#I need several in depth analysis on this opening

[captainsploosh]

WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS FRAME

ISNT THAT VEINS HAND?? IS THAT HOW CHENG XIOSHI DIED IN THE FIRST TIMELINE??? IS THAT WHY LU GANG WENT BALLISTIC WHEN HE GOT SHOT?? GUYSSSS

[apatheticsunday]

DPxDC The Guy

AKA "There's a problem, so Jason Todd does the whole 'I know a guy' routine except his guy is Danny Fenton. And Danny literally just stands around and yaps while Jason fixes the problem. The Batfam are like??? Who the hell is this guy??" prompt idea! Lowkey dead on main but can be read as friends! :)

This literally won't leave my brain! I just imagine how hilarious it would be if one of the Batfam had a problem, maybe their bike got messed up while on patrol, and Jason's just like don't worry about it. I know a guy. He calls up some guy named Danny and asks for a favor.

Danny shows up in civvies - just an old NASA hoodie, ripped jeans, and ratty Converse. Dick expects Danny to be a mechanic or something because he's brought a bag of tools, but instead he just deadass starts talking about his day?? And Jason takes the bag, kneels down next to Dick's bike, and works on it while Danny orbits around him yapping nonstop.

Dick's just like?? Why did you even call this guy, he's not even helping???

("Jay, what-," Dick interrupts Danny's rant about his chemistry professor's obsession with Scarecrow, only to be silenced by Jason's murderous glare from beside the motorcycle. Jason nods at Danny to continue and the guy offers a sunny smile before giving a in-depth analysis of why fear toxin is just bad weed. Dick watches from afar as Danny's monologue forces several abrupt, snorting laughs from Jason. It's a sound Dick hasn't heard for years.)

The next time it happens is at the Manor. Jason is helping Alfred cook breakfast in the kitchen; Alfred opens the pantry door and pauses.

"What?" Jason leans around Alfred to peer at the curiously empty glass jar of what was probably flour.

"We seem to have some wayward flour on our hands. How odd, as I restocked it Tuesday." Alfred's tone made it clear he knew exactly who it was (Dick, who's just visited the manor the other day to 'see his siblings', AKA to raid the pantry since he didn't want to go grocery shopping) and there would be consequences.

Jason brushes sugar off his hands and reaches for his phone, almost smiling when he says, "Don't sweat it, Alfie. I know a guy."

Twelve minutes later, Daniel Fenton knocks on the door of Wayne Manor with a bag of flour in hand and coffee from the little cafe near Jason's apartment. Tim and Steph stumble into the kitchen bleary-eyed from late night patrol about two hours later. Only to find Danny sitting at the kitchen island chatting with Alfred and Jason about the English pre-war printing processes. Jason's smile is so wide that his dimples pop against his cheeks. (Tim stares, feeling some sort of... not nostalgia exactly, but something like it. Jason looks younger, grinning wryly at Danny, a streak of flour on his chin. He looks like the old Robin, the one Tim used to take pictures of and quietly idolize. Jason looks... happy.)

It becomes a well-known habit. Sink's broken? Cat stuck in a tree? It gets to a point where the Batfam know that Jason will call Danny for increasingly ridiculous stuff.

Damian: Todd, I require assistance-

Jason: Sure, I know a guy.

Damian: Is it Daniel?

Jason:

Jason: Do you want my help or not, brat?

Except one time it's serious. End-of-the-world, intergalactic crisis, tell-your-kids-you-love-them kind of serious. Jason's hand goes to his phone even as his siblings, his father Batman, and several of the Justice League grimly debate the world's fate. Nightwing notices Jason typing at his phone before the rest do.

"Hood, you can't be serious. You can't involve a civilian in this!"

Jason ignores him and the subsequent outcries of his family, the confusion of Batman and the JL, to press the phone to his ear. This time, however, he doesn't ask for Danny. When the familiar cheeky voice calls out what's cookin', good lookin'? from the phone, Jason's voice is grim when he says, "Phantom, I need a favor."

There's silence. Then, it's almost like an abrupt change in air pressure or the undeniable crush of tectonic plates grinding together. When a green portal pulls apart the fabric of reality, Danny doesn't step out. It's Phantom, High King of Infinite Realms, Space, and Heir to Father Time, clad in regal attire with a crown of white-hot flames nestled into his hair. His steps are sure when he walks past the tense crowd of superheroes.

"You called?" Phantom asks. His unnatural Lazarus-green eyes burn into Jason, but there's a midwestern twang in his voice that's so reminiscent of Danny that Jason can't help a small huffing laugh.

Jason turns back to his family and the JL, gesturing to Danny. His family have already made the connection. Likely because Danny's accent, the subtle similarities between Danny's human appearance and his Realms appearance, and the fact that there's only one person Jason ever calls. Danny turns to the League with a bright smile and introduces himself as, "Danny Phantom, but you can call me Phantom."

(And then they kiss!! Just kidding. But Danny probably saves the world and then they go back to the Manor, much to the confusion of the batfam. The batfam are all like, wtf, Jason?? You didn't tell us the guy you've been hanging out with all the time was the freakin' King of Infinite Realms?? And Jason just shrugs, and is like, well... I guess living with him kinda desensitizes you to all the ghostly shit? That's how the batfam find out Jason and Danny are living together. Are they boyfriends?? Maybe, maybe not. But it seems suspicious that Jason's always calling Danny, seemingly just because he likes being around him, hm? ;))

[munnmolads]

Why we went to Hat Island anyway? Chapter 7 Analysis & Theory

Have you ever wondered why Rafayel wanted to go to Hat Island in Chapter 7? I wanted to make a more open-ended analysis of this chapter, but eventually maybe found one possible reason why Rafayel wanted to go to Hat Island - and then ended up yapping about this way too much.

Contains spoilers for Chapter 7, Chapter 8-1 and Gem Affection, as the explanation might be right there. Also small mention about Sea God myth.

Chapter 7 Rafayel and MC set sail towards Hat Island where supposedly, Rafayel is looking for protocores as for painting materials.

This exchange is very fascinating for several reasons. From Raf's tone, it sounds like he says 2 first sentences sincerely - especially the part about him needing the material from the protocore. But he exaggerates his gestures after about making it into a paint which sounds disingenuous and even MC sarcastically remarks on that.

My original intent with this post was to bring this to attention because the protocore Rafayel eventually finds from the Deluge Wyrmlord isn't mentioned again and many fans even seem to forget about it, especially considering how we spent half of this chapter looking for it.

First of all - why he would need it for paint? Is he actually lying about making it into paint? This protocore clearly was important to him since assumably he was willing to risk MC's life for it in the end of Chapter 7. Why it needed to be Deluge Wyrmlord, why the previous protocore he handed over to MC wasn't good enough for him?

I was ready to call out on this bullshit in more detail, but then I thought... What if he actually wasn't lying and truly needs the protocore for paints? We already know from previous chapters that he experiments with his paints a lot and used the coral stones to create illusions for Raymond.

How Gem Affection relates to this?

I have to admit my knowledge about the other LI's in the game is very lacking considering how in-depth I go with Rafayel - that's just how he occupies my brain. Anyway, to my understanding, atleast Xavier has time travelled to current timeline from his Philos timeline and I have heard there are some theories about the others doing the same, but I can't point any references to them. All this to say, this got me thinking about Rafayel and Gem Affection and how it might hint how he might have also tried to find ways to time travel.

If you aren't familar with Gem Affection, it's about MC and Rafayel starting to investigate some rumors about protocore fragments in the desert, and they come across a mural which MC resonates with. The mural throws them into an alternative reality, and they are stuck trying to find a way home. I'll try tp describe the events as well as I can but I'm leaving the dialogue sections below so you can follow along.

I touched briefly on how Gem Affection's AU seems to be the same as Abysswalkers (I really need to make that separate post about how similar these memories are) on my Sunshower post in Gem Affection, so I won't be going into too much detail on it now. Anyway, while they were considering their options, MC seems to realise that she could resonate with the mural again to return home.

After they find the mural, they realise that the mural has been covered and primed for a new painting. After a while, MC realises that it's not the mural itself that they need, but the paint itself.

So all in all, Gem Affection describes how (assumably) Rafayel created paints from protocore fragments to jump between different realities with MC as she is the only one who can activate these paints by resonating with them.

Maybe the material Rafayel needs in chapter 7 isn't actually a material in the protocore, but fragments of that protocore mixed in the paints. He painted them into the murals to keep them safe and recognizable.

If we look back to the beginning of the memory, MC says "rumors about protocore fragments" and that "once Rafayel heard about my mission, he volunteered to be my guide". Rafayel rarely accompanies MC to missions unless he has something to gain from it. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one to start these rumors. Why? Perhaps he wanted to try out if the paints work in the mural... Why otherwise he would be even interested in these caves?

Something that really also stuck out to me is that in both Chapter 7 and in Gem Affection MC makes the same "I'm not a three-year-old" comment. I really wonder if this is a reference for the conversation on the boat? I do think there are few other moments when MC says the same thing, but for now I can't think of any.

