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sexyandhedonistic · 1 year ago

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Reacting to and correcting the worst Law of Assumption post on Tumblr.

Hello, my loves. For sexyandhedonistic's 2nd anniversary (Sept 1st) I thought it would be fun to revisit one of my very first posts to point and laugh at as someone who was terribly misinformed when first joining the community. I have stated on multiple occasions that I have outgrown so many of my terrible beliefs and it's always such a relief to see that I know better now. Anyway, let's get into it.

The correct way to manifest

Hi again! Today I wanted to address something that I feel I should elaborate a bit more on, partially as a disclaimer and partially as something that is crucial to remember. I know plenty of newbies in the community are rendered susceptible to what different people have to say about what to do and how to do it and it creates uncertainty, self doubt and disorientation. We all know what the law of assumption is and what it means: what you assume to be true, is. This is no exception for the ways in which you feel are best to manifest. Although I strongly endorse studying Neville Goddard's work to acquire a steady foundation of what the law is and how to work with it, you don’t need to be familiar with his teachings to manifest but I will continue to be an advocate for such. That said, here’s the secret: You create the rules

I've previously stated how I feel about "you create the rules" so I won't explain again but to recap:

It doesn't make sense!

Not only for the reasons I listed in the link above but because there is a distinction between rules and principle. People often interchange the two so to them something like "I don't need to feel the wish fulfilled" may feel like a third eye-opening revolutionary take and to think otherwise is limiting because of whatever reason but when you know the law.. it really isn't. It's silly, in fact. And you know something? I would've thought this was revolutionary two years ago. It just makes sense doesn't it? If I assume I don't need to feel then that should be okay because the law of assumption means whatever you assume must be true etc etc. (Yes I was one of those people who thought loopholing the law of assumption just made sense.) Before anyone thinks I'm bringing up a really hot new idea (I don't need to feel the wish fulfilled) let me explain why that doesn't make sense:

Feeling means to accept, so what do you mean you don't need to accept something as true for it to manifest.../?!!?? You see why something like this is quite literally nonsensical? Please, pleaseeeee read about the law of assumption from someone who doesn't film themselves speaking [hint: Neville Goddard or Edward Art] before you risk looking ignorant the way I unfortunately did when I first joined this community. I cannot tell you the amount of disappointingly misinformed posts I have come across from myself and my mutuals alike ever since that I now am able to look at and feel relieved by the fact that I know way better now.

"I strongly endorse studying Neville Goddard's work to acquire a steady foundation of what the law is and how to work with it" She's always been correct about this one I'm afraid.

"You don’t need to be familiar with his teachings to manifest" This one is right and wrong. You don't need to because manifesting isn't a Neville thing and people have manifested without knowing about the law of assumption. However, if you intend to work with the law of assumption, what is a "Neville thing", and put it into practice, then yes you do need to be familiar with his teachings. It doesn't really make sense for you to be interested in something without understanding it fully and butchering it in the process, now does it? Seriously, you guys. I cannot emphasize this enough:

Read. Source. Material.

You decide what works and how it works! Objects and activities like crystals, scripting, subliminals, affirming and persisting, commanding, 555/369, vision boards, and gratitude are not imperative in order for you to manifest. There are hundreds of people out there spreading their beliefs about the law and how to do it correctly... as if it were a fact. This is why, as I've stated previously, I strongly discourage you from getting your information off of social media or simply too many sources in general because different opinions will create confusion for you (which is why sticking to a single instructor aka Father Neville who knows what he's talking about would be a good idea). Not only that, but so many people have a tendency to share their limiting beliefs which include but are not limited to: not being able to manifest physical changes or a specific person, avoiding negative words like no don't can't in affirmations, consuming any means of media that are upsetting because they'll interfere, etc. None of these beliefs are true, but if you believe that they are then they will be. You don’t need to use SATS and you don’t need to script. At the end of the day, we are manifesting 24/7 through the story we reiterate in out heads. These methods simply serve as a bolster for those who feel more comfortable and confident using them.

"You decide what works and how it works!" sjhkdfklfkhgfdksjkkla

"Objects and activities like crystals, scripting, subliminals, affirming and persisting, commanding, 555/369, vision boards, and gratitude are not imperative in order for you to manifest. " She's not wrong, but while we're on the topic of gratitude, it's literally the wish fulfilled. I used to associate gratitude with law of attraction so I wouldn't agree with it as relevant to manifesting but the more I've thought about it, it suddenly hit me that that's literally feeling the wish fulfilled because it's acceptance. When you accept, you feel grateful, do you not? Anyway, we encourage gratitude here at sexyandhedonistic.

" You don’t need to use SATS" This isn't wrong but I love the state akin to sleep so actually it is wrong.

"At the end of the day, we are manifesting 24/7 through the story we reiterate in out heads." Right. It's called consciousness is the only reality.

People think the law has certain rules and because they believe them, it becomes a truth for them. It's up to you to decide what does and doesn't work for you! There are people who can just command their subconscious mind and do nothing else. There are people who’ve manifested a literal face swap overnight. Nevertheless, whatever method you feel works best, they all come down to the same core belief and that is KNOWING it'll work.

"People think the law has certain rules and because they believe them, it becomes a truth for them." *facepalm* Okay queen let's not mix up principles and rules. Methods are something completely independent (and optional), what matters is feeling because feeling is the secret.

On another note notice how I literally never ever ever talk about the subconscious mind anymore <3 it activates my fight-or-flight response because I remember the days when we all thought we had to "saturate" it with affirmations robotically and whatnot... All you need is imagination and faith (feeling), you guys <3. (But if you would like explanations that mention the subconscious mind I suggest checking out feeling is the secret [linked above], I would not suggest Joseph Murphy as he had some limiting beliefs such as not being able to manifest certain things).

"Whatever method you feel works best, they all come down to the same core belief and that is KNOWING it'll work" My sister in Christ, the word you are looking for is FEELING, not "knowing". They can be used interchangeably, yes, but I feel so absurd rereading my old posts and saying "(the state of) knowing" when I should've been saying feeling.

Manifesting should not feel like a chore, it should be a simple, fun and easy task to do! You do not need to lift a finger to manifest. Whatever you think it'll take to get it done, will be it. If you think you have to yell out your affirmations at the top of your lungs then that’s what it’ll take for them to work. If you think you need a crystal collection the size of east LA to manifest then start saving up or manifest them. This is the beauty about the law of assumption. You create the rules. Now that you’re understanding that you can create your own rules, have fun with it! Not only do you get to decide what works, but you also decide how well it works. Do you get subliminal results after one listen? Do you manifest in a week? Overnight? Will gratitude bring you your results quicker? Are you the best manifestor in the world and nothing can interfere with your manifestations? You literally call the shots. No matter what you pick, stick to it and KNOW it works. Good luck!

"Manifesting should not feel like a chore, it should be a simple, fun and easy task to do!" I mean yeah... I agree fully that it shouldn't feel taxing and tedious and you most definitely shouldn't treat it as a routine (ex. set alarms to affirm every hour...), it should definitely feel liberating and comforting because this is is about being that which you desire to be. In Neville's own words:

We often are deprived of our high goal by our effort to possess it. We are called upon to act on the assumption that we already are the man we would be. If we do this without effort, experiencing in imagination what we would experience in the flesh had we realized our goal, we shall find that we do, indeed, possess it. - Answered Prayer

"You do not need to lift a finger to manifest" Yeah <3 As I always say, being > doing.

"This is the beauty about the law of assumption. You create the rules... Do you get subliminal results after one listen? Do you manifest in a week? Overnight? Will gratitude bring you your results quicker? Are you the best manifestor in the world and nothing can interfere with your manifestations? You literally call the shots." Pleasee please please PLEASE be quiet.

You guys I had to put on a hazmat suit to go through this post. I think if there was such a thing as a written version of what a six day old McChicken with extra mayonnaise left out in the hot Texas summer sun would taste like... it would be this post, but at least it's over now, so to conclude:

1. You cannot tweak principle 2. Methods are not what manifest 3. FEELING is the secret 4. Read source material

I hope this post has encouraged some of you to not repeat the same mistakes or misinformation I did as well as made you reevaluate your approach towards the law of assumption. This post is not entirely horrendous but it was horrendous enough that I decided to remove it from my blog. There is way better information that has surfaced ever since and I warn you guys once again from the risks of learning about it from someone who doesn't know what they're talking about. One of the most absurd and ridiculous beliefs I used to have and got from a certain blogger on here was that "you don't need to work on your self concept to manifest".......... I do not feel like getting into why this is does not make sense at all and why every time I would see someone say "Neville didn't work on his self concept to go to Barbados!" I would simply side eye, but anyway.

Please dedicate time to really learn about the law of assumption from Neville Goddard himself or from Edward Art's Reddit posts. My understanding of the law may have evolved ever since but something that has unfortunately not changed in this community is the circulation of misinformation. It only harms you guys and will consequently incite frustration because someone told you that your thoughts manifest (not true) and suddenly you're spiraling because you think you need to be flipping all of them (you do not). I know I made multiple jokes throughout but do not take this advice lightly and do not deem this post as me saying that I'm right and everyone else is wrong. I'm advising you all as someone who's been through all of it and wants better for you. Please choose your sources wisely and please learn from my mistakes.

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can-of-w0rmz · 1 year ago

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@shotofstress

When I tell you I read this I saw it and I WHEEZED I was in TEARS and I shouldn’t be bothered arguing about it but quite frankly I’m trying to procrastinate anyway and I’ve had a god awful week and need to take out my frustrations somehow, ergo, I’m going be petty not because this person disagrees with my reading of the novel, but because they implied that in reading queer or neurodivergent elements in a work, people “can’t see the important themes that the novel is about” which actually does piss me off a fair bit

Right so first before we argue we’ve got to decipher because English apparently isn’t this person’s forte for someone who is, apparently, such an avid reader and esteemed critic of English literature. Also I just realised I haven’t really provided any context here so apologies this was in response to that joke post I made about mischaracterising Frankenstein adaptations (again yes the pettiness is not lost on me but I’m embracing it anyway)

“He is not gay nor autistic” cheers this person disagrees that Victor Frankenstein is either gay or autistic. To each their own. Wonder what kind of backup they’ll have for that argument.

“Pls stop seen representation of us everyone bc u can’t make the difference,” Right so this is where we get confusing, I’m going to take a wild guess and I think they’re trying to say “please stop seeing representation of us everywhere because you can’t make the difference”, and I still don’t know what “make the difference” means, but we’ll go with it.

“read nothing new”, alright so they’re saying people who see representation everywhere read nothing new, and then the kicker that’s kind of the only reason I decided to respond to this anyway, “nor really see the important themes that the novel is about.”

