#weekly art theories meta etc

[demonsandpieohmy]

I hope Neil gets his wish and they release Season 3 weekly (or at least in chunks) instead of all at once. There’s just such a specific experience of getting to digest episodes one at a time and giving them room to breathe. Especially since this is the last season, we may as well take the time to properly enjoy it.

[oatbrew]

tags you're it

mostly psycho-pass, joseimuke, (j)rpgs, and video games, lit, vibes, and some misc romance-adjacent stuff. maybe writing and some art. 

i don’t tag everything but i will tag content/trigger warnings so drop me a line. i also collect tropes/themes:

#god’s not dead; she’s just very tired. catch-all religion, spirituality, and mythology

#they used to shout my name; now they whisper it. prophets, martyrs, and made heroes

#après moi le déluge. witch grandma à la strega nona and/or neighbor who communes with goats and that old dead guy who lives in your cupboard

#those who do and those who don’t. cyberpunk, machines who dreamed themselves into sentience, (non)binary states

#upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand. decaying empires, beasts slouching towards bethlehem, and crumbling concrete in the backstreets of the city

#tragedy is clean. it’s restful. it’s certain. the ontology of tragedies, loop storytelling, doomed endings, and good old-fashioned classics

#half daughter / half apology. kind of an ‘about me’ tag— mixture of queer-ing, gender-ing with monster theory and being slightly off from that mental illness luv <3

#diaspora blues. soul-weary homesickness when home doesn’t resemble home anymore

#whatever walked there walked alone. ghosts, hauntology, places that are born rather than built

#romance novels are good actually. because they are!!! also featuring romance novels that i’ve recently read

#💌. future love letters for me and you <33333

#growth. revisit and repeat

#provocations. other food for thot

#footnotes. arbitrary to-read list, mostly history or critical theory/activist texts

fandom-specific things:

#secondhand smoke. tsunemori akane and kougami shinya from psycho-pass (this is THE blog essentially)

#hawya. my fic, “here, and where you are”, a shinkane pride and prejudice/regency au

#pp. psycho-pass meta, memes, discussion, etc.

#sims. my long lifespan sims 4 playthrough ft. shinkane and their descendants

#daybreak. zayne (and his variants) and mc (named "aurora chen" in-game) from love and deepspace.

#one single thread of gold. artem wing and rosa/mc (named “elle finch” in-game) from tears of themis

#got your six. shepard and garrus vakarian from the mass effect series because no universe exists where one is without the other

#shepard. my mass effect oc, augustine jane shepard. she’s a pinay earthborn sole survivor with a paragade streak.

#if he is not the word of god. god never spoke. tomas ortega and marcus keane from the exorcist

#please picture me in the weeds. five and viktor from the umbrella academy, and the loving oroborous of the apocalypse that is their family.

#there was the poetry. a dot ham and a dot burr from hamilton. yeah i know

other:

#jm. catch-all liveblogs/notes for all my joseimuke playthroughs

#tme. my book, the moon eaters, which is magical realism set in contemporary los angeles with elements of filipino mythology! really love this novel, hope to write it someday

#for a rainy day., #drafts. prompts, ideas, fic fodder/memes, and works-in-progress

#notes., #fic rec. media reviews, notes, and recs

#weekly reads. my round-up/reviews for what i read the past week

#audio. mostly showtunes, my middle school emo phase, etc. that i downloaded from limewire

#🇵🇭. philippines and filipino diaspora-related art/text

#gif., #edit. non-fic/art related things i’ve made

#reply. answered asks/replies

[redshoes-blues]

Hello, there!

I’m Em, she/they, 23

Usually yelling about fictional characters on the dash.

This is my little corner of the internet to ramble about whatever I’m hyperfixated on at the moment. The main culprits are Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Stranger Things.

Check out my Kix-centric, Clone Wars fic, Jigsaw Falling into Place (Gen, weekly updates): Last Kix remembers, he was being held captive on a Separatist ship. But when he finds himself back on Coruscant the day that Fives dies, his memory of the inhibitor chips and what happens to his brother still intact, he knows he has to do something. Link

AO3 | ofsolitudeandsong

My Good Omens Fic, Holding Love for the Keeping (M, on hiatus indefinitely): For six months after Aziraphale leaves him for Heaven, Crowley watches over the bookshop. Then, one day, he vanishes. And with him: a bottle of holy water.

