#is water the lifeblood of the city taken to excess?

[mechanicalchickens]

Oh! That’s most certainly Mitzi, on first read I didn’t look close and thought that was Atlas’s silhouette. All the old crew are caught adrift in what was, huh.

Which means that which ‘makes light for dead eyes’ is the dead tree… does it represent Atlas? Or the dead husk of what he built, upon which Mordecai Mitzi and Victor project so much?

What is that veining the tree? Lightning?( the crackles certainly suggest so).

Or is it water ? a flood slowly seeping through the dead husk of what was built, until it all cataclysmically crumbles (the primary mechanisms of which would be ROT and slowly building water pressure, very thematically appropriate).

They’re in a desert, with a singular dead tree. a trickle would bring life, a deluge will lead to flash flooding and destroy the tree. But I’m not sure what water IS metaphorically in that interpretation of the scenario. I do know that the great flood of 1927 is coming.

There’s a storm brewing in the sky(which would bring WATER), maybe they’re all waiting for lightning to strike twice — that would make Atlas’s first entrance into their lives a metaphorically lightning strike, ultimately destructive. And if the tree crackles with energy, then perhaps that suggests that is what M&M&V are doing — living off the aftershocks of energy, waiting for another lightening strike even if that might mean doom.

Interesting, not quite sure what to make of it, except that living trapped in memory is unlikely to end well for any of them!

[thepageoflands]

Hello! If you're still doing requests, could you do one for a Maid of Blood, a Witch of Space, a Thief of Time and an Heir of Space? Please and thank you u.u (lands, analysis, whatever you feel up to 💚)

Here you go! Enjoy!You are the Maid of Blood in the Land of Blood and SpringsThis land has many rivers intercrossing the land, all filled to the brim with rushing blood. They are the lifeblood of the land, and they make sure that the crops grow well and livestock are good. They also provide some sort of calming effect to the naturally violent consorts, and for many years they have lived in peace. But 10 years before you entered, the rivers suddenly became dry, and the blood stopped flowing. Because the calming effects were removed and the resources began to dwindle, the attitude changed very quickly into a warlike situation, with many small bands of consorts fighting over the last supplies. Think Mad Max, but Sburb Mad Max. As the Maid of Blood, you must find a way to Renew the blood in the rivers, as well as restore the bonds between the consorts and stop this war.The FarmThis was a giant farm, dedicated to providing good food for the world. After the flow stopped, it went out of business, and was taken over by a group of rebels, though not rebels from anything. They could live for a long time in this shelter.BloodfallThis giant cliff face used to have many spouts of blood in giant waterfalls. The consorts around this area say that behind the biggest one was a door to where a massive creature was said to be found. There is no way of knowing this, as they are all gone now.The BattlegroundWhen the consorts have excessive anger, they go here to fight against the many other consorts who do the same thing. There is tons of warfare, and no actual planning. Hundreds, nay, thousands die here each day.You are the Witch of Space in the Land of Hail and FrogsThe weather in this land is perpetually bad. Hail constantly falls from the sky, in a range of size, up to the size of a golf ball. The frogs of this land are few, due to the fact that all of the weather kills off the ones that stay outside. And frankly, there is not a lot of inside, at least to the frogs. The consorts have built their homes to exclude the little hoppers, after being manipulated by your denizen. As a result, there are very few frogs available, and most are found in caves and such. The consorts are paying for their blockings as well, as the hail has recently increased intensity, and their shelters are not really strong enough to withstand the increase. As the Witch of Space, you must learn find the remaining frogs to breed, as well as a safe spot to breed them. You could also learn to use your powers to slow and even somehow stop the hail, as well as find out where it is coming from. LocationsThe Green CaveThis cave was populated with frogs seeking refuge from the storm, and every surface is used as a place to sleep, mate and play. For some reason, there is a large dais with a symbol on it that no frogs ever go onto. It looks like a good place to put the ectobiology materials.The Hiding SpotA few consorts were able to escape the thrall of Echidna and built a small location for frogs to reside. It is plagued with earthquakes, but that is okay, as they have built it strong. They are always fearing retribution from the fearsome goddess.The Half-ForgeThis forge was split for some reason with you other space player, and the other side is on their planet. It will not light until each half is brought together and combined. How you will manage this, however, you cannot guess.You are the Heir of Space in the Land of Rain and FrogsThis land is also beset with constant storms, and your problem is bad for both the frogs and the consorts. Because your co-player got Echidna as their denizen, you got the male counterpart. He has caused great flooding throughout all of the useful land, and left it worse than useless. The ponds do make a good place for the frogs, and there are aplenty to use. Unfortunately for you, there is no spot to put a breeding station, and you get the feeling that not all of the genes needed for the Genesis frog are here. As the Heir of Space, you must learn to control the way the water and rain move and exist, and make a place for your consorts to live. You must also work together with the Witch to create the Genesis Frog and protect it from the denizen.LocationsThe Half-ForgeJust like on LoHaF, this volcano is split straight down the middle, and you need to move it somewhere and light it. Where it should go should probably be up to you, and you can work with the Witch to move it.The Lilypad SeaOne half of your planet was flooded long ago, and it was fertilized with tons of lilypads, and therefore frogs. The buggers are everywhere, but so are the fish, big carnivorous ones that love frogs. Soon there will be more fish than frogs, and there will be a problem.The Floating CityAfter the rains and flooding started, the consorts gathered their greatest engineers to build a city to withstand the waters. The result was a giant ship with enough to sustain their civilization for 50 years. They are getting close to 49 years, though.You are the Thief of Time in the Land of Mold and MelodyThe Lands of this planet are covered in every type of fungus available. Lichen, moss, mold, mushrooms, the land has all of them. SOme of the more brightly colored ones give off a sort of strange music, but only one part of it. Because it is not in sync, the music sounds strange and foreboding. It spreads over the land, but the consorts don’t mind. They harvest the mushrooms and use them for food, moss for healing, and lichen for almost everything. But you can tell that if the mold isn’t stopped, it could destroy the planet. Plus, there is the problem of the monsters, which have been souped up in some experimental way to heavily resist damage. Your space player tells you that there is a possibility that they could be damaged by decay. As the Thief of Time, you must learn to steal the music and decay from the fungi, and use them on your enemies. You must also learn to take the music and arrange it into the eternal melody.The Singing MushroomWhat sounds like a name for a bad sideshow is actually a mushroom that provides the harmony for the eternal melody. You find that it might be able to deduce the melody from the hummings of this spotted fungi.The Spiraling KeyboardThis keyboard is constantly in an eternal state of revolving. It looks like a time symbol from above, and your sense tells you that it could important. You personally can’t play the piano, but one of your co-players might...The Wall of MossThis giant wall is more like a plug, for a giant hole. It is more solid than steel, and no consort has been able to break it. The moss here makes no sound, and pretty does much does nothing. If you walk upon it, it throws you off of it and flares red with the cog of time.

