#this is going to be forging a symbiotic relationship between us

[lonely--seeker]

Going on a fucking walk with my (not mine) dog that I hate (I don't) from now on because at this point I'm not entirely sure whose emotional, physical and mental health depends on it.

I need to take a picture of him because he's gotten so much bigger than last time I showed him

[cuervosolsticio]

"Though we are a benevolent species, there is no literature on my home planet. And though it is our goal to make the universe better, we create no art, no music, no culture. At least, not as other civilizations would understand it. All we have are our hosts -- the beings we join with -- to forge through the cold and unforgiving cosmos with. The bond between a Symbiote and its host is sacred. They give our lives context and our existence meaning. They give us history. All we have are our hosts to tell us who we are." Ombra is Piyawat Pakr's Symbiote, and they love each other very much (we're not going to talk about their toxic absolutely codependent relationship right now, are we?👀💦).

[therainscene]

Ah, the age-old question: is Vecna really the puppet master, or is all that string imagery proof that he was the puppet all along?

This question is always framed in terms of who is really manipulating whom, and even interpretations which see him and the Mind Flayer as a team tend to assume there’s going to be an inevitable betrayal in which one will rise as The Ultimate Big Bad.

But personally, I don’t see it that way; I think they have a more symbiotic relationship than that.

To see why, let’s take a look at another villain from the show:

Jason is a charismatic leader who knows how to rally groups into action, and this skill allows him to amplify his personal mistrust of outcasts like Eddie into a full-blown, town-wide witch hunt.

By the end of S4, the hysteria he whipped up has gained so much momentum that not even his nor Eddie’s death can stop it. The Hawkins Satanic Panic becomes something greater and more powerful than himself -- but crucially, it also could not have existed without him in the first place.

The Mind Flayer is much like Hawkins: not a single entity, but a collection of them. It was a formless cloud of particles before Henry got his slimy mitts on it, and the show has strongly hinted that these particles are the mechanism by which the Upside Down’s hive mind exists.

So Henry can be thought of as the charismatic leader of the hive mind. His ideas are the ones that drive the mind’s actions, but like Jason, that doesn’t necessarily make him a puppet master -- more of an inspiration. I don’t think the hive mind had any inherent agenda of its own before he came along, much as the people of Hawkins didn’t have an agenda beyond simply existing before Jason gave them a misguided cause to rally around.

This is the true horror of the Mind Flayer: it’s a reflection of how easily bigoted attitudes can become entrenched in a society of well-meaning individuals, and how overwhelmingly difficult it is to resist those attitudes when you’re targeted by them.

But conformity isn’t the only theme being reflected here. To complete our understanding of the bond between Vecna and the Mind Flayer, let’s turn our attention to one more villain:

Billy is a survivor of abuse whose anger led to a sense of entitlement to abuse others in turn. It’s classic cycle of abuse stuff, and very similar to Henry’s backstory.

But where Billy differs from Henry is that he seems to be aware that what he’s doing is wrong. Not that this helps much -- the best idea he can come up with to mitigate harm is to beg his victim for compassion, which is a great way to assuage his guilt, not such a great way to mend the damage he’s done to her.

I think it’s significant that Vecna and the Mind Flayer are used as metaphors for Billy’s urge to perpetuate the cycle of abuse, as their relationship is a very cyclical one:

Henry was abused, which led to the creation of the Mind Flayer, which led to Henry abusing Billy, which led to the creation of the fleshy Spider Monster--

Billy attempted to stop the cycle here, but as with the sauna plea, his efforts were dead in the water and the cycle continued:

--Max developed survivor’s guilt, which led to Henry abusing her, which led to her death, which led to Henry having free reign to continue abusing to his rotten little heart’s content.

This reflects not only the abuse that occurs between individuals, but also abuse on a society-wide level: bigoted societal attitudes beget internalized attitudes, which in turn lead to behaviours that perpetuate the original societal attitudes.

To me, a more interesting question than “which one is the real Big Bad?” is “how will our heroes stop the cycle?”

In real life, bigotry is defeated when outcasts and their allies band together and forge their own movements to spread messages of truth and positivity.

So I think it’s interesting that our core trio of protagonists consists of a charismatic leader who never wields his skill selfishly...

...and a powerful pair of survivors who are too full of love and kindness to perpetuate their own cycles of abuse.

[hrodvitnon]

I imagine that even once Keeta and their pack return to the Hollow Earth and try to fix the ecosystem, it wouldn't be an easy task and it won't happen instantly of course. It will take maybe generations or so before the ecosystem is stabilized again once the skullcrawler population is back to normal numbers (not too high, but not too low or extinct either).

In the meantime, Keeta may propose for one more thing to ensure that peace between their pack and Kong's ape tribe continues and make it go from a tentative peace to a more ironclad one: let the baby skullcrawlers and ape children meet and play together, with the parents of both species watching over them in case if either gets too rough because kids will be kids. And of course, Monarch will send personnel and vehicles to watch them over too, to serve as the impartial party and also because the nerds there would love to document everything about it, because that doesn't happen too often. Keeta proposes this because of the childhood they spent with Suko, as well as Manda, Leo, Ladon, and Shin, and they know from personal experience that those positive interactions from a young age helped them a lot. Keeta also hopes that the bonds forged from both groups since childhood would help get them to see each other as friends and allies.

The baby skullcrawlers will also learn to not only develop empathy and also differentiate between what's acceptable prey or not (and also be made aware of the role they play in the ecosystem), but also on how to fight and beat foes in the future without going straight for the kill every time.

And on the flip side, the apes get to benefit from this too. Just like with some real life animals, the ape children get to practice the hunting and defensive skills they would one day use as adults via play, and without risking their lives or their parents' lives in doing so. It would also get the ape children to be active and become potentially stronger than their parents (who were most likely kept malnourished under Skar King's rule), since their playtime with the baby skullcrawlers would be like exercising too. And in the future, great apes and skullcrawlers could potentially cooperate in whichever they may need, whether it be hunting for tougher prey or defending their territories from bigger and stronger rival predators together.

After allowing that, Kong would later on realize that what Keeta proposed would make it so that the Great Apes and the Skullcrawlers will have a symbiotic relationship (just like Mothra and Godzilla) as each generation goes on. The irony isn't lost on him.

Kong might be a little uneasy letting baby apes socialize with baby crawlers, just some lingering feelings that weren't snuffed out from the amount of time Keeta's pack spent fixing up the ecosystem, but he's grown to trust Keeta enough to let it happen with multiple watchful eyes on the little ones. But time with the crawlers as well as accepting his own mistakes has helped Kong slowly let go of his old grudges, and lately he finds himself just sitting beside Keeta watching the kids play. Maybe a symbiotic connection between Great Apes and Skullcrawlers isn't so terrible.

[starbuzzai123]

Mastering the Art: How Influencer Marketing Platforms and Tools Are Redefining Influencer Campaigns for Brands

In the dynamic realm of influencer marketing, the synergy between dedicated Influencer Marketing Platforms, strategic influencer marketing tools, and impactful campaigns has become the catalyst for online success. This blog explores the evolving landscape, shedding light on the pivotal role these platforms and tools play in shaping authentic and effective influencer campaigns for brands.

Influencer Marketing Platforms: The Engine of Precision Collaboration

At the heart of successful influencer campaigns lies the strategic use of Influencer Marketing Platforms tailored for both brands and influencers. This blog navigates the functionality of these platforms, showcasing how they empower brands to sift through a diverse pool of influencers and strategically curate collaborations. With real-time analytics and insights, brands can ensure that every campaign is not just a reach but an authentic, resonant connection with a precisely targeted audience.

Influencer Marketing Tools: Crafting Campaigns with Precision

Delving deeper, the blog explores the arsenal of influencer marketing tools that are reshaping the dynamics of campaigns. From performance analytics to sentiment analysis, these tools provide brands with a nuanced understanding of the impact of their influencer collaborations. The blog dissects how these tools streamline the campaign process, providing actionable insights that go beyond traditional metrics and pave the way for more effective influencer partnerships.

Strategic Collaboration: The Essence of Influencer Campaigns

Moving beyond the technicalities, the blog emphasizes the importance of strategic collaboration in influencer campaigns. It explores how brands, armed with insights from Influencer Marketing Platforms for brand and tools, can co-create authentic narratives with influencers. It's not just about endorsements; it's about crafting stories that resonate with audiences, forging emotional connections that extend beyond the duration of a campaign.

Conclusion: Navigating the Future of Influencer Marketing Campaigns

In conclusion, the blog paints a comprehensive picture of how the symbiotic relationship between Influencer Marketing Platforms for Influencers, tools, and strategic collaboration is redefining the future of influencer campaigns. As brands navigate the dynamic landscape, the insights provided by these platforms and tools become indispensable in creating campaigns that are not only data-driven but emotionally resonant. Navigating the future of influencer marketing involves mastering this art, where precision meets authenticity, and campaigns become more than just marketing endeavors—they become impactful stories that resonate with audiences worldwide.

