#not because its a video game *but because the same is true of our reality*- truth emerges through consensus

[tetrachromate]

not enough people are talking about how anthology of the killer ends with bb and zz achieving (or at least attempting to achieve) gnosis

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 7/23/24

i woke up at ass o'clock monday morning to find BOTH of my cats sleeping on the bed with me :') temporary peace and love on planet niceys

also read a book where my takeaway was that there are SO many opportunities in the world for evil engineering but not nearly enough for evil puzzle games

listening

my sister sent me ONE instagram reel/screencap of a tiktok and ive been muttering "emergency! emergency! paging DOCTOR BEAT!" under my breath for the past three days. alarmingly catchy remix of this gloria estefan song. this specific video below is pretty close but there are approximately eight zillion versions

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reading

Dark Wire by Joseph Cox (photo from here, description from the publisher's site).

The inside story of the largest law-enforcement sting operation ever, in which the FBI made its own tech start-up to wiretap the world, shows how cunning both the authorities and drug traffickers have become, with privacy implications for everyone. In 2018, a powerful app for secure communications called Anom took root among organized criminals. They believed Anom allowed them to conduct business in the shadows. Except for one thing: it was secretly run by the FBI.    Backdoor access to Anom and a series of related investigations granted American, Australian, and European authorities a front-row seat to the underworld. Tens of thousands of criminals worldwide appeared in full view of the same agents they were trying to evade. International smugglers. Money launderers. Hitmen. A sprawling global economy as efficient and interconnected as the legal one. Officers watched drug shipments and murder plots unfold, making arrests without blowing their cover. But, as the FBI started to lose control of Anom, did the agency go too far?   A painstakingly investigated exposé, Dark Wire reveals the true scale and stakes of this unprecedented operation through the agents and crooks who were there. This fly-on-the-wall thriller is a caper for our modern world, where no one can be sure who is listening in. 

i really liked this one! cox did a really good job of slowly unfurling the extremely technical details as they became relevant, instead of one horrible infodump near the beginning, and has a real gift for humanizing little anecdotes that illustrate the concept. he's also dryly funny in a very british way, eg the transition between one paragraph describing a very talented olive oil salesman and his lifestyle to how that olive oil processing covered up drug labs with the sentence "But Catanzariti didn't stay with olives; he pivoted instead to methamphetamine." i loooooove reading about how the drug trade gets around customs. i love edge cases and figuring out why things fail. i truly think some of the finest materials engineers of our time are out there trying to figure out how to get cocaine into australia.

this is deeply reported in a way that's very different from a lot of popsci and pop-history books that annoy me: this is NOT a book where it feels like the author is simply padding out a wikipedia page, supplemented with articles he's already written. he's been on this beat since 2016 and it shows: he has quotes from hundreds of people on many sides of the drug war. something i also appreciate is that cox is not automatically, rabidly pro-cop; he does not gloss over the very real tortures and kidnappings and all the other nasty realities of the global drug trade, and frequently shows how much overreach and entrapment took place during this whole endeavor. i particularly liked a chapter where he flipped back and forth from various law enforcement officials assuring him they of course complied with all relevant privacy laws and blacklisted anyone using it for simple secure communications, and lawyers telling cox "no the cops very much did spy on my privileged communication with my clients and i know this because these texts came up in court". also gratifying to read about some cases overturned or thrown out, in the odd case a judge decided it looked too much like entrapment.

i feel like i devoured this book SO fast but it's a solid 352 pages in hardcover. i also had to wait a good two months on the libby holds lists so there is strong interest in this book! good for cox!

how did i find this book: it's austin underscore walker's fault. they used to be coworkers at vice and cox and three others broke off last year to found 404 Media, which has had an absolutely crazy amount of real-world impact for the size (again! four people!) and how long they've been around. rip vice. wish u did better by your people.

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watching

watched Hercules (1997, dir. Clements & Musker) with my bestie's five year old. i did not grow up with disney movies and don't really have a nostalgic affinity for them but this shit holds up! i like how meg has the silhouette of a greek vase

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playing

powerwash simulator has a new free DLC out! we get to go to the aquarium and wash some exhibits and wash the research submarine!!! VERY soothing. took me a good solid two hour podcast episode to clean the exhibits.

the temporary summer event in genshin impact is very darling this year-- there are big indie game vibes and unlocking every chest is a little more complicated or has a little bit more story attached than usual. very excited to see if this continues with the next big update that introduces a whole new land.

i also like that they've picked An Art Style to work with-- everything is very toy-like or origami. not that genshin doesn't have a distinct art style, but playing around with something less realistic is fun!

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making

look im going to have to add a cross stitch update to the morning reblog. the lighting in here is simply Not Good Enough

[melodiesofmidnight]

I want to talk about violence in Phantom of the Paradise for a moment.

Paul Williams once said in an interview that:

"You go back to, in our society, we were, as Americans, sitting and watching the footage from Vietnam. There were cameras following the fighting. We're sitting there with our TV dinners watching the war in Vietnam. And, at some point, it felt like something really evolved at this point.

But the news was becoming entertainment. And the line between the two, between the news and entertainment, our reality began to blur. And so when that amazing moment in the movie, when Beef was killed on stage and the kids think it's part of the show, I think that's a really pivotal moment [...] and it just feels like that was basically the heart of the picture."

It seems to me that this truth, which, at the time, may have seemed to be an overly-thoughtful consideration of the film's intended meaning, has now been augmented into something of such formidable magnitude as to seem too obvious to mention: and that is intentional.

*Further commentary under the Read More.*

The "heart of the picture," as Paul put it, however, has only become more familiar to us as Time has steadily marched onward, and may now be so ubiquitous a phenomenon that we suffer the same blindness as those inhabiting said ideal society: we simply do not really analyze the violence. It is hardly mentioned in pertinence to this film in the realm of critical analysis, as that is just standard film fare: we hardly pause to consider its position within the film, or what the depiction of this violence may be trying to say: it is simply not particularly remarkable to us.

In an ideal society, of course, this aspect of the film would be lost to us, a symptom of a bygone and barbaric populace whose methods of entertainment would find themselves comfortably classified as having evolved from those of the Romans.

And why should it be?

Since the advent of the Internet, real violence has become so easily accessible to us that even a quick Google search can bring you within a finger's breadth of witnessing atrocities mankind was never meant to see.

Many of us grew up in the nascent, more unregulated days of the Internet, where kids passed shock sites between them like naughty magazines, and when places like LiveLeak consolidated into one convenient location the truly horrific realities of the world: beheadings, murders, war crimes, car crashes, cartel torturings...if it featured real, unadulturated human suffering, it had an ever-growing audience. People In the Know referenced these videos to one another, winking at the in-jokes made at the expense of real humans whose horrific deaths they had themselves witnessed.

Even in the current age, these things blur the lines between fantasy and reality for modern youths the way war footage may have for the youths of the Vietnam era: death is a spectacle, be it real or simulated.

We tell ourselves vehemently that we can distinguish between the two - between real and simulated violence - and, while this may be true in parsing the difference between fantasy and reality, can we parse the difference between its effect on us personally? Is every instance of real violence we witness truly as raw to us as it was the first time we saw it?

Ostracized teenage boys gather together to idolize school shooters the way horror fans may gather together to admire their favourite fictional slasher. People respond to a low death toll in mass shootings the way they may react to saving nearly all the characters in their favourite horror game: "Oh, just two got killed? That's not so bad."

Sure, it seems silly to us while watching the film that the audience doesn't recognize that Beef was truly killed whilst onstage, because of course they should have -- we would have. However, would we have cared? There have even recently been instances of people continuing to party on while their friends lie dying of alcohol poisoning on the couch, or of people livestreaming the murder of their partner while their viewers cheer them on, or even people who have displayed the body of a celebrity at a nightclub event.

People trample each other over 5% off sales on televisions and shoot each other's children over a perceived slight on the roadway. People commit random acts of violence against each other every single day, and, of late, have been livestreaming it: recording it for people all over the world to watch -- and they do. They gather en masse to watch, and, when a half-hearted attempt is made to remove the video from being accessible, people scour the Internet to find it: to be part of the group In the Know--to have something to talk about. An assassination live on television, coast to coast? Now that's entertainment!

I think the violence aspect of Phantom of the Paradise is terribly overlooked, and such really only speaks to the relevance of that particular criticism against our society, which still rings so true as to be invisible to us. Haha, the person in the movie killed another person with a bird hat, isn't that silly? Haha, the singer onstage got electrocuted to death, that's so absurd. Haha, that girl put on Winslow's mask after he died without even checking on him. Haha, everyone's partying even though four people just died. Isn't that silly?

And why shouldn't we find it silly, rather than horrifying? After all, we saw worse than that when we were six.

[absolutedestinyapocalypsse]

I love how the hunger games movies invite the audience into the spectacle, but i don't think the takeaway is necessarily that we, the audience, are just like the capitol for enjoying them. I think theres something to be said about the press around the movies unintentionally proving how we are similar to the capitol (especially with how it was marketed as a romance between gale and peeta), but in the end the movies and books are works of fiction. We sit down to them and we know comfortably that nobody was hurt in the making of the hunger games, and theres nothing wrong with thinking that because it's true. Rachel Zegler was not actually forced to sing for her life, she's safely at home posting bts videos, and its not wrong to remember this. Speculative fiction (dystopia, sci-fi, etc) like the hunger games can teach us lessons about the world in ways that are safe, that build us up spiritually and emotionally. They can help us learn about resistance and make connections about real world villains away from the real-life consequences and terrors of talking about those things. Speculative fiction also can handhold us through compassion and ethics 101 at times, which may be embarassing, but it's necessary when we have been raised in a culture that is empathetically and emotionally stunted.

I think the point thats being made in the hunger games is more about what happens when we sit down to other spectacles of violence that are real and we expect them to feed us in the same way that movies do. We become like the capitol when when the line between fiction and reality blurs and we expect real displays of violence (like, for example, press coverage in gaza right now) to cater to our sensibilities and hand-hold us and explain it to us in ways that we find comforting. Real people don't owe us that when they're suffering; theyre not performers, they're people. Journalists in gaza have been talking about the immense pressure to perform their grief and suffering in a certain way, and to continue to put atrocities on display in order to maintain global sympathy, which is why the premise of the hunger games is so sickening. To force people in terror to perform so they can be appealing to people in comfort and privilege is really fucked up, maybe we shouldn't do that to real people in reality. I just hope people don't walk out of tbosas thinking they were wrong for being entertained by the movie that depicts fictional violence, I hope they walk out and interrogate why they need to be entertained to listen to victims of real violence.

[gemsofgreece]

The part of the video about Hades game where the creator himself said that "the Greek gods were called that way because they worshipped by ancient Greeks, but they were not ethnically Greek"....

