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thebigbadbatswife · 1 year

Text

Ulterior Motives

Pairings - Batman x Fem!Reader

Summary - You’re starting to suspect the only reason Batman keeps pushing your buttons is so that you will end up underneath him.

Warnings - 18+ content, smut, hate sex, rough sex, protected sex, vaginal sex, multiple orgasms, arguments.

A/N - Merry Christmas! While this is not an xmas fic it is an xmas present for all of you who have been patiently waiting for the third part of Under Your Skin! I hope you all enjoy! 💜

Taglist - At end of fic. If you would like to be added or removed, please message me.

Word Count - 2.4k

You gasped loudly as Batman thrusted up into you. He had you up against the wall. One of his hands was hooked underneath one of your legs, holding it up and giving him better access to you. While the other hand held your wrists, restraining your hands behind your back.

The two of you were on the Watchtower, in your designated quarters. Every member of the Justice League was assigned their own as they were a great place to crash after a long mission. As it turned out, they were also great for impromptu after mission sex.

You couldn’t remember the argument that had led to it this time. Not really. All thought of it had fizzled and popped from your head from the moment he had you up against the wall.

It was so stupid! You had never met anyone who made your blood boil and made you so incredibly wet at the same time. One minute you wanted to send him out of the airlock, the next you wanted him bending you over a table while he fucked you hard. It was so infuriating!

Was how he viewed you similar?

Did it even matter?

You moaned loudly as the head of his cock continuously hit that sweet spot deep inside of you. As far as you knew, the Watchtower was empty of anyone who could potentially overhear. And even if it wasn’t, after an incident involving Green Arrow and Black Canary, all private quarters had been soundproofed.

The breath was stolen from your lungs by a particularly hard thrust. He released the grip he had on your wrists and his hand came up and gently wrapped around your throat. Out of instinct, your hand covered his. You turned your head to the side and he leaned in. The kiss was a clash of tongue and teeth, a fight for dominance neither of you were willing to lose.

His pace remained relentless and you could feel yourself getting closer and closer to your peak. Your free hand slipped between your legs and you began to rub your clit.

“Fuck,” you gasped out, breaking the kiss. You were so, so close. Just a little more and you would be up on cloud nine. “I’m going to…”

“Then cum,” he growled.

He applied some pressure to your throat. Not enough to cut off your oxygen, but enough to add to the intensity of your orgasm. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head as pleasure burned through your body. He gave a few more thrusts before he reached his own climax, with a deep groan.

Batman released the grip he had on your throat and leg, but continued to hold your shaking body close to his, making sure that you didn’t fall. After sex, as you both came down from your highs, was really the only time that you weren’t at each other’s throats. The two of you were almost civil.

Once you had stopped shaking and you were stable on your feet, he pulled out of you and moved away from you.

You looked over your shoulder at him. He had his back to you, giving you a good look at the scars that covered him. There were a lot of them, jagged across the entire expanse of his back. There was certainly far more than any one person should have. Sure, you had felt them when he had you beneath him and your hands had found purchase there, but seeing them was a completely different story.

You couldn’t help, but wonder how many of them had come close to killing him. You knew that it was a morbid thought, but you imagined that it was likely the same thought many others had had when they first laid eyes on his scars.

The only part of his body that appeared to be relatively untouched was his ass and it was a damn fine ass. You might hate his guts, but you could still appreciate his assets and you certainly wouldn’t mind sinking your teeth into that one.

You were beginning to ache again. You could really do with another round.

You moved away from the wall and toward your bed. You flopped onto it, onto your back. You could feel Batman’s eyes on you, watching you intently as your hand glided down your body. You gasped softly at how sensitive you were, as you began to play with your clit.

“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to get over here and fuck me? Or is the great Batman only good enough for one round?” you taunted.

That snapped him from whatever he had been thinking. Once he had discarded the used condom for a fresh one, he was on you again. You moaned loudly as he entered you, up to the hilt, in a single thrust. His hands came behind your knees and pushed your legs up by your head. Thankfully you were flexible, otherwise you were certain you would’ve been very uncomfortable.

The pace he set was punishing and all you could do was grip the covers as he pounded into you. You had asked if he was going to fuck you and he was certainly delivering.

“This is what you wanted, right?” he growled in your ear, making your pussy clench around his cock. “Me fucking you sensless?”

The only response you could muster was a long drawn out moan of his name.

“You sound so much better moaning my name,” he groaned.

Any response that you could have come up with was lost as the feeling of his cock moving inside of you, hitting that sweet spot, had your brain turning to mush. How was it possible he could make you feel so good?

Your orgasm took you by surprise, your back arching as your eyes rolled back into your head. The bed began to squeak from the force of his thrusts, as he showed no signs of stopping. You went from one orgasm to the next, quickly losing count of how many times he made you come.

Batman stilled, burying himself deep within you, as he groaned. He released your legs, letting them fall back to the bed before he pulled out of you and collapsed next to you, breathing heavily.

You felt boneless and your eyelids were quickly growing heavy. You were so exhausted and falling asleep so quickly that you didn’t register the gentle way he moved you up the bed, to the pillows, and under the covers.

When you woke up, it took you a moment to remember where you were and what had taken place, before you had fallen asleep. Though sore in certain places, you felt great. At least Batman was good for something.

You were about to roll onto your back and stretch, when you realised that there was a calloused hand resting on your hip. He was still here? You had expected him to leave the second the two of you were finished.

You remained relaxed and continued to fein sleep. You knew the second you moved he would stop and you were curious as to what he was doing. His fingers and thumb were running random circles against your skin, occasionally tracing one of the scars that decorated your body. It felt… nice. That was the only way you could think to describe it.

It ended as quickly as it began however and you felt the bed move as he got up. You could hear him moving around the room, no doubt collecting up the pieces of his suit that were strewn across the room. You knew when he had finished dressing by the loud click of his utility belt. You listened to the muffled sound of his heavy boots as he walked across the carpet and toward the door. You heard the door open and there was a pause, like he was… hesitating? No, that wasn’t right. Whatever made him stop, it didn’t stop him for long and soon enough the door shut and you were alone.

You rolled onto your back, looking in the direction of the door. What the hell had that been about?

The next couple of arguments you remembered, but not for the arguments themselves, but rather what they had led to. Which had been you on top of him doing your best to keep quiet so that no one would discover the two of you.

As you laid in the dark, alone, completely relaxed from your orgasm, you thought about the most recent argument. Now that the heat of the moment was over and you were calm, you realised just how stupid his reason for starting it had been. In fact, most recent arguments with him had been over the stupidest of things.

That was when it hit you, he was starting these fights simply so that he could get you alone and have sex with you. How had you not seen it before? No wonder so many of them had started to feel forced.

That made you angry, at both yourself and him. Yourself because you couldn’t believe you had fallen for it and at him because was he truly that incapable of expressing what actually he wanted so he had to rile you up instead? It was bullshit and you were so completely done. Next time an argument broke out between you, you were going to call him out on it.

“What the hell is your problem?” you yelled. “Seriously, it doesn’t matter what I do, whether I follow your orders to a T or I take charge when others are otherwise indisposed, none of it is good enough!”

The two of you were up on a rooftop in Star City, having helped out Black Canary and Green Arrow with several of the escaped supervillains.

“At first I thought it was because you wanted to make sure that I was cut out for this, but now”— you shook your head —“now I think it’s because you want me to quit. I mean, that’s it right? For whatever reason you’ve decided I’m no longer good enough and now you’re doing everything you can to make sure that I do!”

Batman shook his head. “None of this is about you,” he snapped. “Every day millions of lives depend on us to keep them safe, but not everyone is capable of dealing with the burden. So if me making sure you can deal with it is me pushing you to quit, then maybe you never should have joined the League in the first place!”

Your fists clenched and the sudden urge to deck him filled you. You knew no one would blame you if you did, but you fought the urge. Besides, he had likely already read your body language and would easily catch your fist before it came anywhere close to his face. You took a deep breath and unclenched your fists.

“You're so full of shit. If you had originally thought for even a second that I was incapable I never would have set foot on the Watchtower! And don’t you dare try to lie to me because multiple people have told me as much!”

You took several steps toward him. Batman towered over you, like he did with practically everyone, but you weren’t afraid of him. At the end of the day, like you, he was only human. Just a man in a suit who was so emotionally repressed it was almost laughable.

“And I’m done with your constant nitpicking of the smallest detail just so you can rile me up and fuck me. So next time you want to fuck, you’re going to have to ask nicely.”

You didn’t wait for a response. Instead you spun around on your heels and marched off. You knew what his game was and you refused to play it anymore.

Weeks later you found yourself in the Watchtower’s kitchen, sitting at the table with a nearly empty glass of water in front of you. Your body was bruised and battered, much like the rest of the Justice League. Luthor had given it his all, but, like always, it hadn’t come close to being enough and he was back behind bars. Not that he would be there for long. Men like him never were.

The rest of the League weren’t about, having returned to their homes or quarters to rest. You wouldn’t mind going home yourself, having some greasy fast food followed by a bubble bath and then crawling into bed for a long sleep. The only thing stopping you was the fact you would have to walk past the laboratory that you knew Batman was in.

Ever since that night in Star City, you and him had not shared any words with each other unless it was right before, during or right after a mission. Not even any angry words. You both had actually been somewhat civil. You thought the lack of fighting would make you feel better, relieved even, but instead you found yourself more irritated than before. It wasn’t the arguments you missed however, but rather what had started to follow them in recent months. Your body ached for his and no matter how you went about relieving the ache nothing came close to satisfying you quite like he did.

