#the entire plot of the game is about an incurable disease

[valkyrievanessa]

something i really enjoy about arknights magic system is how the healing magic works and they are kinda important, after all, Rhodes Island is a pharmaceltical company that also offer treatment and basically, to be able to proper use healing magic you have to know what you are doing, must have studied anatomy of the races and be pretty much a full medic. And despite being really powerful and useful, they are not a substitute of a medical treatment. Sure, in combat, a magic that can stop bleeding and close some wounds are really good, but if you lose a leg or become paraplegic, well, that's it, neither magic or the cience can heal you, they don't know how to do it yet.

This specific aspect of Originium Arts is great because the healing magic is useful, really useful, specially to be used in an emergency, in combat, surgeries, etc. but it's not a substitute, the person using it still need to study medicine to be able to really use that and probably you will still need some medical checkup after. (just think the healing magic as something really powerful, but is not all powerful and have important limits)

In Arknights we do have a bunch of characters that have explicit disabilities even with the healing magic existing because of course it can't make a disability go away, and of course, they are still combat units, some of them are really powerful ones, they exist and can't be unmade by the magic of the world.

And yes, this is about disability representation in fantasy settings, but i liked this lore about the healing magic of arknights way before all this talk started

[freezeyourchill]

I finished Brothership and I have so many thoughts but I'm gonna start with the most divisive: Starlow's character is not just 'an asshole to Luigi for no reason' and here's why

(Spoilers for Brothership and past M&L RPGs but nothing too endgame-y, just Starlow's introduction and an optional sidequest)

I think Brothership showcases everyone at their best in terms of characterisation and it was so so nice to see (I'll probably make a post about Mario after this because I'm so insane about him) but I've seen some people getting mad at Starlow for referring to Luigi as 'Mario's brother' in her intro scene:

So I thought I'd share a bit about what I think of Starlow as a whole. People love to dunk on her because she makes a lot of jabs at Luigi in the past games, and while I agree that some comments she's made were excessive, I don't think people understand her much as a character and dismiss it all as 'being a bitch for no reason'.

Thinking back to BIS, she came to the Mushroom Kingdom to help with an incurable disease. There seems to be no solution, but then the concept of the Mario brothers solving every unsolvable problem is introduced to her. When she finally meets them, her first impression is this:

Mario leaps to action as soon as a threat appears as he's known to always do, and listened attentively to what was being discussed at the meeting. He's proactive, brave, and capable.

Meanwhile, Luigi is sleeping on the job and missed all of this entirely.

I say this with all the love in my heart and as Luigi fan #1, but in this situation I can understand why Starlow didn't like Luigi at first. And the thing about Starlow is that she's not going to be subtle about it if she doesn't like you. That's just the way she is; she's brash, honest, and judgemental. She gives credit where she thinks credit is due and won't hesitate to get sassy with someone if they're being a pain.

Luigi is not at all the only person on the receiving end of this, but it's more noticeable with him for three reasons: 1) He's much more sensitive to what Starlow says, 2) Starlow interacts with the bros the most because she travels with them, and 3) Luigi is Nintendo's favourite punching bag and this was what mostly everyone in the game did.

As the story progresses, she's quick to assess the brothers and this was likely her conclusion, which was at the time an unfortunately common perspective: when 'the Mario brothers' solve a problem, they mostly mean Mario. Luigi tags along because they're brothers and doesn't contribute much because he's a wuss who lets Mario take charge.

Obviously, that isn't true. Luigi can be clumsy and more reluctant to throw himself into danger than his brother but the fact that he deals with at times such debilitating anxiety and still pushes through goes to show just how hard he tries. He also contributes plenty, but the key here is that Starlow didn't know that. Most of the Mushroom Kingdom didn't know that at the time either. The first thing she saw was him sleeping through an important meeting and a fight with an invading Bowser (who she also may not have known did this on the regular, so it's not seen as such a big deal), so she figured pretty quickly that Mario was the actually reliable one here.

Moving along to Dream Team and Paper Jam, Starlow still isn't the biggest fan of Luigi for a few reasons, mostly being that he's kinda the reason the plot of both games happened. She knows now from BIS that Luigi can pull his weight when he absolutely has to, but he's a bit of a klutz and does have a habit of getting into Situations. In her eyes he's a bit of an idiot even if his heart is in the right place, and she doesn't hesitate to make her opinion known because that's the kind of person she is.

I'm not saying she's right to dislike him, but this outlook is fairly reasonable considering 1) she still doesn't understand him or his struggles, 2) again this is how most people in the Mushroom Kingdom regard Luigi, and 3) she's seeing Mario in comparison, something that everyone else is also guilty of.

If a crisis calls for a hero and anyone in the kingdom had to pick between Mario and Luigi to do it, they'd pick Mario every time. Mario is able to roll with the punches and throw himself into danger without letting any misgivings about it show. He's dutiful, responsible, protective, and gets things done without a fuss. Luigi, with all of his kindness and creativity and courage, can't do that in the same way as his brother, because he's not his brother. Starlow sees that in the same way everyone else did: because Mario doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, Mario is more dependable.

But Starlow also has her nicer moments with Luigi, which people seem to forget about. People like to talk about how she rips into him in Paper Jam when he loses the book to the point of making him cry, but what they don't mention in that discussion is that she apologises immediately:

This isn't Starlow having a grudge against him or wanting him to feel terrible, this is just how she deals with everyone. If someone messes up, she's going to let them know exactly why and how. She's not used to someone like Luigi, filled with anxiety and sensitive to the sass that she would give anyone if they made a mistake. But she also acknowledges that she can come off as a lot meaner than she intends, and this isn't mean-spiritedness as much as just not knowing how else to talk to people.

This is also obvious later in Paper Jam when she gives Luigi an awkward little pep talk:

It's not in her nature to be so earnestly encouraging. She's polite and friendly to those who are polite to her such as Peach, she's to-the-point and pragmatic with Mario, and she's sarcastic and teasing to Bowser because she knows he won't take it personally and that's how she expresses friendship. But when faced with Luigi, someone who doesn't react well to her natural snark, she doesn't know how to handle it. So she gives it her best go, and it works; Luigi picks himself up and goes into the spooky forest to save his brother(s) because his care outweighs his fear, something that Starlow now realises.

Then we finally get to Brothership. By this point everyone including Peach and even Mario seems to better understand Luigi's struggles with anxiety (and autism, he is the autism allegory, trust) and Starlow has reached a point where she can respect Luigi despite his differences to Mario. She's happy to see them in Concordia and greets them both properly:

So why does she still call him 'Mario's brother'?

Because jokes and snark are how she shows her affection and she really doesn't know how else to do it. Bullying people is her love language, which is why her and Bowser have such a nice dynamic. Starlow understands now that Luigi tries really hard to be useful and Luigi understands now that Starlow isn't trying to make him feel bad.

Luigi is my favourite character of all time and they could never still never make me hate Starlow. She's just flawed and full of personality like the rest of us.

[notzilon]

achillesmonochrome I really love this idea but, what bugs me is...why she became the champion if she didn't want it? I mean, you go to the league, and then the champion has been defeated by N, you eventually win, and then you have the post-game. You don't become the champion unless you go again to the elite 4

I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED.

Okay so you bring up an excellent point and typically, yes, I would agree this is a plot hole! However I have incurable brain disease that makes me think about world building and the implications of children's media 24/7, so I accept no responsibility for the unhinged garbage that's about to come out of my hands and directly into your eyes Pokemon BW is a story whose major themes for the MC are consent, agency, and societal pressure. (As an aside, this is why I prefer Hilda - these themes particularly resonate with me as a lady.) Anyway. Stay with me here.

When Hilda, Cheren, and Bianca start their journey, it's so innocent, man. Bianca wants to find herself, Cheren explicitly wants to become champion, and Hilda is intended to be a blank slate to project onto. Except she's not, not entirely - we can infer a lot just from her character design and how the characters in the game react to her. She's tomboyish, probably rough around the edges. There's a good chance that she's not looking to do pokemon battling professionally but is still very good at it (many rivals are upset when they lose, but Cheren is consistently baffled by why Hilda always wins. It isn't like Silver who is learning how to love or something, Cheren is clearly intended to be a competent and skilled trainer in-canon, yet he just Can't Win,) she's most likely empathetic (see also: good at pokemon, these critters react to trust and love,) she's got a heroic nature (the average person is not willing to stick their neck out to throw down with a cult) and she's got a lot of hesitancy in literally every step of the plot. The last point might not be true for a lot of players, especially if you tend to say Yes to prompts, but the experience is a lot different if you let Hilda say No. Because, obviously, it's a game. But Thou Must. The show must go on. The script has been written and the prophecy has been foretold.

Hilda's life changed when she stepped out of her home town and met N, because in giving him the spark of doubt that would allow him to regain faith in humanity's ideal, she got an obsessive stalker. N decides, completely on his own, that if he is to be one half of the heroes of legend, then Hilda has to be the other half. What was supposed to be a fun journey adventure for Hilda and her friends soon becomes about fulfilling a prophecy, which N is constantly trying to goad Hilda into. He's pleased when she answers yes/agrees with him but any no answer is met with sneering, condescending nastiness. He wants Hilda to fulfill the prophecy because that's how he achieves his dream and proves that his way of thinking is Correct, giving him the leverage to change how Unova is structured. And like. The adults around Hilda just Do Not have her back like they should? Alder gives her Zekrom's rock prison and just tells her hey, good luck kid. If I lose it's all on you. And she can say no here!! She can refuse! And if she does, all Alder does is continue to push the Dark Stone into Hilda's hands, telling her that he's sorry, it has to be this way, it's not fair to her but she has to step up to do this if he fails. The whole of Unova is resting on her young shoulders.

And it ends up being true. Zekrom responds to her, at the final moment - because even if she said no every chance she got, when the cards are down, she still helps. Uncertain and unsure, dragged into this whirlwind of legends and fate, she counters the factually true statement that humanity is capable of unending cruelty with the ideal that humanity is also capable of incredible kindness and good. (As an aside, Zekrom and Reshiram represent yin and yang. Yin, the dark, the feminine, that which is acted upon. Yang, the light, the masculine, that which has its will acted out. It's interesting how it lines up.) The reluctant hero is victorious, and she certainly did choose to follow through with the plan, but how much of that agency can be attributed to the constant pressure held to the back of her neck? So there Hilda is. She's sixteen, she's the hero that saved Unova, and she's got every single eye on her. Of course she's going to be Champion. The Champion is the region's strongest trainer, the face of the region, the one who travels and solves problems. Who better but the one who is already a legendary hero? It doesn't matter if Hilda says no.