First off, “stop seeing representation of us everywhere”, let it be known that as I make a hundred jokes about Victor Frankenstein being homosexual, I myself am thoroughly through and through without a doubt bisexual as the days are long. Absolutely love men. Also adore women equally. So no, I am not a Disney corporate executive trying to squeeze in as many queers as possible for the entire purpose of using the fact they have representation in media to excuse the fact it’s a shite film but also, not trying to revisit every old piece of media to squeeze representation where it doesn’t really fit or make sense just for shits and giggles. (Also just saying, you made this comment on Tumblr. So even if I was just going haywire with lgbt headcanons on my favourite media with no real backup, who gives a shit? Who actually gives a flying fuck? I don’t. Let people live, man. It doesn’t mean they don’t understand the source material just because they’re having fun and playing loose with it. It’s Tumblr, not a Netflix adaptation. Let people do whatever they want and have fun with it. It’s cool.)

But like I said, I do have backup and a lot of it so let’s get into that, shall we?

First of all, whoo, autism. I’ll be real not really a hill I’m going to die on but the wording you put of “he is not autistic” is just ridiculous because yeah, no, there is a lot of perfectly decent ground to read Victor Frankenstein as autistic and a lot of people do, mostly people who are autistic or otherwise neurodivergent themselves. Just because in the 18th century people didn’t necessarily have the language for things doesn’t mean they didn’t exist, and I mean, now we do. So what’s the harm in using it? They had their own language for things back then, do we have to revert back to speaking in early 19th century English every time we want to refer to a character who was written back then as neurodivergent or lgbt or anything else?? What’s the point in that??

But yeah, Victor Frankenstein. I can’t even be bothered to explain and to be honest every single other person I’ve said “Frankenstein is autistic to” has immediately responded “oh yeah, obviously”, even my father who famously is just hypercritical of all sorts of headcanons just went “oh yeah no for sure the man is definitely autistic no doubt about it”. So instead I’m just going to include some quotes.

My temper was sometimes violent, and my passions vehement; but by some law in my temperature they were turned not towards childish pursuits but to an eager desire to learn, and not to learn all things indiscriminately.

It was my temper to avoid a crowd and to attach myself fervently to a few. I was indifferent, therefore, to my school-fellows in general; but I united myself in the bonds of the closest friendship to one among them.

From this day natural philosophy, and particularly chemistry, in the most comprehensive sense of the term, became nearly my sole occupation.

Two years passed in this manner, during which I paid no visit to Geneva, but was engaged, heart and soul, in the pursuit of some discoveries which I hoped to make. None but those who have experienced them can conceive of the enticements of science. In other studies you go as far as others have gone before you, and there is nothing more to know; but in a scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder.

Like I said, self explanatory. It’s harder to come up with an argument for why he isn’t autistic than why he is, and frankly, what’s the harm in reading him that way? It doesn’t really change anything about the plot or themes, and his character doesn’t change. It’s just a very probable diagnosis for said qualities. It doesn’t change them, whether you use that word or not. The concept of autism was coined in 1911 anyway, so its not like Mary Shelley’s going to be sat at her writing desk in 1817 writing in big bold letters “BY THE WAY, FRANKENSTEIN HAD AN AUTISM DIAGNOSIS.” It doesn’t change the fact that people still had autism back then, just because the term wasn’t discovered yet. Anyway.

Now, second bit. “He isn’t gay” – now, if you read Frankenstein and thought “ah yes, this man seems perfectly heterosexual to me”, then honestly, sure. Go ahead. But to say that reading Victor Frankenstein as queer in any way means that people “don’t understand the important themes of the novel” is completely bloody ridiculous because, again, there is astronomical ground to read him that way.

Victor Frankenstein never really shows interest in any women in the novel, except for Elizabeth, who he has been raised, since he was five years old, to see as his “gift” and was told by his mother since he was a very young child that he was going to marry her – to the point where his mother, on her deathbed, tells both Victor and Liz: “My firmest hopes of future happiness were placed on the prospect of your union. This expectation will now be the consolation of your father.” Also, they’re cousins/adopted siblings. If you don’t think that’s fucked up, even by the standards of the time, I’m not really sure what to say to you. Of course he married her. And before he married her, he generally expresses very little romantic interest in her bar just expressing as much affection as you would a close friend or sister, or seeing her as his “gift” who he “has to be wed to”. Read any other story from this time period, in this genre, and you will not be remotely questioning whether they’re actually attracted to each-other or not. In fact, here’s an excerpt from The Vampyre, another book born from the same trip to Geneva that Frankenstein was, by John William Polidori, about the protagonist’s love interest:

And that’s only part of it. So. Yeah. Victor’s lack of romantic affection for Elizabeth is not “a product of its time” nor “a product of its genre.” And The Vampyre is a short story.

And so you may be saying, “well, just because Victor doesn’t show any interest in women doesn’t necessarily make him gay”, and yeah, true that (ace and bi Vic hcs y’all are valid) but there is very good basis to take the reading that he is attracted to men.

For one thing, just the fact that he’s so particular about creating “the perfect man” is subject to a lot of queer readings in itself, but let’s be real here, you all know me enough by now to know that I just want an excuse to rant about Clerval and Frankenstein. And rant about them I shall.

First, I’m lazy, so here’s an excerpt from one of my previous essays I’ve written that I’ve never posted everywhere on Frankenstein in general:

Just as The Creature is Victor’s narrative foil, so is Clerval. He's equally ambitious and fascinated with the secrets of life, however he’s healthy with how he goes about it and healthy with how he keeps the balance between taking care of himself and pursuing his dreams, while Victor goes over the edge and neglects himself and his sense of morality to complete what he set out to do. He's supposed to represent the ideals of gothic romanticism in Victor and he's supposed to be his anchor and support, (something the Creature doesn't have), caring for Victor during his illness, (“reanimating” him, almost, once again showing that comparison between both Victor and Henry, as Henry “reanimates” Victor with compassion and cares for him after, and Victor reanimates The Creature in a haze of obsession and mania and immediately abandons him, showing what Victor could have been), and constantly accompanying and being sympathetic and empathetic towards him. I also find it very interesting how he does also seem to have those darker aspects to him, lying to Victor’s family about the extent of his illness and caring for Victor in his apartment despite the fact that, for all he knew, from the evidence lying around his workspace and Victor’s feverish rambling, he very well could have murdered someone, and Clerval chooses not to press him on the issue and instead to intentionally help Victor cover it up. The fact that Clerval exhibits these traits only makes Victor’s own downfall all the more tragic when we consider that it likely very much isn’t a stretch to imagine that Clerval, too, likely exhibits a lot of the same morbid curiosity as Victor; he isn’t a superhuman figure with purely positive attributes who is completely far removed from Victor’s situation, the only difference is that Clerval chooses to prioritise his own sense of morality over his selfish aims, which only emphasises the point that Victor’s downfall is, ultimately, Victor’s own fault. When Victor "kills" the Creature’s chance of the same support and love (his unfinished bride), the Creature kills Henry and sends Victor into a downward spiral of suicidal thoughts and heavy depression because the character that represented that stability, that romanticism, that balance of keeping healthy, is dead, and that throws Victor downward into his inevitable obsession with the monster's destruction and his own death.

On this point, I feel like it’s worth bringing up that a reasonably good case could probably be made regarding a lot of queer subtext in the novel, although I won’t rant about it excessively as it obviously isn’t the focus, the theme of love is a very prominent theme as I’ve previously mentioned with The Creature; familial love, platonic love, parental love, romantic love, and I don’t think it’s particularly much of stretch to suggest that Shelley, intentionally or unintentionally, might have added a lot more romantic subtext than given credit for. Not that it matters particularly narratively speaking what kind of love is portrayed, but in reference specifically to Clerval and the Ingolstadt chapters there’s a very good argument to be made regarding Shelley’s poor relationship with her own husband and how she may have projected a lot of her wish for that kind of care and sympathy into his character, perhaps not taking into account, or perhaps she did, how it would come across – author intentions are mostly lost with time and we’ll ultimately never know for sure, but even for the standards of the late 18th century when the novel was set and the early 19th century when it was written, “I desire the company of a man who could sympathise with me, whose eyes would reply to mine. You may deem me romantic,” and “your form so divinely wrought, and beaming with beauty, has decayed, but your spirit still visits and consoles your unhappy friend,” probably weren’t standard platonic sentiments.

And honestly on that essay excerpt, that still sums my thoughts on that subject up pretty much perfectly. After all, a character in a book talking about his best friend going “I loved him with a mixture of reverence and affection that knew no bounds” as well said best friend tenderly nursing him back to health, and the character talking about how his body is “divinely wrought and beaming with beauty” and gently pressing his hand and referring to him constantly as “my dearest”, “my dear” and “my beloved”, while living together and travelling together and talking about how his voice “soothes” him and “cheats (him) into a transitory peace”, pretty gay!

And yes, before anyone says a single thing, if it wasn’t already obvious from the essay excerpt, I do understand “the important themes the novel is about”. I do understand that there are more themes and characters and subject matter, and more than that, I bloody love it! Because this is one of my favourite novels! Of-fucking-course I’m invested in it on a deeper level than “ooOoooh what classical literature characters can I RUIN with my gay agenda today!” But you commented this on a joke post, a joke post, again, on Tumblr. No harm but Jesus Christ if there is a singular platform I can go on and just post stupid bullshit about two book characters from 200 years ago being soft and gay without having to justify that yes, I did in fact read the book, and shock horror yes, I do know that there are other themes, it’s bloody Tumblr. (Absolutely love you lot btw especially all my lovely fantastic incredible mutuals all your takes and readings and art is 👌✨ chef’s kiss)

Oh and by the way, op, I noticed you reblogged this:

And to be honest if I had to say any take or reading was a misunderstanding of the text, it’d be that one (as well as “Victor is sexist for cutting women out of the creation process” takes – Christ that’s just gross. And feels mildly if not explicitly homophobic.)

So just for shits and giggles to counter that argument, here’s another excerpt from the same older essay as before:

Speaking of Hugo, it is rather interesting how many adaptations and literary criticisms seem to go down the route of the Hunchback of Notre Dame moral of “who is the monster and who is the man?”, suggesting that Victor is the “true monster” of the narrative. And, as much as I am a decent Victor Hugo fan, (I’m over 50% through Les Misérables, have you seen the size of that book? I’d have to be), in reality the point of the story is that neither Creator nor Creation are more monster nor man than the other – Victor mutilates corpses and brings the creature to life, and allows Justine to be executed without owning up to his actions, and The Creature murders a child and a multitude of other innocent people, Clerval and Elizabeth who had nothing to do with anything and Ernest left completely alone with his entire family dead. We can’t acknowledge The Creature’s sympathetic qualities without also acknowledging Victor’s, and regardless, sympathetic motivations don’t make up for immoral actions.