I write a lot of Stranger Things analysis, usually focused on Byler, but through a narrative lens.

Theories/Meta

My Stranger Things + Byler analysis

The Heroes Theory: my complete thematic analysis of Stranger Things that explains why Byler should be endgame from a narrative perspective.

Clocks and Emotions: my theory that emotions alter time in Stranger Things, and that Will confronting his trauma is how he will save Hawkins.

That time Neil Gaiman answered my ask

Talking About Myself

What else is there to say? I’m bi, Canadian, and here to rant about whatever I’m into at the moment! Some of the other things I love include: Good Omens, The Sandman, the Spiderverse, music (70s, 90s, alternative, etc.), Ted Lasso, Six of Crows, various sci fi/fantasy books, films, and writing books about traumatized queer people.

I’m very passionate about OCD awareness and related topics. Sometimes I will reblog stuff that is “adult” in nature (mostly jokes, fics, or art), which I try to always tag as nsfw, but just as an FYI.

Socialist. Pacifist. TERFs and other bigots will be blocked.

My asks are always open and I love chatting with people, so pop on over if you’d like! :)

Those Star Wars writing masterpost for my own reference because I’ll lose them otherwise: link; link

Not Sick of Me Yet?

@tenofmuses: my witchcraft/tarot blog

@kixfics: my clone writing blog that I have yet to post on (coming soon!)

Thanks for reading! Take care of yourself :)

-Em

[nagisasstunningpersonality]

Behold - Assassination Classroom Iceberg

This is just my opinion obviously, and things I thought were kind of relevant. Explanations below cut!

Tier One

Shounen Jump - the weekly manga magazine Assassination Classroom originally was published in Yuusei Matsui - the series creator Nagisa's gender - in reference to the amount of people who think Nagisa's a girl for some period of time

Tier Two

Ramen gun meme - a viral tumblr post using the clip of Gastro preparing ramen with a gun which blew up far outside the fandom Koro Q - The fantasy chibi spin off manga and anime Manga only villains - Numerous characters (usually assassins) who only appeared in the manga 365 Days - The movie, featuring adult Karma and Nagisa remembering their days in class Toonami rerelease - Recent broadcast on an anime channel which has caused a sharp increase in new fans

Tier Three

Live action movies - two movies adapted from the ass class story Kunudon - the nut mascot of the school. Featured in weird BDSM situations within Koro Q Sonic Ninja - movie (loved by Karma and Nagisa) in the series. Has a whole trailer post credits in one of the episodes Nagisa's gender (controversy) - in reference to the portions of fans who fetishize him, write him as a female etc., and the fans who push back against it Pop culture references - numerous references to other anime like One Piece, Naruto, etc., but also other properties such as Pirates of the Caribbean Asano's mother - a character who barely exists aside from one manga panel, where you can see her back

Tier Four

Mobile game - a card collecting app/game where multiple illustrations of all the characters were released. No longer running. 3DS game - game based on the main story. Wasn't released outside of Japan nor translated Korotan - four book series for teaching English, but also included short stories. Most significant is Korotan D, which features the kids after graduating high school 7 years later manga - a number of short manga pages featuring a few characters in the future found in the Graduation Album. Karma discourse - never ending internal fights about whether Karma is a good person or not, especially over his Nagisa jokes

Tier Five

Korosuu - similar to korotan books, but focused on maths. Less well known due to incomplete English translation (i know im still working on it i swear-) Everyone owns the mountain - lesser known fact that E Class used their money to legally purchase the 3E class building and mountain Hachiouji - the real life city Kunugigaoka is based on Korosensei's nationality - more so because it's unknown, though there are a lot of fan theories OVA - an adaptation of the Kyoto arc before the anime was made, featuring a different voice cast and art style

Tier Six

Yada is LGBT - it's subtle but this is canon, and so she's the only definitively not straight character in the series Bonus songs - the releases of the OPs came with some bonus tracks sung by the cast (you can find them on spotify) "half middle two" - the worst translation in the series, of Karma's codename. It was meant to be a reference to the cultural phenomenon of a teenager living in a fantasy world where they're the best at everything. The shed - cursed location (i.e where Irina gets 'helped' by Korosensei) Timeline - for Aguri to have been the 3E teacher, the school year has to have lasted more than a full year Takada and Tanaka - two bully characters often seen from main campus. Weirdly implied to be gay for each other.

