#fungus thesis

[justconstantly]

you know the sci-fi book was good when it makes u contemplate the difference between a biological imperative of another species imposed onto ur free will via biochemical signals v.s. actual communion with a higher plane of existence thru holy, fungus-y mediums

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

The improvement in alhaitham and kaveh’s relationship post-parade of providence is TANGIBLE!!! I’ll talk about things of note from cyno's story quest 2 before posting my deep diving into what this all means for them <3

Firstly, kaveh’s appearance in the tavern being to pick up his order of wine, only to show his parting from the traveller, to ask lambad whether his order includes ‘the coffee beans’ – which is a direct reference to his 2023 bday letter in which he and alhaitham test coffee beans together for his birthday, and now, canonically, this can be observed as a common practice for the two of them – this is symbolic of domesticity, as the two only do this outside of the player’s sight, confined to the privacy of their home.

Alhaitham’s introduction within this quest is waking the traveller up (to which they ignore haikaveh and honestly, valid) due to their discovery of the temple of silence – and I think this is a little self-indulgent on my part, but I think it’s Interesting that tighnari mentions that the tent paimon picks is prone to being stumbled into by ‘sleepwalking fungi’, which prompts cyno to encourage the traveller to safeguard their tent with a weapon. Paimon comments on the improbability they will be attacked or woken up by uninvited guests, and lo and behold, haikaveh turn up – implying they are the sleepwalking fungi? it’s reminiscent of alhaitham’s story quest where alhaitham questions if kaveh would devolve into a fungus, to which kaveh replies he would be a fungus with empathy… if this is at all deliberate, it’s a really cute parallel!!

The completely unnecessary flashback scene in haikaveh’s house, it’s purely there to showcase the development of their relationship - there was no need to animate something that could have been exposition?

(The scene is established with alhaitham reading a book with kaveh offscreen preparing snacks and wine for the two of them, and when kaveh enters, alhaitham puts the book down and directly engages with kaveh’s conversation with a CRIMINAL smile on his face. Kaveh continues the conversation whilst sitting on the table, which shows his comfort and familiarity within the house? With alhaitham? This is also heightened when he leans back on the table during the conversation. Alhaitham is shown thinking about the case and kaveh offers to draw the emblem on the paper of the extortion letter – when kaveh turns his back to do so, their conversation is halted, and only then does alhaitham bring out the book again, but there is a deliberate still on his face as he looks UP from his book to look at kaveh sketching? There was no need for this.!!.>!!!

When kaveh returns to show alhaitham the sketch, the book is gone again, and the previous distance between them is closed – kaveh sits on the table in front of alhaitham, and this creates an intimacy as the two directly face each other. this couldn’t have been established solely by sitting next to each other on the divan. Alhaitham smiles at the sketch and notes that he recognises it, to which kaveh smiles(!!!) at and questions this. Alhaitham recognises the ARCHITECTURAL signets within the symbol, which not only relates back to their joint thesis but also their character concepts as mirrors, as alhaitham appropriates kaveh’s architecture, and kaveh has appropriated alhaitham’s language – which suggests a balance between the two.)

Alhaitham and kaveh working together to identify the emblem to be that of the temple of silence acts as the catalyst for the chain of events within the story quest

Kaveh quipping at alhaitham keeping the salary of the acting grand sage – but with no animosity behind it!??? his last expression during this dialogue honestly looks exasperated but in a fond way…. Im ill….

Alhaitham and kaveh looking at each other when discussing how the case doesn’t make sense… just alhaitham and kaveh looking at each other and deliberating over the other’s thoughts… finally… listening to each other and working together…

The additional (HIDDEN) scene in the house of daena where they begin researching, with alhaitham commenting that he will look for texts pertaining to the temple of silence, to which kaveh says it will take too long, and then agreeing to help alhaitham, without alhaitham having to ask, which demonstrates their improved synergy. Kaveh asks alhaitham how to teach him in gaining information on the sly, to which alhaitham DOES but teases him about it at the same time, but so fondly... I would say this scene mirrors the additional scene in the archon quest, with kaveh talking to alhaitham by the bookshelves and accusing him of stirring trouble in sumeru, while alhaitham appears bitter that kaveh was in the desert during the overturning of the sages. There is a distinct shift in their relationship here – in the past, the two missed an opportunity to work together, whereas here they are voluntarily banding together (which ive discussed here)

COFFEE MENTION 2! Alhaitham mentions how he wants to drink coffee, to which kaveh laments that he wasn’t able to bring any from home. When using nahida’s skill on them, alhaitham can be seen thinking about wanting coffee,,, and then kaveh is thinking about how to get to coffee to them by using mehrak. Even their thoughts are working in tandem??? This contrasts with their individual thoughts in alhaitham’s story quest, where kaveh is thinking about how alhaitham was being vindictive towards kaveh drunkenly writing on the bulletin boards, and labelling alhaitham as having ‘terrible thoughts’, all the while alhaitham is thinking about how dusty the bookshelves are… the progress is STARTLING

When the group reconvene in the house of daena, alhaitham and kaveh have progressed their research on their own accord and based on what naphis has told them. When explaining, the two complete each other’s sentences, and this rounds off with alhaitham conjecturing that the goal of the assailant was to get cyrus to see the letter, which makes kaveh realise cyno’s motivations, and for alhaitham then to ascertain cyrus’s whereabouts. Naphis then assigns alhaitham and kaveh to be in charge of the house of daena, to which they both agree, and alhaitham… smiles? With so much pride? WE GET IT YOU’RE WORKING TOGETHER!!!! SHUT!!!

Cyno and tighnari mention TWICE how essential it is that kaveh and alhaitham worked together, with mentioning how imperative it was that kaveh spotted the emblem and that alhaitham connected it to the temple of silence, and then how alhaitham gave tighnari advice on desert cultural traditions, which aligned with kaveh’s experiences with desert tribes, which gives tighnari the idea to turn the tables on the temple of silence

Returning to the house of daena, cyno highlights that it is STRANGE that kaveh and alhaitham are working together, in that he is surprised to see them studying together? This draws further attention to the unlikeliness of the situation, and that this MEANS something in regard to their relationship!

