#Freedom vs. Control

[writingoncloudydays]

The Chronicles of Stanley: Beyond the Nexus

Summary: follows Stanley, whose routine office life is disrupted when the guiding narrator disappears. Left to navigate a surreal and transforming office space, Stanley encounters conflicting narrators and discovers hidden worlds within his workplace. Through introspection and exploration, he rejects imposed narratives, embraces his agency, and embarks on a journey through a portal into the Nexus. There, he finds a sky city and begins a quest of self-discovery and adventure across diverse realms, shaping his destiny amidst the complexities of a multiverse.

Warnings: Mild Psychological Distress, Mind Manipulation, Mild Language, Mild Peril.

Words 0.74k

Stanley sat at his desk, the familiar hum of the office building now resonating with a newfound sense of possibility. The once predictable rhythm of his life had been irrevocably altered, and he was invigorated by the uncertainty ahead. The return of the original narrator, now an ally rather than a controller, marked the beginning of a partnership built on mutual respect and curiosity.

As Stanley gazed at the monitor before him, he noticed something strange. The screen, once a static array of spreadsheets and emails, now displayed a shimmering portal, its edges pulsating with a soft, inviting glow. He felt a nudge, not from an external force but from within, urging him to explore further.

“Are you ready, Stanley?” The narrator’s voice was calm, almost gentle. “This portal leads to worlds beyond your imagination, places where your choices will shape not just your destiny but the fabric of reality itself.” Stanley took a deep breath and nodded. He had faced his fears and emerged stronger; it was time to embrace the unknown.

When he stepped through the portal, he was immediately enveloped in a swirl of colours and sensations. Stanley stood in the middle of a vast, open landscape when the vortex subsided. The sky was a rich tapestry of swirling hues, and the ground beneath his feet seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly light.

“Welcome to the Nexus,” the narrator explained. “This is the crossroads of countless worlds, where possibilities converge. Here, you can choose your path, explore new realms, and uncover the secrets of existence.”

Stanley felt a surge of excitement. He had never imagined such a place could exist, let alone that he would have the opportunity to explore it. He took a step forward, and as he did, pathways began to materialize before him, each leading to a different world.

One path led to a city suspended in the sky, its towers connected by shimmering bridges and bustling with life. Another path descended into a lush forest, where trees towered like skyscrapers, and the air was thick with the scent of flowers. A third path wound through a crystalline desert, where the sands sparkled like diamonds under a brilliant sun.

Stanley felt the weight of choice upon him, but instead of fear, he felt exhilaration. The paths before him represented physical journeys and opportunities for growth, learning, and transformation.

“I am here with you, Stanley,” the narrator said, his voice a reassuring presence. “But remember, the choices are yours. Your story is now your own to write.”

With a resolute nod, Stanley chose the path to the sky city. As he walked, he felt a sense of purpose and determination. The town rose to meet him, its towers gleaming in the sunlight. As he crossed the threshold into this new world, he felt the eyes of its inhabitants upon him, curious and welcoming.

The sky city was a marvel of engineering and beauty. Its streets were lined with trees and flowers, and the air was filled with laughter and music. Stanley felt a sense of belonging as if he had found a place where he could be himself.

A group of citizens greeted him, their faces alight with curiosity. “Welcome, traveller,” one of them said, a tall woman with eyes that sparkled like the stars. We have been expecting you. There is much to see and learn here. Come, let us show you our world.”

As Stanley followed his new companions, he marvelled at the wonders around him. He saw gardens suspended in mid-air, libraries filled with books that seemed to come alive with the touch of a hand, and workshops where ideas were transformed into reality with a mere thought.

Throughout his journey, the narrator remained comforting, offering insights and guidance but never dictating his actions. Stanley realized that this partnership was the key to his growth. Together, they could explore the depths of these new worlds and uncover their mysteries.

As the days turned into weeks, Stanley became integral to the sky city, contributing his unique perspective and skills. He discovered his journey was about exploring new places and understanding himself and his place in the universe.

