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sailormoonandme · 4 years ago

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My thoughts regarding the Usagi/Mamoru age gap

I am writing this in response to this thread.

To be clear as crystal here, this is just my take on the situation.

With all that said, for the sake of argument let's say we are in total agreement that in real life a 14 year old middle schooler and a 17 year old college student shouldn't be dating.*

But that is the key phrase here: 'Real life'.

The thing is...there is no end of fairy tales or media aimed at children that at best start to fall apart or at worst become extremely creepy when you apply a realistic lens to it.

That is the joke about the majority of Disney's canon in fact. For instance, Aladdin was 18 whilst Jasmine was 16. I'm British and over here 16 is the legal age of consent for sex but even so I'm at least iffy on a 16 year old dating an 18 year old. And to trade off some of the comments elsewhere in the above linked thread, you could absolutely argue there was a 'mental gap' between Al and Jas given how she was a sheltered and somewhat naive princess who'd never left the palace and he was a streetwise older guy who'd obviously flirted and charmed his way out of trouble before.

But let's consider a different Disney classic, perhaps their most famous movie, the Lion King.

The Lion King is a beloved and rightly iconic movie but if you take it at face value and realistically (albeit ignoring the fact that animals can talk, sing and are capable of human emotions and cultural references) it's guilty of:

Promoting incest because Simba and Nala would have at best been first cousins (Nala being Scar's daughter) at worst brother and sister. Because that is how lions work. Male lions murder the cubs of other males with the possible exceptions of their brother's cubs where they co-rule a pride. Even with the best case scenario, deleted scenes had Scar try to make Nala his queen and those scenes were reinserted for the hit Broadway musical. So either a brother and sister hook up or two first cousins hook up and a Dad tried to have sex with his daughter.

Promoting racial/class segregation: The Hyenas are from the 'dark shadowy' place and are given traits you can easily interpret as associated with black, Hispanic, Latinex or mentally disabled people. They are also framed with Nazi imagery and it is Scar's decision to let them roam freely that causes famine. Simba beats them, they are forced back to 'where they came from' and all is well.

Promoting authoritarian absolute monarchies. That's the whole movie's plot. Simba must embrace his destiny as the 'rightful ruler' of the pridelands whereby all other animals bow down to him. It's not even like the lions are the ruling class and they are at least democratic amongst themselves, it's literally this ONE specific bloodline that is not only in charge but is SUPPOSED to be in charge. Even if the wrong person from that bloodline is in charge the entire land suffers until the 'right' person takes the throne. That's a pretty terrible and pretty anti-democratic message isn't it, and that's coming from someone who lives in a country WITH a monarchy.

And, I admit this one is a serious stretch, but you could even argue that it's saying two men raising a child is a detriment to said child. Because Timon and Pumba raise Simba into an adult and the movie is very clear that he's grown up wrong, he is not the person he should be because he's embraced Timon and Pumba's upbringing.

So you see...the Lion King is mega terrible.

Except it isn't.

Because we all have the cognitive ability and understanding to grasp that you are not SUPPOSED to take it that realistically nor at face value. Even as children we grasped that, hence the generation that grew up with the Lion King (by and large) obviously don't think incest is okay, don't oppose same sex couples raising children, don't think segregation is a good idea and clearly do not think monarchies are the bee's knees.

Maybe as kids people couldn't put it into words, but material like this essentially exists in this realm of symbolism, psychological shorthand if you will.

In fact all fairy tales do that.

And Sailor Moon IS a fairy tale, or at the very least it borrows a whole lot from fairy tales.

In addition to being a fairy tale though Sailor Moon is a wish fulfillment fantasy story intended for a female audience (or at least a predominantly female audience).

Now of course what one woman's wish fulfillment fantasy might be may not be another's and I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to argue that Sailor Moon even clicks with the wish fulfillment fantasies of MOST female audience members. But I think it's fair to say from the cultural impact it has had, and how it's fanbase is clearly mostly made up of women, that the wish fulfillment fantasy it offers clicks with a sizeable enough number of women.

The reverse is true of something intended as a male wish fulfillment fantasy. James Bond was obviously intended as a male wish fulfillment fantasy, and it's success speaks to how it clearly clicked with a sizable enough number of people. And I don't think I'm being overly presumptuous here when i say MOST of those people were male.**

Both SM and 007 are wish fulfillment power fantasies but they are also romantic/sexual fantasies too.***

I don't think it's unreasonable to argue that for a sizable number (but not necessarily the majority) of women, including the tween/teen girls SM was aimed at, having an OLDER lover is a romantic wish fulfillment fantasy. On the flipside I don't think it's unreasonable to argue that for a sizable number of men and boys having an endless string of casual and completely consequence free sexual encounters with (traditionally speaking) gorgeous women who find you incredibly attractive is a sexual wish fulfillment fantasy.

And the thing is BOTH those things can become bad when you apply a realistic lens to either of them.

James Bond's sex life realistically would involve at least a few sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies (one of which occurs in the novels) and at least a few callously broken hearts. Even when you look at it strictly from Bond's POV that life only seems glamorous at first glance. Perhaps it is a fun fantasy, but only when it remains in the realm of fantasy. Because in real life that kind of life if lived long term is ultimately incredibly empty and unfulfilling. Even James Bond media has acknowledged this because there have been occasions in the novels and films where he has at least attempted to settle down with a stable partner. Many Bond fans (understandably) decry this as undermining part of the appeal of the character hence Bond inevitably defaults back to being single because that is a baked in part of the wish fulfillment fantasy the character offers.

Let's consider some other ways the Sailor Moon anime offers a wish fulfillment fantasy, namely the future of Crystal Tokyo.

At first glance it seems wonderfully utopic right. It is a beautiful crystalline world where everyone lives in peace and harmony, hunger disease and even aging having been functionally eliminated.

Well, that isn’t the case if you apply a realistic lens to it.

It's an absolute monarchy wherein everyone is functionally immortal and children don't reach maturity even after 900 years. Chibi-Usa clearly chafes at this reality so how do you imagine other children (who aren't royalty) might feel? How might their parents feel having to raise their children and be responsible for them for centuries as opposed to around twentysomething years? What if you became immortal in your 80s, you might be a very healthy 80 year old but you aren't in the prime of your life and you are stuck that way for what is essentially forever. Not to mention what if you don't like or do not agree with Neo-Queen Serenity's policies? What if they are actively detrimental to you, your family, your livelihood, etc? You can't vote her out of power and you can't even hope for things to change because everyone is healthy, provided for and lives forever. The chances of someone else coming to power are at best very, very, very slim.

Then you have the fact that it’s surely a society that would’ve stagnated because everyone is provided for. That’s the whole point of a utopia. It is perfection. But what if you are someone who defined your live by striving for improvement? What if you were a doctor and now found yourself redundant. Sure, you might acknowledge that’s for the greater good but you are still yourself left completely without purpose in this world.

And that’s not even considering the inevitable monotony of existing for hundreds of years. Modern medicine and science has allowed human beings to extend their life spans FAR beyond how long we’d live if we were still just cave people. As biological organisms are concerned we never evolved to live for 80-90 years. Even if your body isn’t breaking down across the centuries the human mind would never realistically be able to cope with centuries worth of memories and life experiences. Mental illnesses and conditions would be rife. If nothing else living in that world would sooner or later become utterly BORING!

Hate to say it and obviously it doesn’t justify their methods, but the Black Moon Clan kind of have some valid points against the world of Crystal Tokyo. At least they do when you break things down REALISTICALLY.

And that’s my thesis here. Sailor Moon isn’t supposed to be dissected realistically, at least not to THAT degree. It is a wish fulfilment fairy tale fantasy and demands a certain amount of suspension of disbelief and understanding of what the fantasy is offering.

And for the record I can 100% assure that no teenager in real life has, or could, ever get into a harmful relationship with someone older than them BECAUSE they watched Usagi and Mamoru’s relationship in the anime.

The human mind is a very complex and very powerful thing. At a younger age it’s impressionable and can therefore be influenced. But it’s not so susceptible that the romantic relationships in a cartoon about schoolgirl super heroes is going to influence a viewer into making any major life decisions that OTHER factors weren’t also influencing them to do.

In other words if a real life 14 year old girl began dating a 17 year old college guy it would’ve happened regardless of whether they watched Sailor Moon as a child or not.

Indeed, one of my frustrations with the podcast Sailor Business is how many guests on the show cite how they liked Usagi and Mamoru as children but now think their relationship is bad and creepy. I disagree with them for the reasons I cited above, but the fact that those panellists nigh universally give that same narrative proves how nobody was ever going to be prompted to do anything potentially harmful to themselves in real life by the show.

*Personally speaking that is certainly my own off the cuff attitude.

**Not to dismiss the fans who aren't, same goes for the non-female SM fans.

***Although I think you could argue SM is more on the romance side of things and 007 on the sexual side of things.

#My Essays #bishojo senshi sailor moon #pretty soldier sailor moon #pretty guardian sailor moon #sailor moon #tuxedo mask #mamoru chiba #chiba mamoru #usagi tsukino #tsukino usagi #James Bond #007 #Lion King #The Lion King #Disney #Crystal Tokyo

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kemetic-dreams · 5 years ago

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Comparative Religions

ATR (African Traditional Religion) Introduction Three religions dominates African continent: ATR, Islam and Christianity. African Traditional Religion has grown out of the African soil. It is not brought from outside. It is best distinguished as ATR. It is described as the product of thinking and experience of African forefathers and mothers of former generations. This religion is found in all African peoples. Africans who live according to their traditional ways are very religious. Africans have many different kinds of beliefs due to the fact that there are many ethnic groups and tribes in Africa. It is not proper to say there an African Traditional Religion. The truth is, every ethnic group has its own set of beliefs. The observation that is understandable is that there are many similarities between the traditional beliefs of Africans in Africa. Therefore we speak of African Traditional Religion thinking of those common things.

