(no subject)
god I'm bored and hate finals. LET'S DUMP STUFF IN THIS JOURNAL INSTEAD.
This is-- mostly me talking with adangerousgirl, heh. To say that I am stressing out over potentially playing Adachi is a major understatement. But talking with her and writing stuff down here and there has helped me sort of get my thoughts in order. ONE DAY, maybe I will do a cohesive essay or. something.
MARCH 7TH
MAN every time I think about Kurogane NOT being spoiled for the killer
i crack up
"Honey, I'm apping Adachi." "oh wow, you're trying a new type!"
HAHAHAHAHA
* Sakuraba p-pinches at the bridge of her nose.
Wait is she--she's done with it now right?
Yeah when you told me you were apping him, I didn't know yet
and I was like "OH YEAH HE'S SO CUTE!"
Yes |D
YEAH I HAD GINO AT THE TIME
SO IT WAS LIKE
"I'M TOTALLY INNOCENT!"
god and then I found out and was like
WAIT DID JURI KNOW!?
HAHAHAHA
NO, NO
I HAVE AN APP PATTERN
since when do I app good people
I mean. Really.
WELL THERE WAS--UH--
... hahaha getting our personas in camp
sob
don't kill me guys!!
. . . lol Adachi
mmm magatsu-izanagi
You know what I never got
what
Namatame didn't have a Persona. He changed physically even though Izanami gave him the same power as Adachi and Souji
...
So does that mean that Adachi faced his true self/Shadow at some point
Namatame's party van was his persona
to get his persona
HAHAHAHAH
NO UH. idk.
I have no idea how I'm going to play it either.
BECAUSE MAN I WOULD LOVE FIC OF ADACHI AND SHADOW ADACHI
Probably fast and loose and skirting any details, but I'd ... lean towards no.
Since Souji never did either.
* Rise nods
Adachi almost seems to embrace his Shadow? Or-- NOT EXACTLY THAT, but.
He doesn't reject his Shadow
I don't ... think he realizes it either, though.
it's weird.
I was spoiled for the fact that he has a Persona so actually, that was what I expected to happen
was for Adachi to have accepted his Shadow and kind of--reveled in it almost?
So he never had to fight it
But then it was NEVER ADDRESSED
SOMETHING LIKE THAT? I dunno.
See, it. Adachi is very ...
idk.
He definitely revels in his Shadow in a way
I was thinking too about how--hell I should just write the fic XD I HAVE AN ADACHI FIC I WANT TO WRITE
WRITE IT
I love Adachi because-- honestly, I think there's a LOT of different ways you could read him
I WILL I JUST NEED TO GET OFF MY ASS I have the notes done
and they'd all be fairly accurate
* Rise nods
unless you're like fandom and go "o pour baybee"
and then you are Doing It Wrong
Yeah he's just. HE'S SO INTERESTING--and lolol that pains me
hahaha |D
D-do people actually do that
I mean he's interesting because it's clear that he's both--sympathetic and not? Like there's a balance where he's horrible and he did these horrible things and he's not redeemed at the end really, and he didn't have a good reason and he wasn't possessed or fooled or anything--but he's also not a monster
Usually with villains it's ONE OR THE OTHER
I REALLY THINK THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO READ HIM, but yeah, he's not--
god, you know.
I have this horribly rough essay that I'm terrified of posting ever
but I'll just. show it to you
it's me constantly going back and forth on Adachi
hahahah
I FEEL THAT WAY TOO I want to see it
I wrote it as, like, something to post in his journal if I got in. XD I'M TOO SCARED TO, THOUGH
BUT WHY
BECAUSE
hahahaha
[LINK TO POST.] RISE'S ON THE FILTER, it's like random shit I typed out one day in January, orz
* Rise GOES TO SEE
---
RANDOM THOUGHTS ON ADACHI
I ... hesitate to classify him at all. Honestly, I'd find it easier to talk about what he isn't than what he is (thnx fandom). There are a few key things I want to touch on in an ESSAY ON SPOILERS rather than just outright essaying - if that makes sense, er. lol writing this two months before apping lol.
Adachi is a jerk.
