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douglysium · 9 months ago

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Episode 1 TMP Quick Thoughts

Hello, this is Douglysium and you might not know me as that guy who wrote over 100 pages of analysis on the Eye (which can be read on Tumblr here (https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/735599414228484097/the-relationships-between-the-dread-powers-the) or Google Docs here (The Relationships Between the Dread Powers: The Eye- Knowledge is Fear and Ignorance is Bliss)) or as that guy who wrote an article on the Extinction (which can be read on Tumblr here(https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/717929126195003392/what-would-avatars-of-the-extinction-be-like-a) and Google Docs here(What would Avatars of the Extinction be like?: A TMA Speculation)). Suffice to say I might be a bit of a TMA fan. Also, spoilers light for TMP up until about episode 6 or 7.

However, Protocol offers a very unique opportunity and experience for me because I didn’t actually get into TMA until after it was over and I binged all of it. So this is my first time experiencing something even remotely similar to what the original TMA fans probably experienced when waiting for each episode week by week and slowly having to put everything together with the limited information they had. So I decided to throw my hat into the ring since this might be my only chance to do something similar. However, I’m working on some longer form TMA content so I can’t spend as much time on these articles giving a bunch of super detailed thoughts. I will try to keep these short and that inevitably might mean some could have questions about why I think or predict certain things and in those cases I would probably recommend you read at least some of the two articles I mentioned above to get a better idea of where I’m coming from. This also means I won’t be giving you a play-by-play of every single thing that happens in the episode so I encourage you to listen to or read them yourselves and feel free to comment if you feel something is important.

These reviews are probably going to end up focusing mostly on the Entities and their manifestations as they are what I have thought about the most and spent the most time interpreting and there’s been a lot of… interesting theories floating around about how the Entities are manifesting that I want to go over.

Finally, I’m just going to say it right now, spoiler warning for all of The Magnus Archives. I know that Jon and co said one could start with Protocol and be fine, and while that’s probably true, media like this tends to be made in conversation with or take into consideration what came before it in the irl chronology in order to connect them. While I’m sure you could skip The Magnus Archives, I don't really see the point of skipping over it when we are already getting characters from TMA showing up in TMP in Protocol. So to me it’s pretty clear that if we want to understand the full picture of TMP and all the things it is trying to say then we can’t just try to pretend TMA doesn’t exist or scrub it away. Just because you could understand what’s happening without the context in broad strokes doesn’t mean you're getting all the nuances.

So let’s get started and I’ll try to keep this short with episode 1 “First Shift”.... After I address two common theories first.

Addressing “THE THEORY”

Something I want to get out of the way right now is that to me whatever government O.I.A.R. organization Sam and the gang are working for are clearly aligned with the Eye or some similar Entity. Now, I know what some people are going to start saying. There’s been a popular theory going around that the Entities have changed to new fears or are now based around desires instead of fear but to be honest I heavily disagree with those theories and they are extreme reaches in my opinion.

First off, we are told at the end of TMA by Jon, Annabelle, and The Web itself that according to its plan when the other Entities are dragged to another universe it should end up with them being dragged back outside the universe in the same state that they were in TMA. I’ve seen people argue that the Powers might have been separated, fused, or reshuffled but it’s important to note that the powers have always been heavily connected and nebulous in most aspects.

In MAG 80 (The Librarian) Leitner compares the Entities as being but pieces of a larger body: “Imagine, you are an ant, and you have never before seen a human. Then one day, into your colony, a huge fingernail is thrust, scraping and digging. You flee to another entrance, only to be confronted by a staring eye gazing at you. You climb to the top, trying to find escape and, above you, can see the vast dark shadow of a boot falling upon you. Would that ant be able to construct these things into the form of a single human being? Or would it believe itself to be under attack by three different, equally terrible, but very distinct assailants?” Meanwhile, in MAG 111 Gerard compares them to colors: “I always think it helps to imagine them like colours. The edges bleed together, and you can talk about little differences: “oh, that’s indigo, that’s more lilac”, but they’re both purple. I mean, I guess there are technically infinite colours, but you group them together into a few big ones. A lot of it’s kind of arbitrary. I mean, why are navy blue and sky blue both called blue, when pink’s an entirely different colour from red? Y’know? I don’t know, that’s just how it works. And like colours, some of these powers, they feed into or balance each other. Some really clash, and you just can’t put them together. I mean, you could see them all as just one thing, I guess, but it would be pretty much meaningless, y’know, like… like trying to describe a… shirt by talking about the concept of colour.” Gerard and Jon also go on to state “O-Of course, with these things it’s not a simple spectrum, y’know, it’s more like –An infinite amorphous blob of terror bleeding out in every direction at once.” So while I would personally argue the Dread Powers still sit on a sort of spectrum, the spectrum in question is a lot more soupy and amorphous than a strictly barebones color wheel and the edges bleed together.

Jon later points out to Martin that the categorization of Entities can’t always be simplified into neat little boxes. These also are important to understanding Jonah’s mass ritual as Jonah states in MAG 160 “Even those that seem to exist in direct opposition rely on each other for their definition as much as up relies on down. To try and create a world with only the Buried makes as much sense as trying to conceive a world with only down. Every ritual tied itself so closely to a single power as to render itself impossible. They could bring their patron close, but never sever it from the others, and eventually it would be violently pulled back into the place next to reality where they dwell.” Basically, what Jonah is saying is that light cannot exist without darkness or shadow to contrast it and light by its very nature will cast a shadow. So even if people say light and darkness are opposites they are really two sides of the same coin and need each other to exist as distinct concepts. The concept of darkness cannot exist unless you have light to compare it to and vice versa.

So I don’t think any Entities are being removed since losing an Entity would be like all the Entities blowing off their own arm if we use Leitner’s body analogy. The chance of the Entities being shuffled isn’t zero but the categories have always overlapped so it’s probably more likely that the new characters may use different categories than Smirke when referring to grouping the Entities. However, that wouldn’t suddenly mean that the Desolation or some other Power doesn’t exist, just that they are being viewed through a different lens than the previous universe.

Now, there has been a super popular theory floating around Reddit that the Entities are now drawing power from desires instead of fear. Which is a theory I personally don’t buy for a single second. There’s the earlier aforementioned point and goal of The Web’s plan sure but I also think the theory makes little sense since nothing about the first few episodes so far has really changed how the Entities have behaved in my opinion.

The truth is the Entities have always been heavily tied to desire, even in the original TMA Gertrude mentions that the Eye is also connected to the desire to know and understand even if in doing so you could get hurt.

We also know that people with certain desires or personalities are more likely to be attracted to certain Entities as they are more likely to intentionally or unintentionally cultivate their respective fear. It goes without saying that a person prone to violence and the desire to attack others is more likely to feed the Slaughter. If you want more specific examples, Jon is noted as being extremely curious and wanting to understand so he gravitated towards The Eye (an Entity revolving around the fear of knowledge, information, having secrets revealed, being found, etc.), Peter was an extreme loner so he gravitated towards The Lonely (an Entity connected to the fear of being alone) and Annabelle gravitated towards The Web and she is noted as having been extremely manipulative as a child.

Desire isn’t anything new in TMA and it acts as the flip side of the Powers that encourages people to hurt others due to specific desires and wants. For example, in TMP RedCanary fits with what we’ve seen of people connected to the Eye and a desire to know / see, and Daria’s desire for physical perfection resembles the gym we see Jared Hopworth running and the people in it trying to get the perfect body in TMA. We even see Daria’s roommate freak out when she sees her so I would say it’s more likely that the Flesh or some other similar Entity was reaching out to her and / or make her an Avatar, and Daria might not have even been the target for the Flesh’s fear but rather her roommate or the people around her. Then again we do get the description of a lot of fear during the tattoo session in the episode and the idea of someone permanently mutilating your body physically is very Flesh.

Hopefully, you understand a bit where I’m coming from now and why I won’t be using some of the common theories floating around as my frame of reference, since I feel like they sort of miss the complete picture or just try to pretend like TMA didn’t happen. So I’m working off the assumption that at most the Powers might be viewed differently but they are still intact enough to ascribe them to Smirke’s categories. This might turn out to be a mistake in the future (especially since this episode seems to be poking fun at those categories) but completely disregarding established information or trying to start from complete scratch is as equally likely to end up being a mistake. I also find the idea that the Fears just did a 180 and started feeding off of desire even though they are acting how they always have to be a stretch. Of course, the uncertainty and guesswork is part of the fun of doing these I suppose.

Episode 1: “First Shift”

Okay, back to what I was saying before. The O.I.A.R organization Sam, Teddy, Alice, and their coworkers are working for is almost definitely associated with the Eye or maybe some other similar Entity. We know in this universe the original Magnus Institute burned down at some point so it’s possible that the Eye looked for a new main center of power or place to conduct its ritual. We know the organization Teddy is working for is a government one and the Eye is also the fear of being watched. A fear that often goes hand-in-hand with the fear of government or something governments sometimes do to keep people in line.

The ability of the computers to play statements by searching through the internet and snooping into various forums, servers, private messages, etc. to find information it shouldn’t and share the with other people is very Eye and ironically in TMA we have seen a website that might have been aligned with the Eye called Sparksfly.com in “What The Ghost? - The Devil's Dance” as one of the podcast’s sponsors. Georgie Barker pitches the website by saying “Wouldn’t it be great if your dating service knew you as well as your friends do? Well, SparksFly.com does! In fact, they know you better than anyone. With SparksFly, there’s no need to fill out lengthy surveys; they get all the information they need from your browser history – Wow. Okay! What The Ghost? listeners get a month’s membership for free! No need for a code; (voice climbing higher) they already know who you are! (still at a markedly higher register) SparksFly: Privacy is just another word for loneliness?!(really fast) I-went-out-with-someone-I-met-online-once. (exhale) We didn’t have a lot in common; I mentioned the podcast, and he spent the rest of the night complaining about the Ghostbusters remake. But we had Thai food, so it was an okay date. I got the tofu Massaman curry.” So it’s a website that revolves around knowing too much.

We also see Sam share a major trait that those attracted to the Eye often have, extreme curiosity. Jon had this trait (which is partially why he was picked as being the Archivist by Jonah) and Jon, Tim, and Melanie went to the Institute for answers about their encounters with the supernatural. Once again, if you want to hear my full thoughts and explanations about the Institute you can see it here (The Relationships Between the Dread Powers: The Eye- Knowledge is Fear and Ignorance is Bliss).

Further emphasizing the Eye connections, it seems like something is watching and recording the people working in the facility. This could be The Eye but it’s important to consider that it could be The Web spying on people again for some new plan or in order to manipulate The Eye again. Right now it could go either way because we don’t know if the Eye can watch everyone in this facility like it could in The Magnus Institute so it might need to use devices such as cameras and microphones in this specific instance but it could also be The Web basically posing as The Eye again (like how several characters assumed the tapes to belong to The Eye before it was revealed to be connected to the Web in TMA) while it gathers information if we want to assume that The Eye would already know everything happening in the facility.

The computers in TMP have been pretty interesting. They are pretty old and while Entities can and have manifested as very modern technology, such as cameras, they are noted to be more likely to manifest as old objects (probably because things that have been around longer are more likely to be more engrained in the social conscience and have more associations an Entity can use). It could also simply be to highlight the oddity of the computers. They are too old of models to have any voice reading software yet they do anyway. Which probably implies something supernatural because the reading itself can't be coming from any technology. It could be coming from some sort of person, monster or even directly from the Eye. Of course, the computers are reading out statements. When asked what programs like FR3-d1 (FREDDY) do Alice says “It searches online databases, newspapers, forums or whatever for incidents, flags them, then passes them through to us for assessment.” Which just ties into compiling statements and what I said before about The Eye gathering information.

The job assigned to Sam and his coworkers seems to be to sort through statements which is one of the jobs the Archivists like Jon and Gertrude technically had in TMA. It was actually a major plot point that Gertrude purposefully made the Archives disorganized and Jon tried to reorganize them early in the series. When Sam starts reading the statement given to him he pauses and says “This is…” to which Alice replies “Yeah, they're all like that. At least this one is short, nice easy start for you. So, once you've read it, you get out the binder…” So… the statements are probably just as horrifying as ever and it’s important to point out this has always been one of the major themes of The Eye. The Eye doesn’t seem to just be the fear of being watched but knowledge in general. This can take the form of someone watching you or knowing secrets for sure but it can also take the form of you yourself having seen too much or witnessed something you didn’t want to. This is why Jonah can shove horrifying information into the heads of Melanie and Martin in TMA (he can force them to see or know things they don’t want to).

Additionally, in MAG 200 (Last Words) we learn in what order the Powers were born in and the fears that led to their creation and we get this: “and struggle at learning, so too did they learn to fear that their eyes might deceive them, or show them too much.” Here the “fear that their eyes might deceive them” is the Spiral while the fear of “being shown too much” is The Eye since none of the other fears mentioned in that statement match up with the Eye and clearly correspond with the other Entities.

So statements aren’t always just the fear of someone hearing a story but the idea of being forced to live / relive or witness something horrifying.

Anyway, after Alice pulls out a binder this interaction occurs

ALICE CONT.

“...And look up whatever’s mentioned most in the case. Looking at this one we go to “D” and… Sam, eyes on me now. We go to “D” and, right, would you say this is more "Dolls comma watching" or "Dolls comma human skin".”

SAM

“(a bit shell-shocked) I- Uh- I mean- I guess the human skin bit is only implied, so... both?”

ALICE

“Nah you can only pick one, Freddy's dumb as rocks. Right, so, after each entry there's four numbers. That’s the DPHW. So, “dolls comma watching” is... 1157. Then you cross reference with the table here, that would be a 2-C, and then you type that into the box here, along with date of incident if there is one and today’s date. Which gives us… Alice’s quickly types.”

ALICE CONT.

“CAT2RC1157-12052022-09012024 and then we hit submit.”

This is actually a very enlightening interaction. Something TMA touched on is that while sorting the Entities can be useful for noting certain interactions or behaviors it can easily reach a point of hubris if one tries to perfectly map and understand the fears. As Jon points out to Martin Post-Change, the categories of the Entities are just boxes and they don’t always fit cleanly into them. The Entities are actually all connected as one larger whole and can overlap greatly or multiple Entities can be at play at once,

In MAG 80 Leitner compares all the Entities to being body parts of a larger whole and the seemingly obtuse way of organizing the statement Sam is seeing are actually thematically very similar to a Domain we see in MAG 183 known as “The Monument.” Jon described the Domain as “homage” or mockery to people like Roberte Smirke. “A monument. To him and those like him, who tried to… categorise the world with themselves at the centre. In so doing, constructed the architecture of its suffering.”

Martin even points out that the architecture looks similar to the Institute to which Jon says “It makes sense. After all, it was built on the ruins of what Robert Smirke constructed.” So while the categories are fun and useful, TMA goes out of its way on several occasions to show that trying to cleanly organize, separate, and / or understand them perfectly is an act of hubris. I’m not sure if the Entities have a sense of humor but considering that an entire Domain was meant to comment on the absurdity and obtuseness of trying to perfectly organize the Entities and range of human fear as pointed out by Jon then something on a smaller scale could very well be possible.

The fact that Sam and company are only allowed to pick a single category for the dolls “wearing skin” or “watching” despite both being present further highlights the oversimplification at play. Wearing skin is something often seen with The Stranger and it has a connection to many dolls because of the fear of the uncanny valley. However, The Eye has a major emphasis on watching and the idea of an unblinking glassy eye fits very well with what we know of the Entity. Also, as mentioned earlier Entities can manifest as almost everything and on top of that we have seen people, Domains, and artifacts connected to multiple Entities at the same time. Martin was connected to the Lonely and Eye, his Domain was connected to the Eye and Lonely, and Gertrude mentions the Key of Solomon being a leitner connected to more than one Entity. There have even been statements with multiple Entities appearing and attacking the same person, such as in MAG 20 (Desecrated Host) with Father Edwin Burroughs. Who at least encounters The Eye and Flesh and possibly even more Entities.

After Sam submits his report he becomes curious as to where it goes but Alice doesn’t seem interested. In this regard Sam is actually quite similar to Jon and many other followers of the Eye and their attempts to understand everything that is happening. I’m not sure if Sam will become an Avatar but I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up pulled into The Eye’s clutches (if he’s not in them already).

We then get a statement from NORRIS which Alice pauses and explains that apparently the voices started appearing about a year ago. There is a rather shoddy explanation about a sound card so I think most likely this was of supernatural origin. The appearance of the voices could potentially mark when the Entities, like The Eye, showed up in this universe but it’s important to mention that we don’t actually know when the Entities showed up in this universe. We know that time can become finicky when traveling from universe to universe. This is shown in MAG 114 with Anya. Interestingly, when she went into the gap in reality The Web was making it was April 23rd 2009 HOWEVER when she came out it was April 9th 2009 and when she gave the statement she said the 23rd was somehow tomorrow which made no sense. So one thing we have to ask ourselves is how parallel does this univere’s timeline run with the original because it seems like different universes may be at different points in their timeline even if this universe is very similar. So much so that one universe may be several days “behind” another as a possibility. So when the Entities got dragged to the new universe we can’t actually rule out that the Entities may have shown up way earlier in that universe than when they left the TMA universe due to these universal “timezones” at play. They could have easily ended up years or decades earlier in this universe than the TMA universe we started in. Heck, it’s not even impossible that they were sent to the beginning of this universe (but that’s less likely than the idea that they just appeared during the stone age or something).

Alice also mentions that Colin wanted to “destroy the computers with a hammer” when the voices started which ties into what I said earlier about The Eye and not wanting to know something via sight or hearing.

Before we talk about NORRIS’ statement it’s interesting to note that there are three voices, with CHESTER and AUGUSTUS being the other two, and NORRIS and CHESTER being the most common. This is an interesting detail and may point to some factor at play that is preventing the voices from being completely random. Maybe they each read different types of statements or statements with different qualities? Maybe they pull statements from different places, different entities, or it’s just that they are loosely based on how much fear the statement might elicit in the listener or even just the length? I can’t say.

Anyway, we listen to NORRIS’ statement from Harriet Winstead and it appears that her partner, Arthur, was at some point taken in the night and replaced with something. When Harriet asks “Arthur” if it’s really him he says “Some of him.” This is almost definitely The Stranger at play. This plays out basically exactly like an encounter with other Stranger related beings such as the infamous “Anglerfish” from TMA. If we believe Annabelle’s explanation from TMA it’s even possible that the Anglerfish got pulled into this new universe due to being part of the Stranger as a monster. The Stranger embodies the fear of the unknown and the uncanny and while this statement does take place at night and mention shadows I can’t really say it relates to an Entity like The Dark all that much. Considering how strangely Arthur is noted to be moving I assume that the Stranger is feeding off the fear of encountering something uncanny (in that it resembles something / someone you know but is noticeably off) or the fear of someone changing so much you don’t know who they are anymore if not just the idea of someone being replaced by a total stranger. It could also be more simply encountering someone who has an issue you can’t identify.

Sam mentioned how upsetting the statement was which ties into what I said earlier and seems similar to the statements on the tapes in TMA. Martin was similarly noted to be rattled or mentally worn down when taking statements on at least one occasion.

Gwen is very interesting since she seems super invested in accurately categorizing the statements, unlike Alice. This obsession with categorizing and understanding the Entities or their manifestations is something we have seen with Angus Stacey (a previous Archivist who apparently wanted to recategorize Smirke’s Fourteen) and even Smirke himself. So this desire to categorize does have a precedent, especially for Eye related people or factions as we see with Angus. Gwen also prides herself on her accuracy.

Gwen is pulled into Lena’s office who confronts her about her behavior from earlier in the episode and Lena says “If you hate working here so completely, you are perfectly within your rights to resign. No one is forcing you to stay here.” to which Gwen responds “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I think this might actually be a cheeky TMA reference since within TMA Jon and company were quite literally being forced to keep working at the Institute due to a magically binding contract. How much Lena actually knows about the Entities or if there’s a similar force at play here is up in the air. Lena could be being quite literal here or sort of challenging Gwen to try it / call her bluff. It might also be ironic that a Bouchard has the option to quit but doesn’t.

Gwen also reveals she really wants Lena’s job which is extremely interesting since we later learn her last name is BOUCHARD in the credits. The last name Jonah took when he stole Elias’ identity. The fact that a Bouchard was the boss of the Institute in the previous universe and Gwen wants to be the boss of this organization is a very interesting parallel. It could point to the fact that Gwen knows something but that remains to be seen.

