La’an Noonien-Singh and Spock + having fun at social obligations

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: s02e05 - Charades

So I just read a statement from a fan claiming the ending is made for children and that the ending is joyful? Huh wtf did I miss something. I call bs

Ok I’ve answered to a similar ask in a short way but I keep getting similar messages so I guess I’ll sit down and write more on the subject.

Let’s say there are 3 ways to see this movie:

- occasional viewers’ way. They take their children to the movies once, they like it or not, they all think there are too many songs, and forget about it right after.

- the stans’ way. The ones who excuse whatever smart or stupid decision the writers and disney wanted, and everything is perfect, everything makes sense, everythins is right for the characters just like they wrote it (and if it’s not they’ll force themselves to accept it, one way or another).

- the critics’ way. Find your inner critic, and run with it.

Guess where am I?

And mind you, I’m not considerind my opinion of the same value as a movies’ critic, cause I’m not an expert, but as a fan I certanly know the characters and that’s why I think my opinion is valid too.

That said....

I’m not gonna waste time on the “occasional viewers”, even if THEY are the majority and their opinions on the movie are frequently surprising and interesting...simply because they’re not here, on tumblr, to discuss the movie.

The Stans. I do not want to offend them, this has to be clear, but the blind acceptance of whatever Jenn+Chris wrote doesn’t sit well with me.

I’ve never shipped canon, I don’t care about what the majority think, I do not feel the need to belong to a big group of people who share the same mindset.Once I’ve found those 2-3 people I agree with, my social media life is complete.

What I do not like about stans is the “If you don’t like it then you didn’t understand the movie or you don’t understand the characters” point of view.

Like acceptance of canon put them on a pedestal of omniscience in everything Frozen-related.

So this attitude generally pisses me off, but I usually ignore it and move on with my fandom life.

Now, let’s go back to your question: the end is good for children and joyful. Oh boy.

Let’s see it first from the STANS’ pov:

Elsa is free, runs free on a free sea, free of her burdens, making magic, talking to natives, and without a care in the world. She smiles. It means she’s happy and as a viewer I have to be happy too.Anna is a Queen, she’s smiling. It surely mean this is what she always wanted it, and she doesn’t care if her sister doesn’t live with her cause she can always write her a letter, right? Plus, she’s engaged omg omg omg omg!!!!!! Who cares about anything else????

There is an happy music, everybody smiles, let’s be happy!

To me, this is the superficial and dumb way to see it. Eating up whatever disney cooked for us, and saying thanks at the end.

It works for some children, the ones who “ok....the movie was sad, but they smile so...I guess it’s ok?” and the stans. Most kids are even smarter than that.

My way to see it:

Elsa smiles: of course, why on earth would Disney make a movie where the lead character is depressed at the end? lol They want me to believe this is an happy ending, they wouldn’t write her troubled or sad. I hope they’re not saying I should be happy cause Elsa is happy....Google the word “retcon” and see how it applies to this movie.

Elsa is free: she was free already in the first movie, after “let it go”, now she simply knows where her magic comes from. Good thing, but it doesn’t make her “more free”, it gives her more knowledge. And of course let’s ignore how this “freedom” comes at other people’s expenses.

Elsa is happy: why? Because her parents died for her?In the end she’s running free, on the free sea exactly where her parents DIED? AHAHAHAH THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL I’M SO HAPPY!!! Elsa smiles so let’s be happy!!!! Because she doesn’t have responsabilities anymore? YAY! She can wake up and talk to squirrels and go for her run! Wow! Who needs a job? (what a good message for kids!)Because she she is free to not care about anything else but herself and her magic?

This is the good message for children?

“Accept and show yourself” RIGHT.

But also:

“Forget your responsabilities”“If your parents died for you it’s ok because hey you were a gift so who cares if they died cause you couldn’t control your gift!”“Follow a voice for all the movie ignoring your sister and don’t pay any permanent consequence!” What an happy life! “Leave your family behind, they’ll be there to pick up the pieces while you’ll be freeeeee”AHAHAHAHA who cares right? Elsa is smiling and she’ so happy so I’m so happy!

Just because the movie ignores the consequences, I don’t have to ignore them too. I have a mind, and I use it. I’m not a parrot.

And for ONE good message the kids may get, there are way more that are problematic, and are ignored.Again, I’m not dumb I have a critic mind and I can’t ignore them.

Anna is Queen: Not once, not even once in her life she mentioned the fact that she wanted this. She didn’t have a choice, she became Queen cause she was the SPARE, and this is her destiny. Not her choice. Congrats!! I’M SO HAPPY!!!

Anna is alone: she’s not! she’s a boyfriend she can’t even comunicate with!! That’s all she need!! Plus it’s not like she needs a family! She has a dick now! It’s all she wanted! We saw her playing with dolls and all Anna wanted was a marriage! She would have married the first person who asked and she almost did!! And now she will!! I’M SO HAPPY!!!!If this movie made one thing clear to me, is that Anna would litterally marry the first one who ask her cause getting married it’s her dream. Period. I’M SO HAPPY FOR HER THIS IS PERFECT!!!

Anna can see her sister: Suuuuure, when she’s done playing with squirrels or being a pillar of a METHAPHORIC BRIDGE she may travel back to Arendelle once in a while, and then go back to live in the glacier where she almost died happily alone, talking to spirits and snow creatures! What an HAPPY LIFE! Anna wants this. Sure. Because Anna would DIE for Elsa and if this is what makes Elsa happy, then Anna would accept it.

Nothing and no one will ever convince me that this is what Anna would choose,  if ONLY SHE COULD HAVE A CHOICE!

I could go on and on for days, but you get the point, anon??????

If we accept the “happiness” these character show on their faces at the end as a dogma, without questioning WHY they are happy with a critic mind, if we ignore the RETCONS, the plot holes, the negative messages, the cut or changed storylines.....well yes they seem to be happy at the end.

But can you?

I can’t.

