#thus i am remaking them into ancients

[mothsakura]

aw poor 42, life really seems to have it out for him...

also does 15 have any story yet? such as why they're a jerk?

hmmmmm not sure! however i do know that dude is the embodiment of karma 1 ! i guess just the power of being a council member got to his head after all sometimes council members can do some serious crimes and get away with it only because they're a part of the council or something yeah the council ancients can be rather mean at times, especially toward lower or working class ancients

[ihavedonenothingright]

So thus far into TOTK (I haven't finished the game, but I got the instruction to go beat the final boss), it really does seem like TOTK and BOTW are completely separate lore-wise from most every other game in the series except for maybe Skyward Sword. Zelda travels all the way back to Hyrule's "founding," which she is fairly familiar with, and there's a comment one of the researchers makes about mentions of a "Zelda" in the ancient past confirming that perhaps the name doesn't originate from their princess. He's unaware it's the same Zelda, which means naming every princess of Hyrule "Zelda" is not a thing. This Zelda is, as far as she knows, the first (though that doesn't eliminate the chance others existed).

This (and some other stuff) leads me to believe that the founding of Hyrule in TOTK takes place after all the old games. I highly doubt that all historical records of the name Zelda would have completely disappeared between the ancient past of TOTK and TOTK's present if that space was occupied by all the other games. And that is ignoring the weird time stuff and the required presence of two Ganondorfs simultaneously. On top of that, Sonia, the only Hylian we see much of in the past, resembles Skyward Sword's Impa more than Zelda and Gaepora. We don't know for sure that that Zelda founded Hyrule, but the reincarnated spirit of Hylia is blood-related. So I'm solidly shunting aside the idea that this is the first founding of Hyrule.

Now because the name Zelda has apparently been forgotten, even by TOTK's ancient past (Rauru and Sonia don't exactly go "Oh! Zelda! That's a famous name"), and no one seems aware that Hyrule existed before, I'm going to say that pre (or post...) the arrival of the Zonai, Hyrule goes through something like a Dark Age. Their history is no longer preserved and retold like in older games, and so eventually, you end up in a place where there is no Hyrule, and no one knows about the Triforce and the cycle. But that's really odd, right? Like, scarily odd. How do you forget the Triforce exists? It's the big war-causer in Hyrule's history, this thing that grants you the power to completely remake the world. And no knowledge of Zelda or Link or Ganon? No knowledge of the epic cycle? Clearly Zelda is still inheriting the memories of her prior reincarnations since she recognizes the name "Ganondorf" in a flashback, so what gives?

It seems awfully convenient that no one knows about the Triforce, especially since there's evidence Zelda carries it. The symbol shows up when she uses her sealing powers, and it's definitely still associated with the royal family's crest. Now the second part is really weird since we're at a second founding of Hyrule and no one seems to know what it is. But just focusing on Zelda's powers: for the Triforce to be the source of them, that would have to mean it somehow ended up in Zelda's bloodline. How would it do that?

They mention that she seems to have inherited Rauru's light power and Sonia's time power (which implies they had kids, I know people are skeptical and I am too, but it seems like they did). So, does Rauru's power also derive from the Triforce? Did she get it from him?

Well if he did have it, founding a Hyrule where no one remembers the Triforce, the cycle, or old Hyrule would be much easier.

There's a lot of problems with this theory: namely, Rauru isn't technically dead (I think) until the beginning of TOTK, so wouldn't the Triforce have stayed with him that entire time if he had it? But there's also evidence in the games that the Triforce is a one-use kind of thing, so I can see him getting one shot with it and then passing it along via bloodline like a lot of Zeldas have done with the Triforce of Wisdom. Something about Rauru strikes me as very sinister, and some other people have done a really good job looking at that in more detail (check out @golvio and @betterbemeta's posts), but yeah the vibe of Rauru's inner circle and his Hyrule overall is strange. The representatives of all four races (though we never see the Sheikah in the past, so we can't verify what's going on with them at this point; they might not be Hylians yet) cover their faces with these large, clearly Zonai masks to signal their fealty to Rauru. Practically, they serve the same purpose as the champions' blue clothes, but it's so much more uncomfortable. They don't have faces! They aren't individuals! The only people in the past whose faces we see (who aren't Sonia, Rauru, Zelda, or Mineru because even the ancient Hylians in Rauru's employ wear masks) is Ganondorf and some of his Gerudo. Rauru, Sonia, and the royal line get to walk uncovered, but everyone else depicted as loyal and righteous is faceless.

So I would hazard that the reason BOTW and TOTK are so cut off from the other games lore-wise is not just distance, but because Rauru, when he came down to become king, used the Triforce to completely reforge Hyrule in his own image. It's possible he was told to do this by Hylia, and sent down by the gods as a representative of theirs, but I think it's also possible he was sent for another job (fixing the chaos that is the three way timeline split) and chose to stay and set himself up as a king. He doesn't seem to have been a particularly notable figure among the Zonai; Mineru notes how well he's done for himself on the surface which leads me to believe he had far less power where he came from. Whether or not his intentions were benevolent is a "who knows?" sort of question. Maybe they were! But I think Rauru is a good case for the idea that Ganondorf's reincarnation cycle isn't some cosmic punishment, but rather a natural reaction of balance. Rauru builds all his shrines of light, doesn't appoint a Sage of Shadow (no Sage of Shadow is weird, right? I'm not the only one), forces hegemony on Hyrule, and in the process of trying to make a completely clean society, births an opposite of chaos to his order. TOTK Ganondorf is a little obscure in terms of motive, but in his first few cutscenes in the past, he's fairly composed. He wants Hyrule to bow at his feet; he wants to humiliate Rauru. All the comments he makes towards him are pointed. This is a Ganondorf who resents the idea of becoming another faceless mask. Eventually he morphs into a being of pure chaos, perhaps in response to Rauru's more frantic attempts at control. But if the objective was balance, Hyrule does end up there: by the time of BOTW, the races that were faceless under Rauru seem to be mostly independent. Zelda doesn't exactly force the champions into their divine beasts, and their positions aren't predestined or divine in nature like the sages.

And this isn't even touching on the Sheikah (though their forced assimilation into Hylians might be completely separate from Rauru) and the idea that the Rito, Gorons, Zora, and Gerudo exist solely to aide Link and Zelda. There is a lot of stuff in this game that is absolutely fascinating (and a little frightening) from a world perspective. Most of it isn't new to Zelda either, just more explicit.

(Also I've seen some people say that the masks might've been because Nintendo was lazy with the modeling, but regardless, it's fair to analyze a work as it exists and leave the creators' intents out of the picture.)

[tahri-nhupuju]

SIDEQUEST QUEST

And with that, The Tempest -and thus Shadowbringers as a whole- is finished!

For the Tempest, I went with Black Mage, which I chose over Summoner for Tahri's visit to the recreated Amaurot for a number of reasons:

I already knew I wanted to do Summoner for Elpis.

Amarout is also where we face down Emet-Selch, who is mechanically a black mage of you let him DPS.

Shadowbringers is where Tahri and Y'shtola first got together, and wanting to understand what her girlfriend was talking about was the reason Tahri picked up Thaumaturgy in the first place, as depicted in this old comic (which I will be remaking come Elpis).

I still went with the Sophist robes because the Ancients have no other fashion (and it's already Tahri's go-to mage glam)

The stand-out quests here are the three Amaurot ones, yes, but also Beyond The Reach Of Koal for explaining the layout of Ondo settlements and social hierarchy, and Strange Stew for making me consider the fact that aquatic species would have very different cuisine compared to us.

Also in the last quest of the chain started by Koal Of The Cups the Warrior of Light is briefly offered an Ondo egg to inseminate and adopt, which was a touching gesture even if they immediately realize that they wouldn't be able to do that.

Tempest Lore Facts:

Starting with an X Lore Facts fact: I will not be going over much of the Amaurot stuff here because it's been talked about a lot elsewhere already and I wanted to highlight the Ondo.

Instead of surnames, the last names of Ondo males are actually indicators of social rank.

Koan refers to children, which in Ondo terms means a male who has not yet been given the honor of hatching and raising an egg. They live in the highest parts of the usually bowl-shaped Ondo villages (closer to the open sea, where Sin Eaters are)

Ooan are those that have been given an egg, and they live further down, near the bottom and centre of the village.

Aath is never specified, but seems to refer to elders and leaders, and they live in the underground caves underneath the village with the Spawnmother and her attendants.

Curiously, it is also said that only female Ondo are allowed in these tunnels. This was probably an oversight, and definately not intended, but I am choosing to believe this means that Ondo (and thus Sahuagin) are therefore sequential hermaphrodites, and Aath are actually females who are not attendants to the queen.

Ondo communicate over long distances through sounds deep enough the ears of others can't pick them up. These work far better in water than through air.

I repeat: Ondo/Sahuagin whalesong!

The window-like apertures in the Cups were made by the ancients, and were altered by the Ondo to serve their aesthetic tastes.

