#okay this is half a shitpost and half me actually legitimately wanting to know | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

radramblog · 3 years

Text

Top ten digits

This is an idea I’ve had in my back pocket since back when I rated all the letters of the alphabet. That was a while ago, fuck! Back then I was in the mood for shitposting, but today, we’re all about perfectly serious legitimate analytical content.

Anyway we’re going to rate the numbers from zero to nine. As it turns out, this is a lot harder, because somehow numbers have even less personality than the letters of the alphabet, but I hope you can trust in my opinions.

Number 10: 8

I think I dislike the number eight for the same reason I dislike Thursdays. In that it’s completely arbitrary and I don’t actually know what sourced my dislike. Maybe it’s because it’s one of the harder times tables to memorize as a child. Maybe it’s because it’s really hard to get it to look nice with my shitty handwriting. I don’t really know, frankly.

But because 8 is infinity, it has to go as infinitely low on this list as possible. But also as infinitely high. Fortunately, though, this is my list and my rules, so I can contain it only to the bottom of the list.

Number 9: 6

6 is a number clearly filled with demon magic. Both the commonly accepted numbers of the beast have a plethora of sixes, it’s one half of the filthiest number imaginable, and it’s simply a massive pain in the ass to handwrite on labels since you have to distinguish it from 9 somehow.

As a result, I am required to put 6 low on the list to cater to the more conservative members of my audience. I think it’s best to adapt my content for any potential viewer, regardless of whether or not they align with my political or religious beliefs, and as such it’s best if 6 stays relatively low. Now any evangelicals can rest safe in the knowledge that I’m clearly not a Satanist- assuming, of course, they made it past my constant swearing.

Number 8: 0

0 is the void. It is a circular representation of nothing. A donut of the absence of value. This is perfectly okay.

However, the field of mathematics is determined to make this perfectly crafted null pointer have actual meaning. They put it before things, behind things, between things, and they do it the greatest disservice of all: putting a slash through it to distinguish it from an O. The nerve!

I am determined to make the oblivion bagel nothing again, such that it can reclaim its rightful place as the nadir digit. Nadigit. Until then, it will have to remain near the bottom of the list. And I will keep using fun words for “nothing”.

Number 7: 7

7 is associated with luck, which would be fine enough, if that particular facet of its existence weren’t marred by its further association with casinos. For the unaware, I despise casinos and generally just really don’t like gambling in general, and so those triple-7 slot machines bring the number itself under my most withering of gazes.

It’s also just a huge pain for maths. Like, I’m sure the list of prime numbers would be a lot nicer and cleaner if 7 didn’t exist and randomly poke holes in the thing. It’s a frustrating number that looks cool but makes things so much harder.

Number 6: 4

Much like with 6, I can’t put 4 too high for cultural reasons. Four Is Death due to a similarity in how the two words are pronounced in a fair few east Asian languages, and I don’t want to curse this list with that one. I distinctly remember the condo building I lived in some 14 (!!!) years ago having a floor 3A and a floor 13A specifically for this reason- which is interesting, because I know some other places also omitted 13 for its own associations. I don’t think they did 12A and 12B, I think they just skipped straight to 15.

Which is kind of a shame, because aside from that association it’s a pretty good digit. It has a couple of different common shapes that are equally valuable and distinct, it’s a great number for groups of people for both group dynamics and for playing video/board/tabletop games, and it has Good Math Synergy. But it’s not good enough for higher up on the list.

Number 5: 1

One is in the middle of the list because it is every number. It is the alpha to which we have no omega because numbers are weird. This means it carries every negative association of every single number, and yet also every other positive association at the same time. Does the weight of their blessings outweigh their sins? That will be a judgment I leave to you, dear reader.

Number 3a: 9

Nine is fun! Who doesn’t like nine. If eight’s the Thursday of numbers, nine’s the Friday. It’s the fun version that you like to have at parties. It’s the one you see a lot because it’s almost the next level up- like how things always sell for x dollars and 95 cents (or 99 cents if you’re in some weirdo country that still has pennies or local equivalent) or how people just use loads of them to communicate something being really big.

9 is as large as you can get within a single digit. And as an absolute unit myself, I feel a kinship with it.

Number 3: 2

Two is like one but only half the time, which is kind of ironic when you think about it. 2 is interesting, because its so fundamental to maths that it makes things very clean and easy, and yet not so fundamental as to be useless sometimes like with one. Who wants one of something? If two’s an option, fuck me up.

Two gets a lot of value from being where it is. It’s the first prime number (because people are monsters), it’s the first even number, it’s the first number that can actually do something when multiplied. All because it’s the second number. That’s big dick energy! Silver’s always been better than gold anyway.

Number 2: 5

5 is inherently advantaged as a result of our base-10 number system. That is, it’s half of everything which makes its maths really useful and also really clean. Adding 5s is only going to end you up with two ending digits, so it’s easy. You can multiply by 5 by just doing by 10 (which is obviously piss-easy) and halving it. 5 is fuckin easy mode, and I can respect that.

I think the entire reason we have 5 as so important is because we got 5 fingers. Like, surely, right? The reason everyone was like, yep, 10 sounds like a good baseline, is because that’s when they ran out of fingers to count on?