Sam encounters Colin and Colin eventually explains that he’s been tasked with developing an app and maintaining / fixing the computers but it’s very obtuse and nonsensical as he metaphorically bangs his head against it. This desire to understand a piece of old hardware is actually similar to an Eye related statement from TMA in MAG 148 (Extended Surveillance) involving a “Security Camera Instruction Manual.” Upon reading the Leitner the victim ends up metaphysically fusing with the camera system the manual is tied to but that’s not the important part. The important part is what led to Samson Stiller reading the manual in the first place. Specifically, a desire to understand and fix the camera system. Similarly, we have someone here struggling with an old system of technology that might also be tied to The Eye.

Gwen encounters Sam later and they have this interaction-

GWEN

“So what is it then?”

SAM

“Hmm?”

GWEN

“The awful, terrible thing that landed you here?”

SAM

“Does it have to be awful and terrible?”

GWEN

“Usually.”

This is very interesting because it shows Gwen is recognizing a pattern. A pattern we also see in TMA with characters like Jon, Tim, and Melanie who all joined the Institute looking for answers after strange encounters with the supernatural. It wouldn’t surprise me if, like the Institute that has burned down at this point, the O.I.A.R acts as both a way to feed off the fear of various encounters but also as bait to draw curious people to The Eye who then either give statements or end up aligned with the Eye.

Chester then gives us another statement (2 statements in one episode is quite the treat). This one is about someone named “RedCanary” investigating the ruins of the Institute during some spelunking. The Institute is noted as being “cleared” despite having no pictures which I think ties into The Eye’s relation to the idea of curiosity and wanting to see something even if doing so could put you in danger. When RedCanary attempts to upload the pictures they take they mention that they aren’t uploading. I think this could be The Eye trying to stoke curiosity since the lack of pictures means more people are likely to interpret the ruins of the Institute as not cleared and investigate the ruins in the future. It’s very possible or likely that despite being ruins the Eye still holds a lot of power there. RedCanary mentions that the ruins are in surprisingly good shape and seem like they haven’t been touched since the fire. But if the area is marked as “cleared” I wonder if someone did actually go to the ruins before but since they couldn’t upload the pictures there was just no evidence.

RedCanary says “It's got a really cool vibe, though. Like, if you’d told me it was a Victorian asylum or something before the fire I reckon I’d have believed you” which is ironic given that the Institute in TMA was heavily connected to a panopticon (which is a type of prison “with cells arranged around a central well, from which prisoners could at all times be observed”). Although, the original Institute wasn’t actually located on top of the panopticon and was later moved to London and built on top of it.

RedCanary mentions picking up a strange box and they are warned to not take it from the site. To which RedCanary says this “I know the rules. I’m going to go put it back, ok? So you can call off the dogs. I don’t need anonymous DMs calling me a thief or threatening me. I can dox people too, you know.” Doxxing is defined as “search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the internet, typically with malicious intent.” which ties in very well with The Eye’s theme of being found or revealing secrets.

RedCanary then begins to act very strangely. They post an image that’s taken down with the caption / description “Canaries should stay above ground.” An image so horrifying it needs to be taken down or people don’t want to see it ties into what I said earlier about the Eye and “seeing too much.” This is further emphasized by FlowersUnderground saying “Gross! Can we get some Mod action over here?” BadGrav31 says “What the hell is that? Are those eyes? Are you alright?” Pointing to this most likely be an incident relating to The Beholding since it likes to manifest as eyes in order to let people know they are being watched. It could be one of the other Entities like The Flesh and its body horror but I’ve already pointed out how much of this statement seems to parallel The Eye the most (and I think it’s rather fitting). It’s even taking place within the ruins of the Magnus Institute. Which was a place that was connected to The Eye (at least in the original timelines).

It’s also interesting that this specific statement plays after Gwen questions Sam as to why he’s here and we later learn Sam is trying to find information on the Magnus Institute. I wonder if The Eye or someone else is feeding Sam this info to stoke his curiosity, like both The Eye and Jonah did to Jon in TMA.

After that whole thing we later get this interaction between Alice and Sam

ALICE

Was it really that bad?

SAM

No worse than you warned me.

Although setting me up like that with the IT guy was

ALICE

Hilarious, I know. It’s win-win - you get a job, I get a fresh victim. It’s all in your contract.

SAM

Don't remember signing that particular bit of the paperwork.

ALICE

Gotta read the fine print, kiddo.

This could be a reference to TMA since Jon and co signed a contract that tied them to the Institute. Making them fresh victims for Jonah and we know that the contract in the Institute wasn’t a normal one. Of course, I’m not saying Alice is being literal, I’m saying this is a moment of irony for TMA fans.

Alice and Sam have another interesting interaction.

SAM

Do you- Is there- What’s up with them? You think they’re real?

ALICE

Alice exhales.

I don’t see how they could be? Mostly I try not to think of them like that, like, things that might or might not have really happened. They're just words on the screen.

SAM

I've no real idea what the OIAR even is.

Alice mentions she tries to not think about them, which ties into what I said about the idea of seeing or knowing too much in relation to The Eye. Just don’t think about it and try not to perceive it, you don’t want to, and ignorance is bliss.

We cut to one of the computers turning on and we hear Colin say this “(slightly manic) You’re not as clever as you think you are. You think you've got us all fooled, that no-one knows you're listening, But I do. I know. I’m going to find you and then… ” So someone or something is definitely listening. Whether it’s the Eye, Web, some monster or person aligned with one or more of them remains to be completely confirmed. Of course, the fear of being monitored or watched feeds the Eye.

Closing

Anyway, that’s my quick thoughts on this episode alongside some of the early TMP threads. I’m going to try to do one of these for each episode as they come out and I’ll try to keep them shorter but that may be hard.

#TheMagnusProtocol #TheMagnusArchives #TMA #TheEye #the entities #Analysis

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wereallylostnowbois · 6 months ago

Text

Echoes of Wisdom first thoughts

Full disclosure i meant to get this post out yesterday but circumstances prevented it

Im not going to be doing much "theorizing" so much as just commenting on things that I think are neat.

And to start, first and foremost, ZELDA'S GOTTEN HER OWN GAME!!!!! IM SO HYPE!!!

Though with prior statements from various loz directors over the years I can't help but wonder why now? Even as of very recently their stance has been that Link is the protagonist and will always be the protagonist. I joke sometimes that this is because the cdi games scared them away from doing a protagonist Zelda, but in truth its probably because if Link isn't heroing then what is his narrative purpose? I'd be curious to know what internal decision led to us finally getting Zelda as a protagonist.

And on that note: meaningfully different gameplay as a consequence of a different protagonist!!! Fighting enemies via clever usage of environmental pieces is a lot more Zelda than swinging a sword around. The narration doesn't mention this, but if you watch closely in the demo section for the echoes you can see the echoes begin to flash yellow a few seconds after being summoned. I theorize that this probably means the limitation on echoes is a time one rather than a quantity one. Do with this info what thou wilt.

I will admit I am surprised though, in side games where Zelda is playable she tends towards a similar moveset to Link, though you won't see me complaining about this change.

On to the smaller details.

Based on this small feature we see in the overview shot I think we can reasonably conclude this is the same Hyrule as in alttp and albw, as only those games feature this field of stones. I won't do any timeline speculation because I find such things inane, but I will helpfully note that whatever area Zelda emerges from after the sequence with Ganon is southeast of Lake Hylia, a part of this map we don't get to see much of. From this angle we should also be able to see Link's House, as it resides just south of Hyrule Castle, but its nowhere to be found, so the map probably isn't identical, only similar, in probably the same way alttp and albw are similar to each other.

The Great Deku Tree is here and appears to have a very oot-ish design, which paired with the Deku Scrub seen later in the trailer has me a bit nostalgic.

The dias here has a similar vibe to the Master Sword pedestal in many prior games, though bears nothing save for the design of the Triforce. This is probably a place where Zelda will get an upgrade of some variety, though who can say what that might be. Based on the mist this is almost certainly somewhere in the Lost Woods, where Link obtains the Master Sword in uh. Oh so many games.

Of further note, this is our first time seeing both kinds of zora in the same setting. I can't help but wonder what the story is here, but I don't see any use speculating from the few frames we got.

This game will also mark the second appearance of the Gerudo in a top down loz game, with Four Swords Adventures being the first. The presence of a desert town also furthers my note that this is the alttp hyrule, but also isn't. Perhaps the bounds of the map have expanded?

Im obligated to wonder why Zelda seems to be sneaking in though.

Based on the motif of floating islands it seems like we'll be able to traverse the world Hyrule is being consumed by, which follows with the "two worlds" motif most loz games have. In the opening shots of the trailer we see that Ganon's Trident is what opens the initial portal to this place, and in fsa certain npcs will mention the trident being used to banish people to the Dark World, but I hesitate to confirm its identity just yet. It certainly doesn't look like any iteration of the Dark World we've seen before. Reminds me more of Another Dimension from Kirby honestly.

And speaking of Ganon, his classic design makes an appearance! He's got his throwable trident and silly ping pong magic! Look at him go! To do the most mild amount of timeline speculation, because he seems to be enacting a plot of some variety (kidnapping Zelda) this has to take place before the Oracle games, as post-Oracle he's rendered a mindless beast by a failed resurrection. Thats my obligatory timeline note for the month tho.

Not even gonna open the can of worms that is speculation on Tri. I just wanted to say that I love this design. So marketable plushie.

If you were, however, to press me for speculation. I would then make note of the fact that at the end of alttp the Triforce speaks. No one has ever been clear on why. I've mostly lent myself to the assumption that this is because alttp was the first loz game to have any solid lore. Stuff was weird back then. Best to not worry about it.

In any case, these have been my non-comprehensive immediate thoughts. Im looking forward to playing this game.

#lore #not theory #ish #legend of zelda #loz #echoes of wisdom #im feeling brave today so hello main tag

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wu-sisyphus-gang · 3 years ago

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Motion Sickness Chapter 85

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"What can you give me about Hill and her huntresses?" Ironwood asked me as we walked briskly up to his office.

"Fiona has some sort of matter absorption semblance. Evidently she can put a plane in her pocket and walk away. It's Striker ranged and probably limited to non-living things, I'm speculating on that bit. Still, it's supposed to be fairly wicked. May has the invisibility field. It's got a decent radius and it's mobile. It fucked with one of my own operations once. Sabotaged me. Then there's Joanna. She's got super strength, classic Brute," I informed him. "You want me here for this? I've had a run one with them before."

"You'll be with me," he affirmed. He swung the doors open to his office and he sat down at his desk.

I took to a corner by the window. I folded my arms. My sword hilt extended over my head.

"Their weapons?" Ironwood asked me.

"These crossbow staves. Probably modifiable with dust rounds. Except Hill. She's got a crossbow with blades on either side. My man described it as like a fan or an accordian."

"Your man?"

"A union leader down in Mantle. That's how he worked with Hill. You want the details?"

He shook his head. He steepled his hands before him and we waited. Penny came skipping into the room. She saw me, smiled, and waved at me. I grinned back at her and nodded.

"Oh are we acting brooding? I'll do my best." She imitated me by the far side of the long window.

"I don't need to act. I am brooding," I laughed back. "But yeah. A little."

"Hill should be up any minute."

"Good. I was getting tired of looking relaxed."

"I'm glad you two get along," Ironwood mumbled. "It bodes well. For you in particular, Strife."

"Eh, it's mostly Ruby." I kicked my foot around, rolling out my left ankle.

"Don't say that. I thought we were friends."

"We are, Penny. I'm trying to brood, though."

"I see…"

Hill pushed her way into the room with a small smile. She took me and Penny in. She had Fiona with her and another woman I recognized as Joanna Greenleaf from a photo.

Fiona nudged Hill. "That's him. Cloud Strife. The killer mercenary."

Hill glanced at me. "I've heard a bit about you, done some nasty business in my town. What? You working for Ironwood now?"

"For the foreseeable future. Judge ordered. You could probably find out about it. Given your seat," Ironwood returned from behind his steepled fingers.

"You give up the merc life?" She asked. Her question directed at me.

"For now," I answered.

"You're a dangerous man, Strife, I'd be glad to hear you're playing for the good guys. If that's what's going on here."

"It sort of is. You fucked with my operation. Don't think I don't know."

"I did nothing illegal. Nothing anybody could prove at any rate." She showed her teeth. I liked her. "Not like you and Taurus."

"You heard anything about him?" I wondered. "I have a blood score to settle with the bastard."

"Not a peep. He's been laying low. Like I thought you and your illusionist were. Color me surprised to find you standing beside the General. Right beside the protector of Mantle after the shit you pulled."

Maybe this was why Ironwood wanted me here. To divert her focus. I doubted he wanted me for moral support. He wanted me on as a distraction. So I'd be as distracting as possible.

"Those charges were dropped," Penny said.

"You hear that?" I asked. "It's like I never did it."

"But you did do it," Fiona spat. "You killed people."

"Interesting way you phrased that," Hill said with a hand raised at Fiona beside her.

"I only killed other criminals." I shrugged. "And I got time served with a hefty fine."

"Meaningless to someone like you," Hill countered.

"Not meaningless. Just the best I could have hoped for."

"But are you reformed? Do you serve Atlas and Mantle well?" Robyn wondered.

"To the very best of my ability, I protect the people now."

"Will you swear by it?" Hill held out her hand.

"Sure. I'll promise." I took her hand. Purple flowed over my hand as I took hers and it wreathed both of us. "What do you want me to say?" I asked. Words could be very particular.

"That you serve as a guardian to the people, now."

"I serve as a guardian to the people now." I echoed. I technically did before too. Her aura flashed green. It must have registered as true because she reclined looking satisfied.

"Now that that's settled we can get down to business. When will the new tower be ready for launch?"

"Classified. You shouldn't even know about the tower," Ironwood returned.

"But I do. And this will go smoother if we work together, General. I can vote in your favor or I can vote against you at every turn. I can even raise a vote of no confidence."

The General grimaced. I think that he hoped I'd buy him more time before the nitty-gritty.

Robyn leaned over his desk and spread her palms on it. Hunching over on him.

"What's it gonna be, General? I can do worse besides. I can petition to have your council seat taken away. How long will your precious tower take to get completed then. Work with me. I just want to talk."

"You want to talk for now."

"That's right," Hill returned. "I might change my mind based on what I hear, too." At least she was open and clear about it. The value of her prizing honesty.

"The launch is two months out." Ironwood stated.

He stood up and towered over Hill with her slumping over the desk. She recoiled back and stretched to her full height. It was still nowhere near the General and closer to me though she was tall for a woman.

"All of our attention has been on raising the tower and restoring communications between the kingdoms."

"Even though Mantle suffers," she murmured.

I thought about saying something like 'Mantle always suffers' but I kept my mouth shut. It wasn't the time. Never let be said I couldn't be diplomatic.

"Some sacrifices have had to be made to get things done but we're in the final stretch now. No going back."

"I want things to get better for Mantle, General. And fast."

"I'm working as fast as I can," Ironwood vowed.

"I want you to slow down the launch of it means things can get better for Mantle. Diverting both supplies and huntsmen."

"That isn't practical."

"Practical be damned. Mantle always bears the lion's share of the suffering for Atlas. All for it's floating neighbor. You want me to not vote against you at every turn so this project gets completed? You're going to have to make concessions. That means voting my way on minimum wage increases and miner safety standards. Even if those safety standards set back your little project."

Ironwood sighed. It sounded like she had him in a corner.

"We are so close." He grunted. He sounded frustrated and exasperated. "So close to getting this project done. For everybody's benefit."

"Well it just got further away. One way or another. Not one more miner will die for this or anything else. They matter to me. What's it gonna be, James?"

"Friends call me James. You can call me Ironwood or General."

"Petty," she clicked her tongue. She had him in a vice though. She'd be petty and slow down the project too. She was a woman of her word. No one with a semblance like that wouldn't be.

"It sounds like I've got little choice. Just know that once my project is complete I won't back down so easily anymore."

"I'm counting on it, General," she turned on a clicking heel and left. Her tour de force departed with her.

"Sorry. I tried but she wasn't going to be distracted. Not by me and not by Penny."

Ironwood groaned. "The launch just got set back a month. Minimum. And if I start capitulating now who knows when it will end."

"She's a woman of her word. So you've got that going for you."

"At least it wasn't Jacque Schnee," Penny chipped in brightly. "This election could have gone much worse. She's willing to work with you if you work with her."

My scroll chirped. I pulled it out of my pocket.

"Strife. Who’s this?"

"Aurum. I've got a hit on your lady friend. She's here. She's threatening me. She demanded my information. She was asking the same sort of questions you were. I need to know what that's about now."

"You don't. I'll be there."

"My life is on the line! She immolated my men!"

"Try and hold her there. I'm coming. Let's get lucky and kill her."

"Sorry Cloud but I have got to do what I got to do to protect my business."

"Just hold her. I'm on my way."

I cut the connection.

"Something important?" Ironwood asked.

"I got a hit on Cinder. She's about to burn one of my contacts to death. I need to get there."

Ironwood nodded. "Do you need reinforcements? I'll call Ace Ops."

"Better call Team RWBY too and put them on standby with Qrow. She's at The Den."

"I'm sending Penny with you."

"Let's go Penny." I said with a nod by the door. "You and I will fly there."

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Penny and I swooped down on The Den. "You take her accomplices. Let me worry about Cinder."

"Do you believe that you can defeat her?"

"We're about to find out." Let’s hope that sounded confident.

I bust in the door to find the club empty and quiet. The lack of music and the distant smell of inhalants gave the place a void like feeling. It was strangely empty and lacking.

"Sorry Cloud. It's nothing personal. Just business, you understand." It was Aurum's voice coming from the top floor above me. "She forced me. You get it."

There was the clink of glass heels on the floor above us and Cinder Fall came into view.

"You," she purred. "Jaune Arc was it? I owe you for when last we met." Her one eye glowed like embers.

"It was. Not anymore. It's Cloud now."

"A change in name will mean little to my mistress. You're her son."

"Hardly. She didn't raise me," I shot back. I drew the broadsword from over my shoulder. I gripped the enormous handle beneath the titanic cross guard the shield helped form.

"She has bade me not kill you and your sisters have a certain fury I would dread but whatever happens happens," she sung. She spread her fingers and a flame grew across them. "You would have had me last time if not for my maiden powers. Powers which have doubled. I'm sure you are aware. And you've been spying for me. Through this rabble but you've been on the look out nonetheless."

She made Aurum call me, then. Aurum dashed out the exit, trying to keep his life intact and escaping while we were both distracted. Cinder set a trap for me. Sustrai stepped out from behind Cinder with Black in tow. I watched and my vision faded as Sustrai narrowed her eyes at me. She was trying to use her semblance on me.

I shouted at Penny and I watched a blurring kaleidoscope fly up to them and slash out at Emerald with ten floating blades appendages. My vision snapped back into focus and in perfect time for me to see Cinder descending on me with flames pouring from her feet to aid her assault. As she flew she left fire behind on the glass dance floor. I met a strike from her similarly glass weapons and stuttered back a step on the dance floor.

I activated my semblance and brought my weapon around to match her. I drew an electric crystal from my pocket. I crushed it in my palm and sent a thunderbolt at her. She blocked it by crossing her weapons and her one eye flared at me with the power of the maidens. She gestured and a half dozen fireballs floated into place before her. She blew gently. Like she was blowing a kiss at me, I didn’t catch it, and I was forced to dance out of the way of the fireballs.

I went through them. I rolled and floated towards her through the conflagration. I stabbed my sword downward and tore up glass as I pushed it screeching across the dance floor towards her. She met my strike with both her weapons crossed.

Then she struck out at me in high, low, high fashion, alternating each blade. She twirled with the motion and I was forced on the defensive, blocking each one of her attacks. I never let her truly get close to me with the enormous blade between us.

She waved her palm and a flare shot up inside the tight room towards me. I couldn't be sure how Penny was doing against her two opponents because I was too focused on Cinder.

I blocked her and seesawed my weapon down on her. Sparks flew from her glass weapons from where my Titania edge but down into them.

"I'm going to kill you this time. We'll see how my Mother takes that," I whispered. I spoke softly as I threatened her. As I made my vow.

Lightning ran up her weapons and into my arms. It made me tremble in pain for a moment before she pushed me off of her and kicked me in my exposed chest. Then she flew at me.

"Aren't you quite the little rebel. Doing what makes mommy mad?" She laughed at that.

"Oh I'll piss her right the fuck off. Can't imagine she was happy I didn't bring the relic to her."

She pointed her sword at me and there was a kazzap of lightning. I blocked it on the edge of my weapon but she just swung her weapon around her body again. A trail of fire emanating from it and growing larger until she whipped a lash of red hot blaze right at my head.

I rolled again and came up thrusting at her, forcing her to block. She swung at me with one of her glass weapons but at the far range of my weapon I was too distant and she miscalculated.