[micahpittard]

Micah Pittard on How Talent Agencies Secure Lucrative Deals for A-List Celebrities

In the captivating sphere of showbiz, the charm of recognition and prosperity is irresistible. A-list celebrities revel in the limelight, enthralling spectators with their extraordinary abilities. However, the behind-the-curtains endeavors that talent organizations, like New Standard Branding under Micah Pittard's leadership, undertake to orchestrate profitable arrangements for these stars often go under the radar. Licensing, a critical aspect of this process, empowers celebrities to extend their brand and revenue beyond the scope of their fundamental profession.

At its core, licensing is the practice of granting permission to others to use a celebrity's name, image, or likeness for various commercial purposes. These purposes can range from product endorsements and merchandise to video games and even theme park attractions. The goal is to create a symbiotic relationship between the celebrity's brand and the product or service being endorsed, resulting in mutual benefit.

In the intricate arena of licensing agreements, talent agencies, such as New Standard Branding under the leadership of Micah Pittard, fill a crucial role in maneuvering through the labyrinth. The initial phase involves pinpointing suitable opportunities that resonate with the celebrity's public persona and beliefs. For example, an actor who is an ardent advocate for fitness and health might be reluctant to partner with a brand known for its high-sugar beverages. However, the same actor would likely embrace an endorsement deal with a health and fitness application. The prowess of talent agencies like NSB lies in their ability to identify these ideal partnerships that are not only financially rewarding, but also serve to elevate the celebrity's image.

Once the right opportunity is identified, negotiations begin. Talent agencies are skilled at securing favorable terms for their clients. This includes negotiating compensation, contract duration, and the extent of the celebrity's involvement in the marketing campaign. These negotiations can be intricate, as both parties aim to protect their interests while creating a mutually beneficial partnership.

A key factor in the art of licensing is authenticity. In today's world, consumers are increasingly discerning, and they can spot inauthentic endorsements from a mile away. Talent agencies understand the importance of ensuring that licensing deals are aligned with the celebrity's personal brand and values. This authenticity enhances the credibility of the endorsement and resonates more strongly with the audience.

As one of the most prevalent forms of licensing agreements, celebrity endorsements for consumer goods remain influential. A-list stars, ranging from domains such as beauty products, fragrances, fashion labels to high-end watches, have a significant sway over consumer spending. Talent agents like Micah Pittard maximize this influence to forge robust partnerships with distinguished brands. The moment an acclaimed actress vouches for a skincare product, it not only propels product sales but also amplifies the product's prestige among consumers.

Furthermore, talent agencies often facilitate licensing deals for merchandise. T-shirts, posters, and memorabilia featuring a celebrity's image or catchphrase can be highly profitable. These products allow fans to feel a deeper connection with their favorite stars and can generate substantial revenue streams. Talent agencies work closely with manufacturers and distributors to ensure that merchandise is not only appealing but also meets quality standards.

The entertainment industry is constantly evolving, and the rise of digital media has opened up new avenues for licensing. Video games, for example, provide a unique opportunity for celebrities to extend their reach. A-list actors can lend their voices and likenesses to characters in popular video games, creating a buzz and attracting gamers who admire their work. Talent agencies are instrumental in negotiating these deals, which can result in substantial earnings and increased visibility for their clients.

Theme park attractions present another riveting opportunity for licensing. Picture a globally recognized singer having their very own ride at a leading amusement park. Talent agents such as Micah Pittard bring such dreams to life by expertly negotiating agreements with theme park operators. These alliances not only spur revenue growth but also provide fans with a memorable and immersive experience that they'll treasure for a lifetime.

In recent years, social media has become a powerhouse for celebrity endorsements. A-list celebrities can use their massive online followings to promote products and services to millions of engaged fans. Talent agencies recognize the potential of these platforms and negotiate lucrative social media endorsement deals. From sponsored posts to live streams, celebrities can monetize their online presence while maintaining a genuine connection with their audience.

It's important to note that licensing deals are not limited to physical products or digital media. Celebrities can also lend their names and expertise to charitable causes, leveraging their influence to make a positive impact on society. Talent agencies play a critical role in identifying philanthropic opportunities that align with their clients' values and help them make a meaningful difference.

The success of a licensing deal goes beyond the initial agreement. Talent agencies continue to monitor and manage the partnership throughout its duration. This involves ensuring that the celebrity fulfills their contractual obligations, maintaining the authenticity of the endorsement, and addressing any potential issues that may arise. Effective management ensures that both the celebrity and the brand continue to benefit from the partnership.

The practice of licensing is a calculated and profitable pursuit that agents like Micah Pittard apply to secure lucrative deals for top-tier celebrities. These collaborations stretch further than film sets and concert stages, including a broad spectrum of opportunities such as consumer goods, merchandise, video games, theme park features, social media endorsements, charitable initiatives, and even the sphere of virtual and augmented reality. Agencies like NSB utilize their proficiency to pinpoint the most fitting opportunities, conduct successful negotiations, and guarantee the genuineness of endorsements. They also fulfill a vital role in managing these partnerships to optimize their advantages while controlling potential risks. As the entertainment industry persists in its evolution, talent agencies will continue playing a critical role in assisting A-list celebrities to broaden their brand and enhance their earnings through the strategic art of licensing.

[innocence-impulse]

WEAPON: INNOCENCE

(avaliable for the main and modern verses, however, also can be avaliable for any other verses, and crossovers also. Based on dgm lore + Alice’s backstory)

Alice’s type of Innocence is an EQUIPMENT TYPE that isn’t bound to her body. This Innocence type is supposed to evaluate through time into CRYSTAL TYPE, which bounds to the accommodator’s blood. Still, Alice’s Innocence is a peculiar one - its evolution is too slow and gone the wrong way.

“Equipment type is the most common form Innocence takes. Innocence of this type typically takes the form of an otherwise common item which, through a special forging process, has had the shard of Innocence of an Accommodator merged with it. Despite being the most common, equipment type Innocence is often the most difficult to control, as the Accommodator must use the Innocence like a tool to make it do what they want, unlike the parasitic type who simply lash out with the part of their body that is their Innocence.” © D-Gray-man Encyclopedia

The synchronization rate isn’t stable and is between 45% and 80%. It shows how unstable Alice’s bond with Innocence, is and also a dangerous thing for an accommodator. That situation is bad for any battles Alice is to participate in. It also gives a lot of weak sides for enemies to mess with, and she is an easy target to eliminate.

“ A lower synchronization rate indicates that an Accommodator will have a harder time invoking their Innocence, which can place the Accommodator and those around them in danger. “ (с) D - Gray man Encyclopedia. 

It makes Alice feel genuinely uncomfortable. Due to the lack of power or lack of control of it, she can do nothing about it since both her body and mind aren’t fully capable in combat, especially close one. That makes Alice pick different strategies, including mind games, and extreme cautiousness, that can even end up in the paranoia.

“Generally, Exorcists who wield parasitic type Innocence have a higher synchronization rate, or at least have an easier time of increasing their synchronization rate, than equipment types. This is because a parasitic type Innocence forms a symbiotic relationship with its Accommodator, becoming part of their anatomy to the point where attacking simply becomes another movement, while equipment types must develop their own style early on in order to fight properly.”© D-Gray man Encyclopedia 

Whilst Alice is already having a hard time with Innocence, and every fight is a huge stress for her, the rate isn’t moving anywhere despite how much time passed (when all of the comrades have already evaluated or passed the critical point) That’s also a hard time, and with how she’s treated (mostly in modern verse) not making it any better. Though Alice is capable of her fighting style, her emotions and mind is still a mess.

“The lower your percentage is it will be more difficult to finally be able to call upon your Innocence and use it , the harder is for an exorcist to call for it and give it commands.” Rash Plays

Definitely, in Alice’s case, when she’s living in some kind of a closed circle: she can’t become stronger, nor she can protect her comrades and even herself. Though with further progress mostly emotional, Alice brings more confidence, as she grows more mature.

“Innocence itself reacts to negative energy and this doesn’t fall short to negative emotions <…> the Innocence itself will react to bloodthirsty malice and rage.”  Rash Plays

As was said earlier, that strongly affects Alice’s ability to fight. Most of the time she can’t keep a normal battle going. Alice can handle Akuma to level third probably - but after that, her body can’t function any longer. Though, if Alice ends up in rage mode (that’s feral mode), her power increases drastically to 100% (to mostly breaking the critical point), but again it won’t last long. That’s a short period when she can harm an opponent as much as she can before passing out.

In summary Alice can’t reach the critical point due to her health and emotional issues and because of William’s messing with her weapon to keep her safe. The outcome is Alice finally reaching her maximum power, and suffering the consequences.

TYPE OF INNOCENCE

The equipment type mostly fixated on rhythm and music in general. Despite the accommodator, the Innocence is strong. It’s a music box in the main verse and a music player in the modern verse. The level of synchronization, though unstable, is 45%, increasing during battles to 80%.

It can make barriers to defend, sound barriers to protect from Akuma 4 level sound attack, and spread sound waves to destroy Akuma and Noah. Also, it can help her fly for a bit or walk on the water (without falling into it) and make her run at a high speed for a few minutes.

Alice must always concentrate to keep her Innocence in control. If she loses her concentration for even a second while jumping or sliding on the water she could fall to her death.

