I seriously think people don't appreciate the comedy of Lola Lombardi. Both Lola and Johnny are characters that are really dramatic but Lola's approach to it is in a way that makes it seem like she's fully aware.

She's a mixture of Old Hollywood and dramatic Southern Belle (not particularly the accent just the mannerisms).

Even people that play Bully are less aware than she is because the amount of times people will straight up buy into the whole slut shaming thing of Lola while playing as Jimmy without realizing that Lola and Jimmy are the same people.

You might say, "but Jimmy gets perks for kissing the girls"

Yeah, so does Lola. From Algie doing her homework, to the rich kids giving her money. Lola is also gaining perks.

Like, she's FULLY aware of her role in the game and hams it up every time she gets screen time.

Ame-Chan (and by extension "Needy Streamer Overload") has been placed (by me) in the genre of "I can fix her, I can fix her, I can fix her, I can fix her because if I can't fix that means I can't fix me".

Needy Streamer Overload is such a good game about how chasing internet fame can fuck people mentally, especially if they already struggle with their mental health. Not just the chase for fame but how the ability to be overtly scrutinized by strangers online is also just as damaging.

Despite being tasked with basically doing everything for Ame-chan, the reality is that you can't "fix her" yourself as P-chan. You can try and try and try but the truth of the matter is it's not your sole responsibility as her loved one to "fix her".

Ame-Chan has to resolve to walk this journey not have someone push her through it. P-Chan can be a helping hand but they can't do it for her especially when she's so hellbent on fame that it's eating her alive.

The best version of her is the true ending where she's essentially slowing down and taking control of not just her streaming career but also her own mental health.

The worst day of my life was finding out that Alcina was going to pursue you more throughout the game as she slowly reached her final form.

Which I would've loved because I think she serves as a good parallel to Ethan in his own journey. Especially the relentless aspect for her own daughters.

Even their names have similar meanings with Ethan's name meaning "firm or strong" while Alcina's name means "strong-willed".

Make no mistake, I understood she would be one of the first to go because she was the center of so much content leading up to the game but that didn't stop me from missing her and wishing for the game that kept her hunting after Ethan with no awareness to the fact that they're both the same.

Sidenote: folks who draw her without her wrinkles????? May your pens never be charged.

I will never shut up about wanting a Dislyte game that features Genshin-like gameplay because that's how good the world building is.

While many characters have very tragic stories when it came to the Miracle and gaining their powers, I think Embla is one that hit me hard because it truly put us in her shoes during her story.

It's a really gut wrenching story to sit through as Embla is essentially going through a sort of dementia as a result of her new powers with her attacking friends and not remembering it. Every time she uses them, her mental state deteriorates faster but not using them means her loved ones get put in danger and as much as her boyfriend pleads with her not to rest everything on her shoulders, she has a "if I don't do it, no one else will" mindset.

With her event story ending with tragedy with her fully becoming the lady in red and white. She's actually comatose at the end with her boyfriend, Fu Shi leaving the Esper Union—taking her with him— and joining the Shadow Decree with Hyde as he believes their research will help awaken Embla.

She does eventually awaken but she's no longer truly the Embla she used to be.

If you're someone who absolutely hates Mayor Lewis as a governing body in Stardew Valley, then Eshe is for you.

(She's not any better in the relationship department though)

While she's not actually the Mayor, her husband is often so bad at his job (to the point he brought an invasive species to Kilima) that she has to pick up his slack.

Her actual job is as Kilima Valley's Magistrate and she can always be found roaming the town making sure it's functioning perfectly. Her most notable trait is that she is a BITCH...and I love her for that.

(Image via RissaCrochets on Reddit)

I don't see the old asshole with a heart of gold portrayed in female characters often and I blame this subconscious need people have for female characters to remain likeable 24/7 and with this being a game where you have to actually pursue friendships with these characters, a lot of people actually ignore Eshe because of first impressions.

But from the moment your character is introduced to Eshe, I INSTANTLY knew she'd be my favorite. Mainly because she reminds of the best qualities of my mother and maternal grandmother. (and I'm fond of fictional women that give off mean lesbian energy. Though Eshe is more than likely bisexual)

Her desire for perfection in the town and her family comes primarily from a place of pride and making sure the town keeps running smoothly. It also obviously comes from a place of spite due to her history with Kenli's sister, Kenyara.

(If you don't know what's going on with them then here's a hint: You can summarize that people in Kenli's family have "Ken" in their names but what reason is there for Kenli's sister to name her own son: Eshelon?????)

Eshe is basically a character that wants to stunt on their ex and I think that's funny.

And none of this is to say that she's all the way misunderstood, she has her objectively bad parts such as pushing Kenyatta down a route that Kenyatta clearly doesn't want to go down and she's rude to folks based on perceptions about them like Reth. She's very much a rich bitch.