She dropped into a crouch and pointed both her weapons at me and there was another mighty kazizzle of electricity. I jumped over it and brought my weapon down on her head in a move that forced her to block with both of her own. It shattered the dance floor around us for yards and yards. All the way to the edge near the bar.

"You're right of course. She was most displeased. She will punish you for it given the opportunity. I think not, however. You will die here."

She waved her hand and a gale picked up. All the glass from the once smooth and now shattered dance floor flew up from it. She gestured at me and I hunkered behind the wide edge of my weapon and weathered the storm of glass pellets. Some struck into my aura and chipped it away. I held firm against the wind.

Blue light still licked at my body but it seemed like my semblance would not be enough. I couldn't imagine spending it and then being forced to fight her without it. If I spent it, when I spent it, it would have to be for the kill. I could use it for no other purpose. And it would probably have to be the Octa slash. No other attack would do enough damage in a single go to take her down except maybe a Finishing Touch.

I'd hardly touched her. Hadn't touched her, I realized.

When the gale broke down she hit me hard with both flaming feet. Not as hard as Penny had with a similar move but hard enough to send me stumbling back. Next she delivered three lighting fast diagonal slashes to my torso. She ripped away massive chunks of my aura.

Then she thrust forward and I blocked to the side. Her weapon buried in my personal soul based force field to the hilt right next to my head. She still managed to rip away a chunk of blue light from my body.

Things were seriously not good. Her magic was too much for me and her competence with a blade in each hand was nothing to scoff at.

I kicked her back. A move that caught her in the gut. Then I swung my blade towards her head in a massive strike that she caught with both her weapons. Making yet another 'x' shape. It seemed to be her go to in order to block against my titanic sword.

I screamed and flew at her. Closing the little distance between us with a shoulder check that knocked her to the ground.

I danced at her, flowing like water as she caught herself on one hand and tried to cartwheel back but I chased her roll now that she was out of position. Now that she was in serious disadvantage and close to me I made to capitalize on it.

I caught up to her and hit her once vertically diagonally downward and to the right. Then I reversed and came diagonally up and to the left. Then I can back down on her diagonally and from the right once more in a staggering triple hit. The kind I'd seen do twenty-five percent or more of Ruby's aura when I wasn't Limit Broken. When I wasn't Limitless.

I didn't spend the charge on it but I did shout, a scream left my lips as I performed the move with exertion. It flung her back and into one of the bars and into the wall in a shattering of glass and bottles.

She flew out of the hole in the wall and through the crevice her body had left in the bar. A trail of flame coming behind her and at her feet. I flew to meet her and where we struck the ground rippled like it was made of liquid for a moment before elasticity caught up with it and it shattered.

I was taller than her. I was conventionally stronger, too. Especially while Limit Break was active and I slowly lowered my weapon down onto her while her back twisted from trying to match me in the crater on the floor.

She kicked my leg at the hip but I only grunted and took it. I took one hand off my blade and backhanded her hard with my knuckles. Then I slid forward a step and reversed my hand and grabbed her by the throat and picked her up into the air. I pulled her in and kneed her in the stomach hard enough to make spittle fly from her lips.

Then Mercury came flying and kicked me in the back. Then he shot me in the back with both of his boot guns.

I twisted to my feet again on a pocket of air. He was breathing hard. So was Cinder where I'd knocked the wind out of her.

I wasn't much better and now that they were alone Emerald let out a scream where Penny slammed her hard into a wall.

"Ma'am…" Mercury trailed.

"Save Emerald," Cinder hissed.

Then I gambled. I dashed forward like I was going to hit Cinder. Then I spent Limit on a thrust but not at her. I thrust up and into Mercury's aura and then into his chest in a crackle of violet energy.

Blood flew from his lips as I speared him. Penny had done enough work for this to pay off and from the sounds of things she'd defeat Emerald too.

"No," Cinder whispered. The battle was out of her favor.

"Yes!" I roared. The edge was ours now.

I watched as Emerald plucked herself from the wall and fell to her knees. A tear on her face as we all saw Mercury slide onto my six foot blade.

"Emerald! Get us out of here!" Cinder called.

I swung my sword and Mercury flopped off the blade. He was already dead. I flexed and started charging my next semblance. With slow promise I stood and began the charge. Soon.

"Emerald!" Cinder barked. I was assaulted with a massive illusion. Penny was too from the way she stepped back in shock on the second floor. A gigantic image of my Mother rose from the twisted glass and roared.

Cinder burned a hole in the wall and grabbed Emerald's sobbing form and fled. I was too shocked by the cyclopean vision of my Mother to move.

"Cloud!" Penny called to me distantly. I fell to my knees before the image of my Mother and held my hands up like I was expecting an attack, I fumbled my sword with dumb hands. My brain burned and my mind was ajar.

Mother…

I thought. And despite that I knew it was an illusion. Despite the distance between us I heard her answer.

“My son…”

"No…" I whimpered.

“Yes…”

The voice seethed.

“Yes… you belong to me… I am your mistress…”

I could feel her shadow on the corner of my mind. She twisted into me and trapped me between agonies I knew weren't true.

"Cloud are you alright?"

The massive image of my Mother faded. But she lingered on my brain. A growing pressure. I howled in pain. She raked at my body and I convulsed.

"Cloud, it wasn't real."

"She's in my… my… my…" I stuttered like a broken record player. Then I started to froth at the mouth. I seized on the broken dance floor.

“My son… my precious son…”

"Oh my gods!" I heard Penny cry. "Don't worry, Cloud, help is on the way!"

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-WG

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tgammsideblog · 4 years ago

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Ghost Lore in The Ghost and Molly Mcgee

Instead of talking about the show’s production and characters, this time i´m going to do something different: Talk about the ghost lore that has been revealed until now as well as some speculations.*

First, In terms of appearance, Most ghosts revealed until now are between a shade of blue and green. Scratch´s color is blue/light blue. The unnamed popular ghosts from the flashback are blue and green. They also lack legs and they are always seen floating around.

One detail i like is how they have different body types, it gives them more variety in design. Scratch is short while others are more taller in comparison.

One common aspect they share is they all mostly have yellow eyes with thick dark lines and blue-green rounded noses. Some also have ¨hair¨ that may cover their eyes if it´s too long.

When it comes to their body, they are able to shapeshift into whatever form they prefer. They can grown three to four times their size to scare and intimidate others. They are also able to stretch their arms to grab objects that are a few metres away. However, they can be changed back to their ¨base¨ form if they are squeezed enough or rolled up.

Ghosts are tangible as seen by how Molly is able to hug Scratch without any effort. They are semi-transparent as well since a person can see things through them like they were a glass. It hasn’t been shown if they can make themselves untangible but it wouldn´t be surprising if they are able to.

A ghost may lose control of their base form when squeezed enough or hits against a hard object. However, they can regenarate themselves very quickly and turn back to their base form. They don´t appear to be suffer from mayor injuries because of their supernatural nature. A Ghost may lose their eyes or nose by accident and they be easily put back in their face.

Another thing is that they are able to make themselves invisible. In one of the animatics of the songs, Molly is seen playing the piano with other ghost who remains invisible while Molly's teacher are watching her.

They have their own world called the Ghost world. Very little is known from this place except for the fact that it has been implied that ghosts have different status in the ghost world that depend on their ¨popularity¨. Popular ghosts appear to have certain benefics that less popular ghosts don´t have: In the flashback in the two minute sneak peek Scratch isn´t allowed to enter inside a building that is exclusive for popular ghosts while he is kicked out it for not sharing this status. Some popular ghosts look down to him by saying things such as ¨He doesn´t belong here¨ and ¨Who does he think he is?¨.

It hasn´t been explained how a ghost becomes popular. If it has to do with their abilities, how many humans they are able to scare or how they used to live their life as humans. My theory is that it depends on their powers and how scary they are. The more powerful they are, the higher their status is.

Now for the question that i’m sure many reading this are wondering: Did ghosts used to be humans or are they just supernatural beings?

In my case i think they used to be humans because:

1) The fact that Scratch was living inside the house before the Mcgee family moved in there. Unless he considers the house a ¨special place¨, then there isn´t there any reason for him to stay in there, he can easily find another place to be. That’s why i think the house used to belong to Scratch when he used to be human and the reason he doesn’t want to share his space with the Mcgee. If i was a ghost and suddenly one day people started living at my house i would be angry too. (There’s the another possibility that Scratch is too selfish to search for another house to live).

2) Some of the ghosts have their very specific traits that makes them look like human like the ¨hair¨. I wonder if these were traits that they used to have when they were human. Each ghost appeara to have a unique form that reflects what they used to be like in their past lifes.

3) The creators mentioned an episode about Molly and Scratch ¨reviving¨ a bunch of dead people to start a band. This proves there might be a conection between ghosts and humans.

If they go with the ¨ghosts used to be humans¨ route, it would be a very interesting concept to explore. A few animated series have done this in the past (Hilda, Adventure Time) but i have´t seen many series that explore this in depth. That´s why i think it would be a great idea for the TGAMM crew to explore it.

* Note that many of this lore is based of Scratch's abilities. We don't know if all ghosts share the same powers or Scratch is unique in someway. Take this analysis with a grain of salt because i may be proven wrong when the series airs.

#The Ghost And Molly McGee #The Curse Of Molly McGee #molly mcgee #scratch the ghost #tgamm lore #ghost lore

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inverrerdise · 4 years ago

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“Get Away” MV Breakdown and Theories

Before I break down the patterns and themes in the MV, I first want to give a brief overview of what seems to be going on. This is, of course, my interpretation of the MV--if you have a different take on what happened please share with me!! I love discussing theories in MVs :D

Additional Note: I’ll do my best to summarize any information I think is important to the theory, but in some cases I’ve already discussed the topics in more detail in previous posts. So, you can feel free to check those out if you’re looking for more detail. For Thunder + Connect DIY Theory post click here and for the G.B.T.B. post click here.I apologize for typos or any other mistakes made.

The MV Overview:

Verivery has always played around with the ideas of clones/other versions of yourself in their other works, but this is the first time we see it so explicitly used. Get Away has a very clear good and evil dichotomy of Verivery and VRVR.

VRVR seem to be luring Verivery into their trap, inviting them to a nice dinner of celebration, tempting them with food and drinks that eventually turns Verivery gluttonous and eventually subdues them. VRVR seems to have the goal to be only version.

The letter:

Here is the transcription of the letter for anyone interested:

My dear friends,

We are confident that you will remember us, for we have always been with you and each moment spent was full of delight and wonder. This letter is to express our joy and thanks to you. Thus, we would like to present you a small gift. We believe this will be a meeting with a quaint yet delectable meal shared by wonderful people, such as you. However, it’s your job to find the key to this party. Let me be so kind to offer you a hint: Each possess a small point. 7 will make a large Point will open. Only this way will you be able to enter this festival that we have so elegantly prepared. Merely imagining the glorious spectacle makes our blood tingle with excitement. We will be waiting for you.

Yours truly,

VRVR

The part of the letter of most interest is this: “Let me be so kind to offer you a hint: Each possess a small point. 7 will make a large Point will open. Only this way will you be able to enter this festival that we have so elegantly prepared.”

Notably, the instructions to Verivery indicate that 7 people are needed to get into the party. Only the 6 of them are seen forming the circle that allows them into the party, but after Verivery have been transported to VRVR’s layer a mysterious figure appears in the forest. I will address this figure more later in the discussion on some of the possibilities on who, exactly, this is.

The masked man:

At the very beginning of the MV, a figure is seen running through the forest, running from the floating orb that we see later in the MV. He appears to be dressed in a black suit. Eventually he gets caught, and a mask is thrown over his head.

During this scene, a compass is shown on the man’s wrist. The compass’s appearance makes me feel that this figure is connected to Minchan in some way, as he is the member most commonly associated with compasses in their MVs.

Minchan used the compass in Thunder to search for Kangmin and used it in G.B.T.B. to search for Gyehyeon (you can find more on this in my previous theories if you are interested.)

It is possible that he is trying to search for the entire group now, but it is hard to say anything definitively as we don’t know if this representative is supposed to actually be Minchan or just another figure.

The masked man makes a couple more cameos:

1) After Verivery have been transported into VRVR’s layer through the hole in the ground, a mysterious man appears beside the hole. It is worth noting that this might not be the masked man, as we don’t actually see the figure from the neck up, so it is hard to confirm this or not. However, he is wearing a black suit like the previous figure was.

2) At the very end we see the masked man wandering a looping, circular hall by himself, possibly trying to escape as his hands are out reached as if he is trying to find his way.

The red scarf/blindfold:

After Verivery have disappeared through the hole, a red scarf is seen blowing in the wind above the hole. This scarf was last seen in Minchan and Yeonho’s possession in G.B.T.B., but Minchan likely carries the greater significance here.

We have a solo shot of the scarf, which is quickly followed by the mysterious figure’s appearance beside the hole (and a pair of shoes, but again, I’ll get to my two possible theories on that later.)

In this MV, however, the scarf is not used as a blindfold like it was previously.

The symbolism of “O”:

The symbol of “O” makes several appearances throughout the MV. This “O” in the name of their new series “Series O” is supposed to represent the dark space hidden within each individual.

With that in mind, let’s consider the many appearances of “O” or circles throughout the MV.

A few examples include: the orb, the circle table they sit around in the tent, their circle dance set (first seen in G.B.T.B.), the boys forming a circle together (first seen in Thunder) before they are transported their next location (through a circular whole in the ground), the circle of beds they wake up in, the circle of forks, the circle table they sit around for the feast, and the circle of chairs they are seen in when at the gunpoint of VRVR. There is also the significance of the focus on eyes in this MV, another example of a “O” first seen with Dongheon’s eyes when they arrive in the circle room, and then Kangmin’s eye when they are tied up by VRVR.

Interestingly, you’ll notice that VRVR are surrounded by much more square and rectangular objects in their scenes such as the TVs and even their table. Compare this to the circles constantly used with Verivery.

When VRVR leave their hideout to fetch the incapacitated Verivery, a blue “O” appears on the screen, perhaps indicating that VRVR are the dark space hidden within Verivery, and their victory over Verivery in this MV.

The topic of surveillance:

Surveillance is a very prominent idea in this MV, as we can see several shots of VRVR monitoring Verivery.

Before I get into surveillance in this particular MV, I want to talk about Verivery’s history with surveillance. Surveillance and monitoring in Verivery MVs goes all the way back to Super Special.

In Super Special, there are several scenes of the boys with a recording filter over the MV. But perhaps most significantly, is the scene in which Kangmin finds a wall of TVs.

The next most obvious connection to surveillance is in Tag Tag Tag. Here, Yeonho finds an old TV with footage of their group entering the house.

Another recurring image with surveillance, is specifically the old TV. This old TV hasn’t appeared in every single MV, but it has been in Ring Ring Ring, Tag Tag Tag, Lay Back, and now Get Away. There is a TV/Screen seen in Thunder, but it is not the same design as the one that appears in the MV’s previously listed. This could be due to the 80s aesthetic they were aiming for in that MV, though, so it is worth mentioning. From Now has no clear TV, except maybe the monitor that sits on Dongheon’s desk. But Ring Ring Ring, Tag Tag Tag, Lay Back, and Get Away have the most obvious connection with the TV.

The floating orb seems to be one of the main means of surveillance throughout this MV. It is how VRVR sees what Verivery is up to.

Hoyoung as the mastermind:

Based on the MV, it’s quite prevalent that VRVR Hoyoung seems to be one in charge of the VRVR charge against Verivery. Before we get into that a little background on Hoyoung:

Hoyoung’s role in Verivery MVs isn’t always consistent, but there are a select few times that we’ve seen evidence of Hoyoung being a mastermind prior to Get Away. In From Now, Hoyoung is the one responsible for shooting the planets, a spectacle that all the other boys see and are impacted by. And in the first Face It concept trailer, Hoyoung seems to be trying to collect signals from each of the other members and sketch their location out.

Whether this was Verivery Hoyoung or VRVR Hoyoung isn’t clear, but I would speculate Verivery Hoyoung. It’s possible that his other version is just as calculating, if not more, than he is.

In Get Away, Hoyoung is the first VRVR member we see, and he happens to be alone observing the surveillance of the Verivery members.

Something interesting to note, is that prior to Verivery partaking in the feast and becoming intoxicated, Hoyoung is the only member who has a solo shot in his VRVR form. All of the other members sing in their Verivery form. But after the Verivery members have eaten the feast, only VRVR are seen singing the rest of the song. Hoyoung never has a solo shot of his Verivery version singing/rapping.

Kangmin:

Now, we could just assume that everyone in Verivery is good and everyone in VRVR is simply their inner darkness personified. And that’s a totally reasonable conclusion given how the MV ends with VRVR subduing and seeming to be victorious over Verivery. It’s clean cut. However, what’s the fun in that? Besides, there seems to be a lot more complexity in Verivery MVs for that to simply be the case.

Kangmin has obviously been at the center of a lot of their MVs. We’ve known something is up with him since Tag Tag Tag, and it’s a popular theory that this is when the real Kangmin and the fake (VRVR?) Kangmin were switched.

However, there is the possibility that fake Kangmin has been around a lot longer than we originally thought, which is suggested through this scene in From Now in which we see Kangmin putting a finger to his lips, as if telling the viewer that he has a secret. Kangmin again puts his finger to his lips at the beginning of Get Away.

This suggests that the fake Kangmin could have been around before Tag Tag Tag even.

In Thunder we see that the real Kagmin was presumably rescued by the other members from whatever he had been running from (his fake alter ego perhaps?)

But things are still as complicated as ever for Kangmin’s character it seems, so let’s look at little bit closer at him in the Get Away MV.

At one point, Kangmin with the VRVR group reaches for a sandwich/bread but is stopped by Dongheon how thrusts his fork into the sandwich/bread. This could be because while the other VRVR and Verivery members are enjoying their gluttony in rich foods and drinks, Kangmin notably goes for a very simple, plain food. It’s suspicious to Dongheon why Kangmin is not enjoying the more expensive food.

Dongheon and Kangmin both stare each other down, and the other VRVR members look on throughout the exchange. Dongheon then aggressively confronts Kangmin and threatens him, but then Gyehyeon intervenes.

Gyehyeon:

Now, Gyehyeon’s role here is important, considering what has happened to him in the last few MVs. In the Connect + Thunder DIY, Gyehyeon was the focus. He was the only member who never had an item that he was holding turn red. Towards the end of that MV, Gyehyeon wakes up in a barren room by himself, followed by the Latin translation of “He acknowledges, and he has feared me.” The final scene from the DIY MV is a blurry perspective shown from the floor, which is presumed to be Gyehyeon, trying to make out the exit.

The meaning of this is up to interpretation, but it could suggest that Gyehyeon has figured out something about the existence of VRVR members hence the “he acknowledges and he has feared me” (in other words, he has figured out the existence of his darker self.)

As I mentioned, earlier Minchan seemed to be looking for Gyehyeon in the G.B.T.B. MV.

And this part is a bit of a stretch so take it with a grain of salt because I don’t know how much of the So gravity DIY is supposed to be canon to their whole lore, but I will point out that when Kangmin is seen in distress and crying it is Gyehyeon who comforts him. Perhaps this suggests that these two are self-aware or on the same side? Kangmin is struggling with the weight of everything going on with the other members and Gyehyeon comforts him that they will help save the others. Again, that’s a stretch so just keep that in mind.

Back to Get Away. Gyehyeon intervenes when Dongheon is threatening Kangmin, and Dongheon looks prepared to end Gyehyeon then and there, if it wasn’t for Hoyoung telling him to snap out of it.

Kangmin and Gyehyeon:

Now, the inner conflict within VRVR could just be because VRVR are the worst versions of themselves, and they’re going to be prone to fight. Yet I still find it suspicious that it is only these Kangmin and Gyehyeon that are shown to have any conflict with the group.

We know Kangmin’s identity as real or fake has been up in the air every era. And Gyehyeon’s recent potential self-awareness puts him in the same sphere with Kangmin.

The pieces seem to be there. Minchan, who we have also seen to be quite self-aware of the things going on, is shown looking for Kangmin and Gyehyeon in previous MVs, and coincidentally VRVR Kangmin and Gyehyeon seem to be on the same side possibly? Interesting.

I propose the possibility that either Kangmin or Gyehyeon, possibly both, have been placed within VRVR.

Which leads me to suggest one my main theories that VRVR Kangmin is the snake within Verivery. This is backed up Kangmin’s shot with his finger to his lips, suggesting that he has a secret he’s trying to keep from the rest of the group (aka he’s not the real Kangmin). He’s also seen leaning on Verivery Dongheon after they arrive in VRVR’s layer, and Dongheon helps move him from room to room. This could be one of two things: VRVR Kangmin is leaning on Dongheon to try and show vulnerability, so that he and the others will no suspect his true intentions or, if not VRVR Kangmin, then it’s actually Verivery Kangmin, who is possibly still wake from Thunder (though doesn’t really hold up through G.B.T.B.)

