#isn't one of the themes about unity?

[artbyblastweave]

There's a question which the west coast Fallout games are quietly litigating, which is that age-old gotcha about what you do with the remaining orcs once you've deposed Sauron. In the original Fallout, the Super Mutants are basically universally aligned against the quote-unquote "good guys," for whatever value of that term is applicable to the wasteland at large, but subsequent games make it clear that this was an ideological thing, and a product of the political moment of the mutants creation rather than an ontological quality that they have. The game is very aware that this is something that was done to them, and the tragedy of that; the first mutant you're likely to run into is dying scared and alone.

Fallout 2 presents super mutants who've broken in every direction ideologically in the aftermath of the Unity's collapse; the peacemakers under Marcus at Broken Hills, Gond as a member of the abolitionist NCR rangers, reactionary remnants of the original mutant army, genocidal self-hating fascists like Frank Horrigan. Fallout: New Vegas iterates on this beautifully. The mutants dovetail perfectly with the theme of how every faction in the wasteland is trying and oftentimes failing to reckon with the weight of history. Their utopian movement imploded outside of living memory, closer to the apocalypse than to the present day. The survivors- who can only dwindle in number due to their sterility- have been left to reckon with that in whatever way they can. And they have their backs to about a hundred and twenty years of that reckoning not going particularly well, of being the bugbear and boogeymen for bullies and ideologues whose grandparents weren't even alive to suffer from the Unity's actions. The lack of a collective future for mutantkind casts a pall over even the best ending for Jacobstown; humans are collectively resilient within this setting, but through violence, and accidents, dementia and senility, the day will inevitably come when there are no mutants left. And worse still will be the day before that, when there's only one mutant left. Finding some form of satisfaction or contentment within that dwindling window, with the world against you, is a task that falls to the individual mutant. (Take Mean Sonovabitch, for example. He seems to be doing alright for himself.)

Then we slide on over to the east coast games, where the mutants are.... morons. Cannibals. Marauders. And when you meet one who isn't, the game throws itself a ticker-tape parade for containing such an audacious twist. To go back to the orc thing, it's like if The Hobbit had contained a lengthy, empathetic subplot about the rich internality and fleshed-out-if-deeply-flawed ideology of the orcs, and then there was a pivot to treating them like a monolithic block of ontologically evil marauders in LOTR. While staring you straight in the eye the whole time, unblinking. Daring you to say something

[saturnsbabyboii]

𐐪𐑂Astro Observations𐐪𐑂

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(Life is like a butterfly...You go through changes before you become something beautiful)

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𐐪𐑂 Despite people talking negatively about Pluto and Saturn, I find them to be the most important and beautiful planets. If you have ever felt hopeless or stuck, look into the position of these two in your chart. All of us struggle regardless, however, Saturn and Pluto bestow us with insight, lessons and knowledge we gain through that struggle and as a result we get to move on further into our journey.

𐐪𐑂 I have found people with earlier degrees on their ascendent tend to have larger frames while those later tend to have smaller ones. I am not talking specifically about weight and measurements per se but rather the general form.

𐐪𐑂 Although aspects act the same in general, it is very interesting when you look into the signs, elements and modalities involved. For example, Trine tends to bring abundance when in Water and in between inner planet but is an indication of overindulgence when it occurs from an inner planet to an outer one.

𐐪𐑂 Mercury opposite Mars "I am not angry! That is just my tone." Be mindful of how you sound and how you deliver your message. It is important to be honest, but it is also important to have tact.

𐐪𐑂 Even though people still dispute which placements determine our leaning towards extroversion and introversion, I have found that the houses and the planets falling in them suggest what are we more introverted about and what are we more extroverted in. Having multiple planets in a house could indicate a higher leaning to extroversion as the sense to express is very strong and immediate, as opposed to an empty house, one might be less inclined to share. The houses that contain only one planet tend to fall under the general energy of said planet and sign ruling over the house, indicating a higher sense of introversion as the person may desire to reflect on the themes of the house or would rather to practice them alone than with others.

𐐪𐑂 However, in case of overall introversion and extroversion, having more planets in Air houses (3rd, 7th, 11th) indicate high extroversion while in Fire houses (1st, 5th, 9th) indicate higher introversion. This may sound off as Fire signs are given the reputation of boldness, however, as the opposite of Air, Fire tend to itself. Introversion isn't anxiety and awkwardness (although it might include them), but rather it describes a person that isn't reliant on social communication, has a low need for others, desires independence, and excels on their own. Another thing, the themes of the 1st, 5th and 9th, relate to freedom, personal journey, creativity, ideologies, beliefs and the self. Meanwhile, the 3rd, 7th, and the 11th relate to unity, communication, the collective, collaboration, harmony and the "us".

𐐪𐑂 Cancer Risings give off favorite child vibes. Having Leo in the 2nd and Libra in the 4th house defiantly makes for the "golden child" trope.

𐐪𐑂 I believe that the degree of a planet has bigger affect on its core desire while the sign affects the manner that the planet translates or comes across. For example, Aries Mercury is usually is thought of as brash and abrasive or interested in things that have themes of violence and sex. However, when in an air degree this person can be much more interested in matters of communication, science, education and holds social rapport at a higher regard. The difference being that the Aries Mercury with the air degree might come across very detailed and articulate, perhaps even to the point of pretentiousness. Yet in matters of thinking they're much more thought out, factual and meticulous than the general Aries Mercury description.

𐐪𐑂 People with Chiron in the 9th house may need to leave their home country or cut off their family to begin healing.

𐐪𐑂 Every sign deep down is similar to their opposite. Aquarius desires to standout while Leo seeks to fit in and belong, Taurus enjoys today in fear of tomorrow while Scorpio wishes for a better tomorrow so they can finally enjoy their day, Capricorn works hard in hopes of creating a better home while Cancer works hard to ensure the comfort of their home, Aries seeks companionship through conflict while Libra seeks individuality through process of elimination, Virgo does practical things out of superstitious believes while Pisces engages in escapist and spiritual practices to better understand realistic demands, Gemini learns to mentor while Sagittarius mentors to learn. Granted, this is an overly simplistic form of explaining it but I hope it was able to better explain.

𐐪𐑂 Venus Aquarius not only desires but actually thrives off of creating bonds online.

𐐪𐑂 People with Jupiter in the 12th would take very long to learn life lessons. This is partly due to having to under go many cycles of self undoing and changes to finally get the lesson.

𐐪𐑂 People with Saturn in 3rd/9th may be untraditional students or enter university late or take time to graduate.

｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡

[chronicler-of-narrative]

So, On-Lyne, huh?

Let's be honest here, they're actually an incredibly cool system. If there's one thing I like about DE is how they spice up stale systems. Like how Poe and Fortuna paved the way for Deimos and Duviri, the technocyte Coda seem to be doing the same for the lich system (especially considering how they dont seem to have any weapons).

While lightly disappointing because they have set identities unlike the very oc-friendly randomness of liches and sisters, its still basically the most hype part of the 1999 update for me.

However, praise aside, I also wanted to do some light speculatuon on their story and personalities, and specifically, why I think they weren't always infested.

Now, look, ik they look weird conceptually, being likened to fortnite skins by some, but I think that is mostly just foreshadowing. To me, they look like digital avatars, which considering their name is quite literally On-Lyne and all of the internet imagery in the 1999 promotional videos and ads seems to support this. Now, this is actually really important because if they are digital avatars of real people (as I suspect), then that sets up the main theme of their story: Appearances.

