Fabricant451

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread

It's fucking hilarious to me how people immediately thought the new Smash character was gonna be Dante but then Sakurai decided the best way to combat the complaint of "too many anime sword users" was by putting in Byleth, an anime sword user, but this time they also have a bow and a spear and an axe for specials.

Calling All Wrestling Fans!

As someone who has efed experience, I wish this all the best. Genuinely.

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread

I put Dedue on a horse and he looked miserable the whole time so really the game is a huge success 10/10 would humiliate Duscur again.

Shelter

_{Teacher's Lounge}

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So no one had a single coin on them? Really? It wasn't as if Elliot was going to steal someone's pocket change, she might've gotten a lot of detentions in her time here but never for theft. Now she just looked kind of like a jackass or, worse, some crazy person that punches things first and asks questions never. Her reputation was hardly sterling so on that front she didn't have much to lose but still, it would've been nice to have at least one person in her corner - considering others were talking about table legs in a panic and she was offering to do the unscrew job for them. Elliot could understand why some defaulted to table legs, they were typically made of either the same material as a table or, such as with card tables or those weird hard plastic tables at church banquets and shit, cold black metal that, while not quite as hard as something made of steel, would at least be better than nothing.

Elliot's knowledge of screws and indeed most of her handiness came from the same source. Not a book or tv or being so bored that the only way to pass time is to browse wikipedia articles until something comes up. It came from her father. The best times of her life were the weekends and summers where the two of them worked on fixing up old cars in the garage, arguing over what to play between MC5 and Cryptic Slaughter before settling on The Replacements so as not to frighten the neighbors too much. Elliot's father, James, was a walking font of useless trivia about things like screws and tools in general; he claimed it helped him be a better mechanic but Elliot just thought all dads got some kind of manual about trivia to bore your children with. But it was never boring to Elliot.

She really hoped her dad was doing alright.

But, she couldn't let that control her thoughts. There were more important things to worry about, and chief among them was the resident 'bad idea' mood lowerer in the room. There was always one in a group project who scoffed at everything presented as the way to go while offering nothing in return and there was one effective way of getting them to fall in line. "Oi, you." Elliot pointed and glowered towards the one who had been sitting by a trashbin. "First of all, watch your mouth, there's kids present. Second, if you've got a better idea, by all means take the floor. Look around, yeah? Everyone's scared or tryin' not to be, the last thing they need is someone sayin' an idea is terrible without any secondary idea presented."

Elliot took the opportunity to give one of the table legs a kick, nothing hard, more of a tap with her foot than some kind of forceful gesture. "If it makes people feel safer then what's the harm? It's not even that terrible an idea, you hit someone or...something hard enough in the head and they reel. One good swing can change everything - that's what my dad said when the Tigers were losin'. Unless you've got a bag full of tricks or somethin', then what's the harm in lettin' people have something to defend themselves with? What we don't need is negativity."

Elliot grabbed her Diet Coke and drank from the can, before setting it down with another held down belch. "Name's Elliot, by the way, but ya'll probably heard of me. All true, by the way."

Sentaku: A Naruto RP

I would absolutely love to join... What's the post requirements? I'd likely only be able to post 2-3 times a week. (Maybe more but that's depending on things I can't control)

@Tsukai

Shit, 2-3 times a week is downright speedy compared to some people in this thing aka me it's me I'm slow as hell.

Mobius Academy: The City in the Sky

An adventure. That sounded thrilling and exciting and a whole bunch of other -ing ending words that she couldn't think of in the moment. Could this be the start of a grand journey of growth and discovery, of friendship and camaraderie, of hardship and sacrifice? Probably not, it would probably be just a walk and talk psuedo tour of the environs until they stumbled onto where they needed to go but the point of the matter is it sounded grand and cool and that was all it needed to be. An adventure. Moreover, an adventure with someone who knew how to work a digital crowd; if the whole hero thing didn't work, Riley was confident she could find some way to make broadcasting to strangers on the internet a viable career path.

If she could survive nuking herself with radiation she could survive the bubble that was internet content creation!