Also, VRVR choosing to keep Kangmin and/or Gyehyeon within their leagues doesn’t seem out of the ordinary. It would be smart to keep their enemies closer to them at this point.

The left behind shoes:

I have two possible theories about the shoes. One theory supports my previous claims in that the shoes left behind are VRVR Kangmin’s, who is currently with Verivery. This theory isn’t as sound as the other, but I thought I would include it anyways for the variety. The other is completely independent theory about the shoes with no connection to Kangmin.

Kangmin:

These shoes seem to resemble the shoes that Kangmin was wearing in the MV, though it’s hard to say 100%. Weirdly enough, the shoes didn’t go with him to the VRVR layer. Remember how the fake Kangmin always seemed to be connected with no shoes? It could be a sign of his true identity as VRVR Kangmin.

Minchan:

The other possibility is that these shoes have to do with Minchan. The shoes are seen at the same location as the scarf, which obviously carries a clear connection to the last time we saw Minchan.

It’s also possible that VRVR Minchan already caught Verivery Minchan. As I’ve mentioned previously, Minchan has always seemed to be a bit more self-aware of their surroundings than the other boys. This is notable in Tag Tag Tag, where he was the only member who saw the fake Kangmin at the end. In Lay Back, we know that Minchan was running from his other self for the duration of the MV. In Thunder he is the only one who stops what they’re doing to look out the window at something. And in G.B.T.B. Minchan is shown multiple times stuck in the center of a circle of chairs, one notable time in deep panic and fear.

From Get Away, we know that these circles are supposed to represent your darker self. So perhaps at the end of G.B.T.B., VRVR Minchan was starting to catch up with Verivery Minchan after chasing him throughout Lay Back, and was finally caught at the beginning of Get Away by VRVR Minchan.

This theory could suggest that the masked figure we see is Minchan, and the mysterious figure beside the hole is VRVR Minchan. And if that was VRVR Minchan in the forest, then perhaps he was the reason that Verivery were able to access the VRVR layer. The letter said that 7 will make a large point open (presumably the entrance to VRVR’s layer), but we only see 6 Verivery members, and yet somehow they are still able to get in. Perhaps VRVR Minchan was there in the forest, allowing the members to access the VRVR layer.

How, though, if Verivery Minchan wasn’t there? It is probably safe to assume that VRVR is still Minchan in some way—these dark counterparts are still the Verivery members, but just their darkest form. So if VRVR Minchan has captured Verivery Minchan, then it seems right now he is keeping an eye on the other members of Verivery and assisting his VRVR colleagues from a different angle.

However, based on the final scene of the MV, assuming that the masked man is indeed supposed to be Minchan, than it seems he is trying to find his way out of that circular hall he’s been stuck in to find his members. ---- That’s all for this comeback! If you made it this far, I appreciate you for reading all 3,000+ words of this <3 if you have theories of your or you want to add onto something I’ve said, or you have questions about what I wrote (I know it was a lot sdfnsfnafdsa) feel free to talk to me!! I’m always down for some good theorizing :D ALSO I’M SORRY IF THIS WAS A MESS AND IMPOSSIBLE TO FOLLOW I DID MY BEST

#verivery #vrvr theories #series o: hall #it is late but I am going to publish this anyways because I literally spent all day on this #and i want it out in the world even if no one will be awake to see it </3 #anyways this mv really made my brain work i don't know how many times i watched the mv today #nobody: .... me: writes 3k words dissecting a kpop mv #jokes aside writing this up today got me SO excited ahhhhh #also i'm sorry if this is messed up on mobile tumblr never makes the formats compatable to both desktop and mobile ugh #ps: ty chel for helping to transcribe the letter❤️

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isa-ghost · 5 years ago

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Corruption AU

*Galaxy brains*

Catch me tempted to start a whole AU based off my theory that Chase got corrupted at the end of Dark Silence and is living through slowly changing and growing sick and discovering freaky powers he didn’t have before and realizing this is what his comatose best friend went through before the August 3rd/March 5th operation was hijacked by Anti.

Oh god this might be a temporary muse but god am I about to blow it up real quick anyway. There’s details on it below the cut.

Henrik is the one who put Jack in the coma and regrets it deeply. Half-possessed by Anti in the moment he did it, he knew Jack would die unless he induced a coma to stabilize him easier than blindly trying to figure out how Anti his possessed self was killing him.

He wasn’t gone for 9 months but rather 2. In-game the time Jack flatlined was March 5th, 2018 and Henrik reappeared May 3rd, 2018. He has barely revealed any info about what happened in that time, but any time he’s opened up about it to the other egos, Jack’s comatose body, or in vlogs on the channel, he gets extremely anxious and can’t elaborate. He’s trying to coach himself into healing enough to tell the story so it won’t happen to others.

It wasn’t one big operation from August 3rd, 2017 to March 5th, 2018. Jack was in the hospital on and off suffering severe affects from Anti’s constant assaults on him. Anti hijacked the August 3rd operation and March 5th operations. He might’ve hijacked a few in-between but nowhere near the level of chaos and damage on those two days. (I haven’t decided yet lol).

Henrik saved Chase’s life after a suicide attempt soon after his divorce was filed (Bro Average) and is very protective of him, but stretches himself incredibly thin between caring for Jack, watching over Chase, and dealing with his own trauma.

Obviously Chase took over the channel for Jack in his place. The community is suspecting he’s him and not Jack slowly, which he’s somewhat worried about, but hasn’t seen any anger about it yet so he feels like it won’t be a big horrific reveal if he ever gives up the facade and comes clean. It was hard enough watching Henrik’s vlog announcing Jack’s coma.

Being that he’s running the channel in Jack’s place when that’s (one of many things?) what Anti wants to do in order to gain more power, Anti attacked him (Dark Silence) and this is how/why Chase is slowly suffering the slow corruption Jack did from October 2016 to now.

Chase blacked out for a very long time after Dark Silence but beelined for Henrik when he came to his senses. When he found Henrik, he started to grow unstable again and broke down about being cornered by Anti and not knowing what was happening to him now before completely snapping again. Henrik had to fend him off, restrain him, and then had a minor trauma-related meltdown because his best friend is going through what he did on August 3rd and March 5th. Little does he know, this is going to progress far beyond just two one-off traumatic possessions and a two month kidnapping.

Anti lurks around constantly in between times harassing the community or toying with Jack’s comatose body on occasion. He’s watching and very much savoring the downward spiral Chase is in. A majority of what’s happened since May 2018 has been Chase glitching and acting strange rather than Anti, hence the camera/screen glitching more often than his physical body. The remaining fractions of cryptic/glitchy videos has been Anti hacking into the channel and reminding the community he’s lurking. After each time he’s done this, Henrik and Chase have had to reset all passwords to Jack’s social media that they’ve been using to make sure he’s kept out.

Sometimes Chase doesn’t feel/realize/see the recording getting meddled with by himself until well after its uploaded and he sees the community panicking about it, other times he’s well aware it’s going on and is acting that way on camera on purpose because he’s experiencing corruption affects or having blackouts. He‘s ashamed of himself for letting the community see what’s happening to him. Little did he know Anti had cameras record what he did to Chase and uploaded it to the channel so they all already know something is deeply wrong with Chase. He doesn’t have the will to go into detail about everything and clarify, so even though he’s upset about all the different speculations and theories about what’s going on because most of them are incorrect, he’d rather leave them to their own devices because the truth is complicated and messy and would be way too much to explain in a video or post.

Not only Chase, but Henrik keeps in close communication with the community. He keeps them up to date on Jack’s condition, how he personally is doing, how anniversaries and birthdays go, if Anti makes any appearances off-screen around them, his progress with finding Marvin and small updates from Jackie.

Jackie and Marvin are Henrik’s best friends since before Henrik met Chase. They all met through Jack. The coma struck all three of them with different kinds of grief. Jackie stopped heroing for a while and has kept a pretty low profile. He’s too distraught to fight as hard as he usually does and he’s also terrified he’s next on Anti’s list. He Probably Is. Marvin has completely vanished and nobody has heard from him. The truth is, he’s wiped himself off the radar to practice every type of magic he can find a way to learn about. He’s relentlessly training himself to avenge Jack and keep Anti away from the others.

Jameson is a sort of wild card buzzing around wherever needed. He typically hangs around Henrik, who saved him between operations on Jack. Anti attacked him the moment he was created to get him either on his side or out of the picture so he had less loose ends to tie up. He mutilated Jameson’s throat and left him for dead (though Jameson was created mute, the subtle throat scar he has is a common misconception people have when they first meet him). Jackie and Marvin found him, brought him to Henrik, and he was saved. Now recovered, he’s slowly taught Jackie, Marvin, and Chase BSL (Henrik already knew it in case of disabled patients), and floats between places doing whatever he can to help. He knows minor medical assistance from Henrik and helps him with Jack sometimes, he guards Jack’s hospital room (he’s got rapidly developing time powers and he’s not afraid to use them), practices said developing powers on his down time, and just generally does whatever small things he can to make life easier on the other four.

Jackie and Marvin had no idea Dark Silence happened until they both (at separate times on their own) found Anti’s footage on the channel. They’ve sunken even deeper into the grieving/coping methods they developed after Jack went into a coma.

Quit the Game to Win, most (if not all) of the X Scary Games, 1 Video series, any other videos we’ve had random, strange, fiery panic-worthy behavior and glitches from since May 2018 are all Chase. If someone were to watch the videos consecutively, Chase’s deterioration would be a lot more clear, a lot more scary, and a lot more heartbreaking.

So far Chase’s side affects are small glitches, mood swings, nose bleeds, ears ringing, nightmares, random blackouts (usually in which he does cryptic shit or uncharacteristic and unnerving behavior during), headaches, paranoia, and several other (mostly mental) symptoms.

For now, Henrik and Chase are waiting things out. Both of them are very stressed, scared, and tired.

Might edit this (will reblog if I do) or just straight up reblog it with more info if I think up more,,,, if I ever touch this AU again?? Idk it was spontaneous and usually my muses like that don’t last long. XD But I’d be happy to keep this an occasional writing prompt thing or something... Hmmmmm...

Also if you wanna send me asks/write/draw about this AU ever, feel free! Just tell me and tag me! :0

#jacksepticeye #chase brody #henrik von schneeplestein #dr schneeplestein #antisepticeye #septicegos #Isa's Corruption AU

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neonbutchery · 5 years ago

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Some notes on drawing Iktotchi (a fanmade guide)

Hey everyone! I’m back with my Iktotchi shenanigans. They’re one of my favorite species in the Star Wars universe and I feel like I needed a handy guide when drawing them, so I put this together. As always, the disclaimer: this is a FANMADE guide. While I did put together facts from Canon and Legends, some of the information here is made up by me. This is just a quick post to help anyone who might be interested in making an Iktotchi OC; and was inspired by deer-head-xiris’ work.

BASIC DETAILS

To paraphrase the Canon Wookiepedia article: the Iktotchi were a species of near-humans distinguished by the two large, curved horns protruding downwards from their heads. They had a skin-tone often varying from peach to brown, battering-ram foreheads with hardened, dense skin, and big, fleshy hands. In the Legends article, we get more information: their average height is around 1.8 meters (similar to that of a human); they’re built thicker than a regular human, and their average lifespan is about 90 years. Of course, note that it’s average, so you can always sprinkle a little bit of variation in there: my own OC, Dishun, is around two meters tall (6′7) and lean.

Besides their horns, probably the most important characteristic about them is their precognitive and telepathic abilities, but since this is a guide focusing mainly on visual design, I will not touch upon them that much. However, I recommend reading further on them!

HORNS

First things first, the thing that sets Iktotchi apart from other species: those gorgeous horns! According to Legends canon, Iktotchi are actually descended from goats. Yes, I’m not kidding. Do with that what you will, but I like to think that their horns grow as they age, and I often like to base them on actual pictures of goats/other mammals with horns and their growth pattern.

So for example, an Iktotchi’s horns might grow like this:

(NOTE: This is pure speculation since almost all of the Iktotchi we’ve seen in canon material are adults.)

Another point to consider is that they have CRANIAL horns, which are directly part of their skull; therefore, they can’t move them like Twi’leks or other species can move their lekkus/head tendrils. In SW Rebels we got to see an Iktotchi skull in Path of the Jedi, pictured down below:

Besides the horns, other important parts to note are the bumpy ridges on their head, and the upper part of their horns is often covered with skin.

As well as that, Iktotchi have also been shown to have variation in their horns, so my personal recommendation is to, again, look at reference pictures of goats/sheep/buffalos/whatever and go wild with it!

In Legends, the horns are able to regenerate; in new Canon, they aren’t.

And while not shown in canon, I think it’s possible that prosthetic horns exist, as well as headdresses and decorations for them.

OTHER FEATURES

Most Iktotchi have been shown to have a protruding brow ridge thicker than most humans’, as well as usually stronger facial features. The back of their heads is also thick and rounded.

They’re also described as having rough, thick skin, but it’s your choice whether you want to depict said textures in your art. Personally, I don’t usually give them wrinkles or ridges unless it’s to indicate age, but feel free to do whatever floats your boat!

Despite having been shown with hair in some Legends material, most canon depictions feature them as a hairless species.

Their hands are often bigger than a human’s and have thicker fingers. So uhh yaoi hands??? here’s a small comparison I made.

SKIN TONES

Iktotchi have mainly been shown with pink-ish skintones that resemble those of a human, but there are also Iktotchi with orange or reddish skin. While not entirely canon, I compiled a palette with possible skintones. Feel free to use it, no credit required!

That’s all! Hope any of this helps. If you have any extra information, feel free to reach out to me or add it in the tags! I love Iktotchi and it’ll be super nice to see more appreciation for them. Thanks for reading!

#my art #art #design help??#star wars #star wars oc #alien #star wars alien #iktotchi #star wars oc help #star wars guide

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anistarrose · 6 years ago

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Galar Region Map Analysis -Placing the trailer scenes

Let’s start with this segment, since it includes the apparent starting town:

The yellow-roofed house appears to be where the protagonist lives, and the red-roofed house seems to have the Fletchling weathervane from the intro of the trailer. It’s hard to see on the house itself on the map, but the windmill in the background provides another hint.

Fletchling in a beginning of the game cutscene? Kalos postgame confirmed

Putting the rest of the pictures under a cut, because it’s long.

Next, we have Route 1 and the town that it leads to. We can tell the Pikachu encounter is on that same route since the buildings in the background match (though who knows if there will actually be Pikachu on that route in the actual game).

Just beyond that first town is the purple house on the lake, with a small battlefield outside. There’s also a smaller house/shed across the lake that isn’t on the map.

This is just speculation, but I wonder if this is the professor’s lab. Another scene in the trailer shows the female protag in a very lab-like building, full of bookshelves, computers, and some sort of controlled environment, and then immediately cuts to right outside the purple house.

So not confirmed to be the lab, but it wouldn’t surprise me. I also could see the lab being the Fletchling weathervane building right next to the protagonist’s house.

Leading out of the red building in the first town is a set of train tracks, which eventually lead into a tunnel through a mountain. There are other potential locations for this scene, but it seems likely that this could be where the scene inside the mine takes place, thanks to the train tracks present inside that cave.

Or on the other hand, you could simply take a train through the mountain, since the building the tracks lead out of does look like it could be a station.

There’s one last detail I noticed about this part of the map: the road leading away from the protag’s house branches off in two different directions, one leading to Route 1 and the other towards what appears to be a forest with fog floating over it.

That could be the same forest as this one, which we only glimpsed briefly in the trailer. The footage we have right now seems like it could come from a cutscene as we enter the area for the first time.

That’s everything of interest I can find for this section, so let’s move on to the next:

There’s some interesting stuff here, like the crumbling tower, the long bridge, and the red train station near the bottom that appears to match the station in the early town. Most prominent is the steampunk-looking city, which was featured in the starter reveal animation as well as several scenes in the trailer. Given how many cameos this town gets in the trailer, I’m guessing it’ll probably be the “mascot city” of Galar, much like Lumiose was for Kalos.

It looks like three different paths lead away from this city: one towards the brown mountains on the left, one towards the route in the middle of Galar with Stonehenge-like formations, and the last towards the green hills of the east. Both eventually reach towns that appear to have Gyms.

This one, with the yellow fields surrounding it, got a lot of screentime in the trailer:

Based off the leaf symbol above the gym door and the general aesthetic of the town, I think it’s safe to call this a Grass-type gym.

We see this hill nearby the Grass gym town, which appears to depict a bipedal figure launching an attack. The town has a lot of Stonehenge-like rocks assembled into arches (seen in the map) and engraved with symbols (seen in the trailer), so it’ll probably have some plot importance.

This one didn’t get any shots in the trailer that I noticed, but between the color of the gym building and the apparent port theme of the town, I think it’s most likely a Water gym. There’s some striped awnings in the bottom left corner of the town, which could indicate a sort of marketplace where items are sold or moves are tutored. The boat at the dock might be able to take you somewhere in the postgame, especially since with the UK flipped upside down, that port isn’t too far from where Ireland should be.

These places didn’t get any distinctly identifiable appearances in the trailer either, and if I had to guess, I’d say it’s because a lot of plot stuff starts going down around here. We can spot at least two gyms: likely rock or ground for the brown building in the mountainous area, and possibly Poison or Psychic for the purple building in the mushroom area. (Or maybe Fairy, but that would feel like a bit of a rehash of Laverre City to me. Plus, the color would probably be pink in that case.)

We can also spot a couple different caves (including another featuring train tracks, in the bottom right) as well as one in the rocky area that seems to be beneath some sort of colorful... mural? My first impression was stained glass, but I’m not sure how that would work. On the rightmost side of the rocky area, there are three arch-shaped structures, and I’m not sure if they’re meant to resemble doors, faces, or something else entirely.

The gray-walled city has an interesting two-horned emblem on the front, which could be based off a new Pokemon. Too bad it’s not that detailed in the map.

Here we have the start of an extensive snowy area, featuring ice floes and some fairly fancy looking buildings that we see in the trailer:

If we look in the back of the map, we can make out another one of those gym buildings, which I’m just going to assume is Ice.

The last section of the map features a long icy stretch where it looks like the train track is still being laid, possibly serving as a barrier to block us from progressing in that direction until we beat whatever gym. The city is pretty clearly based of London, and you can make out Big Ben and the London Eye on the left side.

That’s all I’ve noticed - tell me if I missed anything! I might do this again for future trailers, if people find this interesting.

#pokemon #pokemon direct #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon gen 8 #galar region #rosalia writes meta

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jewlwpet · 6 years ago

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Let’s dissect the titles of each track on Seazer’s upcoming new Utena album!!

(EDIT: IMPORTANT UPDATE: J. A. Seazer made some last-minute changes to the tracklist after I made this post; I discussed those changes here).

1) 青銅製の人形俳優譚オルフェウス洞窟劇場/Chant of Bronze Puppet Actors: Orpheus Grotto Theatre

There was a famous real-life “Grotto of Orpheus” that Seazer is most likely referencing! It doesn’t exist anymore, but you can see a detailed engraving of it here. It was made by Tommasso and Alessandro Francini for Henri IV of France. You can read about it and see another engraving here.

My guess as to what the song will be about: The grotto of Orpheus existed to glorify the prince by showing that he had so much power at his command, he could create a marvel like this. However, the object of wonder was a mechanical illusion: empty movement, so to speak. This was around the same time that some scientists began voicing the idea that perhaps the whole cosmos was like a machine built by God. This suggests the question, though it went unvoiced, of whether we ourselves are merely puppet-actors upon a cosmic stage.

(More under the cut--this will be long).

2) 宇宙卵プロトゴノス ―すなわちアンドロギュヌスのポラリザシオン(分極作用)―/Cosmic Egg Protogonos ―Namely Androgynous Polarization (Polarizing Action)―

This one is actually pretty straightforward if you understand Seazer’s language.

This song makes use of the Orphic creation narrative. Seazer used it before in a now lost version of Absolute Destiny Apocalypse (original source now here). Note: At the time when I posted that translation, I was under the mistaken impression that it was the same as the version on the Ohtori Kuruhi CD (because Seazer frequently does use pronunciation totally different from how something’s written). It is not; that set of lyrics is in fact the one used again more recently in the “complete version” in the Barbara CD.

Protogonos (literally “first-born”), also called Phanes (“bring to light”) ( "You scattered the dark mist that lay before your eyes and, flapping your wings, you whirled about, and throughout this world you brought pure light. For this I call you Phanes.") was described by Damascius as “the first [god] expressible and acceptable to human ears.” They hatched from the primordial Cosmic Egg, generated by Time (Chronos) and sometimes also Inevitability (Ananke).

