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If you're hungry, eat
I don't want to conquer anything. It's just that the person with the most freedom in the sea is the Pirate King
A hero?! Forget it! We're pirates! I like heroes a lot, but I don't want to be one. Pirates eat [tofu] and have big parties, but heroes take [tofu] and give it to poor people! I want to eat [tofu]!
is the closest I'll ever feel to being patriotic.
Luffy is the only person real or fictional that really makes me think “damn I want to be like this guy”. He’s truly the most free person ever.
He gave a chicken a job. This is a man of the people
Kermit is also Captain Ed Mercer's role model
Beckett Mariner is the ideal Starfleet officer and therefore role model
Only cause OBrian wasn't an officer
Barret Wallace from FF7 
I'm a fan of Samus although not from an ecological perspective, and Megaman seems cool. Replace and arm with a gun and I'm on board
obviously just ideologically correct and not at all a misogynist/misanthrope
Serious:
EEAAO Waymond probably the only guy to figure out how to be a man in a good way
Ram and Bheem from RRR are both really good characters. Ram especially has a lot going on and the conflict between friendship and duty to revolution/political activity actually is something you can apply to your own life
N.J. from Yi Yi (the main character) isn't exactly a positive role model, but I guess there's a lot I can project into that character that I learned from and find useful to reflect about
Dante because he doesn't take himself too seriously and always fights for justice
Ezio Auditore because he's a smooth motherfucker
Samus Aran because she's relentless
Luigi's Mansion characterized him as persevering while terrified, and I respect that.
Riza Hawkeye (very critical support) - shoot first, questions are for nerds. Need a skill level to strive for at the range.
Another vote for Samus, she's just goals all around (fuck other M) (also respect for anyone else too angry to die)
Lucca (Chrono Trigger) made being a nerd cool for a very young nerd
Arthur Dent, gotta appreciate a well-made sandwich
I feel like I'm leaving out someone from Niven's Ringworld/known space who had an impact on me but on reflection no one in particular would qualify as "role model" material
I also definitely related to Simon from Lord of the Flies as a kid -- never really fitting in, brutally murdered by my peers
Oh, shit, I left out the entirety of trek and star wars
Chewie is a fucking great friend
Leia was a badass
Honestly the TNG crew probably had more role models for me than every other piece of fiction combined
Honestly the TNG crew probably had more role models for me than every other piece of fiction combined
Frank BDSM talk, and yes, it is related to this.
One time after a session, my sub partner told me that when I take charge I have Captain Picard energy. A quiet confidence that I would be obeyed, not out of fear of punishment, but simply because she didn't want to disappoint me. I liked that, it fits my kink interests very naturally. Some later sessions involved her fantasy of being a very green ensign getting "private command training" from her captain.
I grew up watching the original run of TNG as a child into adolescence. I think Picard's leadership style imprinted on me strongly at that formative time.
My theory is that Lwaxana Troi wasn't exaggerating when she commented on Picard's allegedly dirty thoughts about her, and that she played up her brattiness around him to tease out those thoughts, and that the real reason he's wary around her is that she threatens his famously strong self-control.
All of this is still missing someone to represent effortless joy in everyday things/childlike wonder, best I can come up with right now is Calvin, but that's a trope that always sticks out to me and makes me reflect a bit
Ooh, Dᴇᴀᴛʜ from Discworld. And Granny Weatherwax.
(fuck other M)
I like you.
It's interesting how the western-made Prime trilogy treats Samus as an independent, capable professional who makes her own decisions on what course of action to take, and faces foes head-on.
But the Japanese-made games produced after Super Metroid treat her as weak-willed, dependent on male superiors for support and orders and authorizations, and more often hiding from powerful enemies instead of fighting them.
RIGHT!? Ok, you want to make a game dealing with Samus's insecurities and developing her character, so you tie in some folks loosely mentioned in the lore and show her as someone who's unaccustomed to her suit, her abilities, and showcase her PTSD fears from her childhood. Sure, lock the powerups on "orders" so she doesn't inadvertently kill everyone on the ship since planet-cracking is not out of the question. Sure, have her freeze up when the dude who ate her parents shows up, makes sense.
BUT DON'T SET IT CHRONOLOGICALLY AFTER SHE KILLED HIM (Metroid-Zebes); killed his robo-clone (zero mission-Zebes); ancient laser blasted his cybernetic resurrection to an explosive disney death (prime-tallon IV); dodged, fought (corruption-norion), and radiation-overload-exploded that incarnation when it got better and gained superpowers while it was mind controlled by her radioactive alternate universe clone (corruption-pirate home world);^1^ fought him to a draw over her adopted metroid (Super Metroid-station), then killed him again and blew up the planet where he died (Super Metroid-Zebes).
"Oh shit it's Ridley my fiercest nemesis whom I have battled on seven distinct occasions and witnessed return from certain death four times! I, Samus Aran, to-this-point-silent professional badass with three destroyed planets painted on the nose of my gunship, am rendered into a helpless little girl while this obviously mindless clone squawks at me without actually attacking for 85 goddamned seconds"
Fuck Other M.