Also this meme, which I can’t for the absolute life of me remember who posted it originally I’m sorry I use it all the time in GCs whoever it was you’re so valid:

#gothic lit #classic literature #gothic literature #goth lit #classic lit #frankenstein #frankenstein weekly #frankenstein or the modern prometheus #essay #Frankenstein essay #Victor Frankenstein #queer lit #elizabeth lavenza #henry clerval #clervalstein #clervenstein

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castlebyersafterdark · 10 days ago

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i just had a week off fandom because i was away on spooky holiday, and spent some time watching halloweeny things and other shows. then i watched some stranger things, out of order, the early seasons. and i totally got lost in the show and forgot about fandom, it felt just like when i first saw it. and i realised coming back here, that mike and will's relationship is so much bigger and more thematic than byler v mileven. it's meaningful in terms of queer writing, in terms of how trauma is portrayed, its meaningful for them separately and together as characters outside of their sexualities.

i think this sometimes gets lost in the byler fandom, mainly because there is such pushback that it sort of becomes about proving they are real instead of enjoying the story for what it is, and how much more important mike + will as a romantic pair will be in grand scheme of things than just proving milevens wrong. its actually quite jarring to come back and see that so much byler content is people just sassing milevens, or trying to prove something, or being defensive. it gives enjoying byler a strange flavour because it makes it about being on edge rather than just enjoying the story. this fandom is a fascinating case study in propaganda and social influence, how if youre told something enough times ("byler will never happen") you start to believe it despite hard evidence (the show itself) to the contrary.

i still love this small community and check my fav blogs though. but it was a nice reality check, esp at this time of year! spooky season is the perfect time to step back and rewatch the show as a total newbie who just wants a good mystery thriller. i feel happier than ever to wait for s5, our boys are coming together and all we need is patience 😊 and if you can recommend any more blogs who focus on the good stuff like you, please do! i'm sick of being jumpscared by 'milevens say that...' posts lmao

Yes!!! Agree. I also took a tiny break and I'm back, well, I wouldn't say refreshed (still a little bit exhausted from the past few days 😅 Halloween wore me down yall haha) but it's always beneficial I feel to step away for whatever reason and then dive back into fandom when you feel up to it. Brain needs a break from the fandom focus sometimes. Good points in this ask. I haven't actually sat down and watched the show in a while, but revisiting those favorite episodes is a cool idea. Hit the mark on what's important and why the show, and these two characters in particular since that's what I and many focus on around here, resonates so deeply. It's more than just "oh, these two are cute, they should be a couple, this is a ship in the fandom yay" but it's... it's a lot more. It's an important story. Not trying to sound cheesy but I always end up that way 😉

There is definitely a thing in this fandom that I don't really vibe with, the insecurity and constant defense and ship wars. Maybe it's the fact that there technically is a love triangle existing, the slow burn, the impatience, the track record with queer relationships and getting crumbs when there's a gay character. But, there's also been a lot more progress and real canon gay relationships lately. I don't fear as heavily with this show, because the show has given the biggest proof. And I also... don't care what people who hate the idea of Byler or still love Mlvn are doing. I don't care! About Mlvn fans on the internet!! The show is the show and whatever happens happens. I think people would be sooooo much happier if they curated more. Don't seek out spaces of contention! Don't engage with people who are just gonna make you mad ☹️

Little communities are cool, happy here, hope other people are finding their spot, focusing on what's cool and interesting and just - cut out the noise. There's too much going on in the world and online to devote time to getting defensive over fandom, especially one where the source material is so good and there's so much creativity to be found from it. I wouldn't know where to start with recommending other blogs - have to admit I always feel bad if I'm calling people out and leaving others out and there's thousands of blogs in the stranger things fandom! I have friends in the fandom who I really enjoy talking to and who have cool blogs, but we don't 100% agree on theory and character dynamics and other stuff and that's totally ok. Even I have expressed opinions and people have been quick to jump at me and disagree and hey, no one has to be down with every single opinion I have either!! I just hope for kindness in those instances.

So, you really just gotta see where the hard lines are, what you do and don't care to deal with on your blog and see on your dash. Fandom is very imperfect, but all we can do is focus more on what we consider a positive so it drowns out the little negative things we do encounter.

#asks

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utilitycaster · 2 years ago

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Has your work with the wiki informed how you interact with the fandom? Scrutinizing the source material so closely and all.

Oh definitely, and this is a great question.

I think, without getting too deep into weeds or bitterness, that my attitude towards aggressively non-canonical (or, frankly, anti-canonical) interpretations of ships or characters has shifted both because of my negative experiences with the Fandom wiki and because I effectively have to go over the happenings of each episode two or three times. Additionally, my deep dislike and distrust of conspiracy theories long pre-dates my work on wikis or even involvement with fandom, but now that I spend a decent amount of "fandom time" looking up citations, I have even less patience for it. There are so many wonderful sources beyond just the wiki! We have a transcript search! We have Dani's recaps! We have so many sourcebooks! We have a talkback/commentary show! Please, while I'd love for people to use and add to the wiki, at the very least, if you don't have time to watch or rewatch episodes in full, use these wonderful resources instead of relying on like, someone's personal silly little clip compilations to shape your understanding.

In terms of far more positive things, I think because wiki pages are changing, living documents, going back to them has given me a lot of insight that I might have forgotten. To give an example - just now, in summarizing the party's trip towards Yios, I ran across the fact that Imogen was asked if she wanted to give up her powers - if there were a cure, whether she'd take it - and she responded that while once she felt that way, she no longer does. I think Imogen's relationship with power is fascinating, and I think this puts her in contrast with Liliana in a new and interesting way that I'd love to explore further once we return to more direct conflict. This small moment says so much, but I'd forgotten it in the several months since it aired, and probably wouldn't have accessed again if I were not a wiki editor. I've also been doing a lot of work on editing out plagiarism, or fleshing out largely overlooked details, and it's a delight to get to revisit prior campaigns and see how everything fits together. I get both a very high level view of the world, and also get to zero in on tiny moments, like Veth shooting Caleb in the Vellum Steeple library, and I'm so grateful I get to relive that, and often my meta is informed by what I'm working on and what details I'm immersed in and the connections they spark.

Finally - while I'm obviously super opinionated here, on Tumblr, I think it's a really good and important exercise that I also spend time in a place where I need to consciously prioritize a neutral voice and give attention even to things I dislike. This is an entirely separate post so I won't derail myself but I think part of why I sometimes get extremely bizarre anons/responses is that I'm both someone who talks about CR on the whole, but also am open about my preferences (rather than running a blog that's highly focused on one character/ship nor being a true generalist blog that primarily reblogs art). Anyway, working on the wiki means that, for example, even if I'm really frustrated with an episode or a character or a relationship, I need to spend time and stop and ask myself what is actually happening, outside of my own feelings. I think this is a really good practice to have with fiction! I think you need to be able to do both and compartmentalize and switch between them; to say "what is the author/creator trying to say and how are they saying it and what is literally occurring" and also "how do I, an individual with my own unique perspective, feel about what's happening." Or at the very least, if you can't do this, you can still enjoy yourself, but you will always be preaching to the choir.

#answered #blorbologist #critical role wiki #cr tag #my philosophy is that you should lie down on the floor and let the narrative deep tissue massage you #and i think once you get that you will understand all my positions as a coherent viewpoint even if they're loud and obnoxious at times

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moronic-validity · 4 months ago

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Update on the DWU: Official Hiatus Announcement

Long post under the cut!

TLDR: I'm reworking the DWU during the hiatus bc I hit a wall and don't even know what the plot is anymore. I am working on new content, though all announced projects are CoD related.

okay so here's the deal:

I have hit a wall with the DWU. Y'all know it, I know it, we all know it.

I am trying to give myself some space from working on it, but I am still working with it. I'm trying to work through the plot, find the holes, and figure out where I want to take the story from here. I have a lot of ideas floating around, but at this point, I basically bitched out of the main conflict because honestly? I didn't like where it was going.

So right now, I need to establish a new line of conflict, a plot that isn't held together by duct tape and prayers, and I need to revisit the source material so I can say I'm doing right by the characters (I love my canon atypical shit, but I like the characters to be recognizably themselves within my stupid ass au).

Part of me is holding out for the second season, but let's be real: there's a good chance Simon isn't gonna play a role in it (which is good. Let the old man have some peace) and I'm not about to sit on my hands and hope he shows up so I get a little bit more perspective.

That brings us to the question of "Well what now?" and that is a fantastic question that I actually have the answer for. I'm going to take some time and go back through the entire story, editing and making sure I'm telling the story I want to tell, instead of just trying to go with the flow and assume it'll work itself out. Don't worry, everything will stay up through this process, I plan to only take stuff down when it is time to repost the new and improved version.

Things I have:

A vague game plan

Determination

A desperate need to turn this story into the one I wanted to tell

Things I don't have

An actual plot

A predicted return date

A million dollars

In the meantime, please stay tuned for wonderful things such as: König smut (and angst!), the ghoap timeloop fic I've been toying with the idea for, a super toxic no plot smut fic with König/Ghost/Soap that Alex and I came up with while driving to St. Louis, multiple retellings of different stories with the CoD guys smacked right into the suffering (y'all can thank Alex when Odysseus meets Price), and some random other shit I've come up with but am still workshopping ideas for!

#teddy talks #theo's thoughts #winterkov #the dwu #dwu #it's weird actually announcing a hiatus and explaining what's going on behind the scenes #instead of sheepishly apologizing when someone asks what's going on bc I haven't updated in months

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shadowwalkerimagines · 1 year ago

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『 The State of Unreality: Drabble 3 - A Roadside Motel 』 Resident Evil/Biohazard (Gameverse) | You; Reader Insert; Second-Person Point of View; Female Reader Rating: M for source material and future content | Warnings: Canon typical violence, Unreality, Alcohol Use, TBD Summary: Whoever could that be, sitting outside his motel room?

Unlike the first dream, this one has lingered with you. You chalk it up to actually having devoted the time to document every little detail you could remember about it the second you woke up. Revisiting the memory of it has likely helped as well. You can’t help it, really. The clarity of the picture, that curious report—it was all quite fascinating.

Sure the end of the dream had ramped up to a rather alarming, life-threatening situation of sorts, but a dream is a dream, guns in your face or not.

This is something novel and new and completely safe. It would be a lie to say you aren’t looking forward to another similar experience. You have to admit it all left you rather excited.

Sure, the Resident Evil universe isn’t exactly the ideal place to experience such lucid dreams but the novelty of it all…

You’ll take what you can get.

So when you find yourself coming to awareness inexplicably walking along another desolate mountain road some days later, you nearly begin vibrating in your enthusiasm. It must not be the same location, however, as street lamps stand stark against the evening darkness this go around.