Wow the disrespect again and how it doesn't make any sense. The Greek gods not only were worshipped by our ancestors (some still do) but they were called that way because they were ethnically Greek too. The same goes to the Egyptian, Norse, Japanese gods and every other mythologies. They are called that way because they were worshipped by the people ot that country.

But it's still frustrating people (especially USians) feeling the need to erase the roots of something that not only it's not theirs, but want to claim it as well. Seriously i thought the game was okay at first, but after that έπεσαν λίγο στα μάτια μου αυτοί :/

This has become the mantra of all people who have baptised Greek mythology a fandom. Newsflash for them: Any god technically has no ethnicity as the god reigns over the world and everyone can be moved by the religion’s philosophy and decide to be initiated in it. This does not just apply conveniently to the Greek religion but to all known religions where deities have power across the universe.

It would be a good moment for some to admit that "racebending" the Greek Gods has nothing to do with whether these Gods have a Greek or other or no ethnic descent or can shapeshift, but it is exclusively a feeling of misplaced right to its abuse for being perceived as a "white religion", "popular with the colonialist West" or even worse "a religion of people who have had colonies at some point a gazillion years back in time", which gives this abuse an element of deserved retribution. These people are in truth well aware of the unethical aspects of it, which is why they consider it racist if done for "POC-originated" religions but almost ferociously exciting when done for the "evil white-originated" one. Furthermore, the potential remnants of ethical concerns that some of these people might have are often overcome by Greece's place on earth, in the Mediterranean Sea, where one can conveniently claim the looks of people are more "open to interpretation" than looks in, say, Scandinavia are. Of course, the concept of considering a person's looks open to interpretation is hugely problematic in itself but this is another can of worms. Besides, it is also very enticing to attempt to argue that this religion / mythology wouldn't be as fascinating if the people's looks weren't open for interpretation (because as we all know in the Tumblr Law, all white people without exception have no indigenous lands or cultures, they landed from another planet just to inflict suffering on others).

Producers, woke creators and obtrusive fans are also equally hypocritical in not admitting that using Greek mythology while trying to modify it to fit in their own reality or a contemporary reality anyway is nothing more than just them liking what the #Western_trends like, coming up with their own little story and trying to project it through the mythology that currently SELLS the most. Trying to change an admittedly famous mythology and squeeze yourself into it instead of finding the one that truly expresses you is a "mimicking the strong one" syndrome accompanied with denial issues. And you know what? It might even be internalised racism for some. Hopefully they will realise it one day as they grow up. This for the “woke”. The producers and businessmen are using the Greek brand and the diversity brand very knowingly to maximise their profit, as they know this is the safest way to attract the trending woke wallets. Idealism, inclusivity or accuracy have absolutely nothing to do with their true intent.

Last but not least, I rarely talk about this and I honestly don’t care as much about it as most people here. Even if a portrayal gets out of typical ethnic Greek look range, towards either the lighter or the darker, I can usually live with it. Some artwork is so beautifully done that I don’t have the heart to be the party pooper. But it’s the self entitlement that gets me and the greediness, the “ I can fix Greek mythology” stance (no dear, you can't, it's a mythology not a car) even though they are AVID readers of it and the “no you don’t know it well, Ancient Greece was like modern USA” no it wasn’t, you just come up with things to prove the validity of your entitlement. And unfortunately when a project is based on so questionable foundations, the creative result is rarely good. It can be, but rarely.

I think I speak on behalf of all Greeks when I say that we don't ask for anything except for the Ancient Greek mythology to be appreciated for what it is. Take it or leave it. For whatever issue in which you personally find the Greek mythology to be lacking, find another one that isn't and also appreciate it for what it is. It's that simple, really.

[whatskraken]

God of War is still my favorite contemporary video game in terms of play style and story delivery, but did anyone else feel like Ragnarok was just Fimbulwinter DLC?

The actual in-game Ragnarok was literally just an on-rails Ghost of Tsuchima chapter-ending strategic fortress siege?? I think they probably initially did this to reconcile the fact that you can’t have an apocalypse that doesn’t actually affect the entire world, but “magic and myth are bound to their homelands” denied me of feeling any sort of stakes in the war? Kratos isn’t from here, the Fall of Olympus meant nothing to the Norse cannon, so why does this insular war affect me? Why did we make such a big deal connecting all the Gods of War through Tyr if the Celts and Egyptians and Japanese versions aren’t going to council at least in an inter-dimensional cut scene.

“THE PROPHECY!” you say? Nope. Sorry. We deus-ex-machina’d that plot-driver by letting giants literally retcon anything we feel like. Maybe if the giant’s prophecy was something clever like “you THOUGHT the Norse meant this, but if you look at it from a different camera angle using our Giant Magic you’ll notice this shattering detail!” Instead we got “here’s a ‘secret’ true ending that we just totally made up in contrast to the one you thought you saw. Except for the most important one— in that case we just say the giants can’t POSSIBLY bother to add secret retcons to EVERY shrine, silly!!!”

I also feel like we got ripped off from experiencing the in-world justifications for the stuff in IRL Norse mythology I was looking forward to the storytellers clarifying. Cool we figure out how Jormangandur is “born” of Loki, but the ouroboros notion of Ragnarok isn’t ever explained. They even joke during an end-game boat ride story: “How did that big snake recognize you?! Must be time travel or something?!?!?!?” Remember that boar from last game? Remember that squirrel runic companion? We forgot we kinda wanted to flesh them out so as long as we joke about the meta it’s cool to add them back.

Odin at first is so fascinating because his clever conniving villainy is just…….systemic capitalism. THATS a smart way to address his traditional anti-hero/noble-villain status in mythology. But if I slice Elon Musk in half with a hammer, an entire realm whose singular economy is based off exploitative industrial slave labor isn’t really free from the tyranny of their own societal structure. I guess in a sense, Kratos killing Zeus/Odin and destroying the realms of gods in both Olympus/Asgard helps explain our current non-magical, non-god-driven secular reality. But that’s not the theme or goal of these games, narratively. Ragnarok always felt inevitable, but never necessary.

Odin asks so many interesting ethical questions about the meaning of godhood SEPARATE from its impact on the life of a generic mortal. His answers to moral quandaries never felt manipulative or dark-sided: in fact I think he and Kratos always gave Atreus two sides of the same advice. However it felt like every time we jumped back to Kratos & Freya insisting on Odin’s villainy, the writers never gave them enough justification to counteract his sound logic. We start to touch on the question of “what toll does Machiavellian decision-making take on the psyche of a god, and how does the psyche handle when traditional morality is off the table?” Kratos is directly allowed to do MAJOR morally dubious things through a constant lens of protagonist favor. “Open your heart to their suffering” because Kratos Is Main Character so all destruction is sacrifice worth the cost. ODIN IS BADGUY BECAUSE WE NEED TO HAVE FINAL BOSS BATTLE!!!!!

Remember in the post-game of the original how Fimbulwinter reskinned the entire hub world in response to Ragnarok approaching? Well even though we make a BIG deal about how all realms have their own unique seasonal weather affectations, the END of Ragnarok doesn’t actually cosmetically affect any of the realms in the reverse direction after the final battle. There’s nothing new or interesting to see in any realm (even though this would have been the coolest way to motivate players to go back and explore) but hey you can FOLLOW THE PATH BACKWARDS AND OPEN ONE OR TWO MORE TREASURE CHESTS! Some of that ouroboros sci-fi logic would have been perfect here: pieces of Asgard blocking major pathways from the start of the game that were actually a result of the final battle. That mirror-logic already exists in other cool ways: Memir comments on how the stories of Jotenheim say the landscape is SO BEAUTIFUL, but that “legendary beauty” is really a fungal overgrowth of decaying bodies of (literal) giants. The Mother Forge is an underwater mermaid because “the essence of a thing isn’t the same as the reality of a thing.” That’s not a logic applied to the entirety of the world-building, only when it’s convenient.

When the game breaks off to solo Atreus play, I was pumped to experience how every single character was going to get unique play style. Instead they just all end up as reskins of Original Boy. This isn’t an insane issue, but it only ever felt like I was adventuring with Brok/Sindri/Freya because we wanted to have some sidebar dialogue, not because the gameplay necessitated new skills or unique puzzles.

When I played the original, there were moments that floored me artistically and changed the way I think about video games as a medium. I know some of my lofty expectations come from comparing this dev cycle to unhealthy industry practices of others. Yes GOW Ragnarok is a really really really clean and solid experience. But if we’re complaining that to Assassins Creed and franchises that push out “unfinished product only considered a finished AAA game once 3 DLC packs are released 3 years later,” then TBH Ragnarok is admittedly pretty anemic overall in comparison. Maybe I’m the issue with the industry, but there wasn’t really enough of a significant shift in scope, gameplay, or narrative/cinematics for me to think of this installment as anything but “a continuation of existing digital assets rearranged to wrap up a masterpiece that we didn’t feel like bloating into a trilogy.”

I think we’re going to get some extra gameplay out of Atreus. I do believe this is Santa Monica’s end with Kratos: I think Sony let them put him to bed. We’ll either get a third game in the “Valhalla series” that’s focused on Loki/Tyr (and will HOPEFULLY follow up on the non-Norse Gods of War & expanded locations hinted at in the 2018 game) for a true epic reboot a la 2018, OR they’ll poop out one more existing realm’s worth of DLC and give us 5 minutes of Faye as a Kratos re-skin DLC to wrap up this cycle.

[yuuiend]

Week 8: Is this the real life? Is this just…Filters?

The predecessor to filters

The concept of Augmented Reality (A.R for short) was first introduced to the public in 1968 by Ivan Sutherland, widely regarded as the father of modern computer graphics. He created a wearable display system that could allow viewers to look at digital graphics. This device laid the foundations for VR goggles down the line.

After its initial invention, A.R technology did not see a lot of use for a few decades, as most companies saw it as little more than a novelty, because of the impracticality and overall high cost to implement.

That all changed in the early 2010s, in the most unexpected of places.

In 2011, the toy line Skylanders was unveiled to the public, utilizing Near Field Communication (N.F.C) technology to allow players to scan physical figures and use them in video games. This was a big out hit, and soon after, many big brands joined in the toys-to-life trend, including Disney Infinity in 2013 and LEGO Dimensions in 2015.

The next step in the evolution of this trend was heavily reliance on A.R, as public interest shifted from bringing physical toys into the digital world, to bringing digital characters into the real world.

Even though the toys-to-life trend did not last too long, it completely changed the game, and helped usher in a new age for A.R technology, as more companies started to see its potential, which led to…

Filters taking over the world

The first instance of “filters” was created in 2015 by Snapchat. While they may be considered a basic feature now, they were a revolutionary piece of technology at the time. Filters alone pretty much carried Snapchat into the most used social media platforms conversation.

The internet had a field day with these filters, which were viewed as just for fun, with ones turning users into animals getting a lot of attraction particularly.

However, it didn’t take long for some people to realize that these filters could be used to alter your face in such a way that you could look more conventionally attractive.