Accepting this would mean I’ll have to ignore everything I know and I like about these characters from the first movies and the books, and I love them too much to do that.

There are good things in this movie, like the origins of Elsa’s powers, some Elsa+Anna scenes, but the end is not one of them.

It is joyful, if you ignore dozens of things (I’ve listed ONLY A FEW).

It has ONE good message for kids (if you ignore all the negative ones).

But I’m not a stan, and I will not do it.

sasha and staci for "send me a ship"! 💕

Send me a ship and I’ll tell you…

who hogs the duvet: STACI.

who texts/rings to check how their day is going: Even before the Reaping, they both did this. The only difference post-Reaping is that there are more texts/calls in a shorter period of time; neither of them likes to let the other out of their sight for very long. Nothing will ever separate them again.

who’s the most creative when it comes to gifts: Staci. He knows Sasha’s tastes like the back of his hand, and he always has a surefire way to make her smile with something she’s never seen before.

who gets up first in the morning: This varies. Pre-Reaping, it was usually Sasha. After everything they’ve been through, though, it really just comes down to whose nightmare wakes them up first.

who suggests new things in bed: Oh, they both do. They suuuuure do. I have a lot of very not-safe-for-tumblr thoughts about their love life ;D

who cries at movies: Sasha, my soft little bunny.

who gives unprompted massages: Staci does, and oof, they are good. They also usually lead to sex.

who fusses over the other when they’re sick: Both, no question.

who gets jealous easiest: Staci, but he’s got enough sense of self to see his jealousy for what it is and stop himself before he ends up fighting with Sasha.

who has the most embarrassing taste in music: Hmm… I guess Sasha, because she likes those “indie covers” that sound like the “waelcome to mayyy keetchehn” vine. 

who collects something unusual: I can’t think of anything unusual either of them would collect, actually!

who takes the longest to get ready: Sasha, but only if she has to do something with her hair. Usually she just runs her fingers through it and can be out the door in minutes.

who is the most tidy and organised: Pre-Reaping, it’s Sasha. But after being freed from Jacob, Staci needs to have everything in a specific place. Sasha is happy to oblige him, but she also knows when to talk him down and get him to let go.

who gets most excited about the holidays: Sasha! She celebrates Hanukah and he celebrates Christmas, and together they combine their family traditions and have one long holiday season of joy and love.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Staci can’t help but be the big spoon, since he’s 6′1 and she’s 4′9, but sometimes she curls up behind him like a tiny little backpack.

who gets most competitive when playing games and/or sports: They’re both super competitive, tbh. Especially when they were younger.

who starts the most arguments: They don’t really argue enough for this to be applicable! They know how to communicate with each other very well.

who suggests that they buy a pet: Well… Sasha, but she doesn’t suggest that they buy a pet… she asks if she can keep Peaches as a housecat of sorts. Staci says yes.

what couple traditions they have: Instead of holding hands, they hold fingers. Staci curls his index and middle fingers around Sasha’s index and middle fingers, like chain links. It started in their friends-with-benefits phase, when they didn’t want to show a lot of affection, but they knew they had strong feelings for each other. Eventually, it became symbolic of their unique bond.

what tv shows they watch together: Not many. Sasha isn’t big on tv… and Staci prefers to watch her anyway. “You’re moving art, mami.”

what other couple they hang out with: Kim and Nick Rye, my girl Chloe and Eli, and, after a very long time, even Jacob and my gal Marilyn when Alex Pratt ends up falling for Catherine Seed.

how they spend time together as a couple: Lots of snuggling, chatting, little trips like to the park or on a picnic. 

who made the first move: Hmm. When they started their friends-with-benefits deal, it was Sasha who made the first move. Later, after being saved from Jacob’s bunker, Staci made the move that would ultimately signify the change in their relationship from platonic to romantic.

who brings flowers home: They both do! Sasha picks flowers and Staci buys them.

who is the best cook: Sasha’s ok, but Staci’s better. In my canon, he was raised by his mom alone and he learned to cook from her.

val and aria!

Full Name: Valendin Dard FelovGender and Sexuality: Male, PansexualPronouns: He/HimEthnicity/Species: HumanBirthplace and Birthdate: Borago, Alkanna. November 23.Guilty Pleasures: Cheesy romance storiesPhobias: Everyone he loves getting killed (again!)What They Would Be Famous For: Being part of a skilled band of freedom fighters/mercenaries.What They Would Get Arrested For: Being part of a skilled band of freedom fighters/mercenaries. OC You Ship Them With: AriaOC Most Likely To Murder Them: RenatusFavorite Movie/Book Genre:  Action/Adventure and comedy.Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: 

Someone: It’s more realistic if everyone dies at the end. Happy endings are too saccharine.

 Val, choking back tears: No they’re not.

Talents and/or Powers: Archery. Hair that glows when you run a current of magic through him, or if he’s in a high-magic area but does literally nothing else.Why Someone Might Love Them: He’s charming in that ‘flying by the seat of your pants’ sort of way. He cares a lot about his friends. Also he big.Why Someone Might Hate Them: So you’re just… you’re just gonna keep running after your asshole friend then? Like you’re still gonna believe in a redemption arc for the dude who nearly killed you and just keep chasing after that? Like really, man? Really?How They Change: He goes from angry grieving kid to guy flying by the seat of his pants desperately chasing after his friend to a more stabilized and unifying force.Why You Love Them: I’ve had this OC for 6 years and he’s grown up so much.