"So, Jess," Riley started speaking as the adventure began, as they all do, with a step. It would be a boring adventure if she didn't talk to her guest party member. "That handshake, I'm guessing that's not, normal?" Riley paused a moment and realized that she was one to talk, hell everyone here would probably qualify as not exactly 'normal' to the eyes of the ones whose only super power was not losing their patience at the deli when a customer argues over pickles for fifteen minutes. "Well, you know what I mean, I mean, like, normally your abilities don't...glitch out like that? I thought it looked cool, it was like all...glitchy blinky! Hey, maybe that can be your hero name..Blink! Oh...wait...no...I think that's taken. Still, totally cool!"

The best part about an academy like this, Riley figured, was getting to know the other people and what they could do. She might've been alone in the thought but personally she felt like everyone's powers were cool no matter what. They were cool because they were special! She was going to have to keep a list once she figured out everyone's abilities, just so she could know or even help them think of cool names for their hero phase. She already had a first draft hero name so she assumed that put her one step ahead of most but still two steps behind those people who knew how to use their power at will. But what was school for if not learning!

"How long have you had your powers? Is that too personal? I dunno if it is. I dunno if some of us are like...super tormented or pained by the knowledge of their origins or something dramatic. I almost died to get my powers! It was awesome! And S.H.I.E.L.D. paid my medical bills!" Riley then pointed towards a building that was getting a decent amount of traffic to and fro. It seemed as good a place as any to search for their 1-D destination. "Let's go in here, the D stands for Do Enter!"

This adventure business was easy!

_@BrutalBx

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In that moment, after paying attention to the body language, the cleared throat, the licking of lips, the way the girl's eyes couldn't seem to look away, Charlotte knew she had made the right call. More the loss for her brother, whose current claim of 'dibs' had been whisked away, quite like karma coming back round. Before responding to the One Who Stared, Charlotte gave a quick nod of appreciation towards Lydia - she didn't want to act like the only two people in the room were herself and Starstruck - Charlotte would have to remember that little name. "Room mate, you said? I'm sure we'll get along swimmingly. We can gossip. Talk about boys." Charlotte returned her gaze to the Southern Charm in the room, gazing towards her with piercing blue eyes. "Or girls."

Charlotte stepped further into the room, her height imposing but carrying her with confident strides. She assumed her brother was rolling his eyes, but she knew well enough that were the situation reversed (and it might well could've been had it not been for his lack of sincerity) he would be laying it on even thicker. When it came to the Children of Thor, they had a certain knack for this that made it seem...effortless. Nothing could be further from the truth, however, and what they had and used well was just...confidence. Show interest, if interest is reciprocated then go in for more. Simple. Effective. Learned from the best.

"You know, I don't play many games. But when I do..." Charlotte was standing close enough to 'Dibs' that if it were any other sort of interaction it would look like she was about to fight. There was a knowing smile on the corner of her lips, an alluring lilt of the eyebrow, and a slight turn of the head all while her eyes remained gazing into the other pair of eyes. Intense contact, but not threatening contact. The kind of eye contact that almost made one consider doing something bad. "I play for keeps." Charlotte spoke in a lower, husky voice, just above a whisper that was meant for one set of ears but was heard by the room. And her grand finale was a simple gesture of trailing her finger slowly along Binx's jaw to her chin where finger and thumb gave a little parting flick.

"Let's play sometime, Binx."

"Oh MAN am I glad I got that on stream!" From behind everyone came the voice that some would likely be familiar with. "If you guys kiss right now, could you keep it like...PG-13? I don't wanna get banned, but seriously, keep going, that is some primo flirting! One of you must have pheromone powers because whatever you two got going on? It's working."

Riley Quinn had focused her phone camera on the little display between the two women. Thousands of people had witnessed the show, and based on the amount of emojis and caps in the chat...they loved it. "Oh, you guys don't mind being streamed, do you? I'm kinda live streaming this, gotta keep my fans happy. Pretty soon they're gonna have to call me HulkStan620,000 followers!"

"Oh, right, my friend and I are looking for a 1-D, do you guys know where it is?"