[lifeinspiration4all]

The Illusion of Freedom: Uncovering the Forces Shaping Our Choices

Imagine a life where every decision you make – from your career path to the products you buy – feels entirely within your control. But is it? The concept of freedom, often idealized as a fundamental human right, maybe more elusive than it appears. As Jean-Jacques Rousseau once said, “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” This powerful observation raises an essential question about…

[kradogsrats]

Revisiting the Arc 2 Opening

So particularly @raayllum had done some detailed analysis and predictions based on the comparison of Viren and Callum's variant arc 2 openings, but I want to return in the post-s6 space now that we have Claudia's opening as a third point of comparison because that addition has an impact on how the original two relate to one another and what each one is saying.

The basic sequence of each opening is the same: from the initial star-map zoom (associated with destiny/time-blind vision of future events) the camera circles the principal character, placed at the celestial Sea of the Castout, as they turn to stone. Aaravos's giant hand swoops down and plucks up the statue, now contextualized by size as a pawn or other game piece, to admire from within his prison with a satisfied smile.

The most important point to understand about this sequence is that Aaravos doesn't personally turn Viren, Callum, and Claudia to stone, but is able to capture and manipulate them as pawns because of it:

This doesn't seem like much of a distinction at all, particularly because the petrification that results in Aaravos's satisfied claim on each mage is a representation of dark magic, which is... what allows Aaravos to influence/control those who resort to using it.

We get the direct link between the heart, dark magic, and Aaravos's influence/control explicitly spelled out by s6, and (as many noticed before)... go figure, in all three openings the corruption petrification begins at the heart.

Now, Callum is actually the only one who knows explicitly about the connection between dark magic and influence/control by Aaravos. Viren has sort of intuited it by the end of s5, in that we can see by portions of his dream that he's aware on at least a subconscious level that he was not in his right mind during at least the latter half of s3. This is why the distinction between the petrification being a factor allowing Aaravos's control, rather than an effect of it, is important—the conflicts and dynamics being represented are more complex than that. For example: Viren's opening, it turns out, isn't about Aaravos at all.

That's a Reach

When the primary arc 2 opening, featuring Viren, was revealed as part of the lead-up to the s4 release, there was a decent amount of speculation as to what it meant—the connection with Avizandum's death was recognized immediately, but what did that signify? Would there be further-reaching direct consequences of Viren's involvement and the archdragon-killing spell? Would Avizandum himself somehow have expanded significance? What is Viren reaching for: Aaravos, redemption, another chance at life?

Mostly, it set the tone for s4 and arc 2 in general, particularly regarding Viren's character arc, with strong mood and themes of helplessness, the past, regret and consequences, cyclic harm, and (of course) death. Not even to mention the looming presence of Aaravos and his relationship with Viren as his pawn. It was a vibe.

It wasn't until after s5 and/or s6 that the opening came into full context: Avizandum, in his final moments, turns his back on the battle with Harrow—the cycle of violence that he, himself, has contributed to perpetuating—and reaches for the child he will now be unable to protect from that violence.

Viren, as it turns out, does the exact same, as we see explicitly in s5 and continued implicitly in s6. Like Avizandum, he reaches for his children, unable to save them from the damage he has already done—all of it through dark magic.

On its own, it's an elegant implementation of the parallels TDP is so fond of to demonstrate that both sides of this long-time conflict have inflicted harm on each other and themselves in very similar ways for generations. Even at the time of s4, however, we had Callum's opening obviously derived from Viren's, and after s6 we have Claudia's, as well—both of which come with their own context that builds off of Viren's in different ways.

Lost Child

So while Viren's opening actually has very little to do with Aaravos (prior to Aaravos's actual appearance grasping him as a literal pawn), Claudia's (and Callum's, which we'll come back to in a bit) is difficult to interpret as not being related to her personal dynamic with Aaravos.

