#symbols/metaphors

[chalkrub]

dinosaur in a lab coat - would you trust her with operating the centrifuge

[raven-serenity]

magenta cont.

uncut version can be found here

full transcript:

magenta has become pretty significant color for me. Even though there were some preconceived ideas of what colors I'm allowed to like, it's still a color that I've always felt this personal connection with I've been learning more about the color recently. And as it would turn out magenta is sort of this color that our brains made up. It is actually not a single wavelength in the visible light spectrum, but it's more so a combination of red and blue wave which exists on opposite ends of the spectrum. And I take that information and look back at my non binary identity. And I wonder if this was some sort of foreshadowing some sort of sirens call lately, I've been using magenta as sort of a comforting tool that anytime I'm feeling down or hopeless, I'll make an effort to wear something magenta to remind me that there's still beauty in the world I call them pink days. Even though I know that pink is technically a different color and that's just how my brain works. I assign narrative meaning to things and they become these coping mechanisms that helped me through the days it's something that I'm extremely hesitant on sharing with people. Mostly because I'm afraid that someone's gonna care too much. They're gonna see me wearing pink and they'll think that my worlds spiraling and it probably is, but I don't want I don't want it to always mean that. I want to be able to just wear pink sometimes. Today was a pink day though. about 24 hours ago, my dad passed out in the bathroom and he's in the hospital now. And leading up to that point. He was acting manic. And it's quite possible then He hasn't been taking his medication again there's a lot of other variables here because he's he also has a kidney problem so maybe it's that maybe and he he's saying that he thinks he broke his neck and I think it's just him being manic again but scary because I don't really recognize him when he's in the state there is a month long period last year where or he's been like this and I have been an entire state away physically so it just feels so out of my hands and I know he wants to see me and that's that's the more scary part about it because the plan was for him to drive down and bring me back home that's supposed to happen in five days but with all of this it's probably not going to happen and and I don't think he knows it. And if he's told it I don't think he'll believe it and I don't know what to do I don't know what I can do really. We have been on weird terms ever since I found my name not to say that they've been unsupportive but they haven't really acknowledged it my parents and there's this chilling truth that the only time my dad has been really supportive of it like really trying has been when he's in this state of mania when I can barely recognize him I don't know what to make of it starting to feel like I just need to stop thinking I'll I'll get a break because every time I feel like I'm going to it just gets more and more messy so I had my pink day and that's where things are right now. Apparently they've he's sleeping now and gave him his meds. Maybe things will change I've wanted to make this video earlier. But I've just not had the motivation. wanted it to be scripted and to be more like a documentation of my narrative inquiry listen this happened and it just felt right to get it out here how to share more of my narrative inquiry things because they're they're important to me for now I'll just keep moving forward and tomorrow might be a pink day and the day after that may be another I'll be fine because I'll be able to remember then there's still the potential for beauty hope you're doing all right. Thanks for listening this far

[l0ve-sicc]

crane wives go crazy

[lazycranberrydoodles]

everybody go home. this is my magnum opus

[totally-not-an-awkward-okapi]

Mistletoe LeBlanc inspired by @ohnoitstbskyen ‘s commentary on her skins post VGU. I wanted to lean into that in a sort of Snow Queen/Snegurochka inspired view of magical winter beauty.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Never getting over them having Eddie sell the Denali - the truck he brought with his winnings from his fight club era - that he got into because he wasn’t dealing with his grief over Shannon’s death and divorce request and was in denial about the reality of his relationship with her - the denial he has stayed in ever since!!

And he’s selling it - he’s finally getting rid of his denial - he’s moving on from Shannon and letting her go!!

Denali really is a play on denial and I love it here a lot!!

[parlapina]

[storytellering]

One last ride, together.

[aroaceleovaldez]

reminder that the only reason the "ADHD is actually demigod BATTLE STRATEGIES" and "dyslexia is DEMIGOD BRAINS HARDWIRED FOR ANCIENT GREEK" things exist in the PJO universe is because it's a very direct reference to early 2000s teaching/parenting techniques for neurodiverse and disabled children, which aimed to frame childrens' disabilities and hardships as a "superpower" or strength so that the children would feel more positively about their disabilities or situations. This technique has fallen out of favor since then for the most part since more often than not it just results in kids feeling as though their struggles are not being seen or taken seriously.