Kaveh stressing about having to pack away their copious research materials, only for alhaitham to reassure him that there’s ‘no rush’… so gentle

Cyno and tighnari thanking alhaitham and kaveh for WORKING TOGETHER as it allowed them to find a swift and good outcome

COFFEE MENTION 3! Cyno offering to take everyone for coffee, which alhaitham agrees to, and kaveh agreeing to, although he says that because of the last few days, he’ll order something different (confirming that alhaitham has the caffeine tolerance of a tank and kaveh gets caffeine jitters thank u @ hoyo). On the table the two were studying, two trays of a pair of coffee cups and coffee brewers can be seen… the same that can be seen in their house??? Meaning they brought their domesticity to the library with them… and they also sat across from each other, which reminds me of how kaveh sat in front of alhaitham in their house, rather than next to him…

Kaveh and alhaitham sitting next to each other in the café <333

KAVEH CALLING THE HOUSE ‘HOME’ TO ALHAITHAM??? IN FRONT OF THEIR FRIENDS?? This is a big contrast to kaveh in a parade of providence and alhaitham’s story quest who hated to having admit such a thing. And then alhaitham AGREEING that the house is ‘HOME’, and again their thoughts align with ‘my thoughts exactly’. Alhaitham and kaveh leaving together, to the house of daena (where they met, where it ended, and where they have been shown to bond together in this quest) and then back to their shared ‘home’... oh......

from this, kaveh no longer seems defensive or reserved in front of alhaitham, and makes no notion of criticising alhaitham, offering to help alhaitham into researching, and even asking alhaitham to teach him something he deems as a useful skill which he lacks. he openly takes onboard alhaitham's views on the case and responds in kind in order to come to a resolution. he actively makes time in his day to spend with alhaitham, seen in them enjoying snacks/wine/coffee together and talking about his day. he describes the house they share as a 'home', which, for kaveh, is imperative to his character due to his loss of family (which ive posted about here)

alhaitham, similarly, is less critical of kaveh, and this is because a seemingly resolved miscommunication between them. he is receptive to, and encourages, kaveh to communicate with him when it comes to things that kaveh believes to be noteworthy, actively focussing solely on kaveh, rather than his book, when kaveh initiates conversation. he equally seems to enjoy this time spent with kaveh, as he is seen nowhere else but by kaveh's side during this story quest, wanting (kaveh's) coffee within the library which would establish a familiar and domestic setting elsewhere outside of their home. when leaving his group of friends at puspa's, saying that it's him 'done for the day', he retreats with kaveh, back to their shared 'home'

overall, alhaitham and kaveh's relationship has improved VASTLY since their first interaction in the archon quest. there seems to be an understanding between them now and this results in comfort and familiarity where they used to be miscommunication and snipes, and there appears to be a balancing of their viewpoints as they appreciate in the other what was once viewed as mirror opposites never to align, being that of language and architecture. a sense of harmony(?) balance(?) has been established here, and this is shown to be the ideal course of their reconciliation. im so weak......

[holewithinahole]

The Spirit’s in It | Egon Spengler x nb!reader [3/3]

Summary: “I didn’t know psychology doctors also specialized in particle physics, is all.”

What you meant as a light joke to relax him did quite the opposite. He straightens, righting up his glasses one more pointless time. “I have a degree in nuclear engineering,” he states before walking out, leaving you confused and feeling like you’ve spent the entire time offending him unintentionally.

Warnings: angst, non-native writer, non-beta’d

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

And here’s the end. I apologise in advance. It's funny despite how aromantic I am how I'm the best at romanticising relationships lmao. I wanted to explore how romantic relationsips are inherently different for neurodivergent people, especially ppl on the autism spectrum. Yeah...

The end is pretty cliché and I kinda hate it but hey, I live for the tropes. I'm gone, bye! Thank for reading this to its end!

At first, you haven’t been able to swing by the Ghostbusters headquarters as much as you would’ve liked, too busy assisting students for future exams. As Egon predicted, psychokinetic energy has kept rising in New York, meaning the three of them were called all the time to assist here and there. Their secretary – Janine Melnitz you learned when Egon introduced you, has been looking more and more like a ghost herself, and you were sincerely impressed by how much energy she still managed to conjure to send people away. All of that resulted in the hiring of a new member of the team, Winston Zeddmore, a gentle soul of a man who took the place of Egon on the field. It’s often easy to read: ‘I didn’t sign up for this bullshit’ on his face, but he’s resilient and hardworking which is everything the Ghostbusters could have needed and more.

A week after your fresh new meeting, you ended up telling Egon and Dr. Stantz about their research papers stored at your place. The latter had been delighted and thanked you profusely. The retrieval had gone without any incident, although you did notice the baffled look that passed between the two of them when they saw the several towers of boxes. (There had been a discreet comment from Egon questioning humans’ propensity to stack things.)  

Why you ended up at Egon’s place you have no idea. Well, you do know how – most of the files were his after all and you couldn’t let Dr. Stantz handle the walking up five flights of stairs on his own. Plus, Egon wanted to look back at some old papers of his; something about a new plan of approach concerning the storage facility issue. So, there you stood, looking around awkwardly as Dr. Stantz retrieved the last box downstairs. It was a simple apartment, messy and not intended to be anything more than an occasional place to sleep – or, surprisingly, a fungus breeding farm.

Your questioning gaze certainly didn’t go unnoticed. “I collect spores and fungi,” he explained.

“Neat.” You didn’t really think before you carried on, “Is that why you studied microbiology?”

“…amongst other things,” Egon said, looking slightly surprised. “I didn’t realize you knew.”

“Uh,” you trailed off. “I’ve read your papers.”

“All of them?”

Can it get any more embarrassing than that? “…might have.”

He didn’t answer and you thanked him internally for it. The visit was short and to the point, Egon clearly looking uncomfortable having other people trespass into his space. That’s what you kept telling yourself anyway, not especially fond of diving back into the whole ‘I’m an embarrassment to myself, him, and society’ spiral.

In itself, routine didn’t change much. You kept doing most of your research at the university, exchanging with the different professors of the lab, giving your opinions on the students’ ongoing thesis and avoiding Dean Yaeger. Then, you’d meet with the doctors after work to discuss the improvements of the containment facility. But the more the days went by, the more Egon’s temper seemed to flare. Not in the usual, explosive or passive-aggressive nature but in the dwindling of words, and the psychosomatic tremor of his eyelid. You hadn’t been truly able to understand why, when, or how.

Which led you to your actual predicament.

“I don’t think it’ll work, Egon.”

Sitting at a desk, you scratch an equation, staring dejectedly at the example of ‘ionization radiation decay meter’ Egon sketched. The man himself has taken his glasses off and pressed his eyes to alleviate his migraine. “We’ll have to include the system later,” he concedes, looking crossed. “I have to analyze today’s samples.”

After downing the cup of cold coffee you forgot on the desk with a disgusted grimace, you slouch on your chair. You watch Egon from the corner of your eye, busy staring and typing on his computer. He lets out an uncharacteristic annoyed noise.

“Not good?” you ask.

“Like I thought, it’s exponential.” He sighs. “Two days ago, PKE was three times less important than today.”

“Something big on the horizon.”

“Yes,” he says.

This tense atmosphere has you overly cautious as if one wrong word could make this artificial veil of normalcy shatter. It makes your skin crawl, inadequately feeling like your mere presence is making things worse. Leaving his computer behind to sit on the couch, he browses through the results he printed. His tiredness is noticeable even from where you are. You’re about to say something when Venkman comes waltzing in, his energy clashing with the general atmosphere of the room, which he notices immediately.

“Well, well,” he says in a singsong tone. “Who are we burying today?”