Interestingly, Claudia's opening places her at a very specific point in time, since it's visibly between two major physical changes to her body/appearance—her lower leg is missing, severed by Rayla in the Sea of the Castout at the end of s5, but she still has her long hair from before prompting Terry to cut it off for her early in s6. Even more specifically, she has the half-and-half split of black and white hair, which is already majority-white in s6e1:

This is Claudia in a moment we don't see on-screen—when, having failed to collect Aaravos's prison and not knowing that Viren has been offered and rejected the Infantis Sanguine spell, she turns to Aaravos in the dark of night and is willing to do anything to save her father.

I could do a whole thing here about the nature of Claudia's perception of Aaravos as both a paternal and divine figure, but the relevant part is that her only association between dark magic and Aaravos is a positive one—as far as she's concerned, Aaravos gave humanity dark magic as a benevolent gift, and her main reason (at least that she's willing to voice) for hesitating to give it up is that Aaravos kept his promises to her and it would be right to keep her promise to free him. In her opening, she goes from pained and defeated to looking upward with total trust and hope—looking to Aaravos the way she would have looked to Viren.

Her petrification shares the single tear with Viren and Avizandum, really cementing her place as another loop in the cycle of harm between humanity and Xadia that has dark magic at its heart. That callback to Viren's opening also puts hers in dialogue with him as much as with Aaravos, placing her in the same position as he is in a reflection of his horror and dismay that she has followed his path and example so closely.

Given that Claudia dramatically changes appearance (and, to an extent, attitude) immediately after this opening is introduced, it's possible that we'll see a different variant for s7... but given the end of s6, she actually hasn't really changed all that much. She has doubts about how to proceed with her life after Viren leaves, but as soon as Aaravos re-enters the picture, her conviction is back. She may not have done any dark magic after s6e1, but I don't think that's because she's decided to give it up.

Key Framing

Given the context of Claudia's opening, Callum's opening becomes unusual because it references Viren's without tying back to Avizandum and that cycle of harm. It's still on some level about dark magic, but Callum's relationship with dark magic isn't tied up in family and inheritance like Claudia's and Viren's are—instead it's focused entirely on fate vs. freedom, and on Aaravos specifically.

Callum's opening appears only for s4e4 ("Through the Looking Glass"), where he is possessed by Aaravos and it is established that his single use of dark magic is what allows that control, and for s5e8 ("Finnegrin's Wake") when he uses dark magic a second time. The shared opening puts those two episodes in obvious dialogue with each other, since s5e8 never makes explicit that the danger of dark magic for Callum is control by Aaravos—something he has already asked Rayla to end his life in order to avoid.

The focus in Callum's opening, both by its visual prominence and Callum's own gaze directed at it, is the Key. While Viren and Claudia's petrifications end the way Avizandum's does—with the single tear—Callum's ends with the Key in a blaze of light.

I expect we will see Callum's opening return for s7, possibly even as a primary opening, but it will almost certainly be recontextualized at some point and possibly even changed to a variant that reflects that new context. The Key is an element that will contribute to Callum's doom or salvation—or both, as a key can both lock and unlock—and its prominence in his opening reflects that and will likely be informed by how that resolution develops.

All of Us, Stardust

Speaking of alterations to the openings:

The final, altered version of the Viren opening kicks off s6, acting as a last, fun little extension of the "is Viren dead?" cliffhanger of s5. Aaravos's hand reaches down as usual, but instead of firmly grasping the petrified Viren, he very briefly hesitates before pushing it slightly, instead. The petrified Viren then crumbles and collapses into dust.

We first saw (or rather, had described to us via frantic convention attendee note-taking) this opening at the first reveal of s6e1, which was originally shown without any of the scenes revealing Viren to be alive. There are a lot of ways it could be interpreted, from a straightforward "he'd dead, Jim," to my own kind of fanciful theory from the time regarding Viren, dead or alive, having been made unusable by Aaravos as a pawn.

One way to contextualize this opening is with this old illustration from Patience, which ties in closely with the Aaravos chess/pawns motif (and was a significant part of contextualizing the arc 2 opening as "pawns"):

Now, there are a lot of things about this image that are important, not least the confirmation/reinforcement of the chain of manipulation of dark mages by Aaravos across thousands of years from Ziard to Viren, with the implication of Callum in the future. What I'd like to call attention to is that in chess, tipping over a piece is a gesture specifically used only with the king, and specifically to indicate that you are resigning the game and the opponent is victorious.