God why did I put this number here I don’t even remember I just like 5 let me have this one

Number 1: 3

There’s human psychology thing that I know I’ve seen from a reputable source but I cannot find now, where people just like number three for some reason. Give average John a list of random things from 1 to 4 and he’s probably picking three. Man, fuck average John, he’s an asshole.

I am the average John. He’s me.

#ramble #absolute nonsense #i tagged the other one as nonce shit tbh and since then i have found out what nonce means #im so sorry past me you fucking idiot

0 notes

ravensroleplays · 3 years

Text

Okay so...couple things.

1. I should probably say this on my main blog, but sorry about being so pushy with the doodle thing, it’s just kind of...WEIRD to me that people have been liking and reblogging a random shitpost I made just for the heck of it (and one I didn’t even really intend, or expect, to be reblogged), yet when I actually do some art, it gets nothing but silence. Yeah, like I said, it isn’t something I like put a TON of effort into, it’s just a doodle, but with everything else that’s been going on, and how I’ve been feeling lately, the fact that it’s gotten like NO attention, despite me posting, and reposting it, over and over, has legitimately just been making me feel even worse.

2. I’ve been looking back at some old roleplays I’ve done in the past, and noticed two things:

i) I’ve been REALLY inconsistent with the kids’ situation in the ‘Little Bit Beastly’ Verse/sub-AU for my FNAF AU. In my past roleplays, I kind of keep going back and forth between having them being brought back from the dead, just with the features of their old animatronics, and just having them be born like that. I did, admittedly, get the idea from a FNAF fanfic I read way back when, but yeah, looking at it, it may be a bit too similar to that idea. So I’m just going have them be ‘normal’ half-animal (and puppet) kids now in that version. I mean why not--I frequently roleplay with a little cat girl.

ii) I...decided to kind of go back, and delete some old RPs/posts I did in the past involving...a certain topic I’m not comfortable with. I admittedly feel kind of guilty about it, given that pretty much all of them are with one of my oldest and dearest roleplay partners, heck, THE VERY FIRST ROLEPLAY I DID ON THIS BLOG was with them, and involved that certain topic...especially given something that’s come out about said mutual fairly recently. I’m really, REALLY sorry, it’s nothing against you, I’m just...not in a good place right now.

I just want everyone reading this to know that I still love and care for you guys--if we’ve ever roleplayed before in the past, even once, I consider you not just a mutual, but a friend. Please know that I would never deliberately do anything to hurt anyone I care about, I just really haven’t been doing well, and for right now, even if I can’t do anything else to help my current situation, I at least want to look after my mental health, the best I can.

I might delete this later, just had to get all this off my chest.

#ooc posting #love you guys #i'm going to eat lunch now #tw: dead child mention #also for the record i'm not mad about people reblogging that one post--i just found it kind of funny

0 notes

unopenablebox · 7 years

Text

idionkisson replied to your post: who wants to rec me relaxing/distracting things to...

ANYTHING i read rewires my brain, that’s just like. literally what reading is to me. it’s like a magic charm that wears off after only a little while, and the only way i can back to it is to read more of whatever the thing in question is…i have no idea if this makes ANY sense, it’s super hard for me to articulate bc it’s so innate

garden-ghoul said:

ugh what DOESN’T completely rewire my brain. I literally can’t even listen to music 95% of the time for this reason. the one thing I read specifically to rewire my brain is “If I” by psilent on ao3, which is a story about rocket raccoon escaping from a torture facility and trying to make a life as a guy with OCD. it’s very cathartic for me because of the progression from terrible to okay when I was younger I’d read YA books and especially if they were written in first person I would spend like half a day legitimately thinking I was the protagonist? I think this is a DID thing

yeah i get very-- i think of it as an altered state of consciousness almost, it’s more dramatic than being drunk and... ok probably not actively more of a change than being full acute sleep deprivation depressed, but i notice it more bc it’s a non-habitual thing/has an obvious external source.

at its most dramatic i feel like i’m both talking differently and processing emotion differently; i associate it with being almost manic/euphoric, funny in even weirder and more high-concept ways than i usually am, and sometimes with phrasing emotional and social concepts in a technical/unecessarily sciencey way if what i was reading leant itself to that. these are all states i can kind of access/behaviors i have regardless, but it feels qualitatively different and is clearly induced by what i was reading. i usually really enjoy it, though sometimes it totally rearranges my priorities in ways that-- don’t usually have significant repercussions, but certainly can be inconvenient if i’ve just rewritten myself to be very strongly into manic makeup experiments and sweeping statements about the structure of reality, and what i need is to finish my dev bio assignment.

mostly it happens to me with fiction, especially fiction with a really strong, distinct, unusual diction, especially funny/witty diction. it’s happened with nonfiction pieces, more rarely, partly because standard science writing is a mode of thinking i have to engage anyway and so it doesn’t feel distinct i think in the way . it happens with long backreads of people’s blogs pretty frequently, which is actually my easiest go-to if i want to create specific aesthetic/subject-matter interests in myself: i have a mental list of people whose blogs to backread if what i want is “very funny, smart about character-driven fiction” vs “significant introspective access and high-vulnerability lyricism” vs “highest-integrity art opinions and mean jokes” vs “quantitative interests and gender shitposting” vs... etc. it’s actually super useful, or would be if i didn’t occasionally derail myself from actually writing the thing i wanted to write (or whatever) because i got distracted by the thing i was reading to put my brain in the right mode.