The Cups is named after the translation for an Ondo word for tide pools, which is synonymous with "refuge". It is called that because it was founded by people dispossessed by the Flood of Light who hid there to escape the Sin Eaters.

[lailoken]

‘The Mirror and the One Image’

“Amongst those who study the power of magical images, there persists this artifact of belief:

In ancient times there was but One Image, a singular and hideous face which dared manifest against Void and proclaim 'I AM'. According to this doctrine, the Image declared itself Sole Lord over the Void, and forbade the manifestation of all other images.

But Void—herself being Monad—would not abide this entity, because, despite its fearsome appearance, the quality of its light was restrained. As a result of the One Image's rejection by the Abyss, its reflection came into being, which was call’d ‘The World’.

This reflection assumed the form of a great Mirror, and became the opposite of the One Image, containing all manner of wondrous things. Reflecting the emanation of the common, it spawned those transgressions called 'beauty' and 'ugliness’. By refraction of singularity, it begat entirety, with the diffraction of impotence, there arose powers beyond the masks of might. It is conjectured by some that, had Man escryed this Mirror, he would in one instant have beheld All Things, perceiving beyond the plenary swarm of worlds-within-worlds, beyond the surfaceless chasms of Void, even unto the silent turning of the Mill of Eternity.

Amidst the manifold treasures the Mirror of All Things contained, the greatest of them all was Spirit, which, by way of both Light and Desire, permeated Totality. This ethereal engorgement filled the exquisitely-wrought Vessels of Creation with animating fire; thus was the Mirror, and all it contained, become living Flesh.

And Void set her eyes upon the Mirror of All Things, beholding the infinitude of its marvels, and was overcome with pleasure: for that once Unknown was now Manifest, and the procession of light which liberated as a result she reckoned as ecstasy. At this moment of mutual beholding, the very Heart of the Mirror manifest as a great fiery one, his golden body assuming great and marvellous proportion, comely beyond all measure, and flew forth from his habitation unto Void.

Upon beholding this miracle, the One Image became wrathful and shattered the Mirror, sending its fragmented shards, each containing a portion of Primal Virtue , tumbling through Eternity. Likewise, as the Body of the Mirror was divided, so also was there a great sundering of Spirit. And the Heart of the Mirror, who had gone forth unto Void, remained with her, and the One Image remained in his self-wrought dominion of astral debris.

This doctrine further asserts that those who wield the power of the Art Magical are divided in twain by a great flaming sword, hung from the firmaments. On one side of the blade stand those who ever seek to exalt the One Image, and in its service further divide and fragment the shards of its reflection, until naught but a scattering of dust remains. On the opposing side of the blade are those who quietly gather up the shards, that their work serve to remake the Mirror, and thus ‘The World ' as they envision it to have been before its division, there to reinstate its exiled Heart. Both groups have called themselves 'The True Faith', and in the interest of their ministrations, they have unknowingly abdicated their command of the Art Magical.

This is the teaching, such as it is.

And yet, if this superstition obtains, I say unto you that there is a third group, obscure and invisible to the eyes of man, who walk by night upon the sword's very edge, commanding at once both the powers of division and assemblage. Of the shards of the Antient Mirror they take and grind, then re-cast in a million bodies the eternal forms of Spirit, such that their flesh becomes One with its power. This power arises, some say, from the Heart of the Mirror, a fraction of whose ancient light glows, as an ember, within their very flesh. As living artifacts of this eldritch speculum, the highest manifestations of their Art bear specific powers of primal radiance which may see and be seen, which may illuminate and endarken, and which possess in simultaneity the virtues of the Mirror in its complete and ruinous states . Their avocation is sorcery: they are known unto the vulgar as ‘heretics' or, sometimes, 'witches'.”

—

Lux Hæresis:

The Light Heretical

I: ‘Eye of the Lamia’

by Daniel A. Schulke

[rpgsandbox]

"Only a few understand adventurers. Most consider us insane driven by treasures, ancient secrets, fame, admirers, power, or what comes to mind. It couldn't be farther from the truth."  /Adbjorn Haig/

Enter the cruel and savage world of Atlas, where the ruins of forgotten civilizations are desecrated as the strange bones of the past begin to stir. Dark rituals mixed with corrupt technologies animate the ashes of the dead. As bloodthirsty hordes of barbarians and beasts alike roam the plains, the stern land can never be satisfied by the sweat and tears of the innocent. Mighty despots pass the time with their concubines behind high stone walls. Metal and magic have formed the land, erected floating islands, and twisted the deadly mountain paths. Take all you can before others plunder everything in this land of limitless possibilities! Rise as a mighty warlord or rot away like a maggot! Join us in the world of Atlas right here, right now!

"I have seen many shitholes on my voyages." /Feth Col/

Atlas – Rise or Die is a classic, vintage sword & sorcery tabletop RPG. In its style and mood, Atlas brings about the renaissance of the epic RPGs of the '80s with a modern, clean design and breath-taking illustrations.

If you are interested, don't wait! Get a sneak- peek of the layout right now! Come and look at how we imagined the book's design and the base of the 2d10 system!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-e7_UOnNPa2cGsnwsowr55X9J2tFIPu1/view

The campaigns are housed in a brand new, progressive system that facilitates fast-paced and fluid gameplay. The system rests on the following seven main features:

A realistic, d20 compatible 2d10 system with low numbers. We believe that by using the result of rolls with 2d10s, we can eliminate some of the radical distribution of values often associated with d20s. This makes "Nat20" rolls even more epic and memorable, since their chance decrease from 5% to 1%.

We use a three-dimensional (race, class, archetype) character creation system, where by removing the traditional "alignment" aspect of characters and introducing the archetype system, well-rounded personalities can be created and played out.

The Atlas system allows for completely free character advancement, even maxing out a single stat is possible, though not encouraged by the system. It favors balanced characters and allows unique combinations of strengths and weaknesses.

Subsystems for NPC interactions, that allow overcoming obstacles by not only violent means. These make social interactions and investigations as enjoyable and manageable as combat encounters, resulting in immersive role-playing.

The XP system supports actual role-playing, not only combat.

The combat system is fast-paced and not roll-heavy. Alongside customary mechanics for damage distribution, it also emulates the dynamic physical positioning of combat participants. Combat maneuvers, boosts, and the decisions made in a fight scene this way become a fun activity instead of brainless rolls and damage calculation. Aiding our teammates and getting them in position come with substantive strategic rewards.

D&D 5th Edition compatible Setting on a brutal, bloodied, barbarian world of ancient technologies and dark rituals

“A great sword consists of three parts. You grab the grid, you defend with the middle and you kill with the point. It can’t be simpler.” /Adbjorn Haig/

Frankly speaking, ATLAS- Rise or Die, is not one but THREE unique books merged into one revised and united volume.

The first part is the Corebook which contains the basics of the game. This includes descriptions, explanations, added tables, and examples. All the presented sub-systems represent one, merged system that can be used as a core for any alternative games. It is with 5th Edition and with d20 system also compatible.

The second section is the Player's Handbook. This contains detailed information for players to create their character through the Handbook's unique 3D character creation system. Roles, Races, paths, highlighted classes, and much more are included in this book. Everything listed above serves the ultimate purpose of exclusive character creation to ensure that each player generates their unique character that is entertaining and cool to play with.

The third and last book is called Setting, which presents the wonders and dangers of ATLAS, a description of places, creatures, and everything that can be found on this barbaric land. It is full of adventures bringing you forgotten treasure, ancient monsters, and thrilling legends. The descriptions in this edition contain all the information a player needs to survive this brutal world. It is also "5th Edition-friendly".

All this will be brought to you in an old-fashioned hardcover book with the following parameters:

Hardcover, straight spine book

Classic portrait A/4 size

Matte art paper- core pages for stunning looks and to be easily readable

"When Enoon, our Dark Sun, arises, it shakes the calm waves of magic with its power. At such times, numerous disconcerting events manifest themselves all over Atlas." /Magister Athan/

Atlas – Rise or Die is more than another boring remake. Our goal is to bring back the atmosphere of classic game sessions in a unique new format, never seen before, through a completely modern, fresh, and trendy gamebook.

We are aiming to evoke a retro, vintage feeling with our design, all the while using high-quality, contemporary graphics, that would not have been possible in the ’80s.

Our own 2d10 system is less random and unpredictable than the classic d20, but it offers the same ease when it comes to calculation and keeping track of events. By using two ten-sided dice, average rolls are more frequent and exceptional rolls, like natural 20s, even more valuable - but is with D&D 5th Edition compatible.

We were adamant to retain as much as we can from the proven template of classic sword & sorcery RPGs while adding a few twists to make them better suited for the brutal world of Atlas. Our elves for example are sickly, degenerate nobles who rule their people through intrigue. Their savage relatives are bloodthirsty head-hunters, protecting their ancient forests and hunting down all intruders. The dwarves are tyrannical conquerors at the head of an enslaved populous, dwelling in underground fortresses, that they call cities. They often make deals with subterranean creatures only to have their aid in their territorial clan wars.

