#these identities are lesser known about and so it is just as important to represent them in order to spread awareness!

[dipperdesperado]

Social Ecology: A Solarpunk Practice

One of the most appealing ways I’ve found to think about solarpunk ideology is by using social ecology as a practical framework. Social ecology is a philosophy created by Murray Bookchin that holistically understands our ecological crisis. It declares that humans are inseparable from the environment, instead of our prevailing western assumption of being “above” or “removed” from it. Social ecology is a different mode of thinking than our dualistic, hierarchical, mechanical, and authoritarian social system.

The world is a complex place, and one of its most complex relationships is between humans and the natural environment. There needs to be a balance between the two since humans have an unparalleled capacity to influence and edit the environment. Harmony between our social systems and our environments is a necessary part of our liberatory practice. This is not achievable in the current societal mode of operation. Not only is our economic system problematic since it commodifies the environment, but it further exemplifies our domination of each other. After all, if humans can be exploited, then of course it'd be acceptable to exploit “lesser” living and/or natural bodies.

This complexity of the world is simplified as a necessity in hierarchical and authoritarian societies. Since information flow is vertical instead of decentralized and distributed, different levels of the pyramid have different levels of information. Hence, how the top of the pyramid can do things like say that climate change is not real in press releases while knowing the truth all along. By taking a radical approach to understanding our environmental issues and how they stem from our social structures, we can look at our ecology hurdles through a liberatory lens.

So, that’s great. Social ecology says, “Hey, the reason why the environment is dying is due to our domination-centered society.” Now what? What do we do? Well, thankfully social ecology has some programs to actually address the problems!

One layer of this is education. Like I said before, simple systems like authoritarian and hierarchical ones by their very design gate information off. Alternatively, by having an open flow of information that is accessible and trustworthy, people will be able to sow the seeds of discontent with the status quo and understand how it’s flawed. Most importantly, they’ll know that there is an alternative. This might be referred to as a "popular education initiative".

This is enhanced by direct democracy. The word democracy has taken on a different meaning in our current day and age, but direct democracy harkens back to its actual meaning. It just means that the people to who the decisions pertain make the decisions themselves. Those who were governed start to govern themselves. Instead of a representative that you have to cross your fingers and hope acts in your best interest, you and your community make the choices. The one-two punch of education and direct democracy will allow people to regain their agency in their lives and live how they desire.

To complement these values are the ideas of equity and sustainable development. While some of that is built into the program through the more direct ownership people have over their communities and themselves, having specific mentions of these is important. It should go without saying, but to be crystal clear, social ecology is useless if it doesn’t provide space for unity in diversity. People’s identities are so important to who they are and their experiences and only serve to strengthen the project. No matter their race, gender, class, ability, or another factor, everyone has value and would be deserving of love from the community. The confluence of ideas and experiences will lead to the most sustainable and ecologically sound development possible. Ideas and insights can be gained by the solidaric relationships formed between individuals and sister communities, locally and “internationally”. Listening to people who have known how to live with the environment harmoniously while upholding and even improving the quality of life is something that social ecology could provide.

Social ecology is an important vector in our social movements; the connected nature of all of our struggles means we have to create programs that address them all. By understanding that we are part of nature, along with the understanding that liberation has to be available for all, we can create robust socially revolutionary projects that will actually make life better for people. Not only that, but the people themselves will be doing the work themselves. We don’t need heroes. We just need each other.

[faerun]

okokok my questions. 1) what are the marital practices in this world? multiple partners, one partner, what's a usual marriage ceremony like, are there arranged marriages or are they marriages for love or is it half and half, etc etc...

2) what are the naming conventions? firstname lastname?

3) what's the natural life cycle of these fish aliens? adults at 18 and an average of 80 years, like humans? 800 years? 20?

4) what's the architecture of their societies like? brutalist? abstract? built out of nature?

i'm so curious!!! i love lore so much!!! please share all your thoughts and then some!!! love you!!!

waaaa maia thank you for the questions! these are great, I'll tackle them one at a time.

Marital Practices: I had a whole thing written up about this but all my notes on this world are spread across, like, 4 different note taking apps lol and I can't find it so I'll just write down what I can remember.

In Azurel, there is a concept similar to marriage that's known as 'binding'. To enter into a bond with another is to literally bind your souls and identities together in the eyes of the gods, in both this life and the afterlife. The main difference between a traditional Human marriage and an Azureli binding is the spiritual aspect of it. Whereas marriages are sometimes considered religious ceremonies on earth depending on where you live and how you were raised, all bindings in Azurel are considered to be explicit religious acts and are taken much more seriously than a marriage. To bind yourself to another, you are declaring yourselves to be a single entity in both the eyes of the gods and the law. Bonded couples are legally considered to be one person, and each are entitled to all the other has. As for the spiritual aspect, its said that bonded couples are two halves of one soul, separated somewhere in the place where souls are born that must find eachother again in the physical world. Upon death, the souls are once again reunited and exist as a single entity in the Far Shores, essentially Azureli heaven.

It's considered an especially egregious social taboo to rush into a binding before one is truly ready, and barring extreme circumstances such as abuse, divorce isn't really a thing in Azurel. Once you have declared someone your other half in a religious ceremony, there is (usually) no turning back. For this reason, long courtships are very common in Azurel. It's very common to see couples who have children and have built a life together who are unbound to each other, and these relationships are not viewed as lesser than bonded couples. Binding ceremonies are the ultimate expression of romantic, divine love for another person.

As for the ceremony, it must take place in a sanctified body of water. This can be any body of water, but for most it will be the ocean. Couples are wrapped in strands of seaweed and, after a few words from a priest, couples are then submerged in the water and emerge anew, bound together forever.

Naming conventions: This is an aspect of my world that I have actually yet to flesh out. I'm thinking of something along the lines of a first name, often passed down from an older family member, followed by a name representing the area you were born in, like a city or region name. After that would be the family or clan name of your birthing parent, as ancestry is traced on the maternal line in Azurel. I'll have to give this particular subject more thought and get back to you later!

Average life cycle: The average life expectancy for the Azureli is typically around 125 years, with the longest living person being confirmed to be 152 at the time of her passing.

Life expectancy is dependent on a lot of factors but the most important factor is one's gender. The Azureli people have three recognized biological genders, based on reproduction ability. W'ita, the 'females' of the species, typically live the longest at around 120-140. O'ta, the 'males', live the shortest lives at around 100-115. A'wat, bigender beings that are able to both sire and bear children, are in the middle at around 110-130. There are more biological distinctions between the genders than just reproductive ability but that would be a whole other essay so I'll leave it there for now lol

Architecture: This varies a lot between the regions, and is one of the aspects of their society that I've just started fleshing out! I'll go into more detail about the underground cave cities, where most of the population lives since their ancestors fled there when the surface became nearly uninhabitable several hundred years ago. In these underground cities, homes and businesses are typically either carved straight into the cave wall or constructed from stone and other natural materials. Despite the fact that most structures are plain, unpolished stone, the Azureli people are very into decorating their living and community spaces and frequently paint large elaborate murals, designs, and symbols in these spaces. Because their homes and spaces underground are so utilitarian in design by necessity, they make up for this by making their streets colorful, lively places and filling their homes with cozy, eclectic decorations and furniture. Once I've fleshed this out some more and either drawn or found images that I feel gets this idea across, I can update this post to add those.

once again thank you for giving me chance to share more of this project!!

[duckielover151]

When we talk about good LGBT+ representation, I feel like there's a lot of focus on specifics and explicitly labeling characters as one identity or another. And don't get me wrong, it can be so, so cool to see yourself represented in fiction and know that it can't be argued that you're just projecting. But as I'm getting a little older, I'm really starting to appreciate that sometimes the general vibe around the queer characters is just as important as the characters themselves.

One Piece is a series that comes up a lot when we talk LGBT+ anime, because 1) the show itself is HUGE and about as long-running as it gets... and 2) there are quite a lot of queer characters in it.

And on the note of it being as long-running as it is... Yeah, there are things that don't age super well. Jokes that are pretty distasteful, outdated terminology... But overall, it still stands strong as representation that queer anime fans generally reference fondly. Because the overall atmosphere surrounding those characters' existence and their differences is a supportive one. If queer characters are involved, they're almost always allied with our heroes. Even Bon Clay, who was supposed to be working alongside the villains in the arc where he's introduced, has this wild detour where he befriends Luffy and co, seemingly against all odds, and is never depicted as anything other than an incredibly loyal friend. That feels so purposeful to me.

A much lesser-known one is Canaan. And it's one of those shows where they actually throw around the word "love" quite a bit but just never specifically refer to it as romantic. But... I know what platonic love looks like, and the way Maria and Canaan look at each other is not it. But their relationship throughout is so heartfelt and genuine and warm. There is no fetishizing to be seen. The writers' intentions were pretty fucking clear, and they make it so wholesome that you'd have to be an asshole not to support them, for a reason so trivial as the fact that they're both girls. That's the kind of representation I want to see-- even if yeah, I would have loved to hear "Maria's my girlfriend," vs "Maria's my best friend" just once.

And finally, the last one I want to mention for this... The absolute classic... Ouran High School Host Club. Which actually has surprisingly few explicitly queer characters despite... you know... everything else about it. (But let it never be forgotten that both of Haruhi's parents are canonically bi! That detail even made it into the anime adaptation.)

SPOILERS FOR THE END OF THE MANGA, but...

Near the end, Haruhi decides to study abroad for a year. And during the farewell party scene, the hosts reveal to all their guests-- who've really grown on them as friends too by this point (rather than just mindless fangirls; there's actually a lot of character development for them in the manga)-- that Haruhi was a girl all along.

Except they don't really.

They think the guests figured it out. It was revealed via this really heartwarming masquerade hunt where they dress her up as a girl and trust that the guests have grown close enough to her as a person by now that they'll be able to recognize her. And they do...

But then it's revealed, after they're all shocked when Ranka refers to Haruhi as his "daughter" within everyone's earshot, that the secret they thought they'd figured out... was that Haruhi was dating Tamaki.

Which was also true by this point! But it has totally different connotations, when they still believed Haruhi to be a boy. And while there was absolutely some fetishizing going on in that case... It was also super heartwarming... to know that they would have kept it a secret for the sake of Tamaki and Haruhi's happiness.

Just supportive vibes all around.

And sometimes that's what really matters.

[nawilla]

When Death Doesn’t Bring Mourning

Before the pandemic, I was involved in a local volunteer organization in a neighborhood I no longer live in (can’t afford to stay there).  I was friends/acquaintances with the other volunteers and we did fundraising and made spending decisions for the cause we were helping.  We have not met since before the pandemic and I honestly think the organization is going to dissolve for unrelated reasons.  Most of the volunteers were senior citizens/retired, but there were a few of us in our forties.

This week I got an email from one of the officers that she had seen an obituary for a different officer.  I knew the late person’s name but it had been so long since we had a meeting that I had to check my own notes to confirm she was who I thought she had been.  I had been correct as to her identity though it didn’t immediately come to mind.  And now I’m not sure how exactly to feel about it.  Because I didn’t interact with her much, but every time I did this woman was a raging bitch.

This woman made it absolutely clear every time she did show up for a monthly meeting (once or twice a year) that we were an inconvenience to her, she had better things she could be doing, that she was carrying out her elected duties as a favor to the organization president, and that she disagreed with decisions made at meetings she never bothered to show up for.  She was just entirely unpleasant, abrasive, self-important, and the self-elected authority and only proper representative of the historically ethnic minority in a community that was now much more homogenous.  At one of our last meetings (after a very traumatic community event that she was understandably devastated by) she almost tearfully told us she would not be participating anymore.  No one said anything to encourage her to reconsider.  I wonder if we as a collective group were just grateful she opted to leave voluntarily instead of berating the rest of us for not running the organization her way or trying to use the traumatic event to wrest more control for herself.

When a previous board member passed away, we acknowledged it in the group and I reached out to other members for guidance about sending a shiva gift to the family.  (Several of the board members are Jewish whereas I am not.  It’s not a religious organization).  I still see what I sent in my Harry & David gift list and if other members of the board passed, I would ask where to send food or flowers as appropriate.  But this time I had no emotional prompt to send anything, even after I confirmed her identity.  Interestingly I didn’t see any replies to the initial email so I don’t think the group is planning to acknowledge her passing as a group.  And while I will likely not rejoin the group if it doesn’t disband (for reasons unrelated to this), I feel strange about not acknowledging the dead and not feeling badly about it, knowing that if this now dead woman were able to see a reaction or a non-reaction to her death, she would be bitching about it regardless of what we did or didn’t do.  

