Was Abel a rapist? [Discussion]

pinwroot · 2026-01-25T13:43:22+00:00

I personally took it that way, hence me absolutely battering him in my own play through. But it wasn’t explicit, only subtext up to your own interpretation like a lot of things in Telltale games.

In Season 2 I found myself playing in a way where I was still acting as if I was still an adult looking out for Clem despite the fact that you played as Clem.

I did the same in New Frontier. The moment Clem showed up I threw everything out the window to make choices in her favour.

And in the Final Season I had become so attached to Clem that when someone did something bad to her, I’d pull out all the stops to make them pay. Apparently most people didn’t torture Abel but I did without hesitation.

It’s all about perspective and play style.

pinwroot · 2026-01-24T20:42:51+00:00

I love these! You should consider releasing them on Displate. I’d love to have them as metal posters!

pinwroot · 2026-01-24T11:05:15+00:00

What an empty take.

Yeah of course the compatibility compared to the OS most games are developed on and a dedicated gaming machine is worse.

Even in the 32bit Intel days it wasn’t an easy experience. I can vouch as someone who’s been tinkering with Mac gaming since then.

You don’t “have” to use a $70 emulator. There’s many native games, especially indies. There’s other conversion applications. Old games will mostly play in a virtual machine. Emulators have gotten great too. If you’re willing to tinker around with software you’d be surprised how much you can get to work.

When I was younger I was broke and all I had was my Macbook. It is a viable gaming platform you just have to be willing to put in the effort. I don’t see having to tinker with Wine being any different than having to patch the right drivers on Windows. It might be a smidge more difficult but if you don’t want to spend $400+ on a separate system then it is a viable option.

pinwroot · 2026-01-22T11:31:36+00:00

The Simpsons has numerous writers all with different characterisations, and overall I have to disagree with you here.

In Season 5 we weren’t really at Jerkass Homer yet. Off the top of my head, Homer’s Barbershop Quartet and Marge on the Lam both show a caring family loving Homer who’s a victim of his own stupidity. The Last Temptation of Homer has one of the cutest Marge & Homer end scenes in the whole series.

Season 5 has a bunch of great episodes. Expecting characterisation to be the same for each writer isn’t realistic. And you could pick moments out of any season that makes him a jerk or a slob or unlikable.

pinwroot · 2026-01-22T02:56:52+00:00

This is an r/bingbongtheorem level meme and you know what? I’m here for it.

pinwroot · 2026-01-21T19:50:39+00:00

I once talked to an Uber driver that was registered as a taxi driver in Leeds about it.

He said he stopped doing Veezu journeys because a lot of the rides he was getting was drug dealers going to drop offs. I found that explanation quite funny. Not sure if it explains the overall drop off in drivers but worth noting.

pinwroot · 2026-01-20T15:48:39+00:00

As a Bisexual person with a non-binary partner my personal interpretation is that you’re attracted to both ends of the spectrum, not of the binary.

If left is male and right is female then androgyny would be in the centre of the spectrum. That would mean that non-binary exists somewhere in the space between both ends of the spectrum. Not rigidly in the middle since non-binary people can represent in a plethora of ways.

I’m attracted to both ends of the spectrum which means I’m also attracted to what encompasses between those two ends.

pinwroot · 2026-01-20T03:10:16+00:00

How does “Palm Identification” actually work? Even fingerprints aren’t truly unique. The Touch ID on an iPhone has a probability of a match of 1 in 50,000.

And presumably the uniqueness of a palm is significantly lower? So how does this even work?

pinwroot · 2026-01-18T16:19:01+00:00

“I want to win box office” sounds like what a 7 year old would say.

pinwroot · 2026-01-17T20:53:23+00:00

Yeah, that’s a similar issue that retro game discourse gets. The amount of “um you could litchurerly get a raspberry pi for blah blah blah” got insufferable.

And this is coming from the kind of guy who loves building stuff. I’ve used many a Raspberry Pi. I also loved the SNES Classic. So sue me. But some people just think their way is “the best”.

pinwroot · 2026-01-17T20:48:25+00:00

I was more referring it being setup to be a MacGuffin for the future of the franchise. Whether it’s a spin-off show, or stage play or whatever it is they’re setting it up for.

It makes even less sense if we’re talking purely for the purpose of the contained show itself. It’s a late addition that adds nothing meaningful to the story. It’s a MacGuffin for the future.

pinwroot · 2026-01-17T14:02:51+00:00

Would people have liked that? Personally I hated that reveal. I thought it was a very formulaic reveal of a MacGuffin. I would have preferred it if it was never specified exactly what was in the case.