This is why I think they're not some infested psyop but rather started out normally, before being overtaken. Because at the end of the day, Warframe's stories are deep in the most batshit way possible. DE aren't afraid to use the mighty Allegory for their stories, and I think this is what they're doing here. The infestation is On-Lyne's Monkey Paw, being either a wish-come-true or a punishment, or both.

This, imo, is most evident with Zeke. After all, we literally hear him talking about how "if management gives him one more passive aggressive comment, he's gonna snap", which to me tells me that Zeke probably isn't able to endure the price of being famous. This, combined with a transcription of the infested writing on their fanpage I received from a friend, tells us what the Infestation has done for Zeke. "Zeke hungers to unmake himself" and calling him "Fleshskin" to me sound like Zeke seeking to become acceptable to the band at the cost of himself. As in, to literally martyr himself, to become the band's skin and remove the part of himseld that can't stand the pressure, becoming in the proccess an empty shell, a skin-suit, if you will.

For the others, we know a little less, so imma just summarize my theories on them :

-Hardrive's the one who spreads the infestation, the infection mechanism. But by the...unflattering language the hivemind uses to describe him unlike the others, what i get is hes trying to escape the infestation, escape the life of fame, but in doing so is only falling deeper into the very thing he's trying to get away from.

-Packet's the tactician of the group. Different from Drillbit in the fact that hes directly responsible for unity within the group. I mean, "Soothes the dissident voices" doesnt get more explicit than that. Its weird how hes the most "fresh". To me it sounds like he may have had a hand in unleashing the infestation on the group in some attempt to keep them from having a falling out, and is now in charge of keeping the whole hivemind together after being the last one to be consumed.

-Drillbit is the guide of the group. Especially with the brain and larynx lines, sounds to me like he was the second-in-command to Zeke who always wanted to be the face of the band but couldn't with Zeke in the way.

-Dj RoM is a little hard to figure out, but to me he sounds like the group hedonist. He doesn't question whats going on, hes just there to have a good time and might even be the most accepting of the infestation. Especially considering how it directly mentions how his 'palpatations reverberate' while the band is 'digesting' which may imply hes actually enjoying it.

So yea, these basically it. If im wrong, feel more than free to share your ideas. After all, this is just speculation, but to me it seems very fitting from a narrative perspective.

[punksalmon]

Tell us more about this Escape ending AU that you are completely normal about.

WELL, if you're asking

(i first received this ask in 28th of JUNE, but waited for my uni break so i could be as self-indulgent as possible)

the Escape AU is first and foremost my obsession with (1) epilogue-type stories as a way to deal with the conseguences of a plot (which is especially promising with funger's trauma bonanza) and (2) domestic gay people (which is ALSO especially promising with funger's trauma bonanza). i also like when the domestic couple are kind of freaks.

the background for the AU is mostly based with my number of playthroughs with the game, in particular that as soon as i had the girl and knew what exactly her ending was, i would go after literally any other ending just so she could live.

to say the summary of the dungeon-canon, ragnvaldr goes in the dungeon after le'garde to kill him and enki goes into the dungeon after the ritual of ascension, and they just join forces for survival; the girl only comes after, and because ragnvalr is partly in this whole quest because his child was murdered, he becomes somewhat protective of the girl, and then of enki, to the point of doubt about when does this affection and desire to protect is for them on their own, and when it's just comes as a second hand for the family ragnvaldr's lost. enki isn't arsed with any of it at first, but as a feral cat gaining the literal first modicum of care in its life, he starts to become less sure of how far he'd gone to obtain success when it puts this other people at risk, even without understanding (or accepting) any of it. and the girl is, verbatim, "unused to kindness of any kind" - she literally deserves the world.

the ending E, as exactly "underwhelming" as it is, is a reflection of this sense of care the characters develop: it doesn't matter what the dungeon does offer (and what really the characters do achieve in it; i personally like the idea of them facing Le'garde as the Yellow King in the dungeon, for the pathos of it all). the most important thing after the conga line of misery that funger is, is that for people that at that point had no reason to live, they suddenly get one. for it, they leave behind the dungeon and the promises within.

i still like to think that this sort of decision is not without unrest - i don't think enki would do well as a house wife, and this tension of "did i make a good choice? is this really what i want?" is interesting. i also thing ragvaldr has a little parasocial thing going because of his previous family, and i also think that idea is interesting.

as always, i like to see characters go through the ringer and then try to build a happy ending (or as happy as it can be) out of it. i feel that's a sort o theme anyone can find comfort in. and yes, i do like thinking of the funniest possible nuclear family unity Oldegård would ever see (pair of parents + one kid + a dog). (and i do like thinking about rag and enki doing it nasty. who said that.)

thank you for the ask and literally anyone who has the minimum interest about my brainworms… i loved thinking about them to write this. it also made me draw again (miraculous), so here's a little something.

first leaving the dungeons.

[lainalit]

Intertwined Hearts | An Elucien Playlist

"I can hear your heart beating through the Stone. Can you hear mine? "

I saw the Golden Hour Playlist from @areyoudreaminof and was inspired by it to also create my own playlist for Day One Fated for @elucienweekofficial on the themes of Tension, Growth & Healing that Sjm mentioned in her old facebook post about Elain & Lucien

The Playlist has 33 Songs with two Sides: Side A which is the Tension & Growth and Side B being the Healing & Coming Together The Genres are mostly folk/Indie, singer-songwriter, pop & new age

>> Click here to listen to it <<

Under the Cut you find the Tracklist & my favorite Lyrics Hope you enjoy listening 💚

Thank you to the commissioners @foreverinelysian & @fiercehildr for allowing me to use the Artwork by @pandyals_art as the cover

Favorite Lyrics

Where have you been hiding? You seem lost within your body and your mind A beam of light can still remind you who you are -The Secret Garden by AURORA

But despite all of my virtue I know that I'm the one who hurts you -The Garden by Flower Face

You're gonna be a strange companion Building his cage with disaster Tangled emotions Sunlit became my bond -Litha by Nadiiife

Flowers in my hair makes me wish that you were here When my mind goes away oh I hope that you’ll be near me -Flowers in My Hair by Wes Reeve

Stop you putting roots in my dreamland My house of stone, your ivy grows And now I'm covered In You -Ivy by Taylor Swift

And I'd give up forever to touch you 'Cause I know that you feel me somehow You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be And I don't wanna go home right now -Iris by goo goo dolls (cover Kina Grannis)

Can we become we No longer known as just you and me Two separate lives now in unity Stuck here together but Will this always be just an arrangement -We Become We by Fiona Palomo & Milo Manheim

I'm an atom in a sea of nothing Looking for another to combine Maybe we could be the start of something Be together at the start of time -Start of Time by Gabrielle Aplin

And in the beginning, when land touched the sea The Earth was created around you and me And we keep on spinning from now on and on Tumbling and turning till all becomes one Becomes one -In the Beginning by Alice Merton, Fahrenhaidt

Seasons may change But we won't change Isn't it strange how different we are from all of our friends? -Yosemite by Lana del Ray

In the morn, I'll be wed to the bonniest boy And I'll bind my hand to his He is blood of my blood And bone of my bone I am bound to the love of him -Bound by Karliene

We only last a moment Our heartbeat's just a life But love can make believers never die So I will be yours if you be mine -Sweeter Place by SVRCINA

Honeybee Could you imagine where our lives would lead? That silly ring, it wasn't meant to be Luckily, you saw in me something I couldn't see -Honeybee by The Head And The Heart

Each day, you'd rise with me Know that I would gladly be The Icarus to your certainty Oh, my sunlight, sunlight, sunlight -Sunlight by Hozier

'Cause you are loved, you are loved more than you know I hereby pledge all of my days to prove it so Though your heart is far too young to realize The unimaginable light you hold inside -Light by Sleeping At Last

[wing-ed-thing]

Tobirama x Madara'sSO!Reader x Madara Love Triangle Headcanons

Tags/Warnings: No Reader Pronouns, 1 marked bullet dedicated to fems, Minor Cheating Themes, Toxic Relationship, Canon-Typical Violence

𓆃 This dynamic is less about Tobirama and more about village politics, so whether there's something fishy happening with you and Tobirama or not, Madara is going to treat you as if there is.

