#so that they're not void of any basis of morality

[pochaccopipi]

Thoughts on Kuya, autonomy, and his refusal to be "captured"

(spoilers under the cut)

This SSR story is sooo good because it really fleshes out Kuya's all-encompassing hatred of being owned? Not just in a literal sense, but in an obligations/expectations kind of way too. He repeatedly states over the course of the game that he shouldn't be forced into a box, can't be defined by human morals, and has so many wildly different facets of himself that they're basically autonomous copies running around in alternate timelines.

He insists that Elysium allows visitors the right to choose if/how they participate. He seems to hate injustices that trample one's freedom (unless he's the one perpetuating said injustice— in which he considers his actions Wise And Necessary™️). He loathes being claimed as a prize. He also clearly hates being pandered to, especially when his suitors have ulterior motives and expect him to stay by their side forever. He hates when humans assume what he likes, and commit crimes against nature in order to please him. He spent centuries at Huey's side (literally indentured to him in a life-or-death contract), and even spent time in service to the lord of the yokai himself, who forced kuya back into his fox state when he was found during a suicide attempt. He was literally voided of essence to the point that he had to relive his most vulnerable years again. He experienced a loss of power and autonomy that probably felt like a betrayal. Granted it was a punishment intended to teach him humility, but it probably just traumatized him instead.

(This may also explain what happened on the Saian ship with Huey, when he was discovered in his true yokai form— something went wrong with corrupted essence, they couldnt teleport back to Klein as usual, and he burned the ship down when someone spotted him looking "beastly". It hit too close to home for him.)

Prior to meeting Eiden, he'd run out of things to enjoy in life, and turned to torturing small forest animals just to get some dopamine flowing again. He's a sadistic contrarian piece of shit but it makes sense that he feels rage against immortality/life itself, and probably approved of Huey because they shared an interest in exploring new horizons (not to mention the massive power boost he got in return).

So in this SSR r5 when he pauses in relief/shock after eiden tells him he cant force kuya to stay by his side forever, it all kind of clicked into place for me? Everything about kuyas character screams Do Not Attempt To Capture Me. He literally exploded a roomful of men who tied him down in Rusted Nation. He made a group of gamblers claw their own eyes out for daring to look at him with sexual intent. He even destroys offerings from other yokai who put him on a pedestal. He hates being expected to do anything for anyone for any reason, because those expectations often come with gross connotations or lasting debts, and have been repeatedly imposed upon him without his consent in the past.

His biggest fear might literally be losing control again.

(Of course he's a big hypocrite and does everything he hates to other people? And sometimes doesn't even realize he's doing it? Like in Astral Duo when he asks Quincy if he's done "something unforgivable" to Eiden, as if Kuya himself doesn't do unforgivable things on a daily basis).

Idk. He's just fascinating to me and I love how he seems to be driven by a pathological need to escape. He's not unaware of his weaknesses, as evidenced by him flinching when Eiden reaches behind his blind spot. He seems to be terrified of capture in every sense of the word, and does everything possible to overcome that.

Like a cornered animal :)

[raidenenthusiast]

i'm not entirely sure how my post centering the astral express crew turned into a discussion about void archives' morality, but sure, okay, let's do that. i included them solely bc i believe they fit the theme of the other crew members, which they do. nowhere did i make any assumptions that i think they're a morally righteous person, or even a person at all, lmao

like, yeah, void essentially preyed on otto when he was a child in order to see their goals met. nowhere did i deny that, nor does that negate the fact that otto essentially outsmarted them n ended up keeping THEM prisoner, against all odds. which honestly, i find more hilarious than anything else

again, i'm not denying the fact that va's done some whack shit. the whole basis of their alliance with welt was BUILT on said whack shit. but that was not the point of this post, or even the vague subject. i included va based on their characterization n how i interpret the meaning of their existence as a character in the honkai universe. that's it, dude

also, you're right, i meant to say centuries, not millennia. got the terms mixed up, lol. i'm not "blaming" any particular character for their imprisonment, just mentioning it, bc it's an important part of their characterization, n plays a part in influencing how they act

nowhere did i even imply i see va as some kind of victim. they're not even technically human, so i just don't care very much about applying human morality to their every action. additionally, this post was NOT ABOUT THEM. i added a paragraph or two about them at the end bc they were canonically a part of the express crew, n suited the tone n subject of this post that is overall talking about the themes of each character that currently or in recent times resided on the express. that's it

also, you're right, welt didn't travel universes at all. the honkai "universe" all stems from the same place; he's traversing the cosmos n different worlds, not universes. regardless, he made the decision to find himeko n guard her life in the way he failed to on earth after finding the information the sky people were holding about her. the sky people were somehow targeting himeko, n welt wasn't going to lose her again. that was the point, which i feel like was clear

anyway, i think you just misunderstood my post, n jumped to conclusions i never even made in the first place, so i hope this clears things up for you

the astral express family as a unit is SO important to me.

starting with the trailblazer. confused, used, and hardly remembers anything about who they were before. the stellaron in their body is essentially a ticking time bomb. the personal fear that comes with that is already immense, and that's not even taking into account other people's perceptions. but they were accepted, immediately, stellaron and all. they aren't feared, they're loved. instead of others being protected from them, they're protected from others.

dan heng. scared, lost, and without a home to return to. his past tainted every step he took on the xianzhou, and despite the events of the main story, he's still working through how other people see him, as well as how he sees himself. he's never truly been SEEN before, not as dan heng over dan feng. but he's finally been given a place of acceptance. people who love him as he is, with no attachment to his past self. he's found not only a home that he can always go back to, but a home he WANTS to go back to.

march 7th. the girl who doesn't even remember her own name. we as people are shaped by our memories and out pasts. how can someone so young cope with the great unknown constantly looming over her head? companionship. compassion. the promise that no matter what that unknown brings, she is no longer alone. a hand to hold in the darkness, to guide her through the worst that the universe can bring.

welt yang. loss and grief have shaped the person he is today. the threat of the honkai means the constant fear and application of losing the people most important to you. to have a family in the world of the honkai is just about the most dangerous thing you can do, and he knows this firsthand. his memory is not tampered with, but rather incredibly clear. he was a child when his life was overridden by duty, and that duty is something he refuses to let go of, even now. but these people don't see his duty when they look at him. they don't see the herrscher of reason. they see mr. yang, the ever-reliable, slightly ancient, kind member of the crew.

himeko. everyone on the express will come and go, and the life of a nameless is an inherently lonely one. attachments cannot be too severe, lest severing them ends up destroying her. but here she is, with all her knowledge, loving these people anyway.

memory and acceptance are both key themes with the entire express crew. not just past memory, but the creation of new memories. better memories. the express is a place where who you are is inconsequential, and all that matters is that you're safe now. you're loved now. and you will be loved, no matter what happens. no matter what you do, say, or choose.

and something so constant is the glue that holds this group together. not only that, but something they all desperately need.