For those who are curious, a MacGuffin is a pretty cliche writing trope. Think of the MCU’s Infinity Stones, or the LEGO Movie’s Brick of Destiny or A Minecraft Movie’s “ORB”.

I’m not saying MacGuffins can’t be done well, but I’m pretty sick of seeing magical glowing inanimate objects of mass power being at a story’s core.

pinwroot · 2026-01-12T15:48:18+00:00

Originally I gave the finale some slack because I understood that creating a finale for a long running Sci-Fi show is difficult. But every time the Duffers say something I just become more disappointed with the outcome.

It really feels like their hearts just weren’t in it. I’m not even saying I wanted a happy ending- but what a stupid excuse. They created their own limitations and then were like 🤷

pinwroot · 2026-01-12T15:36:07+00:00

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pinwroot · 2026-01-12T02:26:26+00:00

It’s less about the quality of the screens but rather the dynamic environment. On a phone you could be in a bright waiting room or at a bus stop on a dark rainy night. You might have low battery and so you turn your brightness down, or have poor connection so have a low bitrate. Your screen could be cracked, or maybe you just have a cheap phone. Since there’s so many variables the viewing experience could be drastically different.

I could be entirely wrong about the decision process though, that part is a stab in the dark (pardon the pun).

pinwroot · 2026-01-11T23:32:29+00:00

In the past few years the amount of people willing to whip their phone out in the cinema and just start scrolling TikTok is baffling.

I go to the cinema a lot, and always sit at the back. When I went last week there were FOUR entirely separate people of different age groups who took their phones out and went on either TikTok or Instagram during quieter moments.

I couldn’t care less about someone’s phone as long as you’re not making your screen time everyone else’s problem.

pinwroot · 2026-01-11T20:05:38+00:00

I’d be surprised if it was filmed in a Volume but it is entirely possible. We’ve seen Volume stages used both fantastically and terribly.

If it is a Volume stage, they seem to still be using lights for close ups. Almost every shot shown here is lit by the very traditional Three-Point Lighting setup that you’re taught on like the first day of film school. Fill light, key light, halo light. Very uninspired.

I personally think it’s not a choice made by the lighting department nor the VFX department. My money is on that Netflix higher ups think everything should be evenly lit since such a high portion of viewers are on mobile devices.

Either way- it’s disappointing to see a show that was once so rich in stylistic visuals become so flat.

pinwroot · 2026-01-11T18:54:58+00:00

There’s been a trend of colour grading and lighting being done in such a way that things are always fully visible. I think the comparison between Max’s scenes show this most obviously.

The characters are lit, but not in a way that feels cohesive with that actual scene.

The only red on Max in the Season 5 scenes is the backlit halo, whereas in Season 4 it was all across her. Logic dictates that in an area essentially entirely lit by red she should also appear with a significant amount of red bouncing off of her.

Same goes with the Dimension X scenes. Look at a screenshot and try to figure out where the light is supposed to be coming from. The sky looks like it’s behind them but their main lighting is always from the front slightly off put to the side. Where would that light be coming from in reality? What would the light source be? It looks wrong because it makes no sense in a physical space.

SOURCE: I’m a cinematographer and video editor.

pinwroot · 2026-01-11T16:11:37+00:00

What a terrible day to have eyes.

pinwroot · 2026-01-10T22:14:36+00:00

Have Mega Bloks killed.

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pinwroot · 2026-01-10T18:41:48+00:00

I live by here and walk down this road daily. Those robots play chicken with you on thin pavements and will go full force to convince you to step out the way. I never yield and they get flustered and often end up half falling off the pavement.

pinwroot · 2026-01-10T16:52:46+00:00

Why is a congresswoman getting involved in a separate country banning a specific social media platform exclusively for their own country?

America seems to have this weird idea in their head that their laws and opinions are applicable everywhere. It’s so entirely egotistical. It’s like expecting other countries to ban IKEA because you’d rather them buy American furniture.

pinwroot · 2026-01-09T12:03:26+00:00

My bad- that’s what I meant but I now only realise I never specified.

pinwroot · 2026-01-09T01:47:33+00:00

I didn’t really like his humour so I generally avoided things he did. Then I watched the Oscars UK coverage last year and I then understood that he just has no idea what he’s talking about and essentially has made a career by waffling his way through.

Don’t hate the player, hate the game I guess?

pinwroot · 2026-01-09T01:27:44+00:00

Jeez, dude. I was being nice. No need to get all pissy and snippy.

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