_{@Hey Im Jordan@KZOMBI3@Silver Carrot}

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread

Too late I paid for both expansion passes it's me I am the one who doesnt give a shit about Dexit and will inject the Pokemon into my veins I will have a Kubfu and we will be bros and even though I paid 60 bucks because GameFreak/Nintendo is dumb and doesn't offer a double pack for idiots like me who bought both versions I'd still rather them do expansions than do wholeass new games at full price going forward.

A tribute to the former fans of Star Wars

Because it feels like it's being handed to her early on. Luke couldn't successfully use Telekinesis until his second movie and even then it was established to be pretty weak at the time, he and didn't pull off a mind trick until the third.

@Crimson Paladin

And until the third movie, all Rey really did apart from being a fair fighter (established in her intro scenes), was an almost unsuccessful mind trick and the lifting of rocks. The only thing she was handed was an affinity for the Force but that just puts her in line with Star Wars protagonists. We've got a metaphorical space Jesus, the son of space Jesus, and the granddaughter of Space Hitler. Yes, granted at the time we didn't know that (and it's one of the worst decisions TROS made but my issues with that movie would make the two year angry at TLJ people blush) and one could argue that it was a panic decision (it probably was; but one could also argue there were hints enough throughout 7 and 8 between her initial vision and her immediate choice to ask the dark side for answers) but accepting it as true, then having Palpatine blood sort of makes a mind trick second nature considering the old raisin tricked an entire government to make him the dictator for life.

But strictly for the sake of argument and using only TFA, what we are shown and told in the movie seems totally feasible within the context of Star Wars, what we know of The Force (which is fuckall since it's constantly undefined vague magic mumbo jumbo), and protagonists of Star Wars. Luke Skywalker is an outlier only because back in '77 no one knew that his bloodline was actually that of the chosen savior of the Force, but Luke Skywalker's biggest struggle and defeat in A New Hope happens around him, not to him. His aunt and uncle die (thus actually giving him what he wants anyway), his mentor of two days, give or take, dies, and he doesn't even realize how close he came to death because Han Solo takes out Darth Vader so he can make a one in a million shot by using the Force to guide torpedoes into a shaft. Doesn't exactly seem like the kind of thing an impromptu training session with a targeting drone and a helmet covers. He manages to stumble into a rescue and get out relatively unscathed despite having no plan for a rescue and basically outwits an entire battle station's worth of enemy soldiers (who are said to be amazing shots in the very same movie) including Darth Vader himself.

Anakin is an exceptional individual who, at age 9, built C-3P0 while living in a mud hut and being a slave, is the only human podracer because of his insane Force bug count, flies a starfighter into a battle and not only gets aboard the enemy command ship but blows it up and gets away, and despite the entire reservation of the Jedi still manages to get accepted for training despite him being both too old and having a lingering attachment and fears which ultimately lead to his turn. We accept all of this because we already know he becomes Darth Vader and we like Darth Vader.

Rey was left on a desert planet by her parents and from a young age worked as a scavenger salvaging parts and repairing things, fixing up junked ships, and playing with old flight simulations. She's absolutely unremarkable other than her knack for survival but she's conflicted internally. She's the audience. She's us when her eyes light up at hearing about Luke Skywalker, at meeting Han Solo. Much the same as people could relate to Luke as a teenager wanting a more exciting life. She's taught herself everything because she's had to, she didn't have a mother or an aunt and uncle and a secret Jedi watching out for her. She's used to being alone, used to fending for herself, used to not being handed things. This is why she's the foil for the other protagonist, Kylo Ren. She has no reason to believe she is special until she is told she is by The Force itself via Anakin's lightsaber and by Maz Kanata, and then confirmed by Kylo Ren. And so this character, who has heard of Luke Skywalker, the Force, the stories, the legends, this person who has had to work for everything her whole life is being told that she has an incredible gift, her first reaction is to shun it; her second reaction is to try it. No one is more shocked than she is when it works.

Her third and final reaction is to accept it, which is when she finally overcomes the villain.