𓆃 Any events that don't take place in the established village would rightfully be concerning to Madara considering that most of the Senju/Uchiha interactions are through battle.

𓆃 Little time for talking, let alone romance.

𓆃 Even if that were to be something you would be interested in, Tobirama would have little time for such things. Not to mention the fear of death and the fact that you would be witnessing your friends and family members being slaughtered around you.

𓆃 Perhaps fems might luck out in a universe where women aren't typical on the battlefield and be spared by Tobirama, who doesn't feel right about murdering you.

𓆃 Madara, while more disappointed that a Senju got the better of his spouse, is relieved that you're alive.

𓆃 Although, he will continue to hold a grudge about your sparing. And making mountains out of molehills is what Madara does best.

𓆃 What was it about you that you were spared? And he'll bury that deep down like a potato until it grows roots of resentment.

𓆃 Most of your interactions will likely be when the village becomes established, especially if you want unity like the rest of the citizens.

𓆃 With your husband as one of the founders and the fact that the village is so small, you're bound to have interactions with Tobirama. The more you build a relationship with him— hell, even if you're just cordial— in a bid for peace, the more furious Madara will become.

𓆃 Not only did Tobirama kill Izuna— an unforgivable act in Madara's eyes— but he just doesn't trust Tobirama and you, by extension.

𓆃 You're not exactly sure what he thinks. You're not sure if Izuna's death is the entire answer or if Madara is convinced that you're going to run off with another man.

𓆃 Meanwhile, Tobirama tackles his own mixed feelings about taking an interest in someone who's already married. He's not one to outwardly take action to split you up, but he sure pushes the boundaries emotionally.

𓆃 He thinks you need saving and that he can save you.

𓆃 It's no secret that he's not a fan of Madara, and with Madara talking of backing out of the village agreement, he's rightfully worried. He does a decent job of holding his tongue about it.

𓆃 But you? You being a clear innocent in the midst of messy politics makes Tobirama uneasy.

𓆃 He won't force it. Instead, he positions himself close to you— dare he say as a friend and confidant— in case you need his help. Ironically, this will only serve to put you in hotter water with Madara.

𓆃 Madara isn't above possessive behavior, including limiting your social interactions which feeds the cycle between the two men.

𓆃 You'll just have to see how things go when it all explodes, huh?

Thank you to all who liked, reblogged, followed, and supported. Your support means so much and is greatly appreciated.

[veliseraptor]

May Reading Recap

A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine. Rereading A Memory Called Empire was a treat - an expected treat, but it was good to find out that it lived up to memory. I liked A Desolation Called Peace a little bit less, but only a little bit - it very much followed up directly on the themes from A Memory Called Empire that I appreciated.

The Last Graduate and The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik. I devoured these books. I'm very surprised by this fact, since I'm not generally a "magic school" person, but there we are; Naomi Novik apparently managed to make me one temporarily. The last book was a particularly strong one and did some very interesting things with its worldbuilding that'd been set up in previous books and delivered in the last one.

Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says About the End by Bart Ehrman. I've read and enjoyed some Bart Ehrman previously, but I feel like the quality of his books has diminished from his earlier work, and this book confirmed that for me. I'm a bit of an eschatology enthusiast (the main reason I picked this up, as well as the fact that (a) it was available at the library one time and I grabbed it on a whim and (b) author recognition), but I learned very little from this book that I didn't already know.

Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge. One of the things that made me happiest about reading this book was, unfortunately, the fact that I thought I recognized the ways in which it was referring back to Classic of Mountains and Seas, which I felt (again, unfortunately) sort of smug about. Checking the Wikipedia page for the book, apparently "Additionally, each chapter begins with a brief description of the beast which, in the original writing, was written in Classical Chinese, while the rest of the book was written in standard Chinese," which is so cool and I wish had been conveyed in the translation.

In general though, this was a good one, though I feel like the descriptive copy was a little misleading. It's less a mystery than a series of interconnected stories following a central character investigating the titular strange beasts, and learning how they connect to her life and history.

Dark Heir by C.S. Pacat. I liked this one significantly more than Dark Rise - which I guess makes sense, since a lot of Dark Rise was setting up the concept that most compels me about the series (the main character being the reincarnation of a notorious villain from the past). It still feels YA in the way that YA usually does, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if stylistically less my preference (and something I feel worth mentioning in the context of a possible recommendation). The ending was a gut-punch of a fun kind. I will be looking forward to reading the third one.

"There Would Always Be a Fairy-Tale": Essays on Tolkien's Middle Earth by Verlyn Flieger. I loved Splintered Light and was disappointingly underwhelmed by most of the essays in this collection. There were a couple that were more interesting to me, but on the whole a lukewarm response.

The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Adrian Tchaikovsky wins again!!! I don't love this one quite as much as I've enjoyed the Children of Time series, but I actually think that I liked it more than The Final Architecture series. Fascinating concept, as usual fascinating worldbuilding for societies wildly different from our own, and dedicated to themes of cooperation and unity-across-difference without it feeling preachy or didactic.

Aphrodite and the Rabbis: How the Jews Adapted Roman Culture to Create Judaism as We Know It by Burton Visotzky. This was a good one! I already was familiar with some of the information here, but not all of it, and the work around art and architecture was new to me. I felt in some ways like Visotzky overstated his case a little, but on the whole a very interesting read.

Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives by Phyllis Trible. This one is kind of a classic of feminist Bible scholarship - a short book that does a close reading of the text of the stories of four biblical women who suffer in some way (Hagar, Tamar, the unnamed woman from Judges 19, and Jephthah's daughter). It's a powerful work, though it felt a little basic to me on the whole - probably due to the fact that it's relatively early scholarship on the subject working from a literary angle.

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff. Books with footnotes are very hit-or-miss for me - not meaning books with contextual footnotes, but books with footnotes that are part of the conceit of the text itself. Some authors can pull it off; others really shouldn't try. In this case, the author felt a bit too taken with his own cleverness to pull it off; in general I felt like this book was trying a little too hard to be edgy and voice-y and ended up just feeling kind of shallow. It was a fun read, in some ways, but not a good one, and I'm torn on if I'm going to continue reading the series. If I do, it probably won't be in a hurry.

Tolkien and Alterity ed. by Christopher Vaccaro. I was excited about this particular collection of essays (you can probably guess why) and found them mostly uninspiring in the reading. The exception was a bibliographic essay on the treatment of race in Tolkien scholarship, which proposed more use of reader response theory, a suggestion which seems fruitful to me and more interesting than debates about whether or not Tolkien/his works are or aren't racist.

Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson. I feel like this is going to sound more critical than I really mean it to, but this was a perfectly adequate horror novel. I wouldn't call it exceptional, and it didn't freak me out, but I read it pretty much straight through and enjoyed the experience on the whole.

Thousand Autumns: vol. 4 by Meng Xi Shi. I liked this volume more than I've liked some of the others, and am enjoying the development of the central relationship, though I feel a little like I've been bait-and-switched about the level of fucked up that it's involved. Maybe that's why I'm enjoying this one a little less than I feel like I should: I was expecting more fucked-up between the two main characters based on the initial conceit and don't feel like the novel has really delivered on that. But I am enjoying Yan Wushi getting a little more...outwardly affectionate toward Shen Qiao, and Shen Qiao's concomitant confusion about it.