Yes, demigods are adhd/dyslexic (and sometimes autistic-coded) in the series. This is extremely important and trying to remove it or not acknowledge it makes the entire series fall apart because it is such a core concept. Yes, canon claims that their adhd/dyslexia is tied to some innate abilities, which is based on an outdated methodology. It's important to acknowledge that and understand where it comes from! But please stop trying to apply it to other pantheons in the series like "oh, the romans have dyscalculia because of roman numerals!" or "the norse demigods have dysgraphia for reasons!" - it's distasteful at best.

A better option is to acknowledge the meta inspiration for why that exists in the series, such as explaining potentially that Chiron was utilizing that same teaching methodology to try and help demigods feel more comfortable with their disabilities and they aren't literal powers. In fact, especially given Frank, there's implication that being adhd/dyslexic isn't a guaranteed demigod trait, which means it's more likely to be normally inherited from their godly parent/divine ancestor as a general trait, not a power, and further supports the whole "ADHD is battle strategy" thing being non-literal. It also implies the entire greco-roman pantheon in their universe is canonically adhd/dyslexic - and that actually fits very well with the themes of the first series. The entire central conflict of the first series fits perfectly as an allegory about neurodiverse/disabled children and their relationships with their undiagnosed neurodiverse/disabled parents and trying to find solutions together with their shared disability/disabilities that the kid inherited instead of becoming distant from each other (and this makes claiming equivalent to getting a diagnosis which is a fascinating allegory! not to mention the symbolism of demigods inheriting legacies and legends and powers from their parents and everything that comes with that being equivalent to inheriting traits, neurodiversity, and disabilities from your parents).

anyways neurodiversity and disability and the contexts in which the series utilizes representation of those experiences particularly during the 2000s symbolically within the narrative is incredibly important to the first series and the understanding of what themes it means to represent. also if i see one more "the romans have dyscalculia instead of dyslexia" post in 2023 i'm gonna walk into the ocean.

[valtsv]

i love symbolism so much i'm so glad we decided that things could be represented by other things and dedicated so much of our creativity to interpreting their meaning

[raven-serenity]

magenta

uncut version can be found here

full transcript:

magenta has become pretty significant color for me. Even though there were some preconceived ideas of what colors I'm allowed to like, it's still a color that I've always felt this personal connection with I've been learning more about the color recently. And as it would turn out magenta is sort of this color that our brains made up. It is actually not a single wavelength in the visible light spectrum, but it's more so a combination of red and blue wave which exists on opposite ends of the spectrum. And I take that information and look back at my non binary identity. And I wonder if this was some sort of foreshadowing some sort of sirens call lately, I've been using magenta as sort of a comforting tool that anytime I'm feeling down or hopeless, I'll make an effort to wear something magenta to remind me that there's still beauty in the world I call them pink days. Even though I know that pink is technically a different color and that's just how my brain works. I assign narrative meaning to things and they become these coping mechanisms that helped me through the days it's something that I'm extremely hesitant on sharing with people. Mostly because I'm afraid that someone's gonna care too much. They're gonna see me wearing pink and they'll think that my worlds spiraling and it probably is, but I don't want I don't want it to always mean that. I want to be able to just wear pink sometimes. Today was a pink day though. about 24 hours ago, my dad passed out in the bathroom and he's in the hospital now. And leading up to that point. He was acting manic. And it's quite possible then He hasn't been taking his medication again there's a lot of other variables here because he's he also has a kidney problem so maybe it's that maybe and he he's saying that he thinks he broke his neck and I think it's just him being manic again but scary because I don't really recognize him when he's in the state there is a month long period last year where or he's been like this and I have been an entire state away physically so it just feels so out of my hands and I know he wants to see me and that's that's the more scary part about it because the plan was for him to drive down and bring me back home that's supposed to happen in five days but with all of this it's probably not going to happen and and I don't think he knows it. And if he's told it I don't think he'll believe it and I don't know what to do I don't know what I can do really. We have been on weird terms ever since I found my name not to say that they've been unsupportive but they haven't really acknowledged it my parents and there's this chilling truth that the only time my dad has been really supportive of it like really trying has been when he's in this state of mania when I can barely recognize him I don't know what to make of it starting to feel like I just need to stop thinking I'll I'll get a break because every time I feel like I'm going to it just gets more and more messy so I had my pink day and that's where things are right now. Apparently they've he's sleeping now and gave him his meds. Maybe things will change I've wanted to make this video earlier. But I've just not had the motivation. wanted it to be scripted and to be more like a documentation of my narrative inquiry listen this happened and it just felt right to get it out here how to share more of my narrative inquiry things because they're they're important to me for now I'll just keep moving forward and tomorrow might be a pink day and the day after that may be another I'll be fine because I'll be able to remember then there's still the potential for beauty hope you're doing all right. Thanks for listening this far