For a while you simply carry on walking, passing the otherwise uneventful time just existing in the moment and inspecting every little thing that pops into mind. You take in the detail of the gravel on the road, the blades of grass and the fine little hairs on each one, the heavy clouds that threaten rain drifting along the evening sky—all the way to the lint in your pockets and the contents of your shoulder bag, all exactly as should be.

Who knew your mind could create such intricately detailed scenarios. Where is this creative detail when you need it?

Eventually, just as you are beginning to wonder if there is anything more to this dream than incredibly detailed foliage, you make out a building cutting through the tree line. As you grow nearer, you’re able to make out an illuminated “MOTEL” sign posted at its entrance.

The area is lit in a dim warm glow, with a quick glance around showing a single room open, door cracked as golden light spills into the night. There is a man sat on the curb just outside the room, hunched forward, his elbows propped on his knees. What looks to be a beer bottle is held loosely in one hand as he clutches at his forehead with the other.

Do you dare approach?

You bite at your lip and mull over the thought. Realistically, that is not a smart move—who knows what kind of man he could be, what sort of danger he could pose—but you remind yourself: none of this is real; you are not in any actual danger.

And so, you make your way towards him.

"Lookin' a bit rough there, buddy.” Your voice cuts through the otherwise silent night, soft but with a jovial lilt. “You alright?”

The man chuckles drily without looking your way then takes a swig from his bottle. As you step closer you note how his hair curtains his face; it is a bit hard to be certain given the lighting, but he looks to be a dirty blonde. He is dressed in blue jeans and a dark jacket, and as you catch sight of his footwear, you find yourself questioning his choice in white chucks. Surely those get soiled easily.

“Guess I’m just wondering if I made the right choice.” comes his eventual reply. His shoulders bounce as he lets out another dry laugh, his head dropping to rest on the meat of his forearm. "Dropped everything for this new job only to get a call tellin’ me to stay away.”

Something tickles in the back of your mind—this sounds kind of familiar, and this guy’s outfit… Judging from the theme of your last couple dreams, could this be… surely not? …maybe?

“Well that’s a little odd,” you admit, taking a tentative seat beside him on the curb. You try to sneak a closer look at his face but his hair and the angle obscures your view too much. “Sounds like you could use a friend right now.”

He laughs, “What, you offering?”

Puffing out your chest and pounding it proudly, you huff, “Of course! I’m an amazing friend. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity I’ll have you know!”

You can see his shoulders bounce as he chuckles. He turns to face you, finally, and amicably replies, “I’m honored.” His smile is a goofy one, lopsided and messy in his inebriation, but the way his eyes crease—it’s genuine nonetheless.

Caught off guard by the disarming smile, it takes you a moment to really register his face. The lighting isn’t in your favor, but you see enough to confirm your suspicion.

The man sitting beside you, drunk off his ass, is none other than Leon S. Kennedy in all his baby-faced glory.

"Guess I'm just wondering if I jumped the gun…" Leon sighs out.

You can't help it—you snort. “Well, you do strike me as the kind of guy to make hot-headed decisions.”

He quirks a brow at you as he lets loose a dry chuckle—an invitation to go on.

“What, don’t wanna admit it?” You lean in with a devious smirk and bump his shoulder. “Bet you didn’t even tell your girlfriend why you were breaking up with her.”

He reels back, mouth dropping open. You let him flounder for a minute as he struggles for something to say before ultimately settling on, “Is it that obvious?”

You laugh. No, if it was anyone else, anywhere else—if this were real—you would never dare to make such bold assumptions.

“Oh yeah. Pathetically so, man.”

Leon groans miserably, dragging a hand down his face in embarrassment or frustration. You chuckle but don't say anything more, unsure where to go from here—what to say next—before Leon speaks first.

“So why’s my buddy walkin’ around so late at night all by herself anyway?” He politely offers his bottle but you shake your head and raise a palm in protest.

“No real reason,” you admit, “I just find night walks pretty comforting.”

Leon takes a swig from his bottle before casting a heavy look towards the dense tree line across from the motel. You catch the corner of his mouth dipping in a frown.

“We’re not all that far from where all those strange disappearances have been happening, you know.”

“What, worried about me?”

Leon chuckles, “What else are friends for?” It’s played off as a joke but knowing him, knowing this world, there is no doubting the implied message.

“I’m a big girl; I’ll be fine.” You dismiss with a bump to his shoulder.

A beat of silence passes, and you fear you have treaded into awkward territory, before he eventual sighs, “If you say so.”

"Mhm," you affirm with a pat to his back. “But with that being said, I guess I'd best be on my way. Make sure you don’t drink yourself blackout silly, alright?” You nod towards the nearly empty bottle—it’s a hollow warning since you know Leon drinks himself under the rug into the next afternoon, but it doesn’t hurt to say. He just huffs, raises his bottle in cheery acknowledgment, and to just be a little twat, chugs the remainder.

You roll your eyes at the immaturity but the smile on your lips is wide as can be. Stupid, cheesy, adorable man.

A familiar fuzz starts to creep along the edges of your vision, leaving you to suspect you are waking up. Of course this happens now. Is it some kind of unwritten rule that you have to wake up when things start to get good in a dream?

It's too soon—always too soon.

As you watch Leon, hunched over as he is eaten away by insecurities and knowing the horrors he will face in the very near and distant future, you want to give him some kind of encouragement.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Leon," you say with a firm pat to his shoulder and using him to leverage yourself to stand. Dusting yourself off, you continue, "The world can be a really ugly place but it's people like you—that're willing to do good and fight for what's right—that make it a world worth living in."

Leon remains silent and unmoving, seemingly mulling over your words.

You turn away and leave him to his thoughts, tracing your steps back into the darkness of the night. The world blurs and fades into nothing and the next thing you know, you're registering the clunking of tracks, a subtle jostling of all-surrounding movement, and a female voice announcing the next stop from an overhead intercom.

#Resident Evil Fanfiction #Resident Evil Fanfic #Reader Insert #The State of Unreality

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alastgoodnight · 2 years ago

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"Remember to always say goodnight to the ones who love you, even if you don't think you need to. Everyone deserves a goodnight."

Indie RP blog for Naomi Joy Sato, reclusive podcaster and caretaker of a strange and lonely library. A study in grief, found family, telling stories and learning to be loved again, through the lens of 90's/2000's children's shows. Mun is over 21, but blog is SFW. Highly selective. No minors, please. Penned by Esme. Takes place during the summer of 2023. Scary things may happen, but this is not a horror blog.

Quick Note: Posts tagged with 'Chapter #: Chapter Title' (replace appropriately) are story posts. They're meant to be treated as the 'source material' of this blog, and inform her progress and behavior in threads. They are not opens. I will not respond to any interactions with them.

Trigger warnings: Surrealist imagery, death of family/a child (in backstory), survivor's guilt, metaphorical body horror (mild), revisiting the same nightmare over and over and over again.

The Story So Far: Naom has accepted that she wants to stay in the Library. There is still work to be done, though, on both the building and herself, before that can be made official. The first thing to do is deliver some bouquets.

Current Library Residents:

Naomi Sato, the only human resident. She has agoraphobia, and needs an umbrella in order to feel comfortable going outside during the day.

Teddy, her goldfish stuffed animal. Not alive.

About 14 dust bunnies, including Buster and Wexel; Eenie, Meenie, Minie and Moe; and 'the class', a group of 8 dust bunnies always seen together.

Willa the Wallaphant, a felt elephant that resides in a series of tapestries decorating the library building.

Ragamonster/Rags: A quadrupedal puppet made of blue, green and yellow scraps and yarn, Ragamonster is the monster under Naomi's bed. Very large but easily frightened, Rags is as sweet as he is skittish, and prefers to be close to Naomi or under a small roof.

Arlo: The Sandman of Slumber Hill, Arlo is a ram puppet/costume who wears dark, glittering robes and bells on his horns. He acts as a voice of reason and comfort, and only appears at night, right before bedtime. He is always accompanied by his flock of sheep, which you can count to fall asleep.

The Flock: Arlo's sheepy, so sleepy. They hop fences.

Current Library Anomalies:

Blue Dreams: A series of dreams in which Naomi finds herself in an enclosed space filled with matte blue something. After the incident with the Blue Mirror, the dreams have come to a halt, due to Naomi drawing a hard boundary with the Library.

Three Goldfish: A new addition to the Blue Dream phenomenon, these three goldfish come in varying sizes and are noted for their solid colors of Orange, Yellow and White. They represent Naomi's memories of her father, mother, and sister respectively.

Blue Umbrella: An umbrella of clear blue vinyl, decorated with big, matte white raindrops and clouds. It appears to have no magical qualities, but is an effective aide in helping Naomi go outside without experiencing vertigo, due to its visual distortion of the sky.

Newspaper: A changing, self-updating newspaper consisting mostly of blocks of ink. Currently legible are the following passages: "HOROSCOPE: YOU SHOULD PICK A BOUQUET FOR THEM", a panel that says "Weather prediction: Surely it will rain eventually?", and an announcement for "FIREFLY SHOW TONIGHT, FOLLOWED BY FIRST SHEEP COUNTING OF SEASON". It is apparent that whatever entity the library is, this is its best medium for communicating through words.

Closet Mirror: A full-length mirror at the end of the second floor's walk-in closet. It depicts a strange metal lump floating in front of Naomi's chest that leaks a matte blue liquid. A particularly intense sequence of blue dreams has led Naomi to realize this is a manifestation of her (emotional) heart, and its "blue love" will continue to flood and stain everything in her life until she understands what it's trying to tell her. Currently flipped to face the wall.

Mirror Door: The mirror can transform into a door, which leads Naomi into a currently undefined space. Within it, the Library can show her memories and dreams with more interaction and clarity.

Roadside Ditch: A ditch across from the library and the road leading to it. Naomi and Arlo have picked all the flowers from it.

The Red Shape: Naomi sometimes sees a red shape far down the road, obscured by distance and the wavering of hot air. Its most recent appearance caused her to fall into the ditch, for fear of it striking Ragamonster. She now believes this to be a figment of her own memory, rather than part of Lullaby Lane.

Letterbox: A magic letterbox which can teleport any written message put through its slot to its intended recipient. It sits on the desk upstairs. (If you want to send or get asks, this is a great medium for them!)

Blue Love Poem: A poem Naomi has been struggling to write. She is starting to understand what Blue Love means.

The Story: Not an anomaly. A story Naomi tells herself but has never finished. She can very easily get stuck saying one or two sentences over and over. This followed her to the Library.