[tigerdrop]

king u gonna elaborate on virgin benrey

 listen i have kiryu “is 100% a virgin at the ripe old age of 37, and this is appealing to me instead of fucking hilarious″ kazuma disease and it has followed me here. also this kind of branches into a completely different kink at the end b/c i am diseased

so you know how i write "obviously fucks good and hard all the time" benrey. well........you know.......like..........what if......................he didnt. what if he was. what if he had never fucked before in his life and his incessant flirting finally works and hes like "i did not expect to get this far."

envision, if u will, the delightful awkwardness of virgin benrey + "has never had sex with a dude before" gordon

ive definitely brought up the possibilities of gordon going all science-brain on null benrey before but i think it works just as well on virgin benrey too. its a learning experience for both of them and if theres one thing gordons good at, its research. and gordon probably gets way too up in his own head about making sure he does this shit right and spends a lot of sleepless nights googling "how to have sex with dudes" and, you know, researching, 

if benreys not the one fucking babying him thru his first gay experiences he is probably going to bungle it so fucking badly and i think it would be really funny 

alternatively please consider gordon being so fucking neurotic about benrey never having done this shit before that he avoids the subject as hard as possible, thinking that hes gonna dick it up hardcore, but the whole time benreys just thinking "bro i havent had my dick touched in [however long hes been alive]. come on". the tension

furiously making out with him behind a fucking crate in black mesa and then realizing this is Going Places and gordons voice breaks as he says, way too loud, "I GOTTA UHHH GO RELOAD MY SMG. RIGHT NOW"

you think gordon is touch starved ? no. Hell with this 

Im just tsying theres no evidence hes been touched at all by another human being in his life before this. if hes video game in real he benrey noclip out of being touched 

what if he like, chooses not to noclip/not feel....ON that time gordon catches him. just cuz hes curious, a gay impulse. or maybe hes so surprised (and gay) he forgets to avoid it

and oh, to be in gordon freeman's gentle grasp. makes him into an unholy annoyance of awkward gayness for the rest of the series

YEAS.......also he has definitely thought hard about sucking gordons dick but doesnt actually have any idea how he would go about it. hes just heard its cool

giddy thinking about the scenario where its actually benrey whos terrible at sucking dick b/c hes never done it before and gordon who actually does suck dick like a champ

i know that this is literally the plot of the very first serious nsfw fic in this fandom but still. virgin beney. benrey getting sucked off for the first time in his entire life and shaking like a fucking leaf......

Power trip of Gordon realizing this guy whose been hitting on him the whole time has no idea what to actually do 

Gordon Freeman Gives Benrey A Prostate Exam

its a joke but its not a joke. virgin benrey being vaguely aware that being fucked by gordon freeman would be cool, in theory, but not fully conceptualizing of how you actually get a dick in your ass until gordons like "what?? no, dude, you cant just stick it in there" and gives him a demonstration and thats how benrey discovers he has a prostate 

benrey like "idgi man this just feels weird. when do we get to theohhh my god what. what that" and gordons like "what, u mean this?" (curls his fingers again) mean smirk hours

i want him to make a squeaky little noise when gordon says that and curls his fingers again, and gordon's like "ha- knew he'd like it" and keeps kneading him a while; but oops, suddenly benrey's coming with an even squeakier noise 

gordon's so surprised he just keeps going, hes like, not comprehending until benys whining at him to stop

a thought: benreys not good at "being human" and probably doesnt actually know whats supposed to happen when u nut so every time hes been jackin it he just does it until it starts to be Just A Little Too Much and then hes like "mission accomplished" and stops. imagine his fucking surprise when  gordons jerking him off and he doesnt stop and hes like "wh ha hu what the fuck i already got off bro" and gordon just stares at him and the distinctive lack of cum on his hand and s like ".......did you?  you sure about that one." 

tl;dr benrey squirming and babbling and digging his fingers into gordons back as he begs him to keep going, he doesnt know whats gonna happen and hes feeling totally overwhelmed b/c gordons pushing him further than hes ever been pushed and he keeps inadvertently trying to wriggle away b/c its So Much but gordon, maybe, pins down his hips so he can get benrey off For Real....... 

even better if its when gordons sucking him off for the first time so he can wrap his arms and hands around benreys thighs to keep them spread wide open and firmly in place 

knees shaking and thighs jumping constantly 

and benrey has no idea when its supposed to be over so he cant even warn gordon properly. he just keeps getting louder and louder....... 

maybe even.......completely hunched over gordon......pushing him down on his dick with his hands in his hair....... 

alternating between babbling "stop" and "dont stop" b/c hes stupid 

eventually gordon gets so sick of benrey not being able to decide whether he wants to shove gordon onto his dick or yank him off that he just pulls off and says "look, man, do you trust me?" b/c he would really like to just get benrey to stop edging himself here 

UNINTENTIONAL OVERSTIMULATION.......THE TEARS........HHHHHHH

and he eventually gets benrey to nod furiously at him that he trusts him and gordons just like, okay, im not gonna stop then. im gonna keep going. and.......he does 

eyes glazed, hair sticking to him with sweat, hips all twitchy, dick all red, face also all red 

sucking benrey dry until hes over sensitive....... 

He started off spasming then he’s rocking into Gordon’s face by the time he’s wailing his name. Panting and gasping like he’s fucking DROWNING 

gordon meanwhile almost nuts in his pants from the fuckin show that benreys puttin on for him and hes not even trying. hes just Like This. gordons got jerkoff material for the next month just thinking about the way benrey wails his name and clutches his hair tight 

benreys like (slurred) 'u gonna jack off or sumn.......was it not hot'. gordon fighting with every cell of his body not to scream "WAS IT NOT HOT?"

trying to decide what would be hotter: gordon jacking off while hes on his knees with his head resting on benreys thigh or jerking off on benreys stomach and.....r.......rubbing it in

benrey watching gordon cum and feeling a whole new context for it cause now he knows how good it feels and gets turned on again faster-

thinking.......about.......th. next time. now that benreys figured it out. he gives it a try on his own time and hes so surprised that it works that he goes up to gordon like "yo. check this out. i figured out how to jack it" and gordon has the most unimpressed look on his face imaginable 

"proud of you, buddy. am i good to go back to watching storage wars, or" "you wanna uhhh.....wanna see it maybe?" and that changes his entire tune

imagining benrey being so fucking bad at it still that he keeps doing the start-stop shit b/c its so intense and hes not used to it and the thing that actually gets him to finish is gordon, pants down to his knees and fisting his own dick like he might die tomorrow, leaning forward and telling him that hes got this, benreys gonna come for him, right? come for gordon? 

gordon fucking telling him "dont stop" WRT jerking himself off and benrey just listening to him and pushing himself is ruining my fuckin mind 

its a really good thought......i love how it plays into non-human benrey having to figure out human stuff........makes me crayz

probably keeps being sensitive for a long while too........ (mumbling very very quietly) and if hes so sensitive from never being touched before......maybe hes kind of........uhhh..................ticklish

new layers to the whole "oh my god its too much stop it" + "i actually dont want you to stop touching" thing .. . . .. . . . + gordon powertripping when he realizes whats going on with him and why he keeps jerking away and trying not to laugh when gordon touches him like on his stomach or his sides

benrey accidentally jerks too hard and knees gordon in the dick from how ticklish he feels just from like, hands on his sides or something

i was actually thinking about......like.......gordon laying on the ground and suffering (because why wouldnt i be thinking about gordon suffering) and deciding that enough is enough and offering to.......desensitize benrey. you know. for his own health

you know. uhhh. tying up his arms and legs, perhaps, and. you know. "do not noclip through these. i swear to god, benrey, if you kick me in the dick again" 

i'm think about benrey begging gordon to stop, so he does, to check if this is a Forreal stop or a "hahah nooo~" stop, and benrey asks him through gasps to keep fucking tickling him (except he just says smth to the effect of ."gh.. ....keep doing it dude wuhdah hell...") and gordon gets an evil fucking grin and just feels on top of the world "yeah?? think you can handle it, huh???" and just destroys him. benrey thinks about gordon's horny manic face for weeks 

neither of them had a thing for this before this point but the combination of feeling like hes being tickled and gordons hands on him for the first time making him mad horny gives benrey a brand new fucking fetish. gordons manic fucking face im so glad we are on the same wavelength about that

i truly hate my own posts. incurable. diseased

[holymoonlighted]

Allant, Amygdalae and You

Spoilers for Bloodborne and Demon’s Souls below:

In Bloodborne’s Alpha test, the Amygdalae were there, but not visible to the player. When re-enabled these familiar Gods have something interesting about them that was removed in the current game. Their eyes. (Images are from here.)

Their eyes are extremely familiar to people who payed attention to Demon’s Souls True King Allant. The eyes are essentially the same, not entirely the same design but, the idea is there.

For those who don’t know, Bloodborne was Demon’s Souls II at one point in development, there are files quite literally classed as “DSII” or “Demon’s Souls II” not Dark Souls II, the team making Bloodborne had nothing to do with DSII, I’m pretty sure. Anyways, the connection is incredibly obvious once you know that. This does clear up one thing, Great Ones are most likely Demons. Or were Demons. This Allant has become a Demon through worshipping the Old One, who is also a Demon. Nevertheless, the Amygdala and Allant share some sort of connection. Allant in this form also look like an early form of the Amygdalae, but not quite. Great Ones in Bloodborne’s story have always been God-like beings, Miyazaki has stated one of the first things written for Bloodborne is that Great Ones cannot have children, meaning Great Ones in some capacity have always been relevant. To get to the point, Amygdala have always most likely been intended with this relation to Demonhood and this connection to Allant. In Demon’s Souls, human-turned Demons have been in the story the whole time, in fact, some of the major bosses are those, see: Tower Knight, Phalanx and Flamelurker. They are all Demons. And now, when in Bloodborne when you take into account that these are also Demons and that most likely have also inhabited the planet, one can wonder if the mist brought them or that they have been placed there like the Old One was. In fact the old names for Amygdala are “False God” and “God’s Fallen Angel” and in the alpha, an unused track associated with Amygdala are called “False God”. Additionally, Amygdala was also the final boss of Bloodborne at one point. If you notice, in the Grand Cathedral on the way to Amelia there are statues lining both sides that depict Amygdalae, no doubt about it.

They have the face and the tentacles. It’s plain and simple; Anyways, it is obvious Amygdalae are still worshipped as Gods. In Bloodborne’s world you can hear characters say “Gods” instead of a singular God. Meaning that Great Ones, in Yharnam, at least, are worshipped in a large capacity. With this, and the assumption that they were Demon’s, it can be said that history is just repeating itself. For those who don’t know, the God referenced in Demon’s Souls is the Old One. It is worshipped, presumably given by Allant the Old One is known and so is its power but only by people who really want to delve into it. Though now, it seems that people fully accept these Demons who live in their city and worship them as Gods, as Boletaria once did. Amygdalae are False Gods under blasphemous worship, the reason there are so many is unknown. Maybe it was explained in an earlier iteration, alas, it is lost or the reason why is gone. So it seems that in Bloodborne the theme of cycles carries true and that was the scene they were trying to push out.

This place here is an interesting point of conjecture, however. At some point in Bloodborne, the plot was that you, as in the hunter, have an incurable disease. This was one of the major plot points too, it wasn’t a side thing. The Doll mentioned it, multiple NPC’s including unused ones did. It was just the entire plot, plus other things. Anyways, this place at one point is called Shrine of the Diseased and Amygdala still occupied this place. The diseased are the name of well, the ones with the disease. Along with some dialogue, it seems that the diseased are almost worshipped in some capacity. And why an Amygdala is here is unknown, this is still DeSII territory so anything goes in terms of relations. The diseased seem to be able to collect madness, early dialogue from the Doll even says as much. This madness, like Blood Echoes are able to be transformed into strength. Madness is not insight, however. Meaning that dead enemies and bosses dropped Madness, or something of that capacity. The Kanji used is “狂気” which is the literal state of Insanity, which suggests that it is the madness that is building inside of someone’s mind. The doll also says: 

“ あなたもそうなのでしょう？ だから、死してなお悪夢で目覚める まるでそれこそが、悪夢であったかのように 狂気とは、つまりそういうものですから “

Roughly translated(and localized) into:

“You awoke the same as you died, yes? This is why you awake again past death, as if it were a nightmare. This is what madness is, after all.”