Another tradition claims that a triad of the first three “intelligible principles” hatched from the egg. “What is this triad, then? The egg; the dyad of the two natures inside it--male and female--[Ouranos... and Gaia... Heaven and Earth], and the plurality of the various seeds between; and thirdly an incorporeal god with golden wings on his shoulders, bulls' heads growing upon his flanks, and on his head a monstrous serpent, presenting the appearance of all kinds of animal forms . . . And the third god of the third triad this theology too celebrates as Protogonos (First-Born).”

Another fact about Protogonos: They were a dying-and-rising god.

Since the title seems to focus on the severance of male from female (androgynous polarization), here are some passages that focus on that (source).

And he [Epicurus] says that the world began in the likeness of an egg, and the Wind [the entwined forms of Khronos (Chronos, Time) and Ananke (Inevitability)] encircling the egg serpent-fashion like a wreath or a belt then began to constrict nature. As it tried to squeeze all the matter with greater force, it divided the world into the two hemispheres, and after that the atoms sorted themselves out, the lighter and finer ones in the universe floating above and becoming the Bright Air [Aither (Aether)] and the most rarefied Wind [probably Khaos (Chaos, Air)], while the heaviest and dirtiest have veered down, become the Earth (Ge) [Gaia], both the dry land and the fluid waters [Pontos the Sea]. And the atoms move by themselves and through themselves within the revolution of the Sky and the Stars, everything still being driven round by the serpentiform wind [of Khronos and Ananke].

Ere land and sea and the all-covering sky were made, in the whole world the countenance of nature was the same, all one, well named Chaos, a raw and undivided mass, naught but a lifeless bulk, with warring seeds of ill-joined elements compressed together.... Though there were land and sea and air, the land no foot could tread, no creature swim the sea, the air was lightless; nothing kept its form, all objects were at odds, since in one mass cold essence fought with hot, and moist with dry, and hard with soft and light with things of weight. This strife a God (Deus) [probably Phanes], with nature's blessing, solved; who severed land from sky and sea from land, and from the denser vapours set apart the ethereal sky; and, each from the blind heap resolved and freed, he fastened in its place appropriate in peace and harmony. The fiery weightless force of heaven's vault flashed up and claimed the topmost citadel; next came the air in lightness and in place; the thicker earth with grosser elements sank burdened by its weight; lowest and last the girdling waters pent the solid globe. So into shape whatever god it was reduced the primal matter and prescribed its several parts.

Incidentally, the repeated severance and rejoining (solve et coagula) of male/female and above/below, was a key component of alchemy (of course, the materials they worked with were inanimate, but the alchemists insisted on gendering and even sexualizing them, always).

Protogonos bears some resemblance to the Gnostic demiurge, (shaper of the material world, creator of humans, associated with severance and procreation). However, the Gnostics denigrated the demiurge, whereas Protogonos was venerated. One could also make

3) ミッシング&ブーピープ ―快楽の園の修道院のイメージ― /Missing and Bo-Peep -Image of the Monastery’s Garden of Earthly Delights-

Okay. Bo-Peep is, of course, a little girl in a nursery rhyme who’s lost her sheep but gets them back, wagging their tails behind them (wagging meant bringing). There’s an extended version where it’s specified that they’d actually lost their tails (but she found those too and reattached them). Before all that, “bo-peep” was used to refer to the children’s game of peekaboo, and in the Middle Ages, it was also a euphemism for being stood in a pillory. The Garden of Earthly Delights is a triptych by Bosch (viewable in detail here--arguably technically safe for work but only because it’s Art [tm]). From Wikipedia:

As so little is known of Bosch's life or intentions, interpretations of his intent have ranged from an admonition of worldly fleshy indulgence, to a dire warning on the perils of life's temptations, to an evocation of ultimate sexual joy. The intricacy of its symbolism, particularly that of the central panel, has led to a wide range of scholarly interpretations over the centuries. Twentieth-century art historians are divided as to whether the triptych's central panel is a moral warning or a panorama of paradise lost.

There’s also speculation that Bosch’s art (as a whole) is based on “esoteric knowledge lost to history.” The ambiguity is perfect for RGU.

I like this interpretation:

According to art historian Virginia Tuttle, the scene is "highly unconventional [and] cannot be identified as any of the events from the Book of Genesis traditionally depicted in Western art". Some of the images contradict the innocence expected in the Garden of Eden. Tuttle and other critics have interpreted the gaze of Adam upon his wife as lustful, and indicative of the Christian belief that humanity was doomed from the beginning... Art historian Charles de Tolnay believed that, through the seductive gaze of Adam, the left panel already shows God's waning influence upon the newly created earth. This view is reinforced by the rendering of God in the outer panels as a tiny figure in comparison to the immensity of the earth. According to Hans Belting, the three inner panels seek to broadly convey the Old Testament notion that, before the Fall, there was no defined boundary between good and evil; humanity in its innocence was unaware of consequence.

This is of course very different from the traditional Christian view of Genesis, which is that before the Fall, there was no sexual desire. In many Gnostic texts, however, “original sin” is something that existed before the creation of the world; thus there was no innocence of any kind in Eden. The “original sinner” in this view was generally said to be Sophia (Wisdom, an Anthylike figure sometimes known as “the Bride,” who was both revered and maligned), an attribute of the Godhead, which was made up of syzygies, complementary pairs of principles, described variously as spouses and/or siblings, who (because they were God) reproduced without lust. But it was this same Sophia who breathed life and spirit into humanity, making them more than just bodies.

In this belief humans were inherently sinful creatures from the very beginning; it was also said that it was wrong for the demiurge to separate Eve from Adam (I believe this was the same text that said “This world is a mistake”--by the way, the demiurge was supposedly brought into existence by Sophia, but they’re enemies).

There’s also this idea that Bosch followed the ideas attributed to a Gnostic sect called the Adamites (unfortunately, the only contemporary sources we have on them are anti-Gnostic propaganda, so we cannot know how much of it is based in reality), which basically advocated freedom from all moral laws; the last image seems to suggest otherwise, but it certainly is, at least, a theme.

Incidentally, this triptych has been used for the covers of at least two books by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, whose works Seazer draws on extensively according to my research.

Anyway, for my attempt at putting the pieces of the title together... However you interpret the triptych, it’s not something you’d expect to see in a monastery. Wikipedia indicates a general consensus that it was probably commissioned by a lay person, not a member of the clergy. So the title suggests a contrast, or a confluence of opposites, rather like that title from his last Utena album, “Monastic Life is a Flesh Apocalypse.”

4) 幾何学とエロス/Geometry and Eros

This is, word-for-word, the title of a 1974 essay by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, whom, as I said before, I have known Seazer to draw from very frequently. It was published in this book, which also contains an essay on the “cosmic egg” concept and an essay on the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.

I have it from book reviews that “Geometry and Eros” discusses the 18th-century French Neoclassical architext Ledoux and the supposed “spiritual analogy” between his works and those of his contemporaries Fourier and Sade. Now, unfortunately, there are two different “Fourier”s from this time period that are both feasible candidates: the mathematician Joseph Fourier and the utopian socialist philosopher Charles Fourier. I lean towards the latter, however, because Shibusawa had published a translation of his essay “Archibras,” which Seazer drew on for Tsuwabuki’s duel song, Conical Absolute Egg Archibras. I suppose Ledoux would represent “geometry” and the other two “eros,” assuming I have the right Fourier.

Apparently, Shibusawa criticized Emil Kaufmann’s commentary on Ledoux, but I don’t know specifics on that.

5) 少女錬金術師/Girl Alchemist

The main question is whether this is Utena or Anthy, because the meaning would be different in either case. But alchemy is about unifying opposites, and they both do embody opposites, just in different ways. And they are opposites of each other, even though traditionally, in alchemy, the union of opposites is exclusively framed in heterosexual terms--think Angel Androgynous. This heterosexual union--often, incidentally, described as one of brother and sister--is meant to lead to the birth of the “philosophical child,” which can be interpreted as a new self. It’s kind of like Nanami’s Egg, actually, though that did not use the incest metaphor since one of RGU’s themes is how incest inhibits individuation.

Interestingly, while almost(?) all the surviving alchemical texts (at least in the Western tradition, which is what I’ve studied) were written by men, many of them stated that the first alchemist was a woman, and a Jewish woman at that. Unfortunately, all we know of her is from what men wrote about her.

There’s a quotation attributed to her that has an interesting interpretation by Jung, which you can read about here. Alchemy as a metaphor for psychological individuation is something he wrote about extensively, and it definitely makes sense in this context although it’s not, imo, the only meaning alchemy has in RGU. Marie Louise von Franz wrote about it extensively also! The two of them worked closely together as well as individually.

6) 人間人形 ―空想・イン・ザ・架空―/Human Puppet -Fantasy in the Imaginary-

(I’ve got nothing, other than the metaphor of puppets which I already touched on).

7) 絶対天秤卵/Absolute Balance Egg

This is not a new song. It’s taken from 2006 Banyu Inryoku production, Illusion-Flesh Verse Drama “Black in the Dark.” Of course, this is nothing new; even the duel songs were recycled (and this was Ikuhara’s idea, not Seazer’s), so this is just an extension of that. I found its tracklist in this review; it’s described as an “improvised reverberation poem of flesh burning up in the dark,” which must be from a playbill or something because it’s such a Seazer description.

Apparently, the “intro” (written in katakana) to this song was taken directly from “Paint it Black.” I can’t guarantee this will carry into our version, but if you hear anything that sounds suspiciously like The Rolling Stones... I called it.

Actually, I should note: It’s possible that Absolute Balance Egg is from an even older Seazer production and was recycled in both this play and this CD. One can never rule that out.

8) 人間人形 ―空想・イン・ザ・架空―/Philosophical Bread (?) Seed

This sounds like an alchemy thing, and I’m not ruling that out, but the results that I found searching “philosophical bread” showed me it’s a very common metaphor used in many contexts. Generally it refers to “higher learning” of spiritual matters, sometimes specifically “to know the mind of God.” Sometimes it’s treated as the ultimate endeavor, sometimes as pointless. Seeds, I suppose, would be the beginning of that.

Note: "Bread,” in Japanese, is パン (pan) , and the Greek god Pan sometimes has his name written the same way. It’s very possible that パン is actually referring to the god here and shouldn’t be translated as “bread,” but we don’t know at this point. Either is plausible.

9) 法王驢馬寓意画意オペレッタ1 ―その声は人間の鳴き声に似る―/The Pope Ass Allegory Symbolism Operetta 1 -That Voice Is Like the Cry of a Human Being

The Papal Ass or Pope Ass, known from its use in a highly influential pamphlet by Martin Luther and Melanchthon, is often described as a caricature of the Pope. However, it’s not satirical like most modern political cartoons.It’s in fact based on the “monstrous birth” reports that were very popular at the time; this genre was referenced in the Rose Egg Sophia CD. To fully understand what the Papal Ass meant to its original audience, it’s necessary to have some understanding of the genre, so I’ll go into that.

It’s important to understand that such records are not always made-up, although they are frequently exaggerated. For instance, researching the term クシュポデュメー (no, I don’t know how to spell it) from Rose Egg Sophia’s Puchibanshou song (doragon no kodomo, offspring of a dragon) led me to a description of a “dragon” born with two heads, four arms, two legs, and one pelvis, said to have been part of the court of James III of Scotland. As a matter of fact, this bodily description corresponds to contemporary reports of a pair of conjoined twins known as the Scottish brothers, who were part of this king’s court. Many so-called “monsters,” from medieval times up until the xth century, were people. This particular one, however, was an animal, an actual donkey (or ass).

Luther wrote this for an updated 1535 version of the pamphlet:

The Papal Ass is itself a dreadful, ugly, terrifying picture, and the longer one looks at it, the more terrifying it seems. However nothing is so completely terrifying as the fact that God himself made and revealed such a wonder and such a monstrous image. If a human had invented, carved or painted it, one would scorn or laugh at it. However since the highest Majesty himself created and depicted it, the whole world should be dismayed and quake, for from it one fully understands what he thought of and intended.

From Monstrous Births and Visual Culture in Sixteenth-Century Germany by Jennifer Spinks:

I was able to find a book, Monstrous Births and Visual Culture in Sixteenth-Century Germany, that goes into great detail on how this was used by the early Protestant movement and has an entire chapter on this pamphlet: “Monstrous births could be viewed in positive and sympathetic terms, as the previous chapters have demonstrated. Yet this 1523 pamphlet by the two most important figures of the Lutheran Reformation forms a decisive shift in attitude, in which interpretation and representation became not only more polemical – and particularly anti-papal – but took on a notably apocalyptic aspect.” Of the Papal Ass and one of its contemporaries, the moon-calf, the author says, “The bodies of the monsters became texts to be read and argumentatively decoded using highly visual language.”

Notably, Luther and his coauthor did not invent the Papal Ass; they only named it. As Jennifer Spinks writes in this book:

The Papal Ass, washed up on the banks of the Tiber in Rome in 1495, made its way to Germany in visual form via an engraving by the Bohemian artist Wenzel von Olmutz, published in the late fifteenth century. Several decades later, and perhaps prompted by his colleague Melanchthon... Luther first became intrigued by the then-nameless monstrous birth and sought to incorporate it into his eschatological world view. He wrote a homiletic epistle that year (on the second Sunday in Advent, concerning Luke 21:25–33) titled ‘A Christian and well-substantiated proof of the Day of Judgement, and of the signs that it cannot now be far off ’. Although they were not referred to in Luke, Luther explicitly added monstrous creatures to his list and framed this addition as an attack on Rome and the papacy.

As for the pamphlet that made the Papal Ass famous, however, the section devoted to the Papal Ass was written by Luther’s coauthor, not Luther himself. Spinks states:

Melanchthon analyses the creature one body part at a time, utilizing biblical references, and conveying a central message about the corruption of the church in Rome as revealed by its bizarre physical structure. He begins his analysis of the Papal Ass with a reference to the Book of Daniel: ‘God has always indicated his grace or wrath by many signs, and in particular He has used such miracles for speaking to the rulers, as we see in Daniel’.

Melanchthon, she writes, “presents God in the guise of an artist who uses his creations to convey visual messages.”

The Papal Ass... has an almost jarring, collage-like combination of sharply delineated but ill-matching body parts. Step by step, Melanchthon describes and interprets these individual elements. He begins with... ‘Firstly, the head of the ass represents the Pope’. The Pope, he indicates... has brought the church into a worldly and physical, rather than spiritual, state. The low state of the ass in the animal kingdom is underscored through a reference to Exodus 13:13, in which first-born children and animals are consecrated to God: ‘but every fi rst-born donkey you will redeem with a lamb or kid; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck’. That is, God does not value donkeys (or asses) as he does other creatures. That the head of the Papal Ass is formed in this way is a true sign of the creature’s low state.

Next, Melanchthon addresses one hand, which ‘like an elephant’s foot rep-resents the spiritual regime of the Pope’. As forcefully as an elephant, the Pope’s ‘regime’ makes its way into and corrupts souls with innumerable and intolerable laws. Melanchthon adds, in a metaphor that it is easy to imagine seizing the imagination of audiences: ‘like the great heavy elephant it tramples and grinds down everything that it comes across’. The human-shaped other hand of the Papal Ass, in turn, represented the Pope’s worldly ‘regiment’; that is, those secular rulers who gave support to the papal office. In Cranach’s woodcut accompanying the text, these hands are neatly displayed one above the other, emphasizing through contrast the peculiarity of the elephant hand. The right foot of the creature, in the form of the foot of an ox, is aligned by Melanchthon with the elephant-shaped right hand. The foot represents the servants of the church: ‘the papal teachers, preachers, priests and confessors, and particularly the scholastic theologians’. That is, it refers to those responsible, in the Pope’s name, for oppressing the ‘poor folk’ (‘arme volck’) with their activities. Identifying papal supporters with the End Times, Melanchthon refers the reader to Matthew 24:4: ‘There will come false Christians and false prophets’. The other foot, in the shape of a claw, is aligned with the human-shaped hand. It represents canons, as worldly servants of the popes. Melanchthon’s language becomes still more physical in the next section, in which the female belly and breasts of the Papal Ass are described: “[these] represent the body of the papacy: that is Cardinals, bishops, clerics, monks, students ... their life is simply guzzling food, boozing, unchaste lechery, and leading the ‘good life’ on earth.”

Melanchthon’s understanding of the belly and breasts as especially potent symbols was to be intensified in a revised 1535 edition of the pamphlet... In this 1523 version, however, he turns fairly rapidly to the arms, legs and back of the creature, with a metaphor that is a little less obvious: the scales on these body parts represent secular rulers, who tolerate the failings of the papal system, effectively protecting it as they cling on to its ‘body’. This passage makes a particularly intriguing visual appeal to the reader or listener. The innocuous scales represented in the woodcut must be imaginatively reconfigured by the reader into a multitude of earthly rulers. Much more anthropomorphic in form are the faces of the old man and dragon (‘trach’) that emerge from the Papal Ass’s backside. The man represents the coming end of the papacy, already growing old; the dragon represents the bulls and books published by popes with the purpose of universally enforcing their will. Melanchthon’s tenth and final point shifts away from the body of the creature and to the location where it was found: Rome... The distinctive shape of the Castel Sant Angelo in Rome is carefully delineated, and for those not familiar with the famous tower, the fluttering flag with the crossed papal keys could inform even the least educated of the connection with Rome and the papacy. The tower to the right is the Tor di nona, used as the papal prison. Dramatically, in his final point, Melanchthon claims that finding the creature dead, ‘confirms that the papacy is coming to an end’.

Also:

In 1535 Melanchthon prepared a new edition of his text on the Papal Ass, still illustrated by the original Cranach image. Melanchthon’s expanded text takes sharper, more polemical aim at the papacy in a number of short new passages, including one on the ass’s head as a demonstration of the foolishness of the Pope, and another on the human hand as a sign the worldly, aggressive ambitions of the Pope. Two particularly substantial new sections dramatically increase the anti-papal and also the apocalyptic import of the Papal Ass. Several new pages on the breasts and belly of the creature emphasize the themes of whoring and sin (and implicitly, perhaps, refer to the whore of Babylon), while the ‘shameless female belly’ (‘vnuerschampt frawen bauch’) represents the Antichrist’s worst excesses.

More from Spinks about what made this method of symbolism unique:

Some pre-Reformation publications had ascribed specific meanings to individual body parts in monstrous births, like the conjoined foreheads of the Worms twins. Yet none had so rigorously and polemically done so as Luther and Melanchthon’s publication. This pamphlet is at the heart of a tangible shift in the representation and interpretation of monstrous births, and one that fitted the aggressively polemical culture of the early Reformation... This period saw the rise of vigorous debates and fundamental shifts in visual culture. The most famous of these developments was the wave of iconoclasm, which saw the destruction of religious images and objects. More moderate ‘reforms’ of imagery included a move to remove any hint of lasciviousness (especially in female figures) in the images on church walls. Martin Luther had a pragmatic attitude towards the use of religious images, and contributed to a culture of visual propaganda that stood on the borderline of the religious and the secular. One of the most important aspects of the visual culture of the Reformation was the vigorous use of printed propaganda, deployed.. with remarkable success. Robert Scribner observed that ‘Luther and other reformers spoke of pious images as masks (larvae) behind which the devil lurked, hoping to lure souls to damnation’. This did not mean that Luther rejected the use of images, and Scribner provided examples of how what he called the ‘semiology of arousal’ (which went well beyond the sensual) could be ‘employed also for its revelatory effect, especially in Reformation propaganda, putting into practice Luther’s notion of the masks of the devil disguising diabolical reality’... Religious imagery nonetheless increasingly moved outside relatively controlled environments like church walls and elite manuscripts, and into the turbulent new world created by the widely available printed image.... Luther’s ideas about visual images are closely bound up with his views on the apocalyptic Book of Revelation – a connection seen in microcosm in the 1523 pamphlet.

The Apocalypse While Albrecht Dürer had created what many regard as the definitive illustrated series of the Apocalypse in 1498, a flood of other versions appeared in the first half of the sixteenth century.74 The increasing popularity of the Book of Revelation as a subject for illustration during the sixteenth century was evidently connected to the growth of an apocalyptic world view... In this environment there was a tangible value in giving shape to apocalyptic imagery, and a ready audience for the new editions that came onto the market. As Bernd Moeller has identified, the End Times (‘Endzeit’) were one of the four most popular subjects for sermons preached in German towns in the early Reformation period.

Another updated version was published in 1549 without Melanchthon’s permission, edited to include past writings of his that he had since renounced in favor of compromise.