Tier Seven

Fuwa meta - Fuwa often breaking the fourth wall (esp in the manga), and implied to be the writer of Koro Q Bitch Sensei and Karasuma's daughter - Introduced in the seven years manga, but a lot of people missed that they have a canon child Kayano's dad is evil - a theory but with decent proof that Aguri may have been somewhat forced to marry Yanagisawa

Tier Eight

Commodore Matthew Perry - the historical commodore who came to Japan in the 1800s and forced the country to open up borders for trade (basically one of the most important Japanese historical events). In the manga, his image is shown when Bitch Sensei is teaching how to seduce foreigners. Karasuma's dead sister - referenced on the ass class wiki, with little explanation or general fandom knowledge as to who, how, or when Kayano pregnant - a theory some fans had due to the positioning of her hands in the final manga chapter

[keggiecountdown]

RULES/FAQ

RULES:

PLEASE👏🏽BE👏🏽APPROPRIATE and do not submit NSFW works or prompt fills to us! Even if Kevin and Reggie are depicted as 18+ in your work, since they are canonically teenagers in almost all currently existing adaptations, we prefer that this blog stays inclusive to both adult fans and minors alike. Mature content, however, is allowed within reason; if you’re not sure if your work qualifies, feel free to ask. 

Please only share YOUR OWN WORK, or work that you have expressly been given permission to share. No unauthorized reposting! This applies to fan-created content only; you may still share canon Keggie-related content such spoilers, episode/promo stills, cast photos, comic panels, etc. that was posted on twitter/IG/elsewhere, although if possible please still include the source!    

Please follow our tagging guidelines for prompt-filling so that we’ll see your posts! #keggiemonthlychallege and/or #keggiecountdown (with or without spaces). Please use #keggiemonthlychallege for prompt-filling ONLY; if you just want us to see a non-prompt Keggie post you’ve made, use #keggiecountdown!

Although we're very flexible as to how any prompt may be interpreted, remember that this a Kevin/Reggie challenge; works that depict them together platonically are totally fine, but please don’t submit works depicting them in different pairings! 

Exceptions allowed: fanfiction where Keggie is the primary and endgame ship, even if they date other people over the course of the story, fanfiction where Keggie is the primary ship featured for either of them, even if they’re not together by the end, graphics (such as gifsets) that depict multiple ships for one and/or both of them but Keggie is included, or graphics/fanart that indicate romantic feelings (unrequited or mutual) for each other, even if one or both of them is currently seeing someone else. If you’re unclear if your work qualifies, feel free to ask.

FAQ: 

● How do we submit content? 

You can tag your post as #keggiemonthlychallege or #keggiecountdown so that we’ll see to reblog it, or you can submit the post or content to us directly! If it’s an older post made prior to the creation of this blog, you may link it to us via ask, submit, or tumblr IM and we’ll reblog it. 

● What kind of content can we submit/tag? 

This is flexible, and the easy answer is “all kinds.” To be more specific, however, we’re including: 

Fanart, fanfiction, and/or fancomics that feature Keggie as a primary (not background!) pairing

Fanvids and/or fanmixes

Graphics such as gifs and gif sets, screencap edits, mood boards, aesthetic posts, text post edits, etc.

Text posts such as meta/analysis, evidence, theories/speculations, manifestos, headcanons, alternate prompt lists or suggested scenarios, “incorrect quotes” posts, etc. 

Comic panels or stories 

Episode, promo and/or production stills or spoilers (but please mark them as such!) that relate to, feature, or imply Keggie

Cast photos/videos of Casey Cott and Charles Melton (or Ross Butler) together, and/or screencaps of Keggie-relevant social media interactions or statements (although to reiterate rule #1: be appropriate!)

Ask messages! We absolutely welcome discussion and conversation in our inbox, just try to stay on topic. 