[bowenoke]

no more celestial body symbolism. embrace fast and furious casting headcanons. take my hand. let's watch all 10 films together so we can accurately assign characters to previous life series winners. I believe Fast X: Part 2 (releasing 2025) can become a crane wives situation if we do our best

[ramvur]

"& how many times have you loved me without my asking? how often have i loved a thing because you loved it? including me."

Day 1 + 2 of #PricegazWeek : smoke + shotgun

[bixels]

The more I think about it, the more I question Arcane S2's politics and themes, which were so foundational to S1. Like, a tiny example [SPOILERS AHEAD]:

Singed wins. He gets exactly what he wants in the end. All his "efforts" are rewarded. What does that say about people who share his ideology of eugenics? He is the source of nearly every horrible thing and conflict that happened (Shimmer, the factory deaths, Jinx, Vander as Warwick, the corruption of Viktor), and he gets a happier ending than any other character. Not even a 'he got what he wanted but he has become completely unrecognizable/monstrous to his daughter' tag at the end. You can say they're setting him up and need to open his daughter to future shows, but the way you end a character's story says something about what you think about that character. What does it say when the eugenicist war criminal gets the happy ending he doesn't deserve?

[dexjarxenoengage]

The Humans in Metaphor Refantazio are mostly inspired by the artwork brought to us by Hieronymus Bosch and his most notable work: The Garden of Earthly Delights. And IMO, Atlus choosing this artist’s work to tell the story of Metaphor: Refantazio and its themes of racism and fear and anxieties is an excellent choice.

That being said, not every Human Boss in this game are based on Bosch’s work, some take their own ideas in mind, while others have their own interpretations they take after. Speaking of which, I want to talk about how each of the Human Bosses that Will and his crew face in the game each represents the Seven Deadly Sins. Why? Because the Garden of Earthly Delights perfectly represents the things that happen in the Bible, from the start a beauty of the garden up until its, and humanities fall from grace. Even if the translation from Google Translate aren’t perfect, we can use them to best determine why they represent that sin.

This will be discussing the bosses we face in the game, the story behind them, as well as the final boss. So naturally, there will be spoilers.

I will talk about each Human boss enemy we face in order of when we encounter them. Melancholia Zorba will not count for this discussion, but I will talk about Zorba later. Since we don’t face Will has a human boss, I won’t be counting him for this list either.

This list is inspired by the mini bosses we fight in the final dungeon: The Tyrant Star. You have to fight the Humans you have encountered over the course of the game in order to weaken Destroyer Charadrius’ final form. Choosing not to results in Destroyer Charadrius getting more Press Turns, a higher level and each of the abilities said humans (you get a trophy for doing this).

I decided to go back and change some things after looking at the translations (however poor) of the Human Monsters, I was right to assume about one of the humans, but after looking deeper into things, I was surprised to find that some of the humans represent these sins very subtly more often than not.

We start with Homo Gorleo (translation: Human Throat), the human we fight at the Border fort and where Will awakens to his Archetype. I have been debating on whether I want to give the sin representation to this beast, it was between Gluttony and Greed. After translating its name, “human throat,” I was really scratching my head.

So this could mean that Homo Gorleo is in fact the sin of Gluttony. But surely there has to be more to it than just simply eating from its own body to sustain itself. Gluttony means overindulging and taking on more than one can chew. So it is a type of greed, in a way, I wasn’t completely wrong when I had the idea of giving it the sin of greed.