LET'S JUST BE FORWARD ABOUT THIS. Adachi is a jerk. Adachi is a douchebag. I specialize in playing jerks and douchebags, and it's why it was so hilarious when I told people I was apping him and they didn't even ... realize that he was secretly A TOTAL JACKASS. Adachi will always be a jerk. That's just how he is.
He's definitely, definitely not the redemptive type, exactly. The true ending makes it pretty damn clear that he's not repentant. Not once does he say "oh, I was wrong!" I mean, he wants to die after being defeated and realizing that he's completely lost.
... h-he has the mentality of a teenage boy, basically.
He is NOT a good person.
LET ME REPEAT.
ADACHI IS NOT A GOOD PERSON. FANDOM.
LET'S REVIEW WHAT ADACHI HAS DONE, SHALL WE:
- OVERPOWERED A WOMAN AND SHOVED HER INTO A TELEVISION IN SUCH A MANNER THAT BASICALLY AMOUNTS TO ASSAULT. IN LESS FANCY TERM-SKIRTING WORDS, HE FORCED HIMSELF ONTO HER.
- SHOVED A TEENAGE GIRL INTO A TV BECAUSE SHE GAVE HIM LIP AND WOULDN'T PLAY HIS GAME. AND BECAUSE HE COULD. MOSTLY THE LATTER. HE MIGHT HAVE HAD A THING FOR HER, I DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW TO READ THAT.
- SHOVED A KID IN FOR THE LULZ. ALSO TO KEEP THE LULZ GOING.
- MANIPULATED A LOT IN THE INVESTIGATION.
- SENT THREATENING LETTERS FOR SHITS AND GIGGLES.
- DID LIKE EVERYTHING EVER IN THE GAME FOR SHITS AND GIGGLES.
- LOL MISOGYNIST?!
This needed capslock to emphasize that. 8(
THIS IS NOT A GOOD PERSON. This is not a HORRIBLY MISUNDERSTOOD PERSON either. He did it because he could. Adachi has power and control issues. Having power and control issues does not make you ~horribly misunderstood~ and everyone should feel sorry for you. I think someone once told me that they felt bad for Adachi, and my kneejerk response was "UHM."
Adachi is ... not a completely horrible human being and a waste of space either.
M-mostly.
I'm of the mind that Adachi is a very gray character. He's morally corrupt, has issues up the wazoo, and has done some horrible shit just because he could. I think that completely painting him as a villain, though, is not entirely accurate! He's ... Adachi. And I honestly cannot really describe him any other way. Because for all his dickery, he does some things and acts in certain ways that are contrary to how he is! And people can go back and forth on how to interpret it, since there are definitely a number of ways to do it. Someone once mentioned that it was pretty damn hard to really peg him one way or another in some respects, and I think this is dead on, with an emphasis on "some respects."
He ... has his sympathetic qualities, and this does get played up a bit in the game (which I'll touch on in a second, OH TRUE ENDING you so funny). And he has certain qualities that keep him from being an utter dickwad and ultimately make him playable - because let's face it, I would not have apped him if he existed just to fuck with everything ever and was ONLY a total dickwad. loltruth made a pie chart. There's depth and layers, but it's, er, not the depth that fandom goes on about.
He's very, very human. There's a quote from the true ending path, where Izanami says "One chose to avert his eyes from the truth, and allowed evil to taint his awakened power ...". I see this as - well, Adachi not wanting to face the truth or reality of things. Of his world, of everything! He made "one mistake" (according to him, who knows what it actually was) and was reassigned to Inaba. To an extent, I ... gggguess he had the right to be bitter? It's a rather human reaction. He's "empty," as the game puts it. At the same time, everything he did was his choice. You can't just excuse what he did, saying he was misunderstood or it was just the influence of the power Izanami gave him. To an extent? ... yeah, the power played into it, but that goes back to control and power issues he already had.
The point is that he did make that choice to do everything! No one forced him, no one told him he had to KILL SUM WIMMENZ or whatever. Izanami just gave him some power and let him run! Adachi was the one who ultimately decided what he'd do with it. Power fed into his issues and had a hand in making it batshit crazy, yeah, but ultimately, it was his decision. And ... that's why the character is so interesting to me, I guess. All of the ambiguities and everything.