But how he would know to do this?

I really would want to say something else than "He's a god" but... Well, he is a god. I really want to know how much he can know about his future/past - In the Sea God myth, it's mentioned that the MC will help him see Lemuria's future. It could be possible that he knows he needs to hop on different timelines to fix things, just like Xavier does, or tries to alter his fate by trying to find alternative realities where he would find a way to save both Lemuria and MC.

Another plot hole of course is that what are the chances they would enud up in a timeline that would allow him and MC to return back to Linkon as normal... I'll stop thinking about this now...

At the very least, we should be more curious why Rafayel needed that protocore.

If we assume he did lie about using the protocore for paint, it also could be related to the N109 zone and the protocore auction where MC was going. Though atleast for me it sounded like he was more interested in a specific component from them instead of the protocore itself.

I'm getting way off track now, but speaking of N109 zone, I've been thinking about Rafayel and Sylus' connections and I really would want to talk more about it, but I'm bit too afraid about talking about Sylus since I genuinely feel I don't know enough about him to confirm a few thoughts about how they might be direct rivals with each other. This could be that Raf needed that protocore to get a better standing in N109 zone.

Back to the protocore - if it would be paint material, would it be then one of the components he used for Raymond's painting? Let's not forget - the painting disappeared from his collection when he died. Is he going to use the same method again to kill someone else?

I might do another post about the Chapter 7 events relating to Raymond's death, since the main story is so packed with lore, and I absolutely love Rafayel's involment in it even if it's kind of brief. Also I really want to break down the Nest encounter and what all that entailed...

[stardust-moth]

Hey there! What's your take on why Mike keeps his eyes open and just limply stands there when El kisses him at the end of ST season 3? Bylers claim it's because Mike doesn't love her and idk about that... that definitely wasn't my read. But I recently rewatched the whole show, and I can't really figure out what that moment is supposed to convey?? Like, watching that scene, there isn't the feeling of a great love being fulfilled, or of grief at losing her to the move. He just kind of seems... idk, confused? Perturbed? idk! I can't wrap my head around what I'm supposed to take away from that moment!

Ok. I almost didn't bother writing out a long, detailed post about this, because it's one of those things that (in my mind) shouldn't need to be explained, since (to me) it's presented so clearly in the source material already. So much of this show is so wildly misinterpreted all the time these days and it's getting to be exhausting-- half the time my reaction is just:

BUT! Why would I ever pass up an opportunity to yap about my favorite things, namely my dear my son my boy Michael Wheeler??

So! Let's consider all the context pieces going on here, shall we?

Things we know about Mike:

Struggles to say the Big L Word in general. Feelings are big and scary. (This is not a new concept, mind you. It's a very common romance trope. It's also a real thing that real people struggle with, especially among men and boys. Remember the cultural setting, everybody.)

he has low self-esteem and Big Insecurities about the validity of his feelings and his relationship with her (insecurities which are constantly reinforced by the people around him)

he is ALWAYS visibly startled/surprised when ANYONE expresses that they care about him to ANY extent (surprised that his mom empathizes with him and isn't angry about staying home from school when his best friend is missing, surprised when Dustin points out that he and Lucas are close best friends, surprised that Nancy runs out to hug him and says she was worried about him, surprised that El doesn't judge him for being bullied and says she understands, surprised when she tells him she was listening all 353 days, surprised when she tells him she missed him at the pizza shop, surprised when Will tells him that he's the glue that holds the party together and that they all need him, surprised when Karen goes on a mom tirade about how she was worried sick and never wants to let him go far away ever again, etc etc etc... idk what you expect at this point)

here, he is clearly bracing himself for saying goodbye and putting on nonchalant fronts to protect himself from experiencing that grief again (see my pinned post for more in-depth analysis of why Mike is scared of his feelings)

Also take into account: 

He TRIED to tell her he loves her in the supermarket, like really genuinely tried, but they were interrupted by ALL the shit hitting the fan. There is a LOT going on!! El's powers are gone and no one knows why! She's grieving the loss of her father! She's about to move across the country to somewhere entirely new and unfamiliar! Mike doesn't want to be selfish right now given what she's going through, making such a move now would be pretty tactless, and he's trying so hard to be a good respectful boyfriend (after literally everyone told him off for things like caring too much/spending too much time with her). Plus, if she doesn't reciprocate, well then fuck, some of his last moments with her will be stained by disappointment and guilt and awkwardness. And if she does reciprocate, well then fuck, now that just makes this goodbye even harder for both of them.

So yeah. He's fuckin shook. And, like the awkward noodle he is, Mike is slow to process it.

There are SEVERAL emotions going on right now-- the most apparent one being shock/surprise/confusion. Of course it's massively validating to hear "I love you, too", the same way it's massively validating to hear her say "I understand" and "I heard". But whatever happy feelings it brings are definitely overshadowed by the sinking realization that despite it all, he's still losing her. They still have to go separate ways. Remember that while we the audience know they're all going to come back to Hawkins and be reunited by the end of the story, the characters don't know that. As far as anyone knows in this moment, they're moving away for good. (And btw, distance is a lot bigger of a deal when methods of communication are limited-- remember the setting, everybody!! No instant messaging!! Letters take weeks to mail, no way to see each other's faces except through mailed photographs, only one landline phone per household and you have to factor in time zones and family members' working hours... long-distance relationships are hard now, imagine how hard they would be for teenagers in 1985!!)

Bottom line: He wasn't expecting her to say it. He wasn't prepared to hear it now. He wasn't ready for it to be such a mix of hurt and happy all at once. All he could do is stare in awestruck bewilderment.

His first love, the most important person to him in the whole world, truly reciprocates his feelings. And he's about to lose her forever again.

Unfortunately Finn's face is kind of obscured from view during a lot of the actual kiss, which can understandably make it hard to read, but he is most definitely kissing her back-- it's very hesitant and subtle compared to El's confidence, but he does lean in to meet her.

Every single indicator (in the music, the blocking/camera work, etc) is purposefully framing this scene as a positive moment and the resolution to their relationship arc for the season.

Further conflict and further resolution that we see in S4 supports/confirms this as the correct interpretation. His confession monologue spells it all out word for word for christ's sake.

Narratively, the scene would make ZERO sense if that was meant to be a negative reaction. Their romance subplot goes through all the story arc steps and all the buildup, why would it fall so flat right at the final piece of the resolution? That would just be poor writing. (And frankly, that entire take is evidence of poor media literacy and comprehension. You just... you can't cherry-pick the details, guys, I'm sorry.)

If that kiss was meant to be a nail in the coffin, a realization that everything that the story has established and everything these two characters have expressed thus far is, in fact, not so... then we wouldn't have seen a moment like this with such intimacy right afterwards:

Tell me you can't read his face now. He's in tears and clinging to her. That is heartbreak! And just by looking at how she touches his face and presses their foreheads together, you can tell she feels it too and understands.

So yeah, that's my take on it. I hope this provides some clarity! <3

PS, on a lighter note, allow me to present to you a directly comparable confused-open-eyed kiss scene that absolutely NO ONE questions:

[kradogsrats]

The Falling Man: Viren's Dream and its Mad Men Reference

Back when s5 released, several people wrote in-depth and very helpful explanations of the Twin Peaks references made in what I can only describe as "the Twin Peaks reference scene," but I don't remember anyone talking about the Mad Men reference. I mean, obviously people noticed it, but I don't remember any analysis beyond "that sure is a Mad Men reference" and "when he falls past the background featuring Aaravos, the colors match up with the bisexual pride flag!" Which... look, I don't have anything to add to that discussion.

I've thought about it intermittently ever since, mostly because I wanted to do a full deep-dive into everything going on in Viren's dream. The first scene seemed like, if not the place to start, then at least not something I could just ignore. Finally, at a point that is *checks watch* approximately two years too late, I can share the fruits of those non-labors.

So: a Few Thoughts(tm) on just what this reference means, how it ties in with the rest of the dream sequence, and the rest of Arc 2.

I genuinely no longer have any idea what the age demographics are around here, so forgive me if I'm explaining something everyone was present for and already knows. Mad Men was a TV show that ran from 2007 to 2015 (i.e. firmly during the pre-streaming part of the Golden Age of Television), centered around the fictional top executive of an equally-fictional 1960s advertising firm (so technically a period drama). By most accounts it was a good show, but the thing that really made a dent in general cultural consciousness (at least how I was experiencing it) was its opening credits, an artistically-animated sequence showing the stark silhouette of a businessman falling from a skyscraper superimposed with vintage advertisements:

Whether through artistic merit or questionable publicity (suffice it to say: it cannot be emphasized enough how deeply, deeply weird and performative people were about the sanctity of 9/11 throughout the entire 2000s), this opening credits sequence became iconic. Like, The Simpsons did a bit around it, and I'm sure there were others.