I’m not looking for advice, and I know it’s in poor taste to speak ill of the dead.  She was not without redeeming qualities.  She was a strong advocate for the Jewish (particularly the Orthodox Jewish) community, she was clearly involved in her congregation, and she did volunteer her time to different groups.  I’m sure she had people who loved her and mourned her passing.  But she never learned how to do these things without being nasty about it, seemed to feel that acknowledging the larger community was a slight against her own religion, and acted as if her personal opinions and desires were the final word, even superior to her fellow Jewish board members (which led to some interesting board meetings when she didn’t attend but made her opinions known).  I don’t think she saw me as lesser for not being Jewish, mainly because she seemed to think her fellow Jews weren’t good enough either.  The phrase ‘holier-than-thou’ often came to mind.

I want to feel bad for her family because that is what one is supposed to do when someone you know dies, but with everything that’s been on my own plate I just can’t manage to muster up true sympathy and reach out right now, and I have to wonder if those that would mourn her would be equally abrasive if I did.  If I would be found lacking and looked down on because anything I do wouldn’t have satisfied her.  I’m concerned that I just don’t care, that I had mentally separated her face from her name (despite linking it in a Powerpoint once),  Does this apathy make me a bad person?  A defensive person?  A person with better things to do than go out of my way for someone who was just unkind in all of our interactions?  Am I not enough of a bigger person to find something better to say about her now that she is gone?

I know that very often bullies (and she was a bully) are the way they are because of some bad experience in their life.  But as fellow volunteers we were  not close enough that it merited me looking for a deeper understanding of her.  

Part of me wonders how many people I know will be indifferent to my death when I’m gone.  I’m not abrasive like this (her level took active effort to sustain), but I’m not a warm person either.  

Perhaps at some later date I will remember something more positive about her.  Perhaps there is nothing in all of our interactions that fits.  I know that it is hard to lose a parent, even a scathing, emotionally abusive, and self-centered one.  Maybe she is just too much like the worst side of my mother (except she presented it to the world, unlike my mother who masked it from all but family).  I suspect as I continue to type this that that is why I feel like this.  I’ve already mourned someone who treated me with contempt at times who was someone I loved to have sympathy for someone who treated me with contempt as a mere acquaintance.  Maybe I could be a better person, but today I’m not.  Maybe it’s just my brain protecting me or refusing to invest the emotional bandwidth.

I think I’ll put off being a bigger person to another day.  I wish her no ill will, but I don’t wish her anything else either.

[citnamora]

We need more genderfluid characters!! We need more bigender, trigender, polygender, pangender characters!!! Enbies, agenders, neutrois!!!! Rosboys and azurgirls!!!!

It's 2022! We need more multigender and nonbinary rep along with binary trans rep!! We need protagonists that don't fit neatly into "male" or "female" boxes!!! Or who feel they fit both simultaneously!!!! Or would go with "all of the above"!!!!! Or none at all!!!! Trans youth deserve to see themselves represented as much as trans adults!!!!!!

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

When God Was a Woman

Merlin Stone spent approximately ten years engaged in research of the lesser-known, sometimes hidden depictions of the Sacred Feminine, from European and Middle Eastern societies, in preparation to complete this work. In the book, she describes these archetypal reflections of women as leaders, sacred entities and benevolent matriarchs, and also weaves them into a larger picture of how our modern societies grew to the present imbalanced state. … The book is now seen as having been instrumental in the modern rise of feminist theology in the 1970s to 1980s, along with authors such as Elizabeth Gould Davis, Riane Eisler and Marija Gimbutas. Some have related it as well to the work of authors Margaret Murray and Robert Graves.    LINK

__________________________________

In this 1976 book the sculptor and art historian, Merlin Stone, discusses the history behind the religion(s) of the Goddess. Various religions in the past held that “God” was a female deity, as only females are the creators of life. There is anthropological and archaeological evidence which suggest that the earliest religions were those with a female deity.

She reminds us of Innin, Inanna, Nana, Nut, Anat, Anahita, Istar, Isis, Au Set, Ishara, Asherah, Ashtart, Attoret, Attar and Hathor, amongst others. She takes us on an ambitious journey, travelling from the dawn of the Neolithic, through the Sumerian myths and writing, over to Crete, and then she goes through the Bible with a fine-toothed comb, ferreting out the Goddess is mentioned in its pages.

It wasn’t until Indo-European religions (which eventually developed the Judeo-Christian cultures) came through with their male-dominator culture, that the Goddess was first suppressed. With this suppression of the Goddess came the suppression of women’s rights. This is also demonstrated when we look at the Judeo-Christian (Abrahamic) religions, and we see the subjugation of women (double standards, rape, slavery, etc.).

On top of this, we see women blamed for the fall of man (as in the Old Testament of the Bible), and this is believed to be an artifact of the patriarchal religions’ suppression of the Goddess. The fig tree was a symbol for the Goddess in many areas around the Fertile Crescent, as well as the serpent. If we look at the book of Genesis in the Bible, we can “coincidentally” see these symbols (namely the serpent) as something representing “evil” or “deceit”.

It was “Eve” who ate the fruit first, so not only is the serpent symbol demonized, but also women in general. Ironically, even if we read the fable of Adam and Eve straight out of Genesis, we see that Eve was actually deceived by a trained deceiver (the serpent), where Adam was deceived by his wife (not a trained deceiver). So Adam was coerced into “sin” by someone he trusted that was apparently just ignorant, and Eve was coerced into “sin” by a trained deceiver — yet it is Eve that takes the bulk of the blame? This is further evidence of how ridiculous the fable is, and how there were so many political reasons behind the religions that suppressed women’s rights. Stone does a decent job presenting the evidence and findings and basically summarizing what happened to women as a result of these patriarchal religious shifts.

__________________________________

Greece was invaded by northern peoples several times. Robert Graves, in his introduction to The Greek Myths, wrote in 1955, “Achaean invasions of the thirteenth century BC seriously weakened the matrilineal tradition… when the Dorians arrived, towards the close of the second millenium, patrilineal succession became the rule.” With these northern people came the worship of the Indo-European Dyaus Pitar, literally God Father, eventually known in Greece as Zeus and later in Rome as Jupiter. This transition period of the change from the worship of the Goddess to the male deity, the change most intensively brought about by the Dorian invasions, was the subject of E. Butterworth’s Some Traces of the Pre-Olympian World, written in 1966.                    — Chapter 3 page 51

__________________________________

Sun Myung Moon warned America that we must have sex the way he told us, in the positions he designated, or else we would forfeit our “love organs” to the dark lord Satan. Moon has long spoken about his desire to see gays and “free sex” banished from America. Moon said “Satan is clinging to our sexual organs.” Women are a “line of prostitutes” who should be punished for their selfishness. “The concave organ {vagina} should be sealed with concrete”. “Woman’s sexual organ is like the open mouth of a snake filled with poison,” he said. Men do not get off any easier. Keep pliers in your pocket, he says, “and when you go to the bathroom, once a day, pinch your love organ. Cut the skin a little bit as a warning.”

__________________________________

Jim Goad: “If the cult leader wants to control members completely, he aims to control their sexual life. Sex reaches all the way to the core of one’s being, until the unconscious level. It is hard to imagine anything more intrusive than dictating what someone does with their genitals. When a person hands over their sex drive to the cult leader, he does not need to worry about the members’ car keys and bank accounts. They are already his. Sex is only one wrench in the cult leader’s toolbox, but it is the most important one. The aim lies in altering the followers’ sexuality until it is no longer their own. Sex is used to demolish personal identity in favor of the hive mentality. The cult leaders cannibalize their followers’ libidinal energy.” LINK

__________________________________

Kirsti Nevalainen:

The Fall story in Genesis 3 was an attack against the high priestess/queen as the representative of the Godhead. 

The Fall account in Genesis 3 was authored by a Yahwist theologian and it represents a theological and political attack against the Sacred Marriage Rites of Canaanite people. LINK

A History Of God – The 4,000-year quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam

If Adam and Eve didn’t exist, then there was no fall and therefore no need for a savior.

The concept of original sin seems to have been developed about 200 years after Jesus by Irenaeus and later by St Augustine.

[taurustony]

The True Mighty Bison - Season V edition.

Some weeks ago, I had a very productive discussion on twitter with Steven Mane about the subject of this essay, and he brought up very good points, an alternative theory (not as out there as mine) and reminded me I haven't actually added the ACTUAL Seth info from his story and Arcade endings to this text. Now that even Rose is on the game (although she didn't bring new info on this front), Let's update this very wild theory about our favorite psycho powered dictator. For the day you discovered the truth about M. Bison was the most important of your Street Fighter fan life. But for them, it was only Tuesday. HEAVY SPOILERS FOR SETH'S SFV STORY MODE AND ENDING. and in a lesser intensity, Rose's. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is M. Bison. Bison is one first class A-hole who runs the biggest crime syndicate on the world (Shadaloo), wants to spark global destruction if not given global domination and has a tendency to kidnap 16 year old girls.  Bison also wields something called Psycho Power. Through profane rituals (more of this in a bit), He is the biggest source/receptacle of it. this power is also destroying his body, which leads to the only thing he likes more than kidnapping 16 year old girls: Body Swapping. The body in the picture is not his original body, not even his first, but is the... model we are most used to see him using. This is how you would imagine him if one mentioned M. Bison. In SFV he finally got grey/white hair, but originally this body had black hair.

however...

These are Ed and Falke. They are CLONED Bodies of Bison, They are both spare bodies for M. Bison, created in a attempt to build a body strong enough to hold his power. They are both of the most recent attempt, the newer models so to speak. As far as we know, they are all biological (a point that will come up later) and since CAPCOM use the word CLONES, they share the same DNA as Bison. Physically speaking, they are around their late teens, although being much younger actually (both suffered from accelerated aging). They escaped Shadaloo due to the fact that an older model ended up destroying the base where they were being held. speaking of the Devil....

These are Seth and Abel.  Also, spare bodies of Bison. But (un)fortunately, they developed a conscience and independence. While Abel ran away and joined the french army, Seth created a splinter cell from Shadaloo called S.I.N. and planned a hostile takeover of the syndicate. One interesting fact is that both Seth and Abel are the SAME MODEL of bodies, but Seth installed the upgrade of the Tanden Engine on his body. So Seth was once like Abel and if given enough time and the proper modifications, Abel could become like Seth.  One recent release on Street Fighter V revealed the Seth was always more machine than man. If that is plainly due the Tanden Engine modification and what this means to Abel, its still unknown. both (Abel more than Seth) still have Bison’s DNA on them. Also, Bison considers this batch of clones a FAILED experiment Seth was the final Boss of Street Fighter IV, and Abel was the protagonist of that series. but, the older models are the more interesting ones.

These are Cammy and Decapre. Both are the oldest clone models player knew until recently. They are also fully biological and the first successful vessels for Psycho Power. Decapre is actually a “ Cammy Alpha“, a first attempt to create Cammy herself. Being fully biological, they ALSO carry Bison’s DNA. While Cammy became independent and joined the British Army, Decapre stayed brainwashed and a weapon for Shadaloo until recently (SFIV). Both Decapre and Cammy were part of a shadaloo project call “The Dolls project“: Most of the Dolls were the kidnapped teenage girls mentioned before, who were also test beds for Bison’s mind control via psycho power. There were 12 Dolls (Decapre and other 11), with Cammy being a 13th, codenamed Killer Bee. As of now, you probably noticed: 3 males, 3 females. We might be onto something here. But remember that profane ritual I mentioned? One of the results was this lady here...

This is Rose. In order to get full access to Psycho Power, Bison had to EXPEL ALL THE GOOD ENERGY FROM HIS SOUL. No joking. the good half of Bison’s Soul incarnated on a young Italian GIRL who was being born that moment and who grew up to be a incredible psychic and fortune teller ,plus the most powerful user of the SOUL POWER, the opposite to Bison’s Psycho Power. so Rose is the REINCARNATION of Bison’s soul, or at least half of it. After the events of SF Alpha 3, Bison even used Rose’s body as a vessel, to hide himself from the authorities. How she was freed and what happened to her during SFII is still unknown. Street Fighter V didn't really expanded on the relationship between Rose and Bison, as much as confirmed that as of the end of A Shadow Falls (SFV general story mode), Bison's is truly gone, at least as definitive as Rose can sense. Let's also remember that, until the interference of Rose herself, Cammy/Killer Bee was considered a succesfull attempt at creating the perfect body. If Rose hadn't freed Cammy's mind, which was as close to a blank slate and receptive as possible, its highly probable that Bison would be using her body instead. Still with me? STREET FIGHTER V: ARCADE EDITION added another point on this list: SETH was released in 2020 as a playable character, part of Season IV. HOWEVER, the FORM he appeared is quite the surprise.