Egon doesn’t grace him with an answer, only with a glare before looking back at his results.

“It’s been a long day, I guess,” you answer truthfully to loosen the tension.

Venkman, always in theatrics, opens his arms wide. “Look who we’ve got here! Hello there.” He has his usual smirk on. “You’ve been hanging ‘round here more often.”

“Hello, Dr. Venkman.” You smile. “Just trying to help Egon.”

“And why aren’t we on a first-name basis?”

You certainly don’t voice aloud that you don’t want to give him any ideas, which he gets well enough on his own. Egon, for its part, is frowning so hard his eyebrows have merged with the frame of his glasses. You can almost imagine a big molten hole where his eyes are boring through the paper.

“Egon kindly proposed,” you explain.

“Wow, you guys,” Venkman exclaims. You frown at him, confused. “Congrats, Spengie! Don’t forget the invitation.”

This snaps Egon out of his sulking trance, face hardening at Venkman’s inappropriate comment.

“He kindly offered,” you interject, trying your best to look unfazed at the innuendo and to avoid an act of crime against humanity. “You, however, take everything for granted.”

Venkman whistles – which makes you want to strangle him – but at least Egon doesn’t look like he’s going to jump at his throat from across the room anymore.

“Damn, snarky today, uh? Let’s start over then.” Despite his mocking tone, he walks near you and extends a hand that you look at dubiously. “Hi, the name’s Peter.”

A small part of you doesn’t want to shake his hand, just to rile him up but you still do. Strangely enough, there’s an endearing quality to his man, when he wants to.

“Nice to meet you, Peter.”

The man lets out a pleased chuckle. “Now, now, I’m not trying to get you two to leave but this man–” He tugs at his collar. “–has a date tonight and he will be singing in the shower. So, if you want some peace and quiet, now would be a good time to go play in the basement.”

You scoff. “You’ve got a date.”

Venkman seems either completely oblivious or completely disinterested in your tone. “With a sweet creature called Dana Barrett.”

“Don’t forget to ask her about Zuul, Peter,” Egon says, snapping out of his good ten minutes of selective mutism.

Venkman disappears into their common room. “Did I say date?” he shouts. “I meant work meeting.”

True to his words, he starts singing a bad rendition of Queen of Hearts, making sure to annoy the whole building. Even if it grates on your nerves, it’s fascinating to witness this clutter of a place, with such different personas stacked on top of each other. You’ve never heard the story of how the three of them ended up being best buddies and judging by Egon’s closed-up face, today wouldn’t be the day you ask.

After five minutes of excruciating vocalizations, he puts down his results, standing up from the couch. You eye him curiously. “Where’ you going?”

“The basement.”

You frown, standing up. “You know; I don’t think he was serious.”

“I have readings to do downstairs,” he answers shortly.

He walks towards the stairs but stops, pivoting slightly towards you without meeting your eyes. The prickling sensation at the back of your brain is back. You can’t wrap your head around the contrast between his high-strung demeanor and his unspoken invitation to follow him. The confusion suddenly feels too heavy.

“Egon.” He looks up and you’re not expecting the flatness of his expression, how detached he’s looking. “Are you angry?”

It sounds stupid in your own ears, a ridiculous childish question but it’s out of your mouth before you can think about it. Words are wonderful incentives, you think, but sometimes, they just end up pushing people away.

Egon frowns, still not entirely facing you. “No.”

“Then–”

Venkman comes back into the room, whistling loudly. “Still there, lovebirds?”

You turn to answer him but you’re cut off by the loud steps of Egon hurtling down the stairs, leaving you staring dumbly at the invisible trail he left behind. There’s an uncomfortable silence as you frown, heart beating loudly for a reason you can’t really pinpoint. Venkman stands there, undoubtedly conscious of having said the wrong thing.

“Don’t worry, he’s cranky when he doesn’t have his nap.”

You decide to simply gather your belongings and leave. “I’ll come back in a few days.”

Even if Venkman offers to buy you a taxi, you decide to use the subway and as you stare without seeing at the dirty walls of New York’s underground tunnels, you realize that perhaps you’re starting to care a little too much.

Just a tad too much.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Awakening of Gozer

Perhaps you shouldn’t have gone home that day.

For when you heard that in less than twenty-four hours, the Ghostbusters headquarters exploded and that a cloud of psychokinetic energy appeared above Manhattan, you felt that ‘are you angry’ were stupid words to say to somehow you might never see again.

You stand in front of your TV as journalists follow the Ghostbusters’ car through the streets of New York, crowd in a standing ovation. You feel restless as you look through your window, watching the sky turning dark and the full-blown light show the ghosts seem to be throwing downtown. Even when the black clouds dissipate – reminding everyone that it was barely three in the afternoon, you stare, left leg bouncy, at the screen for the final cry of the crowd, hoping, praying, that it’d be of joy.

You’re not truly sure of the feelings rushing through you when they leave this building, dirtied but alive. As soon as you see their proud faces, you turn off the TV, and lay down on the couch, breathing deeply. You close your eyes and contemplate the labyrinth of paths life could have taken in the last two hours. When ten p.m. rolls out, you stand up, driven by some unknown force out of your apartment. Somehow, the sky still holds the purple hues of the paranormal manifestation that plagued New York this evening, ribbons of ghost energy glowing like winter lights and casting discreet colors on the buildings. Tomorrow, you’ll look back at the usual grayish streaks of pollution and everything will feel like a long fever dream.

It’s silly the way the heart and the brain latch on to these human connections like they’re starving. It’s unfortunate, truly. Unfortunate how walking through the chill of the busy streets leads you to his place; a sanctum at the top of a dirty building. And it’s scary how unable you are to stay away, – now and every day – especially when emotions are all over the place; fear in your stomach, anxiety in your loins, need – this unshakable need — in your heart: terrible, voracious, heavy in your limbs as you drag your exhausted body up the stairs. Knocking on the door is, weirdly enough, more nerve-wracking than having witnessed their improbable excursion on television. Egon opens the door, all intrigued eyes and furrowed brows; dressed so casually it seems unreal.

“I know it’s not the time, and that you don’t like people in your space,” you mumble. “But I was— “

Egon steps away from the doorway, inviting you in silently, and it’s almost reluctantly that you step inside. It’s dimly lit but you notice opened notebooks on his table next to three empty mugs.

“Was I interrupting?” you ask, already knowing the answer.

“No,” Egon answers to your surprise. “I was only writing down what happened tonight.”

You hum. “I saw it on TV.”

He gestures to you to take a seat. From your chair, you can see Egon busying himself with his small fungus farm, touching the caps of his mushrooms with the tips of his fingers. “You know; I think you deserve a rest, after saving the city and all.”

“I believe we saved the world.”

The emphasis doesn’t go unnoticed. You chuckle nervously, having found a deep interest in a stain on the floor. “I wonder if your Sumerian God would have been able to conquer the world as a hundred-foot-tall marshmallow man.”