This disease seems to be the reason why the Hunter, or in this case, The Diseased, awakens again. It is a disease of madness that prevents death. Now, back to the point. It seems in the Nightmare Frontier, this shrine was used by someone or something to worship the diseased. Amygdala could very well be the keeper of the shrine. Meaning, they are protective demons. Or used as some kind of protecting nature and keep holy things protected from danger. In Yharnam, it is probable they are just surveying and making sure things stay intact. Yharnam is a city like Boletaria, full of religion. With this, an argument can be made that Demons do not need the fog to be summoned and that the Dream and Nightmare realms are their homes and the fog just allows them to come onto the Earth. For Amygdala, it’s hard to say if it was a worshipped then came into existence, but it seems odd that humanity would create this cosmic visage in the first place. For Demon’s Souls, Gods like the Storm King are a viable depiction of a god. Amygdala looks like something that has always been there. Though, in cut enemies of Bloodborne, Demons that resemble something of a traditional Demon.

These things prove somewhat that the fog creates Demons based off of the beliefs of the people around them. At least, that is the only explanation I can come up with. It looks exactly like a Christian Demon someone would depict, fire, brimstone with “terrifying” wings.

The early common depictions of Satan, which matches somewhat with the Demonic depiction of the “Creeper” as it is called. To make a long story short, the Fog still obviously creates Demons out of the beliefs of the people. Amygdala does not seem to be one of those, however. There if no proof that they aren’t, but it seems unlikely.

Going back to my first point, there is no clear way to link Amygdalae to Allant directly. However, given the nature of the Amygdalae in cut content it seems Allant is a madman who through this has become a Demon visually similar to other Demons. This also harkens back to the concept of evolution and becoming a Great One. So in this sense, the point was to become a Demon like them, to become a demon with great power, possibly the goal was to become exactly like the Old One which isn’t surprising. Byrgenwerth was always apart of the story so the evolution part was definitely most likely a thing for a while. Anyhow, Allant in the original plot of Demon’s Souls definitely was not trying to become an Amygdala but in Bloodborne, the Amygdala definitely are something people like they want to become it, most likely. Amygdala still has remnants of its’ worshippers with Patches. He wants to sacrifice you to Amygdala, but can’t. Amygdala definitely has a cult even still which was probably more prominent in earlier iterations. 

Speaking of cults, some cut characters suggest something about this. Some figure of “Justice” and influence in the Healing Church: - Louvan - Aragon - Idona These characters are never actually used, they seem to all be a cut minister character. However, they all seem to be related to “Justice”, someone in the Healing Church who decides the worthiness, or something like that. So, this person is in high power. Meaning they are influential, this leads to the fact these people have the influence they most likely tell the Yharnamites to worship these Demons. They most likely keep in touch with the Choir so they know some pretty important knowledge. So, yes, these characters are pretty comparable to religious world leaders who basically make people worship their God. Except, it’s more complex. The Amygdalae probably do not care or possibly do not even know what is going on around them and are just surveying human behavior. So in the end, it’s a ruthless effort to worship something that doesn’t even care about your existence, which is a nice detail story-wise. 

To finish this off, there isn’t a strong connection between Allant and the Amygdalae, nevertheless, the Amygdalae have always had an intriguing role. I might edit this post later for some clarity and more information but for now, have my first cut content post, enjoy! Any critique, feedback and or things that can be added upon, please let me know! I’d love to hear.

[tartagilicious]

@kittyplaysandcries​ it may not be a full fic but inspiration hit and I had to write something about your post either way ^^

— 

You hate it. 

You hate reliving the same cruel fate again and again, and even to your best efforts, make it out alive with only one person every single time. Like a bad dream, it gives you no choice over who you save; but yet still, no matter who’s hand you take on the long road to the safe zone, your guilt remains the same. 

Repeatedly, you witness their deaths. Each are different yet alike in their sudden state of stagnicity, all-too sudden for your picky preference of people close to you staying alive. Whether they’re eaten, drowned in a mob, or plainly disappear; you know that it’s final no matter who’s saved in the end. 

At least, for that run it is. 

In the nights you toss and turn with unrest, you use the sick yet familiar comparison of your unique situation and a standard video game. It seems to make sense, restarting a level if you fail to do it correctly, except, this is no video game. The scent of blood is too riveting, the fear too realistic, and the fact that you only have one standard life instead of the magical three too disappointing — it all says clear as day that the nightmare you’re stuck in is very much real, and there’s no doubt about it. 

The last person you have the chance to save, regretfully, is Eugene. The moody blonde you’d managed to hold a strong friendship with in every single trial of your survival, the moody blonde that you’ve seen die multiple times in multiple ways — you feel immense joy when you arrive at the safe zone with him in one piece. 

But, then again like clockwork, you wake up in the school again. Judy is asleep next to you, and you feel the bleak tears stinging your eyes for what feels like the hundredth time, because you’ve been here before. You’ve seen her peaceful expression while in slumber before, and you’ve seen her frightened expression when being dragged away too many times before, even if it had only been once. Once is too many. 

It feels like too much. 

Happiness seems hard out of reach, and for a few minutes, you’re scared to get back on your feet. 

And yet, though you are a finger’s distance away from giving up, there is something about this particular time that makes you hold ground. You may have never been able to fully figure out why the school bell went off when it did, nor who or what was behind it, but it seems like things are clearer in more ways than one this time. 

You want to think it’s because your mind is sharper after so many times of running through the same backhanded story, but deep down, you know it’s not true; you’re non the wiser. Though, it seems like someone is the opposite. Lawrence, your beloved leader and the last person you’d ever expected to have a hand in your misfortune, becomes oddly suspicious. The actions and words you’d previously disregarded now stick out to you like a sore thumb, and when you finally figure out the plot of your indefinite story, you’re ashamed that you’ve let him slip by unscathed so many times. 

Then, things change. Small moments at first, such as words, or meeting topics, but soon it’s entire events. Events that would have gotten people killed vanish from existence altogether, and much to your relief, leave that person alive and well. You cling onto this, perhaps foolishly, but it’s the best bet you have; the best opportunity towards a happy ending that you can yet see in the distance.

And once you do see it, you grasp it in a tight fist. 

Lawrence is discovered to be the one behind everything as you’d since thought, though, unlike what you had initially predicted, the boys aren’t mad at their leader. They don’t even so much as turn up their noses at the plot, rather settling for a good punch before telling him that he would be dead meat if ever tried to hurt them again. Lawrence only laughs and calls them idiots, but still takes Zion’s outstretched hand with little reluctance. 

There may be truth to Lawrence’s words, but you don’t voice it. 

Because soon, thanks to Lawrence, Ethan is the happiest you’ve ever seen him. Zion and Eugene finally look like teenage boys again. Harry is talking peacefully with Lawrence, presumably about what had happened at the school. Jay and Scarlett are with Hailey and Sue as they eat the food that the military has graciously provided to survivors. And you — you’re with Judy, your friend who, this time, is very much alive. Every single one of you is alive, finally safe from the creatures that had once plagued your life like an incurable disease. But your hope is not far ahead of dread. 

You don’t want things to repeat again. You wish desperately for the nightmare to finally be over, but the knot in your stomach never unwinds. 

Then you wake up the next morning. Your eyes are heavy with sleep as per usual, and to your initial horror, Judy is asleep with the same peaceful expression. But your eyes adjust to the safe zone tent around you and over your head, the feeling that washes over you so powerful that you almost weep. 

The title of survivor is one you’d kept as long as you kept your humanity, but it means something different to you now. Because this is reality, and finally, you are truly living in it as you had always wished. 

[regesc]

THIS IS... completely unrelated to anything im doing tonight but im trying, right now, to actually figure out what the fuck the starscourge is other than an occasionally brought up plot point despite the fact that its obviously a very serious disease that is slowly destroying the entire world so heres some thots ive gathered about it. neato

> it’s not some Magical Thing (though it’s roots are in magic) it is literally referred to as a parasite so thats what it Is. a parasite. it’s described as plasmodium malariae & is, quite literally, a mutated form of malarial parasites THAT BEGAN in the time of solheim. it is spread by daemons (once infected humans or animals who have progressed to the final stage of disease.)

> once called the vanishing disease bcus infected who reach the final stage litearlly just disperse into miasma to be coalesced as a daemon. once you reach daemon stage, you are incurable.

> some daemons, immediately after transformation, retain coherency and are aware of what they are doing. people who reach this stage are given the kindness of death.

> infection comes thru contact with miasma / plasmodium exuded by daemons, this is the only way humans become infected. 99% of infections occur post daemon attacks in those who survive: i.e., noctis. the disease has absolutely 0 dormancy and infected show disease almost immediately, though progression thru stages varies person to person

> most commonly seen stage is when the body begins producing miasma. it starts in the veins, thickening the blood + causing various health problems. by the time the body begins exuding it (such as: through the eyes, nose, mouth) the infected is often past the point of no return.

> there is no cure. the oracle ‘’cures’ it by removing the miasma from the persons body and dispersing it into the air, thus worsening the state of the world bit by bit.

> miasma is corrosive, volatile and has a property likened to things like vantablack: it does not reflect, and can even be described to ‘consume’ light. this is how it shortens the days: it does not remove the sun from the sky + time can be kept by even SEEING the sun rise through the sheen of miasma, the miasma simply eats the light, stars, the moon, the sun, no light reaches eos by the time the world is submerged in darkness. 

> miasma is destroyed by harsh light, hence how people stay safe from daemons.

> the disease is a LOT more prevalent than the game made it: the oracle worked almost constantly, & judging by the amount of daemons, people were turning often . 

> recovery is possible though and seen, noctis himself recovered (though it worsened his injuries due to the bodies inability to heal while being ravaged by the scourge) 

[soarecrown]

THIS IS… completely unrelated to anything im doing tonight but im trying, right now, to actually figure out what the fuck the starscourge is other than an occasionally brought up plot point despite the fact that its obviously a very serious disease that is slowly destroying the entire world so heres some thots ive gathered about it. neato

> it’s not some Magical Thing (though it’s roots are in magic) it is literally referred to as a parasite so thats what it Is. a parasite. it’s described as plasmodium malariae & is, quite literally, a mutated form of malarial parasites THAT BEGAN in the time of solheim. it is spread by daemons (once infected humans or animals who have progressed to the final stage of disease.)

> once called the vanishing disease bcus infected who reach the final stage litearlly just disperse into miasma to be coalesced as a daemon. once you reach daemon stage, you are incurable.

> some daemons, immediately after transformation, retain coherency and are aware of what they are doing. people who reach this stage are given the kindness of death.

> infection comes thru contact with miasma / plasmodium exuded by daemons, this is the only way humans become infected. 99% of infections occur post daemon attacks in those who survive: i.e., noctis. the disease has absolutely 0 dormancy and infected show disease almost immediately, though progression thru stages varies person to person

> most commonly seen stage is when the body begins producing miasma. it starts in the veins, thickening the blood + causing various health problems. by the time the body begins exuding it (such as: through the eyes, nose, mouth) the infected is often past the point of no return.

> there is no cure. the oracle ‘’cures’ it by removing the miasma from the persons body and dispersing it into the air, thus worsening the state of the world bit by bit.