The African Traditional Religion has no founder. It evolved through many centuries, before the westerner come to Africa. Different fathers played a role in the development of this religion. It is not documented. It has no sacred book or Scripture. It is written in the hearts, history and experience of the people. It is passed with the word of mouth. It has never been accused of heresy, falsehood or deception. There are no religious controversies. There is no claim of purity. There is no authority to say what it was before or what it would be in the future. African Religion is open to new ideas. Some ideas of the past has been forgotten because people found them useless and did not carry them over to the next generation. It affects the whole person, the whole clan or tribe. Some writers use to say an African always carry his religion even to the parliament. It is taken everywhere around the world. The practice begins at early childhood until the last moment at death. A person must be born in a particular African people in order to be able to follow African Religion. The people from Europe, America, and Asia cannot be converted to African Religion as it is more removed from their geographical and cultural setting. African Traditional Religion is very pragmatic and apply to the need as it arises. It has supplied answers and direction to many African life, as such people are unwilling to abandon it quickly otherwise they feel insecure afterwards, unless something else give them additional or greater sense of security. It is said that even if they are converted to another religion like Christianity and Islam they do not completely abandon their traditional religion immediately. The religion remains with them for several generations and sometimes centuries. In reality the converted mix their traditional religion with the newly embraced religion. The idea behind is to gain from both religions.

African Traditional Religion influences every area of an African life. It shapes the character, and culture of the people. It is hard to destroy its beliefs. 2 Wrong ideas: African Religion is ancestor worship. This is just one part of it It is superstitious It is animism or paganism It is magic or fetishism African Religion embraces all these four ideas in its belief. Where to look for and find African Tradition Religion? • It is found in rituals, ceremonies and festivals of the people: Birth, giving of names, circumcision, initiation ceremonies, marriage, funerals, harvest festival, need for rain • It is found in shrines, sacred places and religious objects: Graves, caves, rocks, hills, mountains, tree, objects tied around people’s neck, legs and waists. Other objects are kept in pockets, bags or placed on gates or ground. • It is found in art and symbols: wood, stools, calabash, bones, sticks, pots, handcraft, domestic animals, and human bodies. It is represented by insects, birds, animals, trees, colours, etc. • It is found in music and dance: Drums, flute, rattle, etc. Religious festival are accompanied by songs and dance. Music is used to spread religious ideas. • It is found in proverbs, riddles and wise saying: There are proverbs that speak of God, human relationship, man, nature of things etc. Riddles are for entertainment but some contain religious ideas.

Wise saying are about the world in general. • It is found in names of people and places: African names have meaning that are also religious. • It is found in myth and legends: Stories, myth, legend, biographies • It is found in beliefs and customs: religious ideas, and that which people approve and do. Beliefs influences behaviour and what to do in life.

Five essential parts of African Religion a. Beliefs: God; Spirits; human life; magic; witchcraft; the hereafter b. Practices, Ceremonies and festivals: Praying, sacrifices, offering, rituals, customs, birth, harvest, raining seasons, dancing and singing c. Religious objects and places: Holy places, shrines, groves, hills, mountain, rivers, caves, amulets, charms, marks d. Values and morals: Truth, justice, love, right and wrong, respect, decency, agreements, promises, integrity, blame e. Religious officials: Priests, rain makers, ritual elders, diviners, medicine men, kings and rulers

Question: Conversion of Africans does not mean that they have abandoned ATR? How true is this? 3 Three types of heritage Historical heritage Cultural heritage Religious heritage Culture deals with things such as the way people live, behave, act, and their physical as well as their intellectual achievement. It is shown in art and literature, dance, music, drama, style of building and people’s clothing, in social organization, political system, in religion, ethics, morals, philosophy, in customs, and institution of the people in their values and laws and their economic life (John Mbiti, 1975:8)

Structure of African reality (Hierarchy of power) GOD SPIRITS (ANCESTORS) SPIRIT MANIFESTATION WORSHIP Ceremonial items: Home made brew; blood of a goat, chicken, sheep or cows Material used: For knowing the will of ancestors: bones, shells For healing: herbs, roots, and human body parts For power: beads, amulets, buffalo tail, fetishes PRACTIONERS Doctors: specializes in one disease or a general doctors Diviners: experts at unveiling the spiritual causes of disease Sorcerers: Claim power and contact with spirit and can cast spell KINGS AND CHIEFS PARENTS

4 Major Beliefs of African Traditional Religion THE SUPREME BEING All Africans generally believe in the Supreme being, called God Origin: No one knows how this belief originated. How did Africans come to know that there is God? People believed through reflecting on the universe (general revelation) People realized their limitations People observed the forces of nature The Supreme being has name or names. Almost every ethnic group has a name for this great God. What is the name of God used in your tribe or people? What personal pronoun and gender used to describe this God? The names reveals what people think about God. The names reveal His attributes What God is: God is spirit. He is not a human being. He is not visible, for one has ever seen Him. No one can surely describe Him. He is not made. He exists on His own. He has no father, mother, neither child. God is the creator of everything. He is the first cause, the original source. He sustains. He is all knowing and nothing is hidden from Him. He shares human images: He sees, hears, smells, tastes. He eats, sleeps, play, walk, rejoices, get angry, thinks, remembers. He is everywhere present like air. At the same time He is very far from the universe and His creature. God is unknowable. He cannot be explained. African turn to God when in trouble and seeking peace, happiness, and security. He does not do anything more for people. He does not interfere with man who is the centre. Man ignore Him and wait for the need to arise. Worship is to keep contact with the invisible world so that there is harmony. In this way prayers, sacrifices, offering are done and rituals performed. No human being can get near to God or talk to Him. He is the author of both good and evil. He causes people to sin. He is feared as a judge and full of wrath.

5 How different is this God with the God of the Bible whom Christian believe? Is this God the same with the Christian God? ATR versus Christianity • Deism (far from people) Omnipresent and Transcendent Psalm 139 • There is no personal contact Jesus is the way to God John 14:6 • Ancestors are mediators Jesus is the only mediator between God and man 1 Timothy 2:5 • No relationship with God Personal relationship through Jesus (Father) John 1:14, 3:16 • He is not interested with Creation Jesus is God incarnate, Emmanuel, who died John 1:14 • He is full of wrath and is a judge Wrath and love are His attributes John 3:36; Romans 1:18 • He does not communicate He speaks directly through His word Hebrews 1:1-2 • He is regarded as the fist ancestor God is eternal Psalm 90:2; Genesis 1:1 • No mention of His holiness God is holy and hates sin 1 Peter 1:16 • God is not concerned with sin Every sin is against a holy God Genesis 6:5; Romans 3:23; Psalm 51:5 THE SPIRITS There are two kinds of spirits: Human spirits: The spirits of those who were people on earth Those who died long ago and are forgotten Those who died recently and are remembered up to the 4th and 5th generation. They indwell people. They are used by diviners, mediums and medicine men. Nature spirits: The spirits that were created as spirits The spirits are found all over Africa. The animistic belief is embraced. Animism is s religious belief, which recognizes the spirits as indwelling every created things and controlling the physical world. Most world religions share the belief of animism, even though they would not call themselves animists. Animists or those who follow this belief, build their lives around the belief that nature spirits are powerful. The spirit world is stronger than humans. The nature spirits live in forests, trees, waterfalls, strange shaped rocks, caves, villages, hills, etc. Some of those spirits are believed to follow people as they move like the shadow. The spirit also indwell animals like, snakes (python), goats, bulls, tiger, giraffe, baboon, etc.

6 The spirits also manifests themselves in the form of these animals. They are easily recognized by the locals, thikoloshe, mamlambo, house snake, perennial or fountain snakes, etc. Different things are done to protect people from the spirits. The spirits are highly honoured and feared. Their help is sought for anything. ATR man can do nothing without consulting the spirits for permission or approval. In occasion like illness, marriage, childbirth, work, study, trip, poor harvest, accidents, family conflict, and war, spirits are consulted. Relationship between the spirits and the physical world is going on and requires human effort. Human effort is required to ensure the goodwill of the spirits and to ensure that they are not offended or neglected. Spirits want to be served and as such hold people in fear. Special methods are used for contact: Trained or gifted men are required to help Ecstatic trance is practiced just like the shaman Mediums, or divination, fortune telling Offering some rituals The local healers prescribe certain plants and herbs for use. We cannot deny the existence of spirits. They are around, but do not control the world and neither possess or indwell all created things. The spirit that we know, are created by God, and can only function as along as God permits them to function.

The Almighty God is the creator and sovereign ruler of heaven and earth (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:16; Psalm 24:1; Psalm 50) Man should not seek protection or help from the spirits , but only from Jesus Christ because of His work on the cross. He defeated all evil angels and He also controls them. The knowledge of Jesus Christ through Salvation should liberate all Christian with African Traditional belief or Animism from the fear of spirits who indwell all created things. Christians must also know that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and therefore cannot be indwelt by evil spirit ( 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20; Romans 8:9-10; John 14:23). Christians can boldly and fearlessly evangelize all men without fear of being indwelt by a demon. There could be demonic attacks of different kind though, but remember the power of God and the one who is in you that He is greater than the one who is in the world. Who are the spirits according to the Bible? The Bible speaks of evil spirit, wicked spirit, unclean spirit, demons and Satan. These all were created holy by God but they chose to sin with Satan. God cast them out of heaven. Now they operate on earth in the sky above (Ephesians 6:10-17).