“Gozer is a powerful entity,” he says. “They would have brought the apocalypse on our world.”

“But now it’s gone, eh?” The unusual silence makes you look up at him.  

“We’ve only destroyed a vessel and a portal. There might be more somewhere.”

“Well…” You try to rationalize. “Good thing the Ghostbusters will always be there.”

Egon stills, staring without looking as if he’s debating inside: is it true? Will it be true? Will I do anything to honor this promise? You decide to drop the subject.

“So, how does one destroy the portal of a God? ’Sounds like a lot of molecular bounds to break.”

“We crossed the streams.”

You freeze.

“…I thought you shouldn’t do that, like ever.” It’s easier to fake some lightheartedness in your tone than to face how a simple slip of fate could have made this improvised late-night meeting impossible.

“It did work.”

It’s harder to swallow as if he could suddenly vanish in front of your very eyes, taken away by some dark entity; as if every single particle of his being could disappear forever as they annihilate their counterpart. A total protonic reversal, that’s what Dr. Stantz had said. You unwillingly explore this possibility: how you, safely at home, wouldn’t have known about their utter and complete destruction until the ridiculous vessel of a Sumerian God turned on the city and brought the apocalypse upon the world. Perhaps after a few hours, perhaps after a day, you would have accepted the fact that they had lost. Or you’d have watched an explosion of unimaginable scale, staring blindly at the death of thousands of people and the loss of what became a constant in your life.

You stand up, trying to get rid of the restless energy that has been buzzing underneath your skin for two days now.

“Oh yes, proton-antiproton collisions are usually effective at killing everything around.” You sigh, trying to squash down the trembling in your voice, leaning against his desk. “Even if you weren’t already dead by the annihilation of your own molecules, the explosion would have finished the job.”

But it’s pointless to remind him of what he already knows. Egon still faces his farm but his mechanical movements have stopped. You say, “You’re more of a jackass than I thought.”

“The chances of surviving were low, I’ll admit.”

“No shit,” you mutter lowly. “Bless the uncertainty principle.”

His small cocky smile is an unexpected but welcomed sight. “Quantum theory has never been truly challenging for me.”

It startles a laugh out of you. “You might want to revise your judgment, then.”

Putting down whatever kind of instrument he has been using, he walks closer and leans on the spot next to you; an unusual decision, perhaps even an unspoken attempt at consolation. It’s funny because you’ve never stood this close, ever. There’s always been something between you: a room, a desk, Venkman, your apprehension, his awkwardness… As his shoulder brushes against yours, your heart soars with uneasiness but as soon as you let your bubble of comfort merge with his, it becomes the most natural thing in the world. Only then, at this very instant, does your heartbeat finally slow down, does the gnawing sensation at the pit of your stomach dissipate… leaving you to wonder when it’ll all pop.

“You haven’t told me the purpose of your visit,” Egon says after some time, always traveling the universe at the speed of light.

“Ah yes.” There it is. “I was restless.” He looks at you intently. “It just occurred to me that our last meeting hasn’t been entirely— agreeable.”

You stare at the ground. “I would have preferred not to have left on bad terms.”

“You were worried I wouldn’t come back.” It sounds like an epiphany.

He says ‘I’ and not ‘we’, and you would have liked for his social ineptitude to take a step forward for once, and not his ridiculously sharp sense of observation.

“Well… It’s normal, isn’t it?”

He doesn’t answer. You wish for the world to be ‘normal’ again, or at least the isolated system of your mental landscape. The disruption in the former entity of your thoughts morphs your behaviors, your habits, making you a slave to the random bursts of emotions you’d like to see buried. This energy stays right there, bound by thermodynamics and your fixations. Perhaps this PKE, this conscience energy is the reason for it all.

“I’m afraid that all of this–” You make a half-hearted movement of the arm. “–will disappear.”

“The world?” He asks.

“No. Yes. I mean…“ You swallow. “Here, right now. I’m afraid I’ll wake up in the morning to realize that it’s all gone.”

“I don’t think reality will end during the night.”

You don’t feel like expanding on those uncomfortable feelings so you entertain the idea. “We were about to be wiped out by a God from distant times. If ghosts are proof of anything, it’s that time is meaningless. It could very well end in a few hours.”

Egon doesn’t answer. You let out a sigh. “It’s irrational.”

“Perhaps,” he says after some time. “But fears usually are.”

“People usually fear tangible things, like, I don’t know, ghosts.”

“Ghosts aren’t material per se–”

You chuckle, looking at him. “I knew you’d say that.”

It’s complicated, this situation; how his literal words comfort you in unsuspected ways. It should be annoying, saddening even, to harbor such feelings for someone who lives miles away in his own head of equations, schematics and paranormal theories. You question your behavior, wondering if, in the end, he’s not just another new thing to fixate upon, if he’s not just another unanswered question on your long list of interrogations about life, the universe and everything. If that’s the case then, you can just move on.

“It’s late,” he states.

Perhaps, you can move on. “Yes, I’m gonna go.”

You gather your bag, breaking the fallacy of closeness you had. If the painful torpor your heart is in is any indication, is that it – whatever it is – goes beyond a fixation, but you don't want to confront any of this...

“Goodbye, Egon.”

…unless it’s to run away.

It’s a goodbye, you convince yourself, pushed closer by a disillusioned thought and a hint of desperation. On his face, you can read a plethora of interrogations, each for one flicker of a lid, for one shift of an eye; unique movements as his body stays right in place. It spurs you on, makes you cross the remaining distance between you. And as you place your hand on his arm to not buckle under the pressure, you give a single kiss; a furtive indulgence at the corner of his lips. Something that could be more, something that could be nothing.

You haven’t meant to meet his eyes, but it all seemed inescapable when he didn’t even close them in the first place while you hid safely behind the opaque screen of your lids. It’s confusion, likely a little bit of recoil… You burn brighter from a single kiss, a torch shining a little light on him too, but as adrenaline slips away, you’re faced with darkness again. There’s nothing you can fault him for as it’s your own two legs that took you there in the first place. It’s your own weak heart that pushed you up those stairs as everything else was dragged down by gravity.

You’re out of his apartment as quickly as you can. You know that if you abuse this kindness, your wider smile and warmer face will be the devil’s work; the consequence of pillaging of benevolence you wouldn’t be able to bring yourself to stop. Even with genuine motions, his telltale beat will never follow yours, and even the strongest, wildest embers won’t alienate it faster. You will be a parched man facing a mirage, a moth to an ephemeral flame that will love everything until it’s consumed. But a flame doesn’t love back and love is a sin for the ones that feel it the most.

The next day, the sky is back to its usual color.