THIS IS SETH! YES, THAT SAME SETH!! (a name tag on SFV confirms this is number 15, the seth that was at the center of SFIV events) After having all of his bodies destroyed during SFIV, his brain was placed by Juri on an old body known as DOLL UNIT 0. The interesting thing here is that Jury is doing this in behalf of a third party, identified only as voice on phone. This voice expected a male body, while Juri didn't even noticed (or cared) that Seth or DU0's had a gender. Doll Unit 0's body accepted Seth's biological brain without a problem. Seth's mind however, is on turmoil. When integrating with the DU0' original personality, something went wrong and Seth went completely batshit crazy. He only sees Psycho Power, and mistook Ed and Falke as being Bison himself, due to their Psycho Power energy. Some lines, such as this Seth is true perfection hints on a ongoing attempt of accepting the new body. The Arcade mode ending and an extra Seth on his Critical Art during his V-trigger 1 also hints that Seth's true power lies in the INTEGRATION with this new body. ALL OF THESE, ALL OF IT, are just canon facts from the SF series lore.  now for the speculation. Bison is not using the original body. And psycho power, specially the levels Bison desires, requires quite the strong one, which factors on why his current body is failing these days. why he had to abandon his original body? My only guess is that the profane ritual either destroyed it in the process or damaged it beyond repair. but at this point, Bison already had gained the power to posses other bodies. Doll Unit 0, the prototype for the perfect vessel, is female. Bison’s soul incarnated on a female body and until very recently, when his clone technology developed enough to create more radical deviations, the clones were all female. While there is several attempts of male bodies they are a late development and not only there is only one almost successful male body, it is the one that requires constant replacing AND Bison is trying to upgrade from, because it's not enough. But, the creation of a male body is stiil on the table and being attempted. Considering CAPCOM’s own words, that Seth is more machine than man, we can guess that Abel is probably just the biological basis for Seth, who is mostly the Tanden Engine and a biological brain. This is what was implemented into Doll Unit 0, who was completely female at that point, maybe even fully biological since Cammy, the earliest successful clone so far is fully biological as well. If we compare to real world cloning technology, cloning someone of the same gender is easier and more direct than altering the gender. Then there is the not-satated-but-extremely-obvious-fact that DU0 was the true first attempt at the tech that would produce Cammy, meaning, Shadaloo’s cloning tech was tested with HER. This also means that Doll Unit 0 IS EXTREMELY SIMILAR, IF NOT IDENTICAL, TO BISON'S ORIGINAL BODY. in conclusion: Bison’s original body is FEMALE and something close to this:

Thanks BbbSFXT from Deviant Art for the Mod and the picture. On the last version, I considered Mistress Bison being blonde, but thinking it through, it was more wishful thinking, trying to make them close to Cammy. Clones being a blonde is probably a side effect of DNA manipulation. Blond hair is recessive, and putting on the simplest, almost insulting way possible, it means blonde only happens if both sides of the DNA have the same code for hair. Since Bison is using the same DNA over and over, it makes sense clones would end up blonde. This also fits with DU0 being a very early prototype, with almost Bison's entire DNA intact, including the code for them hair. And now let's talk mysticism: There is the whole Yin/Yang theme surround everything Psycho Power, explicitly shown in Seth's design, but it was already there, at least as early as the Alpha/Zero series. In the balance of the Yin/Yang symbolism, Yin, the black part, can represent a “feminine principle” and also, can be a suffix/preffix meaning shadow. While Yang, the white part, can represent a “masculine principle” and also can be a suffix/preffix meaning light. these are parts in all living beings, be them male or female.

Psycho Power, the shadow, is feminine. Soul Power, the light, is masculine. There is a inversion of the symbolism here, with Bison, the male body, using the yin and Rose, the female body, using the yang. But the catch is: Rose is not a traditional reincarnation of Bison (obvious reasons) but received Bison's yang, on top of her natural one. This counts on why Rose is so powerful with Soul power. And while she doesn't seem to suffer a physical instability like Bison, as fortune teller and psychic, seem to be incredibly sensitive to strong emotions and energies around her (How the mind of G affected her on SFV being a exemple), I would argue that this extreme sensitiveness is the side effect of that extra yang energy. Let's also consider that while Bison wants MORE shadow and went way beyond what his natural body could hold, Rose stayed pretty much at her natural levels, as far as we know. So Bison's instability can be accounted as using insane levels of pure feminine energy inside a male body. Seth, the genderless one, will only find harmony in accepting his female body. Rose, the female body, is the only of them to have any kind of control and estability. This all points towards Mistress Bison, and that's the hill I'm dying on. this also ties to the idea proposed by Steven Mane: Psycho Power is closely related to the feminine and can't function properly, or at all, with men. Bison forcing that is the base reason for the physical instability. Which leads us to... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steven Mane's alternative theory of Psycho Power

The main gist here is that there isn't really any indication that Bison's OG body is any different from the one he uses today (which is true. There isn't a single line about it on the canon sources). The initial lack of male clones is accounted simply as that we haven't seen enough male clones, and they might have existed since Killer Bee's times. In his views, everything so far points to Bison desiring a male body. However, Psycho power works better with women, or was meant to be used by women. There is another fighting game with a similar plot, Skullgirls, in which the main McGuffin for that story is a mystical artifact that only works with women, which is why most of the cast of that game is female. And after Rose's SFV ending, I wouldn't put behind CAPCOM to lift another game's plot point for their own, specially one that would fit well with the already stablished canon. However, Steven Mane's best argument for this comes from SFA3 itself, or rather, the PSP version of SFA3. But before we get to that, let's go down on the memory lane and remember the facts.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX, also known as Street Fighter Zero 3 Double Upper in Japan, is so far the last version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 released and it is an exclusive of the Playstation Portable console. The Alpha/Zero Series is the main focal point when talking about Bison and Psycho Power, as it's the series where Rose first appeared and in Alpha 3, we have the only canon appearance of Cammy as Killer Bee (on the intro of her first fight against Rose) and the first playable Dolls, Juli and Juni. SFA3 MAX is also, up to the publication of this, the only game in the series to have a guest character (the jury is still out on SFV last season V character). "Wait, Tony" you ask "Don't you mean 4 guest characters?" Eagle and Maki are not guests: They were always part of the Street Fighter franchise, and are contemporary to the events of the game . Yun makes a non-canon appearance which is explained by time travel (in his own quotes), since the events of Alpha series happen way when he was nothing but a toddler. But he is still part of the franchise, so not a guest, per se.

Ingrid, however, is a conundrum wrapped inside a enigma and kept inside a locked puzzle box missing some of its pieces. That is inside a cave inside a volcano under the pacific ocean. On the mariana trenches.

Ingrid is from a failed, unreleased CAPCOM game called CAPCOM Fighting All-Stars. Her first playable appearance is the ill-received crossover game CAPCOM Fighting Jam, known in Japan as CAPCOM Fighting Evolution.

In All-Stars, she was kind of a regular fighter, with a special importance to the plot and final boss. The very little we know about the plot hints on her being something beyond human. She carried a code Isis, is nicknamed the Eternal Goddess, and is said to posses the power of longevity.

On Fighting Jam, she has to solve some issues she had with Pyron, the final boss of that game and an alien who is basically a living sun and is hinted to be what ended the dinosaurs (i swear this is Darkstalkers Canon) Her ending there is... weird.

I brought this up because it adds a tiny little bit of context to her SFA3 MAX ending.

Ingrid claims ownership of the psycho power. Notice that its the power itself, not the Psycho Drive Bison's uses. And Bison is aware of that. Roses recognizes both as users of Psycho Power, even though she doesn't recognizes Ingrid. Also note at 00:59 that the focus point of the psycho drive carries Ingrid's Seal, the same one on the cups on her head AND the one she summons on her Fighting Jam ending. Oh, and she is capable of time travel. but no mention if she was the one who brought Yun to SFA3 time, though. What this all mean? Speculation time: According to Steven Mane's theory: With Ingrid being the creator of psycho power, Psycho power works better with women. You can even explain Bison's obsession with 16 year old girls: They are the ones who closely resemble Ingrid, who he knows is the original source of that power. This also explain why Bison's desire of a male body directly conflicts with psycho power: It was never meant for such body. and why there is so much female clones: It simply the result of experiments to see what fits better. But Bison is trying to get around this: He has been experimenting on both, noticing that male bodies deteriorate way faster, confirmed that female ones fit better, but for reasons only known to himself, this was not enough. The genderless Seth, a sentient machine build to gather psycho power, was Bison's latest attempt of circumvent the body type limitation, but it still didn't work (as stated by Bison himself) This is where Steven Mane's theory ends. But from that, we can jump to other conclusions: Ingrid is a goddess and is the source of Psycho Power energy. Notice that she is not the source of soul power though, so behind her innocent face, behind those red eyes, lies something sinister and evil. (Or maybe, Soul Power is simply Psycho Power with another name? Rose might be the one hiding something...) [Small June/2021 update: After a lazy Sunday re-reading the SF30th's bios, its is clear that Soul Power is not just Psycho Power with a different name. So if you want to follow this line of thought through, you have to consider that Ingrid is EVIL, or at least deals heavily with negative energies (closer to Akuma than Bison). and it opens the possibility of a God/Goddess of Soul Power somewhere out there on the SF Universe. but that is speculation for another time.]

Ingrid is time-travelling to specific points in time to collect parts of her power. Bison was one of those who stole it. Pyron probably did it too, and in 201X, Ryu has something to do with it.

Oh, extra fact: SFIII, the last game on the timeline, happens in 1999. SFV, the game that was released on the 10's, canonically happens during 1998. So the Ryu she is supposed to meet next is YET to appear (maybe in SF6?).

And because she is a time travellng goddess, not a dimension hopping one this means a direct connection between the worlds of Darkstalkers, Street Fighter and Red Earth, the three franchises from CAPCOM Fighting Jam: Darkstalkers' Human World could be considered to be Street Fighter's Earth, and Red Earth is literally another planet on the same universe, hinting a bigger CAPCOM shared timeline then we expected. We can also speculate that Bison ultimate goal would not be just global domination but to replace Ingrid as god/goddess of psycho power. And she took Yun to 1989 just for the LuLz. Why I didn't mentioned Ingrid up there in MY theory? because of CFN Portal. The Capcom Fighters Network Portal is essentially the final word on who is canon in Street Fighter. Released together with SFV, its a well documented, weirdly organized and deep source of any street fighter or final fight character you can imagine. Those 2 guys fighting on the intro of SF2 got bios there. As well as Hakan's daughters and Elena's Family. Heck, CFN Portal is the place that finally settled Chun-li's father name as Dorai.

There is also relevant guest characters and characters who appeared in other games but that CAPCOM consider part of the franchise and canon, such as Blade from the Street Fighter: The Movie game (now part of the North American operations of Shadaloo) and... Ruby Heart from MARVEL vs CAPCOM 2 (a version of her actually, before the events of that game). Ingrid is clearly shown as a guest character and NOT part of the street fighter franchise, as she does not have the SF franchise standard background. the only ones who this happen are special guests from, such as the ones from Street Fighter EX and Street Fighter 2010. Ingrid is also described there with her bio from CAPCOM Fighting All-Stars, rather then her own story on SFA3 MAX or even CAPCOM Fighting Jam, in a way making her role on SFA3 MAX similar to Evil Ryu's: A what-if non-canon scenario of the events of the game, that has no bearing on the main plot. Evil Ryu's ending are always Ryu kills everybody and wants more blood, never really explaining anything. Evil Ryu is more important as a visual representation of the dark side of Ryu rather than a character itself'. and because of that precedent, when CAPCOM itself gave her non-canon status, it's better to err on the side of caution and not consider her direct influence and acts when speculating about the plot and lore, unless they are the only source of some kind of hinted information. And there is one very canon character who has a situation like that. Killer Bee. As I mentioned before, the ONLY time Cammy acts as Killer Bee in canon is on her SFA3 arcade/story mode: In her intro against Rose, her very first fight, She initially starts under control of Bison. Rose actually recognizes Bison's Power and frees her, even before the fight starts. The fight itself is actually framed as a violent reaction to being freed. but there is a game where we can see Killer Bee Cammy in all her brainwashed glory: X-men vs Street Fighter. Released before Alpha 3 and the first game where Cammy is shown with her Alpha design. Her quotes there shows a profound reverence to Bison AND some are mechanical in nature. Goddess Ingrid (to differentiate a bit from Code Holder Ingrid) could be one of these instances: Canonically speaking, we know very little about Bison: What are his motivations, why he desires such levels of power or anything that would elevate him from one dimensional antagonist. Sagat started as that and became one of the most developed characters of the franchise. Gill is from the straight go good intentions that will end up bad. Seth is the whole reason of this essay, so I don't need to show you anymore how he turned out a interesting character. and there is G, who is either a suicide cult leader still looking for followers, or the savior of mankind. Not to mention that most players thought as a good guy until Rose's ending. like, holy psycho powered cow... Bison is still just the dictator who wants to rule the entire world. And the only character that deals with Psycho Power in a way that is not just evil power for the evil dictator is a character that, as far as CAPCOM is concerned, is not even acknowledged as the relevant version.