Flacius... uses Melanchthon’s text on the Papal Ass... as a springboard to oppose any religious compromise... In an introductory text, Flacius argues that the papacy can be represented in both words and images as worse than the devil or the whore of Babylon from the Book of Revelation. He maintains the highly visual language used by Luther and Melanchthon, and even concludes by claiming that the arts of geometrical and arithmetical proportions are inadequate for the present times, which demanded instead a ‘new swinish art’ (‘newen Sewkunst’). Later in the pamphlet, Flacius adds additional texts that talk of the disastrous events leading up to the Last Days, specifically identifying the Pope as the Whore of Babylon, holding up her goblet, drunk on the blood of Christ, and seated on the back of the seven-headed beast which represented Rome itself (and also the ‘Roemische Reich’, or Roman Empire) and its support of the papacy. The increasingly voluptuous body of the Papal Ass accords with this emphasis on the Babylonian woman.

After this point, “wonder books,” which “collected together monstrous births and various other wonders and disasters across decades, centuries or even millennia,” became more and more common. Apparently, “negative and also apocalyptic rhetoric about monstrous births became still more deeply entrenched in this genre.” By 1569 (when Catholics started appropriating this trend for their counter-Reformation), “Monstrous births and the apocalyptic Book of Revelation were closely enmeshed, and overwhelmingly presented as such in German Reformation and Counter-Reformation print culture.”

Final note: The way “Pope Ass” is written in the title is nonstandard, which is why I went with the literal translation rather than the more common phrase “Papal Ass.” I did find one search result for this phrase that wasn’t about this album, indicating that it’s used in yet another Shibusawa book, 夢の宇宙誌 (this was also the only pre-Seazerian source I could find for クシュポデュメー).

未来のヒユネロトマキア ―狂恋夢・薔薇物語・愛の秘法伝授―/The Future Hypnerotomachia - The Strife of Love in a Dream・The Tale of the Rose・Love’s Secret Initiation -

So... there are many parts to this.

The Future Hypnerotomachia:

That's a reference to the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (”The Strife of Love in a Dream” is included at the end of the title in some editions; it’s a translation of hypnerotomachia) and possibly also The Future Eve (referenced in the Rose Egg Sophia CD, specifically in its version of Saionji’s duel song). You can look in my tag on tumblr for my thoughts as to what that book might signify in relation to Utena.

As for The Tale of the Rose, we all know it as the play in episode 34, but there’s another “Tale of the Rose” I think Seazer is referencing here as well. Seazer mentioned “the medieval Tale of the Rose” as one of the inspirations for the Rose Egg Sophia in its liner notes (I’m working on a translation, off and on). It’s this book. The Japanese title is written the same was as the title of the play is written on the tickets in episode 34; it does not have much in common with the play, but you can think of it as “a way duelists look at Anthy.” You can also think of it as something possibly taught uncritically at Ohtori; you can certainly see its worldview reflected in, say, Miki.

The last part of the title isn’t a specific text, as far as I know, but it does have a traceable origin in, once again, Shibusawa, specifically his essay collection 胡桃の中の世界.

Since this title is about the themes of two or three entire books, I think I will make a Separate post for how those texts relate to Utena--and, of course, a new, updated one once we have the actual lyrics. And possibly another one several years from now when I inevitably translate 胡桃の中の世界.

#revolutionary girl utena #shoujo kakumei utena #rgu #sku #j. a. seazer #tatsuhiko shibusawa #this post has been a long time coming

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d33-alex · 5 years ago

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Why Consciousness Does Not Compute

The emperor of physics—Roger Penrose—defends his controversial theory of mind

Once you start poking around in the muck of consciousness studies, you will soon encounter the specter of Sir Roger Penrose, the renowned Oxford physicist with an audacious—and quite possibly crackpot—theory about the quantum origins of consciousness. He believes we must go beyond neuroscience and into the mysterious world of quantum mechanics to explain our rich mental life. No one quite knows what to make of this theory, developed with the American anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff, but conventional wisdom goes something like this: Their theory is almost certainly wrong, but since Penrose is so brilliant (“One of the very few people I’ve met in my life who, without reservation, I call a genius,” physicist Lee Smolin has said), we’d be foolish to dismiss their theory out of hand.

Penrose is a mathematical physicist who made his name decades ago with groundbreaking work in general relativity and then, working with Stephen Hawking, helped conceptualize black holes and gravitational singularities, a point of infinite density out of which the universe may have formed. He also invented “twistor theory,” a new way to connect quantum mechanics with the structure of spacetime. His discovery of certain geometric forms known as “Penrose tiles”—an ingenious design of non-repeating patterns—led to new directions of study in mathematics and crystallography.

The breadth of Penrose’s interests is extraordinary, which is evident in his recent book Fashion, Faith and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe—a dense 500-page tome that challenges some of the trendiest but still unproven theories in physics, from the multiple dimensions of string theory to cosmic inflation in the first moment of the Big Bang. He considers these theories to be fanciful and implausible.

Penrose doesn’t seem to mind being branded a maverick, though he disputes the label in regard to his work in physics. But his theory of consciousness pushes the edges of what’s considered plausible science and has left critics wondering why he embraces a theory based on so little evidence.

Most scientists regard quantum mechanics as irrelevant to our understanding of how the brain works. Still, it’s not hard to see why Penrose’s theory has gained attention. Artificial intelligence experts have been predicting some sort of computer brain for decades, with little to show so far. And for all the recent advances in neurobiology, we seem no closer to solving the mind-brain problem than we were a century ago. Even if the human brain’s neurons, synapses and neurotransmitters could be completely mapped—which would be one of the great triumphs in the history of science—it’s not clear that we’d be any closer to explaining how this 3-pound mass of wet tissue generates the immaterial world of our thoughts and feelings. Something seems to be missing in current theories of consciousness. The philosopher David Chalmers has speculated that consciousness may be a fundamental property of nature existing outside the known laws of physics. Others—often branded “mysterians”—claim that subjective experience is simply beyond the capacity of science to explain.

Penrose’s theory promises a deeper level of explanation. He starts with the premise that consciousness is not computational, and it’s beyond anything that neuroscience, biology, or physics can now explain. “We need a major revolution in our understanding of the physical world in order to accommodate consciousness,” Penrose told me in a recent interview. “The most likely place, if we’re not going to go outside physics altogether, is in this big unknown—namely, making sense of quantum mechanics.”

He draws on the basic properties of quantum computing, in which bits (qubits) of information can be in multiple states—for instance, in the “on” or “off” position—at the same time. These quantum states exist simultaneously—the “superposition”—before coalescing into a single, almost instantaneous, calculation. Quantum coherence occurs when a huge number of things—say, a whole system of electrons—act together in one quantum state.

It was Hameroff’s idea that quantum coherence happens in microtubules, protein structures inside the brain’s neurons. And what are microtubules, you ask? They are tubular structures inside eukaryotic cells (part of the cytoskeleton) that play a role in determining the cell’s shape, as well as its movements, which includes cell division—separation of chromosomes during mitosis. Hameroff suggests that microtubules are the quantum device that Penrose had been looking for in his theory. In neurons, microtubules help control the strength of synaptic connections, and their tube-like shape might protect them from the surrounding noise of the larger neuron. The microtubules’ symmetry and lattice structure are of particular interest to Penrose. He believes “this reeks of something quantum mechanical.”

Still, you’d need more than just a continuous flood of random moments of quantum coherence to have any impact on consciousness. The process would need to be structured, or orchestrated, in some way so we can make conscious choices. In the Penrose-Hameroff theory of Orchestrated Objective Reduction, known as Orch-OR, these moments of conscious awareness are orchestrated by the microtubules in our brains, which—they believe—have the capacity to store and process information and memory.

“Objective Reduction” refers to Penrose’s ideas about quantum gravity—how superposition applies to different spacetime geometries—which he regards as a still-undiscovered theory in physics. All of this is an impossibly ambitious theory that draws on Penrose’s thinking about the deep structure of the universe, from quantum mechanics to relativity. As Smolin has said, “All Roger’s thoughts are connected ... twistor theory, his philosophical thinking, his ideas about quantum mechanics, his ideas about the brain and the mind.”

This is a heady brew, but unconvincing to critics. Most scientists believe the brain is too warm and wet for quantum states to have any influence on neuronal activity because quantum coherence only seems possible in highly protected and frigid environments. The most damning critique has come from Max Tegmark, a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who calculated that any quantum effects within microtubules would break down after 100 quadrillionths of a second. “For my thoughts to correspond to a quantum computation, they’d need to finish before decoherence kicked in, so I’d need to be able to think fast enough to have 10,000,000,000,000 thoughts each second,” Tegmark writes in his 2014 book Our Mathematical Universe: My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality. “Perhaps Roger Penrose can think that fast, but I sure can’t.” Even Penrose’s old collaborator Stephen Hawking is dubious. “I get uneasy when people, especially theoretical physicists, talk about consciousness,” he’s written. “His argument seemed to be that consciousness is a mystery and quantum gravity is another mystery so they must be related.” Penrose dismisses Hawking’s criticism, saying their disagreement is really about the nature of quantum mechanics.

Last year I saw Penrose in action at a one-day conference on consciousness in Lucerne, Switzerland. It was an intriguing assortment of speakers, including the neuroscientist Christof Koch, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, The Tao of Physics author Fritjof Capra, and even an ayahuasca expert. Then there was Penrose, who played the part of the unworldly Oxford don—slightly rumpled in appearance, with an impish sense of humor. He had set up two overhead projectors on stage, and then darted back and forth between these machines, laying down a series of transparencies filled with his own handwritten notes and drawings of neurons and microtubules, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a floating astronaut, and—as I recall—the Little Mermaid, all in an effort to explain the Orch-OR theory of consciousness. Modern science may be a high tech game, but this was a dazzling piece of performance art, and the overflowing audience loved it.

Hameroff was also at the conference, and it turned out their hotel rooms were just down the hall from mine. In my brief interactions with them, I got the sense that Hameroff plays the role of willing accomplice—not only touting the genius of Sir Roger, but also looking after Penrose when it came to travel arrangements and even getting to the conference site. Hameroff can also be the pugnacious bulldog defending their theory (which, in the panel discussion, he did by needling Koch about various details of brain activity).

This past March, when I called Penrose in Oxford, he explained that his interest in consciousness goes back to his discovery of Gödel’s incompleteness theorem while he was a graduate student at Cambridge. Gödel’s theorem, you may recall, shows that certain claims in mathematics are true but cannot be proven. “This, to me, was an absolutely stunning revelation,” he said. “It told me that whatever is going on in our understanding is not computational.”

He was also jolted by a series of lectures on quantum mechanics by the great physicist Paul Dirac. Like many others, Penrose struggled with the weirdness of quantum theory. “As Schrödinger clearly pointed out with his poor cat, which was dead and alive at the same time, he made this point deliberately to show why his own equation can’t be the whole truth. He was more or less saying, ‘That’s nonsense.’ ” To Penrose, the takeaway was that something didn’t add up in quantum theory: “Schrödinger was very upset by this, as were Dirac and Einstein. Some of the major figures in quantum mechanics were probably more upset than I was.”

But what, I asked, does any of this have to do with consciousness? “You see, my argument is very roundabout. I think this is why people don’t tend to follow me. They’ll pick up on it later, or they reject it later, but they don’t follow argument.” Penrose then launched into his critique of why computers, for all their brute calculating power, lack any understanding of what they’re doing. “What I’m saying—and this is my leap of imagination which people boggle at—I’m saying what’s going on in the brain must be taking advantage not just of quantum mechanics, but where it goes wrong,” he said. “It’s where quantum mechanics needs to be superseded.” So we need a new science that doesn’t yet exist? “That’s right. Exactly.”

After we’d talked for 20 minutes, I pointed out that he still hadn’t mentioned biology or the widely held belief that consciousness is an emergent property of the brain. “I know, I know,” he chuckled, and then told me why he felt compelled to write his first book on consciousness, The Emperor’s New Mind, published in 1989. It was after he heard a BBC interview with Marvin Minsky, a founding father of artificial intelligence, who had famously pronounced that the human brain is “just a computer made of meat.” Minsky’s claims compelled Penrose to write The Emperor’s New Mind, arguing that human thinking will never be emulated by a machine. The book had the feel of an extended thought experiment on the non-algorithmic nature of consciousness and why it can only be understood in relation to Gödel’s theorem and quantum physics.

Minsky, who died last year, represents a striking contrast to Penrose’s quest to uncover the roots of consciousness. “I can understand exactly how a computer works, although I’m very fuzzy on how the transistors work,” Minsky told me during an interview years ago. Minsky called consciousness a “suitcase word” that lacks the rigor of a scientific concept. “We have to replace it by ‘reflection’ and ‘decisions’ and about a dozen other things,” he said. “So instead of talking about the mystery of consciousness, let’s talk about the 20 or 30 really important mental processes that are involved. And when you’re all done, somebody says, ‘Well, what about consciousness?’ and you say, ‘Oh, that’s what people wasted their time on in the 20th century.’ ”

But the study of consciousness has not gone the way Minsky had hoped. It’s now a cottage industry in neuroscience labs and a staple of big-think conferences around the world. Hameroff is one of the driving forces behind this current enthusiasm. For years he and Chalmers have run the biennial “Toward a Science of Consciousness” conference that features dozens of speakers, ranging from hardcore scientists to New Age guru Deepak Chopra and lucid dream expert Stephen LaBerge. Hameroff’s connection to Penrose also goes back decades. He first contacted Penrose after reading The Emperor’s New Mind, suggesting he might have the missing biological component that would complement Penrose’s ideas about the physics of consciousness.

“I finished the book without really knowing what I was doing,” Penrose recalled. “Stuart wrote me a good old-fashioned letter in which he said, ‘It seems that you don’t know about microtubules.’ ” When they met in Oxford, Penrose realized that microtubules had the best chance of anything he’d seen that could mediate large-scale quantum coherence within the brain. And ever since, Penrose and Hameroff have been peddling their theory. Then in 2013, scientists in Japan announced that they had detected vibrations in microtubules, which, according to Penrose and Hameroff, seemed to show that the brain is not too warm and noisy for delicate quantum activity, and launched a new round of debate about the Orch-OR theory.

In some ways, Penrose and Hameroff are the odd couple of science. Hameroff is upfront about his spiritual views, talking openly about the possibility of the soul existing after death. Penrose is an atheist who calls himself “a very materialistic and physicalist kind of person,” and he’s bothered by New Agers who’ve latched onto quantum theories about non-locality and entanglement to prop up their paranormal beliefs.

I asked what he thought of Hameroff’s far-flung ideas about disembodied consciousness. “Well, I have to allow him his freedom,” he said. “It does worry me a bit. I mean, he goes a lot further than I would be prepared to.” Still, he acknowledges that consciousness is a huge mystery. “I’m not even sure what materialistic means, quite honestly. Quantum mechanics behaves in ways that one thinks are certainly at odds with the view we used to have.”

As we probed the deeper implications of Penrose’s theory about consciousness, it wasn’t always clear where to draw the line between the scientific and philosophical dimensions of his thinking. Consider, for example, superposition in quantum theory. How could Schrödinger’s cat be both dead and alive before we open the box? “An element of proto-consciousness takes place whenever a decision is made in the universe,” he said. “I’m not talking about the brain. I’m talking about an object which is put into a superposition of two places. Say it’s a speck of dust that you put into two locations at once. Now, in a small fraction of a second, it will become one or the other. Which does it become? Well, that’s a choice. Is it a choice made by the universe? Does the speck of dust make this choice? Maybe it’s a free choice. I have no idea.”

I wondered if Penrose’s theory has any bearing on the long-running philosophical argument between free will and determinism. Many neuroscientists believe decisions are caused by neural processes that aren’t ruled by conscious thought, rendering the whole idea of free will obsolete. But the indeterminacy that’s intrinsic to quantum theory would suggest that causal connections break down in the conscious brain. Is Penrose making the case for free will?

“Not quite, though at this stage, it looks like it,” he said. “It does look like these choices would be random. But free will, is that random?” Like much of his thinking, there’s a “yes, but” here. His claims are provocative, but they’re often provisional. And so it is with his ideas about free will. “I’ve certainly grown up thinking the universe is deterministic. Then I evolved into saying, ‘Well, maybe it’s deterministic but it’s not computable.’ But is it something more subtle than that? Is it several layers deeper? If it’s something we use for our conscious understanding, it’s going to be a lot deeper than even straightforward, non-computable deterministic physics. It’s a kind of delicate borderline between completely deterministic behavior and something which is completely free.”

It’s hard to know what to make of these pronouncements. Even if you’re skeptical of Penrose’s argument about consciousness, it’s tempting to root for him. The science of consciousness feels stuck, and here’s a theory—however speculative—that suggests a possible way forward. The fact that Penrose is asking so much of us—not just to accept quantum coherence in microtubules but also his contention that consciousness can only be explained by still-undiscovered laws of physics—may simply be too far-reaching to ground a new scientific theory. And there’s another problem as well. Suppose 20 or 200 years from now the broad outlines of Orch-OR are confirmed. Have we explained consciousness—or just pushed the mind-brain problem into a deeper mystery, the quantum mind-body problem? Can we ever bridge the gap between the physical and immaterial worlds?

As I wondered why Penrose keeps hammering away at his theory on consciousness after all these years, I asked him if he thinks there’s any inherent meaning in the universe. His answer surprised me. “Somehow, our consciousness is the reason the universe is here.” So does he think there’s intelligent life—or consciousness—somewhere else in the cosmos? “Yes, but it may be extremely rare.” But if consciousness is the point of this whole shebang, wouldn’t you expect to find some evidence of it beyond Earth? “Well, I’m not so sure our own universe is that favorably disposed toward consciousness,” he said. “You could imagine a universe with a lot more consciousness that’s peppered all over the place. Why aren’t we in one of those rather than this one where it seems to be a rather uncommon activity?

“So, yes, we want to see the purpose of it. I don’t know. Maybe it’s attributing the wrong word. Purpose—what does that mean?” He chuckled.

By Steve Paulson, the executive producer of Wisconsin Public Radio’s nationally syndicated show To the Best of Our Knowledge. He’s the author of Atoms and Eden: Conversations on Religion and Science. This post originally appeared on Nautilus.

#science #consciousness #theory of mind

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henrytheteddybear · 6 years ago

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My 12 speculations for upcoming episodes of LiS2

It's been about two months after releasing of the first episode. besides likes and reblogs, i tried to make my own posts about theories, speculations or fan arts of Life is Strange 2 but i needed more time to analyze and find inspiration until i decided to make this post and wait to see which speculations would be true or just ideas.

This list consists of my speculations and others' i found on websites. I don't know if here are somebody who still don't play or watch the prequel and the first episode. so you should skip this post if you don't want to see any spoilers.

#1. Mrs. Reynolds is actually the grandmother of Sean and Daniel.

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXE17l9SVM4

In Arcadia Bay Scene of LiS2, Brody asks Sean about his family and he says he only have grandparents who live in USA. in The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, if Chris can convince Mrs. Reynolds to leave, she'll talk about her grandchildren that she's never seen for a long time and they're at her house. these hints make me feel so sure that Dontnod try to tell us Granny Claire and the brothers are absolutely relatives.

#2. We may see Lyla Park and Brody Holloway again.

Although I have no idea how she can find the brothers and why he should meet them again. maybe they will bump into each other with new issues after Sean and Daniel leave Claire's house. we may see the development of the relationship between Sean and Lyla or get a surprise from Brody, however they don't deserve to have small roles in this season.

#3 Is Brody's real surname Prescott?

youtube

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXE17...

During escaping with the car, Sean ask Brody about his occupation and he says he come from a wealthy family but no soul and he took off to travel after graduating high school and never go back to his home. now he does many jobs such as writes stories for magazines and websites, doing podcasts, and protest etc.

Since everything in LiS series are in the same universe, it would be awesome if we saw more connections between characters from both seasons. some say he's from Utah because his car displays Utah license plates but he never directly tell he's from Utah and he may be got the car when he visited there, however we still don't know his background well enough to tell who he is.

#4. Daniel does creepy breathing sound when Chris calls Mrs. Reynolds lately.

youtube

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ4iO5jK9Xo

In The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, when you do the awesome things or whatever until Charles falls asleep and call Mrs. Reynolds. you'll hear someone do creepy breathing sound during a call and in the post-credits scene of episode 1, you can see the forest covered with snow and hear Sean try to teach Daniel to control his power then he can float a stone in the air. this means the brothers may be somewhere in Beaver Creek in December and Daniel would have practiced for a month.

I guess Daniel would control his power better and imagine himself as Darth Vader. he may monkey around in the house when Claire's not home until Chris call on the phone.

#5. If Dontnod need to show us the depth of friendship between two kids, they should let us play as Daniel.

