lot of the times it is Athena!

And also, I feel like so many of the times she does get the chance to shine, they do have someone undercut it. She’s the lead of 2.5 cases total! In one, she gets overwhelmed and Phoenix steps in to take over. In one, she gets overwhelmed and Simon has to jump in and help her. Like, don’t get me wrong, that case with Athena and Simon is really great in terms of their character dynamic, but Athena is a competent young woman and deserves the chance to truly show off without having to have someone step in and help her. She deserves that.

If AA7 doesn’t let her take a fucking starring role, I will riot. “Oh but she’s already completed her character arc” So did Phoenix by the end of AA1!!!! You can have multiple arcs!!! I don’t need her to get the Apollo 20 Backstories treatment but she needs more time!! She deserves more time!! Capcom you are a coward!!! Give me the girl!!! Wipe away the debt!!!

Anyway.

On that note, I absolutely love Athena and everything she brings to the cast. She’s feisty and competitive and deeply empathetic. I know I really super connect with Apollo as a character, but I feel like I can really get Athena’s whole deal a lot too. She’s very sensitive to the emotions of the people around her, and I feel like she’s kind of a compulsive fixer, if you know what I mean? Not always a great trait to have, but she cares so deeply about the people around her. She’s a flawed individual and I enjoy watching her develop and grow.

She’s very charming, and I love the dynamics that she builds with every single character she interacts with. Plus she’s fun! She’s a lot more active and upbeat than Apollo, Phoenix and Edgeworth are, which is new for a POV character. She still has that snark of the other main characters though which I appreciate.

Athena. She’s tough and she’s fun and I need more of her in my life.

I fucking HATED the Mood Matrix though like??? I think I’ve gotten used to it and come to appreciate it but “Oh I can hear the SOUNDS of people’s HEARTS” what are you talking about??? I don’t know, I love using it when writing fic about her because it adds a really interesting layer to her interactions but for a while I just. What does that mean?? Fuck off. Like I know it’s more grounded in reality than the Magatama but still.

Ah well, at least it makes for some good drama, and it’s a really interesting concept if I could just figure out how it works????? Like I understand how people can fool the Magatama, and I understand how people can fool Apollo’s bracelet, but the fact that Athena can go for MONTHS and not pick up on the Phantom’s schtick is so weird to me? How does it work??? Tell me Capcom!!!

#Athena Cykes #ace attorney #please just let her shine capcom i know she can #there're still a bunch of these but i'm probably taking that break i need soon. i work through them slowly.#j #spoilers #meta

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gotshadowbanned-feralfungii · 5 years

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How Kristoph's Actions Affected Klavier

If Capcom won't do it then by god I will. I think a lot about the Gavin brothers and Klavier specifically. Kristoph is a master of gaslighting and we've seen how he treats Klavier in canon. From what we know about Klavier, and Kristoph, and their dynamic... even though the aftermath of the whole thing in regards to Klavier isn't really touched on properly in-game... I have some ideas I'd like to share. I'd put them under a cut but Tumblr mobile really do be like that. So let's just get to it.

Klavier probably feels like all the guilt for Kristoph's actions is on him. We've seen in comics that as they grew up Kristoph would blame Klavier for things that Kristoph himself had done, and with such certainty that Klavier himself would doubt his own memories of events and actually feel guilty. He didn't just take the blame for his brother, he genuinely felt he was in the wrong for something he'd had nothing to do with.

We also see in-game that Kristoph knows exactly how to play Klavier. Exactly how to hurt him, to manipulate him, to break him down. And Klavier grew up with that. With someone manipulative and controlling, selfish and cruel. And Klavier himself being so sincere and honest and kind as we see in canon... He'd be the perfect proverbial punching bag for someone like Kristoph. A soft heart is easier for hard hands to shape.

Not to mention he actually used Klavier to get Phoenix disbarred. Klavier, who values the truth. Klavier, who even then wanted to do the right thing. To find out that his own actions contributed to someone else's misery like that? That he hurt innocent people? To know that even as he grew up Kristoph could trick him so easily and use him as a pawn? How badly must that hurt? How horribly must that shake him? Any confidence he'd gained whilst stepping out from Kristoph's shadow, any resolution that he was smarter than to fall for his brothers manipulation anymore... All shattered. He would feel horrible for all of it, I'm sure. Such thoughts and feelings as:

How could he look Phoenix in the eye after that? How could he interact with any of them? It was all his fault, everything Kristoph had done was on Klavier's shoulders and he deserved to be punished just as much as Kristoph did. Maybe even more so. Maybe the others wouldn't hold a grudge against him. After all, he'd had no idea at the time that he was doing anything but the right thing. But even if they didn't, he held a grudge against himself. He couldn't let himself get close to any of them. He'd hurt them all too badly and he didn't deserve the love and warmth their circle shared. So he isolated himself. Separated himself. Self-imposed exile.

He works hard. That's a canonical fact. But maybe he works harder after all that, more than is healthy. Because he needs to atone? Because he wants to punish himself? Maybe both. But he's stubborn about it and even Edgeworth can't scare him into leaving the office at a reasonable hour. If he's focused on a case then his mind can't drift. If he's thinking about a trial then he isn't thinking about how everything was his fault and he could have kept it all from happening and he was a sham and a coward for allowing himself to walk away a free man while Kristoph was convicted, even though he was just as guilty.

