#forcing myself to do perspective with robots???

[godsfavoritelitlesilly]

JVB owns my music taste right now

[bonefall]

post/734733274896809984/do-you-ever-worry-your-own-writing-might-come-off that makes sense. i was asking because i'm afraid of accidentally writing misogyny myself and i kind of admire what you do

Hmm... I wish I had better advice to give you on this front, but honestly, the only thing I can tell you is to consider the perspective of your female characters.

Women are people. They have thoughts and feelings of their own, so like... just let them have their own arcs. A lot of the worst misogyny in WC comes from the way that the writers just don't care about their girls (or, in the case of tall shadow, actually get undermined and forced to rewrite entire chapters), so they're not curious about their lives, or WHY they feel the way they do or what they want, or any direction for their character arcs.

Turtle Tail as an example. She'll often just end up feeling whatever Gray Wing's plot demands. She's gotta leave when Storm dumps him to make him feel lonely. She shows up again to love him in the next book. Lets her best friend Bumble get dragged back to Tom the Wifebeater, but is sad enough about her death to be "unreasonably angry" with Clear Sky, and then calms down and accept Gray Wing is right all along.

And then she dies, so he can have his very own fridge wife.

In this way, Turtle Tail's just being used to tell Gray Wing's story. They're not interested in why she would turn on Bumble, or god forbid any lingering negative feelings for how she didn't help her, or even resentment towards Clear Sky for killing her or Gray Wing for jumping to his defense. She isn't really going through her own character arc.

She does have personality traits of her own, don't misunderstand my criticism, but as a character she revolves around Gray Wing.

So, zoom out every now and then, and just ask yourself; "Whose story is being told by what I wrote? Do my female characters have goals, wants, and agency, or are they just supporting men? How do their choices impact the narrative?"

But that's already kinda assuming that you already have characters like Turtle Tail who DO have personalities and potential of their own. Here's some super simple and practical advice that helped me;

Tally the genders in your cast. How many are boys, how many are girls, how many are others?

And take stock of how many of those characters are just in the supporting cast, and compare that to the amount you have in the main cast.

If you have a significant imbalance, ESPECIALLY in the main cast, fire the Woman Beam.

It's a really simple trick to just write a male character, and then change its gender while keeping it the same. I promise women are really not fundamentally different from men lmao. You can consider how your in-universe gender roles affect them later, if you'd like, but when you're just starting to wean yourself off a "boy bias" this trick works like a charm.

Also you're not allowed to change the body type of any girl you Woman Beam because I said so. PLEASE allow your girls to have muscles, or be fat, or be old, or have lots of scars. Do NOT do what a cowardly Triple A studio does, where the women all have the same cute or sexy face and curvy body while they're standing next to dwarves, robots, and a gorilla.

Or this shit,

If you do this I will GET you. If you're ever possessed by the dark urge, you will see my face appear in the clouds like Mufasa himself to guide you away from the path of evil.

Anyway, you get better at just making characters girls to begin with as time goes on and you practice it. It's really not as big of a deal as your brain might think it is.

Take a legitimate interest in female characters and try not to disproportionately hit them with parental/romance plots as opposed to the male cast, and you'll be fine. Don't think of them as "SPECIAL WOMEN CHARACTERS" just make a character and then let her be a girl, occasionally checking your tally and doing some critical thinking about their use in the story.

(Also remember I'm not a professional or anything, I'm just trying to give advice)

[ilov3pedr0p4scal]

not me waking up and the first thing I see is this 😭

co - star apparently knows what im being up to lately 😭 and im definitely taking this as an advice that literally everyone has heard before here.

Shifters here always tell us that we have to see beyond 3D and accept that we already have it, it may seem “silly” and you can say “girl, I literally can’t see that so it’s not real” it may seem like that if you have that mindset, where is that mindset going to take you? Nowhere, it’s better to join the wave and end up in a new place you weren’t before than to stay in the same place forever and not doing anything about it.

Yesterday all day I was repeating a lot of affirmations to myself, “im shifting” “i will shift tonight, not tomorrow, not in two days, tonight”, and I was like that all day. I set a five minute timer and affirmed like a robot, even though it may seem forced it works, while I was washing the dishes I affirmed, and today I did something different than others, I wrote in my shifting journal my “first” day there (which is literally not true because that is my reality and I have been there for ages, but whatever), I wrote down the sounds, the sensations, what I saw first, what I did after that, what I had for breakfast, etc. everything in the present as if it was already there, after that genuinely something changed, my perspective, a million things changed, for the first time I was too sure that I would achieve it (of course I can) I kept repeating affirmations, listening to subliminals, watching stories here on tumblr, and drawing in my diary about it, it also helped me visualize.

night came and i already knew what was going to happen, (i prefer to try shifting at night simply because it is more comfortable for me) i was so excited that my reality would finally arrive, it would arrive after many years of being trapped in this reality that is not for me. so i listened to this subliminal that i found in a post here, and i got into a comfortable position, i listened to it and i am not kidding you, within a few minutes my body was numb, i was affirming and affirming, i was imagining my reality, how it would look when i arrived and what i would do, and for the first time in 4 years of trying, i know i was there for at least a second, and it may seem like nothing to you, but to me it was a big deal, I WAS THERE! my position changed and I saw the place where I would wake up and next to me i see my boyfriend, I always tried to be calm and not let my emotions consume me, after that I kept repeating and affirming, until I was asleep. I had previously set an alarm to try to enter the void state in case I fell asleep, and OMG the alarm went off and I turned it off and went to sleep 😭, I wish it was a joke but oh well, IT LITERALLY SAID ON THE SCREEN “GO TO VOID STATE!” and I was like goodnight bitch, but whatever.

I know it may seem like another post from the bunch you see here that tells you the same thing over and over and over again, but if it's always the same it's because it works. Now I know these things and I know what worked for me, and the next time I go to my reality I know I'll wake up there and not here. If you've been trying for years like me, but you never take the time to informed yourself or looked within yourself for what method you liked and just do the fucking raven method or something because "there's no time" girl, believe me that even if you can do shifting without being knowing as such, sometimes knowing a little more doesn't hurt and more so if you've tried for as long as I have. Thank god I found the shifting community here which is a thousand times better than others, thanks to the creators for sharing. I've never been so sure of something in my life, and I know that I'll get to where I belong soon. 🤍

Didn’t realize how long that was lol, but i just wanted to share my story for the people here who may find this kind of thing hard to believe. its real if you make it real, dont let the tiny voice in your head tell you other wise, punch it in the face i mean, imagine that you are pushing that thing in the face, for me it works doing that lol.

hope this may help someone, and have a great day and shift! 🤍

[alharringtonfan]

Ven, just one tip, maybe call Mitcha's lawyer dad and ask him to defend you!

But guys.,, are my eyes deceiving me...? A-a... a Twitter user wi-with common sense?!?!!????! 😱

Well. Better late than never I suppose. AT LONG LAST those algorithm-fed robots have been programmed into attaching themselves onto Alex's narrative this time around. At least now it's ACTUALLY the truth! (even if they had to slooooooowly and caaaaarefully be guided around by the hand, like some baby just learning how to walk, to realize something as obvious as 1+1=2)

Also, no. Shut up. You've had MORE than enough proof to disregard the claims made against Alex. You simply chose to remain ignorant to it, because the very thought of using your brain for once is apparently way too difficult for you. I can understand staying neutral; but being part of a hate campaign, even when knowing full well that most if not all of the claims were false? No. You and your clique are just stupid and naive. Go back to preschool.

By the waaaaaay, just a reminder for the people who were loudly against Alex even after so much information had been brought up even DAYS before his eventual response.

You supported people like this. You've had all the opportunities in the world to change your perspective but still didn't. You've helped in this smear campaign. You corroborated people who didn't want a person to die just so it wouldn't "make them look bad". You were the reason why Alex was forced to state the obvious.

Why so, it's beyond me.

Last post under the alex kister hashtag. I know people are sick of my ramblings just as I myself am. Reddit wants to move on and so do I and many others. Peace out ✌️

[misscammiedawn]

Intentional, Accidental and Allegorical representation in media

CW: Suicide, stigmatizing language, homophobia/transphobia mentions.

Spoiler warnings: Mr. Robot, Deadly Premonition 1 & 2, The Missing: JJ Macfield & The Island of Memories, Star Trek DS9, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

So... today's essay is going to focus on less ideal bits of media representation. Some of the discussed media may have insensitive depictions of vulnerable groups. Please read with care.

One of the things I've focused on since starting Media, Myself and I was finding overt pieces of representation that I felt did a good job of taking issues of chronic dissociative disorders and putting them to screen or page.

I've covered memoirs, I've covered stories written by former social workers about generational trauma, I've covered games that explain the concept of derealization and characters diagnosed with DID.

Every entry so far has been clear and overt in their presentation of mental illness and in telling I've tried to explain the ups and downs of how the material was presented and what they got right vs wrong.

Our latest entry in the series was a memoir, written by a person diagnosed with DID. Though I cannot speak to the personal lives of the authors for Night in the Woods, The Incredible Hulk, Mr. Robot and Umineko; it is not apparent that they experience the conditions that they write about.

And that's okay. Not all fiction must be written from a personal perspective of lived experience.

The issue comes in when even well meaning creatives want to write overt representation without the proper level of experience and sensitivity reading.

As I covered in my Mr. Robot write-up, Sam Esmail wrote Elliot's DID to fit the split personality trope (in way of copying Fight Club) and needed to apply the real world condition to the plot. For the most part it is successful and deserves praise for being that rare piece of mainstream media that overtly explains part roles with the correct terms "protector" and "persecutor" and how these functions relate to the system's origins.

Then it finishes with the discussion of "The Real Elliot" and includes a heartbreaking scene where the Elliot we have known the entire show tells his sister "I love you" and that sister, Darlene, wanting her 'real' brother back, leaves the room without a word.

Many people, myself included, felt hurt and alienated by this complete misrepresentation of our condition and did not appreciate a hurtful piece of stigma being launched into the public psyche for further misunderstandings. If you hate the show because of this mishandling of the topic then I would not blame you.

On a recent rewatch, though, I saw this moment from the final episode of season 1:

When I first saw this scene I felt a deep well of comfort in seeing something true to my experience displayed in a way no fiction had ever attempted to display before. Every part is equal. We are all part of the same system. There's no part more valid than the rest. One part acting against the system will breed dysregulation.

The child part of Elliot even says that Rami Malek's character is "hurting the family" by forcing the rest of them away and denying them.

It is clear now that the show is over that this was not intended to be a piece of representation but instead a way of obfuscating the final episode twist that the Elliot we follow is actually an alter and not 'the real Elliot'. He was "hurting the family" by sealing away 'the real Elliot' not by rejecting the system.

It hurt to see a moment that resonated so strongly be overturned at a later point.

It is presently believed, though study is always ongoing, that children who experience CPTSD in their formative years do not develop the stability to create an integrated sense of self. This truth is relevant in the formation of chronic dissociative disorders and personality disorders such as Borderline Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The root of all of these symptoms being tied up in CPTSD. There is debate in the psychological field on if personality disorders are worth diagnosing as they tend to lead to stigmatization and self-pathologizing in ways that distract from treating the root trauma, but that is a topic beyond the scope of this essay.