And once again, A.R technology completely changed the game. However, it’s debatable whether that was for the better, or for worse…

As beautification filters exploded in popularity, beauty eventually became homogenized, and the things that once set us apart and made us beautiful in our own ways became unwanted features, things that could be removed and replaced with one simple button, all at the low low cost of your self-esteem.

The negative impact of constant exposure to beautification filters have been the topic of many research papers, and most of them came to the same consensus that the pipeline of using filters can lead users to detest their own features, as well as feeling pressured to conform to one specific image of perception, which often does not even align with their true self, the one that has been buried by dysmorphia and dissatisfaction with oneself (Barker 2020)

References

Barker, J 2020, ‘Making-up on mobile: The pretty filters and ugly implications of Snapchat’, Fashion, Style & Popular Culture, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 207–221.

Javornik, A 2016, ‘The Mainstreaming of Augmented Reality: A Brief History’, Harvard Business Review, viewed <https://hbr.org/2016/10/the-mainstreaming-of-augmented-reality-a-brief-history>.

I.R. Dijkslag, L. Block Santos, Irene, G & Ketelaar, P 2024, ‘To beautify or uglify! The effects of augmented reality face filters on body satisfaction moderated by self-esteem and self-identification’, Computers in human behavior, vol. 159, Elsevier BV, pp. 108343–108343.

[jurynelson]

Ubisoft just makes me SO. SAD.

Because on the one hand, they are a true powerhouse of Actually Good Game Design. YMMV, especially in recent years, (lookin at you Assasins Creed: The Infinite Sequel) but it's an undeniable fact that they are responsible for some massively influential stone-cold classics of the last 20 years. I maintain that Assassins Creed II is still just about the perfect video game, and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time changed my life, and I'm not kidding.

But the rest of it? Every SINGLE other thing about this company? It's a beast. A monster. A wretched thing which Only Hungers and refuses to engage with a reality in which it is not constantly catered to by every single human on Earth.

You may notice that the only two pulls for Good Ubisoft Games I could come up with are from almost 20 years ago. Right around the time that Assassins Creed became The Biggest Hit, Ubisoft scaled up its machine and like… There was a time, reader, where there was GUARANTEED to be a new Assassins Creed Game Every Single Year. For nearly one year, that was an exciting proposition. But then it became clear that they were making the same game, charging you for it again, and then shoehorning in their weird, useless website in every crack they could find. Now they've evolved into their final form, Trying To Be Epic Games.

The thing that sucks is that "Trying To Be The Netflix of Games" is actually not a bad idea. We all love Steam, after all. But Ubisoft is skipping to the end, where the only thing on Netflix is stuff that Netflix made. And the only way to play any of it is to pay them constantly, and forever.

"I wish to play your excellent video games on my PlayStation," you might say, because you like fun.

"Fuck you," Ubisoft will respond. "You must use our terrible platform, which sucks. Sign in."

"I've already signed in," you'll say, "On the PlayStation. To play the game I bought."

"You didn't buy that game, you fool. You absolute rube. You child playing at man-things. You believe yourself an owner? You are a consumer," Ubisoft will say, now becoming truly frightening. "And you will be consumed."

Ubisoft may like for you to remember them as a Good Game Factory, but all they really ever had was Good Game Factory Workers. People make games, and then companies like Ubisoft grind their bones for the minerals inside. And now they want to do the same thing to the people who play their games.

In short: Games are an industry, and are at this point a real-time example of the way that industry—as a concept—is antithetical to goodness and quality.

[udo0stories]

Did you know today is National Respawn Day? This is not a holiday I made up; it is unquestionably true. Okay, I made it up, and it does not matter which day you try again—that is great that you want to do that!).) And this time, you want to figure out how to make adjustments that last. Fortunately, you are in the right place whether this is your first or 50th respawn experience. We are going to have a little fun along the way as I share the same step-by-step approach that we have used to assist 15,000+ nerds in restarting their fitness journey in our coaching program. We will talk about the following: Why It’s Okay to Start Again So you already bailed on a goal, habit, or routine this year. Greetings from the club. We refer to it as "being human!" We number eight billion. It makes sense that, statistically speaking, the majority of people have already given up on their New Year's resolutions! The process of changing behavior is intricate. [1] Everybody starts out with aspirations and hopes for what they can achieve, but then they run into this ugly thing known as "reality." We discover that perhaps we chose the incorrect objective, that we attempted to take on too much, or that life got in the way. This news is incredible! I like to compare life to an enormous video game, so we will have to get used to facing obstacles, failing, getting back up, and trying again! That is what gives a game its true enjoyment. "Success is moving from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm," as the saying goes. Congratulations for already figuring out a tactic that does not work for you at this time. Now let us go about resolving that! First things first... STEP 1: FORGIVE YOURSELF We’re often our own worst critic and our own worst enemy. That voice in our heads will quickly point out all the things we have done incorrectly or how we have messed up when we falter on a task or goal. We may berate ourselves for lacking self-discipline or call ourselves derogatory names. There’s another way to think about this: You discovered a strategy or tactic that doesn’t work for you! For instance, it is great if you tried keto and failed! That diet is ineffective for you. Since I personally adore carbohydrates, I also think keto is awful! Treat the voice in your head like a roommate. It just so happens that you share the same brain. Just because our brain thinks something doesn’t mean it’s true! I like to think that my strange roommate Chaz is the source of my thoughts. Although he does not always know what he is talking about, he has good intentions. He owns a ferret as well. It’s also possible the strategy or tactic is still useful, just in a different context. For instance, just because you tried calorie counting and it did not work does not mean we have to give up on that strategy permanently. To learn from it, though, we must ascertain why it was not a good fit for us at this time. Since you are reading this, you must be attempting to make changes in your life. You have discovered a few techniques that do not suit you. You are prepared to give it another go. This is fantastic and deserves to be honored. As NF Coach Matt explains in the video below, “self-compassion” is really important when attempting to fulfill New Year’s resolutions: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVBCF1UkXmY[/embed] STEP 2: ASK WHAT WENT WRONG? So, you conducted an experiment with your goals for this year, and you did not get the results you were expecting. That is not a positive or negative thing. It simply is, like any other experiment. It did not work out the way you had predicted ("I am going to stick with THIS diet and THIS workout plan"). Fantastic! We can make use of that information, my friend the scientist. Let’s write down specifically what your experiment entailed.  What goal did you have in mind? “I was going to run a mile each morning.” “I was going to eat strictly Paleo every day.” “I was going to transform into a mythical phoenix.” Take a look at your list; these are a few variables that you are not currently finding effective.

IMPORTANT POINT: Based on the millions of people who have visited Nerd Fitness over the previous ten years, I am going to assume that there were two reasons why your experiment did not succeed: #1) You built an idealized goal for a romanticized view of life: We all have a lot on our plates, and life is chaotic. We set ourselves up for failure when we assume that our children will not get sick, that our schedule will be flawless, or that work will not get delayed. Furthermore, if we hold ourselves to the standard of "perfect adherence to the plan," even one missed day can totally halt our progress. Thankfully, John Steinbeck stated, "You can be good now that you do not have to be perfect." We will instead concentrate on being fairly good the majority of the time because perfection is a trap. We require a strategy that adapts to the whims of daily existence rather than being designed around an exact timetable! They are not real. #2) You tried to change all the things: Instead of your usual 3,000 calories per day, your goal was 1,800. When you currently do not exercise at all, you attempted to run seven days a week. You do not write regularly, even though you stated you were going to write 5,000 words a day. Rather than making drastic changes or making no changes at all, what if we made a few small changes? We will never be able to finish everything, at least not in one sitting. Thus, much like in a video game, we should quit trying to fight ten level-100 dragons at once while we are just a weak, level-1 wizard! Selecting a single target determines our level; as we advance and gain power, we can take on more formidable foes. So, let us attempt to do less in our upcoming experiment, shall we? Focusing intently on learning a single new skill is preferable to trying to fix too many things at once and ending up back where we started! STEP 3: CHANGE A VARIABLE IN YOUR EXPERIMENT I am assuming that since you are reading this guide, you are looking to try to get in shape, gain muscle, or lose weight. To avoid getting the same results, we need to change the variables in the experiment. You know, science! Remember, any good experiment has accurate measurements for the factors they are changing! You don’t just put “some uranium” in a nuclear reactor. You know the exact amount. For your next attempt, consider adjusting one of the following: #1) Change the exercise variable:  Did you enjoy the exercise you attempted? If you discover that you hate running, great! Never do that again. “Exercise sucks,” so I would pick something that sounds more fun. Did you try to exercise 5 days a week for 60 minutes a day? What if you instead decided to go for a 5-minute walk every day to practice the habit first and then increased the difficulty? #2) Try a substitution rather than an addition:  Adding a brand new exercise routine to an already busy schedule can be really challenging. The same might be true with severely restricting your calories, which can be really uncomfortable and make you hangry and angry. Let’s try this instead: substitution! Here are three examples: Making healthy swaps with our diet: How you eat is 80–90% of the weight-loss equation, and you’re already eating every day. So focus on substituting a vegetable for fries once a week or swapping sparkling water for soda. You can also keep a food journal and change your breakfast twice a week. Temptation bundling: combine an exercise/activity you want to do with an activity we already love. Listening to a great audiobook, but only when we’re out for a walk, on the treadmill, or joining a friend on a bike ride (to a winery or pub!). Do one activity mindfully every day: meditation is amazing for developing the skill of being present and cultivating awareness, but it might be tough for us to set aside 20 minutes to sit alone with our thoughts. So why not practice being mindful during something you’re already doing? Practice mindfulness while brushing your teeth or washing the dishes in the sink. No extra time is required; all of the benefits!