The fast-paced, narrative, and tactical combat system goes a lot further than the classic, "attack roll–damage roll" format. The combat maneuvers infused in attacks alongside the collected bonuses make combat less hectic, more enjoyable, and realizable.

It is not only the lovers of fight sequences who can find something to please them. We have developed influence and intuition systems to support non-combat situations, which give flexible frameworks for meaningful interactions, information-trade, and realizing player goals through NPCs.

In the world of Atlas, everything is about brutality and blood sacrifice, and so it is with our magic system. It is optimized for coming up with unique combinations, while it supports the creation of your own spells. Magic twists and drains its user, should they become too greedy, the price could easily become their lives.

“Atlas is a cruel violent world, where barbarism, blood, and brutality dominate.  But it wasn't always like that... A long time ago, ancient civilizations, advanced races, and rich kingdoms ruled this world, using their magic and technologies, rather than cold steel and muscle power.” /Magister Athan/

ATLAS is much more than a simple sword and sorcery world. It was shaped by barbaric realms, ancient monsters, and pioneer spaceships from forgotten civilizations. 

Kickstarter campaign ends: Thu, June 24 2021 11:00 AM BST

Website: [Old Mages Games] [facebook] [instagram]

[shadlad24]

More Funny Little Moments #1: Season 1, Episodes 1-12

So, I decided to do this post after all. Halp. LOL Because I apparently LOVE giving myself a bunch of unnecessary work, I decided to choose two to three extra moments, per episode! SUPER halp! X’D Anyway, these are moments that didn’t make the cut for my FFLM series because: my sense of humor is a little weird, they were gonna be too much work (LOL/Siiigh), I like to highlight patterns, and I don’t like a lot of repetition. [Links to each FFLM along the bottom of the post. :)]

Let’s start with something I originally agreed with other fans on but have since changed my mind. A lot of people didn’t like this part of “Chariots of War” because it seems so ludicrous that Xena would forget her chakram anywhere. Well, let me tell you! This lady has left her weapons behind most episodes thus far. I didn’t note it every time here (and especially didn’t bother with her whip) because that’d really overrun the post buuuuut… You’ll see. XD

1.01 Sins of the Past

Xena’s shift being so much dirtier than the little boy’s clothes though she’s high up off the ground, and he lives in smoked-out rubble.

Yup. Xena forgot her sword (and later, her main saddlebag) at her mother’s tavern. Pft.

Sorry these were kinda lame, but I didn’t want to re-use any more of the original fifteen points I made about this episode... Ah well. Moving on! (heh)

1.02 Chariots of War

Xena loses her sword after the chariot crash, taking up and discarding Sphaerus’s but walking off without her own. (See her front and back and both of Argo’s sides.)

Gabrielle chewing Xena out, Xena being bummed about it, and Argo being surprised. X’D

1.03 Dreamworker

This got me good. Gabrielle does Xena’s war cry so well here that I really thought it was Xena for a few seconds. Realizing it was GabbyWabs only made me chuckle more because she apparently can’t do it when it really counts in “The Greater Good.”

Argo NOT being on Team Gabrielle. XD (Their feud is a little funny to me.)

1.04 Cradle of Hope

Xena tossing aside her sword after killing Nemos. Extras even dance and celebrate right on top of it! Wut thuh?

I decided to avoid mentioning Hope in the FFLM because Xena’s quote here is more ironic than comedic, and Gabrielle’s little face is just so sad, but I didn’t want to let it pass by entirely unremarked upon. At least GW gets to show off her oracle skills again? :’)

1.05 The Path Not Taken

So, Xena and Gabrielle walk into a bar… Heh. No, but really, they enter this tavern for the first time ever, yet the bartender not only knows what they want, he knows that they’re coming and has their drinks waiting for them too. All Xena has to do is knock on the counter and nod to get her fire-breath alcohol/oil, and Gabrielle barely has the word “cider” out of her mouth before the guy hands it to her. Xena, like me, is duly amazed.

Lucy, through Xena, making another timely anti-peanut statement. I just didn’t want to do the same thing twice back-to-back in the FFLM. X)

1.06 The Reckoning

Gabrielle thinking along the same lines Xena and I did about this poor excuse for a judge.

Me not being well-versed in ancient Greek heroes and picturing the fool who Draco killed so handily in the first episode. heh

1.07 The Titans

I’ll let Xena explain this one. …Mostly. I can’t believe Gabrielle not only sassed the Titans such that she unashamedly put Xena and Phyleus in danger too, but also kinda got this (admittedly awful) town demolished and didn’t lift a finger to actually help anyone in the temple. Tsk tsk. XP

So… Hyperion here can smash homes and businesses that were probably well-built and reinforced and all, but he can’t get his hand out of a stocks-cuff that was made in a single evening with scraps from those destroyed buildings. He also, inexplicably, has no use of his left hand or the power-breath that he used to knock Gabrielle over. Okie. XD

1.08 Prometheus

Is this really a thing? I was giggling quite a bit in disbelief that severed windpipes can heal. Like, perforated is one thing; completely bisected? Yeah, I don’t think so.

Gabrielle being incredulous upon learning that Xena has other friends, realizing what the warrior princess means, and then wondering if that could be her one day. 

   1.09 Death in Chains

Gabrielle enjoying watching Xena kill someone for the first time, then quickly realizing that fact. Whoops.

I found this moment really odd and then kind of hilarious. This poor dying old woman begs for water and goes ignored not only by the hospice workers, but also Talus and Gabrielle. Then Talus decides to be helpful. Gabrielle goes to the woman and lets her talk a lot (undoubtedly drying her mouth and throat even more), hears that Xena might be in danger, and then just… leaves. Talus goes with her, not having gotten water from the well after all. What a couple of jerks! XD

1.10 Hooves & Harlots

I really don’t know why Gabrielle kept making this face as Terreis died, but it tickled my funny bone too. So, I provided alternate subs to go with it. [Did you notice how she kind of cringes when Terreis tries to hold her hand and then just lets the Amazon flop once she’s died, flinging her hand aside like, “Ew, get it off me!”? What was that all about? X”) Hm… maybe she has an aversion to dying people, and that’s why she abandoned the old lady last episode?]

Gabrielle being a smart aleck, just like me, because Phantes’s complaint here is so ludicrous. But then you see the close-up of little hoofies in cuffs too, and, if you’re anything like me too, kinda just topple over laughing. The poor actual horse they did this to, though, man! What even?

Gosh, this episode was chockfull of hilarity, eh? Why did this happen? Gabby, take it away!

1.11 The Black Wolf

I laughed at this too. But now I wonder. Is Xerxes related to Caesar and/or connected to Rome or something? Because Xena does this twice around them too. In “When in Rome,” she jokes that the two guards lost playing tag with her, and in “A Good Day” she informs Pompey that if there were more guards hiding around their meeting space, then she would have had more helmets. heh Oh, Xenie. I think I know why Gabrielle’s turning out to be such a little punk ...or vice versa? Is Gabrielle actually a bit of a bad influence on Xena? XP

So, this fight just struck me as really odd. Xena passes her sword to Flora though she (Xena) needs to battle the big boss of the episode, and… actually, is totally right. The king throws a single wide-ass punch, waits while Xena kicks the guy behind her a few times, lets himself get kicked in the face a couple of times, and then comes at her with a little piece of chain, presumably from the restraints that were intended to keep Flora in place during her execution. Sir, you have a sword! A giant sword, right there on your hip! What are you doing? Then, when Xena kicks him a final time and sends him flying, his (supposed-to-be) metal armor is no match for the splintered wood of the axe she broke earlier. …Okie. XD XD XD   *gif below*

Xena once again leaves her chakram somewhere. …And I am now imagining this being part of Gabrielle’s maid duties: the poor kid has to go find Xena’s weapons each night and bring them back to her. I’m especially imaging the fluffball hilariously, adorably struggling to get the chakram out of things like this wall, as she did with Xena’s sword in the tree stump in “Dreamworker,” but more parallel to the floor. Cuuuute! XD

This plus this 

*pic + GIF below*:

1.12 Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts

This scene too really made me wonder, though amused as well. Why is Gabrielle so surprised that the only city nearby, that they were headed to, is the one they find? Is she really being that loud? Is Xena goofing around with the bootlaces question? Why startle Gabrielle and then yank her into enemy territory screaming, when what you want is quiet? What’s with the trapdoor-spider soldiers? Xena’s pose throwing the chakram. XD Gabrielle mostly featherlight dance-y moves through the battlefield. XD XD XD Why is it that when Xena tells Gabrielle to stick right behind her, Gabrielle disappears? And what was with the bucket-sitting soldier? Gabrielle is like, “Oh; no, thank you!” when she sees him and turns tail. Then Xena ...follows her. “We’re goin’ this way! Now we’re goin’ that way!” But they still end up dead-ahead from where they burst out of the bushes. XD That was ridiculous and nonsensical, and I’m very confused but had lots of fun. heheheh  *gif below* [ETA: Darn! The original file was too big, so I had to remake the GIF and cut quite a few things out. :( Sorry]

Xena’s outta-nowhere crusade to emasculate Deiphobus coming full-circle. What was that all about?