7 ANCESTOR SPIRITS (ANCESTOR WORSHIP) The main point of interest in African Traditional Religion is the belief and worship of ancestors. Ancestors are used as the mediators between the Supreme Being and man. It is known that not everyone who dies becomes an ancestor. He has to have had a position of authority He had to have adult sons or children depending on the tribe The spirits of those who died and come back to life are the ancestors These ancestors receive honour and worship as long as the tribe still remembers them. Only those who are remembered are worshipped. The names of the forefathers are sometimes forgotten and for fear of harm, when worshipping the priest or head of the family would announce the word even you whom we do not know. The dwelling place of the ancestors is not known. Some say in the caves, in the trees, grave, under the earth, in the high places (forests). The effective way to contact the ancestors is through sacrifices done either by the head of the family or the aunt. The items used are normally meat, blood of animal, or human blood or part, homemade beer, etc. The people do not know whether the ancestor will do them harm or good. Therefore, it is important to appease them or keep contact at all costs. Ancestors may cause sickness or difficulties in the family that would require the diviner or medium to deal with it. Generally, every time the diviners are called or consulted, the ancestors would say the people have done something wrong in the religion or custom. Africans worship the ancestors because that answers the deepest need of their relationship with those they know. What is the Christian response to ancestor’ spirits? First we must clarify that ancestor spirits are spirits of the departed forefathers and mothers. The spirits of people you know died. This is the general understanding of ancestor spirit. These spirits have gone to either Hades to wait for final judgement or to heaven in the presence of Jesus. Secondly ancestor spirits are what the Bible calls demons or evil spirits (1 Corinthians 10:18-22). These are the fallen angels who rebelled with Satan, the Devil in heaven and were cast out. They are waiting for their judgement and damnation (Matthew 8:28-32; 25:41). Their main function is to deceive men and encourage unbelievers to continue living in opposition and rebellion against God. These evil spirit (demons) impersonate the deceased and act as if they are the person.

8 Helping people who live in fear of ancestor spirit The unbelievers must be evangelized. They need the gospel. The message of the cross is the power of God to save those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:18; Romans 1:16; Acts 8:18-23; 13:8-11; 16:17- 18). • We should teach the people and inform that Adam the first man had no ancestor, and ancestor spirit (Genesis 2:5, 7; 1 Corinthians 15:44-47) • We should preach the cross (death of Jesus Christ: atonement, sin, forgiveness and purity). Emphasis must be made on Christ’s defeat of the supernatural beings (evil spirits including Satan):Colossians 2:14-15; Ephesians 4:8-10; Hebrews 2:14-15; Revelation 1:17-18; Matthew 12:22-30; 1 John 3:5, 8). • Christians need a lot of pastoral care and counselling. Inform Christians that issues such as death, sickness, poverty, impotency (barrenness) , demonic attack, unemployment, dreams, etc. lead to reversion to ATR. • We should teach Christians the sufficiency of Christ using Colossians and Hebrews. Encourage the people to read the gospels. • We should inform Christians that we are in spiritual warfare, therefore we need the whole armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-17). • It is important to build strong spiritual foundation by teaching the doctrine of sin (total depravity), the sovereignty of God in salvation, creation and redemption, angelology and the victory of Christ over supernatural evil spirits as well as eschatology (Revelation 12:9; 20:7, 11-20) • We should teach Christians to trust Jesus, His word and the finished work on the cross and the resurrection. Every believer should wholeheartedly believe God’s unfailing promises (1 John 4:4; Matthew 28:20; John 1:12-13) • We should encourage our people to receive medical attention where need be (James 5:14- 16; 1 Timothy 5:22-25)

DEATH AND LIFE AFTER DEATH Death is one of the most feared act in African environment. The origin of death is unknown. As such many myth were introduced. Death cam because the messengers failed to carry their given tasks. There is no myth on how death will be removed from the world. Death meant a separation of God from man. Causes of death Someone is often blamed for the death of a person • Sorcery, witchcraft, and evil magic • Spirits: the body was not properly laid or some taboos broken and that angered the spirits • Curse, breaking the taboos or oath • Natural death: It is sometimes acknowledged that God call old people to leave this life, but its rare. Even in this instances physical causes are attributed to somebody i.e. sicknesses, disease, old age, accident, lightning, earthquake, flood, drowning, animal attack, etc. 9 Rituals of death Disposal of the body requires certain ritual to be performed in preparation for disposal Burial of belonging with the body, some items are placed on the graveyard after burial. In other parts of Africa The belief is that the departed need weapons to defend himself along the way, food because he might be late for evening meal or need that on his way, other properties so that he may not arrive empty handed, etc, Funeral rites for different age groups: children, unmarried people, married, chiefs or kings, etc. The rites are intended to send the departed peacefully and to keep the link between the living for normal life. Feasting and sons of mourning: there are various signs and symbols to sho that there is death. Manual labour stops for a day or more. Shaving of the hair as sign of separation and new hair is sign of new life, smearing white, etc. Hereafter According to African Traditional Religion, there is no break between life and death. After death a proper funeral must be organized with necessary ceremonial rituals. This is done to prevent the dead person from wandering around. It is believed that if the dead person fail to get a place he wanders and becomes a ghost. Place of the departed. It is unknown. Different beliefs. Among those beliefs there is no one mentioning heaven or hell. • Neighbourhood of the homestead • Woods, forests, lakes, hills, rivers and riverbanks • There is a land of spirits in the underworld or underground • The dead goes to a place just similar to this world. It is another world. They do all that is done in this world. When a person dies his body is destroyed but his spirit lives on. The spirit receives s his body which is identical to his earthly body so that he can move around as spirit. A deceased is gathered to his forefathers, and it is finished with him. He is completely dead if no one remembers that ancestors. There is no hope of heaven or despair lf hell. Witches and sorcerer are not allowed in the spirit world (world of the dead) because they are cut off from the tribe. Some tribes feed witches and sorcerers with hyenas. Remembering of the ancestors Food and drink for the dead during festivals Consultation and rituals through the diviner or medium Naming the dead in prayer Naming children after the deceased 10 What is the destiny of man according to the Scripture? The Bible clearly teaches that there are two different places where spirits of a person goes after death. He goes to Hades if he is an unbeliever or heaven (Paradise) if he is a Christian: Luke 16:19- 31; 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:2-4; Revelation 6:9 After the final judgement the unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire (Gehenna): Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:11-15 Christians will not be judge but enter into eternity with Christ the Sovereign Saviour and Lord (John 5:24; Revelation 21-22). There is no teaching on heaven and hell in ATR. As a result people live and die without hope and only fear of hell. They comfort themselves by saying they are going to their ancestors whom they have no idea where they are. In reality ATR has no definite answer as to where do the spirits go after death. They believe the spirit depart from the body and lives on. Some say they go to places like caves, forest, valleys, rivers, graves, or indwell people or animals, etc. Before the spirits get a permanent place they just wander all around the earth.

What is the doctrine of sin and salvation in ATR? Salvation is surely taught in the Bible. It is totally foreign and unknown in ATR. There is no teaching on inherent sin (Sin nature, total depravity, total corruption and human inability). There are expression and proverbs that are used to describe a depraved heart, wicked or evil heart. The doctrine of sin and the fall as taught in Genesis 3 is unknown in ATR. Adam and Eve are not found in their stories (myth). People in Africa do not basically sin against God, but rather they sin against the ancestors, against the members of the family or clan. Sin is evil acts to those whom one is related to. There is no sin of omission, but emphasis is on commission. An act becomes sin, more especially when the act is found or discovered. If not discovered it is fine. Issues like failure to take parental responsibilities, child abuse, and maltreatment of wives is not sinful in African Traditional beliefs. It might raised as a concern by some parents or families. ATR emphasizes that people should live in peace with one another especially those of the same family and clan. The truth of the matter is that there is no genuine peace outside Christ. Peace starts with out relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Then we have peace in our hearts, and peace with fellow men. And then continue to pursue peace and endeavour to live at peace with all men (Hebrews 12:14; Romans 12:18). The Bible says, “Sinners have no peace” (Isaiah 57:21). The word of God reveals that the heart of the problem is the heart. All evil acts and thought comes out of the heart (Mark 7:21-23; Jeremiah 17;9; Genesis 6:5; 8:20). ATR is mainly concerned with physical world full of spirits and the inhabitants thereof. As such the problem Africans Religion face is physical: illness, drought, barrenness, poverty, conflicts, death, marriage, etc. Therefore deliverance is from all these misfortunes. One is then delivered or saved from demonic attack, evil spirits attack, or witchcraft, etc. The practice of deliverance is either offering a sacrifice or receiving protection from a diviner or a religious man (priest or prophet). our 11 A person is also saved from sickness, troubles or bad luck / misfortune or curse. These are done through prayers, laying on of hands, getting some items or obeying the instruction of the diviner or religious figure head. Salvation is also from witchcraft (Sorcery) and other enemies. This needs some items or object to keep at home or carry on your body. The effect of being saved or delivered is seen through the physical health, calm situation or prosperity enjoyed by the family through a member who gets a well paying job or accumulate a lump some of money. To those who mixed ATR with Christianity or biblical practices, salvation is though baptism or being a member of the church, etc. The question we should ask our ATR followers is: What are you saved from? And Who saved you? Romans 3:23; 5:12-14, 18:21; 6:23; Matthew 1:21; John 16:8-11 MAGIC AND TABOO Africans believe that everything has life force, which cause good thing or evil. The force is found in arm bangles, special words uttered, African medicine, etc.