Table of Contents:

Preproduction (Prologue) - (chrono)

Pilot Episode (Chapter 1) - (chrono)

Casting Call (Chapter 2) - (chrono)

Set Design (Chapter 3) - (chrono)

Prop Development (Chapter 4) - (chrono)

Costume Fittings (Chapter 5) - (chrono)

Table Readings (Chapter 6) - (chrono)

Script Revisions (Chapter 7)

Naomi's Dream Log - (chrono)

#pinned post

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tenpintsof-sundrop · 2 months ago

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one: I think it's just poor storyboard editing on the show's part to not focus on the stabbing rather than an assassination of Scott's entire character or an attempt to belittle his pain.

especially when we got an episode like Motel California which makes Scott intensely vulnerable to the audience, especially when he genuinely questions if he's under a curse or if there's just something wrong with him. he thinks he's flawed and not good enough to be a hero and he feels the pressure of too much being put on his shoulders. if the writers didn't focus on his pain, then we as the audience wouldn't even know that. even the episode before it - where he is under a psychology that refuses to let him physically heal because he feels like he failed Derek, and he is too emotionally caught up in what happened with Derek in order to let himself heal. how is that not focusing on Scott's pain and not letting him have time to be vulnerable?

two: just to be clear, you're saying that Stiles witnessing a murder is a 'minor issue'? Correction: Stiles witnessing a murder while being paralyzed with a strange unknown substance, being completely unable to help the murder victim as he screams for help, and fully believing that he is apt to die next.

"Instead it made it look as if Stiles minor issues were so much worse, because Stiles did get to whine and linger on even the tiniest thing that happened to him. (aka how we don't get any flashbacks, even in the previouslies, to the Gerard thing, but we do get a previously with Stiles watching the mechanic die)"

and to my understanding, the point of us getting a flashback to Stiles watching the mechanic die was to show the audience that Stiles and the Kanima knew each other (when they were still trying to solve the mystery of the Kanima's identity), and to reason out why Stiles wasn't killed. it wasn't to 'linger on Stiles's pain' - it was to provide information and context to the audience through a new lens.

yeah, Scott suffers from what a lot of male main characters do - Overpowered Badass Syndrome, where he has to seem indestructible to the audience in order for the fight scenes to be cool and in order for the story to progress, but he has a lot of amazing vulnerable human moments and the show definitely lets him have pain.

everything you write screams 'I have a favourite character and it completely skews the way I absorb the source material'. if you think Stiles helplessly witnessing a murder is a 'minor issue' that he was WHINING ABOUT and that Scott's pain is completely repressed throughout the show, you have terrible fandom brain and you need to revisit the show with fresh eyes

(and I still completely assert that my original post was mostly a joke post about how Teen Wolf has some laughable parody like moments, and I was pointing one of those moments out to laugh about the comical obscurity of it)

Just remembered - out of all the unhinged and parody level things Teen Wolf has done - in the first ten minutes of Season 2, they had a scene of Scott and Allison making out in a car hot and heavy where Chris Argent literally rips Scott out of the car with seemingly inhuman strength and sticks a gun to his head in a blind rage forcing Allison to beg for Scott's life when Scott and Chris seemed on not murderous terms at the end of S1, with a heavy Twilight filter over the scene leading me to believe it was a dream sequence in Scott's mind the first time I saw it

But no. It was real. Chris Argent just decided to go batshit that day

#sundrop speaks #discussion #yikes #this is vying for one of the worst fandom takes I have ever had to read with my own two eyes #and for the record I like Scott and Stiles equally as characters #teen wolf

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zorya-wellness · 3 years ago

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Lammas/Lughnasadh Pagan Holiday

Lammas or Lughnasadh is a Pagan holiday celebrated on August 1st. It symbolizes the end of the summer period (yes, even though you may not want to hear that we are on our way to the end) and the beginning of magical fall.

The Lammas holiday is also closely connected to the harvest season.

It is traditionally believed that the period of Lammas celebration was very important in the religious communities, not only from the perspective of Pagan or Christian traditions but also due to its agricultural significance.

Lammas versus Lughnasadh. What Is The Difference?

First of all, let’s talk about terminology a bit.

Lammas comes from Anglo-Saxon hlaf-mas, "loaf-mass", therefore also known as Loaf Mass Day and it is a Christian holiday.

The celebration of this holiday by the Christian community is in part similar to what we will be discussing later. The holiday signifies a period of being blessed by the first gifts of the harvest season. The wheat collected is often used to make the Lammas bread that would later be brought to church for a blessing.

Lughnasadh or Lughnasa is the name used by the “Neopagan” community and just as Lammas, marks the beginning of the harvest period. It is the time when we are grateful for the abundance of the Mother Earth.

How to pronounce Lughnasadh?

The term Lughnasadh comes from the Irish spelling of the word. The Modern way of Irish pronunciation is Lúnasa and pronounced Loo-nuh-suh. The Classical pronunciation is /’luɣ.nə.səð/ like LUGH-nuh-sudh (where “gh” is pronounced as i a word "give" and the “dh” is like the “th” in “that”.) It is probably the most correct pronunciation of Lughnasadh, as Lugh or Lug is the God from Irish mythology and the one this holiday is dedicated to at the first place.

How Lammas Originated?

Lammas came from a desire of people to thank and celebrate the “father” Sun and the Mother Earth for the fruits of their “love” - the harvest.

To bless the marriage of God and Goddess and ask for a buy dance and prosperity in the upcoming months.

It was considered that August 1st marks the first day of fall. And on August 2nd it was already the time to pick up the harvest and so the days of hunger and need would we over.

The holiday was widely celebrated in:

Ireland: the name Lughnasadh comes from the Irish God Lugh and is translated at “the marriage of Lugh.

Scotland

Isle of Man

In Slavic countries (called “medovyi spas”)

Let’s Talk More About The Harvest.

When we hear “Lammas”, we often think about the period of harvest right away. It is the most talked about moment of Lammas or Lughnasadh but we need to truly understand what stands behind the concept of harvest.

If you are a careful reader, you have noticed I specifically say the beginning of harvest. I also want to explain more what I mean by the time of being grateful.

You see, Lammas is the day of the beginning of the harvest period and NOT the time when we are assessing the outcome and are drawing conclusions of how successful we’ve been (there will be another holiday dedicated to this, called Mabon).

But the first day of harvest is the time when the quality of life changes. It is the time when it becomes predictable what expectations we can have and taste the first ripe fruits.

Simply put, it is the moment when something you worked so hard on, finally becomes tangible and it also becomes YOURS.

A skill you were developing is almost acquired but not to the point when it becomes a reflex. The investments you’ve made are starting to produce some cash flow but still need your attention.

You also need to understand that it is not possible to continuously perfect something or wait for an opportune moment. At some point, you need to release into the world what you have the way it is and improve things on the go.

Where am I going with this philosophical deviation, you probably are wondering…

This is what Lammas period really is about. It is the time when we transition from preparation to action.

What does it mean for you in real life situation?

Lammas gives you are opportunity of the perfect time to do something you were afraid of doing.

It may be that you were working on a website for your very own blog but we’re too afraid to press that “publish” button, thinking it is not perfect yet.

Or you may have been writing a book but haven’t started to search for a publisher, changing and tweaking things in an attempt for it to be perfect.

You may have been doing research for a new job you always wanted or university program you wanted to apply for but haven’t felt ready to finally made the move and submit an application.

Do you see the pattern?

Lammas is the time when you were ALREADY in the process of doing something but haven’t had the energy for the final step. And this period of the first week of August is for you to pull yourself together and make the move.

And when Mabon comes, we will be assessing the results of our actions.

"Can I celebrate Lughnasadh if I’m not pagan?"

First of all, like I mentioned in my other Blog posts related to the Wheel of the Year, you don’t need to be Pagan to celebrate or acknowledge Wheel of the Year holidays.

RELATED: What Is Pagan Wheel of the Year and How to Celebrate It? Beginner Pagan's Guide

You need to be aware of the existence of the energy of the Mother Earth, it’s changes and shifts and how this affects our lives.

So, What Can You Do To Celebrate Lughnasadh/Lammas?

Lammas/Lughnasadh Traditions and Rituals

Do Some Lammas Divination Work

The period from July 31st to August 6th is the perfect time for divination work. Tarot, Runes and oracles will provide with great messages, especially in career/money (material) and love questions (especially compatibility related).

Don’t forget to show gratitude to the Universe and Mother Earth. It is important to maintain the energy exchange, at the very least with the well known gratitude and love practices.

Show gratitude towards others too, don’t forget to show acknowledgment and say “thank you”.

Make Lammas Bread

During this period, it is the great time to infuse your food and drinks with the energy of love and gratitude, as well as thank the Source and the Planet for its generosity. Of course, the best way to celebrate this holidays is to make Lammas bread. I am giving you this quick bread recipe that does not require a lot of products or special skills

Lammas Abundance Bread Recipe

For this little Ritual you will need to make (not buy!) corn bread.

Lammas Bread Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup of corn flour

1 1/2 cup wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup of sugar 2 tbs of cooled down melted butter

4 cups of milk

2 tsp of baking powder

Instructions:

Mix flour and salt together in a deep bowl.In a separate bowl with milk add baking powder; then add sugar and butter.Mix all the ingredients together in one bowl until the consistency is that of a sour cream. It will not be similar to regular bread dough you may be making at home.

*While you are mixing, talk into the bowl anything you want to accomplish that is related to the abundance. Whatever the abundance means to YOU. It does not have to be financial. Maybe you will feel abundant and complete when you have a large family. Then go for it.

Pour the Lammas bread dough into a baking dish (don't forget to butter the dish). Bake for about 40-50 minutes at 360 degrees F.When the colour is nice and golden, take the bread out and let it cool.

When you sit down for a meal, break off (not cut) a large piece of Lammas bread and say: "Large piece of bread in my hand will bring me abundance and plenty." Don’t forget to share your food with the Gods (leave some bread in nature, the way you see fit and depending on the type of deity you are working with.)

Lughnasadh Home Blessing and Abundance Ritual

This ritual can be done during the same time as you are making your Lammas bread.

It is done to invite luck and abundance into your home. BUT. You can change your intent to protection, if you’d like.

All you need to do is to set aside some dough when you are making it for your break and create a figure of an animal. My personal suggestion is to select a farm animal due to the nature of the energy of this holiday.

When you are done, you will need to follow basic figure talisman activation steps. I have adapted the suggestions of Vadim Zeland for this.

*If you are interested in who Vadim Zeland is, click here to read more about him. His book Reality Transurfing has changed my life forever.

Animal activation steps:

Come up with a name for your animal

Take a deep breath. Now breathe into the animal, imagining giving it energy and life.

Tell the animal its name. Tell it that you love and care for it and, in exchange, it's helping you with (whatever you want to ask for).

Place the animal anywhere in the house, depending on the task you give it.

Don't forget to revisit daily and remind the animal of your love and the important task it is doing for you.