It doesn't help that he visits his brother, who just reinforces those awful thoughts. Who convinces Klavier just as Klavier convinces himself. He can't let himself off the hook. He owes it to his brother, and to the ones he hurt. Not the ones Kristoph hurt, the ones Klavier hurt. Because this is all your fault, Klavier, surely even you can see that? Why don't you take responsibility for all the harm you've done? I'm disappointed, Klavier. I thought you were better than that. Aren't you supposed to be smart? Don't you value justice? Why, then, do you not hold yourself accountable?

He really needs to stop visiting Kristoph.

Whats's worse, people keep inviting him to things. Trucy, Apollo, Athena- hell, even Edgeworth and Blackquill run into him at work and try to get him to drop by to a gathering the main cast are having. A game night or a movie night or a Steel Samurai marathon. It sounds fun. But he always has an excuse not to go. He says he has a case he needs to study when the truth is he can't look Wright in the eye without feeling like his chest is going to cave in on itself. He says he has to record something when the truth is he thinks Edgeworth secretly despises him for hurting Phoenix and is just keeping up a professional politeness. He says he has a headache when the truth is he can't stand how Trucy and Apollo and even Athena light up as if they actually want him to be there. It makes him feel sick. It makes him lightheaded. The truth is, the thought of facing all of them makes his stomach twist into horrible knots.

How could any of them want him to be there?

How could they want to be around him?

He doesn't even want to be around himself.

Because it's just like when they were kids. It's just like it's always been.

Every horrible thing Kristoph has done is entirely Klavier's fault, and he can never shake off that guilt.

#klavier gavin #klavier #aa klavier #ace attorney #apollo justice: ace attorney #this was hard to write #not because of the content but because my roomates cat kept headbutting my hands while i typed

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tanstar · 4 years

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Rambling about RE2R and RE3R’s cut content part 2

Read part 1 here.

Part 2: RE3R

So I’m gonna be honest, I really like RE3R. It’s narrative and characters are 10/10 for me, something I haven’t been able to say about RE in a long time (honestly my biggest gripes with re5 and 6 are the complete wasted potential of their narratives and characters). I’ll go more in depth about it later but yeah I’ve got no complaints about the story or characters. My problems with RE3R come down to it’s length, level design and the utilization of Nemesis. So let’s get started.

spoilers ahead

Cut/altered/new content:

Live select options were cut in favour of a cohesive narrative and characterization (which have been expanded upon greatly), Jill’s apartment is now explorable, Nemesis ambushes Jill at her apartment and her escape is now playable, the graveyard is gone (though there is a nod to the graveyard at the start of the rpd section), the clock tower interior and its puzzles are gone (it’s exterior is used for the boss fight against Nemesis form 2 like the original), no water puzzle, the gravedigger has been merged with hunter gamma as a common enemy type, Uptown is now a linear setpiece that cannot be revisited, there are fewer Nemesis encounters, Nemesis item drops aren’t as worthwhile as the original, there’s a new boss fight with Nemesis as he wields a flamethrower, tram has been changed to a subway train, fetchquest for the tram has been cut, Mikhail is now fully conscious for his entire appearance, new character Dr Bard included with new vaccine subplot, fetchquest for the gems has been made optional instead of mandatory, Mayor Warren’s statue is no longer fetchquest related and can be found before crossing the bridge to the clock tower, battery fetchquest for the construction site elevator has been changed to fuses for the underground storage facility elevator, Nemesis destroying the helicopter has been moved to the beginning of the game, Brad is still bitten at Bar Jack but heroically sacrifices himself rather than act like a huge coward, Brad is not killed by Nemesis, Brad infects Marvin (which ties in well with both og re2 and RE2R surprisingly), Racoon city in general has been redesigned to look like an american city instead of a japanese one, Stagla still explodes but cannot be entered, the zombie horde at Stagla has been moved to the hospital in a tower defence sequence, Drain Deimos and Brainsuckers have been merged, no leeches, no spiders or crows, new enemies the pale heads and parasite zombies, construction site and power station have been merged, once Jill has been infected Carlos takes her to the hospital instead of the chapel iside the clock tower, likewise Carlos doesn’t wait for 2 days before deciding to find a cure instead it takes him around 12 hours to find Jill and he immediately looks for the vaccine, hospital has been expanded, underground storage facility replaces the park, dead factory is merged with a new lab area, Tyrell is now an actual character and dies to Nemesis intead of an explosion, final boss is now reliant on Jill operating the rail gun herself rather than coercing Nemesis in front of it, iconic STARS line has been moved from the final boss fight to a chase sequence, the confrontation with Nicholai has been moved to the climax of the game, Nicholai is implied to be working with Wesker instead of Umbrella and of course the alternate ending with Barry was cut.

So RE3R does cut or alter the content of the original but in most cases it does try to replace whatever was cut. Also regardless of cuts, re3′s narrative has been expanded upon with character arcs and lore tying it to the rest of the series, that alone justifies this game’s existence for me. As much as I love the original, its bare bones plot and narrative structure (a result of being a sort of choose your adventure game) as well as the fact that it started as a spinoff game and the fact that its last three levels were added last minute (hence the vaccine plotline coming out of nowhere) really don’t do it any favours. I still enjoy the original story and characters but I think the remake did a better job at both these things.