In s5, Viren's dream sequence opens with an abridged but still nearly shot-for-shot recreation of it:

This isn't a wink-wink throwaway boomerang joke, it's actually relevant to what we are about to watch Viren experience. There's a point to including it, and to including it here and in this way.

Just How Mad are those Men, Anyway?

So, what is that point? Well, to answer that we need to examine the context of the original.

Quick but significant caveat, here: I have not actually seen Mad Men. I'm relying entirely on secondary sources—summaries, interviews, reviews, etc.—but I'm doing my best, and (to be honest) the things I want to cover aren't all that complicated.

Thematically, Mad Men is a story about lies: lies we tell ourselves, lies we tell others, and lies society maintains. Don Draper, the protagonist, is living a personal lie—he stole the identity of his dead commanding officer from his time in the Korean War. He's also just kind of a serial philanderer and sleazeball, with all the situational lies that go with those traits. Furthermore, advertising is ultimately just a lie that its targets think they're in on, so any story set in the advertising industry is by necessity at least partially about that art of telling lies that people will accept being told. Finally, the idealized version of the 1950s-1960s USAmerica (shaped in part by the first Golden Age of Television) is a cultural lie we as a society have told ourselves for a long time, one the show seeks to challenge, or at least lampshade a bit. (I'm not going to get into whether or not it's successful.)

Lying is, at its core, about control—whether control of perception or behavior. A lot (most?) of the stories we tell where lies are a central theme have significant narrative payoff or focus on the desperation of maintaining that control as the lies spiral bigger and bigger, and how/when they eventually collapse. That climactic loss of control, when the illusions crumble and expose both the liar and the truth they tried to conceal, is what Mad Men's falling man opening is about.

That is, in turn, what including a reference to it in Viren's dream is meant to convey to us as viewers: it prepares us to understand the sequence as sharing those themes of the spiraling escalation of lies and eventual revelation of (potentially disastrous) truth. Because Viren's dream is all about the lies he has told himself for so long, all those layers of I had no choice, being stripped away.

The Recurring Peril of Falling

Beyond just the Mad Men reference, this opening to Viren's dream is doing some other stuff to set up the rest of the sequence.

Unlike the Mad Men opening, where the vintage advertising images the man falls past aren't significant individually but more as a setting-establishment vibe, Viren falls past representations of important moments or relationships of his past. These aren't necessarily the most important moments and relationships, but they're the ones viewers will recognize because we have seen them before. You could come up with a lot of valid interpretations for why these specific moments are used, but the important thing is the core presence of two concepts: Viren's past and dark magic. This is, again, preparing us to understand what we are about to see throughout the rest of the sequence.

Viren, of course, also literally fell to his death. There's a layer of irony to that because when Mad Men was airing, there was a lot of speculation that Don Draper would (presumably at the end of the series) fall or jump to his death. Not only did that not happen, but it was never a story outcome they considered or a factor in designing the opening. For Viren, where it did happen, it's an association that clings to every further appearance of heights or falling.

Falling is kind of the archetype for a universal nightmare, with its feelings and associations of being out of control, helpless, and/or doomed. We actually see it several times within Viren's dream in s5e2 alone, a couple times literally:

Both of those instances are transitions into what could be considered "deeper" layers of the dream. Interestingly, several of the other scene transitions or conclusions use a rapid, vertiginous zooming out:

Screenshots are obviously not going to do well in replicating that effect, but you know the shots I mean. It's the camera "moving" rather than Viren himself, but the effect is still similar to watching him fall away into a void... oh wait.

Taking that context, we can look at the last couple scene transitions and notice that one directly references Viren's death by falling:

And the one in s5e3 that takes Viren to what I would call the "deepest" layer of the dream, where our first look at his younger self is juxtaposed with his corruption, referencing how far he has (metaphorically) fallen:

So yeah. It's a bit of a thing.

Far More Terrible to Admit It

Anyway, just to circle back to Mad Men for a moment to wrap up, I read a really interesting in-depth interview with the Producer and Creative Directors about the concept and process of designing it, where one of them says this:

We ended up with a question that is, “Is this a dream? Which part of it is actually real? Is the [composed] pose at the end real, or is the helpless fall real?”

That's just... the exact same question that is being posed about Viren throughout Arc 2, like that is his narrative arc. For s4 in particular, it's which is real: the man we saw in Arc 1, or the one we see now?

It's a question posed (and answered) most directly and poignantly in Strangers, in which Soren, forced to confront Viren's return in s4, sees him first as a corrupted monster:

Soren realized he’d imagined all of it it—the sagging skin, the hollow eyes, the corpse-like rigidity. He’d conjured up another monster to hide the horrifying truth: this stranger—this man—was undeniably Viren. The High Mage of Katolis. His father.

And then later as the potential of a new man:

Soren stared at Viren’s back, his heart thudding against the cage of his ribs again. He had never, not once in his life, seen his father hesitate. For a moment, the man was a stranger again, someone unfamiliar, reborn and new and changed and— Viren must’ve sensed his stare. He turned to look at Soren again, his gaze cold and piercing. No, Soren thought. He’s the same. He’s my father.

In both cases, what Soren sees reverts to the Viren of s4, who is both and neither. He's a man in transition, though what form he's moving toward is... up in the air, so to speak.

In s5, with the dream sequence and its aftermath (which is basically Viren's entire arc for the season), we get the beginnings of an answer to that question. They opened it with a reference to something that asks the same kind of question, though not quite as literally (and I'm not sure there's ever really an attempt to answer to it regarding Don Draper), and I think that's pretty neat.

Then, of course, s6 comes along with "but was that even the right question?"

[gorgon-goddess-of-chaos]

Movie Night

My need for soft Anti fluff is never ending. Write the fics you wanna read, I guess.

Antisepticeye x GN!Reader, TW: none Words: 1134

“Baby, I’m home. I brought dinner!” “YAY!” Anti glitches into the entryway, scooping you up into his arms with a giggle. He holds you tight, kissing your cheeks until you’re laughing along with him. You know he misses you, being a stay-at-home demon, but until you’re able to find a way for him to go out in public safely, it’s what has to happen. At least while you’re at work. But on this particular day, you promised that you’d bring home a treat and the two of you would have a date night. You had grabbed some Chinese food, and a couple things from the local bakery.

He lets you set the food down, even if he refuses to put you down. It’s hard to resist his giggling laughter. You kick your legs as he holds your feet above the ground, squishing his face before meeting his lips in a giggly kiss. 

“I missed ye.” “I know. But I’m all yours tonight. Just like I promised.” Anti looks up at you, chin resting in your chest. He briefly nuzzles in, before putting you down with a kiss to your temple. You go wind down for the evening, changing into something more comfortable back in your shared bedroom. The door to his gaming room is open, the game paused and his chair still spinning from when he glitched to greet you at the door. It’s cute, seeing a physical representation of his excitement to see you. Reminds you a bit of a golden retriever with separation anxiety. 

Walking back out into the kitchen, you find him going through all the containers of Chinese food, separating the food for the two of you out into two piles. He’s also grabbed a package of batteries, already snacking on it. You walk up behind him, playing with his hair before wrapping your arms around his waist from behind. Anti spooks a little, before lighting up again and spinning to reciprocate the hug.

“Mine.” “Yes baby, I’m yours.” He buries his face in your hair, squeezing you tighter. The two of you stay there for a bit, letting him get a hug that he very clearly needed. The coffee maker bubbles behind you, as he rocks you back and forth. It’s quiet, rain hitting the window above the sink, distorting the street lamps outside as the droplets fall down the panes. You lift your head, looking up at him. “Baby? Are you okay?” “Ye… I just… needed ye here. Just fer a minute.” “It’s okay. But how about we go sit on the couch? Better cuddles, eat food, and we can watch our movies.” “Okay. Uhh-”

Anti pauses for a second, before lifting you up into his arms again. His hands are tucked under your thighs, hoisting them up as your legs wrap around his waist, arms around his shoulders. You laugh, holding on tight as he tries to balance bringing everything, including you, into the living room. You turn to see a pile of blankets and pillows, you assume that he set up while you were at work. He dumps you in the pile with a giggle, running away after he sets the food on the coffee table. You sputter, digging yourself out before flipping him off. Anti simply cackles, pouring coffee for the two of you and returning with your mugs. 

“Can we watch a horror movie?” “Sure, baby. Anything you want.” “Yay~”

You hand the remote to him as you get a blanket over your laps. His arm rests over your shoulders, letting you rest your head on his. Food rests in your laps over the blanket, mixing your food around in the container briefly with your chopsticks. Instead of a traditional movie, he selects an in-depth analysis of an analog horror series on YouTube. Several hours long, but it does intrigue you. He dims the lights, a soft orange around the room as he snuggles you closer to him. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t take you out somewhere, Anti. I know you’ve been itching to get out of the house.” “Eh, it’s fine. I more miss ye t’an anyt’in’. T’e ot’er people I don’t really care about.”

“So you’re okay with us just staying in and doing, this?” “T’e only ot’er t’ing I’d wanna do wit’ ye is play a game. But we do t’at all t’e time. Just found a new game t’at we could play t’get’er.”

