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fixfoxnox · 1 year

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Regarding the ask game, most COD Ghosts fanfics are Keegan x Logan and I know you ship them too based on the hint in camboy au, I’m interested what your reasons are lol

I adore Keegan and Logan together and I can absolutely explain why I ship them. (Just a quick note I've only played through Ghosts once so forgive me if I get some info wrong)

Most of the reason that I ship them comes from two specific missions: Federation Day and Into the Deep

These two missions both feature Logan and Keegan working as a team with primarily just the two of them the entire time. I think an important thing to note is that Logan was my favorite character after playing through the game, so a lot of my focus while playing was on him and his story/character.

One of my favorite things about the dynamic between Keegan and Logan, specifically during Federation day, is how impressed Keegan is with Logan. As their going through the mission he's complimenting him and just seems incredibly impressed with him throughout the game. But prior to that mission which is, I believe, the first time they work together just the two of them, their dynamic is also one that I like.

Keegan and Merrick both really seemed to doubt the Walker boys prior to seeing them in action. The lines they drop are very much like "try to keep up 🙄" type of dynamics. So for Keegan to go from that so being genuinely impressed with Logan during Federation day already made me love their dynamic.

Then you get to Into the Deep which is another mission that is primarily just the two of them. I think this mission is the one that really solidified them as a ship for me because of the way that they work together. They just work together so smoothly after having not known each other like only a week prior.

Not only that but this mission featured a lot of danger for the two so I felt like you really got to see some care that Keegan had for Logan come out at different points.

I think that because they seemed to get paired off together so much in the game, it kinda impacted how I saw them. And when I play the silent protagonists, a lot of my opinions on their character comes from how other characters interact with them. That being said, I got very like stars in his eyes energy that Logan would have toward Keegan. During Federation Day, I was like "we're trying to impress Keegan aren't we?" Sjdjdjjdjd

I think another part of the reason why I love this ship is because I like the dynamic sjjdhdjd. Like Keegan who is a bit older than Logan and worked with his dad for years before ever meeting him. So there's almost a bit of a taboo there, but at the same time Keegan is young enough that it isn't a weird age gap/predatory thing (esp. Cause he didn't meet Logan till Logan was well into being an adult)

Combine that with like overprotective father/brother combo of Elias and Hesh who know that Logan can take care of himself but also can and will threaten Keegan for looking at their sweet son/little brother makes me laugh.

Like my dynamic for the Walker family is Logan who is murdery/very much not innocent vs Hesh and Elias who know this but also treat him like he's the sweetest little guy in the universe. So adding Keegan to that dynamic where is would probably be like:

"You're corrupting Logan!!! Pervert!!!"

Keegan, who not even an hour ago was dragged into a side room so that Logan could suck the life out of him and demand to be bent over a table: 🧍‍♂️

Idk man I just think they're neat ajdjdjhd

#thoughts with luke #you asked luke #logan walker #cod keegan #keegan p russ #cod logan #cod ghosts #keegan x logan

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yourqueenb · 7 months

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I'm not going to lie, TBBaby is so far the first book from PB that I feel such loathing for that I can't read a chapter (I've read 2 and will probably watch screenshots of the rest) - even TNA didn't turn me off like that. I think it's because the MC (and the writers) focus so hard on idealizing LI (In my game is man) just by his appearance - not what a rotten person he is. It seems to me that Daphne's behavior (over-controlling, for example) is due to this very reason. You won't tell me that someone who professes affection and kisses a girl he met on the same day with such ease (while in a relationship) hasn't done it before. In marital problems, the fault usually lies on 2 sides, and you can clearly guess that the "crystal" LI also has a lot on his conscience. But no one will ever say that in this kind of stories. What do you think?

‼️‼️‼️ I wholeheartedly agree with you anon. I think I said something vaguely along those lines in one of my posts about it. Like I’m sorry, but I refuse to believe that Cole or Sam or any other copy and pasted LI they use in these types of books is perfect and their wife/fiancée/etc. is just this awful dragon of a woman who they can’t escape. That’s not how logic works. And it’s not good storytelling. The characters lives didn’t start only when the book did. And our MCs can’t determine all the dynamics of their relationships after 2 interactions.

No wonder Daphne called screaming in the first chapter. And no wonder her mother gave Cole the third degree when we got to the mansion. I hate how PB tries to portray these women as crazy and overbearing, even more so because they use our MCs to do it. What those interactions actually show is that the LI most likely has a pattern of behavior that is causing them to react in those ways. As you said, no one in a relationship would behave the way Cole did upon first meeting MC and in that guitar playing scene if they haven’t already done it before. I don’t care how great the attraction is. And the fact that Cole steamrolled Daphne in the decision to make MC their surrogate has so many gross implications. To me it looks like he just wanted to get MC in their house no matter what.

Also, you can’t tell me that he’s trapped in this marriage with Daphne or that he even had to marry her to begin with. Cole is a young, attractive billionaire. I highly doubt it was a struggle to find a desirable woman who wanted to have kids before marrying Daphne, even if there was no Bytech and no fortune yet. Idc what excuse PB tries to come up with. And that was my problem with Sam in TNA. The excuses just don’t hold up when you consider how these people are characterized. Sam was grown, had been married before, and was way beyond financially stable. There was no reason for him to be pissing his pants about telling Mason Sr. he didn’t want to marry Sofia or for him to be worried about leaving a legacy for the twins. It’s lazy plain and simple

#choices tbb #choices the billionaires baby #choices #choices stories you play #playchoices #and before anyone says anything I’m not saying Daphne is trapped either #or that she’s perfect #based on what we know rn she absolutely could leave #and I’m sure she has probably contributed to the breakdown of her and Cole’s marriage #but the problem is that PB will never acknowledge any of Cole’s wrongdoings but they’ll acknowledge all of Daphne’s #bc God forbid we have nuanced characters #and God forbid they acknowledge that cheating is wrong when MC does it besides a slight feeling of guilt every now and then #sorry this got kind of long though #tldr I agree with you anon lol #choices app #choices ask

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mdhwrites · 6 months

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Five Nights at Freddy's Movie: The Core of a Masterpiece Trapped in an Awkward Shell

No Spoiler Version: I really liked the movie. It has an incredibly strong thematic core about being trapped by the past and how that can cloud and destroy your present and future despite it being subtler than usual about that. The main characters feel surprisingly grounded and it knows when to cut loose a bit with the atmosphere for the sake of its storytelling. It's actually an incredibly compelling family drama.

It is not a horror movie though except for its last MAYBE twenty percent. It's much more interested in moody introspection and exploring the main character than trying to scare the audience. If not for the finale, it'd arguably just be using horror elements to help hammer in home the toxic relationship with the past. But this is a Five Nights at Freddy's movie so it needs to be horror and most of the awkward elements of the movie are tied to having to either fit into that genre or to have to bend to franchise lore rather than allowing the conclusion that would be thematically satisfying.

It's done with enough with enough charisma to allow the awkward elements to roll off me for the most part and I still liked the ending even if it wasn't thematically strong. It's a very good and I think people are dismissing it as campy and the like just because it does have those awkward elements when the core story, and how it's told, are pretty serious minus one or two scenes. So yeah, check it out!

Spoilers after my page break.

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So let's start with the strongest element and the core of the movie: Mike's journey and arc in general is very compelling to me but there's not a lot to spoil besides the genuinely nice element that it's subtle. It takes a while to realize the theme they're going for with it and I didn't fully click on it until the thematic climax. When he realizes that by focusing on the past, he'll lose another sibling just like he did before.

But that's actually the ingenuity of his dreams. Because he has a sympathetic desire on the face of it, wanting to stop a person who kidnaps children and bring them to justice, he feels kind of justified at first. It's something you'd honestly like to see put right... But it's still revenge. It's still prioritizing the harm of the past instead of even trying to move on and focus on that which in the present you care about.

And thus the thematic finale of the movie is when Mike realizes that and rebels against the ghost children and they try to kill him. His escape is his victory and weirdly enough, it makes it so that following closer to the games... Would have been more satisfying. Mike burns down Freddy's at the end of the first game. Even Afton early on in the movie says the owner isn't willing to let it go so it technically holds a toxic grip on more than just Mike and he would have rid the world of an overall toxic blight from the past on the world and the children within who have decided that eternal play is worth any price. Not willing to let go of the fun they had here and so trying to recreate that memory until it all turns to smoke.

You did see I mentioned Afton though, right? Well, yeah, this is a FNAF movie and Afton is the mustache twirling hyper bad guy of the series, complete with slasher levels of strength and invulnerability while in the Springtrap suit (the movie implies he is still alive WEEKS after being impaled three times into his side). We get him extremely early on without his name as a career counselor that gets Mike the job and there's actually some good foreshadowing there of him knowing Mike and having kidnapped his brother which as far as I can tell, besides the fact that Freddy's doesn't burn, is probably the largest departure from the games but I don't know cause I haven't kept up since Sister Location and I never read any of the books. But then he's just gone for what at least feels like almost an hour.

And then they bring him back as the uber villian. The mastermind of it all. The only reason the children would hurt ANYONE which... is questionable with how the movie portrays them. But he can make them hurt anyone because of honeyed and a single picture on the wall that hides the truth! If it had been built up and this story was more about control and manipulation and the trauma we gain from those trying to wrangle us, it could have worked. His daughter is a main character in the movie and does talk about how how he raised her having left scars that we're supposed to cheer for her overcoming when she comes in the end... And mostly stalls for time because her contribution is minimal except to give Mike an arsenal to fight with AFTER the thematic climax happens.