Full Name: Arianwen Turturi FferyllGender and Sexuality: Female, BisexualPronouns: She/herEthnicity/Species: HumanBirthplace and Birthdate: The Warren, Lughumbria, January 11Guilty Pleasures: PoetryPhobias: “What if I can’t control my magic and blow up a city like my grandfather did”What They Would Be Famous For: Being an accomplished mage and doctor…aaaaand the granddaughter of a Wizard who pretty much blew up the most populous and powerful city on the continent.What They Would Get Arrested For: Traveling with a band of freedom fighters/mercenaries. Lying about being a mage in the Milentine Legion.OC You Ship Them With: ValOC Most Likely To Murder Them: Renatus?? The Lady?? Both of them have this fixation on her that’s about 50% murder, 50% ???????Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Documentary.Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: Greek tragedy “This was fated from the beginning and inescapable.”Talents and/or Powers: She’s a mage. Also a doctor. Doctor Wizard.Why Someone Might Love Them: She’s a very “Cried but did the thing anyway” kind of heroine. She’s kind and she tries so hard.Why Someone Might Hate Them: Oh suuuuure let everyone believe you’re dead for 3 months. That’s not fucked up at all.How They Change: eventually she develops a strong sense of inner self and stops letting who her grandfather was define who she is.Why You Love Them: Again. 6 Years. My baby.

MEA liveblog #6

Spoilers!

Kadara

Alright, let's hope this virus sample is as harmless as SAM said... Why doesn't this scene have an interrupt? Why does Andromeda have so few?

Oh, right, there's still a quest with Reyes and Drack's story about Spender

I think I should also try the monolith again. Regardless of politics, activating the vaults for Ryder is like closing rifts for the Inquisitor.

Thank you internet for telling me how to activate the southernmost monolith! There's a cave entrance at the base of the mountain, on the road to the east of the monolith and north-east of the forward station.

Ugh, navigating this vault and trying not to die took a long time...

Why do I get flirt options with Reyes in 90% of dialogue wheels?

Okay, I finally crafted something. Chest and legs for armor. Iitiative V. Together they give +11% XP instead of +15 I had on the pre-order set, but I could put lots of bonuses onto them. Used "25% shields on kill" as enhancement and "+50% recharge speed, -30% weapon damage" as a mod.

Yikes! It looks so ugly! Here I thought Deep Space looked mediocre compared to Scavenger, but this...

My adept profile is now rank 4!

Zia's voice sounds terribly familiar.

I literally met murderers disposing of a body, why can't I interact with them?

Two Hydras, more like "run around the entire time". Ugh, why are biotics in this game so weak against armor? And where's the fall damage? The entire point of biotics is killing enemies with physics! Why does a combo, on normal difficulty, not kill a mook, but throw him somewhere I can't see him with a sliver of health so he continues to shoot at me? This is ridiculous!

Me: Ugh I don't wanna do Kadara Also me: *does every single sidequest in the Badlands, raises viability to 70%*

Tempest

Peebee: idk why I wanted to write to you -- Aww :D

Yay, finally I can make my inventory bigger!

"I like it when you flirt" is still an option smh. Clicked it because I think someone mentioned that the zero-g scene is repeatable, but nope.

Alright, time to finally move on to the loyalty missions!

Cora's LM

Convenient when you can reuse an entire map huh :D

TBH most of the things people are saying are flying right past me. I'm just following the quest markers. So, is the arc pretty much empty now? 

Asari sword V!!! Something I wanted to craft or find a long time ago. 

This ascendant wasn't even dangerous. Just a boring bullet sponge. I need to get more weight capacity so I could always carry a sniper rifle just for those guys...

I'm a biotic too!!! I walked through this entire mission as an adept! Why am I not helping with the shield?

Revealed the truth, then said Sarissa should stay as the Pathfinder. Not a difficult decision.

Tempest

"Outcast HQ" sounds ridiculous...

Meanwhile, my Bronze/Silver strike team has five positive traits and no negatives...

Nexus

Good thing I went here before moving on to Vetra's mission! There's a follow-up scene. And apparently, there were a lot of asari still in cryo?

Is this the guy who already sent me a grateful email? This game really fails at continuity sometimes.

Fuck! Jien Garson "died alone"?! All this time I was suspicious about her absence, but people talked about her death so confidently I was sure there were witnesses!

lmao a burned body in an unexpected place. suuuuure

Oh, so she is dead :(

Okay, this is simpler than I thought. The Initiative was about escaping the Reapers. And I thought they were looking for something in Andromeda...

If there's really nothing more to it -- I'd actually be disappointed. The game just continues to subvert its own most ridiculous statements. Pretty much everyone assumed that building something called Arcs and moving to another galaxy right before the Reaper invasion is an attempt to preserve people and culture. The game insisted that wasn't the case, except of course it is. There were only two new races, suspiciously alike -- are they related? Nobody even mentioned the possibility in the game until it was confirmed. On the one hand, it's a relief that the game doesn't believe its own bullshit. On the other, I'd like not to be treated like an idiot. I'd like a story with a premise that makes sense by itself, and with reveals that are genuinely surprising. What's next on the list of predictable "plot twists"? Is Alec alive? Is Reyes the Charlatan?

Tempest

What, I got a bunch of AVP just for promising to do Drack's mission?

Fuck yeah vanadium

H-047c

When you land, the subtitles just disappear...

I almost fell off a cliff and Liam shouted "Ryder!!" in a very startled voice

Whoa, a Reegar!

Took the interrupt, of course.

After Liam's mission, the other two seemed bland...

Havarl

Thanks to the internet, finally found the Fusion Mod of Adrenaline. How can anyone find that by themselves?!

Archon's ship

I'm tired of messing around, let's get on with the plot

Let me guess, I'll have to choose between the map to the Meridian and the salarian arc's survival?

This Pathfinder actually sounds like a Salarian!

A new carfalon, nice

this fight didn't go well lmao

Oh great, now we wiped everything but the ascendant and then he killed me

Ughh, on the third try...

Poor Ryder

Yeah, yeah, we've already heard all that from Harbinger...

Archon's chamber, health and ammo packs... Annoying boss battle, here we go

oh great, it's the Krogett

ah, so it's a mix of Virmire and Priority: Tuchanka

Ouch, I wish I didn't take Drack on this mission...

Well thanks I feel like a monster now

And of course, the autosave is after the choice. I've long suspected that the lack of saving in priority mission is designed to make us live with our decisions...