For what it's worth, since I realize that I've spent A LOT OF THIS sitting on the fence and not really saying much of anything - I read the true ending and his letter as him dealing with the consequences of his actions finally, with a dash of dickery. He's always going to be a dick and Not A Good Person, and nothing's going to change that, IMHO. Things still seem to be a game to him, but it seems like at least by the true ending, he has the concept of consequences and playing by the rules, whether he likes it or not. This is what will keep him playable for me, while still being able to let Adachi be ... well, Adachi.
lol Dojima lol.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW.
I CAN NEVER RELATIONSHIP MEME FOR DOJIMA-SAN EVER.
Seriously, if you look at the game, Adachi cracks up over the fact that he fools everyone. He goes on about how stupid people are. And yet, he never directly slams Dojima. He had plenty of opportunities and ... man, he had Dojima completely fooled. It seems like something else he'd be proud of - like with Kubo et all - and yet, Dojima is kept out of his crazy, megalomaniac rants. When Adachi learns that Dojima still cared enough to send an ambulance and a stretcher for him, even after knowing damn well that Adachi was behind everything that had messed up Inaba (and PUT HIS DAUGHTER IN HARM'S WAY goddamnit adachi)? Adachi winces. It's ... well, it's quite possibly one of the first genuine reactions we really get out of Adachi in the whole damn game.
DOJIMA IS ... god, I seriously don't know. Like Adachi himself, it's not something I can classify. I do think that, to a point, Adachi's interactions with Dojima weren't complete bullshit. I also think that, to a point, he didn't even realize this himself until the end. That is, how much was all a part of his "game" and how much was something he didn't intend. I mean. The first time he really breaks his idiot act and shows some competance is when he snaps at Dojima for running after Namatame after Nanako is kidnapped. I, uh, seriously hesitate to classify this as him continuing his "game," since all he'd have to do is play the fool as always and things would be fine. I ALSO hesitate to classify it as him ~*caring*~ because. Adachi.
Even his reaction when Nanako is kidnapped is one I go back and forth on. ON ONE HAND - DUDE, THOSE LETTERS HE SENT. SOMEONE CLOSE TO YOU? A-ADACHI. YOU DICK. on the other hand ... thaaaat actually looks like it hit home in some manner or another. It's ambiguous IMHO. It may not have been a moment where he cared, per ce? But it seemed like a "....... shit" moment, kind of paralleling his PUKE AFTER SEEING THE BODY scene at the beginning. Both of those struck me as moments where he saw, well, the truth of his actions, had a very real reaction to it, and then promptly averted his eyes (as per what Izanami said) and rolled on in his own way.
It just seems like there's something else when it comes to Dojima, to Adachi. Dojima is someone he never directly insults. Which is a small thing, but considering the type of person Adachi really is and how he has a twenty minute long cutscene ranting about EVERYTHING EVER BITCHES AND WHORES! ... nnnnot bashing Dojima once (by name) in that is something. At the same time, he screwed around with Dojima. There's really no way around that! There's got to be a certain amount of irritation at basically being Dojima's gopher, all because he made a mistake at his old post.
But his actions post-December 5th plus his reaction after being pulled out of the TV makes me ultimately lean towards him ... well. Not entirely hating Dojima. And holding him in a different regard than others. What that is - I really can't pin down right now, nor am I really settled on how differently he does regard Dojima. Adachi is a horribly ambiguous character in some regards, and his true thoughts on Dojima are ambiguous as well, particularly in the true ending.
My gut says that Dojima is probably the only one he really has some respect for, although Souji may have wormed his way in in one form or another, whether Adachi likes it or not.
Adachi will continue to be a Terrible Person.
HE'S AN ASSHOLE, YOU GUYS. THIS IS JUST HOW HE IS.
to be fair, I play and have played tons of terrible people in the past. Looking at my apps in the past as of January 10th, it goes something like this: dick, TMR, bitch, jesus, DICK, dick, dick, Sakuraba, jerk, dick, prick, dick, retard, idk my bff bones, fightard, retard/dick, dick, DICK, OCD, RETURN OF THE DICK, dick, noble idiot.
... why can't I play normal people.