She can jump high, bouncing on firm surfaces. The high of her jump depends on her power and concentration at the moment. However, the jump onto the slippery surfaces seems to be harder than the firm one, so the chances she would fall in the first place is also high.

Mostly in modern verse, Alice's actual weapon is a dance move. It’s as if she’s on stage, but all of its use in an actual battle. Alice has to balance between her moves and using a weapon (in modern verse Alice can call for it and materialize it), but it’s still multitasking that’s sometimes very hard to make. When activated, there’s wings appear on the headphones.

[ganymedesclock]

Goron and Zora cultural values, pt.2 (the zora)

Okay things got long talking about the gorons so the zora are their own post.

So the Zora have a couple of claims to fame within TLoZ. They’re essentially freshwater shark people, which I’m going to be honest, is one of the more inspired Fantasy Race Concepts running around in traditional major franchises. They’re rather noted stonemasons considering the elaborate structure of the Domain itself in Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild, and also Twilight Princess’s lakebed temple. We seldom get to see them in action (disappointingly) but their primary weapons seem to be spears, which make sense similarly to the development of the bo staff and sickle in martial arts- if you’re a culture that survives mostly on seafood and you contrive a way better to catch fish than your own vast shark teeth, you’re probably going to develop fishing spears, and at the point the majority of people have a spear in their house and have been using it since they were very small, militarizing it is effortless.

They’re consistently Hyrule’s closest neighbors and often framed as one of their major allies in part due to managing aquifers with their stone architecture, and on two different occasions the princess has been engaged to Link only for it to end in her tragic death- even more brutally in Breath of the Wild when Mipha’s life expectancy was much longer than Link’s.

(obligatory doofenshmirtz “-which is weird that it’s happened twice”)

I was requested to do a take on the zora and other TLoZ races quite some time ago but I ended up deleting the ask unfulfilled because I was struggling to assemble a take from all this. I mean, what’s the picture here? People who are amphibious but much more maneuverable in water would develop technology for moving the water where they want it, and then this would enter a symbiotic relationship with that this mastery of water flow would make it very easy to cut and transport even very large pieces of stone, despite not being a “burly” race like the gorons. If anything, while the gorons are clearly far from primitive in their steel-forging and fine carving work, the zora seem to be the much more committed architects- which, again makes sense. The gorons can pride or challenge themselves on simple subtleties and natural work- they’ve got thousands of years and tremendous strength advantages to make something smooth and ornamented, so it’s more of a flex to flaunt natural stone in advantageous states.

Meanwhile, the Zora are basically shit out of luck if they can’t bend the environment to their advantage. They seem to have very few settlements- usually a single Domain- but said Domain is elaborately, vastly, and beautifully engineered. In Twilight Princess, Zoran waterways link the vast majority of the game map, which means that freezing the Domain and blocking those areas with boulders may have been an attempt by Zant to prevent the zora from coming to Hyrule’s aid during his initial invasion.

This speaks of a relative amount of entrenchment- great stone cities and vast waterways that can easily transport an impressive standing army. The zora are relatively important- in Ocarina of Time, more directly than with the gorons, Link has to signal that he comes with the blessing of Hyrule’s royal family to be permitted to enter the city at all.

Relatively...

...but not absolutely.

In Twilight Princess we are given a pretty shocking and egregious breakdown of trust between Hyrule and its closest neighbor. The Castle Town doctor- seemingly the only doctor of note within Hyrule’s capital city- dismisses and refuses to treat an extremely ill zora child. He suggests he doesn’t even know how to, and the people urgent for this child’s welfare thus have to make a- specifically unaccompanied by the royal guard- desperate cross-country trip to try and get to a doctor in Kakariko.

This would already be a major diplomatic incident potentially able to lead to open war between them without Link’s knowledge that this child is in fact Ralis, the crown prince of the entire Domain. And while the Zora are in a bad place at the time he’s missing, they get back on their feet quickly and send out search parties looking for him. Hyrule is pretty lucky Link’s altruistic Ordonian ass was there to bail them out of that.

In Breath of the Wild, there’s more obvious animosity between the zora and- in this case, Link himself, about the fate of a royal heir. Once again, Hyrule did a pretty big wrong- asking the Zora to stand with them, and asking for their crown princess specifically to pilot divine beast Vah Ruta. At the time, this is all dandy; Mipha’s pending betrothal to Link seems like it’s going fine, it’s a great honor, Hyrule is at peace and of course the zora with their military strength and vital position in the irrigation of Hyrule’s green fields are happy to defend their mutual agreement.

But Mipha is killed, and Hyrule collapses absolutely. There’s not really anybody left to blame at the top besides her former beau, who has even forgotten her in the interim, while being spared the ravages of aging himself. (It’s not a fair judgment of everything happening to Link, but this could easily be how the zora see it)

There are two things Sheik talks about when teaching Link the Serenade of Water in Ocarina of Time: love, and the passage of time. Both of these things seem very relevant to the Zora.

Breath of the Wild establishes the zora as long-lived, and while I don’t think it’s logical (or, really, narratively comfortable) to frame it as them staying children for an impossibly long period of time- development tends only as delayed as it needs to be, and most species tend in a hurry to get to their adult form for the sake of survival and reproduction- that longevity checks out. It gives them a strong connection to time, which is already sort of there; in the Oracles games, Nayru is connected with time, and Nayru’s archetypal element throughout the games is water, which is vital to the zora.

I talked a lot about Darmani on the goron post but the biggest thing that helped me consolidate a take for the zora is Mikau. Because for the zora, Mipha is a healer, but that didn’t really stand out to me. It’s sort of an easy narrative contrivance to mark her affection for Link as taking care of him.

Mikau... is a soon-to-be-father who dies trying to save his partner’s eggs from pirates. His signature tactic, that Link takes on... is generating an electrical barrier. Defensive magic- which ties in interestingly with Mipha’s healing magic. The zora’s close, but not secure position to Hyrule comes off interesting when these guys seem to have a lot of resources for comfortable entrenchment, but are not entrenched- they’re always just a little disposable, a little vulnerable, and this seems to drive a focus on defensive powers.

(the Zora’s vast weakness to shock-based weapons in Breath of the Wild also makes sense that Mikau’s electrical barrier power is actually a terrifyingly overpowered capability for a zora to have!)

[land-of-brains-and-chocolate]

Rec list for Eddie and Symby being vaguely to very gay?

I'm sorry for coming to you with my monsterfucker agenda 😔👊 (no I'm not)

i mean, i probably could’ve seen this coming.

venom is dominated by two opposing narratives. let’s call this the “relationship narrative” and the “control narrative”. they’re not perfectly separated, like, you’ll definitely get elements of one in the other, but generally one of them describes what the story, at its core, is using the symbiote for.

now comics are an endless tug-of-war at the best of times, much less the gayest and slimiest of times. there’s a neverending backlash and backbacklash going on between these two takes. what you want is the relationship narrative.

everything very much started out with that take. eddie and the symbiote are two characters who forge an evil alliance because it lets them do what they wanna do (kill spider-man, more or less) and they have the same kinds of neuroses and complexes and syndromes. lots of early comics are also very fun about the merged consciousness, merged identity deal. that’s kind of the textbook relationship stuff.

personally i absolutely think the original stories (venom was created by david michelinie) have romantic undertones, even starting in the villainy days. eddie describes their first meeting as “a shadow moved, caressed me.” he takes the rejection of the symbiote still being “in love with” spider-man really hard. he sobs his eyes out when he thinks it’s dead and promises to avenge it bare-handed. they totally expect to live happily ever after on a deserted island together.

then there’s venom: lethal protector, which is cute on its own, but if you’re reading for slime romance, i very specifically recommend the novelisation. i won’t even spoil it. and then, planet of the symbiotes is the first comic that i would say has outright queer themes, intentional or not.

so all those recs until now are collected in this post.

we're trucking along through the 90s, we explore elements of one take and then the other and sometimes we ignore the symbiote completely, but not too much changes, overall. the next BIG stop in Gay Venom is, of course, the hunger.

miniseries by len kaminski, just venom: the hunger. plenty of people have written their essays on it, but what’s always important to me is that it DID NOT come out of nowhere. as said above, it expanded on themes that were there, it references michelinie venom very explicitly, like you get your SECOND “tenderly touching the green glass tube” scene.

but yes this one is specifically about, like, stigmatisation, otherness, mental illness, meeting all those things with care and empathy and optimism, tentacle sex. again, many essays. a venom comic that can go “look at the twisted deviance of this relationship” and then turn it around into “but how are you looking at it” is good. god how good would it be if they also did that to eddie more. anyway.

a few years later you get the first MAJOR fucking backlash, culminating in the SECOND story titled the hunger. spectacular spider-man: the hunger, from 2003. completely reboots venom and retcons their motivations and backstories, makes very spiteful references to planet of the symbiotes and the hunger, like it is not also called that by sheer coincidence. literally starts out, in a comic that wants to tackle and redefine venom, with the line “the PROBLEM is that you guys are like an old married couple”. so the new status quo is that the symbiote only ever used eddie to be with spider-man, and eddie only ever used the symbiote to not die of cancer.