> miasma is corrosive, volatile and has a property likened to things like vantablack: it does not reflect, and can even be described to ‘consume’ light. this is how it shortens the days: it does not remove the sun from the sky + time can be kept by even SEEING the sun rise through the sheen of miasma, the miasma simply eats the light, stars, the moon, the sun, no light reaches eos by the time the world is submerged in darkness.

> miasma is destroyed by harsh light, hence how people stay safe from daemons.

> the disease is a LOT more prevalent than the game made it: the oracle worked almost constantly, & judging by the amount of daemons, people were turning often .

> recovery is possible though and seen, noctis himself recovered (though it worsened his injuries due to the bodies inability to heal while being ravaged by the scourge)

[des-shinta]

Discussing this publicly as...Y'see, me getting comments like this DM'd and Emailed to me?  That's why I even keep bringing Zi-O up or have stayed even tangentially involved.  it’s not to keep sniping at it, it’s putting out there that you can choose another target, as this horse is out of this race until it is all said and done. Hell, that was the entire point of the last post about it.  I’ve been through this song and dance and want people to stop bringing it to me. Though I am not calling out KaijucorpsTokuandrobots and his opinion of my work or in any way attempting to publicly shame him.  Frankly, his is the most civil DM I’ve received on this thus-far and why I have chosen to cite it. They have otherwise escalated to Death Threats for me not wanting to watch a show that It’s clear I won’t like. I just...I’m seriously just done with this fandom.  Marzgurl’s two twitter threads on  the missed concept of the ‘Ally of Justice’ are so on the ball for how bad it’s been getting. I WANT to do and have been doing exactly as KaijuKorpsTokuandrobots is demanding and leave it alone for others to hate or enjoy as they wish to, and as I stated my position and bowed out weeks ago I would like to leave it be.  I mostly have kept silent on my commentary since outside of...what, a handful of posts in the time it’s been running, not counting repetitions of the same subject such as the show being predictable, expanded reply threads, or snarking at crap? Though That’s part of why I format my videos and reviews the way I do, to better explain the positions I take.  The extended in-depth length is for those unfamiliar or familiar with the media to see more of it than is present in shorter-length ones that's just the opinion piece, with my perspectives and analysis set between the recap.  Doing this allows it to be more objective than others, and provide a better explanation for my perspective. It is not done to lead them to a subjective conclusion that ignores facts on a matter simply to make others opinions align with mine.  That’s just manipulative and arrogant and...well, if you knew me or paid attention to my conduct, you’d know that isn’t me. If I did and was, in the Kyoryuger videos I could’ve just said “you’re all wrong about Daigo”, instead of addressing how there were legitimate grievances one could have against him due to his character archetype being one that grates on a lot of people and super sentai overuses, and also ones that had been blown out of proportion in the face of those who have legitimately erred in the same fields Daigo was blamed for but didn’t actually do.  I could’ve just ignored the fandom complaints instead of acknowledging the reasonable ones and providing evidence against the ludicrous or exaggerated ones. For if you notice, I always supply evidence of why I have the perspective I do. For It has not nor has ever been about my opinion being the right one, it's about putting thought into one’s entertainment and seeing if it holds up under scrutiny.   That’s what a reviewer’s job is. I’m an analytical and introspective person, I THINK about things.  I LIKE Informing people about things, I believe facts and trivia are neat and fun to share, and media content regardless of genre, age or demographic that put in that extra effort to have all these big allusions to other work seamlessly woven into them and work for their story gives them a whole new layer of depth that is absolutely wonderful, especially if it is to other things I have enjoyed. And conversely, when I see something that has held itself to higher standards in the past acting as if it could not care less, I am compelled like many to call it out for that, and explain why that is. To paraphrase Linkara, “By teaching you how something is Bad, you learn how something is good, and if you are a creative type yourself, these are then tips to avoid creating something horrible.”

I don’t see how that can be viewed as being smug or any different than anyone else that does the reviewer thing, as my presenting of facts and the evidence supplied from interviews, analysis, data, records and what-not in the video content I make (and often these large blog posts)  is always divorced or set separately of my Opinion or snark about something so it is uniquely distinguishable on which is which.  My opinion does not superceed all of that, my opinion is a result of knowing and being aware of all of this, seeking out this information as I love to learn facts and trivia about stuff I enjoy, and presenting them all in a condensed collection of content. Analyzing the common themes, tropes and plots the writers on a show make use of in their original works (the Toshiki Inoue Drinking game, anyone?), and the conduct and statements they and the producers have made over the course of their careers inform the direction their work can take, as all of that can play a factor in the final product that results. And it’s not like I’ve never been wrong as a result of my research being erroneous or the knowledge I’ve gathered being faulty, and I’m more than capable of admitting it and have done so when told.  if you’ve seen my videos on the Garo Franchise, I’ve had to do so a number of times because there are Not a lot of good, Reliable sources on it, and some of them have misreported information or treated Fanon opinion as if it were canon fact without verification. In example I had believed that Shou Aikawa and Toshiki Inoue were the writers to The series Garo The Crimson moon because it was originally reported they were the only ones writing on it.  That turned out to not be so, and I was unaware of that as no-one had written differently in any of my usual resources.  That wasn’t malicious ignorance or smug self-assurance, but operating off of the information that had been provided.  Since that new information corrected me, I haven’t repeated something that wasn’t so.

But It is NOT about people lying to themselves about what they enjoy.  To cite the specific gripe, I don't think Kyuuranger fans are lying to themselves in liking it and have never at ANY point said that about THAT show or any other media, I think they didn't see what others, including myself, disliked about it or didn’t find it disagreeable themselves.  That’s not lying, that’s having a different perspective on it and what angers/annoys/frustrates others they don’t have a problem with. Everyone has a different perspective, I just put a lot of thought into explaining mine, why I have the gut reactions, revulsion or love I do for something.  That doesn’t make me automatically right, that’s giving you all the evidence to why my perspective is the way it is, and the reasoning of my own instincts. Hell, in the entire year Kyuranger was Running, I only discussed or made mentioned of it around a dozen times in any significant manner in that period after I dropped it.  Most of them?  When it was Relevant to discuss it or refute something that had been spread in the fandom which was a factual Lie or blown out of proportion.  I otherwise left it alone for people to enjoy or hate on as they wished and stayed out of it...until people kept berating me to give it a second chance. After MONTHS of this I finally caved and watched more of it.. and proceeded to predict every episode of the series simply from the ‘next time’ trailers.  One of the bigger things I called before it happened?  Revelations of Quervo’s betrayal and his related possession by Don Armage.  Why could I? Because it was a cliche. Raven’s and crows by Proxy of Tengu (quervo’s creature themes) in Japanese Literature/mythology are most commonly used as either Divine Messengers or traitors to their cause; the latter often from selfish, self-serving motivations or malevolent corruption. Quervo ended up not diverging from that latter interpretation. And I saw them as taking that route with it (as opposed to Just Redoing Utsusemimaru's story from kyoryuger with Tsurugi as...well, Kyuranger redid a lot of stories from previous sentai), because of the derisive and flippant manner the show treated Death as both a consequence and tragedy before making it reasonable that they would do so.  All that informed because of my experiences with Japanese storytelling tropes, mythology and the Eastern take on The Heroes Journey Monomyth. But I dropped it in the first place because it was clear it was not going to be something I would enjoy and I would be spending the whole year bashing it, but I didn’t want to do that.  I went and did the ‘don’t like, then don’t watch’ thing people often want from those in the detractor camp of series people like when they don’t want to hear a dissenting opinion, and instead went to watch “wander over yonder” and other series I did like which did many of the same things Kyuranger did in ways which were more appealing to me. As That Pointless hate and bile was not something I wanted to spread or have infest my life.  I did not want to rally a crusade of bloody vengeance against the show for every perceived slight. For That’s not the person I am or want to be. And with how horrible 2017 was for me personally (including my Stepfather withering away from an incurable disease before dying and relatedly being thrown out of my home), it was something I could do without. I decided I was done with it, and made my exit calmly and rationally as a Mature adult would when they decided they didn’t like something, and only brought it up when it was relevant to bring it up after that, until other people dragged me back. Would you honestly have preferred it if I spent week after week angry at something and pointing out every single way it was messing up?  ‘cause anyone can do that.  Many people still did.  it’s not like I was ever a deciding voice, just another sharing the same perspective.  I would’ve just done it with the framing device of explaining the context of why people disliked it, as opposed to bashing it on the principle of it existing. So why Should I be the guy that Goes onto every blog, every forum and lambasts any person that ever said something good about it with a bulletpointed list of reasons?  Hell, I avoid the Tokusatsu forums in their entirety because OF my experiences with that fandom Toxicity. And The reason I ended up predicting the content as I did when I finally gave in?  It was Because I am very well-versed in Science fiction and space series tropes Kyuuranger as a series called upon (star trek, star wars, babylon 5, farscape, gundam, Battlestar galactica...the list goes on as I prefer sci-fi stuff to fantasy series) alongside super sentai ones due to me having watched over half the franchise and the afore-mentioned mythology awareness, and thus could ask myself ‘From what I’ve seen before and this show has been doing thus-far, how could they go about doing this plot they’ve teased in the next episode?’  Watching the first Five episodes of the series was more than enough to provide that.  And Five these days is considered lenient now, many Reviewers have reached the point of doing it in One, depending on their familiarity with the general signs of poor execution in the genre, medium or premise of the related story. Once more, it wasn’t about being right, it was about thinking on and applying the experiences I have had to the subject matter, and speculating on where it’s going, only to find it was as I had Guessed.  My continued dislike of it being because those predictions included ‘what are the bad ways they could do this story’ as well, and finding more times I guessed that to end up being true. And I do this with...basically everything.  My roommates and family are astounded by how often I call plot twists in advance of the story’s seeding of it.  One of the reasons I don’t like M Night shyamalan movies (besides all the other reasons people cite) is his twists are ridiculously transparent to me. I literally had the response to the twist that Bruce Willis’ character in the Sixth sense is dead of “yeah, and?” because I didn’t think that was what they were building up to, I just thought that was the quirk of the movie’s story.  the same with the old lady being the Devil in “Devil”. Months ago My roommate showed me the movie “Cabin In The Woods”. I had never seen nor heard of the movie beforehand. AS I later learned, It is Notorious as a movie where people do not see the plot twist coming. In the first few minutes of watching? I guessed the plot twist. It is actually a very good one that I do not wish to spoil here and was pleasantly surprised at how they went about executing it, but I Figured it out because I’d seen a lot of the works of The movie’s Writer Joss Whedon. If someone were to propose I had a superpower?  That’s basically it, I predict narratives from precedent of their content, it’s genre, and their creators.  I am VERY good at doing this once I know where they’re going.  That is, after all, how I guessed the entire second half of Kamen Rider Ryuki’s story without having seen it beforehand from making a Phoenix Down Joke. My roommates and I love the Venture bros, Season 7 is currently Airing, it has been wrapping up a number of it’s previous hanging plot threads and story seeding. Of them I guessed from the watching of previous seasons: Vendata being the blue Morpho and the Monarch’s Dead “Father”. The Monarch and Rusty Venture being Half-siblings as Jonas Venture Senior had Sex with The Monarch’s Mom. And Rusty being a clone. There are others, but there’s spoilers involved.