Diviners (witchdoctors) are considered the ones having more power in ATR. Magic This form part of the African Religion or belief. There two kinds of magic: White Magic Black magic White Magic: This magic is used for good reason Traditional healers or medicine man use it. They try to find the source of evil, whether it is a sorcerer or a taboo. When the evil is discovered, the medicine man or healer gives the afflicted protection against his enemy. He may use bangles, powder, tattoo markings, leather necklaces, etc. Some of those items received from the medicine man or healer are believed to bring happiness, harmony and prosperity. Black Magic: This magic is used for bad reason or purpose People use this to harm someone. Those who use this magic are called sorcerer or wizards who practice witchcraft. Africans believe that witches must be destroyed. More often people who are disliked by the community are associated with witchcraft and are called witches. This leads to suffering, expulsion from the community or death. People are warned to take care of things such as hair, nails, clothes hanging outside at night, using certain words or phrases, visiting certain places, eating food from certain families, receiving gifts from certain people, etc. The witches or sorcerer are believed to have power to pick the ground where one has tread and cause cancer or something evil.

12 Taboo Defined: prohibition imposed by social custom, isolation of something as sacred or accursed. Words or speech, items or clothes, conduct, food, places What is the Christian answer to white magic, black magic and taboos? Magic is sinful and associated with activity of Satan. It does not matter whether it is white or black magic. Old Testament forbids the practice as sinful, as well as those who use magic as means of getting help as involved in sin. Leviticus 19:31: mediums and familiar spirits defile the seeker Leviticus 20:6 Deuteronomy 18:10-12 Isaiah 8:19-20 Groups who practiced magic Egyptian magician and wise men: Exodus 7:11, 22; 8:7, 181-19 Babylonian magicians: Daniel 2:2, 10-11 The New Testament addresses magic as sinful (Members of the flesh) Galatians 5:19-20 sorcery Revelation 21:8 Revelation 22:15 Individuals and groups who practiced magic Acts 8:9-11 Simon Magus Acts 13:8-11 Elymas Acts 19:19 Magicians The Bible speaks of miracles wrought by human agents in the name of Jesus, not magic. All man-made rules are set to instil fear in the hearts of children and other people. Taboos are key elements used to keep the people in bondage. Taboos are not vows or oaths, but certain words forbidden to be uttered as it is believed that they would bring harm or disturbance in a person or family. The English word for that is “Spell” (Deuteronomy 10:10-12). There are also practices forbidden and even places not to be visited, and even food not to be eaten (1 Corinthians 8:4-13). Taboos includes the prohibition to do certain things or sit at a particular places. We are delivered from all fear of magic and taboos. We are forbidden to practice them or encourage people to do them (Colossians 2:22). We do believe that no man has power to inflict harm or cause damage through or by his words from a distance, unless there is demonic connection.

13 THE CREATION OF MAN AND THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD There are so many myths about the creation of man and beginning of the world. Almost every tribe or people in Africa has its own story. Majority believe that God created the universe. Others say someone great created the world. Evolution is a concept foreign to African Traditional Religion. There is no clear evidence how the creation took place. Africans has no slightest thought that the universe will come to an end. Man is said to have come from the clay, from marsh, from a hole, from the leg of god, he was brought from the sky to earth. It is thought that at first man was living in harmony and immortality and in fellowship with the Supreme Being (God). Man is the centre of the universe. At that time heaven was very close to earth, and that a rope tied them up. Later on God went away from man because of sin. He went away not to be interested in him forever. There are many reasons given coming from different tribes, as to why God left. God was tired of man’s requests Man wiped his dirty fingers on the sky A woman pounding in her mortar lifted her pestle too high and kept poking God in the eye, and God decided to go up higher. Smoke get into God’s eye, when man set the grass on fire. The hyena broke the rope joining heaven and earth. There is a sense of disobedience on the part of man in all the myths. Consequences Man lost his immortality This came about because God’s messenger was too slow to bring the message to man that he would die. Others say that the hyena was sent with the message that man would die and reach man first. A great division or separation existed which cannot be mended by anyone. What is the biblical doctrine of creation and separation? There are many stories about creation of man in Africa. There are also many myths about the separation of God and man. The Bible teaches that God created man from the dust and gave him the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Man was created good and righteous according to the likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-28). The Bible teaches that man separated himself from God because of disobedience (Sin): Romans 5:12; Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-16, 22-24. God did not go away from man, but man ran away and hid himself from the presence of God. God showed great interest in man. He also showed His care and love. He sought the man, found him and asked him what happened, disciplined him and reminded him of the consequences of sin (Genesis 3:7-9, 10-24). More than that He promised a deliverer who will come on behalf of man to deal with man’s problem and enemy (Genesis 3:15). 14 God spoke directly with Adam and Eve. He clothed them (Genesis 3:21). Then he banished (sends them out of His garden. Man is born an enemy of God. He sees God as unjust and unapproachable. Man created his own way of appeasing God and worship (Isaiah 53:6; 59:1-2). ATR introduced ancestral worship. All that was rebellion and sinning. Because of the separation there was no relationship between man and God. Man opted to follow the devil and his demons (John 8:44) Jesus, the deliverer, Son of God came to reconcile man to God through the cross (2 Corinthians 5:18- 20; Romans 5:20; John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:5).

The weaknesses of ATR • There is no Jesus Christ. There is no Grace and Faith in Christ • There is no special revelation of God through the Scripture. Due to the fact that it is not documented anywhere, it is open to changes and can also be in different form in other ethnic group. • There is no teaching on total depravity and repentance. But there is promotion and encouragement of sin and sinful activities. • God is not concerned about the sin of the people. There is no final judgement (Hell) • There is no hope of the future. Heaven and eternity with God is foreign to an African rooted in ATR. • Salvation is only physical and not spiritual • The mediator of Africans are both saved and unsaved ancestors • This religion promotes fear in the lives of the people • Since then, they have not found the remedy for death. • There are endless sacrifices offered without intended result. The ancestors demand things from the people without providing for them. • It is ethnic and cultural. It depends on specific tradition and culture. • There is no absolute standard of morality (lying, adultery, polygamy, greed, incest, etc.) • It emphasizes nature worship, worship of man and spirits. • Most of its ritual practices are done at night • It claim special revelation in the form of dreams and visions • It is a family, communal religion Why ATR should be rejected? ! It has no inspired Word of God. It contradict the Bible in its understanding of the mediator. ! It does not provide salvation of the soul by grace through in faith in Christ ! It does not have a Saviour ! It does not clarify the purpose of life

15 Questions ! Why is ATR still exerting much influence on African people despite many years of intensive missionary work and evangelism? People are sinners from birth. Poor evangelism (pragmatic methods). African Theology encourages appropriation of it. Syncretistic practices in the church. Traditional leaders promote it. Africans do not want to loose what their forefathers established. There is a need of identity. ! Why do those who convert to Christianity return in certain moment of their lives to some aspects of ATR? Lack of discipleship and counselling. Immaturity and bad advice. Parental authority. Profession of faith without genuine conversion. ! What are things that sustain ATR in Africa? Fear: ancestral spirit, witchcraft, taboos, death ! What is the future of ATR? Unsaved Africans start practising ATR at an early age. The traditional leaders hold strongly to ATR. The government leaders (State presidents) are followers of ATR and promote it. Practical questions (Kurios and Morena) • The home of your friend has been struck by lightning twice and one of the children has died already. Your friend asks you what can he do about the problem. What do you advice? • A Christian woman is plagued by disease all the time. Her grandmother who is a traditional healer tells her she should go and be trained to become a traditional healer herself. What should she do? • You have a baby that cries a lot during the night. Other people tell you this problem has something to do with the ancestors spirits. You should probably change the name of the child. What are going to do? • New people have moved in and become your neighbours. Since they move in one of your children has become ill and you yourself have lost your job. People say these people are practicing sorcery on you. What are going to do? • Should the church allow church members to consult ancestors?` • If a church member consult a diviner because of some serious problem, should he or she be disciplined?

#kemetic dreams #atr #african culture #african religions #mbiri #Christianity

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teefa85 · 5 years ago

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So, Ruins of Lore beat! Opinions under cut...

Honestly, it’s not a bad game when looked at objectively. There are a lot of good ideas, like the job system and ‘mon catching. But at the same time, there really could be some rebalancing. You find a lot of the equipment for your ‘mons, and go figure the stuff I chose couldn’t wear ANYTHING I found! They had weak store brought equipment for much of the game, with one or two rare drops to power them up. So...they became useless! You also can’t use the Combine feature without one being in your party so that weakens the potential of your combined forces for someone having a few turn buff (and the less said about “no reviving/switching out dead ‘mons” the better...my first run had a dead ‘mon, and Eldin/Torma/Rami as the party I fought Goldiark with).