the “control narrative” that really kicks in here uses the symbiote as, you know, a thing to control, eddie’s demons personified or even a completely foreign force to torment him. if eddie is evil, it’s not because of what he thinks and believes and wants, it’s because he couldn’t control the symbiote and gave in to its inexplicable bloodlust.

this is an unambiguous downgrade in terms of complexity, in my humble opinion, completely fucks up eddie’s responsibility themes, and is also a pretty clearly petty reaction to venom’s absolute oversaturation in the nineties. the bitch was everywhere and most of it wasn’t good. so there was LOTS of “look at this creepy loser” content by writers cringing themselves into self-awareness at the time. the 00s were going to be GRITTY and MATURE.

this of course means that we get to see eddie slit his wrists and bleed to death on panel after selling the symbiote to supervillains as an attempted act of redemption???

wild fucking times! it’s not exactly worth recommending as ~shippy~, but the first real backbacklash to this first round of retcons comes from dan slott, who just kind of ignores it all in new ways to die. drags eddie back to the land of the living and relevant, makes the symbiote refuse to let its new host kill him, telling that host, and reestablishing, that it loves eddie. and then, to keep him living and relevant, slott makes eddie anti-venom.

don’t even worry about it. anti-venom is essentially eddie seeking redemption with symbiote powers, but without the symbiote, except he pretty much acts no fucking different at all, just keeps on being a murderous vigilante with cracked ideas about innocence and guilt. people still act like he’s better now because, in its metatextual ways, the hunger was right.

then fucking uuuuuuhhhhhhh. agent venom. symbiote goes to flash thompson and the us military, and the writer, rick remender, goes really, really, really hard on the control narrative. the symbiote becomes a substance flash is addicted to, gives a voice to his past abuse, it’s dark times all the times.

people very much do like that narrative for flash, like at least from that perspective it was worth it. i don’t like it much for the symbiote. for the symbiote, representing everything fucked up with flash and forcing him to murder kill bite all the time is resolved via the good guy avengers literally lobotomising it so flash can wear it without further resistance or input. imagine doing that to a human person. you’re uncooperative so we’re gonna turn off your higher cognitive functions and wear you like a meat suit. happy ending for everybody! truly we’ve conquered our demons this day.

then! at the same time, there’s a cartoon coming out, it’s called ultimate spider-man. THAT one does the control narrative take with harry osborn, but then does the relationship take with flash, making it the only cartoon to outright redeem the symbiote and let it find friendship and be valued as a person.

and people loved it! so brian michael bendis gets it in his head that he’s going to redeem the symbiote and make it partner up with flash. and he does redeem it by the highly fucking questionable means of having it be “cleansed”, aka brainwashed and relieved of its memories and personality. not that it matters for long. nothing fucking matters in comics. take this with you if it’s the only thing.

so then for fun friendship times you get venom: space knight, flash and the symbiote’s adventures in space! and then that gets cancelled. eddie is off somewhere being toxin and hunting carnage (2016). many good comics but you did not ask for them.

and THEN.

it is time for the next MOTHER of backlashes.

flash gets literally discarded at fucking roadside to put the symbiote back on eddie and turn back time on their relationship to RIGHT before the FIRST backlash happened. you know, all those 2003 retcons. gone. ignored. no more. venom’s themes are now those circa 1996 again. full fucking on relationship narrative. ROMANTIC relationship narrative, and that after the symbiote was turned into eddie’s evil shadow, after he hated it and spent a LONG time seeking to eradicate all symbiotes (and not even for the first time).

the COSTA run. venom (2016). reviled and beloved.

like this comic is fucking ANGRY about symbiote treatment. i HAD to tell you all of that so you’d understand ANYTHING it’s doing. the first thing it does is flip it completely around, puts the symbiote on a military guy who’s making IT do bad things, makes his ability to control it horrifying and abusive instead of heroic and admirable. one of the later things it does (in the follow-up venom: first host) is outright feature a villain who lobotomises symbiotes, ending on a symbiote serving him swift and sweet payback by doing the same thing TO HIM. it’s exactly as unsubtle as the hunger (2003) was about its hang-ups.

comics... are a conversation.

flash remains a symbiote friend but still got fucked over big time by it all, symbiote-focused writers slott and costa also kind of use him to literally, in case anybody hadn’t caught on, literally spell out the REAL story that’s been going on in the writer's room for the past THIRTY YEARS:

you’ll notice i didn’t actually list any of the Gay Shit for you, you’ve probably already seen it or you’ll get to see it for yourself. yes, they are deeply in love, yes, it’s fucked up and flawed, yes, it is real and taken seriously and has ultimately redeeming potential. yes the concept of that nearly knocked me off my feet and in front of the subway at one point. yes there’s mpreg

it’s also fucking riddled with events, which spin off into other comics, so either ignore those and rely on the recaps OR click yourself forward through the “next issue (story)” button on marvel wikia to know what to read.

and after that must of course come the backbackbacklash, as certain as death or taxes. in the next run, we retcon everything once more, eddie just needs to control his darkness, the symbiote was an evil abuser all along, nothing on earth is ever new.

i’m not gonna go through it, i’m just gonna point you to the backbackbackbacklash issue that came out during this time: venom annual volume 2 number 1 - it’s confusingly named, it’s the one that has a blue-skinned space lady on it. this one ignores the backbackbacklash going on very pointedly and goes “it’s not ABOUT control” again, it’s pretty explicitly romantic.

and then there’s also marvel comics presents (2019) #5, which, oddly enough, does not particularly feature the characterisation you’d typically see in the relationship narrative? but it does feature eddie and the symbiote literally fucking, so you’d want to know about it.

that’s the overall, like, frame of eddie and the symbiote being in a relationship (nuh uh) (yeah they are) (NUH UH) (YEAH THEY ARE)

some stuff that’s smaller but still notable, uh.

nova (1999) 6 - 7, that’s the “we’re space married”

venom: dark origin, that’s an ALTERNATE (!!!) take on the character, don’t expect a likeable eddie but it’s very darkly funny and gay so what can i say.

venom: the end, which i would absolutely fucking hate to be canon, i think its characterisation is quite regressive, but the symbiote sure is in love, i guess.

venom: separation anxiety, the dawn of the control narrative but eddie’s characterisation did not have to go so wrong from here, like if they’d just figured out AT THIS STAGE that he's STILL acting like venom without it... i digress. it has the symbiote going eddie eddie eddieee

venom: sinner takes all, this is the first she-venom comic so that’s. hm. interesting. healing symbiote blanket

don’t read venom: license to kill just look at this panel with me

if i think of more comics worth adding i’ll add them.

the subtext slash text is heavy enough to be present to some degree in literally every cartoon adaptation of eddie brock. spider-man: the animated series goes FULL control narrative, in fact it started the “the symbiote corrupted peter” take that we to this day cannot escape, but the first few venom episodes are VERY playful about their relationship.

in spectacular spider-man it’s canon, but horrible. eddie’s in love with it, but eddie's a good boy and the symbiote is played very, very, very abusively. i think this is an evil symbiote adaptation that works well enough, at least it’s an actual meaningful character instead of just a malevolent force to resist.

in marvel’s spider-man, the only venom episode worth watching is venom returns.

i’ve actually got every symbiote-relevant episode listed right here from when we did our communal watch-through.

also watch truth in journalism. idk if it’s exactly shippy just do it

[drops-of-moonlights]

WINX AU DETAILING REDO: The non-transformative magic classes

Updating an old post on the different classes of magic users that don’t rely on transformations!

Caster is the general term for every single magic user who has more than a passing interest in the use of magic, dedicating their time to learn how to use it in a myriad of ways. Many specializations exist, but the “uniform” of casters is the simple use of a sash or cloth, sometimes adorned or tied, marking their role as a formally-trained magic user.

Enchanters are essentially the same as fairies, using their positive emotions, thoughts and memories to fuel their magic. Their “uniform” consists of a sheer and sparkly sash or cloth, and their outfits tend to be flowy and long.

Hexers, similarly, are the equivalent of witches, using their negative emotions, thoughts and memories to fuel their magic. They’re characterized for a satin-esque, metallic-looking sash or cloth, and their outfits tending to be simpler, or at least less elaborate, than Enchanter clothes.

Cicatrizers are basically magic doctors, focusing their magic purely on healer arts, and can be considered a rough equivalent to users of Altheix and Onyrix, experts at physical and mental healing. They’re known for their sheer, billowy veils and long, trailing clothing.

Conjurors are more combat-focused than the other classes. They use their magic to create and control small creatures made out of their Source as well as other elements, which they control and summon them via their gloves, holding special gemstones that are connected to the creatures. Outside of the gloves, Conjurors are characterized by their long outfits, usually including coattails or the like, as well as metal decorations.

Druids specialize in the magic of nature around them, usually with matching Sources, and work as what is essentially a park ranger - watching over and protecting said nature around them, as well as ensuring there is enough of a symbiotic relationship between the land and its inhabitants - not in a “don’t enter the woods” way, more in a “don’t take more than necessary”. True to their connection to nature, they go barefooted, wearing flowy but plain clothing and wear adornments related to their Source and living space, usually made of metal.