You wondered if he was feeling the same way. Not that it mattered if he did. Neither of you would ever actually admit it after all. Both of you were far too proud and stubborn.

You downed the rest of your water before you began to slowly get up from your chair. You were going to have to walk past the laboratory sooner or later so it might as well be now. You hissed in pain as the leg you had injured protested against you. Using the table, you steadied yourself. You knew that the following morning was going to suck.

Reaching the zeta tubes had been easier than you had thought it would be, your injured leg not hindering you as much as you thought it might.

You input your details into the console and selected your destination. You were about to hit the enter button when the feeling of eyes on you had you looking away from the screen to check behind you.

Standing in the doorway was Batman. What the hell did he want? You mentally shook your head. No, you really didn’t care right now. You had takeout menus and a bubble bath waiting for you. You looked away and hit the enter button.

“I’m really not interested, Batman,” you told him before stepping away from the console and into the blinding light of the active zeta tube, leaving him alone on the Watchtower.

(Taglist - @the-last-twin-of-krypton @bakugous-bakahoe @fromfoolishpeopletodeadpeople @little-rivers @thedeadlythoughts )

#batman x reader #bruce wayne x reader #batman x fem!reader #bruce wayne x fem!reader #bruce wayne #batman #batman smut #bruce wayne smut #batman image #bruce wayne imagine #my writing #under your skin verse #1k

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freckledjoes · 5 months

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So just watched the last episode of Fargo and I am so sad for gator 😭 and Roy is a piece of shit for leaving him there. God I hate him so much. Also this is the season for women and I am loving it!!

Oh anon I went so off track here but I hadn't put my thoughts down about this all completely just yet so... bear with me? 😭 Just know that I agree with you if it's too long lmao. It was very sad to watch indeed. They set up his character to be one easy to dislike/hate and it's been interesting to watch how the strongest haters went from "How can you like Gator, you can pick any character of his to find hot why do you pick him." to "Fuck Gator but hello to Joe saying daddy." As if that's not the most performative fucking thing I've ever heard. Make up your mind or something. I think Gator has said shit that should make your blood boil, but the charm of characters like these is that they can also show that it's not all there's to them. Does that excuse their actions? No. But are they completely doomed and irredeemable? Also no, if you ask me. I find it kind of off-putting how people are so happy to see him get hurt. Like, if you really dwell on that for a bit. Roy is a scumbag and has done and continues to do terrible things, has some twisted belief that he has the right to do them. Gator grew up watching that man treat the women in his life horribly and has probably received abuse himself as well. Every safe haven he might have had, left him. His mom first, then Dot. The only 'reliable', 'stable' person was his dad. The only ways he got to see were his. He lacked a person in his life who could show him differently. When you look at the show, you wouldn't guess he's 27 due to his behavior. He's stuck at a point where he wants to be seen as worthy by the one person in his life that stuck around, as toxic as their relationship is. Throughout the show we see how he puts up this scumbag persona, but with the conversation between him and Dot you can quickly see how fragile he really is. He went out of his way to prove himself worthy by going after Munch, which, as stupid as it was, made a lot of sense from his perspective. And then, he fails, and he gets punished in a way that he, in my opinion, doesn't deserve. I don't think Munch would have treated him differently if he knew it was an accident either. He was doomed from the start being the son of Roy, who is really the one deserving of every punishment he's got coming to him. The fact that he literally just walked away from his blinded son, who is scared for good reason, who needs support now more than ever, is unsurprising but incredibly cruel. I think he may have a hand in (accidentally) killing Roy. Not by his own hands, but maybe simply by being 'in the way'. So yeah, long story short, I'm sad for him too and I despise Roy :) OFF TO THE POSITIVE: THE WOMEN. Love them all. Dot, Indira, Lorraine. Love them working together, it's about time. It's been so nice to watch them all stand up against men one way or another honestly <3

#she answers #joe keery #fargo fx #fargo s5 #fargo spoilers #gator tillman

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tanadrin · 1 year

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This criticism of the way ME3 handles the Rachni Queen plot beat from ME1 neatly encapsulates a lot of my issues with Bioware’s story design--namely, that choices aren’t allowed to matter enough.

But fine. It’s a videogame and it can’t possibly take into account every possible course of action. A complex dilemma is boiled down to a simple binary decision. That’s a bit of a bummer, but you can’t have everything.

But this just makes it all the more frustrating when Mass Effect 3 muddles the whole choice. There are four total outcomes for the Rachni:

If you spare the Rachni queen here on Noveria, then you find her a prisoner of the Reapers on Utukku.

If you KILL the Queen here on Noveria, then the Reapers construct a Queen Thrall, because they want to control Rachni soldiers and no we don’t have time to explore that idea in detail. Let’s just go with it.

You can rescue the queen, which turns her into war assets.

You can leave her to her fate, which… whatever. Nothing happens.

You can rescue the thrall queen, which turns her into negative war assets[2] when she betrays you off-screen at some later time.

You can leave her to her fate, and she will attack you.

They went to all this trouble to give us this branching outcome, when I think that what people really wanted was for that initial decision to stand. If I kill the queen she should stay dead, not be replaced with a color-swapped doppleganger. It’s this strange mindset that players must value content more than choice, that we’d rather see our decisions negated than miss out on one mission. Heck, if you don’t want to cut a mission then just fill the cave on Utukku with… I dunno… other mooks. Whatever. Just don’t un-do the earlier decision, and then turn around and offer the player the same decision again.

This is something that harmed Telltale’s The Walking Dead. Negating a major player decision doesn’t just harm that particular moment of the game, it harms every subsequent decision. You’re asking the player to ponder this uncomfortable decision with complex ethical implications and unknowable outcomes, but now in the back of their mind they have this nagging doubt, “Bah. It probably doesn’t matter what I choose anyway because nothing I choose makes any difference. I’ll just do whatever gives me paragon points.” It’s destructive to one of the core promises of the game, which is that the player will get to “make choices that matter”. Players are hungry for even a little authorship over the world. I think we value that far more than one more stupid gunfight.

You see this a lot in the Dragon Age series, too--with occasional exceptions, choices you make in earlier DA installments, or sometimes even earlier in the same game, lead to what are narratively near-identical outcomes, simply because actually having a choice have consequences for the long-term plot is too risky from a game design perspective. It really hollows out the whole concept of player choice, and in many cases I would simply prefer no choice, or a purely cosmetic dialogue choice, to being given an apparent choice only to b told later, “oops! didn’t count :)”

#bioware #dragon age #mass effect

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quiet-admirer · 3 months

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Re: healthier variety in feedist fics

How did you escape the shame cycle that helps you enjoy feedist fics that don't essentially boil down to, "hey, everything's okay, gaining weight did not make you unattractive, unhealthy or a bad person, you don't deserve to hate yourself because you're fat" ?

I don't engage in a lot of fics myself, but I've been some level of fat my whole life and struggling with restrictive ED recovery for the last few years. I don't know how to stop telling myself that I just wanted an excuse to be fat without feeling guilty about it, which only makes me feel more guilty about my body and being into feedism. I would be grateful for any advice you might be willing to share.

If I understand right, you're asking about how to enjoy angsty fics without internalizing fatphobic or kink-shamey messages?

I wrote my entire tmi life story below, but the Too Long, Didn't Read of it is that I went to therapy and also had a long, several-years break from angst and shame fantasies and took that time to focus on my own shame about this kink in general before I was able to engage in it in fiction, so now there's a gap between the fictional shame and my own, making it more easily separable in my head and they don't entangle and reinforce each other as easily.

And because I'm incurably wordy, the Too Long of it goes under a cut:

But for me, the way my journey worked itself out isn't what I would necessarily endorse honestly! As a teen and young adult, most of my feedism fantasies were "guy is super depressed and binge eats and gets fat and is distressed about it, partner still loves him and he accepts it and gains more weight." I was definitely trying to process shame about having a weight gain kink: I needed the characters to feel guilty about their weight and then become more neutral or okay with it almost like an atonement - well they're fat and gaining weight but it's ok because they're not happy about it at least!

As I was exposed to body positivity and then eventually fat liberation, I started feeling super guilty about these fantasies and told myself they were wrong because there's nothing shameful about being fat and I shouldn't fantasize about distress and internalized fatphobia like that. I felt bad and a little stupid when I realized that there was that dynamic of "atoning for" my fetish in my fantasies.

My reaction was to avoid fiction with similar themes of shame altogether and to stop fantasizing about these scenarios. In a way it was helpful to put my total focus on other themes and ways of viewing feedism and other tropes, like a bootcamp of sorts. I think I really did need a long break from shame-focused narratives. It made me anxious reading those tropes by that point and there wasn't any fun anymore because all it did was echo what was already in my head that was causing me distress.

But distancing myself from those narratives was unfortunately also paired with labeling that genre of trope as bad or backward or "problematic." I had the mentality that it was just people projecting their shame and I had "evolved beyond that."

There can often be an undercurrent in soft feedist spaces of an attitude like "well I'm a good feedist and fat liberationist unlike Those Feedists who are ignorant about fat liberation and are into degradation or shame kinks, which they wouldn't have if they were enlightened like us" and there was definitely a brief time where I felt that way, even if I probably wouldn't have admitted it at the time lol. I thought that if I was actually committed to fat liberation I wouldn't be thinking up or enjoying stories about unintentional weight gain that causes distress!

But there's nothing wrong with fantasy. There's nothing wrong with enjoying angst or shame it degradation in your sexual fantasies or play!

In the past 4 years or so it's been a slow process of breaking out of those mental barriers. If I'm in the mood to read something angsty, I should get to do that without beating myself up about it! And I like angst in all kinds of fiction! I love the hurt-comfort trope in vanilla fiction, so what makes it bad suddenly once it's about feedism?