More importantly, this human embodies the actions of Klinger, who sent Will, Strohl, and many others to die at that human’s hands (or legs, in this case) in order to give more merit to Louis’ words and increase his own political influence. And if he had succeeded to get away with this, many others would have shared the same fate as those in the fort and the victims of Halia (Strohl’s home village).

Klinger embodies the nasty side of nobility that gorges on the wealth they are blessed with. While Strohl is the noble that lost everything and has learned that he needs to use what he has to help the less fortunate. And helping the weak becomes the main slogan of Will’s team when the Tournament for the Throne begins.

Next is Homo Avades, which is the Human in the Box art and matches Hieronymus Bosch’s most iconic art piece. The name of this human actually gives the idea on what sin it represents: Homo Avades roughly translates to English as “a person who is greedy.” This Human is the one that Louis brought to the Grand Cathedral in order to give his speech on the humans and his duty to slay them as proof that he should be the rightful ruler.

Homo Avades is one of the humans that was majorly advertised throughout the marketing for this game. It serves as our first major boss in the game (as in our first major fight during the story operations in the game). And this human representing greed is symbolic of the fact that this game as a whole, both in the place we are fighting in and throughout Euchronia, are (for the most part) living for their own selfish desires. So in a way, Homo Avades is one of the first representatives of what Will and the others have to fight against moment to moment.

And also, the reason why we have to fight in the first place is because Zorba, Louis’s right hand man, revives it in his attempt to spite the society that rejected him. In a way, this is his “selfish” attempts to fight against the cruel system that he hates.

Will, Strohl and Hulkenburg (and Gallica) fought bravely to stop the human from destroying Royal Capital. This act of bravery gives Will and the others some renown, which would be needed for the upcoming tournament; and more importantly, stay true to the act of winning the faith of the people.

The Greatworm Homo Butera was the other Human I was debating on whether its the seen of Gluttony or Greed. But after finally settling on Gluttony and Greed for both Homo Gorleo and Avades respectively, this is the human I needed time to realize what it embodies. Homo Butera translated to “Buttery Man.” That’s… not exactly helpful for this post or imposing.

That being said, given the understanding of the word “butter,” it does fit with the theme of eating that comes with the Martira arc. This includes introducing Hulkenburg’s love for… “unconventional” food. This as well includes Homo Jaluzo, whom we will talk about later, that is being fed with adults and children alike.

Back to the topic at hand though, it’s possible that Homo Butera symbolizes lust. Reasoning being is that there is another way we can interpret the word “buttery,” and that is through another term like “butter up.” To “butter up” something or someone is to entice them with empty words or promises. This is best shown when Morris (one of the key figures behind the kidnappings Will and the others are tasked to stop) gives Will and the others an idea on how to find Heismay without getting caught up in the Sandworm. He was lying, and Will and the others get eaten by the human worm as a result.

The themes of lust, and by extension, the term that we are using to describe the themes of this human, continues while trapped inside of its stomach. The goal of this dungeon is to escape out of the worm’s… “other hole” within the time limit. During which, you can try to get as many items as possible, because you can play through this Dungeon again after you are through with it. If you get too caught up chasing after items, you may run out of time to escape and will get a game over for it. Which is why I prefer to just get to the exit as soon as possible.

And finally, there is Morris himself after he is ratted out to be the kidnapper. Morris’s reason for helping Joanna kidnap and feed people to Homo Jaluzo is because he just wanted to fatten his piggy bank. Ultimately he gets his comeuppance, as he becomes Homo Jaluzo’s last meal.

Speaking of Homo Jaluzo, this was the easiest Human Sin symbolism to find. This was the only human translation I could get that I actually liked and was the perfect symbolism for. Jaluzo is the Esperanto term for “jealousy,” which is the perfect symbolism for a grieving mother who lost her half breed son to cruelty. And thus Homo Jaluzo’s sin undoubtedly, envy.

It’s perfect for the Joanna to represent the sin of envy as well. Homo Jaluzo served as a replacement to her deceased son, and thus she takes her anger out on other parents who have children out of rage for those parents have, but she had taken from her. The difference between how Zorba and Joanna take their anger out is this: Zorba is out on the entire society, while Joanna has (mostly) targeted the people that had children out of spite for what she had lost. It isn’t until Heismay (who Joanna framed, but also lost his own child) chose to understand what drove her down this path that Joanna sees the error of her ways.