[gold-rhine]

please share correct opinions on alhaitham and kaveh👀

genshin leaks tw i guess. they are both right and they are both wrong actually. like fans will be like omg this ship is canon bc their quest name is "Pride and Prejudice" and then literally not look at what that reference means, as if P&P entire thesis wasn't on how two leads both have to get over their flawed perception of each other and grow personally after admitting their own shortcomings

the whole throughline of them being narrative foils and mirrors for each is like. yes, alhaitham was right about kaveh martyring himself for selfish reasons, and kaveh was so appalled to hear that bc he wants ppl to think he's perfect. which like yeah, was his trauma response mechanism, but no, it doesn't mean it's healthy and shouldn't be challenged. being close with someone doesn't mean they don't see your flaws and think you're perfect, it means they DO see your flaws and love you in spite of them. yes, kaveh has high ideals of combining beauty and practicality and of everyone participating in creation, no, it doesn't mean that him carrying other ppl or people-pleasing at any opportunity is good way to reach his ideals, it obviously doesn't work like that. yes, kaveh is lonely, but he 100% put himself into this position, he has ppl who would be willing to support him, he hangs out with cyno, tighnari, brags about having friends and fans, he's literally akademiya celebrity, he could reach out and ask for help at any moment, but that would ruin his facade of perfect success, so he doesn't. literally he opened up about his problems one time and alhaitham immediately took him in despite their broken friendship. the only reason he doesn't actually own the part of this same house is because he refused out of pride, he obviously wants to feel superior to alhaitham, and he used his social standing and popularity as proof, which is why he's so shocked and dismissive of the idea that alhaitham can have friends or do smth heroic, and now the only way he has left to feel superior is to insist he's better bc he's empathetic, while alhaitham is not, so kaveh keeps falling for every scam despite being a genius. bc he sees this as him being good and that's the last refuge of his ego. tldr great ideals, clown execution

but alhaitham is also performing clown behavior. he's not ambitious like kaveh, yes, but his flaw of pride is in pretending that if he's right he can sound like an asshole. bro has "language is the ultimate tool and weapon" all over his stories, he knows that how you word things fucking matter and he knew that kaveh is fragile about his ego and emotions, yet he didn't try to talk to kaveh on the terms he could accept and help him reach the conclusion, but bluntly poked him into the weakest spot instead. and yes, alhaitham has feelings and they were obv hurt and he's still obv highkey cares and lowkey bitter at kaveh at the same time. fellas, is it rational to meet your worstie drunk and miserable in a tavern, learn he's bankrupt, and immediately take him home as a roommate. and like explain that you don't care about him, but you did it to have another genius through whose presence you can perfect your vision of the world. and then every time you talk you tell said genius that he's devolving into a fungus and shit like that. which is how perfecting a world vision works obviously. yeah sounds very logic, very rational, very objective, and no confused feelings to me.

no, their fight is not bc they have incompatible ideals and can never understand each other. they can understand each other very well, they can't get over their egos. kaveh spent years wanting to take back his words to his father and vowing to never hurt anyone again, yet he refuses to see realize what he said years ago hurt his best friend and he doesn't take it back despite them literally living in the same house and having that opportunity every day. he accuses alhaitham of being an egoist, yet he his own ego makes him pretend to have perfect life and have no problems instead of opening up to ppl. alhaitham accuses kaveh of being irrational and in denial about his true motivations, yet is in denial about his own motivations for becoming roommates, instead facetiously framing it like it was strictly for his own purely academic goals. they are mirrors, but they refuse to actually look at each other.

if hoyo has an ounce of sense, this is obv a setup for character arcs of them growing and getting over their pride and prejudices to be able to work together and combine alhaitham's strategic thinking with kaveh's groundbreaking designs.

[sluttyquarantinetheory]

whenever a game has a character who is like "I wrote my thesis on the exobiology of rizalion fungus. I'll email you a copy." Then you get the email it only shows you like the title page with 1/679 pages in the corner. I'm always disappointed that I don't get to read the essay.

[coelpts]

Hello everyone, I have a Hypnospace Theory (but as far as I'm concerned it's a Hypnospace Fact) about Coolfest '99. I'm sure everyone else has already come to the same conclusion, but I haven't actually seen anyone talk about it so I'm putting my thoughts here.

Spoilers for Hypnospace Outlaw! Please do not read this until you've finished up the story for the game!

Here's my thesis: FRE3ZER sabotaged Coolfest '99.

Okay let me back up. Obviously FRE3ZER couldn't mess up all of Coolfest. The unfortunate tragedy of the Chowdercopter was not his fault, nor was the colossal mismanagement of the entire event from Gray's Peak, but the lip syncing was intentional. FRE3ZER wanted to drive the final nail into Coolpunk's coffin.

Why do I say this? Let's lay out the facts as they're initially presented.

During Coolfest, FRE3ZER- also known as Jan Wolf- was seen lip syncing to the song 'Icy Girl' on stage. After the convention, Jan clarified that this was a mistake; he had been singing along with the song, but he accidentally queued up a work-print of the song that had extra lyrics. This excuse is recognized as being weak at best, and shortly after he announces a hiatus from songwriting and performing. From this point, Coolpunk as a movement completely implodes, and by Y2K MerchantSoft intends to transform the Coolpunk Paradise into an all-purpose music Zone called The Venue.

However, missing from this summary is the real identity of FRE3ZER. This fact will likely missed on first-time playthroughs; it's found in chapter one through the incomplete and mostly inaccessible Fungus Scene about page. The pioneer of Fungus Scene, FatherFungus, known for making music under the pseudonym Basidia, is the true FRE3ZER- Ray Dolan. Ray reportedly has terrible stage fright and so signed on with Esotonic Records as a songwriter and producer. Jan Wolf hired as a 'face' to play Ray's music onstage. This fact is removed before the Cavern becomes publicly available, citing a contractual prohibition against divulging the info.

How can we tell this is the truth? FatherFungus has unlisted page in Coolpunk Paradise dated November 20th of 1998, the generally agreed date that the defining song 'Colder Than The Rest' was released, with the song playing and downloadable for free. Said page is nearly completely taken down by Esotonic by the second chapter, the title song being replaced with the Basidia track 'Ghost of the Grotto'.

Additionally, although the singers voice in 'Colder Than The Rest' is significantly distorted, there's no denying that it sounds very similar to the voice in Basidia's song 'Ghost of the Grotto'. Even more, 'Ghost of the Grotto' is a song about a creative struggling with the idea of being unseen and unheard while someone else plays their music.

The connection isn't exactly subtle.

Okay, so now the situation is thus: Ray Dolan, aka FRE3ZER, signed a deal with Esotonic Records and hired front man Jan Wolf to perform his music live. Jan's first performance was at Coolfest '99, where the lip sync incident tanked FRE3ZER's reputation and crashed Coolpunk square into the ground.

But we can go deeper.

There's another character at play here- COOLPUNK_IS_DEAD. This user made a page as an ode to Coolpunk and its demise sometime after Coolfest and it's deleted in December. It notes that Coolpunk has fallen, killed by corporations that were exploiting it. To quote, 'They've identified what makes us US and are selling it back to us'. This user is distributing the lip syncing video and the immediate aftermath, and advises that people turn away from this co-opted movement to find their own freedom.