Without a stable sense of self the child grows up with an "disintegrated core" that shifts and changes to help gain the needs for safety and comfort based on what will work in any given environment. In DID there is a layer of shielding from PTSD triggers involved that makes it so ego/personality states can form dissociative barriers between one another which leads to the parts forming. With Borderline these fluctuations tend to be less stable and lead to Identity Disturbance, where a person feels alienated from their own identity.

BPD and DID have a lot in common and it leads to debate in the psychological field that they may be different presentations of the same condition. In my experience labels are only as effective as they serve the person who holds them and anything that can forge connection and understanding should be cherished.

But going back to the original point, Mr. Robot had accidentally provided me solid representation that I latched onto. It was not intended to be a representation of what the creators understood DID to be but it did hit something which matches the lived experience of at least one person watching.

It can be powerful when you see a piece of media reflect parts of your experience back at you. Even if it was never meant to in the first place.

Before we continue with this essay I wish to state firmly that everyone is entitled to every single message and emotion that they have ever gleaned from fiction. No one should be told that their sense of comfort and warmth is wrong to have just because it was not authorial intent. I never want my words to ever strip something that is a positive from anyone's lives. I hope that never happens.

But that's the topic of this essay. Accidental representation and Intentional representation and what the benefits and detriments are.

As we see above, intentional representation that is made by creators who does not have lived experience can lead to misinformation, misunderstanding and harm. Even the most well meaning creatives are prone to this.

In way of example, let's talk about a creator who clearly means well and has included topics of gender and sexuality in the heavy majority of his works.

SWERY 65 (Hidetaka Suehiro) is the creator of Deadly Premonition and head of White Owls studios. In 2018 SWERY's team developed The Missing: J.J Macfield and the Island of Memories. It's a short game that displays the following message each time it is booted up:

The game starts with a pair of women, JJ and Emily, on a camping trip on an island and Emily attempts to engage intimacy with JJ before being rejected. The next morning Emily is missing and JJ must find their childhood best friend and potential love interest while memories from their past appear in the way of text messages. Towards the climax of the game we understand that Emily had left clothes in JJ's room and her mother had found them and had sent her to conversion therapy. The game is fairly vague about the circumstances and it's easy to read this as JJ's mother finding out that JJ is a lesbian.

In the final chapter of the story we find out that JJ is transgender. That the entire game is a dream sequence after she attempted to take her own life during a university lecture. The game makes it clear that the JJ we play as is who she wishes she were and that in reality she has not yet begun transitioning. In the reality section of the game she speaks with her developmental voice and is not wearing a wig. We still identify her as JJ and the game even includes a New Game + mode where you can play as the JJ from the reality segment complete with every voice line read in her developmental voice.

It is a fairly good piece of representation particularly as the game and the development are Japanese and Hidetaka Suehiro does not apparently have lived experience with transition. Albeit it heavily fetishizes the suffering inherent to transition with the body mutilation gameplay mechanic feeding into the nature of the subtext.

Unfortunately, like the Mr. Robot example above, it can be easy to focus on the negative aspects of the representation and feel hurt/betrayed by the good that The Missing does when compared with other projects by the same creator.

In 2020 the same creative team released Deadly Premonition 2, a sequel to the cult classic game that itself had some slightly problematic depictions of gender and sexuality. Both games the culprit is explicitly LGBT and their motives are rooted in the abuse they received for living as their chosen identity. A topic included in The Missing also.

It's makes it difficult to accept the good representation experienced when the very next game involves a sequence that had to be patched out of the game with an apology from the creator for insensitivity.

It's up to a member of the audience to take what they like and leave what they don't but it's a good example of how overt representation can lead to missteps by even the most well meaning creator.

But let's step into accidental representation because the Deadly Premonition games can easily be read as representing CDD, even if it is not intentional. The main character of the game is Francis York Morgan. Throughout the game he seeks guidance from "Zach" who he speaks to constantly both when he is alone and when around other characters, though when people ask he informs them that it is a private matter which he does not discuss.

It is easy for those playing the game to think of Zach as the player themselves. Especially as York entrusts Zach to handle all of the combat segments of the game and we are prompted to answer questions when York asks for Zach's opinions on the investigation. It's also easy to ignore all of the comments the NPCs make about Francis Morgan's huge scar. York has a scar on his face and an odd patch of missing hair after all.

The final chapter of the game reveals that when he was young Zach witnessed the horrific death of his parents and was so traumatized that he was sheltered by an inhabitant of an extra-dimensional plane of existence who protects him from all the dangers in the world. Which sounds a lot like the formation of a protector alter to me. York fronts pretty much all of the time but keeps in constant communication with Zach and does his best to live their shared life in a way that will one day let Zach take control, which happens at the end and we get to see the protagonist as all of the NPCs saw him up until that point.

(York on left, Zach on right)

The epilogue sequence for Deadly Prem 2 even gives a heartwarming depiction of plurality in having literal IM messages from York appearing on Zach's desktop during a video call.

It's arguable over whether or not this is accidental representation or not. The circumstances of Zach and York's partnership do meet the typical standards of overt CDD depictions but there is no pathology involved in the depiction whatsoever.

Which is a big difference between Overt Representation and less overt kinds.

When Mr. Robot discusses dissociative identity disorder or Night in the Woods discusses derealization the story needs to take time to have characters explain the concepts to characters within the fiction and the audience. At the heart of all things, this form of representation is aimed at people who are not in the know about these conditions.

When it vibes with our experiences and makes us feel seen it is doing that as a side effect of presenting the experience to an audience. Generally the expectation would be that the majority of the audience do not happen to share these experiences and need help in being able to relate, particularly when the creators do not experience the condition for themselves.

In intentional representation cases where the creative team do have lived experience then the art of making an emotional connection with the audience is a matter of someone trying to convey that which they feel and experience, which makes those who resonate to have a higher chance of being and feeling seen.

Even that doesn't always seem to work out as expected though.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a musical romantic comedy TV Show which holds the interesting record of managing to complete its full TV run of 4 seasons despite being consistently drawing abysmally low ratings. It is arguably one of the best intentional representations of BPD in all of media, even sitting higher than works adapted from biographies such as Girl, Interrupted.

Well... part of the argument is that it was never intended to be.

The main character, Rebecca Bunch, is a Jewish woman with a highly religious family who makes rash and impulsive decisions that lead her to live in LA County restarting a highly successful law degree so she can chase an ex-boyfriend. She is played by the show's creator, Rachel Bloom, who is a Jewish woman with a highly religious family (her cousin, a rabbi, peformed the ceremony for her wedding). She was born and raised in LA County and she has an outspoken history with mental illness including OCD, Anxiety and Depression.

Rebecca Bunch is not Rachel Bloom even if they share many elements and initials. Rachel Bloom once said she is 80% autobiographical

(2 examples that showed up when I searched the topic, top from TheWrap and bottom from Chubstr)

But Rachel Bloom does not have BPD. Rebecca Bunch didn't until Season 3. But... she always had BPD. It just... wasn't intentional.

When starting work on season 3 the creative team spoke with therapists to determine the direction of the show and it was decided that Rebecca's diagnosis based on her actions in the show and her behaviors would best fit BPD and the final 2 seasons of the show were tailored around this to show effective therapy can help benefit a person in need. It leads to a positive ending for the show.

But even when Bloom was autobiographically placing her own symptoms on the page, enough that the story about Harvey Guillen having to play a person based on himself, the narrative and drama of the story required the character take actions that lead to a depiction of BPD rather than OCD/Anxiety.

Even though the intention did not kick in to the 3rd season, which only exists via miracles and CW refusing to give up on the show, Bunch is often listed as one of the best fictional depictions of BPD in TV/Movies, alongside Anakin Skywalker, Catra and Clementine Kruczynski. None of whom are diagnosed with BPD or seen to be struggling with mental illness. But they all fit the bill remarkably well. Enough that should a therapist be introduced into the plot of Star Wars, She-Ra or Eternal Sunshine they could easily take their existing characters and make the diagnosis intentional by giving it the label.

The same can even happen with gender and sexuality. Whether it is asexual representation from Jughead and Todd Sanchez from Archie Comics and Bojack Horseman respectively; Morph being genderfluid and using they/them pronouns in X-Men '97 or Halo/Violet in Young Justice coming out non-binary having a discussion about their preferred pronouns; or Korra and Asami's bisexuality in the Avatar universe.

All of these were not part of the blueprint when the character was brought to the stage, they just seemed a natural evolution of the character as the story progressed or, with situations like Umbrella Academy's 3rd season adapting Elliot Page's real life transition into the plot, it was necessary for the fiction to meet reality.

And this is of course ignoring the more important factor.

We live in a day and an age where we can have Viktor Hargreeves as a leading man in an ensemble superhero show. We can dedicate storylines to people discovering and exploring their non-binary identities and preferred pronouns.

That wasn't always the case. Which brings us to our final type of representation.

Allegorical.

When I say "this wasn't always the case", I do not intend to imply that allegorical representation has gone anywhere. It still remains with us and is as effective today as it ever was. But in the past, particularly the 90s, it was necessary.

Where intentional representation (and accidental that becomes intentional) has the luxury of using the correct language and educating an audience, allegorical representation speaks directly to the group in question without regard for the mainstream audience.

This can also happen in intentional and accidental forms. The quintessential example for trans people is The Matrix, a story where people who reject the reality that we are sold by the dominant culture and seek to find community of those who exist outside of that system and to wake up to their true reality and their chosen names after taking a pill. To those who know the feelings that Trinity and Neo discuss in the first 20 minutes of the movie, who see the forms of intimacy displayed in their romance and acknowledge the villain deadnaming as an insult; there is no question that it is superb representation of a lived reality. To a cis individual who has never had to ask those questions and do not know the violence of being denied a name, they would not even approach the questions the movie constantly asks to anyone who can listen.

But there are numerous examples of allegorical representation that are there to allow the content to exist in spite of censors and editors.

Garnet from Steven Universe is intended to be a wlw couple but their romance could not be overtly displayed in a children's show. Famously the show creator had to trade in all of their good will and bargaining power for the show they created in order to depict the wedding of Sapphire and Ruby on the show. Until then the concept of Fusion was introduced to show soulmates intertwined and working in unison. Itself a little bit of accidental plurality representation.

Of course, symbiosis appears to be a common point for such depictions.

Anyone who lived through the 90s would know it was the wild west for representation where the allegories could be paper thin but could never be confirmed. We were simultaneously accepting as a culture and absolutely terrified to commit to the retaliation that would come from actually using the words and being positive. The 90s was a time of cowardice and cruelty. Punching down was always allowed. Friends, the most popular show of the era, included a main character whose ex-wife left for another woman as a show long punchline and they included more transphobic jokes in some episodes than BIPOC characters in the entire run of the show.

We could laugh at the gays in Will & Grace but we couldn't celebrate them by allowing Xena and Gabrielle to be overtly gay. Just heavily implied.

And transphobia was the worst at the time.

Star Trek Deep Space 9 stepped around the stigma when they introduced Jadzia Dax. Dax may not actually be trans.

But she is a trans allegory.