Content we will not be posting or reblogging includes: 

Text posts that are just statements, opinions, or episode reactions, even if they’re Keggie positive   

Ship or character bashing of any kind, whether or not it’s meant to uplift Keggie 

Riverdale-based content of any kind wherein Reggie is whitewashed

Edits that “recast” either actor, unless they’re meant to depict Kevin and Reggie as older and are thus fancasted with older actors 

NSFW or sexually explicit content, even if Kevin and Reggie are depicted as 18+ (once again, please refer to rule#1) 

Cosplay

● Does it need to be Riverdale-based Keggie, or can we submit content based on Keggie in the comics too? 

Either/both is completely acceptable! This blog may end up leaning more heavily Riverdale simply given that it’s still ongoing and widely watched, whereas Kevin and Reggie interactions within the comics are fewer and more far between these days, but we will happily accept and reblog Keggie from any and all adaptations (or fanmade AUs)!

● Does all content shared with this blog need to be in response to a prompt? 

It does not! Obviously we would love and also greatly encourage any/all prompt-fills during challenge months, or for any of our weekly/monthly themes when applicable, but those are meant more as jumping off points rather than requirements; the real goal of this blog is to help facilitate new content getting made and ways to participate in the fandom via Keggie, so therefore the other goal for this blog is to help Keggie fans connect with each other by providing an environment full of Keggie-centric enthusiasm and related content, all consolidated in one easy place.    

● Does all content shared with this blog need to be newly created content? 

Nope! While most challenge blogs seem to prefer only recent content be submitted, see above answer; we’d like for this blog to also be as much of a Keggie one-stop-shop as it can be given how little content for the ship exists, which means as much as we still hope people will participate with our prompts, we’re still happy to promote and reblog older content!  

● Is it all right to take longer than a month to finish the monthly challenge, or to work on it during a different month? 

Absolutely. Take all the time you need and get to any prompts that you choose to fill whenever you’re able to, then just submit or post them with the tag #keggiemonthlychallege whenever you finish. You can skip around the lists, do older prompts, whatever you want to do. 

● Will there be other regular content planned outside of the monthly challenges? 

We’re not sure yet, although we’d like there to be! Ideally we’d like to have weekly themes/prompts in addition to the periodic monthly challenge (which also ideally could occur every few months or so), and even be able to organize some art/fic/Big Bang-esque exchanges and events at some point in the future, but beyond that we’ll be somewhat reliant on what people submit or tag us in. Currently this blog has just one person behind it, so while I would love to be a regular content contributor myself it all depends on time and inspiration! 

But true to this blog’s name, aside from the prompts and challenges, we would love to at least be able to provide a weekly (or monthly) compilation of whatever new Keggie moments occurred in Riverdale or the comics, so we can all keep counting down to when it’s canon. ✌🏽🔥 

[coffeechug]

WOW! That is about all I can say after an amazing and powerful two days of learning and making with 15 passionate educators, coaches, and administrators for the Make Yourself Into A Maker: Builds 1-3 Workshop.

This was my first official two day workshop on making that I put together as part of my new job at the Mississippi Bend AEA 9 as STEM Lead. I was excited. I was nervous. I doubted my ideas. I worked tirelessly and stressed on every single detail more than I ever care to admit, but in the end of two days my heart was full, my passion fueled, and I am ready to continue to journey of helping to bring making into all classrooms and to continue to work to empower educators to tap into their inner superpowers, combine forces like Captain Planet, and make learning engaging and exciting for all.

As I posted online yesterday

This was my biggest takeaway. Educators are critiqued, analyzed, talked down to, and judged every single second of their professional careers.

They are often told to do more work

for more children

at deeper levels

with less support, PD, and resources every single year.

After spending two days with educators where they were given space, time, and materials to grow and learn I was reminded once again that people need to get out of their way and watch them work their magic.

While two days seems like a lot of time it really is not. We learned how quickly time flies when we are in our learning zones making our art come alive.

The goal of these two days was very simple. I wanted to empower educators to believe and trust in themselves that they are indeed Makers. They can make. They can create. They can bring their ideas to life.

I avoided templates. I avoided worksheets, packets, theory, data, research, etc. Everything that is usually thrown at them from the land of education theory I avoided. I wanted them to experience making. I wanted them to experience learning. I wanted their senses to be invigorated in their learning. I wanted them to be in the middle of it and not on the outside reading about it.