Don’t forget to check out complete Blog Post on my website for more information on Lammas traditions, as well as my other Blog posts on Pagan holidays, Rune Meanings and more.

#lammas #lughnasadh #wheel of the year #pagan #paganism #baby wiccan #baby witch #witches #witchlife #witch lady #witchy #witch #wiccapedia #beginner wiccan #wicca #pagan wicca

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bubblesandgutz · 2 years ago

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Every Record I Own - Day 740: Los Crudos / Spitboy Viviendo Asperamente - Roughly Living

Pardon the gap between posts, but I was on tour in Europe for the last six weeks, and though I always intend to keep up with this blog while I’m traveling, it’s hard to find a quiet moment to listen to revisit these records, let alone come up with anything meaningful to say about them.

It’s especially difficult to find words for a record like Viviendo Asperamente - Roughly Living, a split LP by two bands that loomed large in the DIY hardcore scene of the early/mid-’90s. While the release of this album felt like a major event in my preferred corner of the underground, it isn’t a record that I’ve revisited much in the last twenty-something years.

Los Crudos were---and continue to be---legends of hardcore. Their music was fast and furious, but what truly set them apart was that they sang entirely in Spanish, and their lyrics focused on issues faced by the Latinx community in the United States. Their records were hard to come by back in the early ‘90s, and this relatively high profile release by Ebullition Records was one of the rare offerings by the band that was widely distributed outside of the band’s base of Chicago.

Spitboy were revered participants in the anarcho-punk scene---a Bay Area institution of fiery feminism and distinct voices in a realm that was disproportionately male. While their earlier material veered towards scrappy four-chord barked anthems, their tracks on Roughly Living had a noisier, more dynamic, and less traditionally “punk” approach. Abetted by the recording expertise of Steve Albini, Spitboy’s half of the LP was easily my favorite material of their discography---an emotionally turbulent and sonically invigorating swan song for the quartet.

I have a lot of feelings about this record, though very few of those feelings are bound up in the actual music. I remember ordering this LP my freshman year of college. The album felt like a big deal at the time, and I distinctly remember having this moment of realization as an 18-year-old living on my own that I didn’t need to go through my parents to order records through the mail, like I’d had to do in high school. I had my own bank account and my own checkbook. Granted, I didn’t have much money, but Ebullition releases were cheap. I put an order in from one of their advertisements in the label’s HeartattaCk zine, waited patiently for three weeks, and got a box delivered to my dorm room. It was such a distinct period in my life: that first frivolous purchase made as an adult. And it was a distinct period in the world of hardcore: the last year or two of the pre-internet world where if you wanted to order a record, you still had to do it through snail mail with an enclosed check.

While I haven’t gotten much mileage out of this LP in the last few decades, I played songs off of both sides of Viviendo Asperamente - Roughly Living frequently in the first year of my college radio show at KUPS, particularly Spitboy’s “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” Listening to it today, I feel like I’m back in the DJ booth in the basement of the student union building, queueing up the next record on their old Technics turntables. So many of my feelings with this record have to do with that era and the imminent shifts in my life, in hardcore, and within the broader world. In many ways, it feels like a record that marks my personal transition into adulthood. And as a 44-year-old, its presence in my record collection serves less as a source of listening pleasure and more as a token of that time period.

#los crudos #spitboy #everyrecordiown

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greatqueenanna · 2 years ago

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Hello! I am Saiten, a Frozen fan who is interested in summarizing the information of Frozen Franchise. I've read your post on Frozen canons, which is amazing as well as valuable. Last year, I put much effort into selecting canons out of more than a hundred official publications while writing Annals of Frozen, a fanart about the history of Arendelle, so I'm very pleased to see someone who discussed canons and found evidences to support the views. I should say I agree with most of your thoughts, but there are some questions I want to discuss.

1, I think some books can also be viewed as canons, while not included in your lists, like The Art of Frozen (I, II) which were reviewed directly by filmmakers, and Frozen II Deluxe Junior Novelization, the official novel of Frozen II, and Frozen II The Official Movie Special, an official interview with filmmakers on F II.

2, For Unlocking Arendelle and Google Assistant Frozen Stories, though no evidences indicating they were reviewed by filmmakers, their contents actually have close connections to FOS, DS and PN, including saga of Aren, Huldréfolk, Queen Rita, etc. What's your opinion on these two works?

3, It's clear that many books and comics were not included in your lists, some of which probably worth discussing, like A Frozen World and All around Arendelle, which provide much additional information about Arendelle, especially the castle. Do you have intentions to update your work to make more publications included and discussed? Or maybe you didn't consider them as canons?

Actually, I'm currently working on the second edition of Annals of Frozen together with my friend Winter loves summer and FrozenHeart, so I'm willing to discuss canons more deeply. You can add me on Discord (Saiten#6728) if you want. Hope to receive your reply soon. Thank you for your time!

Saiten

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed my post, and I will take a look at the Discord when I can. Now for your questions -

My post mostly covers story-related materials - basically, anything that continues the story to some degree or adds significant lore. This is initially why I didn't include Art books and novelizations. However, I will consider adding them to the Quick Bonus page.

I was not sure where to place books at the time of making the PowerPoint, as I still need to sit down and actually read a lot of them and do research on their development. Thus, I excluded them for now, but I will revisit them in the future.

If you don't see specifically mentioned, something, it could be because -

A. I only use examples so I don't have a picture for every storybook released, for example, because - well there's a lot haha.

B. I'm still reviewing it.

C. Because it is a guidebook, and as said I'm still looking into those.

D. I possibly didn't know it existed haha.

If you have any sources you would like to share, do not hesitate to message me!

#greatqueenanna/responses

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marin3llyells · 2 years ago

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How to answer that gasgas question: "Kumusta ka na?"

Few days before writing this, I got a chance to revisit recorded lecture from one of my favorite professors during my 3rd year as BS Psychology major in a state university.

The module tackles what the title itself calls for: Understanding feelings. Techniques and reminders were discussed on behalf of being a mental health facilitator inline with helping a client to understand and identify their feelings.

I can definitely say, that I was startled of what Doc mentioned during the discussion.

"Okay lang" kasi ang madalas nating sagot.

List of words were shown after he mentioned this by use of another slide or two. It really emphasized for me that we are left to say "Okay lang" when in reality, we just find it hard to describe how we actually feel. We are not aware of finding the words we could have used to answer those question or to just give ourselves a way to understand and react to different situations.

Answering a simple gasgas question can only be answered when we start to see and let ourselves feel what must be felt. May this be a reminder to whoever who'll get to read this.

Hit below to go for our first steps! :>

First, Make time. In order to recognize how we feel, we have to give time to sink-in the current events; May it be related to family, work, friends, anything. REALLY! This includes giving time to ourselves before reacting to our surroundings. Which save us that pagsisi sa huli.

How about read your dictionary, or visit Mr. Google? Yep, we can make use of sources. Talk about sources! This days we are so close to being limitless! We can even get to see and hear the stories of our favorite youtubers, friends, maski nga mga kaklase mo nung grade 1, pwede kang makacatch-up. In short, the answers you'll need is reachable, that #relateakojan social media post you usually share on facebook is actually a helpful material for you as well in order to understand your feelings.

TALK ABOUT IT. Basic is to share it to your friends or just someone you trust. Go for healthy conversations, two-way communication is an actual give and take. It'll help you hear yourself and the other angle of perception through others. However, it's not really mandatory to talk it out, because there's various ways to address it.

Go find you channel. Writting, singing, art. I remember way back during highschool, I did painting. I played with colors and unconsciouly, it was a way of my release of stress. Few years after, I realized it was like an art therapy. It was my channel to see my happy days was when I played with happy colors; real bright ones like sunrise palette! Nakakamiss, sa totoo lang.

Anyways, if you reached this far...

It might be fun to hear from you if this helps, or maybe hear from you with how you try to identify and recognize how you feel so that I could try it out too :>

Go yell for yourself, when it is for your voice and growth! <3

Stop yelling how messed up your day is without seeing the small things you might miss appreciating.

#feelings #philipines #mental health

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spoadicdeviance · 3 years ago

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When “Anger Always Wins In The End”: The Story of X-Play vs Skyward Sword

Gather around the Barcalounger over by the fireplace friends, family, and those who only come to the Skyward Sword tag to bash the game in question. Old SporadicDeviance is going to tell you a tale that harkens back from the far distant past of 2011. It’s going to be a quite a long story, so you might want to get comfy.

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword was making its rounds across the mainstream game review circuit, largely earning 9′s and 10′s across the boards. The game also ended becoming one of the very few games to earn perfect scores from both EDGE magazine and Famitsu. Talks of potential Game of the Year awards were already underway.

Yes it seemed Skyward Sword would experience nothing but smooth sailing when it comes to the gaming media.

Enter X-Play; the TV show focused on game coverage airing on the network dedicated to gaming and technology (in the sense that MTV used to be dedicated to music) G4.

Starting in summer 1998, as GameSpot TV, and ultimately concluding its run by the start of 2013, this show was perhaps the most popular source of game reviews in its heyday. In fact, with the shows propensity to include heavy layers of snark and cynicism in their reviews, as well as having the tendency of preforming comedic skits based on the various games they covered, one could say that X-Play was one of the progenitors of various online independent game reviewers that started from around 2006 and continue to the present day.

“Why bring up the show’s history?” One may ask. Well its important to establish that the programs was very popular with a substantial viewership, even in its final years of broadcast.

Which brings us to the moment that X-Play and Skyward Sword crossed paths.

It all started with the shows review of the game and the program ultimately giving Skyward Sword an overall score of a 4 out of 5. This caused a bit of stir amongst X-Play’s audience.

Now, on the surface, a score like that wouldn’t appear to be anything to really harp on about. Sure, a 4 out of 5 score was on the lower end of the range of scores Skyward Sword was receiving at the time. Nevertheless, a 4 out of 5 was still overall a good score.

However, as said before, this is all surface level. To get a full understanding of why some gamers were questioning X-Play’s review, you have to look at both how X-Play defines its rating scale as well as the content of the review itself, beyond the final score.

First let’s talk about X-Play’s ratings scale. In 2011 the program updated the meaning behind each of the five different ratings. For a game to earn a 5 out of 5, the game would have to “realize all ambitions of its design” while a 4 out of 5 game would only accomplish most of its goals.

Well Skyward Sword’s goal was to be the proof of concept on what the Wii’s intent was as a console. The game’s ambition was to show the world that motion controls not only be practical as the primary means of control for a AAA game but also in some ways surpass traditional controls in terms of immersion and practicality. Does that mean by giving Skyward Sword a 4 out of 5, X-Play thinks Skyward Sword didn’t fully accomplish its ambition?