Dax is a trill, a symbiotic entity that needs to bond with a host to live. Up until the events of the show it had been bonded with a male host, Curzon, who was Cisco, the main character's, mentor. The show often depicts the familiarity Cisco has with Dax despite Jadzia Dax (and Ezri Dax) being different incarnations of the same entity. As shown above, Jadzia is her name now.

The people of the era certainly were aware of the allegory at play and starved of any positive depictions in media they firmly latched on. Here's a 1997 magazine with Dax on the cover, celebrating Gene Roddenbury's show going "where no trans had gone before"

Allegorical representation is important. Especially as many pieces of media are shared globally and overt representation is often banned from territories where people are still starving to see themselves reflected in media.

So... with that said. Let me sum up my beliefs on the topic.

Intentional Representation often is in dialogue with the whole audience. It often intends to speak directly to those who are not part of the populations being represented, assuming a lack of familiarity. This is not always the case but is the assumed.

Accidental Representation begins a dialogue with the populations being represented and typically do not become aware of the fact that this dialogue has begun but can come to take it and make it part of the fiction's DNA.

Allegorical Representation is in constant and meaningful discussion with the populations represented and those sympathetic to them. It knows exactly what it is doing and does not need to conform to the expectations or understandings of the broader audience.

It's why I love allegories so damned much.

-

For more essays like this please check out our Media, Myself and I tag, we typically focus on dissociative disorders there.

[sminny-wew]

Why people are excited over Princess Elise’s (brief) return

Short answer: the new design/art style that Sonic Channel gave her looks nice and she’s being treated with as much dignity as the rest of the Sonic cast for the first time since Sonic 06′s release nearly 17 years ago

Long answer:

Every year, Sonic Channel (the official Japanese website for Sonic the Hedgehog) puts out character illustrations for each month. Sometimes it’s just art of the character posing, sometimes they’re actually doing something (Sonic celebrating his birthday, Amy walking in the rain, Cream going trick-or-treating, etc.). For 2023, Sonic Channel is posting a specific themed series of artwork called “Isekai Ogiri” that depicts two characters in silly, non-canon scenarios; part of the appeal of these illustrations is that one of the two characters in each artwork is voted for by fans. So far we’ve seen Gadget (AKA Buddy AKA the custom character from Sonic Forces) confessing his love to an Egg Pawn in a scene straight out of a slice-of-life anime, Shadow and Infinite as rival idol musicians, a cutely-dressed Blaze visiting fortune teller Amy, Tikal and Chaos running their own pizza place, and most recently as of this post, Silver the figure-skating coach and his student Elise. (I’m linking back to the original SC pages b/c they put out a message on their official Twitter urging people to link back to the original SC pages/tweets, otherwise they might be inclined to stop making this art; if you want to understand the little stories that come with each illustration, I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with janky Google Translate translations.)

So, yeah, Princess Elise of notorious Sonic 06 infamy, the one video game journalists always seem eager to remind you kissed a dead anthropomorphic hedgehog, recently appeared in one of these illustrations. And people lost their minds, but this time, with excitement.

But if Princess Elise was/is so despised, why do people seem genuinely excited to see her now?

Well there’s 2 reasons for that: 1) the way in which she was drawn, and 2) the fact that she was even a contender to appear in this art series in the first place

1) Human characters appearing in the Sonic series has always been a source of discourse among fans. Some, like myself, enjoy seeing humans coexist alongside a cast of furries, robots, and other assorted beings; others believe there shouldn’t be any humans (except Eggman) in Sonic at all. They’ve been variously depicted as realistic people (Sonic 06) and with more cartoonish Pixar-esque proportions (Sonic Unleashed). From my perspective, what seemed to make people dislike Elise’s original design was that in addition to looking out-of-place next to the cartoony Sonic (people often say that she looks like she belongs in Final Fantasy), her facial expressions were quite bland and difficult to read. While I would argue that Sonic and his friends also had very little facial expression in 06, it’s much easier to notice with Elise (and to a lesser degree, 06 Eggman) due to her more realistic face. It evokes a feeling in some people known as the Uncanny Valley. In the Isekai Ogiri’s April illustration, Elise is depicted in a new style that leans more towards cartoony; some have compared it to Puyo Puyo, others have said she resembles the humans from Balan Wonderworld. Either way, most fans, at least those on Twitter and Tumblr, have praised Elise’s new “look” because her new proportions (large head and hands, big eyes that are easier to read) make her more closely fit in with other Sonic characters. She feels less like a Final Fantasy character and more like a Sonic character.

(With that said, not everyone was automatically bothered by Elise’s realistic 06 design because human beings do not perceive everything in the exact same way b/c art is subjective)

2) Part of how Elise even wound up in this illustration is not just because people wanted to see her again, but because Sonic Team themselves decided to treat her with dignity by making her an option to vote for. And she was up against Merlina from Sonic and the Black Knight, a well-regarded character among fans and one of the few female villains in the entire series!! The poll they were in for the April pic was very close!!

During the late 2000s following Sonic 06′s release, Silver had his fanbase, but a lot of people still viewed him as annoying, and it took several years of game reappearances for him to become a less divisive character (my source: I’ve been a Sonic fan with internet access since ~2003, the way he’s depicted in the Sonic Paradox shorts is actually what a lot of people thought of him at the time). Also, he was still an anthropomorphic Sonic animal, so naturally people would be quicker to accept him as part of the cast.

But Elise? The human? While I doubt she was originally intended to be a recurring character, even if 06 WAS supposed to be a reboot, her portrayal in that game was so widely despised by critics and fans alike that she was thereafter relegated to rare cameos (like being on a collectible card in Sonic Rivals 2) and jokes at her expense (in LEGO Dimensions, when Sonic interacts with Lumpy Space Princess, he says, “Last time I met a princess, I...we...you know, I don't quite remember, never mind!” in a hurried and embarrassed voice). Elise is hardly the only notoriously-disliked Sonic character, but because she only appeared in one game in a non-playable role (I’m not counting the stages where Sonic carries her), her biggest positive accomplishments--unlocking her cell herself instead of waiting for Sonic to save her, jumping from Eggman’s ship with zero hesitation, and reviving Sonic--are often overshadowed by the moments where she just stands there praying, gets kidnapped, and kisses a dead hedgehog just in case you forgot for the 17th year in a row, leading people to view her as an inherently bad character. Because she is also a girl, and video games were and still are a largely male-dominated culture loaded with toxic masculinity, it’d be ignorant to say the vitriol towards Elise wasn’t charged with sexism and misogyny on some level.

But as an aspiring writer and someone who hates wasted character potential, my personal opinion is that characters, SPECIFICALLY in ongoing franchises like Sonic, are not inherently bad, it’s the ways in which they’re USED that can make them LOOK good or bad, and they don’t deserve to be locked away forever all because of one bad interpretation. But unlike Silver who has been in multiple games since 06 (or even Mephiles, who was added to the Sonic Forces mobile game last year as an unlockable character), Elise has only ever had 06. Thus, people only have that one interpretation of her to go off of, because not everyone obsessively rewrites her in their headcanons or hunts down fan fiction where Elise is characterized with actual effort.

And like I said, I don’t think Elise was created with longevity in mind, but it’s specifically because critics and fans alike continue to beat this dead horse that you have people like me saying “What if she came back tho”

Compare the hate Elise gets to the Deadly Six, characters whose debut game was not seen as quite a colossal failure as 06 but still had a story that was almost universally panned, particularly in regards to its character writing. While the Deadly Six (or just Zavok) have yet to appear in a game written by Ian Flynn, they’ve been recurring characters in the IDW Sonic comics and, while still pretty universally disliked, have been regarded by some fans as being tolerable in the comics due to how Flynn utilizes them there. (I wrote a whole other post speculating about the Deadly Six’s characterization in IDW if you feel like reading that lol.) In this sense, the current Sonic writers are genuinely trying to make even the most undesired characters palatable for the audience. I think it’ll be a long while before most people fully warm up to the D6, but the intent is there.

Meaning that the same could hypothetically be done for Elise, if this illustration is any indication that SEGA is beginning to wholeheartedly embrace their past, even the ugly parts

I’m not expecting anything huge from this, and I don’t expect her to suddenly become a major recurring character, because this illustration is nothing more than Sonic Team testing the waters to see how people react to them unironically including Elise in non-canon material. But look at all the fan art people are drawing of Elise in her skating outfit. Look at how fans are reacting. If, sometime after this, Elise were to appear in even a minor role in the IDW comics, in this new art style, with Ian Flynn, Evan Stanley, or even a guest writer like Daniel Barnes at the helm, I would welcome it with open arms, because I trust them to handle Princess Elise’s character with genuine investment and care.

(But until then I have my own ideas that I’m a bit hesitant to share for.....reasons~)

[blade-liger-4ever]

RWBY X Transformers Partnerships 4: Optimus Prime and Mercury Black - Peacemakers

"It's just....after everything I've done, it's still hard to believe a chance to change exists for a guy like me."

"There is always hope for redemption, Mercury. However, I believe you are missing one crucial factor regarding your past."

"Man, you talk in the most ancient way. Alright Boss Man, I've told you about myself, no lies. I was trained to be an assassin, made to kill others, and steal, then killed my own father. What 'crucial factor' am I missing?"

"The fact that you were an innocent child born into a hard life. I do not deny that you were forced into committing vile acts, or that, in some aspects, you perhaps enjoyed it. However, I know that you had no say in the matter, and that until you befriended young Ruby, you felt you had been caged in the occupation of an assassin. But by choosing to escape that life, and proving your reliability since then, you have shown to be capable of changing for the better. I believe you were meant for more, Mercury Black, and if you are willing, I would be grateful to help guide you on your new path."

".....You mean it? Even though we just met like, what, a month ago?"

"I refuse to lie to you on such matters, Mercury. In my spark, I am certain that you will achieve more than you could dream is possible."

"I...well, Ruby believes in me, but I - I never had an adult give me a chance like that. Until Tai and the others, but even then, they're..."

"Cautious?"

"Heh, to put it mildly."

"I assure you, Mercury, that such caution will not be exercised by myself. Should you need anything, you can always speak to me."

"....Thanks, Optimus."

Mercury is used to adapting. As an assassin, you have to be ready to switch tactics on a dime, or create a new plan on the fly when your old one goes up in flames. It'd been drilled into him (he had the scars to prove it), and even when his perspective on life had been shattered and reconstructed by Ruby, Mercury was able to pull himself together and adapt to the change in time for the Fall of Beacon.

However, living in his sort of/definite girlfriend's house with her family and now having to deal with the revelation of giant alien robots bringing their war to Remnant is more than probably even Marcus could handle.

In order to process this curveball, Mercury decides to keep by Ruby's room, detach himself from the world, and analyze the residents of Patch while this new pattern settles in his brain.

Tai is a kind man, and though he's surprisingly tame, Mercury has caught glimpses of the senior Xiao Long's fire that has been passed on to Yang. Speaking of Yang, the fiery blond is returning to her old self, albeit more restrained than before. To be completely honest, Mercury is grateful for that progress; seeing Yang in a shell-shocked, blank state had actually hurt him. Her boyfriend Neptune has perked up on account of this, and although he gets along with him, Mercury is still confused about how he's so accepting of the existence of literal alien robots. Then again, this guy's dating the Sun Dragon, so he shouldn't be surprised that Neptune was actually excited to hear that Qrow had brought home over-sized guests.