That's right: Mike's arc ends and then we get a like five minute exposition dump on Afton while his sister is abducted by Golden Freddy so Afton can have another spirit child doing his bidding. It's actually done well enough to not be awful but it is a HARD slam on the breaks and because this whole movie has struggled as a horror movie, it's not finally getting the answer to beating the slasher villain or the monster, it's a weird pivot that the movie never really recovers from, even if when Afton shows up in the Springtrap suit, his movements and the framing are creepy as hell. Then he takes off the helmet and it's far less unfortunately as he becomes purely a dude in a mech suit.

He isn't the only problem element but the other one works better for the family focus of the movie. You can also see why it exists from a horror perspective because the problem with a FNAF movie conceptually is that the security guard is the main character and you can't just kill him. So little to no body count until the end. So how do you fix that?

With an evil aunt who wants Mike's sister just for that sweet sweet government money and the people she hires on the cheap to wreck Freddy's. It honestly feels like one of those 90s kids movie plots that people mock nowadays where the only motivation is greed and everyone is an idiot. Plus side, besides Max, the sequence is FUN. It's pure B horror, probably influenced by it allowing the movie to effectively do a bunch of the scares from the games because every kill on this group besides the last (which is... Bizarre in how it's done honestly and definitely meant to be comedic despite being properly built up horror) is done in a forward facing, first person jump scare. It's literally just like one of the games and as someone who was a fan I really liked that actually.

It also theoretically could have tied into other elements better. The aunt's custody case is built up as why Mike would stay for five nights. That he needs the job or he loses his sister. It is explicitly what forces him to take the job... but the conflict is he doesn't do nights because that's when he's doing his dream stuff and even at Freddy's he's slacking on the job for the sake of continuing his dream stuff because again: He's letting the present die to chase the past. Which works... But it doesn't feel like it pays off in any way either because of it. The aunt doesn't even get a jumpscare kill or anything like that to justify it as she's killed off screen by Golden Freddy, though at least we do get to see her legs to confirm she died.

And that's kind of overall my problem with the movie. The original story it's telling in the middle is actually pretty good and compelling and it has the proper build and payoff you want in a story. However, everything tied to serving the franchise or the horror elements, don't have that. They either get built up but then have no thematic conclusion or they don't have that build up and so their themes can't feel like they naturally fit into the story, even if there's an attempt.

It makes me wonder if there's a version of this, divorced from Freddy's, that could have been a masterpiece. Something horror fans genuinely keep with themselves than the novelty that I think most people are treating it. Then again, maybe I liked it for how much it's not a horror film because I'm not a horror fan for the most part.

But I DID like it and I think it's genuinely a really good movie, just don't expect it to be super campy like I had it built up as or very scary like one might expect from a horror movie. It only uses those elements as it has to and you can feel that, for better and for worse.

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I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#five nights at freddy's #fnaf movie #Movie Review

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chirpsythismorning · 1 year

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Personally, I've never said that Will would be the only main character anyway. I just think that it makes more sense for him to be centered now because there is a lot of stuff that has to be addressed regarding his character. That does not mean I think Mike cannot get targeted whatsoever. But Will's plot points would get more focus because still do not know:

1- Why he was specifically targeted by Vecna in S1, and why was he specifically kept alive. Is it because he has powers or is there any other reason? 2- Why did he get possessed, and why wasn't he killed again. 3- The way he is still connected to Vecna, has to be addressed because it is ongoing since S1. 4- The obvious parallels between Vecna and Will have to be addressed, 5- Will's whole S1 and S2 have to be addressed. 6- Why is the UD stuck on the time Will went missing specifically. 7- If Will has powers, it it why he got targeted, and probably is that why the UD looks the way it looks, etc.

So it makes more sense for Will to get targeted narratively to address these narrative and plot points. That's not saying Mike cannot get targeted, but it is rather saying that he probably will not be the first person to get targeted rolling to S5's beginning.

Yeah honestly I'm in agreement with that, when it comes to Vecna, we can presume the only reason he would even target Mike is to get to Will.

Though, we've also seen that he's calculated.

Every action he does, he is thinking ten steps ahead.

Yes it's about getting to Will, but that doesn't mean that all it takes is targeting Will and that's that.

They didn't need to 'waste' their time having Vecna confronting random teenagers with trauma, specifically with Max and then Nancy?? But they did. Because Vecna has his own arcs with all these other characters that are merely pieces in his little game, with all the trauma he's caused them. And it all ties into what he wants in the end.

Vecna confronting Mike in the final season, after keeping the audience in the dark for so long about his inner feelings, is a writers dream, because it's a little too perfect.

This is a TV show, which means certain things have to happen to make the story interesting and engaging and exciting. And that's why a lot of fans predict Mike will be targeted. Because why if Will is what Vecna wanted this whole time and that's all there is to it, couldn't he just go for it and get it over with?

Because this is a story and those sorts of things take time to build up to, and it wouldn't be very interesting if it was all resolved right from the jump.

In the moment, Vecna's choices might feel random, but in the grand scheme of things, we're starting to see it's all for a greater reason?

S5 is going to have ups and downs, and I think Will being targeted by Vecna in some capacity is inevitable and it's bound to happen multiple times in s5. Though I also think some other confrontations are due. And if Max was worth targeting because of her guilt over Billy and Nancy because of her guilt over Barb (both involving Vecna himself), then yes I do think it makes sense for Mike, the og protagonist, who has guilt tied to the other two og mains, Will and El, also tied to Vecna, to have some sort of confrontation with him.

I don't think it will start and end with Mike interacting with Vecna though, by no means is this the biggest plot point to s5, because I do think it all goes back to Will regardless of the different things that happen along the way leading up to that confrontation.

However I do think it will be one of the major plot twists for the overall audience because it is super unexpected.

And I do think it makes more sense for them to save the biggest confrontation for Vecna and Will for the end of s5, because if they did it in the beginning it would feel sort of anticlimactic to repeat it in the end.

And so, what makes more sense is to yet again create the semplence of a confrontation between Vecna and Will, maybe even go there, but still not fully go there... And a confrontation with Vecna, potentially involving Mike, obviously affecting Will feels like a way to surprise an audience who is only expecting the Will part, and to also have that impact Will's character in a way that is going to make his confrontation in the end feel even more anticipating, despite it being entirely expected by the majority!

#stranger things #byler #stranger things 5 #st5 predictions #will has powers #vecna terrorizing nancy over barb felt low-key out of place when i remember watching the first time #i even remember watching with my family and them being like wtf does this have to do with nancy #but I get it now #ITS TO MOVE THE PLOT FOWARD #but also... nancy being chosen in that moment and her trauma related to barb being a point that vecna uses to taunt her #taunting is what vecna does to make people feel hopeless...#even though he didn't do that in that exact moment to get to will #it was a calculated move #like chess #and so yeah mike wheeler is fucked basically #but that's not ONLY bc it has to do with mike and his trauma #but how trauma is dealt with on stranger things as a whole #and what's stopping these characters from facing the truth and what it looks like for every character to finally do just that #it also does play a part in the overall story #and will's arc as well #bc his confrontation with vecna is inevitable #and it will likely be even more powerful for will to beat vecna alongside his party after all of them faced their demons #ALL of them

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belphegorbillickin · 8 months

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Hi again! Since you invited me to chat about TWST whenever, I may as well take the opportunity to pick your brain for more fun conversations. This time I want to hear your thoughts on where you think the main story will progress from what we know of ch7 so far. I’m personally quite curious to see what will be done with the battle and monologue from the tutorial.

(Actually, do you know anywhere where the opening monologue for the tutorial is recorded? It’s a real shame it doesn’t appear to be replayable through the game.)

You can watch it here! This person recorded everything.

TWST spoilers below! Sorry in advance for the incoherent rambling, I'm kinda out of it but didn't wanna leave you hanging too long.

Tbh I stopped reading about halfway(?) while I was waiting for translations because I knew I'd enjoy it more all in one go. Also because I was getting a little disappointed and thought it'd be better to hear stuff secondhand first and then go in with lowered expectations if needed tbh.

I highly doubt they'll go the romantic route as I said before, even with Malleus, but now I'm kind of unsure as to how much of a role Yuu will play.

Like, nobody even acknowledges us half the time apart from Malleus, that'd be a big change, and it seems like so far it's mostly focused on Lilia so that's who I would've said is going to snap him out of it before.

But maybe it'll be something where Lilia, Yuu, and Idia all have to talk some sense into him?

Or maybe Idia will come into play after and have a talk with Malleus about grief? Since Idia is someone who's dealt with way too young and Malleus is gone way too long without experiencing it.

Either way, I personally feel like they're saving the Overblot monster, which is almost definitely Grim, for a "surprise" chapter 8. I know Malleus has been given more focus than the others before their episodes, but I feel like it'd be really unlikely for them to skip out on Malleus' "redemption."

Plus Grim is probably going to overblot immediately after eating Malleus' considering the build up, and that would be a bit too much for one book. Besides, it'd make sense for it to happen when Malleus hasn't had a chance to recover yet, because that future looked rough, and Malleus is so insanely OP it wouldn't make much sense otherwise.

But who knows, maybe the time loop theory is way off base and they'll just tack it on at the end as just another boss battle. I really hope they don't though.

After that though? I have no idea, but I kind of doubt it'll just be NRC slice of life. Especially because that'd mean a lot of fan favorites leaving, but maybe they'll bring in new first years just for the gacha aspect?

I think it'd be really lame to lose the characters we've come to know just to get generic slice of life without them though, because it wouldn't make sense for anyone else to start overblotting.

Some people think maybe we'll start solving RSA's problems instead, which would also give them more gacha money I guess.

I don't know what to think, but I hope season 2 is when we try to find out who's causing all of these people start overblotting, something that's supposed to be super rare, and possibly put a stop to it.

We might not even get anything after this, but I feel like disney probably wouldn't kill it's cash cow for no reason like solomare did?