relatedly, if you (general you, not just you two) see a chicago ip address reading 20-200 pages of your blog, it is very plausible that it is me, doing that. pls feel free to let me know if i should stop, i absolutely will. i try to limit myself to ppl who seem to have a more archival/backread-encouraging ethos anyway, but it’s possible i’ve misread someone’s blog intentions and if so i am genuinely sorry

#idionkisson #garden-ghoul #box opener #navelgazing

5 notes · View notes

dankesdarkman · 7 years

Text

Fate and Economics: How FSN Is An Economical Commentary By The Spacebattles Forum

You know what’s normal? fate shitposting

You know what’s fun? fate economics shitposting

The beginning of this madness

Raguna Blade said:

You know, thinking on it, yeah that totally makes sense based on what I know of japanese work culture. Especially when mixed with the targeted audience of the FS/N games (otaku type) who were already on the outside edge of such culture and were totally open to hearing alternate idea's of what to do, it makes a clear amount of sense. Tying with the heroines then, it sort of follows that the various routes demonstrate how things work out for him. Following Saber, who basically embodies the Work your ass into dust ideal set's him up with an impossible goal for happiness. Saber has to Wait Forever, He has to work forever and if they can both keep it up without fucking it all up along the way, Glory GLory forever. Rin though? Rin's got a discrete clear goal. It requires hard work certainly, but it's not the end all be all. You need to work certainly, you need to work hard, the world is utterly vicious and will swallow you up (the clocktower, then, is true society I guess. None of those fake niceties, it's kill or be killed, eat or be eaten, real Chaos Route stuff there.) but there's plenty to do aside from it and happiness can coincide easily enough if you're willing to stick out that hand and work for it. And then yeah, Sakura is a full on rejection of that, and it makes sense that in her route there would be the most shit going horribly wrong is just in general kind of the most painful (as my recollection calls anyway). Shirous not only rejecting the dominant paradigm for work ethic, sorta, but he's doing to be with someone who is kind of coded as handicapped(? Recollections may be failing I apologize). Severe Trauma, violent violent freak outs (or just freak outs in general really), Sakura is a broken girl really. SO He not only rejects the idea that he has to work himself into dust for his ideals, Ideals he still technically has but needs to better consider and come to terms with as I understand it, But he makes use of that titanic drive to do something utterly radical and do what would make him truly happy even if it means rejecting basically the entire culture he's in. So that's neat. And Bludflag Imma need you to stop. I can legitimately go at this all day, but my surface level knowledge of the FS/N series is gonna out me as a clown sooner or later and I kinda need to dodge that. Assuming I haven't run face first into the clowning pie already.

frozenchicken said:

The Economic Simulationism of the Fate Franchise Part 1-Economic Mechanisms Many compliments have been offered to Nasu for the depth of his worldbuilding, but very few discuss the blatant economic commentary hidden within his works. In particular, the Masters and Servants of the 5th Holy Grail War* are each distinct commentaries on various Economic mechanisms and social systems. Mechanisms Spoiler: Large Corporations

The first of these mechanisms is one that is obvious even to those unfamiliar with economic theory. The Archer-class Servant Gilgamesh is a Great and Powerful Hero, stronger than any other in the series. He enacted his deeds long ago, and in addition to the power and wealth this initially brought him, he laid claim to the Gate of Babylon, a Capitalistic Means of Production that grows his strength from the work of others. In this current age he has thus become an unstoppable juggernaught who can throw his weight around anywhere in the Marketplace of Ideas. Obviously, Gilgamesh symbolises the tyrannical strength of a Corporation who has become too large, and managed to gain a Monopoly. Interestingly, we can see that his Villainy is linked to his growth and desire to expand, as he never possessed such horrific goals in pre-modern times, or when people had purposes that suited his goals. Interestingly, we know that Gilgamesh was at his most personable back in Ancient times when his friend Enkidu was present. This a clear commentary on the necessity of competition to cause healthier business structures. Spoiler: Rational Choice vs Behavioural Economics

One of the simplest and most basic Economic theorems-known as 'Rational Choice Theory'-is examined by the character of Medea ('Caster'). Rational Choice Theory is the assumption that all individuals within in an Economy will act within their own best interests, acting in order to maximise their profits and minimise their losses. This behavioural pattern is shown by Medea's first master, Atram Galiast. Atram is a skilled mage, backed by the Magus Association and equipped with a workshop full of human sacrifices that could massively empower Caster's Magic. With his support, she could easily achieve success in the Holy Grail War. She instead elects to kill him, release the sacrifices, and wander around without hope of survival. In this, we see that Nasu has chosen to support the converse theoreom that is Behavioural Economics. This is the psychology-based study of human behaviours that examines why humans embrace irrational behaviours that makes modelling human action in an economic model so difficult. Medea rejects her first master due to hatred of being bound, and yet embraces Souichirou Kuzuki for his kindness, in spite of the the tactical disadvantage his lack of magic brings. This demonstrates both how standard logical predictions of her actions fail, however once we understand her psychology better (such as the fact she would rather embrace temporary happiness with Kuzuki rather than seek the ideal perfection of a Holy Grail Wish), we become better able to understand her decisions. *Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Unlimited Blade Works, et al. ------------------------------------------------------------- AN: There, look at what you've all made me do. You crazy people. Also, I'm neither an Economist nor an expert on Fate lore, so I accept no blame for this being an illogical pile of absolute BS. We all knew that going in. I was planning to write up a section called 'Love Triangles as Symbolism for Competing Economic Social Systems', but it's 3am here, so I won't. I also didn't comment on all that 'Saberface' stuff, but that's because I know practically nothing about the 10 billion variations of Saber. If somebody wants to actually continue this, be my guest. I have no idea what my work ethic will be like in the morning. [Perk Activation: Sloth!] ....Seriously, feel free.