Oh, right. Qrow Branwen.

Although the Huntsman's reputation precedes him by a wide margin, and though the hairs on the back of his neck still tingle when Qrow's eyes land on him, Mercury's initial fear of the man has morphed into suspicion and a deal of resentment. Tai can claim he was adopted into the family all he wants to, but Mercury had been taught to look for patterns and anything unusual. And the uncanny facial resemblance between Qrow and his "honorary niece" is blatantly obvious. And the scythe weapon? Please, it takes a genius to build something like that, never mind maintaining and operating it with the ease he and Ruby exercise. So yeah, the chances of two unrelated individuals having the same genius to build an intricately designed scythe weapon are a million to one - and those odds have already been stolen by the 'Cybertronians' who'd fallen through some portal onto Remnant.

Mercury is still trying to understand that, but between monitoring Ruby and the house, he's getting there.

Wheeljack is similar to Qrow, which Mercury automatically associates with the words "dangerous" and "unpredictable". He's a good engineer, judging by the doo-hickey he's cooked up on the island, but the scars and sparky look in his eyes tells Mercury that the...'Wrecker-scientist', is just as capable of destroying as he is of creating. Ironhide is what every drill sergeant wishes he could be; the giant 'Autobot' barks orders and gives assignments at great speed, usually practiced as he takes over a task from one of the others when they move too slowly. Despite that, he's surprisingly careful when dealing with Miko - and Mercury does his best to avoid her and her explosions. She's innocent, he knows that, but by Remnant, she has too much energy for his liking.

Sideswipe is...loose. Mercury can't quite put his finger on it, but he knows that Sideswipe, in spite of his bravado and snark that rivals Yang's, is fast. If he had to bet, the younger Autobot is used to moving at speeds that allow him to dish out pain with little detriment to himself. Good qualities for sure, but the way he acts like a twenty year old and carries himself like that hits a little too close to home for Mercury's comfort. As for Smokescreen, it's obvious he's the team baby - the short Autobot has the same kind of energy for justice as Ruby, as well as the excitableness and easygoing nature. Because of that similarity, Mercury's willing to spend some of his free time with him, though there are moments of eerie silence from Smokescreen, as well as a distant gaze, that makes him wonder about the guy's inner thoughts. However, the kid brushes it off with swagger, and Mercury's too deep in his own concerns to bother trying to coax an admission out of him.

However, the one he can't seem to pin down is their leader: Optimus Prime.

The Autobot commander towers over them all, with only Ironhide standing even remotely close to Optimus' height. Optimus walks steadily, with a silent strength and confidence that Mercury has never seen in anyone else's stride. Moreover, he can feel the guy's power when he enters a room, almost as if it were a supernatural sensation. Heck, even when he's standing still, Mercury can sense that power at rest, waiting to be used and capable of unleashing itself in a breath if Optimus wanted to cut loose.

But that's not what boggles his mind the most about the Autobots' superior.

It's the way he speaks.

Optimus' voice is deep and carries far, easily putting every other male's baritone and bass to shame. And yet, despite that, despite the sheer force in his voice, Optimus always speaks in a calm tone. He always uses full sentences, never utilizes slang or contractions (That's wild), and not once - ONCE - has Mercury heard his voice rise beyond an octave. It should be intimidating, should make him question this guy's status among the Cybertronian race.

And yet...the absolute warmth in Optimus' voice reaches something inside of Mercury. It reaches in and stirs something, something like a small child, to consciousness, and makes the child want to reach out to Optimus for something like comfort, and safety.

The only time Mercury can actually remember doing that is a time when he was eight, shortly after his mother had died. And his plea for consolation had been answered with a severe punishment from Marcus.

That memory makes all of his instincts scream to stay away from Optimus emotionally. Ruby understands him, accepts him, and so far her opinion outweighs the realistic worries of her family, which has given Mercury more time to continue improving himself and showing that he has changed from his upbringing. But since he's gotten to know her, he's become friendly with the other people in her life, although he can't help but keep some of them at arm's length for a while yet. Tai lets him roam the house free, Yang's willing to spar with him while Neptune cheers and mediates on the side, while Mercury and Qrow keep their distance based off a mutual, silent understanding of Ruby's true parentage between them.

So finding himself almost unconsciously following after Optimus whenever a meeting ends is more than a shock for Mercury.

It happens to him three times. The first time is when they meet, and Mercury had still been processing the Autobots' arrival. He'd all but locked himself in the guest room, and stayed in Ruby's room for a week to figure things out. The second time was when Wheeljack had finished half of the doo-hickey out in the woods, and required new equipment that required everyone's presence. Mercury had all but run back to the cabin from the shock of that lapse, and seeing that Ruby had woken up had kept him occupied for the next five days, and given him a reasonable excuse for avoiding the Cybertronians, their leader especially. However, his time with Ruby, while relieving and rejuvenating for them both, came to a head when Wheeljack stuck his metal foot in his mouth and openly identified Ruby as Qrow's daughter when they were working on Branwen's scythe.

He knew she was going to run, knew she was going to be too fast for him. But Mercury still tried going after her, mildly surprised that Smokescreen shifted into a sporty racecar to take after her as well. It seemed that he reacted instinctively too, as the short Autobot drove off without thinking to offer him a ride, and Mercury found himself chasing air and dirt before logic made him stop.

As he stood there, Optimus entered the area from the side, and Mercury's whirling thoughts consisted of one realization that the Autobot had been nearby when the fiasco began. To his surprise, Optimus asked him what had happened, and with a quick scan of the place around him, Mercury saw that Qrow and Wheeljack had disappeared - whether to chase down Ruby or not, he had no idea.

Resisting all his better instincts, Mercury summed up Ruby's real parentage and how he and Qrow had been trying to avoid it until Wheeljack ruined it. To his immense surprise, Optimus listened with keen interest, and once he'd finished, the leader thanked him and advised they let Smokescreen find her, as (apparently) the kid had ways of bonding with "human youth". Mercury quietly scoffed at the phrasing, then mumbled about the strangeness of this alien leader.

That dour sarcasm evaporated when he looked up and saw that he was trailing Optimus' moving feet.

Certain he was losing his mind, Mercury froze and tried to think of a way to leave without being spotted. However, Optimus paused and spoke his name, the patient, quiet underlying command of "stay put" rooting him to the ground. Turning around, Optimus revealed that he was aware of not only Mercury's unconscious tailing of him, but how he'd been avoiding him for the past two weeks as well. Optimus told him that while he respected his privacy and actions, he wished to know why Mercury fears him, as he only wants to be a friend to him.

The words make everything that's been building up inside of Mercury snap, and he can't help it. He yells at Optimus, blurts out that no one can be as good as he is, that adults aren't as inherently kind like him and that anything like those qualities are destroyed somehow in short order. He lashes out that he can't figure Optimus out because he's so different, so good, and honest-to-Remnant heroic, and that no one can - can...

"...Make me feel like a kid. A defenseless kid, who never....never had what Yang has with Tai."

Mercury stuffs his hands in his pockets, then stares at the ground and hopes against all reason that the world will just go back to making sense. Optimus takes two careful steps forward, bends down, and to Mercury's shock, picks him up. His hold is gentle, and he brings the hand holding him to his chest, where Mercury notices a pale glow emanating from somewhere behind the glass before the comforting warmth of his metal body distracts him and makes Mercury relax. As Mercury processes this, Optimus quietly speaks, telling him that many people are too weak to be either good or heroic, and that yes, many can be good, but will have their better qualities destroyed. Oftentimes, the latter is a personal choice, such as the Decepticons' leader Megatron, who Optimus once considered a brother before their war broke out. As Mercury detects a faint humming inside of the Autobot's chest, Optimus adds that many can and do choose to be good, and that while some possess those qualities to greater degrees than others, it does not make the entire adult world cruel.

"Life itself is cruel, and I feel you know that better than many your age do. However, if you will allow me to, I would be pleased to help you heal and learn to trust others again, Mercury."

Mercury's not sure if this is how it feels to have a father, but even if it isn't, he's gonna fight to keep it the same way he'll fight to keep Ruby safe.

Optimus and Mercury form a close bond after this, with Optimus often making sure Mercury is both safe and emotionally well after a long day. He knows when Mercury needs a push to go to bed or otherwise take care of himself, but more times than not, Optimus can tell when he should speak sternly to the boy over his sleep schedule, as well as when to put his foot down over Mercury's regular time of training, reconnaissance, and other habits. Similarly, Mercury has learned tricks of getting Optimus to take a much needed break, usually by asking for some alone time that he's reluctant to admit he needs. They make a strong team on and off the battlefield, with Optimus helping to refine Mercury's techniques while Mercury tells him about Remnant's stars and history. The Autobot leader's fascination with learning their culture softens Mercury a tiny bit, and - perhaps - leads him to learn of Optimus' past on Cybertron....

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lord Almighty, last year drained me more than I realized! Sheesh, I thought for sure I'd get them done sooner than this!

Anyway, I had this team up in my head almost from the get-go. Mercury needs a real father, and Optimus is the manifestation of Team Dad, so it only made sense to buddy them up. For their name, I chose Peacemakers because Optimus wishes and fights for peace, while Mercury needs to find peace - though I admit, I was partly inspired by the weapon of the same name.

Pray I get more done sooner than this, folks! I love these two franchises, and I want to get back on track for this series I started so long ago. See you around, and remember the wisdom of the greatest Prime in history:

"Hold on to your dreams. The future is built on dreams."

[cannibal-nightmares]

sharing this with you all for perspective and also as a processing method for myself

being schizophrenic can be described by the time I bought a small air dehumidifier for my bathroom. the appliance in the box was fine and normal, it wasn't until I tried to take it out was something Wrong, something was Bad--the thing felt like it was living somehow and that was supremely Not Good; the logic part of my brain (and, truly, god bless I still have any semblance of logic still thriving and kicking) thought annoyedly, "Ugh, not this again, it's an inanimate object," but it will never ever be enough to override the inherent paranoid delusion completely. So they fought, the two sides, and when logic stands a fighting chance, the only way I can get through something is by shouting over the noise... and in this case, it was at a dehumidifier. I managed to get it out of the box all while yelling at it--which may sound like absolutely nothing, but this circumstance was actually huge for me--put it on the floor, and... Walked away. Backed away. I was too scared to plug it in, and this isn't telling the whole of the story: If remember correctly, I think I ended up crying because my hands felt "tainted" after touching the thing, and I was getting so worked up and annoyed because the only self-soothing that helps is your stereotyped incoherent rambling, and I often mitigate the shouting by forcing stressed out laughter which just makes it all seem worse, frankly. I left the dehumidifier on the floor until the next morning when I was able to plug it in and use it; I still to this day struggle to empty out the water carafe and I can't directly look at it, but at the very least I can use it for its functionality.

never thought I'd admit to this story, but I just woke up to my smoke detector beeping because the battery must be dying. the beeping bothers me way less than I would have othewise imagined, but instead of removing and replacing the battery myself, I have to call the landlord to do it for me. I have to. I set up a stool to do it myself, and my head just started swarming. And that shit is louder than any fire alarm chirping. it feels like a swarming, like pressure, like someone shouting at you to get out of the way of an oncoming car fifty times over. it's like standing next to a blaring firetruck at a parade. it feels like There Is No Worse Consequence Than This, like somehow my consciousness will be overridden if I touch the smoke detector, if I get too close to it, if I think about it at a specific angle for too long.

and I try to talk to people about my paranoia, but they don't understand there is no reason to be had. "You're right, the beeping is very loud and kind of scary," they might say. "You don't have to worry about electrocution," they might consider, "it's just a battery." It's like the instance I was having a hard time at work and asked my co-worker if a customer's service dog was real and I was replied to with, "I hope so! A robot dog would be spooky!" it has nothing to do with the physical logic at all, but absurdity like "if I fix the fire alarm myself, magically the next door neighbor will be able to read my mind" and etc beyond etc. And it may sound silly, but that's the point, that's the problem, and it's just as real as the sky is blue.

anyways im not telling this tale for pity, but, again, to offer perspective. This ish robs you of your autonomy in the most jarring and absurd ways and all I can do is laugh through it. What makes it such a monster to deal with--at least for me--is that working through the logic doesn't seem to do a damn thing. So I really do have to force myself to rely on others in times like this, and it's infinitely more difficult when your brain decides that others are the enemy, as well, even when they never had been before.

