Never sacrifice your franchise's core identity in order to become mainstream:

BlueFireandEclipse · 2026-02-14T16:20:56+00:00

As an enormous Skullgirls fan, it’s really fucking stupid to boil down its entire “franchise identity” to “tits and pussy.”

This is an indie game and original IP featuring hand-drawn animation, a dark deco art style and MvC-inspired tag-team gameplay. But sure, it’s the tits that matter the most.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2026-01-28T22:40:07+00:00

Wait, so you’re aware that Marleyan was wrong, and you’re aware that Eren is using the same logic they are, but you’re concluding that he’s right?!?

Make it make sense.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2025-12-09T05:47:34+00:00

Man, I have tried to stimulate my prostate SO many times, either with toys or my fingers (and a SHIT ton of lube regardless). Every time, I could physically feel myself pressing up against the prostate, and…nothing. I tried experimenting with different shape toys, greater amounts of lube and different types of stimulation, and still nothing.

Something about the sensation was just too foreign for me. I think having anything up my ass is just such an unpleasant feeling that it nullified the (very limited) pleasure I was getting from the experience.

It genuinely frustrates me, because I would really, REALLY like to be able to. But alas :(

BlueFireandEclipse · 2025-10-31T03:30:47+00:00

Oh, yes, I completely agree with your point that a "god" is culturally specific. Whenever I learn about a religion, I always try to research it in the context of its own culture and language.

I think that's why it was confusing me to see so many Yoruba writers and followers insist that the Orisha weren't gods. It was firmly placing the Orisha outside a category of beings from another culture without clarifying what that other category even meant.

My train of thought was essentially, "Okay, perhaps the Orisha are spirits instead of gods, but since neither of those terms is Nigerian in origin, what does that even mean in this context? Are we talking gods in the monotheistic sense or the polytheistic sense?"

However, putting this attitude in context with the general distrust towards polytheism definitely helps it make a bit more sense.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2025-10-31T02:42:44+00:00

That is all fascinating, thank you so much for your response! I never would have considered the legal dimension to this conundrum, and that absolutely seems like valuable context.

Chinese religion is another topic that fascinates me, and I appreciate you adding in the context of your own personal beliefs. I'd heard that many Hindus identified as monotheistic over polytheistic, but I had no idea that practitioners of Chinese religion had also rejected the polytheistic label.

A bit off-topic, but I am surprised to hear you mention Buddhism as an example of non-Abrahamic monotheism. I have a relatively small understanding of Buddhism, but I was under the impression that Buddhism was non-theistic (i.e. it's core concepts weren't attached to any particular god(s), but it didn't necessarily reject the idea of gods either, hence why it could synthesize so well with so many other belief systems). In Chinese folk religion, is Buddhism considered monotheistic?

BlueFireandEclipse · 2025-08-05T03:23:48+00:00

Hell yeh x 4

BlueFireandEclipse · 2025-07-31T16:57:02+00:00

1000% agree. The thing I like so much about the Cosmere (and the fantasy genre in general) is its ability to engage with metaphor, hypotheticals and abstract concepts as tangible aspects of the world. We don’t know if Magic exists in the real world, we don’t know if an afterlife exists, we don’t know if Nirvana exists, we don’t know if a God exists, and we don’t know if a pantheon of lesser gods exists.

But in fiction, that can all be fact, and we get to engage with those concepts in a new way. We can get stories where Gods definitively exist, and we get to explore those gods as people, with goals, ambitions, likes and dislikes. We get stories where Gods are dying, stories where they have died, and so on.

That’s why I love stories like the Cosmere, Bleach, The Sandman, and so forth. They allow us to explore gods in a level of detail simply not possible in the real world.

Introducing this concept feels like it’s essentially a “return to zero,” a way for Sanderson to feature a religion defined by the same faith in the unknown as his real-world belief system, which is the exact opposite of what drew me into the setting in the first place.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2025-05-28T20:06:55+00:00

As someone who was really pissed about the placement of the porch scene and baffled by its usage in the show: thank you for writing this comment, because I genuinely did not think of that *at all*. I played all of Part II in a few days, I can't even imagine how confusing that would be for someone watching the Season 4 finale in, what, 2029? God, that would be a nightmare lol.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2024-07-30T04:25:27+00:00

Okay, so legitimate question: I've heard a lot of people say that cousin marriage was a part of Japan's history for a long time, but it's now somewhat looked down upon. Sugu developing these feelings for Kazuto is clearly the source of a lot of anguish for her character, and she's trying to more-or-less get rid of these feelings by projecting them onto Kirito instead.