So I had some major problems with the writing for RE2R in both terms of the overall narrative (there is no cohesive overlapping narrative between our two leads) and the portrayal of certain characters (Leon and Ada), so what did I think of RE3R? It’s good. It’s really good actually, the acting is probably the best in the series tbh. Jill’s ptsd from the mansion incident and how it has made her distrustful but also self sacrificing is so interesting. This is perfectly displayed when she agrees to help the UBCS, she knows she shouldn’t help them, that Umbrella is out to get her but with civilian lives on the line she decides to fulfil her duty as a STARS officer and help out. But she isn’t just abrasive or snarky, she shows she is still a very caring person too, this can be seen in her interactions with Brad, Kendo and even Dario, she wants to genuinely save all three of them but things just don’t work out that way. Carlos is great, way better than his original incarnation and I say that as someone who likes that version too. He’s a great support character for Jill and also acts somewhat as a foil for her character and his arc about learning of Umbrella’s wrongdoings is handled well. I think everyone can aggree that Carlos and Jill’s dynamic is fantastic, the growth of their relationship feels very organic and genuine. I never expected to care about Brad so much, in the original he’s just a huge coward who exists to be killed by Nemesis but now he actually feels like a person and someone who Jill valued. Also holy shit that scene where he bites Marvin is so much more narratively fulfilling than his death by Nemesis. Mikhail’s expanded role as captain is great, as is his death. Tyrell actually gets to be a character this time around and I actually hoped he’d somehow survive. Dr Bard is a total scumbag and his inclusion finally explains the vaccine’s creation as well as adding to the overall corruption of RC via Umbrella. Nicholai’s a total ham and a dickhead, I mean this in a good way I would describe all my favourite RE villians this way (the Weskers, the Ashfords, Salazar, Carla Radames, Jack Baker). And form 1 Nemesis has some fun dramatic flair that I enjoyed. Also I will defend the choice to remove Barry from the ending, I really like Barry but it was the right decision not to involve him as it would really work against the game’s narrative and Jill’s character arc.

Now onto RE3R’s level design and structure and in my opinion it should have borrowed more from the og re3′s level design way more. What we have isn’t bad but it could’ve been much more. The streets being redesigned was inevitable to me, I really enjoy the aesthetic of the original but it looks very Japanese and RC is supposed to be a US city, so this change doesn’t bother me. The linearity does. The streets should have been more open and you should have been able to return to Uptown to explore (adding back in a fetchquest would justify this), this would give way more opportunities for Nemesis to stalk the player. What’s strange is there is a mod that opens up Downtown to be almost completely explorable and Nemesis’s AI can actually track you throughout it’s entirety, why bother programming him that way if the intention was to make the area more linear? When Nemesis does show up in the remake he’s great but he should have been present way more, he’s like the opposite of Mr X in RE2R. Mr X follows the player semi randomly around the RPD for a while but he is pretty toothless as a threat (seriously, you can out walk him), Nemesis on the other hand is a genuine threat but is only semi random for an incredibly short portion of the game. Expanding the streets would fix this issue. The park could’ve been an explorable area before the RPD, I personally don’t mind the park being cut but i know a lot of people do. They should have implemented more puzzles. I also think the clock tower should have been explorable and if I’m being honest I think it was supposed to be, it’s referenced in the subway and then we get the pamphlet before crossing the bridge, I think it was cut for time. I think a lot was cut for time and I don’t think it’s M2′s fault, i think Capcom is the problem here and all you need to do is look at RE2R and all of its cut content for proof.

Honestly if this game had just reintegrated some more of the original games levels and structure I think it would have been a 10/10, I still enjoy what we got I just want more! I hope we get DLC in the future and there’s certainly ample opportunity, we could have a ghost survivors scenario with Brad escaping Nemesis, we could play as Nicholai as he collects data on the outbreak before the main game, a dream sequence of Jill exploring the clock tower, Tyrell could cut through the park as he makes his way to the hospital and of course I hope we get Mercenaries mode. I guess time will tell.

#resident evil #resident evil 3 remake #resident evil 3 #re3 #rant

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targentis · 4 years

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answer them **all.**

DAMN OKAY! these r so hard to answer i hope youre happy KJDFNGKSDJFNDKFGSJ

Your favourite non-canon ship?

COFFEE WOLF, I GUESS. it’s canon to us though. um. god this is a hard question. Doc/Ramirez from Skies of Arcadia i guess!!

Is there a ship you didn’t like at first but ultimately started shipping?

TONS BUT IM DRAWING A BLANK RIGHT NOW. Alfonso/De Loco. yes. that’s one. thanks Din

What is the rarest rare pair (that you ship)?

help all my ships are rarepairs.......Des/Nils is probably the rarest. no that’s not true bc i got all my friends on board with this. ok. closest one after that is like...trans lesbian Bloom/Emmy then. eGDKFJGN

Name a popular ship you don’t get the appeal of.

Akechi/Joker...........don’t tell anyone but i have the tags for that ship blocked dfjgkhdfgk it doesn’t make me particularly uncomfortable or anything it just doesn’t appeal to me and i’m tired of seeing it so much

What is your most fluffy + happy ship?

Lunivas/Butter :] (For Now.)

What is your most angsty ship?

UUUUUUUU. GODS UM.....how about VinceDes. thats pretty angsty bro. i think they’re just mostly angsty independently though ejrhdgjhdf

A non-canon ship that should be canon?

dude, Wrightworth. it’s like basically canon already Capcom just needs to like stop being cowarDS DFKGNDFKJGDF

Your oldest ship; the one you’ve shipped for the longest time?