This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer. More than an adequate horror novel but less than an excellent one, I felt like this book relied more on gross-out horror than I typically prefer. Still, was definitely spooky, and confirmed for me that wilderness horror gets to me in a very specific way.

I'm presently reading Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood, which I have mixed feelings about (not negative! just mixed). I'm not sure what I'm going to read after that, save that I'm now trying to alternate genres and might try to read some nonfiction, which I've been sort of off for a while. Otherwise I'll probably just end up reading Translation State by Ann Leckie, and possibly A Fire in the Deep by Vernor Vinge. But I'm really going to try for some more nonfiction next month.

[markantonys]

thoughts on the people of falme cheering over learning that the dragon has been reborn

1) their city was just getting blown up and now it's not. they're happy about this.

2) their city had been occupied by the seanchan for weeks (months?) and now it's not. they're happy about this.

3) the average layperson may not even recognize the dragon symbol; maybe they're just thinking someone's putting on a nice fireworks show to celebrate the attack being over.

4) but assuming they do recognize it, this is not unlike the immediate reaction to rand declaring himself in the stone in TDR. all the onlookers kneel before him and take up chanting "the dragon has been reborn!" it's not a celebratory moment, exactly, but it's far from a fearful one. it's only in the little coda afterwards that mat tells us the news is being met with both awe and fright as it's being spread; in the immediate moment, "awe" is definitely the main emotion.

5) there is book precedent for rand being welcomed into a city for whom he did a good deed, rather than being met with hatred or fear (illian). maybe the people of falme, in this immediate post-battle moment, care less about the vague future notion of the last battle and more about the fact that whoever's up on that tower did them a solid by helping get rid of the seanchan and the whitecloaks.

6) elayne noted that the people of falme act like they've been seanchan all their lives. perhaps their cheering for the dragon reborn who's just conquered their conquerors is meant to show a Series Theme about how the average layperson doesn't care about who's in charge or about what's going on in the world at large as long as their own individual life isn't affected too badly.

7) in the books, the idea that the general populace is afraid of rand/the dragon reborn really doesn't emerge strongly until TSR, after he's been publicly out as the dragon for more than 5 seconds. no reason to assume the show will never get to this idea just because it hasn't yet. this series has 1 million Themes and not all of them can fit in the first 2 seasons of the show. since everybody was going to be split up for most of this season, they chose "the vulnerability of isolation vs. the strength of togtherness" as the Focal Theme for the season and the big moment of togetherness in the final scene is the conclusion of this Theme. (and this was all necessitated in part by barney's departure; rafe said that the changes to mat's story are what made them decide to double down on the isolation theme for season 2.)

8) simple storytelling and Making Emotionally Satisfying Television reasons. season 2 was a very heavy season of isolation, despair, and loss (and i saw more than one mid-season critic review & show-only comment begging for some light because things had been so painful for so long). thus, they wanted to end the season on a note of unity, hope, and triumph, to give the audience some much-needed positive catharsis. the final scene being everybody screaming in horror and recoiling in terror from rand would've been, you know, kind of a downer.

9) even if the people are celebrating, rand himself is CLEARLY not happy. rest assured that the show is aware of the "it sucks to be the chosen one" Theme and is not going to make being the dragon reborn any less of a burden for rand than it is in the books (just in case the whole thing where he spent the entire season hating himself and having nightmares about killing everyone he loves didn't already give you that impression).

plus, just like in TGH&TDR, this season rand's inner struggle was only about being a male channeler because he had no idea his dragon reborn duties weren't over until the last few episodes. only now that he has officially taken up the mantle of the dragon reborn will it be time for us to see how much being the chosen one weighs on him. so, just the same timing as it was in the books. (and frankly, i think season 1's emphasis on rand having concrete plans for a future in emond's field which he now has to abandon already sold this idea more than the first 2 or 3 books alone did; as a show-only for s1 i was so upset about rand not getting to be a stay-at-home cottagecore dad, my show-only mom was so upset about it, and i've seen plenty of other show-onlys being upset about it too.)

[fandomwe1rd0]

Okkkkaaayyy so. Someone on youtube is saying that the show Rick and Morty isn't complex...now as someone who absolutely considers this show to be complex, let me debunk their points! (If you see the video, please don't send hate, everyone is allowed to have different opinions!)

The characters are not complex. I obviously disagree with this point (Wow, shocker, the person that made multiple analysis posts on Rick, Morty, and their dynamic thinks they are complex) Now, while they may seem pretty one dimensional at first glance, just an asshole scientist and a nervous wreck, there is a lot more to them when you watch the series. Rick may be an asshole, but not because that's what he wants to be or because that's just how he is, he feels like he needs to be to keep the people he loves safe (I have made serval more analysis posts on him buttt I won't get into it here) and he also suffers from depression and a deep sense of guilt and self-loathing. Morty is usually a pretty sweet kid but as the series goes on, he progressively becomes more desensitized to violence (Thanks to Rick) has low self esteem, repressed rage, (Also courtesy of Rick) and becomes more codepedent to Rick each seasons, despite knowing how horrible Rick is and how unhealthy their dynamic is. They also argue that Jerry, Summer, and Beth are not complex. I don't really have a defense for Summer, but Jerry and Beth are emotionally neglectful parents, and we see Beth attempting to make an effort to be there for her son, and Jerry is trying to be less of a pathetic man-baby.

The themes are not complex. This is another point I disagree with. While Rick and Morty does prefer to be a comedy show and is a comedy show first and foremost, they do sometimes talk about deep themes, like Rick and Beth dynamic is a good metaphor for emotional neglect, and Rick and Morty's dynamic is a wonderful show of codependency, toxic famial relationships and the effects of emotional abuse. Rick and Unity is another portrayal of how relationships can be toxic even if both people are happy and if there is no obvious abuse. They also do dive into deep themes like depression, what grief can do to a person, emotional abuse, etc. while these are never exactly major themes of an episode, they are still important and make the themes complex. Although the person in the video talked about the theme of nilhism, despite the fact that Rick isn't one and just pretends to be one to keep the people he loves safe.

The plot isn't complex. I will concede a bit on this one, but the plot still has complex moments, like Evil Morty is a great representation on what can happen when abuse victims can have enough and abuse victims that aren't "perfect" and his desensitization to violence, seeing how many people he will kill with no guilt. Rick's backstory is also pretty complex and explains a lot about his character. And stuff like Beth and Jerry's divorce actually changed and made an impact on both characters, and that's not even getting into the latest seasons or how much Rest and Ricklaxation revealed about Rick and Morty.

Now was making a massive post about a video that was made 3 years ago that has an opinon that I personally disagree with a bit much...maybe but also hey shut up. What do y'all think?

[writingquestionsanswered]

I have a story idea but I'm having trouble with the whole plot of it. I believe finding a theme for this story might help me with this, but most of the advice I can remember about finding a story's theme mostly involves a character's flaw or other more established elements in a story, and that isn't really helpful when I'm trying to find a theme so I can establish character flaws and story elements. Do you have any advice on how to find a story theme without having that much of an established story?

Struggling with Theme

Theme is something that's really easy to overthink, but it's important to know that theme is organic to your story. You just have to understand what it is in order to see it and tease it out.

Let's say your protagonists are siblings who go on a journey together. Family and sibling dynamics are built-in themes. Maybe this journey represents a transition between childhood and adulthood, so we get into themes like childhood, adulthood, transformation, and coming of age. Perhaps they're traveling across a desert to find their missing father, in which case we get into themes like courage, perseverance, and survival. If they meet others along the way who join their journey, we get into themes of trust, friendship, teamwork, unity, and found family.