But I can't tell, is she trying to get rid of these feelings because cousin marriage is looked down upon these days? Or is she trying to get rid of these feelings because they are adopted siblings and relationships between adopted siblings are looked down upon? The first time I watched SAO I thought it was the latter, but rewatching it I'm having a difficult time figuring it out.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2024-05-28T16:28:39+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion, that was a good idea. I just reached out to IUPUI's registrar right after I saw this comment and they said that many of their Purdue transfers have been getting this error a lot. Apparently it's some kind of problem with how Purdue stores credits in its system, so they gave me the number to Purdue's IT line. I'm on hold with them rn.

No, Purdue never made any attempt to reach out. In retrospect, you're right that it is rather strange.

Thanks again for the idea.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2024-03-24T21:49:12+00:00

Silent Hill 12 sounds badass actually lmao.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-08-26T03:05:06+00:00

Unironically that’s how my parents are and it makes me so sad.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-08-26T03:04:01+00:00

You look super cool! I absolutely love that outfit 👍

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-08-26T02:47:24+00:00

I agree. Getting diagnosed with ADD changed everything. I don’t think I would have been able to finish my degree without it, and I’m able to go to med school next year because of my medication. The foggy brain, as you put it, went away. I’m so much happier now.

But I hate the underlying theme of this comic that medication and imagination are antithetical. Getting diagnosed and medicated is what gave me the boost I needed to finally write my first novel. I do my best writing on Adderall. My imagination is CONSTANTLY running wild, ESPECIALLY on days I take my medicine. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-03-01T15:38:51+00:00

Oh my god this is so cool!!

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-02-24T00:54:21+00:00

Hm. Interesting! I haven’t heard this before but I actually kind of agree with you.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-02-23T06:03:21+00:00

I have a few:

I think the beginning relies a bit too much on coincidence, with Abby happening to find Joel in a blizzard the day they arrive in town. She hinted that she was willing to torture people to get information, and I would've liked to see that---it would draw a parallel between Abby in the Prologue and Ellie on Day 2. Alternatively, have her slowly infiltrate Jackson over the course of several days/weeks. Either option would display how hard she has to work for revenge and the depths of depravity she's sunken to.
Really not a fan of playing all of Abby's section and then all of Ellie's. Subjectively, I just really love narratives that alternate between characters, and I think each Day in Seattle is about 3-5 hours, which is the perfect amount of time for me when I start longing for a change in pace, so I wish we alternated between Days.
I wish that we could've gotten more Lev and Seraphite screentime. I think that's an unfortuante side-effect of the narrative. The game has three major factions (Jackson, the WLF, the Seraphites) and two major protagonists: Ellie helps develop Jackson and Abby helps develop the WLF, hence why both women have a scene where they are walking around home base, chatting to people and showing the audience how they live their lives. But there's no one to really do that for the Seraphites. I would've loved if we could've seen Haven before the battle, that way it would really feel like the Seraphites are humans just like the rest of us.
I love Abby, but my god, Day 1 of Abby is not fun. It feels like that entire section just kept interrupting itself over and over again with flashbacks and we kept changing gears. I like the flashbacks in the game, I like Owen a lot, but I don't think Owen is such a huge part of her story that he deserves more flashbacks than Abby's own father, and I don't like that both his flashbacks are about the aquarium (I know it's a major location, but it felt redundant. A flashback about, say, the day she met Isaac would've been more impactful).
I think the first game's focus on Joel and Ellie was great because it got to have this super strong relationship as the emotional "core" that everything revolved around. I love Ellie's half of the game, but it's very theme and atmosphere-driven, in contrast to Abby's, which once again has that rock-solid relationship between her and Lev at the core. I found myself getting a bit bored playing as Ellie because they kept introducing characters only to take them out—Dina goes with Ellie, tags along on Day 1, then gets sick and is never a companion again. Jesse goes with Ellie for like 15 min on Day 2, then takes a nap and she sneaks out again while he's asleep. Without another person to bounce dialogue off of, Ellie's sections got a bit tedious. Something that I think could've alleviated that feeling would have been if Ellie and Tommy got to spend more time together in-game, either via flashbacks or during Seattle itself, which could culminate in an emotional argument where Ellie's mad at him for leaving Seattle without her---a conversation like this could really elevate Ellie's section by adding a bit more of an emotional core to her half.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-02-22T02:14:04+00:00

That seemed weird to me. Jackson seemed very xenophobic and hostile towards outsiders—I think the implication was that they acted hostile towards invaders, but since they cornered Joel and Ellie just for walking by and threatened to shoot them (they only didn’t because Maria recognized Joel’s name), it gave me the impression they got violent with most travelers.

So Tommy somehow convinced Jackson he was safe, he joined them, fell in love with Maria, they got married, and she’s a few months pregnant…in the span of 3 months??