She doesn't have an Obi-Wan or a Yoda or a Luke or a Leia but the thing is, she doesn't know she would even need one. What she does have is someone knowledgeable about the Force telling her how to let it guide her - something that Luke Skywalker echoes to her and something that Obi-Wan told Luke. The most important part of Luke's 'training' wasn't the helmet shit, it was Obi-Wan flatout saying "A Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him. [...] it obeys your commands." That isn't all that dissimilar to what Maz tells Rey, and then we have confirmation that Rey's eyes were opened to possibility thanks to Kylo even if neither of them were aware of anything other than that they both are strong in the Force.

If Luke Skywalker can blow up the Death Star because Obi-Wan told him how to feel the Force, then Rey can mind trick a guard (after two failed attempts, mind) because Maz Kanata told her how to feel the Force.

And as we see in the next movie, someone who can use the Force doesn't need a teacher to tap into it.

When Luke used the Force to get out of the wampa cave, did anyone think "Oh it's because he was trained in two minutes by Obi-Wan in the last movie!" or did they think "Well he can use the Force and that's something the Force can do!" It shouldn't be so unreasonable to believe that Rey can use the Force to trick a stormtrooper. And yet...for some reason...it is. And now with the terrible hindsight, there's even less reason for it to be unreasonable.

If we want to be truly cynical about it, then the obvious answer is Rey used the mind trick on a stormtrooper because Obi-Wan did it in A New Hope and TFA is not at all shy about wearing its influences so deep on its sleeve that it might as well be a whole shirt.

Because aside from what I've said, Rey is the hero of the Sequel Trilogy. It's about her journey, whereas Baby Yoda is but a supporting character in his series, of a species we know nothing about other than every previously seen member has been immensely strong in the Force, and fifty years of background we know nothing about, which means I'm willing to give it a benefit of a doubt, at least for the time being.

We've seen dozens and dozens of humans of all ages being Force sensitive and the two biggest Force users that the entire film saga is built around are humans. We've only seen three Yodas and Yoda being strong in the Force wasn't out and out a genetic trait of his kind but rather the result of training for like 800 years. Somehow I doubt season 2 is going to reveal that Baby Yoda is the reincarnation of Yoda Prime or that prior to being on that planet with Nick Nolte that he was being trained in the Force by Luke Skywalker or some new Force user. The only reason people accept Baby Yoda doing crazy things with the Force as the equivalent of a human baby is because it looks like Yoda and we like Yoda.

People aren't willing to give the widow in episode 4 the benefit of the doubt in knowing how to shoot a blaster in a universe that is constantly in a cycle of war but they are totally fine with a little baby healing people and helping his dad fight a beast.

Also let's be totally real here, what do we even know about how strong Yaddle is in the Force considering she bounced out the Jedi to let Shaak Ti hang in the big chairs.

Making Luke flawed and human is one thing. But turning him into the mockery of everything the character once stood for is another.

I don't agree that Luke was turned into a mockery at all. If anything the Luke in TLJ was totally in line with the original vision of a sequel Luke albeit considerably toned down. I won't get into it because otherwise I would be here all night writing another essay about TLJ but suffice it to say in my mind the Luke in TLJ was fascinating and fantastic and one of the biggest reasons why it's the best Star Wars.

A tribute to the former fans of Star Wars

Ultimately, it's bad story craft to have a perfect character with no real opposition.

@BrokenPromise

Good thing we didn't have that story.

<Snipped quote by Fabricant451>
Yes, but before the Sequel Trilogy, the heroes actually had to work to be able to tap into it. You're right that the Force seeks to rebalance itself and that force bonds can make it easier for someone to learn to use the Force even in the EU, a good example being KOTOR II (which was also a far better subversion and deconstruction of the setting than TLJ was).

@Crimson Paladin

TLJ wasn't a subversion, it was just answering questions TFA didn't want to answer because JJ doesn't like doing that and people didn't like the answers given because it didn't match their theories. Rey doesn't even do anything that remarkable with the Force until TROS by which point it doesn't matter because she's got the texts, Leia's a Jedi master now, and also her blood is magic because fuck it let's ruin all our established characters because people weren't happy.