No. They didn’t think Skyward Sword failed in that regard. In fact, in their review of the game, X-Play stated that despite initial skepticism on Skyward Sword going all in on motion controls, hosts Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb were pleasantly shocked with how good the controls felt, saying that the Wii-Motion Plus controls were fluid, responsive, seamless, and never frustrating. They also stated that if all Wii games controlled just was well as Skyward Sword then a large majority of complaints lobbied against the system would never have materialized.

So what caused the show to give Skyward Sword a 4 out of 5? According to X-Play’s 2011 rating system and game needs to have “minor flaws” on order to get a 4 out of 5 score. So what did X-Play think were said flaws?

Well X-Play used the trite “revisit certain areas of the game” non-criticism that I’ve already touched on in a prior post. It’s weird since games like Metroid Prime also used backtracking and X-Play still gave those games perfect 5 out of 5 scores.

They also said that there wasn’t much to do in the Sky overworld, which is outright wrong considering all of the goddess treasures and various sky islands that have their own minigames/sub quests to do. Yes its mainly side content but almost every Zelda overworlds are mainly used for side content and linking the various areas in the map. I think I’ll go more in depth on the whole “The Sky is too empty.” criticism in another post.

Then they complained about how your shield can break and you would have to go back to Skyloft in order to purchase a new shield. Seriously? This is like when people complain that in Banjo Kazooie, when you die, you have to recollect all the music notes. That’s the point. The game is punishing you for messing up during the combat. Also the game doesn’t force you to purchase a new shield. You can play the game without a shield if you choose to do so.

I would say the shield bit is the worst criticism in the review if it wasn’t for the frankly dumb, and hilarious in hindsight, critique of Skyward Sword’s crafting system. Adam called the system “grindy” and said that crafting doesn’t fit in a Zelda game. Considering how Breath of the Wild not only has a crafting system, but also, by X-Play’s standards, made it more grindy than it was in Skyward Sword, I think even Skyward Sword’s biggest detractors can call this assessment of Skyward Sword crafting system half-baked at best.

And those were the flaws X-Play found in Skyward Sword. Even if those critiques were legitimate, and let’s face it they’re not, it doesn’t seem like these flaws are enough to justify docking Skyward Sword an entire point in a 5 point rating system, does it?

Well according to a lot of fans of the show, it wasn’t. Fans were speculating that X-Play wasn’t really sincere in their giving Skyward Sword a 4 out of 5. Some thinking that they set out to not give the game a perfect score and were grasping at straws trying to find any justification for their score, rather than have their final score come naturally as they played/reviewed the game.

By all accounts, Skyward Sword seemed to have been more deserving of a 5 out of 5 score rather than a 4 out of 5, according to a lot of X-Play’s viewership.

Viewer response to Skyward Sword’s 4 out of 5 score might have been the primary reason X-Play revamped their ratings scale the following year, using “half-stars” in its ratings (ultimately making the rating system a 10 point scale) as well as reworking the conditions for a 5 out of 5 score. Now for a game to achieve a 5 out of 5 a game doesn’t have to achieve all of its design ambitions and merely not have any “issues” which would result in a 4 out of 5.

My suspicion that the viewer response to the Skyward Sword review was the catalyst for the change is only strengthened by the fact that X-Play used Skyward Sword as their example of a 4 out of 5 game in their new ratings system.

But despite all that, the backlash to X-Play’s review was relatively minor, especially compared to the backlash a certain other professional reviewer got for giving Skyward Sword a lower score compared to X-Play, but that’s a tale for another time.

This isn’t the main part of the the story. X-Play’s review of Skyward Sword and the viewer response to said review were all the primer for the centerpiece of this tale.

It’s now time for the awards season. All the various gaming publications were nominating and awarding the best games of 2011. Skyward Sword managed to get itself plenty of nominations, including Overall Game of the Year from publications like EDGE.

But what about X-Play? What awards did they nominate Skyward Sword for?

Did X-Play nominate Skyward Sword for Game of the Year?

No.

Did X-Play nominate Skyward Sword for Best Action/Adventure Game?

Did X-Play nominate Skyward Sword for Most Innovative Game?

No. .

Did X-Play nominate Skyward Sword for Best Story?

No.

Did X-Play nominate Skyward Sword for Best Art Direction?

No.

All Skyward Sword was nominated for were Best Soundtrack and Best Motion Controls.

And you want to know the really messed up part; Skyward Sword only won for Best Soundtrack and lost the Best Motion Controls award to Dance Central 2. Let that sink for a beat. DDR Kinect 2 Dance Central 2 apparently had better motion controls than Skyward Sword according to X-Play. This despite of all the praise the show gave Skyward Sword’s controls in its review. This is like when the Queen bio-pic, Bohemian Rhapsody, won the Oscar for “Best Editing”. Are you kidding me?! But I digress.

Needless to say, if viewers were just a little peeved with X-Play’s review of Skyward Sword, they were outright mad with how the show basically snubbed Skyward Sword from its award show.

The vast majority of gamers felt that, even if the game would ultimately not win many awards, Skyward Sword should have at least had more than two (relatively minor) award nominations and should have been nominated for Game of the Year. X-Play was being called out, rightfully so, for not giving Skyward Sword its fair dues.

But all was not lost for Skyward Sword, for while X-Play would have full control on which games were nominated and which game would win the majority the awards, the fans would have their own say for one certain award.

G4 decided to do what they called a “Videogame Deathmatch”. This was basically a tournament consisting of 32 games released in 2011.

Each round would have multiple games paired off to face off against each other. The general public would go online and vote for one of the two games in each match to go on to the next round. The first round had people vote between 16 pairs of games. The next round would have 8. Etc. Etc. This would culminate in a final round where the two winners of each side of the bracket would face off and the people would vote between these last two games to decide which game would win the tournament and would receive the Viewer’s Choice Award at X-Play’s Best of 2011 Award Show.

Skyward Sword was one of the 32 games selected for the tournament, whether it was because G4 honestly thought the game deserved a chance to win or they were simply trying to placate fans of the game.

I would say the latter because the side of the bracket Skyward Sword was on was definitely the more competitive side of the two. How more competitive? Well while the side of the bracket Skyward Sword was on had games like Portal 2, Minecraft, Uncharted 3, Batman Arkham City and The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim, the game that would become the finalist for the other side of the bracket was Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. Does that answer your question?

So Skyward Sword faced some stiff competition. It really seemed like G4 and X-Play did not want Skyward Sword to win this tournament so they made sure it would go head to head against some of the most popular games of 2011. It was going to be a miracle if Skyward Sword made it to the final round.

Well let me tell you something; a miracle did occur that year.

In round 1, Skyward Sword went up against Uncharted 3, the flagship PS3 title of 2011, and the fans voted for Skyward Sword over Uncharted 3.

In round 2, Skyward sword went head to head against Fifa 12, the latest entry of the videogame series based off of the most popular sport in the world, and the majority chose Skyward Sword over Fifa 12.

In round 3, Skyward Sword faced off against Batman Arkham City, the game that is considered to be one of the greatest superhero games ever made (if not the greatest), and Skyward Sword got more votes than Batman Arkham City.

In the semi-finals, Skyward Sword went one on one against The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, one of the best selling games of all time, and the gamers chose The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword over Skyrim.

Needless to say when Skyward Sword went up against Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, a game that even fans of the Assassin’s Creed franchise don’t hold in the highest regards (at least it’s not Unity?) in the final round, the vote went overwhelmingly in Skyward Sword’s favor.

The end result was that Skyward Sword won G4TV’s Videogame Deathmatch: Best of 2011 Tournament and was awarded the Viewer’s Choice Award for 2011.

Now when it came time to officially announce the winner of the winner of the Viewer’s Choice Award during the televised award ceremony, how do you think the hosts handled the situation?

Well take a look for yourself with this Youtube video archiving X-Play’s award show that year. (Timestamp 34:04-35:25)

They start out by saying how close the matchup between Skyward Sword and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations was, despite the fact that by accounts of those who participated in the voting process, Assassin’s Creed never got more than 40% of the votes in the final round, but that can be chalked up as theatrics for the audience.

When they reveal to the audience that Skyward Sword won the final round and in turn won the Viewer’s Choice Award, you can juts tell that Adam Sessler is not happy with the results. The way he’s moving his body. His tense face and pursed lips. The sarcastic tone in his voice as he calls Skyward Sword “Nintendo’s love letter to motion controls”.

Adam is not happy that the game he and the rest of the staff at X-Play snubbed from their award ceremony not only won the Viewer’s Choice Award but also beat two of their nominees for Game of the Year, including their choice for overall Game of the Year, in the process.

At this point, most people think it would be best for Adam to just accept the results for what they are, give Skyward Sword a proper congratulations, and move on with the next award of the night, in spite of Adam’s personal feelings towards the situation. Just be professional. That’s all Adam needed to do.

Most would think that, but Adam Sessler is not most people.

As the hosts were talking about Skyward Sword’s win, Blair Herter made a passing comment saying that the Nintendo fanbase being “enraged” over Skyward Sword not being nominated for Game of the Year helped Skyward Sword win the Viewer’s Choice Award.

Adam immediately jumped on that by adding with and I quote;

“Enraged? That’s a-th-th-that’s a nice term. It was close race, but ANGER always wins in the end.”

Wow. I mean wow. Not even the Red Sea is as salty as Adam Sessler was with that comment.

He couldn’t just take the L like an adult and move on. He felt like he had to get the final word on the matter.

It’s like Adam wants to say the Viewer’s Choice Award doesn’t really count because the vote didn’t go the way he wanted. This is, ironically, the kind of immature fanboy behavior Adam is trying to make fun of. It makes it seem like Adam thinks he’s above the “unwashed masses” that participated in the Videogame Deathmatch voting process.

Regardless on if you think Skyward Sword deserved to win the tournament, you must admit that this was bad look on Adam’s part.

Now I don’t want to end this post on a bittersweet note so I want you to think about what actually happened.

Skyward Sword is so beloved by the majority of gamers that when a review show as big as X-Play tried to downplay the game’s quality as well snub the game from its best of the year award show, the gamers respond by making sure Skyward Sword won the title of the Viewer’s Choice awards.

And this is one of several time where when major reviewer publications/programs reached out to their audience, the gamers, to get their take on what game they felt was the best game of 2011, and The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword was chosen by said gamers as the the best game of that year.

It’s funny because whenever I bring up that point, the minority of Skyward Sword detractors try to make up some excuse to delegitimize Skyward Sword winning the viewer’s choice award.

When I mention Skyward Sword winning IGN’s viewer’s choice award, or when Skyward Sword was voted the number one, best game of 2011 by the fans of ScrewAttack, they say “Oh that’s because fans of Skyrim, Batman Arkham City, Portal 2, and so on were divided amongst themselves while Nintendo fans were united in their support for Skyward Sword. If the poll wasn’t a free for all, Skyward Sword wouldn’t win.”