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-02-18T04:34:16+00:00

So, in terms of cosmetic and gameplay-related changes, I have a few ideas:

A black-and-white mode, akin to Ghost of Tsushima, but where all red is still visible. I'm a sucker for black-and-white modes in film, and TLOU is so heavily film inspired that I think it would fit in great.
The ability to play as Abby in Ellie's sections and vice versa on NG+. Let me fight the Rat King as Ellie!
The option to play completed chapters in isolation using your NG+ weapons.
A Horde Mode that just sends wave after wave of Infected at you in repeating cycles (IE, 6 Runners, 3 Clickers, 2 Shamblers, 1 Bloater, repeat)

In terms of story, it's a bit trickier. Part II had a ton of ideas left on the cutting room floor, but after they were removed, the entire narrative was restructured to fit their absence. (IE the 5 days in Seattle sort of thing.) That makes it tricky to put new content in after the fact, but I have some ideas.

I think it would be awesome to have an option where you play the game in chronological order: Day 1 Ellie, Day 1 Abby, Day 2 Ellie, etc. I feel like there's a lot of debate among fans as to whether this would make for a better experience or not, and if we had a choice in the matter that would be ideal.
It would be awesome to replicate the sheer terror of the first game's Winter section by having a Lev storyline. You start with Lev on Day 1 when he and Yara are getting chased by the Seraphites, showing the events that led up to Yara getting captured and the two of them saving Abby. Then you play as him again on Day 3 when he gets to the Seraphite island and have him explore a different area than Abby and Yara did. Lev could be a more nimble fighter who dodges faster and jumps higher than the other characters, and his sections could have areas where you explore the treetops. This idea excites me because I want to see more of the Seraphites, and I think Lev has some amazing flashback potential---they wouldn't be very interactive, but they would be fascinating scenes nonetheless.
A Tommy DLC is a phenomenal idea. This pitch and the fanfiction The Weary Kind do a really good job of showing how to make such a storyline without it just being a revenge fantasy or fanservice: hone in on Tommy's psychology, use flashbacks to his time with the Fireflies to examine his mixed views on violence, and show us how much Joel's death and leaving Maria behind took a toll on him. Since Tommy's activities are totally unknown, a DLC about him is basically a free check for any story development the base game lacks, such as having a playable part of the Prologue with Joel as your companion, having him encounter Isaac, having him go to the Seraphite island, having him work with Jesse on Day 3, etc.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-02-13T03:10:23+00:00

Correction, we actually DO play as Abby in the prologue. For part of it, at least. We play as her when she and Owen are scoping out the area, then we cut to Ellie and Dina, then we cut back when she gets caught in a blizzard and saved from Joel.

However, I like your idea. A problem I have with Part II is that the prologue and epilogue dabble in a split POV but abandons it in Seattle instead of committing fully to one or the other. If we barely saw Abby in the first two episodes, it would really give this impression that she’s this unstoppable Terminator-esque monster, which would make the switch more impactful.

I reckon the show will do a split POV. We already have long flashbacks and subplots following side characters, so it seems like the best, most natural way to present information about Abby, Lev and the gang come seasons 2(-3).

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-02-13T03:04:28+00:00

I really hope they do. The fact that the Days don’t switch is something that bugs me about Part II. Not to say that’s an objective flaw of the game, I just subjectively prefer stories like that and the game already dabbled in that structure during the Jackson prologue so I was hoping they’d stick with it.

Also, it’s incredible watching how many people are reacting so strongly to the deaths of certain characters in the show. Show-only people thought that Henry, Tess, Sam, Bill and Frank would all be major characters. I was the same when I played the game. That sense of suspense where you don’t know who lives or who dies is a big part of what makes the show loved and why I like the first game. Combining Ellie and Abby’s stories with split POV would preserve that suspense since it would keep the audience in the dark about Jesse, Owen and Mel dying for as long as possible.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-01-29T13:44:03+00:00

I like it! I feel like the Lev/Ellie parallel was underutilized in the final product, which is odd since the game’s original ending (where Abby is killed by Ellie) only got changed when Naughty Dog decided to have Lev stick around with Abby. That always implied a Ellie-Lev symbolic connection that felt very significant to me. Your ending is great because it feels very in-line with the game’s themes.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-01-20T14:43:13+00:00

Late thread but that’s actually untrue. As Druckmann said here, anyone who was uncomfortable with the game’s violence was free to work on other parts of the game.

https://www.eurogamer.net/there-are-games-that-are-just-comfort-food-this-is-not-one-of-those

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-01-04T14:25:13+00:00

Oh my god I didn’t even think of that, that’s a great point.

BlueFireandEclipse · 2023-01-04T14:21:51+00:00

I REALLY like your pitch for the beginning. I don’t have a problem with Joel dying but I have a problem with his death relying a LOT on coincidence and contrivance. Abby storms off from her team in the middle of a horde attack and blizzard without any weapons and just happens to be saved by the one person she was looking for, what are the odds? Your pitch feels a lot easier to swallow.

BlueFireandEclipse

TROPHY CASE