least favorite video game series/why + least favorite MCR song š
My least favorite video game series is not a series but every game made by David Cage ever. The thing about series, especially video game series, is that there's usually at least one good installment, even if it's only the first one. David Cage has never made a good game in his life. Not only are they terrible because the gameplay is almost exclusively quicktime events, or because David Cage is incapable of writing dialogue that doesn't sound like it was written by an alien who's been observing earthlings for two weeks, or because his """stories""" contain plot twists that make even the worst Shyamalan twists seem like genius, or because he tries to engage in social commentary in the most zero effort racist way (the robots have to stand IN THE BACK OF THE BUS), or because of his zero sum black/white view of morality, but because he clearly doesn't care about video games as a medium. It's so clear that he's a failed screenwriter who couldn't get a foothold in the film industry because his stories are nonsensical garbage. At no point in any of his games does he engage with the medium of games, and the unique power it can lend to storytelling. It's all made worse by the fact that some genuinely interesting ideas are all destroyed by his film bro mindset. For example, Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit) starts with a POV switch that has you, PC 2, solve a murder you committed as PC 1. This is fascinating and a great idea for tension in a game! Unfortunately this game quickly unravels until the final battle has you FIST FIGHTING A HELICOPTER. This game is supposed to be a grounded police procedural with supernatural flavoring. WHY AM I FIGHTING A HELICOPTER. (In quicktime events, obviously.)
Heavy Rain similarly has three different playable characters solving the same crime, but the game has a mechanic where you can HEAR THESE CHARACTER'S INTERNAL THOUGHTS. And then the big twist is ONE OF THEM IS THE MURDERER. Even though in an earlier scene, where he is playable, you can listen to his thoughts which say "I wonder what's taking this guy so long". BRO YOU KILLED HIM???? Why would you have this mechanic on a game that relies on withheld information???? This doesn't even get into the fact that on a gameplay level, the quicktime prompts are often incomprehensible, and sometimes don't read correctly even when you input them correctly. There's also a major plot point that's just dropped. No explanation. I have no idea why SO MANY PEOPLE consider Heavy Rain a good game. I simply don't.
There's actually quite a few MCR songs I don't particularly care for, mostly off their first album. Overall I think Bullets is a good album, and it has some real good fucking songs, but there's also more than one track where you can literally HEAR the fact that their drummer can't keep a consistent beat and also refused to use a click track, and Mikey was too inexperienced (read: was actively being given a bass crash course masterclass by Ray) to compensate for that. I think you can hear this most clearly in This is the Best Day Ever: the drums are slightly off from the rhythm the guitars are putting down and you can actually hear Gerard struggle to keep up with the off-tempo. His vocals here are weird in general on this one, not my vibe. (I did like the song when I heard it performed live, aka with a good drummer and all of them with 20+ years of experience of professional musicians.)
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Hmm I wish you would write a fic with some sort of role swap au; maybe one where Hades was the missing parent at the start of the game, or where zag was betrothed to thanatos instead of megaera (so his relationship with meg started in a very different place)
(For the "I wish you would write a fic..." prompt. Thank you for sending this!!)
āā
āHi,ā Zagreus says, awkwardly, and the First of the Furies turns a withering glare his way. Heās used to withering glares, of courseāgiven that thatās the only expression his father seems capable ofābut even so, something about Megaeraās scowl ties his tongue in a neat knot. āListen,ā he says, but he forgets what he planned to follow that with.
Megaera rolls her eyes, all burning scorn, and looks back at the drink sheās nursing. āNot the most eloquent gloater, are you, Prince Zagreus?ā
āOh, Iām not here to gloat, I justāwanted to tell you that youāre really strong, and incredibly good at your job, and itās been an honor fighting youāā
āYouāre still going to be fighting me,ā she snaps. āUnless youāve come to tell me youāre renouncing this stupid crusade?ā
Zagreus shuts his mouth. Reconsiders, for a moment, the bottle of nectar cupped in his palm, if sheās going to be so rude about this. Butāno. She doesnāt know him yetāhasnāt had a chance to. And he canāt blame her for being a little bitter considering heās finally managed to kill her for the first time. So he takes a deep breath and offers her a smile that Achilles has described as ādisarming.ā
āWell, Iām going to keep trying to escape,ā he confesses, ābut I hope that doesnāt mean we canāt get to know each other. I found this nectar out there, thought maybe youād appreciate it.ā
She directs that withering glare at him again. Sheās all sharp edges, her armor decorated with vicious spikes and her eyes lined with stark shapes that mimic them. Her bronze-gold eyes glint at him as she takes the nectar from his palm.