“Oh! That sounds fun. Maybe tomorrow? I don’t work this weekend.” This is a detail you wanted to surprise him with tomorrow morning, but with how he was acting when you got home, it definitely feels like he needs it now. His smile returns, pleasantly surprised and squeezing you excitedly. His feet kick under the blanket, wrapping you tighter in his arms.

“We can do lots o’ t’ings t’is weekend!”

“Whatever you want. Maybe we can go to a quiet coffee shop, or maybe a pumpkin patch?”

“Ooooooh, pumpkins…”

Something you stick in your back pocket for Sunday, letting tomorrow be for gaming. Your attention goes back to the video essay on the television, settling back in. It’s a little refreshing, enjoying horror with him without worrying about jumpscares. There’s something about the video essay that makes it simultaneously more and less terrifying. Or maybe just terrifying in a different way, wiping away the dust on top of the lore to make you look deeper into the horrifying mess that lays underneath. Anti seems moderately invested, but he’s quite amused at how much you’re getting into it. You pass commentary back and forth between bites, theorizing in your own ways as you both gain new information. 

An hour or two in, you pause, cleaning up your dinner and getting the desserts from the kitchen. He grabs some more batteries as well, and pops some popcorn for you in the microwave. You refill your beverages, giving him a kiss on the cheek as he waits by the microwave. His cheeks blush, looking at you walk by with love in his eyes. When the popcorn is done, he walks back into the living room, hopping over the back of the couch to take his seat by your side again. You kiss him, settling into his arms as he lays you on top of him. His batteries rest on the coffee table as your popcorn sits on the floor, both snacks within easy reach considering your positioning. 

The two of you get sleepy laying on the couch after a couple more hours, nested beneath the blankets and thoroughly supported by the abundance of pillows that Anti brought out. You don’t even make it through the entire video, leaving YouTube autoplay to carry you through the night as you stay curled up together. Luckily, you have the entire weekend ahead of you.

[putschki1969]

hi puts, how are you reading all the current drama, its sad that there are fans who say that kalafina better to be stay disbanded rather than forming new kalafina 2.0 without Yuki Kajiura :(

Hello there!

It is indeed very sad. I understand being skeptical but to dismiss the idea entirely seems excessive.

I actually talked about this topic in my most recent reply post.

I am probably one of the few people who will be supporting Kalafina no matter what. I am pretty sure I would like new music from them even if it wasn’t written by YK because my love for Kalafina as a group goes far beyond my appreciation for Yuki Kajiura’s music. I just love the girls themselves, their vocals and their harmony.

I sometimes have to wonder if all those so-called Kalafina fans really don't see anything of value in the members themselves... Are they just replaceable tools for Yuki to use? Because yes, Yuki's music is without a doubt very beautiful and an important part of what makes up Kalafina's current discography but that doesn't mean just anyone can sing it and do it proper justice. It's Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru who add a lot of the unique charm to Kalafina's music. They made it their own with their excellent ensemble work. The girls are a well-coordinated team, they know how to make each other shine and how to compensate for each other's weaknesses. Together they can create gorgeous harmonies and they don't necessarily need pointers from Yuki Kajiura anymore, they have long outgrown their apprentice role.

Would I prefer potential new releases to be written by YK? Of course! But I am also open-minded to the idea of other composers being invited to write/arrange for the girls. Yuki is not the only person on the planet capable of writing good music. It will probably be hit-and-miss but that would also be the case if YK were in charge of the music. After all, a lot of her music isn't particularly well-received (even among hardcore fans) so it's not like everything she touches instantly turns to gold.

Either way, it's completely pointless to get upset about this right now because so far, there are no concrete plans for future Kalafina releases, all we've got so far is the reunion live, nothing else. And from what we know, they will be singing existing Kalafina songs (written by Yuki Kajiura) during this concert.

PS: There is no need to send the same message twice (especially if it has just been a day or two since the last message). Unless it's something super urgent that can't wait due to a certain deadline, I usually won't be replying right away. It can take me several days to work through my inbox and if the message/ask requires a more in-depth analysis, it can take even longer (up to several weeks). So I kindly ask everyone to please be patient with me! Allow for at least a week to pass before you resend an ask/a message. Thank you!

[dailydemonspotlight]

Hecatoncheires - Day 165

Race: Jaki Arcana: Hanged Man Alignment: Dark-Neutral Requested by @/WakaWakaWaka February 28th, 2025

To celebrate the release of Monster Hunter Wilds, @kiyyunkaiwan (@/WakaWakaWaka on Discord) has requested that I cover a specific demon corresponding to a specific monster in Monster Hunter for each day this week! Today, we're going to be covering Hecatoncheires, who corresponds to Arkveld.

Okay, up front, I hope you all don't mind if I just refer to these things as Hecatons or 'hundred-handers' from here on out, because spelling Hecatoncheires consistently is going to make me have an aneurysm. Anyway, back on topic- Greek mythology has a lot of giants, oddly enough. Cyclopses, Titans, actual Giants, and the several miscellaneous massive monsters that are pretty much just bigger versions of regular animals are absolutely everywhere, and this isn't even mentioning the gods themselves. Of course, this could be seen as being due to how a bigger thing is generally seen as greater and more 'epic,' as one would definitely find a mountain more impressive than a molehill, even if that molehill was made with more work. However, among their more popular contemporaries, a certain kind of beast is tragically forgotten in the depths of Tartarus- today's Demon of the Day, the Heka- Hecatonkharries- Hekatoncharees- Heckatonkaries??? Whatever. The Hundred-Handed Ones, the Hecatoncher- HECATONCHEIRES. GOD.

In Greek Mythology, the creation myth is one of the most well known and retold ones- more specifically, though, the myth of the Olympians versus the Titans. However, to get started talking about the Hecatons, we actually need to go back in the mythological timeline to the start of the universe itself and the birth of the titans. There were only three of these beings born, each bared as the children of Uranus and Gaia, and they had a hundred arms and fifty heads each. Each one had a specific name- Cottus, Briareus, and Gyges- and were conceived as the siblings of the 12 Titans and 3 Cyclopses. To quote the Theogany,

Then from Earth and Sky came forth three more sons, great and strong, unspeakable, Cottus and Briareus and Gyges, presumptuous children. A hundred arms sprang forth from their shoulders, unapproachable, and upon their massive limbs grew fifty heads out of each one’s shoulders; and the mighty strength in their great forms was immense.

However, right away, Uranus went 'what the fuck are those things' and immediately banished them deep within Gaia alongside the rest of his children. In response to this, Gaia devised a plan alongside the Titans, and the Titans, led by Chronos ended up castrating Uranus. Why is it always castration... leave these people's balls alone... Anyway, rather famously, the Titans grew to become the supreme rulers of the world after they successfully un-balls'd Uranus, and as Chronos ended up marrying and having children with... his sister (but I give him a pass because, admittedly, there was literally no other option) they left the poor Hecaton's abandoned deep below. There the three giants sat within the bowels of Gaia, until one day, Zeus arrived inside as he always does. Zeus, having escaped from Chronos for reasons that you probably already know but I'll go over in his own analysis, was in the midst of a war with the titans, described famously as the Titanomachy. Gaia had told Zeus that his three giant uncles would prove invaluable in the war, and so he went down to rescue them.

The three Hecatons, thankful for Zeus's mercy in freeing them, ended up banding with the Olympians to battle with the Titans, proving vital due to their overwhelming strength and also their ability to throw boulders, apparently. The three giants eventually helped bind the Titans in Tartarus, and went on to live relatively peaceful lives. At least, as peaceful a life one can live in Ancient Greece when you're a hundred-handed, fifty-headed being. Not much else to go over here, as they're a rather open and shut case, so let's get into the design.

In SMT, they had to tone down the amount of heads and arms for rather obvious reasons, as many other artists have done the same, but the general concept is still there. The lock and chain around the shoulders is a rather obvious allusion to the fact they were locked up in Gaia, and the many heads and arms are because, well, that's pretty much what the Hecatons were all about. No real notes, it's a pretty solid design for a pretty solid and simple demon.

[cyvonix]

Cyv Reads Homestuck - Act 5 Act 2 Wrapup

It's that time again.

Another act under my belt, another wrapup post. Like the last one, I'm gonna try to keep this relatively brief and condense it down to the main shit. For this act in particular, that's especially needed, since if I went fully in depth, this post would presumably take on the length of a considerably hefty novella. Seriously, this act is BEEFY. Over double the length of any of the previous acts, and with the content to show for it.

Apparently this was the act that got everyone hyped in Homestuck's initial run, and I can absolutely see why. Everything here is raised to an astronomical level, (literally and metaphorically) as we get not only greater stakes and more action than ever before, but more intrigue, more questions, more lore, more character depth, more fun interactions, literally just more of everything. I think this act is extremely interesting, because it capitalizes on what Act 5-1 teed it up for; that is to say, Act 5 Act 1 queued us into the fact that this story was going to get more complex and darker than before, and went places that never could've been expected in the first 4 acts of the comic. Meanwhile, this act is essentially an entirely new thing. It puts 100% into the new identity that Act 5-1 created for Homestuck, and imo, hits it out of the park.