Lastly, Alchemists are the “mad scientist” class, focusing primarily in the making of potions, spells and items geared towards scientific development, as well as warfare and generalized uses of potions and magic in general. They’re characterized for their hooded clothes, various color-coded vials, and protective gear.

Several mixes of these categories exist, and holding multiple licenses is relatively common, but they tend to lack any kind of “official” name for these hybridizations, and are simply hyphenated instead, such as “hexer-cicatrizer” or “conjuror-druid”. The term “Wizard” is also commonly used for these mixed branches, as sort of a catch-all term, usually appointing some sort of prefix or adjetive before the word to denote their more conceptual specialization (such as Forest Wizard (a druid-enchanter with a Plants source) or Forging Wizard (alchemist-conjuror with a Metal source), as examples). Earth magi have also taken a liking to refer to themselves as the different types of nymph or spirit that exist in their mythos, which kind of drives the Order of Mana mad given what Nymph means to them, but has been begrudgingly accepted as long as they don’t use the actual word Nymph.

Characters in the AU that are casters would be Knut (a Conjuror), Macy (a Druid-Enchantress in training, calling herself a Dryad), and Teredor (a Druid).

[synthezcid]

I’m too lazy to write up a flowery verse descriptor so like the idea I have for Vision Symbiote verse is like, and keep in mind I have not kept up with the whole symbiote overload of the recent Marvel Comics and just going off the Wiki but 

There is this quote from Venom where he says ‘ Though we are a benevolent species, there is no literature on my home planet. And though it is our goal to make the universe better, we create no art, no music, no culture. At least, not as other civilizations would understand it. All we have are our hosts -- the beings we join with -- to forge through the cold and unforgiving cosmos with. The bond between a Klyntar and its host is sacred. They give our lives context and our existence meaning. They give us history. All we have are our hosts to tell us who we are. ’

so how fascinating would it be if Vision and a symbiote teamed up to like, see and experience things, because a lot of the symbiotes on Earth have revolved around Spidey and let’s be real, the relationship between Peter and the symbiotes is an utter clusterfuck. So it would be interesting if a symbiote was like ‘I want to see the Earth from a non-arachnid perspective’ and Vision having such a unique perspective on Earth and Humand would make it a very interesting pairing.

It’s essentially Vision cat-sitting a symbiote, but it works. 

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

The lonliness of Eddie Brock

I’ve said in the past that Venom: Lethal Protector provided a not so great origin story for Eddie Brock regarding his father. I’ve also dived deep into Brock’s presentation in ASM #300 to talk about how it’s a lot better than people think.

But today something clicked and I’m going to try and present a take upon the character that uses his original origin in Lethal Protector and in ASM #300.

Before I start though, I’ll never concede that the origin given to Brock in lethal Protector wasn’t designed to make him sympathetic and jive with readers as an anti-hero. If you read that at face value and as intended, it doesn’t really line up with who Brock was in ASM #300, wherein he was clearly evil.

With that said let’s provide some context. 

So in ASM #300, Brock details his origin. He was a reporter for the Daily Globe and (according to him anyway) a respected one at that. One day he was contacted by Emil Gregg, man of faith (who like Brock seemed to be Catholic) who claimed to be the then recent religiously motivated serial killer known as the Sin-Eater.

In reality, Gregg was a mentally ill person who had the misfortune of living next door to the real Sin-Eater, Stan Carter. Carter recorded a voice journal and so when Gregg heard Carter through his bedroom wall he believed the ‘voices’ to be inside his head, becoming convinced that HE was in fact the real Sin-Eater.

Gregg confessed his believed guilt to Brock who wrote up a sympathetic article (or maybe more) which became incredibly attention grabbing. Initially refusing to give his source Brock eventually became pressured into doing so, writing a sensational article unveiling ‘the truth’. Mere hours later though the real Sin-Eater was apprehended by Spider-Man leading Brock to be fired and reduced to eking out a meagre lonely living by writing ‘venomous’ articles about scandals, alien abductions, etc, for rag publications.

Brock blamed Spider-Man for his misfortune and whilst obsessively exercising to relieve his stress, he envisioned murdering the wall-crawler. Things got so bad for Brock he seriously considered suicide, but his Catholic upbringing meant he couldn’t go through with it. Instead he prayed for salvation in a church, coincidentally the very same church that a while before Spider-Man had rid himself of the alien symbiote that had been his black costume. The symbiote sensed Brock’s feelings, and bonded with him. To Brock this was a form of salvation and the two became Venom, dedicated to avenging themselves on Spider-Man.

Much later, after several encounters with Venom, Peter Parker encountered Brock’s ex-wife Ann Weying who elaborated further on Brock’s life. As she explains it Brock worked so hard to be a star reporter because his father, Carl Brock, seemed to have little use for him. When Brock’s career blew up it was the final nail in his already bad relationship with his father. Ann claims that this in turn drove Brock to madness. They divorced after that.

We get similar, yet deeper information in Venom Lethal Protector #3, when Carl Brock’s elderly housekeeper relays the story of Brock’s life. As she tells the story, Carl Brock was an already emotionally repressed man, but his wife (Jamie) was his world. When Jamie died giving birth to Eddie whatever ability to love existed within Carl died. Thus young Eddie Brock grew up with no affection and little attention from his father.

This drove Eddie to excel in education and sports but each achievement failed to garner the affection and attention he craved from his father. His quest for his father’s love led to him becoming a crusading reporter. But even  when his sensational Sin Eater articles were being published, his father gave him little attention. Then when Gregg was exposed as fake, that ended Eddie’s relationship with his father altogether.

ASM #375 and Lethal Protector definitely frame the story with the intent of garnering sympathy for Brock, of trying to make you LIKE him. This makes sense as both were laying the foundation for Venom’s solo-stories where he was to be an anti-hero.

In this sense they seriously contradict the decidedly unsympathetic backstory given to Brock in ASM #300, where e is framed as a clear cut villain.

I’ve come around to the idea though that whilst there is 100% a cognitive dissonance between the framing of the two stories, they don’t actually contradict one another in the details.

That is to say nothing established in ASM #300 makes the events of ASM #375 and LP #3 impossible.

More importantly those events can I think be viewed as better explaining just Brock’s actions as relayed by ASM #300, and of Venom in general.

The stories already make it clear the defining motivation for Brock before he became Venom was all about his father. He was fruitlessly chasing his father’s affections and had grown up totally devoid of them.

On the one hand, when you are the child of a single parent and that single parent, whilst providing for you, is nevertheless neglecting you, it’s likely to screw up anyone.

But for Brock he practically hinged his whole career path on something that would impress his father. This is an idea expanded upon in Venom: Dark Origin #1 when Eddie’s father suggests he be a reporter expresses respect towards seeking the truth.*

The stories do not confirm this but, does it not make an awful lot sense that Brock’s desire for affection is what led to his actions with Emil Gregg?

Brock was highly unethical in protecting Gregg if he believed him to truly be the Sin Eater and his lack of fact checking was just plain sloppy.

But in the context of his relationship with his father it makes a lot of sense.

Gregg’s confessions were obviously going to be attention grabbing (especially if he wrote sympathetically of him) and his role in apprehending him would (in his mind) have earned his father’s affections. Additionally, it’s not uncommon for people in Brock’s situation to desire attention generally as well as from specific individuals so the Sin Eater story was great fuel for Brock’s self-esteem regardless.

It’s not hard to believe he was in fact so emotionally desperate for attention and affection he didn’t care about ignoring ethics or common sense practices.

If he was that desperate, his descent into madness also makes a lot of sense.

He wanted affectionate attention, and he wanted it specifically from his father.

But his actions resulted in him being isolated from the career he liked, reduced to work that garnered little-no attention/affection** and forever ended any hope of getting what he wanted from his father.

Then on top of that he lost his wife. Divorce is often a horrible experience in general, but when you are already at that low point it’d hit all the harder. And harder still if you are someone who’s grown up neglected and lonely, craving affection.

It’s easy to argue Brock’s fixation upon Spider-Man was simply a mental reflex against the hard fact that he’d so thoroughly ruined his own life. That his actions forever destroyed any hope he had of getting the one thing he wanted, and then also wrecked the other good things he did have.

But why Spider-Man particularly?

I think this again comes back to the issue of being attention grabbing.

Brock WANTED to be noticed, and more than this loved.

Spider-Man might have had a questionable public reputation but he was undeniably attention grabbing, he was frequently in the news (the field Brock used to be a part of and loved) and unless Brock cut himself off from all news sources, it’d had been impossible for him to avoid seeing Spider-Man.

Not only would this have reminded him of his own downfall (much as seeing Daredevil would have, as he was also involved in bringing in Carter) but there might’ve been resentment over the fact that Spider-Man was getting so much attention now he Brock was getting next to none.

Compounding things is the fact that Spider-Man wasn’t universally hated, he was talked about as being a hero. I think that’s why in the above pages from ASM #300 there is that scene where Spider-Man’s on the TV with the word ‘hero’ under it and a clearly unhappy Brock in the room. 

Spidey was getting attention and some affection from thousands or millions of people whilst Brock was getting none.