āI donāt want to know you,ā she says, her voice low but the words unmistakable. Startled by her bluntness, Zagreus takes a half-step back, but she says, āWait,ā and his body freezes before his mind even processes the order. She digs in her pocket and takes out some small object. Catching his wrist in a tight grip, she deposits the object into his palm. āI wonāt have anyone claiming Iām in your debt. Take that. And now leave me alone.ā
She releases him. Now he does step backwards, then turns andāflees, honestly. His heart is buzzing with some strange sense of nervousness, his face heated. He scratches idly at the ring of sensation around his wrist where she held him as he heads for his chambers. Once heās there, he exhales and at last takes a look at Megaeraās gift. (If it can rightfully be called a gift.) Itās a small silvery skull pendant hanging from an earring. Curious, Zagreus lifts it to his left ear and looks towards the Mirror of Night. His reflection looks back at him, and a faint smile comes to his face. He likes it. Heāll have to thank the Fury later.
Butāhis eyes refocus, and he feels the Mirrorās power and its thirst for darknessāmaybe, just maybe, if he leaves while sheās still drinking, he can get out of Tartarus without seeing her at all. Itās worth a try.
*
The next time he sends Megaera home, he steps out of the Styx a few hours later, still singed from magma and thinking terribly unkind thoughts about the Bone Hydra. And itās not all that long ago that heād been sending similarly dark thoughts her way, but as she begins to seem less and less insurmountable, Zagreusās curiosity about her grows.
Not that sheās any less intimidating in the lounge than she is out in Tartarus. She must hear him headed her way, because she looks at him and scoffs, then tosses back the rest of her drink with a deliberate motion.
āWhat,ā she says acidly. He offers her another nectar; she glares at it. āI donāt take bribes,ā she informs him, while very much taking the bottle from his hand and pocketing it. Zagreus swallows a smug smirk that he suspects would not endear him to her; Achilles is right about how irresistible this stuff is.
āWell, itās a good thing that isnāt a bribe, then,ā he says practically. āItās just a gift. I thought maybe we could even share it, get to know each other a bit. It feels strange that all I know about you is the various methods you have of trying to kill me when youāve worked in the House longer than Iāve been alive.ā
She scowls. āI told you already. I donāt want to know you. Even if you werenāt trying to rip up the House at its foundationsāā
āIām notāā
āādo you really think Iād want anything to do with you after what you put Than through?ā
āThanatos is my friend,ā the Fury informs him. āI thought you were his friend too. But I got to hear all about how you started pushing him away as soon as the two of you were betrothedāā
āFather wanted to use him to control me. What was I supposed to?ā
āI canāt imagine why your Lord Father would think he needed to get you under control,ā Megaera says. Zagreus fumes.
āThan and I worked through all of that,ā he says hotly. āBecause we werenāt going to let my father mess up our friendship. Or ourāā But that partās none of her business. Unless Than told her about that, too, and if thatās the case then Zagreus really doesnāt want to get into it with her. āWe got through it, we made it work.ā
āUntil it didnāt,ā Megaera says.
Until it didnāt. Until every conversation seemed to turn into an argument, until Thanās work stole all their time together and Than didnāt even seem to understand why that bothered Zagreus so much. Until that horrible day (or night) when Thanatos wouldnāt meet Zagreusās eyes as he said This isnāt working, Zag, we need to break it off.
Zagreus hasnāt seen him since then.
But apparently Megaera has, and has heard all about whatās probably the worst thing thatās ever happened to Zagreus (no, that isnāt true anymoreānot since that night when all the House was asleep and Zagreus held in shaking hands a letter from the mother heād never known existed, the mother who left him behind), andāZagreus is flushed, now, he feels it, partly from anger but partly from emotion in general, his blood hot in his veins as he opens his mouth to say something thatās bound to be tremendously unwiseā
But Megaera speaks first.