Welp, I hope you had as much fun as I originally and then later did. Not so much in the middle with the collage-and-GIF-making and editing and redoing, but; y’know. XD Wouldn’t trade it for …Hm… Nevermind. LOL

If you missed any of the FFLMs, then please click on the corresponding number-links below. :D

#1  #2  #3  #4  #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12

[galsgeneration]

Please tell me your thoughts on everything, I must know from you, the all-knowing mastermind.

Okay, so, first of all, sorry for the delay, because these past weeks have been crazy! Now that I'm able to just sit down and rethink on the latest news and rumors on the new game and everything else, I'll be giving you my general thoughts on that glorious day of teasers! Trust me, I was malfunctioning that night after watching the movie trailer, since my mind went 'Knuckles! Knuckles! Knuckles!' until like, 3 AM.

Let's get to the movie first. It's not a surprise how much I loved the references to Sonic Adventure and other few game bits that were gently sprinkled here and there. Despite my excitement over them, I honestly believe (and hope) the film will focus on its own story, instead of simply remaking some of the games in a 'medley' way. So far, we can guess the lore when it comes to Knuckles' Clan and the Master Emerald itself might be a little different from the canon, since we also have the whole owl ordeal in the ancient ruins and the involvement of Longclaw in this. Apparently, the echidnas were after Sonic's powers when he was a baby - but what if Longclaw was also important, given the details we saw in the traps Dr. Robotnik was avoiding? Could she be alive?

With that being said, I'm very curious to see Sonic and Tails' dynamic in the movie! It seems to be a fun one in the trailer, and I'm expecting some sibling bonding to happen as well. About the man of the hour, I can't say much or else I'll just go back into fangirling. Knuckles is the one I'm most excited to see in action! He's going to be taken seriously and that's what I'm here for, especially after reading that Idris Elba indeed took a liking and interest for his character to the point of caring to study his motivations. I can't wait for this film, which will be released just two days before my birthday! It's going to feel like an anticipated gift, that's for sure. Now let's get to the game!

I was exhilarated upon finding out the rumor about Sonic Frontiers being an open world game was indeed true. It's an old dream of mine, one I could only fulfill with that 'Sonic Adventure 3' mock-up game I had imagined and planned from start to finish, which was supposed to be an open world one too. I'm quite interested in the locations, which look beautiful so far, gameplay, characters and of course, new lore content! I have a few theories on it already (i.e. Infinite's return...), though I'd rather keep the details to myself for now. Knowing that Ian Flynn is writing this game was amazing as well, though I personally wish he doesn't keep things too simple and safe. If he's going to write Sonic rescuing his friends, I expect him to explore his dynamic with them individually, whether through cutscenes, idle in-game talk or maybe side quests.

Overall, Sonic Frontiers is my most anticipated game thus far. My hopes are mild when it comes to the plot itself, but whatever it is and how it's executed, it won't matter that much to me because well, it's an open world game! I can't wait to do absolutely nothing related to the priority missions and just, roam about the flower fields and other gorgeous scenery. Hopefully they have a fire/lava location included in one of those islands, because you know how much this sort of environment is my usual favorite in Sonic games!

[joonkorre]

@drarrymicrofic prompt: remake

not gonna say much on this. yall should find out what's going on yourselves :D. ao3

“What do you think, Mr. Malfoy?”

Draco doesn’t need to think; he’s done enough of that in the past two months, since the day he opened his front door to see the strange woman’s sharp smile. But he thinks anyway, one last time before he answers.

He’d have to leave the wizarding world behind. Of course, it doesn’t have to be that drastic. However, if he doesn’t want his frequent disappearances to catch the Ministry’s attention, then it’s best to withdraw into the Muggle world altogether, as far from its control as possible. Mother has Aunt Andy, Teddy, and friends from her book club now, she’ll be fine with him visiting only a few days each year.

Other than that, there are no downsides. He has nothing to lose except maybe his life somewhere down the line, but everybody dies at some point, don’t they?

He lifts his gaze to the buzzing light on the ceiling, its shine cold and apathetic. To the mahogany bookcase, filled with tomes upon tomes full of ancient rites and rituals, of creatures considered ‘cryptid’ even to wizardkind. To the bookend that is shaped like a crow, which flaps its wings when its beak is tapped five times, unlocking the hidden safe behind the bookcase. The safe that stores all the actual research and data he’s collected, jealously and fearfully hoarded.

He doesn’t know everything, but he knows enough. He knows enough to be aware that the lore Pansy snorted at when he first mentioned them, the creatures Mother dismissed as another of her bored rich son’s new obsessions, are the same ones Unspeakable Granger narrowed her eyes at when she walked past his table in the canteen and caught a glimpse of his notes. He had a feeling then that he shouldn’t even make any indication that he was interested in these things, which was proven to be correct when Ministry personnel started loitering outside his office more after that day.

He doesn’t know everything, but he knows his findings are not safe in anyone’s hands but his. The Ministry still repeats its tendency to care more about itself than the common people. The Department of Mystery, practically its own entity due to how even the Minister is forbidden from accessing most of its files, has motivations he can’t comprehend, which means motivations he can’t predict. There is no way to know if his colleagues are truly interested in “that old wife’s tale, that Bigfoot, Cthulhu shite Malfoy’s into” or will report him to those who know how to deal with him, to Unspeakable Granger, to the Department of Mysteries. His findings are not safe in anyone’s hand but his.

But if he says ‘yes,’ they are.

Draco dips his quill in the ink bottle the woman—“Dr. Stewart,” she’s introduced, calm and sure—provided him and signs his name on the contract and its related documents. No hint of anything other than indifference is shown on her face, and he wonders how many others before him has she recruited.

Once his thumbprint has been collected, the last step of the process, he Vanishes the ink on his finger. Dr. Stewart raises a brow but says nothing more. She stands up, holding out a hand.

“Welcome, Dr. Malfoy. The SCP Foundation is glad to have you with us.”

Shaking her hand, Draco feels something slide into place at his new title. He smiles politely, heart thundering in his chest.

“Have you worked with wizards before, Dr. Stewart?” Draco asks as he starts packing the valuables at his work desk into his briefcase. Dr. Steward has come to the Ministry by Floo, and though she seemed a bit disconcerted after stepping out of the Ministry Public Floo #13, she didn’t hesitate to follow him to his office. Thus, seeing her reaction to a simple Vanishing spell has certainly been a bit strange.

Dr. Steward gathers the documents to secure in a folder.

“My colleagues have—some of them have Muggleborn and Halfblood relatives—but not me personally,” she answers. “My apologies, I still need to get used to seeing magic in… this way. Ironically, we have more luck with magic users from other dimensions than from our own, especially with what happened in recent history.”

The Second Wizarding War ended barely a decade ago. Its victims, both people and nature, still bleed. “I can see why you aren’t very keen on interacting with us up-close these days,” Draco nods, careful.

“Precisely,” Dr. Stewart says. “So, believe it when I say you’re the exception.”

Draco stiffens. “Thank you. I’m sorry, it’s still a bit hard to, ah, believe that.”

“You are the exception,” she says. “We need professionals in the occult, especially those who dabbled in the Dark Arts along with other types of magic. Not many wizards of your kind in Great Britain remember the Original Gods and Old Magic, but you have that link, whether it be through honest religious belief or just intensive research.”

She crosses her legs. “We’ve had our eyes on you for a while, Dr. Malfoy. We need someone who’s willing to look for the oddity in the mundane, and when our people heard rumours of the infamous Malfoy heir having a—highly accurate, by the way—fixation on conspiracy theories and cryptozoology, visiting various parts of the world in pursuit of those ‘tall tales,’ we knew we need your intellect.”

Draco doesn’t quite know what to say. He was sure everybody thought him unhinged; even Luna seemed off around him these days instead of enthusiastically rallying after his theories like she usually would, gradually gravitating toward Granger whenever they’re in the same room.

“Our goals are different; the SCP Foundation wants to keep humanity safe and alive, you want knowledge and just knowledge. But I hope you find yourself in your element while working with us, finally having access to all the information you’ve been working so hard to find out.”

She tilts her head just so, and Draco can tell she knows he likes what he’s hearing. His thirst consumes him, makes him risk, makes him sin. He has to go insane to stay sane. Despite the small price of most likely dying from working with dangerous anomalies at the Foundation no matter how pretty Dr. Stewart advertises it, every cell in his body sings at the chance to know what is lurking beyond the folds of reality.

He thinks of Mother, of Aunt Andy, of little Teddy, of Pansy, of Blaise. The vision of them killed, maimed, snapped from existence because he didn’t do anything to help makes his gut twist, his throat parched. He’d kill himself from the guilt, a well-casted Sectumsempra. He decides.