the trailblazer, young, confused, and scared, needs something to remind them that they aren't alone. something to latch onto, something to cling to that grounds them through the turmoil of hosting a stellaron. dan heng, the greatest criminal of the vidyadhara, needs something to remind him that there is hope. that his life will not always be weighed down by the mistakes of his predecessor, and that there are people out there who love HIM, just as he is, with no fine print or strings attached. march 7th, with nothing behind her, needs something ahead of her. something real, something concrete, something or someone that she can tangibly see, feel, and hold. the uncertainty and unknown hang over her head like a cloud, but that darkness feels much less scary when someone can hold her hand and tell her she's not alone anymore. welt yang, who's lived so long, been through so much, and lost so many, needs a new beginning. not that he's leaving behind the ties he has left, but forging new ones, with absolutely no strings attached to the identity of the herrscher of reason. think about why he never mentions his past in full; obviously for a multitude of reasons, one of which the subconscious desire for a life untainted by the honkai. and himeko, who left everything behind for her dreams, needs people different than her. something new. like-minded people follow the same principles; fulfill their life's purpose, and exit the express. however, in the midst of all that, she's gained more than colleagues, more than nameless, more than fleeting images of friends long gone. she's gained the unconditional love of a family.

and that's not even getting into the dynamic between just welt and himeko. the fact that himeko always feels alone, and then there's welt, who travelled the very cosmos just to protect the life of a former student he feels like he failed. the fact that she likely has no idea of this fact, and assumes he'll leave the express and return to his "real" family someday, when in reality, the only reason he stepped foot on the express in the first place was FOR her. BECAUSE of her. to protect HER.

i'm gonna be honest, even though void archives hasn't made an official appearance yet, and their motivations are obviously skewed due to the fact that they're not technically human, i would fit them into this too. they were never intended to live their own life. their origins and their programming prevents that. destroy the honkai, above all else, no matter the cost. after millennia of being trapped by otto, their own identity, what little of it existed, slipped through their fingers. why do you think they hate being compared to him so much, despite adopting so many of his patterns and mannerisms? what they need is a life of their own. which connects so deeply with what welt needs, too.

and i'm just spitballing here, but i have a theory that part of the reason they left the express in the first place was because they were afraid of the comeraderie they found there interfering with the reason for their existence.

addendum; if the stellaron is in fact a manifestation of the honkai, i NEED to see how that changes the trailblazer's relationship with everyone. especially given the fact that void archives was created to eradicate every form of the honkai, no matter the cost....

anyway. all this to say. i love the express family so much.

[cinematicnomad]

How you feeling today? Heartbroken, shocked, hurt, emotional, sad... or is it just me? 😭😭💔

Ooo also I wanted to ask after today’s episode of 9-1-1, have your thoughts changed on Buddie possibly being canon? 👀✨

i mean i have been in a constant cycle of “if not buddie, WHY” and “i have been burned before, Do Not Tease Me Like This” since joining this fandom so last night was no exception. they DEFINITELY fed us good content and didn’t skimp on buck’s reaction at all. the fact that the episode literally ended on them staring, unblinking, at each other in basically dEAD SILENCE until eddie went unconscious has just. totally fucking killed me??? 

i don’t know what to make of all this. again, like, YES everything that’s happened makes me go “it would make SO MUCH SENSE” re:buddie but at the same time...i have witnessed shit like this before and i try to keep low expectations. 

last night’s episode was great! SO JAM-PACKED of content. i will say i wish there had been a bit more table setting for maddie’s potential-PPD storyline before last night’s episode (like i feel like they did a great job doing the table setting for the bathena conflict throughout the back half of the season). i know they had a shorter season, and i do really love how they brought it into this episode, but i wish there had just been like. a HINT of her struggling more in parenthood or some throw away comment made in first responders (the only 2 eps she’s really been in since jee-yun’s birth). 

the hen stuff was *chefs kiss* phenomenal, and i am still so stunned that we’ve only had toni for s4? how have we survived so long without her?? i love her and she BETTER stay around. the writers did a great job telling such an important and powerful storyline and really depicting how racism (and sexism and classism) is overwhelmingly prevalent (practically intrinsic to) the american health care system and really highlighting how important it is that people like hen and chimney are out there in the industry advocating for patients of color and for shitty doctors like the one in the ep to be called out on their dangerous fucking actions and for medical students to be given the education necessary so that they don’t continue to perpetuate a racist system and to have the training and tools needed so that they can treat all of their patients equally. 

the carla stuff was great—after all the drama that went down in the fandom a few weeks ago i wasn’t sure what to expect from this scene and i was really dreading it. but they really highlighted how out of place ana is with eddie and how she seems most at ease with chris (i did appreciate that she finally called him eddie). loved carla’s comment to eddie about following his own heart, and ryan is the king of micro expressions for the face journey he went through while looking at chris and ana over the double cakes. the writers still don’t know how to give ana a personality other than ~*nice*~ but at least that feels like The Point now—i’m still hoping for a breakup in the finale, but at least now it feels like the writing is on the wall for this relationship no matter what so i’m not worried about it being forced as endgame. 

[sagau-my-beloved]

Wait... characters can die in-game. What's it like for them? Assuming they don't know it's a game, how would they react to dying for the first time/seeing someone they care about die on their team?

I'm gonna be pulling from a few different people's theories with this, because it definitely has been talked about by other sagau blogs, but I personally like to think that this 'death' is more of a coma state, like the characters simply takes too much damage and falls unconscious until being revived by the creator

I would take it a step further and say that the whole body dissolving thing could be interpreted as the character going into a 'safe place' like spot that the creator designed specifically for this to care for the fallen characters and to personally take them out of harm's way, or at least that's the general consensus among the people of Teyvat

So with that logic, it's completely impossible for characters to die in battle under the creators watch, if they sustained too much damage they will simply be taken to the ever forgiving creator themself

Now that line of thought can lead to two different things, one of which being all of your character's are way more willing to fight with all they have, pushed themselves to their limits, perform attacks that might be a bit more risky for more reward, because they know they're safe

The other is that now characters are intentionally being more risky specifically so that they can join you in this mythical void space of your creation, and while they don't remember any of what happens there (assuming they were conscious at all) that is unarguably the place closest to you

There would probably also be a few free floating rumors around of people who went to that space under your watch and saw you, interacted with you, felt your presence, etc., which only encourages the desire to meet you there

I would say this interacts how characters behave in battle on a case by case basis, all characters have different sets of morals and goals, it really comes down to what's more important to them, being useful to you or being close to you

If it's the former, they're going to try to stay 'alive' as long as possible, be a bit more careful in battle to avoid getting put out of commission

If it's the latter, then be prepared for a lot of risky attacks that you'll have to navigate and a lot of fried eggs

On to the reactions, since this supposed 'safe space' of yours is widely known knowledge, how characters feel about seeing a comrade of theirs fall ranges from an increase in determination to fight harder in order to prove themselves to you, and heavy jealousy that they can't be in your spiritual embrace at the moment

There's also probably a decent amount of scripture and poetry around the idea of being in 'the hands of the creator' in the midst of battle, which goes on to portray you as a nurturing and forgiving figure, someone merciful enough to not only to accept defeat from someone you've placed your trust in, but also keep them in a place of your creation in order to watch over them

[sealofreconciliation]

Fates: was the story as bad as people say? a response/debunk (finale part 1: Themes)

Link to original post here.

Before anyone asks, yes, the original post is enough of a shitshow to necessitate me having to split this response into multiple parts; blame u/Odovakar, not me.

> The reason why I didn't discuss themes in the main story is simple: it's subjective. Now, you might argue that everything I've said is subjective but for the main routes and DLC campaigns you've at least got to base the discussion on the script.

Wouldn't everything in this series, including discussion of themes, have to be based on the script, due to being where someone would have to get evidence for their claims from?

Also, if you're trying to argue that most, if not all, of your arguments in the main posts were written on the basis of you talking about the internal consistency of the script, which is the only thing i can gather from this line and the rest of the post; lol no. You're so far removed from that standard of discussion it's insane to even imply you were basing your analyses on that.