The Sea Horror Homo Sabara’s name translates to “a person who is a sabar.” This made absolutely NO sense to me whatsoever. So I looked up the word “Sabar” and the closest word I could find to match is the word “Sabr.”

“Sabr” or “Sabar” is an old phrase that emphasizes on waiting, perseverance and patience. So staying true to this talking about what sins relate to each of the human boss fights, the closest thing we have is wrath. Wrath is extreme anger that blinds your ability to think rationally. The EXACT opposite of being patient.

Now how does this fight with symbolism of this fight? For context, this fight takes place on the way to Virga Island. During the trip, the Magnus Brothers (Basilio and Fidelio) have joined the ride to spy on Will and Junah, so they get caught in the crossfire because of it.

The reason for why I believe Sabara represents the sin of wrath is because of how it ties into Fidelio’s character. Fidelio (and his brother) were victims of Igniter experimental abuse (alongside many other Paripus (one of which led to Heismay losing his son, hence why he hates the Paripus) and had hated the church and the late king ever since. This leads them to meet Saint Rella and Junah, with the brothers falling in love with the surrogate siblings.

Fidelio’s main flaw comes down to his irrationality towards the things he doesn’t agree with. Be it the party’s philosophy and how they wish to save Eupha during the mission for the Lance, or his opinions on King Hythlodaeus and hatred towards the church. In contrast, Basilio has the emotional intelligence needed to see the bigger picture and truly ask Basilio if what they are doing is truly right.

The only time Basilio has lost his cool is when Fidelio died from protecting from Louis attack on some church folk. Fidelio dies with clarity on the fact that his rage towards the world blinded him to the fact that there are other people who were in his position that may have needed help like he did. And as for Basilio, if Eupha hadn’t yelled him back into sensibility, he would have wasted his brother’s sacrifice.

And then we get to Basilio’s awakening. It’s thanks to Fidelio’s reminder that he has the strength to protect the weak that gives Basilio the courage to move forward without him. And in contrast to many other awakenings in this game, Basilio calmly says goodbye his brother outside of the battlefield.

“See ya around, Del.” - Basilio

Basilio’s starting Archetype is the Berserker. So in a twist of irony, Basilio awakens to a wrathful Archetype in the calmest manner possible. It symbolizes Basilio tapping into those emotions into power without succumbing to them. And thus, Basilio controlled his wrath.

Homo Margo’s name is translated roughly as “human on the edge.” It’s a fitting for the story of the Mustari who are relying on human sacrifices to cure their fears and anxieties (such as our party member to be Eupha). Homo Margo is pretty much a Mustari turned into a Human. So the best sin to associate Homo Margo is Sloth.

Sloth is basically stillness in effort, laziness to put it simply. It perfectly represents the people of Virga Island rely on their teachings and their dragon god to be their shelter in the storm. Eupha herself admits that she had simply her teachings and worries of the people as her crutch for the choices she makes, which would have led to an undignified and senseless death.

It’s thanks to the Will and the others that she learns and accepts the truth. She finally understands what the human that possessed Eht represents: an unwillingness to see or confront what’s in front of them. And thus it blinds them to the truth. By learning from these mistakes, Eupha becomes a priestess with the courage and assertiveness to ascertain her own answer to life.

From then on, Eupha makes the willing choice to travel with Will and the others so that she can grow both as a Priestess and as a person. Eupha becomes more open towards her own emotions and opinions such as when she suggests to tell the Magnus brothers the truth on why they wanted to kill Louis. As well as Eupha being the most outspoken when Basilio was going to chase after Louis after Fidelio’s death.

And last, but most definitely not least, is Louis’s Human form: Destroyer Charadrius. Unlike the many other Humans in the game that were made with Hieronymus Bosch in mind, Destroyer Charadrius is based on Lucifer of the Divine Comedy: Inferno. So it’s only natural that his assigned sin is none other than Pride: the foundation of all sins according to the Bible.

Louis’ fatal flaw has always been pride. This is best shown as the game continues into the final arc. When Will and the others are close to beating him during the fight at Grand Trad on 9/24, Louis resorts to using his magic on Will to transform him into a Human to make the people of the country lose faith in him.