This resentment might’ve then grown into a hatred, a hatred Brock rationalized as the result of Spidey being responsible for ruining him, an appealing lie to tell himself and it absolves him of all blame.*** Also Brock’s religious background might also have fuelled his delusions. He was accustomed to taking things ‘on faith’ and ignoring contradictions to arrive at a truth he was comfortable with. Thus knowing the facts (that he ruined himself) became easy for his fragile mind to reframe as ‘I made a mistake but Spider-Man is at fault’.

Finally, growing up without a mother and little affection/attention from his father would naturally mean Brock had a certain sense of loneliness ingrained into him. This would’ve been seriously exacerbated when Ann left.

This can then explain the kinship he felt with the symbiote and the deep emotional bond they forged.

The symbiote is a life form who literally relies upon being with others. Loneliness will eventually kill it. And like Brock it craved affection, which rendered it a pariah amongst it’s own kind. Thus like Brock in the field of journalism, the symbiote was cast out for ‘unethical practices’ if you will. And like Brock it had recently been rejected by someone it loved and wanted to be with. For Brock that was Ann and Carl, for the symbiote it was Spider-Man/Peter Parker.

In one another they found kindred spirits. Two lonely wayward individuals, desperate for affection, but rejected by specific individuals they craved it from and by ‘their people’ more generally. Their health falling apart as a result of these circumstances they found a form of toxic salvation in one another.

I’ll be honest, I still don’t like Venom’s 1990s origin or Donny Cates’ new one for him. I stand firm that Venom should be a villain and his origin geared towards that end.

But I will say that I’ve now grown an appreciation of Lethal Protector’s take. I think it does develop the character and make him deeper, just not necessarily in a great direction.

*Dark Origin is a story that overwrites and contradicts older Venom stories but also plays with many concepts from them. As such, it’s at least food for thought going forward.

**Although ironically they were designed with that intent as they were scandal rags. Maybe ‘attention’ was a baked in theme for Brock’s character?

***Let’s also consider that as a journalist spinning a certain story would come naturally to Brock.

[writersblockandapotoftea]

Worldbuilding Post

DWARVES

Dwarves are an agender and asexual humanoid species that frequent the caves and mountains on both continents of Unitien. They are divided into two species, modern and elder. While elder dwarves are largely thought to be extinct, modern dwarves ascribe many of their culture and lifestyles to them, including their love of trap making, forging and their luscious beards.

Now, before delving into Dwarves and their culture, one must learn about Dostine, the goddess of dwarves, tricksters and blacksmiths. She is known by dwarves as All-Creator and creates the dwarves in a secret ceremony that follows the specifications of this poem.

One dwarf is forged of gold, Two are of molten steel and bronze Three from the bones of old The last four are the best, Made from silver and all the rest.

Dostine loves all of her children dearly and the ceremony is preformed every fifty years or so, meaning that there are twenty new dwarves every century. No human, elf or dragon has ever seen it. She also gifted the dwarves with the four massive interconnecting tunnels that allow them to go to whichever part of the world they so please, meaning there are modern dwarves on both continents and in the southern straights, all with their own unique quirks.

Straitien Dwarves ride jewelled spiders, which are blue and white spiders that allow them to climb all over the cliffs and avoid predators. There's even a contest where they joust across the canyon on a massive spiderweb. They also are less likely to wear heavy clothing as they live in a jungle, so it's not unexpected to see a dwarf wearing nothing but a loin cloth around humans, then nothing in the jungle. 

Eastern Dwarves are the dwarves who occupy the Barliosian Empire. They are more adapted to cold weather and take great pride in their workmanship as where they live is full of iron and other ores. 

Western Dwarves don't live underground, rather in massive pyramids built overtop of over-mined quarries. They have darker skin and coarser hair to deal with the sand in their local environment. They like roasting camels over massive fires for food.

Modern dwarves are a welcome and frequent sight in the human cities and towns wherever they are found, acting as blacksmiths, miners, and small business owners. Dwarves are easily differentiated from normal humans by their thick beards, small stature, unique forging abilities and ability to consume anything poisonous with no repercussions.

No one quite knows why modern dwarves and humans get along so well, as elder dwarves and humans often fought bitterly, but where there are dwarves in a community, they are well beloved. Even in the dwarven settlements deep in the mountains, there is usually at least one human. This is because of the dwarven tendency to adopt children from other races, as they cannot have their own. These adopted children are well cared for and are given the nickname of switchers, as the dwarves often rescue them from unhappy homes, leaving cursed jewels in the crib of the adopted child. Other switchers are left at the doors of Mountain keeps to be found by dwarves in times of famine. While many humans view them all as male due to their beards,  all dwarves have no notion of gender in the sense that humans and elves do. They view everyone as equals and organize their society in terms of what needs to happen for everyone to thrive.

Domas: This rank means parent and can be held by anyone with a youngling. They raise and protect their youngling or switcher and teach them the tools of their trade and when the youngling is old enough; they send them to find their own cave, usually nearby so they can maintain their lifelong bond.

Trapmasters: These are the masters of the forge. They craft armour so light that it feels like a woollen coat and shields so strong they protect you from a dragon's breath. Every dwarf practices for years hoping to become a trapmaster. However, as they can only be appointed by Dostine, the goddess of dwarves, there are only two remaining in the world.

Carvers: These fine folk spend their days in pursuit of the true beauty of stone and crystals. They polish, whittle and crack these into beautiful works of art and sculptures. The most talented of them can turn jewels into windows that never crack and reflect light in a thousand different patterns. They tend to never become domas, instead recruiting younglings from larger families. Forgers: These are the dwarves that go out into the larger world. They are talented, hardworking and make things of a much higher quality than human smiths could ever dream. These dwarves are accompanied by switchers because it is an innate dwarven instinct to see a child in need and adopte them.

Miners: These are the ones who are pulled down, down, down into the darkness by some unknown voice. They dig and dig and they have no idea of what they're about to find. They come up with gold and jewels and iron and go back down again. They are probably the strongest of dwarves and are also the warrior class of modern dwarves.

Prayerhands; These are the holy and scholars people of modern dwarves! They are also in charge of dwarven funds, acting as treasurers and conducting official business with human officials. They dress in all grey and shave their beards in reverence to Dostine, who has no beard and are frequently referred to as women by humans. Do not do this. Please ask what their preferred pronouns are. Your head will remain in place for much longer if you do.

Humans and modern dwarves have fairly stable relations, with the humans exchanging gold and silver for various services. However, some concepts that humans have are completely alien to dwarves. These include the concept of drunkenness, as dwarves cannot get drunk as their livers process alcohol inhumanly fast. Other concepts include the idea of marriage, sexual attraction and gender; however, they do understand aesthetic attractions.

If you have stuck with me for this long, congratulations, you have more patience than my younger brother.

We're finally entering the mysterious world of the Elder Dwarves; strange creatures with six arms, thick beards and more talent for forging than all the trapmasters combined. Elder dwarves are currently thought to be extinct, although some trolls claim to have seen them in the deepest caverns.

Thought to be greedy, always hungry and quite mean, Elder Dwarves were considered monsters by trolls, humans and elves, and frequently clashed with them in territorial disputes before sealing off their caves and tunnels for nine centuries, before modern dwarves appeared and began to make ammends. (Modern dwarves argue this point quite fiercely, pointing to the evidence that Elder dwarves had closely knit communities and largely fungus-based diets, like their own) They had their own language, the ability to stick to walls and were terrifyingly quick on their feet. The things they created that were found by humans gave rise to energy-storing crystals, zeppelins, clocks, ballistas, and even the system Epidamnos uses to keep the ocean from destroying it every stormy season.

The few Elder Dwarven caverns that are accessible by modern dwarves are called Pitches and are filled with bones, artifacts that glow with malicious energies and lava pools. Many Prayerhands believe that Elder dwarves bathed in the lava and it was actually an important part of their forging process, as the writings that are translated describe them being friends with a mostly extinct species of dragon, the Earthshaker dragons, who spewed lava so hot that even the gods were fearful of angering one. How the Elder Dwarves managed this, no one is sure. One theory thinks that they watched over the hatchlings, keeping them safe from hungry demons and greedy monster hunters that came from the surface looking for an easy kill. Earthshaker dragons are blind until they reach adolescence so having the dwarves to protect them while providing them with the lava they needed would form an inevitable  symbiotic relationship that benefited both parties.

It is unknown why elder dwarves had six arms and modern dwarves only have two. Humans assume it's because dwarves needed to assimilate better to human culture or risk extinction, but dwarves aren't sure, as some dwarves are born with four arms to this day. They tend to become miners, as the extra limbs make it much easier to fight and mine at the same time. Some believe that Dostine merely decided that she didn't like making the extra bones and gradually shifted. Others think that as the dwarves moved back to the surface, the terrain became easier and there were less demons to fight,  they simply didn't need them anymore, and so Dostine removed them.

Another key difference between Elder and Modern Dwarves is that while Modern Dwarves are agender and asexual, Elder Dwarves enjoyed representing themselves in various genders unrecognizable to humans and made a wild array of jewelry and combs. The jewelry currently found is mostly bracelets that jangle in a pleasing way. With all their arms decorated, they would have been able to compose entire rhythms with their bracelets. Certain bracelets seemed to be reserved for certain people, with one half of all bones found wearing bracelets of pure ruby, with the other half wearing bracelets of amethyst.