To give some examples, let's take a small look at the kind of “tangible”, “script-based” criticisms you made throughout the posts:

Complaining that Corrin didn't stay and ask Azura or Yukimura for more information on the Yato or the dragonstone, not because it would make sense for them to do so (it would be a massive character assassination for Corrin to do that, as a matter of fact), but because you personally wanted more of an expostion-dump on those things than the game gave (prologue); assuming developer intentions in order to accuse the game of “forgiving” Corrin of their moral wrongdoings (prologue and part 1 of Conquest); criticizing the game for the cast being “Corrin-centric” without giving any in-universe reasons as to why that's illogical or bad (prologue); criticizing the way the game was *sold*, proceeded by immediately conceding that said criticism has little to do with the game's writing and that it was only brought up due to a personal dislike of the split (ending of prologue); criticizing the Hoshidan/Nohrian siblings for talking about Corrin in their battle/defeat quotes during the route split, which MUST be personal bias against Corrin given how obvious the counter-argument of “Corrin literally just betrayed them, of course they're still going to be thinking about them and being upset about their treason a few minutes after the fact” is (part 1 of both BR and CQ); saying that Xander's obedience to Garon being more understandable if you look at it from the lens of how japanese parent/child relations work is a stupid and silly argument because Xander's from Europe, giving no evidence whatsoever that Nohr shares it's child-raising culture with that of medieval Europe (BR part 2); criticizing Corrin for not killing themselves trying to fight Hans's troops and their own for no other reason than because he found it personally distasteful for someone to let bad things happen (part 1 of CQ); criticizing Corrin and Azura for being happy that the royal families negotiated a temporary ceasefire instead of whining 24/7 about a war that hasn't started yet (part 2 of CQ); dedicating roughly a fifth of part 3 of your Conquest analysis to addressing defenses for why the Nohrian siblings, especially Xander, are loyal to Garon, with all of the responses boiling down to “yeah but we're not shown Garon being nice to his kids, therefore all the plentiful evidence people have found for why the Nohrian sibs would have a strong emotional attachment to him are automatically null and void, also them being afraid of him is invalid because the game portrays them as heroes”. Which is not only pathetic, given how much time he's had to formulate counter-arguments, but also has nothing to do with the script. (CQ part 3)

Tl;dr you should have read your own posts better before claiming they were focused on the story and/or were “tangible”.

> Pointing out that Corrin should logically ask Azura more questions about the crystal ball, for example, has a basis in something very tangible.

The only basis it has is that it's something that happens in the story and can be discussed about, in the exact same way that estabilishing a theme and discussing whether it's well-developed or supported by the plot is based on the fact that said examples show up in the story through various ways and can be discussed about; you really don't understand thematic analysis or discussion, don't you?

Also, the crystal ball point sure as fuck doesn't have a basis in logic or character consistency, if that's what you were trying to imply; Azura uses it immediately after bringing it out and it breaks as soon as it's done showing Corrin Garon's true self. It's use case is obvious, and Azura already explained who could and couldn't use it; at most, it's weird for Corrin to not ask Azura where the ball came from, but she'd already told them they couldn't talk about Valla in the outside world; assuming that they'd already guessed that it came from Valla and, as such, that it'd be a bad idea for them to talk about something so heavily related to the place when they don't know the full extent of the curse, coupled with the fact that they're going to be busy thinking about the new information they just got and contemplating the fact that they'll have to join the war in order to dethrone Garon, it's pretty reasonable for them to not ask Azura for more information about the crystal ball.

> Themes, on the other hand, seem to mean whatever is convenient for the person arguing about something.

> This is a pretty straightforward definition of what a narrative theme is and yet there's so much room for people to say basically whatever they want without technically being incorrect, and therein lies the main problem.

It means a repeated message that a story is trying to estabilish, develop and talk about. It can be estabilished by how many examples of it there are throughout a story and how relevant it is, which can be debated about by people with differing viewpoints, much like the kind of narrative analysis you've been trying to make. Someone trying to claim something is a theme in a story without any evidence to back that up is likely to be ignored, just like when someone tries to claim something happens in a story without providing any evidence to back it up. Isn't it fun to learn about a narrative concept you should have already known since grade school?

> Even so, I figured I should at least give discussing the themes of Fates a shot since using themes to defend a work is very popular because it's easy. "I think it's about this and that's fascinating to me" is simple to say and hard to dispute; the debate has by that point already devolved into vague, subjective interpretations, and even if the theme in question is only tangientally relevant, you can't convince someone to feel a certain way about something.

It doesn't seem too hard to dispute; just provide counter-arguments as to why something isn't like that, which you should be able to do if you think they're wrong with their stance.

Also, stop trying to pretend like your analyses are any different or have any more depth to them than some random fuckwit on the internet saying something is good because it made them feel good; as i've already proven, large portions of your criticisms are just cleverly-worded ways for you to say that Fates is bad because it made you feel bad.

> If you've read my previous posts you'll probably not be surprised when I say Fates doesn't handle its themes well at all. Why? Well, first, let me ask a question: what would you say Fates' themes are? Family? Anti-war? Finding the truth?

Birthright is trusting in your allies, Conquest is finding what justice is and what must be done to achieve it, Revelation is being true to oneself, and the main theme of the game overall is cooperation and setting aside differences for the sake of the greater good. You managed to go 0/4 on Fates' themes; that's morbidly impressive, i must admit.

> The theme of family is undeniably heavily pushed by trailers and really the game itself, but I'd say Fates actively works against that theme at every possible opportunity.

It was pushed by the trailers, not the game. I want you to give me a single instance of family being a theme anywhere in the game, let alone a big enough one for you to claim that it's the major theme of the game overall.

> First, the big one: Corrin can S support all the Nohrian and Hoshidan siblings, as well as their own cousin. Being able to S support every single character in the game seems to have taken priority over letting Corrin find out about the lie that they're not related to the Hoshidan siblings, as the protagonist never once reacts to this in the game. In Revelation, Corrin says nothing about this, while in Birthright, should you S support a sibling, they're just happy to be able to have sex without people raising an eyebrow.

Corrin doesn't care about their relation to the Hoshidan siblings and barely sees them as family already, which is why they don't care about the revelation. The only reason they side with Hoshido in BR is because they know Garon needs to be stopped, and are willing to side with a bunch of strangers they don't know or even particularly care about in order to do so. What does it say about a theme when it's existence is never estabilished, developed or supported by the game?

> However, that's not all there is to it. Azura routinely gets ignored by the Hoshidan siblings despite growing up with them. Even though the "betraying your family aspect" is played up a lot with Corrin no matter the route, I'm not sure Azura doing the same in Conquest even gets acknowledged outside of optional battle dialogue.

The Hoshidans don't care as much about Azura as they do Corrin, plus the “family betrayal” aspect is mostly relegated to Birthright, since the Nohrians are the ones with an actual relationship to Corrin, not the Hoshidans. The Hoshidans barely try to use the “we're your birth family” argument anywhere in Conquest, mostly guilt-tripping them for siding with Nohr in the first place, and it shows up again for a *very* short amount of time in Revelation as part of Xander and Leo's character arcs there, which is resolved by something that has nothing to do with family (Garon telling them he wants to burn Nohr).

> What does it say about a theme when a character whose backstory mirrors the protagonist's is all but excluded from it?

That said character has a different theme in order to differentiate them from the protagonist due to their being wildly different people.

