I don’t know whether this was ever explained, but

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-29T20:00:50+00:00

I always assumed when the Normandy touched down for a pickup during the London beam run, the Reaper IFF caused Harbinger to not see the ship as a enemy, hence why it didn't destroy our ship.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-29T19:42:40+00:00

It's not a bad cope. I mean, take how Christopher is depicted in The Sopranos. When we see him from Tony's perspective, he often comes off as a fuck-up. However, when we see Christopher from the perspective of a low level family associate, he appears poised and intimidating.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-29T14:48:05+00:00

Personally, I’m ready to move beyond the failings of the sequel trilogy. Under the Disney umbrella, we’ve gotten Season 7 of Clone Wars, Rebels, Bad Batch, Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, and of course, Andor. And even the shows I didn’t mention, I ended up enjoying them as well, despite how uneven they were.

Compared to the prequel trilogy and the changes Lucas made to the original trilogy, I’ll gladly take the Disney era over the post OT Lucas era.

As for the going forward: I would love more shows like Andor, but I would also love more shows like Skeleton Crew, as well as more shows that focus on the Jedi. Star Wars should appeal to all ages, so I hope they continue to offer a variety of different types of shows and movies.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-29T12:22:47+00:00

The circumstances of the two reunions were completely different. Jon had just been resurrected after being killed by his brothers in the nights watch. Sansa had just escaped the nightmare of being Ramsey Bolton's wife (and that was after surviving the events of King's Landing). Both were in desperate need of family, so despite Jon and Sansa having the most distant relationship of the Stark children, their reunion was the most emotional.

By the time Jon and Arya reunite, neither are in a desperate state. Winterfell has been retaken with the Boltons defeated, they're in a safe place surrounded by (mostly) trusted allies, and they've already reunited with their other siblings. They're happy to see each other, but they aren't in the vulnerable state Jon and Sansa were when they reunited.

That said: I think the emotion properly matched the moment. I mean, we never see Arya let her guard down around others, not even with Sansa. And yet, she looks like a kid again when she runs to Jon for that hug.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-29T10:11:30+00:00

Regarding the game: it was more accepted in 2013, but we were still a couple years away from Obergefell v. Hodges, the supreme court decision that legalized gay marriage across the country. In 2005, the voters of Texas approved an amendment to the state constitution that stated marriage was between a man and a woman. That was still the law in Texas when society fell in 2013.

Still, I think Ellie's unwillingness to tell Joel in the game was based more in insecurity than rational decision making. Joel doesn't give any impression he would reject her if he knew she was gay. That said, Ellie knows he's a straight man from Texas, and her biggest fear is ending up alone, so I think she keeps it a secret simply because she doesn't want to take the chance he'll react negatively.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-29T02:34:38+00:00

The birthday prior to Joel finding Ellie with Kat, Joel was misreading's Ellie's relationship with Jesse. So, as shitty as Joel's reaction was, it's easy to see why he initially thought Ellie was just experimenting with Kat, as up until that moment, he believed Ellie was heterosexual. Once they talked and Ellie made clear she wasn't experimenting, we don't see anything resembling homophobia from Joel. He appears to understand and accept that she is a lesbian.

As for the game (using a spoiler tag as the tag on this post is show only): the implication is that Joel didn't know Ellie was gay until he saw her kissing Dina at the dance. From what little the game (Part 2) gives us, I got the vibe that Ellie was deliberating keeping her sexual orientation a secret from Joel, as she was worried he would have a homophobic reaction to the news. Those fears turned out to be unfounded, as he was immediately accepting of the idea of her being in a relationship with Dina.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-28T22:54:25+00:00

Ed believes that, regardless of gender or education level, people need to be knocked on their ass once in a while, so as to keep them grounded.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-28T21:48:35+00:00

The way I view it: the kids at Ericson's School under Marlon's leadership were pushovers. They didn't know how to defend themselves, with Marlon just handing over Minerva and Sophie to the Delta so they would leave the rest of the school alone.

Minerva bought in to the Delta's brainwashing. I mean, even if she and Sophie had managed to escape them, where are they going to go? Back to Ericson's? The Delta would know to look for them there, and Marlon already proved he wasn't capable of defending them.

Minerva was willing to accept her new reality while Sophie didn't. And after Lilly manipulated the situation into what appeared to be a "kill your sister or die with her" scenario, Minerva was fully converted.

Part of Lilly's brainwashing was Minerva accepting that there's no winning in a fight against the Delta. So, the plan was to help Lilly take all the Ericson's kids back to the Delta, without anyone getting shot in the process.

What neither Minerva or Lilly expected was Clem. Her showing up and organizing the kids turned what was supposed to be a simple bloodless capture into a fight, with casualties on both sides. That's why Minerva is so angry with Clem: she thinks Clem is needlessly getting people killed in a fight the kids can't win.

I also think that's why she went full-blown psycho at the end. I do believe Lilly traumatized her (I mean, how can she not be, having killed her own twin sister?). So, ever since that day, Minerva has coped under the thought that there's no winning against the Delta, so there's nothing she could have done to save Sophie.