THE POINT IS. Adachi is an ass. He'll never not be an ass to some extent. He will not ~magically reform~ as some of fandom thinks - he's never once claimed that he was wrong, after all. He's just dealing with the consequences of his actions. He never once apologizes. And he never says "lol you were right I was wrong." His letter is basically him saying "I'll deal with the consequences of my actions, but I can't take care of this part. HERE YOU DO IT this is what I remember lol. 8D"
guys that is really pretty dickish. At the same time, it's a bit contradictory (or indicative that he's shifting a bit?) in that he actually sounds like he really does hope it helps. ... But it's still a dickish letter, and the hope seems more geared towards the "cleaning up his mess" bit than "oh Souji, your jesuscock has helped me see the ~*light*~." ignoring the part where, you know, souji kind of doesn't have a jesuscock.
IN CAMP, I ... still see him being a dick, yeah. A dick that UNDERSTANDS (t-to some extent) that actions have consequences and that he needs to play by this world's rules. But he's still an ass and he still gets bored, which means that he will be a bit of a manipulative bastard. Definitely not screwing with people to the extent that he did in the game! Especially with people like Dojima and the P4 kids in camp. But I did give him the job I gave him for the sole purpose of giving him an outlet for that. He'll act nice and come off like he's such a cute and sweet guy - he's not.
Basically, IMHO, a sizeable chunk of fandom keeps trying to "redeem" him. And ... I, uh, hesitate to pin anyone as purely irredeemable although I don't really like using the word "redeem" much at all, and the game went to GREAT LENGTHS to keep Adachi from tipping way over the edge at the end (it more had him TAPDANCING AT THAT EDGE MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, also note the "at the end" because HAHA SOME OF THE GAME WOWWWW). But, uhm. I think trying to redeem him in some manner is missing a huge point about his character. It's like saying he had no choice in the matter or that he was forced, when he wasn't! Which goes back to that thing I pointed out before. The normal ending makes it Very Clear that while, yeah, some of his crazy could be blamed on Ameno-Sagiri - let's face it, he made a lot of choices on his own. There were no Voices In His Head telling him to do stuff.
And Adachi isn't the type of villain to do a 180 and try and fix things because it's his choice, particularly. What -is- his choice is choosing to play by the rules of this world, and by playing by them, he's cleaning up his mess. If that makes sense? IT MAKES SENSE IN MY HEAD. He's not Good by any means, but he isn't entirely Bad either. He's not some monster.
Adachi is just ... Adachi. I will admit right here and now that I do have, mm, sympathy for villains that I play. I love shades of gray in my characters, particularly ones like Adachi where you can read them in a number of different ways. But like I said, Adachi is ... a character I can't really define, and part of me doesn't really want to define him! He's just Adachi. And I'm going to try really damn hard to keep him as ambiguous as he was in the game, glorious dickery and all.
TL;DR, I TALK TOO MUCH. I LIKE MY DOUCHEBAGS AMBIGUOUS.
---
"Sakuraba"
... IT'S TRUE
if I continue it
it's "dickish idiot, dick"
I LOVE YOUR ESSAY OKAY
I agree with it yeah
I think at the end Adachi's letter and all, the true ending--
MY THOUGHTS ON ADACHI, BY JURI, AGE 12
It's not being sorry for what he's done or wanting to be a better man
it's just having come to a realization about life
Yeah, pretty much.
And I find it interesting that he's not suicidal? Like he EXPECTS to die and welcomes it at the normal ending but.
He doesn't seek it himself later?
Or imply that he doesn't want to live that way.
It's-- he's weird with death. I think he ACCEPTS it at the normal ending and whatnot, but
After that, and after the stuff with Dojima and Souji and whatnot
Instead he realizes it and accepts what being alive means
He more ... accepts living
-- yes
* Rise nods
So playing him will be REALLY interesting
Because he's this TOTAL ASSHOLE
REALLY SELF-SERVING
but he's accepted living and is accepting consequences for his actions
YEAH hahaha god I love him :< I CANNOT WAIT FOR YOU TO HAVE HIM OKAY
yah
So it's. It'll be weird.
He'll SEEM to most as being, like. The Adachi they see for 90% of the game.
but that 10%
that 10% will make me love playing him
XDD
I MEAN. I WILL LOVE PLAYING HIM ALL THE TIME, I THINK
I AM TERRIFIED OF PLAYING THIS CHARACTER.
OH GOD.
eta: You've only made 0 friends.