[heylinfanclub]

Topic In therapy I may be contemplating for a couple years; I crave community mutual aid but from the words of my equestrian therapist ‘we just don’t really do that here’. And I told her we do though. Plenty of people toss out usable furniture by the road. Plenty of people hire ‘taskers’ (an app I just learned about) to do chores for them. People ONLINE have financially supported me just cause they knew me, they could and they cared. Strangers come sort recycling out of our trash because they care, it’s not even their job.

During the session I was rly upset at the idea that I am doing. So much work (counting the pressures of working harder to do basic shit on average due to having a mental illness) to take care of myself. And so much more work on top of that to educate others. And keep people in my life. And try to survive capitalism. And that I can’t do it all alone! I am going to die on fire! I am the blood-sweeping robot that sweeps its lifeblood until it dies of bloodloss. And SO MANY OF US are being forced into that position, even without a mental illness that exacerbates the severity of the reality (some people LIVE LIKE THIS, DOING MORE THAN ME EVEN AND ACCEPT IT AS NORMAL INDEPENDENCE WHEN ITS LIKE. ONE DAY. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CARE FOR YOURSELF. AND YOU WILL DIE ALONE. ARE YOU NOT AFRAID?!!?!!?!) this is why it’s called COMPHET (or compallo at this point). THE ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE WHEN YOU CANT KEEP UP W THIS ALONE IS TO RELY ON A SIGNIFICANT OTHER. OR FAMILY. OR ‘THE SYSTEM’. neither of which are guaranteed for ANYONE. hell. I told someone I was goin home for the day and they said ‘lucky you’ and I’m internally like ‘YOU DONT KNOW WHAT GOING HOME IS. HOME IS NOT A GUARANTEED BREAK. HOME IS MORE WORK. HOME COULDVE BEEN RETURNING TO MY DYING PARENTS FOUR YEARS AGO. HOME IS NOT SYNONYMOUS WITH REST FOR EVERYONE. Is that. Is this a hangover of Breadwinner Perspectives? They don’t fucking count housework as work, nor caring for oneself (selfcare IS work). I cannot hire someone else or rely on someone else to do the endless work. UNLESS—-‘

THE POINT IS. The idea that is. I’d like to start a mutual aid group. For my apartment complex. Because there was a guy who went by Popeye who moved out, and he always seemed to know what was going on around the complex. He always had little barbecues and even personally acted as security around the complex when the cul de sac people tried to fuck with apartment folks stuff. He moved out and I got a bunch of his furniture and art and I’ve seen him around. But idk. New managers don’t do any community events like the managers who were here when I moved in (I genuinely don’t think the new managers wouldn’t have let me move in). Nobody quite kept people in touch like he did.

Currently all the apartment kids come to my door during the spring and summer asking for water and snacks because the managers office stopped letting them use their fridge. There are queer pride flags in windows. There are stickers of the school I went to. There are overworked and tired parents and disabled elders. I just want us to all get along and help each other. I can’t control anyone but I could help build an opening for communicating with each other. Idk. Maybe one day. When I’m confident. I want to use the quote ‘dob’t assume people have different values, they’re just working off different information. everyone wants to be Good, they just got different ideas of what that is’ as a sort of quote for that kinda thing cause I know political divisiveness in this world lately could make connection hard. Maybe. Maybe it’s just this bad on the internet. (But a lot of internet bleeds out into the real world now)

I like helping out the kids and watching kids and playing with animals and providing art supplies and helping solve problems. I know we all like to feel needed or having a chance to share our skills. There used to be an art fair here! Run by the old managers! New managers boring as shit! Maybe I’ll run the art fair! Fuck!

But it’s somethin I know will take time. Thought. Energy. The occasional stable moments. Research into real mutual aid groups! I guess I’d need a mission. And my main mission would be to spread the appreciation for Mutual Aid, to Do Mutual Aid, and maybe bolster kids confidence to do stuff like this themselves. I’ve got these kids thinking I’m cool as shit for a weirdo, I can’t waste it.

[branded-perceptions]

Ever wondered why as more causally destructive a product is as more "smiles" and marketing budget of 🔍"brand love" and mindless marketing packaging "I-love-you-slogans" it needs to sell itself / attract consumers

via hallucinatory mind stories they see themselves reflected in

instead of proactive direct communication regarding your causal touch / causal effects in objective reality?

Do you know the group love hypes of teenage gang or cliques where it often is more about the storytelled identities and to that authority attached emotions than authenticity of a genuine care of emotional motivations for everyones' causal wellbeing?

Adult society tends to behave similar

via group-identities like national / religious / consumer go(o)d(s) identity brand love / political / social bubble identities

where we unconsciously try to via our mind and social relations' hallucinatory emotional fake attachments' psychotic self-justifications adhere to our in-group identities that thus "confidently" ("being vain") tend to loose touch with questioning their subjective motivations and views' attention shadows regarding their causal functionality

🎶BECAUSE OF YOU - KELLY CLARKSON

due via their mind valuing these hallucinatory spaces more

(🎵I WILL NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES THAT YOU DID)

than public direct debating any authentic concerns whose emotional instincts we tend to repress via from our rational thoughts detached emotions

(🎵I WILL NOT LET MYSELF CAUSE MY HEART SO MUCH MISERY)

that thus lead to reductionistic explanatory robot constructs' self-justifications

(🎵I WILL NOT BREAK THE WAY YOU DID, YOU FELL SO HARD)

that from an objective systems perspective just don't any make sense

(🎵I'VE LEARNED THE HARD WAY TO NEVER LET IT GET THAT FAR)

with their to hallucinatory group-identity constructs

(🎵BECAUSE OF YOU I NEVER STRAY TOO FAR FROM THE SIDEWALK)

whose explanatory sense and entrained emotions are interpreted as "safety" (#staySafe🤥😷😇) while tending to serve these psychotic mind hypes more than causal realities' relation to our life force

(🎵BECAUSE OF YOU I LEARNED TO PLAY ON THE SAFE SIDE SO I DON'T GET HURT)

whose relation to objective reality we never fully perceive with our subjective minds' socially entrained attention focus

(🎵BECAUSE OF YOU, I FIND IT HARD TO TRUST NOT ONLY ME, BUT EVERYONE AROUND ME)

similar like the Disney faked the iconic false flag scene (🔍1958 White Wilderness documentary faked lemming mass suicide myth scene )

of lemmings running down a cliff (lemmings do not actually do that)

by for bra(i)nde(a)d show effects similar like via vain err medias peer-pressure of our current marketing economy consciously knowingly continuing to push consumers them down the cliff

(🎵BECAUSE OF YOU, I AM AFRAID)

as long as similar like in that Disney reportage the public does not know about it

(🎵I LOSE MY WAY)

and thus is deemed to be responsible by itself

(🎵AND IT'S NOT TOO LONG BEFORE YOU POINT IT OUT)

while simultaneously lacking the dialectic bodies to focus collective attention on improving the deepest struggles of humanity

(🎵I CANNOT CRY, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S WEAKNESS IN YOUR EYES)

that we metaphorically shift our responsibility away from via our hallucinatory Disneyland reportages and smiley bra(i)nde(a)d counterfactual media or "entertaining" distractions

(🎵I'M FORCED TO FAKE, A SMILE, A LAUGH EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE)

that due our mass psychogenic illnesses detach our rationa argumentations of decision-making with proper direction of emotional motivations common sense

(🎵MY HEART CAN'T POSSIBLY BREAK)

because we tend to only reward each other for "positive" communications that serve our psychological ID pleasure circuits

(🎵WHEN IT WASN'T EVEN WHOLE TO START WITH)

of our mind symbols that via their hallucinatory focus economically zombify our causal quality of life via repressions of emotional motivational dialectics with our thereby alienating from causal care detached reductionistic laser beam th-oughts

(🎵I WATCHED YOU DIE, I HEARD YOU CRY EVERY NIGHT IN YOUR SLEEP)

which the by this song represented female populations tend to trust

(🎵I WAS YOUNG, YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO LEARN ON ME)

as by masculine dynamics constructed authority concepts of social status and hierarchical structures that via fantasy defences tend to value the mental pain and possible threats of their competitive mind dynamics of economic and cultural capital incentives' reputation management more than the causal pain of all our quite similar shared life needs

(🎵YOU NEVER THOUGHT OF ANYONE ELSE, YOU JUST SAW YOUR PAIN)

which all throughout history was a quite similar pattern of by groups' shared apathetic emotional hypes

(🎵AND NOW I CRY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT FOR THE SAME DAMN THING💸💉☠️💔)

of then afterwards due to endured group-apathy then leading to collective overreactions

(🎵BECAUSE OF YOU I TRY MY HARDEST JUST TO FORGET EVERYTHING)

as these systematic patterns conditioned the population to not publicly authentically express their mind to collectively via vulnerability logically solve the spectrum of subjective unknowns

(🎵BECAUSE OF YOU, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO LET ANYONE ELSE IN)

that thus accumulate as seen via the discrepancy of the "plentiful" hallucinatory bra(i)nde(a)d marketing and packaging of "diverse" consumer go(o)d(s) that in objective causal reality do not actually serve our causal life force

(🎵BECAUSE OF YOU, I'M ASHAMED OF MY LIFE BECAUSE IT'S EMPTY)

that is threatened by these unreflective group hypes that lack to habitually vulnerably debate a more conscious alignment between rational thoughts that in every human tend to just self-justify the more unconscious and by psychologically symbols entrained emotional motivations' subjective relativism:

🎵BECAUSE OF YOU I'M AFRAID

[sanddusted-wisteria]

A Builder, a Researcher, and a Rooftop, Ch. 6: Mechanized Bipedal Heavy-Load Mobility-Enabled Suit

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A/N: Somehow I managed to bungle the order of the main missions while I was outlining, and completely blacked out the fact that the bridge comes before the Gecko Station ruins. I decided to keep the chapter order the same, since it made more sense from the perspective of the builder's and Qi's relationship. So I guess just pretend that the builder could get to Gecko Station somehow before the bridge gets built? Whoops.