Honestly when I was making a choice it seemed simply whether a bunch of krogan or salarians are saved from exaltation, the krogan are connected to your friend but the salarians have a Pathfinder. But then the game seems to present it as "many krogans, your friend's friends, vs one Pathfinder"?

So, where to now? After the Nexus.

I have 3 loyalty missions in progress, Peebee, Jaal and Drack, and the last one seems pretty urgent. 

I need to go to Elaaden, especially because after this I need to restore my relationship with the krogan.

I need to activate the vault on Voeld, people in my outpost and my angaran allies has been freezing their limbs of for a long time.

Kadara is the only place where nothing important is happening, but I need to get it to 90% asap to unlock the fusion mod perk.

Tempest

Poured some more points into combat to decrease the weight of sniper rifles, and crafted a Vintage Isharay V. Now I can carry it along with the Hornet and a shotgun of my choice. Some power user I am... :D

No, Gil, I don't really want to meet your friend. Though on second thought, maybe if the Pathfinder tells her we're not here just to breed, maybe she'd believe...

"My mother created the implant in my head, and my father created the AI that uses it. I haven't lost them either" ;_;

Suvi organized a comparative religion seminar, and Jaal and Kallo signed up!

Got myself a bald space mouse

"Okay, I'll learn a new party trick" :D

"You are daring. I had to up my game" It's just a casual option, but sure sounds like flirting... :D

"Just don't get yourself exalted" -> "Just don't relax too much" The translation is getting worse and worse... There's some nonsense in almost every conversation.

Aw, Vetra!

Nexus

Thanks, Tann! Now I have time to do sidequests and loyalty missions without guilt!

No thanks to other Pathfinders, seems like I have to rush the main plot after all :(

Scott!!!

Why is Ryder asking him about things she must know just as well?

Honestly, this game design is super stupid! Kadara opens up a lot of new quests, but also the rushes the main plot like hell! Am I supposed to do the loyalty missions and shit after the end of the story??

Wait, how exactly did Keri scare people? Why was she arrested? I don't understand.

Tempest

Aw, Liam is worried about how I'm coping with my clinical death! *Shepard sighs with envy from another galaxy*

Kadara

Why does the game shower me with shippy Reyes material even when I'm not trying to romance him?

Finally another interrupt lol

"Try to settle here, and I'll consider it an act of war" If I took the story seriously and roleplayed honestly, this would be the point I'd abandon this planet forever, even if I didn't do it far earlier. There's no reason for Ryder to plan for an outpost here -- and I only do because of the queat description. Ughh, the writing in this game is killing me.

How do you take a recipe anyway? How do you make sure there isn't a copy left on the person's computer? Anyway, took it from the asari because I assumed I could destroy the info instead of giving it to the doctor, but had to give it back anyway.

Whoa, the date with Vetra is incredibly romantic

Was it really necessary for two freaking eirochs to greet us as we exit the cave?!

People who lit Sloane from behind so that every time there's a closeup on her, the camera adjusts to that bright light and her face becomes a pitch black blob: please don't ever stage anything again

Travel from the Badlands to the Port, meet Sloane, immediately travel back to almost the same place in the Badlands. Is the game intentionally trying to waste as much of our time as possible?

I think my game ran out of save slots... Without any warning. When you try to write in a new slot everything seems normal but the save just doesn't appear.

Whoa! Ryder WASN'T surprised that Reyes is the Charlatan! I didn't expect her to figure that out...

I'm not sure how Reyes's actions were supposed to weaken Sloane but whatever

First I shot him because I use interrupts instinctively, then replayed and didn't. I don't give enough fucks about this petty war.

100%! Now I can finally leave this snake pit.

BTW, re: the choice: Sloane is almost as bad as Aria at this point, the only redeeming quality is her backstory. And she's proven herself a bad leader, while Reyes could turn out to be better. But deciding to let her die within a split second -- that's not something I or my idealistic character could do. And now Reyes has a potential for a cool comeback story, and Sloane -- for a redemption arc. We have both characters alive and active, while the other option kills one off. (Which, I realize, is a reason that we might never see an interesting follow-up.)

Tempest

Reyes bothered to send a letter! I hope we'll see his dramatic return in a sequel or a DLC. Imagine if you romance him and then save Sloane -- that's a good story! Also, glad I didn't shoot, because the internet says the letter is very bitter and ominous in that case.

Aaand what some people on the internet were saying is true. Fusion Mod Support, which was the sole reason I went to complete Kadara, is broken and deprives you of all buffs. Well, whatever.

Drack doesn't tell me to fuck off anymore. Does this mean I don't need to "give him space" anymore and can plausibly do his loyalty mission? It's weird that the game just ignores all that's happened -- it's not like he tells me he forgave or anything. Consequences my ass. Just lazy writing.

And Lexi just repeats her first description of Drack -- that he's "always good". Ugh. No, he's not!

NOW you want to talk about my death, Cora! Not when I approached you after that mission!

Elaaden

The krogan have a nice flag!

Logical: "Don't make me headbutt you. I absolutely will" Ha! The emotional option was some shit about friendship... 

The worm? That thing from the promo pictures, right? Is it the same thing as the Architects people on the internet are mentioning?

Aww, is this a letter from multiplayer's krogan engineer?

A krogan LARP!

The krogan are literally the only people whom I can understand and support in a decision to jump galaxies

Drack's LM

I don't understand how Vorn got here...

For once I'm not the one with a dilemma lol

"There's only one thing getting destroyed today (...) So there are a lot of things getting destroyed today, actually"

Drack please don't talk during fights, I don't hear a single word, too busy charging people and slashing them with my sword

I still don't understand what all of this has to do with Spender, and don't remember Drack ever mentioning before that the botanist is so important and irreplaceable.

I love being a vanguard on normal because even with an incomplete build you can tank two hydras. To be fair I was standing right on top of a health box...

That's all?? So short...

At least Drack hasn't forgotten my choice...

Ah, so the botanist who sent us on this mission and the botanist we rescued are two different people? Okay, one question answered.