Job balancing...it takes forever to master Magic Based Jobs and they’re a bit underpowered. Put it in perspective, by the time Rami mastered her first Job (Mage), Torma was halfway done with Bishop (the second tier healing Job) and Eldin had Mastered...Swordsman, Knight, Fighter, Brawler, Thief, was far along on Chemist, and had Rapidfire (first Tier Rogue Skill). I think the other reason, besides Confusion hax, I noped out of the Ancient Cave was the guide I used had “use Mirror to protect Eldin from damage” as the strategy for a lot of bosses. Mirror...is the next to last Tier Mage skill! The one Rami hadn’t Mastered until Eldin had most of the physical skills learned! It’s also kind of annoying that Bau and Dekar can’t get jobs, because boy does Bau need it and Dekar isn’t with you for the final battle (though I swear he was in my first run so I don’t know what I was remembering or didn’t do).

But while I find it a good game objectively, it’s a horrible Lufia game. There are a few books and NPCs that reference Lufia II, but that’s it! Oh, and Dekar...who for whatever reason looks like he was just beat up in his portrait! Dekar wouldn’t get in that condition...this guy survived a collapsing shrine with no real damage in this ‘verse! Honestly, his only reasons for being there seemed to be his popularity (which I was more lenient with Dekard on because he’s doing a lot of awesome shit that this Dekar doesn’t do, plus it’s an alias and what guy who wants to be awesome wouldn’t use a legendary awesome guy as his inspiration). And to finally get him laid! Yes, I find his relationship with Marin adorable in context of the game, though it does lose some points because she’s effectively a fangirl who got to be with her idol, and I’ve had some BAD experiences with that sort of fan. Still think it’s cute, but Dekar’s relationship with Tia in Curse is a lot more adorable (do wonder if it was done as a natural follow up to their convo, not having time to work with Tia past the timeskip in the original, or Neverland rebelling against another company creating a love interest for one of their characters).

I’m not that big of a fan of having Eldin as a mute main character, though at least he has expressive emotive portraits to sub in for dialogue at points. I tolerate it with games like Suikoden/Breath of Fire (which don’t have modern games anyway)/Dragon Quest/Zelda because they have used a mute main character since Day 1, and were created back in a time when that was still a trope. But Lufia heroes actually have had voices since the first game. Still...it’s less a knock against Eldin as a character and more a knock against the decision, as he’s still one of the better mute main characters in gaming!

The Ancient Cave being only 60 levels, limited to Eldin and his monster (and remember what I said about monsters up above), and the stupidity in beef gating rather than being something you could work around through repeated going in like in II and TLR (or just getting levels like the first game) CAN go to hell though!

Now, I have problems with the story as-is. Mostly in regard to Eldin’s role...his dad all but tells Rubius he’s adopted, then she sees an inscription and realizes he was sent forward in time so his parents could save him from Eristol’s destruction. But does he ever find this out...no! Unless there’s some obscure sidequest I missed out on twice. It’s wasted potential...not that he’d react much other than the upset face and possibly some lesson on Family of Choice and Not Blood Parents. Other than that...the story we are given isn’t bad, besides the ending (really too much out of nowhere stuff, a villain who doesn’t show up until right before the finale, and padding with the extra run up Mt. Ruhei and third run up the Tower of Guidance...oh and the solution being “seal Beast in Holy Land and destroy stones” making it stupid that this all happened in the first place). Also, WHY did Irmis have to seal the half of the beast in Nazare? Was it breaking free? Did Ragule attack? Well...probably not the latter since he didn’t know where to go for it else they’d have gone there sooner. And how long ago was it/what age were the twins?

I do have issues with the lack of connectivity to Lufia II, despite being only 20 years later in the same area of the world. Which is ALSO wasted potential! How about, instead of the Eastern Continent being razed by Gratze, have some of the missions be helping those areas! We could have checked in with the scientists in Portravia (if they hadn’t all followed Lexis to Westland), Ferim’s possibly now Queen Jerit (maybe have them doing pretty good since she finally got together with Hans and his military expertise is making him a good wartime ruler’s consort), and of course Leon & Thea (see how their countries, the ones closest to Gratze, are doing and how they’ve been ruling since neither had a sibling to take the reigns of their own country to live with the other). Also, the geography could use some work...HOW did we walk from Parcelyte to Gruberik, with no land bridges and no water on the map?! And maybe equate the sealing in Nazare to the Sinistrals’ power having weakened the seal and it eventually started cracking after about five-ten years or something.

The other thing I can think of to fix this...instead of Eldin as the MC, make it Maxim and Selan’s son, Jeros, either making it 15 years later instead of 20, or changing Torma/Rami/possibly Rubius’ ages to better fit with him. They could go with an angle of him being proud to be the son of heroes, but worried he won’t live up to them. Proud that they saved the world, but angry that they left him behind. Possibly even have him and Rubius strike up a romantic attraction, and then make it clearer that she will sacrifice herself too! This can lead to Jeros having to face the loss of his love, and eventually come to terms not only with that, but what happened to his parents. Then, in the end, he resolves to go to Westland so his descendants could watch over Doom Island as it was the one thing he could do to honor his parents. It could also be an excuse to bring Tia into the story, as she moved to Parcelyte and took over the shop so she can help Selan’s auntie care for Jeros, with it being her own way of doing what she could for Maxim. Honestly, what Eldin brings is his “ancient blood,” but they could easily have ignored the curse (which had SO LITTLE impact on the plot...see Atelier Iris for a game where a character gets a debilitating “curse” and it has affect on both plot and her combat prowess without making her suck) or had it (and the eventual “merge with the Beast Half which totally should have granted him a new skill or something”) be due to his powerful Energy Waves like his dear old dad!

Still, I did enjoy the game and the world, as long as I didn’t think of it as a Lufia game (yet that didn’t stop me from using Dekar for most of forever). Though I also wish it had been its own new IP! That would have removed the connectivity issues that caused a lot of people to hate it right off the bat, plus could have left the door open for a sequel or prequel, possibly with the system flaws fixed (just look what the Lufia Series did going from I to II, and how much of an improvement it is considered by fans). But eh, what can you do? I just don’t have the same need to replay it when I do Lufia-thons myself, and only did it this time due to being in quarantine and having loads of free time (I might still have been playing II or be early in TLR if I was doing my weekend only runs).

#lufia ruins of lore #liveblog #commentary

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fe8meta · 7 years ago

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Desire vs. Responsibility: Joshua and L’Arachel

While these two aren’t a sibling duo like Eirika-Ephraim and Innes-Tana, Joshua and L’Arachel also play important roles in the story as supporting characters.

Joshua is, for all intents and purposes, living exactly the kind of life that Ephraim sought after, and thus has a contrast with Innes that is explored in their supports. L’Arachel has Tana’s outgoing and loud personality, but it hides a more sensitive and emotional side that is like Eirika’s—or, perhaps, even Lyon’s. However, Joshua is driven more by his responsibilities (at least as a pretense), and L’Arachel her desires, which makes them a “balance” between the other two royal sets.

Joshua

Joshua is an interesting mixture of desire and responsibility. His intentions are rooted in his responsibilities, but most (if not all) of his actions in-game are tinged by his desires.

When he was a child, his father died, likely of illness. According his father’s will, his mother, Ismaire, took the throne as queen regent due to Joshua’s age. However, it was hard on her, as indicated by her dialogue with Carlyle about how “It was through your unwavering support alone that I still sit upon the throne,” and her dying apology to Joshua that “I was so intent on being queen that I spared no time to be your mother.” Provided that he’s alive, Joshua will afterwards state:

I’d grown tied of the formality of palace life, so I...just left. I wrote a farewell and left the palace, taking nothing with me. I felt I could never understand the people while I stayed sequestered in a castle. I abandoned my identity and roamed the continent, working where I could. I wanted only to be worthy of becoming king. [...] I was such a child, I see it now. Was I simply rebelling against my mother? Punishing her for tending to her duties?

While Joshua gets to live the life that Ephraim wanted, Joshua left with the intention of doing it to become a better king—though in hindsight, he himself believes he was motivated more by resentment towards his mother’s neglect. Ephraim, meanwhile, had no intention of using new experiences to become a better ruler. He wanted to discard his title completely. Because of this, while Joshua’s situation bears similarity to the situation that Ephraim desires, his objective is more along Innes’ line of thinking. In fact, in their A support, they have this exchange:

Innes: Interesting. I’ve never had any experience with this sort of thing. One only has so much time when he’s groomed to become the king, you know.

Joshua: I can imagine. But a king must have a wide range of knowledge, don’t you think? When I was a journeyman, I lost a lot of money to scams like this. I started learning these tricks so they couldn’t be used on me anymore! It’s all rubbish, innit? But it’s not a bad thing to add to your experience.

Innes: I must hand it to you, you have a point. Some things, you can only learn firsthand, on the field.

Joshua’s side plot bears many similarities to Eirika’s story, so it’s little wonder that we find out about it on her route. Both became/posed as mercenaries after running away from home to avoid being recognized; however, both intended to return to their country to fulfill their duties. Their only remaining parent is slain by Grado’s forces without them able to do anything about it, and they vow to put an end to the war and restore their homelands. Furthermore, they are betrayed by someone who should have been loyal to their cause: Carlyle for Joshua, Orson for Eirika.

Joshua and L’Arachel are mirrors in their implied lonely childhoods; Ismaire was too preoccupied with the court to make time for Joshua, and while L’Arachel has a good relationship with her uncle, she is constantly burdened by the knowledge that her parents died before she could even form memories of them. Eventually, they leave home to go on an adventure.

