#pioneer reverse 1999 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ladyhyakinth · 3 days ago

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This took me 2 days to complete so let me explain why:

(1) Top Favorites:

Avgust- He reminds me of my little brother. He's surprisingly perceptive with what's happening around him and very intelligent. I like how he can sense beyond what everyone can sense, like their Udimos. He has a lot of potential as a grown-up (I think he could be a sailor/ley line hunter). Also it's rare for gacha to have a male child that's playable.

Recoleta- She's the type that grows on you. I get giddy every time I hear her speak Spanish and I love her Insight 2 art(I'm low-key learning Spanish because of her). I love how she determined she is and how strong her principles are. I'm excited to pull for her when 2.6 comes out.

Another reason is her relationship with Aleph. When I first heard from Merui that 2.6 involved "a twisted game" I knew their dynamic would be so compelling. Then only to hear that they're pen pals!? And that they equally care so much about each other, and that they are fundamentally lonely people who found solace confiding to the other, and the thematic/narrative weight they share!!? It! placed! me! on! chokehold!

Windsong-🎵She's my main, she's my side, she's every woman that's on my mind🎵. Looks of a supermodel, heart warm enough to melt the artics, and an ULT that surpasses the limiteds. She's THE old reliable and what more could you want?

J- I thought I would like Dessert Flannel more but then I thought, who do I constantly draw and think about like it's my Roman Empire? I grew to love him because of @lifegoesonevenifeverybodyisgone's comprehensive analysis about him.

Isolde- I hated her at first (and was even terrified) when I played her part but when I read the story again I realized that she's basically me. Jsolde made me appreciate her innate good qualities and I hope that she can get out her hypnosis and grow as a person.

Aleph- Basically everything about his character design and writing spoke to me.

(1) When I was 12 to early teens, I was addicted to researching mental illness and the one that fascinated me the most was DID (Disassociative Identity Disorder). I studied what causes DID, why certain alters are made, how they 'switch', their mindscape, how they navigate life, alter integration, testimonies from various systems, etc.

He's practically the embodiment of my former hyperfixation.

(2) Red hair is very beautiful and it serves as a lovely contrast to his black-and-white color scheme. In general his character design really stood out from anything I've seen. He looks impossibly cool!

(3) His relationship with Recoleta(Please refer to Recoleta's part). For me they are giving platonic or alterous soulmates like the type of dynamic that warrants the song "Minefields" by Faouzia, "Lend me your voice" by BELLE, "In the name of Love" by Bebe Rexha, or the "Unconditionally" by Katy Perry.

(4) He reminds me of Beast from Beauty and the Beast, Eric from The Phantom of the Opera, and a bit of Monte Cristo. It's the "what's behind your mask" and "healed through the act of kindness/love" kinda broken character vibe.

Other characters via reblog ⬇

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lifegoesonevenifeverybodyisgone · 2 months ago

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THE Joe Character Analysis. Part 3: A Brief Socioeconomic Background of Haight Street (Prelude to Portrayals of Masculinity)

How does Bluepoch create its characters? What is possibly the process or the mindset behind J's creation? How does this show in his character and how he is viewed?

I briefly touched upon the Greaser subculture, Mexican heritage, and other aspects of culture in the earlier parts. Although it gives context to the different sides of J, it is only a slice of the bigger pie: the social, cultural, and historical background of the 90s in California.

These aspects like sociocultural influences, history, and societal conflicts are the basis for Bluepoch's characters. In an interview conducted by Automaton earlier this year, Bluepoch reveals how they created their first character (Druvis III) and their thought process:

Now that we know their process, good questions to ask regarding our characters are: "What time and place does the story take place?", "What kind of conflict was occurring during that time?", "What hopes do characters have during that time period?", and "What are the mystical influences that affect the arcanists?".

So if that is the case, what historical context is J part of?

From what we know, 2.0 takes place in San Francisco, California, United States during the 1990s (specifically in Haight Street). This period was characterized by the United States becoming more of a global power after the dissolution of the USSR, great economic prosperity and peace, vast improvements in technology, and a revival of 70s culture (because all fashion and trends have a 20-year interval before being revived).

The world became increasingly connected with the creation of the GPS, the proliferation of the internet, and increased immigration. Cultural icons that came from the 70s are found all over 2.0 whether it be Disco, the Age of Aquarius, iconic sitcoms, Greasers, arcades, and the queer clubbing scene.

This prosperity occurred after the 1980s, were a period of decreased volatility and positive growth began.

This period of prosperity and growth in America is what we economists call the Great Moderation.

US inflation was low and stable while recessions were mild. The former governor of the Federal Bank Reserve (Governor Barnanke) atttributed it to structural change in the economy, improved economic policies, and good ol' luck. The structural changes were most likely the increased openess to trade, advances in the financial system due to computers, and deregulation.

Another influence that can be seen in the 2.0 event is immigration. During the 20th century, immigration laws greatly changed the American demographic. Maybe it could be attributed to the Immigration Act of 1990 which further removed the barriers for entry in America but I have a hunch that the Mexican immigration where J's ancestors came a little earlier, likely coming to America during or after WWII.

During 1942, the US implemented the Mexican Farm Labor Program AKA the Bracero Program. To address the agricultural work shortage brought about by WWII, the US permitted millions of Mexican men to work under short-term labor contracts in America. Most of them ended up working in San Francisco's Bay Area (where Haight Street takes place).