STOP RUBBING IT IN, LIVEJOURNAL
This is-- mostly me talking with adangerousgirl, heh. To say that I am stressing out over potentially playing Adachi is a major understatement. But talking with her and writing stuff down here and there has helped me sort of get my thoughts in order. ONE DAY, maybe I will do a cohesive essay or. something.
MARCH 7TH
MAN every time I think about Kurogane NOT being spoiled for the killer
i crack up
"Honey, I'm apping Adachi." "oh wow, you're trying a new type!"
HAHAHAHAHA
* Sakuraba p-pinches at the bridge of her nose.
Wait is she--she's done with it now right?
Yeah when you told me you were apping him, I didn't know yet
and I was like "OH YEAH HE'S SO CUTE!"
Yes |D
YEAH I HAD GINO AT THE TIME
SO IT WAS LIKE
"I'M TOTALLY INNOCENT!"
god and then I found out and was like
WAIT DID JURI KNOW!?
HAHAHAHA
NO, NO
I HAVE AN APP PATTERN
since when do I app good people
I mean. Really.
WELL THERE WAS--UH--
... hahaha getting our personas in camp
sob
don't kill me guys!!
. . . lol Adachi
mmm magatsu-izanagi
You know what I never got
what
Namatame didn't have a Persona. He changed physically even though Izanami gave him the same power as Adachi and Souji
...
So does that mean that Adachi faced his true self/Shadow at some point
Namatame's party van was his persona
to get his persona
HAHAHAHAH
NO UH. idk.
I have no idea how I'm going to play it either.
BECAUSE MAN I WOULD LOVE FIC OF ADACHI AND SHADOW ADACHI
Probably fast and loose and skirting any details, but I'd ... lean towards no.
Since Souji never did either.
* Rise nods
Adachi almost seems to embrace his Shadow? Or-- NOT EXACTLY THAT, but.
He doesn't reject his Shadow
I don't ... think he realizes it either, though.
it's weird.
I was spoiled for the fact that he has a Persona so actually, that was what I expected to happen
was for Adachi to have accepted his Shadow and kind of--reveled in it almost?
So he never had to fight it
But then it was NEVER ADDRESSED
SOMETHING LIKE THAT? I dunno.
See, it. Adachi is very ...
idk.
He definitely revels in his Shadow in a way
I was thinking too about how--hell I should just write the fic XD I HAVE AN ADACHI FIC I WANT TO WRITE
WRITE IT
I love Adachi because-- honestly, I think there's a LOT of different ways you could read him
I WILL I JUST NEED TO GET OFF MY ASS I have the notes done
and they'd all be fairly accurate
* Rise nods
unless you're like fandom and go "o pour baybee"
and then you are Doing It Wrong
Yeah he's just. HE'S SO INTERESTING--and lolol that pains me
hahaha |D
D-do people actually do that
I mean he's interesting because it's clear that he's both--sympathetic and not? Like there's a balance where he's horrible and he did these horrible things and he's not redeemed at the end really, and he didn't have a good reason and he wasn't possessed or fooled or anything--but he's also not a monster
Usually with villains it's ONE OR THE OTHER
I REALLY THINK THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO READ HIM, but yeah, he's not--
god, you know.
I have this horribly rough essay that I'm terrified of posting ever
but I'll just. show it to you
it's me constantly going back and forth on Adachi
hahahah
I FEEL THAT WAY TOO I want to see it
I wrote it as, like, something to post in his journal if I got in. XD I'M TOO SCARED TO, THOUGH
BUT WHY
BECAUSE
hahahaha
[LINK TO POST.] RISE'S ON THE FILTER, it's like random shit I typed out one day in January, orz
* Rise GOES TO SEE
---
RANDOM THOUGHTS ON ADACHI
I ... hesitate to classify him at all. Honestly, I'd find it easier to talk about what he isn't than what he is (thnx fandom). There are a few key things I want to touch on in an ESSAY ON SPOILERS rather than just outright essaying - if that makes sense, er. lol writing this two months before apping lol.
Adachi is a jerk.
LET'S JUST BE FORWARD ABOUT THIS. Adachi is a jerk. Adachi is a douchebag. I specialize in playing jerks and douchebags, and it's why it was so hilarious when I told people I was apping him and they didn't even ... realize that he was secretly A TOTAL JACKASS. Adachi will always be a jerk. That's just how he is.