> And then there's Lilith, who's *technically* Corrin's *real* half sister, but this is relegated to a snippet of a DLC campaign and is never made relevant or acknowledged outside of it.

Anankos made Lilith out of magic; this is the equivalent of claiming that a desk is someone's half-sibling because their father was a sculptor and made said desk.

> You have to pay for this information, but what does it add to any character,

It adds to Lilith's character by expanding on her motivation for protecting Corrin.

> and to repeat a similar question asked above, what does it say about a theme when it locks something like this behind a paywall?

That the theme was developed further later on in the story in paid content. These little gotchas aren't nearly as smart as you think they are.

> Speaking of not adding anything, as /u/Warlord41k put it in an earlier post of mine, the twist that Corrin's biological father is Anankos has no bearing on anything. Corrin's draconic powers are never made relevant in the main story

Their draconic powers and/or heritage are the reason they're able to drive the Vallite army and Sumeragi out of Hoshido, the reason they're able to visit Valla in Conquest, kick-starting the rest of the plot, the reason Anankos tries to corrupt them into becoming his new vessel throughout Conquest and Revelation, and is the reason why they can transform into a dragon despite the royal bloodline being so dilluted they can't even remember the last time someone could do that. It's pretty fucking important.

> This might have been to give Anankos a more sympathetic backstory, and if you're being *very* generous you could see this as Corrin's true parents not mattering and that the family you choose is the one that matters.

It's there to add tragedy to Anankos by having him have a child he's never going to be able to properly meet and that will spend the rest of their life thinking he was nothing more than some random evil dragon, along with providing an explanation for Corrin's draconic powers. Why should it be anything more than that, and why is it bad that it isn't?

> However, for that to make sense or have any sort of impact, I think Corrin themselves would have to acknowledge that fact, as well as the lack of any blood relations with the Hoshidan siblings. Corrin doesn't do that, however, and these things become mere setpieces for fanfiction authors.

Explain why Corrin not caring about their blood family needs to be spelled out to the audience to make sense (?) or have impact, and especially explain how you're not being hypocritical for making such a request and still daring to criticize Fates for apparently not having any subtlety.

> All of these points lead me to believe that when the theme of family isn't ignored, like with Azura, Lilith, and Corrin's lack of reaction to finding out the truth about not being related to the Hoshidan siblings, Fates is actively sacrificing the theme in order to appeal to certain players by allowing you to marry the siblings and Azura.

It could also mean that you took the trailers way too close to heart, internalized that as the main theme of the game, and failed to realize that pointing out the multiple ways in which the theme doesn't exist in the game proper is you debunking yourself. Just some food for thought.

> This is without getting into the utter lack of chemistry between the Hoshidan siblings in particular and how they remain strangers to Corrin in all routes, including Birthright.

Seriously, how in the actual fuck do you not realize that maybe, *just maybe*, the fact that there's little to no evidence to support family being a theme in Fates means it isn't a theme, especially when, by your own admission, Corrin's relationship to one of the two families in the game is, at best, them being respectful allies to each other, even in the route where they spend the most amount of time together? How can you write this and not realize how easy this is to debunk?

Also, nice to see you being as tangible as ever. “I don't personally see chemistry between a group of characters” is absolutely not a vague, subjective and undefined point that's going to be very hard to properly discuss, unlike estabilishing what the themes of a story are with evidence; bury the thought.

> You could argue that the important theme isn't family, but rather loyalty vs. justice in the form of Conquest and Birthright respectively, but that carries with it its own issues, chiefly that Revelation merely existing renders that theme completely moot.

Firstly, while justice is basically the reason Corrin chooses Hoshido, they choose Nohr due to a combination of not wanting to kill their own family and friends plus wanting absolute confirmation that Garon was responsible for the attack on the Hoshidan capital. If anything, i'd say that their reason for choosing Nohr is more out of hopefulness.

Secondly, Corrin's initial reason for picking a side isn't a theme of the game at all; It's Corrin's motivation for choosing their side in the first place, but they are never developed, estabilished or mentioned nearly as much as either of BR or CQ's actual themes (“trust” and “where justice lies” respectively), therefore it can't be considered a theme, or at least not a major one worth mentioning in this post.

Thirdly, why does Revelation render that moot? The Corrin from BR and CQ couldn't have known that refusing to take sides was the best option and, as such, chose either justice or hope; why does the fact that a better option existed render different thematic explorations null for a Corrin that didn't know that?

> There is a right choice to make here, but even if Anankos weren't a thing, the game is so heavily morally in favor of Hoshido that Corrin going back to Nohr *should* be portrayed as a strictly selfish and stupid choice, but the script goes out of its way to forgive the protagonist for everything they do.

I already debunked the “muh forgiveness” point in my Conquest responses more times than i care to count, so instead i'll ask you to explain what about Corrin's choice to go back to Nohr was stupid or selfish, especially when they had every reason to believe they'd be rewarded for their stellar performance, no real proof Garon wanted them dead, and a dream that they'd be able to stop the war from ever even happening by changing Nohr from the inside.

Also, how very tangible of you; “yeah, maybe the theme is something else, but they're still broken because the game doesn't portray a character as being solely stupid for following their heart instead of their head in one of the stories and a tiny minority of characters forgive them for their actions, therefore it's not about loyalty”. Not only is this a complete non-sequitur, not only does it blatantly not make any sense on it's own merits, this is very clearly based on your own personal feelings, not the story; why did you ever think it would be a good idea to try and claim that your posts are mostly based on what happens in the story at the start of these posts?

> It becomes less about loyalty and more about "Corrin can't make a wrong decision".

Going back to Nohr is the worst choice Corrin can make, but that doesn't mean they can't try to fix their mistakes or make something good out of the bad situation they put themselves in, which is the entire point of their monologue at the end. Not only is it still very much about loyalty/hope, it's also about “some choices are better than others, but that doesn't mean you can't at least try and make the best out of a bad situation even if you make a mistake”.

> I find the argument for this being a central theme interesting, because Fates is in no way more anti-war than any other entry in the series. It is astoundingly easy to include lines that the vast majority of players can agree with, like "killing is bad, peace is good", or "don't steal from poor old people", but the inclusion of such lines doesn't mean there's a deep theme there.

I don't see what it being deep or not has anything to do with it being a central theme of the game. I could write a story that had all the characters say “war is bad” every five paragraphs and never delve into the inticracies of that, and it'd still objectively be the central theme of the story. This is a massive non-sequitur.

Also, where did the “Fates is more anti-war than the other games” argument come from? You just proposed that it was a central theme of the game, not that it did so more or less than other games; is there some argument you had that i'm not privy to that would explain this bizzare leap in logic?

> Here is the problem: Conquest goes so far out of its way to forgive Corrin for their role in the war that they even get absolved from the guilt they're meant to feel by characters who've already died.

No they don't; Azura was the one to comfort Corrin and convince them to keep fighting after they had a mental breakdown after witnessing Ryoma kill himself, and Ryoma had already told them he trusted them in his dying moments. The Ryoma, Mikoto and Takumi pep talk was entirely centered on telling them to not give up now that the war's basically over, which would make their sacrifices all be in vain, along with upgrading the Yato so they could beat Takumi.

> We're told over and over again that Corrin is basically a messiah who will bring about a new era of peace, and Corrin keeps saying that they're doing this for everyone's sake. After sacrificing Hoshido and killing off the evil leadership, all problems are swept away.

Because they're going to change Nohr from the inside and bring everlasting peace by killing Garon and (accidentally) Anankos; the war was just a means to an end, not the end itself.