#twisted wonderland #ramblings #asks

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moesartblog · 7 months

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I'm still a sucker for fedvi all these years later. What's your AU about? It looks interesting

It's kinda funny to come across other people who liked fedvi bc it was already such a niche thing even at its height lol.

But also thank you for letting me open pandoras box on my silly au. The biggest departure from the source material is probably just that it was only Giovanni who was executed, and the focus for the "story" is how his death has rippling effects across the family, and how they learn to live beyond his death.

This is gonna be so fucking long so im sorry in advance. I'm supposed to be doing an exam right now lol

Maria who is grieving, and also having to take care of her 4 children on her own now, learning to lean on other people for help with this. I also had this idea for a convo between her, and vieri (after he killed his father) where she's trying to make sense of Giovanni's death, and vieri, while not on any good terms with the family, doesnt think Giovanni should have been killed in the way he was cus it just caused problems all across the board. I also wanted to let her old personality creep back in, cus she was so fun before the execution in the game. I'm also debating if I want an element of being worried about her kids getting so involved with the assassin stuff or not. I'm leaning towards not but idk.

Federico, who I feel like to some degree didn't want to feel a lot of responsibility as an oldest sibling, suddenly has to take up the mantle, his siblings are looking to him for some stability since he seemed so unbothered about things in the past (at least on the surface). Him and Ezio start to butt heads more, especially over rescuing vieri during a mission to kill francesco, only to find him already dead. Federico is trying to hold every string in the family together so they dont fall apart. His goal is to kinda re-find that relaxed feeling he had before. Still with responsibility, but with a balance of relaxation, and, again, leaning on other people to help.

Ezio was the one who did see his father killed first-hand. He becomes a lot more aggressive, and throws himself pretty immediately into the assassin stuff. I see his personality pretty similar to the game (AC2), where he's looking for revenge for his father, and it's taking a toll on his family relationships. He kinda grows the way he does in the games, but a little faster, where he learns the most important thing is appreciating who is here now.

Caludia i wanna develop more, but her thing is based on her situation in AC brotherhood, where she wants to be an assassin too. Federico, and Mario are on board, but Ezio is adamant about her not doing stuff like that. He's still viewing her as the sad little sister who had her heart broken, and doesn't want to see her hurt, but doesnt understand that she is as capable as any of them. She still needs training but she has all the potential the ezio or federico had at her age. She wants to establish herself more and help her family.

Petruccio is still somewhat young, and has a hard time trying to process all the sudden major life changes. His chronic illness keeps him doing any intense physical training, but he's not super interested in that aspect anyway. He's usually hanging out with his mother, but then he starts to observe Leonardo more and more, and leo starts mentoring him on various things like deciphering things and engineering. It works a lot better with managing his illness, and the topics are more engaging to him.

vieri i decided to do a kinda overhaul on his character (the original character is fun to hate and entertaining but I wanted to go a different direction with his character. also even back in the day, tangent, but I hated the brotherhood flashback with him where they made him basically a rapist in order to make ezios stalking seem less creepy than it was. I HATED the writing of that jesus christ.) He's still fairly arrogant when around his father, and still spends his dads money loosely. but he starts to question his fathers ideas for their family within the templars, and he gets retaliation from his father every time. after giovannis death, he has a deep moment of my father was wrong fer helping set it up that way. giovanni needed to die, but doing it so publicly made a lot of issues for the Pazzi house afterwards. So a fight starts and he kills francesco, and after is found by federico and ezio because of Viola, who were coming to kill francesco themselves. He's taken back and treated at the Villa Auditore, much to Ezio's chagrin. Vieri is kinda stuck in his enemies home and so he's irritable, and vulnerable, but it's an opportunity for better understanding between the two families. vieri is more contemplative now that his father isnt present to influence him. Eventually he decides to become an assassin. He has some chronic pain issues from his injuries.

Viola, i only have a bit at the moment, but she's always been kinda disobedient of her father. Their mother is not in the picture. She doesnt like her father, and butts heads with vieri because of that, but vieri and viola still love each other deep down. Vieri looked down on her for not trying to further the Pazzi house. She saved vieris life after he killed their father, and flagged down federico and ezio to take them back to the villa. beyond that ill have to think of stuff.

cristina i havent posted much but I have this whole thing. Her and ezio had a brief tryst, but i view her as a lesbian, and I think she just realized the sex and romance weren't doing anything for her. She still loves Ezio, just as a very close friend. She wanted to escape her fate of being married off, and so she asks ezio to help her become basically nobody, to pursue the life she wants. In an assassin trip to Venice, cristina comes along and meets Rosa and is almost immediately smitten.

Rosa I made into an intensely butch bisexual lol. She becomes friends with Ezio, and hooks up with him occasionally. He introduces her to cristina, and their energies match up really well and they become an item pretty quickly. I want to develop this relationship more bc this was something i was shipping while i was shipping fedvi but no one else really had any connection to it so i hardly posted it lol.

some last random notes:

-Ezio is still sleeping around, just also with men now. He's hooked up with cristina, leonardo, caterina, rosa, antonio, etc etc

-Rosa and federico become good friends and its a lot of teasing ezio

-Rosa flirts with Maria a lot, and it makes ezio panicky

-i definitely am going to revisit fedvi lol

-uhhh paola and maria occasionally sleep together, arguably in a relationship

That was so fucking long thank you for asking though! i needed to barf all this out

#assassins creed #long post #tagging in case ppl wanna block this post.

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ailelie · 1 year

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why i'm writing this story

So Nora's Return because many villainess stories involve transmigration rather than the original person traveling back in time. Of the few I know that involve the original person traveling back that I can recall off the top of my head, most focus on the villainess character simply avoiding 'death flags' and accidentally getting snared in plot or her original relationships or they give the villainess character some additional power to face the past (e.g., another life in the modern world becoming a doctor, an hourglass that reverses the past minute or so). The ones that don't do that usually have at least one other person returning to the past with their memory in tact. One doesn't fit into any of these categories and, in it, the villainess character focuses on improving herself and her key friendships and then uses her knowledge of the past to outwit the main antagonist. This one is probably the closest to Nora's Return. The others closest are the ones where others also regain their memory (though that won't happen in Nora's Return until the epilogue).

Note: This is just based on my memory. I have read a lot of these stories and several have blurred together. Also, I did not finish all of them either. Some stretch on a bit too long, imo. This does not include stories where the villainess grew up and belatedly received memories of a first life in which her current life is a novel or otome game. Those are closer than pure transmigration stories given she has built a life in magic world and isn't a new soul starting suddenly, but still different as they suggest the magic world is not real or that other worlds exist.

Also, all of these are in translation. If you're not into reading webnovels, light novels, or manga, you've likely not heard of any of these.

I think time travel fix-it stories have a broader appeal. I think stories focused on a young woman who is trying to both be a better person while also thwarting her enemies are interesting. I also like the emphasis on relationships (familial, platonic, and romantic) these stories usually have.

Also, I just want to read this story. I've assembled an outline and cast of characters I personally find interesting. I think flawed Nora whose perception is so terribly skewed at the start of the story is also a great character to get to know. She begins the story believing she has been totally abandoned by everyone she's ever loved. She won't discover until the epilogue, until the knowledge is no longer relevant, that the best friend who turned his back actually tried to intervene and, when that failed, wrote her brother to tell him what was happening. She learns that her brother who ran away at 18 tried to find a way to help her and, when nothing worked, used a dangerous magic ritual he didn't even think would work. He'd planned to go back in time himself. He instead sent her back.

True, she had no way of knowing any of this, but that's why she doesn't find out until the epilogue when her brother regains his memories on the anniversary of the ritual and her death.

Anyway, I can't wait to see how Nora grows and changes. She's still prickly and possessive at the start of the story and still willing to go a step too far in her goals, but she has decided that making friends is one of her best strategies for surviving if she fails to stop her aunt and uncle. Of course, friendship has a way of changing people. Notably, Nora feels more secure when she has more people she can rely on and her possessiveness shifts instead toward protectiveness.

But that's why I'm writing this. Because we need more time travel fix it stories. Because we need more villainess stories. Because people who don't read stories in translation really ought to start. Because I want to see Nora grow and change. Because I cannot wait to see her look when she finally exposes her aunt and uncle for every bit of harm they've ever caused.

And I'm writing this up partially to remind myself when I reach a more middlepoint of this story and am struggling to remember why I ever thought writing it was a good idea.

Dear Self: Just get the words on paper. The story idea is good. The characters are good. You can fix the rest in editing. Don't stop now. Love, Your Past Self

#nora's return #to my future self

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oathofpromises · 2 years

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🔥 about TLOU2 ~ ?

I honestly have a few unpopular opinions related to this series, but I think the one that probably some of the more vocal fans wouldn't agree with fully is the fact that The Last of Us Part 2 wasn't a bad game at all. I feel like ever since this was released, some people have done nothing but criticize it. Which don't get me wrong, there are things that any game can improve on, but the amount of hate this game gets just seems overly much.

The entire concept of these games was the fact that Joel ended up making a lot of enemies throughout the first game, and it's only over the course of this one that we realized why what happened did. Two, to me, was about how revenge can consume a person until nothing else remains and they are left alone. Ellie and Abby have similarities in the fact that they lost someone they really cared about and, instead of finding ways to cope, they chose to focus on finding the person responsible and making them suffer. At the end, we really see how these two characters have changed. Abby, I admit, was a character I didn't like at first because of what she did to Joel, but as you get to know this character and understand where she was coming from, she isn't as bad as some fans try and make her out to be. Do I think that revenge is the way to go. No. I personally am not the type to seek out people who've caused me hurt just to make them hurt just as much. However, there are people in today's world that do. It's human to want to get revenge for your loved ones. To make the ones who hurt them suffer twice as much pain.