  #3) Adjust your “win scenario”: I get it. You were able to train in your home gym for the first few weeks of this year, going for at least an hour. But THEN…Work got busy. And you only had 30 minutes, which wasn’t enough time to get through your workout. So why not set the win scenario at “30 minutes,” “15 minutes,” or “1 exercise”? Lower the bar! This is not an on-off switch. It’s a dial that we can turn up or down based on how busy our lives are that day. Let’s imagine we’re on a 10-year journey, and we’re trying out all sorts of tactics, strategies, and rates of change to see what works best for us. Doing your workout today is not nearly as important as building a routine of working out that fits into your life for the next decade. We can stop asking, “Do I have time for my workout?” and instead ask, “What workout do I have time for?” There’s nothing that says, “A workout must be 60 minutes in a gym.” A 5-minute walk with your kids. A 10-minute circuit workout between Zoom calls. It all counts! Example: If you roll out your yoga mat for 1 set of exercises, it counts as a win. It doesn’t matter if you did a full hour-long workout or a 5-minute set of push-ups. Feel free to turn the dial all the way down when life gets really busy; just don’t turn it off. STEP 4: RESPAWN and try again When you play a challenging video game, you’re going to die. A lot. (I died literally thousands of times when playing Hollow Knight, one of my favorite games in recent memory.). What happens after you die in a game? You respawn, and try again! You’ve learned a new tactic or pattern. You have a new technique. You’ve uncovered a secret. You also have all the knowledge of every past attempt. You’ve also just gotten better. So you try again. And again. And again. And then you succeed, and that works for a while. Until it stops working. And then you change your tactics again and keep going. There’s no shame in trying something that doesn’t work when it comes to our health. Life is one giant experiment; we’re all disasters, and we’re all doing our best! Here’s Joe, who made dozens of attempts to get fit until he changed the right variable and got results: We have hundreds of stories of normal people who kept struggling to find the thing that would work for them, but they kept reading and they kept trying, and then finally, something clicked. And that next attempt is the one that changed their life’s path. This next attempt might be the one that works for you too! Keep trying differently, keep failing differently. You can do this! STEP 5: SUPERCHARGE YOUR RESULTS I know hacking your experiments to get better data isn’t exactly “scientifically smart” or “morally responsible,” but I’m the one writing this guide, and we’re all friends here, right? Once you start your new experiment, here’s how you can stack the deck in your favor: #1) Write everything down. Write down your workouts. Write down what you eat. Treat it like a science experiment, and you’re collecting data! Plan ahead. Be PRO-active (“I will do Strength Training Workout A at 4pm, and tonight I’ll have roasted chicken and bacon-wrapped asparagus) instead of RE-active (“What should I do for exercise right now?” and “Ah, what’s for dinner? Oooh, Burger King!”) For more strategies, check out our guide, Tracking Your Fitness Progress. #2) Recruit allies for your team. Don’t go this alone, as you’re more likely to succeed based on the people you spend time with and hang around with. So recruit allies. Start spending more time with people that empower you (even virtually), rather than people that enable you and drag you down. Join a running group online. Find a lifting “accountabilibuddy” or someone you can check in with. #3) Hire a professional. There are two types of coaches worth the investment: An in-person trainer is recommended if you are looking to supercharge your form on specific exercises like Olympic lifts, squats, deadlifts, etc. An in-person trainer can be good for people who need the accountability of somebody they’ve paid to meet them in the gym.

Here’s how to find a good trainer! An online coach that represents mobile, worldwide accountability. I’ve had a coach for years, and it’s changed my life. Knowing that I have a workout and nutrition strategy to follow each day helps simplify the process for me. Less thinking. More doing.   As Coach Matt explains below, sometimes “outsourcing” help can be a real game-changer when trying to get in shape (or back in shape): [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5ClpHwMMpM[/embed] GET BACK IN THE FIGHT An old man named Rafiki once taught me: “Yes, the past can hurt. But you can either run from it or learn from it.” Okay, maybe he taught that to Simba in The Lion King, but I too learned the same lesson: TO RECAP: #1) Forgive yourself. You wouldn’t talk to somebody else the way you talk to yourself. So have some freaking compassion! You’re trying. #2) Identify what experiment you just tried. Write down what you believe went wrong over the past few weeks. Congrats! You found a strategy that doesn’t work. #3) Pick a new path and try a different variable. A good scientist meticulously tracks their data and writes down their hypothesis. I would change one of the following: Exercise: do less; focus on building the routine and doing it consistently. Here’s how to exercise in a way that doesn’t feel like exercise:. Nutrition: change less. If you couldn’t stick with a diet for 3 weeks, it was too restrictive. Try a different path. For help, check out our Guide to Healthy Eating. It’s designed to build on one small, tiny improvement over time. Win scenario: don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “good.”   #4). Then try again. For #5 (“Supercharge your results”), I have two perfect ways to help you respawn today: Consider our online coaching program, and I also send out a free newsletter twice a week to help you stay motivated and entertained. It’s the best newsletter in the galaxy, I promise you. Did you know today is National Respawn Day? This is not a holiday I made up; it is unquestionably true. Okay, I made it up, and it does not matter which day you try again—that is great that you want to do that!).) And this time, you want to figure out how to make adjustments that last. Fortunately, you are in the right place whether this is your first or 50th respawn experience. We are going to have a little fun along the way as I share the same step-by-step approach that we have used to assist 15,000+ nerds in restarting their fitness journey in our coaching program. We will talk about the following: Why It’s Okay to Start Again So you already bailed on a goal, habit, or routine this year. Greetings from the club. We refer to it as "being human!" We number eight billion. It makes sense that, statistically speaking, the majority of people have already given up on their New Year's resolutions! The process of changing behavior is intricate. [1] Everybody starts out with aspirations and hopes for what they can achieve, but then they run into this ugly thing known as "reality." We discover that perhaps we chose the incorrect objective, that we attempted to take on too much, or that life got in the way. This news is incredible! I like to compare life to an enormous video game, so we will have to get used to facing obstacles, failing, getting back up, and trying again! That is what gives a game its true enjoyment. "Success is moving from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm," as the saying goes. Congratulations for already figuring out a tactic that does not work for you at this time. Now let us go about resolving that! First things first... STEP 1: FORGIVE YOURSELF We’re often our own worst critic and our own worst enemy. That voice in our heads will quickly point out all the things we have done incorrectly or how we have messed up when we falter on a task or goal. We may berate ourselves for lacking self-discipline or call ourselves derogatory names. There’s another way to think about this: You discovered

a strategy or tactic that doesn’t work for you! For instance, it is great if you tried keto and failed! That diet is ineffective for you. Since I personally adore carbohydrates, I also think keto is awful! Treat the voice in your head like a roommate. It just so happens that you share the same brain. Just because our brain thinks something doesn’t mean it’s true! I like to think that my strange roommate Chaz is the source of my thoughts. Although he does not always know what he is talking about, he has good intentions. He owns a ferret as well. It’s also possible the strategy or tactic is still useful, just in a different context. For instance, just because you tried calorie counting and it did not work does not mean we have to give up on that strategy permanently. To learn from it, though, we must ascertain why it was not a good fit for us at this time. Since you are reading this, you must be attempting to make changes in your life. You have discovered a few techniques that do not suit you. You are prepared to give it another go. This is fantastic and deserves to be honored. As NF Coach Matt explains in the video below, “self-compassion” is really important when attempting to fulfill New Year’s resolutions: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVBCF1UkXmY[/embed] STEP 2: ASK WHAT WENT WRONG? So, you conducted an experiment with your goals for this year, and you did not get the results you were expecting. That is not a positive or negative thing. It simply is, like any other experiment. It did not work out the way you had predicted ("I am going to stick with THIS diet and THIS workout plan"). Fantastic! We can make use of that information, my friend the scientist. Let’s write down specifically what your experiment entailed.  What goal did you have in mind? “I was going to run a mile each morning.” “I was going to eat strictly Paleo every day.” “I was going to transform into a mythical phoenix.” Take a look at your list; these are a few variables that you are not currently finding effective. IMPORTANT POINT: Based on the millions of people who have visited Nerd Fitness over the previous ten years, I am going to assume that there were two reasons why your experiment did not succeed: #1) You built an idealized goal for a romanticized view of life: We all have a lot on our plates, and life is chaotic. We set ourselves up for failure when we assume that our children will not get sick, that our schedule will be flawless, or that work will not get delayed. Furthermore, if we hold ourselves to the standard of "perfect adherence to the plan," even one missed day can totally halt our progress. Thankfully, John Steinbeck stated, "You can be good now that you do not have to be perfect." We will instead concentrate on being fairly good the majority of the time because perfection is a trap. We require a strategy that adapts to the whims of daily existence rather than being designed around an exact timetable! They are not real. #2) You tried to change all the things: Instead of your usual 3,000 calories per day, your goal was 1,800. When you currently do not exercise at all, you attempted to run seven days a week. You do not write regularly, even though you stated you were going to write 5,000 words a day. Rather than making drastic changes or making no changes at all, what if we made a few small changes? We will never be able to finish everything, at least not in one sitting. Thus, much like in a video game, we should quit trying to fight ten level-100 dragons at once while we are just a weak, level-1 wizard! Selecting a single target determines our level; as we advance and gain power, we can take on more formidable foes. So, let us attempt to do less in our upcoming experiment, shall we? Focusing intently on learning a single new skill is preferable to trying to fix too many things at once and ending up back where we started! STEP 3: CHANGE A VARIABLE IN YOUR EXPERIMENT I am assuming that since you are reading this guide, you are looking to try to get in shape, gain muscle, or lose weight.

To avoid getting the same results, we need to change the variables in the experiment. You know, science! Remember, any good experiment has accurate measurements for the factors they are changing! You don’t just put “some uranium” in a nuclear reactor. You know the exact amount. For your next attempt, consider adjusting one of the following: #1) Change the exercise variable:  Did you enjoy the exercise you attempted? If you discover that you hate running, great! Never do that again. “Exercise sucks,” so I would pick something that sounds more fun. Did you try to exercise 5 days a week for 60 minutes a day? What if you instead decided to go for a 5-minute walk every day to practice the habit first and then increased the difficulty? #2) Try a substitution rather than an addition:  Adding a brand new exercise routine to an already busy schedule can be really challenging. The same might be true with severely restricting your calories, which can be really uncomfortable and make you hangry and angry. Let’s try this instead: substitution! Here are three examples: Making healthy swaps with our diet: How you eat is 80–90% of the weight-loss equation, and you’re already eating every day. So focus on substituting a vegetable for fries once a week or swapping sparkling water for soda. You can also keep a food journal and change your breakfast twice a week. Temptation bundling: combine an exercise/activity you want to do with an activity we already love. Listening to a great audiobook, but only when we’re out for a walk, on the treadmill, or joining a friend on a bike ride (to a winery or pub!). Do one activity mindfully every day: meditation is amazing for developing the skill of being present and cultivating awareness, but it might be tough for us to set aside 20 minutes to sit alone with our thoughts. So why not practice being mindful during something you’re already doing? Practice mindfulness while brushing your teeth or washing the dishes in the sink. No extra time is required; all of the benefits!   #3) Adjust your “win scenario”: I get it. You were able to train in your home gym for the first few weeks of this year, going for at least an hour. But THEN…Work got busy. And you only had 30 minutes, which wasn’t enough time to get through your workout. So why not set the win scenario at “30 minutes,” “15 minutes,” or “1 exercise”? Lower the bar! This is not an on-off switch. It’s a dial that we can turn up or down based on how busy our lives are that day. Let’s imagine we’re on a 10-year journey, and we’re trying out all sorts of tactics, strategies, and rates of change to see what works best for us. Doing your workout today is not nearly as important as building a routine of working out that fits into your life for the next decade. We can stop asking, “Do I have time for my workout?” and instead ask, “What workout do I have time for?” There’s nothing that says, “A workout must be 60 minutes in a gym.” A 5-minute walk with your kids. A 10-minute circuit workout between Zoom calls. It all counts! Example: If you roll out your yoga mat for 1 set of exercises, it counts as a win. It doesn’t matter if you did a full hour-long workout or a 5-minute set of push-ups. Feel free to turn the dial all the way down when life gets really busy; just don’t turn it off. STEP 4: RESPAWN and try again When you play a challenging video game, you’re going to die. A lot. (I died literally thousands of times when playing Hollow Knight, one of my favorite games in recent memory.). What happens after you die in a game? You respawn, and try again! You’ve learned a new tactic or pattern. You have a new technique. You’ve uncovered a secret. You also have all the knowledge of every past attempt. You’ve also just gotten better. So you try again. And again. And again. And then you succeed, and that works for a while. Until it stops working. And then you change your tactics again and keep going. There’s no shame in trying something that doesn’t work when it comes to our health.