And there is something to be said for narratives about working through shame to self-love, especially when we have more variety in the way self-love is achieved that doesn't always end up just mimicking fatphobic dynamics in the way the self acceptance happens (like if the feedee/gainer accepts themselves without input from a thin feeder/encourager for exmple!). Those can often be healing to read for sure!

What really helped me the most though was seeing other people in the feedist community that I really respected and who discussed and promoted fat liberation in the community who shared a variety of their fantasies and fiction, some of which included those themes that I had made taboo in my head. 20/20 hindsight makes it obvious, but I had a realization that oh! You can be a committed fat liberationist and enjoy whatever you want in kinky play! The messaging that "there are no thought crimes" and "kill the cop in your head" also helped me.

Another healing process for me was writing my own fiction. I challenged myself to write something with zero shame about kinks or fatness in it. I was still in the "I'm not allowed to enjoy shame dynamics" stage when I started my current ongoing fic in 2020, and it was kind of shocking to me to find that I had to rewrite the first 3 chapters a literal six times before I weeded out all the shame. I think it was an important step for me to separate my actual shame from fictional shame.

I also had therapy with an incredible kink-knowledgeable sex therapist for about 2 years where I worked on just being able to give myself freedom to fantasize and self actualize about this kink to my fullest extent without holding myself back and without withholding pleasure and connection within myself and with others. It's an ongoing process for sure, but I've come so far from starting therapy in 2020 and crying every single therapy session, and without even saying what my kink actually was until probably a month or so in!

I still don't engage in shame dynamics in fiction very much. I've probably read a handful of angst fics in the past 2-3 years. I have to be in the mood, and I still sometimes come out of immersion in the story by distancing myself with thoughts like "you don't actually believe this in real life, this is just for fun". I guess it's good messaging to give myself but I think it's a step along the process to just being able to enjoy it when I feel like it without having to reassure myself that I'm not a bad person for reading it.

And then other times it can be activating for my own shame so I stop and revisit it another time. It happens!

I don't know if I'm ready to have my own fantasies and stories that I make up with the shame dynamics still. Or maybe it's less that I'm not ready and more that they just aren't a focus of my kink right now. I dunno, I'm having fun with what I'm working on mentally right now, which is opening myself to exploring more of the weirder shit, so exploring shame stuff isn't as much a priority for me right now.

As far as eating disorder stuff, that sucks and I'm sending good + healing vibes. That was a journey for me too, though I was only chubby for a few years as a kid and didn't have any gaining desires myself until recently, so I don't have much personal directly relevant insight there unfortunately.

For me it was more like torturing myself over the fact that I was supposedly body positive/a fat liberationist/loved and respected fat people/found fat people hot and liked seeing fat people get fatter and yet had a restrictive ed myself and a fear of gaining weight. I felt like such a a hypocrite, but like, brains, man. Eating disorders.

A lot of times with the vague eating disorder thoughts that do come up, I have a "maybe and what about it?" approach. "Not exercising and your weight caused your chronic pain" - "even if that was true, who cares? I just do my PT and I feel better regardless of what caused it." "People are going to judge you because you gained weight, they're going to make all these assumptions about you because your body changed" - "maybe, sure, but who gives a fuck."

So "You're just gaining to give yourself an excuse to be fat" can be responded to like "okay, why not, I can gain weight for whatever reason I want, didn't ask + cope."

Instead of spending time reasuring myself that people don't care what I look like or that there's poor evidence for a causal relationship between weight and chronic pain, I just bypass all that with a "so?" Maybe a gentler approach would work better for you but personally I'm like that "silence, liberal" crab with the laser eyes.

EDs can twist your thoughts and make you think and believe all kinds of shit that you don't actually believe and that don't align with your values. To me almost literally feels like [unreality cw] there's a virus separate from myself that implants thoughts into my brain and distorts my perceptions, like a break from reality almost. It's so weird honestly, the other day I was like "what if I stopped eating cheese" and I was like... "why...? Sounds potentially reasonable but tell me more... 🤔" And it took me 3 days of the cheese thought popping into my head to be like "oh, I am feeling not in control of my body because of chronic illness progression, therefore I am trying to alter my food to feel in control again." It's like it overrides anything obvious and reasonable in my brain and makes me think silly things from The ED Dimension from time to time lol.

Basically what I'm trying to say is, you don't have to listen to those kinds of thoughts or entertain them at all as reflecting your own moral code or beliefs. And you don't have to beat yourself up as being a bad person for having ED thoughts that are shitty about fatness and feedism. You can let those thoughts happen anyway and acknowledge that they have no weight or value to you.

You might not be able to stop your brain from firing bullets at you, but you're Neo and you're dodging them 😎

Far easier said than done, but it can totally be a fake it til you make it mentality along the way.

But anyway, that's just my 47 cents, and it sounds like fat-knowledgeable eating disorder therapy could still be helpful for you if that's something you're able to access!

#I hope this was like. in any way relevant to what you were asking otherwise this might be an embarrassingly lengthy miss lol #Send another ask if it wasn't for sure!!#Ed cw

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erasermist · 9 months

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One Piece Live Action Season 1 Stream of Consciousness (Spoilers):

This will be a suuuuper long post and will literally be a random string of thoughts and will probably make no sense as a lot will be without context. Maybe just random lines that I enjoy and random gifs that just showcase the random points I like but enjoy

Episode 1

I love this. I love that they didn’t make it the exact same. And having watched the anime, it just makes the subtle hints amazing and when they mention something that wasn’t brought up till later *chefs kiss*. Like they showed Zoro being recruited by Baroque Works when they didn’t even mention that till they were in the grand line I think.

And all of the small hints to the characters like when you saw Cabaji in the scene before he was actually introduced. That’s one of my favorite types of foreshadowing.

Luffy supporting Koby’s dream will always be awesome. And Luffy comforting Koby after see the bad marines is so kind of him. I love him.

The casting is perfect. Luffy. Zoro. Nami.

Nami is me. Everything goes wrong “This is fine.”

OH MY GOD!! Buggy!!

Episode 2

Buggy is just a great performer!

This is gonna get repetitive I know, but they are all such amazing actors and actresses!!

“Cut you down to size.” 😂😂

SHANKS!!!

Episode 3

“Stupid clown” Zoro’s hate of Buggy is hilarious

Already the crew (“not a crew”) are supporting Luffy’s whims haha

“Fans have gotten so toxic” I love this characterization of Buggy

I’m liking how this is a little darker than the anime was. And I love how they are introducing bounty characters. It’s so cool!

Zoro gets thrown in the well 😂😂 And Koby popping up at the end like that was very cool. Love the music they play throughout everything. It’s really making the show better

Episode 4

Zoro is my favorite. He already was in the anime, but it’s definitely true for the live action as well 🥰

MURDER MANSION!!!

Zoro’s lack of direction sense has finally been shown!

The grandpa revel being much earlier in this version 😂😂😂

Episode 5

“You just call that guy grandpa?” Oh Zoro, just wait for it 😭😭 and then his “talk” with Luffy after the fight.

Luffy sniffing his way to the good!!

Omg! This Sanji has so much class and the immediate jokes the rest pull on Nami after he leaves 😂 I feel bad for those who haven’t watched the anime. They are gonna think Sanji is this slick cool character (and he is) but they are gonna realize he isn’t that… smooth. But look at him… I forgive him and support all his decisions

Mihawk is just so bored. “You woke me from my nap”

Koby is playing a much bigger part than I thought he was gonna. And standing up to Garp like that.

Mihawk “though I do like your hat” 😍 I love this man!

Episode 6

Luffy just wants Zoro to get better 😌

Poor baby Sanji screaming for the ship

And again with the foreshadowing with the story of Mont Blanc Noland

They really have changed the way this goes. Arming came to them and Don Krieg died by Mihawk earlier. Not too mad about it though. I think it flows better with the way they made the show. Like I said it’s a little darker and I’m liking it. It’s different but a good different.

Also yum! lookie! Very respectfully of course but still

And there Zoro is being a great first mate vowing to stand by Luffy’s side!!! Done differently but still so beautiful! Tears!!!

Zoro: “Why are we bringing the waiter?” Usopp: “Cause we can’t boil water” 😂😂 Zoro so much happened while you were asleep

Luffy just pulls out Buggy’s head for a bag!!

Episode 7

The chains in Nani’s map room… this is gonna be sad

Nami is trying so hard to mean all the mean things. I’m gonna cry just like when I watch the anime. I just know it.

Zoro’s constant side eye of Sanji is awesome and very in character

Oh lovely. I somehow didn’t realize I would have to watch all the sad things in another format. It didn’t really connect that

And Zoro being first mate again. That’s always gonna be my favorite thing. Even when it’s for sad moments

Nami’s screams… that was so real and heart wrenching and that “help me” scene was so on point. The one scene that was practically the same and it was the one that causes tears 🥲

Episode 8

The blood and chains and pain little Nami had to go through

“Finally I get to cut something” Zoro is so done with emotions 😂 he just wants to do what he does best

So I’ve thought this from the first time I watched Arlong, but why would he think a revolution started from the “weakest” sea have any traction. I get “plot” reasons, but still….

“Round Two, Arlong.” Yes Luffy! Go!

Buggy! That was so funny! I love this Buggy!!

And Zoro’s immediate response “Fucking clown” 😂😂😂😂 I love this so much y’all

Go Usopp!!! “No one’s around to see it. It’s okay. They’ll believe me” loved it the first time I saw it, love it now too.