[ammocharis]

Avvar History Reconstruction, Part 2

In this part, I’d like to pose a couple of questions: where exactly did Tyrdda’s tribe live? Why did she decide to break away from the Alamarri? Where did her people go? The answers are not as straightforward as it may seem.

The Seven Magisters weren’t the first people who tried to get into the Golden City.

Read >Part 1<

The next major event in the timeline was the separation of the Avvar from the rest of the Alamarri tribes.

-1815 Ancient: The Alamarri living near Lake Calenhad break away, becoming known as the Avvar. The two groups war with each other for centuries.[1]

The reason why Tyrdda chose to break away from the Alamarri was a conflict with Thelm Gold-Handed, a chieftain who subjugated multiple lesser tribes.

(As a side note, Lake Calenhad obviously wasn’t known as such in the times before Calenhad, who lived during the Exalted Age - some 2300 years later. I’ll continue calling it Lake Calenhad so as not to cause too much confusion.)

“Thelm Gold-Handed, fingers greasy, jeweled rings with glitter shone,

Took in tribes in times of trouble, fed them fat to weaken bone.

Warriors great and great in number, sun-kissed swords to fight his wars

Drake-scaled shirts their bodies covered, heart-wine stained the salty shores.

Told his tribes a tale of treasure, over sea to north it gleamed,

Whispered words to drive the droves to golden city where he dreamed.

Counseled quick in dreams alone,

Voices wiser man ignores,

Pushed the tribes until they screamed,

Heed the dreams and cross the Waking.”[2]

As we can see, Thelm wished to cross the Waking Sea and collect a treasure within the golden city he had been promised by mysterious voices in his dreams. It appears that he controlled a large territory lying by the sea.

Personally, I subscribe to a theory that Kirkwall was the place where the Magister Sidereal breached the Veil to get to the Golden City. I won’t elaborate on the details here, but it’s a widely popular theory so I invite you to read about it on your own, if you haven’t come across it already. I mention it here because I believe that Thelm was one of the first people who were influenced by whatever is lurking inside the Golden City, and he was being prompted to follow the same steps as the Seven Magisters, which includes finding an entrance to the Fade -  an it just so happens that a there’s a suitable location, atop the Primeval Thaig, near the place where the City of Chains would once be built. Kirkwall is located north of the Fertile Valley, across the Waking Sea. Perhaps Thelm was contacted in his dreams because the area he controlled was located in the vicinity of a possible Fade entrance.

I’d also like to point out that Tyrdda was aware that the gilded city was nothing but a lie, a trap for the greedy. She received a warning from the Lady of the Skies.

We’re told that prior to the separation movement, Tyrdda’s tribe lived near the Lake that is now known as Lake Calenhad, but that’s the extent of the information we’re given. I want to propose a somewhat counterintuitive idea and say that Tyrdda’s tribe inhabited an area to the east of the Lake, not west.

Figure 3. Green area - tribes led by Thelm Gold-Handed Blue area - tribes led by Tyrdda Bright-Axe (Disclaimer: All maps included in this write-up are meant to represent only rough estimations of areas that might’ve fallen under the influence of various tribes that belong to the Alamarri cultural group. These are not firm borders.)

Firstly, the Saga of Tyrdda mentions that:

“Tyrdda Bright-Axe, bold and bloodied, took her tribe from placid plains Tribes with blades by farming blunted chased and fought, their parting pains.”[3]

Which makes me think that her tribe lived in the Fertile Valley proper. West of the Lake is already a mountainous region, judging by the way it’s depicted on Thedosian maps.

Figure 4. Lake Calenhad and the surrounding area on the Inquisition map

Furthermore, it stands to reason that the region controlled by Tyrdda was adjacent to the lands under Thelm’s rule, which, as I explained before, appear to have been located in the northernmost part of the Fertile Valley. Thelm was aiming to gather a massive number of warriors in order to cross the Waking Sea and claim the riches of the Golden City for himself. Naturally, he would first look for “allies” in the neighbouring tribes.

And so Tyrdda abandoned the other Alamarri tribes and led her people away from the plains.

“To the mountains, shorn of shelter, snow-slicked peaks gave wind its bite”[4]

Here I’d also like to pose another theory - Tyrdda didn’t lead her tribe west, to the area that’s considered the Frostbacks in modern Thedas. Instead, she took them south, following the shores of the Lake, until they reached the place that is now known as the Hinterlands. Let me explain why.

In Dragon Age: Inquisition, we explore a mountainous region called the Hinterlands, specifically the part that surrounds the settlement of Redcliffe. A storyteller encountered in the village describes it as such “Even before the sky fell open, this was a land of spirits and demons. Magic grows wild in the hills of Redcliffe.” During the exploration, we can find landmarks that reveal the Saga of Tyrdda Bright-Axe. After discovering all stanzas, a war table mission becomes available, titled “Locate Weapon of Tyrdda Bright-Axe”. Sister Dorcas Guerrin, a Fereldan scholar, explains that:

“The rich oral tradition of the Avvar has been largely lost, leaving only these rune-marked fragments. [...] Based on marker runes left at each of these locations, I may be able to find the site where Tyrdda’s legendary axe is located.”[5]

So it appears that there are Avvar marker runes sprinkled around the Hinterlands, which point to a place where Tyrdda’s staff, along with her other earthly possessions, were stored. It leads me to believe that the Avvar had presence in the Hinterlands after they separated from the Alamarri, since the Saga of the Avvar-Mother describes events from Tyrdda’s life up until her death. When Tyrdda died, her tribesmen (perhaps with the help from dwarves, as Tyrdda had allied with prince Hendir) installed marker runes in the Hinterlands that if combined together would reveal a path to the site where Tyrdda’s relics had been safely put away. This vault was located in another part of the highlands, but it’s unclear where exactly. In my mind, it just makes sense that the marker runes would be left in the place where the Avvar tribe settled after they separated from the Alamarri.

(As a side note, the Avvar do cultivate their oral traditions. Tyrdda’s identity as a mage wasn’t a shock to them - “the Avvar were completely unsurprised by Tyrdda being a mage. While it was lost to Fereldan history, it was evidently taken as an unspoken truth among the Avvar.”[6])

Figure 5. The region where the Avvar might’ve settled after separating from the rest of the Alamarri

Another argument for why the Hinterlands were the place the Avvar relocated to is the tree dedicated to Tyrdda’s lover, which can be found on Dennet’s horse farm.

“The farmers remember the old ways and the old blood, and we’ll honor that [...] If the farmers want to leave that tree to honor Tyrdda’s leaf-eared lover, we’ll let it be, and whatever we lose from the land, we’ll gain in loyalty.”[7]

The age of the tree in question is unknown, I would assume it’s not from Tyrdda’s time since it’d have to be over 2500 years old (though it’s possible, the oldest known tree on Earth was almost 5000 years old) but it’s still a sign of the Avvar beliefs being present in the area for a substantial amount of time. Admittedly, the Alamarri also believed in the Lady of the Skies, though in this case, the importance seems to be attached to the deity being Tyrdda’s lover specifically, not the goddess of the skies.

In Jaws of Hakkon, Scout Lace Harding mentions that when she was a little girl “a lady in our village used to tell me Avvar tales” which is yet another hint of the Avvar influence on the Hinterlands, as Harding was born and raised in a settlement located near Redcliffe.

I imagine that for the Avvar lore to become so ingrained in the Hinterlands, the Avvar had to be present in the area for a long time, well after their separation from the Alamarri. I theorize they held it at least until the times of chieftain Morrighan’nan who lived around -355 Ancient (more on her and the area she might’ve controlled in Part 4).

To sum up - I think that “Frostback Mountains” used to refer to a much wider area. The highlands located west and south of the Lake were all included in its definition, while “Fertile Valley” was the name of the lowlands east and north of the Lake. When the Alamarri tribes first crossed the mountains, they settled in the Valley, and the Frostbacks remained largely uninhabited until the Avvar took them as their home.

Figure 6.

Redefining regions Blue area - Frostback Mountains Green area - Fertile Valley

Next up - did the Avvar completely disappear from the Fertile Valley?

~

Sources:

[1] Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 13

[2][3][4] Codex entry: Saga of Tyrdda Bright-Axe, Avvar-Mother

[5] War Table mission: Locate Weapon of Tyrdda Bright-Axe

[6] War Table mission: Send Relics of Tyrdda Bright-Axe

[7] Note: Tyrdda's Lover, written by Elaina to her husband, horsemaster Dennet

[troutfishinginmusic]

Guide: Lesser-known nu metal albums that hold up

Nu metal is a genre that’s easily derided. It was caricatured as over-the-top angst, baggy jeans and casual misogyny. It was one of the biggest genres when I was first discovering music.

There was plenty of bad music, but to say it was all bad would be inaccurate. It was extremely diverse compared to other metal scenes. It also put issues like child abuse to the forefront, showing survivors they were not alone. Nu metal took a genre that was showing signs of wear and reinvented it. While it soon became saturated by faceless bands (as every popularized genre eventually does), it was important.

As the genre regains popularity, there have been plenty of retrospective lists about bands like Slipknot, Deftones and Korn. There have even been lists detailing some of the lesser known bands. The podcast Roach Koach has done a great job reassessing the genre (It was the catalyst for me making this list). In no order, here are seven nu metal albums you might be less familiar with but are worth your time. These all roughly come from the genre’s original era of popularity.  I’ve also put together a ranking of more established nu metal records at the end.

I love the first couple of Static-X albums, but Cannibal is truly a high-water mark. It’s catchy, concise and extremely heavy. While it has some more straight-ahead metal flourishes (guitar solos!?!), no one could mistake this for another band. And, if nothing else, Static-X is a definitive nu metal band. Cannibal seems to find Static-X revitalized after kicking out a problematic member. Vocalist Wayne Static (who died in 2014) knows exactly what he wants these songs to do. His barking delivery finds spaces in each of these spartan industrial rippers. It represents all the things I like about the genre.

Oracle represents somewhat of a break from the more straight-ahead nu metal sound of Spit, so it might not exactly fit on this list. But ultimately Kittie is forever tied to the genre (much like Deftones), even if they’ve branched out in other directions. Oracle doubles down on heaviness by incorporating death metal influences. Morgan Lander’s vocals kneecap a lot of her more melodically inclined nu peers. It also shows the band progressing, despite losing guitarist Fallon Bowman. When people dismiss the nu metal as an outlet for white male whining, though sometimes deserved, they overlook great albums like Oracle.

Apex Theory’s only album, Topsy-Turvy, is brimming with creativity. Much like System of a Down, which originally featured lead vocalist Ontronik Khachaturianon on drums, the band channels its Armenian heritage. Yet Apex Theory leans into something more melodic, mathy and possibly emo (in more of the At the Drive-In sense). Every aspect of this album feels so precise and thought out. Khachaturianon’s vocals can leap out like a barrage of stream of consciousness yet can just as easily smooth out. It might’ve been a bit too weird for radio but, in a world where SOAD broke, it certainly could’ve happened.

Apartment 26’s final album might be one of the strangest on this list. It’s apparent that it was made to be more “marketable.” Yet those touches make it even weirder. The production here is very polished, but this is still an album that incorporates swing jazz into metal through programmed horns. It’s that oddness, intentional or not, that benefits Music for the Massive. An added bonus is the great cover of “In Heaven” from David Lynch’s Eraserhead (the band’s name is a reference to the film). Apartment 26 easily surpasses its legacy as Geezer Butler’s son’s band on this album.