BlueHelix said:

The Symbology Of Saber In Economics (Or: I Really, Really, Hate Things Like Macroeconomics. Yorokobe, TehChron, frozenchicken, and Neroj. Feel free to critique, this is a half-assed attempt in between my analysis of the MotSR world, and developing my own quest idea.) One could put Saber into one of two possibilities: Keynesian economics, and a pure representation of capitalism. Let's begin with the Keynesian aspect. The ideal of Keynes is a planned economy, that "spends against the wind." Okay, let's break it down. This great plan, hatched by Uther Pendragon and Merlin, try to create something amazing, which is a symbol for the planners like those of Keynesian economics. And Keynes, for a large part, works in times of war, which basically is King Arthur's entire reign. The people unite, things go along to rationing and planning. In times of economic downturn, Keynes says to spend more and more, and to go into debt, which is a little similar to how Saber had to drain the resources of a village to go to war. And in times of economic surplus, one raises taxes and then pays those debts off, which shows in the prosperity of Camelot before it fell. In the perfect ideal of Keynes, also known as "Saber Lily," Keynes works perfectly, with it being a utopian ideal that whenever things go wrong, the government will intervene. On the other hand, Hayek in "The Journey To Serfdom," envisions that this so-called planned economy will fail, and sets the ground for the total corruption of Keynes' ideas, which finally takes the form of in terms of TYPE-MOON as the inversion of Saber: Saber Alter. In between the range of Saber Lily to Saber Alter, from Mysterious Heroine X, to Saber Lion, to Nero, would be the variability of how Keynes' ideas actually worked out in the long run. Secondly, one could look at Saber, and at an extension of her, Camelot, through the lens of free-market capitalism. Saber begins at her journey, and has a really successful start: pulling the Sword of Owed Victory, Caliburn, out of the stone. However, this is really the beginning of a bubble, as she can no longer be a normal person, but rather has to be a king, which is exacerbated by how so many people put faith into her (a false representation at that, as they believed for her to be a male, and put a false set of expectations upon Arturia, putting an enormous task that she, and most of her counterparts, were doomed to failure), and put some truly significant investments into a stock that was higher-valued than its true value (such as Guinevere. And look at how that turned out.) For the longest while though, just like the post-World War I American economy, Saber, buoyed by support from so many, managed to get through the countless wars and competition. However, like all bubbles must eventually do, they burst. And the indicator for this was the eventual plateau of Camelot and Merlin (a vital investor/co-founder) leaving for better pastures (woman troubles.) Then came the confrontation by Mordred, who took so many of her knights (investors) away, leading to a civil war (Black Tuesday and the Great Depression.) Which all went to hell, leading to Arturia making a deal with Alaya (a government bailout), which as we all know, generally fails (Hoover, am I right? And really, Roosevelt as well, because it was the Second World War that revived the American Economy), which leads to a major conflict (Holy Grail War=World Wars. You could fit an enormous amount of connections and parallels here, especially how the Fourth is similar the the First World War, and the Fifth is similar to the Second World War) in order to rejuvenate our stocks (Saber) through the major investments and turnarounds (the Wishes), which usually are misused, and we head back to a depression after a peak (Angra Mainyu and the Corrupted Grail.) This continues on ad infinitum, with the hope that things will be better for the individual, similar to the Fate Route (that one quote I forgot where they say something along the lines that one has to seek forever, and the other will have to wait forever. Halp Bludflag), and maybe, it will work out, similar to the Avalon Bonus Episode: "Welcome back, Shirou."

Raguna Blade said:

Hm. Maybe? Although there's another pretty obvious bit in play here. As far as systems go I can't say but well... Ilya represents Old Money. Like Flat out. Her family is wealthy, one of the ancient and old magus families, they're the ones who functionally MADE the grail wars and the systems that everyone has to deal with, or at least has lived through their transitions, and compared to everyone else, they have a flat overwhelming advantage that simply cannot be surmounted by playing the game as it's supposed to be done. If, as the Grail Wars was supposed to be (basically a big ole tournament of heroic spirits fighting each other) went to plan, basically nobody in the running has a chance at victory. Ignoring Girugamesh for a second here, nobody else was remotely in Hercs range. Flat out, his ass SHOULD have won. And had things functioned as intended, had the other players not basically gone out of their way to get around it, he would have smashed them to pieces. Which, well, is actually a lot how it works with old money anyways. When you have the best education, the best tools, the money, the connections, and all that, it takes something coming from out of left field entirely or a variety of smaller systems and groups rising up to actually topple that power. Now of course I don't know the actual status of the Einzburn family's wealth and a quick wiki walk shows me little to say their exact financial standings, but it has been made clear that as of present the head of the family is basically sinking everything they have into making damn sure that they win the grail war. That is, they want to continue to win the system that they created/had a hand in creating for as long as possible and...Well, past acts in the Grail War Series has proven them to be kind of breaking down. Their attempts to game the system fail spectacularly (See that Whole Avenger thing) and functionally spells their doom down the line as the blow back from basically breaking the system they created keeps coming back to haunt them (Mud of the Grail My guys), while attempts to hire an outside agitator ultimately proves to be damnably effective, in giving the reigns to someone who they do not have perfect control over, it also further destabilizes their control over the system that they are inherently tied to. In fact, let's talk about Mr The Ends Have to Justify The Means for A second, Since he is, in fact, Our Girl Ilya's Old man. At least, as far as it goes with alchemic golemy nonsense. Not quite sure about the blood lines there. But we see him, and Kiritsugu is unquestionably an outsider to the system the Einzburn's have up and running. Oh yes, he is a magus, no doubt, but in the view of this, His family is fallen disgraced and can't claim old money status because well...Dudes poor as shit. Relatively. But the thing is, due to his nature as an outsider, because he's taken the time to grow up outside of the system, to develop and learn things in it, he comes to a very specific view of the world. What it represents in an economic sense isn't important for this here, but the important thing is that because of this, and then later training he acquired in order to pass through the world that he was an outsider of, He was better able to navigate in ways that others in the system simply couldn't conceive of. This of course lead to his ASTOUNDING success at the 4th Grail War, but because again he was fundamentally an outsider, he saw how clearly the system was broken by the time he won and had a choice in the matter. The System can't support itself anylonger, not in the way that it exists presently. It can only be destroyed, and built upon. So what's this to do with Ilya? Well, again, Ilya is Old Money. She has the resources, the connections, the education, the knowledge all that. She can do a tremendous amount. She can, in fact, just about grant the wish of any given person she wishes given those connections. I mean hell, she's literally the Holy Grail. She's literally the system she's built to work within. And as such, compared to the Einzburn Family as a whole, she has unparalleled power to shift control and ultimately destroy the system as she see's fit. And ultimately, in every single route she is dead or dying. Fate See's the system crumble around her, leaving her functionally on life support. Unlimited BLade Works See's the system Kill her itself for it's self (as repped by the glorious golden boy himself), before ultimately self destructing anyway. But Heavens Feel? Well, that's about the only route she has Agency as Grail-chan, and in here we see her, as far as true route's go, Sacrifice herself for Shirou, Underpaid Everyman with Anarchic Leanings. The system is breaking down and dying, and rather than let everything collapse into the rubble and close off any kind of hope for the future (such as it were) she gave a part of herself to those who most wish to abandon what ultimately proved to be a failure of a system, effectively trusting them with the power and resources and such to go forth and create a better tomorrow and all that. Alternatively, It's the Old Money using their powers for good, fostering the growth of a new system that will inevitably replace it down the line, given her existence as a opposite to the Grail that Sakura Represents. Which, Just for the moment, As Black And White Grails, the two play off each other interestingly in that the Matous Are ALSO old money with deep ties to the system. But where Black Grail Sakura could probably be described as Old Money lording it's power around to ill effects, Ilya would essentially be the opposite. Of course, that is a bit beyond what I'm able to play with here.

BlueHelix said:

Okay, first off, someone compile the shitposts about Rin and distill it into something coherent. It is literally that easy, and I'm way too exhausted to do that right now. I think what you're going with here is that Sakura symbolizes those that are under the "capitalist boot" that look to communism as a better alternative, like how Sakura is hot for Shirou. And Shirou is definitely a communist, wanting to save everyone and all that. Actually, the Emiyas could represent the parts of Asia that turned to communism (spits to the side). Norikata Emiya, who went all in towards the pursuit of advancing himself (actually, most hardcore magi) would fit the bad part of free-market capitalism. Such as the big corporations stepping over the people, oil companies and factories polluting the earth, etc., he and ruthless magi represent those who cast others down for their goals of greed and similar actions. And he gets shot by his son after screwing things up royally. Make of that what you will. Now, I'm going to only talk about Natalia, Kiritsugu's sensei, briefly. I'm going to put her as the original capitalists that turned to communism. She has a Russian name, after all. So she represents Russia, who then taught Kiritsugu (other to-be communist states), all she knew (communism/Marxism). And then Kiritsugu has that dream/ideal of being a superhero, to save everyone (haha definitely communism there), which then, after Natalia's death (the reality of a communist state after the "glorious revolution"), turns him into a ruthless machine (Lenin in his first decade or so). However, after taking a job from a third party to win the Fourth Holy Grail War (World War II connection), he meets Irisviel and fathers Illya, significantly mellowing him out (New Economic Policy). At the end, however, the true vision of his dream (the failures of communism: Stalin. Great Leap Forward. Five Year Plans. et al.) is shown to be horrific, which then forces him to cast aside his dream. Then he passes down the ideal of his dream to Shirou. I think basically anyone could make an easy amount of connections between Shirou Emiya and communism. He wants to save the world. He fights against Gilgamesh (the 1% bourgeoisie lording over the poor proletariat), Kirei (the cruel rich finding joy in abusing the poor and others), and Dark Sakura (dark side of capitalism incarnate). He is the "imitation that surpasses the original" (refined "communism" that China, Vietnam, and others have that have outlasted Soviet Russia, the OG communist state, which could technically be Gilgamesh in the sense of being the "original," Natalia on account of being Russian, and Kiritsugu who passed the dream down). He creates an infinite amount of swords with his Reality Marble which then he distributes for the "greater good." And of course: Shirou's inherently self destructive unless something happens to change him. Archer anybody? Edit: I'm done with economic analysis for today. Need to get some rest for the next exams.