I don't think there's anywhere we've seen Aaravos truly lose, except for possibly when he was imprisoned, because his plans have levels of redundancy that mean they don't depend on any given individual—a game of chess hinges on the king, but Aaravos is essentially playing six or eight interconnected games at once, and a loss on one board only reinforces his remaining pieces on another. Losing Viren, deliberately or not, empowers his influence over Claudia... exactly as we see in the sequence of arc 2 openings. It would be difficult for them to have replicated the tipped-over/toppled king imagery with the petrified Viren without having to do some labor-intensive camera work on the existing opening pattern (e.g. do they show the ground when he falls? What even is the ground?)—so I think there's a strong likelihood that him crumbling to dust is meant to have a similar resonance.

Anyway, I'm kind of dancing around some complex theorizing and analysis of Viren's death that I go back and forth on depending on the day, but basically I do still think the important takeaway from this opening variant is that as far as Aaravos is concerned, Viren is off the board. That it's the opening for s6e1, rather than a special use for s6e8 (as Callum's variant openings are handled) is also IMO a positive sign regarding Aaravos's loss of control and direct manipulation of Viren over the course of s6. I don't think we've heard the last about Viren, and between Claudia, Soren, and Kpp'Ar there will definitely be a multifaceted interpretation of his legacy with significance in s7.

Opening the Final Season

Ultimately, given the dialogue between the three (four?) variant openings we have seen so far for arc 2, I think for s7 we can expect:

the Callum variant will appear at least once

at least one new Claudia- or Callum-based variant, OR possibly even an Aaravos variant

a new variant (possibly one of the ones from the previous point) to close out the arc for at least s7e9

That's my fevered ramblings about this 20-second repeated sequence, thanks for coming to my continuing insane TED talks on this and other ridiculous topics.

[fairylando]

very niche but, did we realize yet as a collective that if brocedes are literally louis de pointe du lac and lestat de lioncourt from interview with the vampire (2022) then, rosquez are literally daniel molloy and armand???

because i was thinking about it and even more-so in the tv show... old blonde blue eyed sarcastic extremely curious dude with two daughters that has it out (for a reason he can't pinpoint) for this doe eyed young looking mysterious even older vampire but is aroused scared by him because of the power he has on him and his memories and he doesn't quite remember that they've had a situationship 50 years prior for 12 years that totally changed his life and he's sure he has messed with his head so he hates him... and even the book canon of it all of — the age gap (of 420ish years??), their codependency, the stalking/hunting through all the world (kind of like them travelling for the races), the push and pull, the toxicity, the blood amulet, the thinking they're going to hate eachother if they both become vampires because they DON'T KNOW HOW TO VERBALLY COMMUNICATE, and then not seeing eachother FOR YEARS but still being madly in love? but being just too stubborn and proud to overcome their stupid problems.

even the idea that marius tried his best to convince daniel that armand hated him for forcing him to turn him in a vampire, and not quite really succeeding? HELLO??? RINGS A BELL???? (i did not just compare alessio salucci to marius did i?)

feel free to add and share your thoughts btw this has been ongoing just in my head for too long, it's time to share it with the world!!!!

[miiiauu]

mwehehe deltarune go brr

[houseofmarcella]

This isn’t even the worst thing he’s done this week and yet somehow this is one of the most dogmatically awful things trump could do:

The US not having an official language has been one of the pillars of maintaining the nation of immigrants;

Every bastard who voted for him spat on their ancestor’s graves, they have forgotten their grandparent’s struggle, forgotten the lost generation who died to fight fascism, they are traitors to the Constitution’s checks and balances, and they willfully betrayed the American Experiment.

[corrosive-equilibrium]

Character References for the main characters of the first arc, Freedom vs Control.