Elaaden

Hmm, this puzzle seems more difficult...

The second monolith has a console puzzle instead of sudoku. I spent a pretty long time on it before realizing there were three consoles, not two...

WHy am I breaking into this base and slaughtering everyone inside??

Couldn't solve the console puzzle in the vault, looked it up, didn't understand the explanation, clicked some more and activated it by accident.

Shit, is this the same puzzle but on pillars?

I fell into the water and the game respawned me into the same fall -- but in the Nomad.

Jumped around and activated the bridge somehow, but the door behind it is still closed

How am I supposed not to fall from the pillars? It's impossible to know if you're jumping not far enough, too far, or not high enough.

Oh, here's that difficult sudoku. I spent like 15 minutes on it and still can't solve it...

Holy crap, I solved it! Took me about 25 minutes...

The purification field was already in the room when I closed the door on it...

Lmao apparently the main krogan on this planet is right in the starting zone... I searched the entire colony for him! And now, with the planet at 83% viability, I finally meet the guy I came here for :D

I clearly was meant to do all of this right in the beginning lmao. But I was in a rush to do Drack's mission...

Pressuring women into childbirth is bad enough in normal circumstances, but when children have about 1% chance of surviving? Back the fuck off.

Messages on the terminal are interesting. I don't like the confirmation of too-earthlike misogyny on Tuchanka, but at least things are getting better here. And I'm still impressed by the letters from the krogan engineer -- do other multiplayer character have presence in the main game too?

And here's the deal with the Remnant ship! I was waiting for the reason to visit it...

I like Morda. I hope I won't have to fight or depose her.

(Btw she's Norda in translation because "morda" means "face, mug")

It'd be much more fun to fight fiends if they weren't sync-killers. I can't even use a shotgun -- the entire fight consists of running away, throwing powers at them when at safe distance, turning around to run again, and if I'm very lucky, finding a moment for a sniper rifle shot a couple of times.

Btw this entire time I thought fiends were exalted eirochs -- but they're just a normal local species? What?

Lmao the viability is at 99% now

The Remnant Ship is a lovechild of the Collector ship/Derelict Reaper and all those veilfire dungeons from DAI

The Nomad looks bad in this planet's lighting... Or is it because I raised texture quality? On Eos and Voeld the entire hull looked the same, now I can see the difference between two areas.

Oh. Is this why I was supposed to break into the scavenger base lol

Well, this was a good planet to bring Drack and Peebee with you everywhere! Sorry Peebs, but even you didn't feel joy when we finally found that drive core after all the bloodshed; plus it's your own philisophy to look into the future instead of the past; plus we might find other Remnant ships but this diplomatic opportunity is huge and unique. It's a laughably small price to pay for so many good things -- not just the outpost, but paying our debts and renewing friendship with a good ally led by an admirable woman. This makes me feel really good, unlike Kadara. New Tuchanka in generally is a feel-good place. The krogan look more real with their occupations and interests, their reason for being here makes perfect sense unlike the rest of the Initiative, and they're happier than in the Milky Way (at least until the end of ME3. Yeah, they have the genophage here, but also the Reapers aren't killing and harvesting them, so I'll call it a draw).

Oh my god, the translators misread "fiends" as "friends"! "Even if it means taking out three friends at once"! L M A O

"We're all a little krogan in here" That sounds pretty racist, Ryder

Nexus

Wait, how is exile harsher sentence for Spender than jail? In exile he'd just be free to continue his racist criminal activities.

"It is the will to continue living" Ugh, don't give me that Padme bullshit

Eos

That's all? This short rude conversation is why Gil called me to meet his shitty friend?

Aw, Cora started a garden! Right on a nest of poison-spitting bugs, but still cute. 

Just as I switch from Flamethrower to Annihilation, I get attacked by two fiends -_- Where's my biotic armor damage, Bioware?!

Btw the Nomad now looks plastic on Eos too :(

And here's the Architect! I avoided looking up videos because I wanted to find out how this fight goes by myself.

And of course, when I died the autosave was glitched and froze my entire game -_-

And it happened again -_- The cutscene doesn't start and I can't do anything

For fuck's sake, on its leg WHERE?

Managed to shot down a leg, got killed trying to shoot its head

Whoa, I won! Ate like 20 shield boosters, though. What a bullet sponge, I felt like I was doing no damage at all. And in the final section of the fight it spent like 5 minutes just shooting and throwing grenades at me without ever exposing the vulnerable spot, I thought that maybe the game just forgot to indicate it. I used Vanguard, Charge/melee/Lance for adds, gun/Lance/Charge for the Architect itself. For some reason it didn't occur to me to switch to Infiltrator or Soldier or even Explorer for sniping lol

Now that I finally leveled up Lance today, I tried a lot of setups... Flamethrower/Energy Drain/Lance (Sentinel), Annihilation/Energy Drain/Lance (Sentinel), Annihilation/Charge/Lance (Vanguard), Pull/Charge/Lance (Vanguard). Next time I'll try Singularity as the first primer. I don't have the final evolution of Annihilation yet, so it's not at full synergy. I really don't know what I like better -- ED/Sentinel or Charge/Vanguard. The latter is novaguard reborn, basically, but I already have one Vanguard profile, which is melee/tank oriented, and I don't want to remove Backlash, especially to replace it with a power that slows down Charge. Four favorites are not enough, Bioware! At least seven -- one for each profile. I still don't have a build for Remnant VI and I really want to use it! Btw, my final blow to the Architect was with Lance -- ending the testing session with style!

I can craft N7 armor X already! Wow. Why no level requirement? I'll replace my chestpiece -- massive buffs to biotics >> 4% XP. Don't know if I should disassemble my old armor or just buy more enhancements...

I just (re-)realized that Charge/Lance/asari sword is basically N7 Slayer... I definitely need that N7 armor!

I'm watching other people's Architect fights -- and turns out, Backlash can deflect its attacks! That's what I should have used as the third skill.