However, this is just about where their similarities end. Joshua snuck away without anyone knowing and was able to keep up his disguise for around ten years. Meanwhile, L’Arachel demanded that she be allowed to travel on her very-non-anonymous journey. (Her best disguise is the fact that her very existence is practically unknown.) Furthermore, Joshua ran away out of a mixture of disgruntlement towards his home life and to learn more about his people. Though L’Arachel claims to be on a holy mission to exterminate monsters, it becomes quite evident in her supports with Dozla that it is more ego-driven than charity... to speak nothing of the fact that she can’t even fight monsters herself when you meet her.

This isn’t to say Joshua’s a shining model of responsibility. As the game makes clear enough, he has a bad gambling addiction, and as his solo ending tells us, he also has a wanderlust persists for the rest of his life (it only settles in his paired ending with Natasha). Those aren’t exactly qualities you want to find in a future king, and he never really gets penalized for his gambling ways outside of his supports with Gerik and L’Arachel. In Gerik’s, Gerik sees through his trick and calls him out on it; in L’Arachel’s, her divine luck surpasses any attempt of Joshua’s to cheat her out. However, neither of those “lessons” permanently stick on him anyways.

Furthermore, we shouldn’t ignore the fact that Joshua’s been away from home for ten years. After Ismaire’s death, he says, “I knew one day I would return.” Doesn’t sound like he had a plan about when he would return, not to mention that it’s completely possible for him to die before he makes it back. Unlike Innes and L’Arachel, he won’t retreat when he’s gravely injured. He has no true consideration for his mother, nor of the fact that he’s left the throne vacant should Ismaire meet an untimely death. She does, and it’s only by chance that, if he’s alive, Joshua reunites with her as she lays bleeding to death on the floor. It’s after this turn events that Joshua vows to join forces with the other royals put an end to the Demon King’s threat.

Luckily for Joshua, the story isn’t a political one, and the game didn’t want you to lose a unit for their political duties. Realistically, his almost-immediate departure from Jehanna after it just lost its known leaders (Ismaire and Carlyle) would have thrown the country into chaos. (Though, if there are roughly two weeks between each chapter, he may have organized something before leaving.) Of course, this assumes that people would accept Joshua as king to begin with, after his ten-year disappearance. Long in short, Joshua’s irresponsibility gets handwaved in FE8 because politics are nonexistent. Sure, you can disguise yourself among the people to discover how to best rule them, but it’s all for naught if you can’t even get the throne afterwards.

(He’s also lucky that all the other royals, save for Innes, are laid-back people. Being away from the royal court and living as a mercenary for 10 years probably means he’d have a hard time dealing with court intricacies... the very ones that consumed Ismaire to the point that Joshua ran away.)

L’Arachel

Much like how Joshua's motivations for running away from home were both to become a better king and to get revenge for his parental neglect, L’Arachel’s “holy mission” is one she claims is part of her responsibilities as Rausten’s princess. However, it is made evident that much of said mission is really her excuse to put herself in the world and gain fame. At the same time, however, she proves herself to be genuinely knowledgeable and serves as a confidant for both Eirika and Ephraim in their times of distress.

Even without going into her supports, this exchange alone tells the whole story behind L’Arachel’s “holy mission”:

L’Arachel: Oh… I suppose there’s naught to be done about it now. Very well, Eirika. You’ve found me out! The beauteous wanderer who’s been your boon companion is none other than… the jewel of the theocracy of Rausten, Princess L’Arachel herself! I was acting under divine order to strike down evil in this land.

Eirika: ….. Is that so? But why did you…

Soldier: The truth is… The princess was enflamed by the words of the court troubadour, Saaga… She forced us to allow her to journey forth anonymously on a quest for justice.

When we meet her in Chapter 4, L’Arachel is a straight example of a cloudcuckoolander. She charges on-screen with Dozla and Rennac in tow, overlooking the battle from a steep cliff. Her suggestion is then to charge down said cliff to intervene in the battle, and luckily for her, Rennac manages to talk some sense and convince her not to go and die trying.

In many of her early story interactions and in her supports, she’s rather self-centered and prioritizes herself without much regard for others. It doesn’t seem to be deliberate, but she’s so naive in the world that everything ends up becoming self-centered. This is particularly evident in her A support with Joshua, where she indignantly declares, “Fixing? What do you mean? The game’s not broken. I’m doing fine!” In fact, in the Japanese version of Dozla and Garcia’s A support, Dozla even says that being L’Arachel’s attendant is like being the attendant of a young child.

However, L’Arachel isn’t completely irresponsible. Unlike Joshua, she will retreat if she’s defeated. This guarantees that she will survive to take up the throne regardless of what happens on the battlefield; she even has alternate bits of dialogue in her recruitment chapters if she was defeated. Even if we never see her actually pray or talk about the gods, she proves to be knowledgeable in Magvel’s legends, recounting to Eirika the legend of Latona.

Despite lacking a bit in emotional intelligence, she genuinely cares for others, and her desire to become a beauteous warrior of justice isn’t all just self-indulgence. In Chapter 14 of Eirika’s route, she’s the one who goes back to seek out Eirika once they find Ismaire and realize Eirika isn’t with them. As the story progresses, she continues being the spark of optimism and hope despite the odds. In Chapter 18, she displays concern for both twins when they insist on pursuing Lyon, urging Eirika to place herself over her desire to save Lyon, and suggesting Ephraim leave Lyon to the rest of the army.

Her concerns are proven correct when she and the rest of the army catch up with the runaway sibling, only to find the Stone of Renais shattered. Despite that, and Innes and Seth's observation that Lyon has escaped, her reaction is “So he got away, is that it? There's no cause to be discouraged.” Even though the party party suffered a pretty large blow to morale with the loss of the fourth Sacred Stone, it is L’Arachel who pushes them on. Her insistence on visiting Rausten Court instead of immediately pressing on to Darkling Woods is what saves the final Sacred Stone and Mansel’s life. In this way, her willfulness turns out to be beneficial as well.

If Tana dies in Ephraim’s route before or during Chapter 19, L’Arachel will speak to Ephraim in her place; she is the only option in Eirika’s route. For a while, I couldn’t understand it—Tana’s the one who was closer to Eirika before the war, so why can’t she speak to Eirika? Then it hit me. L’Arachel probably asked to speak to Eirika to atone for Chapter 18. Telling Eirika about how Latona resisted the Demon King gave her the spark of hope that ultimately resulted in the loss of Renais’ Sacred Stone. L’Arachel may have blamed herself for it, and so talking to Eirika in Chapter 19 was her way of taking responsibility.

L’Arachel and Innes serve as foils to each other; they aren’t good at communicating with others, but ultimately have good intentions. L’Arachel is too desire-driven, which makes her come off as demanding and selfish, while Innes is too responsibilities-driven, which makes him callous and bossy. While talking to Ephraim, she says that she and Ephraim are alike because “You refuse to show weakness, and you want to accomplish everything yourself.” Innes admits to Gerik, in their A support, he was mistaken in his belief that “Those born to royalty cannot show others any weaknesses or deficiencies. If they’re not perfect at all times, their enemies will take advantage of them.”

L’Arachel was heavily affected by the early loss of her parents. She may have wanted to go on her anonymous quest to also prove herself to be as capable as her late parents. Meanwhile, Innes was hailed as a genius strategist, but always feels a tinge of unworthiness, and his failures during the war only further his doubt in himself. It is by interacting with others in the army—Eirika for L’Arachel and Gerik for Innes—that they gain more (genuine) confidence in their abilities.

#FE8 #magvel #joshua #l'arachel #innes #eirika #ephraim #character meta #story analysis

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mynewsblog21 · 4 years ago

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Where Should You Play Poker?

Regularly ignored, this major inquiry must be replied before you can seek after your fantasy about turning into a drawn out effective poker player 188xoso A poker players' choice with regards to where he/she is going to play poker is maybe the most significant choice influencing the players' happiness regarding the game and his/her bankroll. As a rule, a player has four potential settings to look over, they are:

1) Online poker destinations

2) Casinos/Local Poker Rooms

3) Home games with family and companions

4) Local Charity/Fund-raising competitions

Every one of these four scenes has their own interesting 'advantages and disadvantages to be thought of. One setting might be best for Player 'A', however not really a decent decision for Player 'B'. The right setting is comparative with your character, bankroll, and aptitude level.

How about we investigate every one of the four scenes all the more intently, and examine the attributes of each. I will be talking in expansive sweeping statements which are steady any place where you live, yet you ought to acknowledge geology assumes a significant job in scene choice. Betting laws differ starting with one district then onto the next, so please research the laws in your general vicinity and play inside those laws. With that admonition set up, we should look at online poker first.

Online Poker

Beyond question, online pokers' prevalence has detonated lately; to such an extent, the Federal government has put limits on the capacity of US players to move cash to and from the poker locales. These limitations represent a genuine issue for poker players, and a few player affiliations are attempting to battle these limitations. The eventual fate of online poker laws is unsure right now. A full conversation of the legalities of online poker is past the extent of this article, however I urge all poker players to do their examination before you hop into online play.

Aces of Online Poker:

- The best thing about playing poker online is the capacity to play from the solace of your own home whenever you wish. Locales, for example, Poker Stars, Full-Tilt, Ultimate Bet, and so on will actually have countless enthusiastic players online 24 hours per day, 7 days every week. At whatever point you are prepared to play, you will have no issue finding an accessible game.