[fedorasaurus]

Excited that I'm getting so close to the end of Deus Ex (my gf says I'll most likely finish it next stream), but also I'm having so much fun with this game that I'm not ready for it to end. 🥺

I do have the rest of the series to look forward to, but MAN this game sets a high bar. Likely the most fun thing I've streamed this year.

Which is NUTS since this is a game that came out 20+ years ago! It really holds up. Gameplay, storytelling, characters, all of that! To be honest, it's affecting me more than most modern games.

[basuralindo]

Hey do you think Jamil has trouble seeing people his age as peers?

Like, growing up having to be a caretaker to a guy literally a few months older than him, always expected to act like the adult in the situation, expected to work with adults and adopt their perspectives and pick up their slack. Do you think he just, forgets sometimes?

I mean we've seen him go into caretaker mode with other sophomores, and the only people I've seen him take seriously are juniors like Vil who also act much older than they should have to (his reactions to Leona look more like a trauma response and I don't wanna get into it here). People like Malleus and Cater still somewhat get the caretaker treatment. Like I just highly doubt that he subconsciously realizes he's actually part of his age group

Aaand that inevitably brings up Azul, who also acts like he thinks he's older than he is. Whether you're looking at it from a shipping angle or not, he reacts to Azul like an actual peer. With older students, he seems more in his element but there's still a status hierarchy which he compulsively reacts to. With Azul he doesn't acknowledge any status worth respecting or see him as someone who needs to be looked after. He just bickers like an equal, in a way that implies he actually does see Azul as a real peer, like subconsciously he's categorized this guy into the same group as himself, who was previously alone on that level (he gets like this more with the twins too, over time, but it seems to start with Azul).

And my favorite part about this is, while that response stems from them both acting more like adults in general, they elicit a pettiness from each other which drags them both down to actually acting their own age, and I just love that. Their characters are perfect foils for each other and it seems to make them both less isolated in a way.

[opal-kitty333]

Reader getting attached to Sans despite their best attempts. Wanting to give Sans the ability to be his own person as best they can because they don't want to control or hold power over him. Desperately trying to remove all of their influence from his existence and ready to alter and change anything he wants even on the smallest whim. Vs. Sans' need to feel that his existence is important and that he is wanted. Clinging to everything that was given to him because no matter how big or small, no matter the reason. Never wanting to change a thing about himself because they gave him this voice because they liked the sound and body because they thought it was silly and cute. I hope that if any parts of him lose luster that they'll poor as much care into him again to make him shiny and new all over again

[tmarshconnors]

The Modern-Day Witch Hunt

The label "far-right" today carries as much weight and destruction as the cry of "witch!" did in the Middle Ages. 

No evidence needed, no investigation necessary just one accusation, and suddenly you're cast out, demonised, and ostracised. The term has become a catch-all, a convenient way to smear anyone who dares challenge the mainstream narrative. And I'm angry. I'm angry because this label isn't about protecting society from extremists it's about shutting people up, getting rid of the ones the powers that be don't like.

In the Middle Ages, women (and occasionally men) were labeled witches for everything from being a bit too independent to knowing how to use herbs. The accusations came without evidence, often based on hearsay, jealousy, or fear. The mob didn't care about facts. They cared about punishment. It was a tool for control, a way to silence the different, the non-conforming, the inconvenient.

Sound familiar?

Today, the new word hurled around with reckless abandon is "far-right." Disagree with the government? Far-right. Question mainstream media? Far-right. Express a thought that isn't perfectly in line with the social justice warrior handbook? Well, congratulations—you’re a Nazi now. There's no debate, no dialogue, no effort to understand why someone might hold a different view. Just an accusation. And just like the Middle Ages, it sticks. It sticks hard. The label isn't just a political designation anymore; it's a moral condemnation. The implication is that if you're "far-right," you’re evil. 

You must be silenced.

And here’s the kicker—there’s no real definition of what "far-right" even means anymore. It’s nebulous, vague, and deliberately broad. They’ve weaponised the term so that it applies to anyone they want to get rid of. You can be fiscally conservative and socially moderate, but God forbid you utter the wrong opinion on immigration, gender, or healthcare. The second you step out of line, there it is you're branded. Once you're marked, you're banished from polite society, canceled, and pushed into the margins.