Narratively, however, it feels unsound because they basically give Rey the power on a silver platter by giving her the force bond shortcut instead of having to spend a few films working hard and having to constantly be rescued until she can stand on her own two feet so to speak, and again I reiterate that I believe that it's because the execs didn't think that Rey would be as initially marketable if they made her take as much time as Luke did in the OT to get to around his level, because they believed "morally conflicted but already capable fighter" would sell more toys than "idealistic aspiring hero who starts out with no skills other than barnstorming and creativity with a grappling line, and as a result has to be rescued constantly until the third film".

Rey does have to be rescued in TLJ. Kylo rescues her from the mess she put herself into. She initially assumed she needed rescue in TFA but then the Force awoke in her and she tried her luck and then the character that we saw to be a loner, survivalist who looks out and takes care of herself out of necessity thanks to her harsh environment....decided to survive and take care of herself until she ran into her friend and father figure.

The movie itself, the script of the movie, and the novelization of the sequel movie have all given legitimate reasons as to why Rey was able to use one single Force ability after being told how she's Force sensitive and how to let it flow through and guide her by two different people but it's rejected because in the first movie she didn't have Luke or Leia step in and go "Let me train you on our trip to Starkiller Base". Why would that have been more agreeable instead of having the villains (and a hero) remark how strong she is and her realizing that, like the great hero Luke Skywalker that even she has heard of in her backwater nowhere planet, maybe she can do something too?

Why does Rey need training to justify a mind trick because she's a human but Baby Yoda doesn't need anything to justify more impressive feats just because he's of the same unknown race as a centuries old Jedi Master.

And then Disney has the audacity to turn him into a jaded failure who sits in hiding drinking sloth milk while the mess he created continues to snowball into a bigger and bigger disaster, so they can plug their new, superior chosen hero to save the day.

Yes, we saw Disney take an idea George Lucas had and run with it to give Luke Skywalker a more human characterization because the Jedi constantly deal with the dark side. Their 'superior chosen hero' literally left because she thought Kylo was the one that was going to save the day, she was wrong, messed up, and then Luke Skywalker had to be the biggest and best Jedi ever to save the day but yes let's act like Luke's development doesn't make sense or is a slap in the face instead of a natural progression of a character who for three movies was an impatient kid who only believed Vader could be redeemed in the last twenty minutes of the last movie.

A tribute to the former fans of Star Wars

<Snipped quote by Fabricant451>

It's been a while since I've seen the prequals, but I don't remember it ever being explicitly said that Anakin used the force to podrace.

I didn't really take issue with Rey being able to use the force without training, but she was able to reverse Kylo's mind control back on him, Someone who had been trained by two different masters of the force. That among other things, like being able to beat a trained storm trooper (Finn) or being able to fix the millennium falcon better than its owner can. Because she's a scavenger? I dunno fam. I mean sure, Ray gets to win fights because she's the protag and everything, but it was just all so easy for her. I can't think of a single good trilogy where the first act is a breeze for the protagonist.

@BrokenPromise

Qui-Gon: He has special powers. He can see things before they happen. That's why he appears to have such quick reflexes. It's a Jedi trait.

Anakin is also the only human who can podrace and it's specifically because he's using innate Force reflexes.

Finn was a janitor and the mission on Jakku was his first mission. Rey has been surviving alone on Jakku since a young age. Finn was tired, defenseless while Rey carries a weapon at all times to survive - why shouldn't she have beaten someone like Finn who had all but stumbled his way through the desert? The only reason Rey can 'fix the Millennium Falcon better than its owner' is because Rey was there when the junk dealer Unkar Plutt installed the device that made the Falcon fly weirdly. Rey's abilities pre-Force are all shown and justified within the movie itself either verbally or through visual story telling.

Compare Rey to Luke, or Anakin for that matter. They were also chosen ones, but they required actual training to use the Force. Prior to being taught by Obi-Wan, the only abilities they could tap into by themselves were supernaturally good reflexes and perhaps a bit of a sixth sense. True, Luke could pull his lightsaber to him on Hoth in Empire Strikes Back, but that's partially explained by a midquel novel Heir to the Jedi (in a bit of trivia, it was originally intended for the previous EU, but was folded into Disney canon, so its intentions apply to both canons) which details Luke's attempt to learn to harness the Force without Obi-Wan, and also has him try and fail to use a mind trick.

