#outer wilds analysis

[tebbydear-movedblogs]

I DID IT !!

You guys might have seen the original draft where there were a couple mistakes and missing info - here is my updated Nomai ‘family’ tree!! I don’t know what you call it if it’s more than one family. But it’s here !! Now with groupings for their main roles and jobs (of course a lot of people shuffled around - I couldn’t sensibly include, for example, the few that worked on the Attlerock locator etc). I THINK that’s all the main info though!! Pye was really a force, it seems like. There may well also be more out of the older generation who died before the crash.

For Keek: we know Plume lost Keek in the crash, and we know Plume lost a brother in the crash, so it might be logical to assume that these were the same person, but it isn’t 100% confirmed.

This is the intended videogame experience, yes?

EDIT: edited Melorae’s colour because I realised Coleus talks about her in past-tense when discussing the proto-Hearthians.

[shythalia]

The time loop can be a parallel to the game's ending. The metaphor/symbolism of how the end does not always mean it is the end, and that endings can lead to new beginnings. I just realized, or I'm looking too much into this. hehe

[magicalmilly]

I wrote like 10 pages worth of an analysis about Outer Wilds.

If you wanna read it, it's here.

(also, yeah, I know it's wix, but it's the free one. If this blog thing works and I actually pump real resources into it, I will move off wix. But I'm poor, so I'm using the cheapest site until I have reason to pay)

[horrorgameanalysis]

Games and Movement

I think an underestimated part of video games is movement. It feels as though we often take movement for granted. People tend to say things feel “bad to control” without stopping to think about the design decisions related to why the movement actually feels that way.Yes, sometimes movement is rubbish. Let’s start there, shall we? I booted up Just Cause 2, the open-world action shooter, for the…

[tigerbears]

Mk, as someone who’s writing a video on UT/DR’s trans/enby rep, this post reminds me why I need to make the video, as even people who want there to be an enby rep are being affected by the misinformation. I will be paraphrasing a part of that video.

The ambiguity argument only really works for Frisk because everyone they meet doesn’t know their gender and pronouns, so their they/thems can be explained as “defaulting to that pronoun because they don’t know Frisk’s actual pronouns.” A character that’s actually confirmed to be ambiguous (Niko from OneShot) fits this, too, because nobody can know their gender and pronouns because everyone's meeting them for the first time. (Like frisk) Their pronouns aren't even outside of the trailers and their profile in the World Machine edition. However, if Niko’s mom referred to Niko ever with “they,” then that would kill the ambiguity because it would be absurd to assume that Niko’s mom would somehow not know her child’s gender.

Meanwhile, we have Chara. Chara can’t be ambiguous because it would mean that Toriel and Asriel would somehow not know their gender or pronouns.

Kris VERY much can’t be gender ambiguous because that would mean that their mom Toriel, their childhood friend Noelle, Berdly, their high school teacher Alphys, AND Susie would somehow not know their gender.

Additionally, characters being non-binary and player surrogates aren’t mutually exclusive. In the Outer Wilds, the Harthians are genderless, but the reason this was done was so the protagonist wasn’t referred to with a gender identity that the player didn’t share, but canonically the Harthians are agender aliens without any gender.

Sure, the Doylist out-of-universe reason for Frisk’s and Chara’s they/thems could be so the audience could identify with them, but you still need the Watsonian in-universe reason to explain that. Frisk’s they/thems can be explained with “the monsters are just defaulting to they/them,” but you can’t pull that trick on Chara because how would Asriel and Toriel not know their gender?

Regarding the “cursed pants less tweet,” that tweet was deleted, and seeing as MK’s pronouns were corrected from he to them in later editions of the art book, I think it’s safe to assume that this usage of his for Frisk could also be explained as a mistake.

I have strong feelings regarding the “legends of localization” example, seeing as so many have misinterpreted/exaggerated its statements on those characters' genders (when I read through it, it mostly just danced around the characters' genders.)

Have not seen the example with “some girl” mentioned (guessing it’s from before the release but after the demo). Guess there’s something to be said about the “some girl” not being corrected by Toby but seeing as later versions of the artbook corrected MK’s pronouns and Toby corrected Kris’s pronouns on stream, I think it might just be a symptom of the earlier days being a little less careful with protecting these enby identities.

I don’t see how meta-concepts could make Kris ambiguous seeing as it would already contradict the previous evidence mentioned. (Please tell me how many mythical cisgender they/thems there are. There’s a difference between “they/thems because you don’t know their gender,” “someone using multiple pronouns,” and “someone who’s only referred to with they/them pronouns exclusively.” Even if you could find a cisgender person who doesn't want to be referred to with he/him or she/her that's just enby Kris with extra steps.)

This misinformation has already driven someone to leave because people kept paroting that "Legends of Localization confirms that there's no enby rep in Undertale" even though I actually read the book and saw it wasn't as damning as everyone says. It mostly just avoids the topic of these characters genders (the word "ambigious" isn't even used) and it drives me crazy that people act like it's a fact that Legends of Localization confirms these characters are ambigious because for that to be the case, Mettaton would have to not know their own cousins gender because he they/thems them! (Especially seeing as Legends of Localization describes Napstablook similarly to the other supposedly "ambiguous" characters.)

(Sorry if this reblog seems heated. Just really, really hate how far this misinformation has gotten that it's even affecting us folks. Hopefully this reblog can ease your mind and stuff when it comes to Kris's enby status.)

(Sources in order of use)

Kris Might Represent a Meta-Concept (And Why I Do Not Like This)

Now to start things off, this is just a theory or potential possibility for Kris' character. Deltarune is an incomplete story as of writing this, and it's unclear which kind of direction this story will take as of now. This could all very easily be disproven by later chapters. The reason I highlight this is because I genuinely want this to be proven wrong at some point (for reasons I will discuss later).

I believe that there is some reason to suspect that Kris might have some ties to the metanarrative of Deltarune, and might actually be a meta representation of the narrative itself, control over a narrative within the context of videogames or even the force that drives a narrative forward in a given direction, and that this is something that will become an important aspect of their character.

This has been on my mind for a while now, not specifically this idea, but more so "how will Kris, the protagonist, tie into the meta of Deltarune?" This has been a question I've had ever since seeing how many meta connections Noelle has with The Player and their search for Gaster (being mirrored by her search for Dess), as Noelle is very strongly linked to Kris; they form a sort of unique duo of sorts. At first, I assumed it would be in a way similar to her tendency to break games, until I started looking deeper into things.

My first piece of evidence that Kris might be a meta-character is what Ralsei tells us about Kris' Soul. Ralsei does seem to be quite aware of the nature of the world he lives in, possibly to the point of even being aware that it's a game.

The fact that he highlights that Kris' Soul specifically has some level of influence on the fate of the world is important here as it shows that Kris is, at least in some way, heavily tied to the world around them.

This also gives them some kind of connection to fate which could be an allegory for the narrative. The reason why I believe that this might be the case is because Toby makes frequent usage of allegory and metaphor to make his meta more diegetic (so instead of having The Player directly acknowledged as a video game player, it's likely that we have the role of The Angel, an otherworldly being separate from DR's reality. The power to SAVE and RESET is an actual logical mechanic part of both DR and UT that characters are aware of instead of something inherent to the player, etc). It would therefore not be too much of a stretch to assume another allegory is being used here, to have the characters acknowledge the "narrative" not as a story, but as "fate", something that would make logical sense within Deltarune's world as well as our own.