Taproot’s debut struck on something deeply vulnerable that the band has carried through on subsequent albums. What is often missing on those other albums, though, is the heaviness found on Gift. The band’s raw talent is on display here, recalling System of a Down’s debut. Like that album, influences peek through but the band sound fully formed and unique. Stephen Richards’ distinct vocals, while not for everyone, bend around every twist and turn of these knotty songs. The band moved away from the genre, but created some of its best work within it. Oh, and bonus points for instigating this.

Orgy’s goth-y, processed guitar crunch was often imitated (Deadsy, etc.) but has never exactly been replicated. Candyass in some ways seems like the obvious choice, but there are some awkward growing pains. And really Vapor Transmission is just as good and possibly better. The hooks are bigger, the band commits to the futuristic themes and vocalist Jay Gordon is at the top of his gender-bending industrial crooning game. Orgy remains notable in this era for poking holes in the genre’s inflated macho exterior at every turn. There’s something so transgressive about the way the band operated in nu metal.

New Killer America’s cover always caught my eye when I was a kid. Album art was and still is a big deal to me. I love how subtly gross this is. At the time it was more affecting than the over-the-top gore common on metal albums. It fits the music. Skrape wallows in heavy post-grunge sludge. As Ulrich Wild did on the Static-X albums, there’s a good balance struck between heaviness and accessibility. Skrape had a mysterious vibe that was missing from similar acts that had a tendency to over-share. Despite some awkward vocals/lyrics that come up, NKA is noteworthy.

Honorable Mention: Coal Chamber-Chamber Music, Powerman 5000-Tonight the Stars Revolt, Nothingface-Violence, Mushroomhead-XX, Sevendust-Animosity

Established Classics Ranking

1. Korn-Korn: This was the album that started the genre. Every element that other bands would copy is here. It also features some of the rawist emotion ever recorded (”Daddy”) and some great singles (”Blind,” “Clown”). Some of the lyrics are definitely dated, but there are few metal albums that are as influence and heavy (well, in terms of subject matter) as this.

2. Deftones-White Pony: This album defied every stereotype the genre had. It seamlessly incorporated trip-hop and post-rock influences without sacrificing any of the heaviness. This is the highpoint for a band that rarely has a misstep.

3. System of a Down-System of a Down: SOAD’s debut is heavy, political and completely left-field. It still sounds like nothing else. All of the band’s records are good to great, yet I love how the death metal influences poke out more on this one. That’s a personal preference I guess, I really could’ve picked any SOAD album.

4. Sepultura-Roots: This album is so unbelievably heavy. It’s such a bummer that Sepultura didn’t make a record with this lineup past this point. It’s political in a way a lot of nu metal wasn’t. It seamlessly incorporates the band’s Brazilin heritage. It up-ends any perception about the genre being light-weight.

5. Slipknot-Iowa: This is really the only album from this era that rivals Roots in terms of heaviness. The band draws from a different well than Sepultura, packing Iowa with horror movie imagery. Much of this was to no doubt channel vocalist Corey Taylor’s troubled childhood. There’s something so frantic and desperate captured on this album, which probably has to do with Ross Robinson producing it (he produced Korn’s debut, as well as a lot of other iconic records).

6. Incubus- S.C.I.E.N.C.E.: Few nu metal records are this legitimately fun. Every part of Incubus is bursting with stoned creativity here. It also channels its influences much better than its peers. Somehow metal riffs and bongos go together here. S.C.I.E.N.C.E. showed a more easygoing side of the genre that still retained all the heaviness.

7. Linkin Park- Meteora: Though Hybrid Theory has a lot of singles, I always preferred this one. I think the band forged a bit more of its identity here. It gets a bit heavier, yet retains all the pop smarts. Definitely worth revisiting if you’ve just re-listened to Hybrid Theory to celebrate its recent anniversary.

NOTE: Yeah, Limp Bizkit is not on this list. The band has some cool songs, but ultimately its albums are pretty scattered. Fred Durst is a lot for me to take. The rest of the band is amazingly talented, especially Wes Borland. If its exclusion is annoying to you, please make your own list.

[welcometomy20s]

June 30, 2021

Coco (and Lulu’s) Legacy

Coco wrote the book on how to be a Hololive member, from front to back. She plotted out how one can amass an audience, how to interact and build a worldwide fandom, how to integrate ideas of the audience to the grand narrative of the company, how to deal with tee-tee and pairings, how to cope when YouTube strikes you down in its impunity, and how to cope when Cancel Brigade comes to destroy your work, along with how to bring a more cohesive workplace, how to protect yourself from the unmooring of identity that is inherent in VTube, and finally how to leave when you are in a rollercoaster that is only going up. Coco wrote the book and now we follow.

AsaCoco was brilliant from its outset. Having a place to know the ins and outs of various members of Hololive was a great way to connect the rabbit hole. But there is a deeper reason for the brilliance. I talked before about how the major tension in VTube is one between the corporate back-end tradition of Japan colliding with the audience front-end tradition of YouTube. AsaCoco is something directly in line with that second tradition. The visual language of YouTube is different from those of movies. A jump cut in a movie denotes a different idea than a jump cut on YouTube. Movie critic complaining about jump cuts in vlogs is like a Spanish reader complaining about a sentence in English being awkward. Of course it is, it’s in a different language. Unlike movies, which come from theatre and literature, vlogs’ lineage comes from news broadcasts. Many of the early web successes were styled in a news format (rocketboom, Ze Frank, What the Buck and so on…) One does not complain about the jump cut between different presenters in a newscast, and so one does not complain when a similar thing happens in vlogs. But the point is that AsaCoco harkens to the audience-based tradition.

One might write off the ARK arc as an aberration, but I think ARK did add something constructive to Hololive and VTubers as a whole. I like to think of ARK as a training wheel for Minecraft. Minecraft is relatively challenging compared to ARK. Minecraft speedruns are mildly impressive, ARK speedrun less so. ARK is actually like the middle ground between Monster Hunter and Minecraft. You can play ARK like Monster Hunter, gather a bunch of friends to hunt monsters, or like Minecraft, build your own zoo or house or so on… And in that flexibility, one can easily learn how to tell a compelling narrative in an open-world setting. Pekora’s war criminal tendencies developed there, Miko’s ‘pon’ nature was crystalized there, and so on…

Holohouse was an underrated achievement. At first, the idea feels like the natural extension of their idol nature. Idols live together, so why not virtual idols? But having virtual idols living together comes with additional benefits that Nijisanji should note.

Stalking is an awful thing, I know since I experienced and have done something similar in my past, but stalking is also a desperate thing. And desperation tends to abate when people are more open about themselves. One of the articles talking about Coco’s graduation infamously notes the mystery of Coco’s identity, which is chucklesome since Coco’s identity might be the most open secret in all of Hololive. This was in line with Hololive’s more open policy, several of Hololive members do their own personal work on the side, while in many early companies, this was forbidden. Nijisanji’s background is less open than Hololive, perhaps due to the number and less mass attention, and that leads to stalking being a more adventurous one. One that livers have to deal with more alone, while for Hololive, it’s likely people would catch and perhaps even tar the perpetrator. More attention means more risk with less excitement.

Holohouse also protects aggressive fan behavior by introducing VTuber solidarity. With more offline collabs, the people would know each other more personally and therefore have a ground of contacts in which to alert suspicious behavior. Safety in numbers.

Holohouse also brought us KanaCoco, which was a lesser known pairing until the couple ring story, and now it has become one of three big couples of Hololive, the other two being NoeFlare and OkaKoro. The big three all have a different style of their tee tee. KanaCoco is the type of a longtime buddy. Both Kanata and Coco struggled with familial and economic circumstances, and they are both struggling under the same roof. And within that struggle comes comity and friendship. It’s not love in your typical sense, but it is a type that would lead to marriage and childrens… but the current LBGTQ+ status in Japan is pretty bad, so tee tee and hush hush it is.

In a sense, KanaCoco provides for an excellent cover. It is one of the most inspiring portrayals of woman-woman friendships in media and it would be one of the more enduring aspect of Coco’s legacy as it passes down through the generations.

[Note: This somehow became an apologia of the past week. Well, I do like to show my thinking with my behavior, perhaps to my detriment, so… just be warned.]

For the past week, I was hyping about the fact that Gura passed Kizuna Ai to become the most-subscribed VTuber. And I made the point, not through immaturity, but because I realized this coincided with Coco’s graduation. Without Coco, there wouldn’t be Hololive English, or Gawr Gura, and therefore this event would not have happened. This, therefore, was one of the last great accomplishments of Coco. An indelible mark of her foresight and perseverance. A realization of her plans. So, in a sense, this was one of my ways of celebrating Coco’s career, albeit in an admittedly twisted way.

But beyond Hololive English, there was the famous Meme Review, which has a weak lineage with the early meme review series from PewDiePie. Now for the digression, whoever ends up at the top gives us a flavor for that specific era, since one naturally assumes success means finesse and would try to emulate the style. Vlogbrother’s visual style and mannerism was largely lifted from Ze Frank. PBS Idea Channel famously emulated Ray William Johnson’s background to his own ends. And Kizuna Ai was famously inspired by PewDiePie at several points in her career. Which is why PewDiePie’s Congratulations felt right as a tribute. One of the big shared characteristics of the two was the lonely years at the top. PewDiePie is probably going to be longest reigning ‘King’ of YouTube for a while (of course, depends on if Cocomelon catches T-Series in due time) and at the time his reign was abnormally long. Most people hold onto the top spot for a year or two, so it felt odd that PewDiePie was untouchable for so long. Similar things must have been raised for Kizuna Ai as well. Many people must have felt that Kizuna Ai just did not represent VTubers at the current time.

So, when competition showed up, of course people were excited. It felt like it was time. I believe PewDiePie’s Congratulations was not a simple diss track, although it’s formatted like one, just due to the culture at the time. So the hypothetical Kizuna Ai version would be extremely light-hearted. The ‘diss’ would be your typical “she’s short”, “she’s hydrodynamic” and so on… it would be clear there is no actual bad blood, and the song would be welcoming of the new era. Era, as I said before, brought on by Coco.

Back to the Meme Review, meme review was great as it centered reddit as the base for the fandom, rather than twitter, which is a horrible platform to bring a sense of communal welcomeness. Reddit is probably the best functional place for stuff like this, even though we all know it has its host of problems that needs to be resolved.

What is the most important stream in Hololive? Well, some people would point to Aqua and Coco’s The Raft stream, which is a poignant encapsulation of a stream. The dramatic counterweight to the other greatest stream in Hololive, Korone’s all-english Mario stream. Aqua and Coco are always the odd pairing, but it could have worked, and it might have been beneficial. Aqua is one of the most shy people in Hololive, and Mio is already busy with Ayame and Subaru, so the best person might have been Coco.

But China. There were two big beneficiaries from China in Hololive, one was Fubuki and the other was Aqua. While Fubuki, in Coco’s last months, famously went out of her way to intertwine herself with Coco to directly redirect her audience, like the mensch she is, Aqua always struggled with her audience retention, therefore played shy with Coco.

Edit: Well, my initial final impression was… what a wonderful finish. The interview portion was well-meant, but honestly a little formal. When the 4th Gen went together, is when the stream turned into something special for me, and the final performance was actually really well-done. Coco went out like an idol, which makes sense. For whatever provocation Coco perpetuated, Coco only did them out of love. And ultimately Cover knew that. Coco’s final month was a warning and a reminder.

Can I talk about all the different tributes lately? In some sense, Usaken Summer Festival is part of this… for an organization that is immensely popular, I just adore how Cover and their talent always has this drive to throw everything and see if it works. I noticed this during Golden Week. Golden Week in Hololive was jam packed. There were great events, Mio’s morning stream was astounding, leading to one of biggest growth spurt for Mio. Miko’s drawing collab was absolutely hilarious, for such a simple and seemingly hastily put idea. One of the people in a forum commented on this and affixed something that left my mind… what did Nijisanji during the same week? Even I was surprised by how little Nijisanji did that Golden week. They barely did anything!

The innovative spirit does give them trouble, more than it is worth, but Cover never really stopped its momentum, even when most other companies would have stopped a long time ago! This is the greatest thing about Hololive and Cover, the most redeeming feature. One that would serve them well. Coco wrote the playing book, let us pray that Cover sticks to them, because the fall of Cover comes the moment they stray.

