#and also not take this further to its logical conclusions????

[jimgandolfini]

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[calder]

Released in 2010, Obsidian Entertainment's Fallout: New Vegas actively concerns itself with the realities of gay existence, and is widely recognized as a noteworthy work of queer science fiction. New Vegas extensively examines social attitudes towards homosexuality among the game's major factions, and primarily conveys this lore through gay and bisexual characters describing their own experiences. It also allowed the player to mechanically set the Courier's sexual orientation. By taking both available perks, the player character can be bisexual. By choosing neither, the player can opt out of seeing flirtatious dialogue options.

Uniquely, Fallout: New Vegas explores homosexuality in the context of wasteland societies, and touches upon related issues. The core theme of New Vegas is that the desire to recreate the past is driven by irrational nostalgia, and any endeavor to manifest past glory is dangerous and doomed. The social issue of homophobia is used as a demonstrative example. The resurrection of corporate and military power structures presents new avenues for Old World problems such as institutional homophobia to reemerge. One of the many issues that divide the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion is the latter's open persecution of gay people. The NCR is described as tolerant and even accepting of same-sex relationships, though acceptance tends to fall off the further one moves away from the developed, urbanized core of New California. In recent years, the Republic's rapid economic transformation has led to an unforeseen erosion of the humanitarian ideals which it was founded to serve. In practice, to recreate America was to take on its shortcomings and its sins. As subsistence scavenging has dried up, the people of the NCR increasingly turn to wage labor, entrepreneurial venture, or military enlistment to keep their families fed. Meanwhile, their government enacts morally corrosive imperialism (narrative verbiage), their dominion expanding indefinitely as their infrastructure crumbles from within. This has led to a profit-based imperial monoculture which must conquer, consume, and coerce to perpetuate. As personal politics and service labor grow in importance, people find themselves more inclined to present as "normal" in the interest of financial stability and political expedience. A loading screen visualizes this culture of artificial social normalcy: the portrait of President Aradesh on the NCR 5$ bill neglects to depict his unibrow, earring, and facial scarification, overall portraying the once-chieftain so cleanly-cut as to be unrecognizable at first glance. He also appears to be wearing a collared shirt or suit as opposed to the robe he wore in Fallout.

In the Legion, Caesar has mandated that every legionnaire take a wife and produce children, citing high infant mortality rates and the constant need for soldiers, and going as far as instituting child quotas. He treats human beings as a resource to be exploited for war. Ostensibly in this aim homosexuality has been declared a capital offense punishable by death. Historically, routine demonstrations of violence towards women and gay people are a deliberate feature of fascist societies, the only logical cultural conclusion of a government devoted entirely to war and control. In Forlorn Hope letter 9, an NCR soldier wrote wrote the following to his boyfriend:

Dearest Andrew, Writing this seems pretty morbid, but tomorrow we march into the no man's land between our camp and Nelson, which is crawling with Legion. The Major insisted I write this damn "if you get this, I'm dead" letter so here it is. What a crock. I have the luck of the devil and your love on my side, so I'll be home soon. Keep the porch light on for me. We'll party in New Vegas when I get back. I love you. —Devin

Devin believed he would prevail over the Legion because his love would keep him safe. He was found dying or dead on the battlefield, the letter was found on his body. In a post-release patch, the injured soldiers were removed from the battlefield for performance reasons, and never re-implemented. Driven largely in reaction to the Legion's hyper-masculine posturing and misogyny, rumors persist across the Mojave that gay male relationships are not only common within the Legion, but condoned. These rumors are repeated commonly in NCR society. A closeted NCR Major mentions that the Legion is "a little more... forgiving" about close male "friendships," speaking in a hushed tone to avoid suspicion. At the same outpost, the player can encounter Cass, a bisexual civilian woman. She may flirt with a male Courier, who may imply they are gay, prompting her to imply gay men are more common in the Legion. Even as gay men fight and die in the name of love under his command, NCR General Oliver may remark to Courier Six at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam: "If you think after all that's happened, I'm going to grab my ankles and take it like the Legion..."

This writing pertains to institutionalized homophobia which manifests in practice though power structures and social interactions without being written into law. Simply put, in his derogatory remark, the general expresses to his army that military surrender is gay, much like their gay enemy. From the brevity and bluntness of this remark, it's clear that this sentiment is already well understood among his ranks. Logically, to project strength in the eyes of such a leader, one might also project homophobia by scrutinizing and harassing one's peers and subordinates. In this atmosphere, the expression of homophobia is not only normalized, but materially incentivized. For the ambitious, it becomes a tool, and a way of casting shame upon rivals. For the closeted, homophobia becomes a survival tactic, hoping to throw scrutiny off oneself. This is why Major Knight is immediately frightened when a male Courier flirts with him. He is so profoundly alienated that he romanticizes life as a gay man under the Legion. The Legion punish homosexuality with death, and yet Knight characterizes them as more "forgiving" than the NCR. Through these apparently disparate events, the audience can trace how a distorted perception of gay people emerges among insecure men in a military environment, and subsequently becomes ingrained in the corresponding civilian culture. At the 188 Trading Post, a lesbian from the Brotherhood of Steel named Veronica also wryly remarks that she believes legionaries have gay sex about as often as straight sex. She also notes that this only applies to men, as women have no rights whatsoever in Legion society. In this aside, she conveys a pre-existing frustration with lesbophobic social norms. Veronica also mentions that the people of her bunker would rather she remain on the surface. The Mojave Brotherhood of Steel has no official policy prohibiting homosexuality, but an implicit attitude among its dominant members that their limited numbers require everyone to have children to avoid extinction. Numerically, this may seem logical on the surface, given their reluctance to recruit outsiders. However, given their tiny population, this is an ineffective countermeasure, as they do not have nearly enough members to maintain genetic diversity for more than a few generations. This approach is not universally supported by all family units within the Brotherhood, but every individual is ultimately at the mercy of the elder. Veronica was in a lesbian relationship, but they were quietly separated by Elder Elijah, due to the dominant culture of enforcing heterosexual pairing among their population.

Caesar's law has not ended homosexuality within his domain. Despite the obvious risks, some legionaries have continued to pursue relationships behind closed doors, especially given their access to slaves. So long as members complete their societal obligations and fulfill the child quotas, they are able to pursue romance with other men in secret. Homosexual relationships in the faction are noted as being relatively equal compared to the average Legion husband and wife, in a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" sort of open secret policy. Gay legionaries must always make sure to keep their activities hidden. A centurion was once almost caught fraternizing with the teenage boy he had chosen to tend his tent. Despite previous "romantic" intentions, he quickly resolved to dispose of the slave to dispel suspicion. Had they been caught together, the centurion would have been charged with homosexuality and sentenced to death. This story is only known because the enslaved young man, Jimmy, managed to escape execution. Further illustrating the cruelty intrinsic to Legion governance, it's stated that homosexuality was the crime, and not the rape of a young slave; in fact, it seems Jimmy was forced to contribute to the child quota despite being a gay teenager, and the experience left him traumatized. He has resolved to never have sex with another woman, as the very notion triggers memories which fill him with disgust, and (in his own words) makes him feel like a slave all over again. The Strip is indifferent to gay people, viewing them as another opportunity to make caps. Both the Gomorrah and the Atomic Wrangler are interested in maximizing profits, and their prostitution services cater to clients regardless of their orientation. The openly gay Jimmy works at nearby Casa Madrid, but there is some tension among his peers due to his co-worker Maude's blatant homophobia. She supposes he's "okay, for one of those," and if propositioned by a female Courier, Maude will direct them to Sweetie for such "perverted" services. Pretty Sarah must regularly intervene to keep the peace among her staff.

The Followers of the Apocalypse, well-read punks who seek to embody healing through anarchistic values, are not concerned with gender. Most are openly and casually sexually active. Upon meeting Courier Six, Arcade Gannon offhandedly makes his gayness known, unprompted. The audience must face the fact that Arcade's apprehension of the Legion is far from abstract; under Legion law, he would be put to death. One possible ending gives further insight into Caesar's hypocrisy: should the player sell Arcade into slavery and leave Caesar alive, he will keep Arcade as a personal physician and philosophical advisor. They intellectually spar at length, and Caesar grows singularly fond of him. Accordingly, Arcade imitates the historic suicide of Cato the Younger by disemboweling himself. The Legion's remaining medics attempted to save his life, but none were Arcade's equal. Caesar understood his doctor's final gesture of contempt, and mourned him for months.

New Vegas ventures further into themes of healing from the trauma of sexual violence, from the perspective of a lesbian character. Corporal Betsy, an NCR sharpshooter, is a rape survivor, and suffers with PTSD from the incident. Her unprocessed trauma has manifested as a maladaptive tendency to aggressively and explicitly proposition the women she encounters, in an effort to reassert a sense of control. This defensive hypersexual impulse has negatively impacted her ability to connect with other women. A male superior officer notes that her behavior is inappropriate for anyone of her stature, but abstains from disciplining her out of sincere concern for her mental health. The Courier can help her begin to recognize these problems, and convince her to seek treatment from Doctor Usanagi at the New Vegas medical clinic, which proves helpful to her as she processes and heals from her trauma.