My second piece of evidence that suggests that Kris could be a meta-concept is their direct interference with the narrative.

Whenever Kris does this, what they are essentially doing, on a meta-level, is taking charge of the narrative and driving it forward in a specific direction of their own choosing, despite the "risK" associated with doing this. By creating the Fountain, for example, they force Chapter 3 to happen, and while it's possible for any Lightner to make a Fountain (according to our current knowledge), I think that it is still important and relevant that the only person who we've seen successfully create one on screen so far is Kris, as it ties in to this idea about them being the one to drive the narrative/plot forward, because Kris is that force, the one that causes the plot to march forwards.

I would argue that this can even occur while they're still possessed, as a lot of events only happen because Kris' actions and decisions make them happen, not only through acting independently of us by saving Susie and causing her to develop and change, but also by taking on the role of "Leader" and "Tactician", both of which are roles that require someone to take charge and orchestrate certain events to take place.

Another piece of evidence I would like to point towards is Side B/The Weird Route. We essentially use Kris to abuse what we currently have, in the pursuit of something greater (most likely Freedom). However, something that I feel is often overlooked is the reason why we are able to achieve all this in the first place. One of the main reasons it is possible is due to the amount of trust that Noelle has in Kris, but I don't think that's the only reason why. After all, Noelle even remarks that the voice she heard wasn't like Kris'.

Despite this however, she's still compelled to obey. And I think the this could be because what compels her to obey could go much deeper than just Kris being a childhood friend (although I do feel that was a contributing factor).

I think it could also be due in part to what Kris represents on a meta-level. Their control over the narrative and ability to drive it forward is twisted into something sinister by The Player (who is most likely to be inhabiting Kris' Soul), in order to try and change the narrative so they can get their Freedom via using Kris to give commands, utilizing Noelle's natural tendency to break games through glitches to achieve this goal.

I point out the "commands" status here as I think it is an interesting word choice, especially given its definitions. One in particular caught my eye.

"The ability to control something". In a literal sense, it could be describing how us using Kris enables us to control Noelle. But it is possible that it could also be describing how we're abusing what Kris represents (what pushes the narrative forward) in order to break the game itself by controlling the narrative, directing it down a different path (an alternate side even) when we shouldn't have been able to in the first place.

Another reason I believe there is evidence to suggest that Kris could be representative of the narrative is what happens when Kris dies.

I've always found it interesting that Kris' death is referred to as an "end", mainly due to the fact that we know Deltarune is only meant to have one ending. But it makes perfect sense if Kris is meant to be representative of a narrative, as if Kris dies, that would in turn mean the narrative has "died" and is therefore finished. The world becomes "covered in darkness" because the story has ended.

One final reason I believe Kris could potentially represent something meta is due to the fact that we specifically possess them, of all people. A lot of what happens in Deltarune would be for the most part impossible if it weren't for certain decisions that Kris needs to make, and given their soul contains "the fate of the world", it would only be befitting for a Player, who has been "connected" to this world, to therefore control such a person who is at the very heart of the narrative, who could potentially even represent the narrative.

This relationship we have with Kris could even tie directly to Deltarune's metanarrative about our relationship with fiction in general. Us, The Player, are strongly attached to the fictional worlds, characters and stories, almost parasitically, something mirrored by our mostly unnoticed possession of the protagonist. However, we can never truly be fully immersed in it, and ultimately someone unhealthily absorbed and attached to the characters is destructive, both to ourselves and the fictional world, as we endlessly consume until there is nothing left for the sake of our own pleasure.

This would be why we could never truly coexist indefinitely with the characters and Deltarune, because we're not supposed to be with them. We're a real person, and they're not. We just have to come to terms with that, and let go of them eventually, letting the story end, and letting them have their peace.

Now, to discuss the second half of the title, and why I specifically dislike this. There are two main reasons why the idea of Kris representing something "meta" is not really very appealing to me, personally.

The first is that I really don't like the idea of Kris' character taking this direction. I think Deltarune would work much better if Kris was just simply a human. Someone thrust into this new world and forced to take on an incredibly big role, with failure resulting in their entire world and everyone they love being doomed to an eternal night. That doesn't mean I dislike the idea of Deltarune having meta-elements or even a metanarrative. I just don't like the idea of Kris being a concept of sorts.

The very reason I grew to be attached to Kris in the first place was because they weren't a meta-character. They weren't special, they weren't some kind of abstract being. They were just themself.

I understand that Toby is willing to give his metacharacters personalities of their own and traits that are separate from what they represent, but I still am not very fond of Kris being one, because ultimately, for his metacharacters, their main role and function in the story is to represent that concept.

It's why Chara's only more physically present in the Geno Route; they represent the mindless consumption of content, watching the numbers increase, accruing more power.

On the flip-side, it's why we specifically only learn Frisk's name only in Pacifist, because ultimately you have to embody and channel what Frisk represents in order to complete that route; doing things because you enjoy them, not because it's right or wrong, but because you enjoy seeing the characters and because you love the game and its world. The mindful consumption of content.

For Kris, if this theory is true, it would ultimately mean that the only function their character would have narratively is to represent the narrative, so for a "Pacifist" route for Deltarune, our relationship with Kris would be far more courteous; we enjoy our time with the fictional world, cherish the story, and then let go once it's over and enjoy the memories and friendships we made.

In Side B our relationship with the narrative would be far more abusive, breaking the game to get more and more out of it, ultimately causing it to fall apart from the seams. I find this unsatisfying personally, as believe it or not the meta elements of Undertale and Deltarune are not actually my favourite part of the game. This might come as a major shock to a lot of you considering I often talk and bring up both games' meta but it's only out of necessity really (I prefer the regular narrative/characters over the meta. It doesn't mean I don't appreciate it of course, nor does it mean I actually hate it or anything, but I still will always prefer the more regular aspects of UTDR).

Now the second reason why I dislike this heavily is that it calls into question whether or not Kris is actually nonbinary. Now I made a promise not to go too in depth about this specific subject anymore so I'll try to keep things as brief as possible here (and relevant), but I don't like how Toby approaches writing nonbinary characters, simply because he makes everything about that aspect of them either incredibly obscure or really open to interpretation and non-definite.

Another issue I have is that Toby also uses they/them for characters who are likely to not be nonbinary (in addition to his nonbinary characters), which adds another layer of confusion on this matter. Examples of this are Frisk and Chara, where there are non-bad faith reasons to believe that the two aren't necessarily intended to be nonbinary. It's likely that, due to the fact they are meant to represent an aspect of the player, their gender is left ambiguous/unclear so that the audience can better understand what they represent and mean. Toby's even used masculine pronouns for Frisk in the past, which aligns pretty well with this interpretation; because Toby is male, it would logically make sense for Frisk to be a male specifically to him, because Frisk represents an aspect of himself (The Player).

It also accounts for all the other weird gender stuff about them (why he goes to such lengths to avoid mentioning their gender, why he's fine with people interpreting them as "some girl", why they're even listed as "androgynous", a term that can be used to refer to characters of any gender).