I was excited about all of that, because the series had been building up the suspense about answers to those questions for years or seeded paralleling stories to them previously in the series (I.E Hank, Dean and Dermott’s relationship).  I was elated to learn I’d been following the deeper lore of the show as they’d intended from their intermittent seeding of the story, that I’d connected the clues as they’d wanted them to be connected.  And for all of that to add up?  That’s Good storytelling.

And it’s not like I’m always right about that stuff either or desire media to bend to how I predict it would go.  if I’m not experienced with a certain story engine, I’m less likely to be right and more willing to go with the flow to explore it, and conversely really open to things that defy my expectations.

I’m a huge fan of .Hack and the Megaman battle networks series, and other stories using Virtual settings for storytelling (though Not SAO, I’m in the camp that dislikes SAO), thus was very experienced with the tropes, storypoints and themes Kamen Rider Ex-aid was making use of.  I played this same ‘game’ with it...and It proved me wrong very often with how it was taking things.   I didn’t see where it was going, as the show was not Predictable nor following the expected formula’s.   Sometimes I disagreed with or was critical of what it was doing, such as the lacking focus on Hiiro Kagami’s relationship with his lost Love Saki and her impact on him.  For how important it was to the series and his Character it was very poorly grounded, established and explored even with the Later Snipe miniseries going back to her death to further flesh it out, as it was something that needed more than the show was able to give for it to fully justify where they took it and all the connected links in the story it chained together.  Or, say, Kiriya’s Death in how Toei tried to make money off of a character death by selling commemorative shirts to it, as that’s a scumbag thing to do and made it seem like they ordered his death just to sell merchandise.  it wasn’t true and was just a bad marketing decision, the reaction to it being so hostile as Toei had pulled crap like that before and had shown itself tonedeaf to that conduct.. But for the most part, I adored how original a lot of it was by it’s end, most of my early criticisms they took the proper steps to mediate, and at the end it used all of it’s assets very smartly.  I enjoy it not because it conformed to some pre-scripted narrative, but because it defied and exceeded my expectations of it, and tended to blow up my expectations in the best ways possible.  whatever nitpicking that’s applicable to it doesn’t negate the overall good it did and quality it put out week after week.

And even with those nitpicks and any other criticism I voice, it wasn’t about me being personally right and the show wrong about how it did it, but areas in which the product was flawed and the areas in which it could have been improved.  Pointing those out?  That’s what a reviewer does.

But To bring it back to Zi-O as this is ultimately what this is all about with people wanting me to shut up about it despite me already having done so for the most part...with the extensive experience concerning the Writer and Producers I have had in almost everything they’ve worked on, how Negative that experience has been, Time travel stories being something I really adore and read/watched/played a lot of, awareness of how easy it is to screw it up if you don’t care about addressing contradictions or think of how to do it without such, and the first episode and the ones I’ve been dragged into commenting on since by people sending me messages Just like this one, I’ve done this ‘how would they likely do this from everything that’s been presented’ exercise with them and ended up being mostly spot-on with the predictions Thus-far.  I’m not going out of my way to do it or bash every little thing, I’ve been trying to do what I did with Kyuranger and Leave it be unless there’s something relevant to say, or someone drags me back.

Again, the post I linked to up top?  That was another attempt to do that, showcase what is the standard expectation I have for a series using a time travel story device so you see where I’m coming from on this. And yet, half a dozen people instead shot me angry messages and death threats, some of them telling me ‘Beast Wars Transformers is Shit and makes no sense and zi-oh was already doing it better than that because it intentionally decided to not play by any rules, even the ones it made up.’ ...The fact it ‘explaining’ it’s ‘rules’ and calling people losers for bothering to care about story consistency is locked behind a subscription paywall instead of it being part of the main series seems to be lost in this. ...Is this the one people want to fall on their sword over?  Really?  Guy’s, it’s a show run by a man who’s known for crappy conduct and screwing people over.  There are better targets for this, and people who are more active in shaping public opinion than the one who’s moving towards retiring from doing web-video content altogether because of medical reasons!

You want me to leave Zi-O alone, just let others enjoy it blindly?  That’s what I’m doing.  Stop bringing it to my doorstep and dragging me back.  You’ll just see come occasional snark when I’m given the prompt, that’s it.  If there’s no supplied prompt you won’t even see that.

[batz]

i wonder what fallout 5 would be about 

considering that the entire fuckn plot for fallout 4 can be found in fallout 3 (in the synth related quest in Rivet City) it makes you wonder if there are any quests in fallout 4 that are actually foreshadowing the plot to the next game...

i know people have been speculating about like. the disease that Maccready’s kid had, that you had to find the cure for. a seemingly incurable disease that acts like a plague. it seems kinda weird to point out that theres a fucking p l a g u e beginning to spread, and then brush it aside quickly once you finish the quest. maybe the next game would have something to do with finding a cure or somethn??? who fuckn knows...

[timeclonemike]

Time to reinstall it again.

So. There’s this thing about Deus Ex that’s been rattling around in my head for a while.

The original game was iconic because despite its flaws and the limitations of the engine, it existed in a sweet spot of storytelling narrative, world exploration, stealth, combat, and strategy. It wasn’t the first First Person Shooter / Role Playing Game hybrid, but it was one of the best for a long time and still holds up today.

But I think some games that tried to follow in its footsteps, including the later installments in the same franchise, missed the mark when aiming for that sweet spot. I don’t necessarily mean choices to port to consoles or not, or engine limitations, or anything that exists on the technological side of the game design process. I mean the stories that these games are trying to tell.

In the original Deus Ex, there was some optional dialog when talking to one of the members of the old guard Illuminati where he explains the whole psychological aspect of secrecy and inducting recruits into a multi-tiered conspiracy; the prospect of learning increasingly valued and restricted information is the biggest incentive for the new guys to do well by whatever standards the group uses to evaluate people. (I think it was Stanton Dowd but don’t hold me to that.)

Whether or not the writers intended to or not, they were also describing the progression of a player through the game itself. Every new objective met and mission accomplished and note found and computer hacked filled in another blank, completed more of the jigsaw puzzle, until by the time the endgame starts if the player has been playing attention, they know what’s going on and how high the stakes are.

The focal point of the original Deus Ex was secrecy and trust. You start out working for a top secret task force that holds its cards very close to its vest by design. When you find out that they’re the fox guarding the chicken coop and switch sides, you end up working with... more groups that hold their cards close. Do you trust these organized crime guys to help you and not stab you in the back? Do you believe this lady whose apartment is filled with the telltale sound of security lasers? Do you take your pilots advice? Do you listen to the voice in your head? If you’re working with organized crime now, maybe you’re the bad guy after all. Maybe your old bosses were hardcore hard-asses because the sociopolitical situation is that fucked up. Maybe society really does need an invisible hand on the steering wheel, if ordinary people are just going to panic and turn on each other. Or maybe there are no good guys in this war, just competing assholes with different outfits.

These are the questions that a first time player had to ask themselves, and it isn’t until you start screwing around in the VersaLife facility that you start to find evidence supporting what your allies are actually telling you in dialog, emails, and infolink transmissions. You find the Dragon’s Tooth blueprints and spread that around. Doing that, you find out about the Universal Constructor and its role in the creation of Grey Death and Ambrosia. You blow that up (and according to newspapers most of the VersaLife building) and you find out about the supertanker. Scuttle that and both before and after you learn more about the Illuminati and Majestic Twelve, so you head to Paris and so on and so on and so on... every step fills in more of the blanks. Honestly a conspiracy thriller is the perfect story to tell using a video game because the pacing is so compatible.

Now let’s look at what was not the focus of Deus Ex: Questions about the human condition and the socioeconomic implications of technological assistance. Mechanical augmentation is old school by the time JC Denton gets dumped out of the incubator tank with his cutting edge nanotechnology based augments. There’s two other mechs working at UNATCO, the bartender at Underworld, and maybe Jojo Fine, even if his are cosmetic. The MJ12 Commandos are, according to one email, outfitted with “off-the-shelf” hardware that turns them into walking weapons platforms with enhanced vision and hearing, and running off of standard power supplies. The questions of how this technology would change the human condition and society didn’t get directly addressed during the main plot because for the most part, they didn’t matter; the world was literally falling apart and everyone had much more important stuff to think about. Like not catching an incurable disease. Or finding enough food to live another day.

The implications of what the technology could do to or for people did get addressed in the endgame, but in service to the game’s central theme of trust and secrecy. Technology is a force multiplier and by exploiting the developments in nano augments, artificial intelligence, and the Universal Constructor, Bob Page was turning himself into God. Omniscient, able to manipulate information on a global scale through Helios and the Aquinus Protocol, immortal, and theoretically invincible through his armies of mass produced robots, engineered life forms, and loyal followers. And Bob Page would certainly not be a just and loving god, because he’s an asshole with a massive ego. So he can’t be allowed to become One With All Things. Aside from that, the game is open ended in what happens next, and it comes down to trust in the end; you can trust humanity to steer its own course with nobody in the shadows trying to pull strings, you can trust your fellow conspirators to steer humanity in the right direction behind the scenes... or. You can say “fuck this” and do it yourself by merging with the Helios AI before Page does and becoming a much more benevolent higher power than he would ever be, no matter how much of a dick you were in game.

This is the problem I have with Invisible War, Human Revolution, and to a lesser extent Mankind Divided because I haven’t played it (waiting for a Steam Sale) and I don’t know how much it takes its cues from the other two games. Basically, the dichotomy between augmented and non augmented humans is given center stage, driving the conflict between different factions even when engineered by a third faction behind the scenes. Even within the context of it being another attempt by conspirators to guide human society in a direction that they want it to go, it dominates the philosophical landscape of the plot as well. This is especially true when both sides are presented as having good points, and both sides are shown being supported by assholes who will do anything to further their ideals, and other assholes who use the ideals of their action as an excuse to be assholes. The entire narrative tension becomes a never ending circle jerk until the player picks a side and kills key members of the other one.

Not that anyone’s asked me, but I think the Deus Ex franchise needs to return to its roots of secrecy, trust, and open ended philosophical meandering. And to a limited extent, I have some ideas on how to do this.

First, focus on a plot that really emphasizes the idea of a conspiracy seizing power purely for the sake of power itself. This disconnects the main antagonist, whoever they are, from whatever philosophical arguments get made in the rest of the game.

Second, the question of “what it means to be human” needs to go back into the setting background again. Have it crop up in newspaper articles, blog posts, books and ebooks, have it be something that academics can make tenure arguing about, and (this is important) only have NPCs bring it up when it directly affects them. And have most of the NPC banter and dialog be entirely based around stuff that people today can relate to; incompetent politicians playing fast and loose with the rules, the rising costs of health care, climate change and deniers of the same, economic uncertainty in all of its many many flavors, natural disasters, and mixed in with all of that is a little bit of concern about augments and how it affects their lives specifically. Hell, include a parody news article where augment producing companies complain that post-millennial generations are “ruining” the augmentation market.

Third, bring back skills all the way. Deus Ex started you out with a flashlight in your eyes and a radio in your skull, with options for upgrades later, so you had to get by with your wits, planning, and whatever you put your skill points into during character creation. In Invisible War Alex starts with just the flashlight, but their entire genetic structure has been developed from the ground up to prototype universal genetic alteration and biomod integration. Adam Jensen kicks a reasonable amount of ass with just his tricked out gun during the opening interactive cutscene / tutorial of Human Revolution, and does real well right up until he gets bushwacked by Team Asshole, after which his boss has them put literally everything in the Serif Industries catalog into the guy’s body. No Deus Ex protagonist can ever realistically be expected to align themselves with the anti-modification side in any conflict without invoking emotional manipulation, delusion, a suicide mission, or a vendetta against whoever wired them up without their consent. So either the mods have to be completely optional, or the social dichotomy has to be completely optional. (Or a completely unimportant background detail compared to the rest of the plot.)