NOT SURE. Alfonso/Ramirez is a pretty long-running ship i think. Wrightworth too but i think Alfonso/Ramirez is older by like a year.

What ship represents the kind of relationship you’d love to have?

VinceDes. ;]

Is there a ship that makes your skin crawl?

unfortunately, because i am in the Layton fandom, yes. for instance, all the Desmond ships with canon characters, bc they are all like. family members. euughghghgjahgahuggg,ghf,h god

What is a character you can only imagine in one particular ship?

not Ramirez that’s for surE DKJNDFKJGDF probably uhhh Randall......he belongs with Henry and that’s that on that!

What is your favourite canon ship?

hehehe...Nico/Kastor/Vlad!!

Name a ship that deserved more content.

all the rarepairs bro. every gross artist who has ever drawn like d*sl*y or something owes me coffee wolf content. ESPECIALLY gross artists who draw d*sa*ro and interact with my posts. cough cough. pay up You Know Who.

Is there a ship you feel gets undeserved hate in fandom?

i don’t know any ships that get hate period cause i no longer subscribe to weird fandom drama...but i know of One ship that gets Deserved hate, which is Ramirez/Galcian. i’ll never stop shitting on it never

What is the first ship you had?

ugh. in order to answer this question i had to try to remember the first fandom i was ever in, let alone the first time i ever cared about romance. soooooooo...i think it was Seth/Jynx from my ex’s story Fantasy Fulfillment??

Is there a ship that made you realise something about yourself?

yes there is! a certain ship made me realize i had a second Des canon...

Is there a type of ship you always go for?

IM LIKE NOT BIG ON SHIPPING ANYMORE SO THIS IS HARD TO DETERMINE i just kind of...find my favorite characters and then put them together bc sexy. also sometimes characters will have undeniable chemistry and i’ll be all like ok legally i just Have to ship them. see: Din/Ade.

Is there a ship the writers have ruined for you?

every canon ship in Skies of Arcadia. the writers of this game do not know what chemistry is. Enrique/Moegi sucks, but they have so much POTENTIAL to be a good pairing, but this was not shown at ALL in canon, and i’m SALTY.

Is there a ship the fandom has ruined for you?

Akechi/Joker probably...fandom didn’t do anything wrong per se i just. like i said before i’m just tired of seeing it dkgjhdg

Have you ever created fan created content for a ship?

yeah tons!! i am a Content Creator bro i will not stop

Favourite thing you’ve ever created for a ship?

this VinceDes Valentine’s Day project i’ve been working on for the past four days!! it’s like my favorite thing i’ve ever created PERIOD bro

Is there a ship you’ll never admit you have?

hmmmmmmmm. do my old Hetalia ships count? DFGJDNFG

Have you ever started shipping a ship because of the fans?

YES ACTUALLY! speaking of my old Hetalia ships, i used to ship Japan and Canada SIMPLY BECAUSE i went to an anime convention and these two cosplayers said i looked like their lovechild. i took a photo with my “parents” and it was my phone wallpaper for like two years. i’m so sorry for talking about that stupid anime but like that’s still an important memory to me

What is one scene you want to see happen for all your ships?

HRNNHNH. KIS

I there a ship you wish you didn’t know existed?

You Know Exactly Which Ones.

more recently though...Miles/Franziska?????? like sigh i know of COURSE it exists but like. idk i Just found out about it and i wish i could unlearn that fact.

Name a ship that ended like you wanted it to.

Nico/Kastor/Vlad.........if you want good content you have to make it yourself!

Name a ship that deserved better in the end.

LAYTON/CLAIRE. FOR FUCKING REAL

Is there a character you have several ships for?

Ramirez from Skies of Arcadia........he can just Get It.

What is the ship you ignore 98% of canon for?

ENRIQUE/ILCHYMIS. I JUST THINK THEYRE HOT THEY NEVER INTERACT IN CANON

Is there a ship you like but you dislike the fandom?

lol wym i dislike all fandom. eKJDGFN ummmm??? no i can’t think of any right now??

#long post #thanks bffffff i love u #beneath the ask

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tyrantisterror · 7 years

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TT Blathers About Monster Hunter Stories

For thousands of years, people have come to my altar, desperately begging that I play Monster Hunter games, and for thousands of years I let my heart be hardened to their pleas. Then this year Yaweh released the 11th plague: a Monster Hunter game that was also a Mons game, which is to say a game where you collect and raise various monsters to be your friends and allies, i.e. my favorite type of game ever conceived. In that moment, I was doomed – I cannot resist a good Mons game, and god help me, this game was good. I played the free demo four different times before the game finally came out, so thirsty I was to play it. I had a fever, and the cure was Monster Hunter Stories.

From a story standpoint, it’s just kind of ok – fairly standard JRPG plot of saving the world from a vaguely supernatural ecological destruction, standard JRPG characters (Here’s your perky female childhood friend! Here’s your angsty male childhood friend turned rival! Here are the silly comedic villains! Here’s the quirky sidekick! Etc.), very formulaic across the board. To its credit, the story DID manage to sell me on the whole setting of Monster Hunter in general – it helps that the titular hunters have a lot more sympathy for the titular monsters than you usually get in a “Heroes kill monsters” game, and that the storytelling really does want you to love these creatures even when you have to fight them. Still, it ain’t no Persona 4 by a long shot.

