#dissection of nothing

[crowdedstranger]

once again finding i’ve fallen for you

bougainvillea vibrancy, won’t wait out another bloom

find myself reaching through the cracks in the sidewalk

trying to find the roots, the before, the better then,

the you,

help me find it, I think I'm close

what we had, who loved most

before the beginning of the end,

the indifferent hand,

before green melted to brown,

i chose the desert over the snow

before we sunk our teeth in,

standing our ground

now we wait out the rot

i am who i am who i’m not

no,

no longer aligned with the pulse of life

but cactus and coyotes are keeping me alive

[mail-me-a-snail]

after the fortieth video about northernlion ive come to the conclusion he is the most sane man on this planet

[merakiui]

Newest manga chapter is a flashback! Octavinelle as kids! Aaaaah so cuuuute!

We are so blessed for another amazing update hehe. <3 beneath the cut for spoilers~

So smol,,,,, so precious. 🥺🥺🥺 baby tako!!!!!

AND THE EELS… these creatures…… I just know they were a handful,,, absolute menaces even as fry.

[blunt-force-karma]

I think we, the people, should talk about Barry the Butcher more. For real, I think we should, both in the grand scheme of things of the narrative of Disco Elysium and just cus it'd be a bit funny to. Think about it, how many people even really KNOW who Barry the Butcher is, or who remember Barry the Butcher? Do you, human reading this possible unhinged post remember Barry the Butcher? Do you recognize this man? Hell, do you think he could even be real? Well, those are all valid questions, dear reader! For one, he's named, yes, but all we really know about him is that he's friends with the man on the water lock (said by the Man on the Water Lock so who knows if they really ARE friends from what we see but let's just assume they are), he's stuck on the other side of the water lock, wears overalls, and looks disappointed that the water lock is broken and about about his salami being eaten by his friend. We can also assume that yes, he is a butcher. His name is Barry. He can make salami. Very astute observations.

This is the only bit we got of him too. Again, no portrait, no looking into the window of his soul. No can-opening. Nope. Nothing. Nada. All this man does is wave and look sad. You know this guy's irrelevant to the plot when we get more information from corpses. And sure, maybe that's not fair to Barry. The main corpse is related to the case and the other is related to a side case you can chose to do that has it's own emotional core to it. Only in Disco Elysium.

You never see the Man on the Water Lock or Barry the Butcher ever again by the way. After you interact with the Man on the Water Lock and MAYBE go back to talk with him again, once you enter a building and come back, he's gone, alongside Barry the Butcher. Day 1 exclusive guy's too. I am pretty sure if you never interact with the Man on the Water Lock, you can just never see him in the game after Day 1. Hell, I would not be surprised if you were to go into the game and the minute you're done talking to the Man on the Water Lock, Barry just despawns. Barry the Butcher doesn't get mentioned ever again to my knowledge, neither his salami eating friend though that makes sense. We never get to learn more about Barry the Butcher or get a callback about him. Nothing! And that's just so fucking FUNNY to me. On a game level, Barry the Butcher is probably one of the rare characters we meet that has a name, has his name in the dialogue box AND never gets a portrait while also never having any speaking lines either or just more than one paragraph of text related to him. He is probably actively one of the most irrelevant characters in this game which is definitely an interesting achievement to have as a character specifically in Disco Elysium of all games. On a meta level too, it's just funny. Like, Barry the Butcher was made and he was put in the game and he was given a MODEL! He has a MODEL! Like, some characters WITH portraits have no models. Barry the Butcher is so fucking SPECIAL in his mediocrity and that needs to be acknowledged. He doesn't matter at all but is so fascinating in how little he matters and the unique circumstances of his existence. Then, on a story level, it's fascinating to me. In the grand scheme of it all, Barry the Butcher is just a guy. He really is. He's not relevant to the story cus he's not relevant to the case. So, we simply never hear from him again. He's not even relevant in terms of thoughts cus he's just not that impactful to either the player OR Harry. None of Harry's skills can even chime in and give commentary on what they see about this man either. Barry the Butcher isn't even like those few people you can interact with who have stuff to say but you can never TALK to them cus they're just talking to themselves. Plus, they never get named cus Harry just never thinks about them ever again. They don't impact him. Barry the Butcher to me is fascinating on the fact that he IS named though. That he's given a model and not a portrait and never speaks and who knows. Maybe he just doesn't speak. We don't know that as the player or as Harry. And we'll NEVER know simply cus we're not meant to. Our story does not collide with Barry the Butchers. It barely even grazes whatever life Barry has going on. And, I think that's just beautiful. It's beautiful that a game like Disco Elysium can fascinate me on the fact that a character like Barry the Butcher exists. This game is in a world where people can just have different lives going on and not everyone in the plot "matters" plot wise. Yet, the fact that they're here and exist makes the world feel more alive. And not even in that way of filling the area with character models which I mean, not that there isn't characters like that in DE. There are. There's a good chunk of people you just can't talk to in the Whirling-In-Rags. Barry the Butcher is just like, so crazy to me though. He's so close to just being like one of those characters who just exist to fill space but it doesn't feel that way cus we're in DE and cus he at least gets the opportunity to be named and shown on screen to any extent. So, what I'm saying here is that we, the people, should come together on this. We should come together and unite for Barry the Butcher. I dunno how and I have no clue if this dumbass post will have any impact. I just needed to let this all out. Do it for Barry the Butcher. DO IT FOR BARRY!