COOLPUNK_IS_DEAD is FatherFungus, Ray Dolan. Aside from the fact that this page directly links to Fungus Scene, these two users share the same headband ID: 04886A. COOLPUNK_IS_DEAD is therefore a sock puppet, made by Ray Dolan to widely distribute the video of Jan Wolf failing his performance.

Now we circle back to Coolfest, and the excuse provided by Jan: he mistakenly queued up a different version of the song with more lyrics. This excuse was already flimsy; the version of 'Icy Girl' that was distributed across Hypnospace was the same one that played during Coolfest, so the idea that FRE3ZER had intended to play a different version is about as strong as wet tissues. And now that we know that Jan isn't FRE3ZER, this series of events is called into question even further. This isn't his music. Did he even organize the set list to begin with? Does he actually know the FRE3ZER discography? Did he know what he was playing at all?

This line of questioning lead me to two answers. Option one: Jan Wolf is in on this. He's a friend of Ray's and the two of them collaborated to cause the failure of FRE3ZER live. Option two: Ray intentionally sent Jan the incorrect copies of the song to practice, and the live set list was designed to throw him off guard and under the bus.

Personally, I believe option two. Why? The answer lies with the final piece of this puzzle: FR33ZIECHIKA. This account belongs to one Amanda Price, and she's an astroturf account. The tells are obvious; she links to Gray's Peak with sponsored soda images all over her page, her style of writing is bizarrely corporate and sterile, and her review of Coolfest is out of touch with reality. It mentions none of the horror and drama of the real event, refusing to comment on the tragedy of the Chowdercopter and making reference to an extended set list from FRE3ZER when he only performed one song before being booed off the stage. But if that wasn't enough, the proof is once again in the headband IDs. Hers is 04902A, and she shares it with the official FRE3ZER account.

Her account is quietly deleted sometime in December.

This all leads to my final conclusion. FRE3ZER sabotaged Coolfest '99 to kill Coolpunk dead. After seeing what Gray's Peak were doing with the movement he signed a deal with Esotonic and let them hire Jan Wolf as his public face, only to send him a live set that exposed him as a fraud. He took the evidence and distributed it across Hypnospace, letting his former artist brand and hired face take the fall. From the ashes of his act he developed Fungus Scene, a musical movement that truly embodied his ideals- no brand sponsorships, no big names, just the unbridled creativity that the darkness of the caverns provide.

And, I mean. I can't say it didn't work, but I can't help but mourn. What Coolpunk was, how it was eaten alive, and the kids and young adults that just wanted to belong somewhere.

[gaylactic-fire]

Are they really your blorbo if you aren't writing an entire thesis on their character arc and themes and growth, while simultaneously treating them like a cool bug you found on the sidewalk, or perhaps a weird fungus?

[todayisafridaynight]

real shit dude Laurens was super uhhhhh gay* or somn and I got to read all about it while doing my BA's thesis because the focus was on Hamilton (who he was real gay for). Anyway cool guy, lots of stuff here is named after him (we got a county... a city... usually a street in every town big enough...) anyway I have lots of fun facts about him/the state ready to fly bc... that's all a history degree from sc is worth :D *you know what i mean bro he wasn't straight

do not speak to me about mr laurens because my mental fungus was so bad for the guy i prrrOMISE. i'd spend hours reading all his letters and documents or historical events just mentioning the guy every day during study hall in high school. i stole his handwriting.

i still mourn the fact i left my fave laurens biography at my dads so that means it's lost to purgatory <- storage _(:з)∠)_

[liptonrm]

I have learned that the season two premiere is HOURS closer than I thought. So fuck my job, all of my homies hate my job, I'm finishing my rewatch or else.

Here it is, episode 8. Let's all get ready to go to the Eye of the World.

Love a conlang. Love actors being made to act in a conlang.

I get it, Lanfear, I totally get it. Lews Therin is a total smoke show.

The fact that they're showing LTT, his philosophical arguments with Latra Posae Decume, AND his child in a cradle is just SO much. So good, so crunchy. Demonstrate that you know the books and the lore without encyclopedically reciting the books and the lore.

Also, let's not forget, according to the lore Egwene is Latra reborn. Can't wait to see how this scene is paralleled later in the show.

This show definitely knows how to do a pre-credits teaser.

Will the kinslaying be alluded to in season two? Guess we'll find out soon enough.

A part of me wishes we could've seen what could've been before covid hit. Most of me is just sooo happy for everything we got.

Lol Egwene and Perrin bonding over how much they love Rand. So true besties.

The Blight being fungus-based is just perfect. Fungus is horrifying enough all on its own.

Lan! Nynaeve! Lan x Nynaeve!

All of the Forsaken are so obsessed with LTT it makes them look stupid.

Little fat man sa'angreal my beloved.

I knew his eyes were familiar! The actor playing Yakoda also played Boorman on Disney+'s Willow show. Shame that show was stripped from the internet, it was cute.

I'm pretty sure he has the same big-ass blade in that show, too.

Agelmar and Amalisa's conversation is basically if nothing we do matters than everything we do matters. Which is a pretty good WoT thesis too.

So in the show, what is the Eye supposed to be? Is it the Bore? The Age of Legends Hall of the Tower? I'm withholding judgment.

It's really a bummer that covid fucked with the Trolloc army. I get why practical effects were impractical in that situation, but still, a bummer.

Rand just wants to love the people he loves, have a family, and live a good life. Poor boy, life just doesn't give him a choice.

Interesting, Ishamael has a chain in the hand he's using to channel. Is it an angreal?

You just know that tons of Age of Legends philosophy students were obsessed with Ishamael.

"What about what she wants." Feminist king.

His little smirk as he's blasted away. He wins. So, he wins.

I still have no idea what's going on with the circle burning out and Nynaeve "dying" but Egwene healing her? But, hey, seeing the consequences of channeling too much of the power is useful.

There are no beginnings or endings. But it was an ending.

Fuck that one little girl in particular. 🤠🪳

On rewatch, the finale is still a little underwhelming. It's got some great moments, but it falls a little flat, mostly due to covid-related issues (the battle scenes) and the inherent difficulties adapting Eye of the World, problems that won't transfer to the next seasons.

Four and a half more hours! Let's go!

[rontra]

Relistening to sacrifuce after reading your thesis on Summer and Salem....

I legitimately think everything you said was right and planned since volume 2. The song fits your idea of Summer PERFECTLY, and with Cinder's backstory now revealed its obviously not HER song.

You've given me brainworms, I love it.

like i'm not TRYING to sound deranged here!!!! but i'm convinced this shit is true and was planned from the start (<- guy who's almost done rewatching vol 1 and spends every episode going THEY CANT KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH IT)

Sacrifice is fun bc yeah I agree it's not a Cinder song. To me I took it as a Salem song because of. obvious reasons + the material it shares with Divide. but anon i think you're infecting me with something with the idea of Sacrifice As A Summer Song. thats so cool that whips ass

mmy god. my god. my fungus. okay. good lord

Sacrifice as a Summer Rose song that shares material with Divide because shes besties with Salem <3333 HRHBDFHB

[justconstantly]

list 5 topics you could talk about for an hour without preparing any material

thanks for tagging me @belladonnafey !!