(Image via Ne0Br0wn on Reddit)

Funnily, enough, she does try in her own way.

Eshe doesn't like asking Hassan for leather but she does it anyway if you're not around. She still goes to Reth for a meal even if she knows he can't or won't make it on the off chance he'll change his mind and she's not as much of a buzzkill when it comes to Zeki either, she's not really hunting him down, she's merely waiting for a slip (such as some of the folks that offered her contraband despite Zeki telling you to avoid her).

Like even though she doesn't love him the way she loved (or maybe still loves Kenyara), she clearly still cares about Kenli. As much as she rags on him, she's not gonna let others do it, especially in front of her.

And when it comes to her daughter, she's doing the typical thing that parents do and assuming to completely know best for her. She's no different than other portrayals of the helicopter parent.

She frequently holds events at her house and invites everyone in town even if she's not fond of them. She hosts your Shepp party at her house and goes out of her way to make sure it's perfect. It's both a display of wealth but a way of reassuring her constituents that she has things handled even if her husband doesn't.

Even in the quest that introduces Subira, she goes to people skilled in their craft like Reth and Tish (who both need some help from you) as a means of showing off her community with the implication being that she'll be very pissed off if Subira disrespects everyone's work.

She's not perfect and she's honestly not trying to be in places where it doesn't matter to her but she does her job. Kilima is still chugging and she's a big part of that.

Catalina is interesting both in terms of GTA antagonists and women in GTA.

Her power doesn't appeal to a hierarchy like other antagonists and her safety is not narratively tied to the protagonists in the game she's in.

For instance, despite the power the hold antagonists like Tenpenny and Steve Haines still appeal to a higher authority than then and so they operate in ways that won't get them in trouble at the end of the day.

For women in the series, their safety is tied to their respective protagonists. Meaning the danger they're put in, is due to their proximity to their dad, or husband, or brother, or boyfriend, and so on.

Catalina's power and safety is not tied to either of those things. She is true definition of the phrase "it's her world and we're just living in it". She's really Trevor before Trevor even existed, only with a bit more of a stable head on her shoulders.

Even when she has a gun pointed at her, she makes it a point to not actually care. She's more offended that Claude is alive more than anything.

She's violent hedonist bent on making sure she lives her best life until the very end.

As she tells Miguel, "You always have a choice, you dumb bastard."

--THE END--

Bear with me cause it's been SOOOOO long since I played For Honor but I specifically remember why Apollyon was such an interesting character for me.

She's one of those "I just think she's neat" characters because when I think about villains who have a violent darwinist type mindset, I realized that I only ever saw that depicted in men.

Normally when women have that mindset in media their portrayal is more "refined" for lack of a better word. They're more of the dictators in lily white dystopian cities rather than violent warriors.

So in that same way that I like Eshe for being a rare female version of the "asshole with a heart of gold" trope, I like Apollyon for being a rare female version of a darwinist warlord.

If you're like me who grew up in a culture where admitting you have depression is an uphill battle, then you're also probably someone who can be appealed to with a more pathos type of approach to depression where rather than just saying it, a game shows it.

The Cat Lady came to me at a PERFECT time because during that era so much of mental health talk was still very much dominated by "just be happy" or "just walk outside" or "just be positive".

AKA it was dominated majority by people who didn't understand.

The Cat Lady did understand.

Despite it being a game where you do have adversaries, the BEST part of the game is the section where you have to keep Susan from her tipping point.

And it's hard because it feels like everything can act as a breaking point...because it can. If you've ever been in Susan's shoes, you know that it's not JUST that she ruined her coffee. It's not JUST that she saw that her bills were delivered. These are nothing more than the straw that break the Camel's back.

When this game first game out, this was before I was actually confronting my mental health because everyone around just kept telling me "what do you have to be depressed about" and I had so many moments where it was always these "insignificant" things set me off.

Everyone always boiled it down to these "insignificant" moments that I was just "overreacting" to but Susan understood.

The beauty of Susan Ashworth as a character is that she genuinely understands it and that's the whole thing with The Cat Lady as a game. It understands that struggling with your mental health is UGLY and you don't have to pretend everything is OK all the time.

For a lot of people, their struggle with mental health is going to mirror Susan's journey in the game where it gets worse before it gets better as you dive into the roots and causes of it all.

It's also why I like the ending where Susan helps other survivors by reminding them that it's OK to take it slow. It's OK to have missteps and relapses. It's OK as long as you keep trying and tryings gonna hurt...A LOT.

Susan Ashworth is one of my favorites because she represents mental health in a way that doesn't ignore the "dirty" parts whether it's messy rooms, crying over "nothing", being standoffish, etc.