He's definitely, definitely not the redemptive type, exactly. The true ending makes it pretty damn clear that he's not repentant. Not once does he say "oh, I was wrong!" I mean, he wants to die after being defeated and realizing that he's completely lost.
... h-he has the mentality of a teenage boy, basically.
He is NOT a good person.
LET ME REPEAT.
ADACHI IS NOT A GOOD PERSON. FANDOM.
LET'S REVIEW WHAT ADACHI HAS DONE, SHALL WE:
- OVERPOWERED A WOMAN AND SHOVED HER INTO A TELEVISION IN SUCH A MANNER THAT BASICALLY AMOUNTS TO ASSAULT. IN LESS FANCY TERM-SKIRTING WORDS, HE FORCED HIMSELF ONTO HER.
- SHOVED A TEENAGE GIRL INTO A TV BECAUSE SHE GAVE HIM LIP AND WOULDN'T PLAY HIS GAME. AND BECAUSE HE COULD. MOSTLY THE LATTER. HE MIGHT HAVE HAD A THING FOR HER, I DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW TO READ THAT.
- SHOVED A KID IN FOR THE LULZ. ALSO TO KEEP THE LULZ GOING.
- MANIPULATED A LOT IN THE INVESTIGATION.
- SENT THREATENING LETTERS FOR SHITS AND GIGGLES.
- DID LIKE EVERYTHING EVER IN THE GAME FOR SHITS AND GIGGLES.
- LOL MISOGYNIST?!
This needed capslock to emphasize that. 8(
THIS IS NOT A GOOD PERSON. This is not a HORRIBLY MISUNDERSTOOD PERSON either. He did it because he could. Adachi has power and control issues. Having power and control issues does not make you ~horribly misunderstood~ and everyone should feel sorry for you. I think someone once told me that they felt bad for Adachi, and my kneejerk response was "UHM."
Adachi is ... not a completely horrible human being and a waste of space either.
M-mostly.
I'm of the mind that Adachi is a very gray character. He's morally corrupt, has issues up the wazoo, and has done some horrible shit just because he could. I think that completely painting him as a villain, though, is not entirely accurate! He's ... Adachi. And I honestly cannot really describe him any other way. Because for all his dickery, he does some things and acts in certain ways that are contrary to how he is! And people can go back and forth on how to interpret it, since there are definitely a number of ways to do it. Someone once mentioned that it was pretty damn hard to really peg him one way or another in some respects, and I think this is dead on, with an emphasis on "some respects."
He ... has his sympathetic qualities, and this does get played up a bit in the game (which I'll touch on in a second, OH TRUE ENDING you so funny). And he has certain qualities that keep him from being an utter dickwad and ultimately make him playable - because let's face it, I would not have apped him if he existed just to fuck with everything ever and was ONLY a total dickwad. loltruth made a pie chart. There's depth and layers, but it's, er, not the depth that fandom goes on about.
He's very, very human. There's a quote from the true ending path, where Izanami says "One chose to avert his eyes from the truth, and allowed evil to taint his awakened power ...". I see this as - well, Adachi not wanting to face the truth or reality of things. Of his world, of everything! He made "one mistake" (according to him, who knows what it actually was) and was reassigned to Inaba. To an extent, I ... gggguess he had the right to be bitter? It's a rather human reaction. He's "empty," as the game puts it. At the same time, everything he did was his choice. You can't just excuse what he did, saying he was misunderstood or it was just the influence of the power Izanami gave him. To an extent? ... yeah, the power played into it, but that goes back to control and power issues he already had.
The point is that he did make that choice to do everything! No one forced him, no one told him he had to KILL SUM WIMMENZ or whatever. Izanami just gave him some power and let him run! Adachi was the one who ultimately decided what he'd do with it. Power fed into his issues and had a hand in making it batshit crazy, yeah, but ultimately, it was his decision. And ... that's why the character is so interesting to me, I guess. All of the ambiguities and everything.