In Old World Blues, the Think Tank are five floating brains in jars who express themselves by waving robotic arms bearing screens depicting facial features. Before the War, they were federal scientists who committed crimes against humanity in the name of weapons development. Each is stuck in some sort of neuro-bionic feedback loop which prevents them from moving forward with their projects, mentally binding them to their central laboratory. Walking through their homes at Higgs Village, it's clear each was deeply neurotic before they were transformed into floating brains. Now without bodies, they attempt to maintain the illusion that they are exempt from sexuality as purely mental beings, but each displays obvious interest in the human form. They have codified this shaming with the term "formography." Most of the men are obsessively defensive over their complete disinterest in penises, which they talk about constantly. However, the shameless Dr. Dala shows overwhelming interest in observing and recording any and all human functions. Already androgynous in her pre-War life, Dala has taken to self-identifying as a "gender neutral entity" (though she is not known to use they/them pronouns). Regardless of the Courier's gender, they may coquettishly scratch themselves, clear their throat, and stretch in front of Dala until her biomed gel decoagulates. Dr. 8 also responds positively to graphic masturbation advice from Couriers of either gender. The X-8 research facility is ostensibly a massive immersive shrine to Doctor Borous's hatred of Richie "Ball-Lover" Marcus, a long-dead child who bullied Borous centuries ago. He also clings to his resentment of one Betsy Bright, who refused to attend a dance with him, supposedly so she could "go smoke with RICHIE MARCUS." Clearly arrested in development, Borous has literally built a temple to the fantasy of torturing his adolescent romantic rival and feeding him to dogs. His frozen, static characterization of the jock Richie Marcus as a "pinko-commie" who "likes balls" reflects the shallowness, pettiness, and overall misanthropy underlying his patriotic identity. It remains apparent throughout Old World Blues that the Think Tank are all chronically sexually repressed, which is inseparable from the values of the violent and judgmental pre-War culture which created them. With time and isolation, this ingrained repression has manifested as various intense and deranged psychosexual behaviors, including rage-fueled homophobia, voyeurism, and the obsessive performance of puritanical pretense.

____

“Although I’ve been out for a very long time, I made a conscious effort to be out with relation to this project, as I wanted to be visible as a lesbian in the game industry. New Vegas itself is, I think, one of (if not the) best games out there in how we treat homosexuality – and all of that is very intentional.”

“If my work on FNV, if my being out has helped even one gay person, then I have succeeded.” — Tess “Obsidian’s Gay Cowgirl” Treadwell

____

written (with help from other editors) for fallout.fandom.com/wiki/LGBT_representation_in_the_Fallout_series criticism welcome

[rowwiz]

so is nobody else aware that L and Light's names are technical opposites of one another?

ok, so, this requires a lot of elaboration, so bear with me here. first thing to clarify is Light's name. without too much deliberation, Japan has this phenomenon (to my western understanding) wherein certain parents will name their children after English words. (this could potentially include other western languages; i am unsure.) as japanese is a syllabary, most of the time, these words cannot actually be pronounced properly in japanese. these names are often also written with presumably completely unrelated characters. light's name is one of these, having to be pronounced as "raito" in japanese, and written (as he so kindly explains to naomi) with "tsuki," the character for "moon." these names are called "kira-kira names." i am not joking. (that L never made a joke about light's name being literally a "kira-kira" name leaves me with a harrowingly destitute void in my soul.)

last thing we need to do is look at the translation for "Yagami," which approximates (to my knowledge!) as meaning "high," as in "high in power" (not "high" as in "stoned," because that's probably more like L's thing).

so, if we take an extrapolation of this, and replace light's names with their written functions—his forename as being a kira-kira name and being written as moon, and his surname (depending on how it's written) meaning "high"—we can evaluate an interpretation of light's name as being, extensively, "kira-kira moon high."

maybe my fellow death note crazies can see where i'm going with this. now, let's look at L's name, which is far more self-explanatory. his name is L Lawliet (in case you are somehow on the death note tags and were not already aware), which is pronounced "L low-light." (which, as s a side note, is a hilariously unintuitive pronunciation for his name, implying that Light (if he ever heard it) would almost certainly misspell it (made even more likely as a native japanese speaker, even given how good his english is) and potentially make him immune to a human using the death note by misspelling it six times.)

so, if we put the *phonetic* pronunciation of L's name next to the *written* extrapolation of light's, and reduce light's name to its logical conclusion, we get "L low light" and "Kira moon high." (hyphon in L's name and hyphon + second 'kira' in light's removed, as light himself is not both kiras, and removing the second kira also removes the hyphon in his name, whereafter we then logically can remove the hyphon in l's name. like homoerotic algebra.)

furthering the analogy, and allowing a little leniency (given all the other obvious similarities) that "light" can be taken as the opposite to "moon"—as in, "sunlight," and furthermore, "sun"—we output "L low sun" and "Kira moon high."

if you interpret L as the sun and Light as the moon, then congrats, it's already spelled out for you. if you interpret L as the moon and light as the sun, then it's like they carry the symbolic celestial analogies of one another in the other's name, which is some crazy soulmate shit. if you're like me, and interpret them as being both but in different ways, then both ways are true simultaneously. (to me, it speaks to how similar they ultimately are that you can interpret them as being both the sun and moon, albeit in different fashions.)

either way, they have gay ass little names and i can't believe i've never heard anybody talk about this before. so eat up, death note tumblr. enjoy your meal.

[cveasie]

My haikaveh headcanons:

- Haitham falls first, during the academia years, but he just kinda... accepts it? He's not the type to voice his feelings, he'd rather show them through his actions - even if they aren't clear enough for the other person to understand. He doesn't need Kaveh to know. He just needs Kaveh to... feel appreciated, in any way. For him, love is another language to master; not only for the sake of Kaveh, but also for his own. He cherishes the feeling and never denies it.

- Kaveh on the other hand, falls harder. I'd like to imagine that it happens some time after he'd moved in with Haitham. Somehow, through this sense of normalcy, domesticy, he starts to dig deeper into Haitham's actions. More importantly, gradually, he starts to notice: he starts to notice how his heart clenches in this burning feeling of appreciation, of belonging. It just feels right - Haitham feels right - they, together, feel right. And, oh, he loves him, and he has for some time now. His love for Haitham feels right as well.

- While Haitham knows Kaveh like the back of his own hand, he doesn't even consider that his feelings are mutual. Kaveh has always been focused on the academics, driven, passionate – romantic relationships didn't concern him during their academia days. While a romantic at heart, reality just often... fell flat, and Kaveh didn't mind it whatsoever. So, Alhaitham has never seen Kaveh crushing on someone. Of course, he notices the architect's sudden nervousness around him – Kaveh tends to bite his lips when anxious. Of course Haitham sees the way Kaveh starts to spend more time on his hair and make up. How could he not? How could he not, when his braids look more perfect than ever (though the scribe finds Kaveh's messy hair equally beautiful – the sign of his hard work, of his passion), when the jewelry matches the blouse perfectly, every day. Mere noticing however, doesn't equal with knowing. And Alhaitham hates the feeling of uncertainty, this weird, almost uncharacteristic anxiety for him. Something has changed. Why? What has caused Kaveh to feel such devotion, that even his dark circles have almost disappeared under a neat layer of concealer? So, he starts to pry. Subtly. He takes an extra minute to get ready, just so he can talk to Kaveh a little more, hoping for any kind of information. In the evenings, he starts to sit unusually close to the architect, watching him sketch – maybe its a new project? A new client? Why wouldn't Kaveh tell him? To his absolute misery however, the architect only seems to draw further and further away. He starts to stumble on his words, starts leaving for work earlier, as if embarrassed, as if he couldn't even look at Alhaitham. That's when it strikes Haitham – maybe he is the one making Kaveh uncomfortable?

- It starts with a question:

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Asks Haitham one day, during a seemingly peaceful evening. Kaveh's cheeks are dusty pink, and he's smiling to himself. With the question, his expression changes almost completey.

"Is my junior suddenly insecure? It's so unlike you to ask about such things..."

There is a hint of teasing in the architect's voice, but even that cannot hide a clear nervousness in his behavior. There is a sudden tension in the room, and Alhaitham also starts to feel anxious.

"Well... you've been acting strange, that's all. After observing you for quite a while, I've come to the conclusion that the problem must be in my presence – it's the only logical option".

Then, Kaveh's lips are on his. Things happen so quick, he doesn't even have time to respond, to kiss him back, when the architect is looking at him with teary eyes and a hand over his mouth. He looks terrified, ashamed, suddenly so small, despite his usual confident face. All of this takes Haitham a bit too long, because Kaveh is suddenly standing up.

"I'm... sorry, I didn't mean to. I didn't think, I just acted, I..." he doesn't get to finish, when his hand is grabbed in a gentle grip, and he's lead to sit on the couch once again.

Then, they talk. For this whole time, Haitham doesn't let go of Kaveh's hand, looking at him with gentle eyes, full of disbelief. He doesn't even notice the tears on his own cheeks until Kaveh makes a snarky remark about it. After two hours of talking, he kisses Kaveh back. After few years of waiting, he kisses Kaveh back. And to Kaveh, this feels right.

[goldenharmony]

Mem-Cho's Realization about Aqua's Feelings: Unambiguous and Correct

I don't believe the chapter 83 conversation in Mem-Cho's apartment is as ambiguous as some people may believe, or that its incorrect. Yes, Mem-Cho is unaware of Aqua's trauma, but that doesn't change the fact regarding what she realized about Aqua's feelings. Additionally, Mem-Cho is also an idol so if Aqua's reasons for avoiding Kana were purely motivated by PTSD, then he should be avoiding Mem at all costs too, rather than going to her apartment at night.