Now this all may seem unrelated at first but the reason I bring this all up is because one of the other reasons I like Kris is because they were probably one of Toby's most blatant examples of a nonbinary character and a sort of step in the right direction (for the most part, they're not as blatant of a trans character as DR!Mettaton for instance, who has his identity firmly tied to and undeniably shown in the narrative, but I do genuinely hope that Kris will become that way or at least similar in future. It would be nice to see).

(Just a quick comparison of the two, I didn't include Kris' nurse/doctor outfit here because context clues imply the outfits are more tied to the characters' personalities rather than gender. Susie being a more brash character has a doctor outfit while the kinder/softer Ralsei has a nurse's. Kris using both is just a sign that they can simultaneously be intimidating/scary and also soft-hearted at times too. It should also be noted that nurse and doctors aren't inherently gendered roles too, which is yet another reason why I didn't think it was worth mentioning in the image.)

However, if this theory is true, which isn't a 100% guarantee let me repeat myself here I cannot stress that enough, it suddenly calls into question whether or not Kris is actually nonbinary, as both Frisk and Chara lie in this weird ambiguous "it can be whatever" state as they both embody meta-concepts. If Kris also represents a meta-concept, would this logic also apply to them? Or is whatever Kris represents fundamentally different, which would allow them to be nonbinary and also be a meta-concept? Or is all of this just wrong and they are actually just a regular character after all?

Toby has corrected people on Kris' pronouns, but then also at the same time it doesn't necessarily prove that Kris is nonbinary, just that they use they/them, which again, when Toby writes a character doesn't automatically mean they're nonbinary (see Frisk and Chara, as while in their cases he doesn't correct others over pronoun-usage, I do think it's worth pointing out as within canon the only pronouns used for the two are they/them, which shows that when writing characters Toby doesn't consider a characters' pronouns indicative of gender). And given that it's not really possible to gender a narrative, it could be a case where Kris has to use they/them in order for the meta surrounding them to make sense. Or again, this could be all wrong and Kris will be proven to be nonbinary (the option which I hope is true).

All in all, my final thoughts on this is that while I do think there's a small chance that Kris could possibly represent something meta, ultimately I don't like it all that much, as I don't like what it means for the character in general. They'd feel sort of like an inferior version of Frisk in my personal opinion; incredibly passive in the way they portray their meta whilst not actually being capable on their own, relying on their influence over others instead, sacrificing what could have been an interesting character solely for the sake of the meta.

The main message their character would likely be portraying would also be mediocre in my opinion, as based on the current story beats and this theory, it'd most likely be something along the lines of "leaving behind the fictional world is the best option", which I don't think is 100% true. I think fiction in general is a good thing, it's an outlet for many different creative ideas, opinions, worldviews etc. I'm okay with Deltarune exploring the idea of a Player unhealthily attached to a fictional world, but if the final message the game had to say was that leaving said world completely is the right thing to do then I also think that too is wrong, as I personally think it's much better overall to find a healthy balance between consuming content and living in the real world, although these are just my personal opinions.

In all honesty I really hope I'm wrong here, as I don't like this theory at all. While writing this I was actually actively searching for ways to disprove it but couldn't find any myself. If there was anyway to disprove this, I would greatly appreciate it.

[valevod]

Echoes of the Eye spoilers!!!!

I played the DLC!!!!! I dont think ill ever be the same person again!!!! I have consumed every little particle of the game, of the fan content, of the theory and analysis videos. And i am not ready yet to depart from the game ,if i ever will 😣

Have a bunch of doodleis!! I will make more ...for sure...

First of all THE PRISONER MY BELOVED!!!!!

I LOVE YOU UUUUUuuuuUuUUu!!!!!!!!!@@@!?**#,,**÷*(([,;;;;;

Then, there was this time this fella wouldnt chase me, the Ai of theirs is so wonky, i love the owlks.....and shining lights in their face. Not so much when they do it to me.

And tgen... a Gabbro and Outer Wilds: EotE if it was a 10/10

I played the game on a broken tv, so i played on hard mode.

[voidcat]

— a gallery

characters: Dazai Osamu, you, mentions of various bsd characters but mostly dazai focused

song: always forever by cults

notes: idek, another niche analysis type of dazai drabble. If u know u know… it’s 2am and I’m tired

The realization dawns upon Dazai Osamu on a mundane tuesday, as any other revelation regarding himself does.

Not a lightning struck down his back, no hairs jolting up from the shock, no tiny caricature icons popping up in his head with a loud ‘eureka!’.

No, it happens so ungracefully, so mundane and ordinary- like any other human would realize in a moment that they’re hungry.

A growl coming from the stomach, loud enough to ring in their ears: “huh, I must be hungry.” And they don’t even bother to recall when was the last time they ate anything of note.

Picture the most ordinary tuesday possible, at a metro station crowded as ever, nothing sticking out, just people in their daily rush and silence, ever following the unspoken ethics and moral codes, not even a strand of hair dangles out of order.

In a day like any, sitting on the benches, one foot swinging ever so slightly, Dazai Osamu thinks to himself: “I like collecting people, huh.”

And the punchline that should await at the end never arrives, followed by no moment of surprise.

Perhaps it’s because he has been aware of the notion for a long while now, deciding to word it out in his mind, into existence, finally accepting the existence of another child of secret.

All those interesting and challenging, those few that can be useful, those that provide a good run for his money- or for his mind—

His little galleria, natural museum of freaks and eccentrics, his little archive of situations-to-come and points-to-reach.

Maybe the truth is so far from startling because he has known for a while- back when he first noticed the signs; how his interest piques at times, toward certain people— thus he searches to chase that high, sink in his claws slowly but steadily, provide a feeling of vulnerability and trust, a picture perfect painting of an open book he becomes to the outer eye; known only by few who can connect the dots and see the bigger scenery that he is farthest away from that; an open book, people think, when its been locked tight, key smashed into pieces and throwing into the running stream.

Give him that rush of adrenaline once and he will chase and chase, make you feel the most important in the world for a while- or just overwhelmed, depending on his current status in your eyes; keep it up, toy and play until he grows bored and pulls away abruptly one day.

Another train passes by swiftly as his coat shivers by the current.

Leave as quick as he came into your life, your daily routine, the effect leaving a space difficult to fill in its absence.

Collect and keep each and every in his pocket, or in a locket if he fancies the situation. Create the illusion of something twisted and beautiful, spontaneous and so beautiful, only for the ugly truth to surface when it’s already too late and you’ve served the purpose he has intended for you since the very first meeting of the eyes.

To fill a void that’s been in with him since he can remember, a joker card, or just a meeting of the minds, an instant click— all kinds of purposes he collects, one by one he picks with the overcrowding fear and realization that it can be as quick that he loses, drives people away or himself. Close enough to touch but keep at an arms length- resort when he deems necessary, when the loneliness becomes unbearable, when the situation requires a third intervention from the sidelines.

Another train passes in a hurry as heels of someone echoes in the station, one last attempt to catch it, that next 10 minutes too precious for a wait.

Always a collector, back when in the mafia, even now still in the agency.

The wild card of red saved for delicate situations that require the brute, the sharp card of black with red lining tucked in the back but an eye always kept, beige card comes out more often than not.