Mortifer said:

Okay, okay, how do I sound smart when I know nothing about economics... Uh... Well, the thing about Shinji is that he is, as per canon, actually rather knowledgeable about the theory behind Magecraft, He's just utterly incapable of using it. And his main reason for hating Sakura isn't that she can Magecraft, but that Sakura pitied him for it. He hated that. So, uh... I give up, I don't know economics. Maybe he represents something to do with putting in a lot of effort but not having anything to start with and might be commentary on how being born without advantages is nigh impossible a goal to overcome? I don't know, I don't economics, I should really just shut up before I say something objectively wrong and stupid-sounding. ...Actually, that's never stopped me before. Shinji's backstory friendship with Shirou is symbolic of how those who are disadvantaged in the system may embrace anarchism because the current system isn't working for them, and the two of them stopped being friends when Shirou found out Shinji hit Sakura, which is symbolic of... ...Something... Abusing flaws in a system to progress when the system itself isn't working for them? Criminal activity when legit methods don't work for them I don't know, I'm blanking on how to pretend I know what I'm talking about without getting political and even I refuse to touch the cancer known as politics. Maybe the relationship between Shinji and Sakura can be vaguely considered to be charity? Shinji doesn't care about Sakura, just the benefits he can get from her, but as soon as Shinji starts seeking too much from Sakura she cuts him off. By killing him. Yeah, if I keep following this train of thought I'm going to end up concluding that Sakura's killing Shinji is evidence that capitalism will eventually lead to The Purge so I'm gonna wait until someone else uses something I tossed around here in a way that makes sense and then I'll claim credit.

frozenchicken said:

The Economic Simulationism of the Fate Franchise Part 1-Economic Mechanisms Many compliments have been offered to Nasu for the depth of his worldbuilding, but very few discuss the blatant economic commentary hidden within his works. In particular, the Masters and Servants of the 5th Holy Grail War are each distinct commentaries on various Economic mechanisms and social systems. Mechanisms Spoiler: Large Corporations

One of the simplest and most basic Economic theorems-known as 'Rational Choice Theory'-is examined by the character of Medea ('Caster'). Rational Choice Theory is the assumption that all individuals within in an Economy will act within their own best interests, acting in order to maximise their profits and minimise their losses. This behavioural pattern is shown by Medea's first master, Atram Galiast. Atram is a skilled mage, backed by the Magus Association and equipped with a workshop full of human sacrifices that could massively empower Caster's Magic. With his support, she could easily achieve success in the Holy Grail War. She instead elects to kill him, release the sacrifices, and wander around without hope of survival. In this, we see that Nasu has chosen to support the converse theoreom that is Behavioural Economics. This is the psychology-based study of human behaviours that examines why humans embrace irrational behaviours that makes modelling human action in an economic model so difficult. Medea rejects her first master due to hatred of being bound, and yet embraces Souichirou Kuzuki for his kindness, in spite of the the tactical disadvantage his lack of magic brings. This demonstrates both how standard logical predictions of her actions fail, however once we understand her psychology better (such as the fact she would rather embrace temporary happiness with Kuzuki rather than seek the ideal perfection of a Holy Grail Wish), we become better able to understand her decisions. Part 2- Love Triangles as a Symbol of Competing Economic Models Whilst Financial mechanisms can greatly influence the Global Economy, they are all ultimately subordinate to the various social and Economic systems championed by various nations. This is displayed most clearly in the form of the Masters of the Holy Grail War, particularly Shirou and his assorted romantic interests. Spoiler: Advertising and PR is an important part of the Capitalist System

Tohsaka Rin is perhaps the simplest of the Masters to classify, as her connection to the Capitalist Model has many facets. She is an ambitious young Mage, who desires to work hard in the Holy Grail War so as to achieve success. This expresses itself as desire for a Wish, but also a desire to obtain the Wealth her family once had. Indeed, Nasu makes her connection to finance even more obvious by literally using valuable jewels to store and empower her magic. Moreover, her Capitalistic Philosophy is displayed by the way she not only uses her own efforts, but suborns other Economic systems and models into alliance with herself, and as seen in the UBW Route she even purchases The Means of Production (Saber) for herself and rides her accumulating asset-derived wealth to a successful circumstance. It is perhaps easy to think of Rin as having an unkind philosophy, but it is eventually shown that her pragmatic outlook is simply a way of creating a stable platform of success that she can use to enact her desired philanthropies. Spoiler: Anarchism as an Adaptively Symbiotic Social Construct