We had three different build cycles that we attempted to work through over the course of two days. These three builds were designed to have them work through the MIT Lifelong Kindergarten Learning Spiral. As they worked through their ideas, prototypes, and final products I wanted to build their own self awareness of their skills and thinking. I wanted them to feel empowered that this type of learning is not only possible, but essential for helping to ensure that the learning sticks.

I could not believe how AMAZING these teachers were with their ideas and creation. We allowed them the freedom to work at their own pace, collaborate with others as needed, to work on their own when they needed a minute. We were able to experience the learning and not just read about it. We took the feedback and adapted accordingly. We ebbed and flowed with the needs of the space and the learning.

We spent time during the morning of day 1 thinking about some longer term planning around the space itself. We worked through the book The Space by Dr. Dillon and Rebecca Hare. We were super lucky to Skype with Dr. Dillon and dropped some serious knowledge on us as we grapple with our spaces and what we can do with the spaces we have.

Besides the great questions and making that developed, many questions were brought to the forefront that we just did not have enough time to cover. This is why this PD is just the start. I have the framework for at least four more workshops where we will begin to dive into their questions in greater detail. The framework is built around the 4 P’s of Lifelong Kindergarten so that we can begin to help them infuse making and hands on into their current practices. This work cannot be one more thing or it will never take hold. It has to be part of a cultural shift where support is provided to help educators see how this type of learning and wonder can address standards and help with all the paperwork teachers face.

This is the real work and we will get there. However, this first workshop was all about mindset and empowerment. And we achieved this goal.

For example, check out the builds from the two days. We had everything from a marshmallow gun to a leaf bag holder to a baby toy to a cardboard city for preschool to a LED Coded tree to a trebuchet to a dog bed. The list goes on and on.

MVI_2686

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Teachers walked away with their creations. They walked away with some simple material projects ideas they can drop into their spaces this week. They were given a container of $100 of materials for them to use in their space. More importantly starting the first week of December we will be posting weekly creative challenges using the materials. You can join us by signing up for the newsletter.

These challenges will be used to empower teachers as well as for them to use in their spaces with students.

If you want to learn more about the two days you can access our website here. This is an organic site that will grow and develop over time. It will continue to be developed as more materials and ideas are created and shared by the group. If you have something to add, then simply reach out.

We have another cohort in December and then in January we will launch Builds 4-6.

In the end all I can say is THANK YOU! Thank you educators for inspiring me to continue to work in a profession that I believe with all my heart has the biggest impact on the world. Thank you for taking this journey with me. Thank you for stretching yourself like a rubber band to explore new areas of your own self discovery. Thank you for going back to your schools to lead the change for more engaging learning. Thank you for being you. Thank you as someone who believe in education. Thank you as a parent of three children who need you every single day to lead them to greatness. Thank you as a spouse to a teacher who reminds me of how hard the job can be some days.

Thank you.

Educators Can Make Engaging Learning If You Just Let Them! WOW! That is about all I can say after an amazing and powerful two days of learning and making with 15 passionate educators, coaches, and administrators for the…

[daily-snitch]