But that’s fine, because the real appeal was raising all those lovely monsters, and oh, how fucking good that was. Great gameplay goes a long way in this game, and while the story is by the numbers, the fights and monsters were ABOVE AND BEYOND. Which is why I’ve decided to talk about EVERY SINGLE Monstie (i.e. catchable monster) in the game, even the ones I haven’t gotten to meet yet because Capcom hasn’t released their DLC yet.

So come with me as I spiral into madness and gush about some goddamn monsters.

Velocidrome (Goggle)

Redecos: Gendrome (Chopstix)

Goggle was the first monstie the game gave me, and as such has a special place in my heart even though he was quickly outclassed by everything around him. A sweet, innocent creature, Goggle shepherded me around as I first discovered the world of Monster Hunter Stories. His species is also a good introduction to the Caveman meets JRPG European Fantasy (with a dash of Sci-fi) aesthetics of the Monster Hunter games. Like, yeah, on the surface he’s a dinosaur, but he’s also a brightly colored dragony dinosaur. A dragonosaur. Goggle is a treasure.

Later in the game you can get Gendromes, which are a slight retooling of the Velocidrome model. I named mine Chopstix.

Aptonoth (Steakbone)

A big gnarly looking hadrosaur/ankylosaur hybrid, Aptonoths look far stronger than they actually are, being the rattatas of the Monster Hunter World. There’s a lot of them, they go down in one hit, and after a point you just kind of avoid them because fighting them is mostly pointless. And you know what, that’s fine. I’m fine with letting these sweet creatures just wander and graze to their hearts’ content, safe from the attacks of my darling murder lizards. Of course, sometimes the wild murder lizards eat them, but that’s just nature being a pre-programmed A.I. interacting with itself.

Steakbone was on my team for a long while because I had five open slots and not much to put them in. She never saw combat.

Arzuros (Poobah)

A great big nasty bear, Poobah illustrates what I really came to love about Monster Hunter’s approach to monster design: almost everything in this world is part lizard. Even the fuckin’ bears. You look at this guy from a distance and think “That’s a bear,” but up close? Up close to see all sorts of lizardy scales and other reptilian elements. It’s a world of monsters where Lizard is the apex of evolution – like the Kanto region in Pokemon! I love it. I absolutely love it.

Poobah was a beefy boy and I brought him into battle a couple of times, but he was quickly overshadowed by…

Yian Kut-Ku (Skittle)

Redecos: Blue Yian Kut-Ku (Sherbet)

Skittle and Sherbet are beautiful creatures of grace and goofiness, their bright colors reminding you of the radical 1990’s. They look the way Capri Sun tastes. Both were heavy hitters early in my game, quickly illustrating how poor Goggle would have a hard time later on when all their stats exceeded his while they were only half his level. Sherbet in particular stuck on my team a long time, and I regard her quite fondly for the fights she put up in the hellish snow-encrusted hills before I finally got that de-frosting perfume or whatever the fuck it is you need to keep from freezing on that map.

Popo (Mutton)

Popos look like a sentient hairwad chewing on a wishbone. So, y’know, pretty good for the Bidoofs of Monster Hunter.

Lagombi (Harvey)

You’re basically forced to have this fucking rabbit bear for the snow map, because he’s the only species you can get that can break rocks and is also involved in a cut scene that shows you how gene hybridization works. It’s a goofy ass thing and one of the few monsters that doesn’t have much lizard in it, so points for fun and variety. Harvey wasn’t my favorite and, unlike the movie/play character for whom he was named, didn’t really endear me to him as the game went on, but he is a giant rabbit with, like, a beak or something, so there’s that for you.

Bulldrome (Hamhock)

There’s some good bacon on this critter. Mmm hmm.

Zamtrios (Belushi)

A giant shark-frog that can suddenly expand to the delight of fetishists everywhere, I felt there was no better name for this lovely creature than that of beloved 1980’s comedian John Belushi. Belushi stuck around on my team for a while, and while he didn’t accomplish a lot during that time, I could always depend on him in a pinch if my stronger monsters got too roughed up. His hopping animation was really fun despite being the opposite of helpful from a gameplay perspective.

Khezu (Akroyd)

Redecos: Red Khezu (Snausage)

These guys have to get the people who want nontraditional dragons, like, rock hard, right? Giant phallus headed lamprey wyverns? That’s what people like these days, right? I like these guys just fine. Akroyd was my stone wall for a while, having great HP and defense that allowed him to weather the nastiest of shit relatively unscathed. Snausage never quite came into his own, but to be fair, did he need to? His name is SNAUSAGE. Sometimes that’s all you need.

Apceros (Turtz)

I’m sincerely disappointed these guys weren’t viable fighters, because an ankylosaurus/turtle hybrid is a badass concept, and this design is a badass execution of it. I would have been really tempted to use Turtz for the whole game if he didn’t have the survivability of a wet paper towel.

Royal Ludroth (Spengbab)

Redecos: Purple Ludroth (Koolaid)

I love most of the Ludroth family’s design, but that spongey neck just looks infected. Every time I look at them I worry about whether or not I should take them to a clinic. There’s gotta be, like, pus and shit in there, right? Oh god. Oh my poor sick lizards. Oh no.