[xxplastic-cubexx]

hey you guys want to rotate this spray with me for the next two months

pulled from this post

[galactic-rhea]

I think that despite aaaaaaall the very obvious problems about the whole Tuskens plot in AOTC (that also come from IRL bias); something people seem to be hung at is about Padmé's romance being unbelieveable after Anakin confesses the massacre to her; and like I can understand why, since not everyone thinks too hard about her character, but I do, and it's just kind of annoying to have most people saying it was character assasination for and that she shouldn't have known about the fact. BUT! I think it shows quite a lot of deepness and the dynamic about their relationship.

Is a very, very morally gray moment of Padmé, I would say is one of the most charged moments for her, her response is "To be angry is to be human"; Padmé had been, since she was presented, going through ungodly amounts of stress, her people was dying and being taken to camps when she was 14, at the start of AOTC one of her handmaids died in front of her eyes, and through none of these moments she has been able to express much more than some veiled, some composed, some acceptable, anger, I don't believe this to be coincidencce.

Padmé pretty much represents the justice and the good ideals of the Republic, she's pretty much a source of light in the story; this isn't to say she can't do wrong, or that she isn't flawed. She's giving Anakin a chance to do better, even though isn't within her right to decide so, but she's also kind of the only character that does seem to understand Anakin the best, almost beat for beat and she knows he's coming from a very very bad place, with a terrible childhood, she knows how he was when he was nine, she knows of her past.

She isn't oblivious or naive about how terrible Anakin's actiones were, she's just aware of his reasons, she's just able to sympathize with him, she's able to see he feels inmense guilt, and she also is sure he can still be able to do better (and he did! As an audience we know he was capable of much better and of being a force of good very needed. His fall doesn't undo the fact Anakin did went through great lengths to help others) Her reaction, honestly, just puts her in league with Luke imo. "Hey, that's terrible, awful, beyond , but you know, I still love you, because you're still a person I care about. You can do better."

But it also shows how her love is, in many ways, similar to Anakin's, in the sense that's very encompasing, very loyal, very "Follow you to hell and back", she's able to offer him the sympathy and the belief of his ultimate good nature that she wouldn't offer to others (she fell in love with him before going to Tatooine). It can be see as hypocritical, but she's also kind of right, she's proven right. She's still shocked and heartbroken in ROTS because the situation was much more different, because there wasn't any reason for her to believe he would commit something like that again after he clearly expresses so much guilt and trauma over it.

And, when it comens to the relationship with Anakin, I think it makes some senses; it means there is honestity between them, he confessed to her one of the most evil deeds he had commited yet, there's something about it that makes all of Anakin's others relationships different: Obi-Wan and Ahsoka didn't know about this In Anakin's POV, is probable that any kind of love or appreciation Obi-Wan and Ahsoka showed him came with a layer of guilt and distrust because he thinks they don't really know him, probably thinks they would hate him or think he deserves punishment.

And yeah, like, morally talking, he should've gone to jail or at least have a trial or something, but like, what exactly would that manage, or fix in your little fantasy-sci-fi movies? But you know who knew and still loved him? Padmé and Palpatine. In one had, you have Padmé who truly, does love him and believes in his ultimate capacity for goodness. On the other...