------------

It was already dark out by the time the builder decided to stop working. Qi’s robot was almost done, but there was still a ton of complicated wiring work left. They gave its goofy faceplate a pat, setting their tools down. They glanced out towards town. It was Saturday, wasn’t it? Qi was probably waiting for them already.

They left their yard slowly, half-considering not going. Whenever they saw him for the past week, all he could talk about was the mobile suit. Was it ready? When would it be done? Even when he poured them some of his tea, even when they handed him data disks for an upgrade to their grinder, that seemed to be the only thing on his mind. Was there any point in going this week? The second they show up on the roof, he’ll ask—

“How goes the mobile suit?”

The builder groaned. They weren’t even halfway up the stairs. Qi’s eager face peered down at them from over the edge of the roof.  

“Qi, that’s like the fifteenth time you’ve asked,” they said, shooting an exasperated look back up.

“I know, I know. But is it ready?”

They sighed. “No, not yet.” Qi’s face fell. “Almost. Probably by the end of tomorrow.” He instantly perked back up.

“Good. Good good good. Splendid,” he muttered as he pulled back, going back to sitting at their usual spot. The builder climbed the rest of the way and sat down beside Qi.

“So what’s the deal with this thing, anyways? Never seen you so excited for just one machine.”

“It’s not just–!” An indignant look flashed across his face for an instant. “Ahem. Well, I saw the bridge construction team struggling to finish their task in a timely manner, I so happened to have an old design of mine lying around that could accomplish it much faster, and you so happened to obtain a vital part in the ruins to make it a reality. I am simply happy to fulfill my occupation’s purpose of using science and technology as a driving force for improvement.”

The builder raised an eyebrow. “And…?”

“And what?”

“And…what about that, uh, inspiration of yours…?”

“I already told you, didn’t I? It’s from something rather obscure. Something I guarantee you never would’ve heard of.” His voice was steady, but the uncertain, sideways flick of his eyes didn’t escape the builder’s notice.  

A playful grin tugged at the builder’s lips. “Well, if you tell me what it is, I’ll hear about it then, won't I?”

Qi squirmed a tiny bit. “Mm, no. Most likely you’ll…confuse it for something else.”

“Reeeally. Coulda sworn I heard Heidi clearly say ‘Gungam’ the other day. I’ve heard of it. Never watched it myself, though.”

“Erm. Aha—if you’ve never watched it, there’s no way for you to know for certain that the mobile suit is inspired by that, is there?” It was hard to see in the dark, but the builder could just make out a tinge of red on his cheeks.

“But you do,” the builder said, tilting their head with a coy smile.

Qi let out a noise of frustration. “It’s for a…friend, alright? I have a researcher friend back in Vega 5 who grew interested in the…anthropological significance of Old World entertainment shows like these.”

“And that’s why…you’re the one with this robot design just lying around?”

All Qi could do was sputter indignantly. The builder could almost see his brain short-circuiting. They let out a lighthearted chuckle.

Qi covered his mouth with a rather loud cough. “W-would you look at that? Venus is incredibly bright tonight.” He pointed at some dot in the sky. It looked more like Jupiter than Venus.

“Huh, so it is,” they said, still keeping their cheeky smile.

They fell silent. The builder shot Qi occasional glances out of the corner of their eye, trying to catch any changes in his expression. Qi would shoot them glances in return, trying to catch them before they could say anything else.

They let out a silent snort. Qi, of all people, Mr. Stiff McScienceMan himself, had a weak spot for old cartoons of giant robots punching each other. And he read terrible romance novels in secret. And he got more excited over old hunks of junk from the ruins than Nemo with some spare jerky.

What a weirdo, the builder thought fondly, as they peered over at Qi, shoulders still tensed and eyes uncertain, hidden by the glint of moonlight off his glasses.

What a weirdo.

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[sci-fiworlds]

A Sci Fi Worlds Interview with Lex Gigeroff: Lexx Co-Writer/Actor

Most of our readers have probably never heard of this very strange Canadian-German and later UK co-production, which is a shame, because Lexx has to be easily the most unique sci-fi series to hit our screens since the original (and best) Star Trek made its debut back in 1966. Not content to do yet another Gene Rodenberry rip-off series and bored by the endless (and often archaic) moralising of The Next Generation and Voyager, the Lexx writers (known as the Supreme Beans) created something totally different and very, very weird.

With its characteristically dark sets and black humour, and operating from the perspective "humans are a flawed species," Lexx was a revolutionary series. Its characters weren't on any spiritual quest to "better themselves" or "save the day," rather, they were motivated by the mundane things that motivate 99.9% of the human race: boredom, lust and hunger. Throw in "the Lexx," a Manhattan sized bioengineered insect craft and "the most powerful destructive force in the two universes" and you had something just as fun as the original Trek but just about as different as you can get too. I guess that's why Lexxicons lovingly still call it "Star Trek's evil twin."

Richard Thomas: First things first, thank you so much for giving the BoA readers the time to answer these questions. I'm a huge fan of Lexx and I'm sure that, after reading this, many of our readers will want to check it out too.

Lex Gigeroff: I had known Paul Donovan for a few years before Lexx, and he approached me about writing for the series after seeing a play I had written/performed in. Paul decided to go with a couple of virtually unknown writers (Jeff Hirschfeld & myself), because there was something in our approach that appealed to Paul's odd sense of humour.

Richard Thomas: In the DVD extras on the TV movie releases I heard you and the other writers say that Ridley Scott's Alien and John Carpenter's Dark Star were big influences. The longer story arcs and extensive CGI (not to mention the chief villain's name "His Shadow" ) might suggest Babylon 5 was at least a little influential too. Also Red Dwarf stars Craig Charles and Hattie Hayridge appeared in season four so I don't know if that series was a influence or not.

What were some of your other influences and are there any sci-fi shows you just hated and wanted to get away from? If so, why and what were you trying to do different with Lexx?

Lex Gigeroff: Dark Star and Alien were somewhat influential -- Dark Star for its anarchy, Alien for its production design. But I can categorically state that Babylon 5 had no influence whatsoever as we never watched it, and to this day I've never seen an episode. I liked Red Dwarf, but can't really say it was an influence. Monty Python had as much of a background influence as anything. We wanted to get away from the heavy, preachy, moralizing sci-fi of shows like Star Trek: TNG, which in my view took all the joie de vivre out of the original series. I've always been a big sci-fi fan - but I think my influences tend to come more from writers like Phillip K. Dick and the dystopian novels of J.G. Ballard, rather than the Heinlein-Clarke axis.

Richard Thomas: Lexx is often called Star Trek's evil twin. I can see why some fans might consider Lexx anti-Trek but personally I think in some ways Lexx is actually a lot closer to the 1960s series than any of Trek spin-offs are. I've heard Lexx creator Paul Donovan talk about being a fan of the original Star Trek so what are your thoughts on this? Were you trying to be a little like the original Star Trek or were you trying to be something completely different?

Also, are you a fan of the original series yourself and, if so, what are some of your favourite episodes?

Lex Gigeroff: There was a sense of fun in the original series, and I think we wanted to try and create three characters as distinctive as Kirk-Spock-McCoy with Kai-Stan-Xev (plus a robot head). I watched the show quite a bit when I was younger, and enjoyed some of its campier moments, i.e. The Squire of Gothos. I also liked the one with the weird head in the sky that turned out to be Clint Howard.

Richard Thomas: Back to Lexx. Given that the show and the ship were both named after you, did you have much input on developing the early mythology of the series, i.e. the Insect Wars, the two universes, cyclic time, proto blood, the Divine Order and, of course, love slaves?

Lex Gigeroff: I had a lot of input conceptually from the ground up, as the three of us really developed the concept and bible following Paul's general brushtrokes. A lot of the 'backstory' went in as a result of our collaboration with Showtime in the beginning, who seemed to want a lot of stuff about 'prophecies', etc. We were a little reluctant about going this route, as we feared it would lead down the rabbit hole of pretentiousness that we were trying to get away from.

I think looking back on it now the thing I'm proudest of is that Lexx wasn't really like anything else on television. Most shows are just rip-offs of other shows, but I think there was something different about what we were doing that made it hard to come up with a good comparison with others shows -- not that it isn't comparable in some aspects to other shows, it's just that we weren't following anyone else's model. So it was, I think, a little unique in that respect.

Richard Thomas: One of the things I love most about Lexx is that all four seasons look very different and distinct from each other, each introducing their own new chief villains: His Divine Shadow, Mantrid, Prince, Vlad, oh and Lyekka and her sisters. Where did the ideas for these head villains come from and do you have a personal favourite?

Lex Gigeroff: Who knows where ideas come from? I liked all our villains, but if I had to pick one I'd go with Mantrid, because there was something just otherworldly strange about Dieter Laser's performance.

Richard Thomas: Mantrid has to be my personal favourite too, the fact that there's so little left of him when we first meet him reminded me a little of my favourite Doctor Who villain, the crippled mad scientist and Dalek creator Davros.

Lex Gigeroff: I think we thought about bringing Dieter Laser back, but it wouldn't have been Mantrid exactly. As we liked to say, "death is never final", which was our excuse for bringing back actors we liked.

Richard Thomas: Lets take a step back a bit. I think out of the four two-hour TV movies the first one I Worship His Shadow is probably my favourite, I loved the holographic show trials and ridiculously severe penalties. What was your favourite of the TV movies and why?

Lex Gigeroff: Hmmm... I guess Eating Pattern for me, because it wasn't quite as burdened with having to deliver back story and setup. Plus I got to hang around as Rutger Hauer's sidekick. But I liked all four.

Richard Thomas: You actually made an appearance in I Worship His Shadow, playing the part of His Shadow's new host body. You appeared in a lot of other episodes too, the crazy surgeon in Tunnels and the sleazy porn director in Fluff Daddy were two of my favourites. What character did you enjoy playing the most in the series?

Lex Gigeroff: I was very happy to play the parts I did. I had the most fun with Dr. Rainbow in Tunnels, but I think my best performance, such as it was, came as the Bound Man in I Worship His Shadow.

Richard Thomas: Probably the most unique episode of Lexx has to be Brigadoom. I have to say I was really sceptical about the idea of a musical episode but it's become easily one of my favourites. Come to think of it there's an awful lot of singing in Lexx, the first episode even starts with the Brunnen-G battle song.

Where did the idea to have so much singing in the series come from and what did you think of it? Also, do you have a personal favourite Lexx song?

Lex Gigeroff: We knew from very early on that we wanted to do a musical, but we had to come up with a good angle on it, which in the end I think we did. I don't really have a favourite song. I sometimes sing Bog is the king of Pattern in the shower.

Richard Thomas: Season three's Battle and season four's The Game are another two of my favourites, I really enjoyed the competition between Kai and Prince in those episodes.

I could go on all day about the different episodes but other than the ones we've already discussed what do you think were some of the best episodes of Lexx?

Lex Gigeroff: I also really liked The Game, 769, Prime Ridge, Stan Down to name a couple. Twilight and Apocalexx Now have their moments as well.

Richard Thomas: A Midsummer's Nightmare is probably my least favourite episode, though, it's pretty funny. Are there any episodes you just dislike or wish you'd done differently in hindsight?