I just love this series and the story....In the end, the game really showed the themes it was going for so well. How far someone would go for a person they loved, even if they weren't blood related. That you can care about someone that much. Joel was like a father to Ellie and always tried to do what was right to keep her safe, even if that meant getting his hands dirty. He allowed himself to be happy after The Last Of Us Part 1. Which, after everything they had been through, the two of them deserved that. However, sometimes when you allow yourself to get comfortable, there are certain people who will try and use anything against you. Joel was a character that he had no regrets aside from fact he wished he could've told Ellie the truth sooner. However, in his mind, he thought keeping that from her would help her move on and be happy, but that wasn't the case. She felt it was her fault so many people were dying without a cure. That if her life could've been used to produce a cure and save millions of lives. Joel didn't see it that way so he made his decision to go against the fireflies and save her.

Do I think fans have a right be upset when they feel their favorite was done dirty or deserved more. Yes, but the hate that the actress for Abby has gotten because of her role was unacceptable. These actors aren’t their characters and they knew going in that people really wouldn’t like the character they played. However, I wish people would please understand to separate an actor from the character.

#Echo of the Ocean(Answered Asks)#ooc: I have many thoughts about this series too so this was nice to talk about

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derkastellan · 1 year

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Outlines and facts on the ground: Top-down and bottom-up stories

I come to this because I have read a lot of Sword Art Online lately, and if you ask me, the author, Reki Kawahara, is painting himself in a corner.

Originally Kawahara wrote a rather slim story about the world of SAO where people are trapped in a game that can kill them if they die in it. Ironically this story had been written as an entry for a contest but it didn't win - because it was too long. It got the attention of a publisher years later when another story of that author did win a contest.

Published on the web, and later as "light novels," the story grew, but the outline was there first. Later on Kawahara inserted more content into the story as short stories, and material from the longer and shorter stories was drafted upon when devising the episodes of the anime.

As such, the original SAO put down a top-down framework of key events. Side characters showed up, major character arc events that impacted the protagonist Kirito. I watched the whole thing as an anime and it had me confused - because of the credits. A character that didn't show up for a long time basically was a focus in the intro of the show, and it didn't make sense to me. Ironically, shortly after she actually came into focus, they changed the intro... I'm talking about Asuna - of course, I say, for all those who know the series.

In establishing a framework top-down, you can paint in broad strokes. And you can omit things. There's a risk inherent in doing so, and it has to do with pacing. There's a risk in nailing down your pacing. And a risk in nailing down your outline.

But as you fill in the gaps, and probably only then, you run into contradictions. Contradictions of your own making. And this is where we get to the bottom-up aspect. You see, Kawahara also wrote another series set in the world of SAO, called "Sword Art Online: Progressive". Its impossible goal is to tell the tackling of the murderous castle Aincrad - its 100 floors - by the players (and the protagonists), floor by floor. So far 8 books are out and translated, and these books managed to tackle a grand total of 7 floors. For comparison - in the top-down outline it is established (spoilers!) that the game is finished at the end of floor 75. So at this pace, the project might take 80 or 90 novels to complete. But that is not the main problem here.

The problem is that Kawahara made a fateful decision as he wrote SAOP - he not only introduced the heroine and protagonist foil in the first story (like originally), but made them decide to team up and tackle the game together. As the author says it in his notes, this causes contradictions he's willing to ignore: "Ultimately, I admitted to myself that it didn't feel right having anyone but Asuna at Kirito's side [...] Of course, I'm certain that some readers will not be able to accept the contradictions with what I've written before, and that's okay. But I will do my utmost to make sure that the choices I make line up with the established events as best as I can." (Reki Kawahara, "Sword Art Online Progressive 1")

I have strong suspicions why he did that. Looking at the protagonist, Kawahara seems to love playing him against other characters, predominantly female, and have that interplay, that back and forth. In the way he writes - and he wrote the protagonist - there is no story if there's no other, no one by his side. He would be a brooding loner. This would get old fast. Already, SAO is not a particularly light-hearted story. People die, get traumatized, are lonely, scared. But SAOP has managed to balance a lot of different things - lighthearted character interaction, world building, the whole detailing out of that world into stories, gradual character arcs hinting at the future.

And funny that. Every time I read it I get a feeling it will derail further from the top-down outline. A point that is heavily contested outline! To my surprise, really.

As anyone entering deeper into a rabbit hole, I found more SAO content, and a funny one is the series of stories called "Sugary Days" which depict the events after floor 74 when the leading couple get married in-game and experience a honeymoon, shortly before the climactic events that unravel the game. And end the first major plot arc of the series. Now, "Sugary Days" is partially written after certain installments of SAOP, referencing back to characters and events only having taken place in those installments that were shoe-horned into the original top-down outline already. So, one item feeds into another, and it's clear to me that SAOP is the new canon.

If that wasn't trouble enough, "Sugary Days" also contains "memories of the future" as I would term them - people thinking back, in vague terms, of things that have to happen to make the outline still correct (and the master of the storytelling) but that have not happened in the bottom-up story, SAOP, yet. You see, a major quest arc, supposedly taking place over floors 2-9, IIRC, with its own characters and impact on the whole, is still unfolding "right now" and has not been resolved. But Kirito (as the storyteller) and Asuna refer back to it - and the author outlines the consequence as the event that breaks them apart - into solo player and her joining a guild.

But will Kawahara really do that?

Therein lies the rub. A huge chunk of the charm of SAOP lies in the unfolding of the relationship between the two. Just as Kawahara was unwilling to separate them, or even incapable of writing a "solo Kirito" as an entertaining carrier of the story, he will be faced with the same decision every time the top-down outline would suggest he has to tear them apart.

You may say this is not a problem. Write it that way. Make events "on the ground" take a trajectory towards the outline. But bottom up that is not so easy! You see, when you write an outline, a lot of the contradictions are invisible. The lack of detail obscures them. It seems to me, however, that Kawahara followed a bottom-up approach to SAOP. He gave the characters certain traits, puts them in the story, and writes from those traits their way through the story. This makes for very satisfying reading. But it also means that they are no longer on fixed, top-down rails. Just as within the story itself the NPC AI, Kizmel the Dark Elf, supposedly fixed in place in the story by the game, leaves the rails and becomes a real character driven by her established motivations, on the meta-level the author seems to have a similar experience with his creations. To the AI the game logic and quest parameters should establish what happens next but they don't. And to the author the top-down should establish what happens next with these characters, but I really doubt he can continue the series in a satisfactory way and drive the protagonists apart for the sake of the outline. One or the other has to budge. (And it's not the only time that the game violates its own logic as a game and follows along with the decisions of players and AI characters. So agency is clearly a topic in the series, if not a meta-topic as well.)

You don't have to agree. But one of the "Sugary Days" installments, 16.7, in chapter 2, describes what a day of Kirito on his own in the game is like. And it's pretty much "grind, grind, grind." He doesn't really detail it, he gives Kirito's daily schedule. And it reads like a day at the office. Reading this expanded out would have the entertainment appeal of reading Kirito's quest log. And it works only because the author is in top-down mode. He wants to contrast "Kirito-as-before" with "Kirito-as-now" and to show him appreciate his luck, his love, his newfound happiness. But that also means there is a long period of drudgery and unhappiness, or a shallow depression, going on as if on rails. Something akin to going through the motions.

Now that doesn't make a riveting story anybody would want to read, and almost all SAO stories set in the Aincrad time period are nothing like that. They show stories that matter, warm the heart, drive character arcs, introduce characters. If we believe the top-down outline the author established in one place, these are exceptions amid the basic drudgery. And like the author said: He doesn't want to establish another character by the protagonist's side. And it's also clear why. Put anybody by his side long enough, suffering with him, sharing his highs and lows, and inevitably the question arises - so why is she (or he) not his love interest, his partner, the one that matters. You can't just leave a gap for several dozen floors (basically months, a year of in-story time) and say "Well, that didn't matter, because really Asuna is the one." You have to fill it, and bottom up it becomes clear that if you fill it with characters and these characters matter to the protagonist, other consequences follow as well. Love being one of them, even if it doesn't end up being a relationship involving sex. But the love between really good friends, "partners in crime," people who walk a risky path together.

It seems like Kawahara has something in common with his protagonists, and the conscious-subconscious divide he describes in them. They rationalize things away a lot that are all too apparent to everybody else. Inside the story everybody who knows them knows these two are in love, a team, and inseparable. And the reader, steeled with knowledge from the future, doubly so. But if the characters admit this to themselves it would lead them to admit this to each other and the top-down outline would finally collapse. But Kawahara is set on this collision course - because certain things inside the character arcs and motivations sets them on a given course, and while Kawahara is not shy to twist plots and create setbacks, he often overdoes it and then creates situations that to me, as reader, just drag on and are unconvincing. The question that actually intrigues me - how conscious is he of what he's doing? And will he compromise his story to "do it right" (in terms of the expectations of some part of his readership or give his own promises to readers) or will he follow what seems to be his - and his characters' - hearts? Clearly this seems to be a labor of love, the whole series. And what makes it fun for us - and the author it seems! - is this dynamic he created and keeps feeding, book by book.

There's a lot in common here with RPGs, really, and hope you as a GM and storyteller recognize this. For one, when you write an outline, you don't see the contradictions. They are not sticking out that much (though with experience they probably will more). You devise events that will likely happen and outline some NPCs that will appear but then you put the story in the hands of the protagonists and experience it bottom up. It's their decisions driving everything and I hope you will not simply gloss over their accomplishments or decisions and return to the outline when the story is going "off the rails." Follow it where it leads. "Play to find out." as they say.