Like a collector, he takes out the file and examines the cards one by one, simply because he can; watch how the tiger squirms and shies away, still doing as he asks; the waitresses huff and swing their notebooks his way, not accounting for his speed of dodge; some don’t respond, those cards remain without a sound and without a shine in their eyes; some give him that delicious attention he seeks, the devotion and focus he enjoys, how you look at him with big eyes, laugh, joke back or just sigh and roll your eyes away.

His ever growing personal collection, worse than the dragon’s perhaps; his purposes leaning more on the selfish, primal desires. All the while ignoring their one common purpose, how each and every is a back up, a just-in-case; why should he admit? When he always surrounds himself with just the right amount of people with the proper amount of interactions.

The air begins to chill as the sky changes its shades, trains never once stopping, stream of people never ending. Someone near him stands with ear phones plugged in, doing a poor job of filtering the sound of whatever it is they’re listening. The sound of drum rolls increase with each beat, each breath, his eyes remain cast on the moving shades.

And so Dazai Osamu continues to collect people, always ignoring the rapidly growing solitude within himself, the storm of melancholy that rages in himself, that void deep and dark— destructive enough like a black hole, always taking and taking, never taking a second for a pause, for a breath.

[thestartarot]

Aquarius North Node / Leo South Node analysis

My own observations, take what resonates.

18 y/o and over due to sensitive topic nature. Thank you.

Trailblazers, we are entering age of Aquarius.

Soul color: blue

Destiny point: to build a society that allows your liberty to be upheld and keeps the people around you safe. To overcome societal norms by being their authentic self. Find middle ground in all manners of life. Discover creativity. Discover equality. Acceptance despite differences.

How to overcome: Be your own self and live in your own truth. Be Aquarius, don’t reject it. Don’t repress who you are and anything that is associated with inauthenticity like lying, cheating, or overtly objectifying yourself and others. Love yourself and people for the facets of who they are. Society brings structure and hope. Build your own moral code that points you in a direction of good. Use your thoughts as modes of creative expression instead of internalizing them and feeling jaded.

Full disclosure: this really is a wild turkey placement. Childhood will vary dramatically. There are certain threads that are shared in different generations of this placement. I will discuss those. I have frequently said this is also a polarizing placement and mental health needs to be a top priority. I’m going to discuss the polarity associated with Aquarians. In a simple way to demonstrate a complexity, imagine the concept of Aquarius as a line. On one side, there’s one extreme it falls to when depressed or under developed, on the other side, we see the Aquarian at its best living its truest self. It’s important to pay attention to how you are feeling and learn ways to self soothe (hot bath, go get a coffee, put on a skincare mask)

Isolation, Stoic,

Unemotional,

Deeply traumatized

Society and people

Become means of control

And a source of pain &

Pleasure

<——————————————————————————>

Unhealthy mindset A true libertine

When developed, Aquarians want people to embrace themselves, want a society where one can be accepted. In private, loves to enjoy themselves. Society and people are objects to be understood and admired. Fairness.

So the Aquarian already living in a very polarizing existence all the time and very inwardly (unlike Gemini who demonstrates polarizing mentalities outwardly.) Honestly, it’s an air sign thing. Y’all think so much you create different modes of thought all running at the same time and frequency and sometimes these modes aren’t too grounded in reality.

My moon is in Aquarius, and it squares off with some very important planets which is why I take my own mental health seriously, there are many ways I relate. - I struggle in social situations and sometimes I feel like I’m in a constant state of being misunderstood or disenfranchised by the people around me. It’s okay, to feel disconnected from society, but there are slippery slopes to that and particularly this placement (edit: 08/10/24)

Childhood: really varies for everyone with this placement. The most common thread I see is a hunt for the innermost & sometimes primal need for success & fulfillment in whatever that looks like for the individual. Success can be happiness, it can be owning a house of their own with a beautiful partner, being great at one’s job. However, success happens when working collectively and this placement may have felt indifferent socially. Childhood may have been stressful because of a lot of inner repression. Possibly conflicting beliefs or attitudes with family members. A lot of outer resentment towards the world because of coming into a world in active war time. The Leo South Node feels discouraged and disconnected because something is stealing the torch (war, politics, social inequalities, fundamental rights but society not granting those.) So the Aquarius in this placement at birth is a gift but also was born under uncertainty making society feel quite scary and uncomfortable. Parents or parental figures (lots of extended family dynamics, unusual or drifter upbringing) were just trying to get by too and they wanted you to fit in but they couldn’t always concentrate on you and when you weren’t perfect upon random inspection, you may have been punished (grounding, abuse). They need good teachers. Aspecting planets or houses may change this but at some point may have had more fascinations of death in the general sense of the word. There will be many hurdles to overcome in childhood and adulthood. You may feel lost. Always feeling like you are in a crowd. Or never seen. The Leo south node in this placement daydreams of fame and not having responsibility. The battle of finding one’s place in society, feeling misunderstood, and isolated can lead to substance abuse disorder / dissociations very young. The polarity in this placement will need lots of love and care because despite the mental framework, the Aquarian wants to succeed and thinks a lot about how to be the best. So, I stress mental health and great teachers. This placement often gets the “tough luck” approach.

Possibly experienced one too many early passings of childhood friends.

Adulthood: Aquarius is one of the most dominant signs in my personal opinion because I see the sign so heavily pronounced in culture and eras of time making it an undeniable Renegade. An Artist. A visionary. The inspiration in the stars. A moody and rebellious lost soul forced to live in the world alone. I have a theory that the innate liberty of Aquarius inspires the Leo to move towards the collective instead of the controlling. An Aquarian can manipulate the environment around you and the environment can manipulate the Aquarian into feeding their delusions. The Aquarian sign here can feel so detached from reality because they are so focused on the social framework around them and how to navigate it, they might not develop their natural talents that Leo south node came bursting in with. The most important thing stressed here is Aquarius is such a fixed sign that the intensity of your presence can cause people to go through changes. It’s not your fault, you are very statuesque and people are moved in emotion by you. Take it in stride. Don’t take it as an attack. The only way you are going to move forward is to be vulnerable and not feel shame. In this vulnerability is where you will shine and find your creative light.

Early and perhaps untimely deaths are associated with this placement and it may be because death does seem to follow them in the shadows. & usually at their own hand, drugs, or someone else’s. Y’all be safe you agents of change! The 27 club has presence here.

10 celebrities to unalive young with NN in Aquarius

Kurt Cobain

Heath Ledger

Janis Joplin

Jimi Hendrix

Brittany Murphy

Bruce Lee

Brandon Lee

James Dean

Aaliyah

River Phoenix (List credited to ChatGPT)

How to overcome: be your authentic self, don’t let society determine who you are and who you can’t be. Let the bare bones of truth be your armor. In healthy ways, be involved in society. Watch out for the polarity you have to deal with and don’t let the Leo south node be too consuming and too angry, use the creativity that comes with Leo to express your emotions. Take caution of those around you, people often like to dominate the Aquarius because the intensity in their presence can come off as a threat.

If I had three tarot cards to throw at this placement, it would be Death, The Star, and Judgement. Don’t let being an outsider turn you astray, be creative and use that philosophical and fantastical mind to good use. You’re great!!!