Lex Gigeroff: Sure. Lots of things could have been better if we'd had more time. But I don't have any regrets. Some episodes didn't work all that well, like the one you mentioned and, say, Patches in the Sky.

Richard Thomas: I think I'm right in saying Lexx ended the way you and the other writers always intended, the Lexx blowing up the Earth after four seasons, but not long after the final episode Yo Way Yo went out I remember hearing a rumour that a spin off series about Prince, Priest and Bunny was being planned. Was there any truth to this rumour at all or is this the first you've heard of it?

Lex Gigeroff: There was never any serious talk of a spin-off.

Richard Thomas: If Lexx ever did return for a fifth season or maybe even just a new TV movie, what do you think the story would be about? Would it still be set in the Dark Zone or would the Lexx crew find its way into the mysterious Other Zone? Would Kai be alive or dead? Would 790 fall in love with Stan? Would the bad carrots be back?

Lex Gigeroff: We could have gone back into the Insect Wars, I suppose. But on the whole we were satisfied with the way it ended. I'll leave it to Fan Fics to think up alternate story lines.

Richard Thomas: It's been nearly eight years now since the series ended, personally, I think Lexx has been a little underrated.

Lex Gigeroff: I don't think we had much influence, if any. I'll leave it up to others to suss out if we were ahead of our time or not.

Richard Thomas: Thanks again Lex, are you working on anything now and/or do you have any websites or anything else you'd like to plug?

Lex Gigeroff: My pleasure, Richard. It's always great to hear that folks enjoyed our strange little show. I've always got a couple of projects on the hop, and I'm trying to promote my new play, Conrad & Barbara - about Lord Conrad Black and his consort. I've also had a sports-comedy blog for some years which can be found at: www.theobgcommunique.blog.ca Cheers!

READ RICHARD THOMAS'S SCI-FI WORLDS COLUMN FOR BINNALL OF AMERICA

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Armank

Debut: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Super Smash Bros.! We all know it! Maybe you’re tired of it, and hearing people talk about it, and characters being in it. If so, I am sorry. I am here to talk about a character that is in Super Smash Bros. But not just any kind of character! A Subspace Emissary Enemy! That ragtag bunch of the weirdest guys in town! Our beloveds! And here is my favorite!

Armank is a sort of tank, with an arm. It is how it got its name! With the claw extended like seen above, it can look like some kind of weird bird or dragon, and I think that is quite awesome of it. I cannot do that myself, without the use of a hand puppet. It would already be a pretty awesome design if that WAS its face. I would even call it “wicked”! But we are just getting started here! Let’s take a closer look!

Now it is much easier to see its little eyes! See? It’s like a sort of funny robot, with a funny robot mouth, that probably opens like Pac-Man to eat things. I so love how this eye slit is seen on the side like this! A funny little forced perspective design thing, like Homestar Runner’s eyes! Aren’t you glad you got to appreciate Armank’s true face?

No. You’re not. I’m not saying this to speak for you, but I am saying it to mean, you have still not seen its true face! I was mildly tricking you about that. But it wasn’t out of malice! It was for the fun of interpreting the design as we saw it to that point, and to give you a bit of a pleasant surprise to learn that there is yet more to Armank we have not seen. And the truly true form of Armank is the greatest of all!

YEAH! WOOHOO! Dare I say, Hell Yeah! Armank is not a robotic dragonbird, and it is not a robotic chomptank. It is a green blob, which pilots the whole shebang! Just like I do with my flesh ape body! The blob is not normally revealed until the claw is destroyed, but the trophy very nicely shows off all of Armank’s best features at once in an epic and awesome pose.

Thanks to this trophy, we also learn what this machine actually is! This is not a tank made for battling, it is a construction/excavation machine! They were not content to make this claw look awesome, but they were sure to even explain its functionality when not being used as a weapon.

And there we have Armank! A creature so awesome, it is awesome three times individually in addition to its whole collective awesome! Something so cool, and also so cute and fun! Wowza! I can’t wait to play as it in Super Smash Bros. Brawl 2!

[paganquestionmark]

iRead : Dionysos

Dionysos by Richard Seaford

I dropped out of uni and went to culinary school. Stuff with pages of footnotes is not my thing. I literally read this out loud to myself, so I could understand it. I copy/pasted choice quotes and then had to re-do my notes, bc I couldn’t understand what was being said. Each sentence has 3-7 extra words and academic phrasing. On several occasions, Dionysos is called imaginary, created, a social construct, and forgotten. 

Man, tho.

This was good.

The book connects Dionysos’ seemingly random traits and domains into a single cohesive deity, showing him in relation to a true huan need. Reading (and understanding) this was actually a mystical moment for me. I felt like I knew Dionysos suddenly. I wanted to worship him.

In order to save you the burden of reading this, I’ll provide the sparknotes.

DOMAINS

Transformation & the Stranger

Not a chapter in the book, but sprinkled throughout, and really the first point of Dionysos. He is the transformer (robots in disguise), the herald of change, and often violent transformation. He himself is not any end point, but the act of change itself. He isn’t X to Y, he is the to, the bridge between while holding all three states simultaneously. 

He (as well as his satyrs) sit on the nexus of three worlds : natural(animal) / mortal(human) / divine(gods). Humanity comes from nature and aspires to divinity. Dionysos, as the bridge, can bring humanity along in either direction.

Dionysos, in many ways, is the other. He is the foreigner (and the local), the opposite (and the original). The opposites he holds form a unity, while retaining their uniqueness as opposites. He evades definition and exists as paradox. He can share this paradox, by forcing a new perspective to become the unfamiliar opposition. 

Dionysos shows what each of us has in the stranger inside them.

It feels like a cop-out : oh, a god can be anything. Dionysos’ sheer point is a cohesive identity… in lack of identity. He is the Liberation, Liberator and Liberated. 

Nature (wine, vegetation, animals)

There are several nature-related gods, but Dionyos is the god of nature but make it dangerous. He is the tamer of the untamable. Wild animals pull his chariot. He, more than other Theoi, appear as wild beasts.

While he shares domain of “green stuff” with Demeter and Kore, he is the ripener of fruits, the act that changes flowers into food (again with change, and fertility).

Wine is the central symbol of this domain. The vine itself is wild, pure nature. Wine is transformed nature, by human labour, and still dangerous. In many appearances, Dionysos brings ever-flowing springs of wine — transformed wine, miraculous and divine.

Satyrs, like Dionysos, straddle the line between animal, human, and divine — but in an achievable way. In some celebrations, participants would dress up as satyrs. They’re beasts, who belong both in the company of the god and the heart of the civilized polis (“city”).

Communality

Phat word meaning unity but a lil to the left. The arrival of an outsider dispenses tension and unifies a group under a new focus. Any outsider, then, falls under Dionysos’ purview. In his festivals, slaves would celebrate as free men and prisoners would be released from jail. His days were also the days to announce freed slaves.

Myth: Return of Hephaistos

The craftsman god Hephaistos was hurled out of Olympos by his mother Hera for his deformity, and took revenge by sending her a throne with invisible fetters by which she was held fast. Only Hephaistos could release her, but he refused to return. But Dionysos made him drunk, set him on a mule, and brought him back to Olympos. In one version, a condition for Hephaistos’ return is his marriage with Aphrodite. In another, Dionysos is rewarded by being made one of the Olympian gods.

Maenads are a band of women, united by Dionysiac power. Religious initiation merges her soul into the whole, so they think and act as one. (The image of maenads running like a flock of birds taken flight is a great quote) It shows Dionysos doesn’t need wine or charm to unite people.

The traditional image of maenads as women in rags on a mountainside is traditional for a reason. In ancient Greek society, this was the other — a symbological reversal of the polis. The polis was constructed of male-led households, of solitary women — as the men joined the polis in civil and work duties. Dionysos’ great power was uniting these women with each other, then him, and the wilderness. 

Mystery-Cult

Unless you reconstruct from Orphic traditions, Dionysiac mystery-cults may not be super useful, but the historical context is gold.

Mystery-cults were politically powerful and religiously important, as secret societies. The purpose was to join a group of this life, and the afterlife. As death was the fundamental rupture of personal identity, the mystery-cults looked to prepare for it and control it. So, they destroyed each other’s identity in controlled ritual. They also performed rituals on behalf of the polis, on Dionysos’ festivals.

Rituals, almost always, harkon back to myths. Festivals center on several myths, in reenactments and celebrations to give them meaning.

Orphic Myth: Dismemberment by the Titans

Dionysos is the natural-born son of Persephone and Zeus, but is ripped apart by Kronos and the Titans. His blood flows free as wine. Athena cradles his heart and puts him back together, wherein he is reborn. Wine’s psychological wholeness is then Dionysos’ wholeness.

Death

Dionysos likes going down-under. Does it a lot. He travels there to retrieve his mother, the prideful Semele, who Zeus raises as a goddess. In some myths, “by his witness” (weird, unknowable phrasing), Ariadne dies and he begins their romance in the Underworld as he rescues her and raises her as his bride (Zeus, sighing: Alright, once more). Both these myths (and several others of his) involve death or destruction before divinity. 

Death, as the Orphics saw it, as the most fundamental and irreversible change to identity. Dionysos defies it. He raises once-mortals to Olympos. He charms the gloomy Underworld — notably, in art, making Cerberus a good doggo.

Dionysos is a god of united opposites, the center where they meet — nature/civilization/Olympos, animal/mortal/divine, fertility/death/immortality. His festivals celebrate the union of life and death — dominated, always, by life. He’s closer to mortals than many gods, by his actions (revelry, wine, dancing, frequent manifestations), but also by a crucial mythical act. Death. Dionysos is both born and killed.

Myth: Semele

Hera grows indignant as Zeus takes another lover and coerces Semele to ask her divine lover to see his true form. Semele tricks Zeus into an oath. Forlorn, he shows her his power — and she is promptly incinerated. Zeus sifts the ashes for the fetus Dionysos, who he sews into his flesh. In time, Dionysos regains strength and is born anew.

Ecstasy / Trance / Madness / Altered States

Dionysos’ madness was considered a cure for everyday madness — the worst kind. Dionysian madness was a temporary gateway, the storm before the calm. After the intensity of ritual and invoked state, there is the exhausting liberating calm of Dionysos himself. I compare this to a good workout — after exhaustion, the endorphins kick in. Caffeine, alcohol, lust, drugs — these intoxications all begin with extreme physical senses, before altering states.

This book talks less of “madness” and more of “trance”. Madness is a hard word to define. The book discusses “trance”, of a mind being influenced or united with something other than itself. Maenads sing of joining the soul-bird to the thaisos (band of maenads). The rituals pull on Dionysos’ dismemberment myth, seeing it not as his body but mind being broken apart and then reassembled through madness into calm. 

Think astral travel or controlled dissociation, disconnecting the consciousness from the body and latching it to a new whole — in part, connecting it to Dionysos as the bridge. As a god, he relieves powerlessness. Humans are subjugated to two main forms: remoteness of deity and human oppression. Through ecstatic communality with others (and himself), he relieves both. He remains intimately close to those who join with him. 

Theatre

Took us a while to get here, but do you see it?