Now, you can certainly build a plot around a theme that interests you, too. You can try looking at a list of potential themes (try Googling the theme and symbolism thesaurus by One Stop for Writers. They have a sampler of potential themes along with information about how to explore them.

So, to recap, you do need to either flesh out your story first to find the natural themes and decide how to tease them out. Or, you can look at lists of themes to get ideas about themes you want to explore, then figure out what needs to happen in your story in order to do that.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[mossy-green-aka-ferrythem]

Just watched Episode 14, the most recent episode of Dungeon Meshi, and damn, things are getting so interesting!

Now that other characters are being introduced, so many more things come to light! Like how characters fundamentally both understand and misunderstand each other! The culture of the people in this world and how it mirrors the real world! (For example, "Eastern Folk" being treated as a hegemony, and being hit with microaggressions from even people they are close to, similar to many real world cases where someone isn't exactly a bad person, they just have some misunderstandings and underlying biases that they really must acknowledge and shake, but the problem is they tend to get defensive upon being called out for the possibility that they may be engaging in some form of bigotry)

Also, god, the narrative is gonna get kind of hard to follow, because it really does feel like everyone's converging on the Dungeon now, and we're going to see what it means to all these different people, though I feel as though Laios and his party are by design, special, in that Laios intimately wishes to understand and care for monsters, compared to others, like how Kabru doesn't understand the anatomy or the function of them, he merely sees them as difficult obstacles that he is contractually obligated to clear. That and his rather concerning intimate understanding of how to kill a human being... Kabru concerns me... I don't know enough about him, but he seems like the kind of person who, once he gets an idea of something in his head, will follow through with it recklessly.

Really, this is probably one of the best fantasy works I've ever experienced, plain and simple. It's peak. Also, man... I gotta say, if there's one thing that I feel is conveyed through the truly powerful new intro and outro, it's that one of this narrative's main and most powerful themes is unity... about how the joy of feasting leads to many other fundamental joys of being alive... the way we as human beings receive both pleasure and meaning through food... it's just absolutely breathtaking, and hits so deep.

[tamelee]

What do you think of the will of fire and konoha? Do you support them?

Ah, I think a lot about that. It's challenging to dive in without getting completely lost in it, though, and without me having to go and take a million screenshots. Most scenes include some sort of example why the current system or why WoF have failed a certain character, and that is important because those are the messages within the story that support the overall theme. Specifically how a character reacts to a situation. 

And in the end, it's the Shinobi system that needs changing one way or another. 

Creating a village that prioritizes unity, loyalty, and protection is great. I definitely support what Konoha was supposed to be, and it had been necessary. But it failed because there are bigger issues.

I've read a lot of pro- and anti-WoF posts, and I think most of them are right in some ways, but I don't think you can judge the operation of an ideology that's part of a system without questioning... the broader system. And that's exactly what it distracts you from; the WoF never addresses the root cause of any conflicts. 

The ideology itself isn't to blame. The WoF doesn't inherently promote anything harmful, but it's too simplistic. Hashirama's ways to achieve peace were ambitious but perhaps too naive, whereas Tobirama operated from his own biased sense of realism. I don't like how authority applied the WoF, that includes Hiruzen and Danzo, of course, who manipulated and abused it in a way only to serve their own interests and encourage people to sacrifice themselves for it or do that sacrificial part for them. Prioritizing a single village or nation without questioning the system that applies to all Shinobi is bound to fail. 

Hence, Naruto wanted all Shinobi to work together, or why Sasuke believed there had to be a single enemy that would force all Shinobi to work together. 

And why Itachi made it a point that certain things like a clan or village should be questioned. Or why it was so significant to question what personal bonds meant as opposed to the collective belief that made Shinobi with the same headband comrades automatically.

There are many issues, so do I support it? Maybe? But only if applied responsibly, and we haven't seen a good example yet. So maybe it's not even possible, but that also makes it interesting. 

Or—hear me out—you can introduce aliens, and none of that matters anymore because now Sasuke is right and Naruto gets his wish without any creativity while both are miserable regardless—tadaa~ 

[findmeinthefallair]

A Bit of Mental Health 101 with Hunter: Analyses by a Therapist

Disclaimer: This is in no way a substitute for therapy: it's only psychoeducation. Please consult a therapist and/or hotline and get the help you need if you are experiencing mental health difficulties, especially if experiencing distress or issues that feel unmanageable.

Warnings: themes such as abuse and trauma ahead.

I thought to share some pieces of info from a few counselling theories and general mental info, which are way easier to grasp when I tie them to specific Hunter scenes. These might lead you to some realizations about yourself or someone else, which you could then bring up with a therapist if you like.

1. Survival Stances/Communication Stances: You might spot these in yourself or those around you. They are responses to stress and anxiety when you interact with other people. There are 5 in total; the first 4 are indicators of low self-worth and are where our childhood wounds are; the last one means you are healthily able to be present with difficult emotions and respond with relative calmness and clear thinking. Each one involves whether or not you are acknowledging three things: yourself (Self), the people you're interacting with (Other), and viewing the situation clearly (Context). The stances come from a theory called Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy (STST), or the Satir Model, invented by Virginia Satir who earned the title of "Mother of Family Therapy".

Placating:

It disregards Self, but recognizes Other and Context. You may blame yourself for something that isn't your fault at all. This is very common, especially with many parents in society who fail to acknowledge their child's pain, and who raise parentified children. As you can imagine, the way Belos raised Hunter would make the poor kid quite a Placater.

Blaming:

The opposite of Placating. Disregards the Other, but recognizes Self and Context. Definitely rare in Hunter, but being raised in the toxic environment of the castle and holding a high rank would've contributed to these tendencies. Maybe the closest thing would be him defensively snapping at Alador as shown above. What he could've chosen to do instead was calmly persuade Alador that he was in fact, not eager to return to Belos and why, independent of what Alador might think. But to do that in a calm manner would've been tough since the Day of Unity affected everyone.

Super-Reasonable:

Disregards Self and Other, only paying attention to Context. Also very common in my experience because we as a whole are a emotions-adverse, grief-adverse and find-quick-solutions/resolve-inconveniences-quickly sort of society. Emotions aren't often given the space they need to be experienced. In the screenshot above, Hunter is emotionally detaching from the validity of his own betrayal-related pain (disregarding Self), saying Gus is foolish and that his points aren't valid (disregarding Other), and trying to use pure cold logic to intellectualize why there's no point of paying attention to what they actually need in their dynamic.

Irrelevant:

The opposite of Super-Reasonable. It disregards all three areas, and people in this category are usually the class clowns or jokester types. Their stress response is to try and lighten the mood in the room quickly with something off-topic so that they don't need to feel anxiety. I haven't noticed it in obvious ways in Hunter, but when he quickly cuts Luz off from potentially mentioning that he's a grimwalker above, trying to put on a big smile and act all jolly/positive...it's the closest he's gotten. It would become an issue if repeated jokester behavior to avoid what needs addressing, is not benefitting his relationships with people who are actually trustworthy.

Leveling:

The healthy stance out of all 5. You are a Leveler if you can be calm, firm and understanding of the current situation, and (the following is to minimize defensive reactions from the other party) respectful of both your views and other people's views, when in conflict with others. However, obviously you should never remain in a conflict if it gets actually dangerous for yourself. (Obviously I would tell anyone to run from Belos! He is physically dangerous, not just emotionally, and we know he won't listen to reason. In the above situation, poor Hunter was in a crazy life-threatening situation)

Two important notes: - Placaters and Blamers may unhealthily attract one another in romantic relationships, friendships, family dynamics, work relationships. I'm not too sure about Super-Reasonable and Irrelevant people attracting one another, though. - However, we can have all of these 5 in ourselves, e.g. you can be either a Placater or Blamer in different situations.

