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OFF: The Guardians' Manipulation of Hugo

I'm writing another quick post on a topic I feel isn't discussed enough when it comes to OFF. I touched upon this briefly in my previous post on the Batter, but I felt it deserved to be looked at in more depth.

There is a common idea in the OFF fan base about the Guardians, more specifically:

"The Guardians used to be good and kind, but they have since become corrupt and evil."

This understanding of the Guardians is pretty common, and is fairly understandable given what we are shown. You can look up any of these characters and find many nice drawings and depictions showing them in a kindly and friendly light. However, I feel this image is almost completely false.

To tell the truth, The Guardians are corrupt and abusive from the very start, and only showed their true colors as time went on.

Let's take a look at this.

Our first chronological introduction to the Guardians is shown to us in the final area of the game, The Room. In it, we play through a flashback to the past, where a child (who is quite clearly Hugo) meets three men in the ruins of the world. These men would become The Guardians of the new world. They are Dedan, Japhet, and Enoch. Hugo helps each of the Guardians out, and they promise to be his friends. Hugo runs along back to The Room, excitedly telling the Queen about his new friends.

Many players take this sequence of events at face value, and see the kindly way that the Guardians speak to Hugo as honest and earnest, thus leading to the understanding that the Guardians only became cruel and corrupt with time.

However, if you stop and look at what is being said to Hugo, and take a step back to look at the entire situation, many red flags begin to appear.

As soon as Hugo is done helping the three men, they immediately begin to pitch their ideas of a new world to him. Specifically, a world in which the three of them are rulers. They sugarcoat this world to him, laying on thick the idealism of this new paradise they have planned.

They shower Hugo with praise, and invite him to stay and listen more to their ideas.

How convenient it is then, that Hugo is the one person with the power to give these three exactly what they want?

These three men, lost in the ashes of the world, see their chance and take it. Even in the state of devastation the world has found itself in, these three crave for power. It is not simply enough to find a new world of peace, but to control it and own it.

The conveniences do not end there. How likely is it that the three men have exactly what the other needs? How likely is it that Dedan has the book that Japhet wants? How likely is it that Japhet is directly capable of helping Enoch out of his problem? This is an exercise in manipulation and control, they are testing if Hugo can be reasoned with and pushed in the direction of their desires, to form a connection with him and solidify their place in his mind has his friends.

Even if we are to take their little runaround quest as a coincidence, their spiel about their desired world is certainly intentional, and notably, the way they interact with Hugo is very transactional. "You do this for me, and I will do that." From the outset, they will not help Hugo unless he does something for them. This is a very dangerous dynamic for any child to find themselves in, and eventually, the other shoe would drop on Hugo.

Once Hugo followed the Guardian's desires, granting them their world to rule over, they immediately betrayed him, casting him away as if he were trash. They left him to rot in the ruins of the old world, happy to have unlimited access to the playground he gave to them. A playground that, notably, is created of Hugo's body and mind. They ingratiated themselves to him, convinced him they were his friends, and convinced him to let them in.

The Guardians are fascinating characters, and it's very interesting and quite revealing to see the massive difference in their behaviors when they do not have power, and then when they do have their desired power. I don't think they are figures to be trusted in the slightest, and ultimately, the fate of Hugo is one of tragedy, and a testament to how a child can fall victim to manipulation and abuse at the hands of those willing to take advantage of them.

I hope you've enjoyed reading, I've been thinking a lot about OFF lately, and I think it is a wonderful and multi-faceted game. It is truly worth reading into and exploring, and I hope to hear your own thoughts as well!

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Thanks so much to people for helping me with food and water and clearing my bank negative, I was able to get food, water and cat food to last for a bit. But I'm going to need a LOT of commissions because things are coming up that I cannot be late on.

Bills - 164 (total) Meds (asthma inhalers) $40 Rent (I know this is a little while away but I do NOT want to be even a second late on this) $410

I am available for commissions for collage art, book covers, digital paintings and more. I can only accept payment via v*nmo and cashapp unfortunately, but I would majorly prefer cashapp if at all possible!

Examples & Pricing:

Book covers - $50 Paintings - Dependant on what is asked, starting at $50 Collage art - $70 (because of the time and effort involved in making even a small piece)

Message to discuss details, adjust pricing and payment options. Thank you so much!

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Just in case!

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Showing the rings of Saturn to Bronx street sex workers, Via.

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Help a friend get something to eat please!

i don't need much i promise i need like 40$! i just want to be able to get groceries please (and maybe a lil treat im sorry i'm human : ( but real food is a priority)

Kofi

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fine I’ll be the one. Can we see some of Devoid in a bikini?

miss for height comparison! i need you all to understand just how tall devoid is

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Thanks so much to people for helping me with food and water and clearing my bank negative, I was able to get food, water and cat food to last for a bit. But I'm going to need a LOT of commissions because things are coming up that I cannot be late on.

Bills - 164 (total) Meds (asthma inhalers) $40 Rent (I know this is a little while away but I do NOT want to be even a second late on this) $410

I am available for commissions for collage art, book covers, digital paintings and more. I can only accept payment via v*nmo and cashapp unfortunately, but I would majorly prefer cashapp if at all possible!