Life is one giant experiment; we’re all disasters, and we’re all doing our best! Here’s Joe, who made dozens of attempts to get fit until he changed the right variable and got results: We have hundreds of stories of normal people who kept struggling to find the thing that would work for them, but they kept reading and they kept trying, and then finally, something clicked. And that next attempt is the one that changed their life’s path. This next attempt might be the one that works for you too! Keep trying differently, keep failing differently. You can do this! STEP 5: SUPERCHARGE YOUR RESULTS I know hacking your experiments to get better data isn’t exactly “scientifically smart” or “morally responsible,” but I’m the one writing this guide, and we’re all friends here, right? Once you start your new experiment, here’s how you can stack the deck in your favor: #1) Write everything down. Write down your workouts. Write down what you eat. Treat it like a science experiment, and you’re collecting data! Plan ahead. Be PRO-active (“I will do Strength Training Workout A at 4pm, and tonight I’ll have roasted chicken and bacon-wrapped asparagus) instead of RE-active (“What should I do for exercise right now?” and “Ah, what’s for dinner? Oooh, Burger King!”) For more strategies, check out our guide, Tracking Your Fitness Progress. #2) Recruit allies for your team. Don’t go this alone, as you’re more likely to succeed based on the people you spend time with and hang around with. So recruit allies. Start spending more time with people that empower you (even virtually), rather than people that enable you and drag you down. Join a running group online. Find a lifting “accountabilibuddy” or someone you can check in with. #3) Hire a professional. There are two types of coaches worth the investment: An in-person trainer is recommended if you are looking to supercharge your form on specific exercises like Olympic lifts, squats, deadlifts, etc. An in-person trainer can be good for people who need the accountability of somebody they’ve paid to meet them in the gym. Here’s how to find a good trainer! An online coach that represents mobile, worldwide accountability. I’ve had a coach for years, and it’s changed my life. Knowing that I have a workout and nutrition strategy to follow each day helps simplify the process for me. Less thinking. More doing.   As Coach Matt explains below, sometimes “outsourcing” help can be a real game-changer when trying to get in shape (or back in shape): [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5ClpHwMMpM[/embed] GET BACK IN THE FIGHT An old man named Rafiki once taught me: “Yes, the past can hurt. But you can either run from it or learn from it.” Okay, maybe he taught that to Simba in The Lion King, but I too learned the same lesson: TO RECAP: #1) Forgive yourself. You wouldn’t talk to somebody else the way you talk to yourself. So have some freaking compassion! You’re trying. #2) Identify what experiment you just tried. Write down what you believe went wrong over the past few weeks. Congrats! You found a strategy that doesn’t work. #3) Pick a new path and try a different variable. A good scientist meticulously tracks their data and writes down their hypothesis. I would change one of the following: Exercise: do less; focus on building the routine and doing it consistently. Here’s how to exercise in a way that doesn’t feel like exercise:. Nutrition: change less. If you couldn’t stick with a diet for 3 weeks, it was too restrictive. Try a different path. For help, check out our Guide to Healthy Eating. It’s designed to build on one small, tiny improvement over time. Win scenario: don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “good.”   #4). Then try again. For #5 (“Supercharge your results”), I have two perfect ways to help you respawn today: Consider our online coaching program, and I also send out a free newsletter twice a week to help you stay motivated and entertained. It’s the best newsletter in the galaxy, I promise you.

[buzzdixonwriter]

Form Fitting

Recently I gained an insight on what I’ll refer to as comic book storytelling, though the insights cleaned also apply to a wide variety of genres -- sci-fi / fantasy / action / etc. -- and forms of media -- pulps / comics / television / video games / etc.

The insights were the result of watching -- or rather, attempting to watch -- a recent genre film that for the purposes of this discussion we will say is based on a comic book.

I’m being deliberately obscure here because the filmmakers -- creators / cast / crew -- labored under honest intent:  They were genuinely trying to make the best film they possibly could.

Knowing how difficult it is to get any project off the ground, I don’t want them or their film to feel slagged upon; they tried their best and it just didn’t gel, but they should be lauded for making a genuine effort, not taking the easy way out of so many amateur / semi-pro / no budget / low budget filmmakers who knowingly crank out crap they try to pass off as satires or -- even worse -- homages to crappy old B-movies.

Creator, if you aren’t swinging for the fence every at bat, why even suit up?

The film was heavily CGI dependent and almost everything was shot against a greenscreen, but the effects ranged from adequate to good and there was nothing there so jarring that it detracted from the story.

The greenscreening felt more problematic, primarily because not all actors know how to perform for greenscreen, and despite clever CGI tricks, the characters never seemed to really inhabit the locations they appeared in but rather seemed superimposed over them.

Irritating, but not a deal breaker.

The real problem lay in the story itself, how it unfolded, how it followed formula, and how the performers never managed to breathe life into it.

This is because in the end, the filmmakers weren’t making a film.

They were making a live action comic book (or whatever actual media it was).

Here’s the thing about comic strips and comic books and stage plays and musicals and animated cartoons and video games vs films and TV shows:  We tolerate a lack of realism we never accept in live action films.

This is not to say there aren’t stylized live action movies and TV productions, but by and large they’re either rarities or, in the case of TV comedy and variety programs, viewed as more akin to theater than film.

From its very inception, filmmakers vied over The Illusion Of Reality versus The Reality Of Illusion, but in truth both points of view were easily dominated by the default style of filmmaking around the world:  Naturalism.    

From the very beginning, film documented what happened in front of the camera lens.

True, with editing and various visual tricks one could make the audience believe the hero’s reaction in one shot was in reaction to a shot of a tiger made months earlier and in a different location, or that an image painted on glass so that actors could walk behind it represented an actual building and not an optical illusion.

As a result, even the most fanciful films strove to convince us that what we saw unspooling before our eyes actually was happening!

The stage expects us to play along with the actors, and pretend their highly stylized settings / costumes / behaviors represents the real world.

Comic strips and books are just lines on paper, folks, as mi amigo Scott Shaw! likes to point out.  Superman and Mighty Mouse in the same work is wholly acceptable because the audience understands what they are looking at is pure artifice and not reality.

Ditto animated cartoons and video games.  Despite many of them attempting to look as lifelike as possible, the audience understands they are not real.

As a result, those media allow their makers to get away with creative murder.

Drop an actual anvil on an actual mouse from the top of an actual skyscraper and you end up with a smear of gore and fur.

Drop a cartoon anvil on a cartoon mouse from a cartoon skyscraper, and not only do you bypass the issue of what it takes to physically lug 150lbs of metal up to the roof of the building, but the result is a funny sound effect followed by the cartoon mouse being mashed as flat as paper only to pop back to normal a second later.

As a result, the aforementioned stage plays / cartoons / video games / etc. are allowed a lot of leeway in how they tell their stories.

And for the purpose of this discussion, that means lots of short cuts and shorthand.

You’re allowed in comic book storytelling to have characters say and do things that would never pass muster in a naturalistic story.

Villains can be more villainous, dialog can either be lengthy exposition while swinging a fist or a terse outcry that encapsulates what would require careful character development in a film or TV show.

Audiences recognize that as part of the unique style of comic book storytelling and while they might get a chuckle over it, they nonetheless accept it for the sake of the story.

The film I watched felt like a comic book being enacted literally onscreen, not a film story in and of itself.

As a result it range false despite otherwise acceptable levels of technical quality.

The deficiencies leapt out at me more so than other movies I’d call in the comic book style of storytelling only because they were so markedly apparent.

Most films that we call comic book movies (and again, I’m talking about a storytelling style, not the literal source material) are wholly slavish to the wrong medium throughout.

They just feature gaps and weaknesses that should be plugged and strengthened in adapting the material to film.

I feel sorry for the makers of this particular film.  They tried and failed, but better that than not trying at all.

    © Buzz Dixon

[phrobysha]

Deception and Inception

Just a thought, if we are a simulation and in a lucid dream like state that is a mere holographic projection and we in actual fact don't exist but somehow the programming within this very structured contextual reality makes us believe we are indeed physical as is everything including the physicality of the wind and air. Then how is it beings who would apparently be more advanced than the human civilization perceive and conceive us as tangible and for instance for aliens who have been known to abduct humans and of course the machine elves who too however primitive they think us to be as well as highly advanced beings can't see past the illusion that we are in-existent and non physical. Could it be that they too lack an awareness that they are holographic and too believe themselves to be physical. The universe has been said to be holographic, just what if all known and unknown realms and dimensions too with their inhabitants are much like us and they too have great conviction they exist and are physical in nature yet again they too could be a mere holographic projection or in a lucid dream state of what again some have equated to our existence being much like a thought projection that has been visualized and manifested audibly to a point of surrealism compared to the state of dream like simulations that we have when we are in our presumed sleep state where we get lost and consumed by how real the dreams feel. These are all hypothesis but what is existence really. When I was much younger I came across a documentary that suggested we might be in some sort of space programme but in this present entanglement there seems to be no mention or insight into its possibility. Much like we have advanced to creating metaverses and world's on computer simulated games, what if we too are projections of the same mechanism, we are being watched by other contextual advanced beings on a larger screen and all we do is follow commands and executions and we are being played like a video game and even further, those watching us are too being watched by even more highly advanced beings and this rabbit hole could go on and on after all inspiration of creation and destruction had to come from somewhere so I guess we would all have to go to that unknown source from which all origin could have come from where it whatever it might be exists outside of creation and destruction. So again our simulation of emotions and association as well as attachment to all we have come to relate to as life and define as human by giving meaning to our purpose and those who have opted to defy the core nature of humanity and have or are doing atrocious things as well as those who are refining and redefining their existence by introducing new meaning to their core essence of being. For a moment there we could loose all hope and indeed have fading faith in ourselves but the best way to look at this encounter of experience is to humbly yet excitedly embrace it's potential because we can do anything and also be anything dependent on what we decide to do with the illusion of free will. Given that there infinite pathways to how our lives could unfold, it is also measurably true that all outcomes are known for they have all already played out. We are all merely walking into scripts that were written long ago and all we are doing is reliving the same moments over and over but for some however they are unaware and others who have come across knowledge of self now know the veil doesn't exist and are therefore aware of the timeloop and all other constructs. As this contextual physical realm of earth was corrupted so is every other known or unknown realm or dimension but in all these extremes there those who have held on to their sanctity and presence of resonance as beams and torches in the darkness of evil's cast.