I stress mental health (journaling specifically, take note of song ^^) and to further emphasize the polarity and repression in this placement, here are five serial killers with a North Node in Aquarius:

Ted Bundy

Jeffrey Dahmer

Edmund Kemper

John Wayne Gacy

Richard Ramirez (List Credit to ChatGPT)

***all of these trash piles are aspected by Saturn in an earth sign.

So we have Kurt Cobain and John Wayne Gacy in the same sign, both experiencing tragic death. Kurt uplifted so many people while the other was pure trash. The reason is, Kurt Cobain was more successful at expressing his truth, rip forever. Placements should not use substances. Therapy advised if feeling disenfranchised, would look into counseling.

Final thoughts, Aquarius is a beautiful sign that wants to be happy and free. Leo wants Aquarius to bloom. What is dished out to this sign will be dished back out out 10 fold. But, the struggle will be, does one embrace the collective society or does one let society consume them and act cynical and cruel? When Aquarian placements learn how to love in a healthy manner, they are great lovers.

Also, keep in mind that everything I’m writing is opinion and not fact and this placement and your Saturn placement could be beneficial and make all of this irrelevant. That’s why I said it’s a wild turkey &&& also nothing takes precedence over experience and faith.

— Casper

Copyright © 2024 thestartarot | All rights reserved.

[ljesak]

🌲pinned🌲

im Maki, a 21 year old hobbyist artist from serbia currently majoring in compsci ! I have a bunch of interests, main ones being art (visual and writing), philosophy, sociology, media analysis, biology and video games as a storytelling medium

✦ main fandoms: warrior cats, elder scrolls, fallout, furry

✦ i engage with various other things too but these are the biggest!

✦ when it comes to art i enjoy portraying atmosphere and emotion, subjects are varied as im interested in too many things to settle on only few! I do wanna make more oc content, though and finally branch out into humans

✦ i enjoy a plethora of movies/books/shows/games etc. but it felt bloated to include them all here

✦ art is under #art tag !

my characters: https://toyhou.se/ljesak (art with them is tagged with their name, ex. laurie)

✦ other socials and commission info: https://ljesak.carrd.co/

I open commissions sporadically, my messages are open for inquiries

more about art/stuff i like!

video games: fallout nv, what remains of edith finch, disco elyisum, the talos principle, witcher 3, skyrim, firewatch, SOMA, beginner's guide, baldur's gate 3, outlast franchise, cyberpunk 2077, citizen sleeper, fran bow, undertale, outer wilds, the unfinished swan,, there's def more but those are the favs i rmbr so far. i want to get into dragon age and mass effect

webcomics im currently reading and enjoying: What Lurks Beneath, Lackadaisy, Oren's Forge, Golden Shrike, I Hope So, Tofauti Sawa

shows: bojack horseman, atypical (except the 4th season that one was awful), midnight gospel, dungeon meshi, atla, dragon hunters, arcane... i did watch many shows but i remember these personally resonated. i need to watch more shows in general but they are quite a big time investment

films: most of miyazaki's work, favs being princess mononoke and spiried away, WALL-E, coraline, ratatouille, I'm thinking of ending things, the eternal sunshine of the spotless mind... and more. i tend to prefer animation over live action as it's more expressive (obv not always the case)

again i did watch more movies id consider good but not personally meaningful enough to mention

books: i mostly read philosophical texts and fiction!! my fav authors are probably meša selimović and chomsky but i really need to expand my horizons with books, I'm least experimental with them, so its classics mostly unless i get a good recommendation

music: mostly indie folk/rock but i do listen to most genres, fav artists rn are Lord Huron, Daughter, Wickerbird, Slowdive, Warpaint, Arcade Fire, Wilsen, Aphex Twin and more!! i rlly love ambient music too so a lot of the games i mentioned previously have gorgeous soundtracks

will probably edit this periodically as i remember more things !!

[archetypal-archivist]

I read Outer Wilds fanfic sometimes and ponder over like, how long some of the Hatchlings in the stories spend in the cycle of loops. Not every story has a loop between exactly 22 minutes, but a lot of them do and then discuss how the Hatchling has been looping for months or years and I just wonder what they were doing in all that time. I consider myself a truly average gamer and in under 200 loops- less than 48 hours of playtime- I've nearly completed the game.

Given that even if you 100% the log it still takes less than 100 hours of play, what can you do in the hundreds of thousands of hours contained in a year or three of looping? Are you taking samples of Nomai pottery back for chemical analysis? Trying to perfectly hop around the black hole such that you can jump off from the Tower and get to Riebeck without dying?

From a *player* perspective, it's fun to match story time to player type to Hatchling personality too.

Perhaps on a meta level, this reckless Hatchling who spent years in the Ash Twin Project is a speed runner. They spent ages practicing to be able to take part A to location B in under twelve minutes. Perhaps this nervous wreck of a Hatchling is controlled by someone who has never touched a video game before and thus barely even knows that the A and B buttons do. Their months of loop time is spent learning how to use a jetpack without killing themself. Perhaps this Hatchling who loves the Nomai so much spent *their* loops examining every inch of Brittle Hollow because their player is a miniature maker who wants to make a Brittle Hollow scale model.

Food for thought, you know?

[miriatwstuff]

TWST ask game! 10. Top five favorite characters?

(Gosh tumblr really need to update their notification settings because I didn't even realize there was an ask in my inbox 😭 Tysm for sending me asks tho 💕 and prepare to see me yapping)

Disclaimer I don't exactly hate any characters (aside from [REDACTED for JP spoilers]), but these dudes just top my list.

MY TOP FIVE FAVORITE ✨️

(put under read more because damn I didn't think it would be this long)

1. Lilia Vanrouge

Ok he is kinda a wild card even for me because much as I love parental-like cough cough fatherly and motherly characters, I am more inclined to serious-but-secretly-soft ones. But Lilia was totally not like that. He's an old man who is more, for lack of better words, modern and up-to-date with the trends compared to his children. He's careless and might even come off as irresponsible or annoying at times, but he's also a bundle of joy and he's so so so soft-hearted and caring and full of love (despite how he thinks). And I love the enigma that is Lilia Vanrouge and I love even when his pasts and secrets are revealed, love the resilience he has shown, love how he has grown and at the same time how much his heart stays loving regardless of the hell he's been through. He is not without his flaws but I love him all the same, broken and imperfect and alike 💓

(gosh this was not intended to be a confession of love but you know, Lilia deserves that <3 gonna shoot him my love beam if it convinces him he deserves love too <3)

side note I really need to spare some time to share the dorm Lilia analysis I found on lofter... silently pray for OP to give me permission to translate 🙏

2. Vil Schoenheit

Gotta admit, idk if I love Vil or if I want to be him lol. Peak case of gender envy. But yes, among the main cast, his appearance is definitely the one that I love the most. I was quite reserved when it came to opinions regarding him out of fear he would be just a shallow self-absorbed guy who only cares about his looks, and I was so freaking GLAD that I was wrong. Vil is probably one of the most hardworking fictional characters I know (or maybe I don't know that many) especially considering how privileged he is, even when his goal is not as common as you would see (to be the fairest). One would easily mistake his goal for a surface-level physical attractiveness, but he aims to achieve inner and outer beauty, which, yes, includes health and nutritrion and diet and P.E. etc. as well as the grace of the character (though his personality leaves much to be desired lol, but that's another part of his charm: never bend to appease others).