Examples & Pricing:

Book covers - $50 Paintings - Dependant on what is asked, starting at $50 Collage art - $70 (because of the time and effort involved in making even a small piece)

Message to discuss details, adjust pricing and payment options. Thank you so much!

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hey! i can answer this!

basically, most if not all gaza fundraising was happening on gofundme simply due to name recognition and brand trust. however, gofundme quickly proved itself to be actively complicit in the genocide through its targeting of palestinian fundraisers for deletion and suppression.

my own friend siraj lost over $27,000 he had painstakingly raised over several months when gofundme arbitrarily declared his previously verified fundraiser fraudulent. he instantly lost access to food and housing for his entire family and has not been able to regain that progress since.

by contrast, chuffed has basically never given gaza fundraisers any problems. it actively promotes palestine-related fundraisers on its front page.

chuffed has also been used by the sameer project, crips for esims for gaza, and other palestine orgs for over a year now. after a particularly bad wave of deletions (of which siraj was a victim) people began migrating their fundraisers to chuffed, and it's become the go-to host site for new crowdfunding campaigns.

so if you see a fundraiser on chuffed, that's why!

my friend siraj has since moved his fundraiser to chuffed. if you got something out of this post, please consider donating to him. he needs ~150 euros to afford food for his family.

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✅️Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #640 )✅️

My name is Fatima, a 21-year-old woman🤰.Just one month before the war, I was engaged, dreaming of a warm home and a small family.But the war tore us apart—my fiancé and I were separated between northern and southern Gaza, with no way to communicate💔.

Despite the pain, we held on to hope. Months later, I left my family and joined him.We got married, believing it was the start of a new life.But the bombing returned, and we were displaced again… Now we live in a fragile tent in western Gaza, awaiting the birth of our first child amid conditions unfit for life🥹😭.

I’m pregnant🤰, and my due date is near🥹. I have none of the essentials I need as a mother or even as a human being🙏.We lack everything: medical care, food, clean water, and basic supplies for childbirth and the baby🥲.

I’m not asking for the impossible—just enough to protect my life and my baby’s

Your donation is our only hope🥹😢.

My campaign is new and has not received much support. Please support me and my family.

https://chuffed.org/project/helpfatema

✅️Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #640 )✅️

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Things are getting super bad!!! I have an infection and I cannot afford the antibiotics, Rent is coming up very shortly, bills are going to hit me soon, I need my asthma medications. My pinned has commission examples!

previous crowdfunding post: https://www.tumblr.com/emeraldvoids/792479182381875200?source=share and then I had one the other day after I made my commisions example post where I was directly asking for donations because I'm getting down to the wire here!!!!

Venmo will not let me do instant transfer to the bank, so if I want to get my antibiotics today i can only do it if I get money sent to cashapp:

$zelsbelles

Anything helps, I'm stressed, I'm sick, and I'm really scared what's going to happen.

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Things are getting super bad!!! I have an infection and I cannot afford the antibiotics, Rent is coming up very shortly, bills are going to hit me soon, I need my asthma medications. My pinned has commission examples!

previous crowdfunding post: https://www.tumblr.com/emeraldvoids/792479182381875200?source=share and then I had one the other day after I made my commisions example post where I was directly asking for donations because I'm getting down to the wire here!!!!

Venmo will not let me do instant transfer to the bank, so if I want to get my antibiotics today i can only do it if I get money sent to cashapp:

$zelsbelles

Anything helps, I'm stressed, I'm sick, and I'm really scared what's going to happen.

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did anyone else see the tex state supreme court saying the state law that's supposed to protect freedom of religion doesn't apply to a native group protesting against the destruction of a sacred site

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Help a trans woman stay housed!!

Hello its troppy! I'm still really struggling due to being in between jobs and being a transfem suffering from PTSD. Would you all be able to cover me $2000 for immediate living expenses/food/meds? overall goal is $4000 as I continue to stabilize! Thank you so much! links below!

venmo (redloop)

c$happ ($TropScream)

paypal (tropscream)

gfm

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Things are getting super bad!!! I have an infection and I cannot afford the antibiotics, Rent is coming up very shortly, bills are going to hit me soon, I need my asthma medications. My pinned has commission examples!

previous crowdfunding post: https://www.tumblr.com/emeraldvoids/792479182381875200?source=share and then I had one the other day after I made my commisions example post where I was directly asking for donations because I'm getting down to the wire here!!!!

Venmo will not let me do instant transfer to the bank, so if I want to get my antibiotics today i can only do it if I get money sent to cashapp:

$zelsbelles

Anything helps, I'm stressed, I'm sick, and I'm really scared what's going to happen.

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what if estrogen could save solid snake.............

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Superboy x Taonui Mun as Silver Sword

Conner and Taonui have searched for who they should be in others. Conner longs for the title of Superman and Taonui shapes himself in the image of Kamehameha I as the Silver Sword. They're both diaspora kids separated from their source cultures, struggling with their sense of self. But through a newfound understanding of each other, Conner and Taonui realize that maybe being themselves is enough.

and perhaps through their intricately reimagined love they will both destroy the united states of america