Sanji gets kicked backwards and Zoro just casually walks out of the way and around him. I’m so glad they are still the same Zoro and Sanji as ever 😭

Sanji says that all the best fighters call out their finishing moves and Zoro immediately gets flashbacks to Luffy saying the exact same thing!!

The Garp and Luffy confrontation!!!

“Be a good Marine.” “Be a good Pirate.” Love them.

The barrel scene!!! Yes!!!

And the sneak peak at Smoker!!

I absolutely loved this!!! I need a full adaptation of the entire show and I need them to keep the same cast for them all!!

#one piece #one piece live action #one piece netflix #iñaki godoy #mackenyu #emily rudd #jacob romero gibson #taz skylar #jeff ward #steven john ward #peter gadiot #morgan davies #aidan scott #vincent regan #one piece live action spoilers #spoilers

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chrisbitchtree · 1 year

Text

Can't Touch This

For Harringrove Flip It Reverse It - Day 4

Prompt - Angst turned into fluff - "Don't touch me!"

***

If you’d first asked Steve when he met Billy what he thought the blonde would pursue as a career, kindergarten teacher would have been way at the bottom of the list, under mechanic and carpenter, below bartender or surf shop owner, even down below stripper.

But to Steve’s shock, it’s what Billy had chosen, finding that he had a passion for it, and he was thriving. He came home every day covered in stickers and finger paints, glitter and confetti in his hair, his curls up in a bun and one of his signature pastel button-ups on.

He’d regale Steve with stories about what a beautiful tree Lily drew or how Eddie had finally corrected his habit of drawing half the letters in the alphabet backwards on his worksheets. He glowed with pride over every single one of his student’s accomplishments, and it was the highlight of Steve’s day every single day to hear about it.

Billy always got home earlier than Steve, so he would make dinner. Steve would sit at their little wooden table for two, watching Billy with a dreaming look in his eyes while Billy would whip up spaghetti, sauce bubbling away at his side while he boiled noodles, or flip baked chicken breast and fluff up Rice-aroni, they favourite side, talking a mile a minute about the fact that Timmy was no longer scared of the toilet or that Rachel hadn’t tried to eat paste in three days.

It helped Steve unwind after a long day as a high school math teacher and all the drama that went along with educating dramatic, hormonal teenagers who would flip on a dime, going from polite model student one minute, to raging asshole the next. It took a lot out of Steve, but he got a lot out of it in return. But that didn’t mean that he didn’t envy the cozy little world Billy had created for his own students.

***

When Steve arrived home late one sunny April afternoon, he could tell something was wrong the second he saw Billy. His face was pulled into a tight grimace, his shirt was untucked, and he was trying with all of his might to scratch the middle of his back. From the way he was hopping around, his arm fully extended, it didn’t seem like it was going to well for him.

“What’s up?” Steve asked, trying not to laugh at the image in front of him, difficult as it was. He really wished he had a camera right now.

Billy kept hopping around, seemingly unable to find relief. “Don’t know. I’m so itchy, and it won’t stop. It’s been like this all day.”

Let me have a look, Steve said.

Billy stopped moving for a minute and Steve lifted the hem of his shirt. Billy’s back was covered in small, red spots.

“Ummmm, Billy? Have you ever had chicken pox before?” Steve asked, lowering the shirt and walking down the hall to the bathroom.

“No?” Billy said, although it came out more like a question. “I don’t think so? Why? Do I have it? Don’t touch me!”

“Well, I guess it was bound to happen at some point, working with little kids. I’m honestly surprised that you lasted this long. And it’s fine. I’ll put on gloves.” He returned to the kitchen a minute later, calamine lotion in one hand and a pair of rubber gloves in the other. “Take off your shirt and lay down on the couch. I’ll put some on your back and it’ll help with the itch.”

Billy did as he was told, laying on his front on the plush, floral couch that was the centrepiece of their living room. Steve straddled his hips, flipping the top on the bottle. He poured some into his palm before closing the bottle and dropping it onto the carpet. With the pointer finger of his other hand, he painted the dots, trying to make sure he caught every one.

He gave the lotion a minute to dry before having Billy stand and take off his pants, so Steve could check for spots below his belt. Thankfully, except for a couple on his thighs, he seemed safe so far.

“Stupid kids,” Billy grumbled. “Stupid parents letting their kids go to school sick. Now I’m going to have to take time off. We were supposed to vote on who won the art contest tomorrow. They even promised they wouldn’t just all vote for themselves. Now stupid Sandra is going to get to do it.”

Steve watched him with amusement as he ranted, the lotion drying an adorable pink colour that stood out in stark contrast from Billy’s golden tan. He’d come a long way from when they were foulmouthed teenagers, when every second word was fuck or shit or goddammit. Now it was all stupid and silly and gosh. It was cute that he was getting so worked up over this.

“It’s ok, baby,” Steve chuckled. “I know this means a lot to you, but there will be other art contests. It’s important that you stay home and get better, so you don’t make any of the kids sick.”

Billy sighed. “I know, it just sucks.” He raised his arm to scratch his back and Steve swatted it away.

“No scratching, that’s how it spreads.”

Billy stuck out his lower lip, pouting. “But it’s itchy! I can’t take it!”

As Steve’s mother had done for him when he’d had chicken pox years ago, Steve grabbed oven mitts for Billy to slip on his hands. “Here you go, this’ll help keep you from scratching. Sit down, put a movie on, and try not to think about the itch. I’ll order a pizza and then come sit with you. Ok?”

Billy nodded in agreement, making his way to the couch.

Steve watched him fondly, forever grateful for this sweet, kind, silly, wonderful man.

#harringrove #harringrove flip reverse it #flip reverse it 2023 #billy hargrove #steve harrington #billy x steve #harringrove fic #chrisbitchtree writes

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neoncat666 · 29 days

Text

extremely long shadows over welde character analysis post

by extremely long i mean its fucking 3k words cause I go too silly.

Spoilers up to ep 8 and its mostly rambles so apolocheese. I also posted this on my twitter so if u saw it there here's an actual text version LOL

Argentum:

Oh my god. You are soooo…… First of all, in the story we’ve gotten this. Argentum is a strong headed, curious person who is a bit stubborn and holds themself at a bit of a graceful appearance on the outside. They are smart, witty, but also a bit of a temper especially when it comes to frankly a little stupid ideas. They are also kind and care for others. We were shown from the beginning that they enjoy their work and meeting fans and even with people they just met are willing to help them stay safe. Also they’re a little dumb. Sometimes curiosity overrides rational thinking and that was shown when they touched the weird fucking webbing in the cave and also that ENTIRE plan when there was the confrontation between Vhaeraun and Lolth which was fucking actually crazy. This isn’t even beginning to talk about the head friend. I am constantly thinking about that voice and who that could be. Brings us speculation around them. Argentum is not human, or at least fully human. Their eyes are def not human and Hayden is a silly lil guy who would pull a trick like that. There was one speculation on them possibly being a Kalashtar and I think it could fit but honestly for now it hasn’t been on my forefront. I also bought the inscriptor class finally and was looking at how possibly they were built. What stats what subclass ect. I don’t fucking know.. Now you might be asking “Hey why don’t you just ask?” CAUSE IM SCARED. But honestly cause I wanted to see if I could figure it out myself lmao. It boiled down to either Mystery or Historian subclass is what Snail helped me narrow to. Could be wrong tho. There’s also little tidbits about Argentum that have come from outside the sessions like when I asked if they had a canonical birthday cause “celebrating fictional characters birthdays is cringe” “fuck you happy birthday argentum” is funny. Still honestly wanna know if any of the party has canon birthdays. I got hit with the “Oh they don’t know their own birthday.” and then swindled. There was also the discussion on Hayden’s pcs never really having parents or family and Argentum was included in that list which more or less got confirmed in session this episode (7). I still don’t know their motives, still don’t know their relationships with others because it seems everyone is connected to someone except Argentum, and I still don’t know who their patron is and if that is the same as the voice in their head. Love the silly though

Phoenix:

Fifi….. Not much was known about you until today and holy shit did it rock my world. Before we had known he was the apprentice to Ipswich and was sent in his place as guest of honor. We also then found out he was a spy working on tailing Lolth and that’s kinda all we knew about Phoenix for a bit, at least heavy lore wise. He’s a sarcastic, witty, bitch and I love him so much. I could never surpass Snail as Phoenix Enjoyer but it’s close. We learned a bit more during the nightmare drink sequence where he met his patron and got his powers fucking zapped. A couple things stood out to me from it. How his patron looked and specific wording from Phoenix. We know Ipswich isn’t mortal anymore but Phoe had said something along the lines of “I’d get my ass kicked and be right back here the next day.” He is surrounded by death or even just the undead. His patron deals in undead magic and I don’t think if Phoenix gets knocked down he wouldn’t be back again looking all fine the next day. We don’t know his patron’s name which like. Fuck. but lmao. Anyways Ipswich is tracking him like crazy and says he has this important quest although we don’t know a lot of Phoe’s thoughts and feelings on what he’s doing. To me it almost seems like he’s a tool or pawn for others and idk if I can fully call him a good person. Doing a bit of research into his pact and such it seems that he’s just going to possibly lose more and more humanity as he gets stronger but also i couldn’t tell you how much he has already. There’s also the whole cousins and throne thing that got dropped this episode. It seems his family is also involved with this whole scheme but Phoe is the favourite of the bunch. The idea that he could possibly be royalty was also thrown around and i think if he was like secret prince it would be from a large family all vying for a throne or he is working with Ipswich and others to usurp the current ruler and take the power for himself. Although knowing Fifi it’ll probably be like a secret third option. Not much except he’s so 90s movie older sister to me and the fact Ipswich runs a school for swindlers which is kinda funny.