What seals the deal, tho, is how he looks after other people, especially his underclassmen. Did I mention I love fatherly/motherly characters? And he isssss. His approach is rough (tough love in capital letter), but he is meticulous and he cares so much he even take notes of how his dorm students can best improve themselves. That kind of knowledge and dedication normally do not come for free and here he is, sparing the little free time of his just to see his potatoes blossom. Gosh I am weak for those like that.

(not twst related but lol I love the way he is like Lucifer from Obey Me, which is another fav of mine. Despite having completely different goals in life their approach is similar, and so is the way they handle those under their tutelage lol)

3. Trey Clover

iirc Trey isn't exactly popular with the global fanbase, but he IS extremely well-liked in the Japanese one, particularly because of how domestic he is, and I can see their point. Much as I love Lilia and Vil, if I have to pick someone to get married to, Trey will definitely top the list because I do value the normacy of an ordinary person. Besides, he takes care of others (oh no another fatherly/motherly figure), he's sensitive to others' feelings, he wants to keep peace and ensures a normal life, and he bakes delicious treats! What's more to ask for?

(He also keeps up with others' dental health and damn how can I disappoint him am I right 👀)

(No wdym he's secretly unhinged as well that's just his little quirkiness <3)

4. Leona Kingscholar

He's lowkey depressed so relatable points for him /hj. And the rizz from Scar incarnate definitely helps.

Yeah yeah I can list out what is WRONG with him and it can take all day but at the same time, he takes care of his dormmates 🥺 Did I mention I'm weak for characters who embody the task of a caretaker? like every 2 sentences You know, he did all of the things in book 2 (which is a dumb plan btw) just to secure a better future for his dorm students? Because they look up to him and rely on him and for the first time in forever he feels like he could try to mount for something? Because his career is dead-end but his Savanaclaw underclassmen's are not.

(I don't forgive him for the thing he did to Ruggie tho, so sleep with one eye open Leona :<)

That aside, him being one of the few who got a good grasp of other people definitely adds because I do love a perceptive character. The entire therapy session with him and Jamil is so refreshing and the undertone humor certainly sold it for me.

5. Silver

At first I was debating putting Idia up here (because third-years bonus points and I generally look at third-years more than the younger students), but then I saw Silver and I was like, sorry dude better luck next time.

We didn't get to know Silver (or Diasomnia as a whole) much prior to book 7, but what we get from the main story so far is an entire feast. His backstory, his origin, his relationship with the rest of the Diasomnia (especially with Lilia), the way he held back his tears just to cry in front of Malleus, the way despite his love and loyalty he had to stand up against his liege, everything we know about him just straight up adds to the list of reasons why I love him.

Do I even need to add his Disney princess charm and how every animal love him lol?

But yes, it is so easy just to make him yet another two-dimensional goody-two-shoes, but Yana just ate and left no crumbs made his plotline one of the most compelling in the game, and I look forward to seeing him shine in the upcoming updates.

And baby please don't cry anymore, my heart shatters along with your tears 😭😭😭

[tigreblvnc]

BLUE LOCK MATCHUP EXCHANGE — @butterflyseraph

Your match is...

— Mikage Reo

✦ It wasn't easy; I thought of several characters, but each time I was like, "hmm no."

✦ I figured it had to be someone who wouldn’t make you feel like you were too much.

✦ … So, not someone introverted.

✦ Or someone who doesn’t communicate enough.

✦ We all know where relationships go when one person doesn't communicate enough…

✦ *cough cough*

✦ I think you and Reo make a very balanced duo. He’s naturally sociable, loves approaching people and showing interest in them (not necessarily for personal gain; that’s just how he is).

✦ That made me think of how you tend to appear very open with others at first.

✦ It’s something that can unsettle shy people, but with him, it would only be appealing.

✦ Anyway, if it hadn’t been you, he would have come to you sooner or later.

✦ I can totally see you two as the duo that always has a bunch of friends orbiting around them. You’re the headliners, the queen bee duo of the university.

✦ The good thing is that between you two, there are never any misunderstandings, at least not for long; you express yourselves when something’s wrong, which immediately defuses potential problems.

✦ The trope of best buddies, obviously.

✦ Reo would never make you feel like you’re too much; on the contrary, he’d be the first to spot you in the crowd, grab your arm, and include you in the group. I don’t think there’s ever any ambiguity between you two; it’s smooth, and no one could question your friendship.

✦ He loves your contrasting personality—the fact that you appear quite cute on the outside but enjoy less conventional and niche things. I think he’s interested in those things too because he wants to understand them—and, by extension, understand you.

✦ Whatever you like or do, it piques his interest, and in a sincere way. No hidden motives. To me, Reo is truly someone loyal and reliable in friendship. He doesn’t try to play games—except during a match, but that’s part of the sport.

✦ I like to imagine you playing a soccer video game while he’s actually playing soccer.

✦ That’s probably not the kind of game you play, though; I see you more with games like The Wolf Among Us, Genshin Impact, The Binding of Isaac, or Outer Wilds. But you know, I think those games could interest him in a way too. They’re successful games, and he’d be curious about why. After all, Reo is still a business-minded person.

✦ And if he starts playing, it’s not only to be with you but to understand the mechanics of those games. Maybe it’ll inspire him on the field, like giving him a sharper understanding of his opponents’ mindset. Immersive games often lead to introspection and analysis—making choices, challenging one’s ethics, etc.

✦ In short, things we regularly see at Blue Lock, let’s be honest.

✦ "Physical Affection (giving and receiving, although I do need to be properly acclimated to a person: it's basically my ultimate form of affection)" You see, I think Reo is one of the characters in the whole manga with whom you quickly feel comfortable; he has a very close, very human vibe. Very relatable. So, I have no doubt you’d feel at ease with him quickly, to the point where you’d let him approach you even from behind for a surprise hug.

✦ And it would make him so happy to receive your affection too. I can’t imagine him not sharing affectionate gestures with his significant other, no way.

✦ Actually, he kind of reminds me of a knight sometimes, you know? The one who opens and holds the door for you, the one who tells everyone on the escalator to move to the right so you can go faster. The one who always orders your dish without the sides you don’t like. Those kinds of small, discreet attentions that are incredibly satisfying to experience daily.

✦ I see him as someone materialistic, so all the gifts you give him, he keeps them carefully at home and doesn’t throw anything away, even if they seem completely ordinary or insignificant. As long as it’s from you, he’ll keep it until his death.

✦ (Which makes me think his inheritance might be complicated)

✦ Two little sunshines <3

A word about your match: I first thought of Niko (the "attracted to the realistic, grounded types" you know) but I figured he would be too quiet and solitary for your need to be with others. Lack of communication, as always.

© TIGREBLVNC 2024 | INTERESTED IN A MATCHUP EXCHANGE? CHECK THIS.

[amelheth]

Frieza's analysis #1: Frieza's transformations.

Frieza, our dearest lizard tyrant, is well known for his transformations, one of the most in count. I wanted to look closer to them and determine, why exactly those forms look like such and their functionality.