This speculation sounds like a wish and seems impossible but after the first episode, Daniel knows he has the powers and he can deal with it, i think it would be great if we had a chance to control his telekinesis via playing as him. besides, i don't know how big is Chris' part but if the friendship between Daniel and Chris is important to the main story, it should be told through the perspective of these kids instead of the third person because it's easier to see the depth in their relationship.

A teenager like Sean might not fit to do kids activities or follow them all day.

#6. The secret map may guide Chris and the brothers to the next awesome adventures.

In Chris' room, you can find a hand-drawn map on the wall between the desk and the bed, it's called "secret map" and we use it with secret decoder to solve the puzzle and find the way in junk pile to get his treasure. (in fact, there's a short one way hole. ^ ^") besides, the details on the map based on Eriksen household's neighborhood but the locations were changed to his imaginary things and i'm curious what inspire them.

So if an upcoming episode had the adventures of Chris and the brothers, i think every imaginary places and monsters in the secret map would be the destinations and let us know more about Chris' imaginary world and his background.

#7. Was Emily Eriksen killed by an influential person?

Emily was killed in hit and run on December 16, 2014 in Beaver Creek. Charles had asked the officers about finding the culprit for two years but they said they couldn't find more evidence because the street surveillance data isn't available for the scene.

It's possible the Emily case may be difficult for investigation like they said or the officers try not to investigate this case because they don't want to deal with influential people who would be revealed in upcoming episodes.

#8. Sean may plan to leave Daniel at Mrs. Reynolds's house and escape to Puerto Lobos alone.

youtube

source: https://youtu.be/eji0xlwH2-A

Besides mentioning her grandchildren, Claire also tells one of them is Chris' age and she bet him and Chris would get along like brothers. I think her words sounds really suspicious. why she compares Chris to Daniel's new brother instead of a best friend and Daniel still has Sean as his older brother.

I think Sean knows Daniel would never has a chance to be a suspect like him (if he never revealed his powers to everybody) and it seems to be hard to take a long trip with kid and a dog. so Sean may consult Claire without Daniel before she comes to see Chris but his plan wouldn't succeed for some reason.

#9. Derek, a proud member of a Church may has an important role.

youtube

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chqug...

When Chris does something in the house for a while, Derek will call and say he is a proud member of the Universal Uprising Church and his church wants Chris and his loved ones to share the holy spirit. I guess Derek and his church may have interesting background and important roles in upcoming episodes. they may know something about super powers and have an ability to help Daniel or have mysterious backstory and be involved in murders.

#10. Chris may escape from the Eriksen Household to his grandparents's home.

Near Charles' Laptop, you can find the letter to Charles from Peter Wyatt, the father of Emily reads Peter and his wife Kristen care so much about Charles and Chris. he heard Charles was in bar fight and he ask for permission to take care of Chris and want Charles to consider joining a support group.

Although Chris doesn't want to leave Charles but in an upcoming episode, the domestic violence of Eriksen household may escalate and Chris would escape to Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt's home or Daniel may accidentally hurt Charles for protecting Chris. so the brothers and the only child would have to run away together.

#11. Sean and Daniel may not reach Mexico.

Besides the journey of a thousand miles, they may have to face other racists, bump into officers or be chased by the antagonists who haven't revealed yet, however the brothers may find out the reason how and why Daniel got the powers and resolve all the conflicts before arrival to Puerto Lobos.

#12. It's possible that Sean or Daniel would pass away at the end of season.

youtube

sorce: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwzNgdu5n8Y

I know it sounds terrible but if the second season still had a life/death ending like the first season and brotherly bonding is the main theme, their death could surely make us depressed for a month. this idea is inspired by Daniel lines that he talks with Sean about two raccoons they saw. he guesses the dead one may be the brother of the other one and Sean stops him from thinking of it, however this may be a hint from Dontnod or just random lines.

In my opinion, if Sean was the person who passed away by try to protect Daniel or whatever and left his sketchbook with all good memories of their journey to him, it would be a sad and beautiful ending. (I'm so sorry Lyla. T T)

I'm a little bit disappointed that the second episode will release on January, 2019. i thought they would release in December but there's no any teaser trailer released in November and i was afraid that episode 2 will be released in Jan like somebody said and now it's true.

but it's better than waiting without knowing for how long, right?

#life is strange 2 #Lis2 #the awesome adventures of captain spirit #captain spirit #speculations #theory #sean diaz #daniel diaz #chris eriksen #lyla park #brody holloway #charles eriksen #emily eriksen #dontnod

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melindacoulson4 · 7 years ago

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It’s a tragedy

Philinda. Speculation for 5x12. How do you respond? What do you say when you know you're running into certain death and the woman you love is right in front of you? This is what it means to be the shield. Ch.1/3.

He knew this decision would turn into a blowout fight. Right from the beginning, when Daisy and Fitz ran into the control room and began spewing details about how the kree calling device blew up in the storage room and Noah was now dead. The same storage room that apparently also held three monoliths encased in fiberglass. But what good would fiberglass be against a detonated alien artifact. Daisy had tapped into the security camera feeds for the room as Fitz went on and on about the implications of anything in that storage room getting out. There were rows upon rows of stored shield tech. Powerful weapons. Decommissioned O84s. Fitz paced back and forth spewing garbled speech, trying to wrap his head around all of the possible things that could be happening in that room. He and Melinda watched Fitz, unable to comprehend the science lingo coming from his mouth.

They all turned towards the image that popped up on the screen before them. It was something completely unimaginable. A glowing blue light hovered in midair at one end of the room. It didn't seem to come from any object. It was just there, floating with the light swirling around haphazardly. He'd seen many things in his lifetime, hundreds of unexplainable, mind boggling things: everything from gravitonium to LMDs to Tahiti to Carl Creel. There was a spectrum of weird that he’d gotten used to. Nothing seemed to surprise him anymore after years of coming into contact with these things. But this left him speechless. It looked like a literal rip in space and time, like a special effect from a sci-fi movie that could never come to fruition. Daisy switched camera angles. The next view that they got was of absolute chaos. Metal containers were shaking in place; some were on the ground busted open. Metal shelving units were overturned. Items were zipping past the screen like a twister was ripping through the room. He wondered how that blue light was creating all of this disruption.

Something else caught his eye. There was movement along the left side of the screen. It appeared that there were shadows moving quickly in and out of the camera feed. But as he looked closer his heart truly dropped into his stomach. The shadows took on a distinct shape. There was no doubt in his mind of what they were: people. There were people in that room. They watched completely entranced as someone ran past the screen, going so fast Phil could only make out a blur of movement. Another one moved to the right side of the feed and this time the camera picked up more detail. A woman stood there with dark hair, a black jacket, jeans, and boots. He couldn’t make out anything significant or familiar about her. There was no clue as to who she was or how she ended up in there. Another figure appeared. This time a man, obviously distressed with his arms waving wildly. He grabbed the woman by the elbow and they both took off running. They appeared to be normal, but they were clearly terrified of something other than the floating blue light in the room. That's when they saw a familiar face flash across the video feed. “This can’t be real,” Daisy gasped. The wild black hair. The misshapen forehead. The distinct massive body. It was Lash. All of the evidence was right there in front of them, illuminated by the bright cerulean blue light. But he still couldn’t wrap his mind around it. It was impossible. Lash was dead. Andrew was dead. Daisy had been with him when he died. May had seen the body. There was no way he could be here, alive and in this timeline, right now. And yet they could all clearly see him stomping around the area and moving in and out of the video frame. He caught Melinda's gaping stare out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't imagine what was running through her head. "I may be able to get ears in there...," Daisy trailed off as she rapidly typed on the keyboard. He almost objected, unsure if he even wanted to hear any horrible sounds coming out of that room. At first, there was a deafening silence and then the sounds of destruction: crunching metal, items banging around, winds whipping. Just when he was beginning to think it wasn’t so bad, the screams began. The bloodcurdling type of screams that momentarily freeze the body in place just on instinct alone. Ones that make the brain say: someone is about to die. It accessed the primal part of the brain and caused the heart to accelerate, knees to weaken, and shivers to run in waves through all four limbs. In his case, all three limbs, the robotic forearm and hand being the exception. All of those people, who even knew how many were in there, would be slaughtered by Lash. Hell, it most likely was already happening right now by the sounds of those screams. Lash was a beast- an unstoppable force of pure strength. He knew right then that someone would have to go in and assess the damage. Those people were nothing but innocent civilians trapped in that room. They could be people from the future, the past, another universe, a different dimension. They could've come from anywhere. He couldn't let them stay there in the room where no logic existed. There was no doubt in his mind that if they let whatever was happening in that room continue to develop, hell would rain down upon them all. If something so powerful was somehow released into the world there may not be a world left after that. An extinction level event would occur. Maybe this was where the end began. Maybe this was why the Earth cracked apart. Maybe it had nothing to do with Daisy. Either way, someone had to fix the problem. Someone would have to find a way to lead everyone to safety and get the monoliths contained. He knew there was no other choice but himself. Who better to go storming into a room full of nightmares than a man who had a nightmare spreading inside of him already- one that would kill him any day now. He was a ticking time bomb. If he died in that room it wouldn't be a sacrifice. It would merely be the universe speeding up the inevitable. So when he opened his mouth and shared his plan to go in alone everyone else took that as an invitation to yell out reasons why they should be the one to accompany him. I know what Lash is capable of! I am the only one with an actual scientific background to deal with the monoliths! I can solve the problem! Oh really? And what equipment would you use? You don’t even have your powers. He was my husband! You're not seriously using that as a reason. None of you understand the gravity of this situation! You'll be killed in an instant! I am the engineer here! You'd be way in over your head. I'm going. On and on they argued. Daisy, Melinda, and Fitz shouted at each other for a full five minutes. He had a sneaking suspicion that he could've vacated the room and they would've been none the wiser. But he couldn't take the risk of any of them trying to follow him. He'd laid it out clear and dry. None of them were expendable. Only one person had to go in and that person would be him. They all froze and stared at him in complete shock, not quite believing what he was saying. He found it easier to turn away in that moment, to flee before they gained their senses back. But of course Daisy stepped in his way before he could get anywhere. She told him that he couldn't go in alone and asked him why he had to be the one to go. He ignored the question. She didn't need to know about the sickness inside of him. None of them needed to know. Instead, he'd turned it back on her and told her why she had to stay. He told her that she was the future of shield. She had a knack for inspiring people and he said that was why she would become the next leader. And that's how they ended up here, arguing in this moment. "To lead what? To inspire who?" She snaps with a shake of her head, not quite grasping what he has been telling her. "Shield. There's an idea....a symbol. That must continue," he explains. She is everything that shield stands for. He saw it right from the beginning. She's a leader: innovative, passionate, and intelligent- the ideal replacement to become director of shield. If anyone were to rise up and take the reins he would want it to be her. "There is no shield!" She screams adamantly. Technically, she's right. There is no base of operations. No director. No army of agents. There's only the seven of them (not including Deke) in their core group. The extraordinary people that he's chosen to surround himself with. They have all become shield. They've carried the burdens: not having families or personal lives. The losses: Rosalind, Andrew, Lincoln, Mace, Tripp, Hunter, Bobbi, and now Talbot. The heartache: Bahrain, Daisy's parents, Ward's betrayal, Melinda's captivity and subsequent replacement. The trauma: being dropped in the ocean, losing a hand, being killed and brought back, being responsible for Mace's death, Mack losing a daughter in the framework, Jemma stuck on an alien planet, and most recently Yo-Yo losing both arms. Year after year they've suffered in the name of protection, justice, and truth. Person after person being bombarded by unimaginable obstacles. Yet each one of them has risen to the occasion to carry on shield's message. "This is shield. Right here! Every person in the bunker is shield. You are all needed to keep it going!" He will not allow anyone else to die. No one else will go in with him. They are all needed. This world needs them. All of them: Fitz, Simmons, Melinda, Daisy, Mack, and Yo-Yo. They all bring something unique to the table. Each person has a specific skillset that no one else possesses. Together they make the perfect team. They represent the shield. "And what...you're not needed then?" Daisy asks incredulously, arms crossing over her chest. I don't have a choice, he opens his mouth ready to fire back, and then snaps back to reality. He can't say. He can't give her an answer. He refuses to tell them about his imminent demise. It would only make things worse. He sighs heavily. She's backed him into a corner, which makes him equally frustrated and proud of her. And just like that she’s validated what he’s been saying, becoming the leader that he sees within her. Never backing down from a fight. Always trying to save everyone (except herself). She's never shied away from a challenge. If she believes something is wrong, she speaks up. That particular trait now impedes his escape but still, he appreciates her concern. He knows they can't waste anymore time arguing. The outcome will be the same no matter what she says. He is going into that room unaccompanied to fix whatever the hell the problem is. He'll eliminate the threat no matter what the cost. "I am needed right now to go in that room and if a sacrifice needs to be made then that's what will happen. I am going in...alone. End of discussion!" He orders, cutting off all of their rebuttals. He catches Daisy's flinch, Fitz's raised eyebrows, and Melinda's devastation. He storms off before Daisy can get another word in, swiping his icer and holster off of the table nearest to the screens on his way out. Before even thinking about entering the storage room he stops by their makeshift armory. It’s one thing to run head first into a situation without backup, but it’s a whole other beast when you have no artillery to aid you. There are multiple rows of various types of guns, grenades, gas masks, goggles, vests, helmets, and shields in here. There are cases of bullets. This armory has everything an agent could dream of having if that agent was living in the 50’s, that is. Unfortunately, nothing has been updated around here. There’s no advanced Fitzsimmons developed and tested tech. They don’t have a stock of icers, which were only created a few years ago. Everything they had was lost in the explosion of their former base. The only icers they had left were the ones that had come from the storage on the zephyr. He needs something out of this world to help him. He really wishes that bambino was stored somewhere around here. He would definitely appreciate that sort of fire power right about now. There just wasn’t a rule book for this sort of thing. How does one fight an inhuman beast hell-bent on destruction? One who also happens to be the former husband of the woman he’s madly in love with. The thought makes him cringe. He settles for two grenades. They seem like the most powerful weapons in this armory. As he picks them up, he realizes there is writing stamped on the sides. SSR 141849387and SSR141849388 He feels a spark of boyish excitement reading that, nostalgia overtaking him. He wonders how old this bunker really is. He could spend hours exploring every room, taking in the work of former agents. But he knows he can’t afford to think about that right now. It would only make walking into that room with the blue light, Lash, and three monoliths that much harder. He shakes the feelings away.

He stuffs the grenades and the three extra bullet clips that he’d snagged from one of cases into a small zipper pouch in his hand. The storage room is down two floors and on the left side of the hallway three doors down. He finds the elevator, enters it, and presses the correct floor. It jolts to life almost startling him as he could still feel some of the residual tremors flowing through his legs from the high of his fight with Daisy. The excess adrenaline is still lingering within his body.

Don’t think of Daisy now. Better yet, don’t think of anyone. Focus on the mission. It’s difficult to do so when he’s at a total loss for a plan right now. Talking some sense into Lash is out of the question. Killing him with simple bullets is out of the question. He has no clue. The only thing that makes a bit of sense is to somehow lure Lash back to the monolith that he came from. That’s the big question though. Where the hell did this Lash come from? Some nightmare dimension full of dark terrors he assumes. A place where items like the darkhold originate from. The doors open as the elevator stops, signaling the arrival of the desired floor. Before moving, he checks and rechecks the chamber in his handgun, reholsters it, then grabs the icer from behind his back and tucks it into the front of his waistband. Get in there and do the job, he tells himself. Pretend it’s just another mission, he repeats over and over in his mind. After taking one last deep breath he steps off of the elevator and begins marching towards his target at the end of the hall on his left. He only gets five steps before the door to his immediate right swings open and slams against the wall. A figure steps out and cuts him off. It’s obvious who it is. Melinda. He doesn’t want to believe that she came down here for him. He wishes she didn’t. He really wishes she didn’t. All he can do is stare at her as her chest heaves in an attempt to catch her breath. Her left hand falls against the wall as she braces herself, visibly cringing.

It takes him a few seconds to figure out why. Once he does, concern shoots through his veins. The door that busted open only seconds ago is labeled: STAIRWAY, which means she ran down the stairs to get here in time. She ran on her wounded leg and now she’s in pain. All for the chance to try and stop him.

His teeth clench together at the thought of her rushing to move down the steps, hurting herself in the process. That’s what always seems to happen. She is always getting hurt because of him. This will be the last time, though. He’s not coming back out of that room once he goes in. There are too many things that could go wrong in that room. He can feel the danger in his gut like a sixth sense. It’s the ugly truth that he’s come to accept. He simply watches Melinda breathe in front of him, unable to come up with a proper sentence. She looks right back at him, her dark eyes filled with anger. The last time she was this pissed off was when he implied that she was too quick to kill- that she was trigger happy. That ended with her slamming a car door in his face and a silent treatment for three agonizing hours. The laser focus that she has on him now makes him feel disarmed and bear, like she can see right through him and read each thought that crosses his mind. This will be the end of them, he thinks and hopes that she’s unable to read that thought. "So that's it. You're just going to go in there alone and get yourself killed?" she asks as a deep frown forms on her face, concealing the hurt that he knows is just under the surface and threatening to break through. He sighs. He should've known she wouldn't give up that easily. “Melinda…please.” He doesn't know if he has the emotional strength to deal with this. And he certainly doesn’t want their last moments to be made up of snarls and wounding words. They already have a lifetime supply of those from previous arguments. She steps closer, pushing off the wall with a closed fist. "Please what? Don't bother you? Don't talk to you? Don't get in your way? Because that's all I feel like I'm doing lately!" She yells as the frustration of the last few days finally comes out. She takes a breath, calming herself. "Do you not want me around anymore?" She swallows thickly. No. God, no. He'd never truly wanted to drive her away. But life had forced his hand. There wasn't a choice here. He had to push her away. He hangs his head in shame. "No. Of course not. I'm sorry that it seems that way. It wasn't my intention." He never meant to hurt her. He just needed to stay away for his own sanity. He couldn't have her there- always near him, so he lied and made up excuses to keep them apart. If not, he would've broken down and spilled everything. The muscles in her jaw clench. "It wasn't your intention? Just stop! Why do you keep talking to me like I'm just another agent? I'm....we're...more than that. Just tell me what you really mean. I can't do this anymore, Phil." Her frustration washes over him and seems to wrap around his legs tugging him down towards the darkness. He can't do this anymore either. It's slowly sucking the life from him. The constant lying and pretending that he's okay. It's taking a toll and he just wants it all to end. But he knows he has a duty to perform. He has to fix this last problem before giving in to the pull of death. Maybe then it will mean something. This way, he won't die pathetically from a heart attack. They won't find him dead in bed or slumped over in a chair. Instead, he'll do this one last thing for them. He'll go out dignified and fighting. "I need to go in there by myself. I need to know that the team will be safe." He inhales sharply. "I need to know that you'll be safe,” he tells her sincerely as his voice deepens with the pain of everything left unsaid between them. Her safety means everything. The thought of her in danger is like a lead weight in the pit of his stomach. If Lash got anywhere near her. If the monolith somehow sucked her in like it did to Jemma. If what happened to Yo-Yo happened to Melinda. He wouldn't be able to survive any of that. She closes the distance between them with a few steps towards him. She stops merely inches from his face. It’s the closest they’ve been in weeks. "Phil....I need to know you'll be safe." She echoes his words, emphasizing each one as they fall from her trembling lips.

It’s obvious that she knows the reality of this situation. That the chances of his survival are slim to none. She knows what a hard call is. They’ve both seen the aftermaths countless times. The spiral Daisy went into after Lincoln’s sacrifice being the most recent. And what happened in Bahrain being her own personal hard call. They both know that once he goes in that room he’ll likely never come back out. Her fingers curl around his leather jacket, clutching it tightly in both hands as tears unashamedly begin rolling down her cheeks. The sight makes his knees weak as if an arrow has pierced the back of both of legs. It takes everything he has not to collapse in front of her. Her distress triggers something deep inside of him. He feels his throat turning to stone as he tries to swallow. His nose burns as he fails to hold back his own tears and he knows that this reaction cannot be prevented. There’s no real reason to hide it any longer. He can only be strong for so long, especially with the way she looks now.

The tears continuously fall from her lashes. He can tell that she’s trying to keep them at bay, but now that it’s started she can stop it.

It shakes him to his core because he's never seen her cry like this. He lifts a shaking hand, trying to be strong for her. His unsteady hand cups her cheek. "Please. Don't cry," he whispers. His thumb gently wipes the wetness away beneath her eye, mindful of the bruising on the side of her face.