The character of Shirou began as a blank protagonist in the F/SN visual novel, who progressed into an Amnesiac anime protagonist with many love interests, multiple established 'Routes' of development and the ability to copy the weapons of others. It is therefore no surprise to say he represents a sort of Symbiotic Anarchy, that is extremely flexible, born from rejection of the ideals of previous systems (as represented by The Revolution), and yet willing to ally with other Economic systems that he believes will align well with him. Though his Anarchistic Philosophy is lacking obvious markers of a particular Economic Policy, he does maintain a clear ideological philosophy that represents itself as a rejection of the unphilanthropic mechanisms of the systems of the past, which is also displayed by an initial fondness for the philanthropic basis of Socialism (Sakura). However, as events continue, he finds himself strongly connected to the will of the People (Saber) and eventually comes into a symbiotic alliance with Rin (Anarcho-Capitalism). One of Shirou's best traits is his adaptability, as he later gains the ability to copy the Economic Mechanisms of other systems. However, he must be careful with his development lest he end up as something he despises (as symbolised by Archer). Spoiler: The Pitfalls of an Idealised Philanthropic EconomyTo build on the earlier analysis, the kind-hearted Sakura initially represents Socialism, and the worms within her are a metaphor for how such centralised power attracts corrupt interests who seek to gain control of everything. The routes where Shinji takes over show one vision of how this can end, as a decadent and corrupt Communist governmental system that replaces her, and exploits the efforts of the past, with his extreme incompetence symbolising the degradation of the state until an eventual collapse. Dark Sakura is the other end of the situation, where the self-interested powers seize control of the state mechanisms, maintaining a coherent Facist government at the cost of perverting the kind-natured original designs of the economic system. Spoiler: The Idealised Economy as represented by a Magical Girl

Illya represents the dream of a post-scarcity economy. She is artificial, shares a parent with Anarchism, her unaging youth shows just how far we are away from achieving that dream, and (much like Sakura) her potential as a Grail Vessel shows the hopeful, dream-like nature of their systems and how they are vulnerable to degradation/corruption. Herakles (and his 12 Labours) symbolises the impossible difficulties involved in achieving such a dream, but also the impossible strength of such a system if it were actually achieved. (Continued in the next post, as SB has an Image Limit).

frozenchicken said:

Part 3- Economic Analysis and The People Economic Systems of the Past Spoiler: Rejection of the Old and the Revolutions that followWe can see that Natalia rejects the old systems and turns away from them, but it is Kiritsugu who is the most interesting representation of this aspect, as he is The Revolution. He enlists the help of the Masses (as represented by Saber), and then proceeds to destroy all the existing power structures. His path is bloody and destructive, he fails to achieve his goals and in the end his victory only ends in disillusionment as he destroys the unrealistic hopes presented by the Holy Grail. However, in the wake of his passing, two new philosophies, Shirou (Anarchism) and Illya (Post-Scarcity) come to be. Spoiler: The limitations of Theory when contrasted against Pragmatism

The final aspect of Fate to be analysed is The Holy Grail, which represents the Grand Theories of Economists, with each wish being an idealised end state of various economic models-and the cursed nature shows they all eventually fail to predict how human agency alters events, causing the models to go off-track. Shirou (Anarchism) does not have a specific Wish in mind, but may react in a manner determined by circumstance. Saber has multiple desires, that may include allying herself to other economic systems, seeking a perfect state for capitalism to operate by, or perhaps even rejecting the truth of trickle-down economics and attempting to remove the elitist mechanisms of the capitalist state-as represented by herself. All the manifestations of the Grail that interact with a member of the Matou family seem to end badly for them, and though an ideal state could be found, most have given up hope of that. Special Thanks to Raguna, Blue Helix, Last Sanction and also to Karugus for coming up with that 'Invisible Hand' line. Oh, and also Mortifier whose lengthy contribution ended up...well, it's quality, not quantity that matters, right?

#Fate/stay night #fate stay night #fate/zero #fate zero #economics #saber #social commentary #type-moon #spacebattles

9 notes · View notes

thejpfdude-blog · 7 years

Text

The Week in Anime (Week of 3/26/18)

Herro everybody and welcome to a late version of TWiA! Sorry for the unannounced delay -- got a bit sick and focused more on rest. But I’m (somewhat) better now, just in time to talk about a few shows’ conclusions, including one which is early AOTY. So with that, let’s start it off right away with...

The News Corner:

So this time there’s actually something I can talk in pretty good detail about, and that’s:

Hitoribocchi no ○○ Seikatsu anime announced!

One of the few manga I’ve read (and enjoyed), this is basically a moe, less cringy version of WataMote. Basically it’s about a girl named Hitori Bocchi with severe social anxiety. She enters a new middle school without her only friend, who forces her to make 100 friends at said school. Cue the shenanigans.

Now I’ve read a handful of chapters of this one, and it’s a good ‘un. Obviously it’s #relatable, but it’s also pretty cute and very fluffy -- no drama here. Plus all of the characters’ names are puns: Hitori Bocchi -> hitoribocchi = alone as an example. Oh and it’s by the same mangaka as Mitsuboshi Colors, though I think this one is the better work in my biased opinion. Pretty excited for this one, maybe more than I should be.