The influx of Mexican workers provided America with cheap labor in order to feed its people but the influx of undocumented migrants in the 50s led to a mass deportation of 1.1 million workers back to Mexico via Operation Wetback. This happened at the same time while the Bracero Program was ongoing causing the Immigration Bureau and Border Patrol to do military round-ups to legal workers even to the point of deporting US citizens with Mexican ancestry.

Finally, around the 90s and where 2.0 event takes place, the Immigration Act of 1990 was passed bringing in a new wave of immigrants. The presence of immigrants have often been mentioned in the event like the sizable Chinese diaspora, Mr. Tang, J's doctor, and the crowd of immigrants that J sponsored.

Despite the increase of wealth in California due to being the home of the Silicon Valley, the hub of innovations, the expanded global trade, and the booming retail industry, a part of the population that contributed to making that wealth were unable to partake in it. The immigrants of San Francisco left their countries in search for a better life, the American Dream that promises that if you work hard enough you can achieve anything. But that is not often the case...

The setting of the 2.0 story is Haight Street, a part of the Haight-Ashbury district, a district adjacent to the Golden Gate Park. The street was particularly famous for the hippie counterculture in the 60s. Thousands of American youth flocked to Haight Street in the event called "Summer of Love".

The youthful idealism eventually turned sour and the hippies left for the rural areas. Pyschedelic drugs were replaced by harder and more dangerous drugs like heroin which caused medical issues to the population. By the late 60s and the early 70s, property values fell and violent crime rose. Haight Street quickly gained the reputation of being a dangerous and violent place.

Around the 70s, plans were made to restore Haight-Ashbury. A new wave of homeowners and residents restored Victorian/Edwardian houses and cleaned up the city. The crime rates eventually dropped. Due to the wave of new homeowners who renovated the old houses, the prices of housing went up which displaced a lot of the low-income folk like the black, senior citizen, and hippies.

There was a great concern regarding gentrification and displacement. Although the newcomers were also diverse (a local doctor estimating that 25% of them were gay), there was a fear that the previous inhabitants would be displaced. In the 80s, commercial establishments and higher priced housing began to emerge. The struggles on who gets to live in the ever evolving city was shown in J's character story.

J's character story deals with the displacement, inequality, and the gentrification of Haight Street that was occuring during the time. The main conflict was the creation of a commercial center that kicked many local businesses out through coercion. J busted the gang behind this and guaranteed the freedom of his homeless and immigrant friends. He ended up being their sponsor and helping the folks find jobs.

Since Haight Street was amongst one of those migrant communities where a lot of lower-class people lived, it is most likely that a good amount of people living there were either immigrants (especially Chinese or Mexican), Arcanists, downtrodden folks, or all of three. Looking back at the characters, Mercuria came from an orphanage while J was also an orphan who survived by working for a Chinese immigrant.

Since the character-making of Bluepoch involves looking at the cultural context and making a character out of it, I can infer that Pioneer represents the Great Moderation, especially since he is an Awakened and he sprung to life due to this economic movement.

Mercuria represents the ideals of the Age of Aquarius and the famous hippie counterculture, who is a freedom-loving disco dancer while also working as a diviner.

J, on the other hand, might have been inspired by the 90s kids who took inspiration in the 70s revival (since he loves arcades, knows a little bit of disco, and watches old sitcoms) but he can also be inspired by a revival of a revival: the 50s. During the 70s, there was also a revival of an era that occurred 20 years prior: the Greasers of the 50s.

He also represents the lower class men at the time who were most likely left out in the city's progress. The fact that he came from a formerly prominent Wayland family (who lost prominence after the war) but now has to work hard to survive is reminiscent of Haight Street itself (a magnificent and dignified neighborhood that lost its glamour and became a place of the lower class).

As stated in Part 1, Greasers were a subculture that formed in the 50s and were often composed of Italian-American and Latin-American (most commonly Mexican) lower-class youth who felt left out from the prosperity of the post-war economic boom. They shared an interest in riding motorcycles (since they often worked in mechanic jobs like J's friend Hollick), the affordable aesthetic of the working man, and the community of marginalized olive-skinned ethnic minorities (like those of the Mediterranean and Mexicans).

In the context of the 90s, J's identification with the Greaser subculture goes beyond the 70s revival or his fondness for old-fashioned stuff. It was a way to express himself regardless of his social class, a shared identity. It was an identification with the men who made the most with what they had, with men like him who felt hope for a better future but also felt frustated to be left out from it.

With aesthetics and historical context, the Greaser subculture elicited stereotypes like being urban, sexual, cool, rebellious, and exhibiting lower-class masculinity. Fittingly enough, I have seen many people think of him that way, both in the game and the fandom, so let's dissect that.

Link to the Ultimate Joe Directory:

https://www.tumblr.com/lifegoesonevenifeverybodyisgone/771822786973958144/the-ultimate-joe-directory?source=share

SOURCES:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/great-moderation.asp

https://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2004/20040220/

https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/bracero-program

https://californialocal.com/localnews/statewide/ca/article/show/5992-california-immigration-history-immigrants/

https://immigrationhistory.org/item/operation-wetback/

https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Naming_of_Haight_Street%2C_Part_4%3A_The_Last_Haight_Standing

https://www.britannica.com/place/Haight-Ashbury

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24040253

#reverse 1999 #j reverse 1999 #mercuria reverse 1999 #pioneer reverse 1999 #floor it! to the golden city #character analysis #this post took me more research than I expected #THE joe character analysis