Louis prides himself on the beliefs that power is the deciding factor of the world he plans on creating. But were that the case, one would think Louis should have just accepted defeat the very moment Will and Co. proved their strength to stand against him. But Louis uses a cowardly trick in the midst of the duel to make Will seem like the bad guy.

Louis’s pride, above everything else, prevents him from seeing how he falls short of the very ideals he speaks of. He can’t think for one second at the very thought that he was in the wrong. Which is why he makes it clear that he will kill anyone who doesn’t agree with him.

Louis Social Darwinist worldview (or at least he plans on acting on it) revolves around turning the Royal Sceptre’s accumulated anxiety onto the people to see which people would survive the human transformation and gain more power and who wouldn’t. But Louis fails to realize that his philosophy will backfire because the human transformation is caused by mass amounts of Magla that can’t be controlled (which leads to his own human transformation at the end of the game).

Louis’s refusal to accept his faults or learn to quit when he was ahead finally leads to his death at Will’s hand after awakening his final Archetype.

Will and his friends all have learned to be open to different perspectives without losing themselves to their fears and anxieties. But Louis himself is blind to his own weaknesses and didn’t open his eyes to that truth, it ends with him falling short on his beliefs and dying in the process.

We are done with talking about all of the human bosses and how they represent the seven deadly sins. But there actually is one more unorthodox sin that some scriptures have to be an 8th sin: Despair.

Despair is the ultimate killer of idealism and the ability to believe. This chain of despair from Hythlodaeus losing his wife and son, to Louis losing faith in the king after getting blamed for the Prince’s curse is what led to the chain of events that caused this story in the first place. And had Will fallen into despair over the state of the world in any of the bad endings, he would have been no different than both Louis and Hythlodaeus.

I did say I wouldn’t count Will as part of this list, and said that I would mention Zorba. But the reason for why I’m doing this at all is because it’s important to tie in despair with how the fears and anxieties of the world serves as the fuel behind the Human transformations to begin with.

Melancholia is dense and uncontrollable Magla that can drive any person or beast to insanity. Melancholia itself is a term for “melancholy,” meaning deep sadness. And thus, back to the point of why Louis’s philosophy was doom to fail him, he couldn’t overcome the fears and anxieties that came from the day he lost his family and home to the flames of the church. And thus he takes that sadness out on others (namely Strohl with Halia).

Zorba himself was already a madman long before his human transformation, and thus is the reason why he could “maintain” his physical body.

The Archetypes are supposed be the power that comes from overcoming one’s anxieties. And with it, the power of magic.

Now back to Will and the themes of despair. It’s only as Will maintains his hope and idealism that he truly becomes king. But this is where the Elegy of the Soul comes into play. While this boss is not a human enemy, it’s a dragon that has been overtaken by the fears and anxieties of the people. Thus the Elegy of the Soul represents the potential destruction that can be brought out by the future “hero.” That hero being Will, so this is the closest we get to fighting “Will” as a corrupted version of himself.

This fight is proof that even if Will becomes the king and stops Louis, it doesn’t guarantee that the world will become a truly perfect Utopia. But Will’s character is about striving for a better world is the better alternative than giving up on it/destroying it. And thus, Will’s character is also about maintaining hope in a way that More and Louis could not.

And that power is what it means to face fears and anxieties and become a true king.

[aeroknot]

since i’m a lurker on tiktok, i keep feeling like a monkey in a cage hammering at the bars everytime a fellow EPIC the musical fan passes the misinformation that “penelope sings the refrain ‘waiting’ 8 times for every saga she’s been waiting for odysseus” bc firstly, she sings it seven times. next, and what i’ve seen no one point out, what seems to be missed: odysseus sings it TWICE. HE COMPLETES THE METAPHOR. or rather he starts it off twice, and she finishes with seven—regardless of order, it’s a call and response; it’s both of them tackling it together. and i think that’s even more powerful than if penelope sang every “waiting” for all nine sagas. requiring one to finish where the other leaves off emphasizes that neither of them can encapsulate that heart-wrenching longing all on their own, both of them shoulder the load, and it’s only in the depths of their reunion where it’s fully expressed and felt; it’s only through being together where this whole story culminates.