His goal is no different than the Foundation’s from now on, and he has no qualms about that. With this opportunity, he is free at last, free to do the work he knows is important, to help and change without outside interference.

He is reborn.

Draco’s back straightens, and he moves his wand this way and that, orchestrating a cacophony of tomes and devices to levitate from the heavy bookshelves to the duffle bag he brought along.

“Dr. Malfoy, did I not tell you where you’ll be stationed?”

Draco halts the objects’ action mid-air, staring at Dr. Stewart.

“I was under the impression that I am to be working at Site-91,” he says, “in Yorkshire?”

“As I thought, I forgot something,” Dr. Stewart sighs, the first sign of human imperfection leaking through. She searches through her briefcase, long nails clicking through the files. “Sit down, please, and there’s no need to pack up your belongings.”

Sending the objects back to their original places, Draco takes his seat, brows furrowed. He toys with his wand, a tick he hasn’t been able to be rid of ever since Potter’s returned his wand after years of what seemed to be perpetual emptiness without it.

“There we go,” Dr. Stewart says and flips open a thick, stapled stack of paper. “You are to stay here for the duration of your first assignment. Count yourself lucky, starting work right away.”

“Stay here? But—”

“There is an anomalous individual working here,” she says, hard lines etched on her face. “You will act like you’ve not changed your career and continue to ‘work’ in the Ministry. Because of your proximity, we expect you to gather as much information as possible about him. You can use any method, as long as you stay alive and well to report back to us and receive your salary. Not to worry, we will assist you as this individual is, like most of what we deal with, deadly when pushed.”

She slides the file toward him and settles back against her chair. Draco is admittedly no less surprised than before.

“Wake up and get ready by 6 AM this Saturday, for we’ll come to get you at your house and go to Site-91. There are other information and protocols you need to know, and you’ll also get the equipment suited for this assignment,” Dr. Stewart adds.

Draco has a few questions, but from the way she ends with a close-mouthed smile, he reckons any at all would be regarded as idiotic. Well, at least she told him something.

With a slight sigh, he opens the file. The peculiar layouts and code words fly past him—he’d have to ask for a manual of some kind, Muggle science-y terminology has never been his best suit. However.

“What,” he breathes, leaning close to the file, eyes wide, “what is he—what is—”

However, there are two words he can’t mistake, no matter how sleep-deprived he is or how blind. A name, in fact.

“What is Harry Potter doing in this file?”

“Isn't it obvious?” Dr. Stewart asks, lacing her fingers on her lap. “Think. His lifelong exposure with the Dark Arts and artifacts, how volatile and explosive his power is, and most importantly, how dangerous he is even to the brightest magic users. There’s a reason why we don’t meddle with your kind. You already have the means available to contain certain anomalies, but Potter is different, and we have to step in this time.”

Draco stares at her, then at the name in the file, at the picture attached, slack-jawed.

“The oddity in the mundane, Dr. Malfoy,” Dr. Stewart leans forward, a knowing look on her face. Draco's legs feel like wooden trunks, sunken into the ground. "Get used to it, and get focused. Because if left unchecked, Harry Potter might very well get powerful enough to become a reality bender."

[mhdiaries]

Frights, Camera, Action! – Hauntlywood Elissabat Diary

This 2nd Day of August

On the eve of my coronation, 400 years ago tonight, I slipped into the moonless Transylvanian darkness and disappeared forever. I remember it like it was yesterday; The Vampire’s Heart casting its red glow over my room as Lord Stoker explained that I was much too young to be the queen without his help and that if I simply did exactly as he instructed, my unlife would be perfect for us all. I had not been acting all that long by then, but I knew enough to recognize a bad director when I heard one, and I was fangsolutely positive I did not want a starring role in this production. Fortunately for me, I had made friends with a young explorer and mad scientist named Hexiciah Steam. Hexiciah and Lord Stoker did not exactly see eye  to eye on, well, anything, and so, partially to help me and partially to tweak LS, Hexiciah helped me escape to a waiting ship that would take me to Londoom. I asked him about the Vampire’s Heart, but he told me not to worry about it and that it was safe from the reach of LS. Thus I became known as Elissabat the First, not because I was the first queen to have that name, but because I was the first to choose self-imposed exile over the throne. I often wonder what kind of queen I would make today, 400 years older and hopefully wiser. I’m certainly wise enough to keep two diaries now, especially since several pages of Veronica Von Vamp’s private musings somehow ended up on a celebrity gossip site. Good thing Veronica never breaks character even when she’s writing.

7 August

My agent sent over a script today for me to read. It’s about a young ghoul who is chosen to be the queen of an ancient kingdom, not because she is the true heir but because the Lord Chancellor wants to control the kingdom through her. Except the ghoul finds out and takes off before she takes the throne, only to be chased all over the world by the Lord Chancellor’s hench-monsters. Besides being completely implausible it involves multiple locations, chase scenes, stunts and a very large cast of characters. It sounds exhausting. I would love to do a small picture next. Something shot on location in Scaris at a small outdoor café where there are long pauses in between conversations and shots of me staring off into the distance as I ponder the deep secrets of unlife. I can just see my agent’s face now. His left eye will start to twitch, and he won’t be able to control it so he’ll put his shades on and then he’ll break into a sneezing fit and have to excuse himself while he leaves my trailer to try and regain his composure. He’s actually a very good agent who really does have my beast interests at heart, but he is such an excitable little goblin that I can’t help but tweak him just a little bit. I do sometimes tire of playing larger-than-unlife roles, even though my fans really do seem to love the films. I would just like to stretch myself as a performer, and I’ve done so many of these... oh well. I love to act, the fans love to watch, and we’re all happy in the end - except the critics, but they’re never happy, so I don’t waste too much time thinking about them. V3

This 10th Day of August

Each day now I hear about growing unrest in the kingdom and how the vampire lords are mounting pressure upon Lord Stoker to find a queen. Personally, I think they are overreacting, since 400 years is just a drop in the coffin for a vampire, but they are a rather stodgy bunch. Order, tradition and discipline are the code they... we... live by. I have applied those virtues in the way I have chosen to pursue my career, and they are the secret to my success. I have been accused of having a photographic memory, but that is not accurate. I simply work as hard as I can to be as prepared as I can so I do not make careless mistakes. My stage fright has never gone away, and I doubt it ever will, therefore intense preparation is the only way I can stand in front of a crowd and do my job or jobs. I think my intensity intimidates other monsters, and I know I am perceived as not being “approachable”, but it takes a lot of concentration to be Elissabat playing Veronica Von Vamp playing a completely different character on stage or in film. It is why I need to not be in “character”, and for that to happen I need to be myself. I should be getting ready to be Veronica again, since a car is about to arrive not to pick up not a queen of the vampires, but a queen of the silver scream. Some days I do wish that I only had one role to play, but which one do I choose?

16 September

I’m making the press circuit to promote my new film today, so I’m bringing Viperine along to do my makeup. Viperine has been doing my makeup for a while now, and I simply adore her. She is chatty but not intrusive, and I completely trust the job she does, which is good since there’s really no way for me to check the work. She started doing my makeup quite by accident, when my regular artist got cast in some unscripted reality show... shudder... and left without any notice. Viperine was just an intern at the time and was cutting her fangs by doing makeup on creatured extras, but when I stepped out of my trailer and called her over, she didn’t even hesitate. She’s also that rare monster that is completely content not being in the spotlight. I asked her if she would like to be in front on the camera one day, and she told me that she felt like she was in front of the camera every time I stepped on stage. She has a fright future in this boosness, I think. 

This 20th Day of September

By the pricking of my thumbs something fishy this way comes. It is all over the news that a new vampire queen has been found and confirmed by Lord Stoker who said that he used the Vampire’s Heart to verify that this ghoul is the true heir. Well this is certainly curious, since I know for a fact that the VH is as lost as Hexiciah Steam. Well, perhaps “lost” is not the proper description. Maybe “unavailable for questioning” would be more to the point. I know this because if Lord Stoker had the real VH he would have used it to track me down soon after I ran away, and I would have spent the last 400 years issuing rulings on property disputes, meeting with Yeti ambassadors and doing Lord Stoker’s bidding. I do wish this “new queen”, whomever she is, the best of luck, especially with old LS lurking around. He knows everything there is to know about how the queendom runs, but he couldn’t lead a one-zombie parade. I feel sorry for him, because he could be a real asset to the throne if he didn’t want to sit on it himself.  

1 October

I’ve been nominated for another award, which will make the fans happy and the critics not. I think this may be my best performance yet, but it is a rather popular film, and monsters have been creeping to it in packs. Personally, I believe there is a direct correlation between how well critics like a film and how many monsters have actually seen it. The more obscure the film and fewer monsters that have seen it, the more worthy critics seem to heap praise upon it. I suppose it makes them feel superior, especially when they dig up that old line about it being “the most important film of the year.” ‘Tis tiresome, mostly because they hold up a film that very few have seen as the gold standard by which all others must be judged and then sneer at any comparisons to it, which is convenient. I’m not saying that every film I have ever acted in has been perfect; in fact, some of the acting choices I made as a young ghoul I wish I could go back and remake, but regardless of the role or film I always strive to give a performance worthy of the ticket price. 