1) obvs my thesis material, so if you want to know anything about freshwater content in the Arctic ocean I'm your person, very interested in Russian Shelf transport, Beaufort Gyre dynamics, the Arctic Oscillation's influence on surface circulation, and ice export <3

2) love talking about paleoclimate as well, hated the course in undergrad but probably the class I remember the most about, ask me about milankovitch cycles or the Gaia hypothesis or meridional overturning circulation

3) what I call my fungus thesis which isn't actually a coherent idea except that I love the resourcefulness of rot and I always enjoy sci-fi that makes me contemplate the difference between a biological imperative of another species imposed onto ur free will via chemistry v.s. actual communion with a higher plane of existence thru holy, fungus-y mediums, and wether you'd ever be able to tell the difference, whether an ant taken over by cordyceps climbing a tall tree feels ant euphoria for reaching the top, etc

4) also adore thinking about sustainable farming and food cultivation methods, permaculture, traditional foods and practices from various indigenous communities, etc, took a class about restorative ecology and another comparing agriculture and indigenous methods like native American food forests across the Holocene to today and it was SO cool, also ties into paleoclimate, the anthropocene, humans intrinsically being a participant in earth systems instead of outside of them, etc, love it

5) this is getting long uuuhh also teaching and evaluation methods in higher education, both for students and professors, I'm by no means an expert but I have been taking teaching classes and having taken a plethora of classes at this point I have Thoughts

tagging @knifepadme @izzfizzpop @pathos-logical @sadclowncentral @azertykeys @junewild but no pressure

[fithragaer]

And that’s not to say the DA writers have been especially good at the whole “ambiguous/dare I say Gray morality” thing. But I do think they were at least better in the origins era before the centrism fungus finally overwhelmed their brains or whatever. But fandoms are what they are meaning that the (understandable! that’s kind of just how brains work) desire to say “character/group you like=character/group that is Good and Right” can easily become the predominant idea in the fandom zeitgeist which really hamstrings any sort of critical or nuanced discussion. So I just think that’s something we all need to acknowledge and work past, bc even in fan spaces for media that’s genuinely critical of this idea that sort of mindset will still creep in (ie the DE fandom’s RCM woobification). I don’t have a thesis or anything here, I just think this is something to keep in mind

[icaroid]

I posted 3,721 times in 2022

434 posts created (12%)

3,287 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@andromerot

@rotmance

@gothicenjoyer

@brownpaperhag

@appsa

I tagged 2,171 of my posts in 2022

Only 42% of my posts had no tags

#knyghtblogging - 238 posts

#bodies - 225 posts

#mabelposting - 152 posts

#icaroid - 108 posts

#answered - 100 posts

#heartmeat - 68 posts

#green that feeds - 61 posts

#the tender flesh of the earth - 53 posts

#tlt - 51 posts

#final form - 50 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#sorry i looked at the reblogs for this post and saw the tag lesbian juggalo spacestuck and im going to have to commit crime against clowns.

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

New tlt theory resurrection beasts are fungi and they want to eat the dead

What happens to all of the bodies on the flipped planets? Who eats the dead? Who eats the dead? If everything dies, it takes so long for the ground to eat… she needs help to chew…

anyway goodmorning follow for more posts where I turn everything I like into a thesis on rot… huh kinda like a mushro—*i suddenly turn into a fungus-infested tree*

74 notes - Posted January 9, 2022

#4

Siobhan was right. Give Adaine a gun.

81 notes - Posted November 27, 2022

#3

It’s here!!! I make these to order, so there will be some delay btwn you ordering and the production and shipping etc. I’m just a guy with some words and menthol illness.

There are three options for images — images cobbled together from the scraps of the artist book edition I made for class — new, one of a kind monochrome sketches — linocut images. Lino aren’t available yet, but will be soon hopefully!

Hopefully next year I can add my other chapbooks!

92 notes - Posted November 18, 2022

#2

Oh god something about. About Kiriona’s impervious body and Grendel’s impervious body. Going to scream.

111 notes - Posted September 18, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

my favorite part of goncharov was the scene where goncharov said it’s gonching time and gonched all over the place

494 notes - Posted November 19, 2022

[essektheylyss]

loving your annihilation film reactions. APPARENTLY the movie rights were acquired/film production started BEFORE the book was actually properly published? and the director has said that the adaptation was more of his memory of the manuscript. all this to say that i have tried long and hard to accept and love annihilation the film and annihilation the book as their own things born from the same seed but where lies the strangling fruit that came from the hand of the sinner I shall bring forth the

HAHAHAHA oh yes, this is... very much an issue in Hollywood. Sometimes it works (iirc The Martian was done like that and that movie is phenomenal!) but... often it doesn't, particularly if the author is not involved.

(I have separate thoughts I will not detail here about the increasing interchangeability of authors and screenwriters pushed by Hollywood but like... if you can already craft a story, format and structure can be learned if you're willing. That's not the problem.)

I did set out to watch it for the adaptation choices because I really love the concept and process of adaptation and I thought the book was phenomenal and had very specific opinions on how you could faithfully adapt it, and in this scenario I think every choice that was actually made was wrong.

But also, once I realized that I thought every choice was wrong, I did start looking at it on its own, and... I find that so much of the framing just of the movie on its own is deeply shallow? (Which, I haven't watched Ex Machina since college, but I remember feeling similarly about that one. Ooooh, your robot is a bitter girlboss. We all saw Bladerunner.)

More specific (negative) opinions, and book spoilers, and my thoughts on how to adapt it below the cut, both in case people do really like the movie and cuz it got reeeeal long—

In my opinion, the scientific aspects of it are the absolute most banal possible application of... well, biology, frankly (especially when you're originally dealing with fungus, my absolute beloved, so I was bound to have many opinions here)—the whole like... instant mutation thing? WHAT. It wants to be surrealist without ever selling me on any of the aspects that make it surrealist or even committing to the surrealism, like it doesn't believe or take seriously its own premise so it needs to explain it to make sure you, the audience, do not judge the absurdity of it, and achieves the opposite, where I just feel like the write didn't know how sci-fi or suspense worked as genres. I'm here to suspend some disbelief! I'm not here to have all of the wind cut from the sails because somebody needed to spend $50 million to try to convince people he was clever.

The structure of the film is bizarre and leans way too hard on exposition dumps and just telling both the characters and the viewer exactly what they're looking at, which negates any of the mystery of "The Shimmer" even once you've divorced whatever this is supposed to be from Area X. I really hate the choice to use camera footage rather than journals, especially given they've maintained the radio and satellite interference.