You could say that authors are in control of their characters, but for good writing to happen, I'd say they have to build them bottom up. Don't just drag your protagonists through the story like a puppeteer. Imbue them with motivations, drives, and contradictions, and follow those. I even do that as a player, at least sometimes. I make decisions that put my character at risk for what he believes. Not because I think that makes good sense in terms of tactics or playing the game, but because I want it to be a character and not a miniature on a mat. So when I play an elven scoundrel with a hidden heart of gold, I will rush in where I should tread carefully if I see the actions of my fellow players violate my values. (Or I am risking to violate mine through inaction.) That's playing a role, a teensy-tiniest bit of method acting. That's what makes it more than a game. It's the other half of "role-playing game."

And for the GM it's the same. You put the world around the characters, but they do the decision-making, they are at the center of this story. A top-down outline is good but should be flexible, maybe even vague, to give them room to operate in. Too rigid and it is rail-roading. But you can even do without an outline, on the other hand. Just be careful and observe yourself. Are you trying to force the story because of an existing outline? Because outlines can be exciting and inspire larger stories than simply going bottom-up. But you have to decide when to ditch the outline and stick with your players. And all the time assign consequences to their actions.

Luckily, unlike the readers of SAO, the players typically don't know how the story "is supposed to go." So you can ditch the outline and try to rework it between sessions.

My fanboy heart might be broken in the future, or disappointed by a series petering out before its contradictions are resolved. But no matter how it goes, something has to give, and the decisions Kawahara makes will be, in a way, just as interesting on some level no matter what he choses. If he choses poorly, he kills the series. Or he leaves the rails, more or less obviously. And what would he really want? If he manages to pull it off convincingly, in a satisfying way for himself and me as a reader, I would be glad most of all.

Now don't do that to yourself, though. I know an outline can be a trap. Avoid being trapped. Think on your feet. Respect your "characters" - your players. Play to find out what happens!

#sword art online #top down #bottom up

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miqo-tales · 2 years

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Six Point One and done

Someday I'll put up my thoughts on 6.0, but till then, you'll have to settle for the new stuff.

As always, don't read unless you've finished 6.1.

MSQ

"What are your plans?" Nod and then kill things, I suppose. Same as always.

OK, Tataru, first, why does this mannequin have hair? And second, why didn't you make any pants for this outfit?

Yea, it's a game and all, but sometimes it's a little ridiculous how WoL will need to find/do something, take two steps in one direction, and usually (and sometimes literally) trip over the exact thing they needed to find/do the thing.

Genuinely shocked that Estinien was aware that he might be getting tricked.

Poor little mammet has to clean up Y'shtola's mess.

Geez, that look on Y'shtola's face when the voidgate is revealed. I genuinely thought she was possessed or something and was gonna do something.

Do love that the general consensus after that dungeon is "uh, whoops?"

Vrtra loves his people and would do anything to protect them, but also loaded up the treasure island/vault with deadly guards to kill anyone who went there. Hm.

Oh, ok. I didn't think they'd keep going with FF4 stuff after 6.0. And even if I had, I don't think I would have expected Golbez to show up.

It's funny that every reaction to hearing that Y'shtola wants to take a nice trip to the Void is just "OK, sure" and not "Are you fucking mad?"

I did the final role quest just before the Sharlayan stuff, so was amusing to see Fourchenault being pretty grumpy when he was actually sociable in the role quest.

I don't mind the "this person is following you" bits, but I don't see why they bother doing them if there's nowhere to get extra dialogue during it.

"What? Terrible forbidden knowledge? SIGN ME UP!"

I look forward to seeing that Nixie summoning in JP.

OK, that's Zenos' avatar, isn't it? That certainly stamps a big "YES" on him being dead, huh?

Course, if his avatar is gonna show up in MSQ, begs the question, who is they?

DUNGEON

Anyone else get Nyzul Isle flashbacks from this place?

I don't think I have to worry about farming the gear from here. Don't really care for it.

(If the gear didn't have the light blue accents, I'd like it more.)

RAID

G'raha just having the best day ever, isn't he? Not one but TWO fantastic adventures with their best buddy.

Deryk is totally one of the Twelve, right?

Or maybe the opo-opo is?

Raid really doesn't mess around. It feels like older content in the sense that there's a lot of things that can very easily wipe the entire raid.

That last song though, damn!

"Oh we pretended to be evil conquering gods so we could have a fight with you." OK, have you not been paying attention to the WoL at all? All you had to do was just ask.

I really only want one thing out of this raid, and that's for it to involve Azem somehow.

*****************************

It's funny that shortly before this patch hit, there was a some... discussion... on Twitter about how Y'shtola was boring and one-note and just the mascot (mascat?) character and everyone else got good development and she didn't and blah blah blah

And then this patch drops and it's the Y'shtola Power Hour.

I'll be honest, I was kinda expecting for SQEX to sorta retire Y'shtola, Thancred, and Urianger after 6.0? Not permanently, obviously, cause none of us are gonna deny that Y'shtola is pretty much the external face of the game. But I didn't think they'd have any focus or major interaction with any of those three till deeper into 6.x or maybe even till 7.0.

Now? Well, I'm kinda wondering if I've got it backwards and we don't see Alphinaud and Alisaie for a good while. And maybe by the time they show up they've, y'know, gotten taller? Probably not, but hey, who knows.

In any case, I dunno where this is going. How far into FFIV are they going to dig? Is 7.0 going to focus on the Thirteenth or is this a side story that will setup something else?

And most importantly, how badly is someone (possibly us or Y'shtola) gonna fuck something up?

#ffxiv #6.1

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kingthreshie-official · 26 days

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Now that I've had some time to sit with the epilogue story after a bit of going back and rereading it, I don't know if I should be excited for the future of these stories or not. I'm going to put my rant and contexts under a readmore because this is going to be me vomiting at a textbox and assuming someone else on the web will get it. But it's going to be a mix of thunder Junction and the epilogue.

When it comes to Magic the Gathering, I go back and forth with myself often about whether the story comes first or the cards come first. Some sets, Like (I will argue) Both Eldraine sets, Seem to have a lot more focus on their stories, and then make very flavorful cards based off of that. Other sets, like thunder junction, feel like the gimmick and cards were designed first, and then all of that had to be pasted into a story. While I get that it can be hard to make gameplay and story always line up, as you have to tow a line between a player always being confused, and a player feeling railroaded or obligated to stick to the story, Wizards never really has to deal with the stakes of "railroading too hard".Decks are always 100% customizable, you can't take that agency from a bunch of jerkasses at a table, so they have the ability to lean harder into their story than a lot of other games media does. The Writing decisions made by the stories team have the potential to completely adjust what cards get made if wotc was bold enough to follow through with actual adjustments to their world. But OTJ proves that that will never happen, and that any exciting consequence can be stepped back on in 2 stories for one card that will probably make a lot of bank, or to see a villain in a cool hat.

To be fair, Marchesa looks really cool as a cowpoke. her hat is very cool. But justifying going back on her fighting so hard for her kingdom just for a supposed villains set feels like a regression of her character, especially since she has almost always had someone else do her bidding. And a lot of the Villains seen in thunder junction didn't seem to be used or changed for the better, a lot of them felt like set pieces that could have been swapped out with anyone else in that story, and the results would have been similar. I can't think of any significant reason what it *Had* to be Tinybones, Breeches, or Eriette. The only characters that stand out to me as being irreplaceable in the main story are Oko (driving plot forward for Kellan), Geralf/ Gisa (Geralf patched one or two wounds, Gisa is a wild card that causes problems, but she is OH so Memorable I cannot imagine that train scene without her) and Annie Flash (Again, Kellans Concious/Catalyst to make sure the "right thing" for Kellan is done, and provides some context as to How and why Akul is dangerous.). And to be fair, I didn't mind that up until the final chapter. It was fun enough, not a world shaking MTG story but considering we're still at the beginning stages of seeing a world with Omenpaths (as players. This is set 3? 4?) And there's still a lot of questions to ask about creatures and planes (the Gisa and Geralf side story goes into this so well. I love those 2 they are ICONIC), It did its job OK and I wouldn't have had anything to write home about.

Until Jace.

I will admit, I'm not a huge fan of Jace, but it's mostly because he's boring. You know that once he's involved in plot the stakes are basically off, as regardless of how perilous the situation is, or how heinous of an action he performs, He's going to make it out with a few cuts/bruises/maybe a memory wipe and everything else will basically go back to a degree of status quo. It's not fun following a character who you know is going to be mostly fine and alive by sheer virtue of him being there. And I get its because over time he has become *the* mtg Mascot, but that's why I thought Phyrexia/March of the machines was interesting. It was finally a consequence for Jace that he couldn't fully shake himself out of, and his presumed death felt like the end of an Era and a potential for something new and interesting. You know, until he showed back up. And the story shows him getting out of what should have been certain death with a fever and another road trip back to Vryn. And I realized that I have been Punkd for the past few stories and of course nothing changes anymore its Jace Fucking Beleren and he's going to win again. And of course it's with Vraska again, If they make me go through the crime of having to listen to those two in an audiobook format again, at least this time I know not to order from drive through while listening to MTG story (so one of us has consequences, and it's not him). Being able to beat out glistening oil with a fever also felt cheap, but that may just be because I feel like there's better MTG characters that we lost due to the oil.The fact that we may never get them back feels like a kick to the shins.