However, bones from Elders are incredibly rare because, as stated in the poem above, Dostine enjoys recycling and most of what is known about Elder Dwarves is patched together from paintings, frescos and a few pieces of jewelry found in Pitches. Perhaps if modern dwarves dig deep enough, they will find their answers, and maybe even some old friends.

[rockofeye]

This is the time of year when things are sort of tumbling towards a logical conclusion: I am getting ready to head back to Haiti for close to a month. It’s always this frenetic pace that sort of creeps back into being around May, and this year has definitely not been any different. Lots of ceremonies have rounded out this spring/early summer; a lave tet, several maryaj lwa, a fete for Kouzen, and more. There’s been coordinating a bunch of stuff between here and Haiti, all the shopping that gets done ahead of time (I own more pairs of white pants than I do pants for work), and getting ready to put my US life to bed for a month so I can go see all my husbands where they live, enjoy my siblings, participate in ceremony, and luxuriate a bit in being away from my office. All good stuff. It’s kept me so busy, though, that writing has been a distant second to getting ready and putting in work and maintaining my blessings.

It’s also a time where I am really thinking about the past year and what I have accomplished, and what’s coming next for me. This year makes three years since I was lifted from anba dlo and made a houngan, two years since my lwa put ALL the rings on it, and a year since I married the man they brought to my door. In between all those things was a lot of re-building and creating: I spent about a year and half in temporary settings while my lwa pulled strings behind the scenes for the right job and right living situation, and finally settled down in early 2018. At this point, I have been where they put me for as long as I was in that nebulous floating liminality of waiting. They have been good to me.

The past year has brought new situations and new ways of knowing my spirits, like each year before it has. This past year, they’ve really tasked me with focusing on embodiment and digging deep to really refine my understanding of who I am. It caught me a little off-guard, but I understand the importance and how it benefits me, my relationship with them, and how it makes me a better priest.

It’s come up in the most interesting of ways. I’ve done a handful of interviews this year talking about gender and sexuality and what that means in Haitian Vodou, ranging from a thesis project to a podcast interview, and I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what labels mean for me personally and in all my relationships. It’s a lot of sorting thoughts and chewing on the idea. Ogou kind of put it before me: how do these words serve you? how do they help you or hold you back? how do they matter, if they matter at all, and how do they affect how you see yourself and the world around you?

It’s this weird combo of trying to fully embody myself and strip away all the things that may not be useful, with the end goal seeming to be two-fold: be fully myself and fully of the spirits, with no conceptions of the reflexive-ness of identity words standing between me and my spirits. I feel like a snake shedding layers, or pieces of scar tissue and scabs falling away. It doesn’t hurt so much as it feels refreshing. I think this would have been an impossibility several years ago, but I know myself so much more these days and feel so much more settled into who I am that what language I use seems almost inconsequential. If I know who I am and all my spirits know who I am and my husband knows who I am and my mother knows who I am, does anything else really matter?

This has come out in how I sit with them, as I pray for them to help me be vulnerable and malleable in their hands so that nothing remains that would separate me from them, and to help me grow into what they envision for me. Some days it’s a tentative prayer because I remember what upheaval can be like at their hands, some days I want Ogou to bring me close enough that his forge consumes me totally. Balance.

It also shows in some other tasks they have put me to. I have spent a lot of time with my hands in a basin or filling bottles or crushing leaves in pursuit of learning what they ask me to: the making of medicines and magic that comes from the life of the leaves and roots and other things we utilize in the religion. It’s a lifelong task that won’t be finished any time soon, and I am loving. I enjoy working with my hands and seeing things as they are formed and come together. Each of the things I make have their own little spirit in them, and I am looking forward to preparing for them to make their way into the world.

This was one of my ‘gimmes’ when I was getting used to the idea of kanzo; a thing that I would take up to make the commitment feel good overall (before I understood what the lwa could do with me, if I would only let them). I wanted the art of the religion, as Vodou has come of the most unique art forms in the world. I am a maker and an artist and was long before the lwa took me, and so I wanted that to continue. A friend reminded me after kanzo that all things that comes from the hands of an artist-priest is art, be it art that belongs to the spirits.

I have carried that forward in how I think about making medicine and magic, and it has brought another dimension to my relationships with my spirits: those who are teaching me how they make medicine and make magic are artists in their own right. Artist-doctors, artist-magicians, and artist-priests in a spirit package. The art they make and show me how to make moso a moso isn’t aesthetic or pretty sometimes, but it is compelling in its own way. What swirls in the bottle changes each moment, and each particle tells another story and retains another spiritual or literal fingerprint. 

Through all these things, they show me a new way that they love me. I dream with them and scribble notes when I wake up. I bring bottles to my mother for her to smell and give me feedback on (yes, good or it needs a little more XYZ, keep trying...I keep those notes, too).

For this, it requires a different kind of embodiment; a self that makes room for the spirits to speak and be heard and can put that into action within the medicine. A translation of input that affects the output. Priest as conduit in a spiritual electrical circuit. A sort of symbiotic system featuring a different sort of self.

Embodiment pulls back to the basic premise of Vodou: Vodou is about relationships; with self, with community, with a parent, and with the spirits. They all inform each other, and we are a product of these relationships--if we work to make them function well--and of our exercises in embodying them out in the world. It’s given me insight into even the most mundane aspects of my relationship with my human husband in that things flex and flow with our environment(s) and reveal to us more about how we share a combined life. It’s shown itself in my relationships with the lwa who are my husbands in the same way. Things flex and flow within a core understanding of how the relationship is embodied, and we learn how we relate across Ginen.

All of these things are on my mind as I approach a new (for me) year and look towards what might come next in my pursuit of embodiment and medicine and the bottom of the basin. I am looking forward to learning/relearning what vulnerability comes with embodiment and how my spirits fill up the soft spaces in me. My own medicine comes when my feet are on the ground in Ayiti, and it’s why I go back each summer: it is my check-up and my treatment and the time when my lwa do their work on me. This summer, as I pack my suitcases and look at the calendar hoping for the days to pass fast but not too fast, I pray that my lwa reveal my own vulnerability to me in the temple, that they remind me of their strength when they push on the soft spots, and that I remember to let myself be seen as a whole person, because everything else is a drag.

I still have time for leson/divination if you’re interested...hit me up soon!

[khstoryanalysis]

Chapter 10: The Keyblade’s True Purpose

In Xehanort’s Report III, Xehanort states that the Keyblade wielders in the Age of Fairy Tales learned of the Keyblade’s true use – to conquer Kingdom Hearts. But is that the “true” use of a Keyblade? In the lore of Kingdom Hearts X [Chi], the Keyblade wielders try to defend the light by collecting Lux, a form of Light, which leads to imbalance, greed and the inevitable Keyblade War.

“May your heart be your guiding key.” This quote may sounds like a rip-off of the famous Star Wars quote, but it is worth analyzing it literally. Since Keyblades are forged from the wielders’ hearts, it makes sense to say that the Keyblades are the physical manifestations of the hearts’ wills. “No one can stop what your heart commands.” This is mainly seen in Kingdom Hearts 2, as you cannot stop a person from doing something out of the desire or will of his heart. The will can be used with the words “soul” and “mind” interchangeably. From the Ansem Reports, the soul is the life force and a person will die if his soul is pushed out of his body. This life force is also important as it allows people to carry out what their hearts desire.

With that, the heart guides the Keyblade to do what it commands. Since the Keyblades are forged in the image of the X-Blade, possibly the Keyblade of Kingdom Hearts, the true nature of the Keyblade can be found there. The X-Blade is made of equal light and darkness. Light has the power to bring life, while the darkness has the power to bring death. Since Kingdom Hearts is like a culmination of all hearts, the X-Blade may have existed to maintain balance between light and darkness, and the flow of hearts between Kingdom Hearts and the world. Hence, the X-Blade is the “guiding key” for Kingdom Hearts.

If the X-Blade is never intended to conquer Kingdom Hearts since Yen Sid says that it is the protector of Kingdom Hearts in Dream Drop Distance, then what is the true purpose of the Keyblades forged in its image? Well, to be the “guiding key” for the wielder who wants to help others, be it a selfless or selfish way.

From the beginning, Kingdom Hearts always says that your friends are your power. We see Sora is able to wield a Keyblade despite no Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony is performed on him. He is able to wield one by strengthening his heart through his ties with people. Through his adventure, he has met many people and kept those memories of their time spent together in his heart. Through interactions, Sora is able to understand them – their desires, fears and pain.

Through Leon, Aerith, Cid and Yuffie, Sora learns that many worlds have fallen into darkness and its inhabitants suffer from such a loss. Sora feels the same as his home Destiny Islands is destroyed and he loses Riku and Kairi. He understands that pain that they share, and he is willing to put an end to it. Hence, he uses the Keyblade to help others and lock Keyholes of the worlds he visits.

When Riku and Sora reunite in Hollow Bastion, Riku takes the Kingdom Key because that key belongs to him originally. He decides to use the Keyblade to save Kairi since he thinks Sora is incapable. Although Sora has lost the Keyblade and his companions, he is not giving up as he sees the Beast still determines to save Belle despite getting injured by Riku. Sora’s desire to save Kairi continues to push him forward.