The Pre-Coco era was about a company struggling to get their idea through. The Coco era was about writing the playing book. So the Post-Coco era will be about remembrance, it’ll be a struggle to keep the memory of what the playing book is. It’ll be about them being Hololive as they become part of the global zeitgeist.

[thetiredstuff]

How many Gen-Zs ship win*est? It's always been Kelios and co looking down on "stupid teenage DestieHelLErs!" It's Tumblr, not Livejournal. The movie Crush is supposed to be representative of queer Gen-Zs. And it's PG. How is lines about siblings "sixty-nining" rated PG? How does in*est fit into a movie about LGBTQIA+ culture? As if ppl don't literally call queer ppl degenerate already? One of them tweeted a gif being annoyed on Nov5 2020. So I just think they ship in*est. It's not gay rep

hi anon

that's not true tho. the ones you're talking about are the most well-known because they've been around for so long and are the loudest but there are a bunch of Gen Z's who ship them on here as well (which I know cuz I've been blocking all of them) as much as we all like to believe it's just this small group of older fans and no new fans, that isn't actually true.

Also, I watched the movie, there's a ton of dialogue about sex (straight as well as queer) that one line is honestly one of the lesser "graphic" lines/scenes in the movie.

Again, that character was written as a side character who was weird/creepy and was talking about their tumblr. Seems pretty in line with the narrative they wanted to put out for that character.

There's a ton of queer rep in the movie. i never said that that side-character is the epitome of perfect queer rep. but there's also a conversation to be had about the fact that all queer people are not the same. like people are diverse. even when a gender identity or sexuality overlaps that doesn't mean they agree on every other single thing.

+ what you're saying about those gifs: the arguably most important US election was happening at the exact same time. I remember it because I was constantly flipping back between getting ready for the destiel episode and watching the election results. When the ep aired, the election results weren't in yet but when the ep was done airing, the election results started to come in and biden won.

So i'm pretty sure that that gif was actually about the fact that nevada was taking 52 years to count their votes. especially because that writer you're talking about *only* tweeted about the elections and didn't even make any other tweet about destiel.

also both of the writers are queer. if you wanna talk about queer rep, the writers themselves being queer, writing queer stories, with queer characters makes all of that queer rep

[writingonesdreams]

Okay let's dive deeper into this

There were so many decisions to make with this commission, making me feel part of the art piece. From the order, the positions, the clothes and expressions, everything here is deeply representative of the story.

The Silverstone brothers. The older Kyler known for his orderly withdrawn nature. Always proper and perfect in his signature long coat. Pulsor magic is brittle and destructive, lighting pulses are very dangerous and require absolute discipline and control over one's body, responses and feelings. They come from the body itself so any mistake, any blink of careless emotion causes burns along the veins, pain and scars that don't fade.

What this particular picture is hinting at is also the Shadow poisoning Kyler is suffering under - it's not really a secret since it will be revealed in the first few chapters, but no one else knows - Shadow Craft is very new and very loathed and distrusted, since it's the opposite of Aural magic that focuses on channeling positive emotions. Shadow Crafters channel the negative, dark impulses, hatred, jealousy, everything painful and grieving. Terroristic groups of this type are most common, cause it's easy to lose oneself in the intensity of these feelings and the magic is often used to control Phantoms, the beings of magic and negativity. Prior to the story Kyler was captured by such a group and tortured for two weeks - forcing Shadow Craft on him with no training and with his pride and horror in the help of seeking any help for it. If you look closely, there are little dark lines running down Kyler's hand and neck.

Wes's stance contrasts Kyler's - relaxed, formality forgotten, wide grin on his face and wind magic held with carefree pride. The while and black of their suites isn't a coincidence either, with Wes being open, adventurous in his green shirt and with his scales freely showing. This is the Wes the story will be working towards - one that doesn't feel ashamed or insecure about switching magics, about his form, about his passion for it, about being who he is. Kyler symbolises the conflict, Wes is the goal, the protected and the brave, the one who has still yet to face the world but believes he will win.

Now Acacia. Finding the perfect dress for her was a challenge but it really worked out. She looks like a water fairy there, unearthly and dreamy. An ombre dress going from dark blue to light blue would have been characteristic of an Water Elemental - Elementals often wear colours and clothes that symbolise their power, the element that speaks to them and guides them. But Acacia is including all the colours around, adding green and yellow and the orange and red. This is tribute for Acacia being a Switcher mage, mastering both water and Aural style on high levels, something very rare and generally looked down upon. Magic is more than family, more than blood and more than life. It's the expression of the soul, the extension of the mage's will, personal by default. Switching the way you think to control a different type of magic is extremely difficult, and if you manage it how can you be trusted, not being loyal to your spirit?

Irene and Darren to the show.

Irene is a wolf and a weapon, a fire mage and an outcast as the biggest kind of Shifter in town. Only smaller Shifters normally reside in big cities, since transforming is needed but should be inconspicuous to other residents. Being true to your other form of existence, giving it free reign is important part of such identity. That's why Shifters of big animals often live in the country side, with open spaces, less crowds and noise and free to turn whever they want. People got so used to it, a common belief is now that big Shifters just don't belong with the population, that they wouldn't be able to control themselves and cause trouble. Now Irene is also a weapon and a driven ambitious mage and won't let such details stop her. Her sword form is light and thin blade, like a katana held in one hand. She is very proud at who she is, both a wolf and steel, dressed in fire.

Darren Rhyes is a talented Scythe Shifer. His control and skill allows him to transform any part of his body without transforming himself whole, making him able to face opponents without needed to be wielded. A mage and weapon bond is a very special thing, with emotions and magic adjusting, resonating and amplifying each other. But Darren is a very special weapon and being wielded by someone with inferior understanding of magic or lesser drive to win is just insulting to him. He hates teamwork and partnerships and doesn't care about praxis points for the magic licence. He breathes completion, seeks challenge and loves the thrill of a good magic match. His high and power are scary on the first glance, but his mastery of Aural magic and his blades is phenomenal.

The colours also indicate the partnerships in the tournament. Kyler is Irene's wielder, the red symbolizing this connection.

The only one with suitable magic for Darren is Acacia, which is why he has the blue tie and stands with her. Winning him over to actually work with her instead if ignoring he will be a challenge. Acacia joins out of intellectual interest, Darren for the win and matches themselves. Their attitudes are very different, not to mention Darren's arrogance isn't a good match with Acacia's shyness.

Wes is a sword shifter of Aural kind, and can't resonate with Pulsors either. His sword form is however very heavy and big, reflective of his raw magic power, which is hard to wield for someone like Acacia, with only basic training and magic focused on mind and imagination instead of physical enhancement.

[aion-rsa]

Invincible Episode 7 Improves Upon Its Already Great Source Material

https://ift.tt/3dGH4U1

This article contains spoilers for Invincible episode 7.

Amazon’s animated adaptation of Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker’s comic Invincible was always a great idea. The property has just about everything that streaming services and their audiences are looking for currently: superheroes, ultraviolence, and jaw-dropping twists. 

One big question facing the series, however, was how could one show possibly fit in all the story of the comic’s lengthy 144-issue run? Invincible episode 7, “We Need to Talk,” is the first season’s penultimate installment and it reveals how the show is set to approach this logistical challenge. With so many comic book issues of plot to get through, Invincible seems perfectly happy to accelerate through that plot as efficiently as possible. To that end, “We Need to Talk” features a truly staggering number of climactic moments.

This might actually be the most charmingly chaotic and jam-packed episode of TV this year (at least before next week’s finale). So much happens in “We Need to Talk” that it runs the risk of overwhelming the viewer. With that in mind, let’s break down the important plot points of this hour and examine the major ways in which they differ from (and even improve upon) the comic.

Robot’s True Identity

The reveal that the entity known as “Robot” isn’t who he claims to be might be the most shocking Invincible twist thus far. And that’s saying a lot for a show whose first episode concludes with the story’s Superman equivalent straight up murdering the rest of his Justice League.

That Robot (Zachary Quinto) is really a malformed genius named Rudolph Conners isn’t a surprise to comic book readers, but its positioning this early in Invincible’s story is a surprise. Robot’s work with the Mauler Twins to create a new body for himself doesn’t happen until after the events of Omni-Man’s confrontation with Mark in the comics (more on that later). The show, however, shrewdly decides to present this moment in the same episode as Omni-Man’s fall – just so there’s never really a moment for viewers to catch their breath. 

But now the truth has finally arrived. Robot, the orange hunk of metal with a fixedly bemused expression, is actually a machine being operated remotely by Rudolph Conners. Rudolph, or Rudy, is a small, damaged man whose body isn’t capable of surviving Earth’s environment. For many years Rudy was content to exist in his own life-giving tank of fluids while operating his superheroic “Robot” remotely. Everything changed, however, when he met the hero known as Monster Girl.

Rudy couldn’t help but identify with Monster Girl (Grey Griffin), a fellow soul who has made the best of a flawed body. Everytime Monster Girl transforms into a monster, her human form de-ages several more weeks. Theoretically at some point Monster Girl will become an infant and then waste away into nothingness. Before any of that happens, Rudy wants to fix her…and he wants to fix his own broken body so that the pair can be together.

Read more

TV

From Battle Beast to Titan, The Invincible Rogues’ Gallery is Taking Shape

By Alec Bojalad

TV

Invincible: Who is Atom Eve?

By Alec Bojalad

To that end, Rudy sprung the mad genius villain team The Mauler Twins from prison to create a cloned body for him to transfer his consciousness into. What makes this whole thing even stranger is that the genetic material Rudy chose for his new body belongs to his Teen Team and Guardians of the Globe colleague Rex Splode. The new Rudy appears to be played by Rex Splode actor Jason Mantzoukas with his voice altered to sound younger. 

Does that mean Zachary Quinto is no longer a part of the series? Let’s certainly hope not as he may have been the best performer of the entire cast. And why did Rudy choose Rex’s DNA (and without Rex’s consent, it must be said)? Because Rex is hot, basically. Rudy chose a human form that Monster Girl was already comfortable flirting with. 

This is…a lot. And the fact that Rudy has to introduce himself to his teammates while they’ve all gathered for an “apocalyptic event” just adds to the madness. But what of The Mauler Twins? The disappointment of Rudy’s double-crossing doesn’t last long. For, after Rudy is forced to abandon his efforts to reincarcerate the Mauler Twins to return to the Guardians home base, the twins get back to their important task at hand. And that leads to the return of another important Invincible character…

The Immortal is Immortal After All

Back in Invincible episode 1, Mark Grayson’s dad Nolan a.k.a. Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons) made short work of the Guardians of the Globe. Darkwing? Dead. War Woman? Dead. The Immortal? De….wait a minute. How can someone called “The Immortal” die? 

Well, it turns out that death for The Immortal (still voiced by Ross Marquand) is only temporary. Omni-Man removed The Immortal’s head, which is pretty much universally lethal across all genre stories. But The Mauler Twins theorized that if The Immortal’s head were returned to his body, he would spring back to life. 

Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened once The Immortal’s noggin was reattached. Unfortunately for The Mauler Twins, their dreams of forming any sort of alliance with the resurrected hero are quickly dashed as he immediately flies off to confront the man who killed him. 

Omni-Man v. Cecil Stedman

And that takes us to Omni-Man. In the comic, Omni-Man’s confrontation with The Immortal is what leads Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) to discover that he’s got a Darth Vader situation on his hands. The show borrows that moment from the comic because any time you have the opportunity to make a character watch his father tear a Wolverine-looking dude in half, you’ve got to take it. That comic book moment is surprisingly abrupt though. In one panel Omni-Man is doing his usual Omni-Man thing and saving a group of citizens from a faulty roller coaster and in the next panel, The Immortal is all over his ass.

The Amazon Prime series dramatically improves on what is already a pretty great moment simply by drawing it out and building serious tension. Nolan’s wife Debbie (Sandra Oh) and the entire Global Defense Agency led by Cecil Stedman (Walton Goggins) are already well aware of Nolan’s treachery and have decided to finally take action. In speaking to Den of Geek and other outlets prior to Invincible’s premiere, Kirkman (who’s onboard as a writer and producer for this adaptation) revealed that Cecil Stedman would be getting an expanded role earlier on in Invincible’s story. 

“Cecil Stedman is a character that we get to know a little earlier in the show and definitely we get to do more with him,” he said. “I think that’s a lot of fun. There’s definitely some differences to his character and working with Walton Goggins on him has been great.”