Theatre was a happy accident of everything else that Dionysos is. It was created through other Dionysiac ritual. It combines the mystery-cults’ transformation of identity, ritual death, and costumes. Because the mystery-cult rituals were private, they opened up just enough. Hymns rewritten to new patterns. Ritual reenactments, interspaced with satyrs and maenads.

If you’ve ever been in a crowd at a concert or movie theatre or stage show, you probably know where I’m going. As an observer, you dissolve into the waves of shared emotion. You are both only an observer of the show, but part of a whole. The experience of a crowd is uniquely Dionysian — and explicitly how maenads join together.

Traditional tragedy follows a pattern in Dionysian myths: people resist his influence, they’re stricken into madness or kin-killing, they embrace him and establish a new regime. 

Comedy even comes from the word komodia (“a song sung at komos”, komos being a revelry common at Dionysian festival).

Why does Dionysos matter in the modern world?

God, one of the best chapter headings. I came back to Hellenism because, to me, it’s familiar religion. I like the meaning of sacrifice, of kharis, and ethics. I like the aesthetic.

This made it again about the gods.

Dionysos matters because we need him. We always have. In the modern post-capitalist dystopia, we need him more than ever. For all the times I’ve had to paraphrase this book, I’m actually gonna quote it because this slaps.

The psychological fragmentation and forced homogeneity of our consumerist culture creates an intense need for transcendence. … It cannot be fulfilled by institutionalized religion, because such religion is part of social control that tends to limit the moral and religious experiences. True liberation can be achieved only by adopting an outsider’s perspective from which to perceive the culture’s narrowness.

Consumer capitalism destroys the emotional wholeness of communality. The intense emotion of a gathering of people can seem strangely insignificant and powerless, in our society, for significance and power always seem to be elsewhere.

Myth: Midas

Midas captured Silenos, the wise companion of Dionysos, and asked him what is best for humankind. Silenos spoke of natural and ancient things of his lord. As a reward for releasing Silenos, Midas was offered by Dionysos the fulfilment of any wish, and chose the power to transform all things by his touch into gold. Midas’ own answer to his question is money. Midas’ touch is the reaction of the Greek mythical imagination to the astonishing power of precious metal as universal equivalent: everything can now be valued in money — but nothing of true worth.

As humanity grows more alienated, from individuals and each other, we’re left with a sense of loss, of absence. An absence implies a presence that had once been there. An absence and presence of a transcendent power that unites us with nature and humankind and the divine.

Dionysos.

[wondereads]

Personal Review (04/24/22)

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Why am I reviewing this book?

I've been looking forward to this book for ages, and I got a copy as soon as I could. It took some time before I could actually read it, but I finally get to review it!

Plot 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

In a world invaded by Hunduns, huge aliens that have trampled over human civilization, humanity is reliant on Chrysalises, robots made from Hundun shells. Chrysalises protect the last of humanity, but they require both a male and female pilot, and it usually leaves the women drained or dead. After her sister is killed by a star pilot, Zetian swears to get revenge, but she won't stop at just one pilot.

You can probably see the similarity to other pieces of media, but the plot similarities end there. Rather than a focus on the conflict with the Hunduns, the story is really all about the corruption among the humans and Zetian's rise to power. Sure, they go out and fight, which moves the plot along, but the majority of the plot is taken up by Zetian, Shimin, and Yizhi gradually increasing their standing and pursuing the truth about Chrysalises.

Now, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I must warn against starting it now. The second book, Heavenly Tyrant (which might not be the last), is scheduled to be released in Spring 2023. See, that's a very big issue because the cliffhanger for this book is truly insane. The plot twist was amazingly shocking without feeling as though it was pulled out of nowhere, and I am completely hooked for the next book.

Characters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Zetian is a fun character because she is completely and utterly ruthless. She wants power, and she's going to get it, regardless of who she has to manipulate, destroy, or kill. She's a very good example of a character who can be morally reprehensible while still pursuing a goal that would improve the world in the long run. She's the epitome of "the ends justify the means", and it makes for a very interesting character.

There are two love interests in this book, but not in the way you're thinking. Another thing that sets Iron Widow apart is that it features a polyamorous relationship between Zetian and two boys, Shimin and Yizhi. Shimin is the horribly traumatized pilot that Zetian is paired up with after she kills her first partner, and Yizhi is a friend from her hometown and the son of a media kingpin. The three work very well together in my opinion. For example, Yizhi balances Zetian and Shimin's hotheadedness without holding them back. Even if they didn't get much time due to plot interruptions, I can see their relationship developing very well.

The side characters were sometimes flat, but there were some with more nuanced personalities. For example, the other concubine pilots (yes, that's what they're called), are rather interesting because they are some of the few women with power in this society. Seeing how they adapted in different ways was both intriguing and frustrating.

Writing Style 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I wouldn't say anything about the writing that particularly stood out to me. Something I noticed was the first-person POV. I'm partial to third-person myself, but YA books do tend towards first. I did like how Zetian's cold nature came through in her narration, and I also liked that we could see her inner struggles up close and personal. On the other hand, I would've loved to see something from Shimin or Yizhi's perspective, but I can't have my cake and eat it too.

The pacing was pretty quick, but I wouldn't consider anything rushed. Despite the political bits interspersed between the action, I was never bored, and it never seemed to lose momentum.

Meaning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Zetian is a cold, ruthless, morally-gray protagonist, and the story lets her be just that. There is no lesson for her to learn, no morals forced upon her. Zetian pursues power through all sorts of dubious means from physical intimidation to torture, and she's allowed to do all those things. Once she achieves actual political power, responsibilities and consequences do fall to her, but not in a way that implies she was wrong to pursue that power. Books will often condemn characters, especially female ones, for being power-hungry, so this was a breath of fresh air.

Overall 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

This was an amazing book. On top of being pretty well-written, it was just fun to read! It was engaging, it had a unique situation for the characters, and a great female main character with unpunished ambition. I'm on the edge of my seat for the next book; that cliffhanger was cruel! I definitely recommend this book for a fast-paced book that toes the line between fantasy and science fiction.

The Author

Xiran Jay Zhao: Chinese-Canadian, 24, Iron Widow is their debut novel, cosplays in their free time

The Reviewer

My name is Wonderose; I try to post a review every two weeks, sometimes once a week, usually over vacations. I take recommendations! Check out my about me post for more!

[glassessence]

All We Are | Lee Ficlet

This is the truth of me, he thought. I can’t say it aloud, but if I ever forget… if I ever lose myself… Remember me, Commandant.

My perspective on Lee’s thoughts as he prepares to gift the Commandant a little robot. Spoilers for Lee’s interlude! 

I kinda rushed through it because I’m just so excited, but I hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless! :) 

A l l   W e   A r e    |    L e e 

He drew back, satisfied. The little robot sat on the desk, silent and watchful under the stark light of his room. He studied it with some pride. Creating such things was trivial to him now, but there was something comforting in the familiar motions. The simplicity of it reminded him of another life. Those fragile days and their fleeting happiness felt more distant with every breath. Once a blazing force that drove him relentlessly on, his memories no longer burned. They’d faded to a secret warmth, softened by time. Even this body felt natural now. As if he’d always been this way, a personality inhabiting a metallic shell. 

Except, of course, that this body wasn’t natural at all. Once, he’d been a human. Flesh and blood. Mortal and finite, a single road travelled from beginning to end. Once, he’d been Morian. 

He’d given up the name when he’d agreed to become a Construct. It didn’t feel right to walk around with his real name, the one Murray knew him by. That was the name of an older brother, someone tender and caring. Someone who built companions for lonely boys. It didn’t belong to someone who killed on command, as he surely would under Babylonian orders. And so Morian had died that day, passing the torch of his will to Lee. He wished it was as simple as that. A clean disconnect, past and present cut with surgical precision. But life wasn’t engineering. It was messy, and far less logical. He was only a consciousness in a container now, but he still carried half of his soul, and it was cut of the same fabric as the heart that loved so deeply. If Morian no longer felt right, well then, Lee wasn’t the perfect fit either.

He sighed. This line of thinking never led anywhere productive. All these years and he’d never come to an answer. Perhaps he never would. His time would have been better spent learning to shut off a certain vocal module. He returned his attention to the tiny robot. Picking it up, he moved its limbs, noting the way they creaked just a little. With a small grunt, he grabbed a jar of grease, the same jar he used on himself. Carefully, he oiled the robot’s joints until it moved as smoothly as any Construct’s.

He placed it back on the table. Shiny black eyes stared at him. He’d built countless robots since becoming a Construct. It helped him relax, but more importantly, it connected him to the human past he sometimes found himself forgetting. It frightened him. Just a little. How easy it was to forget, to take for granted the permanence of memory. He knew too well the shortcomings of consciousness recall technology. It had failed before, and it would fail again. Would one of those times be him? He’d kept meticulous records over the years, just in case, but there was no guarantee they would be preserved either. He’d seen Constructs forget wives and children, lovers and mothers. The threat of it, of losing the very essence of yourself, lurked always in the back of his mind.

Pulling open a drawer, he pulled out a core processing chip. It was the last one he had. It was a rare find, more advanced than the chips he usually used for his bots, and he’d been saving it for a special occasion. This definitely counted, though he’d rather be caught dead than admit it to anyone. Carefully, he slotted it into place inside the little robot and clicked the panel shut. Tiny eyes sparked to life. With a fluid grace, the bot padded to the edge of the table and sat, thin metal legs kicking merrily in the air. 

Lee smiled. The robot was a replica of Murray’s. He’d made some slight improvements - he had an engineer’s pride, after all - but it was otherwise the exact same childish creation from all those years ago. As if on cue, the bot threw back its head in silent laughter. He hovered his hand near it and watched as it climbed onto his palm. The motion sensors were working well. Nodding to himself, Lee considered the bot. He’d always meant to give something to the Commandant, but recreating a remnant of his past hadn’t been his intention. Still, it felt right. Intimate, somehow. Like the bot was a physical manifestation of all the words he didn’t have. All the thoughts he couldn’t say.

Perhaps this was his answer then. This little robot that connected his two selves through time. Morian and Lee, past and present compacted into a mechanoid smaller than the palm of his hand. He curled his fingers gently around the robot. It curled up and entered sleep mode. Picking up a marker, he printed a neat set of numbers on the tiny mechanoid’s foot: 421-M.

This is the truth of me, he thought. I can’t say it aloud, but if I ever forget… if I ever lose myself… Remember me, Commandant.

Carefully, he placed the robot by his bedside. Though he’d already given his heart away, it seemed he still had more to give.

----------------

If you made it this far, thank you for reading! ^^ 

Bonus content: headcanons I had while writing this haha 

- Lee canonically keeps records of the Commandant. He also keeps something of an audio diary. Those are the actions of a man who treasures memories and places great value on them. You can’t tell me otherwise. 

- The fact that Lee doesn’t use his real name, unlike the other Constructs, feels significant to me. So I’m just going to sit here and pretend like it’s all part of his angst haha.

- Constructs who’ve had to do emergency consciousness recall have sometimes come back with gaps in their memories. Gray Raven squad have all seen tragic scenes play out between loved ones, but Lee is particularly susceptible due to his history with Murray. 

- He hasn’t made a robot like the one he gave Murray until the he made the one for Commandant. 

- 421-M: 421 for the most important date of his life. M for Morian, the (in his opinion) kinder, softer side of his soul.