The first major contributor to this is the shift is the character interactions, which have noticeably taken a much more nuanced approach than anything before. Many scenes or lines that would have been purely jokes were now seen as opportunities to genuinely explore these characters and their relationships with each other. As far as returning characters, Dave in particular stands out as someone who has been completely opened up to new layers that, if they were there before, were heavily obscured by his place in the narrative. The trolls are undoubtedly responsible for this element making its way further into the dialogue, as they give the kids so much more to bounce off of than they used to have, and with these many new dynamics that are formed, new avenues of exploration and analysis are opened.

And speaking of the trolls, their story also escalates far beyond anything possibly imaginable when we first met these angry goofballs several acts ago. They stand as the latest in a generationally traumatized race, one so beaten into their societal roles that anything short of bloodlust is considered weakness. A bloodlust that, as we later learn, was maticulously crafted by our darling villain, Doc Scratch. This layer of their collective characterization, though, makes it all the more potent when they manage to let part of themselves slip past this torturous conditioning and reveal the sympathetic souls that lie underneath. Even Vriska, cartoonishly evil as she's been, comes out the other end of this act seeming much more three dimensional than before. Also, Gamzee's murder arc happened. Honk honk. That's really all there is to say on the matter.

With the mention of Doc Scratch, I would be remiss to leave out his role in all this, and how it encompasses another aspect of this act that left me impressed and overjoyed, which is the multitude of ways in which the conventions of Homestuck and its medium are expanded and broken, over and over. The games begin to feature much more story-relevant information than before. The animations become longer, denser, more daring with their content (Cascade is a whole fucking cartoon episode!!); the easter eggs of games past are folded into the narrative itself, as well as other meta elements brought from simple gags into genuinely intriguing plot points. Even the way the comic allows itself to be interacted with twists and changes as it needs. The banner on top of the website becomes its own entire canvas for storytelling, the borders of the panels are less restrained than ever, the command system is contorted in various ways that make for a more interactive experience even just on the web page. I could go on. Even in the final moments of the act, when the curtains close, we see them tattered, fire surrounding them, and a shattered fourth wall behind. To me, it acts as a declaration that the confines of this work are no longer relevant. That this is truly a multimedia project which will take any shape it sees fit to convey what it desires, and which will blend realities and rulesets to create a strange, new entity. I've watched this piece of fiction grow and mold itself over the course of these various acts in ways I truly never anticipated when I'd begun, and this moment feels like a symbol of that mentality becoming its mantra. I highly doubt these experiments with form will stop any time soon, and I truly do look forward to whatever is waiting for me next.

And finally, for my own sake I kinda want to decompartmentalize into a list all the currently unanswered things leaving me either curious or interested as I move forward:

Not really a question but I just couldn't find another place to write that I fucking love all the god tier stuff. Just really fun and satisfying magical fantasy shit with very cool aesthetics and also thematic elements that tie extremely well into a lot of what the story seems to be getting at.

LORD ENGLISH HAS ENTERED THE PICTURE. Clearly, as we all already knew "He is already here." So the question is, where? Where has he been? What will be that decisive moment that he will propel himself into this story?

Regarding resurrection, what actually classifies as "heroic" or "just" seeing as these are largely subjective concepts? Is is simply a mystic "Paradox Space will decide" type thing? Will the comic address this quandry at some point?

On this point, Doc Scratch's clock. It shows the results of this query. Does it actually decide the result, or similar to the meteor timers, simply show the result that was already going to happen? If it decides the result, this implies that by manipulating the clock, the outcome of the resurrection can also be manipulated.

On timelines: What actually consitutes the Alpha Timeline? Who decides that? Who's to say that one particular timeline is more canonical or holds more importance than the rest, other than the author themselves I suppose.

Who's fedorafreak? Is this actually gonna be important?

What actually are the denizens? John implies they aren't as threatening as they initially appear. What does this say about their function in the game and in this world?

Who is the mother of all monsters? I don't think this is a term we've ever heard before unless I'm just forgetting

Why does the emblem of "Her Condescention" look somewhat like the Betty Crocker logo. Don't tell me I'm looking too deep into this. This fucking story has done me dirty before. That thing fucking looks like the other things and I don't trust that one bit especially after hearing about the whole Betty Crocker isn't human thing. hrmmm...

WHAT THE FUCK DOES IT MEAN THAT THE KIDS ARE IN ANDREW HUSSIE WORLD. WHAT. I CAN'T GET OVER THAT. I LITERALLY DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT COULD EVEN GO.

As for any predictions or expectations? Basically none. At least as far as predictions go. I've learned to surf Homestuck like a big ass wave and let it take me where it takes me. If I pick something up along the way that I feel I can properly theorize about, I will, but I'm no longer trying to pick everything apart and estimate what it could mean for the overall story, because quite frankly, there's simply too much shit going on and too little of it has any intention of appeasing my base instincts about the movements of the narrative. Now, I'm not going to lie and say I know NOTHING about what's next in Homestuck. I know next to nothing, but that's still not nothing. In fact, I'll break down literally everything that I know so you know exactly what expectations I'm going in with. So obviously if you're also reading for the first time, maybe tune out here in case you wanna be completely blind!!!

I know there are still more characters to come. Specifically, I know that there are at least four other kids to be introduced to, just from fan art and cosplay and such. I know two of their names are Dirk and Roxy, but I do not know the other two. I know ZERO about their actual roles in the story or like, who they are as people. Based solely on their appearances, my only real guess is that maybe, similarly to how we learned of the troll ancestors creating a new world and becoming ancestors to the true successors, the kids will do something similar now that they're essentially exiting the reset world, and become the guardians of a new group of children who are supposed to be like "the real heroes" and those will be those characters? I'm not sure if the logistics on that actually work out but it's all I got rn. Also, I know there are weird green people. Now, call me psychic, but now that I've seen Lord English, something tells me they have something to do with him. Again, I'm cluelesss as to how they actually connect or what role they'll have in the story or literally anything at all, I just know that they exist and are green. The third and final thing that I know is that trickster mode has like, a greater role in the story? I'm grasping at straws here but I've definitely heard talk about trickster mode in later Homestuck as if it becomes more than just an easter egg in games. No fuckin clue how. So again, I'll make a guess that, since the characters are continuously getting closer to the meta layer of the story, perhaps they find out about the "easter eggs" in the games and how to activate trickster mode, as characters and not just as us playing them, and then maybe they can use that to gain new information or traverse places in a different way, almost like Twilight Princess type shit. But yeah. That's all I got. I don't feel spoiled at all because that's all such minimal information that it doesn't really tell me anything of significance, but it does at least give me some breadcrumbs to look for as I keep reading, so that's pretty neat.

Anyway, yeah! This is what I call relatively brief now I guess! Either way tho, if you read thru this I wanna thank you, I know there have been some people sticking with me through this journey and seeming to enjoy my posts, so if I've provided some entertainment or interesting commentary that makes me very happy. Always feel free to chime in and discuss with me or even just correct me on stupid shit I say lol. But I'm gonna go start ACT 6 NOW I GUESS??? GOD DAMN WE'RE HALF WAY THERE BABY WOOOOOOO I'M REALLY DOIN THIS

[darling-lambkin]

Book Review: To Be Devoured by Sara Tantlinger

Warning: This book review will contain spoilers. I have tried several times to re-format my analysis in a way that doesn’t give away too much of the content, but with the depth at which I prefer to discuss what I’ve read, it is simply not possible for any of my reviews to be completely spoiler-free. If you do wish to read this book, I encourage you to purchase it for yourself. Keep in mind that I do not claim to be any sort of real literary critic. I am simply one of many people online who enjoys publicly stating their opinions.

Title: To Be Devoured

Author: Sara Tantlinger

Publication Year: 2019

Genre: Horror Fiction, LGBTQ+ Fiction

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.8/5

My Personal Rating: 2.5/5

Pages: 92

Date Started: December 29th, 2024

Date Finished: January 14th, 2025

Synopsys: What does carrion taste like? Andi has to know. The vultures circling outside her home taunt and invite her to come understand the secrets hiding in their banquet of decay. Fascination morphs into an obsessive need to know what the vultures know. Andi turns to Dr. Fawning, but even the therapist cannot help her comprehend the secrets she’s buried beneath anger-induced blackouts.

Going into this book, I was looking forward to the opportunity to watch a protagonist’s mentality deteriorate as they spiral into obsession. Perhaps it’s the lapsed catholic in me, but the notion of consuming flesh has always held a sort of inherent poetic quality for me, be it the flesh of animals or the flesh of our fellow man.