The way the backstories are set up really feels like it chokes out the purpose of the character motivations and then parades the lifeless corpse of that purpose through the streets pretending it's a theme (and, looking at the base level of where the characters are being led, I'm pretty sure an episode of Hannibal did it better). I will say, I do like Josie a lot, and I think she is actually the only one who maintains the concept of the biologist in the original, and her exit should've been the thesis of the film, and the ending with Ventress is genuinely bizarre (and, frankly, gives me end of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull vibes, which is in zero ways a compliment).

It seems like Lena is the last to understand, which makes no sense considering she's the biologist, and this is a biology puzzle (and gives me the impression that this was not someone who understood or appreciated the aspect of the biological intrigue of it). It started with her explaining mitosis, and she should've been the one to understand it best through it all. The scenes with Lena's doppelganger feel... so meaningless, and again, really just negates the ineffability of the whole concept, and the point of the inevitability! Why did the phosphorus burn down the lighthouse this time but not with Kane. Why did the doppelganger let herself be destroyed only for Lena to go back. (And, frankly, they and the treatment of the biological science have an insufferable vibe of edgy film major who just took a philosophy 101 course. And I would absolutely know.)

In terms of my thoughts on adaptation, I think the first mistake was getting rid of the conceit of having stripped them of names. It's the easiest thing to maintain in film, even easier than in prose. You lose some of the effect when they're not calling attention to it all the time, but you don't undercut it at all. (Same with "The Shimmer" instead of Area X.)

As I read the book, I felt the psychologist's hypnosis would be hard to adapt, but actually, I think film editing choices (jarring cuts, jump cuts, lighting effects, etc) could've made it very easy, especially since you then have to simply transition back to a more traditional flow of editing once the biologist stops being effected by it.

I'd have also organized it roughly as it is in the book starting at the tower, and shown the husband's return in flashback, along with the biologist's memories, probably with a lot of jump cuts. Also, just keep the original timeline of Area X! I don't really get the point in changing it, except to add urgency, even though... part of the horror of the original is that the process is slow but it is inevitable.

In general, much of the rest of the aspects of Area X's weirdness and how it affects the biologist are pretty straightforward, even on film. I imagine they were demotivated by the very... intangible aspect of depicting the interaction with the lighthouse keeper at the end, but honestly... A24 could've done it, no sweat. I'm no expert on effects, but I think both The Green Knight and EEAAO had aspects to them that I'd say were comparable to ways to make that scene work.

And really, I do think that this screenplay feels like it was written to make sure the audience knew that the writer understood all of the clever details, and as such so much of the ambiguity that makes the book fascinating and haunting is lost. Even with some of the fucked up horror effects, it feels a lot more like a generic action movie than the suspense thriller it should've been, especially because so much of it is just stated outright.

(Also, oh my god I hate a climactic title drop in a situation in which it did not need to ever be said to have the effect.)

Which is why I return back to, the first mistake was giving them names.

[the-angry-lil-bookworm]

Once again I am here to review all the books I read this month: February edition.

Disclaimer: I don’t finish reading books I don’t like so my reviews are almost all positive.

Caste: the origin of our discontent - 4/5 - should be mandatory reading for all Americans. It’s really good and will make you reflect on everything you have witnessed in the United States. I know some people argue that it needed more analysis analysis to support the thesis but if you are newer to the study of race in America I think it provides a useful argument.

Cultish: the language of Fanaticism - 4/5 - wonderful but very unsettling if your mom ever sold Mary Kay or had jean parties.

The only good Indian - 4/5 - really good and interesting. I got a little lost in the beginning. The story follows four friends 10 years after a hunting incident that comes to haunt them.

How to be an anti racist - 5/5 - should also be required reading. I recommend listening to the audiobook.

Annihilation - 4/5 - I get that I’m late to the game but fungal horror is in and this one is freaky.

The realm of lore and lies - 3/5 - very fun. It follows a young women’s journey into the Irish land of fairies to retake her place as matriarch of a clan of travelers. You will have to know about Irish culture and little bit of folklore but it’s very googleable.

The girl who drank the Moon - 3/4 - very sweet story about hope and love. It gets a little slow in the middle.

The princess Bride - 5/5 - it’s a classic. Rob Reiner does the audiobook and its absolutely lovely.

The Haunting of Hill House - 5/5 - there is a reason this is classic horror. It’s wonderful. Shirley Jackson is wonderful. The queer coded characters live.

Authority - 3/5 - not as good as the first book (annihilation) but still fun. You don’t really know anything more about the fungus or see it up close in this one.

[1ore]

funnyball:

ooga.. im curious why no werewolves in morb, elaborate <o> (eye emoji)

WELL I can’t say it’s a 100% hard and fast rule. In the Chief’s case, the circumstances just didn’t work out in her favor (For Now.) which is to say that it’s one of those arbitrary rules with special case exceptions.

There are a lot of morb ‘rules’ that are like that. there’s no lore reason that Io can have horns as a god but can’t have wings. Or hooves or a tail or whatever. It’s just what feels good for the setting and doesn’t upset my arbitrary internal logic of what moves/looks good in my mind’s eye and what doesn’t.

And bodily transformation is something that happens in moribund pretty regularly! I mean, not to the average person, but it keeps popping up narratively. I guess the distinction is that there isn’t a lot of generalizable Guys Who Transform… maybe you could say it’s a wild folk thing, or a god thing, because there are certainly more wild folk and gods who have different shapes than other peoples, but it’s not really universal, like Every Wild Folk gets to have some kind of primal shape or Every God gets a complimentary giant bird form. I don’t think of something like that as a quantifiable characteristic of them, especially when they’re something as place-based and individual as like. a folk spirit or a hero-god.

Sauntiaq are in closer proximity to that, in that they experience bodily transformation pretty much universally, but it happens once, is permanent, and they’re (relatively) tame physiological changes most of the time. I say most of the time because Watch Out

Then there’s characters who Just Do That and have their own internal mechanics, within/outside of larger frameworks. Like Sinuk and Cinte and controversially Jesse.

I locked the Chief out of the above groups for various reasons. I don’t think divinity is compelling on her, sauntiaq is mechanically the closest but doesn’t make sense temporally or geographically or thematically, the wild folk technically were still in Asthaom before they were extirpated/fled to Mercasor during the thousand year drought, and would make a very interesting character to shove into the depths of Sond, but it doesn’t make any sense for the Chief to be that character.

There's nothing stopping me from making up new groups of guys (looks at the endlings) but porting something like the endeme doesn't feel congruent with moribund, because environmentally transformed/devastated places like asthaom are in a post-post apocalypse for... very different reasons. the thesis is different and a different kind of wound is healing. the resurrection fungus would just be a normal commensal organism in moribund is what im saying.

Unless the question is “does moribund have werewolves specifically” and the answer to that is: I have never seen one and I don’t anticipate seeing one. But I tried to port Nihil into moribund multiple times and he’s basically a werewolf. So. The Truth Is Out There