2. Self-Leadership: Draws from the Internal Family Systems (IFS) theory. When we are in touch with what this theory refers to us our Self, it's the best version of us, and you could also say it's your true self. It is split into 8 parts which mean it's often conveniently called The 8C's of Self-Leadership. I guess when you are able to access all 8 of them, you are at a point of self-actualization. I like how it's nicely split up so you can work on whichever areas you feel might need to discuss, with a therapist.

In Hunter's case, you can spot improvements in mental health when he gets in touch with these qualities (man, thank you Dana, directors, writers, storyboarders, animators of the show..the fact that I can easily find which frames to use shows how much quality the writing and visuals have):

Clarity

Calmness

Compassion

Connectedness

Courage

Confidence

Curiosity

Creativity

3. Psychological Flexibility

A pretty neat theory called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has the above title as its main goal. (The person behind this theory wrote a book called The Happiness Trap, that goes into why we have unnecessary additional stress by expecting/pressuring ourselves to be happy all the time: instead of the better option of embracing the downs in life too, not just the ups... the book is free if you find it on PDFDrive dot com..)

ACT places plenty of importance on the specific words we use when having our own self-dialogue, which forms what we think of ourselves etc. If a therapist uses the ACT route, they hope to guide their clients towards the three pillars of ACT: being Open, Centered, and Engaged. Each pillar splits into two areas...so it's a total of six aspects of psychological flexibility which I'll list below:

Pillar 1: "Open"

A) Acceptance (its negative opposite is Experiential Avoidance) The simplest way one might break down this one is it's about embracing your demons, not judging them: the parts of you that you wish weren't there e.g. the parts that feel like a burden, any private experience you've had that you never wanted. When I think of this, these precise frames of Hollow Mind and Thanks to Them came into my head:

This concept operates on the belief that any emotion (like, especially what Hunter will feel when he looks back on the above memories) wants to be seen and is welcomed, like a guest. Even if the scarier, more unruly guests are welcomed and not turned away (which sometimes cannot be done alone: you may need the safety of the therapy room or trusted loved ones), it offers the best chance that they'll soften and become less unpleasant over time.

B) Cognitive Defusion This process is to help us not be fused with the content of our unpleasant thoughts, but to instead just notice that the process of thinking is happening in ourselves (see the difference?). This doesn't mean such thoughts are not allowed or not valid, though. A great analogy to explain how getting consumed by such thoughts and feelings is: if you hold out your hands close enough in front of your face or completely cover your eyes with them, you can't see the rest of your surroundings. If you spread them out and move them further from your face, you can see the rest of the room. Defusion techniques help you get more unstuck from discomfort and remind you of e.g. you are not your thoughts and therefore not fused with them forever, and other things exist outside of them. Very important if Hunter ever has experiences like this again, so that his moments of being inevitably triggered are less intense and their duration is shortened significantly:

It'll make the ride of being sucked into terrible distress e.g. future nightmares and potentially vivid trauma reminders, a less bumpy one.

Pillar 2: "Centered"

C) Contacting the Present Connecting with the present moment, based on this theory, is to restore control. Having awareness of your senses and being able to be grounded. Instead of being caught up in rumination about the past or future. There are certainly times where the right thing to do is reflect on the past or plan for the future, but during periods where being present would serve us better, that's the time to use this skill. Hunter was already incorporating this below, grounding himself by pacing back and forth. He was in an actually dangerous situation with immediate threats, as a literal survival mechanism for a crisis, so it was on a more extreme scale than us applying in it our everyday modern life:

(my personal method is having the right kind of music in my earphones to keep me totally present)

D) Self-as-Context (its negative opposite is Self-as-Content) Involves being in touch with something called your Observing Self. An easy way to explain this is, imagine you are a big sky: containing clouds that represent your thoughts and emotions. It can certainly feel like you're caught up in a cloud if a particularly tough emotion arises, but practicing this, whereby you become aware you're the big container with these separate smaller things inside, may help. An example of applying this is your therapist guiding you to say to yourself, "I am having the thought...that I am a failure" and to internalize that statement. This kind of detachment can be helpful because it could lead on to further positive reframing, and reinforcing that reframing, as you heal more.

Intuitively I think Hunter could be in this mode (though he wouldn't be able to put a name to it without a therapist telling him) when he started to feel better after reaching out to Willow. Having a good needed cry, he was less fused with excruciating grief:

Pillar 3: "Engaged"

E) Values (negative opposite: Lack of Direction) You get to choose what values matter to you. They go deeper than goals you want to achieve, they are qualities you want to align your life with, for life to be meaningful. One value that will certainly matter to Hunter a lot is based on this:

Kindness/Gentleness. Making sure others are cared for and protected.

F) Committed Action (negative opposite: Inaction/Being Stuck) Taking action to live out the values you choose. Pretty straightforward:

4. Aspects of Grief (especially, but not limited to, Acute Grief):

Searching Behavior

Perfectly normal especially in early grief, even though the griever may think they're going crazy. You may catch glimpses of a lost loved one, or reminders of whatever you have lost, on the bus or at the grocery store, in dreams or in other places. Your brain will be thinking thoughts like "Is that them?"..."That's them! It has to be!"..."All that didn't really happen, did it?" because it can be so painful to lose a relationship (not limited to just literal people. It could be a home or job, etc) that you have to still believe on some level that it hasn't been lost. Such numbing and denial is to provide mental cushioning for your mind, or else it would be overwhelmed. This behavior should decrease over time, but there shouldn't be any expectation of it totally vanishing.

Linking Objects

Objects that are reminders of a lost loved one, and/or which belonged to them, to help the griever feel close to the lost loved one. Usually it's too painful in early grief days to have a high awareness of such objects. Maybe there are other objects that Hunter would want to keep, which Flapjack used or perched on often. And if Hunter wishes, he can create new linking objects from scratch as well, to keep remembering.

5. Self-Interruption A concept I love from the theory of Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT). Because one of the seven therapists I've tried taught me about this, it was one of the first few milestones in my own recovery.

Notice that this boi switched quickly from being puzzled about something he wasn't even entirely sure was negative, to bounce back and point out what went fine. While he later said "I miss knowing who I'm supposed to be" which was great, there is plenty of room for him to lean into the agency he has had since Camila first welcomed him into her home. I think we self-interrupt pretty often. Self-interrupting means we restrict ourselves from expressing what we feel, we self-censor and disown the important parts of us that have natural emotional responses towards e.g. being treated unfairly. Society's emphasis on staying positive and not being a burden likely reinforces this, and I'm sure Belos disregarded and invalidated his emotions enough that he'd feel he isn't allowed to complain about most things.

A healthy upbringing would mean the freedom to express your needs and desires. It's also perfectly fine and even necessary for Hunter to reflect on positive memories he's had. I'd say it only becomes an issue if he keeps doing stuff like below and if he is cut off from recognizing his own emotional needs:

(which I don't think he'll continue doing as much: he seems to be quite on track towards healthily exploring what he has been through).