Besides, Hoshido would have lost the war no matter what Corrin did; they spared the nation a worse fate by at least minimizing the bloodshed. Saying that they sacrificed it is a gross misrepresentation of their motivation for joining the war.

> There's a peace treaty and Hinoka and Sakura still love Corrin and will work hard so that they can visit Hoshido whenever they like (Hinoka says she'll address "misconceptions about Nohrians").

Firstly, the Nohrians line is a fabrication from Treehouse; in the original jp, she just says she'll try to get her people to stop hating Corrin and Xander.

Secondly, prove that she succeeds at that. Someone trying to do something is not proof that they'll succeed at it, let alone something as difficult as trying to amenize tensions between victims of war and the people that conquered them; if anything, due to the tone of that conversation, it's pretty clear that Corrin's never going to be welcome in Hoshido again after what they did, which seems like a pretty big consequence to me.

Thirdly, i'm not so sure the peace treaty was by choice; Nohr just finished effortlessly bodying Hoshido while it was in it's own home turf. Hinoka probably just accepted the fact that trying to fight back at that point, or ever, given the strength of the Nohrian military, would be a terrible idea and just counted her blessings that Xander regretted the war and wanted to make amends.

> Basically, Conquest portrays the war as a necessary sacrifice for peace.

No it doesn't; Corrin joining the war was a last resort after their original plan to gain enough favor with Garon to change Nohr from the inside fell through, a plan that would have very likely worked and led to peace in a non-violent way were he not possessed and wanted nothing more than to watch the world burn. Even when they join, they don't say that the war is necessary, only that Nohr winning is a foregone conclusion and, as such, the only thing they can do to help Hoshido at this point is try and minimize the collateral damage of Nohr's victory by trying to spare as many Hoshidans as they can during the war, which they can only do if they're in a leadership position. This is a massive strawman.

> Am I saying that Fates is pro war? No. But I am saying that arguing there's a deep anti-war message is giving the game too much credit.

Again, who said anything about a central theme needing to be deep to be a central theme?

Also, Fates is lot more anti-war than you're trying to portray it as being, not that it's a major theme of the game anyway; both countries have pretty reasonable reasons for engaging in warfare (Nohr's land is infertile and they would all starve to death if they didn't do it, and Hoshido, being an isolationist paradise, doesn't care to try and understand the issues plaguing Nohr, leading to them having to defend themselves after Nohr finally goes after them directly after centuries of letting the country starve while they hoard all their plentiful resources for themselves), but the conflict is still portrayed as a terrible thing for all the people involved that's only solved by achieving a mutual understanding between the leaders of the two countries, allowing them to work together for the sake of a brighter future (which happens in all the routes).

It's still more subtext than actual text, therefore i wouldn't argue it's a major theme of the game, but there's more depth there than you're giving it credit for.

> If I were to choose a Fire Emblem game which really managed to sell the theme of war being bad it'd be Radiant Dawn, as it focuses on the plight of civilians and the losing side of a war through Daein, and demonstrates how keeping the peace even after a victory is difficult but worth the struggle through Crimea. Fates lacks any of these nuances.

Stop dickriding Radiant Dawn and talk about Fates. Those two games are so wildly different there's basically no point in comparing the two, even if this was a sensible comparison, which it isn't; if you're going to analyze a piece of fiction, do so by it's own merits, not by complaining that it's not another piece of fiction you like more when the first one probably doesn't even want to be like the second one.

> **Finding the truth**

> Like I've said, this is the argument I've seen the least, and I think there's a good reason for this. Why? Because Azura already knows everything worth knowing about the conflict. You've just got to pay for the right version and she'll let you in on the secret.

In truth, Corrin just needs to appeal to her emotionally and earn her trust in order to be let in on the secret, but yeah, “finding the truth” isn't a theme of the game in any way. Glad you could at least see it that way, unlike your other two examples.

> And really, how is this portrayed in Revelation? Corrin spends 10 chapters running around the entire continent flailing their arms around and that manages to convince their siblings to jump into an abyss with them.

Bullshit. They spend 10 chapters going around convincing people that there's more to worry about than their petty grievances, which convinces their siblings after they're given ample reason to believe in their claims and follow them; anyone can make any story in existence sound stupid when they reduce it down to such a basic level and remove so much of the nuance and context of said story.

> “Finding the truth" sounds good. It sounds deep, like you've grasped what Fates is *actually* about.

Yet again, explain why a central theme needs to be deep to be a central theme.

> It's also completely defeated by the payment model of the game so that even if it *were* expertly written, it would be seen as a cash grab to sell you the right answer as an extra DLC route which you can't buy on its own anyway.

Irrelevant; i don't give a fuck about how a piece of fiction was marketed or sold in relation to it's content, and neither would anyone actually interested in analyzing Fates purely based off it's writing. Just say that there's not enough evidence to support truth-finding being a major theme of the game and prove it with examples, of which there are plenty of, and leave it at that; there was no reason for this section to have gone on longer than it's first paragraph, and it's all the worse for trying to stretch it out like this.

> I don't think every game needs themes, or at least ones present in every facet of the story.

The vast majority of games with even the barest hint of a story have themes, and even some that don't have a story have themes explored through their gameplay.

> However, a game that does want to really convey something likely makes its message more obvious and prioritizes trying to make it resonate with the players. If players can barely even figure out what the themes of a game are, or if themes are sacrificed in favor of something more superficial, then they were never important to the game in the first place, and using themes to defend the game is giving it more credit than it's due.

It's not the game's fault that you're incapable of picking up on themes as on-the-nose as “whether or not to trust in your allies”, “what justice is”, or “staying true to yourself”, decided to make up new themes that the game never had any intention or promise of exploring, then called it badly-written for not doing what you wanted it to do.

Also, “theme didn't resonate with me/was hard for me to figure out/wasn't spelled out/wasn't important, therefore bad”; regretting your opening statement yet?

> Fire Emblem is also extremely character focused. The units have names and a unique portrait to make you care about them. Support conversations are there to deepen your understanding of the character and make you like them more. This doesn't mean Fire Emblem can't have themes, but given the way Fire Emblem is structured, the story and characters making sense takes priority.

Not necessarily; which aspects of a story take priority are entirely dependent on what the writer wants to do when writing said story. I fail to see the correlation between “characters in Fire Emblem are given depth” and “the most important thing for any FE story is the plot and characters”; this is another non-sequitur.

> I think this is an important point that is often ignored by people who value themes above all. Themes may convey something the writers want to tell you, but they are still a narrative tool.

Without themes, there wouldn't be much of a point to story-telling as a concept; it's extremely easy to argue that a thematic throughline is one of the most important aspects of a narrative, if only because of how heavily integrated it always is into a story.

> What I mean by this is, for example, the Nohrian siblings' loyalty to Garon. They seem to be loyal to someone we rarely see them interact with and never hear talk about positively. This could be boiled down to "he's their father!" which is what they say at the end of Conquest, but nothing has been done to earn that reaction; Garon is ostensibly the symbol of everything the Nohrian siblings hate about Nohr.

What the fuck does this have to do with themes? You're talking about characterization right now; the Nohrian siblings liking Garon isn't a theme, it's a fundamental aspect of their characters that drives the plot forward.