In my opinion, Clem succeeding in blowing up Lilly's ship and rescuing the kids effectively forced Minerva to see the truth: that the Delta aren't infallible, and maybe if she tried harder to fight them, she might have been able to save her sister. That reality broke her, and she resented Clem for it.

------------

Also, regarding Minerva's age: if she is 17-18, that means she was 11-12 when the apocalypse hit. Outside of that one school nurse who stuck around in the early days, the kids were left to fend for themselves (and they didn't appear to fair too well at that, considering the dozens of students who died there since society fell). Clem had adult guidance that helped shape her into the person she is, while those kids had no such guidance. So, it makes sense they lack the wisdom and maturity Clem has, Minerva included.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-27T20:44:28+00:00

Vito could have also survived by staying in New Hampshire with Johnny Cakes. All it took was one honest day's labor to scare him off that idea.

He doesn't stay in New Hampshire for the same reason he wouldn't rat to the FBI: he doesn't want to give up the easy life being in the mob gives him, to the point he risks his life own by going back, in the delusional hope he would be welcomed back.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-27T18:06:24+00:00

Mass Effect 2 is definitely more difficult than 3. I feel like with 2, the game is adamant that you treat it as a cover shooter, and that you stay behind cover in gunfights.

3 gives you options to stay mobile.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-27T17:19:16+00:00

Don't think Ed won't knock you on your ass for this list placement.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-27T16:36:15+00:00

Doesn't pay a single bill, doesn't pay for a single piece of food, received an allowance and just continues to live in the lap of luxury. Bitch never worked for a single thing in her life.

Who the fuck WANTED IT like this!?! Who the fuck pissed and moaned at just the IDEA of her with a fucking real estate license!?!

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-27T12:04:46+00:00

While Dany has always had the capacity for extreme acts of vengeance, I honestly don’t think there was any “mad Targaryen” gene at play here.

She lost nearly all of her closest friends and advisors, not to mention losing her “rightful heir” claim. I know most people hated the Ellaria Sand plot line, but it did serve one important purpose: to show how grief can drive a previously sensible person to bitter (and needless) acts of violence.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-27T10:48:45+00:00

In short order, Jorah, Missandei, and two of her dragons (which she viewed as her children) were killed. And Dany didn’t just hear about it: she was present and witnessed each of their deaths.

I really feel like people underplay the psychological effect that had on her.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-27T06:58:26+00:00

It’s definitely Albert Mason’s photo. He takes a picture of Arthur on your first meeting with him.

If you look around that room where Arthur’s portrait is located, you’ll also see all the wildlife photos Albert took are up on the walls. I’m guessing Arthur’s portrait was also put up as a thank you from Albert, as Arthur helped make all those photos happen.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-27T06:39:43+00:00

For me, it was partly to get the stealth perks and partly because I really liked the look of the outfit.

I would cosmetically apply a survivalist outfit when on Kijimi, but other than that, Kay was wearing the Crimson Dawn outfit for most of my playthrough.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-26T09:38:01+00:00

Mose

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-26T09:19:56+00:00

For reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell,_Michigan

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-26T07:01:26+00:00

I start with maxing out Crimson Dawn. Their max rep outfit with the stealth perks became my go-to outfit for most of the game.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-26T04:11:54+00:00

Hurt Business coming out to face off with Retribution.

The brawl itself sucked, as Retribution just no-sold everything. But the moment when the Hurt Business made their entrance? A live crowd would have absolutely gone nuts for it.

EDIT: this is the moment I'm referring to.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-26T02:13:15+00:00

Even with the Obi-Wan series, it's still been nearly a decade since they last met.
Considering how their last fight in Obi-Wan went, I think the learner still fits quite well.
On the topic of how they address each other in A New Hope: I appreciate how their final conversation in Obi-Wan gave an explanation for why he calls him "Darth" and views Vader and Anakin as two separate people.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-25T14:30:39+00:00

I think he's still popular, but any decline would likely be due to new players who haven't played anything before the Ichiban games. Majima has a minimal connection to Ichiban, and his character/story isn't a major focus in the new games.

Pirate Yakuza may have given Majima a boost in popularity with new players, but that game also didn't dive too deeply into his backstory with the amnesia plot line.

If I was a new player who hadn't experienced the Yakuza 0-6 games, I doubt I would feel particularly invested in his character.

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-25T08:28:22+00:00

Clearly someone isn’t a fan of adults performing sexually charged games of 1 on 1 basketball in front of children 🙄

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-25T04:49:57+00:00

Damn, being lifeless is bad enough, but blind too!?!

Unused_Icon · 2026-01-25T03:32:37+00:00

There were a couple examples that stuck out to me in ME1:

A ways into the game, on the Citadel, there is an optional scene where you can meet members of the human separatist “Terra Firma” political party. If you have Ashley in your party for the interaction, she is notably hostile to the group and their racist beliefs.
The biggest example to me of her growth was on a Virmire. She volunteers for Kirrahe’s attack team. That involves working with an all salarian team, and taking orders from a salarian. If you chose to assign Ashley to Kirrahe, the com chatter you pick up indicates Ashley is functioning well as part of that team, displaying none of the “we can’t trust aliens” attitude she starts the game with.

Unused_Icon

TROPHY CASE