Sunder:

Babygirl. Pookie. Love of my life who I want to kill me. God. This is now my love letter to you. I saw you across the bar and thought you were sooo scary and I’ve been enraptured ever since. Anyways that’s a freak. He’s not the most talkative and seems more lonely despite everything. They’re funny, loyal, kind, and ruthless. We didn’t get much for Sunder for a bit until mostly the shopping episode. We learned a bit through Kelly and the nightmare drink of what makes up Sunder but it didn’t really culminate until the head crushing I would say. Honestly I don’t even care I just fucking love the way Sunder is played. Like I’m sitting here trying to find words that aren’t just I think he’s neat cause I do think analyzing him is intriguing. They’re going to get angry and they’re going to get violent and you are not safe. It’s something that was so surprising at first because of how much Sunder kind of fell into the background. The nightmare drink gave us the first look at this, that Sunder had apparently killed someone, a kid even, but a lot of their violence was played off as a joke by the community, I know I did. Learned today that the person in that nightmare was Ilmater and it shows that she wasn’t lying when she said that visions and nightmares of this accident are a plague. I believe them when they say it was an accident and idk how young they were but to harbor that from a young age will fuck you up. Their morals are something that intrigues me i would say the most. No trouble in murder although I assume that’s more or less towards people who piss him off or are generally bad people. He’s kind hearted and that’s shown a lot especially with this last interaction I’d say. I still need to like rewatch a lot of parts of it but “we were just kids” genuinely fucking rocked me to my core and it got me i won’t lie. We’re still very early in but idk, I want to see Sunder truly happy and not haunted by the ghosts of their past. I feel this was most likely the first step but it’s hard to say as we go forward. I think violence and blood will always follow it’s just how they choose to take it.

The Wall:

I think now Wall is the character we know the least about, at least to me. We know his duty to Eilistraee and his duty to Zephrael and also his little foodie quirks (love him dearly) but outside of that I don’t think we know a lot. He’s the character I have the least notes for now but I do know this. He is loyal to a fault, a little dense, kind, and revels in battle and violence. I think about his nightmare and the fear of losing her and the sword then what happened to this episode. He’s had this since he was a child and then he had this dream, this trip to the beastland plane and looked Eilistraee in the eye and fought her. I believe he still loves her, cares for her, but I also think it has changed since that episode no doubt. Rewinding a bit, I think a bit about him being told he has to be pure of heart in order to wield the sword. What does pure of heart truly mean? Wall loves fighting and murder. He actively committed torture. Also he’s the bodyguard for an objectively bad man. There’s the argument of his intentions are pure although I doubt you can do a lot of what he did and have those intentions be fully pure. It’s just something I think about more than probably a normal person should teehee. Anyways the conversation he and Rae had at the beginning of this session should classify as psychological warfare cause I genuinely do not think I’m ever going to recover. I have been talking about it for weeks how they are the chosens, favored, by literal enemies and seem to have some sort of hit on them by a couple of deities now. I thought about how it might affect relationships and how Wall views them. We know he’s very loyal but I always wondered how far he would need to be pushed before that is broken. Seems like an extreme amount. His morals are probably what intrigue me the most tbh. I’d kill to know what his alignment is LMAO. Most of all I just really love the Wall because he is goofy and silly but he also isn’t a stupid brick wall that doesn’t know anything and I really enjoy seeing the times he gets to explain things. Fuck it we Wall.

Zephrael:

Okay so this will be the longest one cause I’m biased and yes Zephrael is my favourite. I always feel a little bad when it comes to that and showing that favouritism because I truly do love the entire party so much. This hit me the most when the show was just starting out and I did feel like I needed to show how much I loved each character and not just focus on Rae lol. I hope this thread can at least show that (if you even make it this far) Anyways Zephrael is a fucking freak and I love him so much. I’ve done multiple posts on him before and yeah Im gonna repeat some of it here i wont lie. Right out the gate we probably learn the most and yet the least about Rae’s past and present. He is an emissary for the reformed church of Lolth and an honored guest. He had known about Edo’s work before and talked about how it had helped with relations between the public and the reformed church. This means everything and nothing to us. But it does show that despite Rae’s… oddness, he is extremely well spoken when he wants to be and I think about that speech a lot. The next few episodes gave us some more information yet also a lot more questions. These weird pains that seem to predict disasters, the extreme phobia of spiders despite being a paladin of Lolth, and his both egotistical yet self deprecating attitude. It was fascinating to watch him because he clashed but never in a way that made him irredeemable and I’ll go more into that at the end section. A few early things I thought about a lot before the catalyst that was the nightmare drink were who the reformed church was, where did Zephrael come from, why was he chosen as this ambassador, and why he didn’t know undercommon but knew abyssal. These are still questions I have to this day LMAO. The nightmare drink vision I possibly overanalyze the most next to Phoenix’s. It stood out due to the fact that it wasn’t, bad. Rae could see again, he saw his father and best friends again, he got told he was going to learn the truth again. Why was this considered a bad thing? Everyone else experienced horrors and regrets yet Zephrael got sorrow. It jumpstarted the part aasimar Rae theory tho. Angel imagery Rae makes me clinically insane I won’t lie and his father having these large wings and bright white light did not help. There’s the big question of what he is and also how he joined the church. Hell, even how he feels about the church as well, truly at least. During one of the hiatuses fandom went crazy and Snail Snailmuds dropped out of nowhere that the runes on Rae’s body weren’t just random but fucking translated abyssal that said “PAIN CHAOS POWER” which first of all goes hard second of all what the fuck.

Theory crafting for Zephrael always feels like climbing uphill and also being constantly shot at cause every time something happens with that man it turns out to be a secret third thing going on oh mygod. Anyways I’ve discussed whether or not he was forced into this church, was kidnapped, born into it, ect because at the end of the day, he seems to very much be a tool or pawn for this church and/or Lolth. Also the whip being an artifact of Lolth or whatever they’re called again I forgot??? What the fuck dude. ALSO HIM SLEEPING IN BATHTUBS????? Grizzly has said this will make sense later but genuinely what the fuck there is something wrong with him. Moving on, revelation about the tattoos comes out and we get the torture episode. Well we get the holy shit they just killed those guys begining and then torture. First of all, I cheered louder than anyone else when Rae actually did fucking combat instead of running away and also the fact he can use his whip. Anyways dumb and dumber torture a guy and first of all the lay on hands to keep him alive during torture was insane and I hope to see it again in anything and it’s also where it’s learned that the tattoos on him were “forcibly engraved” which was honestly brushed off and a lot happened that I think most people forgot but I didn’t cause I’m crazy. Anyways moving on from THAT we get the typical Rae. Dodging questions when Argentum tries to interrogate him and also dunno if he’s just fuckin lying or not when he does actually answer them.

Episode 6 and 7 are where I think Rae slightly pivots. Not really noticeable but he feels a little more, close. It was also a change I noticed with the cast and I think that helped a lot of character dynamics as well. Rae’s stupid beef with Argentum was so fucking funny and I do think about him wanting to heal Sunder before himself after the Bulette because if he heals Sunder, how would that help him. Yes they’re his bodyguard but the monster is dead and it’s not like Sunder can heal him back. It was a decision that I think was the most different for Rae because he was shown to care deeply for Wall but not so much the others as much. He still doesn’t care for the others as much as he does The Wall but I do think he has grown a fondness or care for the others whether he wants to or not. And thats the thing, I could not tell you if he does actually wanna care for them or not. Yes they are allies and help but he seems to try and keep things at a transactional level or how much power it may bring him. He still does but like his dynamic with Argentum seems closer cause the antagonizing feels more like siblings getting on each other’s nerves rather than a growing distance. I think Sunder also displaying that brutality may have put him more into Rae’s good books too. Anyways he read a fucking book huge day. Now he has even worse mommy issues. Ep 7 killed me with hammers but that was spoken about. His relationship with Wall is something that fascinates me though. Rae is selfish, it’s not hidden at all, yet he does seem to care deeply for Wall and almost defends him more than he would defend himself. It’s nice to see for this bodyguard and his charge dynamic but ep 7 spread some light on it and I do think their bond will outlive the will of the Gods but what do I know, I’m not anyone at that table. Zephrael is rude, odd, egotistical but also masochistic and does care deeply when he wants to and you don’t see that kind of character as much I wanna say. He’s my favourite cause his weird gnc swag enraptured me thats all he is post over.

Not actually over cause there’s one last thing. These characters would not be these characters without the wonderful players behind them. Each episode brings out better and better performances that have me actually going crazy over them. I genuinely wouldve had nothing to write about if it weren’t for the fact everyone brings so much life into these characters and loves them so much that they feel so fucking real. They don’t feel flat or simple but very nuanced characters that I love to study and even be wrong about (i actually hate being wrong and every time im wrong i get so ashamed) but Argentum’s flourishes and talks to get out of situations, Phoenix’s wit and holy shit that dread form voice, Sunder during the market fight and then the softer scene with Varic, Wall’s humor and even talking about the more serious stuff, and Zephrael’s ability to balance harshness and endearing at the same time. That’s Hayden, Leizu, Juzo, Ben, and Grizzly and I genuinely cannot fucking talk about the performances enough. I’ve thought about making a post just about it but I fear I just wouldn’t be able to articulate what I wanna say enough. Then obviously it wouldn’t even be possible without the fucking amazing world building and npcs Jonah has provided. Everything is so immersive and I find myself caring for each and every npc we meet whether caring for their safety or caring too much cause I dislike them. Every npc sticks with me and I grow so attached so quickly because they feel so real in this world that also feels so fucking real. It feels like we are just peeking into another world and I actually can’t multitask when watching sow cause I get too sucked in. It’s really hard to do that and I talk about it a lot but never really publicly so I thought I would here.