Also, Elise praises pre-game Garon as a kind and wise man in Birthright, there are multiple lines throughout all the routes of the Nohrian siblings excusing his increased temperament as his old age getting to his head, Camilla says that none of them can afford to disobey him if they want to live, and Xander tells Slime Garon to his face in Chapter 27 of Conquest that he's nothing like the man that raised him and his siblings and that he only obeyed for as long as he did because he held out hope that Garon could return to his senses one day and they could go back to being a happy family; the game beats you over the head with the fact that the Nohrian siblings are obeying him both out of sentimentality/wishful thinking and because they're not strong enough to stop him from doing what he wants. Your ignoring important story and character details to push an agenda of Fates being poorly-written isn't the game having bad writing, it's you being disingenuous.

> Leo executes two people for being blemishes on Nohr's "grand legacy" and earlier in the game talks about how often and skillfully he and the other Nohrian siblings undermine Garon's authority by limiting the damage caused by his evil orders.

The “grand legacy” line was added in the localization; JP Leo only says that it sickens him to think that someone like Zola was a part of Nohr's military, and tells Iago that he's a disgrace to Nohr, not it's legacy. Even going with the localized script, what's wrong with him thinking that Zola and Iago's cowardices are blemishes on Nohr's legacy, which would be winning battles via direct confrontations?

The undermining point is completely irrelevant; just because they disagree with Garon's actions doesn't mean they're going to dislike the man who raised them and who they have a bond with.

> I'm not saying they have to be thrilled over killing Garon, but I am saying that the game using "he's their father!" to excuse their lack of spine isn't just unearned, but also reflects poorly upon how the Nohrian siblings are characterized.

I'm incredibly curious about how much of a spine you would have if you were forced to work for an all-poweful tyrant under threat of death if you ever disobeyed even the slightest order, especially when said tyrant is someone you have a deep personal connection with.

Also, explain how it reflects poorly upon the Nohrian siblings' characterization.

> The game hasn't earned using the theme of family as an excuse,

It doesn't use the theme of family as an excuse, because it's not a theme of the game; it uses the characters' estabilished relationships and history with Garon as an excuse for why they remain loyal to him.

> and all of these theories about the mental state of the Nohrian siblings have practically zero basis in the main story.

Xander's cutscene confronting Slime Garon begs to differ, as does my rant a few paragraphs ago. Stop dismissing well-supported theories solely because they cause you to look stupid for being wrong about a game's story and characters.

> Simply put, themes shouldn't be something you use to defend a game's writing with, but rather something which enhances the overall experience. That takes skill and effort and requires prioritizing on the side of the developers.

Does it? What authority do you have on how game development works to make such a claim, especially game development as it pertains to adding themes to a story?

Also, explain why people shouldn't be allowed to care more about a theme than about the plot or characters.

> There is no hidden theme or subtle brilliance which turns everything on its head which only a handful of enlightened people can understand and appreciate; themes just weren't a priority for the developers and they didn't have the skills to pull off a thought-provoking narrative.

Funnily enough, this entire response is me proving that you fundamentally misunderstood what Fates' themes were, so yes, there unironically were hidden messages and brilliances in Fates that you simply weren’t enlightened enough to understand and appreciate. Hubris before a fall, i suppose.

[femininetea]

RWBY Parallels:

Qrow and Winter

Spoilers for RWBY Volume 8 Finale

Now with V8Ch14, I finally have most puzzle pieces to make a post about these two. This post is up to interpretation so whether you view this in a shipping way or from a character plot perspective is all up to you. Stay kind. <3

Some parallels are obvious and don't need further explanation, for others I will go more into depth. I'm not sure if RWBY is doing this on purpose but I do hope that these parallels will matter at some point for character growth.

Both are the right hand to their head masters, trusting their judgement with their life

They were trained and put into their positions by their head masters themselves. Qrow who was a student at Beacon and became part of Ozpins inner circle. And Winter who was a student at Atlas, has the 2nd highest rank in the military and is Ironwoods right hand

-> note that we met Lionheart and he did not have anyone close in that position who'd be his 'Qrow' or 'Winter'

Both grew up in emotionally unstable environments with no proper image of family and were expected to become independent early in their childhood. Qrow who grew up with the bandits and Winter who grew up in the abusive Schnee household

They're related to the main cast and are their mentors (Qrow - Ruby/Winter - Weiss)

Qrow is like a 2nd father figure to Ruby and Winter like a mother figure to Weiss

They take their roles as mentors, caretakers and family figures and apply it to people around them. Qrow who took care of the main cast from V4 - V6 and Winter who acts like a big sister to Penny and is overprotective of people who are younger than her (like Marrow)

They're both emotionally distant and only get warm around their younger family members but also hide their true personal feelings in order to protect them

Both dealt with alcoholism, Qrow who is a former alcoholic and Winter who grew up with an alcoholic mother

They're cut of from their team. STRQ fell apart and Winter was in a former team since it's the norm for the academy. Penny told us in V7 that' she's not part of a team anymore since she works for the military and that the general told her "that she doesn't have time for friends", the same probably applies to Winter

They both are connected to magic (Qrow-> can turn into a bird, Winter - > Winter Maiden)

Ozpin and Ironwood both manipulated them. Ozpin didn't trust Qrow enough and sent him off to deadly missions and kept him in the dark. While Ironwood didn't keep secrets from Winter, her position in the military and Ironwoods knowledge of her past family life put her into a state where she is selfless and doesn't care about her life or doesn't let her personal feelings get in the way. She gets shut up by Ironwood when speaking her mind in certain situations (V3 Ozpins office, V7 Jacques Dining Table, V8 before Emerald disguised as Penny arrives)

They got both sent to deadly missions (for Winter it was in Mistral from V4-v5 and the planned bomb for the whale)

They're almost emotionally dependent on their guardians. Qrow felt like Ozpin finally gave him a purpose and a place to be. Similar to Winter where she found a father figure and a place where she felt like she could do some real good for the world.

After Qrow building up walls to not open up to people because of his semblance and Winter who was taught to keep her emotions shut her whole life, they lost their first and only friend (not counting former team members) tragically

Both also carry something that reminds them of their friends. Qrow has Clovers Pin and Winter holds the Maiden Powers

Their friends "died" in their arms/saw them before they faded

They both left (abusive) family members behind (Qrow - Raven / Winter - Parents)

They were both pretty skilled for their age (Qrow who got into the academy without going to a school beforehand and Winter's high rank for her mid-20's age)

Qrow and Winter were lied to/betrayed/dissapointed by their guardians. Ozpin hiding everything from everyone and then leaving, Ironwood giving into his paranoia and becoming controlling and threatening towards Winter (shooting people in front of her, pressuring her into staying with him, shutting her off and not listening to her, leaving his morals behind that she admired him for aka attempting to blow up Mantle, basically V8)

Manipulated and groomed into getting power to carry out dangerous jobs for them (Qrow getting turned into a bird, Winter getting the Maiden Powers)

Seeing their former home fall (Fall of Atlas and Beacon Academy)

Breaking down upon realization of what was done to them

(Qrow getting deeper into his alcoholism, Winter having an emotional breakdown and yes I don't think that Weiss was the only trigger for her to cry out. Her father figure got pushed into destructive paranoia who attempted to kill her , her best and only friend got murdered and her sister pushed into the void by the same person who again is responsible for everything that happened to her by influencing her most important guardian - and all of that within a few moments "You are going to pay - for everything that you've done" )

losing their younger family members

blaming themselves for what happens to their surroundings (Qrow with his bad luck and Winter not being able to save Weiss/anyone in the void)

Almost died (while protecting people they care about)

They have a pretty low self image and don't see themselves as deserving of anything. Winter told Penny that she doesn't deserve the powers and was just a machine. Qrow often deflects compliments and Clover even called him out on that.