Almost like a part of him does understand that being near Mem isn't going to immediately throw them both into a scandal but still takes extreme measures for Kana.

To me, this was the one of the 2 explicit confirmations (as of ch125) that Aqua had romantic feelings for Kana - the other being Akane's monologue in ch87. It's especially obvious when you realize it parallels with Mem-Cho's realization about Kana's Feelings for Aqua.

Mem-Cho with Kana's Feelings for Aqua

During the First Concert arc, Mem-Cho hasn't ever seen Kana and Aqua interact on a normal basis, so seeing Kana constantly put Aqua down makes her come to a logical assumption that Kana must hate him for some reason.

After the concert, Kana starts talking to Aqua again, but their interaction is still stiff since the misunderstanding about Akane isn't cleared yet, which further supports Mem-Cho's incorrect assessment.

But as soon as Kana starts being happy that Aqua isn't dating Akane, Mem-Cho immediately notices and realizes the truth.

Mem-Cho doesn't actually complete her thought below even if most, if not all translations, have her clearly think that Kana likes Aqua, since she cuts herself off and based on phrasing structures in Japanese, the verb isn't spoken.

The literal translation would actually be 'Arima-chan ____s Aqu-tan'.

But it's obvious on what Mem-Cho realized about Kana.

Going forward, Mem-Cho is usually the character used when Kana's feelings are brought up with another character.

Mem-Cho with Aqua's Feelings for Kana

In the Main Stage arc, Mem-Cho confronts Aqua regarding him avoiding Kana. She believes Aqua's unaware of how his behaviour towards Kana could be perceived, which may have contributed towards Kana's "obsession" over Aqua.

But Aqua rebutted this, and opens up about how he actually feels regarding the situation, revealing that he only is doing this to protect Kana even if it hurts both of them.

From this, Mem-Cho realizes that its not Kana who is obsessed between the two, but its Aqua.

Mem-Cho realizes that Aqua cares for Kana much more than she initially assumed, seeing that the idea of Kana being put in danger is making Aqua have a meltdown.

'For Aqu-tan, Kana-chan is...'. : The direct translation of this line from Japanese would be 'Aqu-tan is the one who ___s Kana-chan', and it's easy to fill in the verb based on the context.

After their conversation, we see Mem-Cho bring up Kana more often to Aqua, even teasing him about "Ah-kun".

Parallels

Both situations involve Mem-Cho initially misunderstanding the situation when one of the two act distant/cold towards the other. Not because Mem-Cho's bad at reading situations (she's actually great at it), but because she was working off of minimal information.

Once she saw Aqua/Kana let their true feelings slip out, she immediately pieced together that her initial assumption was incorrect and came to the correct conclusion: That the person in-question actually loved the other romantically.

In both situations, her thoughts are cut off from the audience:

'Arima-chan ____s Aqu-tan'

'Aqu-tan is the one who ___s Kana-chan'

Finally, this isn't the only example of Aqua and Kana paralleling one another during the First Concert/Main Stage arc, as another example are the scenes where they push one another away.

It would not make sense to parallel these scenes if they both weren't based off of romantic feelings.

[gigijenga]

simple (?) definitions of the functions

Edit: I made some changes (they are in italics)

Without a basic knowledge of the cognitive functions, it can be extremely hard to understand mbti. Here are the simplified definitions of the functions:

Ne (extroverted intuition): this function spreads intuition/ideas externally. The main thing Ne values is possibility. Ne wants to understand the dozens of ideas that stem from one event. It does not like to stick to one idea.

ex: when it sees a flower, it comes up with dozens of flower designs of its own. It thinks of all the possibility the flower can look like, thought Ne does not care if it is practical (or considered a “good” idea). 

Ni (introverted intuition): this function forges an intuitive idea internally. Ni takes information in and thinks of one idea, one insight, on possibility. Like Ne, Ni is focused on what might be possible, not on what is tangible. It wants to dive deeper into the “truth” to find a secret meaning/contradiction.

Ex: when it sees dozens of flowers, it comes up with its own design of a flower. Unlike Ne, Ni takes its time to analyze the depth of one specific idea. Ne does not care much about the accuracy and worth of its ideas (it values possibilities more), while Ni wants its idea to be valuable.

Se (extroverted sensing): this function is focused on the external physical world around it. Se is focused on the present and what is happening in the moment. Like Si, it is focused on the small tangible details. Se is a fairly direct and objective function. It does not like to meddle with hypotheticals and theories (this does not mean Se is unintellectual). This function is a kinesthetic learner and likes to meddle with its environment.

Ex: when it sees a flower, it simply, well, sees it. It's a concrete object that has no other poetic meaning to it. 

Si (introverted sensing): this function is focused on the real world in its head/internally. Si is oriented towards the past, towards repetition. It makes decisions based on how similar events in the past enrolled. Si values predictability (not necessarily tradition).

Ex: when it sees a flower, it remembers how the flower connects to past sensory details and it stores the details of the flower in its head for further use in the future.

Fi (introverted feeling): this function is focused on its own internal moral code/philosophy. It makes decisions based on how moral the situation is based on its own feelings and values. Fi is often seen as the function that wants to be authentic because it is concerned if the current situation/its decision aligns with its personal values.

Ex: when Fi gives gifts to other people, it contemplates on what gift it would like/value. Fi also analyzes how the gift would be valuable according to the person’s inner feelings and beliefs.

Fe (extroverted feeling): this function is focused on the external moral code. It is concerned if its actions align with external beliefs and ethnics. Fe makes decisions based on what the majority values. It is aware of how its actions will impact/meddle with the emotional state of other people*. Unlike Fi, Fe believes ethics are not decided by itself. Fe is objective, like Te. 

*Though other functions might have this ability, Fe knows how other people feel on a “deeper level” and it is confident in its ability to do so (just like how Fi is confident in its ability to analyze its own beliefs). For example, Te might be able to analyze emotions on a surface level, but it has trouble understanding the emotions of others on an in-depth level. Plus, Te is not concerned with the emotional environment.*

Ex: when Fe gives gifts to other people, it gives gifts based on what the majority believes is the best gift.

Ti (introverted thinking): this function is focused on the logical world internally. It forges its own logical claims, reasoning and conclusions. Ti is mainly concerned with the internal consistency and analysis of one thing, rather than external evidence that supports it. Inductive reasoning. “The ball will fall because I’ve seen the same ball fall down multiple times, therefore it will fall down this time.” Ti cannot understand how one thing can contradict its own “rule”.

Ex: when Ti gives gifts, it forms an analysis on what gift would be the most beneficial based on the patterns and observations it witnesses.

Te (extroverted thinking): this function is focused on the external world of logic. It is focused on data, evidence and facts from the outside world. It is focused on if something is practical/aligns with external rules and principles. It analyzes things based on how it relates to similar external logical principles. “This ball will fall because I’ve seen other rubber balls like this fall, so it is logical to assume that this one will fall.” Deductive reasoning. Te cannot understand how one thing can contradict the “universal rule”.

Ex: when Te gives gifts, it analyzes what is the most beneficial gift by evaluating the already the existing/assumed benefits each gift option has and picks the gift with the best benefits.

[ta5tier]

isat thoughts, go

[this ask is actually an excuse to ramble about whatever thing you can't get someone else to prompt you to ramble about]

i just woke up so this probably wont be too coherent but here we go!

I, like many, discovered ISAT through @jelloapocalypse’s fantastic video on the game, and by that I mean I watched the first 5 minutes of the video and immediately stopped and played the game myself.

I already liked time loops as a literary device, especially in games (outer wilds rocks, 12 minutes is interesting despite the general quality, etc) but ISAT managed to get me interested in the story and its characters before even introducing time loops as a mechanic. (Y’ALL I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR ISABEAU TO JUST COME OUT SWINGING LIKE THAT! I clocked that motherfucker before the gang even left dormont, he isnt smooth.)

ANYWAY besides the great character writing, ISAT also managed to nail its genre parody right off the bat, the literal RPS combat is so funny, Mirabelle gives off such RPG protagonist vibes, and its a neat take on the genre to center the narrative around the “edgy”rogue (HA Scissors pun). Along with the fact that Siffrin is absolutely the right amount of mentally unstable, you have all the perfect ingredients for great genre deconstruction.

Spoilers Under the Cut So be WARNED

There are tons of people talking about the story beats further so i’m not gonna spend more time here reinventing the wheel, but something I will talk about is how the game leverages ludonarrative assonance, I.e. how the game reflects the experience of the player as a part of the story.

In the case of ISAT, this manifests as the growing boredom both the player and Siffrin experience as they continue through the loops. On my first few loops I took care to avoid skipping dialogue and made sure my party was leveled up enough to succeed at any of the fights they faced. I explored thoroughly and enjoyed the process of doing so and I only reset when the game asked it of me.

But as the game continued I found myself zoning out of more and more dialogue, skipping more and more fights, and resetting whenever it would save me time. And Siffrin was with me all the way through all of it, his internal monologue growing increasingly disinterested with the affairs of his party members and the dangers they were in.