@Crimson Paladin

So a novel written decades after the movie came out retroactively makes it okay that Luke pulls his lightsaber to him? Alright if we're allowing novels as canon then here you go:

“Kylo had retreated at finding Rey in his head – had practically fled from her. But that had not been the end of that strange, sudden connection. She had seen more – far more. Somehow, almost instinctually, she knew how he accessed some of the powers at his commend – even though she didn’t understand them. It was as if his training had become hers, unlocking and flinging open door after door in her mind.”

If we can believe Anakin can instinctually use Jedi reflexes then we have to believe that Rey, being chosen by the Force to be Kylo's equal in the light, can instinctually cheat off of Kylo's test answers to resist and subsequently mind trick James Bond.

And then she does herself one better by figuring out how to force heal by herself...somehow.

At this point she has had training both from Leia and the ancient texts of the Jedi. There's more support for her knowing how to force heal than Baby Yoda.

Rey basically gains her powers on her own with minimal lead up and no training, just because The Force wills it for some reason.

Yes, this is how The Force will seek to balance itself by having the equal to the Dark/Light rise/awaken/whatever.

The real reason is that Disney wanted a strong poster girl but didn't want to have to take the time developing her into it like was the case with Luke, who spent most of the OT being little more than a farmboy who could barely use his powers, struggling constantly and having to be rescued repeatedly. The more cynical explanation is that they simply wanted someone who was straight up superior to the Jedi hero of the OT.

I'd argue that Rey was plenty developed in two of the three movies. Her development was just the antithesis to Luke's heroic journey archetype because for the first two movies she's refusing to accept her role in the events. There's a reason we're introduced to Rey in TFA by going through a day in her life. Rey's struggles are less physical and more internal but that doesn't mean she doesn't struggle or develop over the course of 7 and 8. It's only when 9 came around to ruin its own characterization that, well, ruined it.

The hard truth of the Star Wars movies is that apart from the two minutes in A New Hope and the, like, six minutes of Empire Strikes Back, across the prequels and the original trilogy we never actually see the protagonists train much at all because movies aren't serials and dedicating precious runtime to lengthy training arcs is meaningless. All of Anakin's training happens off screen to the point where the Anakin in TPM and the Anakin in AOTC might as well be different characters. Yes, we can infer that Luke went to Yoda for a bit in the brief time between ESB and ROTJ but Luke at the start of Jedi is announcing himself as a Jedi Knight to Jabba as if he took the community college jedi course. It only became an issue that the protagonist didn't train in the first movie because suddenly it was unacceptable that the main character, mentioned by the antagonist to be, quote "[she's] strong with the Force, untrained, but stronger than she knows.

In the movie itself, before Rey is captured, before the interrogation, before the mind trick, Maz tells Rey: "I am no Jedi, but I know the Force. It moves through and surrounds every living thing. Close your eyes. Feel it. The light. It's always been there. It will guide you."

The notes of the film's script say: Kylo Ren nearly TOUCHES HER FACE...THEY'RE BOTH SURPRISED: they react to a feeling that passes between them -- AN ENERGY THEY RECOGNIZE IN EACH OTHER.

He peers into her eyes intensely. She meets his gaze --
DESPITE THE PAIN SHE IS STRONG.

On Ren's face as HIS CONFIDENCE BEGINS TO MELT AWAY. He has
slammed up against a barrier in her mind. He looks less
certain by the moment as Rey seems to GROW IN STRENGTH. The
FEROCITY of confrontation builds until it hits critical mass

SLOW PUSH IN ON REY, shackled, mind still racing over what's
happened between her and Kylo Ren. She is flooded with
emotions, feeling her potential, her strength, that in this
moment of being restrained, perhaps anything is possible.

The Trooper Guard DROPS HIS WEAPON without turning back --
Rey HEARS the gun fall. She's incredulous. The guard has
LEFT THE CELL, ITS DOOR OPEN.
REY, in ABSOLUTE DISBELIEF, MOVES QUICKLY OUT OF FRAME!

There's textual evidence in the film itself AND the script and even the novelization of the next movie that all justify and explain Rey's seemingly sudden ability to use a damn mind trick.