If I missed any, feel free to add! So what do I think about this? Well at first there is more to them that was established but not continued. It was shown in V3 that they knew each other personally (on a 1st name basis) and had some kind of history but it didn't get addressed again after that.

Them barely interacting in V7 made me question if their build up was forgotten but on the other hand I think a lot of character interactions got the short end in V7 especially with the story. But what V7 and V8 gave us was more insight on Winter and with the fall of Ironwood and Atlas, these parallels became even clearer.

Now with Weiss and Ruby gone, I think there is the chance for the character's, especially Winter who also lost Penny and Ironwood, to step out of their character box. Winter was shown to be more than just an older sister and soldier. Now with her destiny in her hand but, at a painful cost, where does that lead her?

I think everyone knows already that V9 is going to be a detour and I don't think that it's going to be a split up like V4 but I think it could be similar to V8. It could be that Winter takes over the caretaker role like Qrow did in V4-V6. I hope it doesn't take long for him, Robyn and the Ace Ops to arrive. They still don't know what happened and I think they should work together with the Happy Huntresses in Vacuo and could perfectly function as minor characters and somewhat ending their (Happy Huntresses and Ace Ops) arc for now.

Overall I hope that we get to see Qrow and Winter grieve. They deserve it and Winter who's never been this emotional within one episode deserves to not hide it anymore. She'll have to struggle with her family and I just want her to have somebody to talk to who can relate. And after seeing all these parallels I think Qrow would be perfect for that matter and that build up from V3 would go somewhere.

Thank you for reading 💞 what do you think?💞

[witnessthesky]

The Manifestation Manifesto, an incomplete work-in-progress

How many posts or blinks of the eye can transmute the foretold "trying times" into something more relatable from the past? Nostalgia, or “That thing that I remember” seems to be all anyone cares about, especially now, when we are as far from what we remember as we’ve ever been.

Talk of a "new normal" even sloppily evokes a re-imagination of what was once had, rather than facing the spectacle with a completely fresh field-of-view, understanding that as our cells change our physical selves into actual, entirely new beings, only our minds bring the context of our history, trauma, persona, into reflection regarding the present.

The body works on its own volition, and has the potential to be reborn a completely new being, time and time again. Yes, I said it! Metaphysical mumbo-jumbo! But this jumbo is for real, dawg. Let's be selfish. It's Leo season.

When we are told to "plant seeds," on a New Moon, it is done with the intention of some form of manifestation. Here we are looking to bare new fruits into our lives.

There are many caveats, however, that get in the way of our full psychological understanding of what it means to create, and cultivate, and I am certainly no stranger to these hiccups.

One of the first red flags is simply the desire to want or need something that is not already had. There is no difference between a want or a need, in these circumstances. But, isn't that the whole point of hashtag-manifestation? To bring something new into our lives? Isn't everyday something new into your life? Isn't every breath something new into your life?

Let's say, on an inhale, an intention is set. Let's say that intention is to breathe, to inhale. The exhale releases that intention--or are you now intending to exhale? When an action is thought, and it is done, it is then concluded. To thrive without getting wrapped in the mundane wants and needs, it is to completely release the thought entirely.

That is not to say the wants won't arrive, because, of course they will. But, they will then have the freedom to be treated with the same space as if they were never there in the first place. Dare I say, even appreciated more. Relished, in fact. Breathing is automatic.

At this point the practice becomes recognizing that you do indeed have all you need, want, etc. Perhaps what you think would make you happier is a ruse to sell consumers more products. Perhaps happiness is one thousand times more relative than you have ever been raised to believe. Just a thought.

With every one of these mind-breaking revelations, there will likely be an impulse to deny, discredit, or push away the new awareness. In fact, it is almost guaranteed. One of the mind's biggest roles is to formulate a sense of self, and understanding with the way of the world, and then latch onto it, and make it real. News flash: that world is crumbling, and minds will either go extinct or evolve.

The mind is also excellent at creating loops to trap the new mindset into fresh versions of past cycles. This is another red flag, and something that has infected the "yoga movement" and "new age millennials" of the past decade. The person becomes trapped in a shroud of high-minded righteousness, unaware that they are in a cycle just as any other, it is simply dressed in more refined, intellectual, and spiritual clothing. While it does help to have a singular focus, which the depth of these practices and teachers do offer, the outer layer which skims and trensd does nothing more than to make one feel like they're living a little better than the average other.

There is ultimately no difference between a monk meditating on a hill for thousands of years and a gritty stevedore drinking on the docks every night. We all carry the intent and expression of every man, woman, and child on this planet. The moment we begin to see ourselves as different, or of a higher spiritual or moral ground is when we begin to lose our humanity.

That doesn't mean that action shouldn't be taken--because it should. Perhaps, action void of emotion. Justice should be served when necessary, but only because it is necessary, not because we are overwhelmed with psychosis. And the world that we live in feeds us psychosis on a daily basis. The nightly news may as well be a mutant with supernatural powers that infects our brain with frustration, confusion, and utterly one-sided belief systems (on both sides), painting others as glorified demons.

And our minds are weak. We don’t want to admit it, but they are. We become addicted to the nonsense because we have to belief that somewhere, someone believes in the good of all things. I guarantee you someone does, but there are few on television. This weakness fills in the blanks with our own narrative, hoping that the other stories you've heard aren't true--deep down, you know they are.

And so we forget about those stories, because there's no time for that nonsense, and we continue to blindly follow narratives as if they were imaginary books written two thousand years ago with the proven intent to politically unify the world under one imaginary being, so that only a small group of non-imaginary people might benefit.

Obviously, all of this is subject to re-investigation, as much as can be willed. That is the process. Your body urges to be dug up, disheveled, and placed back together, time and time again. Some of this rambling will be relatable, some not. Some of this will be downright offensive. Good. That isn't the point. The point is that you investigate yourself constantly to re-engage with your cells, and tap into the change that is naturally occurring within you. This is where the seeds are already being planted, unbeknownst to our minds. That seed is your sun, your joy, the very essence that connects you to every other human being on the planet, and every life-form, and the planet itself.

Wake up, and allow yourself to be different. Allow yourself to have a new mind, and let go of everything you ever thought you knew about yourself. Allow yourself to break your own heart, and mourn for your countless past selves. Utterly shed your entire skin--belief systems, religion, politics, work, relationships-that-were, relationships-that-are, anything on the horizon--rise from your bed a pure child, completely free, where everything is new.

Then, the manifestation can begin.

[rossbowkerdigitalart]

To me, one of the more important parts of my video game concept is the story, without it the planned trailer and the concept art doesn't mean much, to that end I wanted to do some research on the event in Norse mythology known as ragnarok, this is because the antagonists ofthe story are a cult that wish to bring on ragnarok, believing it will transform the world into a paradise. Of course I'd be taking liberties with the actual mythology so it would fit the mold of my story, but having a good grasp of the source material would help make my own story make sense.

Within the real world mythology of the Vikings, ragnarok was the cataclysmic destruction of everything in the universe, even the gods themselves. If you were to look at the tales from viking mythology as a linear timeline, ragnarok would naturally come at the end. To the Vikings, ragnarok was prophecy of an event that was to come at an unspecified and unknown time in the future, this had profound ramifications on how the Vikings understood the world in their time.