āTell me something,ā she says, her cold eyes silencing him, āwhat does he think of this nonsense of yours?ā
Zagreusās stomach turns over. āHow should I know?ā
And that startles herāmakes her scowl transform all at once into shock. āYou havenāt told him.ā
āTell him? When would I have had the chance to tell him? We havenāt spoken, I havenāt even seen him in ages. He said he wanted space and heās made sure he had it, what am I supposed to do about that?ā
The Fury stares at him with something like horror. She gives a disbelieving shake of her head. āOh, you idiot,ā she breathes, low and icy, and before Zagreus can counter her scorn and her superiority, sheās stalked away from the table and out of the lounge. He hears two heavy wingbeats from the hall and knows that she must be gone.
āā
From thereā Megaera is off to inform Thanatos, of course, and Than immediately gets to his game-canon attitude of helping Zag out, much to Megās disbelief and confusion. Iāve been trying to figure out what it is that convinces her to give Zag a chance in this scenarioāperhaps the positive way that Dusa and Achilles regard him, along with some gentle encouragement from Nyx.
Zag is already attracted to her, of course, but he hasnāt put together how just yet. When they have that ādonāt flatter yourself. I think of you in painā pre-battle exchange, his brain fully stops working for a good minute.
me and my english degree would LOVE to hear about ej and nate as narrative foils whenever you get around to it
this story, like a lot of stories in hockey, starts with sidney crosby.Ā
in 2005, a year after a lockout, sidney crosby was the Next One, the boy from cole harbour made good, and the sidney crosby lottery was a heartwrenching battle of luck and odds, a spectacle that the penguins won, and they have three cups for their trouble. when sidney crosby was drafted, the only question was that who could follow. this story isnāt about crosby, really.Ā
this story is about his shadow.Ā
in 2006, the year after crosby was drafted, erik johnson was a dynamic defenseman fresh out of catholic school in minnesota tearing up the usntdp and earning two straight gold medals at the wjcs. nathan mackinnon was another boy from cole harbour, watching his hero put nova scotia on the map, and wanted to be right there with him. heās going to be a hockey player. he has no other plan.
ej was drafted by the perennially cup-hungry st. louis blues in 2006, the first american-born defenseman to go first overall. in hindsight, the 2006 draft class was exceptionally stacked, producing players players like jordan staal, jonathan toews, nicklas backstrom, phil kessel, claude giroux, and brad marchand. and at the very top, the first overall: erik johnson.Ā
ej, no matter where he went, was committed to the university of minnesota, set to be a golden gopher on the advice of his mother. but then, no first overall goes to college, right? no first overall defers their chance at the nhl. but ej does, spends his freshman year in college, and becomes the first top draft pick to go to college in 44 years. hockey pundits questioned it, and the bluesā decision to let him, instead of throwing him into the fire the way every other first overall would before and after him, but he went.Ā
a season later, ej has his rookie season and itās...fine. he puts up 33 points in 69 (nice) games, respectable for any high end dman, and his third highest point total of his career. but for a first overall? in a draft class like his? was it the right choice? was he worth it? the questions mount, and come to a head in 2008, when ej crashes a golf cart during a team party, and tears the ligaments in his knee. the official team statement is that his foot got caught between the pedals of the cart and twisted wrong. all the gossip around the league knew that he was drunk.Ā
he comes back the next season blazing, setting a career high in points, and the next year he wins a silver medal at the olympics, but the damage was done, to his knee and his relationship with the blues. his injuries flare up, and he puts up less and less points, his playmaking ability and defensive smarts are questioned more and more. in january of 2011, ej gets hit in the face with a puck during practice, knocking out several of his front teeth. two weeks later, heās traded to the colorado avalanche.Ā
heās given a swedish underwear model for a roommate and a captain, and a chance to be the number one defenseman for a team that needs him, and he takes them both.Ā
the consensus among hockey media was clear: if it werenāt for nail yakupov, erik johnson would be the worst first overall draft bust since rick dipietro.Ā
two years later, in 2013, the other boy from cole harbour is all grown up. rocketing through shattucks, and running roughshod over the qmjhl (to the point where he refused to play for the team that drafted him because he didnāt speak french, instead opting to play for his hometown halifax mooseheads), leading the mooseheads to their first memorial cup. nate is finally good enough that crosby takes notice of him, and he beats out seth jones to be selected first overall to the colorado avalanche.