[key-cast]

Final Fantasy VII

    Final Fantasy VII, is a role-playing video game that was developed by Square-enix, for the PlayStation. The game was released in 1997, and is the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy VII received widespread commercial and critical success, upon it’s release. It was accredited with increasing the sales of the PlayStation, and making Japanese role-playing games, popular worldwide. The game received praise for it’s graphics, gameplay, music, and story. It won numerous, “Game of the Year” awards, and is still widely regarded as one of the greatest games of all time. The game has been ported to other consoles, with some enhancements. A  remake is currently in development for the PlayStation 4.

    The game's story follows Cloud Strife, a mercenary who joins a terrorist organization called AVALANCHE. Their goal is to stop the corporation, Shinra, from using the planet's, “life essence” as an energy source for power. AVALANCHE launches a successful bombing operation at Shinra’s Mako reactor, in Midgar. Cloud’s second attempt at blowing up another reactor goes horribly wrong. He is caught in the explosion and is blown into the slums underneath the city. Unscathed, he is able to get up and is met by Aerith, a flower girl living in the slums. Cloud helps her escape from being attacked by the Turks, Shinra’s top soldiers. In retaliation, Shinra locates and bombs AVALANCHE's base, causing the upper city of Midgar to collapse. Most of AVALANCHE’s members were killed, including some of the civilian population. Aerith, is revealed to be a descendant of an ancient organization, and is kidnapped and taken to Shinra’s Corporation. Shinra Corporation believes that she will help them locate the, “Promise Land”, a place overflowing with endless amounts of energy. Seeking revenge and wanting to rescue Aerith, Cloud, and his two friends Barret, and Tifa, infiltrate the Shinra Corporation. They fail in their attempt and are captured and locked in the same room as, Aerith. A few hours later, they awaken to find their prison cells open. They flee and discover that the president of Shinra is dead. His body was impaled by a long katana. Cloud recognizes the deadly sword. It belonged to, Sephiroth, a former Shinra soldier, who went rogue and supposedly died several years ago. It is discovered that Sephiroth is still alive and plans to blow up the earth. He believes he can utilize an artifact called, “Black Materia”, to summon a meteor to strike the earth and cause it’s destruction. The game ends with Cloud and his allies, heading towards the planets core to stop Sephiroth’s plan. Together they defeat him and prevent the meteor from destroying the earth.