- Online play permits the player to play a wide assortment of games. On the off chance that you might want to take a break from Texas Hold'em and have the inclination to play Omaha, Stud, Razz, Horse, or for all intents and purposes some other game you can think about, the online locales will oblige you.

- Another advantage to playing on the web is that you can play any stakes you are OK with. In the event that you are preservationist, or simply beginning, you can play for as meager as a couple of pennies a hand. In the event that you are searching for an adrenaline surge, you can play for as much as a few a huge number of dollars. The destinations will offer a wide assortment stakes in the middle of these two boundaries also.

- Finally, in light of the fact that the online locales keep the games moving rapidly, you can improve your game by playing a high volume of hands in a generally brief timeframe. Progressively experienced players may play different games simultaneously. These players are seeing an uncommon number of hands every hour.

Cons of Online Poker:

- Online poker can immediately get addictive. Online poker dependence can have extreme negative ramifications for the players' physical, enthusiastic, proficient, and money related prosperity. A dependent player will frequently begin remaining up the entire evening playing while at the same time disregarding his requirement for rest. This may prompt passionate issues and at last lead to a strain on the players' home and expert life. A player must be watchful to recall poker isn't as significant as family, companions, or your profession away from poker.

- The online player may likewise turn into a casualty of cheating while at the same time playing on the web. The poker destinations attempt to get con artists using complex programming that screens play and searches for anomalies, and I accept they are mostly effective in these endeavors; be that as it may, it can't be denied some cheating goes on without be gotten. The issue for the individual poker player is that he can never be sure he isn't being cheated. The poker world was a buzz a year ago when the media announced the outrage including Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker. Some cheating happens between the players themselves when at least two players join forces against a clueless player using phone correspondence while the hands are being played out. On the off chance that your rival has more data about the opening cards than you do, you are at a huge burden.

- Because poker is played rapidly on the web, the less capable player will probably lose a greater amount of his bankroll online than if he played somewhere else. In the event that a losing player plays more, he will normally lose progressively as time goes on.

Club Poker

For this conversation, I will consider full assistance gambling clubs (which you are probably going to experience in Las Vegas or Atlantic City) and nearby Poker Rooms (generally found at Kennel Clubs, Horse Racetracks, or other Pari-Mutual offices) to be one in the equivalent. The size and level of complexity might be more noteworthy at a full assistance gambling club, however Poker Rooms have overcome much as of late and can offer comparative administrations to a poker player. Every office gives the tables, chips, sellers, and pit supervisors to oversee play, and each gives an agreeable air to the players to appreciate. In return for offering these types of assistance, the 'house' will rake the pots or charge you an hourly expense to play (more on this later).

Aces of Casino Poker:

- Casinos/Poker Rooms regularly work superbly at offering the player an agreeable domain to play. As increasingly more card rooms spring up, they understand they should seek your business; hence, you are probably going to be dealt with well on the grounds that the club might want you to turn into a customary player at their office.

- A player can be generally sure the games will be controlled by experts. The whole staff from the sellers to drink servers know their employments (and their tips) rely upon giving the players great help.

- Casinos and card rooms are commonly strategically placed inside a network, and they are open at least 12 hours per day seven days per week. Without prior warning, player can take off to the gambling club and hope to discover a lot of activity. Texas Hold'em is ruler at club, yet different games are offered when enough players are accessible to fill a table.

Cons of Casino Poker

- Playing at a gambling club can be a costly encounter. A club has extensive costs, and should recover these costs through a 'rake'. Some card rooms charge an hourly expense to play, say $10-12 every hour for every seat. Others will take a level of each pot, or a level of the all out competition passage charges. A house rake of 10-20% isn't bizarre and must be defeated to be a drawn out champ. A player should likewise be careful that acceptable behavior directs the player should tip the sellers and servers for the administration they give. These tips will add to the expense of playing at a gambling club.

- Another trap to playing at a poker room is that you might be the survivor of a few 'regulars' who collaborate to drench the new fish that takes a seat at their table. Players can impart their possessions through unobtrusive hand signals which puts the clueless player off guard.

Home Poker Games

Consistently in America there are a large number of home poker games in progress among families and companions. Poker requires not many supplies to have a game, and these things are promptly accessible through numerous web destinations. You can begin playing at the kitchen table and inevitably climb to a genuine poker table total with drink holders, cushioned rails, and a felt playing surface. The following thing you will require is a decent instance of poker chips, a 500 tally set of 11.5 gram (or higher) chips will be satisfactory for up to 9 players. The last and most significant thing you requirement for the home poker game is an arrangement (two decks) of 100% plastic playing a game of cards. Hope to contribute between $15-25 for every arrangement for quality cards.

Aces of Home Poker Games

- The one major bit of leeway home poker has over scenes of play is that you can single out the players you play with. Normally, a gathering of 3 or 4 in-your-face players will choose to begin a home game and they will welcome their loved ones to play. This determination procedure almost guarantees a gathering of players that coexist well with one another. Odds of a boisterous or unsavory player being welcome to the game are negligible. The more agreeable the game is, the more you will appreciate playing there.

- A home game cultivates person to person communication which may prompt new expert connections too. You may reach an attorney, bookkeeper, temporary worker, and so forth through poker.

- Home games are extraordinary open doors for married couples, fathers and children, and so on to share some quality time while playing poker.

- Generally, little (assuming any) 'rake' is taken from a home game which implies the cash stays where it has a place, with the players!

Cons of Home Poker Games

- Do not trick yourself, sorting out and facilitating a home game can be a great deal of work. In the event that you are the host, you should be set up to cause calls, to give a spot to stop and play, give the bites and beverages, just as the cleanup afterwords.

- A likely issue with home game poker is that in certain territories, it might be illegal to bet cash while playing. You should investigate and keep the laws in your locale.

- In a most dire outcome imaginable, a contradiction make break out in the game which at last prompts a broke down companionship or hurt sentiments. All the players must be aware of one another and touchy to every others needs.

Noble cause/Fund Raising Poker

- In these fierce monetary occasions, some notable magnanimous associations have gone to facilitating poker competitions to acquire truly necessary assets. Some tuition based schools are in any event, facilitating poker games to enhance their grant reserves. A poker player can

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ganymedesclock · 8 years ago

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Voltron Character Study: Zarkon

[read more analyses like these here]

I promised you guys one of these shindigs ages ago so let’s do this, everyone’s favorite (??) scary space turtle warlord. Sphinx? Everybody talks about the galra being cats and no one accuses Zarkon of being a sphinx. What’s up with that, guys.

I’m getting off topic.

So Zarkon’s a big old enigma to us in some regards, even after s1e11′s big revelation that he’s the prior Black Paladin. I was hesitant to really crank out a post like this, with so much of Zarkon’s significant backstory still ambiguous to us.

One thing would seem to be pretty clear, however: at some point, between his tenure as Black Paladin and becoming Emperor of the Known Universe, Zarkon survived some grievous, traumatic event.

A lot of things point to this. The scar on his face, his counterpart on Team Voltron’s side being Shiro (also defined as a survivor, also bearing physical and psychological scars from a traumatic incident), and, most damningly, Black’s recollection of the destroyed and ruined planet that both Zarkon and his former Lion called home. Also, when Zarkon speaks to Alfor in Allura’s flashback in the first episode, we see that long before he would have any reason to use quintessence to avoid aging, he has the telltale glowing violet eyes.

This would suggest that Zarkon’s initial ventures in quintessence weren’t to prolong his life against any natural factors- but rather, quite possibly to preserve him in the face of mortal injury.

This is significant, because it would seem to offer part of what Allura considers the dark history of the paladins- at some point, Zarkon was heavily injured, possibly at the same time his home planet was ravaged, and the other members of the team, for some reason, were not there for him. Haggar, seemingly, was- her presence being suggested by the fact that Zarkon was infused with quintessence when he abundantly does not know how to utilize it himself- relying on Haggar’s guidance, and her subordinate druids, to use it.

However, despite an Altean being there for him, Zarkon came away utterly despising Altea, and Alfor in particular. If Olkarion was the original planet of the Green Lion as seems to be implied, then it’s noteworthy that Olkarion was seemingly ignored by the galra for many years before a relatively recent takeover (Lubos does not seem particularly old) and, in general, that Olkarion was intact- when Zarkon obliterated not only Altea but every planet in its system. It would suggest more than the other paladins, Zarkon carried a grudge almost exclusively towards Alfor, the Yellow Paladin. Considering the domain of the Yellow Lion is support, protection, and a “caretaker” role heavily emphasized by Hunk- this would further suggest that Zarkon was heavily injured, and that regardless of the actual situation, he came away with the impression that Alfor abandoned him.

Something also caused Black to completely reject Zarkon, seemingly to the point that she experiences pain at his trying to use their connection, and that she would empathize with Shiro, who experienced his trauma as a prisoner of Zarkon’s.

Many questions remain. And there’s much of Zarkon’s early life, before becoming a paladin, that is unknown. He seems to have been close enough to Alfor that when Black arrived on his planet, Alfor was who he called for help. He was the king of the galra seemingly by birthright before he was a conqueror, and seemingly, a good king once, considering the profile of the Black Paladin. This would suggest he’s been royalty his entire life, but under what circumstances is unclear.

Remnants of a Paladin

As far as Zarkon has come from his seemingly noble past self, it’s worth noting that he has not been able to break with his history to the point that it is not very obvious where he came from.