However, I am also not totally doom and Gloom about Jace's reappearance in MTG story because we see a bit of the return of "Jerkass Jace". Contrary to my opinions about Jace, Jerkass Jace is a relic of a bygone Era and I Missed him so much, because he was unbearable! A total monster! An absolute pain to everyone around him! Unlikeable, Clever, and selfish! Cared about nobody! Jerkass Jace was so ethically bankrupt that I am going to be honest he may have the potential to turn this entire thing around. The BBEG MTG villains (Phyrexia, Eldrazi, the Dragon formerly known as Nicol Bolas), have been the predictable and therefore kind of dull villains for the longest time now. You can usually predict which one is next by the results of the previous ones fights. But Wizards could make Jace the big bad evil guy with Jerkass Jace! I think that would be incredibly refreshing. Get a new face in the Villains spotlight with a character who's powers have the potential for it (and as Annie mentioned, he is hiding something) and it could be really interesting! Jace has the motives! It could be a great way to bring intrigue to him! (And not the eldrazi. Or bolas using an omenpath and dipping off Ugins plane) Nobody will see it coming let him go NUTS!

#mtg

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beepboop358 · 3 years

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A Prom in S4 Theory & Music Coding Predictions

Some leaked set pics indicate that there MAY BE a junior/senior prom at Hawkins High, which they are calling the "Lover's Ball". It's unclear if this prom will be included on screen, or if it will just be mentioned as an event coming up at Hawkins High because this flyer could just extra set decor. Regardless if the prom happens on screen or not, there will probably be some tension about 'who's asking who' to the prom that we will see in s4. Given that this picture was just leaked a few weeks ago, it probably falls closer to the end of the season sequentially.

Having a big school dance in s4 is suspiciously close to how they had the Snowball scene in s2. This would certainly follow the even/odd season patterns, (and actually add to the list of the patterns), which kind of makes me think we will see this prom on screen, or at the very least it will be mentioned in the course of the season.

The Duffer Brothers love Steven King and reference his work and especially 'IT' a lot in the show, but they haven't done anything with Carrie yet so maybe we will get a Carrie moment this season at the prom...

Carrie was on the video store fridays movie inspiration board for ST4.

At the "Lover's Ball", there will be definitely be some music coding relating to Byler. Since music coding is kind of a key thing in the show, I've been rifling through 80's songs to try and find some that may fit with s4's themes/character storylines (and I may do a seperate post about that later), but for this post I'm just gonna focus on what they might use at the prom for relating to Byler.

Since the season is most likely going to take place in 1986, I only selected songs that had a compatible release year so it would be historically accurate. (these songs would also be great for a byler playlist!)

Some strong contenders for the songs that might play at the prom to reference Mike and Will's relationship could be:

"True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper (1986)

This song is honestly too good of an option for them not to use. I'm reallllyyy crossing my fingers for this one.

It's hard to take courage In a world full of people You can lose sight of it all And the darkness inside you Can make you feel so small

"And I see your true colors Shining through I see your true colors And that's why I love you So don't be afraid (don't be afraid) To let them show your true colors True colors are beautiful (you're beautiful, oh) Like a rainbow Oh oh oh oh oh like a rainbow"

If this world makes you crazy And you've taken all you can bear You call me up Because you know I'll be there

"Heaven" by Bryan Adams (1984)

This first verse is literally just the story of Byler... 😭 The rest of the song applies but that verse verse is just sooooo accurate. (I'm crossing my fingers for this one too)

"Oh thinkin' about all our younger years There was only you and me We were young and wild and free Now nothing can take you away from me We've been down that road before But that's over now You keep me comin' back for more

Baby you're all that I want When you're lyin' here in my arms I'm findin' it hard to believe We're in heaven And love is all that I need And I found it there in your heart Isn't too hard to see We're in heaven

Oh once in your life you find someone Who will turn your world around Bring you up when you're feelin' down Yeah nothin' can change what you mean to me Oh there's lots that I could say But just hold me now 'Cause our love will light the way"

"Take My Breath Away" by Berlin (1986)

This song is on Will's Spotify playlist, and I thought it could also be used at the prom since it's a romantic song. I see it as an 'entrance to the prom' moment song, almost like a 'first look' - like the Mike and El moment at the snowball when she first walks in, but with Mike and Will this time. I think the lyrics clearly hint to this kind of 'first look' moment as well.

"Watchin' every motion in my foolish lover's game On this endless ocean, finally lovers know no shame Turning and returning to some secret place inside Watchin' in slow motion as you turn around and say...take my breath away"

Watchin' every motion in this foolish lover's game Haunted by the notion, somewhere there's a love in flames Turning and returning to some secret place inside Watchin' in slow motion as you turn my way and say...take my breath away"

"In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins (1981)

This song was originally meant to be included in the snowball scene from s2, but it ultimately was not used and "Every Breath You Take" was used for this scene instead. Since it was intended to be a part of the s2 dance, that's why I think it may be used at the prom this season. (you can read the scripts on 8flix)

——— I forgot to include this explanation originally BUT, I think this song might be used to show some anger/resentment between the two, and to show a decent amount of tension, depending on their development this season. Like maybe Mike is kind of leading Will on in private by continuing to initiate intimate scenes between them, but in public Mike is still trying to put on his “straight boy act” and kind of being a jackass about it, and this song could be used to show the tension between them that has caused.

"And I've been waiting for this moment, for all my life, (Oh lord)

Well, I was there and I saw what you did I saw it with my own two eyes So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been It's all been a pack of lies.

Well I remember, I remember don't worry How could I ever forget It's the first time, the last time we ever met But I know the reason why you keep this silence up

No you don't fool me The hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows It's no stranger to you and me"

"In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel (1986)

Some of the lyrics in this song just SCREAMS byler, just look at the 1st, 2nd and 4th paragraphs. I would be suprised if they didn't use this song in either s4/s5.

Love, I get so lost sometimes Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart When I want to run away I drive off in my car But whichever way I go I come back to the place you are

All my instincts, they return The grand facade, so soon will burn Without a noise, without my pride I reach out from the inside

In your eyes The light, the heat (in your eyes) I am complete (in your eyes) I see the doorway (in your eyes) To a thousand churches (in your eyes) The resolution (in your eyes) Of all the fruitless searches (in your eyes)

Love, I don't like to see so much pain So much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away I get so tired working so hard for our survival I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

"Heroes" by David Bowie (1975)

David Bowie was bisexual. A cover of his song “Heroes” is used in the show twice already, sung by Peter Gabriel. The song plays when they pull Will's fake body out of the water in season one and Mike cries in his Mom's arms, with some very queer-coded lyrics in the background, and after Hopper's letter in s3 (which is very Byler-centric)

"I will be king. And you, you will be queen 'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact. Yes, we're lovers, and that is that. Though nothing will keep us together. We could steal time just for one day We can be heroes forever and ever. What d'you say? I, I wish I could swim, like dolphins, like dolphins could swim I, I can remember (I remember) Standing by the wall (By the wall) And the guns shot above our heads (Over our heads) And we kissed as though nothing could fall (Nothing could fall) And the shame was on the other side. Oh, we can beat them forever and ever. Then we could be heroes just for one day We're nothing, and nothing will help us Maybe we're lying, then you better not stay But we could be safer just for one day"

I just thought the above songs might be some highly likely possibilities given that they fit the year of the s4 and also make references to not only love, but the idea of hiding, pain, shame, longing, etc., and can make some (partially stretching here) references to other things in the show such as:

RAINBOWS and TRUE COLORS, SHINING THROUGH (rainbows imagery is always associated with Mike & Will in the show and a is symbol of lgbtq+ pride, True Colors shining through = who you really are on the inside finally coming out)

IF THIS WORLD MAKES YOU CRAZY ("crazy together", "only love makes you that crazy" and references the "world" motif in the show)

YOUNGER YEARS, ONLY YOU AND ME, YOUNG, WILD AND FREE (references "not wanting things to change" and wanting "to make things go how they were" part in Hopper's letter, and the "But we're not kids anymore" comment during the Byler fight)

ENDLESS OCEAN and SWIM, LIKE DOLPHINS (references water's significance in the show)

FLAMES (Will in front of the burning car in s4 teaser?)

LIES and LYING (Mike lying to El about how he feels)

INSTINCTS RETURNING, FACADES BURNING, WITHOUT MY PRIDE, I REACH OUT FROM THE INSIDE (Mike's feelings for Will are his instincts, the facade is the act he put on in s3 to seem straight, burning could reference Will & fire, and I think the last 2 lines of that 2nd verse reference vulnerability- perhaps in an apology/confession)

I GET SO LOST (confusion about his sexuality, feeling lost without the other) and SO MUCH WASTED TIME (known each other since kindergarten but were unaware the other felt the same way/was dealing with same things, they could have been even closer)

KINGS and QUEENS (the d&d game mike wrote where he has king Tristan give him a medal in s1)

STEALING TIME (references "turning back the clock, to make things go how they were" part in Hopper's letter and the time theme in s4 and time is central to the s4 plot)

AND WE KISS - AND THE SHAME (references the shame they both feel about being gay since it was so stigmatized in the 80's)

Byler @ Prom Possibilities:

If Mike and Will did dance together at the prom, they will probably get bullied because they live in a small conservative town. They will probably either run out, upset, or Eleven will step in to protect them which could lead to the Carrie moment.

Or Mike and Will will not dance together in the actual dance room, but instead sneak off to somewhere else in the school and have a private Byler dance moment where they can't be teased and it's just them together.

OR Mike and Will are still acting weird at this point in the season because neither of them is communicating what needs to be said out of fear, or one of them has confessed or done something to indicate how they feel, but the other hasn’t so everything is weird between them. There would be lots of tension from this and we would get lots of longing looks and adoring moments between the two of them from the sidelines. (I think this one is the most likely)

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owlsbride · 3 years

Text

Icha Icha and prejudice:the Book Club

Chapter VI: The Plot Thikens

Sakura entered her apartment still trembling. It had been just a few silly words, but they had let her dizzy, flustered and, trembling. She recalled the words for herself once and again with her back against the door. "Have a good night you too, Lizzie." She was so naive, so childish. In an instant, she forgot their little fight about suitable marriages, and how Kakashi had shown on his behalf, that being a Hokage was much more than being a polite, pretty face to shown around towns or councils. That if something was suitable for the village, he will just go for it no matter what, without thinking twice. Meanwhile, her, the sweet and lovingly Sakura, only sees marriages as the union of two people celebrating their love, that only death could tear apart. She was helpless. Hopelessly devoted to love.