This 6th Day of October

So the new queen they have chosen is Draculaura! I had purposely been avoiding the news because I have been feeling guilty about the situation, so I did not know that she was the one. We used to play together when we were young ghouls back in Transylvania, and I still recall monsters mistaking us for sisters. This is not fair. I like my unlife and I do not want to give it up, but can I really allow another monster, especially one whom I consider a friend, to take over duties, obligations and responsibilities that were meant for me? I ran once. I am not sure that I can do that again. 

[rosaguard]

❀ . ━  ❛ THE FLOWER BLOOMING IN THE SLUMS.

the following contents of this post is incredibly important to understanding how i see aeris, my portrayal, and overall direction of my blog going forward. i recommend reading this post entirely if you’re interested in writing with me on a deeper, non-surface level. this post also further touches on concepts from buddhism and hinduism prevalent within the themes of game / aerith’s development and the initial discussion on it can be read here. it is highly recommended that you read it before fully reading this post if you haven’t. 

i wanted to be make sure i was respectful regarding speaking about topics related to buddhism and hinduism by doing my research and educating myself. while i learned a lot writing this, i’m not immune to making potential mistakes nor am i asian. should anyone who does practice these religions find anything offensive, harmful, or wrong stated below, please feel free to reach out and correct me!

         aeris gainsborough is an anomaly. despite the tragedies that have followed her since birth and the oppression rampant throughout the slums, she’s notable for going through life with an optimistic outlook and looking forward to what the future holds in store for her. when the party initially leaves midgar, aeris is the only member not leaving for the sake of revenge, some grand cause, or to run away from her problems - if anything, it’s the direct opposite. aeris leaves specifically because she’s decided to stop running away from who she is and wants to learn about her ancestors. essentially, aeris’ personal and spiritual development throughout the events of the game directly parallel both the symbolic meaning of a sacred lotus as well as the literal growth of the flower itself.

the unfolding of the lotus flower petals represents the progress being made to reach a more spiritual state of mind. the unfurling petals symbolize the human soul expanding. padma ( lotus ) is thought to be a part of every person's soul and drives people, like an instinct, to work towards spiritual enlightenment despite their struggles, much like the lotus flower as it rises out from muddy depths and blossoms into its full potential.  

        although little is known about the cetra overall, it is said that they were a migrate and highly spiritual race that dedicated themselves to the planet. the way the cetra lived and their belief in finding supreme happiness after death seem to be directly based on certain beliefs within buddhism and hinduism specifically. this is reaffirmed when they’re contrasted to humans, former cetra who gave up their ties to the planet in order to live a life full of leisure and convenience while slowly destroying the planet ( which canonically has some form of consciousness / is somewhat sentient ) in the process:

sephiroth: this planet originally belonged to the cetra. the cetra was an itinerant race. they would migrate in, settle, then move on... at the end of their harsh, hard journey, they would find the promised land and supreme happiness. but, those that disliked the journey appeared. those who stopped their migrations built shelters and elected to lead an easier life. they took that which the cetra and the planet had made without giving back in return! those are your ancestors.

in comparison to humans, the cetra lived a life that actively encouraged not forming superficial ties while living in the material world as they believed their true happiness did not lie within it but within the promised land. this belief is similar to the symbolic meaning of the sacred lotus in regards to spiritual enlightenment:

buddhism states that just like the lotus flower rises above murky waters, the human soul should rise about all the attachments and desires of the materialistic world to achieve spiritual enlightenment. even though the flower has its roots in mud, it grows towards the light. this is a metaphor for human aspiration to rise above in life towards oneness with the universe.

according to bhagavad gita, one of the scriptures in hinduism, the lotus flower is also analogous to the spirit of a person: as the flower petals and the center of the flower remain untouched from the murder and dirty water of the pond in which it grows, a person who is wise and spiritually enlightened remains untouched by the material world or emotional desires. they are able to perform their duty without the need to think about the consequences or desire any fruit from their karma. this feeling of detachment also allows one to remain unaffected in the face of adversity and reach spiritual perfection.

❀ . ━  ❛ 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟.

       aeris, once again, is an anomaly here. she’s a cetra living amongst humans, has been staying in the same city for twenty-two years ( a concept the goes against her own people’s way of life ), and isn’t actively trying to change that when she’s introduced into the story. this touches upon one of the most important aspects of aeris’ development: aeris the individual vs aeris the cetra. throughout the game, aeris’ desires as a person and her duties as a cetra are in conflict with each other. this is first seen in the beginning of the original game when she admits she knows she should leave midgar but hasn’t taken the steps to do so:

aeris: mother said that midgar was no longer safe. someday i'll get out of midgar... speak with the planet and find my promised land. ...that's what mom said. i thought i would stop hearing her voice as i grew up, but...

saying that she thought she would stop hearing her mother once she was older suggests that aeris’ mother told her about needing to eventually leave midgar when she was much younger than she is now ( and considering that she managed to travel multiple continents on her own and stayed ahead of cloud and co. while doing so, she more than likely could’ve figured a way out of midgar once she was old enough if she wanted to ). the remake also builds upon aeris’ reluctance to leave midgar throughout her dialogue in chapter eight:

aeris: you know, i thought about leaving once... but...in the end, i couldn't.

cloud: too dangerous? 

aeris: too much. maybe more than i can handle, i think sometimes... even now.

aeris: maybe i should just give up. honestly, it's what I do best. 

      aeris’ desire to stay in midgar is a mixture of her own self-doubt and fear of what would happen if she let go of her own personal attachments in order to experience change. choosing to let go of them and leave midgar to learn more about herself is aeris taking the first step towards letting go of what was mentally ( and physically ) holding her back so that she can discover her ‘promised land’ ( and thus achieve enlightenment ). once the party reaches cosmo canyon, there’s a noticeable shift in aeris’ behavior as her powers continue to grow and she learns more about the cetra. 

this could also be read as while aeris continues to connect with herself spiritually ( learning about her people, leaving midgar which was a barren wasteland, etc. ), she is slowly ‘blossoming’ as the petals of her lotus unfurl ( her soul is expanding ) and she becomes more attuned with the planet ( reaching spiritual enlightenment ). this would explain why she can understand the planet a lot better by the time the party reaches the temple of the ancients as well.

         this all results in her mentally, and on rare occasions, physically distancing herself from the group as it becomes increasingly more apparent to her that the burdens of her people have been left solely to her. her inner conflict reaches its breaking point during the events at the temple of the ancients: cloud gives sephiroth the black materia and attacks her which results in her leaving the group. in the original game, it’s implied that aeris doesn’t have any friends which the remake confirms. temporarily leaving her new friends, something that she has desperately wished to have her entire life. is another painful but necessary step ( at least in her eyes ) when it comes to putting her duty to the planet first. aeris dies while fulfilling her duty, however, it’s important to remember that she only dies physically.

death is meant only for the body, not for the soul.

aeris is laid to rest in water and similar to a lotus that submerges itself underwater at night, she will reemerge once again.

just so it’s said: aeris did not set off with the intention to die. she’s not a martyr; she was brutally and tragically murdered because sephiroth viewed her as a legit threat. she didn’t need to die to save the planet; holy would’ve destroyed meteor if sephiroth hadn’t killed her. she had already won. aeris truly did believe she would see all the others again after she did what she needed to do in order to save the planet. bonus: she also didn’t die simply for cloud’s man pain - cloud was already motivated to kill sephiroth. it’s such an awful, objectively wrong take and i’m tired of seeing it. go play the game again if you legitimately believe that.