Gypceros (Plunger)

Redecos: Purple Gypceros (Grapekun)

Y’know, much has been made of the phallic nature of Khezu’s head/neck, but I honestly feel the horrible fleshy ovipositors on these guys is way more obscene. They’re pretty fun monsters in their own right. Not my favorite – they don’t hit my aesthetic sweet spots like some of the other monsters do – but they bring a wonderful variety to things. However they’re also cheating fucks who use poison and blindness like cowards, and for that I bear a grudge.

Nerscylla (Vriska)

Redecos: Shrouded Nerscylla (Frosti)

I love these spiders and their adorable blankets. I was sorely tempted to keep Vriska on my team, benching her only because she started getting roughed up too much about 2/3rds of the way through the game. Not only does she have a lovely and endearing design, but her ability to put fuckers to sleep was so useful. She and Frosti knit sweaters in my monster stables and regale the young monsters with stories of daring do.

Qurupeco (Honker)

Redecos: Crimson Qurupeco (Barry)

If you distilled the essence of, like, EVERY weird ass bird – not all birds, just the weird ass ones like toucans and pelicans and shit – and then mixed it with a wyvern, you’d get these guys. They’re goofy as shit and really endearing even if they make battles take way longer than necessary by calling in reinforcements. Plus Honker helped me get one of my best monsties in the end, so he’s alright. You’re alright Honker.

Rathian (Clarent)

Redecos: Pink Rathian (Hrunting), Gold Rathian (Caliburn)

So early in the game, you escape the dreaded Ice Hell Wasteland Snow Zone into a beautiful green path of serene trees and flowers. Sleeping on that path, surrounded by harmless Aptonoths, is a Sharkleberry Fin-pink ass dragon. And deep down you know this is a trap. It’s fucking sleeping. You have to choose to fight it. The game is setting you up.

“Fuck it,” you say, “I saved recently. Let’s poke the bear.”

These fuckers were Monster Hunter Stories’ first taste of power, the first monster to make you realize that you are a puny ape made of meat and bone in a land of prehistoric dragonosauruses that would love to eat your goddamn guts. God I love this heinous she-dragon, this haw-nosed viper-faced scorpion-tailed flying allosaurus. The game foreshadows pretty heavily that you’ll get one of your own at, like, the VERY beginning, so I didn’t bother putting Hrunting (my pink Rathian – I didn’t find the normal one until much later) on my team when I got her. I mean, I actually couldn’t because the game was like “Yeah you got this egg but uhhhhh you are NOT ready for this responsibility” my man, but even though I knew it’d be alright, I still felt a twinge of regret. There aren’t enough spaces on my team for TWO Raths, but Rathians, please know that Silver medals are high honors.

Also I’ll probably level you up for funsies once all my other monsties get to level 100 while I wait for the DLC.

Barroth (Caramel)

Redecos: Jade Barroth (Marzipan)

Caramel was the first monster I got who would stay all the way to the end of the story mode, and likewise became the first monster I raised to level 99. Even just focusing on aesthetics, Caramel is wonderful. Her design has the bonkers creativity and personality of an Ultra Man monster, with her giant pipe organ head and pangolin dorsal scutes. And she likes mud baths! What a lovely creature. Caramel’s full name is Salted Caramel, because her ice genes make her look a little frosted, and because she’s the experienced veteran on my core team of monsters.

Diablos (Moloch)

Redecos: Black Diablos (Asmodeus)

A triceratops/therapod/pterosaur/Satan hybrid, Diablos is pretty fucking rad, and while it took me forever to get one of their fucking eggs, I still seriously considered raising one for my endgame. I ultimately didn’t, but this is another monster that kinda neatly summarizes the basic rules of Monster Hunter’s monster design: take dinosaur parts, cobble together a dragon, and voila, you’ve got a pretty standard MH monster.

Tigrex (Nublar)

Redecos: Brute Tigrex (Sorna), Molten Tigrex (Winston)

Look, at the end of the day, I’m a pretty boring person when it comes to my personal tastes. I like hamburgers with just ketchup on them – anything more and you can’t focus on the meat. So when I say that Tigrex is my favorite monster in the game, please, please understand that I’m aware how boring that makes me. I mean, I get it – it’s JUST a dragon with a T.rex head. But… but that’s so cool! And it’s such a nice dragon with SUCH a NICE T.rex head! And it has this adorable animation when it wins where it snaps its jaws twice like “YEAH FUCK YOU YOU WANNA GO AGAIN GUESS NOT FUCKER I’M A T.REX AND A DRAGON WHAT ARE YOU YOU AIN’T SHIT IS WHAT YOU ARE CHOMP CHOMP MOTHERFUCKER CHOMP CHOMPITY CHOMP!”

Anyway I raised the three different Tigrexes all to a high level and used them all substantially throughout the game because they’re beautiful and adorable and badass and just my favorite ok? Yes I know it’s one of the least creative designs in the bunch but goooooooooddddd it just works for me ok it just works.

1000/10 would raise more would raise entire team of tigrexes try and fucking stop me I’ll do it I’ll goddamn do it just try to stop me CHOMP CHOMP motherfuckers

Iodrome (Nedry)

I did a lot of level grinding in the volcano, and discovered that some of my monsters could send these fuckers running at the sight of me just by roaring. It was delightful.