The Black Paladin is stated as a sure and decisive leader, one who is followed without question and trusted for guidance. Simply- someone who others look to in a point of crisis, rather than someone who is followed only when named as leader. And it is worth noting that, while Zarkon can often seem horribly abrasive, this is not the relationship many of his people have with him.

To those who only engage with Zarkon at a distance, he’s viewed as an ideal. Varkon, a very duty-bound individual who prides himself in, and prioritizes his work, seems to look to Zarkon as his personal hero. Ulaz states that the galra believed, for a long time, that Zarkon would bring them peace and stability.

At a distance, Zarkon is inspiring, uplifting, a cultural and social icon to the galra. He is their beacon of hope and certainty. Very likely, this kind of force of personality, and charisma, has been a fixture of Zarkon since the very beginning.

During the forging of the Black Lion, we see Alfor as dedicated, focused on his work, but also looking up at Zarkon optimistically. He has no misgivings or doubts with the Black Lion bonding to Zarkon. Even after the fact, Allura describes the Black Paladin in glowing, admirable terms- and Zarkon, the first Black Paladin, would be the one to codify those traits.

Zarkon in the past seems to have been very much like Shiro. Born under high expectations, as royalty- quiet, noble, and trustworthy. Someone looked up to as a guiding light. And while he’s fallen, now, much of that reputation remains- in the people that view him from afar.

Trauma and control

During the astral plane fight, Shiro states that Zarkon is no paladin any more, and specifically accuses him in lacking trust. This statement rings pretty dang true if we look at the pattern of how and when Zarkon attacks people, or marks them for immediate removal and destruction.

What has atrophied in Zarkon is his ability to trust others. An essential skill for the Black Paladin- considering the inherent vulnerability in forming the head and body of Voltron. The head and torso carry the brain and all other vital organs. However, it is incredibly difficult for the head and body to protect itself without limbs. With the most to lose, the Black Paladin is arguably the most reliant on the team. After all, someone whose primary quality is a leader is someone whose qualities only shine in a group. When isolated, one of their main strengths is completely inaccessible.

And Zarkon... can’t do that. He really can’t. As loathe as he is to micromanage- we see that he lashes out with incredible force at anyone who seems to act in a way he can’t control. Even his strong, noteworthy faith in Haggar is conditional- it’s set to the fact that in direct confrontations, Haggar will back down before she argues with Zarkon.

Zarkon only feels safe when anything he doesn’t like, anything he disagrees with, can be shot down. Facing his enemies, Zarkon is unnervingly calm, even sort of grand-paternally affable in his battle against Keith- as long as he feels like his victory is assured, and that his superior force and skills will destroy his foes. As soon as he feels that control threatened, his patience and composure go out the window.

If this sounds familiar, it should, for good reason. Zarkon and Shiro effectively have the same trigger, in loss of control, and they both tend to respond by tensing up and getting hostile. Shiro’s response to Sendak triggering him is to flush Sendak out of the Castle.

As I have mentioned in Shiro’s analysis (under “Balance and the Black Paladin”) Shiro and Zarkon share a conflict between control and openness. While Shiro actively tends to fight his need for control, making specific statements and decisions to put the group first, even to the extent that he can be too selfless- Zarkon has spiraled so deeply into his need for control that it is almost impossible to spend time in Zarkon’s presence without setting him off.

Consider Haggar, and her comment of “...Clearly, I’ve overstepped myself.” Haggar and Zarkon appear to be very close. Lotor, Zarkon’s son, has not only many Altean traits but also closely resembling Haggar, suggesting their relationship might even be intimate enough that they’ve borne children together.

Haggar is also easily powerful enough to be Zarkon’s equal in every conceivable way. The empire may only acknowledge Zarkon as their emperor, but Haggar is the hidden empress. Without Haggar, Zarkon would die- and even with Zarkon injured, the empire is not remotely dissolving with Haggar still in power. However, in practice- Haggar remains without a title. In practice, she obsequiously observes his title, frames herself as an advisor rather than another ruler.

That Haggar has as much power as Zarkon does, if not more through her having direct power over his life, is an elephant in the room, because the only way Haggar and Zarkon can continue to comfortably coexist is that Zarkon is convinced she is firmly under his power.

Zarkon is traumatized to an extreme that he cannot tolerate an equal, and so the one equal he still has is one that has mastered the art of playing subordinate. Of carefully preserving that deferential distance- and withdrawing, remorseful, when she asserts the reality of their closeness.

The Limbless Tyrant

So Zarkon can only feel safe and comfortable if he feels in control. And it seems, leaving his trauma to fester, Zarkon has spent the last ten thousand years feeding that control to the exclusion, and detriment, of all else. Altea, the initial wound in his eyes, is ground into dust under his heel- but what of the others? After all, he once sided with Altea against a greater enemy.

Zarkon knowing Voltron’s strength, and knowing how it felt to have four other people who always had his back, his team- being a Black Paladin in his prime- after having taken down Alfor and the other three Paladins of old, Zarkon’s fear of lack of control would suddenly set in.

What if he needed them? That power he once had, not the Lions, but, those allies?

That’s unacceptable. He can’t doubt himself. If he does, if he expresses guilt- that would require coming to a point of helplessness, that he cannot bring them back from what he’s done to them. Even if he could, he could never make them trust him once again.

And yet, he also cannot let go of his own history, of what once was his. He keeps the Black Bayard. The design of his armor has changed relatively little from his pre-Paladin days, with Alfor, to his tenure as ruler of the known universe. He can’t turn back, but he can’t let go of that desire for closeness. Quite possibly, wounded and traumatized, part of him wants to confide in others and be able to let down his guard, but, irrationally, he cannot bring himself to open that vulnerability- something he considers “weakness”, and weakness is wholly unacceptable.

So Zarkon digs further and further into aggressive military buildup. He creates his empire, trains it, pushes himself against others. Rather than remaining a single specialized entity whose weaknesses are checked and accommodated by other members of his team, Zarkon overspecializes. It has been pointed out several of Zarkon’s bayard forms resemble the bayards used by the other paladins- suggesting, quite possibly, Zarkon wields the bayard forms of his own, fallen team.

As the conqueror, as the victor- he takes their weapons for his own use, insisting as he does that he doesn’t need the other people there to use those weapons.

It’s an ultimately self-destructive path, in stark contrast to the morals pushed by Voltron itself, interconnection and trust. Zarkon has stocked everything in making himself virtually unstoppable on his own, digging deeper and deeper into dangerous, risky procedures to make himself stronger. In practice, in the Astral Plane battle between him and Shiro, he utterly decimates the latter rather quickly.

However, Zarkon still loses without saving grace, even if he’s able to seize Shiro by the throat and strangle him one-handed.

Because Shiro, a proper Black Paladin- doesn’t fight alone. Because someone has Shiro’s back.

Because even as much as Haggar still cares for Zarkon, and wants to protect him- ordering the druids to limit Zarkon’s exposure and protesting against his overuse of the ritual when it clearly takes a toll on him, not wanting to give him the armor until she knows it won’t kill him- remaining by his side when he’s injured and even risking her own life on his behalf- that doesn’t matter. Zarkon is still completely alone, because putting Haggar in his blind spot and actually fighting with her would acknowledge her as an equal, and it would also acknowledge he has a blind spot in the first place.

Quite possibly, Zarkon could not tolerate such a thing because the last time someone was watching his back, they let him fall, and his staunch refusal to ever try that again has prevented him from having any meaningful counter-experience. Admitting he needs Haggar is admitting that he’d be in danger without her- that she’s in a place to potentially betray him.

The absence of the Dark Paladins

While Zarkon and Shiro are clear echoes of one another, and Haggar and Allura appear to be emerging as another set of villain-and-hero counterparts, it would seem, at a glance, very odd that a show so focused on the team dynamic of the main heroes would not put forth any other villainous counterparts.

However, season 3 promises the arrival of Lotor- a charismatic, scrawny underdog character who seems to be a total unknown in the empire. That Haggar sends for him at the end of season 2 tells us she knew exactly where he has been this entire time.

Lotor is almost certainly an echo of one of the four remaining paladins. Personally, I see him as very likely Lance’s counterpart- a “dark” Blue Paladin. And it’s quite possible other counterparts are going to come out of the woodwork as time goes on, especially if I’m right in my guess of Lotor- because the Blue and Yellow paladins are those whose focus is heavily within the team, and Lotor promises new allies for the empire.

But I don’t think it’s a coincidence this happens while Zarkon is bedridden, and seemingly removed from decision making.

Once again- Zarkon is suffering from the loss of the other paladins. The build of the Black Paladin is vulnerable without the team, but as much as Zarkon wants to retake Voltron, it’s ultimately a futile dream even outside of if he does kill the current paladins and take the Lions.

Black can’t work for him because he can’t trust her. And he could never put up four other paladins. There almost certainly already is four worthy rivals to the paladins within the empire. But Zarkon would never choose them, and if anything, he would probably try to drive them away from him as fast as possible.

That one of them would appear to be his own son- the son Zarkon has never acknowledged onscreen- is significant to me.

In Summary

Zarkon is a powerful person, once noble and charismatic, now marked primarily by a complete lack of trust and unchecked pursuit of control at any cost. While he wants to capture Voltron and reinstate himself as Black Paladin, he seems to have actively driven away any other replacement paladins within his empire, and his underlying fear and trauma have both atrophied his relationships and left him vulnerable for his lack of ability to utilize those bonds.

#voltron legendary defender #vld #Zarkon #Voltron character study #readmore #it lives!!!!! it lives!

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