The word Ragnarok itself actually came from the old Norse word of ragnarök, meaning "fate of the gods." The event itself was referred to by a host of different names, such as in an apparent play on words, in some old Norse literature it was referred to as ragnarøøkr, meaning "twilight of the gods," as well as occasionally aldar rök, "fate of mankind," along with a host of other phrases and names.

The first sign of ragnarok the fimbulvetr, sometimes anglicised as Fimbulwinter, a great winter unlike anything the earth has seen. The winds would blow snow from all directions and the sun's warmth would disappear, plunging the world into unbelievable cold. This winter would last for three years without respite, mankind would be so desperate for food and other necessities of life that law and all morals would fall away, only leaving the struggle for survival. It would be the age of war, the string would survive.

Skoll and Hati, the wolves who had chanced the sun and moon across the skies since the beginning of time, will at last catch their prey. The sun, the moon, even the stars would disappear, leaving a dark void in the sky. The great tree Yggdrasil that hold the cosmos amongst its branches would tremble and all the trees, and even the mountains would fall to the earth. The chain that holds the monstrous wolf Fenrir would snap and the beast would run free. Jormungand, the might serpent that who dwells at the bottom of the ocean and encircles the earth, will rise from its depths, spilling the oceans across the land.

These convulsions would shake the ship Naglfar free from its moorings. This ship, which is made from the nails of dead men and women, would easily sail over the flooded earth. The crew of this ship would be an army of giants, creatures of destruction and chaos. And its captain will be none other than Loki, the traitor to the gods, who would have broken from the binds in which the gods had placed him.

Fenrir would run across the earth, his lower jaw against the ground and his upper jaw against the top of the sky, devouring everything in his path. Jormungand would spit his venom across the world, poisoning the air, land and water alike.

Sky would split and from the crack would emerge the fire-giants from Muspelheim. Their leader would be Surt, with a flaming sword brighter than the sun in his hand. As they March across the Bifrost, the rainbow bridge to asgard, the home of the gods, the bridge would fall and break down behind them. Heimdall, the divine sentry, would blow his horn to announce the time the gods fear most. Odin would then got to the head of Mimir for counsel.

Despite what the prophecies have said about the outcome of the fight, the gods would decide to go to battle. After arming themselves, they would got to Vígriðr, meaning "Plain where battle surges" to meet their enemies.

Odin would face Fenrir along with the einherjar, the host if his chosen human warriors that he had kept in Valhalla for that very event. Odin and his champions of men would fight with more courage than any others who have fought before. But this bravely would not be enough, Fenrir would swallow Odin and his men. Then one of Odin's sons, Vidar, would avenge him. On one of his feet would be the shoe that has been crafted for this very purpose; it has been made from the scraps of leather discarded by human shoemakers, and with it Vidar will hold open Fenrir's mouth. Then he will stab the wolf through the throat, killing him.

Garm, another wolf and the God Tyr would slay each other. Heimdall and Loki would do the same, putting an end to the gods treachery, but to great cost to the gods as it meant losing one of their best. The giant Surt and Freyr would also be the end of each other. Thor and Jormungand, the age old foes, would finally have a chance to kill the other. Thor would be successful in destroying the great serpent with blows from his legendary hammer, but the snake would have covered him in so much venom that he would not be able to stand much longer and he would take nine steps before falling dead himself.

After the mighty battle, the remains of the earth would sink below the waves and there would be nothing left but the void, making as though creation had never existed.

After this point in the tale, there are two outcomes that I could find; ragnarok is the end of all tales and the whole cosmos itself, but the other is a new, beautiful green world will rise from the water. Vidar, and 5 other gods: Vali, Baldur, Hodr and Thor's sons Modi and Magni would have survived the death of the old world and will live happily in the new one. A man and a woman, Lif and Lifthrasir, meaning life and striving after life, would have survived the cataclysm by hiding in a place known as the "Wood of Hoddmimir." These two would emerge from their hiding place and populate the land they find themselves in. This new land would be over looked by a new sun, the daughter of the previous one. And all of this would be presided over by a new, almighty ruler.

The latter opinion of how ragnarok would be resolved is the goal of the antagonists of my concept. They are what I'm referring to as the Cult of Permafrost and this cult wish to bring about the events of ragnarok so they can shelter themselves and emerge in the new world which would be a veritable paradise. They aim to accomplish this feat by following the instructions found within ancient tombs that were in turn found within ancient Norse burial sites.

The events of ragnarok would differ from the mythology though, the most drastic difference would be the gods themselves; the gods arent as the Norse mythology describes them, they're in fact a lot more livecraftian in nature. The gods are in fact completely alien, unknowable creatures which vastly go beyond our own comprehension, the very concept of dimensions do not apply to them, even visualising them for long enough, either by seeing or thinking about them would drive you mad. These creatures would be the basis of human religion, whether it be Norse, Aztec, Egyptian; it would all be derived from the existence of these beings.

The Cult of Permafrost in fact worship these beings, learning about them from the previously mentioned ancient tomes and the members known as the "high priests" would be the few that actually came into contact with these beings which often left them deeply scarred, though the cult sees this as a blessing instead of a curse.

Ragnarok wouldn't in fact be a battle like the viking's tales foretold, the entire event would actually be a lot more bizarre. Instead of a winter, Fibulwinter would be an instant freeze that would turn the oceans water to ice, people outside would also turn to ice and would shatter at the smallest impact, this would happen so quickly that everything would be normal and in a blink of an eye, everything would be converted in ice and snow. The initial freeze would quickly die and the world would be placed into a three year ice age, but more severe than any ice age ever seen, fire would refuse to burn and the sun would no longer provide heat until the sun would eventually disappear, along with the stars. It would not leave a void however, the black sky would instead have a dark purple hue and a subtle glow.

Earthquakes would follow as the cult's patrons, the unknowable beings, appeared in sky; their appearance would be so strange, so aberrant that the human minds failed to comprehend it. Their maddening affect would worsen the already violent conflict for resources as people began to destroy each other in their mad delusions. These earthquakes wouldn't make mountains collapse like the Viking tales prophesied, instead great, jagged monoliths would shoot through the ground towardd the sky in sharp angles.

These earthquakes would also break the ices that covered the seas and the oceans would convulce as the water spread across the land, leaving only the hills, mountains and the tall monoliths caused by the earthquake.

Ships that have previously sailed the ocean would sail it again in a ghostly form and anything they touched would turn to dust, be it animal or earth. The same would happen on the men and women that lived on the land as they began to walk the earth again, resuming their lives as if they had never been ended.

Space and time itself would begin to warp, took would slow and speed up. Visable ripples in the air would begin to float across the surface of the ocean and land. Items, people, buildings, even mountain would suddenly in random places before disappearing again. Black holes that warped space around them would begin to appear in the glowing purple sky as the cosmos began to deteriorate. From ripples in the air, unimaginable monsters would appear, killing anything in their wake.

The immosibaly large creatures that the cult so willingly worshipped would descend from their place in the sky and begin to wander the earth, paying no mind to the chaos below them.

The oceans, the land and whatever was left living would then experience the weather changing so rapidly that it could be captured with a blink an eye; the seas would begin to freeze once again before immediately boiling, then freezing, then boiling and on and on as meteors began to crash from the sky. As the large space rocks land into the seas, they would send title waves across what was left of the land, drowning it below the waves.

When only water is left on the planet, the ghostly figures from every point in time would continue their lives as the Cult's gods and the monsters lingered until the black holes in the sky expanded to encompass everything, leaving only those aberrant creatures, allowing them to recreate what they did to this world in whatever reality they would choose.