he walks into the locker room and demands they all call him dogg, after his other hero, nate dogg. he has a rookie season that earns him the calder, and the first taste of playoff hockey for them both. and then, for the next few seasons, nate starts to regress. the team around them starts to breakdown, chafe under the aggressive coaching style of patrick roy. all through it, nate can look to ej, the teamās other first overall, earning his way back into hockeyās good graces.Ā
in 2015, ej matches his career high in points and gets selected to be the avalancheās representative at the all star game in columbus. and like every other time heās set to hold the world on his shoulders, his knees buckle under its weight. right before the all star game, he gets injured again, and replaced by another rookie first overall, the panthersā aaron ekblad.Ā
and then comes 16-17, the worst season in franchise history, their coach abandoning them. they lose, and lose, and lose. ej gets his worst injury yet, breaking his leg, and duchene loses faith. nate hits his lowest point, frustrated and mortified, to the point that he sees staff waving at them at the rink, and all he can see is their disappointment, their embarrassment.Ā people talk about ripping the team apart and setting fire to the remains, trading gabe, trading everybody. the leadership team, including nate and ej, refuse to give up on themselves.Ā
nate changes his workouts, his diet, starts seeing a sports therapist. he becomes one of the best players in the league, one of the best players in the world, dragging his team with him to the top. heās a hockey player, and thatās all he knows how to do, and he refuses to let them call him a bust.Ā
ej has been an av almost five times longer than he was a blue, and he has been their unquestioned number one defenseman for years. as heās gotten older heās stepped back, focused on helping the younger, faster dmen who would replace him, but is just as capable of throwing himself back in when heās needed. heās broken, over and over again, but every time, heās put himself back together with a toothless smile and a quip for good measure. heās taken all the people who wrote him off, and built a career for himself, despite everything. despite everything, heās still him.Ā
two first overalls, alike in dignity. two sides of the same coin, two careers branched out and intertwined. they are what each other could be, and what they could have been. when nate wants to shoulder the world, ejās there to remind him he doesnāt have to do it alone.Ā
who are some NHLers who you think (or just believe in your heart, based on vibes) have good music taste?
to like...... clarify...... i think i have good taste in music but iām aware that to the general public i do not. this is what iām listening to right now
heās retired now but mike mckenna actually does have demonstrably good taste in music and i would like legit love to talk metal with him.
other than mike mckenna i do not believe in my heart that ANY of them have good music taste. i even tried to run through this based on vibes but dudes that DO give me good vibes have legit terrible taste anyway once i do any kind of looking into it. maybe alex lyon has good taste. but i wouldnāt hold out hope.
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Not sure how unpopular this is, but Giles's decision to leave in S6 and a lot of his behavior in S7 makes sense to me for the character. (Even if I don't *like* it. But that's most of S6-S7.)
Agree.Ā I donāt think itās the only way Giles could have reacted, but I think itās aĀ way Giles could have reacted.Ā And I donāt like it either.Ā What is the point, character-wise, of having Giles behave this way, only to have him quickly forgiven in the last episode, so we can have a Happy Scooby Ending, Pay No Attention To The Dead Cannon Fodder On The Landing?Ā Why did Giles go from admiring Buffyās willingness to follow her heart in S5 to deciding she needs to be heartless in S7?Ā Was it to do with the Councilās destruction?Ā And once Buffy cuts him off after LMPTM, what makes him change his mind and decide that sheās right after all?Ā We can speculate, but the fact is, the writers just didnāt care about Gilesās motivations, and so weāll never really know.Ā Ā (Honestly, I sometimes think I would rather that it HAD been the First.Ā That would have given the First real teeth, and it would have spared me a lot ofĀ āWTF, Giles?ā)