Basarios (Pebble)

Redecos: Ruby Basarios (Poprox)

These burly fellows look like they’d be a lot tougher than they are. I mean, they can endure a lot of punishment, but their fights were never hardfought – just long. They’re pretty neat for giant rock dragons.

Gravios (Nugget)

Redecos: Black Gravios (Licorice)

A bit tougher than Basarios (and apparently related to them? ), I still have trouble telling these two apart most of the time. They’re nice. Decent geodudes.

Uragaan (Roundboy)

Y’know, everyone remembers the Ghost with the Most and Lydia, but Otho brings a lot of comedy to Beetlejuice too. Like, he’s even more inexplicable and weird than all the dead people in that movie. Otho should be more fondly remembered.

Like Caramel, Roundboy has a really fun design that once again has a distinctly Ultra Man-ish feel to me. He also looks sort of like a hairbrush, but, like, a terrible one where the tines are too fat to properly help your hair. I like him.

Great Jaggi (Newman)

Redecos: Great Baggi (Elvis)

I feel like the game knew these two were basically a waste of time because there’s, like, no promotional renders for them at all. It’s kind of a shame because they’ve got lovely wicked raptor designs, but yeah they’re basically like Velocidromes in that they’re kind of useless, but unlike velocidromes you don’t get them until a point in the game where there is ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT they will always be useless. I feel bad for them.

Kecha Wacha (Seylmer)

Redeco: Ash Kecha Wacha (Vendor)

So… I’m not the only one who thinks this is the lovechild of Elmer and Seymore, right? It wants to sell me sands and fruit.

Yian Garuga (Gothrox)

The goth cousin of the Yian Kut Kus, this creature manages to look kinda badass despite being derived from such goofy stock. I can respect that.

Congala (Garbage)

Redecos: Emerald Congala (Dumpster)

From a design point, these punk rock hippo-gorillas are really cool, mixing a lot of disparate elements into a single creature. On the other hand, every time I fought one they farted on me a lot, which did not endear me to them one bit. I did not appreciate their south park humor.

Zinogre (Balto)

Redecos: Stygian Zinogre (Baskervill)

In recent Pokemon generations I’ve just been clinging to the few reptilian designs we get, no matter how far they are from y actual preferences for reptile monster designs, because more and more they are crowded out by goddamn mammals. I imagine Zinogre here must be that for MH fans who also prefer mammal monsters to reptile ones – in a sea of lizards, here is a lizard that looks very much like a wolf! It’s still a lizard though – like, it’s got a big long tail, and scales everywhere, and even a squatter stance than most mammals have – but dammit, it’s a wolf-ish lizard.

I think wolves are kinda neat, so if there had to be a super strong mammal-ish monster, they could do a lot worse than this one.

Nargacuga (Bagheera)

Redecos: Green Nargacuga (Swampcat)

Basically a panther dragon, Nargacuga is another strong more-mammal-y-than-normal monster from the later part of the game, and it’s a pretty fucking rad one. It was hard not to have a grudge against them at first because of the, uh, opening cutscenes of the game, but since the game hammers in the idea that we can’t blame these wild animals for their actions, I grew to love my sweet panther dragons. They’re frail as fuck though, so sadly I didn’t get much use out of them, but I love them nonetheless.

Rathalos (Ratha)

Redecos: Azure Rathalos (Durendal), Silver Rathalos (Excalibur)

Ok, so, you automatically get a Rathalos about halfway through the story, and the story really rides upon you making the Rathalos your favorite. Which, in turn, kinda inspires a bit of rebelliousness on your part – especially when other monsters have been with you longer (Caramel) or endeared themselves to you more (Nublar/Sorna/Winston). Also they don’t let you nickname your Rathalos yourself – your stuck with the shitty nickname one of the NPCs gave him instead. Ratha? Ratha? I know I could do better than that.

Like Rathian, Rathalos is a badass theropod bodied, scorpion tailed, hawk/viper faced wyvern, all of which gets blended seamlessly into a really unique and expressive design. This is basically the mascot monster of the series, right? A good choice. Definitely more creative than a simple dragon with a T.rex head. A good choice. I’m sure some might argue the better choice.

…

Anyway I love the various Rathaloses I’ve raised, and like Tigrexes I raised one of each subspecies up to pretty high levels. They’re great monsters. Probably in my top ten of the ones listed here. Maybe even top five. Just… just not my favorite. I’m sorry Ratha, but you should have let me name you.

Lagiacrus (Ogopogo)

Redecos: Ivory Lagiacrus (Inverness)

It’s a crocodile… and a cobra… and a sea serpent… I love it. I love this design. Of all the monsters I planned to put on my team, I was most excited for Ogopogo here. Like, if I had to pick a favorite monster on design alone, it would be this guy. Ogopogo struggled to make her mark in combat though, being kind of middle of the road – not super hard hitting, not super durable, just kind of alright everywhere. She wasn’t as quirky as the others either. I still love her though, and I’ve been toying with her genes to see if I can help her make her mark. She’s probably just a late bloomer – it’ll be her time to shine soon, you’ll see.

Deviljho (Corncob)

I have heard tales of the Deviljho for as long as I have heard people telling me I should play Monster Hunter games – which is to say a long ass time. Feared by all, the mighty deviljho is an unstoppable murder beast that arrives when you least expect it.