The Daily Snitch - Weekend Edition, April 9, 2017

Harry Potter – Actors and Movies: • Maggie Smith and Daniel Radcliffe among the stars at National Theatre tribute to Peter Shaffer. (Evening Standard, 31 March 2017) • Ciaran Hinds (Aberforth Dumbledore) and Colin Farrell (Pervical Graves) to attend Irish Film and Television Awards in Dublin. • Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore) cannot make it to the IFTA Awards due to illness. • Jim Broadbent (Horace Slughorn) didn't catch up on Game of Thrones before filming. • Check out Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) in first look in upcoming war drama Megan Leavey. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child News: • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child nearly sweeps all at Olivier Awards. • Dominic Cavendish, Cursed Child Mastermind Sonia Friedman 'I Was in Tears when I met J. K. Rowling. (The Telegraph, 5 April 2017 - only available to registered users or subscribers) • Sonia Friedman (producer of The Cursed Child) was moved to tears on meeting J. K. Rowling. Fantastic Beasts – Actors and Movies: • Katherine Waterston's (Tina Goldstein): Alien: Covenant plot spoilers and theories. Prompt Challenges: • The Daily Deviant posted the Day 1 Prompt of the Dirty Drabble/Drawble Days (part of the Devian't 11th Birthday Bash. Communities: • nextgen_mas made a Mod post about the new LJ TOS and the future of the fest. • worshipdarklord made a Mod Post: Housekeeping DW Account. • dramione_remix opened the Couple Suggestion Prompt Post for the Dramione Couple Remix Fest Round 8. • @hd_owlpost made a Mod post about the new mirror community on Dreamwidth. • hd_eighthyear made a Mod post about the new Dreamwidth community. Masterlists and Weekly Round-ups: • @dracotops-harry posted the Week One Roundup. Editor's Choice Rec: • Lucius by @wisesnail (Lucius Malfoy; PG; art) Fandom Recs: • @capiturecs recced a Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy fic (NC-17). • @capiturecs recced another Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy fic (NC-17). • @gracerene09 recced a Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy fic (NC-17). • @noeeon recced a Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy WIP (NC-17). • themightyflynn recced a Fenrir Greyback/Harry Potter fic (NC-17). • themightyflynn recced a Minerva McGonagall/Severus Snape fic (NC-17). • toblass recced Professor Severus Snape art (G). Searches: • daily_snitch is looking for your recs (fic, art, podfic, meta ...) for the Special Edition: Newt Scamander. Resources: • vaysh posted the updated list of H/D Fests in 2017. • Schedule of Upcoming Events from 9 to 15 April at potterfests. • The SS/HP Prophet from April 1 to 8. Archive News: • OTW 5 Things an OTW volunteer said: Five Things Madoc Said. Madoc is a translator in Team Welsh. Nifty: • Meet the Artist Behind the Indonesian Book Covers – Part 2. Community Spotlight: ♥ dramione_remix – Dramione Couples Remix This is the concept of dramione_remix: for prompting, people choose a well-known couple from history, mythology, literature, folklore, legend, comics, movies, pop culture, etc. Participants then claim a prompt and "remix" that couple's story into a brand new Dramione fic or piece of art. Check out the tags for all the couples that have already been remixed. Currently, round 8 of the Dramione Couples Remix is underway; you may leave your couple prompts here. Please send your fandom news to the Daily Snitch.

[adugalm]

g&p readings 5: cultural issues give me grief

If the obvious title hasn’t given it away, this week’s topic is all about culture. The dictionary defines this theme as “the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.” Assuming this is all from a game and play perspective, the weekly readings should all comment on game society, perhaps even specific game’s inbuilt worlds themselves.

Things of Beauty: Super Smash Bros. as Spectator Sport

By Innuendo Studios

What a way to begin the week: a video talking about fighting games and the close kept culture surrounding them.

In this video, the commentator basically speaks about his personal investment in particular fighting games, despite similar circumstances surrounding others. Here, his eyes draw immediately to Street Fighter and Super Smash Bros. Melee, calling his self-bias out as the fact that they are games he has played. Already, notes about attachment and sense of loyalty is being formed. 

The commentator also quotes Chris DeLeon saying “sports and board games have rules, video games have laws.” In sport, the player can do anything not forbidden by the rules, or the system. Here, the magic circle concept is enforced due to the player willingly entering a boundary, but able to return to reality when they exit the court or field. In games, the player literally cannot do anything except what is allowed by the system. Their character is bound by the games laws and mechanics, which I found to be interesting foresight. Relatively though, this tidbit has little to do with culture.

The nitty gritty truly comes from the commentators analysis of player Amsa defeating ‘Five God’ Mew2King with a Yoshi, a lower tier character. The meta in fighting games is an extremely familiar concept that I heavily relate to. Aside from my deep love for Smash, the one community that I have devoted my life to like no other is Pokemon. Pokemon may not have the randomness of edging, move accuracy or statistic KOs of Melee and co., but what it does have is an expansive roster: 802 to be precise, plus extra forms! 

Since my artefact this fact is a Pokemon game, I don’t want to spend too much time reflecting on all the tidbits, but what I do want to relate to is the commentary on the evolution of the meta. Meta, in its essence, is the player cultivated systematic ruling of the associated game’s characters, a hierarchy of sorts categorising their moves, abilities and usage into their overall viability. The culture of a game evolves in parallel with its meta, because players change attitudes depending on the star of the week. The meta is closely guarded by its players, because it is formed entirely independent from the actual developers of the game.