So yeah. This got on the lengthy side but I hope it was informative! Which parts stood out to you the most? Feel free to comment and share your own thoughts~

[foxlored]

Deconstructing Luz & Hunter and Wittebane Siblings Parallels

Alternatively titled: Luz is actually not a stand-in for Philip and I will fight the show's writers on this myself if I must

Another Owl House mini-essay because this show's been on the mind. As the previous one, expect some mentions of abuse, murder, colonization, and so on (as per canon-typical Belos awfulness). Technically peer reviewed (my discord friends talked about it with me)

Luz & paralleling Philip/Belos

The show does a lot of work to make you see Luz as equivalent to Belos, partly in order to deconstruct that. I don't mind that actually, I think the subversion of the "just as bad as the villain" trope fits the show's themes of deconstructing the fantasy genre, given its similar takes on the idea of a chosen one and so on. However, I don't think these parallels are narrative as much as they are just a manifestation of Luz's anxieties and Belos feeding into that.

Stay with me here: We have a character who abandons the only family member they have left in order to stay in the Demon Realm. They fall in love with a witch, and fall in love with the world they're staying in. They unlearn the initial ideas they had about the world that dehumanize its inhabitants in some way—and are in conflict with Philip/Belos, who wishes to "save their soul" and get them out of there.

Am I talking about Caleb or Luz? That's a trick question, because it's both. It's literally the same character arc! And more importantly here—there's something to suggest that at least Belos sees them in the same way.

"We're human! We're better than this!"

Belos has a very peculiar dynamic with Luz in the fact that he is incredibly bent on trying to "save" her despite all she has done to go against him. He sees her as a potential ally, a human corrupted by the sinfulness of witchkind—and offers her an honestly that is pretty much never given to any other character. Now, compare this to the scene in For the Future where he hallucinates Caleb.

"I tried to save your soul. It's your fault this all happened!"

The mentality is strikingly similar—and while we don't have much content to show the specifics of Philip and Caleb's relationship, what we are given suggests a very real parallel between how he views Caleb and Luz.

What about Hunter?

A fair question, as the show poses Hunter as the Caleb to Luz's Philip—especially with him already being a grimwalker of Caleb. However, it's important to note that a significant part of that parallel is that it's incomplete—Hunter isn't the replacement for Caleb that Belos wants.

Because the cycle of killing and destroying grimwalker upon grimwalker is built off the fact that they cannot match what Caleb was. They... aren't Caleb. Even Hunter, who looked the closest, was just that: the closest. Not an actual replacement. Remember Belos had no qualms about branding him with a sigil, a death sentence on the day of unity.

Speaking of that—

King's Tide, & the curious case of Belos' Manipulation

King's Tide gives us two interesting scenes with Belos attempting to manipulate Luz, then Hunter. Both give a surprising insight into his mentality towards both characters.

Hunter, why are you hurting me? I only wanted to help you!

when trying to elicit hunter's help, belos is very much focused on that emotional relationship he cultivated in order to manipulate hunter. Why are you hurting ME. I only wanted to help YOU. but there's no further depth to it. Its a purely emotional attack. Contrast that both with his earlier scene with Luz, and what occurs in Watching and Dreaming.

And despite our differences, I want to help you, Luz. I can send you home. I have just enough Titan Blood for one more trip. Please. I don't want to see another human life destroyed by this place.

While Belos certainly isn't above using emotional attacks to weaken Luz's resolve—playing on her fears of being complicit in his crime, comparing his self afflicted monsterous form to Eda's curse, he also tries to connect with her on a logical level (at least from his point of view).

When he calls Hunter to stop fighting, it's purely because he knows he can eliminate a percieved threat by playing on his weakness—when he calls Luz to stop, it's because he wants to work with her.

You did do something good. I thought this one was another lost cause. Because of you, we can finish our work as witch-hunters, starting with them!

This exchange from Thanks to Them really encapsulates it all. Hunter is a tool for Belos to use, while Luz... I think the ambiguity in "we" in the above quote is purposeful. At face value, it's we as Belos possessing Hunter, an extension of Caleb—him and his brother together again. But he's addressing Luz, thanking Luz, and I don't think that's necessarily because Belos sees himself in Luz. A wayward human who needs guidance back from the clutches of humans... he sees Caleb in her.

Luz & Hunter, two sides of a Caleb coin

I think the two of them are both supposed to represent different facets of Caleb. They're the two characters who are deeply harmed by his manipulation, and both represent the ways in which Belos views his brother. A lost soul to be saved, family to be controlled; Someone who's loyalty must be maintained by emotional abuse and manipulation.

And I think the show becomes stronger when you look at it through this lens, instead of the forced "they're like siblings so they must be like these other siblings" comparison partially born out of Luz's insecurity.

[michiruze]

Lkyt. - Thoughts

In times of despair, we seek light. But when the light exposes the rotten core of destiny, where does your heart go?

After a year of "I bought the game, and left it there", I finally gave the much-anticipated Lkyt. (2020) a go. I went into this game knowing nearly nothing except the fact that I shouldn't expect another No, Thank You!!! (2013)

And it worked. This game is nothing like I've expected, and I was left with the feeling of both fullness and emptiness. The kind of feelings that comes from witnessing a profound piece of fiction that tells so much.

And so much it tells. Lkyt. (2020) ended up piercing my heart, going straight to the jugular and consumes it.

This is not a story of heroic warriors. This is a story of betrayal by nature.

What happens when you are born in a rotten world, destined to be hollowed out?

(Music to listen to while reading)

The concept of a story that focuses on letting the audience experience what living in a war-torn reality feels like isn't new. In a sense, there's nothing new about Lkyt. (2020). What this game brings to the table, however, is the characters, and how the setting interacts with the horrors plaguing it.

The first thing you see in the game is that it's set in a fictional medieval Japanese setting with a twist --- there's a cosmic horror thing as their common (and only) enemy. And this thing unites the people, mobilizing themselves to face it, with willingness to die for the safety of others. You are seeing the story of unity against a force of death. 'Till death do they part.

This gives the game an opportunity to explore the values of 'heroism' and 'warriors' without overstuffing it with real-world signifiers, and without the risk of turning into a soapbox for the game's writer(s) to be 'right' about their opinions on serious topics. Not only there are cosmic horrors inbound, there's a lot of political intrigue in the story that is guaranteed to keep the audience glued and frustrated over how relevant all of it is.

The setting also allows the game to explore certain topics such as grief, nihilism, loyalty through the eyes of war-torn people.

It certainly reminds me of 28 Days Later (2002) and Annihilation (2018) where the science fiction setting allows the movie to explore themes of familial bond, survival, love, and the dark side of militarism through the eyes of survivors of dark times.

The gist of this is that the setting allows the themes to emerge by itself and let the readers draw their conclusions.

And it's certainly stuffed with interesting topics to think about. Betrayed by history, belief, and destiny. Betrayed by the nation.

When all you know is "war" and "the enemy" and nothing else....what happens when both are gone, and defeated? Do we stay in unity?

When the values of the world you live in was built by darkness, what happens when light shines through it?

Lkyt. (2020) in a sense, is about the fragility of our reality. Through the horrifying reality that the characters live in, it exposes fragilities that we face in real life.

Having the game written around this dark fantasy setting also gives the game the chance to actually provoke powerful messages of hope as well. Darkness can be overcome, it's how we decide to shine the light that matters.

Lkyt. (2020) tells said tragedy in heartbreaking ways. It is not an exaggeration that this is one of the heaviest BL games to ever come out.

But this being an utsuge obviously means that it's not all rainbows and sunshine. What happens when you decide to shine a light in a world overrun by darkness to the core? Lkyt. (2020) also tells the tragedy of what happens when innate darkness resists light. In this case, the determination to end suffering, in a world where the concept of 'light' seemingly does not exist. What if the darkness has penetrated the world so deeply that an attempt to end suffering is seen as a disgrace to the existing values and beliefs built by fear, violence, and hatred against darkness? What if light suddenly penetrates darkness? What if people who had never seen what 'hope' is, suddenly sees it?