At least, that’s what the legends say. In Monster Hunter Stories I had to seek out this son of a bitch. SEVERAL TIMES. Me and Honker spent an entire fucking night just farming these bastards, beating up Jho after Jho in a desperate attempt to get its precious egg. Eventually our efforts bore fruit, and sweet Corncob was born.

A plucky, chunky pickle skinned child, Corncob worried me at first – she seemed frailer than my Tigrexes and didn’t hit as hard, and I feared she might have to be benched for her own sake. After finishing story mode, though, she really came into her own. With the help of some gene re-arranging and some level grinding, Corncob has become a juggernaut – beefier than Caramel and harder hitting than all save Winston the Molten Tigrex. Corncob isn’t the average monster warrior – she has become the legend, the legend that you fear. She is the legendary super monster – the Deviljho!

Anyway, Corncob may be my second favorite monstie. She’s just the sweetest little murdersaurus.

Barioth (Varney)

Redecos: Sand Barioth (Carmilla)

The third mammal-ish reptile, Barioth looks pretty cool. I mean, it’s a sabre tooth cat’s head on a standard MH style wyvern body, you can’t fuck that up really. If MH didn’t offer so many other monsters that were far more lizard-y, I’d probably use it. It’s right there in that later-gen Pokemon category of “I guess this will do” monster design. If I were dying of thirst, Barioth, you would be my water in the desert. But there’s fresh water aplenty here, soooooo yeah.

Brachydios (Bajablast)

Originally I had no intention of using Bajablast, since the design seemed a little overdone to me – like it was trying to hard to be EVEN MORE badass than other monsters. But goddamn did Bajablast win me over! Not only does she have the best kinship attack animation in the game, but she’s a durable, hard hitting worker – not the best fighter on my team, but a consistently reliable one. After giving her water genes that complement her fire resistant nature, Bajablast is both a thirst quencher AND an explosive attacker – she truly does the Dew.

Kirin (Amalthea)

Redecos: Oroshi Kirin (Unreleased – no nickname chosen yet)

While on the outside Kirin looks like just a horse with a horn, on closer inspection you’ll find it also has a weird old man face, and that’s creepy in a fun way. A perfectly acceptable horse monster. Kirin is an “Elder Dragon,” which research tells me is MH code for “Boss Monster” or “Legendary Pokemon,” so I guess that’s why you have to wait until the postgame to get one.

Monoblos (Belphegor)

Redecos: White Monoblos (Unreleased – no nickname chosen yet)

Monoblos is like Diablos but with a less cool looking head. So there’s that for you. It feels kind of underwhelming to get this guy in the postgame, to be honest – it’s just Diablos with a less cool head. But it gives you something to do, and I’d rather wait for this than, say, sweet, dear Corncob.

Seregios (Pinecone)

Like Monoblos, this monster felt kind of underwhelming as a post-game critter – it’s another wyvern, neat – but at least it’s a cool and unique design, with its backwards scales and pissed off rooster face. Sir Reggie O’s is ok in my book.

Great Poogie (Baconbit)

If you find 100 pigs in the game you get a really big pig that you can ride and it’s kind of a joke on you for working so hard to find a bunch of useless fucking pigs, but on the other hand you can ride on a pig and it’s hilarious. Just… just imagining a person choosing to ride on a pig instead of dragons and bears and shit is hilarious.

Epona (un-nickname-able, but I would have called him Bojack)

There’s a DLC tournament you can fight in to get a fucking horse. Just… just a horse. Just a normal goddamn horse. You don’t even get to name the horse because fuckin’ Zelda beat you to it. Excuse me, princess, I wanted to name this horse off an alcoholic sitcom star with clinical depression! Fuckin’ dream killing horse.

THE UNRELEASED DLC MONSTERS

Rajang (Unreleased – thinkin’ of calling it Vegeta)

Every time I’ve fought one of these apes has been a fuckin’ nightmare. I am terrified of them. I am scared of these goddamn dirty pawed apes. I want to raise one just so I can get over my fear.

Kushala Daora (Unreleased – no nickname chosen yet)

The closest the game comes to, like, the iconic European dragon – I mean, let’s be honest, if you think “Dragon,” you think “lizard with four legs and two wings”, right? If we’re being honest here? Right?

Oddly, I’m less enthused by this guy than I felt I would be. It actually makes me understand where all the “reptilian dragons are boring!” people are coming from. It could use just a bit more weirdness.

Teostra (Unreleased – no nickname chosen yet)

So here’s a dragon that is also a lion. Neat.

Glavenus (Unreleased, but will be named Razzlberri)

Every week I hope and pray that the game gets the DLC that lets me have my sweet, dear, beautiful Razzlberri. As of this writing, my prayers remain unanswered.

TT’s Top Ten Favorite Monsties So Far (in no particular order)

Nublar/Sorna/Winston (Tigrex and its variants)

Corncob (Deviljho)

Caramel (Barroth and its variants)

Ogopogo (Lagiacrus and its variants)

Bajablast (Brachydios)

Ratha/Durendal/Excalibur (Rathalos and its variants)

Clarent/Hrunting/Caliburn (Rathian and its variants)

Razzlberri (Glavenus - yeah I know it hasn’t been released yet but look at it)

Vriska/Frosti (Nerscylla and its variants

Moloch/Asmodeus (Diablos and its variants)

#Monster Hunter Stories #Monster Hunter #Tigrex #Lagiacrus #Barroth #Glavenus #Deviljho #and the rest

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