For what it's worth, since I realize that I've spent A LOT OF THIS sitting on the fence and not really saying much of anything - I read the true ending and his letter as him dealing with the consequences of his actions finally, with a dash of dickery. He's always going to be a dick and Not A Good Person, and nothing's going to change that, IMHO. Things still seem to be a game to him, but it seems like at least by the true ending, he has the concept of consequences and playing by the rules, whether he likes it or not. This is what will keep him playable for me, while still being able to let Adachi be ... well, Adachi.
lol Dojima lol.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW.
I CAN NEVER RELATIONSHIP MEME FOR DOJIMA-SAN EVER.
Seriously, if you look at the game, Adachi cracks up over the fact that he fools everyone. He goes on about how stupid people are. And yet, he never directly slams Dojima. He had plenty of opportunities and ... man, he had Dojima completely fooled. It seems like something else he'd be proud of - like with Kubo et all - and yet, Dojima is kept out of his crazy, megalomaniac rants. When Adachi learns that Dojima still cared enough to send an ambulance and a stretcher for him, even after knowing damn well that Adachi was behind everything that had messed up Inaba (and PUT HIS DAUGHTER IN HARM'S WAY goddamnit adachi)? Adachi winces. It's ... well, it's quite possibly one of the first genuine reactions we really get out of Adachi in the whole damn game.
DOJIMA IS ... god, I seriously don't know. Like Adachi himself, it's not something I can classify. I do think that, to a point, Adachi's interactions with Dojima weren't complete bullshit. I also think that, to a point, he didn't even realize this himself until the end. That is, how much was all a part of his "game" and how much was something he didn't intend. I mean. The first time he really breaks his idiot act and shows some competance is when he snaps at Dojima for running after Namatame after Nanako is kidnapped. I, uh, seriously hesitate to classify this as him continuing his "game," since all he'd have to do is play the fool as always and things would be fine. I ALSO hesitate to classify it as him ~*caring*~ because. Adachi.
Even his reaction when Nanako is kidnapped is one I go back and forth on. ON ONE HAND - DUDE, THOSE LETTERS HE SENT. SOMEONE CLOSE TO YOU? A-ADACHI. YOU DICK. on the other hand ... thaaaat actually looks like it hit home in some manner or another. It's ambiguous IMHO. It may not have been a moment where he cared, per ce? But it seemed like a "....... shit" moment, kind of paralleling his PUKE AFTER SEEING THE BODY scene at the beginning. Both of those struck me as moments where he saw, well, the truth of his actions, had a very real reaction to it, and then promptly averted his eyes (as per what Izanami said) and rolled on in his own way.
It just seems like there's something else when it comes to Dojima, to Adachi. Dojima is someone he never directly insults. Which is a small thing, but considering the type of person Adachi really is and how he has a twenty minute long cutscene ranting about EVERYTHING EVER BITCHES AND WHORES! ... nnnnot bashing Dojima once (by name) in that is something. At the same time, he screwed around with Dojima. There's really no way around that! There's got to be a certain amount of irritation at basically being Dojima's gopher, all because he made a mistake at his old post.
But his actions post-December 5th plus his reaction after being pulled out of the TV makes me ultimately lean towards him ... well. Not entirely hating Dojima. And holding him in a different regard than others. What that is - I really can't pin down right now, nor am I really settled on how differently he does regard Dojima. Adachi is a horribly ambiguous character in some regards, and his true thoughts on Dojima are ambiguous as well, particularly in the true ending.
My gut says that Dojima is probably the only one he really has some respect for, although Souji may have wormed his way in in one form or another, whether Adachi likes it or not.
Adachi will continue to be a Terrible Person.
HE'S AN ASSHOLE, YOU GUYS. THIS IS JUST HOW HE IS.
to be fair, I play and have played tons of terrible people in the past. Looking at my apps in the past as of January 10th, it goes something like this: dick, TMR, bitch, jesus, DICK, dick, dick, Sakuraba, jerk, dick, prick, dick, retard, idk my bff bones, fightard, retard/dick, dick, DICK, OCD, RETURN OF THE DICK, dick, noble idiot.
... why can't I play normal people.