For familiarities sakes, let’s substitute Melee with Pokemon Sun and Moon’s meta. As of the moment, the largest and longest standing independent moderator of Pokemon meta is Smogon due to their extensive resources and strong player community. I play Pokemon competitively both on Smogon and the official register; oddly enough, I prefer the former. Where the Pokemon company simply bans legendary Pokemon, Smogon invites its players to form tiers of their own based on usage or overall brokenness. For example, Manaphy is far from overpowered in the grand scheme of things, although TPC disallows it from play because of its legendary status. Meanwhile, Smogon takes into account its usability numbers, user submitted sets, stats, moves and abilities and aptly places it into a specific tier, of which the community can then agree with or outcry. On the other hand, Excadrill a number of seasons ago was so overpowered in unofficial competitive play that it was banned. Meanwhile, those under the official format were flooded with handling this annoying Pokemon.

What I’m trying to get across is that the meta is a weird, yet beautiful thing. Yes, it dictates a community’s culture, even creating linear matchups at times, but in the same corner it also evolves with this culture and in turn allows it to grow. Returning to Melee, While Fox, Marth and Sheikh were all dominant characters, Amsa’s win saw a rise in Yoshi usage. This system shake-up forced new combat techniques to emerge and re-welcomed the idea of new characters. Truly, the meta is a community in itself.

Set & Setting

By Wikipedia

‘Set & Setting’ is the term coined to describe an individual’s experience pertaining to psychoactive or psychedelic drugs. Set is the mindset or mental state the person enters the experience in, while setting denotes the actual physical experience and social environment.

Setting may also denote the support networks surrounding the individual, those who act as guides for their trip. This guidance may come in the form of conscious or unconscious experience. Thus, a ‘bad trip’ may be experienced should the individual be led into an unpleasant space.

Leary describes the drug as a “chemical key” - or catalyst - used to free the nervous system of its limitations in order for it to be malleable to morphing. He states “[Setting’s] purpose is to enable a person to understand the new realities of the expanded consciousness.” His 1996 experiment determined that DMT, previously thought to only produce detrimental effects, could prove positive results under a controlled environment.

In regards to gaming, it is perhaps best to see the ‘drug’ as an analogy for the game itself. This ‘drug’ has hold the possibility of allowing the mind to expand in knowledge and insight, gaining skill or new ideas. However, this is only supported by the set and setting the player enters a game in.

If one comes into a game holding pre-conceived notions, it is highly likely that none of these expectations will be met, leading to an unpleasant experience through disappointment. To find a ‘good game’, it is best to release all desires and allow the medium itself to present one with its offerings of knowledge.

The setting in question may then be the link to culture, with the surroundings and support network dictating the overall player experience. If the player can successfully integrate into the game’s community, then it will be pleasurable. On the other hand, an unsupportive community through strict hierarchal systems (as in an arguable case of Melee) or even griefing (see Serenity Now reading), may lead to a ‘bad trip’. 

Many a time - especially in multiplayer games - the support system will show a game’s worth. For example, Tom Clancy’s The Division had a semi-horrible launch due to the multiplayer being scarce and repetitive, scaring a number of people off. Obviously, this became a compounding problem. However, thanks to amazing DLC, the community has now grown exponentially larger than the initial launch’s, a feat normally unheard of. Because of the positive community both amongst players and the development team, The Division has become a good trip so to speak, proving the importance of setting amongst the culture aspect of games.

What is Ontology? Introduction to the Word and the Concept 

By Kent Löfgren

Ontology covers numerous meanings that vary depending on its context. 

In philosophy, ontology denotes the study of what exists. It is used to build theories and models to better understand the ontological status of the world. Beneath this branch, it further splits itself into two sectors: materialism and idealism. The former is the belief that material things (e.g. particles, energy) are more real than the actual human mind. Here, reality exists even w/o human observers. The latter is the belief that immaterial phenomena (e.g. the human mind, consciousness) are more real than material items - reality is constructed here, in the observer’s mind.