K now rankings, featuring finished shows!

Rankings:

1 (0). Yuru Camp△ (9/10 FINAL) [12/12]

2 (0). Koi wa Ameagari no You ni (8.5/10) [11/12]

3 (+1). Violet Evergarden (8/10) [11/14]

4 (-1). Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan 2 (8/10) [10/24]

5 (0). Poputepipikku/Pop Team Epic (6/10 FINAL) [12/12]

6 (0). Takunomi. (6/10) [11/12]

7 (+1). Dagashi Kashi 2 (5.5/10) [11/12]

8 (-1). Gakuen Babysitters (5/10 FINAL) [12/12]

Awards:

Best Comfy: Yuru Camp

Let me start by saying this: the last episode of this was a bit underwhelming. Though that would be case when they continue off the previous episode, it didn’t really feel like a finale. I did like the throwback to the first episode with Nadeshiko/Kirby going to the same campsite Rin did in episode 1. It all goes full circle.

Now overall thoughts on the show. It was good. Actually more than good, it was probably one of the best airing shows I’ve ever seen. That’s not an exaggeration: ReLIFE is technically the highest-ranked show I watched while it was airing, but that doesn’t really count since all of the episodes came out at the same time. So the next man up is Yuru Camp, a show that I watched the moment I woke up on Thursdays, no matter how busy I was with life. Every episode was filled with maximum comfy, hilarious antics, and great Irish folk-inspired BGM. With the exception of one episode, it was consistent in animation/character design (which btw was great: I loved the design of every character). Not to mention the backgrounds of the campsites were A+. I could go on, but 1. I’m still a bit sick right now and 2. I’m gonna save the big details for the end-of-season award post.

So tl;dr, Yuru Camp is really really good. It’s not K-On where I recommend it to people who generally don’t watch SoL shows, but for those who want some comfy in your life or like CGDCT/SoL shows, I would highly highly recommend this. 9/10, a fantastic journey.

Worst Finale: Pop Team Epic

Wow that was something. Not really what I expected, but also entirely what I expected. As expected of the shitpost of the season.

So I guess this is the part where I analyze the show and talk about it, but to be honest, I don’t have much to say about it. There were some really amazing segments (freakin’ Hellshake Yano) and there were segments that flew over my head even after learning about what it parodied. Honestly, I’m impressed with the amount of work for what amounted to be such a huge shitpost. If there’s one thing I’m disappointed in it’s that they never used the “hambaga” joke, the one I’m sure a lot of people know given it’s usually the strip that introduces you to Pop Team Epic (I know it did for me). Still, I enjoyed watching the episodes twice, and at the end of the day it was a nice way to start off the weekends. So a good 6/10 overall: would reluctantly recommend.

Best Brother Complex: Gakuen Babysitters

Ah yes that was an episode. It was a nice ending to show the friendships and relationships that Ryuuichi makes throughout the season all in one place. Very fitting for the finale.

But now I have to talk about the #1 issue I had with the show. Actually scratch that, let me start with the positives -- it was very cute. The kids made for some fun times, and there were some legitimately tear-jerking episodes in the beginning parts in regards to Kotaru and Ryuuichi with their situation.

Towards the second half of the show, though, is when I realized something. And that’s that Ryuuichi is a pretty bad character. He’s your standard nice guy MC, with some knowledge in childcare added in. I realized this during the Valentine’s day episode (and any subsequent episode featuring either Yuki or Inomata). Now this probably isn’t really a problem for the demographic of this show (mostly female), but as a male I found the dude a bit generic. It also didn’t help that he had a really close relationship with Kotarou. Like a bit too close. I’m not saying he has a straight up bro-complex like the award title implies, but when Kotarou pretty much influences his social life, it’s something. Yeah there’s the whole thing with their parents dying and all that, but it’s still concerning to me how much he thinks about Kotarou. Well maybe it’s just my viewpoint, seeing as I don’t have siblings/never had my parents die (though I did live in a single-parent household). So I guess chalk it up to “wasn’t really my thing”.

Even with that, though, this show was enjoyable to watch, and I don’t regret picking it up. A high 5/10 for me, would recommend.

Best Episode of the Week: Violet Evergarden

Okay, I thought last week’s episode was sad. Well, this week’s was even worse in that regard. I don’t know why, but this week’s episode hit me harder. AND NOW SPOILER WARNING (btw if you haven’t been watching this show DO START NOW because it’s really started to pick up recently).

The moment I saw Aiden and his picture of Maria, I knew things would go wrong. That only got worse when he got shot, though there was some hope when Violet saved the dude. But then the slow death was a killer, and the letter delivery was the killing blow. Yes my friends, I shed one tear. I know, amazing.

In all seriousness, I’m loving the episodes so far from Violet Evergarden. I love it when an anime gets me invested in a show to the point where I put all of my emotions towards it. It’s happening with this show and After the Rain, and the last notable time it happened was with ERASED. At that point it becomes more like something you experience, rather than something you watch. And all of this wouldn’t have been possible without the episodes people called “slow”. Sasuga KyoAni for the long con.

And that’s all for this week! Look out for the annual “Shows I’m Watching for the Spring 2018 season” post which should be out within the next few days. Anyways, thanks for reading and I’ll see you in the next post!

0 notes