Anyways for real this time post over, this ended up way longer than I thought it was gonna be so ur a real one if you read this all the way through lol. I’m off to go think about sow merch again as I wait for permission and stuff cause im crazy. See ya later

#shadows over welde #argentum rillis #phoenix sow #sunder sow #the wall sow #zephrael sow #dm.txt

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crusherthedoctor · 3 months

Note

"Mario never undergone a drastic redesign for plots"

I mean...the proportional change between the SNES era and N64 era for Mario is massive, and design again changed a lot for Early GC era. And less said of the 1981-85 designs the better

Or hell, Bomberman doing whatever the fuck until Super Bomberman 4

https://twitter.com/a_kinopio/status/1243785430299865088?s=20

Sonic also very much HAD gradual design changes between 1991-7...it's just that the general public didn't give a shit. We go from this tubbiness

To long legs and hair mcbrow here. Hoshino did Sonic CD and R 2D art, and the diff between that and here is still indicating an overall evolution. Only Amy and Eggman drastically changed, which for the former I'm glad. Better than being a literal girl Sonic clone. The rest are just continuing a trend then adding iris color

But really I feel Sonic Team did the redesigns to welcome a new era, given how Japan unironically forgot about Sonic. It's jarring- if you ignore 6-7 years of the franchise, but also distinctively full of much needed energy given the crap 1995-7 period.

Similarly I feel we're missing cultural context; both the US and Japan had a problem with associating design with specific tone, so you ended up with typecasted designs. Sonic despite having attitude and games like 3K WAS associated to being a cutesy generic mascot inferior to Hello Kitty in Japan, which is not a good thing. Almost all noncanon manga further just divorced itself from actual game tone to be a parody or cutesy manga, which both Naka and Oshima didn't like, same for early Sega Harmony Calendar art.

The US market had a forced redesign that lasted till 1994 that while ass, unfortunately just lended to the idea of not accepting a design as is, regardless of tone. So Sonic Team gave in to that for Adventure, which a competition was held in 1997 to see how it was recieved. Uekawa won ironically cuz he had the safest design, but took elements of Okano's art later to add flair and zaniness as it'd defeat the point otherwise

I feel Capcom had a similar problem with Megaman: they didn't feel comfortable with solely using the same design for bigger stories, so they opted for the more adult X spinoffs, and then similarly did the same for Legends and Battle Network (ironically I feel this backfired). Even Ruby Spears attempted to be faithful for their show pilot, but test audiences didn't like it, so we got a mediocre jocked up muscle Mega Man. While in Japan the anime OVAs were very cutesy and basic, despite games being more action oriented

It's hard to say if this issue disappeared now, and I feel it's revisionism to say "oh, if the redesigns didn't happen, no one would be mad" cuz the truth is...Sonic would die if he didn't change harder

I feel both ignoring every middle design and just lumping Sonic as "Classic" "Modern" is a very stupid thing as both are fucking subjective and tempermental terms. Adventure isn't "modern", and anything with sentimental value and nostalgia is "classic". Heroes is fucking over 20 years old, and can be considered one to some, as unpopular of an opinion that is. Sonic Team didn't have eras awkwardly like that in the 10th Anniversary book, and even said "Sonic will continue changing", but after 10 more years of the fandom, original creatives outside Iizuka leaving, and game reviewers destroying nuance and history, they forcibly had to split him like so for Generations. I see the same fan mentality outside Sonic for Golden Age era cartoons, it's maddening. Just look at Looney Tunes fans on how they treat Daffy, it's the same shit

Sorry for ranting, but I hate when history and evolution are ignored just to make strawmanned points when it boils down to "wishful revisionism under MY misnostalgia/control". I saw someone make an SA1 mod to make stages "More classic" with checker spam when not only is that term bullshit, Sega and Okano literally showed us concept art of Adventure stages before the char designs tweaks, and it's the exact same texture and bg prop set as final. That is maddening

I'm tired of it

At the risk of being blunt, I'm aware of all that. I assure you that I could never forget American the Assface and Ivo No-Eyes no matter how much I'd prefer to.

As for Mario, his earliest designs had the excuse of it not being fully set in stone yet, and with the N64 era onward, they generally only involved slight proportion changes or subtle details in the clothing and what have you... much like Sonic in the years between 91 and 97, American Assface and other questionable SoA decisions notwithstanding. The point is, Mario wasn't redesigned for the explicit purpose of seeming like a more mature bing bing wahoo man. :P Neither was Kirby, who I used for reference due to his reputation of fighting eldritch abominations and occasional dark subtext despite resembling a pink blob with stubs for arms.

Finally, I can't speak for how others choose to use the terms, but I use Classic and Modern for simple convenience. I agree that there should never have been an official line in the sand between the two, at least outside of Generations' context, but this is what the franchise has taught us to do at this point. That's the ugly truth, I'm afraid. As is the ugly truth that the vocal, dramatic shift to the Adventure designs and style - regardless of intent, regardless of justification, regardless of the gradual alterations and differences between artists in the years beforehand, regardless of every angle of relevant context - still brought on one of the single most notorious divides in a fandom full of them, up there with the debut of SatAM. We can debate all day as to whether it was fair or not, but the divide happened all the same.

I'm not a Classic-only purist. SA1 is one of my favourite games in the series, and I love various other Modern titles. And to stress once more, I like the Modern character designs and have no personal beef with them whatsoever. But I can't ignore these things in an age where Adventure era rose-tinted goggles are at an all time high, and while it's true that not everything is straightforward, that goes both ways in cases like this.

#Crusher's Asks #Opinion #Sonic the Hedgehog #Sonic Character Designs

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bright-and-burning · 2 months

Note

A driver placing 12th over 14th in a single race can mean millions of dollars difference to smaller teams like Williams. I think its worth it

to be clear here i am relatively new to f1 and also still in the emotional react zone lol. ALSO ALL OF THIS IS SAID WITH LOVE! i do really like both of them so much

first off why didn’t they have a spare chassis. is that normal. that feels… dumb. i’ve never worked in logistics but that feels Really Really dumb.

SECOND OFF I JUST REMEMBERED TEAM TORQUE. OH THE VIBES ARE GONNA BE HORRENDOUS

anyways. this is gonna sound stupid of me but i kind of forgot how it works in terms of tie breakers so i wasn’t… super thinking abt non-points positions (AGAIN! thinking emotionally!!)

this is long and rambling. please don’t destroy me for not knowing what i’m talking about bc i really really don’t. also i don’t necessarily have a conclusion of “is it worth it or not” i am just . side eyeing. very unsure about whether it will be or not in the end. it kinda boils down to “i think this is complicated math bc trying to quantify some of the effects of this is literally impossible and im worried about those unquantifiable effects”

my thinking here is kind of. is 12th instead of 14th worth it if it means you’ve wildly undermined a driver’s … idk trust? confidence in the team? and i don’t mean this in a vague “think abt the emotional impact!” way i mean this as. how is this going to affect how the rest of the season goes?

i mean, even just this race lol. birthday curse aside, alex has just got a whole lot more pressure on him, on a course he’s got a not-fantastic history with, as far as i can tell. it’s his job to handle pressure, obviously, but it’s certainly an… interesting position to put someone in

in terms of the rest of the season… for me mentality was/is such a massive part of success in sports. i deeply dislike the “didn’t want it enough” narratives in other sports (whole other story) but. you do have to believe in yourself. and if thats true for a sport where you’re running around in circles, or where you’re kicking a ball around, i imagine it’s doubly so for driving around tight corners at nearly 300kph or whatever. it’s not williams’/james vowles’ job, i guess, to foster an environment where that self-belief is maintained or built, but in that case, what was the point of all that talk?

you spend all this time being like we have confidence in you and your improvement, and then bam. i would be desolate lol. like circling back to 12th vs 14th… idk a part of me is like. if we could quantify the impacts of this on logan over the season, what if that bit of confidence is the difference between 15th and 17th. but like, in every race. obviously we don’t know how this season would go without this happening so this is like wild speculation. and i am PRAYING for spite to kick in and become a massive motivator here. like i get that williams isn’t responsible for logan’s headspace but. they do want to maximize their drivers’ performance, right? i personally am unsure that this is the way to do that

tldr a) why no spare chassis. that fuckin spreadsheet bruh. b) why talk all that talk to do this. like i can follow the logic of the decision! i really and truly can (especially remembering how non-points positions matter. whoops) but i don’t respect the going from oh we have full confidence to a blatant demonstration that they… don’t. c) i am sad

#ask #like i get it on a pure short term placement level. i am just. sad and worried abt the future :(#hence why i posted ‘i know im not being normal rn’#williams moment #aus24

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axl-rose-lover-1987 · 9 months

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“Jealousy”

Izzy Stradlin x reader

slight smut not rlly tho

GNR was on tour with Skid Row and you had tagged along with your boyfriend Izzy. So here you sat next to him and with the rest of the guys and the guys of Skid Row. “So y/n I’m running out of the hotel because this guys chasing me yelling THAT WAS MY GIRLFRIEND ASS HOLE” Sebastian Bach said to you telling you one of his many entertaining and odd stories. “Oh my god Sebastian your insane” you said laughing. You and Sebastian had been talking the whole night he was a lot of fun to talk to. You didn’t think Izzy really minded after all he wasn’t normally the jealous type and he didn’t get very jealous when you hung out with the guys in GNR so you didn’t think he’d mind if you and Sebastian were talking and having a good time…

Izzy’s POV:

I’m good at staying chill and stuff I guess and I really don’t get that jealous but seeing y/n laugh like that and seeing Sebastian look at her like that really made my blood boil. No one is supposed to look at her like that or make her laugh like that except me. She was my world and I didn’t need some stupid guy like Sebastian stealing her from me. I trust y/n I really do and I don’t mind at all if she talks to my friends like Axl or Slash and them but something about her and Sebastian talking like that really pissed me off.