I feel as though I ought to preface this review by saying that as a general rule of thumb, I do not like books written from a first-person perspective. Of course there are exceptions, but for the most part, reading a narrative from the protagonist’s perspective feels a bit juvenile in a “I threw my hair up in a messy bun and put on my Converse with a dress before going downstairs to be sold to One Direction” sort of way; like the types of narratives we used to write as children, before we had fully grasped the concept that perspectives other than our own exist. Having said that, this book felt a bit edgy for my personal taste, in the sense that there were several moments where it felt like it was trying too hard to be something it simply couldn’t. The protagonist herself was downright insufferable, and while perhaps that was the intention, all of the other characters felt so flat that there was simply no relief from Andi’s dark musings. In particular, the sex scene–or rather, the aftermath of the sex scene, was so physically revolting that I considered abandoning the book entirely, not simply because of the particular act, but more so because it felt like shameless shock value. 

With a story stocked with subpar characters, my favorite character had to be Dr. Fawning, as ridiculous as that may sound. From the very beginning, I assumed that Andi’s therapist was a figment of her imagination, to some extent. The wide, glassy eyes, the silence, the constant whinging about the tan suit with the white undershirt–something wasn’t lining up for me, and that was my motivation to keep reading. For a short period, I assumed that she may have been a vulture herself, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn of her true identity, though the way she was treated in the end did make my heart ache for her sake. 

Favorite Quotes:

“Cancer doesn’t give a damn who you trust; it just takes away, eats up a person without giving anything back to the earth.” (pg 16)

“The yearning to crawl inside the warmth of her washes over me like the steamed heat of an open oven door. For her, I would disintegrate inside steam. For her, I would burn.” (pg 36)

“I am a body learning to consume other bodies. There are no wrong bodies here when the meat is all dead and just food.” (pg 61)

“I love you so much. I want to know what every part of you tastes like. What’s wrong with that?” (pg 71)

“I want to apologize. I want to swallow you whole.” (pg 76)

[cloudsofbespin]

I’m excited for what they are going to do with Devil’s Minion as well. As long as they don’t make it boring I’m sure it will be good. Boring for me would be if they don’t do anything with San Francisco/their messed-up first meeting and instead ignore it by having Daniel just be over it, and/or have Armand and Daniel simply have a hate-love thing. I like (love!) enemies-to-lovers, but there’s a lot of bad versions of it which don’t work cause it’s not actually written as love it’s written as lust and simple attraction. There needs to be some actual romance and depth to it, then I’ll be fully into it!

They have such a good opportunity as well, with Daniel and Armand being screwed up in different but somewhat similar ways. Nothing compares to the horrors of Armand’s past, but they do have in common an unwillingness (and inability) to be fully emotionally open and honest - and given that they are now literally bonded together and exposed to each other (Madeleine being able to read Louis’ emotions comes to mind) I do really want them to do something with that. There’s something great with them both being unable to hide from each other! And them both being uniquely able to call out each other's bs could be something really compelling and funny to see!

I do love Daniel’s words about truly seeing Armand as the monstrous vampire (insect analogy) he is and fully loving and accepting the whole of him in the book. So I hope we’ll see that - or a good and compelling version of it! However, I do need there to be something about Daniel too. Otherwise he will just feel like a tool to aid in Armand’s character development, rather than his own person and the romance of it all would just be one-sidedly about Armand. There obviously needs to be more to it than Daniel loving monstrous complex enigmas like Armand and Armand finding him fascinating because of it. You know what I mean?

I’m carefully hopeful, feels like Daniel having been somewhat closeted and a failure at marriages is something they could use to give him an emotional arc, as well as being a new (abandoned?) vampire. Though he doesn't seem to struggle much with the latter. In Armand’s case I can see several ways of doing an interesting emotional arc for him.

What do you want to see? Big and small? What are some story and/or emotional beats you'd like to see? Also, thank you for being a fun blog to follow during these dark (hiatus) times :)

hi! i love your analysis and all the points you bring up ❤️

simply put i want them to fall in love and i want them to love each other for who and what they are. that's their deal in the books and should be their deal in the show too

obviously the vampire bond is going to play a massive role because well they are bonded forever now and as you said (and as the show established) they should be able to feel each other's emotions even though they can't read the other's mind. there's also my personal favourite detail of them having the same/similarly coloured eyes and the significance of armand looking into daniel's eyes and seeing his own reflection staring back. another aspect of the bond that makes me insane is that they're probably going to be hella possessive of each other now and i can't wait how that's going to manifest

but yeah i def do not want the vampire bond to be the only reason for their connection. because again armand should love daniel for daniel and daniel should love armand for armand. i want them to go on an intense emotional journey together and as you mentioned daniel shouldn't be just a vessel for armand's character development

book!armand describes daniel as "strangely defiant and beseeching in the same breath" and to me show!daniel fits that description as well. they can challenge each other. i feel like armand's been somehow intrigued by daniel ever since san francisco (but that does not necessarily mean they had a relationship back then)

i'm being a total sap right now but somewhere along the way i want daniel to say i love you to armand and mean it. armand should experience what it means to be fully loved in return

also i've gone through various stages of crazy since the s2 finale because as it stands now we truly have no idea what actually happened and what is going to happen with the two of them. all we know is that armand turned daniel and now daniel's been asking (looking?) for him. what the hell happened in dubai? did armand bolt as soon as he turned daniel? does daniel miss him? is he going to look for him? please rolin put me out of my misery

[munnmolads]

Rafayel could be the Pandora's Box - Theory and Analysis

Thank you so much @irandial for the ask leading to this theory! 🥰 I have had this theory brewing in my head before the third myth's preview was set out, and now it might be even more relevant...

Spoilers for Rafayels first 2 myths and the 3rd myth preview as well as other memories and story elements with him.

[Thanks to Frappe for uploading Tipsy Invitation to Youtube, the screenshots have been taken from it!]

Pandora's Box myth origins

It's not a big surprise LADS writing is taking quite a lot inspiration from the Greek myths, so I had to go dig some origins for the myth. Pandora was the first woman, created by the gods and blessed with several traits: she was beautiful, clever, alluring and extremely curious. She was given a jar (mistranslated as a box) and was warned never to open it. Pandora's curiousity for the better of her so she opened the jar, and she unleashed all manners of evil and misery to the world.

Typically, opening the Pandora's box metaphor means unexpected trouble coming from humanity's curiousity. MC very well could be Pandora in this case.

Rafayel mentioning the Pandora's box

As Irandial mentioned, there's couple mentions to Pandora's box directly from Rafayel, from Tipsy Invitation:

And the Summer event in 2024 during Misty Invasion, where he kind of indirectly implied he is the Pandora's box. MC and Rafayel are playing a game that requires them both find a certain treasure and eventually from the description, MC realises the treasure is Rafayel.

(Ow this hits so different after the third myth preview 😭)

Rafayel doesn't really sugarcoat the warnings that being with him might not end well. The game really loves their forbidden love tropes, but Rafayel's love might end up being destructive. He gives out several warnings about this during the game:

Order: Under Deepspace 8-1, Ebb and Flow, Summer 2024 Event, Omnipotent Perception, Land of Secret Flames

Taking it even a step further

After Banquet Ablaze I have wondered if the revenge to those people who have hurt Lemurians is something Rafayel would actually want to do. What if it's actually a bad omen for him?

In Siren's Song Anecdote, he's in the bathtub thinking about how the revenge seems to be dragging him down in the ocean's depths, and he would like to stand up. This sounds to me like it's really tearing him up if he should be doing it, and if it's something he would want to do.

As far as I'm aware, it's quite common theory/headcanon that Rafayel and the Sea God are two different entities. I'm humoring it for the sake of this theory - what if MC would be the only one who would set the Sea God free, like Pandora? And, if revenge is one way Rafayel would be losing his "humanity" - his sense of kindness and compassion?

Rafayel mentions needing an anchor in his life, similarly how Talia has been mentioning it in Bouquets and Dirges, and during Rafayel's birthday this year. In Banquet Ablaze, he mentions it again after getting revenge on Alden, who assumably killed and turned Rafayel's teacher's scales into a painting.

It makes me wonder if MC is truly the only one who could either stop the Sea God gaining powers or the one who would set him free... Which brings me to the preview for the next myth:

So, we might have actually now seen MC opening the Pandora's Box - the Sea God who is about to release vengeance on humanity. We already know that humans have mistreated MC in both God of the Tides myth and the very opening line mentions it as well. It could be that Rafayel will end up creating havoc to humanity (as he has done already) with his full power.

We also see this in Abysswalker myth, more on Rafayel's perspective as someone who has seen the outcome for that.

I'm sorry if this seems a little rushed, I wanted to get this one out before we see the myth to see how much I have made myself a fool and I actually was away from my computer for over a week 😂 I'm so excited for the new myth and I'm not ready getting my heart shattered in pieces...

[femciolente]

Tiqqun cursed me to Intellectual Depression...