Ironically, in a game so outside my lived experience I found myself mentally aligned with Siffrin in a way that's frankly a little concerning. (im ok im not in a time loop lol)

The magic of ISAT for me was in that alignment, of feeling a shared purpose with a character, and in the breaking of that alignment in the games later acts. One of my favorite moments in any story is when I realize I can no longer fully root for the main character. Siffrin's last loop was that moment for me and I loved it. Siffrin's final trek through the House is so awful to watch but also represents the logical conclusion of his decent. The witty commentary is gone, his family is gone, the muscle memory that he and I shared in navigating the house is no longer reliable. Its all no longer necessary.

In Siffrin's mind, whats left of them isn't worth saving. And then finally, agonizingly, they are saved. Despite his best efforts to self destruct, his family come for him and they're mad and they're scared but they do it anyway, even when the world is ending around them.

Anyway yeah i love this game so much Siffrin is Stars' most mentally unwell soldier and i love them and their stupid family so much.

[suburbandadclub]

What sets The Hunger Games novels so far apart from other stories, especially YA ones, and also from the films they were adapted into, is that we, the audience, get to experience the varied responses to trauma through the eyes of someone who doesn’t know life without it.

I first read the trilogy as a 12-year-old, and it was wonderful to me then. Katniss seemed so mature and grown-up, and I saw in her this savior that I dreamed of saving me too, like she saved her sister. I think that’s why a lot of the end of the series was confusing to me. I loved it, but there was so much that I couldn’t figure out about her motivations.

I began listening to the audiobooks recently, at a time in my life when I was finally able to come to terms with the abuse I’d experienced my entire childhood and adolescence. Outside of any of that, I now saw Katniss for what she is: a child. It blew me away how similar I felt to her in what she goes through. When you have known suffering all your life, you have no idea the depth of its impact. I always knew how upset and angry I felt about what was being done to me. But I never considered it was out of the ordinary. I knew other kids didn’t experience it like I did, but why would I have any reason to think it was wrong? It was just my life. I must have deserved it.

Katniss takes on so much blame in an effort to make sense of her circumstances. She takes on guilt to try to punish herself for the egregious things happening to the people she loves. She doesn’t see herself as a person worthy of life and love, and yet she sees herself as selfish for not always thinking of the greater good. So much of her response to trauma stands out to me now as obvious, even as I struggle to see it in myself.

And as readers, we can’t see further than her own paranoid, traumatized logic. This is obviously somewhat lessened now that the movies are such a widely-known phenomenon, but events and actions of other characters come completely out of the blue and surprise us because Katniss convinces herself (and us) that the world works a certain way because it’s always worked that way for her, and we believe her!

Truly the most subversive of unreliable narrators.

I don’t know how Suzanne Collins perfectly captured the mind of a deeply traumatized child, which leads me to conclusions that I dearly hope are not true, because you always hope that these things don’t happen even when you know they do. But I am immensely grateful that she chose to write what she did, not only for what her writing has done for the globe in terms of war, and politics, and humanity, but for kids like me, who maybe will see a little better that even in stories filled with hurt and tragedy and suffering, there is more than enough beauty to be found just by choosing to keep fighting.

[emilover-1]

Why Mori indirectly killed Oda + Why he led Dazai out of the pm

A very short analysis

Killing Oda was the most logical solution, it was; to kill a lower member or to kill more pm members that possibly were higher rank, it didn’t make sense, and even Dazai in the light novel dark era recognized it:

Dazai glances at the at the muzzle still pointed at his face, following which, he turns back towards the center of the room, standing right in front of Ougai, quietly speaking. “I’ve been thinking. Between the mafia, Mimic, and the Black Special Ops Forces, who is the one manipulating these three organizations? When I realized Ango was a member of the Special Ability Department, I reached a conclusion. That conclusion was that this is the Special Ability Department’s plan. Their motive was to let the mafia and Mimic, two illegal organizations causing the government a headache, to kill each other off. If they were lucky, they would both perish together – I thought this was a playbook written by the Special Ability Department, that this was the real reason behind this war. But I was wrong.” Dazai pauses after these words, looking at Ougai. Ougai smiles, shrugging his shoulders, “I’m listening.” “The person who painted this picture was you, Boss. Using the illegal organization Mimic as a threat, you pulled the Special Ability Department onto the negotiation table. And the pawn in the center of this plan was Ango.” Dazai speaks with half lidded eyes. “Boss, the reason you sent Ango to infiltrate Mimic’s ranks was not to obtain information on Mimic. Because you knew that Ango was a spy from the Special Ability Department from the very beginning. Am I right?” Ougai does not affirm or refute this, only saying, “Huh.” “If you think about it that way, the meaning behind several truths will change accordingly. At the same time Ango passed us insider information on Mimic, he had to pass that information on to the Special Ability Department as well. They are undead ghosts that will not listen to negotiations or compromises, only seeking a battlefield. Such danger cannot be compared to the mafia. If this went on any further, conflict would break out between them and the government agencies. This is what the Special Ability Department thought. The next thing they thought of was to fan the flames of war between Mimic and the Port Mafia, manipulating matters by leaking information to Mimic through Ango. As long as Mimic bites the hook, the mafia has no reason not to fight back. Based on this line of thinking, they instructed Ango to engage in combat – all according to your plan.” “You’re overestimating me, but it’ll still be troublesome for me.” Ougai smiles. “To the mafia, the government agencies are also a demon-like existence, an opponent that cannot be manipulated easily.” “That is why you would come up with such a large scale plan – Because the value of that envelope is worth all that effort.” Dazai points to the black premium envelope beside Mori’s hand.

pages 125 and 126 of the light novel

By what they talk about, its pretty obvious that Dazai recognized it was a logical solution, yet he had got very attached, Dazai has little to no problems in using people, but the problem was that Dazai had got too attached with Oda. Not to mention that getting the envelope was beneficial to the port mafia, it was like getting rid of two birds with a stone or however it is said, and as I've said a lot of times, Mori goes to the option that benefits everyone in Yokohama or at least to the pm.

He is called "The one who fell to the optimal solution" isn't he?

next topic:

Why Mori led Dazai out of the pm

This is more of what I believe but I still wanted to include it

Mori led Dazai out of the pm because of two reasons:

He was afraid Dazai would aspire to take his position as a boss

He wanted Dazai to learn a lesson

It's mentioned that he is afraid of Dazai so we aren't going to talk about this topic right now, but about the lesson topic; Mori wanted Dazai to become more like him in case Dazai were to take the boss position, but Mori didn't thought that Dazai had grown that attached to Oda, and while Dazai did recognize that killing Oda was the most logical solution, he didn't like it, he would have preferred that more members had lost their lives than Oda losing his, and therefore to Mori; Dazai didn't want to learn the lesson.

Thank you for reading

I got the quotes (if it can be considered that) from this pdf, i hope you enjoyed my analysis! its very short but what can we do

[shini--chan]

Yandere Character Sheet I

1p Estonia: Eduard von Bock

Trigger warnings: murder, emotional manipulation, trauma bonding (?), blackmail, stalking, unusual punishments, misuse of medication and medical procedures

Attributes - What sort of Yandere is he/she?

Above everything else, he is diligent. Diligent in tracking all your movements, and mapping out a future for the both of you. Lies are quickly uncovered, because he will be fast to note the indiscrepancies in the falsehoods you tell him. Eduard would be quick to note changes in your demeanour and appearance, and would be charming enough to drop remarks about them, and to remember the things that you tell him. In many ways, he is a very good listener and would bring up things you told him years ago, things that you yourself would have forgotten. In that way, you also can't expect him to simply forgive and forget your transgressions.

In total, he is also of the obsessive type. All your likes and dislikes are carefully taken into account and noted. He'll use the knowledge gained to reach further conclusions through extrapolation and conjuncture. Should he really put himself into it, then he'll be able to recognise aspects about yourself that you are not even aware of. The danger here is that he sometimes confuses intelligence with infallibility and can sometimes refuse to accept that he is wrong. This would be a double edge sword for you, since it could lead to you using his blindspots and misguided beliefs against him, as well as him mistreating you based on wrong assumptions that he refuses to correct. It would also lead to him finding justifications for his disturbing behaviours, and you having a hard time arguing against them. 

Eduard has the capacity to be very petty. With his good memory and inherent passion, he is capable of holding grudges for a long time. Most of the time, would like to present himself as a rational and logical person, but often, he’ll allow emotion to colour his judgement. While at the end of the day, he usually thinks before he acts, those actions would always be heavily influenced by his feelings. His obsession with you would have a cold edge, and his actions would commonly be calculating, but it wouldn’t change that he would be controlled by his own, unlogical obsession with you. As such, you’ll find him to be unable to let go of minor offences. He would wait, perhaps even so long as to convince you to think that he has forgotten about it, but he’ll inevitably punish you for it. Estonia will usually even wait for multiple transgressions to have occurred and then punish you for them all at once. 

He also is very mixed when it comes to communication and that in itself can provide difficulties. At times, he is very direct and would be quick to tell you what is on his mind or if he doesn’t like something about your behaviour. At other times, the issue at hand would seem self-evident to him and thus there would be no need for words in his mind. That, or the body language displayed should be enough to deduce what is going on. In such cases he would become very frustrated when you wouldn’t catch on, and so, grave misunderstanding can arise. 

Combined with his diligent nature is his talent for organisation. His surroundings would reflect this, with every item having its place. An easy way to aggravate him would be to mess with his organisation, though, he wouldn’t allow you to get away lightly with such things. That being said, this particular trait would also show itself in other spheres of life, like his social circle. Eduard would be very good at delegating tasks to the people under him, or even his friends, and making sure it works. Should you escape, you’d find all the exits to the city blocked, for example. Also, like every belonging has a place in his life, you also have a designated spot, and he wouldn’t like it at all if you would push the boundaries assigned to you. 