Cecil really is a fascinating tool for Invincible. Many superhero stories have a Jim Gordon-style government liaison for its heroes to interact with. This person usually represents the interests of the planet’s “normal” citizen and is particularly impressive for being able to cut it in the world of the super-powered. By having Debbie and the GDA uncover Nolan’s guilt first, Invincible creates a wonderful opportunity to display both Cecil’s competence and depict the absolute horror of we puny humans trying to keep a super-powered god in check. 

Many times throughout Invincible episode 7, Cecil admits that there is nothing they can do to stop Nolan. The best they can do is slow him down for a bit until Mark is able to intervene. The first roadblock that Cecil presents is the explosion of an entire suburban city block with Nolan at its epicenter (R.I.P. Donald). 

“Best it will do is maybe knock him on his ass for an hour or two,” Cecil says. Then when the smoke clears to reveal an unharmed Omni-Man, Cecil grimly adds “Or maybe not hurt him at all.”

Cecil then throws the “hammer” at Nolan, which is a powerful blast from a weaponized satellite.

“$400 billion for the world’s most expensive nosebleed,” Cecil quips when Nolan takes the weapon out with ease. 

Then we get a sense of how many moral shortcuts Cecil is willing to take to keep the Earth safe. Mad scientist D.A. Sinclair’s (Ezra Miller) wounds from his confrontation with Invincible haven’t even healed yet but Cecil already has him using his evil technology for noble purposes. Sinclair’s “Reanimen” technology is now being used to reanimate recently dead U.S. soldiers, who are sent in to slow down Omni-Man. Unfortunately, that is also unsuccessful.

Read more

TV

Why Amazon Prime’s Invincible Had to Be Animated

By Alec Bojalad

TV

Invincible Review (Spoiler-Free)

By Bernard Boo

Finally, Cecil is forced to head out into the field armed with nothing but a teleporter to confront Omni-Man himself. When that inevitably fails to slow Nolan down, the GDA sends a monster that Nolan already conquered, only this time it’s been robbed of its weaknesses and fear. And that’s where Mark finds his father, just in time for The Immortal to arrive and deliver one hell of a surprise. 

There’s something to be said for the suddenness of the comic’s Omni-Man moment with Mark. Mark witnessing his dad’s evil act truly comes out of nowhere even though we know it’s inevitable as Nolan has been practicing this conversation all issue. 

What the show does with the moment is a masterstroke, however. By centering the focus on the human characters of Invincible’s world, we get a chilling sense of just how terrifying this all is. Omni-Man’s heel turn doesn’t just have personal implications for Mark, it means that Earth’s unbeatable protector now seems to hate Earth. More terrifying than that is that the only person we think can defeat him is Mark Grayson…who, it must be said, has done nothing but had his ass absolutely handed to him by lesser enemies over and over again for the past three episodes.

Amber and Mark

It probably feels anticlimactic to address Mark and Amber’s lover’s spat after breaking down Omni-Man’s reign of terror. But it’s necessary to see how far-reaching the changes (and in this case improvements) are in episode 7 in comparison to its original text. 

Mark and Amber’s relationship thus far has been all about frustration. Mark is facing an annoying problem with a seemingly easy solution. Amber (Zazie Beetz) is upset with him because he is absent in their burgeoning relationship. He’s absent in their burgeoning relationship because he’s a superhero. Therefore, the quickest, easiest solution to this dilemma is to tell her that he’s a superhero. 

So in this episode, that’s exactly what Mark does. He gets suited up and flies right through Amber’s window to deliver the exciting news. The problem is – she’s not that excited.

“Ugh, I know you’re a superhero,” Amber says. “I’m not an idiot, I figured it out weeks ago.”

This is not how things go down in the comic. That version of Amber is a bit more…let’s say “bubbly” and when confronted with the fact that Mark has lied to her for weeks she responds with an excited “My boyfriend is a superhero?!?!?”

The show, however, is smart to not let Mark off the hook so easily. Of course Amber knew that Mark is Invincible. Because, like she says, she’s not an idiot. Anyone who spends an inordinate amount of time with him is bound to figure it out sooner than later. So what Mark thought was a problem with an easy solution becomes yet another difficult lesson on his path to maturation. 

“I think that Amber is important in terms of holding Mark accountable,” Beetz told reporters prior to the show’s premiere. “Mark is still struggling with what his identity as a super person is. And she shows him that (powers) are not what make you good or special ultimately, it’s what’s in your character.”

It turns out that the people close to you don’t appreciate being lied to. Though human beings all look like particularly vulnerable ants from Mark’s perspective high up in the sky, we certainly don’t appreciate being treated like insects to be protected and manipulated by the powerful among us. 

Mark and Amber’s relationship is an excellent indication that nothing will come easy for Mark Grayson on this show. Every decision has an equal and opposite reaction. It’s important that he learns that lesson before he enters into what is sure to be the most stressful and morally confusing moment of his life next week.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Invincible’s season finale will be available to stream Friday, April 30 on Amazon Prime.

The post Invincible Episode 7 Improves Upon Its Already Great Source Material appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3aBaalL

[brynwrites]

How to Write Non-binary Characters: Part III.

Visit PART ONE: the basics.

Visit PART TWO: the nitty gritty.

PART THREE: common pitfalls and easy fixes.

Here we'll cover some common situations where writing respectful non-binary characters can be trickier.

Writing Non-human Non-binary characters.

Non-human non-binary characters aren’t inherently disrespectful to non-binary people, but it can easily become negative representation when there are no non-binary humans present, because it implies that those with non-binary genders are less human (and usually more monstrous or more alien) than people with binary genders. You can read more about why this is a problem in this full analysis by Christine Prevas.

There's a very simple solution to this though: Write some non-binary humans. (Or, in the least, make it explicitly clear that non-binary humans exist, and are just as valid in their identity as anyone else.)

Writing Non-binary Villains.

This situation is very similar to the non-binary non-humans, but instead of implying that non-binary people are less human, it implies they are less moral, abnormal, depraved, or insane. Villainous figures in history have often have their villainy connected to or blamed on their non-gender conforming traits. We don't want to add to that clinging transphobic and homophobic belief with modern fiction.

As with non-binary non-humans, having non-villainous non-binary characters can go a long way in offsetting this, as well as not connecting (or letting characters within the world connnect) the villain's non-binary aspects with their perceived villainy. Instead of writing a non-binary villain, write a villain who also happens to be non-binary.

(On this note, I would be very cautious about writing villains who are being villainous because they've suffered from transphobia.)

Killing (your only) Non-binary Character.

This falls into the same category as the previous two sections, but it has just one solution: don't kill your story’s only non-binary or trans character. Just don't do it. If that character has to die to make the plot continue, let there be another primary non-binary or trans character in the story somewhere.

Writing “Coming Out” Scenes for Non-binary Characters.

Let's break this into two different types of coming out:

The casual, everyday coming out. This is the kind of coming out a non-binary person has to do every time they need to let new people in their lives know about their gender. If you're writing non-binary characters, you'll probably have to write some version of this at some point. It can be as simple as a character introducing themselves with their pronouns, wearing clothing or pins that say their pronouns, mentioning their identity casually, correcting someone's misuse of their pronouns, making a (respectful) joke involving gendered terminology (e.g. "I'm the king of monopoly today and the queen of monopoly tomorrow, but either way you're all going to lose!"), or a multitude of other ways.

While writing any setting that you create yourself (whether that's fantasy, science fiction, alternate history, etc), you can always do yourself a favor and work a method of identity presentation into the world building. Maybe in your fictional culture everyone wears a certain color accessory for certain gender identities or in your fictional boarding school the students all decided to introduce themselves with their pronouns no matter what gender they identity as.

The major, terrifying coming out. Often, this is the traditional coming out scene where the person sits down with family and tells their truth, even though they know things might turn out poorly. It might be the first time they've come out to anyone, or it might be that they've held off with certain important people in their life because they're afraid of those people's response. Be wary of writing out these scenes if you haven't lived through them yourself, because it's a very emotional and complex situation which, if represented poorly, can harm non-binary and trans people in real life. Sometimes though, you might want to allude to what happened during this scene because of its effect on the character!

Keep in mind that while there is much prejudice against non-binary (and trans) people in our world, that you don't have to include that in your stories. It is always the writer's decision to include transphobia and transphobic characters in what they write, as well as their responsibility to make sure that any transphobic inclusions are framed as the terrible, incorrect biases they are, and do not harm the trans and non-binary community.

Writing Non-binary Characters Discovering They’re Non-binary.

Realizing you're non-binary is often a long, emotional, and extremely personal experience. Unless you have a non-binary (or trans) co-writer or you've done an academic level of research, its best to leave these experiences to be written by the people you lived them, because there are many living people who have lived them, who will be effected by these stories on a very real, very personal level.

So, go write non-binary characters, but write them having adventures and falling in love instead.

Writing Societies Without Gender Binaries.

Because this is a huge topic where new pitfalls might appear at any moment do to the endless ways it can be used, the best thing to do if you're interested in writing it is to read speculative fiction from trans and non-binary authors and study the nuances of how they portray these societies, and, of course, always avoid the societal version of all the previous no-nos, like having only villainous or non-human non-binary societies.

Remember: when in doubt, get non-binary people to beta read your work.

Finally, here are two insanely easy ways to include non-binary representation in all your stories:

1. Give a character (or multiple characters!) they/them pronouns. 

You don’t have to explain this. The character never needs to come out as non-binary. There doesn’t have to be a focus on whether they’re androgynous or not. You can keep it so simple that their description is just “Parker had brown hair and a hooked nose and when they smiled their eyes lit up,” and there you have a non-binary-coded character without having to do any work or research at all.

2. Have a character refer to their family member with gender neutral terms. 

“Those are my sisters, my big brother, and my little sibling. We were on a skiing trip, but our step-parent came down with the flu so our father stayed back at the lodge and let our auntcle take us up the mountain.” Will any of these non-binary characters ever by in the story itself? Perhaps not. But it still shows that the author accepts the existence of non-binary people in their story’s world, and that the character speaking loves and respects the non-binary people in their family enough to refer to them in the ways those family members prefer.

Closing Words.

Non-binary people have had a long history of being ignored in Western stories. Having writers attempt to include respectful non-binary representation in their books is more important to us than having all that representation be perfect. So, write non-binary characters, find a few non-binary or trans readers to double check your work, and most importantly, and have fun.

While you’re at it, consider supporting non-binary writers writing ownvoices stories. If you don’t know of any, here’s the wikipedia list of the more famous authors and a little twitter thread with some lesser known voices. You can also purchase my debut novel, Our Bloody Pearl, a fun romp about a disabled, non-binary siren and a freckly pirate captain.

Stick around for a preview of Our Bloody Pearl....

SWELL BEGINNINGS

There is one thing I know for certain: We were right to hate the humans.

HUNGER HAUNTS ME like a bull shark. With every roll of the ship, the gunk inside my stagnant tub sloshes against my waist, stinging anew. The tight wooden room's stale air burns my lungs.

Steam whistles in the pipes that run along the walls, their copper gleaming in the dim ceiling light. My wrists throb where the metal cuffs locking me to the tub dig into my silver scales. The gill slits along my neck are clamped shut after a year without seawater and my head fins stick to my scalp like barnacles to rock.

I try to anchor myself with the memory of home, of fine sands and vibrant reefs, but I can barely recall the rush of the warm current or the thrill of the hunt. Even a single wrasse sounds like a feast now. Or a few human fingers.

At least I can still smell the sharp brine of the ocean. When the ship rocks, the small, circular window to my left reveals the sea rolling in an endless stretch of deep blue, begging me to return. The silhouette of an approaching vessel forms a blur on its horizon.

I squint at the hazy shape, but Captain Kian’s roar of irritation from an upper deck makes me recoil. My captor’s harsh voice is so loud it seems to shudder its way down my spine.

The new vessel leaves my sight as the ship I’m captive on—the Oyster—turns toward it. The steam stacks clatter to life somewhere beneath me. Fabric and metal wings stretch out from the sides of the Oyster, and the ship bursts forward, riding just above the crests of the waves.

The sudden change in speed shoves me backward, tossing up my putrid water. As the liquid recoils, it grazes my largest tail fin, lying limp over the far edge of the tub. For all the pain I suffer, I nearly forget my tail exists, its iridescent gleam washed away by the filth and grime of the tub. It must still be impaired from the massive, anchor-like weight my captor crushed it beneath when she first locked me here. I can’t bring myself to focus on its lifeless form for long. I wasn’t meant for this.