This post will include 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Final, 100%, Golden/5th, Black, some notes about Cold, Cooler, Frost and even Kuriza.

Lets start with Final form. Frieza's and the others' true form, excluding Cold (questionable). Final form is simple and slick in design, compact, covered with durable layer of bio armor all over the body from birth. Frieza technically is not naked, but rather an armored knight from birth. Colors of said bio armor is usually white, with slightly bluish tint on Frost, and more colorful appearances, like Black on Frost, black and metallic black on Black Frieza, two colors of gold on Golden, possibly purple on Cooler.

Why i assume Frieza is covered in armor and isnt nude? Its based on Frieza's other forms, where same white skin appears as bracelets and chestplate. It is also worth noting that body gems Frieza is known for only do grow on said bio armor as it is case with devolved forms of Frieza and Kuriza, also with Cold and Cooler. Frieza does shown posessinv pink skin underneath the armor so id only naturally assume white skin is second layer. Tho, it is also worth noting that when Friexa transforms from previous forms to 4th, he shatters into pieces, as if true form is sealed within devolved forms, assuming, that pink skin is most likely an outer layer on its own.

It is still unknown what purpose gems serve. More about it on planet deepdive.

Now! Onto other forms, starting with 100%. No. Its not a form, but rather a body state high ki fighters can achieve, including Super saiyan grade 3 and Cell.

Golden form/5th evolution. From Golden Frieza arc we learn that Frieza did picked golden form to show who is superior, assuming, he indeed designed form itself. It also explains why Cooler' 5th form looks so vastly different. Why is that?

Its mostly due to their mentality. Cooler always had an inferiority complex, disliking his brother's achievements, as his father does acknowledge Frieza as superior. Unlike Frieza, Cooler did trained, since he acknowledges the instant transmission technique, using it himself, assuming he unlocked form after training on various planets. His form is massive and probably was plannet to be used on Frieza, since Cooler never shown it to anyone else and probably had before Frieza' defeat. It also shows his desire to be stronger, more intimitading and bigger, showing his inferiority side. Unlike Frieza, who only shown off himself more with golden form, who wasnt much different from his true state, mimicking one color he could not defeat. Who was stronger than strongest. Super saiyan. Frieza probably took gold to own it, to show that this color of defeat will be his color of victory. Only negative trait he got rid off with Black form, accepting his true self. Same acceptance also appears during first form.

Now to lesser forms.

Third, being the first, was the very first time Frieza sealed onto in itself, sealing his power. It is wild, beastlike, probably done in earlier ages. Instinctive vile nature manifested into monsterlike appearance, to scare off and look more imposing. It could also be due to Frieza' complex of being short, which he himself hates due to mocking. Looking scarier and bigger only makes sense. It is also possibly a trait shared with Frost, since Frost do mirror Frieza and probably as well needed sealing his power. But , unlike Frieza, Frost lacks it, probably never needing it or trained enough to control himself. It is also lacks on Kuriza, who may have been less peaceful kid or never let allowed to have said form. Or maybe never uses it, not liking.

It is also possible third form is Frieza specific, due to how maliceful he was. Frost could simply mirror him.

Second form, second seal. Probably based off Cold, since Frieza does admire his papa, who was leader of strongest army before Frieza, someone most feared. Frieza mimimcking him and basing off power on Cold makes sense, since he does mimicking with superior also with gold.

Now, about Cold. Its highly unlikely Cold has a form stronger than his existing state. We cannot be sure if Cold even has other forms. It may be simply decorative to look bigger and above everyone, since it is tremendously strong. 40 million power level, unlike 1 million of second form. And yet, he still acknowledges Frieza at 60 milliion (true form) to be stronger than him. And when mecha Frieza died at 120 million, Cold simply cowarded and was ready to adopt Trunks for being strong only to sneak attack with blade. Its more of a bluff form with Cold and i doubt he has stronger form. Frost on other hand, lacks this form, probably either skipping it or lacking Cold figure to based it off, only having third under "assault form" name.

As for first form, third seal, Frieza probably accepted his own identity and based it off himself, saving traits he inherited from Cold form. So he is admired and be feared of for being himself, rather than being father's shadow. It is also shared by Kuriza and Frost. Kuriza probably based it off Frieza, his daddy, while Frost probly wanted to be a face of a hero that would br like him himself.

As for mecha, it is just mechanically updated Frieza that uses his full power without powering up.

And no. Metal cooler is not a form. It is an avatar Cooler built after becoming one with Big Gete Star.

[domesantis]

Keith and his Fanny Packs and Boots to bed

disclaimer: first post, extremely new to tumblr. but of course my first post HAD to be voltron-related, and it's about keith and his fanny packs and boots. (A stupid, small analysis)

in S1 E2, in the first minute we see Allura doing an unannounced drill (albeit dramatically) to evaluate the readiness, vigilance and speed of the newly recruited pilots. Other than Shiro, he seems to have the best mastery of these traits as he launches across the room to grab his jacket (Wow. His first instinct. Gotta dive into that sooner or later) then get out one second later.

Many people have pointed out the sheer absurdity and comedy of Keith wearing his fanny packs and boots to bed. How uncomfortable can that be? At conclusion, this scene was boiled down to just a trivial animation mistake and I also think that's all it is. But, out of fun, I want to look deeper into this "mistake" (Although many people have already probably concluded my upcoming analysis and I'm just late to the bandwagon.)

His fanny packs and boots are the solid testament to his life.

In later seasons, we find out that Keith has been practically raising himself throughout his childhood. He had an absent, dead (secretly alive) mother and also a completely dead father. In an optimistic sense, at least his father passed when Keith was 10 (?) years old, having a fragment of paternal love and care despite it being abruptly cut off. Oddly enough, orphanages aren't a thing in his time.

As if being stripped of parental love wasn't cruel enough, he also faced ostracization and bullying throughout his entire childhood without any adult to stand up for him whatsoever. Until around he was 16-17, Shiro saw his potential and eventually developed into his implied father figure. Then Shiro disappeared after a year, leaving him all alone once again.

So, during the timeframes before and after he met Shiro, he was left all alone to fend for himself. He lives in an almost dilapidated, shabby shack in the middle of a desert, naturally leaving security unattended and nonexistent.

Of course, for a child/teenager, this predicament alone would transpire paranoia especially when you're in the middle of nowhere with the imminent anxiety of wild beasts/animals without any nearby protection.

Onto my main point now.

Keith is a teenager that was left to fend for himself all alone. Not only does he have no parents, but also he lives in the middle of nowhere and faces extreme ostracization and bullying. His school is an extremely emotionally and physically unsafe environment for him, and so is his shack. Consequently, he makes it a priority to always keep his guard up everywhere at any time. He isn't familiar with the notion of a "safe space". (Perhaps he only literally experiences that concept when he forms a deep connection with a bunch of other teenagers in outer space. Now that's a safe space. LOL)

His only resort and closest alternative to a "safe space"? His dagger, fanny pack, and boots.

Boots, to immediately escape the grasp of an intruder/emergency;

His fanny pack, presumably with all his survival essentials in it, in case of any emergency;

And his dagger, to defend himself.