….

Izzy was being super quiet like more quiet than usual he had sunglasses on so you couldn’t really see where he was looking but he wasn’t paying much attention to you. He did have his hand on your thigh though. You were wearing a little black skirt it was one of Izzys favorites so you wore it for him, and you also weren’t wearing panties. “You’re awful quiet tonight iz” you whispered against his chest. He sipped his drink and didn’t even look at you. “Iz?” You said now a little annoyed. “I’m tired ok y/n” Izzy said back. Geez what’s his problem you thought. You sat there talking to Sebastian and the other guys some more. Sebastian and Axl were telling some stories and everyone was enjoying themselves. You noticed Izzys hand kept crawling up your leg and closer to inside your skirt. It got quiet for a little bit then. “Hey y/n how long have you lived in LA?” Sebastian asked you. Izzys hand was now inside your skirt. You pretended not to notice. “About 3 years now” you said. Before Sebastian could answer someone called his name and he had to leave to conversation to see what they wanted. You were honestly glad so you could talk to Izzy about what the hell he was doing. “Not here Izzy” you whispered to him. Izzy said nothing but was now rubbing your clit with his fingers. “This is what you get for wearing that skirt and talking to other guys” Izzy said back. “Oh my God Izzy are you jealous of me and-“ your voice was now raised but Sebastian came back and sat down. “Anyway sorry y/n where were we?” Sebastian asked. “W-we” Izzys finger shot up into your now wet pussy “W-we were t-talking about L-LA” you said as Izzys finger pulsed inside you. Sebastian looked concerned. “Are you ok y/n?” he asked. No you weren’t ok you were pissed at Izzy for being this petty. Izzy now pulled his fingers out of you“I’m sorry Sebastian excuse us” you said climbing over Izzy and pulling him out of the booth and outside of the bar. “What the fuck is your problem right now?” You said to Izzy. “I’m fine why are you all prissy” Izzy asked you being defensive. “I’m not stupid Izzy” you said. “I never said you were” Izzy said back at you. “Your jealous of me talking to Sebastian aren’t you” you said in a little bit of an angry way you weren’t mad he was jealous you were mad he decided to pull that stupid stunt in front of everyone. Izzy staid quiet now looking at his feet. “Yeah maybe I was ok” Izzy said all the anger in his voice completely gone. “So why didn’t you just tell me?” You said.

Izzys POV:

Y/n was upset and it was because of me what I did was stupid and now I had to fix it. “Maybe because your perfect in every way and I’m not I don’t deserve you and seeing you talk to him like that just made me feel threatened and I wanted to show him that your mine all mine and no one else can have you and I love you and I’m sorry for being jealous and for being like that it’s not like me” all that came out of mouth so fast and without thinking it just came out naturally. And it was all the truth it was how I felt. Y/n looked a little taken aback.

…

What Izzy said surprised you sometimes he wasn’t good at telling you how he felt but he really did this time and you were proud you went up to hug him. “I’m sorry you felt like that babe” you said hugging him. “It’s not your fault I’m sorry” izzy said. “I’m sorry too” you said. You guys stood there hugging each other for a few mins. “Can we go home now?” You asked. “Of course sweetheart and what I did in there was only a little bit of what I’m going to do to you tonight.” Izzy said grabbing your hand and winking. You laughed and walked down the dark street hand and hand with him.

#guns n roses #axl rose #izzy stradlin x reader #izzy stradlin #izzy gnr #gnr fanfiction #fanfic #rock band

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crestfallercanyon · 3 months

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1, 4 and 21 for Mickey Milkovich since I’ve seen you post about Shameless <3

I have seen you liking some of my posts about Shameless, too! I'm always excited when mutuals overlap in other fandoms than just the root one, if that makes sense <3

Anywho, to the questions!

Why do you like or dislike this character?

This answer's long, so sorry, but I feel like it's hard to talk about all of Mickey in a succinct way. While there are parts of Shameless that the writers severely fuck up, and that fuckery did occasionally get his hands on Mickey Milkovich (like constantly trying to write him off it seems??), Mickey has some of the greatest depth and is also consequently one of the most consistent characters they managed to write.

I've said it before, but he has every reason to "look out for number one," and he does, but his number one stops being himself -- it's for his family (Mandy and Ian in particular). While that has its own ramifications, it's also a beautiful thing about him.

He's also smart. I like that he is not a stupid man, which I feel he could have been very quickly reduced to (and I think they sometimes try to do to him in later seasons but that's a rant for later). Reckless and flippant sometimes, but he is smart and he can and will learn. His biggest character growths aren't from lack of understanding due to ineptitude, it's due to biases, and when those biases gets shattered he learns from them and keeps those lessons with him (my main example of this is when he was so very against letting Ian go to a mental hospital -- the whole progression of Mickey taking care of Ian during his illness is what I would say is where he has most of his rapid growth: it's where he stops trying to pretend he doesn't love Ian, it's where he realizes that he can't do everything on his own and has to ask for help sometimes, it's where he loses his ignorance about what exactly Ian is going, much of what he learns in that season carries with him throughout the rest of the show it seems).

Mickey's story is so full of tragedy, and I thought that Shameless was going to "life sucks and then you die" to him, honestly (whenever something went right, they immediately took a hammer to that fragile happiness as soon as seemingly possible). But he wins. He gets the boy he fell in love with, and has a job, and makes his way out of South Side. It's not the dream he thought he'd always have (he thought he'd be King of South Side) but that dream was also made up of a lot of... resignation. So I'm glad that that was turned on its head for him and he still had happiness, I thought that was consistent with the rest of his life, too.

4) If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

This is a fascinating question. To be perfectly honest, I actually wish a character like him was in Sons of Anarchy. There were parts of that show I really enjoyed (I mean, boil it down and it's essentially Motorcycle Hamlet), but I think his character and his arc (with Ian, too, actually) would have added a lot of additional depth to that show -- that and have it address queer characters in a meaningful way (the only queer character I remember from that show was very limited and quickly off the show if I recall correctly). I think he'd be really well suited to meld into that world, actually, with a few tweaks to get him as part of the SoA in the first place.

I also would love to have him in a western or noir, but that's more fanfiction au ideas, not actually placing him in another piece of media haha

21) If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

I love to write his dialogue, the snappish way he speaks. I particularly like to write earlier seasons Mickey because he's got such a front he's putting up, it's fun to figure out dialogue where he's clearly saying one thing and hiding another in-between the words; or just straight up contradicting his own thinking because he has to and is desperately hopeful and also terrified that someone (Ian) can see right through him. There's so much internal conflict of Mickey early seasons that while it can be a challenge, it's also so fun to write.

What I don't like? I'm not sure how to articulate this correctly, but I struggle with writing some of the antagonism he and Ian continue to have in later seasons. I mean it's definitely there, it's a part of him, just because Mickey loves Ian and vice versa doesn't mean those two don't insult each other or all that -- I just tend not to write those moments that much because I either will go overboard and write too strong of an argument or it won't feel quite like their energy, if that makes sense.

Thank you so much for the asks! They were a lot of fun. They come from this: Character Ask Game

#ask games #character ask game #shameless (us)#shameless #Mickey Milkovich

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wainwrightjakobshammerlock · 7 months

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Actually yknow what I will elaborate. I am so fucking tired of all the hate surrounding BL3 (and New Tales but mostly BL3)'s story. While obviously it's not flawless, the way the discussion has evolved to "all of it should be non canon" bugs me.

First there's the issue of the criticism itself. I believe being able to accurately point out flaws in something is a part of being a huge fan of it, and 99% of the BL3 critiques I see online miss the point by a long shot.

All of these people crying over Maya's death being pointless and an assassination of her character when mentor death is a deeply established trope and said death is a catalyst for the rest of the story - when the big problem with it is lack of immediate impact and deeply lackluster eulogy.

Meanwhile, I barely ever see anyone talk about Aurelia's entire personality being sacrificed to fullfill a theme that barely even lands, or about Typhon's shitty parenting being portrayed in a positive fucking light for some stupid reason, or the foreshadowing that never landed...

Second, it just makes me distressed. I am autistic. Borderlands is my current special interest, and, for me, special interests are so important they are basically parts of me. I even measure my life in special interest eras rather than years.

That, combined with the fact a lot of the people in this fandom love jumping onto any BL3 related thing to give unsolicited criticism, just... hurts.

I made a post on r/borderlands3 recently that boiled down to "hey, I know a ton abt this game's lore, ask me questions about it and i will answer!", and one commenter wrote 4 entire line breaks on how the story sucks (not explicitly directed at me, but still) until actually getting to the question. Imagine if you made a post about a part of something that you really like and then someone basically said "well that part you love the most sucks".

Third, there absolutely were parts of this story that were good, but nobody talks about them. Or if they do, then they also get why they are good... wrong. (cough cough "Hammerlock & Wainwright are good because they're not camp gay in your face!!!!1!1!!")