I need the sea.

Purchase the full novel on amazon, bookdepository, or kobo, or request it from your local library!

[and-damntheconsequences]

Alright, here we go: Merlin astrology

Immediate disclaimer: I'm not good at this.

(Scroll down a little way to see what I've actually given them — you'll see where to stop — I just wanna mention some stuff first.)

*

Exactly two people want this and one of them is me, but that's good enough so let's go.

So, I've gone through some of the episodes to see if the show actually tells us when their birthdays are, but even though Arthur's birthday is shown and feasts for festivals for Beltane and Samhain are held (May 1 and November 1 respectively), there doesn't seem to be much overlap that I can see. The closest I can find is that in 5x03, Gaius briefly mentions that the Horn of Cathbhadh was traditionally used at Beltane, so Arthur's birthday would have been a short while before then, if he had done the same. But I'm not convinced that tradition matters all that much to Arthur, and there doesn't seem to be anything to suggest it wouldn't work just as well on other days — plus Arthur would have missed the Beltane feast had he gone then, and people would have been far more curious of where he was, which they don't seem to be.

So we don't know when either he or Merlin have their birthdays. Also since King Arthur doesn't have a specific set of years it took place in (only roughly 6th century AD), I have no point of reference for any other astrological placements.

I could be very wrong, and I definitely could have missed other things in different episodes, but this essentially puts it as a completely clean slate, so this is based just on my own thoughts about them.

Again, I'm not good at this. This is just based off of my own past knowledge and lots of Google to check everything. Lots.

I've also based their birthdays off of a completely different type of astrology that I'll do a post on later.

**

Okay here we go:

Arthur:

Birthday: July 28th

Sun Sign: Leo

A person's sun sign represents their most basic personality, and the traits they hold that remain constant throughout most of their life. At it's most basic, the sun sign says "I am."

For Arthur, Leo seems like a perfect fit. Leos are the Kings and Queens of the stars, the leaders and front runners of the sky. Their element is fire, which shows their driven, passionate, and warm hearted nature, and as Leo is ruled by the Sun, these qualities go double. Leos are confident, self aware, and have a personality that can dominate others, which can often lead to them displaying extreme arrogance or being very egocentric. They are able to speak their mind, but if not reminded, can sometimes neglect the feelings of others on a quest for status and influence.

Leos are represented by the lion, which symbolises the qualities of power and courage. These animals are known as fearless, able to withstand great challenges, and assured in their own strength. They can sometimes be a little aggressive or overbearing, but they have the power to walk with great dignity, and both give and receive high respect.

Moon Sign: Leo

A person's moon sign represents their emotions and deeper, more veiled, identities and subconscious tendencies. They may also show a person's more instinctive self, or the potential that they could reach. Where the sun says, "I am", the moon says "I feel"; the sun is action, and the moon, reaction.

Leo moons are bright with energy, and best in their element when they are shown admiration and respect — especially for their charm and wit. They may struggle due to a demand for respect, but the respect is well deserved for the leadership and willpower they show in order to help others. They are sharp and have intellectual potential, but can sometimes try to process things far too quickly, missing subtler clues in communication and jumping to rash conclusions. Some misunderstandings can take them completely by surprise, which other people may be confused or thrown off by.

Leo moons enjoy having an outlet for their energy, seen as the "wild child" of the zodiac moons. This often manifests as taking risks, but they are naturally lucky, so this usually pays off. They are also often optimists, perhaps for that reason.

I've also given Arthur the same sun and moon sign, and not only because they seem to fit the best. Those with sun and moon signs in the same zodiac are associated with a dark or new moon, and that energy drives them to influence change, and create their own mark on the world.

Ascendant: Aries

A person's ascendant, sometimes called their rising sign, is the sign that was on the horizon at the time of their birth. It represents the public mask a person may show to others, and the impression they may give off, as well as their own personal outlook on life. If the sun and moon signs are "I am" and "I feel" respectively, the ascendant probably says, "I seem".

For Arthur, I considered a few, but decided that Aries was the best fit — in doing so, making all of his main three signs fire signs.

Aries ascendants are seen as brave, fiercely opinionated, and independent. They have a strong and commanding presence, the warrior of the zodiac, and that can come off as a little intimidating at times. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, and Aries ascendants will be the ones seen to lead the battles. They are trailblazers and initiators, who base their actions heavily on instinct and quick pace decisions, though that leads them to be very short tempered, rash, and often bossy. They may leap before they look, and choose just to deal with the consequences later, but they have strong intuition, and a determination to succeed.

Merlin:

Birthday: Dec 23rd

Sun Sign: Capricorn

I've already given the meanings for the signs, so I won't rewrite those. I'll just go straight onto the individual sign meanings.

For Merlin, I wasn't so sure of his signs as I was Arthur's, and I actually decided his birthday based on a different and lesser known type of astrology, which I'll make a post on later, because it makes more sense for them both.

However, Capricorn actually does fit moderately well for him. Capricorns are the hard workers of the zodiac, the ones with the determination and resourcefulness to get stuff done when it most needs doing. Their personality, and most innate knowledge of who they are is based on purpose, and the need to feel as if they have contributed something important. They are patient and brave, and perhaps the most traditional of the zodiacs, which in turn makes them incredibly stubborn. Their earth element means their stamina is unmatched, and in times of crisis, they are the most reliable and efficient, and have an unparalleled devotion and loyalty to those they have allowed within their circle of friends and loved ones. While they can be seen as boring, overly practical, and responsible, I believe that a major presence of other zodiac elements in Merlin's chart would help to balance that out.

Moon Sign: Cancer

Again, this one might seem a little controversial, but I do believe Merlin's moon being in cancer makes the most sense, and I have a lot of reasons. The sign of cancer is itself ruled by the moon, which means that by having the moon in this placement, the influence it has over Merlin's life would also be amplified. This means that his inner self and deeper, hidden, identity, would play a major role in who he is, and how he views himself, more than any other moon sign.

Cancers moons are one of, if not the most, emotionally sensitive moon signs, though its not often so clearly shown. They have a true depth to their feelings, which is often hidden away out of a need to protect themselves. It is assumed that this depth and complexity makes them weaker, when in fact the complete opposite is true — they are able to develop true resilience, and won't crumble under under emotional pressure. They are always struggling to be better, and working towards self improvement and reaching the best of their own potential, which compliments a Capricorn sun very well.

In turn, they are incredibly nurturing and gentle, with a generous and family-oriented approach to many aspects of life, whether that be oriented to biological or found family. They work towards long lasting relations, and form deep connections with the people they allow to become close to them. They are also incredibly selfless, and can easily fall into the trap of allowing their self worth to be decided by their worth to others, as in their heart they truly want to do good by others. There are the kindest of souls, always hoping to see the best in people, and often allowing others to let that kindness go underappreciated — they aren't doing the right thing for the sake of recognition. At the same time, they can have a competitive nature, and are deeply intuitive and receptive.

They can be deeply hurt when betrayed or unappreciated, and will often close off and seek to hide away at times as a means of defence. This would be especially true for someone who's sun sign is contradictory, and Capricorn is Cancer's opposite, often putting up walls against vulnerability because they fear what they may lose if they show it.

Again, his moon sign has a secondary meaning when put with his sun. Cancer and Capricorn lie at opposite ends of the zodiac, and people with moon and sun signs which conjuct in this way are associated with the full moon. This energy means they will be someone of diversity and conflict, who will struggle with the differences of what they need and want, and who they are and who they should be. They will need to create compromise, and seek to find happiness within themselves, instead of desperately reaching out to find purpose and contentment elsewhere.

Ascendant: Sagittarius

For Merlin, his drive and goal is based on what he is told is his destiny. Right back in the first episode, his pain is that he doesn't understand why he is the way he is. When Kilgharrah tells him that he has a destiny, he latches on to it, and that is the nature of a sagittarius ascendant.

Sagittarians are the adventurers of the zodiac, the explorers who see life as a quest, and for a Sagittarius Ascendant, the prize they seek is meaning and truth. They are deeply philosophical people who will see every moment as an opportunity, and will use it to infinitely expand their own horizons, in whatever form that takes. They often may have a lot of faith in things greater than themselves, and that hope is integral to the interconnected way they view themselves and the world.

They are sometimes restless individuals, and value fun and adventure. They have an urge to explore in every sense of the word, and I believe that Merlin would have indulged that far more had he been given the safety and change to do so.

They are also social, and make friends effortlessly and sometimes in the oddest of circumstances. It may be the optimism that they seem to radiate upon first meeting them, although his Capricorn sun sign would dampen that when around those he is closer to.

Sagittarian Ascendants are often unapologetically outspoken and harshly opinionated. They are naturally witty, but can be blunt, or come across as rude when that isn't their intention, and this backfires all too often.

Capricorn and Sagittarius don't have much in common, so they would both conflict. His sun sign would make him more serious and realistic than his ascendant would otherwise allow, and in turn, his ascendant would make him more impulsive and social, as all signs within a person's chart have a great affect on each other. Someone with both will often flick back and forth between positive and negatives. The contrast may also lead him to keep secrets, as his "public mask" and true desires and sense of self are quite different, but in time, these two aspects can make space for each other, and productively blend the heavenly kindness and earthly wisdom that these signs bring.

Again, I won't do his whole chart, but I believe Merlin's chart is one that conflicts in many ways, as he has many things pulling him in many directions. Many times, he struggles to choose between what he knows to be necessary, and what he believes to be right, and I think his chart would reflect that. However, I think that in time and away from the pressure he has always been under, these aspects would blend together in a very beautiful way.

******

To put it very simply, Arthur's a King and he knows it, and Merlin's a mess.

So there we go. Several hours of research and writing to create something that will never be useful to anyone ever, but it was fun to do at least.

I'll do the other type of astrology soon, I have that all decided, it just might take a while to decide how I want to write it. And then actually write it.

[yikesies-bikesies]

I really hate the term lgbt/lgbtq/lgbtqiap+ or whatever. It’s not inclusive bc 9/10 times people just use lgbt which really hardly includes anyone and people use the contents and order of the acronym to justify their entitlement within the community. I saw some ad for some product that was a bunch of lgbtq+ flags and they showed a bunch of them, but not ALL of the ones available for purchase and the whole comments section was lesbians complaining that all of the “less important” queer flags were included, but not the lesbian flag. They said this was wrong because lesbians come first in the acronym, so they should have been put first. That’s gross. It’s not a ranking system, it’s literally just a list in whatever order comes along. Sure it’s determined by mainstream acceptance of each identity inside and outside of the community, but one is not better or more valid than another based upon the order of the letters in the acronym. However because of the order and because people are excluded because the acronym would be “too long” or “it wouldn’t sound right” people measure the validity of each identity based on the order or the contents of the term. It’s broke and it’s dumb. Queer includes people a lot more but ignorant queerphobes keep wanting to keep us in the dark ages and call it the q slur, so we’re stuck with identity invalidation and people like terfs acting like they have an authority on who is a part of the community and who’s not. Also people complained on that ad that the lesbian flag is always forgotten or left out, but at every pride event I’ve gone to and out of all of the lesbians I know most seem to just use the regular rainbow flag like most gay men to represent them because it’s the generic “gay” flag and they identified as gay. I don’t think people are leaving out lesbians, I just think that lesbians haven’t been insisting on their own flag as much as other identities that have felt they can’t be defined as “gay”,even if the “gay flag” is really just the community flag at this point, like trans people or asexual/aromantic people, or non-binary people.

Seeing the people claim they were being left out while calling other identities “less important” just makes me think of the whole thing with bisexual people complaining about bi erasure (which is real I’m not saying it’s not) and then basically invalidating pansexual people by saying they’re just bisexual people who want to be special or that they’re biphobic because they won’t admit that they’re really bi. I’ve also seen bisexual people claim that pansexual isn’t even a real identity because it was made up to justify being attracted to kids or animals which is just panphobic nonsense.

It makes me hate being a part of this community because I feel like if anyone should be accepting of people’s identities it should be the people in our own community, but I feel like most of the time, the nastiest, most invalidating people are within the lgbtq+/queer community. It’s usually from the better known identities trying to suppress some of the lesser known/accepted ones, but I’ve seen plenty of cases of trans people invalidating other trans people for not being trans enough, or gays for not being gay enough, ace people for not being ace enough, etc.

I just hate it. We’re all part of the same community and we’re all valid and we’re all equal (or at least I wish we could be.)