[angelofdiamond]

So some canons are more canon than others? Either it's all canon or it's all not. You can't pick and choose.

With all due respect but it's the same thing you said about OVA you chose that for you it's not canon while only the games are as well as for IDW, on OVA I can agree because I don't see any reference to the movie however the one who chose what can and cannot be canon was you. Sonic Boom has a game and a series, plus a mention, just because Sonic Boom is an alternate reality cannot be considered canon?

Rush situation is based on what happened to X

I didn't say Rush is X but simply that the whole situation of Sonic and Blaze's worlds is based on the anime because it's the same situation (which then got messy with the BumbleKast but whatever)

Just because Sega's greenlit toys for X doesn't magically make it canon to the games, especially when the games never mention any part of X's canon again. Which they probably don't do out of general principle; forcing new players to watch an old anime from 20 years ago to understand what's happening would probably alienate and confuse them. The games have never required prerequisite reading before.

If a part of the franchise wasn't important despite everything it's not a video game, you wouldn't create official merchandise, you wouldn't put it inside the official website of the team that worked/collaborated/created it, and you wouldn't allow fanart on characters that then aren't official because they're not part of the video games and they even put it in the rules: " we don't accept fanart of unofficial franchise characters" is with our surprise, X characters are present in addition I am not saying that the games or merchandising is official in the games but that they are part of the franchise yes though, with their own canon but they are part of it.

Once again, I must reiterate that references for references' sake are Sega's shallow means of attempting to appease a crowd that prefers not to consider Sonic a video game franchise.

The references are not a superficial means of SEGA to appease the crowd but are proof that even if it didn't start from a video game it doesn't mean it's not official or doesn't have its own importance otherwise they wouldn't care so much it's not part of video games why add it?

That's my point, though: brief blink-and-you'll-miss-it references don't mean anything when the most prominent elements of the offshoot media's canon never garner a second passing glance. You can't contextualize Cosmo's character without an understanding of the Metarex. That'd be like trying to explain Shadow's character without the elements of the ARK or Maria, which, as Boom proves, wasn't a good idea.

if they inserted Cosmo, does that mean that somehow they found a way to be able to insert it without contextualizing Metarex like they would have done otherwise for Sticks without contextualizing Boom? They found a way to insert it and as I said before, references are always important anyway because they attest that even if it doesn't come directly from the video game that element, which is not necessarily not an important part, has its own existence within the Sonic franchise. That the Sonic franchise is a mess like Zelda or Pokémon this is true also for Boom Shadow, they have made a mess.

I must also reiterate that if the most prominent elements of an offshoot's canon don't reappear, then whatever gets referenced from it is fanservice at best, because without that context, it does nothing except to function as a wink.

Fanservice does not merit being called canon. A picture of a potted plant that could be interpreted as a nod to Cosmo if you squint does not bear equal weight to the games referencing the events of previous games a la the Adventure games.

Also, elements of offshoot media appearing in other offshoot media does not mean they factor into the core canon, the games. The fact that the games stay absolutely mum on other offshoots is nothing less than a smoking gun. The only game to even attempt this is Frontiers, and it can be argued that that is not an inherent sign that all of these disparate canons are canon to the games, but rather a direct result of Iizuka's goal of "unifying" the canons.

Sonic pict are not fanservice and Cosmo appears (in the form of a vase ) and is not just " any" plant" , X elements appear in IDW and movies, the recent TailsTube videos has Cosmo in it and that too is fanservice so? It is precisely for this reason that SEGA puts references of other media within something inherent to video games or even recent to make us understand that even though: " it doesn't appear often in video games like the quote in Unleashed in Frontiers" doesn't mean that it is not canonical or that it doesn't matter, they have other projects to think about, other ways of seeing Sonic but it doesn't mean that what they have done they have thrown it into oblivion and these "little things" are a proof that is still important to them. Also SEGA has created various things inherent to Sonic also to show that there is not forcibly only Game Sonic every Sonic adaptation is a part of the core of the franchise seen according to our taste: you might like Archie Sonic the way he behaves, as another might like IDW Sonic for his behavior but this does not make them a fanservice or unofficial situation almost all Sonic adaptations are official (I say almost because Archie was decanonized because of his cancellation). And I'll give you a clear example that has been discussed many times: Sonic 06. Sonic 06 is a canon video game of the franchise and Generations confirmed it with Crisis City also thanks to Prime you went to clarify that the situation of 06 is a paradox, so would you then like to tell me that the visual reference of Crisis City, albeit only once in a video game, doesn't count as proof that 06 is canon because then it doesn't appear afterwards? 06 in this case has an indirect connection because although not directly mentioned it is with this reference so also Cosmo, Sticks, Tangle, the love situation between Vector and Vanilla, the bracelet Amy made for Sonic that appears in Cream's hand in the summer cover with Blaze, the stage in the anime intro of X, buried under the snow, which appears in Sonic Winter Jam etc, the hoover shoes that help Sonic not drown in the water in Prime even though they have a different design are the same ones that Chris gives to Sonic, the topic of the forestation that suffocated all other life in Prime which is something that was happening in X etc...just because a piece of another Sonic media appears once or more randomly does not mean that that media is not canon or not related to the franchise. Then also Leah who appeared only 3 times including IDW (which many do not want to accept that he is canon) is not canon, even Chip's bracelet then is not canon and is fanservice since he only made one appearance in the video game, even the recent Sonic pict where Melina appears is fanservice because she does not appear anymore anyway etc...Iizuka wants to merge everything but not that it's forcibly just based on video games, the only thing he said he couldn't merge is Movie Sonic because there are people irl.

No, because only the games are canon. Hope this clears things up

[ameliaellisgreene]

Writing vs. Storytelling

Always remember that not all stories are meant to be told in a book. Other mediums like tv/film, stage theater, comic books, animation, art/illustration, and even video games exist for a reason. While it's tempting to think that we should always put our story on a page (or really, in whatever form we are most accustomed to), we do ourselves, our audience, and our ideas a great disservice when we fail to properly consider how that story will best resonate with the intended audience.

A few questions to consider when planning your project:

Who is the story for? What struggles does the intended audience face? How will they connect with the story you are trying to tell? What are their strengths? Their limitations? How do they best receive information? (The four types of learning--visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic--are interesting concepts to consider in this scenario).

How do you "see" the story in your mind when you think of it? Is it mostly visuals, like a movie playing in your mind's eye? Is it mostly words, with passages coming to you before you even sit down to write? Is it a series of interconnected snapshots? These initial insights are already telling you how the story is meant to be told.

Do the words flow well when you try to write it? We've all experienced it: we have a story that we are excited to tell, but we just never seem to be able to get any traction with it. It drags on with every passage (if we are even able to start) and dulls the joy of expressing it with hurdle after hurdle in the drafting process. Many times, recurrent writer's block when starting or progressing with a certain project happens because you are trying to write a story that doesn't fit the medium you are using. If you have to drag each word over broken glass to get it onto the page, you're using too many.

Some tips for understanding good storytelling:

Be fluent in different mediums. Just because you are a fiction writer (or poet, screenwriter, etc.) doesn't mean you shouldn't have a working understanding of other mediums. Write a screenplay, pen a poem, develop a video game concept--get out of your comfort zone and try new ways to express ideas. Experience how stories are best told by reading/watching/whatever many types of narratives in many different mediums. This will help you understand how stories are structured when they are told in different ways, allowing you to identify the best format to express an idea when it first comes to you.

FORGET the idea that some storytelling mediums are "lesser" or lower brow than others. This usually comes from ideas that are ignorant at best and classist/racist/ableist at worst, but they continue to propagate through society when we don't stop to question their validity.

Video games are capable of crafting rich tales that utilize the best of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic processing. Their ability to let the audience interact with and shape the story being told adds a layer of wonderful chaos to the narrative that more static mediums like books or film cannot easily replicate. Comic books and graphic novels often deal with the same complex and humanizing topics lauded in other mediums, immersing the audience in tales of love, war, tragedy, death, grief, sorrow, and joy.

Don't rule something out until you've truly tested and come to understand its capabilities and depth.

Collaborate when necessary. While the often stereotyped aesthetic of writing in a remote cabin somewhere in the mountains with limited to no access to society at large may seem like the reality of living the writer's life (for better or worse, depending on your level of extroversion), it often isn't the case. Most writers will find that, while the initial drafts of a story or idea may be a solitary process, collaboration with others is often necessary for great storytelling.

This is especially true when you need to tell a story that doesn't work well with your usual medium of choice. Having a network of artists, programmers, producers, etc. that you can connect and collaborate with when you need certain technical skills to finish a project is an invaluable resource that every writer should cultivate.

Know when to let go. Remember that every idea is just another version of the same story that humans have already been telling in one way or another since their earliest days. Joseph Campbell's idea of the "Hero's Journey" posits that all narratives can be distilled down into one basic storyline with three parts: the hero's departure, initiation, and return.

If it isn't working for you, let it go. Move on to your next big idea. Stagnation is far more crippling than a few false starts ever will be, so either file it away for a future time when you have the tools/connections/other resources you need available to you in order to see the project through or pass it on for someone else to be inspired by.

[thefanficmonster]

Corpse’s Girl

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Bullying, Swearing, Derogatory Terms

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Summary: Y/N’s life as a regular college student is forever stripped away from her when her relationship with the famous YouTuber Corpse Husband is accidentally revealed during an online class of hers. How will she cope with the sudden spotlight and the unwanted attention, some of which crosses into bullying?

Requested by my amazing Tumblr friend @itsminniekat 🥰 She’s been reading and liking my works since day one and I honestly couldn’t be more grateful. If you’re reading this, all I can say is thank you, darling. Thank you so much for sticking by my blog even when I posted some crappy fics. I’ll make sure this ain’t one of them. Love you with all my heart. ❤❤❤

P.S. - I named the mean character with my name so I hope no one who reads this has the same name. Wouldn’t want any of you feeling like the villain 😘

Who knew online class would be even more boring than being physically present for a lecture? Seriously, I find myself doing the weirdest of crap to entertain myself - like trying to balance a pen on the tip of my nose for example. I jot down some notes every now and then but that’s basically it. My mind can not fathom the concept on concentrating on whatever my professors are going on and on about. Well, full disclosure, I couldn’t concentrate even if I wanted to, especially with my boyfriend streaming in the other room.

He’s currently playing Among Us with his usual gaming squad. Listening to his input during the discussions, I can always tell when he’s lying. I honestly find it hilarious that his friends can’t pick up when he’s bullshitting them. I sometimes wonder if he has brainwashed them. And that’s one of the main reasons we don’t play Among Us together - he can’t lie to me. Not only do I pick up on his con with ease, but he always says he feels bad when he lies to me which is just the sweetest thing. Also, I refuse to play cause I’m shy. His friends are all well-known content creators and I’m a literal nobody. Every now and then I find myself wondering why Corpse is even with me. He’s always quick to push those thoughts out of my head and make sure they don’t return on a long notice, but they do interrupt my peace from time to time.