Well here’s another instance of Skyward Sword winning a viewer’s choice award; Skyward Sword had to go one-on-one against multiple games in order to win the viewer’s choice award. Skyward Sword got more votes than some of the most popular, well reviewed, and highest selling games of that year. More gamers preferred Skyward Sword over Uncharted 3, Arkham City, and Skyrim.

I think all of that, along with how Skyward Sword was considered the best game of 2011 by ScrewAttack and IGN users, and how people are hyped for the HD rerelease, it’s safe to say that despite what some vocal people may try to say otherwise, The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword is a game that is far more beloved by gamers than it is “divisive”.

#the legend of zelda #skyward sword #ocarina of time #breath of the wild #majora's mask #wind waker #twilight princess #a link to the past #a link between worlds #fi #link #groose #ghirahim #demise #impa #x-play

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timeclonemike · 3 years ago

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Axiom Verge 2: Here We Go Again

So Axiom Verge 2 came out not long ago, but I don’t have a Switch and I don’t trust the Epic Games Store. Rather than wait and possibly get spoiled, I bit the bullet and watched a Let’s Play.

Consequently I can now build on this post. Cutting for length and spoilers right about here.

The Filter: The biggest revelation that AV2 provides is a refinement of the multiverse theory, plus defining some terms from the original game. Trace’s note next to his wheelchair mentions going upstream to the Filter or beyond for answers. As it happens, “upstream” refers literally to the Worldstream, and different universes are connected to each other in a serial fashion. The terminology used to describe the connections is upstream and downstream, with upstream leading towards the Source Worlds that are the progenitors of all other universes. Likewise, the Filter refers to worlds in the worldstream that function as firewalls and safety mechanisms to keep disruptive influences from downstream worlds from traveling too far up, since disrupting one world can damage all of the worlds downstream from that world.

We even get to see the Worldstream or some analog to it when Indra (the protagonist of Axiom Verge 2) travels to the Filter world upstream of Kiengir (which is either upstream of or parallel to Earth) and the background of the rooms is a MASSIVE fractal pattern originating from / coalescing into a singularity off in the distance.

There are also some notes from Trace to Dr. Hammond, his research partner in the cutscene for the first game who took Trace’s revolutionary theory and turned into a way to make Faster Than Light communication and computing technology. Dr. Hammond also finds herself in a unique position to test one of the possibilities implicit in Trace’s theory, namely if the existence of an afterlife is somehow accounted for in the multiverse. One of the notes in the first game says that different instances of a person across the multiverse can survive events that their counterparts do not, but that the survivors have no idea that they even have a counterpart who died.

What happens in the second game is more about what happens to the ones that didn’t make it, because Dr. Hammond is communicating with Indra through the prototype superluminal communicators (called ansibles) scattered here and there, but Indra can also find Hammond’s body and a suicide note in some of Kiengir’s ruins. Dr. Hammond refers to where she is as a sort of “detention center” that she needs Indra’s help to escape from, and this help involves hacking the control computer in the Filter world. An earlier message at an ansible mentions data throttling, which seems to refer to the memory limitations of the ansible prototypes themselves; they can only send so much data over their operational lifetimes.

Except there’s Trace’s original paper and the axioms he starts with, where reality is described as algorithms running a universal / multiversal simulation, and cognition is a sub-algorithm within the parent algorithm. Put it all together and the game all but states that there is an afterlife, but it operates on the same rules as life - it’s an adjacent or related universe to our own and minds / spirits / souls / cognitive algorithms can migrate between those universes under certain conditions even if the material body they used to pilot is no longer functional. At least, that’s what normally happens, but for some reason the transmigration of souls was limited or stopped or throttled. It’s semi-implied but never explicitly stated that there’s a trans-universal system in place to keep the Worldstream stable, and the Lamassu computer network that controls Kiengir is part of that network, and the fact that realities are starting to glitch and break down further implies that this system is damaged or overwhelmed.

Trace’s Motivations: Trace never shows up in the game, and only gets mentioned here and there in a few notes. The game takes place in the 2050s and Trace’s lab accident was in 2005, with Dr. Hammond starting Hammond Corp and making money hand over fist in 2007 by selling the world zero-latency computing technology. Hammond’s suicide note explains that Trace was already exploring the Breach before she started her company, but she hasn’t heard from him in decades and the entire antarctic expedition was just so she could try to find him again. She mentions a few things in passing that come up in the first game, like a device called a Scry that can locate anything in the multiverse, and the term PatternMind which Trace was but Hammond was not.

By itself, this would seem to imply that we don’t know anymore about what Trace saw or experienced that turned him from a pacifist to somebody willing to commit genocide. But there’s another factor in play, one that has nothing to do with Trace at all at first glance.

At a certain point in the game, Indra gets stuck in her alternate drone form until she finds the right upgrade to become human (well, humanoid) again. She can still communicate with people, such as the survivors from Hammond Corp’s expedition and one of the Kazakh members of a Russian expedition that came through the portal and decided to settle a world upstream of Kiengir. However, coming back to revisit those areas and talk to those survivors later may result in them not being in the same spot anymore. Instead, there’s a sort of flying enemy that looks like a miniature version of the first boss of Axiom Verge. People who examined the game’s code found that there is actually an “infection” mechanic involved based on time elapsed since Indra comes in contact with the survivors.

That the survivors turn into the types of monsters we see in Axiom Verge 1 is significant on its own, but it takes on more importance when we consider the endgame cutscenes. The Kazakhs have settled and colonized an upstream world, while a few of them are staying in an adjacent world where time passes differently; this is explicitly so that they can observe and track the changing of society over long spans of time and direct its evolution. After beating the final boss, Indra decides to team up with Drushka, the leader of the Kazakhs and a name mentioned in one of the notes found in Axiom Verge 1, in order to further her own goals.

Here’s the thing: What we see of the world that Drushka is standing watch in, called The Emergence, looks so similar to what we’ve seen of Sudra as to be almost identical. Given how time is explicitly stated to pass at different rates in different parts of the Breach compared to the worlds in the Worldstream, it isn’t out of the question that the Kazakhs were the ancestors of the Sudrans. The only problem with this theory is that long before anyone from earth showed up in Kiengir, the Lamassu had upstream technology brought in to allow the locals to defend themselves, as part of its broader directive to safeguard the Worldstream from disruption. Some of this technology included Rebirth Chambers - Indra even accesses the Filter through one - which was later destroyed to prevent too much cultural contamination. That technology had to come from somewhere, so either the Kazakhs inhabited a world adjacent to Sudra or downstream from it so there were similarities in art and culture and architecture, or the Rebirth Chambers and other advanced technology were themselves brought to Sudra from upstream worlds and simply shut down rather than completely destroyed after the Sudrans nearly wiped themselves out.

In either case, the important part is how Indra is subtly implied to be some sort of nanotech Typhoid Mary. She might be the actual source of the Pathogen that wipes out Sudra, not Athetos. In hindsight there is a hint to this effect in the first game because after Trace starts getting sick and hallucinating, there is a Rusalki called Ophelia that saves him. He doesn’t have any symptoms for the rest of the game, implying he is cured. If it was something unique to Trace that made him immune, he wouldn’t have gotten sick in the first place and neither would Athetos. Same with him getting better, if Trace could do it so could the original. So it had to be something unique to Ophelia that she couldn’t - or wouldn’t - do for anyone else.

And during Axiom Verge 2′s credits, we see a detailed close up look of Indra’s nanotech-enhanced body. The face and head look a LOT like Ophelia. Not conclusive by itself, but too similar to be completely shrugged off as coincidence.

And that has got me thinking.

I ended my first post pondering what Trace could have found in the Breach or while traveling the multiverse that caused a pacifist scientist to turn to genocide to achieve his ends. It’s possible that nothing could, because he didn’t. Maybe Athetos didn’t release the pathogen on Sudra, the Rusalki did; it’s shown in the notes that they resented the way that the Sudrans crippled them and reduced them basically to talking heads, but still had some influence over what was going on either through manipulating the priests or through exchange of data that the Sudrans were unaware of or incapable of understanding.

Athetos refers to the Rusalki as masters of war just before the final battle of Axiom Verge 1. He might have shown up at Sudra thousands of years prior to the events of the game as Trace, gotten healed, traveled up to the Filter to try to learn more, and then come back after the flow of time had changed to find a civilization on the verge of collapse from a virulent contagion that turned people into monsters. Trace may be a pacifist, but he will still use the Axiom Disrupter and all of its bells and whistles to protect himself in game. It’s entirely possible that the original realized that the Rusalki were trying to escape Sudra and would cause devastation throughout the Worldstream, and he applied his knowledge to create weapons and tools to turn himself into a one man army once he realized he couldn’t cure the pathogen. (Or maybe he did try to come up with a cure, and the Rusalki’s retaliation / interference was what made him realize what was actually going on.)

He doesn’t say any of this before his boss fight because he realizes that Trace and the Rusalki have the advantage now. Trace can keep coming back using the Rebirth Chambers, so Athetos has to come up with contingency plan. The secret ending shows Trace in a Dream Algorithm set up by one of the Rusalki, but Athetos shows up and shoots him, telling him it’s time to wake up. During his boss fight, Athetos shows the ability to manipulate the environment to a certain degree, spawning in new enemies and replacing power cells for the Breach Attractor when Trace destroys them. It’s not clear if this is a result of Sudran tech of being a PatternMind, but whatever the reason, it’s possible that Athetos was doing all of it to buy time.

Time for what?

To hack Trace’s Nanogates so that the Rusalki couldn’t control him anymore.

Trace keels over not long after the final battle, but Athetos showing up with a gun implies that Athetos was able to at least get a Trojan Horse into the nanogates that would wake Trace up when the remote overrides were disabled. Then Trace could wake up, find all his equipment again, and take the fight to the Rusalki before they could cause too much damage to the Worldstream, possibly including Earth.

The only truly glaring flaw in this theory is that it doesn’t account for why Indra would side with a bunch of genocidal robots, one way or another; she refers to the storage bay in Axiom Verge 1 as where “our bodies” are kept, and these are massive war machines, while her humanoid nanotech form is about human sized. The Lamassu refers to some fairly devastating war machines from upstream worlds and the Rusalki might just be those machines; she was heading to the world they were stored in because it might have the technology to restore one of her Apocalypse Arm upgrades - the child Damu that controls her drone body - to a flesh and blood body that can live a normal life.

There is a big gap between trying to help this kid she found and teaming up with sentient weapons platforms to devastate the multiverse. At least as big as the gap between Trace being a pacifist and Athetos committing genocide.

Like so many sequels, Axiom Verge 2 has raised even more questions than it answered.

#Axiom Verge #Axiom Verge 2 #Analysis

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