Also they did Samus dirty by making her a 5-fucking-4 waif when we all know real Samus is a 6'3" 200 lb brick house
#notmybountyhunter vs Peak Samus
1. Proteus ridley wasn't in the original Metroid II, only the remake, and is left out of this rant
I found YouTube links in your comment. Here are links to the same videos on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Link 1:
Link 2:
I'll admit that I never played Dread so I can't comment on how she's portrayed in that.
The only reason I never played Dread was because I dislike stealth games. Nothing against those who do enjoy them of course.
Oh, if you're not gonna play it, spending an hour watching the cutscenes would not be wasted time. Dread definitely did Samus justice.
ACTUAL SPOILER don't read if you're gonna watch or play it's cool as hell
She ends the game as a very literal rage monster that Metroid-sucks the life force out of a space station
And, mild encouragement to give it a shot though it may not be your vibe: I feel it would be more accurate to compare the EMMI segments in Dread to the survival horror genre than to the stealth genre. You're really only hiding from the first couple, after that it was frantic fearful parkour. I remember the stress more than the sneak. But I may be remembering incorrectly.
Edit: and they are just segments, very clearly delineated. Most of the game was actiony metroidvania fare.
Thanks! I'm not worried about spoilers, I won't be playing it. I mentally just lump survival-horror in with stealth games. I don't want to hide from monsters. I want to leap into the fray. Just a personal preference thing. But it's nice to know she got a good portrayal in Dread.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Dread isn't a stealth game there are light stealth elements. But even the EMMI zones aren't so much stealth as running away sections. Samus is portrayed fucking perfect in Dread. It's a really really good game
I think Halo is a pretty cool guy. Eh kills aleins and doesnt afraid of anything
Dr mobius from fallout new Vegas old world blues.
I also can't forget "It's good to see you still have capacity for compassion, my friend. Deep down you are a good man" from beautiful necktie in disco elysiumspoiler
He imprisoned his friends for having no concern for anyone else. He did it to protect everyone else in the wasteland. It was not an easy choice for him. He became addicted to mentats to numb the pain
Esmerelda Weatherwax: There are no magic fixes for your problems, it takes hard work and a little Headology.
Ellen Ripley: stay calm when things start going wrong, panicking and dick swinging only make bad situations worse
Animal: yelling and hitting things is a valid form of communication
BJ Blazkowicz: shooting Nazis is always the right thing to do
BJ Blazkowicz: shooting Nazis is always the right thing to do
The only gamer youtuber I watch is civvie11. His carefully edited and polished videos are 50% of the reason I do so. His open and enthusiastic hatred of fascists is the other 50%.
Skeletor or something 
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Nepheli Loux from Eden Ring
Despite knowing it'll cost her everything, she still doesn't hesitate to throw down against the forces of oppression.
The speech she makes at the ransacked albinauric village sums it up:
I witnessed a sight much the same, in my infancy.
The oppression of the weak. Murder and pillage unchecked.
A waking nightmare, made by men.
But this time, I'm a woman grown.
And though the suffering cannot be undone, I can still mete out justice.
Justice to the oppressors.
Let the scars I carve remind them. I am Nepheli Loux, Warrior.
Ace from Dr Who
Other than being an IED slinging communist travelling all of time and space to kick the shit outta various embodiments of capitalism and fascism, Ace's greatest strength is the compassion she shares with others. A reminder that often more than the strength of any individual, collective solidarity with others marginalised by the capitalist hegemon is what'll allow us to win.
Rincewind from Discworld
Despite being scared shitless, despite lacking any of the skills of his peers, despite being way out of his depth, Rincewind still gathers the courage to face down multiple apocalyptic threats.
Bravery is not a lack of fear, but rather the strength to push on despite that fear.
Geo Stelar from Mega Man Star Force!! (I get to talk about him again!) He starts out depressed and insecure but ultimately he's kind with a "strong sense of justice" and wants to help people and he eventually dares to make friends and put himself in harm's way for others. He can even be cool or badass sometimes as Mega Man. He also likes space 
I have at various times felt hopeless about socialising, studying, living on my own because of things like chronic procrastination or anxiety. Geo's story spoke to me, he gave me hope in myself. The first game struck me on a personal level I had never experienced before and felt like the first time I felt 100 percent understood 
Oh yeah, Geo is also technically the only Mega Man to kill a millionaire.
Tony Soprano, Q, Heisenberg, Alucard from Helsing ultimate, Shadow the Hedgehog, Light Yagami
Mrs. Brisby (Mrs. Frisby in the book) from The Secret Of NIMH taught me a lot about what heroism really is. She's timid and unassuming, and performs unreal acts of courage to get the medicine her son needs to survive.
Captain Picard and the rest of the TNG cast.
I'm going to have to think on this one. I'll update later.
Idk, Sans Undertale?
Uncle Iroh because I also like hot leaf juice