Generally, it would be a question of how much offence you would take to his rather unorthodox practises, with him being so very polite. To you especially, he would be a perfect gentleman - taking your coat, inquiring about your day, never using swear words in your presence. He would be sensitive enough to notice if and when he would be pushing too far, and knowing when to retreat. Oh, he can be overly sarcastic and he has a dark humour; he is petty and mean sometimes, but never impolite. 

Cornering - How would they get you?

Eduard would have been in relationships before, and what would have always irked him would have been how easy it was for his partners to leave him. Thus, he would strive to prevent that in his relationship with you from the very beginning. With the carrot and the stick, if it has to be. The carrot would be advertised benefits - such as him being an attentive partner, ready to make sacrifices for your happiness and somebody that won't beat, somebody that will treat you like a human being and not some plaything or extension of himself.

Eduard would be ready to indulge you and provide for you, to take you out to the theatre, to fly overseas with you on holiday or attend a festival. He wouldn't really be the sort to lock you in the house - that would be boring. But he would become a permanent fixture in your life, one that you would never get rid of. 

Part of this would be due to the stick - he'll have some dirt on you. It must not even be that it really is something condemning, you must just not want to go public. Perhaps it would be some dirty family secrets that he would trumpet out for the world to hear. If it would mean keeping you, then he would even go as far as to threaten to upload nudes of you. Of course, he would make sure that that isn't the only threat that he would shackle you with. 

Expectations - What do they expect of you?

First of all, he would require you to be intelligent. Something about stupid people just irks him and would make him want to crawl out of his skin. Having to repeat his words and explain simple concepts again and again would lead him to start tearing his hair out. Eduard would want somebody he can converse with without dumbing his language down, somebody he can have invigorating conversations with until the early morning hours. Surprise him, challenge him and his own intelligence and he'll be delighted. Show off your intellect, make him flounder in a debate. But don't be too intelligent - he wouldn't want you to outsmart him.

He'd also prefer a more reserved person. Estonia would want to feel that only he has the privilege of really knowing you, and that wouldn't be possible if you'd wear your heart on your sleeve. Also, half the excitement of being in a relationship with you would be being able to peel one layer after the other away. Only he should know your deepest and darkest secrets. It would also make sure that you are less inclined to stray. The thing is, he doesn't want to restrict your movements or have to reveal his true colours, so if you stick to him of your own accord, then it is wonderful for him. 

Paired with that comes his wish for a clingy partner. He wishes for a person that wants to be around him as much as he wants to be around them. This could go hand in hand with the aforementioned reservedness if you are suspicious of people but are lonely at the same time. Perhaps you were betrayed in the past, or generally had a bad childhood. Either way, if that leads to you sticking like glue to him, and only him, then he'll be as happy as pie. After all, he is the only person you can trust, in his mind, so it is all the better if you are of the same opinion, eh? 

Have a sense of orderliness. The last thing he wants to do would be cleaning after you or having to chide you for your behaviour or speech. Dress well, eat well, speak well. Acclimate yourself to his own orderliness and help him run a clean household. He would also like it alot of you would make things yourself - like making pottery or brewing alcohol or dyeing textiles. That way, you shouldn't be a person that just sits there and theorises or schemes the whole day away, but actually puts their plans to action more often than not. 

Be cynical over optimistic. Life is nasty, short and brutal, and he won't be the one to rip the veil from your eyes. Somebody that can match his gallows humour and suspicious disposition is prefered over some ray of sunshine that is sheltered and naive. Should you still land in his care despite brimming with optimism, then you'll be forced to grow up fast. 

Faded - Would they let go of you in any way?

It would have to be a situation where his world is turned upside down. His attachment to you would grow stronger over the years due to you becoming a cornerstone in his life - he would simply be too used to you to let you go. So, in order for him to relinquish you, a major cataclysm would have to occur. 

Maybe war breaks out, and he loses sight of you in all the chaos. You scamper off to a faraway land while he is stuck in Tailin keeping the country running. The house is bombed, the grid goes into blackout. In some way, he not only loses you, but all the memories of you two together. By the time he has disentangled himself from war and all its consequences, you are long gone and the trail has gone cold. A similar pattern would occur if the matter at hand were a natural disaster, a revolution or societal collapse. 

Punishment - How would they proceed if you do something they disapprove of?

Physical abuse is off the table for him - it is just so messy and he'd have to nurse you back to health afterwards. Besides, you are not some beast of burden that has to be disciplined through the crop, he doesn't need you docile or full of animosity. No, those are not qualities he wants you to have - he wants you to learn and grow and remember. 

One of the things that would always frustrate Eduard would be how forgetful ordinary humans are. Should you forget your place together, or the unspoken rules on how your relationship is built, then he'll be inclined to help you remember. He'll make you write lines, be it on a chalkboard or a sheet, and that until your hand cramps. This would be to sear certain phrases into your mind. Other methods that would go along those lines would be repeating chants after him for a full hour or two, or putting a cassette player to your bed and having it repeat moral lessons on loop while you sleep. 

Though, it wouldn't just be restricted to that - he would take simple chores and make them more difficult. Like making you scrub the floor with a toothbrush. Or he would go back to the old fashion ways and make you wash all the clothes by hand. The fire would have to be lit without a lighter or matches and all the good food stuff that you could easily buy in the supermarket, like butter and bread and cheese, would have to be made like in the good old days. 

Else, sensory deprivation would be a favourite of his. In his eyes, there is just something so amusing about watching you stumble around blindfolded, completely reliant on him. Taking this in another direction, he would also encase one or two of your limbs in plaster. Not because of a broken bone, just to render you less mobile. Should he be feeling very petty, then he would give you pain-killers and "allow" you to enjoy the side effects. 

Reaction - How would they react to you escaping?

On the one hand, he would be frustrated - you just had to ruin his plans for the afternoon. How dare you thwart his intentions. The question of "why today" would come to the forefront of his mind, and he would be pouty about having to come back to an empty and cold apartment. 

On the other hand, he would feel very amused. With everything being digitised in Estonia, you wouldn't get very far without a phone. In that case he just has to wait until you return. Should you have a phone with you, then he can easily track you. Maybe he'll hack it to make life difficult for you, maybe he'll just watch your movements. 

He'll call in a few favour, pull some strings, and then wait for somebody to turn up at the door with you in tow. When it comes to retrieving you, and would rather have somebody do it for him. 

Naturally, there is also the flip-side of this coin, where he assumes that you didn't escape, but were kidnapped. Panic would set him, and the next hours would see him making one call after the other and playing detective. 

Turnabout - Scenario: You have the upper hand? What would be different from their usual MO?

Seriously, nothing much. Actually, he would prefer for the two of you to be equals in the first place. As long as you don't leave him he is fair game, even if the situation is that of him being your butler or valet. He would even settle with being your nurse or attendant, for heaven's sake. Just as long as you stay, it is all fine, but as soon as you try to leave, all bets are off. 

He would rather see you dead, than let you live without him. So instead of letting you go, if the process is immediate or just quick and he can't do anything to prevent you living without him, then he'll kill you. The only way you could get out of it would be by tricking him and then making a run for it, or convincing him that the separation is only temporary. Of course, you could make sure his attention is fully occupied by something/someone else, or have somebody more powerful hold him back and then sneak away. 

Vengeance - What would they do in the face of competition?

As per usual when it comes to such things, he would rely on his wits. The knowledge that he isn't powerful enough to hold his own against a great many countries and entities constantly weighs on him. But mortal man didn't best the devil so often by being more powerful, but by using his wits. 

Such is it here, where he would bargain and barter to get to you. Estonia would do his best to make himself the more attractive option, hoping to win your heart rather than having to best the competition. But if he has to best the competition, then there would be certain plans of action. He could make a deal and hid things in the fine print, making the other suitor indebted to him. Or he could resort to playing with words, either cornering them into a situation where they'd have to do as he asks, or by seemingly offering something up that is more attractive than being in a relationship with you. At the end of the day, humans as well as nations are selfish creatures, thus he would aim at making it more beneficial for the other person to relinquish you, rather than keep you. 

[sterlingarcher23]

Pac-Man pellets...& chess

The chess-board is the world; the pieces are the phenomena of the universe; the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature. The player on the other side is hidden from us. We know that his play is always fair, and patient. But also we know, to our cost, that he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance., Thomas Henry Huxley

Pac-Man

Another thing that also points to Max being the "Pac-Man" is that we see her taking pills throughout Season 4. - Brenners words and this subtle but obvious clue through the board game "Can't stop" are connecting "One", "gaming" and Max.

Showing her taking the pills to underline her depression is one thing - however, rarely do things have just a single meaning in Stranger Things.

Lucas putting his hand on her mouth while there's the Pac-Man arcade machine behind her is quite clearly pointing to her too be a power user being able to absorb. If the Pac-Man would be (just) Vecna, why give Max some stupid lines, blabbering about what Lucas just told her in the public, so that Lucas panics and covers her mouth, stopping her from further opening it with each word? With the Pac-Man arcade directly behind her head.

Pac-Man: Paku paku taberu - to gobble something. To consume.