Fourth, if you have to keep some sort of dichotomy, make it more complicated than just two sides, for and against. Make it like real life. Make it complicated as different people go “well I agree with this part but that other thing is a deal breaker” and mix and match until the whole human augmentation position exists on a grid system just like political ideologies do, measured using two different X and Y axes. Or (I cannot believe I’m saying this) take a page out of Civilization Beyond Earth’s book with the Affinities, especially the Hybrid Affinities from Rising Tide:

Purity: No augments at all. Skills only

Harmony: Biotech and genetic engineering.

Supremacy: Mechanical augments.

Purity / Harmony: Genetic engineering, but only to wipe out disease and increase humanity’s natural abilities.

Purity / Supremacy: Cybernetics as a matter of utility and tool use, no AI research or enhancing the brain beyond what’s needed to interface with the augments.

Harmony / Supremacy: Transhumanism or bust!

This also lends itself to different abilities and how they get developed. So instead of just mech stuff added by surgery, there’s also retroviral gene therapy, and with skills that makes a trinity of abilities that all need to be balanced. Or at least, if a player goes all in with one group, it requires a certain play style to do (probably with an achievement for beating the game that way). If skills are about what you can do in the world and how well you can interact with objects in that world (five different weapons skills to choose from, hacking, picking locks, etc) then it would make sense for genetic engineering to add passive upgrades and abilities like health regen, improved strength and reflexes, resistance to toxins and knockout darts, and so on. Meanwhile mechanical augments go straight for adding functionality and integrating technology, as with the infolink and seeing through walls. Having all three of these categories be open ended, without any artificial mutual exclusion and railroading along a specific path, means that a player is limited entirely by the circumstances they find or expect to find, and the opportunity cost of making one choice at the exclusion of others. Presumably the requirements for skill progression involved going out and doing things, while mech augments need at least outpatient surgery, and gene therapy requires some convalescence and has a nasty debuff effect while the virus is playing with the PC’s DNA, so there’s that tension going on. Also, augments probably require money while skills can be improved for free, but upgrades for the equipment that skills use, ammunition, and supplies also cost money, so there’s that resource management aspect.

This also means that the players allies and enemies can be more varied as well, because no group is defined purely by adherence to one type of ability or another. The groups are defined by where they stand in relation to the conspiracy driving the main plot (part of it or not, supporting it or not, aware of it or not) and possibly a completely tangential goal or mission like money for a mercenary team. This means that allied groups have more room to have memorable characters, and so do enemy groups as well. It also means that fighting against a specific group requires a lot more planning and tactical thinking, if they have a team made of different people whose abilities compliment each other.

And that’s about all I have on this subject, at least for the moment. It’s getting late and I have to peel potatoes in the morning.

[nuka-rockit]

What new vegas features do you miss the most in f4?

honestly? the writing. New Vegas had excellent writing, from the plot to the characters to just the dialogue options available to the courier. Having a voice is nice but with the limited dialogue you just can’t roleplay the same way you could in NV. Sole can only either be a bit of a dick, a totally nice guy or a smartass, while the courier can be anything from a complete moron, to an insufferable know-it-all, a smooth talker, a bit of a slut, a violent brute, a sarcastic douche, a by-the-book hero, a quiet badass and anything in between. 

And while we’re on dialogue, I really miss the Skill Check dialogue system from NV. You either had the skill needed to get certain things (or just finish quests on an alternate path) or you didn’t, and it was always clear because you got a display that told you how high  of a skill you needed (like “Speech [25/30]). Most importantly, if you didn’t have the needed skill, the actual dialogue would change, giving a good reason why the NPC you were talking to would react differently than if you had said the right thing. Plus some of the failed dialogue checks were some of the funniest parts of the game.

In FO4, if you pass a speech check or not is determined entirely by chance. You can have a CHA stat of 10 and still fail. Then you reload, your character says the exact same thing in the exact same context to the same character at the same time AND NOW IT WORKS FOR SOME REASON. That’s annoying busywork and kind of breaks my immersion. They had the same thing in FO3 where your chance of  success in speech checks was given in percentages and I didn’t like it there either.

I also like that the courier’s backstory was kept relatively vague, so you could make up  your own story for your character. FO4 gives you a pre-baked background that is pretty lukewarm for my tastes and doesn’t leave much room to make up your own character interpretation (unless you do some hard retconning/headcanon action to get around that, but even then it’s not amazing).

But other than that, New Vegas generally just didn’t take itself as seriously as FO4. FO4 has all this big focus on how miserable everyone is and how shitty life in the wasteland is. There is so much drama with families being torn apart, everyone being afraid of the Institute, the Brotherhood stomping about the place, children dying of incurable diseases…it is all so dark and serious and miserable it gets exhausting after a while.

New Vegas has dark stuff too, with drug use, slavery, prostitution, bureaucratic fuckery costing lives, war crimes, lack of medical aid, lack of food and fresh water and power, economic inequality…i could go on. So it absolutely has serious and dark issues. I mean one of the companion characters mercy killed his pregnant wife to spare her the horrors of slavery for fuck’s sake.

But you know what it also has? Ghouls flying to the moon. A gang of grannies in pink dresses beating people to death with rolling pins. Cyberdogs. A big blue grandma who looks like hulk and wears a cute flower hat. A gang of elvis impersonators. at least two (2) robots who think they’re cowboys. People cosplaying ancient romans. A dude wearing a dog for a hat. A giant plastic dinosaur with a store inside that sells tiny plastic dinosaur souvenirs. A sexbot called “FISTO” that you can hire for yourself if you wish.

What I’m trying to say is, New Vegas had a lot of serious themes (I’d argue them being even portrayed better than in FO4 but that’s a matter of opinion). But at the same time it didn’t lose it’s sense of humor. This is a world where science can make people live 200 years, create super mutants by dipping people in green goo, and radiation is basically magic. It’s not super serious all the time or tragic. Might as well have some fun with it. Fallout has a long history of dark comedy after all.

FO4 kinda lost the humor aspect and maybe it’s personal preference, but I never liked media where everything is just sad and miserable all the time because you get kinda tired of it and desensitized after a while. I don’t hate it or anything, but it can never reach the same place in my heart fnv did ;-;

god sorry for the novel i could just talk about fnv all day

[hyper-elastagirl]

Let it be known that I am going into this after reading chapter 8 of stag beetles and broken legs and I am feeling all sorts of things right now.

Ohhhhboy they usually don't show him as visibly feverish reinhard is looking kinda run down.

Julien is a little fucking genius and reinhard is slacking because he's suck aaaaaaaaaa

Omg that scene was dramatic with that big entrance and the cape swirl and then he just fucking passes out. Mood but what's going on Blondie????

My dog is screaming to go play in the rain Zelda whyyy

"Variant acute collagen disease" ???? Reinhard von lohengrahm has eds. He is a zebra confirmed. Fksnajab jk jk jk but how ironic that he basically has a disease relative to my Ehlers Danlos syndrome. He's the right age to start being affected by eds at least it hits in the early to mid 20s usually. Oh shit I remember someone I think Hilda mentioned how annerose looked a bit pale and sickly? Is it genetic can it affect her and baby Alec? Didn't their mom die in childbirth too? Common complication in people who have eds ... Brb doing some googling. Art will be made related to this ohhhhmygod

Okay yeah I guess this was a made up term or what they called unspecified connective tissue disease back when this was written. I am taking this headcannon to my grave though slams hands on table the sibs have an eds like disease.

Awe i knew merkatz was gonna die but I'm still sad. He was a good guy. Hmmmm I am getting Bad Feelings about the way julien and schonkopp are parting the kids need a parent on either side alive for their wedding schonkopp don't let karin down.

NO. COME ON. NOT SHENKOPP. God fucking damnit at least he died well. What a fucking badass he just yanked that axe out of his back and kept fighting. Rest in peace you glorious bastard.

"Do you love me? I do. Democracy is great isn't it?" ???

Also thank you narrator for the good news that karin and julien get married!! That means they fucking live!!! How ironic that both of their dads died on the same day but a year apart though.

Snorts dusty "shit stirrer" attenborough at it again.

Jesus. Fucking. Christ. Rubinsky oh my god. Hasn't there been enough death you fucker. My grandparents fire alarm went off at the exact same time as the explosions and I didn't figure out that they were 2 different things at first and !!

Reinhard!!! Idiot. He was fucking carried out on his couch after being all "if I'm going to die I want to do it here" boi. He's gonna fucking die god.

Excuse me. Do we not get an imperial family reunion??? I want to see reinhard meeting his kid and Hilda and annerose's reaction to the news! Come onnn.

"We're not your tranquilizers" good one my dude ohmygkd the quiet guy threw water on them lmfao.

Hhghh they're playing moonlight sonata.

Fuck.

"Annerose saw a gentle, soft light swaying in Reinhards eyes that she's never seen before ... Hasn't reinhard been burning his own flesh to fight in order to satisfy his unfilled heart? Reinhards gentleness was like the warmth of the white ash remaining after his heart and body are all burned out." God. I usually don't care for the narrator but that summed up the tragedy of his character perfectly. Hoh and he admits he was too ambitious in the end.

Good. Julien gets his revenge in the end.

Goddamn. Oberstein does sacrifice himself in the end. And he tells the doctors to make sure his dog is taken care of goddamnit he's such a complex character.

Reinhard I get what you're doing but these are infants. Maybe not try and turn them into you and kirchies? That kinda didn't end well the first time. They're babies mittermeyer oh my god let them play with each other don't make your son cry.

This is fucking awful his death keeps getting drawn out!

Final thoughts for the night: this bitch is doing a reinhard cosplay. Blonde wavy hair? Check. Sassy attitude? Check. Pale skin and sikly demeanor due to an incurable collagen disease? Check. And I'm gonna put a fucking cape on the back of my wheelchair and deck the wheels out to look like the filigree on their uniforms. Maybe make a custom cape for Zeldas harness too.

It's incredibly ironic and tragic that a man like reinhard is going to die of an incurable disease. I think it's a major plot hole that his illness was undiagnosed for so long. I'll probably write up a whole meta on this but like, I know people with other collagen diseases with fucking paralyzed intestines and failing hearts. Doctors still find ways to keep them going.

Reinhard dying like that just feels unsatisfying to me. I've heard people laud this series as different than game of thrones because it's resolved in a satisfying way and I get it, kinda. It is entirely because I live with a disease similar to the one that killed him that I'm so eh with this ending. Fucking hell this disease almost killed me a year ago and I'm still alive and kicking.

It really was Reinhards story in the end, yang was just the antagonist and it was framed and conveyed in an incredibly way. This series is going right up there with berserk and FMA and ghost in the shell as one of my favorites to have experienced. Now I get to watch gaiden and die neue and may be even read the manga. And for sure read the books.

I currently have 2 big logh pieces in the works but I already have ideas for many more sooooo sorry all y'all that follow me for hollow knight. The two are going to coexist as mutual special interests for a while.

[tiamat-zx]

Deals and Consequences

I still keep seeing people arguing that Vox Machina should’ve honored the deal with Raishan, and that they were in the wrong and not the dragon.