    The game consist of three modes of gameplay. These include the, “world map”, “the field”, and the “battle screen.” The “world map”, has numerous areas where the player can enter, including towns, environments, and ruins. Some areas are not excessive by foot because they are blocked by mountains, deserts, or bodies of water. As the game progresses, the player receives vehicles to help him get around these obstacles. In “field mode”, the player navigates through a life sized version of the areas represented on the world map. The player can explore the environment, talk with characters, and advance through the story. While in field mode, the player can find shops. Shops provide an opportunity to buy and sell items that can aid Cloud and his party, such as weapons, armor, and accessories. At any time in the game the player may find himself in the battle screen mode. During this mode, the player controls Cloud and his friends who are gathered on one side of the screen preparing to battle their enemies who are taking position on the other side of the screen. When the fighting commences, the "Active Time Battle" system, will enable the characters to take turns excecuting moves until one side is defeated. Each character on the screen has a time gauge. When a character's gauge is full, the player can input a command for that character. The commands available change, as the game progresses. Commands may include attacking, casting magical abilities, using items, summoning monsters, and other actions, that either damage the enemy, or aid the player’s characters. If the player is defeated, the game is over and the game must be loaded back to the last save point. 

   Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, is a Japanese computer-animated, science fantasy film directed by Tetsuya Nomura. The film was written by Kazushige Nojima, and produced by Yoshinori Kitase, and Shinji Hashimoto. It was released on September 14, 2005, and serves as a sequel to the game, Final Fantasy 7. 

   Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, takes place two years after the events of the video game. During this time, antagonist, Sephiroth attempted to absorb the Lifestream (the lifeblood and soul of the planet), in order to be reborn as a god. He was eventually defeated by Cloud and his companions. At this time, Cloud and his childhood friend, Tifa Lockhart, run a courier service in the city of Midgar, and are the caretakers of orphans, Denzel and Marlene. Cloud is still haunted by the death of Aerith, who was killed by, Sephiroth. In addition, both he and Denzel are infected with a mysterious new disease known as, "Geostigma", which has no cure. Cloud has leave Midgar and isolated himself from his friends. He is summoned to a meeting with the Shinra Company's former president, Rufus Shinra, who was presumed dead in Final Fantasy VII. Rufus, asks for Cloud's help in stoping Sephiroth's surviving spirits, Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo from resurrecting Sephiroth by using his remains. Cloud refuses Rufus requests’ and leaves. Meanwhile, Sephiroth's surviving spirits are recruiting children infected with, “Geostigma” to assist them in locating Sephiroth's remains. They lure the children with the false promise of a cure. Denzel is among the children, who are fooled by their promise. Loz attacks Tifa and Marlene, in Aerith's church, where they were looking for Cloud. Tifa is knocked unconscious and Loz kidnaps Marlene. All the kidnapped children are taken to the ruins of the mystical, Forgotten City. When Cloud arrives to free them, he is overpowered by Kadaj's gang, but is rescued by his old comrade Vincent Valentine. Cloud decides to continue pursuing Kada,j in Midgar, where he has released monsters to terrorize the civilians. With the help of his companions from Final Fantasy VII, Cloud engages and defeats the monsters. Kadaj confronts Rufus Shinra, who reveals that he possesses the box containing Sephiroth’s remains. Rufus attempts to destroy the remains, but Kadaj manages to take it from him, and flees the city with his minions. His minions are destroyed by an explosive trap planted by Shinra's agents. Cloud, chases Kadaj down, and engages him in battle. During the battle, Cloud successfully subdues Kodak. Knowing he is defeated, Kadaj in a final attempt,  opens the remains of Sephiroth, and transforms into him. Sephiroth, now resurrected, plans to use “Geostigma” to achieve complete domination over the planet. Sephiroth and Cloud fight. Throughout the battle, Sephiroth appears to have the upper hand. Sephiroth asks Cloud what he cherishes the most so that he can have the pleasure of taking it away. Hearing this, Cloud replies that he cherishes everything, and in a rage, deals a devastating blow, killing Sephiroth. Sephiroth's spirit departs, leaving behind Kadaj’s wounded body. As he lies dying in Cloud's arms, a healing rain starts falling across the land, curing the people of their, Geostigma. Healed of his injuries and surrounded by his friends, Cloud celebrates his victory, realizing he isn’t alone anymore. He has friends and family who will always be there for him.

     I enjoyed the movie because it extended the storyline of the game and gave me new insight of it’s plot. Once again we see the theme of good versus evil in the quest for power. When I discovered that the movie was in animation I thought it was gonna be visually spectacular, I was not disappointed.  With the new insight that the movie has given me, I would like to revisit the original Final Fantasy 7. In addition, I am looking forward to the upcoming release of Final Fantasy 7 remake which will soon be available for the playstation 4 platform.