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Four games that changed how I think about games - Undertale - Metroid Prime - Shadow of the Colossus - Metal Gear Solid

Both are fighters in the physical and figurative sense Both stubborn, rash but capable of wise planning, both driven by justice and duty, both intelligent, both obsessed with a villain And both criticised within the narrative for their falling under malign influence

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Then we have that way the two of them are treated by a lot of "fans" of the old and new versions of their franchise, which is to say, badly And that's because they both have classically male arcs in their new show, and aren't the same as their future selves, in part

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And then there was pushback from some discovering the younger, rasher, angrier versions, who are still leaders but in a more action sense But we can still see the similarities to their older versions That prequel sense has affected the way both characters are seen, imo

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Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Both also start set on a childhood aspiration of being in the police equivalent in their (different degrees) of morally dubious state with oppressive elements, as part of the aristocracy, feeling lots of familial pressure and with a complicated relationship with their mother

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Four RPGs to get to know me ✨ 🎮

Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Both have to struggle to find their identity and deal with the expectations on them too, and both can be sassy when things don't go their way, whilst also suppressing a lot of emotion. In human form, Rarity dresses elegantly in a similar style to Cait.

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Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

But there are arc and personality links too. Rarity and Cait are both stubborn, sophicasted, detail orientated, pedantic, meticulous and sometimes patronising. They can seem superficial and spoilt on the surface but underneath are selfless and generous

Both are aristocratic, both stubborn, both fierce and independent Both start off fighting for themselves and to show they are worthy, but end up fighting for a loved one, protecting someone bigger than them who is seen as a protector. And both fight with destiny and survive

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They also both end up "losing" (one more permanently) their mothers through the actions they took to put themselves apart of those familial expectations. Both blame themselves for what happened to their mothers too.

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#arcane #Caitparison number 18 Cait - Merida Let's start with the obvious - the choice of long range weapon Not only that though, both have practised to be very skilled at it, the point where their pride in their competence is a big part of their personality

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Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

Let's get this party started - Fate's Bane by CL Clark

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In the end, Kiddo carries out her revenge with her target close to hand and at her mercy, like a male character, and the film implies this was the right, or at least a right, decision. She ends up a hero and generally free from external criticism

Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

Both are trained in martial arts by older mentors and are hugely skilled especially in their chosen weapon, both kill their ultimate mentors, both softened by love Kiddo is Asian coded but unlike Cait not Asian

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Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

Like Cait, Beatrix's vengeance is single minded and hurts minions in the way, and scars some innocents though unlike Kiddo Cait doesn't actually kill a mother figure in front of their young child. However their desire for revenge isn't seen as inherently unjust in their work.

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Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Both highly skilled with a finesse weapon, and both with a similar dress sense and style Both affected by terrorist attacks against them Both have to overcome prejudice to a minority group instilled by those attacks.

Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Both have felt lonely and outcasts in childhood and young adulthood. Both come across as know-it-alls because they yap and push back when they think they are right Whilst rebels, they also take their responsibilities seriously

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But, like Cait, he ends up justifying risks and dubious means to reach his ends. He becomes cold to those helping him, detached. And he ends up hurting innocents and we ask "Was it worth it?"

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And his drive and his trauma make him colder (on the surface, in the book and good adaptations he's pretty emotional underneath), darker, melancholy, ruthless and ends up hurting innocents and his moved on love in his fervour to "right a wrong" not only to himself but to others

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"but Cait isn't like that all show! It's just partway through Season 2 after she's traumatised!" Well, yes, but that's the point Edmond Dantes starts as naive, kind and idealistic and he (here reflecting Vi) gets falsely imprisoned for it for 14 years

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Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

x.com/JacCooper1/sta… Cait as a Byronic hero Byronic heroes are flawed, tragically hurt themselves and their loved in their quest, are melancholy, insular, bitter and self-destructive, though still protective and emotional (though these emotions are repressed)

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Both end up sacrificing a lot of themself and risking more to save their "kingdom", accepting their place as its protector and understanding that their unwanted position is not just a cage, and a privilege, but also a duty, and the power to help people. Including their Link/Vi

Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

Both also deeply affected by losing their mother who was their idol and nurturer. But both also struggle with parental and familial (and dynastic) expectation and it affects their confidence and leads them to question their legacy and role.

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Both are also physically classic of the trope - "talk, dark and handsome" but also associated with simple elegant clothes that are dark in colour contrasted with white Noticed the ruff collar and cravat style

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Which also, conveniently nails Cait's character too Their romances are also both strained and delayed by both the differences in their lived experience but also Vi/Elizabeth's wariness and judgment and Cait/Darcy's bluntness and frankly abysmal communication skills

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Darcy is the classic romantic hero - late 18th- 19th century associations, rejects norms, an outsider, introspective, self-focused, cerebral, and falls in love with a more open character, one who is critical of him in a way he needs

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Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Here is Shadow's thread: x.com/5h4d0wHun73r/s… Also we are going to use Colin Firth 1995 Darcy for obvious reasons

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She's the goddess of the hunt, transitions, and nature, being wild and hard to control She's linked to a triple goddess trifecta with Hecate and Selene (sometimes others), like Cait has ties with Jinx (Hecate) and Vi (Selene)

Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Artemis takes no male lovers, but has duties protecting women, even in pregnancy and birth, is surrounded by female warrior attendants who also eschew the touch of men, bathes naked with them and gets very angry if men see her naked.

Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Artemis has a few key features - but one of the most prominent is that she's a virgin goddess, one of several in Greek mythology (which is interesting given the nature of those goddesses and the patriarchal system of the time)

Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

Anywhere, here are the lyrics to Thank Goodness, a song that will always remind me of S2 A2 CaitVi and Cait just as much as it encapsulates Act 2 Gelphie.

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Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Trying out Knights of Guinevere pilot, like the grungy, cyberpunk visuals

Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

What video game do you consider perfect?

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Jac @drjacjac.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

The only art I have to offer