Just like a witch.

The hypocrisy of it all is staggering. The same people who claim to be champions of tolerance and free speech are the ones waving the torches, lighting the pyres, and throwing around the accusations. They preach about "inclusion," but only if you subscribe to their ideology. If not, you’re not just excluded you’re demonised. They don’t want discourse; they want conformity. They don't want dialogue; they want obedience.

The modern witch hunts are real, and they are vicious. It’s not enough to disagree with someone’s politics anymore—you have to destroy them, strip them of their humanity, and reduce them to a two-dimensional villain. It’s lazy, it’s cowardly, and it’s dangerous.

In the Middle Ages, they drowned, hanged, or burned the ones they called witches. Today, they do it differently, but the outcome is the same. They ruin careers, smear reputations, and incite mobs to tear down anyone who dares dissent. The tools may have changed, but the intent hasn’t: silence the inconvenient, punish the different, and maintain control.

I refuse to stand by and watch as this modern witch hunt tears our society apart. The next time someone throws around the label "far-right," ask them what they mean. Demand evidence. Don’t let them get away with vague, slanderous accusations. Because today, it's someone else being labeled. Tomorrow, it could be you.

And I’ll be damned if I stand in silence, watching another pyre being lit.

[syn0vial]

so, i've been seeing a lot about the new BG3 epilogues, but i gotta ask: do you get a similar epilogue if you choose to become the absolute at the end? i know it's unlikely, but... i have thoughts about how that could go 👀

[demonstars]

what are your thoughts on passerine?

okay so let's preface by saying I was definitely in the side of twitter that was eating passerine up and considered it a feat of characterization and writing. now, let's consider, a good amount of these people were also particularly obsessed with fics about something like a clinic of villains and something about dark sbi...?

what I mean by that its: it's good writing. it's definitely good writing, it does its job, it holds its themes I Personally think the whole impact Tommy's death has is very like um Softened by the fact that the fic seems to be mourning him since the beginning and that affects how you read it. like the fic wants to be sad and it is sad and thus good job.

now, in relation to the og characters, and even with the characters in context of the fic... none of the plot beats make any sense. like OKAY techno philza gods, negligent parenting, that's expected from a sbi fic that put too much weight in them being Parents without considering the characters first and then got upset when they didn't get it. Wilbur madness that dream is sort of involved in...? also he's not a god and thus he has no sense of independence or agency or anything. like the non gods seriously have nothing going on except from liek tubbo and Niki SORT OF. and god you're making me want to pull out the fic to seriously and respectfully criticize it because above all I do respect art and I don't want my negative views on it to be baseless but it was simply a fic made to be sad about something that didn't make sense, nothing makes sense thematically and the biggest criticism I have is not even the blandant mischaracterization of all characters from the source but rather that it was a fic made to feel sad without any purpose outside of that and at the end the author decided she does want plot, actually and thus makes everything worse for everyone involved inside the fucjign story. it's a miserable story

[nonbinaryphantom]

ive been putting way too much lore into reaper au especially stuff like reaper biology/abilities and psuedo reaper abilities

[wickedzeevyln]

✮ Oracle ✮

No point in arguingagainst someone who can read your thoughts, who is omniscient, who knows you are guilty even if you haven’t transgressed. Your words are muddled, your reasons obscured, you are irrelevant to the equation. Log in, the pact is made, resign to your fate. Your explanationsare poor excuses, forever linked to a dot in the middle of a blank page. Against the author, your role lacks…

[nathan-r-dooley]

🌓 Twilight’s Cup, Morning’s Light

Inspired by Jesus Ruiz (Junior) A riddle. A revelation. A rescue. As someone who makes the claim that Jesus is Lord—That He has saved me from sin and given me eternal life—I carry something heavy. Not a burden of doubt, but of grief.A grief born of experience and observation. It wakes me in the night.It staggers me in the day.It whispers in silence and roars in prayer. It’s the weight the…