So yeah, I think knowing of what he's capable is actually a very integral part of the anidala relationship, and it does give Padmé some deepness you wouldn't usually see in other female characters, and the narrative does tell you she was kind of right.

Because, if I'm honest with you, Padmé and Anakin marrying with Anakin keeping the secret of murdering a whole village, wouldn't do it for me, would actually make me not like or not care for the relationship at all, at least not in their 'romance' sense, because it would be just kind of a Blue Beard, kind of your average "Woman finds out Her Wonderful husband/boyfriend is secretly a Serial Murdered and keeps it hidden for her". That, and also that Anakin is actually very honest, maybe a bit too honest for his own good, when it comes to Padmé and Palpatine, he spills at the edges all the time.

It's meaningful, for them both, that they met each other when they were under extremelly bad circumstances, she knew him as a literal child slave that risked his life to save strangers, and he knew her first as a servant, a handmaid, and then as a queen. And then she knows of his crimes, and he knows he can be fully honest with her, and now he knows how she felt about being a queen, about being a politician, things she never says to anyone else. They're kinda in equal footing and that's why it's meaningfull, as inmoral and messy and kinda selfish it can be.

But yeah, yeah, I ramble a lot, sorry this is very very messy and idk kind of badly written i just wrote as it came to me,I was sleepy and saw yet another youtuber trying to explain why padmé's character was assasinated or something. Because when it comes to her is a flaw and her being irrational, but when it comes to Luke is all encompassing goodness and proof of undying love, siiigh.

[trappedinafantasy37]

Cults & Autonomy: The True Souls

As I mentioned in my previous essay, Bhaal and the Absolute are the only two gods in the game who outright take control of their followers. For the Absolute, it uses the tadpole to take total control. But the tadpole is more of a conduit to transmit instruction, it can also turn those infected into Mind Flayers, destroying the original hosts body and soul. Normally, the tadpole is just part of the reproductive process for Mind Flayers, but these tadpoles are unique and are used specifically to gain cult like control.

However, not everyone in the cult of the Absolute was enthralled. The first True Soul we meet, Brother Edowin has two new recruits who worship the Absolute but are not infected. There are roughly 100 goblins in Act 1 alone (probably more), but only 3 members of the goblin faction are enthralled. The rest of the goblins are under ordinary brainwashing and worship the Absolute. I believe the Absolute and the Chosen Three are very selective on who gets enthralled and that is 1) individuals who have skills the Absolute wants but cannot convince to willingly work for the Absolute and 2) those who are willing but it is too risky to provide them room to defect. Ketheric sent those missionaries with the intent to lure out drow warriors because he wanted their fighting skills. And yes, Ketheric did target House Baenre on purpose. It wasn't specifically Minthara who was targeted, she was just the one who took the bait. Ketheric didn't anticipate Orin snatching Minthara from him, but she was enthralled against her will all the same. Ketheric wanted a warrior who would fight and command his armies, Orin wanted someone to pay attention to her, love her, and acknowledge her.

How the tadpoles work is a little bit on the nose with how it works as it is obvious the True Souls are literally brainwashed. As I talked previously, cults expect their members to willingly relinquish their autonomy, and most Absolutists do. But for the True Souls, their minds and bodies were stolen so Minthara would say. Entirely against their own will, the tadpole literally rewired their brains to get them to do things they otherwise wouldn't do, or do it in ways they would not do. I talked about this awhile ago, but my interpretation of the tadpole is that it amplifies pre-existing qualities that the Absolute wants, while simultaneously suppressing qualities it doesn't want or qualities that would interfere with the ones the Absolute does want.

This puts the True Souls in a strange place. The traits we all see from them are traits they were already capable of. It is just that the Absolute turned those traits up to their most extreme. Minthara also says,

"The tadpole... the Absolute... they worked together like a drug. I did not feel I was compelled to act against my will, I felt ecstatic to serve. Every action seemed a deliberate choice - the best choice - even though I could no more have resisted its commands than flesh can resist decay."