“Y/N, do you know?“ The sound of my professor saying my name takes me out of my eavesdropping of Corpse’s stream.

I panic, but quickly improvise, “Sorry, my internet is slow, you cut out for a second. What was the question?” I feel my face heating up, making me glad we are allowed to keep our cameras off.

“Question number 15 on page 82 in your textbook. Do you know the answer to it?“ My professor repeats himself, his tone annoyed.

I look down at the page that’s already opened in front of me. I let out a sigh of relief, seeing that the question is rather easy.

“Yeah, um, it’s...“ Suddenly, Corpse’s laugh reaches my room loud and clear. There’s no doubt my mic picked up the noise, especially since the door to my room is open.

The color drains from my face as I hurry to say the answer and remute myself. My eyes are wide as I stare at my screen, hoping no one will acknowledge that very recognizable laugh.

“OMG Y/N, are you watching a Corpse Husband stream in class?” One of the bitches in my class, Vy, speaks up, “Not a very goody-two-shoe move on your part, dear.” 

I purposely unmute my mic to mumble a quick ‘Shut up, bitch’ that somehow manages to fly under my professor’s radar and the class continues. It’s the first time something like this has happened and I’m not sure if I handled it properly or not.

The class ends shortly after, allowing me a sigh of relief as I disconnect from the meeting. 

“Fucking finally.“ I mumble to myself, leaning back in my desk chair. Tilting my head backwards, I see Corpse standing in the doorframe. I grin, not only because his presence itself makes me ten times happier, but also because he’s upside down from my viewpoint. “Well, hello there! How long have you been spying on me?“

He struts over to me, leaning his face over mine, “Long enough.” His lips linger above mine without any actual contact before he pulls away, allowing me to sit up straight and proper in the chair. “You still have classes?”

I nod my head while disappointedly rolling my eyes, “Yeah. One more. Shouldn’t be too bad since it’s English Lit. You’re done streaming?”

“Yeah, I just have some other things to do. I haven’t done a narration video in a while, I miss making that type of content.“ He plops down on my bed, running a hand through his messy black curls.

“Weren’t you recording some lines a few days ago?“ I frown as I try to recall if what I’m referring to actually happened or my brain is too fried to decipher reality from my bootleg perception of it. Online class, man - messes with your head like sleeping pills - makes you disoriented and exhausted with barely doing anything other than trying to wrap your brain around a lecture or two.

He hums affirmatively, “It’s not a finished project and I don’t even know if I’ll use those or rerecord them. I’ll have to listen to them again before I make a final decision.“

I tilt his chin upwards with my pointer finger, a gesture he has told me he finds very endearing, “I’m sure they’re great and you just refuse to be satisfied. Everything you do is great.“

He smiles a small, shy smile, his fingers gently wrapping around my wrist, holding my hand in place, “You’re biased. You like me too much to tell me when I do some bullshit.”

I scoff, “You know that isn’t true. If someone’s gonna kick your butt in formation, it’s gonna be me.“ I give him a quick kiss on the forehead before pulling away from him, “Go on, now. I have a class to attend. You distract me enough while you’re in the other room, I can only imagine how hard it’d be for me to focus if you were right by my side.“

He smirks, bowing a little as he makes his way out of the room, “You flatter me.”

I playfully roll my eyes, getting my headset back on as I tap the last class for the day. We have an assignment due to the start of the class which we’ll have to present if the professor approved of it. We basically had to write a psychoanalysis of a character from any book of our choice. I chose Heathcliff from ‘Wuthering Heights’ which is one of my favorite books of all time. I’m proud of what I wrote and the way I wrote it, but I’ve always barely scraped by with a B in this class, a B+ if I’m lucky, so I’ve never gotten any major credit, even when I put my 110% in the assignments and projects.

Well, color me surprised when the professor calls on me first to read my work, complimenting it on its detailed and specific nature. I get my printed assignment out in front of me and unmute myself.

“I wrote a psychoanalysis on for Heathcliff, a character from Emily Bronte’s novel ‘Wuthering Heights’.“ Just after I say this line, Corpse’s voice booms throughout the whole apartment, no doubt being picked up by my mic. It doesn’t sound like he’s actually talking, he can’t be that loud. I put two and two together when I recognize the lines he’s saying - the ones he recorded a few days ago. They’re coming from his computer speakers. He probably didn’t check the volume before playing back the recording.

I mute myself as quickly as possible, but it’s too late. The voice dies down as Corpse probably turned down the speakers.

My professor, who is already done with this lecture, just annoyedly remarks, her words overdosed with sarcasm: “Read your assignment and you can go back to whatever it is you are watching.”

“Wow, Y/N! Again?! Are you one of those crazy obsessed fans or something? Is Corpse Husband all you watch?“ This bitch is really poking a stick at me, huh? The only crazy obsessed fan here is her, and my friends but they are allowed. Little do all of them know, I am obsessed but not simply over a YouTuber. I’m obsessed with my boyfriend who just happens to be a YouTuber.

“No commentary, please.“ The professor scolds her, “Go on, Y/N.“

I finish reading without any other disturbances. The professor compliments my essay again when I’m done, the small incident at the beginning forgotten already. Well, not by everyone. One of my friends shot me a quick text to joke about it which only earned an eye roll from me.

My friends don’t know that I’m dating Corpse either. As I said, they are simping HARD over him while I act the most indifferent on the subject. Whenever they ask my opinion on him I either say ‘he’s OK’ or just avoid answering completely. I know saying anything more enthusiastic than that would turn into a snowball rolling down a snowy hill - I’d just keep babbling about how nice, amazing, wonderful and a gift to this world Corpse is, inevitably revealing our relationship in the process.

I’m afraid of revealing my relationship with Corpse in front of these people. They are all run on jealousy and selfishness and I can only imagine how mean they’d be about it. I’m already not too fond of them, it would only be worse if any of my personal life was exposed.

When the class finally ends I remove my headset, putting my forehead down on the desk, barely missing the keyboard. I groan in frustration and anger at myself for not fighting back. I could’ve and should’ve said something - ANYTHING. But what? That’s a question I can’t find the answer to.

“Hey...“ Corpse’s hesitant voice comes from behind me, “You ok?“

I straighten my posture, turning to him with a smile. “Yeah, but these people suck.”

I get up from my chair as he approaches me, basically falling in his arms. The comfort I feel radiating off of him makes me relax, forget the past hour or so. He has always had this effect on me. Like my own personal kryptonite to my anger and anxiety.

“Did I get you in any trouble because of that?“ His voice shows clear concern and guilt. 

I wrap my arms around him tighter, burying my head in his chest. “No, don’t worry about it.“ 

And I really wasn’t in trouble. Not until now that the video is officially posted....

I can call these people dumb all I want but they sure put two and two together awfully fast. They recognized the lines they heard during class as the same ones from his new video that came out almost a week after the incident, aka two days ago. It’s safe to say I haven’t touched my phone or computer since.

“This is all my fault.“

Of all the horrible things I suspected would happen this has to be the worst - Corpse is blaming himself for it. I am prepared to take all the shit these people have to throw at me but seeing Corpse beating himself up over this is killing me. No amount of convincing can change his mind. Nothing I say helps.

“Please, stop doing this to yourself. Non of this is your fault, Corpse.“ I’ve repeated this sentence more than a thousand time these past forty eight hours, each time saying it more and more desperately.

“All of it is my fault, Y/N. I’m so sorry. I hate myself so much.“ Has been his reply single time.

 I can’t watch him be so mean to himself. It’s the most conflicting thing when the person you love most is torturing themselves. It’s easy if it’s someone else doing it, you just kick their ass. But what are you supposed to do when the person you want to protect is the same one you need to protect them from.

Corpse has shut himself away in his recording room these past few hours and though he clearly needs to be alone, he still left the door open just a crack cause he knows I’ll be worried sick otherwise.

While I’m alone in the living room, I’ve finally managed to brace myself and build enough courage to power up my laptop. Last time it was on it was going mad with notifications.

“It’s digital. Only digital. It can’t hurt you too badly if it can’t touch you, right?“ I mumble to myself, already frustrated despite not having yet seen all the horrors that await me.

And horrors there were. Everywhere. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook.

My grades. Some pictures of me no one has ever seen. My school files. People from my class tweeting Corpse to ‘expose’ me for the ‘slut’ or ‘bitch’ I really am. Corpse hasn’t touched social media either and I plan on making sure it stays that way. God only knows how much worse he’ll get if he sees these claims.

And then, like a notification sent straight from hell, an email from my professor.

Practical lectures on Friday. Be here at 9 AM. Don’t forget your mask and gloves.

Good thing I opened my laptop when I did. Friday is tomorrow and I need to prepare for this day. Not only do I need to hit the books but I need to toughen up a bit. I can’t go there looking like I feel - like a mess.

Alright, time to put the brave face on. No more wallowing in it, at least not until tomorrow afternoon.

I make a study plan and hop in the shower. I feel the need to apologize to my hair for washing it so roughly, basically yanking at my strands from frustration that has been suppressed for too long.

I get our of the boiling hot shower, red as a lobster, and change into some clean comfortable clothes and put my ass in study mode. I remove all the scary expectations of the morning to come from my mind and let the information the textbooks has to offer seep into my brain.

                                                            *  *  *

I’m about to head out and, despite my put-together composure, I am a wreck inside. I actually put effort into my appearance, I mean - I even styled my hair. A pretty façade to hide a ruin.

I saw my friends’ texts last night, all three of them ending their friendship with me because they felt betrayed. I haven’t yet decided how to feel about that. Doesn’t matter at the moment, there are more important matters at hand, aka surviving the next three hours.

My college is within ten minutes walking distance from our apartment. That ten minute walk has never been so stressful, not even during exam season. The air feels a little harder to breathe, the path a little shorter to walk. And my moment of reckoning a little too close.

I feel eyes on me the second I start walking through the park of our campus. Sure, I could just be paranoid, but the feeling is too real to be just my imagination in overdrive. I’m glad I have my hair down and a mask on so the redness of my cheeks and neck isn’t on display. That’s a sign of weakness right now.

We have two an hour and a half long classes between which we have a snack break that’s half an hour. I usually enjoy that period but I’m dreading it now. These assholes can only be so mean in the presence of a professor, but during lunch break they can increase that tenfold. 

“Well if it isn’t Corpse’s girl.“ I hear that a lot. The whispers are not so much whispers as intentionally loud enough for me to hear remarks. I’m not bothered by them, it’s the least they can do. If I let such a simple thing get to me, I’d be crumbling by the end of first period.