By : Santiago "Weebu" Pemo

As a French reader, I am much more impacted and attached to French philosophy and its theorists than most people. I feel a deep connection to the language I grew up with and these theories that so deeply resonate with my being, some ideas and vague concepts I have had since the dawn of my political consciousness, that also appear to be fundamental for these intellectuals, way before my time. There is something truly eye opening about finding deeply avant-garde theory in your language, that has also pretty directly impacted the politics of your own country, to a certain degree. Tiqqun for me is the representation of the search for ideals, the insatiable pursuit of knowledge that I experience, and will experience. Dense and complicated, pretentious and critical, Tiqqun's works have everything to be categorized a million times by fruitless adjectives, but the only one truly fitting for such a titan of theory is "impressive".

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Tiqqun was a French philosophical journal, even if i would categorize it more as a periodic publication and recollection of intellectual texts. It was actively published between 1999 and 2001, supposedly dissolving after the 9/11 attacks for fear of repression and a needed break from the political world, as some claim. Why would they do that? Well, Tiqqun was THE most radical publication France ever got a hold of, but specially because the tradition it subscribed into was not a typical one. Insurectionary Anarchism, Situationism and Communization (In both a general and specific manner, we will go over that later), as well as the large French school of Post-Structuralism and Post-Modernism, Tiqqun is a beacon of modern French radical philosophy. And for how complex what the journal propositions can be, It is no surprise that this lovely piece of theory has gone severely unnoticed for the average "leftist". It's a literary piece at heart, a several hundred pages long poem, it's a work of passion to the world of philosophy and theoretical politics. And that is what makes the publication one of the most beautiful yet disheartening concepts to read, as well as being absolutely groundbreaking, and a read that will challenge anyone's unprepared views about many topics, since it introduces complex notions of the "Invisible Party", "Metaphysical Critique Exercices", "The Theory Of Bloom" and of course, their own spin on "Communization Theory".

"Communization" is a complicated topic, a theory not for the weak minded, something pretty much existent in the own confines of our exhausted and depressed intellectual capacities, but it still manages to be fresh enough to be adaptable to everyone. The lack of dogmatism in the writing, the synthesis of concepts and the post-post modernity of its analysis is unlike anything you can currently get your hands on. But the core concepts are understandable, and can make you rethink your own base ideology from the ground up. At least that is what happened to me. Communization, as the theory that rejects the DOTP from a marxist understanding of revolutionary action and procedures, is not a common piece of thought even in online discourse. Im not here to explain in depth this concept (as it is the case for another article of mine), but what Is important here is how Tiqqun took this theory, very marginal Left Communist piece of theory, and built it, almost single-handedly, from the ground up once again. The revolution that Tiqqun brought by explicitly importing Insurrectionary Anarchist ideas, as well as a general anarchist ethos too, to a concept that wouldn't necessarily hold it, was the stepping stone towards the erasure of "Anarchist"and "Statist" labels in the ultra left, leading to a much more fluid interaction and development of ideas, breaking the dogmas that can follow the Meta-Narratives of certain strains of "left wing" ideology. Meta-Narratives that still hold a lot of theorists back when it comes to the full liberation of their brain, towards a greater understanding of the world, even if that might come with far greater consequences, like absolutely breaking your hope and desire for the world, but not in a very Nihilist way, but a purely emotional sense. Tiqqun is very emotional, and more than anything, it appeals to the individual's understanding of them, and what that said individual wants to take for their own personal benefit. It's what I would call some kind of very well executed decentralized communal thought process.

And this is key In my personal development, as I originally came from a much more orthodox Anarcho-Communist conception of ideology, with its own dogmatism and ingrained fallacies that even back then bothered me, this fluidity and lack of strict structure that the ideas of Tiqqun have allowed me to break down the walls I imposed on myself. And that is what makes their version of Communization so specific. Not only they detail and talk about the general concept that an author like Dauvé could have, but they go further than him. They always do. That is the magic of the journal, going as far as it is possible to think. Their analysis is clean, including some fairly (and sadly) forgotten theories like Situationism at the heart of their vision, specially when they mention anything to do with the "invisible party". Avant-Gardism is the core ethos of what Tiqqun wanted. They did not want to be comprehended by the general population, they didn't write for us to use our texts as proof of the subjective validity of our ideology, but a job. They had a specific vision of the world, a ruthless one, one that did not spare any badmouthing of any concept as long as it fit their worldview, one that is marvelously constructed. A worldview Guy Debord would have been proud to read.

But you simply cannot just read Tiqqun for enjoyment, as that would be too complicated for anyone with less than 50 degrees on philosophy. You read Tiqqun to experience the whole thought of the "Invisible Party", and you do so with an aim : to criticize your ideas. Tiqqun, for the more well read and fundamentally built reader is primarily an exercise for contrasting metaphysics. The variety of the texts, and the diversity of what they are able to deal with in those gives a complexity to their thought I have barely seen anywhere else. Tiqqun is not a manifesto, Tiqqun is a collection of the greatest thoughts of the french ultra-left of the 90's, one very much involved with all the social movements of its time but retaining its "armchair" critique typical of other strains of Left Communism. But why would anyone listen to them? Why care for Tiqqun? Because the modernity of their ideas is something that will put you in a state of "intellectual depression".

No, this is not a Deleuze reference (even if it might as well be). It is simply a statement to the greatness of Tiqqun's writings, ones that challenges you so much, you stay in a state of perplexity that is hard to achieve with most theory collections. Tiqqun made me depressed, because it challenged my traditional views so much, that I could never conceive traditional modern theory the same way. It radically affected my relationship with not only political and philosophical texts, but also with the politics that affect my day to day life : parliamentary politics, for example. I no longer trust what I used to, I no longer want what I wanted, and I no longer seek what I tried to find when i first embarked on the world of politics. Nothing feels enough, I want more. Satisfaction became a secondary need, but reflection and constant upgrading of my own ideas is what I aspired to, like I mentioned at the beginning of this article. Even my actions, at the scale of my fairly boring small town changed, the discourse I have with people interested or not on politics has changed so much, to the point that I feel as my ideas are exclusive to me. Exactly what Tiqqun is all about, but that does not mean it's a concept full of positives, specially living In a world where our action is necessary and important, even if at times fully pointless.

Holding radical positions in pretty much any aspect of thought is exhausting in the stage of deceiving and worse than before social democratic compromise reformist policies of the present day, one that does not even serve the petty bourgeois it sought to protect to begin with. Repeating the same things, same concepts, theories and ideas over and over again to people oblivious to them is the greatest challenge an active militant or passionate anti-capitalist can face. But the breath of fresh air Tiqqun's expression and interpretation of the classics, as well as an introduction to the newer theories that SHOULD take a larger part in our new theoretical and practical developments is very much needed in the modern day landscape. It's the best of both worlds, In a style you can hardly dislike. Why? Because of the variety of it.

As I mentioned at the beginning, Tiqqun is a collection of texts, but it didn't exactly end in 2001. The publication of several and very complex, pretty much full scale books around 2004-2010 revitalized the scene, specially taking into account how un-finished their work can seem to some. It is not a fully developed program, a truly new political ideology or thought model, but simply good theory, and these newer additions completed an already rich project. But what was important about Tiqqun's post-mortem publications is not anything published under their name, but more so an associate group that can very much be the same people that conformed the original secret council of the Tiqqun redaction, that being "The Invisible Committee". As many of you know, this neo-Tiqqunist collective made one of the most important works out of the modern french scene, named "The Insurrection To Come", a book so popular, it was the object of all the far right moral panics on an international scale, doing ravages to the brain of Fox News redactors. But what really mattered there was how it affected my perspective, as it was one of the first texts of the sort that i ever had the opportunity to read, and is considered a cornerstone of the insurrectionary movement as a whole, revered globally and by a large variety of individuals, on and outside of internet discourse. Yes, it is not Tiqqun, but its closeness with the original intellectual group makes it a product of the original thought of the Invisible Party.

Game changing, In every aspect, even on terms of rights and politics, on domains of repression of radical thought, even. In November 2008, Julien Copat, one of the known members of Tiqqun's redaction was arrested by french authorities under pretext of "Participating on a terrorist action that derailed a train" In a small locality in the rural center of the nation (Tarnac, hence giving its name to the "Tarnac Affair"). And this case, that lasted until around 4-5 years ago, caught enough traction for my young and impressionable brain to know about it, years later when the case resumed after a long break. And this was the first case I ever saw where radical thought leaders were attacked falsely based purely on the radicality of their writings, something pretty much without precedent at that time. And it was the reason why I even know about the publication to begin with, and so was the case for a large amount of young teenagers, who got a newly ignited passion towards these ideas, brewing ever since the intellectual rebellion of May 68, bringing more air to the scene than any other project before. It has been one of the few judicial cases I went deep in, and that exposed more clearly than any other case in modern times, how the punishment great thinkers receive under the rule of the bourgeoisie. It was an event that radicalized me indirectly.