And maybe the reason why she was absolutely alone.

'That was not a fight Sakura.' Sakura rolled her eyes, stepping away from the door.

'I've been in fights, and trust me Sakura, that was not a fight.' She pondered for a moment the words of Inner Sakura. If that hasn't been a fight, what other thing would have been?

"If that was not a fight according to you. then what was it?" Sakura asked herself while making a coffee, messing everything in her kitchen more than necessary.

'It was just a talk' Inner Sakura began knowingly 'He was just stating how good the union between Shikamaru and Temari was going to be for both villages.'

"Yes, I know that" The real she was expecting something else, something more revealing. Maybe Inner Sakura understood Kakashi better than her. '

What else do you want to find, Sakura?' that know-it-all voice.

Sakura was silence contemplating her mug with the brown steamy liquid inside.

'Look, you wanted him to tell you how happy he was about the future possible wedding, how he hopped for the babies to come fast, and how much he wishes someday he would feel the same.'

"Well..." Sakura opened her mouth "Yes, I guess I was expecting something more heartedly" she finished dropping her shoulders. She never noted she was so tensed.

'Sakura are you kidding me, or you for that matter?' Inner Sakura was outraged 'You've been dating 2 years Sasuke, and now you expect his mentor to be an emotional sweet man, capable of lay all his feelings on the table just like that.'

"Maybe yes, maybe I thought Kakashi was different" Sakura was at the verge of tears "maybe I thought that he still has feelings, even if he is so broken."

'Listen to me and listen closely, cause I'm not going to repeat something that we both already know.' The voice in Sakura's head for the first time was tender, sweet, friendly 'He is broken, yes. He is as cool as a cucumber, and an aloof, but he would never hurt any of you. He told you himself that. He is a tough guy, a killer if it needed, so how can you pretend from him to just pour his heart out in a restaurant table.'

"You are right but..." Sakura was ready to protest once more.

'Sakura, you are too immersed in that book you gave him. Idealizing love and relationships, hoping that from one day to the next Kakashi transforms into Darcy' Sakura was starting to feel tired of this conversation.

"It's not like..."

'Sakura, do whatever you want, but stop expecting things from others that are not willing to give. Instead, why don't you focus on Icha Icha?'

"Yeah, like if that could help me in something." Sakura concluded.

'You never know.' Inner Sakura slowly walked away from Sakura's primary thoughts, leaving the hard work to be made by her own. Sakura went straight to the shower, hoping that it would help her to think clearly.

Maybe she was expecting too much about all these things around the books. Perhaps she expected him to notice her into another light, where they could both share life together, even if they already share one. Maybe with Pride and Prejudice, he would note some things about its characters that could be related to them. Maybe if Kakashi read some of her own thoughts there... Nah, she was being too rational and deluded and foolish at the same time. Probably Kakashi was taking the book as it was: a teasing game between them. Two idiotic friends and co-workers, who like flirting (a lot) with each other.

But, cause there is always a but, Sakura found herself asking why Kakashi has addressed her, not once but twice, as Lizzie. Of course, Elizabeth was the main character of the story, but why her? He could have called her Jane. Yes, Jane, always looking for the right husband, the real love, a suitable one but a man splendid as the sun, a true gentleman, honoured and lucky. Or he could have called her Mary, the intellectual Mary, the one who is always felling apart. Mary, who doesn't relate with Jane and Lizzie, and neither with Lydia and Kitty, because she was exactly in the middle. The outcast girl that someday will be ready to explode all her professional habilities and became the most notorious nin doctor of Konoha.

'My God, Sakura, I can't leave you alone for five minutes, and you are already ruining an excellent shower?'

"Why? Why did he call me Lizzie."

'Because is the main character's name?'

"Yes, but there has to be something else. Kakashi is no that simple."

'Sakura...'

"What if he is reading underlines? What if he is cryptically answering my question about Darcy or Wickam?"

'So which one is he then?'

"Oh..." Sakura blushed her self "I think I can't know that. At least not for sure."

'What do you mean' Inner Sakura asked already knowing the answer

"The thing is that I know Kakashi" Sakura started drying herself comfortably in her heavy and comfortable towel "He's obviously a Mr Darcy: dominant, gentleman, sure of himself, proud, well-positioned. He usually sticks to his principles and above all things he consciously considers absolutely all situations. He's rather lonely, so yes, he's a Mr Darcy."

'So... where are your doubts then?'

"I don't know nothing about Kakashi's love life," Sakura said simple aplaying some hydrating oil for the skin, she liked the one that smelled of pears.

'Does he have one?' Even if Inner Sakura was right.

"Come on, you're not going to think he is a virgin right? you are too bold to think something like that" Sakura reply thinking that for once she had won her Inner self

'Of course not, idiot! I'm not talking about sex. I'm referring to relationships, but coming from that man, I wouldn't be surprised if he is actually a virgin' Inner Sakura pondered, and Sakura herself darted her thoughts to unknown places.

'You are terrible after all, Sakura' Inner Sakura was laughing, 'You are already thinking in all the things you could do to him just to teach him.'

"Oh, come on! Not even Ino would dare to say something like that" Sakura defended herself. '

Call her and check for yourself. And Sakura?'

"What?"

'There is no need to keep on playing with that oil. You are already moisturized.'

Sakura left the bathroom in a flash of fury and went straight to her room. She jumped over her big comfy bed just wrapped in her not so much dry towel. Inner Sakura, was nowhere to be found in her head so she could rest a bit. She knew that she had to change into her PJs, but somehow she didn't feel like. Sakura was feeling comfortable and a little bit rebel? Yeah, almost a punk. If someone were to enter her house or room, they would find her barely covered by a large towel slightly dropped from one side and nothing more. The situation was tempting but pointless and disappointing: Nobody was going to visit her tonight, or the next one for that matter. So, pushed by this new femininity and sensuality found almost like chance, Sakura took Icha Icha in her hands, and began to read. If Kakashi could handle Pride and Prejudice, she would do it with the little orange book full of secrets.

"He found her underneath a leafy tree. The rays of the sun filtered through the spaces between the leaves, drawing on her skin magical patterns that he longed to travel with his hands, his lips, his tongue. She would leave for a few moments and then push it away, as she always did, it would slip through her fingers like flower petals in the wind. The fire awakened in his body would be unbearable. She knew that he would follow her to the end of the world, to the flames of hell that were nothing compared to the fire of passion that awoke every time they were together, within reach of his curious hands—a sigh of difference."

Oh boy... This was going to be a long night.

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Notes:

Hello Everyone!!!!!! How you've been? I want to apologize for not updating before, in journalism, we say that we don't publish the excuses. I think I Kind of feel like I ow it to you. The thing is that I'm starting to quit smoking, and you have no idea (or maybe you do) how hard it is. Even more, if one of your greatest pleasures is writing while drinking coffee or something stronger and a cigarette!! That's what took my time. Try to write only with a sad cup of tea. But I guess I'm starting to improve in that area. I will end like L, full of candies, sweets, and coffee around me! If you are interested in following my process as a hilarious journal, I can leave you my Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/owlsbride

Now with the story, What is going on with Sakura and these new sensations she is living? What do you think? A virgin Kakashi? I don't think it fits him, as I don't think that womanizer thing fits him either.

Well, I'll be waiting your comments and kudos and follows and love, which is very much appreciated it right now.

Well Next chapter in a few days, we are going to see what happens in Suna,

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well-shit-im-a-morosexual-now · 3 years

Note

I don't have much to say about the rest of the S3 lessons, but I do have things to say about S4 of Obey Me.

Personally, I think that S4 should focus primarily on the angels (Simeon, Luke, Michael, Raphael, etc.), feature the side characters (Solomon, Barbatos, Diavolo), possibly introduce Solomon's first apprentice and maybe in Hard Mode you can check up on the brothers (you should know who the HOL brothers are).

I have a few reasons for this (in no real order :):

Reading the lesson summaries that you (and others) have provided, it seems like Mike and Raph- along with the Celestial Realm- will be important this season. So, wouldn't be a waste not to show them off?

The side characters need development. This is a perfect opportunity for some.

Simeon and Luke were standing for a longer period than the brothers, so it would make sense for them to show up again.

Simeon was talking to some angel (probably Raphael) at the end of S3. The game should obviously expand on that.

*Diavolo runs a hotel chain in the Human World, so it would make sense to see him again. And because Barbatos follows right behind him...

Solomon's first apprentice needs to be explored. What happened between them?

*The brothers should take a back seat in this season, since they're always there. No offense to them, but I need a break.

New character interactions is would be fun. To me, the best character interaction would be between Dia & Mike. Would they hate each other because of Lucifer? Would they get along? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

It could show off/expand upon the Celestial Realm, a chance for more lore and theories.

It could finally give insight into Simeon's past- which is always a good thing. (Same for everyone else.)

Now that the list is out of the way, here are some miscellaneous things that I couldn't fit on the list (also an clarification for 5 & 7. They explanations will also have an asterix at the beginning of them:):

*I don't expect Diavolo and Barbatos to show up that often, but I think that they should appear in at least 1-2 chapters.

*I also don't mind the brothers showing up, but I am worried that if they appear prominently, they might over take the season.

I kinda want the Lillith plotline/point to come back. I definitely wish it was executed better, but I do want to see the reaction from the angels (Mike and Raph basically).

I hope Solomon's apprentice was a girl. There's just too many guys here, we need a little diversity.