Really?

And also, people keep saying that it was because of Keyleth’s desire for revenge that Scanlan died again and that she should suffer the consequences by him not coming back, that only then will she learn and grow and only then will her speech to Raishan not be viewed as “hypocritical”.

…

…

What? Are we reduced to that level of thinking now?

Well, naysayers, I hate to burst your bubble, but this time around, as was revealed on last night’s Talks Machina, Keyleth’s views on Raishan had actually shifted. This time it was not about revenge. It was about justice. Even in their final confrontation, she said that her desire for revenge was selfish and that the entire world deserved to share the satisfaction of bringing her to justice.

And besides, it’s quite obvious that Raishan’s plot was to essentially forcibly use them to assist her in becoming a dracolich. Unable to cure an incurable disease? Then turn yourself into an undead monstrosity. What better place to find the answer to that than the lair of a long-dead necromancer? And if not them, she would’ve used others to do her bidding.

Also, she’s an ancient green EVIL dragon. Even if they had honored the deal, she would’ve turned right around and killed them all anyway once their usefulness had ended. She reveled in lording over others with her “superior” intellect. She loved to toy with people’s wills and manipulate them. There was absolutely no merit in honoring the deal, especially since they were planning to kill her once Thordak fell. It was very unfortunate that Vax (not Keyleth) took a chance which didn’t pay off and caused Vex and Scanlan’s deaths, but it was better than letting her get away and making things far worse than what they were. She was far too dangerous to let be.

Do I think they were far too hasty in attacking her the first time without a plan? Yes.

Do I think Keyleth deserves to suffer the consequences for her actions even though they all knew that this would inevitably happen? No. She’s got enough on her mind. She already blames herself for everything that goes wrong even if it’s not her fault; it’s her fatal flaw.

Someone even had the audacity to say that Sam was very pissed off and very upset at Scanlan dying again because of Keyleth’s actions. Well, to that person, you need to chill out. It’s a game. It’s THEIR game. We have no say in what they do. Complaining and always nitpicking will only fall on deaf ears. We’re simply here to enjoy the story and the characters no matter how flawed they are. Even in the first episode, we’re told that they are all just having fun and so are we. And people like you ruin it for everyone else. You think you can do better? Then, by all means, YOU start running a D&D campaign for the internet for 3-5 hours every week and see how it goes. YOU start playing as a PC and start understanding what it’s like to be in their shoes.

And besides, there is no way to determine how anything will go as the dice on many occasions determine the outcome. It’s not scripted. Nothing is guaranteed. For all you know, they could’ve all died in that battle or none of them at all. We have no way of knowing in the moment, especially when you end up watching it live and witness with bated breath how the story could change with every dice roll and every choice they all make.

At the end of the day, while it does suck that Scanlan died again, they are still having fun. No hard feelings between any of them. You don’t know them personally. You don’t know what goes on when the cameras are off. So you have no right to say that.

Sigh…

Why can’t people just follow what Tiberius had said to Vax back when they dealt with Kynan and just… chill?

[whatisonthemoonarchive]

Harry Potter vs The Divine Principle.

The DP is a Trojan Horse. The purpose is control – not liberation.

On initially hearing Moon’s Divine Principle we may have felt a tremendous feeling of joy and hope for personal growth, and that a new dawn for mankind was being ushered in which would bring world peace. Accepting the DP means also accepting responsibility for the ‘providence’, and gradually more and more sacrifice is required of us.

However, the goals of personal perfection and global peace were, and are, unattainable in the framework of the Divine Principle. Why?

The Divine Principle is not what it appears to be; it is a false bill of goods. The DP is offered as a gift, as was the Trojan horse. (Soldiers crept out of the horse at night and opened the gates; the city of Troy was overcome.) To accept the gift may result in the surrender of your soul to a foreign power.

Reading the DP, a Unification Church / Family Federation for World Peace member may think they are entering into a covenant with the messiah, who is offering salvation. Sun Myung Moon promoted himself as the messiah in the Divine Principle. As a representative of God, he may be seen as having a portion of responsibility, or a duty of care, towards his followers. However, it is evident that Moon did not take responsibility for his legitimate children, or his illegitimate children, let alone his trusting followers.

Moon diminished everyone. By the time a member discovers this, years of their life may have passed.

The DP is a clever construction, but it is a work of fiction. Wolli Wonbon, written by Moon himself in two notebooks in Pusan in 1952, is largely a synthesis of the work of several authors who pre-dated him. In Wolli Wonbon Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene! A senior DPfollower recently commented about this major change to the DP: “I would think the probable reason was that, in consultation with Eu Hyo-won [who was a main contributor to the 1957 DP], Father decided that this was not something that would help Christians to accept him.”

Moon later changed that DP plot line, saying Jesus failed to marry! Some early followers, who had actually been to university, added scholarly material to the DP, and the first book was published in 1957.

The Mary Magdalene as the wife of Jesus narrative has massive implications for the entire fiction that is Unification Theology.

Ultimately, what does the DP teach us? The purpose of the DP is not to educate us, but to manipulate us. This is done through our emotions. Gates are opened which allow other forces (such as the group dynamics of the Unification Church) to enter and subvert us, ultimately putting a Korean man on the throne.

Maybe we can learn more useful life tips from the fiction of Harry Potter (see below) rather than the fiction of the DP.

How does the DP work on our emotions to subvert us?

The ‘Sin and Fallen Nature’ model in the Divine Principle is based on the story of Adam, Eve and the Archangel Lucifer and the ‘fall of man’. According to Moon, everyone is full of sin (DP, 2004, page 72).

Four types of sin are described.

First is original sin … It is ingrained in our lineage and is the root of all sins.

Second is hereditary sin. This sin is inherited from our ancestors on account of their connection through lineage.

Third is collective sin. This is the sin for which we are responsible as members of a group, even though we neither committed the sin ourselves nor inherited it from our ancestors.

Fourth is individual sin, which is what we as individuals have committed.

The ‘Four Fallen Natures’

According to the DP, these were Lucifer’s wrong behaviors:

1. Failure to see from God’s point of view 2. Leaving proper position 3. Reversal of Dominion 4. Multiplication of Sin

This is how these concepts are used to control members:

1. Failure to see from God’s point of view – Man, because he is ‘fallen’ does not see things from God’s viewpoint. A follower of Moon must accept ‘God’s viewpoint’, even when it makes no sense. (‘I am a thinker,’ Moon explained, ‘I am your brain.’) If we think something is not quite right, it is because we do not understand. (Moon is different to other men. Moon lives by different rules because he is one with God.) We must crush (subjugate) any doubts we may have to reverse Lucifer’s failure.

2. Leaving proper position – We must keep the position assigned to us by God, who works through Moon, God’s central figure on earth in this age. If we leave our position, we will make a condition for Satan to invade us. We must fulfill the responsibilities we have been given, no matter what the cost. Besides the individual level, Moon has also assigned positions to nations, e.g. Korea, Japan and the USA as Adam, Eve and the Archangel (who should have served Adam and Eve), etc. Members from each nation must fulfill their responsibilities for the ‘providence of restoration’ without question or complaint. Neither individuals nor nations should leave their positions, or fail, or they will delay the providence and cause further pain to God.

3. Reversal of Dominion – Man’s sin involved a reversal of dominion – failing to obey a superior. This is a heinous offense in the Unification Church, and even thinking critically of an immediate superior will incur God’s displeasure. We must not repeat the negative feelings of the archangel. Even if we have greater abilities, and can see our leader is making mistakes, we must dutifully obey and accept that God put us in these positions for a purpose, no doubt to overcome our sinful natures.

4. Multiplication of Sin – The fall involved multiplication of sin; Eve was seduced, then in turn she seduced Adam. So no two people can be allowed to establish close relationships. We must fear multiplying sin. If two members spend too much time together – being horizontal – then others must break in and split up the relationship. This is a good reason to keep moving members around. (Belonging to Moon’s church can be a lonely business.) All attachments and loyalty should be to Moon.

This ‘sin narrative’ is a means of control.

The underlying message is to get followers to doubt their own judgement, through fear of possible ‘archangelic behavior’.

Moon asserted that he had authority over his followers and he assigned them positions in his fictional ‘providential’ drama. Of course, in reality Moon did not have that authority. However, if a recruit sees other members similar to themselves being dutiful followers, there is a strong pull for them also to accept Moon’s authority over their lives.

Moon claimed authority as the bringer of the new ‘truth’ of the DP. The DP and other UC teachings present a very high demand theology. It is also very hierarchical, reflecting its Korean roots.

However, the ideas contained in the DP were not Moon’s. He was a thief of the ideas, therefore he has no right to claim any authority from the DP.

In reality the Divine Principle exists to grab us through our emotions – our deepest hopes and aspirations, and fears about our futures in any possible afterlife (The Principle of Creation); our fears and possible feelings of guilt about sex (The Fall); our natural feelings of empathy and sympathy for Jesus (The Mission of Jesus); our responsibility (to history / mankind); our shame about historical figures who, according to Moon, ‘failed their missions’; our dedication / love and loyalty (to the coming kingdom).

Moon claimed to be the only person in history who understood God’s heart, and who could ease God’s pain. When we hear the Divine Principle we are also reminded of all those who failed to support Jesus in his lifetime, especially John the Baptist. We are told John’s lack of support was one reason Jesus had to go the way of the cross. God was let down so many times throughout history.

Moon had a narrative about his own incomprehensibly suffering life, and the difficult path he trod for ‘seven years’, ‘nine years’ (or more – the story is not consistent) to discover the truth of the DP. We are made to feel indebted to Moon and are drawn through natural empathy to support him in his noble cause. ‘We must not fail God again.’

Recruits or members who waver or have doubts about what is happening to them, or who want a little time to reflect, are reminded of the urgency of the present moment in history. Some are told of the terrible things that have happened to those who turned their back on ‘God’s new truth’ – disease and accidents to the person, or to a relative, etc. God’s protection may be lost. Fears and phobias are implanted in minds already thrown off balance by so many stirred up emotions. Pre-existing views of the self and the world are rocked to the core.

If we try to resist God’s ‘providence’ we might be made to feel selfish and uncaring. The trap is closing in on us.

Group dynamics are important. There are usually many group bonding exercises such as sports, games and the writing and performing of sketches.

Singing is always a big thing. Singing and music opens us up on an emotional level. This allows other newly experienced emotions to become more solidified within us. Music experienced with others bonds each to the group.

We remember how we felt. Those emotional memories transcend time and can endure for the rest of our lives, overriding logic.

Responsibility for God’s ‘providence’ looms before us. A narrative has been woven with a place for us in Moon’s drama. We are ‘special’ and have been ‘prepared and chosen by God’. We have been convinced that Moon’s providence is not a fiction like Harry Potter, but is real – however, both are fictions.

Almost all of us need to belong to a group or ‘tribe’. The fear of rejection is deep inside all of us. We want to avoid being rejected by our new companions in this ‘great cause’. Fear of losing the new ‘safe haven’ we have found in the ‘Unification family’ can be very powerful.

The Divine Principle is psychologically very manipulative. The DP narrative is crafted to lock members into Moon’s system.

The DP might appear coherent within itself, and even appear to have some logic. However, it is based on an unsubstantiated unorthodox interpretation of Genesis in the Bible. That is an allegorical cautionary tale. Historically the Biblical Adam and Eve never existed as literal people. The DP parallels of history are a stretch too far.