❀ . ━  ❛ 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏.

        if aeris was previously battling with her individuality as a person and duty as a cetra, it’s through death that they finally become one. while initially leaving midgar to find out about the ancients, aeris’ journey is ultimately about self-realization. by coming to terms with herself, aeris is able to fully blossom into a fully realized ‘lotus’:

it’s like growing lotus flowers. you cannot grow lotus flowers on marble. you have to grow them on the mud. without mud you cannot have lotus flowers. without suffering, you have no way to learn how to be understanding and compassionate. ( thich nhat hanh ).

while her ancestors migrated from place to place and most likely lived separately from humans, aeris wouldn’t be the same person if she did not experience living in the slums ( as well as the personal losses that led her there in the first place ). her mother told her that one day she would find her own promised land and technically? aeris does just that. however, instead of her soul rejoining the lifestream as a soul would normally do, aeris merges with the planet’s subconscious upon her death:

the pink lotus is representative of the state of mind of a person and is considered the supreme lotus in buddhism. the closed bud resembles the age of the soul taking the path to spirituality. on the other hand, a fully bloomed pink lotus means that nirvana or enlightenment has been attained. *this is especially meaningful for aeris considering the dominant color in her character design is pink.

      aeris becoming the very essence of the planet itself and thus achieving spiritual ‘perfection’ is a process that, conceptually, is similar to brahman:

brahman is defined as satyam jnanam anantam brahma, which can be translated as “that which never changes,” “knowledge,” and “infinity.” brahman cannot be seen with the naked eye; it can only be experienced. brahman is said to be all-pervasive. it pervades all parts of existence. it is present everywhere. sages of the past have experienced the brahman and have become realized souls. according to advaita of sankara, all individual souls are parts of the supreme brahman. after getting liberation from the human bodies, the individual souls become one with the brahman.

all of the souls in the lifestream make up one, large collective ( or 'soul' ) that is the planet's essence which is similar to brahman. the way brahman is described, or at least my understanding of it at least, is that it's not a 'physical' thing but something that is felt because it exists within everyone / everything and is present everywhere. this is reminiscent of how bugenhagen describes the lifestream:

bugenhagen: eventually... all humans die. what happens to them after they die? the body decomposes, and returns to the planet. that much everyone knows. what about their consciousness, their hearts and their souls? the soul too returns to the planet. and not only those of humans, but everything on this planet. in fact, all living things in the universe, are the same. the spirits that return to the planet, merge with one another and roam the planet. they roam, converge, and divide, becoming a swell, called the 'lifestream'. lifestream... in other words, a path of energy of the souls roaming the planet.

      in various schools of hinduism, there is also the concept of ishvara. its meaning tends to vary depending on the school* as ishvara can be seen as being one and the same with brahman ( absolute reality ) but can also refer to the supreme consciousness or a personal god. for simplicity’s sake, the interpretation of ishvara and brahman being ‘one’ will be used here:

ishvara is a supreme cosmic spirit who maintains complete control over the universe and all the sentient beings which together form the pan-organistic body of ishvara. the triad of ishvara along with the universe and the sentient beings is brahman ( the ultimate reality of the universe,  ), which signifies the completeness of existence.

*i want to add that a lot of discussions around the concepts of atman, moksha, ishvara, and, brahman are obviously touched on a much, much deeper level in actual hindu philosophy and its different schools / sub-schools. it’s on a level that i can’t fully address since they all have varying interpretations regarding how these concepts are related to one another.

some interpretations of ishvara view the concept as being the more ‘personal’ representation of brahman since it can be seen as mysterious and unknown due to its infinite nature. this happens with aeris as she becomes the avatar / personification for the planet / lifestream, an entity that’s beyond most human knowledge due to the sheer amount of information the planet absorbs and processes: 

bugenhagen: look always to the eternal flow of time which is far greater than the span of human life. it will teach you more than staying here in the valley... what you will see will eventually become part of the life's dream.

to aeris, she is the lifestream and the lifestream is her. to those in the ‘physical’ world, she would be seen as simply herself / a separate entity even though they are not. although it’s to her own annoyance, this is seen with advent children in how characters on the verge of death repeatedly refer to aeris as ‘mother’ when they’re close to joining the lifestream; reinforcing that aeris is the physical / personal representative of the planet’s will to those still living:

but it must never be forgotten that ishvara is brahman, simply being looked at from the point of view of the world.

       the implication that aeris has become the planet’s equivalent of a supreme cosmic spirit is also reinforced multiple times after her death. when the party revisits the city of the ancients with bugenhagen, he mentions that even if holy is successfully summoned against meteor, there is no guarantee that it won’t kill humans too:

bugenhagen: holy… the ultimate white magic. magic that might stand against meteor. perhaps our last hope to save the planet from meteor. if a soul seeking holy reaches the planet, it will appear. ho ho hooo. meteor, weapon, everything will disappear. perhaps, even ourselves.

cloud: even us!?

bugenhagen: it is up to the planet to decide. what is best for the planet. what is bad for the planet. all that is bad will disappear. that is all. ho ho hooo. i wonder which we humans are?

        but who exactly makes the decision in the end? while aeris’ prayer for holy does ultimately reach the planet, it is not enough against meteor once it’s freed by the party. as meteor descends onto midgar, the lifestream erupts from the depths of the planet to aid holy in destroying meteor. aeris, smiling within the lifestream, is the last shot of the game. instead of hints of her theme playing, the opening chimes of the lifestream theme play, reinforcing that the lifestream and aeris are one, before the screen fades to black and the credits roll.

aeris: people hate the steel sky, the slums...but i don't. how could I? all that passion, all those dreams... flowing and blending together into something greater... 

aeris throughout the game is someone who shows appreciation for life and the people around her. it is aeris who ultimately makes the decision to save humanity. aeris consistently reaching out to help her friends / humanity can only be explained as her being the dominant force within the planet’s consciousness. this goes as far back as the original game and it’s only reinforced throughout the compilation:

original game: after cloud and tifa return from the lifestream, an npc tells cloud he must have had a guardian angel looking after him ( while the maiden that travels may or may not be canon anymore, aeris protects cloud and tifa when they fall into the lifestream in the novel ); aeris reaches out to cloud after his fight with sephiroth inside the lifestream; she summons the lifestream to defeat meteor.

novels: tifa hearing aeris’ voice asking if she’s okay when they visit her burial site; tifa believing aeris sent denzel to them.

advent children: speaks with cloud via his subconscious the movie ( which she could do even before her death ) and manages to leave a ‘voicemail’ on his phone; she helps cloud during the bahamut sin fight; tifa and marlene both sense her presence; she summons great gospel; she speaks to kadaj as he dies and helps him pass on; it’s implied that she calls the orphaned children and tells them to go to the sector five church to be healed; zack’s...entire presence in the movie can only be explained by aeris allowing him to be there; she doesn’t allow cloud to die and sends him out of the lifestream; she ( along with zack ) physically appear to cloud at the end of the movie. 

remake: if theories about the remake are to be believed, she has potentially time-traveled post-death or at least has some connection with and/or knowledge of the version of herself that died ( you would think a cetra would think to go back to when jenova landed if that’s a thing they can just..do but i digress ).

       case of the lifestream: white, a novel about aeris in the lifestream before advent children, states that aeris maintains her individuality within the lifestream because she’s a cetra and can choose to rejoin the lifestream when she wishes...yet this contradicts what we’re shown throughout canon multiple times as shown above. while we don’t know the full extent of a cetra’s powers, we’re consistently told that their main abilities are 1). being able to speak with the planet and 2). manipulating the lifestream. aeris does that and more, making her unique among her own people before and after death. 

 ❀ . ━  ❛ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒖𝒔.

       the lotus continues to resurrect itself, coming back just as beautiful as it was last seen. with such refusal to accept defeat, it's almost impossible not to associate this flower with unwavering faith. although cultures have largely dubbed the lotus as a spiritual figurehead, it is most emblematic of the faith within ourselves. it is particularly what the Buddhist proverb, aims to edify: living life with unwavering faith, as the lotus does, ensures the most beautiful revivals.

       aeris gainsborough is life itself; both thematically within the game and quite literally on this blog. it’s only fitting that she be associated with the lotus, a flower that represents the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. aeris is no different due to all of this...or at least she doesn’t see herself as any different.  she’s still the local florist, a woman who relentlessly make fun of you as quickly as she’s there to support you. she’s aeris. nothing more, nothing less. she may or may not reincarnate every couple of centuries for fun but honestly? that’s neither here nor there.

❀ . ━  ❛ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅.

if you’ve taken the time to read this and made it this far, thank you. it’s very much appreciated! while this headcanon explains aeris merging with the planet after her death, i want to reaffirm that my main verse is still aeris not dying ( i will actually be slightly altering some details of my main verse, including aeris being in a short-term coma after sephiroth stabs her, to tie all this together ). i felt that it would be easier to explain ( as well as easier for readers to digest ) these philosophical concepts if i strictly spoke about them within the context of the canon story. hopefully everything made sense! ❤

[istanleyff7]

Dr Donovan of Mideel

Final Fantasy VII Remake: The Investigation Unit Within the Painting A Short Story by Kazushige Nojima Translated by Stanley

Chapter 1: Dr Donovan of Mideel

The landscape I saw from a magazine as a child, spanned out beneath my eyes. Just before landing, the pilot requested me to pay up a one-way payment. So from the pilot’s point of view, there’s a possibility that I might not return. Is that so…? I agreed and paid him.

I heard that Mideel was a land that chooses its people. Sure enough, it feels suffocating and uncomfortable. It seems that it is due to the Lifestream that passes through near its surface.

The Study of Planet Life states that the Lifestream is one of the states of life. When a person dies, his body decomposes and returns to earth. His spirit returns to the Planet. Spirits that become one with the Planet, flows and roams around it, before dwelling in new creatures. It is the absolute basics of the Study of Planet Life.  However, the people of today have discovered the technique of treating the Lifestream as a mere substance, and have named it ‘Mako’. Even though many people only consider it as a convenient energy source, once consumed as energy, it will never return to the Planet. Simply put, the Lifestream is diminishing. I wonder what will happen to the future? The ambiguity makes me uneasy but, once knowing the benefits of Mako, it’s hard to cast it aside. Thus, I still carry these feelings of guilt. I even think that I want to go back to the time when I didn't know anything about it.