I would hate it if they didn't give us character designs for Michael and Raphael, though I would find it funny.

Well, I think I'm done for now. Do you agree, disagree? Do you like the color coding, should I keep doing it? Basically, I just want your thoughts on this.

Goodbye for now,

Lesson 42 Anon

Hii!!! I basically agree with everything you just said but I'll go into more detail on it with your points:

- I do 100% believe S4 should be a new character/angel focused season. I think I said so in the lesson 60 summary too that it'd make sense and be interesting to meet the angels and get their side of the story without the brothers' interference (the angels give me HEAVY morally grey characters who think they're wholly in the right vibes and I love it) + there's still a lot of Simeon and Solomon backstory to explore!

- The way S3 ended and how much of it was anyway about the angels I definitely think S4 will expand on it and introduce them

- And I think it'll possibly start right after S3 ends? I mean Raphael's here now and Solomon wants to start properly training MC so why not. And there's no other reason to leave Simeon and Luke behind than to start it up with them in the centre

- ALSO!!! ANDISJSHSKS "RAPH" given what they've showed of him he seems like the type of person to take HEAVY offense to that

- S3 did end with Raphael. Simeon called him by name.

- As much as I do want to see more Diavolo and find out more about his and more importantly Barbatos' backstories I don't think they'll turn up much? Or at least not until the last few lessons cause he left saying he had important personal issues to take care of back in the devildom

- I genuinely thought they would be shown in S3 after Solomon mentioned them and yeah damn I wanna know more about them. Also I just saw the Solomon UR+ animation card from months ago today - I definitely want to know whose grave he was leaving flowers at

- As much as I want an angel focused season the amount of withdrawal I'd go through without the brothers is insane. I'm heavily invested in them but at least for now their arcs are at a place that can be paused - they all got together to help Beel, a lot of Satan & Lucifer's + Belphie & Diavolo's issues have been resolved. I do want to know more about Lucifer's fear though and how he met the rest of the brothers (since they already told us Beel's story)

- With what they've said I kinda see Michael & Raphael being parallels to Diavolo & Lucifer, respectively. The somewhat childish boss and the long suffering right hand. I can see Diavolo wanting to like Michael purely because he wants to make proper peace with the Celestial Realm but also being somewhat internally pissed with him given how protective Diavolo is of the brothers and I can see Michael being sweet and friendly in return despite the fact that given everything Michael has said about demons, even in current times, he would probably be looking down on Diavolo for being 'wicked' and 'evil'. Basically I imagine them having the same kinda passive-aggressively polite relationship that Diavolo and Simeon had in S2 but somehow even less friendly

- Yes!!! Like I said the Celestial Realm gives heavy morally grey vibes and I want that to be explored more. I also need Luke's realisation that the Celestial Realm isn't always right to continue

- I have SO many Lilith HCs and I desperately need them to talk about her more. Like I understand why she's a sore topic and that Lucifer never even told them about her room in the HoL depite the fact that they've probably lived there for thousands of years and she does get brought up a bit in Belphie's fear but I need more. I also want them to explore why Belphie was so insistent with blaming the humans for Lilith's death when it was the angels that killed her, I gave my theories behind it in one of the summaries but I really need more solid answers

- I've always wanted more girls (or any girls really) and the way I was disappointed that we never got to see Lilith (I mean I understand that some players would HC her to look like their MC even though she died thousands of years before MC and they probably wouldn't share a resemblance but still) but I never considered Solomon's apprentice was a girl and I dunno why.. OKAY BUT CONSIDER GIRLS AS NEW LIS!!!!!

- I definitely think they would, it would make no sense if they didn't after how much they were hyped up and I might actually scream if they don't get designs. That being said I have very clear ideas of them in my head and I'm gonna hate having to part with them

DO NOT GET RID OF THE COLOUR CODING! IT'S PART OF YOUR IDENTITY NOW! OWN IT!

#obey me #q #obey me shall we date #obey me!#shall we date? obey me!#swd obey me #obey me spoilers #asks #answers

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kidneyyybean · 3 years

Text

A Retrospective on The Truce in Resident Evil Zero

There’s a lil something I wanted to talk about because I think it’s one of my favorite things they did with Resident Evil 0; and that's the way the writers executed the fact that neither Billy nor Rebecca could have made it out alive had they not worked together.

I’m gonna try to focus more so on the story but I’ll absolutely touch on gameplay cause it’s hard not to with this sort of topic. This is also going to consist of objective facts but also a lot of my own speculation because why else would I care enough to write this if I didn't have my own Thoughts to fill in some blanks.

Considering how we had seen Rebecca portrayed before, I’m sure it was tempting for the writers(ignoring the fact that it would make terrible gameplay) to have multiple of the same scenario where Billy saves Rebecca and where she’s simply cowering behind him. I’m sure it was tempting to imply that Billy probably would’ve been fine on his own and it was Rebecca who needed him rather than them mutually needing each other. Instead they make it very obvious on multiple occasions that had it not been for the other, neither of them would have made progress and would’ve inevitably died.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s some cheesy instances of Billy being the Big Ole Hero, but there’s also so much more than that where I feel some people may gloss over.

Throughout the game it’s shown that each character has a different skill set. One isn’t 100% better than the other, they’re just well versed in a different area. When the player is given the ability to control both characters, we’re given information on each character’s unique skills and assets. Rebecca has a mixing set, where she can mix various chemicals you come across in order to make solutions needed for puzzles. She also has the ability to mix herbs, a skill Billy doesn’t have. Billy has a lighter that you’ll need in order to solve puzzles, as well as the ability to move large objects, something Rebecca doesn’t have the ability to do. These specific skills and assets of each character, or lack thereof from character to character, are what make it necessary to work together and use both characters. One character isn't better than the other in every respect, making certain situations better suited for one of them as opposed to the other. It can be tempting to just send Billy into most of the rooms, do the muscle work of clearing it out, not worrying if he takes a bite or two since his HP is higher than Rebecca’s. It’s a lot of people’s go-to to use his character to do everything, to hide Rebecca away from danger. And while this is a good tactic in certain situations, in others it's just not possible.

Take the portion of the game after the lab for example. Billy and Rebecca find a cable car, a way out. But of course an obstacle arises, and that obstacle takes out half your team, the half that can take 4 zombie bites and still be “fine”. Now you're forced to use Rebecca and Rebecca alone, having her in high risk situations that you might’ve been using Billy for up until now. It’s a challenge, one that’s unique to this game. The trial and error and learning of how to use the characters as effectively as possible, although a nuance to some, is exactly what I love about this game. Instances like the previously mentioned one also serve as evidence that Billy wasn't the one that made or broke both characters' survival. There are also parts where, although you could just send Billy and err on the side of caution, it’s actually more effective to send Rebecca instead.

The lab is a part where this happens. You could send Billy up to the second floor with the hookshot, but it’s actually better if Rebecca goes. On the second floor in the lab, you have to create a chemical solution in order to obtain one of the leech charms. When sending Rebecca up, you would have her get the capsule that contains the charm, run out of the first room and fill her mixing set with the needed colored chemicals. The only enemies standing in your way of these chemicals are zombies, and if you're smart, these are easily taken care of. Had you sent Billy, you would have had to send the leech capsule down to Rebecca and have her go into the mimicry marcus hallway in order to obtain the needed red chemical, putting her in more danger. You would also have to backtrack all the way to the training facility to get the needed green chemical. There are so many more loops needed to progress if you absentmindedly send Billy up based on his HP advantage alone. The game forces you to utilize both characters, whether by force or your own strategy, further proving that just one of them wouldn't have stood a chance.

I think there are two key points in the game that really drive home my argument that Billy needed Rebecca as much as she needed him. One was with Billy’s run in with the Eliminator that results in him falling and being washed away into the water treatment plant. If Rebecca had decided to go with Enrico rather than continue to look for Billy, he’d probably be as good as dead- if not actually dead due to drowning. He’d be alone to deal with whatever lurked in the water and even if he managed to get up and keep going, he wouldn’t have stood a chance against Queen Leech without Rebecca’s quick thinking regarding the boss’ weakness. Not to mention he couldn’t be treated, or at least as well, for any injuries from his fall.

The other point I think is the most impactful in the story is on the cliff. Despite it all, they survived. It’s finally over. But Billy’s not off the hook like Rebecca, he’s back to square one. A fork in the road, he either reports back to the marines and serves out his sentence, or runs for as long as he can. So, Rebecca carries out the final action of their truce; she lets him go.

I don’t think people give Rebecca enough credit, in this game especially. When, honestly, I think she’s the strongest in this game. And I'm not talking about the change in demeanor as opposed to the first Resident Evil. I’m not talking about her ability to run on survival mode and face the hunters that would corner her in paralyzing fear and exhaustion in her second nightmare. No, I’m talking about how much strength she shows in her decisions, and she makes some tough ones in this game. It would have been so easy to leave Billy behind and instead go with Enrico into alleged safety. But she instead decides to go into the face of danger just to save a man she barely knows because deep down, she believes he’s good and deserves another chance. A chance that only she can give him. And so she does. She not only lets him go free, but also promises that in her official report, lieutenant Billy Coen is dead, giving him as close to freedom as she can manage.

The beauty of Resident Evil 0 is that our protagonists don’t have to go through it alone. It’s a unique title in the franchise where the characters themselves and how to use them are their own puzzles, controlled by a sole player. Not only that, but the whole experience helps evolve these two characters, together and fighting to survive by pure chance. The next steps of their story, their fate, are completely reliant on their work with each other. Had there’d been no truce, there wouldn't have been Resident Evil 0.

#Resident Evil 0 #resident evil zero #resident evil #re #why is Demian still talking #longpost #alternate title of this was Rebecca Deserves Some Fucking Respect

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