There is no such thing as original sin. (Did Jesus talk about it?); original sin is not passed down through thousands of generations to each of us; Moon is not a ‘sinless’ messiah (as Hak Ja Han stated in 2016); there is no true lineage that we need to graft on to;  and Moon does not have any authority from God over anyone, except the authority that we do – or do not – surrender to him.

Moon is not managing a ‘providence’ on behalf of God. Moon knows exactly what he is doing: charm, narrative sales pitches (speeches), cutting our previous social bonds, and pressure when he has got us. We then become his willing slaves. Moon is the beneficiary to our cost.

While we are in the UC, our value is not determined by ourselves, but by Moon.

He makes heavy demands on us; these are usually unattainable. He then keeps defining us as failures. Self-esteem is continually eroded. We are often sleep-deprived and exhausted. The stress this causes diminishes the brain’s ability to think clearly. A certain level of panic can set in.

No human being ever has been, or ever will be, perfect. That is another illusion to make us feel bad about ourselves.

Moon ultimately had no answers to the complex challenges of life and society.

After being in Moon’s church we are usually more alienated from society, probably more alienated from ourselves, and often alienated from God.

Can we embrace ourselves just as we are? Embrace our natural sexuality, free from Moon-induced phobias or shame. Our sexuality is an important part of our identity, and it should perhaps be celebrated – in a respectful way.

We might discover that we are better human beings than ‘messiah’ Moon ever was. And we might learn more about what it means to be human from the fiction of Harry Potter than from the fiction of the Divine Principle.

20 Life Lessons I Learned from Harry Potter

15 Important Lessons the Harry Potter Series Has Taught Me

The Pink Elephant In Sun Myung Moon’s Unificationism

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Highlights for Be Like the Fox

His design ‘was to write for a tyrant those things that are pleasing to tyrants, bringing about in this way, if he could, the tyrant’s self-willed and swift downfall’.

Pole warned; beware of this two-faced writer. ‘For it is the aim of his doctrine to act like a drug that causes princes to go mad,’ making them attack their own people with ‘the savagery of the lion and the wiles of the fox’.

They become characters on a stage where he, Niccolò Machiavelli, probes their minds, sizes them up, tries to conceal his misgivings, or holds back his irritation for diplomacy’s sake.

When someone’s game is rotten, Niccolò often suggests – even if it looks like the main one in town, the only one where real men can prove that they are winners – don’t let them force you to play it. Better to make and play by your own rules.

Whoever seeks to act according to others, he later tells his more convention-bound friend Francesco Vettori, will accomplish nothing, because no two men who think alike can be found.

The ideal Medici leader had to seem born to rule while also seeming to think of himself as one of the people. His every move needed to project a double illusion: of natural superiority to every other citizen and a total, easy-going unawareness of that superiority.

Soderini, who was among the first citizens of Florence and by far superior to the others, a man whose prudence and authority were known not only in Florence but among all the princes of Italy, responds: What you call a great victory looks to me like a loss. If you’d won over Volterra by treaty and agreement, you would have had advantage and security from it. But since you have to hold it by force, in adverse times it will bring you weakness and trouble, and in peaceful times, loss and expense.

Plots to overthrow governments, Niccolò often observes, are almost always betrayed by one of the plotters.

And don’t rush to proclaim any policy a great success, for often gain is seen and widely praised in policies at first – especially when they appear bold, surprising, risky – even though there is the ruin of the republic concealed underneath.

The struggle to overcome great difficulties teaches people self-discipline and self-knowledge, not least knowledge of their own resources of mind and spirit, which might go untapped if they had it easy. This makes them tougher than those who have too many hereditary advantages: they are thicker-skinned against those who try to pull them down, more tolerant of the setbacks that face everyone at some time or another.

Whatever the quality of their brains, advisers live in constant fear of saying too much or too little, or the wrong things at the wrong time.

The Machiavelli family win the case, proving on a small scale a point Niccolò will make over and over in his writings: weak families, individuals, cities and peoples should never shy away from fighting those who put them down or take what is theirs.9 Even if they lose some battles, their efforts do them proud, and make life harder for their oppressors.

If you want to maintain your state over time, the only sure way is to arm your own people and keep them satisfied; it’s always safer to found yourself not upon fortresses but upon the benevolence of men.

For when one foresees from afar, one can easily find a remedy for future troubles. But when you wait until they come close to you, the medicine is not in time, because the disease has become incurable.

Niccolò speaks from very personal knowledge when he says that freedom, one knows, is often restored in a city by those who have never tasted it but who loved it only through the memories of it left to them by their fathers. And thus, he continues, once recovered, they preserve it with all obstinacy and at any peril.

Founders of new institutions should assume that a large part of human nature inclines most people to behave badly, at least now and then: to take more than their share of power or wealth, to profit from other people’s weaknesses, to cheat, lie, betray promises. Inclinations like these can’t be rooted out of our species; human nature itself cannot be reformed so that more and more people become reliably angelic.

Sheltered by his patrician family name, Agostino can afford not to take seriously men like della Valle, with their popular or recent peasant origins; social rank trumps official rank. While Ser Antonio’s tantrums make Biagio cringe behind the heap of portfolios on his desk, Agostino merely stares at their office superior as if he were a stray farm animal that has somehow wandered into the city and, stumbling into the refined halls of government, panicked and run amuck.

the two essential, unwritten rules of Florentine diplomacy. One: give them words, good words, be a veritable fountain bubbling over with sweet words; but use every industry to avoid offering them deeds. Two: have at the tip of your tongue a ready arsenal of excuses for not spending money.

But the surest way to win esteem, Niccolò writes in the Prince, is to be a true friend and a true enemy.

Nonetheless, it was hardly a civil thing to violate the laws. For if ignoring legal procedures may do good in one particular case, nonetheless the example does ill. And if one sets up a habit of breaking the [legal and political] orders for the sake of good, then later, under that colouring, they are broken for ill.

The French are more eager for money than for blood.

In adversity they are abject, and in prosperity insolent. If you can resist the fury of their first onslaught, you will find them depressed and so entirely discouraged, that they become cowardly like women.

The cardinal has grown indulgent towards this odd young Florentine, who has no air of inherited greatness yet speaks boldly, with the confidence of sound judgement rather than of birth or rank.

He would later advise envoys to princely courts that they should observe the nature of the man: whether he rules for himself or lets himself be ruled; whether he is stingy or liberal; whether he loves war or peace; whether desire for glory or any other passion moves him, whether the people love him.

This matter is very important; there are men who, through being clever and two-faced, have so completely lost the trust of a prince that they have never afterwards been able to negotiate with him.

One needs to be a fox to recognize snares, and a lion to frighten the wolves.

This, for Machiavelli, is the real test of any statesman’s quality: his virtue. And while good fortune can help you conquer states, virtù is what lets you hold them securely.

Those who become princes solely by fortune have it much easier at first, rising to power with little trouble. But when the time comes to consolidate their newfound power, then all the difficulties arise, since these impetuous high-flyers seldom take the time to build up solid foundations for their state. Because of this, princes of fortune tend to be moody, fickle in their policies, even manic – now acting as if nothing could stop them, then losing all confidence at the first failure, as if failure weren’t a normal part of life. Virtuous leaders are far steadier, more trustworthy. They refuse to become arrogant with success or dejected with failure and, if their luck changes for better or for worse, they do not vary but always keep their spirit firm, showing that fortune does not have power over them.

That’s another thing about fortune-dependent types: they tend to think that they’re the only shrewd operators in the room. They can easily deceive others, but never be deceived.

For Niccolò, virtù can mean spiritedness, especially in battle. But the highest-quality virtù includes an aptitude for organization, industry, and far-sighted prudence. It further includes an unclouded knowledge of one’s own limits, the wisdom and self-discipline not to overreach them, and the ingenuity to use whatever opportunities and resources one has, however scarce they might be. Virtù doesn’t need good luck, or even much freedom, to work wonders. On the contrary, it is most admirable, even most effective, where there are obstacles to overcome.

Give men secure work that allows them to feed their families and win public respect, in employments that are the nerve and life of the city, and they’ll become its stoutest defenders.

the knowledge that whatever defects you find in a particular set of men, or in human nature generally, well-designed laws and institutions can hold their defects in check and cultivate virtues you – and perhaps they – didn’t know they had.

Everyone wants to be coddled and esteemed, so that is what someone who finds himself where you are has to do.

A statesman needs to know when to use clemency and when severity.

He did not know, Machiavelli would later write, that one cannot wait for the time, goodness is not enough, fortune varies, and malignity does not find a gift that appeases it.

They committed one of the commonest, most devastating mistakes made in politics and war: when peoples do not know how to put limits to their hopes and measure their own capabilities, they are ruined. In this way, the insolence that victory or the false hope of victory arouses makes men lose the opportunity of having a certain good through hoping to have an uncertain better.

A man’s mind, he muses in The Ass, can’t easily be turned against his nature or habits. Though his brain might warn him of the dangers in honest criticism, his nature forces him to see – and point out – human errors in hopes of correcting them. And in the present age so grudging and evil, one always sees bad more quickly than good.

We lie to each other and start believing our own lies. The ones who come out best are the noisiest babblers and flatterers. They spout platitudes and say nothing. For the herd and their herd-masters only hear what is easy to hear, what they think they already know, keep repeating the same badly reasoned blandness to flatter themselves and their herd-chiefs.

For it is not enough to say: ‘I do not care for anything; I do not desire honours or useful things; I wish to live quietly and without quarrel!’ These excuses won’t be believed if they come from a man notable for his quality, even when such men choose the quiet life truly and without any ambition.

Neither money nor sheer numbers of men make strong armies, he tells his readers, but only people who are motivated to fight to the death. And they’ll be motivated only when they have a real stake in the government they’re expected to defend: when they can make a decent living, feel that they’re treated with public respect, perhaps even take part in politics.

In any city, ancient or modern, one finds an enmity between the great, whatever they call themselves – nobles, patricians, the rich – and the people. This arises because the great everywhere want to dominate, while the people want not to be dominated. The people’s desire is more reasonable than the desire of a few to dominate the many. It follows that governments that seek to satisfy the popular desire are firmer and last longer than those that let a few command the rest.

Moreover, to cure the illness of excessive ambition among the people words are enough ; while for curing the prince’s, steel is needed.

So they should indeed never give up. They have always to hope and, since they hope, not to give up in whatever fortune and whatever travail they may find themselves.

Look at the Germans and the Swiss: they live more simply than we do, and are free and well-armed. Our rich Italians live lavishly and aspire to live even more lavishly, but what freedom we have is constantly threatened by unrest from the poor.

Don’t push your luck when you’re clutching at your last desperate hopes, compromise to cut your losses, save what you can; what you lose now you can recover later.

I’ve had a letter from you that has given me the greatest pleasure. If God grants you and me life, I believe that I may make you a man of good standing, if you are willing to do your share. But you must study hard and take pains to learn letters and music – for you know how much distinction is given me for what little ability I possess. Thus, my son, if you want to please me and to bring profit and honour to yourself, study, do well, and learn, because everyone will help you if you help yourself.

Instead of attacking Florence, imperial forces rapidly move to Rome. On 6 May, they sack the Holy City, the bloodiest attack in living memory, with famished German troops shouting, ‘Vivat Luther Papa!’ as they smash sacred relics and plunder houses, shops, banks.

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