Then, he silently begs her to stop making this so hard. The love that he feels for her pours out of him through his tears. He loves her heart, loves that she would try to stop him from going in that room. It’s just another demonstration of her unwavering devotion. She gazes up at him, tears still shining in her eyes. Her grip becomes tighter and she tugs at his lapels, making him take a step closer to her, eliminating all space between them. Their bodies now flush against each other. His hips brush her stomach with each breath they take. There are so many things that he wants to say but nothing seems appropriate now. Her face inches closer to his and in a blink- before he can process what’s happening, she kisses him, still holding him close to her body. He wants this to happen, has never wanted anything more in his life. He's never waited for something so long. But, at the same time he knows that this is a terrible decision on his part. In the end, he’s powerless against it. There's an electric pull between them that can't be fought against.��All he can do is let his eyelids close, shutting out the world, as their lips explore each other for the first time. The first sensation he feels is relief, knowing that this moment is real. She’s real this time. There isn’t an android version playing him. She’s Melinda, flesh and blood. And she chose this all on her own. There was no programming deep inside her brain making her kiss him. It's all her. After that, there’s an overwhelming sense of warmth as her soft lips seem to caress his. It’s emotional and passionate. He lets it take over as he sinks into their embrace, matching her enthusiasm. He opens his mouth to deepen the kiss. She tilts her head giving him a better angle. They duel back and forth and it becomes somewhat sloppy as they fumble a bit, noses bumping. She sucks on his lower lip. Their tongues tangle together. All decision making capabilities have been put on pause. As anyone who knows them could’ve guessed, their passion threatens to overrule rational thought. It’s much too easy to lose control when he’s longed for her over the course of the last few decades and now she’s giving him all of her in this moment. It needs to stop now. He needs to get a grip before it's too late. Regrettably, he pulls back, knowing that one more second of her would mean defeat. Their lips stick together briefly as they both move slowly away from each other. It uses up all of his remaining strength to keep himself from leaning in and capturing her lips again. Everything between them seems so clear in this moment. The want, the desires burn bright. They could’ve had something magical between them. And that kiss was nothing but a cruel tease. It makes him want impossible things, both in body and mind. He wants to press her into the nearest wall and forget about everything, all of his responsibilities. He wants to hold her face in both of his hands and kiss her for hours. He wants all of it. Everything she has to offer. When the rational part of his brain demands that he flee right now, the rest of him stays put, body cemented in place. She breaks his resolve. He wants to be weak. To give in just this once. To be selfish. He wants to take her hand and run. Didn't they deserve it? After all of the hell they've been through. Didn't they deserve a breath of fresh air- some sort of slack from the universe? It’s like he’s always been waiting for the okay. The signal that it was time. The universe calling out to him: sure, Phil. You two have experienced enough heartache. Now go be free. They were supposed to do so many things. They were supposed to experience each other.

He wants to know what it's like to wake up in a pile of warm blankets with his arms wrapped around her. Bodies pressed together. He wants to share everything. To weave his fingers through hers as they sit with the rest of the team, beers in hand, thighs pressed together, feeling each other’s warmth.

To run to her after being separated after a tough mission, bodies colliding. They would think nothing of the dirt or sweat on them because it wouldn’t matter as long as they were together. He’s lost count of the number of times he’s wanted to do that very thing, but instead he’d held his hands at his sides and settled for a quick: you okay? He wants to see her fierce protectiveness coming out when it comes to everyone on the team and not being forced to hide his admiration. He’d be able to verbalize how lucky he is to have her. He longs to make stupid, corny jokes just to see her fight to keep the smile from forming on her face. He wishes they could just be together. But now, all the universe says to him is: Too little, too late, Phil. You had every possible chance to tell her, but you never did. You took it all for granted. Now you're chance has passed. You missed it. You’re thirty years too late. That's the tragedy of being them. Being friends isn't enough. Being partners isn't enough. Being whatever they are right now isn't enough. Their one and only kiss will never be enough. None of it will ever be enough. Which is why, he allows himself another brief moment of closeness between them- one that he's denied for years. His arms wrap around her waist, pulling her into him once again. He holds her like he's always wanted to. They both envelop each other in a hug. His hands sneak under the back of her jacket in an attempt to get closer. The heat from her back penetrates the cotton fabric of her t-shirt and warms his palms as he touches her. At the same time, he’s able to feel how taut her muscles are in her shoulder area. He applies some pressure with his fingertips, hoping to relieve some of her tension. She matches his enthusiasm. Her arms envelope his body as she clings to him just as he is to her. This is where he's supposed to be. It feels like home. The bliss of the moment is broken soon after as a distant scream echoes through the hallway. It brings him back to the present, back to reality. The one where he's dying and can't keep holding onto her. The one where he knows this would never work out. She would never let him go in there alone now that she has him here. Now that they're joined together like this after sharing a kiss and pouring their hearts out. That's why she can't know what he's going to do. He squeezes his eyes shut and presses a kiss to the side of her neck, feels the shiver run up her skin in response. He buries his face in her soft hair, the warmth there. This will carry him through. As long as he keeps in mind that he’s fighting for her to live he'll do whatever it takes to keep the horrors from escaping that storage room. He won't let them get to her. Nothing will have a chance to even come near her. As they begin pulling away from each other he spots tears still shinning in her sad eyes.

“I want you to know something,” he whispers.

His hands drop from under her jacket and discretely move towards the icer tucked into his waistband. His fingers grasp the metal handle. The gun seems to be heavier this time around, but he knows it’s just his reluctance to do this. He’s betraying her trust again. She'll wake up alone realizing what he's done. Maybe she'll hate him, maybe she won’t. Either way he won't be coming back to find out. The icer rests between them, pointed at her stomach, as she continues staring into his eyes, unaware of his movements. “What is it?”

She asks with such openness that it threatens to strike him down. For the first time in- he can't even remember how long- she doesn't realize what's about to happen. She doesn’t anticipate what's to come. And he knows it’s only because she has her guard down. She has complete trust in him. Trusting him to never hurt her or crush her. He hates himself for it. They’ve run out of time. So he takes one more breath and allows himself three seconds. Three seconds to get lost in her eyes. Three seconds that he wants to spill his heart out but can't quite bring himself to form any words. Instead, all he can do is stare into her eyes, silently conveying it all. All that he feels and he can only hope that she’ll be able to understand his motives with time. Three seconds. You're my partner. My best friend, May. Two seconds. “You mean everything to me.” he tells her softly.

One second. I love you. He doesn’t give her a chance to respond. He wouldn’t make it if she said anything back. Just the thought of hearing her say any words from the heart threatens to break him. Instead, he squeezes his eyes shut, unable to look at her, as he pulls the trigger on the icer. A small yelp of surprise leaves her mouth before the drug overtakes her, dragging her into unconsciousness. He feels the slight shake of her body in response to the substance and knows that it’s done the job. She goes limp against him, her weight crashing against his chest. He catches her and wraps his arms around her, holding her up. It'll keep her knocked out long enough for him to get into the room and find a way to barricade the doors shut. So that he can lock everyone out indefinitely, for their own good. He has to keep her away from the room. They need significant distance. He picks her up and moves her into the elevator. He can send her away, far away where she'll be safe from harm. The best he can do is set her down against the wall. The metal material is anything but comfortable, but at least she won't be sitting out in the open, vulnerable. He crouches down in front of her, drawn to her closed eyes. All of the pain is gone from her face. Her expression is clear as she rests in deep sleep. The magnetism between them compels him to lift his left hand and touch her face one last time. Half of it is covered by locks of hair that have fallen in the way during their relocation. He brushes it behind her ear and brings his palm to her jaw, just holding her. It feels so natural, as if he's done it every day for the last ten years. He now has a clear view of the bruises that still linger underneath her skin. They line the side of her face where she was brutally hit during one of her fights in the future. When he first saw the marks and asked her about them she brushed off his concern. Fitz was the one that came to him and relayed the story of what happened in the pit. It was just another tick against him. She would've never been in that situation if he hadn't left her all alone to face the kree with a severely wounded leg. Looking at her now he is reassured that she'll be able to move on without him. The loss may hurt for a while, but her strength will keep her afloat. She's the strongest person he's ever met. He nods to himself deciding that now is as best a time as ever to leave. He gives one last goodbye. "Melinda....I love you and....I'm so sorry for all of this. I hope one day you can forgive me." He says this knowing that he won't be alive to experience that forgiveness. His body moves away gradually, savoring the physical feeling of her, knowing that he's losing her with each second. His fingertips run across her jaw, neck, shoulder, bicep, forearm, and then her wrist. That's when his hand cradles hers- the last part of her. He keeps the connection until only their fingertips brush and then her hand falls limply at her side.

Tearing his gaze away from her, he turns around before he has a chance to stop himself and quickly clicks the 20 on the elevator, before stepping out. His breath stutters in his chest as he hears the doors close and the whine of the elevator coming to life once again. It’s done. She’s gone.

The distance already seems to be shattering his heart as he takes his final walk down the hall. Numbness spreads in his legs and arms but he pushes through. He has to. There's no other choice. There is no room for emotions now only logic.

He’s prepared to do whatever needs to be done to keep everyone else in this bunker safe.

He'll be the shield.

//end Chapter 1//

#philinda #philinda fic #philinda ff #phil coulson #melinda may #aos 5x12 #i feel like we're going to get something significant tonight #and i can't breathe #i'm so excited

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mtg-weekly-recap · 8 years ago

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MTG Weekly Tumblr Recap: April 24, 2017

Hour of Devastation Key art | Wizards of the Coast

Welcome to this week’s worthy edition! Prereleases were in full swing this weekend and this week saw Trials, Zombies, and our first glimpse of Razaketh in the Magic Story. Wizards might have moved the capital ‘A’ Announcement Day to June, but apparently no one told the announcements. Join us by the fertile banks of the Luxa that is this issue of the Magic: the Gathering Weekly Tumblr Recap.

1. Isn’t It Iconic…

Found on Twitter

Our recent announcement from Wizards’ home base this past week was quite substantial, with the upcoming Commander 2017 products which feature an exciting new tribal theme! We also have the name of the fall set, Ixalan, which will rotate into Standard with and is currently rumored to have a Meso-American theme. Likely the largest and most anticipated of all was Iconic Masters, which will feature iconic cards from all over Magic history!

Commander 2017 is set to be released on August 25 and will be available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Japanese. The products will all be available in the United States for MSRP at $34.99. They will feature a tribal theme, supposedly with Magic’s most popular and interesting tribes. A total of 56 new cards will be legal as well in Legacy and Vintage at that, and the most notable detail, there will only be FOUR of these decks as opposed to the usual five. More information is available here.

Ixalan, the 2017 fall set to come, has quite a few rumors floating about for its theme. One very popular speculation is that it has a Meso-American theme as aforementioned. One interesting speculation came from Zurgo Helmsmasher @khanofthemardu, with another one here from @vampire-hoe via @chelsea-beleren-vess‘s inbox. Check out some other ones here:

http://sarpadianempiresvol-viii.tumblr.com/post/159728962689/helene-bergeot-confirmed-today-that-the-fall-set.

http://coincidencetheories.tumblr.com/post/159806978574/mtg-conspiracy-ixalan-is-a-return-to-new-phyrexia.

http://darth-daud.tumblr.com/post/159788985615/im-so-glad-that-they-basically-confirmed-in-my.

However, let it be noted that the Inkmoth Nexus promo is not indicative of Ixalan being a return to New Phyrexia.

Iconic Masters is the next “Masters” set, which will be released on November 17 of this year. There is something very special about this set in particular: there will not be previews of this set! We are told that the set will feature new artwork on many cards, bringing in an array of Angels, Sphinxes, Demons, Dragons, and Hydras (each color’s iconic creatures!) along with some of the most memorable spells in the game’s history. Still in line with previous “Masters” sets, it will have 24 booster packs of 15 cards each, including one premium card. Undoubtedly the set will have a very engaging draft format as Modern Masters 2017 and Eternal Masters before it. This set will be released at HASCON along with additional announcements on Ixalan, so be sure to grab your ticket! Some speculative links below:

https://phyrexian-without-a-cause.tumblr.com/post/159800155534/iconic-legends-what-could-be.

https://island-delver-go.tumblr.com/post/159827828502/with-the-reveal-of-iconic-masters-some-people.

With these announcements in mind, several questions come to bare, many more than I can think of currently I’d bet, but tell us your theories and thoughts on Commander 2017, Ixalan, and Iconic Masters! Whatever the outcome of these will be I’m sure Wizards has quite a few surprises for us yet to come.

— Jesse F, @sorin-memekov

2. This Week’s Magic Story Review

Servants by Kelly Digges

Lliliana, Death’s Majesty | Original MTG art by Chris Rallis

As the cards for Amonkhet were revealed to us, piece by piece during the glorious scramble that was spoiler season, two very significant names were conspicuously absent. Nicol Bolas, the man everyone wanted to see, as well what some, if not most, thought of as the warm-up act, one Razaketh. In Servants, the latter of these mysteries deepens.

With Gideon carting his touche with Oketra, and Nissa and Chandra exploring the forbidden sarcophoguses down Hapatra’s part of town, Liliana has been making inquiries of her own. With zombies literally everywhere, she is reticent to use her necromanty injudiciously, so she has been sending shades to search for any news on Razaketh. Razaketh is the third of four Demons that Liliana made pacts with for the eternal youth and seeming immortality she craved so deeply. Two of her demons, Kothophed and Griselbrand we have met in story and in card, and more importantly, they have met their fate, at a Chain Veil augmented Liliana’s hand. Razaketh’s presence on Amonkhet was no small part of Liliana’s reasons in agreeing and advocating to come here. She harbors strong hopes of enlisting the Gatewatch’s considerable talents in helping her defeat a being even more formidable than Griselbrand.

The ever present yet enigmatic Raven Man is with her, he chiding her for her seemingly tardy and lackadaisical attitude toward ridding herself of the demons, in his mind the tarrying on Ravnica and Kaladesh was time that could have been better spent, and that he feels she is weakening in resolve and allowing the Gatewatch’s upright and selfless ideals to soften her and dull her otherwise keen sense of self-interest. It is especially hinted on three or four visits from Jace back when they were still on Ravnica that went deep into the night might be more than simple machination and manipulation, something she protests vociferously.

With ears clearly burning Jace arrives just as a shade brings Liliana word of a place to investigate. Liliana invites Jace along, knowing if she didn’t he’d just come along anyway, just invisibly. They are led by Liliana’s agent down to a subterranean facility where scores of Anointed prepare and process the less successful initiates of the Trials

Anointer Priest | Original MTG art by Lake Horwitz

A relief in the bowels of this place reveals to Jace that Liliana is not, in fact in pursuit of Bolas, but Razaketh. Having been betrayed in the past by Liliana, Jace is less than happy about the omission of this significant detail about the plane, while from Liliana’s point of view, the eyes of the Razaketh carving snap open, and the Anointed start chanting her name. What cannot be deinied is that the mummies begin to crowd threateningly around Jace and Liliana. Liliana’s powers over the undead are blunted by the cartouches worn by the Anointed, and Temmet arrives to find the newcomers where no newcomers should be. Jace is forced to take over Temmet’s mind in order to carve a path for he and LIliana through the throng, and leaves Temmet unconscious and defenseless in a room where the occupants have strict instructions as to what happens to inert, lifeless bodies under their care…

…perhaps?

— Liam, @coincidencetheories

3. A Brief History of Jace and Liliana

Liliana Vess Speedpaint | Art by @oddsbod

A long, winding road brought Jace Beleren and Liliana Vess together. Their journey started with Nicol Bolas, which seems to be where they are winding up now.

In Agents of Artifice, Liliana travels to Ravnica where she meets Jace and his best friend Kallist Rhoka. Jace Beleren joins an interplanar organization known as The Infinite Consortium. Tezzeret becomes Jace’s strong-handed mentor, in hopes of training him to become a more talented mage. Tezzeret undoubtedly hopes that Jace will join Nicol Bolas in his quest for power. However, Tezzeret’s tactics are abusive; they are not at all characteristics of a healthy mentor/mentee relationship.

Enter Liliana Vess, who has made four deals with demons, and then subsequently with Nicol Bolas. She has to turn the Consortium over to Bolas in exchange for his help in finding and destroying her demon masters. She then begins a relationship with Jace to do this, so that they can take the Consortium for themselves. Jace falls in love with Liliana, and Liliana returns the feelings. It is known that they care very deeply for each other. However, her feelings of love toward Jace are not enough to stave off her betrayal, and she reveals to Jace (disguised as the planeswalker Baltrice) her motives. Jace then subsequently leaves Liliana, but forgives her and makes a pact to help her rid herself of demons. At the end of the AoA, Jace states: Like a thousand suns will rise across a thousand world, he knew that he and Liliana would meet again. He would get to know her, beneath the disguise, the desperation and the lies. If he could love who he found, perhaps they could begin again.

Fast forward to Catching Up, where Liliana visits Jace on Ravnica to ask for help with her demons. However, they are interrupted by Gideon, who pulls Jace off to Zendikar for the events of Battle for Zendikar. When the Gatewatch disposes of Kozilek and Ulamog, Jace follows Emrakul’s trail to Innistrad, where he meets up with Liliana and asks for her help. Liliana ultimately joins the Gatewatch and helps them trap Emrakul.

The Gatewatch then travels to Kaladesh at the urging of Dovin Baan, where they find that Tezzeret is a public figure. Tezzeret is still very much alive and causing harm, so the Gatewatch takes a stance against the Consulate.

After the events of Kaladesh, the Gatewatch travels to Amonkhet, though Liliana doesn’t tell them her true motives for going to the plane, which is her third demon, Razaketh.

— Haley D, @sunshine-spice

4. Fan-arts…

Free Dogs | Original art by @shutupismelldrawings

This week in the fan art corner, we have some absolutely wonderful pieces. It feels like I say that every week, but, hey, I’ll stop when y’all stop making absolutely wonderful pieces… Watching our Gates this week are the cutest pair, with @darkselia ‘s Liliana, and @jakaltimes ‘s depiction of Gideon’s complex yet simple develpoing relationship with a literal God

@oddsbod chimes in with the early moments from last week’s story, The Writing on the Wall with Nissa’s Dream, and @zeico treats us with a sketch of Ravnica’s most electric experiment Ral Zarek

@Isharton contintues to absolutely kill it with this drawing of Hipster Hazoret and Coffeshop Oketra

— Liam W, @coincidencetheories

…and Fan-Crafts!

Master Tinkerer | Original Magic Art by Matt Stewart

The week that leads up to pre-release, just after the full preview of the cards is a magic time where people get creative with all the new inspiration and the motivation of showing off at the LGS! Here are a few of the great cosplay and other creative endeavors that graced our feeds this week:

(Nissa’s Pilgramage by @eternal0aranel, more Nissa cosplay)

Liliana Vess, @mossybunni

Cardboard Carapace and Plague Doctor’s mask, Redditor Mayorse via @mtg-realm

Amonkhet God Buttons, @sticksandsharks

(Amonkhet and more Cookies, from @mtg-realm)

Yarn Gideon (Gideyarn?) of the Trials, @oketragodofyarn

Cartouche of Solidarity, @hirfael

—Compiled by Liam W, @coincidencetheories

5. Tumblr Magnet

Tumble Magnet | Original MTG art, Drew Baker

Here are a few longer form articles written this week or simply recently that you might have skipped over that are worth the time to go back and read… @akhonography writes on Egyptian influences relating to Amonkhet, and here she has a few small notes on Cleopatra, the inspiration behind Hapatra @sarpadianempiresvol-viii argues that Amonkhet’s top down design is a boon for new players to get a handle on Speaking of new players, @imakethecard explains why the power-level of intro and Planeswalker decks are kept so low.

@askkrenko gives their opinion on why colorless cards are the most damaging type of card to be overpowered

@krymsinviking and others discuss the merits of having full art lands if and when we return to Theros.

@cameronlamcomposer brings us Abzan’s First Lady, The Foremost, in song form!

— Compiled by Liam W, @coincidencetheories

…and finally: Tap for Initiative

It’s always a wonderful moment when a labor of love comes to fruition, or at the very least makes it into beta. @yaldobaoth has been working on their Magic the Gathering RPG system for over nine months, and is proud to release it into the wild, looking for people to take it for a test run, really put it through it’s paces and help find out where the next improvements are to be found!

Thank you again for reading this week’s issue of the MTG Weekly Tumblr Recap. Hope to see you next week!

Interested in contributing to the Recap? Want to keep track of notable posts and trends throughout the MTG community on a given week? Or write a short blurb on a specific topic? Do you just want to make us aware of one specific topic or post? Please PM our main editor @the-burnished-hart or any of our staff writers

#magic the gathering #mtg #magic #liliana vess #liliana #jace #jace beleren #amonkhet #mtgakh #cosplay #fanart #fan music #mtgrpg #ixalan #iconic masters #commander 17

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