All that this world knows is violence, fear, and darkness. And light becomes a force of threat as a result.

Make no mistake, it's not only heartbreaking, but also depressing and disturbing. This game is written by Tatsuya Kurashiki, who wrote chunks of NTY!!!.....but before he wrote Lkyt. (2020), he also wrote the infamously gory and extremely disturbing Maggot Baits (2015). In fact, this game shared the same writing team as the latter.

You can tell that there are remnants of Maggot Baits (2015) left in his writing for Lkyt. (2020), and several parts (especially the goriest parts of the game) seems to be a callback to his time writing it. (You can turn off gory CGs but NOT gory texts)

However, the hopelessness and darkness is not without reason, nor it's done as shock value. They have a concrete reason to be written that way, and it's ultimately not for nothing. The game's title (it's an acronym for an English sentence!) even supports this.

It's not all darkness, though. Of course, there are obligatory comedic elements you'd find in parade titles, as well as horny jokes and light-hearted lines referring to having gay relationships for diplomatic reasons. That alone makes me want to recommend this game to everyone. That said, let's talk about the characters.

Tasuku is markedly different from previous parade protagonists. For a horny top, he is a purely selfless human being with devotion to his belief to protect the powerless. The game obviously puts him into situations where his views gets challenged and rejected, and part of the 'fun' of Lkyt. (2020) comes from how Tasuku overcomes it. By the third part of the story you really want him to prevail, survive, and win.

Tasuku's selflessness gets complemented real well with the assortment of love interests who has their own beliefs and are challenged by Tasuku's selflessness. Takeru's unconditional loyalty, Yael's numbing nihilism, Ango's despair, and Towa's extreme responsibilities in shouldering pain....all of them complements their bond with Tasuku, where their bond becomes the beacon of light.

One thing to know about their bonds is that it is not 'romantic' in a traditional sense. Their bonds, while sexual and leads to loving bonds, are more of 'necessary bonds in order to survive the apocalypse'. The kind of bonds you form to accept the apocalypse.

There's a persistent feeling of "the end is near and all I want to experience intimacy before we all die" in each route, with these bonds forming a resistance against darkness.

That's all I can say about the game's substance. On the 'style' front, Lkyt. (2020) is absolutely made with love, even when you can spot signs of small budget (reminding everybody that parade is CLOCKUP --- not known for big budget story games!)

The art by CLOCKUP's Norizane is the biggest winner of the game. She draws characters in a way that lets their features shine and be different. Her character designs are very memorable and you can tell that she's giving something for everyone from how each love interest's bodies are drawn (skinny bishies, burly men, hot priest). I hope she continues to make art for parade's games.

The game's color palette, whilst limited to greys, reds, and browns to give it a barren, desolate feel, does not feel 'bland' at all through the integration of the memorable character designs to the background details, like a movie with a cinematography that elevates the 'bland' setting. At times it feels reminiscent of director Alex Garland's work, especially Annihilation (2018).

One thing I have to praise this game for is the option to turn off gore. It's very helpful even though there are only 4 gory CGs (but BY GOD they're GORY as fuck!). The completion status feature also rules, as does the game listing all scenes and completion indicators, allowing readers to find out parts they have not read yet!

While the music feels pretty okay (especially if you've played parade's other games --- even moreso if you played CLOCKUP games too) since the budget probably only allows few songs, the opening theme is absolutely amazing, sets the tone properly for the game and is appropriately emotional.

However, the small budget attributed to this game makes it that there's simply not enough CGs for the story (possibly due to Norizane's commitments to couple of CLOCKUP titles at the same time of Lkyt's development). Some parts of the game feels that it needed CGs to explain things, and for readers who finds overly descriptive texts confusing, it could make them feel lost.

Seeing the liner notes reveals that the game could've benefitted from having a longer development time for story and character writing and I agree. Some parts of the routes felt repetitive and the decision to cram the love interests' backstories near the end feels like a rushed attempt to wrap up stuff.

So, how's this game, overall? For people expecting another No, Thank You!!! (2013), this game isn't it. It's a completely different experience, a story-heavy experience much closer to Nitro+Chiral than anything else, that can be attributed to the fact that it's written by Tatsuya Kurashiki, a writer cut from the same mold as Takashi Masada, whose CV consists of mostly long, story-heavy chuuni games

Lkyt. (2020) is great, but in the end, it's an acquired taste thing. It's certainly not for everyone. It's heavy, touching, disturbing, and depressing. You really need to be in the right mood to engage.

Though, Lkyt. (2020) is a very profound experience full of meaning and journeys through the darkness to find light. If you go the might....please do experience it!

As a small P.S, describing Lkyt. (2020) as "Sekiro if it was made by Alex Garland" means that I had to watch Civil War (2024) right as I had finished the game to write my thoughts clearer and.....Lkyt. (2020) is what this film tried to be, so there's that.

Lkyt. (2020) certainly is the movie that Alex Garland desperately tried to make. The "story where it's about how war feels like" thing that he wanted to make.

[disneyparksattractionstournament]

Favorite Disney Parks Attraction Showdown: Round 3 - Group A

Videos and propaganda under the cut!

MuppetVision 3D: Disneyland, WDW Hollywood Studios

Propaganda:

"Muppets!!! We love the Muppets!!! And also the last thing Jim Henson worked on!!!"

It's a Small World: (Any version/park!): Disneyland, WDW Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland,Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland)

Propaganda:

"it's a small world" is one of the oldest rides still standing today, and I think it's for good reason. It might not be as thrilling as expedition everest or as flashy as the haunted mansion, but it has a distinct charm that has people coming back year after year. The design of the ride itself - inspired by Mary Blair - is whimsical without being garish; the gold and white of Disneyland Anaheim is reminiscent of their early classic films, while the colorful geometric shapes in Tokyo Disneyland are fun and funky. It's one of the few rides with installations in every park. The propulsion system created for it would go on to be used in later rides like pirates of the caribbean, so if you're a fan of the latter, you have the former to thank for that. You either love or hate the infamous song, but there's no denying that it's catchy. What's more, I think what really keeps people coming back is it's message. "it's a small world'' emphasizes unity, but it also celebrates the diversity and uniqueness of cultures around the world. It's not "you and I are both the same", it's "you and I might be different, but at the end of the day we both laugh and cry and have hopes and fears and many more similarities than what our geography and government tries to say". Sure, it might be corny, but it's not like anyone goes to Disney to get away from this type of cheesy shmaltziness."

"Taken from Escape From Vault Disney podcast, but, three women and a stoner were the main artists and I think that's important. Adding to that, the song is good and no I don't care if it's annoying. Listen to the original version, it's freaking beautiful. Mary Blair art is cute and charming and the whole attraction just looks like kids coloring and drawing and singing and being friends!!! The adult chorus in the finale room is like the parents joining in and spending time with their children and encouraging their kids to respect each other and don't judge people. But also it's like those kids are adults now and refuse to let negativity win and they see the beauty and kindness in people and dang it, that's what being human is about!!!! Be kind to others and accept and help people because we got one earth people!!! And it has just one moon and one golden sun!!! Also the clock has a name. His name is Glockenspiel and he's just a happy guy I love him. Also inspired the boss in Epic Mickey and that boss theme is so good omg"

"it's stuck in your head now isn't it"

"the song may be annoying. it may be creepy. it might, despite its intentions, come off as kind of xenophobic. but, goddamn, it's one of the few good memories i have from my disneyland trips as a child"

Video is of Disneyland, but any version/your fav for the poll!