When Sora confronts Riku, he says that he doesn’t need a Keyblade as his heart is a better weapon. He adds that the connections he has made with many people have made his heart stronger and as long as they remember each other, all of their hearts will become one. On the other hand, Riku sees the heart as weak and loses sight of true strength: friendship. Hence, the Keyblade rejects Riku and makes Sora its official wielder. The heart dictates the Keyblade, so the heart is more important. One who disregards the strength of the heart would not wield a Keyblade, even if he or she has the ability to do so.

The whole thing about friendship being the true strength has been stated since Kingdom Hearts X [Chi]. Keyblades are somewhat sentient beings as they choose their wielders. The Keyblades of Light and Darkness, created under the image of the X-Blade, would share the similar purpose as the X-Blade – to look after one another and help each other out. By doing so, balance can be achieved.

After going through the games and some analysis, I have found a pattern on how and when Keyblades come to their wielders.

Starlight Keyblade – this Keyblade is granted to the children in the Age of Fairy Tales. Its purpose is to help the Foretellers to drive out the darkness. Since the children are in the Unions created by the Foretellers, they use the Starlight Keyblades to help the Foretellers in their plan.

Kingdom Key

-          Sora is the temporary wielder because Riku has been taken over by darkness. Besides, the Keyblade is needed to protect the worlds by destroying Heartless, locking Keyholes of the worlds and sealing the Door to Darkness.

-          Riku is able to bring the Keyblade back to him as he wants to use it to help Kairi.

-          The Keyblade makes Sora its official wielder because Sora is willing to help Kairi even though he does not have a Keyblade. Moreover, Riku rejects the strength of the heart.

-          Roxas, Sora’s Nobody, is granted to wield one. He uses the Keyblade to help Organization XIII even though he does not know of their true motive.

-          Xion, an imperfect replica of Roxas, made from Sora’s memories, is granted to wield one as well. Her power only awakens when Roxas gets defeated by a Heartless and drops his Keyblade.

-          Though, Xion later loses the ability to wield a Keyblade. To cover up the truth, Axel suggests she and Roxas be paired up for missions and even manages to convince Saix to allow it. She later regains the ability when Roxas lends his Keyblade to her while he uses a stick to fight off Heartless. This symbiotic relationship of helping one another for the benefit of all of them helps strengthen Xion’s heart, allowing her to wield the Keyblade again.

Way to the Dawn

-          Riku only gains it after he learns to control the darkness inside him thanks to Namine, who initially uses Kairi as a disguise, and Mickey. Riku keeps them in his heart and strengthens his heart.

-          Riku decides to face his own darkness rather than falling asleep and allowing Namine to seal it because he wants to look after Sora, who has fallen asleep for Namine to rearrange his memories.

-          Riku summons this Keyblade to save Kairi and Namine from Saix.

Destiny’s Embrace – Kairi is able to wield it as she has proven herself worthy. There have been a few scenarios that show that she is always willing to help those who cannot protect themselves.

Kingdom Key D – Mickey needs it to help sealing the Door to Darkness with the Kingdom Key. Sealing the Door will ensure the safety of the worlds. The Kingdom Key D then appears for Mickey’s aid.

Oathkeeper and Oblivion

-          Oathkeeper resembles the relationship between Sora and Kairi; Oblivion resembles the relationship between Sora and Riku.

-          Roxas is Sora’s Nobody, so he can wield them. He can dual-wield due to Ventus and is unlocked when he promises to remember Xion after she fades away, returning to Sora.

-          These Keyblades come to Roxas because he is determined to overthrow Organization XIII (selfless act) and bring back Xion (selfish act).

-          The Oblivion also goes to Riku because he wants to capture Roxas and return him to Sora, allowing him to wake up. Riku sees his memory with Xion and hears her telling him to stop Roxas from reaching Xemnas. This is because Xion thinks Roxas is not strong to face Xemnas and his strength needs to return to Sora, allowing Sora to harness full power to defeat Xemnas.

Earthshaker and Wayward Wind – These two Keyblades come to Aqua’s aid in her desperate time. Aqua treasures her friendship with Terra and Ventus.

Void Gear – Vanitas gains Ventus’ memories after the split. He may think that those memories are his, but they are not – Vanitas is a different person from Ventus. He knows that Ventus is scared and is unable to fight off the Neoshadows. Thinking that the memories are his, and he himself is Ventus, he feels the need to protect himself, but he actually desires to protect Ventus. Hence, a Keyblade that is different from Ventus’ comes to him (due to different agenda).

Lea’s Keyblade – It is assumed that Yen Sid has performed the ceremony on Lea but he only gets his Keyblade after helping Riku and Mickey to save Sora (and his friends Roxas, Xion and Ventus). He also expresses his willingness to help Riku if he is trapped in the darkness when attempting to awaken Sora.

In the more recent Kingdom Hearts 3 trailers and screenshots, Xehanort is seen to be surrounded by 12 other No Name Keyblades. It is believed that these Keyblades come from his vessels since he has implanted a piece of his heart into them. According to Nomura, Xehanort will take over their hearts and they will lose their individuality – they will become Xehanort himself. Hence, their ability to wield a No Name Keyblade is actually not gained – they are used by Xehanort for his goals.

Joseph Campbell once said that “new order is paradoxically no order at all”. If this quote be applied in Kingdom Hearts, it will mean that everybody can be a Keyblade wielder by learning the strength of a heart and to have compassion. This is evident as Sora can wield one without the ceremony being performed on him.

Those who does not understand the true strength or is evil would be out of reach as the Keyblades automatically knows who is ready for it. This is evident that the Kingdom Key rejects Riku for not understanding the strength of a heart. Even if Braig managed to defeat Terra, no Keyblade would come to him as he only viewed the Keyblade for power, not as a tool to help others. Even if anyone uses the Keyblades for evil purposes, other wielders will put a check on that, preventing a war. In truth, the world should be structured according to a general sense of platonic love.

[thavron]

Why I think Synthesis was the right answer in ME3

Ok so I just played the Mass Effect trilogy for like the millionth time. I love this series more than life, but like many I was underwhelmed by the ending. It is badly executed and there are just so many holes in the end product it’s unreal. It’s almost as if they tacked on an ending they knocked together in a weekend onto what is essentially a fairly polished and thought out game. But I digress...

So why do I think synthesis was the right answer? (Is there a right answer?)

When we play through the Leviathon DLC, we meet the creators of the Reapers. They explain that they created the Reapers to preserve life. What happened next was unexpected. The Reapers destroyed them. Each cycle organics evolve, create synthetics and go to war with their creations. Each cycle there is a potential for all organic life to be destroyed in the cross fire between synthetics and organics. The Reapers interpreted that their purpose was to end that cycle. Evolved Organics create synthetics, go to war, and then the Reapers sweep in, take them all out and allow the lesser organics to develop and grow. It’s a start over for the galaxy essentially, and prevents the total destruction of organic life. A bit like pruning an overgrown plant. On paper it doesn’t actually sound unreasonable, except you play as a character who is about to be pruned... if you can step away from the little picture and see the big picture it makes a weird kind of sense.

So first off, why are the destruction and control endings the wrong choice? Well when you consider the Reapers programming, they are protecting lesser organics from synthetic destruction. If you destroy the Reapers, synthetics will eventually rise up (be it the Geth or another creation) and destroy their creators. In this war, they may well take the entire galaxy with them. No start over or fresh slate for the lesser organics. Just complete annihilation. Starchild even argues this point briefly. We even have an example of this in game. When the Reapers destroyed the Prothean, they allowed the Asari to live, because they were primative. By destroying the Prothean, the Asari were given the space to grow. Like it or not, the Reapers are a necessary evil to prevent advanced species from wiping out all life and allowing lesser species to grow and develop.

If you take control, you are essentially enslaving an alien race, which is questionable in itself. But you also leave the Reapers to continue indoctrination and maybe eventual uprising. You also become an immortal being that has no connection to the mortal realm. At what point do you lose touch with humanity and allow the fate of organics to become a mathematic equation? At what point do you find yourself ageeeing with the Reapers? In Sheperds VO at the end, you can already hear that they have become something else.

So this brings us to synthesis. By binding organic and synthetic life together, organic species essentially become enlightened. There are no longer two opposing forces that will fight a war and destroy the galaxy. They become one, and in doing so, the Reapers have completed their programming. They have preserved life. The dangerous cycle that the Reapers were created to clean up is broken, and a new cycle of unknown begins. It is also the only ending where the Reapers end their attack of their own free will, and share the knowledge of the previous cycles. Shepherd has done the impossible, they have forged an alliance between the Reapers and Organics.

The Reapers collect specimens from each cycle and create new Reapers. Could this be for the purpose of saving the cultures of each species. Why do that unless they were waiting for a cycle where the war is averted?

The way I see it, after much consideration, synthesis prevents the destruction of the lesser organics that the Reapers were protecting. Evolved Organics and synthetics create a symbiotic relationship which removes the need for the Reapers to exist. Maybe Saren had the right idea all along...

But I might be wrong.