THE POINT IS. Adachi is an ass. He'll never not be an ass to some extent. He will not ~magically reform~ as some of fandom thinks - he's never once claimed that he was wrong, after all. He's just dealing with the consequences of his actions. He never once apologizes. And he never says "lol you were right I was wrong." His letter is basically him saying "I'll deal with the consequences of my actions, but I can't take care of this part. HERE YOU DO IT this is what I remember lol. 8D"
guys that is really pretty dickish. At the same time, it's a bit contradictory (or indicative that he's shifting a bit?) in that he actually sounds like he really does hope it helps. ... But it's still a dickish letter, and the hope seems more geared towards the "cleaning up his mess" bit than "oh Souji, your jesuscock has helped me see the ~*light*~." ignoring the part where, you know, souji kind of doesn't have a jesuscock.
IN CAMP, I ... still see him being a dick, yeah. A dick that UNDERSTANDS (t-to some extent) that actions have consequences and that he needs to play by this world's rules. But he's still an ass and he still gets bored, which means that he will be a bit of a manipulative bastard. Definitely not screwing with people to the extent that he did in the game! Especially with people like Dojima and the P4 kids in camp. But I did give him the job I gave him for the sole purpose of giving him an outlet for that. He'll act nice and come off like he's such a cute and sweet guy - he's not.
Basically, IMHO, a sizeable chunk of fandom keeps trying to "redeem" him. And ... I, uh, hesitate to pin anyone as purely irredeemable although I don't really like using the word "redeem" much at all, and the game went to GREAT LENGTHS to keep Adachi from tipping way over the edge at the end (it more had him TAPDANCING AT THAT EDGE MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, also note the "at the end" because HAHA SOME OF THE GAME WOWWWW). But, uhm. I think trying to redeem him in some manner is missing a huge point about his character. It's like saying he had no choice in the matter or that he was forced, when he wasn't! Which goes back to that thing I pointed out before. The normal ending makes it Very Clear that while, yeah, some of his crazy could be blamed on Ameno-Sagiri - let's face it, he made a lot of choices on his own. There were no Voices In His Head telling him to do stuff.
And Adachi isn't the type of villain to do a 180 and try and fix things because it's his choice, particularly. What -is- his choice is choosing to play by the rules of this world, and by playing by them, he's cleaning up his mess. If that makes sense? IT MAKES SENSE IN MY HEAD. He's not Good by any means, but he isn't entirely Bad either. He's not some monster.
Adachi is just ... Adachi. I will admit right here and now that I do have, mm, sympathy for villains that I play. I love shades of gray in my characters, particularly ones like Adachi where you can read them in a number of different ways. But like I said, Adachi is ... a character I can't really define, and part of me doesn't really want to define him! He's just Adachi. And I'm going to try really damn hard to keep him as ambiguous as he was in the game, glorious dickery and all.
TL;DR, I TALK TOO MUCH. I LIKE MY DOUCHEBAGS AMBIGUOUS.
---
"Sakuraba"
... IT'S TRUE
if I continue it
it's "dickish idiot, dick"
I LOVE YOUR ESSAY OKAY
I agree with it yeah
I think at the end Adachi's letter and all, the true ending--
MY THOUGHTS ON ADACHI, BY JURI, AGE 12
It's not being sorry for what he's done or wanting to be a better man
it's just having come to a realization about life
Yeah, pretty much.
And I find it interesting that he's not suicidal? Like he EXPECTS to die and welcomes it at the normal ending but.
He doesn't seek it himself later?
Or imply that he doesn't want to live that way.
It's-- he's weird with death. I think he ACCEPTS it at the normal ending and whatnot, but
After that, and after the stuff with Dojima and Souji and whatnot
Instead he realizes it and accepts what being alive means
He more ... accepts living
-- yes
* Rise nods
So playing him will be REALLY interesting
Because he's this TOTAL ASSHOLE
REALLY SELF-SERVING
but he's accepted living and is accepting consequences for his actions
YEAH hahaha god I love him :< I CANNOT WAIT FOR YOU TO HAVE HIM OKAY
yah
So it's. It'll be weird.
He'll SEEM to most as being, like. The Adachi they see for 90% of the game.
but that 10%
that 10% will make me love playing him
XDD
I MEAN. I WILL LOVE PLAYING HIM ALL THE TIME, I THINK
I AM TERRIFIED OF PLAYING THIS CHARACTER.
OH GOD.
eta: You've only made 0 friends.
STOP RUBBING IT IN, LIVEJOURNAL