Like Max gobbling a red Skittle mid air in Season 3? Note the use of the Coke vending machine, a repeated pattern and the brand can be seen on Max's shelf too and there's a drawing by Will showing the boys in front of/meeting a Coke vending machine ( besides the "Can't stop" game that connects Brenner’s "If you want to stop One..." dialog with gaming.).

Taking her pills is like eating your way through the stage in Pac-Man: The Player who is Pac-Man has to eat all the pellets or Pac-Dots in order to clear the stage. (and by gaining points he may get an extra life).

Someone made an interesting observation, that in the mind lair, the red mist kind of behaves and I quote: "like in a video game".

That's called a "fog of war", the further you move the more is revealed - once again showing us that Max isn't just a piece on the board but quite clearly the gamer:

The Immortal Game

Bear with me, it may sound complicated, and it may help to watch the scene muted only focusing on the chess moves.

There are two invisible players when El and Henry play chess. Vecna and the Zoomer. The gamer who plays white isn't Henry but obviously a hidden person: Vecna/Edward(?) (so Henry either collaborates or is forced to do his bidding).

Huxley refers to a hidden player but it's logical that this player isn't just on one side but on either side of the board. Two players, hidden from us. And the patent, waiting to make their move. Which means that the hidden player on the other side is not El playing, its someone else. The Zoomer even though no one is aware of him....her.

Note that El is very vocal even though barely able to speak in S1 - as if they share certain abilities or the memories of El and the Zoomer are mixed. Or the Zoomer says something (in mind) and El repeated that like they showed us in several ElMax moments:

The appearance of the zooming effect (alongside other obvious and less obvious clues) leads to the conclusion that there's indeed another person in the room. (If there's darkness, then there's light. Funny enough it's quite clearly hinted at in the show in dialog. ). Remember how Henry says that One moves people like pieces on this board. Well...which One?

There are three Ones. In 00I and in 0II. And since Owens low-key referred to El as One, there's another One in 0II. Everything points to the Zoomer - Max.

And the Zoomer is the hidden player: she uses the hawk like bait, similar to what happened in the Season 4 finale - the Immortal Game was won through high losses. - Max offered herself as bait for Vecna. Same way the player who is playing black sacrificed the hawk/knight. It's heavily implied by connecting this move with the events by the end of S4, the zooming effect, Max calling herself a Zoomer, that she's the player. - She then indirectly called for El by trying to shut out Vecna, the Coke bottle points to El and El appears.

Max = Zoomer personality.

And keep in mind: It's a metaphor. These chess moves are only over simplifying the actual events in Season 4.

But let's take a look at it:

Behind El is a sign saying Pawn in Season 2 right next to a Coke vending machine. So, she's the pawn that takes the owl/bishop.

It's even obvious when you know that Wi-nteko-wa is a proto word for Wendigo, and it means Owl (even though Vecna isn't the only Wendigo): Vecna = Owl/bishop.

Which means Max is the knight/hawk as we see her in the memories from a scene in Season 3 next to the bird prey (falcon or hawk) poster in El's room.

And the "captured" hawk stays on Elevens side, exactly on the dividing line. Brilliantly implying that Max was not absorbed (there are to many elements that debunk that absorption theory) because she stays on her side. Like in a shot of El approaching Vecna, we can see Max in the background on her side of the frame that is split in half, that Max is only taking out of the game. A taken piece can be brought back into the game via a pawn promotion. Eleven then btw removes the owl completely.

Simply put:

Hawk/Knight = Max

Owl/Bishop = Vecna

Wren/Pawn = El

Hawk is moved and sacrificed, Owl takes Hawk, Wren takes Owl.

Max is moved and sacrificed, Vecna takes Max, El takes Vecna.

Max made herself the bait, this way Vecna could be "beaten" by El - but the game isn't over just by taking the Owl/bishop. And even though it doesn't look like it, this move on the board that was shown in the Piggyback was commented through El's dialog "No. You have [lost]." - Then the UD team does the rest by setting Vecna on fire.

By the end we see El walking into the grey part of the field, its the half white, half black field in the DnD game. So, the pawn moves on the other side of the board - "This is Max" would then in chess terminology be a pawn promotion, changing El as the pawn into a piece of her choice (which can be a previously taken pieces): the hawk/knight. Meaning that El becomes Max.

This way you bring back a piece into a chess game. Usually you'd go for a Queen but depending on the strategy a Knight is also good. And knight's usually are shown as horses.

Metaphorically she would then remove the hood of the hawk. As they foreshadow it in this scene. - It looks as if he's blinding El but he didn't. It was Max. Another clue, like the differences in memories scenes, that in connection with the zooming effect point more to different points of view (even though I wouldn't rule out that they want to allude to different timelines too)

The game figures are from Blade Runner and in the film it's a nod to what is called the "Immortal Game" - the black pawns in this version are wrens.

The unicorn may not only refer to One and the horse in Will's painting (as I mentioned earlier) but also be a reference towards Blade Runner too. The meaning of the unicorn in Blade Runner has been talked and speculated about a lot. My guess is that all interpretations are true to a degree. One interpretation is that since Deckard dreams of a Unicorn, it means that he is a Replicant himself and his memories are actually implanted.

And I wouldn't dismiss the idea of that being the case in Stranger Things. Actually, I'm convinced that this is the case. Mkultra as a mind control project was...about that. And this could explain what El's and Max's secret is since the Unicorn is in the scene directly where Max does the Karate-chop hand gesture, like splitting something in half (like what happened in the lab): the memories of their lifes were implanted, altered, don't add up. Why else use the zooming effect? Why does Max calls herself a Zoomer if this isn't exactly that. A personality taking over or at least zoom in to take the wheel. And they might not be the only ones. I suspect Hopper's memories are also faked. About Sara. His ghost.

There's also a spinning top/Inception reference next to a chess board. Remember how ElMax is connected to spinning.

Gamers game:

That's how the show introduced us to Max, something we might have lost our focus on, a gamer:

Besides the fact that she's wearing red (that jacket reappears in one of the Vecna hallucinations in 4),she's in first place... 1st. As in One.

It is not very subtle. Especially in regards to games being played in this show. Like chess. And there's a whole lot of checkerboard patterns near or connected to Max too. (And I'd argue that there are more.)

Above Max in S3 in the ElMax shopping scene (which holds a lot of clues), Lumax holding hands, the shield Lucas is holding, on the magazine cover that El is reading (next to the term "Kaleidoskop" like in "a brilliant kaleidoscope of colors" aka rainbow which Max is wearing in the scene - kinda wearing the whole LGBTQ flag - and there are some sort of fans on it too? Not sure)

And Will? He's also a gamer. - I bet if you dive into his character having games in mind, you'll find what his role in this is too. I mean, I talked about the parallels and mirrors that Will and Max have, including the "crowbar incident" and I have some vague ideas but I leave it up to others. After all: it's these two the plot of 5 will be about. (Although there's something I DO want to talk about in regards to Dr Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde.)

Werewolves & vampires

This is connected to the rabies, werewolves/vampires and the Wendigo/Ravenous elements in the show. And how cannibalism is many times used as a metaphor for queerness and queer love. And I'll talk over that separately. A bit about "The Quarry" (even though it's not an inspo as it released in '22 but to showcase that writers have similar ideas), Van Helsing and Underworld.

PS: I actually just wanted to point out that Max takes her pills like Pac-Man eats the pellets...😁

[deluweil]

I know it's been a while, but with the new 911 season coming up ( I will not be watching,probably check in every now and again) I wanted to share my own self check of how I view relationships on tv.

After S6 finale, I was like lost and furious, I mean, I wanted and still do want the last 6 years of my life back from 911. (Well three because they didn't always suck).

But I went back to watching normal TV, you know, the kind that portray relationships and are being clear of the direction.

I watched Good Omens, so rooting for that pair, they are the best! And with that cast of unbelievably talented actors, I enjoyed every minute of it. Point is I didn't allow myself to see that friendship as a ship because of how damaged my perception of on screen relationships became after 911 displaying all the right signals, then taking a hard left into a tree at the end of the seasons.

I am not even going to to touch the First Prince of RW&RB, which is essentially a buddie storyline that was followed through to its logical conclusion.

I also thought, maybe I just can't enjoy straight on screen relationships anymore and I'm looking for more.

My sister sat me to watch Bridgerton for the very first time (just S1 for now) I can say with absolute certainty that it dis-abused me of that theory as well, because I rooted and got excited for Daphne and Simon at first sight.

Such a wonderful love story told right!

These are the two prominent tv shows that cemented my belief that it is in fact not on me.

Going back in my head I remember rooting for Catherine and Steve, and almost every one of Danny's gfs (except Rachel, it was clear she'd break his heart again.) In H50.

I wanted Gibson to end up with Andy in Station 19. Never wanted her to end up with Maya or him with Miller.

And even though it didn't need to be said, but was said in a humorous fashion, the writers also made clear that Gibson prefer women.

So it is in fact the flawed 911 writing that got me to give up on all forms of logic of reading tv relationships right.

That I gave up on tv for a while.

But, that being said, I can say I was always attracted to Ryan, but Eddie always got my gaydar to go off. And Oliver is not my type, but Buck is a hot bi firefighter - and that is a thing I already thought in S1, way before Eddie arrived.

So either the writers has no clue what they're doing, or they did and chickened out last minute.

And I finally reached the point where, I throw in the towel, wish you all well and move on.

It is not just about buddie, it is just a buddie post.