All of which are stationed on him.

When you've spent the majority of your life alone with absolutely nobody to depend on, vigilance and paranoia creeps itself onto your daily routine. Most likely, Keith feels naked and vulnerable without them, because these three are his fundamental objects of safety.

So, he learnt readiness, vigilance, and speed not by training, but through cruelty. Of course, even with the reassurance of sleeping in a high-security advanced spaceship, old habits die hard. He'd rather sleep through discomfort rather than face danger.

Last Comments

this would be so good for a klance hurt/comfort fic. just lance slowly easing keith into introducing the possibility of safety and vulnerability coexisting together instead of having to choose between the two. i GOTTA write something like this soon

keith needs a hug bro

[wh0refornikolailantsov]

Prompt: “I feel like I can breathe better with you around.”

Song: I’ll Keep You Safe – Sleeping At Last

For Reader x Tolya please?

So, I'm a /little/ obsessed with TMA, and honestly that might show a little in this one because I just had THOUGHTS and I went okay let's apply that to Tolya for bestie.

If It's You Or The World, I Am Still Choosing You - Tolya Yul Bataar

Content Warnings: Canon Compliant Threat And Violence. Discussions Of Sacrifice, Death, Bereavement And Loss. Not Beta/Proof Read.

The look on Alina's face says more than you ever wanted to know. To Alina, Mal is the only consistent, the only thing that kept her moving when she felt she could not go on, they were each other's home, each others compass, the place the other was only ever trying to come back to. And now Alina was faced with the most awful choice, the place she had sworn to protect, the people she had sworn to protect, the fight she has been fighting day and night, the justice and the revenge she sought, it came at a price. She knew it would. Baghra had always said it would. But this price, this price was steeper than she thought it would ever be. She was willing to die for her cause, but Mal's life being held as the cost of winning, the cost of survival against the evil she wanted gone, that had her doing something she hadn't thought she was still able to do until now: she is hesitating.

The words that everyone is saying aren't passing into your mind, you're overwhelmed, and if you feel like this you can only imagine how Alina is feeling, and that dread wraps its way around your throat and you feel like the life is being choked right out of you. Tolya's hand gently taps against your arm and you don't even look at him to nod, and he is walking beside you gently, as you both exist the room.

The air is cold, and the brisk nature of it all starts a reset. "Can I help?" Tolya asks.

“I feel like I can breathe better with you around.” It's not a new admission, you're sure you've told him this a million times, and you will tell him a million more, more than likely. For everything in your life can be chaos, and Tolya he is always your north star. Has been from the day you met.

You sink into the stone floor and lean your back against the outer wall, and Tolya leans down and sits beside you, not saying a word, but those golden eyes watching you reminds you of what knocked you breathless to begin with. That price.

Any other price, you would pay it. The only cost that would be too much, is him. If you could never see him again, but you knew he was alive and well, you could live with that, you could make peace with that. But to know the only way to save everyone, was for him to die. That's too much for most, and it would be too much for you. So no, not any small part of you envied Alina and the bargain she has to strike with the Saints. If you still believed it was between her and the Saints. The amplifiers makes things muddy, they're creations from true magic, not the Small Science and true magic... it's wild, and the price is always too high. This price feels too high.

"Nothing is fair," you say, just above the sounds of your heavy breathing, "not even in love and war. Especially in love and war."

"Your empathy," he says, offering a hand, "that's what's caused this?"

"I couldn't," you tell him honestly, "I could not do what is needed of Alina, to part with the person who means the most to me, for the sake of everything, I know that is selfish, but I couldn't do it."

"It's a tall ask," Tolya admits, you do not ask him where he stands, you shy away from too much analysis of faith when it comes to the Saints. Not because you're scared of the answers Tolya might give you, but because you're scared to put him on the spot, and to see what answers he might give himself.

"I would choose you," you admit, knowing he probably already knows it, but knowing you need to tell him anyway. "I would choose you and I wouldn't even allow myself a moments doubt in the matter. How could I? Because this war, this fight, it's for freedom, it's for love and life and what is right, and my life is better for you being in it. This place is better for the moments you spend in it, and I could not take you out of this world in the name of saving it, that would not be saving this place, it would be worse for the loss of you."

"And you are willing to die for it," Tolya states.

"Aren't you?"

"I am," he says. "We all are."

"But death and sacrifice are not the same," you say, "I would not choose to die, but to die I am willing, and yet to lose you is to lose something bigger than the war."

"You may value me too highly," Tolya says, wrapping an arm around you. "But I guess that makes us both fools. For if I lose you to win the war, the war would not have been won for me."

[ot3]

hi i'm stalking you and your orv tag and I came across the one where u and sash talked about the metaliterature and philosophical/theoretical present in orv https://ot3.tumblr.com/post/646102842844872704 here and I just wanna know if you have more of these from the top of your head? Sorry if this is a tall order, you don't have to answer this rn!

i outsourced this one to sash. everyone say thank you sash.

sash — Today at 7:55 PM okay. a little bit late but i've been giving it some thought.

i think the biggest Thing in orv in terms of philosophy is poststructuralism, and you're def going to find ideas by roland barthes in it (e.g. the classic "death of the author", or the idea of cultural phenomena as modern myths from "mythologies"). like, orv deals a lot with escaping clear categorizations and rejecting binaries + meaning of a text being generated from a network of related stories, rather than being intrinsic to one specific work. and those things are arguably the key characteristics of poststructuralism (though take this with a massive grain of salt bc it's notoriously difficult to define due to its very nature). i actually had an essay about this in the works but don't ask me when i'll finish it, it's currently languishing half-written in my google drive.

that aside sing shong namedrop quite a lot of literary works/philosophers. off the top of my head:

anna croft's zarathustra --> nietzsche's "thus spoke zarathustra" (i've seen a reddit essay that delves into this one in particular) theater dungeon endboss --> "simulacra and simulation" by jean baudrillard lsk's faction called "nouvelle vague" --> french art film movement from the 50s aileen makerfield's "etika clock store" --> POSSIBLY a reference to spinoza's "ethica" but do not take my word for this, it's just a wild guess fourth wall --> bertolt brecht's verfremdungseffekt hsy's --> "the neverending story" by michael ende outer gods/hounds of tindalos --> h.p. lovecraft (particularly sp --> nyarlathotep)

ofc there's also ysa's haruki murakami, han kang and raymond carver thing which. maybe that's a coincidence or just meant to highlight ysa's highbrow tastes but it's…. Something. in the epilogue, judith butler, roland barthes (or at least "mourning diary") and pierre bourdieu are mentioned by name as well. [8:00 PM] so like. there's A Lot. orv is juggling a million references at all times, some of which are super obvious (like journey to the west, wizard of oz or the book of revelations) and others are ??? who knows. they even like to draw connections to their other webnovels which is becoming even more relevant in the side stories.

sash — Today at 8:05 PM i have seen someone on postype talk about daniel dennett, walter benjamin and rené girard in relation to orv as well but i don't know much about them so i'm unsure if it's a case of sing shong planting explicit references that i have missed, or if op was simply doing "normal" analysis. point is that 1) sing shong love their french philosophers 2) if you want, you can find Anything in orv. there is a sheer endless amount of stuff to pick apart.