Not related at all, but I hate how people put spoilers in thread titles on Reddit :/ I guess the most obvious ones get filtered out, but indirect spoilers stay. "What are your theories about [thing]?" -- thanks a lot for telling me it won't be explained in the game, dude!! >:[

Contestshipping Masterpost Part 12 and a half,12 and a whole, and 13 - Something I don’t know the name of, Odd Pokemon Out, and Spontanios Cumbuskin

The next episode is a Harley episode, but Bulbapedia says somthing about the ending in which May recives a letter and a rose from Drew (even though he was not seen in the episode) imforming her of another contest she can enter, so I'm thinking of skipping this one, and maybe the next one.

Also I'm mad at Bulbapedia for this incorrect entree on "odd pokemon out".

May is holding the rose and the letter she receives in the previous episode while on a boat. She apparently considers these two items as sentimental to her. As May already knows quite well what Drew means with the roses at this point in time now, her keeping and looking at Drew's romantic token that appeared in a prior episode is quite significant. However this is not necessarily a romantic hint, since there is a possibility that May is just taking "Drew's" entry in the next contest as a serious rivalry.

Bulbapedia your wrong. She still hasn't even thought about having a romantic relationship with drew and the following and past episodes show that she hasn't thought about it, and doesn't know what the roses mean. T.T

AND THEN WE HAVE SPONTANIOS CUMBUSKIN. this episode inspired me to make this masterpost so I'm just going to copy and paste, so it won't fit in as well as the past summaries I gave to episodes, which is why under each of the thinsg that I had said before I knew as much about contestshipping, I'll put a new comment, explaining what I think of it now.

MY BLUSHING CHART I SPENT A FULL HOUR ON THIS PLEASE OH PLEASE JUST READ IT (or maybe it is an episode review that older me is reviewing? this is not a bluching chart)

0:00 (now me) and we begin the episode with no Drew, and May is happy. Great. 1:22 (now me) well I thought that you already knew 1:34 (now me) no he did not send that. and he just told you. Wait why am I tagging this? 1:40 Well that was quick... (now me) well yes if you don't count the time that drew was off screen and the theme song, then it only took 30 or so seconds!

1:54 (now me) or you just followed May. Becuase you do that.

now me :skips team rocket:

2:49 (now me) DIIIEEEEEEE

3:00 (now me) Naw I'm fine

3:31 (now me) Munchlax: Well that rose isn't from Drew so it isn't for you! It's me me!

3:45 (now me) May did you forget that Drew has fangirls?

3:58 (now me) I'm pretty sure most of Drew's fangirls woul kill to see him in a swimsuit. Also artists whoa re drawing this give Drew a towl ebcuase they refuse to draw nipples.

4:03 Okay, this is was Drew normally thinks of people like this. They are fangirls and that is cool. He doesn't care that much, and really, she doesn't mean barely anything to him. Also, I'm not counting her blushings anymore, just saying. (now me) I am though!

4:21  (now me) Drew is acting how most people react after I draw them art.

4:34 (now me) People ask why he is mean to May but nice to her. I already said this before but I guess I'll just copy and paste a post.   Everybody seems to misunderstand Drew’s character, thinking that he is trying to make may upset, but he really isn’t. Let me explain.  Drew tries to make May want to learn more, For example, let’s take the episode where Drew was introduced. In that episode he was definitely watching her before they noticed him, so he had seen May training on the beach and decided to follow her, seeing that she could improve, and he knew how to improve. At the beginning Drew seems to be poking fun of how little ability she has, but this was actually so that she wanted to become better, and it works! For example: Who What When Where Wynuat. During the episode, they find Leechy berries, and because May didn’t know what they were, Drew tried mocking her of not knowing what they were so that she wanted to learn, and by the end of the episode… it worked! Many of the things that May knows is because Drew taught her. May would be too stubborn to really just take advice, and here is another reason why he does it. In “Three Sides to Every Story” (an episode that I believe to be referencing Contestshipping) an Electikid is making fun of (a Pokemon I don’t know how to spell’s name but it is something like Merrow) Merrow and Piplup thinks that he is just being mean, but during the episode we find out that Electikid is attacking her because he has a crush on her. Brock says, “Sometimes when a boy likes a girl, they will go out of their way to make fun of them” This is why Drew makes fun of May. He likes her, and it seems to be a great way to teach her to be a better coordinator. I have recently watched through a bit more of the episodes. At the first grand festival, Harley tells May to go through the entire Appeal round and then battling rounds with just silver wind. Drew knows that Harley is just trying to make may loose, and his first attempt to convince her not to do so was him just telling her it was a bad idea. He could’ve easily made fun of her for doing that and it would have definitely worked, but he decided not to and it didn’t work.   Drew was nice to briana becuase he didn't need to make fun of her in order for him to teach her, nor did he like her. He also didn't find her that interesting so he barley even tried to teach her during the episode. Now you know. 4:42 Drew you blushed at her bad pun. This is what happens when you like somebody. WHATS GOING ON BETWEEN YOU TWO? T^T

(now me) finally! we have the 3rd nickname. We have Mr.Perfect, Mr.Know-it-all, and Mr.Rose! (also thank you roserade)

4:56 OKAY JUST. THIS IS SO OUT OF CONTEXT. JUST THIS LOOKS LIKE IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. WHAT WOULD YOU THINK IF YOU HEARD TWO PEOPLE SAY THIS? JUST. OMG. WOW. (me now) same reaction. It was so out of context, the writers just wanted to proove how canon it is.

5:09 (now me) Suuuuure he is Max. He also likes your sister.

5:16 I'm talking about this at the end, if you want to know why this is so important, read the rest and read the end. (now me) older me you forgot to discuss this scene at the end. I guess I have to. She's a noob.

There done.

okay but seriosly, nothing really needs to be said about this scene, there are a few others we need to mention later though.