The reason why I consider Tiqqun to be so heavy on my brain is because of how real it is. Never had I seen a fusion of extremely theoretical and technical philosophical theory mixed with a focus on praxis without precedents, specially in a time where political actions from the proletariat are ramping up in power, intensity and frequency once again, like a clock. Tiqqun represents the non-nihilistic view of revolutionary action, with the sadness that comes with knowing the truths behind the movements and the ideas that power them. That is what brings sadness to my soul. It was a necessary step in my development, and I feel as if it's just a reflection of what the general population can feel about the exploding liberal status quo, but the people on our side of theory know the reasons why. Tiqqun gave me the keys to understand better the world but also the revolutionary thought that i wholeheartedly stick to, and at the same time, Tiqqun amplified my Capitalist Realism to levels I had barely ever seen before. Tiqqun, In all its greatness, doomed me to intellectual depression, and I will not recover this time.

Thank you Tiqqun, really.

[life-winners-liveblog]

You want me to go more in depth? I'll go straight down the RabBiT hOLe

Lets start with LL!Scott shall we?

He has been repeatedly left by those he cares about (whether or not it was willing for the other side... unimportant). First his own brother, dissapears without a trace. Leaving him as the sole heir to the throne. Then of course I suppose something must have happened to his parents because he did take the throne, and we never hear any mention of them henceforth, so it's safe to assume they're dead. Then yes his brother does come back.... but that's not his brother anymore is it? Not truly... no this was something far more sinister.

Then there's the whole thing with the Cod War and while Scott himself said he remained neutral (from one of Jimmy's old vods) he still warned Fwip of the incoming attack. And Fwip and Sausage certainly saw him as an important enough ally that they defended him from Jimmy. Then of course Sausage teams up with Xornoth and kidnaps Scott and Gem (another betrayal, and using tips Scott gave him to do it). Then he gets his ice magic, and harms Gem accidentally. But panics and flees into a self exile so he doesn't hurt anyone else... they can't be the ones to leave him if he leaves first. Then he comes back and his very own home has been trapped by yet another person he considers an ally (Fwip).

And that's just a few of the thing during Empires. Once we enter the game... well let's see. He is constantly on guard from everyone around him, the only person he fully trusts from the beginning is Pearl, and even then he feels as though he has to work and prove himself useful in order to keep her as an ally. I mean what dark green in their right mind would team up with a yellow, and only a yellow?

Then of course any alliance he tried to make outside of Pearl and Cleo ended in a betrayal of trust didn't it? He trusted Impulse to help keep the Wither heads away from Grian. We all know how that ended. Near the end of the game he put his trust in the remaining greens, even being so vulnerable and open as to reveal he was the boogeyman. To everyone. He even helped them reconstruct and enforce their walls. Yet as soon as his curse ended, and he turned red. He was still shunned out. If I remember correctly, Cleo even hit/shot him while he was leaving.

All this to say of course, LL!Scott has severe abandonment issues that express themselves through a need to be useful, to be worth while, to be "the stable one", to be needed. In order to not be left behind. (This specific expression is common amongst many iterations of Scott S Major)

-Xas

This is one hell of an analysis.

[bowchickahwowwow]

Charlie Bradbury a victim of bad writing

I want to start this analysis by saysing that i do not hate charlie bradbury but i find that her character has been severely let down by the witers lack of abbaility to write canoncially saphc/lesbuian characters. I am also open to debate particulary as i am not a lesbian so i dont want to talk over their voices, so if anynoje feels any different to me please comment ande explain your reasrons i would love to hesr them.

To me Charlie Bradbury is solely written as the female version of Dean. She lacks development and her own true character. Although I don't believe it is inherently wrong to have parallels and similarities between characters, especially since there s a brother sister dynamic. I acknowledge that the similarities are most likely used to develop a bond between Dean and Charlie and to further propel the found family trope. As well as this is not a critique on Felica Day's performance, I think she is a brilliant actor and I am not faulting her acting rather the way her character was written.

My main issues is that she sexualises women and objectifies them. This is also a critique I have of dean, but I think this is more to take note of from Charlie as she is a woman so it would feel as if she would understand how uncomfortable it is to be viewed in that light. Referencing a porn star and, although this was the dark side of her, being a "player" towards women in a frat boy kinda way. As well as we have seen her objectify women in the past (I.e., crude comments and staring) . I am not saying that lesbians/Sapphic women can't do these things. However to me it feels as if instead of writing and in depth character that Charlie deserved we got discounted female version of Dean Winchester.

I am aware that she is a nerd and has many interests in geeky things. But once again this is a trait shown in Dean which has just been a trope pushed further by Charlie. Her being a hacker was for the most part one of her only unique abilities and assets she brought to the Winchesters.

Saying this however, I found Charlie's character much more interesting post-apocalypse. She finally becomes stand alone character that I longed to see more of. Even when she finally started to become her own, as a leader of the resistance. We rarely see her as a leader on screen, most of her actions being alluded to instead. Charlie, like almost every other character in supernatural was wasted potential. It's not that she was a bad character per say but that she was unoriginal as a concept. She was boring and predicable, when the sow needed contrast and something more original.

[amalgamgooze]

the enigma of (art) blend modes, and how doing brain research taught me how to better utilize them

(DISCLAIMER--I'm not actually going in-depth on different blend modes; there's other resources for that sort of thing! Rather, I'm just planning on talking about how they've been captivating to me in the past.)

I've been working with digital art programs for quite some time now, mostly for my game development pursuits, but also more recently just for fun.

Whatever program I'm using, be it Aseprite, Krita, or Paint.net, there's always this goofy little feature referred to as "blend modes". Really, all it refers to is how new colors should be made when two colors overlap on an image--particularly from different layers.

Back when I was young and naive, those layer blend modes hardly did more than just exist. Maybe I'd pull down that drop-down menu and switch around the modes every once in a while, but this was never used to help me during the creation process.

There's something about starting to use a new art program and getting overwhelmed by all the buttons on the UI. Of course, it takes time to master those menus, but when you do, it's nothing short of rewarding.

Which brings me to one of the most interesting programs I've worked with: Fiji.

Fiji isn't an art program--it's anything but. Instead, it's open source image processing software, designed for life science related analyses.

I've had the (mis)fortune of becoming acquainted with this software through my internship. When it was introduced to me last year, it was... overwhelming, to say the least.

This is what it looks like when you open it:

Not too overwhelming yet, right? Wrong. Here's what the dropdown menu for "Analyze" looks like.

(I like how it starts with normal sounding words, before devolving into things like "Helmholtz Analysis" and "Multi Kymograph".)

If any of you are already super-mega-brain-nerds and know how to utilize all of these options, then good for you, I suppose. For the vast majority of the people who are unacquainted with neuroscience (such as myself), however, this is INCREDIBLY daunting to navigate. Imagine something just as confusing as this for the other menus.

Hell, even just importing imaging data proves labyrinthine:

Okay. I'm done fussing over how convoluted Fiji's menus are.

I've worked with them for long enough to understand them a little better, though I still couldn't tell you what half the buttons do.

...like most of the art programs I use.

Yes, I've used Paint.NET since, like, 2018. No, I still have no idea what the "Clone Stamp" button does.

(by the way, if you're still using Paint.NET yourself for art, 1. what are you doing, and 2. Krita is much better for what I needed from an art program, so I might recommend trying that out if Paint.NET is getting on your nerves!)

Anyway, loading imaging data into Fiji usually gives you a video you can pan through. Most imaging data usually either represents a z-series, t-series, or both.

A z-series is imaging done on several layers of the subject's brain at a single time point, to create a 3D stack of images with time substituting for the depth into the brain.

On the other hand, a t-series is imaging done (usually) on a single layer of the brain throughout several time points. (Data I've worked with has ranged from 15-minute-long t-series to 100-minute-long t-series.) This again creates a 3D stack, though this time, time represents, well, time. (This is how most video is stored--even if the video itself is 2-dimensional, you're still "technically" viewing 2D slices of a 3D stack--though only super-nerds call video 3D.)

A zt-series can also be imaged by making several z-series over time, which can be processed into a 4D video. (Usually, though, the slices have to be processed through software to order them properly.)

Last year, I worked with zt-series a lot. This year, however, I've got easier work--I'm just working with t-series this time, to analyze calcium activity.

They're nicer to work with, to say the least. I've worked on automating the collection of calcium activity data by comparing the minimum and maximum values of each pixel throughout the whole t-series in order to determine where there's potentially calcium activity happening.

...in fact, once you get an image of the minimum and maximum values of each pixel across the whole t-series, you then work with those images as layers and use different functions to extract a mask that shows only potential calcium activity regions.

...

So it's adjacent to blend modes in a way.

Specifically the "Multiply" and "Divide" modes.

...

It's a bit of a stretch, of course, but working with these black-and-white images has helped me better grasp what's going on under the cover when I use those same blend modes for art.

Of course, I'm not using them masterfully yet. Really, I'm just using them to add blocky-ish shading to translucent objects.

...I'd show an example, but I can't find any pictures right now.

...

Sorry about the tangent.

I just feel like somehow this contributes to the intimate interconnectivity of everything.

Art and brain research being related on a software level.