If anyone is interested, I can make a whole post involving the "development" of the rest of the og characters, where I say enough is enough.

Either make them interesting again, or bring in new blood that hasn't been first a piece of ass to further Buck's questionable development.

Let me know if you are interested.

The blinders are off and I am not keeping quiet for the sake of followers anymore.

9-1-1 was a great show, 3 seasons ago. They had sparks every now and again in between, but those were few and always demolished in some way by horrible writing choices.

Thank you for a great time, this fandom has been a place to come to whenever I needed to escape reality, I love you all. ❤️

[joculine]

DIE Issue #2 Reread (Gillen & Hans)

I was pretty hooked on DIE from the concept alone, but this issue is what showed me the story itself would be something special. Sir Lane, the knight of kisses wraps up everything special about this comic to me into one, horrible little story. I love it. Let's dig in.

Art

Eyes are a big deal through the series, but they're an especially big deal in this issue. Hans is really killer at showing emotion through them here, the guilt Ash feels, the anger Sol & Matt feel, and of course the hate from Sir Lane.

I especially love her fight scenes. They move in broad strokes, not focused on any specific sequence of action, but the specific moments of victory and defeat that occur through the fight.

That's important when you're dealing with a cast as large and unique as the party. Everyone has these super powerful attacks with over the top video-game flairs, so she has to make sure to draw your eye with color and shapes.

I especially like how red is used in this scene, a strong color associated with violent magic from just about everyone. Historically, I've associated the red licks of fire with Ash and her dictator powers, but I think that applies to all members of the party here. Perhaps we are meant to see red as the color of violent magic? Or perhaps just the party's magic?

Isabelle's talks with her gods are another standout for me. These panels are always so interesting, I love to see how each one speaks, how they treat Izzy, and how little she seems to care about them. She keeps her back to them, refuses to meet their eye, but is still shadowed in most interactions. It also looks like a persona summoning scene, which is fun to me.

A special shout out to the cartoonish look of Ash's memory of Sir Lane. So idealized & flat, the perfect way to do this childhood flashback. Everything was so much simpler then... NOT. We'll get into it further on.

Actually, why wait?

This is up there for my favorite moments in the comic. Like I said, this is where I realized what DIE was doing—this is a story about careless people ruining their lives and the lives of others for the sake of "fantasy." And it's a story about the logical conclusions of those fantasies crawling back to you and covering you with awful worms.

What's incredible is the conciseness here. In just 8 panels over 2 pages, we see the entire tragedy. Sir Lane, the Angrian knight of kisses, was a fling for young Ash back in the 90s. Maybe even her first fling as herself:

It's an exciting thing for her, to be kissed as a woman. To be wanted as a woman. But Ash barely remembers this guy. She does recall their last meeting—he joked he wouldn't rest until he saw her again, asked her to use her power to make it true. She did. He died. He never rested. His eyes rotted. A lover's joke became a never-ending curse.

We see here how careless Ash has been with a very serious power. As the Dictator class, she can speak things & feelings into being. If she isn't careful, this power will rewrite reality to make her words true. Sir Lane is only the first casualty of this we see. What other horrors are waiting for them in this world, still reeling from the fickle whims of teenage demigods?

House Rules & The Fallen

Isabelle tells us the party takes this world seriously. They can't know how "real" Die is, so they have to treat it like it is real.

I don't think anyone in this party is actually playing this way though. The proceeding bit with Sir Lane is strong evidence against it, but even just moments before this interaction, we have the party going all out on the Fallen and this nice little explanation from Ash:

You know, some people would call me a trap with legs, but I hope there'd still be moral question to killing me. Anyway.

I was really mad the first time I read this, back in 2018. Orc discourse wouldn't hit its stride for a few more years, but even then I found it frustrating. If we're supposed to believe that these characters are treating Die as real, why are the Fallen different? Are "orcs" not people? Are they not conscious? Perhaps are used as unquestionable fodder in early D&D and LOTR, major influences on DIE, but I feel like we're past that now. The easy answer for the moment is that they are more like zombies than orcs, but that's still not satisfying for me. This whole scene appears to be a weirdly out of place statement for the comic.

Let's hold onto that feeling of dissonance—it feels bad for a reason. Without spoiling too much, Ash & the party's knowledge of the Fallen is pretty sparse at this point. They know them as hungry, diseased automatons. There's a lot more to them. A lot more. As we'll find later, this statement is just wrong.

This is a really important theme for the comic: The party is often wrong in what they think and what they do. Their attitude as 90s gamers will keep butting heads against more modern TTRPG ideas. This past thoughts/present thoughts conflict will continue not just with the Fallen, but in pretty much every aspect of the story.

So What's Up With Sol?

You've gotta love this guy—the dramatics, the get up, the ambush, it's all classic GM shit. Look, he's even having to stop himself from spoiling things here, he's just so excited to see his friends again!

Okay, maybe there's something a little worse than that going on here. Sol is (obviously) a really bad friend here. He's stating that he wants to bring the party back for another game—the war is over, now we're here for fun.

Ash reads this differently. She sees him as furious, furious beyond the point of sanity.

The other players have their own ideas. Isabelle, it seems, might be taking Sol at his word, but she's trying to talk him down. Matt is, pretty rightfully, furious. He's been brought out of his normal life into the worst place in the world. Angela bargains. Maybe she thinks Sol is crazy enough to fall for it.

So what's really going on here? Why did Sol bring them back, why now? We don't get an exact answer here, but I don't think it's anything put forth in this scene. Or maybe a bit of all of it. We'll learn more the next time we see Sol.

Other Thoughts

Well, here we go. We've got our quest, we've got a combat in, even some roleplay. A pretty good first session! I do like how these early bits are all structured like standard D&D sessions.

I already gushed a bit about the art in this issue's action scene, but I also want to call out the way Ash's narration works there too. Everyone's role in the party and their powers are very clear. It's a good set piece to show what everyone can do and why they're cool.

If you're considering reading DIE, I'd try to get through at least these two issues. If you like the tone and the characters, keep going! It just gets better from here.

In fact... next issue introduces one of my favorite bits of world-building in the series... but we'll save that for later.

[deathgamegirl]

Ranmaru Kageyama's Struggle with Co-Dependency: An Analysis

in the (relatively) short amount of time that ranmaru was on screen in chapter 3-1 of your turn to die, he became attached to sara to the point of obsession. even with how insecure he was in his own capabilities, he recklessly devoted his entire existence to her, seeing her as someone to be saved and protected at all costs. naturally, this kind of behavior is unhealthy and even disturbing from an outside perspective, but further inspection reveals that there's more to it than just incel-adjacent behavior for its own sake- when you look at the kind of actions that ranmaru takes in sara's name, it becomes clear that he struggles heavily with co-dependency.

naturally, there will be spoilers for your turn to die under the cut, as well as discussions of mental health.

co-dependency is, at its core, an intense, unhealthy longing to be needed by other people. while their intentions are genuinely well-meaning, the way that they go about helping other people is harmful to both parties, especially themselves. rather than addressing the core of a problem, they may cover for the poor behavior and choices of the other party, or take action to suppress an issue rather than solving it. however, what's important to note is that co-dependency is like an addiction: the co-dependent individual becomes so attached to the satisfaction they get by "saving" others that they disregard their own problems entirely.

by looking at ranmaru's actions and words in 3-1 from its beginning to its conclusion, we can see how dependent he becomes on "saving" sara, both in the emotions route and in the logic route. i'll be looking at his introduction and then his actions right before the fight with maple 2.0 in both routes.

from the moment that ranmaru is introduced to us, he already displays high levels of insecurity. the first choice that the player can make at this point has two options that reflect the co-dependent behaviors regarding fear of abandonment and needing recognition.

if sara chooses to remain silent, ranmaru will say:

"S-Say somethin'… this is awkward."

and if sara requests a trade, he'll object with:

"Huh? Damn, don't reject me immediately!!"

he already needs sara to acknowledge his presence. since they're going to be partnered up, he's already been set up to get attached to her, and being ignored or rejected would set off panic in him fast. co-dependent individuals feel a need to be appreciated more than is ever healthy, after all.

there's also the choice in dialogue where he awkwardly asks if it's okay to be on a first name basis. in each dialogue option, there's a line that indicates that he feels guilty for even asking the question or for sticking up for himself.

if sara says it's fine, he'll respond with:

"You sure? You aren't gonna come to me later saying you were actually my senior?"

if sara requests that he use her last name, he says the following lines:

"No, wait, why do you get to call me that?! That's weird, right?!" "Ah… right… No, well, look, we can just use each other's first names, right? Less of a pain…"

and then if sara demands that he call her "mistress", he'll respond with the following self-deprecating quote:

"You're just wanting to make fun of me for my height, aren't you…"

he pretty clearly doesn't trust his own emotions, needs, and comforts beyond appeasing sara, even at this early stage.

this gradually descends into ranmaru either trying (and failing) to overwrite his identity with the joe AI in the emotions route, or killing the remaining yabusame sibling in the logic route, both actions meant to be sara's salvation. he disregards any consequences that might befall him for taking either action, believing wholly that it would save the person that he's closest to in that moment.

in the emotions route, after he gets caught by midori, he remarks that:

"Dammit… I can't be anything after all… So… I at least wanted to be Sara's salvation…"

this is a very on-the-nose point that he is, for lack of a better term, addicted to being sara's savior. again, this is the key trait that co-dependent individuals struggle with.

then, in the logic route, he says a line with a similar meaning after killing either alice or reko:

"This is the only way left to save Sara…!"

again, saving sara is brought up. he isn't addressing the actual root of the issue, instead applying what may as well be a band-aid over a bullet hole in a misguided attempt to help her. in particular, he's also more outwardly aggressive in this route after he gets thwarted, which is a result of him being prevented from being sara's "benefactor", so to speak.

whatever may have caused ranmaru to develop co-dependent tendencies, it's important to note that it is a learned behavior brought on by repeated instances. whether he had a bad home life, was abused by his classmates, or anything else, he learned from those around him to put himself at the very back of the line. and realizing that, it becomes all the more tragic that things turned out this way for him and sara, because it was likely unavoidable in their present circumstances. i'd say that we can only hope things can improve, but... unless ranmaru gets another doll body to inhabit, i doubt that he'll even get the chance.

for reference, i used this article from mental health america as source to help me word my points, as well as pulling from my own past experience with co-dependency. i also pulled quotes directly from the the game transcripts on the yttd wiki.