TLDR holy shit man there's already 10000000 people screaming about how Ava is bad or whatever can we please stop this pointless circlejerk

#borderlands #my post #bl3 #text post #jakobs manor metas #sorta

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deacblues · 10 months

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well now I'm curious about your petty fanwork pedantries.

my pedantries mostly stem from my approach to fanwork, which is to be as accurate to the source material as possible. if not in form, then at least in spirit.

for example, i can't read most spider-man fics because the characters swear. the characters don't swear in the source material so when they swear in a fic it just pulls me out immediately (unless it's executed especially well-- traincat's tales from the back pages has a good "no fucking way").

my pedantic tendencies really flare up with it comes to homestuck. in the wake of the epilogues and post-canon, there's this sense among fans that canon is something to be ignored, and that you should just do your own thing. it clashes with my approach to fanwork. it doesn't help that the way i engage with any story i enjoy is to learn everything i can about it (a side effect from reading cape books , i suppose).

it also doesn't help that homestuck's many, many internal rules provide an excellent framework for making fanfic! like, i've seen a lot of people disregard the rules of sburb to just make stuff up, and i can't understand it because for me it's so much more fun-- and challenging-- to try and make an idea work within the framework. a lot of the creative challenge is making it work within the context of the story.

and with a work as long and winding as homestuck, the parts i like could be totally different than the parts someone else likes. so someone might make a fanwork that totally misunderstands the appeal of the source material (from my perspective).

like the homestuck epilogues strip away the breezy tone of the original, and dial up the angst. or something like godfeels, which is a well-recieved fic that i just can't get into for similar reasons. i have no interest in reading a fic that boils down to "what if the homestuck characters were adults and also they were fucked up"

it could even be something minor, like someone's conception of a character straying too far from canon. the other day, i saw a drawing of jade harley dressed like an emo. and i know it was just supposed to be cheesecake art basically-- like look at this cute drawing of a girl in emo clothes. but i just ended up being angry because i know jade harley would never dress like an emo! it doesn't make sense! it doesn't work! argh!!!!!!!!!

i want to make it clear that this is my problem, and not the fault of anyone actually making fanwork. i know it's so stupid and pedantic and neurotic and so i try to keep my mouth shut, because i know people are just having fun, and it's not a big deal. somehow, i can only get mad at trivial things that don't matter.

#questioning #homestuck #spider-man #like if you are not going to do anything interesting with the ideas/themes from the source material #or write the characters similarly to how they appear in the source material #then what are we even doing?

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anneapocalypse · 1 year

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I like your post about gray morality in video games! On the other hand I wanted to add that the gray decision-making you're talking about can have its own pitfalls (distinct from the pitfalls of centrist/apolitical "both sides are bad" apathy). I'm thinking of gritty action heroes who are presented as morally gray because they're pragmatic enough to torture and kill in the name of Truth, Justice, and the 'Murican Way, or just in the name of a macho revenge fantasy. To be clear, this isn't an indictment of gray morality, which I love when done well. Hell, the stories I'm complaining about tend not to be THAT gray in practice, as the bad guys are often SO exaggeratedly bad that there's not a real question of whether the hero is willing to Do What It Takes in the end. My point is more just that that's what people often mean when they condemn "gray morality."

Hi! Sorry this has been sitting my ask box for a while, I got busy and didn't want to just dash off a response.

(We're talking about this post, for those who haven't seen it. RIP my notifications.)

Anyway I'll just say here for the record that yeah, gray morality in fiction can be done poorly! While the line for "done poorly" is going to be different for everyone, I can certainly think of examples I've disliked.

(This got long, sorry in advance. 😩 Also, spoilers for Fallout 3 and all the Dragon Age games, if anyone cares!)

My go-to example of one I think is a real stinker is the Fallout 3 DLC "The Pitt" where the critical decision is... whether to free a bunch of people from being enslaved in horrible conditions! But! in order to free them, you have to kidnap a baby from... the enslaver. Because something something the baby's genetics are the key to curing the illness that afflict the slaves from their horrible working conditions... you don't actually have to hurt the baby, though, she'll be fine. She'll just be taken away from her parents. Who are, again, slavers. I promise I'm not making it sound any stupider than it sounds in the game itself. :P Like the whole concept of putting an infant in your video game inventory and making a break for it is just a little too wacky for me to take seriously, but it feels like you're meant to take it seriously, and apart from trying to inject some ambiguity into the decision, I'm not sure why the whole baby plot would even be there. Honestly, Fallout 3 isn't a game about moral ambiguity. (I think both New Vegas and even Fallout 4 do that kind of thing better.) Most of its major decisions boil down to "Do you want to do the Good Person Thing or the Evil Bastard thing?" That's the game. No one is trying to inject moral ambiguity into blowing up Megaton. It's just a thing you can do if you want to roleplay an Evil Character. I love Fallout 3, I'm just saying, that's what it is. And I think "The Pitt" would have been both more thematically appropriate and less stupid if it had just skipped the whole baby plot and been like "Hey! Do you want to be the Good Person who frees the slaves, or the Evil Bastard who allies with the slaver?" It's morally simple, but the thing is the baby didn't actually make that story or the decision any more interesting to me, so it might as well not have been there at all.

But Fallout 3 isn't the kind of thing I was thinking of when I made that post. I was thinking a lot more about things like the decisions in the Dragon Age games, which don't usually fall neatly into The Good Option and The Evil Option, and are more likely to ask the player to make their own judgments. And a common criticism I see of those games is that they're "centrist" and try to "both sides" in-universe issues because the game doesn't explicitly tell you which choice is The Good One, or it doesn't explicitly reward one choice and punish the other, and that's... not really an interpretation that I generally agree with? But that's a much more involved discussion, honestly. At some point, I'd like to write a post about how I feel Inquisition presents the mage rebellion, because it's such a big topic and big game (and by "I'd like to" I mean... I already have a draft started, whoops). That's just more than I have time to get into today!

But I will say this: I find the plot decisions where you're given an obvious "best option" to be the least interesting choices in the Dragon Age games. The Redcliffe decision in Origins is the most obvious one to me, where I think the option to save Connor from possession should at least have been much harder to find, because in the lore, the fact that mages even can be saved from possession and not just killed is widely unknown because it goes against the templar party line, and the fact that Ferelden's First Enchanter is just like, "Oh yeah, sure, we can totally do that, pack up the lyrium boys" just doesn't really mesh with everything else we're told about the Circles and conventional wisdom on magic. Plus, the fact that there's no consequences for leaving Redcliffe for days with Connor possessed just... makes the decision too easy, for me, because in-universe it feels like it shouldn't be that easy. There's also the werewolf decision, wherein the Lady of the Forest just tells you straight out that Zathrian can break the curse with his own death, presenting you with a "best option" that it feels both stupid and sort of comically evil to disregard (like, from a purely pragmatic standpoint why would you fight the entire pack of werewolves or an entire clan of elves when you can just make Zathrian solve the problem here and now).

The ending decision of DA2 is an example that I feel has a really stark moral contrast to it (which I've discussed before), and one that I think does place certain constraints on role-playing, but in that case I think it's appropriate to the themes of the game, so I don't mind it.

But my favorite plot decisions in Dragon Age are things like the Landsmeet, the Winter Palace, and even the Orzammar quest line. Not just because I love fantasy politics, but because you have to work with what you're given in a way that feels realistic to the setting and the story. No matter how much of a hero you are, you can't waltz into Orzammar or Denerim or Halamshiral and brute-force a perfect solution. Unless you're a dwarf yourself, you're an outsider who doesn't know anything about dwarven politics and no one is particularly forthcoming about the situation because everyone has an agenda! and yet you have to solve this conflict in order to get aid against the Blight. You have to make a decision based on very little information and almost none of it concrete. At the Landsmeet, you may want justice, but it's your word against Loghain's with no proof of what really happened at Ostagar, and if you want to win you need provable charges, you need to show the nobles that you support their interests and not just your own, and no matter which butt you put on the throne, you're faced with the very real possibility of another succession crisis a few decades on so congratulations, you've just kicked the can down the road.

And oh, the Winter Palace, my beloved. You cannot make Briala the Empress, no matter how much you might want to! You cannot abolish the monarchy. You cannot force Orlais to relinquish the Dales and re-establish the Elven state. Your options are: keep the empress whose reign overall has been sympathetic to elves and commoners and relatively diplomatic toward her neighbors, but who also may have just done a good old fashioned massacre to crush a rebellion and maintain her power; let her be killed and put the militant expansionist on the throne; get Briala and Celene back together (maybe with the hope that Briala will continue to influence her); help Briala do a blackmail which surely will work out totally fine and not backfire in anyway; or force them all to shut up and play ball for now, basically just kicking the can down the road. None of these options are perfect by any means! There are interesting and believable in-character reasons you might choose to role-play any of them. And every one has the possibility of unforeseen consequences later on, positive or negative.

I made the original post, in part, in response to condemnations of the kind of decisions I enjoy in these games. And at the end of the day, it's okay not to like those decisions, to prefer more unambiguous choices or more room to indulge in the fantasy of fixing everything. But that's not always the kind of story a game is trying to tell, and I think that's fine, and personally I enjoy the complicated decisions more. And I feel like sometimes those complicated or ambiguous choices are read as if they're either presenting all options as morally equivalent when they're not, or that they're "punishing" the player for a choice if it has any kind of negative outcome, and I don't think that's the case! I think it's fine and good in fiction to explore the ways in which trying to change things for the better can be difficult and how a choice with some negative consequences may still be the best one available, and so on and so forth.

Anyway, I hope I didn't get too far afield here, and thanks if you read this far!

#gray morality #this is so long i'm sorry #anne apocalypse making you sorry you asked since 2011 #blunders of thedas #fallout 3 critical #prewar parkstrolling #ask anne #who cancelled roger rabbit

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