She speaks of it as if she and the other True Souls were addicted to the Absolute, almost as if their bodies wanted to do what they were told, but had no ability to fully resist. I have never struggled with full on addiction but I have been this 🤏 close to becoming addicted to prescription medication. And when you're just on the edge of addiction it feels like your body is betraying you. You want to resist but your body acts on its own, and acts like it's dying if it doesn't get what it craves. It warps your brain and your reasoning to try to convince you to just take it even when you know you shouldn't. Your body is not yours, it is beholden to the drug. In Minthara's case, her body was beholden to the Absolute because it gave her a high she couldn't escape. She didn't want to.

Every choice that they made felt like the best choice. Well, that's because they were making these choices with behaviors and rationale they already had, but were missing the characteristics that would pull them back, or make them make a different choice. Minthara already has violent intentions, but she applies a strict and lawful rationale to them and doesn't always react violently to things as not all situations require it. But Ketheric wanted a warrior and Orin wanted a mad killer. So the Absolute amplified Minthara's pre-existing violent intent while simultaneously suppressing the strict code that would prevent her from being violent. So of course every choice seemed like the best choice because there was no longer anything to make her question her choices. Normal brainwashing isn't this effective, but it ultimately is how it works. Cults slowly reprogram their members decision making process, only seeking out behaviors it wants, silencing others, and prevent questions. The Absolute does this by direct force with the tadpole, no "Welcome to the Cult" seminar required.

In the off chance that someone manages to break their indoctrination, the Absolute will just wipe their mind and erase everything. My personal theory is that the Minthara that is on trial at Moonrise is the real Minthara and broke through the tadpole on her own at some point. We see with Minthara that the Absolute can take total control of a person and wipe them from existence. It can render someone into an empty shell that can only receive orders, but literally incapable of thinking for themselves and unable to generate an original thought. But even when wiped away, there is still one thing the Absolute needs from Minthara, her devotion.

< Cults & Autonomy: The Bhaalspawn | Cults & Autonomy: Lae'zel and the Gith >

[journey-to-the-attic]

barbatos's villain outfit reminded me of doc ock and i've been wanting to try designing ik's spiderkid costume for a while, so here!

[sparrownnax]

so. tmagp and food.

episode 1, lena is insisting that they eat at the building. episode 5, the guy was "touchy" about tom not taking the popcorn and it was apparently Really Good Popcorn. episode 6, lena again with the mini donuts "must be consumed at work" or whatever. i don't recall if there was anything in episodes 2-4 someone back me up here

[moldy-flowers]

Sakura and her comically oversized axes

[naomistares]

the universe was on my side yesterday cus i felt fairly fine up until i finished and posted last comic and then boom my condition took a turn for the worst so please imagine me laying in the dark with an old, cold, sopping kitchen rag on my forehead while i was reading all ur comments and trying not to laugh or do anything cus it hurt. i am fine tho its all funny i love everyone here lets all be friends forever

[anpiels]

In the pursuit of total perfection.

[doomer-soyjack]

The NPD+ASPD boner that comes when people online hate you and wish the worse upon you because they don't like what they see on their screen.

[caliburn-not-calculator]

Why does this robot fic where vr-la is getting kind of vivisected sound like a sex analogy

this isn't a smut fic, it's not even horny, but it sounds so much like its a sex analogy help me??????

[jasper-unofficial]

i love how the show made sure 1) to show us that for once boston was extremely reluctant to make sexual advances on someone and atom absolutely did all the work, and then also blamed boston for not wanting to see him again, despite the clearly established boundaries; and 2) to explicitly frame the fact that boston as a gay man (particularly a promiscuous gay man) is seen as predatory by having chueam verbally frame the situation as the classic deeply homophobic "homosexual preying on the young and inexperienced and turning them to the "homosexual lifestyle"" idea (reflected in anything from 1961's "boys beware" short to the current "protect children from drag queens" moral panic), and y'all are STILL somehow saying that boston is at fault here, just because he is a shitty friend and a selfish person. like i'm sorry, but a leap from these honestly regular human traits to literal blackmail and sexual assault is not as obvious and easy as some of you seem to think.

[guabie]

Yk I haven’t really seen anyone discuss caitlyn’s relationships with the men in her life and I feel like they’re just as important to her character as her relationships with the women in her life

Men like her father, Jayce, Marcus etc.

There’s not many men in her life but the few that are involved impact her in such an interesting way