[holesandlividity]

Guardian Angel: J.Miller x Reader

Chapter I: Welcome to the Family 

Overall Summary: After traveling alone for so long you were on the brink of death, no. You were ready and prepared to die. You knew your luck had to run out eventually and you had come to terms with it, until fate or whatever you call it decided that you still had some lady luck on your side. Hiding in an abandoned Hotel full of infected that’s when you meet him. Joel Miller a total pain in your ass and a man full of secrets you were dying to unravel.

Chapter Summary: Tired and ready to give up you hid away in an abandoned Hotel when an unexpected “helping” hand comes along.

Warnings: Mentions of death, guns, typical TLOU violence

W.C: 1.24k

    You didn’t know why it happened or what you even did to deserve it- him. What you did know however, is that Joel Miller must have been a blessing straight from the heavens above.

    The sun shown, no it beat down on you. The heat was unforgiving and the sweat was sticky, salty, and uncomfortable. You were gross and tired and so incredibly hot, you had run out of water about an hour ago and you had no way to quench your thirst, the sweat your licked off your upper lip doing nothing to help your dehydrated state. 

    You had been on the run for about a month now, ever since your quarantine zone had been taken over by hunters and bandits and your legs could barely carry you any further, you debated taking off the hefty bag you carried on your shoulders and leaving it somewhere for even an inkling of relief but you knew that was a death wish.

    Maybe that’s exactly what you were waiting for though. For the sweet relief of death to carry you in its arms as if you weighed nothing at all. Wether it was from a heat stroke or those god damned infected you didn’t care it’s not like you really had time to be picky when thinking about how you would meet your demise.

    And suddenly there he was, all worn around the edges, and a bit mean but also kind. He reminded you of an espresso flavored cake, bitter but soft. 

   He had found you hiding in an old abandoned hotel, at first you hid from him. As soon as you heard his voice, all deep and southern your mind jumped to the conclusion that he was a hunter coming to collect the meat right off your tired bones. 

    Before you knew it the door to the bathroom you were hiding in was practically torn off it’s hinges and all at once a gun, flashlight, and tall figure were directly in your face. You’ve been shot at before sure, but looking down the barrel of a gun head on was a completely different experience. At least if you were to die by his hands it would be quick.

    “Who the fuck are you?” Bitter. And then-

    “Are you hurt?” Sweet. 

    You felt like a deer in headlights, it had been an entire month since you were actually face to face with someone. You had half the sense to convince yourself right then and there that he was God himself ready to welcome you to heaven. And then it hit you this wasn’t God and you most certainly were not going to heaven. This man was real and breathing and above all alive.

    “No, no I’m not hurt,” Not physically anyways. “could you please lower the gun and flashlight I think you’re going to blind me here soon.” 

    He didn’t move a single inch, hell it didn't even look like he was breathing in that moment. “At least put the fucking light down for god’s sake.” He was giving you a headache and that stupid light prevented you from seeing anything in front of you.

    “I don’t think you’re in any position to be tellin’ me what to do right now.” ‘Maybe I should just beg him to shoot me, get it over with already. I’m dead anyways if not by his hands then by the teeth and hands of all the infected on the third floor.’

    Holy shit the third floor. 

    “I can help you get out of here.” You can tell he doesn’t believe you by the way his finger moves a single inch closer to the trigger.

    “Please! I swear to god. I know the way out of here.” 

    “Then why haven’t you left already?” 

    It was a logical question you knew that but maybe if he took even a second to see the fucking position you and your supplies were in. “Because I was waiting for prince fucking charming to come along and save me duh.” 

    “There ain’t no prince’s around these parts, you know that right?”

    “Clearly.” You mumble to yourself, “but seriously I don’t have enough ammo to get myself out of here otherwise I would’ve been long gone. Only way to the other side is the third floor and it’s loaded with all kinds of infected. By the looks of it you have more than enough bullets to take a couple of them out.”

    “What’s the catch?” You hadn’t thought about receiving anything in return, the fact that he would be helping you get out of here should’ve been enough. Key word, should’ve.

    “First, you get that fucking gun out of my face like I asked you to earlier. Secondly, for the love of god some water would be nice. And lastly, you let me travel with you for a while until I can find somewhere safe. And I mean actually safe, to the point where I don’t have to fight for my life every goddamned second I spend on this earth.”

    “I like her already.” A lighter more feminine voice rang through the air, definitely belonging to a child. 

    “Who the hell is that?” The young girl introduced herself as Ellie before the man shoved her in the next room over. The fact that he had a kid with him helped ease some of your worries about him shooting you right in the face. 

    He thought about it for a second, maybe even two before finally lowering his weapon. “I can guarantee the water you asked for,” He said while rummaging through his bag before pulling out a beat up metal bottle. “But I can’t promise you somewhere safe, at least not as safe as you’re wanting it to be.”

    “Somewhere safe, someone safe I don’t give a damn just take me somewhere other than here for the love of fuck.” 

    He could do that and kill two birds with one stone, drop both you and Ellie off with Tommy in Wyoming. “Deal.” He stated before giving you the bottle filled with water and offering you a hand up.

    “The name’s Joel by the way. Joel Miller.” 

[racefortheironthrone]

Hey there,

So I read the Locked Tomb series a few months ago and one thing that occurred to me after reading Nona the Ninth was that the John Gauis’s account of the end of the world could not be fundamentally trusted.  While I believe that Tamsyn Muir intended for these passages to be “true” or “Accurate” to what happened I found unable to accept the chapters due to the number and severity of lies told by John.  It also led to me notice any inconsistency, irregularity, or any implausible scenario and to see it as evidence of another lie by John. 

My question I suppose is if an author uses an unreliable narrator when (or if) should the audience trust said narrator again.  

In part my extreme skepticism started when John mentioned the oxygen crisis, that such a scenario would be so sever and immediate that there would be little time for John’s necromantic schemes.  It was further stoked by John’s impractical cryogenic plan (why would you send frozen people to the Kuiper Belt), and later on John’s  mis-remembering when and how original-Gideon died and that he was telling this story to Harrow hark trying to convinced her to join him.

I am quite certain that my extreme distrust is unwarranted and that Muir intended for us to believe John’s tale but I cannot help but notice the inconsistencies and find John utterly dishonest and unbelievable.

I'm glad you asked this question, because it allows me to talk about how to apply historiographical methodology to literary analysis.

One of the terms that I was exposed to during my training as a historian is the "hermeneutics of suspicion" - the practice of reading texts such that the on-its-face meaning of the text is false and that you have to read the text solely for its deeper, hidden meanings. The problem with the hermeneutics of suspicion is that, taken to a logical conclusion, all texts and meanings become false, and for lack of evidence, all academic inquiry shuts down and we wind up sitting on the floor with our hands over our mouths.

Now, this doesn't mean that you have to take texts as 100% valid either, but rather that good methodological practice requires a careful weighing and balancing of bias, rather than simplistic binaries.

So in the case of John's narrative in Nona the Ninth, is John meant to be an unreliable narrator? Yes. However, because Tamsyn Muir does actually play fair with the readers, she makes it quite clear when John is lying to Harrow/Alecto:

"I said I made a mistake. She let it go eventually because the others were telling her to lay off. Just said Guys as careful as you shouldn't have accidents. If you've got a gun learn how to aim it. This is too big for fuckups now... "Did you ever find out what happened? With your accident?" He turned to her and he smiled a funny little smile. It only used one half of his mouth. In the dream his new eyes did not show happiness or unhappiness. And he said, "Come on, love. Guys as careful as me don't have accidents."

And here again:

"I did need to do it, Harrow. There was no other way. Once those bombs were going off, there was no hope for Melbourne anyway-- G- was dead meat." She said-- "You said that G-'s bomb went off first." "Yeah, it did," he said impatiently. "Of course it did...Look-what does it matter? In the end, why the hell does it matter?"

Unfortunately for John Gaius, Harrowhark Nonagesimus is smarter than he is when she's in her right mind and she catches the discrepancies in his story - just as we are meant to do.

So what I would say is that, unless it's something where Tamsyn Muir gives us clues like this where other characters are calling John out on his bullshit, you should treat worldbuilding issues like the population of Earth, or the logistics of cryocans, or the speed of shuttle transports in the Nine Houses, etc. as either mistakes on the part of the author (when they actually are mistakes) or just part of the overall willing suspension of disbelief that comes with speculative fiction.