5:53 Max was the best in this episode

:skips the part without may:

7:13 This has nothing to do with what I was saying buuuut... Wow this show sure does love to milk that Rocketshipping (James x Jessie) meme XDDDD (me now) James: looks at what seems to be Jessie with hearts for eyes: GROOVE MIME.JR!

“GROOVE MIME JR!”

7:57 (me now) Drew say that to May so that she can learn... or can she hear you? nah.

8:12 (me now) You beleive in your crush.

9:23 (me now) sirkit evolves into Masqurain. Briana is obsessed.

11:02 (me now)  Max why you askin?

11:22 Brock ships it. (me now) yes he does. Mr.Flirt finally gets it.

11:40 And this scene. As I said, I will explain why it is so important at the end. (me now) fine, I'll explain.

May has actually never thought about her and Drew being together before, right now she is finally considering it, but she had just started thinking baout it so we havn't notten that much development on it yet.

11:53 Blushing May. She has never thought about it. This is also what I will talk about at the end. this is about as important as the last one I will point out before explaining. (me now) but I JUST explained.

12:07 You kicked Harley out rewrote the script and made it your own Jessie. Change the words but some of the meaning still lies in there that Harley would say.

:skips the battle:

15:00 (me now) Oh look she also has a vibrava that evolves into flygon. Are you seriosly telling me that she isn't obsessed?

17:19 (me now) Drew hopes that May will win becuase he likes her

19:00 This scene. I will make more time frames on it just pay attention. (me now) No I will delete them off of this post so that I can.

19:14 (me now, the rest is me now) Teaching and crushing on May

19:25 And people got confused as to why is is nice to Briana

19:43 Ecxuse me Mr.Flirt?

19:47 This scene is so important.

Imma explain it right now

“I’m hoping to see you back here next year too May.” - Rhapsody in Drew  in Advance Battle “Hey May, just two more ribbons.” - Spontaneous Combusken in Battle  Frontier.   May never forgot what Drew said after the Grad Fesival. She never forgot how kiindly he had said that to her. Right now she is blushing like "oh my god am I falling in love" blushing. She had been thinking about what Briana had said and hen Drew spoke to her again like this she was reminded of both what briana had said about them having feelings for eachother, and what'd happened after the grand fesival. She is legitimatly starting to fall in love with Drew. Drew didn't forget what'd happened after the grand Fesivle either. He actually reminded her that she needed two mroe ribbons before the next grand festival, the one he was talking about when he had said "I'm hoping to see you here next year" (he ment another grand fesival not the hoen one) Their first serios romantic moment was on the beach after the grad fesivle, and now we are here again with a completly new revelation on May's part. Instead of being mystified at Drew's sudden kinda words she is sitting their, legitimatly like a schoolgirl in love with her crush standing in front of her. Compare the first scene from Advanced battle to this scene. There has been character development, and there will be more. Actually to be completly honest no other ship in pokemon has even come close to being as canon as this. Not Pokeshipping, not irakishipping, and not even armorshipping where they actually kissed. Pokeshipping came close, but it was more of a joke to the show, and I did see them try on irakishipping but it still didn't come close to contestshipping. Also before all of you aurmorshippers say that it was canon, just compare which one was better written. armoreshipping was just serena having a cruch on ash. That is poor writing. Contestshipping through actually has aspects of real life relationships, and it developed so damn well. If they brought these two characters back, either they would have completly ruined Drew's complex personality and just make him a jerk, or lets say that they actually wrote him the way that he is. They would have needed contestshipping. Okay that is all. the next episode is