I hear some shuffling behind me and out of the corner of my eye I see, yeah you guessed it, THAT bitch. She’s standing as close to me as she can without violating Covid regulations. A mask is covering her face but the menacing look in her eyes tells me all I need to know about the interaction that’s about to go down.

“I’d ask how much he pays you for the hour.....“ her long nails tap the wooden desk, “but that’d be rude. I bet it’s tough being a maid. Do you just clean or are you a multipurpose lap dog? No offense, I’m genuinely curious.“

“Vy, would you be so kind as to give Y/N some room to breathe?“ The professor asks as he nonchalantly walks in.

Vy rolls her eyes, batting her eyelashes at me, “Talk to you later, sweetheart.” With a fake friendly wave she’s out of my hair, at least for now.

Remember what I said about these people not being as dumb as I pegged them to be? Yeah, scratch that. These fuckers actually tried getting away with taking pictures of me with flash in broad daylight. Like, HELLO! I have two functioning eyes and a brain, I’m onto you. Sadly, me having figured out their childish but hurtful methods of humiliating me doesn’t change much. They still posted the pics they took, using the most derogatory terms they could find in the English language, always making sure to tag Corpse and me both.

Needless to say, these were the longest three hours of my life.

                                                              *  *  *

Shutting the door to our apartment behind me causes relief of the highest levels. I feel like I’ve locked out all the bad shit I have had to deal with these past twenty four hours. 

I’m tired. I’m fucking exhausted. I feel like a discarded piece of paper. 

And it all starts crumbling. A wall is bound to start slowly falling apart after being hit over and over again, each time feeling the blows with a stronger intensity. 

I slide down the door sitting down on the floor and slowly taking my shoes off. I put my bag beside me and wrap my arms around my knees, hiding my head in the space between them and my chest.

One tear slides down my cheek.

Another follows.

And another, this time accompanied by a choked sob.

A pair of arms wraps around the ball that my body has been shaped into. One of his hands comes up to stroke my hair gently, feeding me the comfort I have been longing for since I left the apartment this morning.

“I saw it. All of it. All the shit they talk about you. All the names they call you. And I’ve never wanted to beat so many people up simultaneously.“ His words make me raise my head from its low position, giving him a knowing look. “I wish I could. I would, but that would land me in jail. Which doesn’t even sound so bad cause I don’t like going out. Only problem is you wouldn’t be with me. I wouldn’t want you to be there with me, don’t get me wrong, I’d never want you to end up in jail. I-...” I cut him off by pressing my lips to his. A quick kiss that says so much but mainly shows the immeasurable gratitude for his support.

Seeing those awful tweets and comments had the complete opposite effect on him. He no longer blames himself but the people who actually deserve the blame - all those jerks from my college.

I pull away, giving him a small smile. “I would never let you go to jail.” 

He smiles back at me, overjoyed that my mood is slowly being lifted, “Come on, I have a nice crowd that would like to meet you.”

I know exactly what he means. Felix, Sean, Rae, Dave, Sykkuno and the rest of his friends. The people I’ve been so shy and afraid to meet since day one. Being shy doesn’t really make sense now, seeing as how they know I exist and that I’m a part of Corpse’s life. 

What do I have to lose?

“Guys, this is my girlfriend, Y/N.“ Corpse’s black avatar runs around my cyan one in the Among Us lobby.

I can’t help but giggle when I unmute my mic, “Hi everyone! It’s so nice to finally meet you.“ They each introduce themselves, expressing how happy they are to be meeting me too.

It’s the first time in what feels like a while that I’m truly having fun. These people are wonderful, each so unique and lovely. They never brought up the scandal nor acted as though they knew about it. I know they did and I am beyond grateful that they never mentioned it or treated me any differently because of it. Also, Corpse was streaming the whole time. I had my phone on his stream, my eyes nervously scanning the chat every now and then. I couldn’t believe it. Corpse’s real fans were just as wonderful as his friends - they were nothing but supportive and happy to have met me.

Now, I can either choose to believe these people were being so nice to me out of sympathy or I can believe they really like me and appreciate me for who I am and not for what happened to me. 

I choose to believe the latter.

And while I’m still getting accustomed to this whole new spotlight, I know I’ll be able to handle it as long as I’m holding Corpse’s hand in the process. All I need is to have him beside me and I’m prepared to tackle anything.

“They love you.“ Corpse tells me once the stream is done and we’ve hopped out of the Discord call, “But I love you more.“

His arms wrap around my waist while mine instinctively find their way around his neck, “I love them, too. But they’re at the number 2 spot.”

He smirks at me, “I wonder who’s at number 1.”

I push up on my toes, putting my lips an inch away from his, “Hmm, I wonder...”

He doesn’t let me finish, silencing my teasing with a sweet, loving kiss.

@susceptible-but-siriusexual  @simonsbluee  @save-the-sky  @hacker-ghost  @bi-andready-tocry  @imtiredaffff  @jazzkaurtheglorious  @hereforbeebo  @fandomgirl17  @chrysanthykios  @maehemscorpyus  @loraleiix  @letsloveimagines  @annshit  @i-cant-choose-a-username-help  @enigmaticmaze  @divine-artemis  @waterlilypat

[qqueenofhades]

Something that is always telling about the people bleating for a grand socialist revolution is how they never seem willing to actually do anything to build a proper foundation for such a thing. They constantly keep on telling the people in power about needing to immediately transition to a more just and socialist society, but they're always either:

Ignoring the very real difficulty of actually setting up that kind of society given just how hyper capitalistic our society is.

How much American society is heavily biased and indoctrinated against any sort of socialist boogeyman regardless of the validity of that.

Who's going to do all of the work to actually get to that point.

The last point is especially telling given our current fascist rising circumstances, because for every person online calling for a socialist revolution to fight back, none of them ever seem all that keen on actually taking part in the down and dirty parts of what such a revolution could entail. The bloodshed, the sacrifices, the knowledge that they might not even get to reap the rewards or have to deal with the inevitable consequences of revolution, but still do it anyways because they want a better future for everyone. Planting trees for future and all that.

They just want the glory and to be far in the back away from the actual fights, that someone has to fight. They, much like the fascists they supposedly stand against, want someone else to pay the price while they reap the reward.

I mean, yeah. It's all just performance theater. Social media has created an environment where you can look like a principled and courageous opposition figure just by bashing the Democrats all the time and posting calls to some nebulous Revolution!!! It doesn't have to connect, and usually doesn't, to anything whatsoever in the real world, because it creates its own self-sustaining universe and sense of reality. It's playing a video game and calling yourself a revolutionary in the real world. It's not the same thing at all.

As I said in earlier posts, it's just a reactive magical-thinking coping strategy. That on its own is not a bad thing. Believe me, I have many cherished daydreams about Mitch McConnell suddenly dying in a fire or even, in its slightly more realistic variation, the American people actually deciding to just stop voting for fascists because the only thing they care about is gas prices. However, neither of those things are likely to happen, and if I confuse my "everything bad will just magically disappear and people who think exactly like me will take over and make it perfect!" fantasies with the entirety of my political or pragmatic plans... yeah, that's not a good thing. It doesn't mean I'm an edgy mature free thinker etc etc. It means I just have no other ideas and can't face up to the actual reality.

Besides, as I have also said many times as a Tired Historian: ideological revolutions just never work. Never. If you're planning to overturn society just in the wishful-thinking notion that everyone will agree that you were right all along and do it your way from now on... yeah. It's not going to happen, and it will only hurt the most vulnerable people that you claim to be doing this for. I don't need to theorise about this; I know it's true because it's happened every time before. And no matter their delusions of grandeur, I do Not think that these ideologically and morally bankrupt circle-jerking useless terminally online dipshits are about to break that pattern. So. Yeah.

[samsspambox]

heyo back at it again with another conspiracy theory

vyn might be the character that breaks the fourth wall consistently

now now i know this sounds like a whole load of horse shit but hell, it’s gotta be true in some form or another. there’s also a precedent for this in dating games where there’s a character who knows that they’re in a video game. 

take monika from doki doki where she’s aware that she’s in a game or the popular fan theory where 707 from mystic messenger is aware of every reset. I know that doki doki is more of a horror game but same standard, games sometimes have characters that are aware that they’re in a game. 

now, why the hell would i think that vyn is the character that’s gonna end up breaking the fourth wall? because he already did.  

let’s take the first instance we meet vyn: the dream sequence. 

vyn has us (as rosa, though here rosa is more a vessel and he’s directly talking to us) under hypnosis and is introducing us to the three men in the game: luke, artem, and marius. the ‘vision’ (hA!)  shows us some key objects/characteristics of the guys. luke’s key, artem’s flowers, and marius’s painting. if this is a ‘vision’, how did vyn get the objects and comment on them? moreover, why doesn't he have a vision? 

vyn says a lot of interesting stuff in the vision, but one of the lines that stood out to me now that i’ve watched it like, a bajilion times is this: “How does one discern dreams from reality? That was a dream, but this may not be reality.”like come on, that just screams self aware! okay, i know that he’s talking to rosa there through the fog but it’s also to us, the player. we know that this game is not real. we know that, yet we keep ‘playing’ in this perfect, dream like world. we get so absorbed in the game where sometimes coming back to reality is harsh.

and the other quote too: “Deeds over words. Let time reveal the answer.” he’s going on about choices in the monologue he has. this game gives us the illusion of choice, but even then we can always go back and change our answer. sure, there are ‘bad’ choices that you can make but you can always go back and change them, not affecting the stories. if you notice he always has this emphasis on choices too. is that why he has this ‘aversion’ to love at first sight? because he knows  that what he’s feeling isn’t real, that the person who he fell in love with isn’t real. 

he’s talking to us, the player, and teaching us how to play. ‘deeds over words, let time reveal the answer’ choose options and then come back to choose the other one. explore each answer, use your time. 

this is the first time he breaks it, what about the second one? 

when we first meet him (as rosa, not as the player). he asks us the peculiar question of ‘would we make the same choice again?’. i know i went back to see if i could get a different outcome. but if you look at that picture, i don’t think he’s looking at rosa, moreso he’s looking at us. he knows that we are a separate entity to rosa. there’s this thing that i’ve been seeing with the game: rosa has a lot of personality. which is a great thing honestly but it begs the question: why? because rosa is their own character. we may control rosa, but rosa does not control us. so when vyn looks at rosa it’s one thing, but when he stares at us its another. 

let’s take a card to drive the choice thing home: the newest vyn holiday sr card. later in the card there’s this... singular choice to ‘hang a bell on the tree’. why would they do this? it seems so arbitrary right? i thought of it as more cementing us as the driving puppetmaster for rosa. if we don’t choose anything, rosa stays there in this stasis until we press that button. 

vyn doesn’t really acknowledge it, seeing as he’s acknowledged it twice and very sternly too. 

so yeah. that’s my theory. it has holes but please feel free to rb with your thoughts so i can read them!