Oh mannnn Rune Factory why are you so good at making friendships feel so genuine with fictional characters Like, it legit is good therapy when you’re lonely! It just leaves you with this contented feeling. And they somehow managed to achieve it through doing like basically nothing?? Its so good because they leave the options open for you to form your own fanficcy thoughts! There is SO MUCH of that! The characters’s AI wandering around the town doing random stuff and occasionally bumping into each other and having a short emoticon conversation like in the sims. That’s just so weirdly theraputic to watch, its like watching an aquarium?? And so many fanfic ideas when the ‘conversation’ is something interesting with an interesting combination of characters. What would happen if Porcoline flirted with Leon! What exactly was forte doing carrying that melon? SO MANY IDEAS!! And then like... i DO wish that you could do more stuff with the characters when you’re paired up, but its still really cute and friendshippy to just be paired up while doing everything, even the characters never aknowledge it or join in. You can imagine what would happen if they did, cos they have such well-developed personalities! It feels like having a fun afternoon with two of your friends doing [insert thing here], and then when you pair up with just one character you kinda somehow feel its a bit more intimate and wanna impress them?? like, I know now that characters dont gain any friendship points for fighting together even though fighting together is the one thing they actually can do together. But I still just HAVE to go find my two faves and fight together with them! Every time! Whether its a plot event or exploring together or collecting items together! porcoline, help me go pick mushrooms, u is the chef~! It would be so cool if they got given passive skills that had bonuses to certain things and levelled up as their friendship increases!! Like Porcoline actually does increase the probability of food items dropping from monsters. And just AAAAAA why do I have to go grab a character and pair up before I do work, even when I know the game doesnt aknowledge anything thats happening with gameplay. You give me the opportunity to put anyone in my party when their schedule is free, and even if there is ABSOLUTELY NO BOON TO THIS CTION I still wanna sit outside arthur’s office like a lovesick puppy waiting to give him his morning packed lunch and then take him with me to till the farm and craft eyeglasses. And I wanna take Dylas to go fishing!! I was so lucky once that I arrived at the beach when his Daily Randomized Action actually was fishing, and I could pretend we were fishing together with friendship~! He doesnt fish too when he’s in your party when you fish :P And then the only actual interaction that they do have is sometimes giving you gifts when you talk to them, same as when you talk to them when theyre sitting as static npcs in their house. But AGAIN it just makes me fanfic and roleplay that me and this character are having a fun day doing [action] and then what silly antics would occur if they gave me [randomized present] at this moment! And sometimes the choice of dialogue and present clashes hilariously, and sometimes it works so well to make it extra heartwarming! like Porcoline gave me a present on HIS OWN BIRTHDAY! i came along and gave him is present and he gave me one back, its like NOOOOO U R TOO NICE THAT IS NOT HOW IT WORKS!! And i know it was just randomized chance but it was so in-character that it made me smile! Also I know that any extra presents you give them after the first present don’t make any difference to your friendship points, but I felt so bad that I didn’t have anything Doug likes for his birthday so I gave him like five neutral gifts. And AGAIN the game doesnt actually aknowledge when you give someone a weapon you’ve fully built up to level 10 but I always feel so happy doing that with my main weapon when i gain a new one, i have to give it to someone else who could use it. Porco had my super strong gale edge that I won from the first harvest competition and used for half the game, and its so neat that they actually do use the weapon you give them! WE STRONGE DUAL BLADE BUDDIES BEING STRONGE! (tho then I managed to craft the leek blades that are super good for porco so now he’s got those) And BTW its so funny cute that Porcoline has a self-healing ‘spell’ that’s literally just him eating a sandwich mid-battle. As far as I know he’s the only npc who can mimic the player’s item-using animation, nobody has an actual inventory when theyre travelling with you. Oh and Clorica can do the same but different! She can mimic the player’s sleeping action and fall asleep on the ground to recover her HP. I love in-character npc-only variants of skills, thats such a cute idea! Tho I kinda wish I could hack them onto my character to replace the default Cure, lol! Oh and AAAAA I like.. skipped the entirety of Fall?? I hit 8 hearts with Arthur at the beginning and didn’t realise that the game glitches out and won’t let you confess if the character is part of a Town Event. Arthur had one dialogue line in Forte’s quest to ride an elephant, so he didnt show up when he asked to meet me and I thought I’d been stood up but then he acted like I’D stood him up?? And he was stuck in a dialogue loop of ‘I have something to tell you now- I CANT TALK RIGHT NOW’ and then when the town event ws over he was mad at me and wouldnt accept a second confession until he hit 9 hearts. So I literally did nothing every day for a month but hang with arthur and hug him and give him gifts, blazing through to 9 hearts at ridiculous stubborn speed! i felt so bad that all the other characters are sad you havent talked to them in 15 days :P But I was happy that I finally got a second chance to confess PRECISELY on the 1st of Winter, and we had heartwarming cuddles in the freshly fallen snow. And then i was too tired from staying up all night romancing a fictional taxkeeper so I saved the game and passed out. OH, but not until after I added Arthur to my party and just skipped around the snowy town with him for ten minutes! I gave him an umbrella and pretended the two characters were having a romantic walk underneath it. I AM SO ON THE SHIPPING TRAIN, MY GUYS! I cant believe I came here for the two monster boys and got attatched to mr normal nerdman prince before I even had a chance to see either of their events :P I wanted to maybe try seeing all the relationship events with all the batchelors but I just felt so guilty like I was cheating on arthur, cos he was the one I picked first... Man, i shoulda saved picking a boyfriend til the endgame and then made three savefiles to see them all :P BUT I AM STILL HAPPY WITH ARTHUR!!! soft man, walking hug nerd in a snuggie my character’s dream boy When a game can provoke such attatchment to the love interests in a completely asexual player then u kno u done rite NOBODY IS SEXY BUT EVERYBODY IS SOMEONE I WANNA SEE SMILING Let me resolve your plotline arthur I want you to have a happy marriage You can hug all my pet monsters and i’ll make you turnip stew every morning and AAAAAA I love learning what everyone loves, i love that arthur is one of the ones with many different fave presents. He likes turnips and new spectacles and cute fluffy things! And Dylas likes fish and carrots and milk he has THREE FAVOURITE FOODS, what a cutie!! And Dolce likes tea and sweets and hot chocolate aka THE PERFECT FUSION OF BOTH. And also she’s started liking medicine and doctor-related gifts after being adopted by the cute doctor couple, its so sweet she’s aspiring to be like them!! And porcoline eats literally all my cooking crafting successes and I wouldnt have it any other way!! and AAAA you can give people HATS and they WEAR YOUR HATS so you can see arthur actually change glasses when you give him new ones and porco wears ribbons on his hat that already exists and these two have been my party for LIKE FOREVER and I love them and i totally headcanon arthur seeing porcoline like a dad since they started working together! He has sad dialogues about how he had a bad relationship with the king and how he was raised entirely by servants, so porcoline reminds him of that. And cute stories like how when he was working late at night he walked outside his door and there was a mysterious homecooked meal out of nowhere. yeah porcoline TOTALLY made a midnight snack and just forgot not to eat it, suuuuure! porco is always trying to trick him into taking care of himself, its so damn sweet!! And you get similar dialogues from everyone else working at the restaurant and just GAHHH forever headcanoning arthur and dylas as Official Adopted Members Of The De Saint-Coquille Noble Bloodline. I wish they had more interactions together tho, even if they arent like brothers its odd that two people working together each day dont talk much about each other. BUT SERIOUSLY porco is like.. he adopted a friggin horse monster and THE PRINCE OF THE COUNTRY. Sorry king u messed up dadding, he is mine now. Also: the wild wilderness of a monster temple is no place for a young boy. U come gain some employment as a well-paid waiter and also my son! I ain’t care that you’re slightly a unicorn! THEYRE ALL JUST SUCH NICE PEOPLE AAA I wanna be like ‘plz let me marry your son’ to porcoline, i wanna join the fam as a daughter in law. I’m not REMOTELY interested in being the princess, I just wanna be a new member of the restaurant peoples!! Aaaaa I cant stop rambling about how much i love this game and these characters!! And I;ve only even really started befriending this small chunk of the characters, who knows if I’ll get even more rambley about the others!!!! I just love love love that you can put them in your party at any time and drag them along to do everything and PRETEND WE ARE HAVING FAMILY BONDING ACTIVITIES BECAUSE I ADORE YOU ALL