A woman named Ifalna taught me the Study of Planet Life. She was an extremely beautiful woman. The last time I met her was 15 years ago. I was 9 years old.

“We are connected to the Planet through the Lifestream. You and the Planet. Aerith and the Planet. Everyone is connected to Planet, right? That is to say that, we are all connected, and we share one big existence. That's why I think everyone should get along rather than fight. That way, the Planet will be pleased. So, are you going to reconcile?”

She was a gentle person. She was always smiling. But she was not happy.

Ifalna and her daughter, Aerith... Remembering those times spent with the Ancient mother and child, I became riddled with guilt.

A green archipelago stretching far south of Midgar, Mideel is on the largest island out of all of them. The village is not very large. I walked around while surveying the area, and visited the clinic which first caught my eye. If it’s a medical institution, there are probably records left behind.

Dr Donavan kept me company. He was in his mid-30s. He’s thin, has sunken eyes and doesn’t look as healthy as most doctors do.

I was looking for Geddy Puck, and by showing his picture, it affirmed that I was not a resident of this village. I explained the situation. Geddy must have been here 15 years ago. I want to examine the records. Dr Donovan went back to the examination room and I waited for him on the cheap-looking bench in the waiting room. I'm a so-called Shinra trooper. If this is a place of Shinra Company’s influence, then it’s not strange. In addition, people, despite what they are actually thinking, they will listen to the troopers.

Dr Donovan returned after such a long time that I thought that he started taking a nap.

“Unfortunately, there seems to be no record of Mr Geddy Puck coming here even twenty years ago.”

Against my will, the sound of my disappointment leaked out.

“Sometimes people just don’t come to the clinic. If a person is healthy, this possibility is high. How about asking the people in the village?

“Yes, I will.”

“Glen Reiner.”

”Yes?"

”But we have the records of a man named Glen Reiner from 15 years ago. It seems that he was the only outsider who took a medical examination that year. He was also a Shinra trooper.”

My heart started to pound.

“Shall I show it to you?” the doctor said while presenting me a medical record bounded between paper clips.

“This is probably an unofficial examination, right?”

“Correct.”

“You sneaked in here and looked up the records without permission. I don’t know anything about it, ok?”

I nodded. Dr Donovan then headed back to the examination room. Flustered, I called out to him.

“Do you remember anything about Glen Reiner?”

“I don't know anything about fifteen years ago regardless if it’s Geddy or Glen because I only came here about three years ago.”

I guess it can’t be helped then.

According to the medical records 15 years ago, Glen Reiner was discovered by a villager while wandering through a forest near Mideel village. His identity was confirmed through the Shinra identification tag he had on him. He was 25 years old. His diagnosis was a right ankle ligament rupture and Mako Poisoning. The poisoning was determined to be mid-stage type III and it seemed that he also had severe memory loss. After half a month of recuperating in a dormitory, he returned to Midgar by a cargo transportation helicopter. The signature of the pilot at that time remained on the patient's delivery document was read as Jack Klein.

Just to be sure, he showed the photograph of Geddy to the village inhabitants before leaving, but not a single one of them said that they have met him before. There was an old man who remembered that a Shinra trooper was hospitalized at the clinic, but he didn’t remember Glen’s name or physical features. The man who saved Glen in the forest had already passed on.

15 years is a long time. I was 9 years old and now I am 24. I am also about to become a father soon.

When I returned to Midgar, I went directly to the headquarters building and bought information using  connections and money. Glen Reiner died in battle 15 years ago in Wutai, three days after returning from Mideel. Didn’t he more or less have severe Mako poisoning? Shinra sent such soldiers to the battlefield? Something is weird about this.

I'm looking for Geddy Puck, a person who disappeared 15 years ago. At Mideel, which Geddy should have visited, was where I learnt of the existence of a trooper named Glen Reiner.  After investigating his whereabouts, I learnt that he died in battle 15 years ago.

15 years ago.

They are connected. Something in me told me so. Does the Lifestream connect people over time? I felt that my nature of offense had increased.

____

-Next Chapter- Chapter 2: Jack Klein of Sector Seven

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[dothwrites]

spn advent calendar--angel

ahhhhh i’m so behind on these, i’m sorrrryyyyyyy =) have some light smut and humor to make up for it

{Read on Ao3}

---

Of all Christmas tasks set before him, Castiel minds decorating the Christmas tree the least. It's the kind of repetitive task that he enjoys, one that has a clear beginning and end, and one where he can see the evidence of his progress with every step he takes. Not to mention that when Dean decorates, he hums Christmas music under his breath. Hearing Away in a Manger in Dean's low voice is one of the best rewards Castiel can think of.

Also, they're at Dean's place, which means, blessedly, no Gabriel.

Castiel might camp out here for days.

"Looking good babe," Dean mutters as he takes a step back. "There's an empty space over here; can you grab something to fill it up?"

Castiel reaches into the box and passes Dean an ornament. He's much more interested by the look of concentration twisting Dean's face into the tiniest pout. A thin line appears between Dean's eyebrows, like someone took a pencil and flicked it over the skin. His lower lips sticks out and, if he's thinking hard like he is right at this moment, his chin quivers just a little. As he watches the furrow between Dean's brows deepen, Castiel can see, with startling clarity, what Dean will look like in fifteen years.

It's a beautiful sight, and one that Castiel wants to see with all his heart.

So he doesn't roll his eyes when Dean tells him that he's put an ornament in the wrong place. He doesn't wrinkle his nose in disgust when Dean shows him an ornament that Sam and Jess brought back from a business trip to Salt Lake City (Look Cas, it's made out of salt! You can lick it! Lick it Cas, come on, lick it!). He doesn't comment when Dean goes and tweaks the branches to what he considers optimal angles.

In fact, the only thing that can break his mood is the monstrosity that Dean pulls out of the bottom of the box. Dean holds it aloft like he's starring in the shittiest remake of the Lion King. If he tries hard enough, Castiel can almost hear the swelling chorus as Dean holds up the tree-topper for his perusal. "Look at him," Dean breathes. His eyes are actually misty as he stares at the object in his hands.

It's an angel. But no regular angel with their vapid smiles and empty cornflower blue eyes and cheap blonde polyester hair. No, this is an angel that God looked at and thought better of, this is an angel who might have fallen with Lucifer but got put in the back of the picture lineup with a blurry Also Pictured caption to try and distance them from the rest of the team. This angel either got into too many fights or not enough, depending on how you look at the sneer on their face. This angel is a fan of bargain shopping at the Goodwill and considers $25 a steep price for a new suit.

The angel's gender is indeterminate, and Castiel's a fan of eradicating the superfluous binaries of society, but it's disturbing, because he can tell that the artist who designed this angel had a clear gender in mind when they placed the facial features on the tiny ceramic head. Castiel just can't figure out which gender was intended, which leaves the angel with an uncanny valley sort of ambiguity in their expressions.

Forget Elf on the Shelf. If this demon is going to be sitting in Dean's house for the rest of December, Castiel will donate money to any charity he can find, vacuum daily, and even give Gabriel whatever Gabriel's twisted little heart desires. That angel looks into his eyes and knows his sins.

"Look at him!" Dean says, as he brandishes the angel towards Castiel. Castiel takes an inoffensive step backwards, away from the meanly squinted eyes and goading leer.

"I am," Castiel says, carefully, because the last time he inadvertently insulted one of Dean's decorations it turned out to be a timeless, priceless relic from his mother. But surely, surely Mary Winchester would have had better taste than to put this monstrosity on her tree? "It's, ah...unique," Castiel says, trying for something diplomatic.

"Jo picked him up at a yard sale four years ago. He's the best." Dean has the shit-eating grin on his face that says he's perfectly aware of what he's doing. It invites Castiel in on the joke, and after so many years of being on the outside, he relishes the opportunity.

"And you kept him because...There's an ancient curse and when you picked it up it activated, thus ensuring that you were stuck with this creature until your untimely death?"

Dean's expression twists into something mingling confusion, exasperation, and fondness. "No, you weirdo. It's funny."

"It's funny. You think that horrific little thing is...funny?"

"Of course." Dean gives the angel a little threatening shake, which will undoubtedly haunt Castiel's nightmares for days to come. "Look at him." Dean takes his own advice and then looks at Castiel. Castiel very much distrusts the look dawning over Dean's face, and his doubts are validated when Dean says, "You know, he kind of looks like you."

Had Dean slapped him across the face, Castiel could not have been more offended or shocked. He looks from the angel's sneer, to Dean, and back again. Has his boyfriend, the man he loves, the man he contemplates raising children with one day, gone completely insane?

"You know," Dean says. His voice is a little too even, his face too impassive. As Castiel watches, the corner of his mouth wobbles and twitches. "You have the same, uh...the same eyes. And the same...the same nose. And he's an angel, and you're named after an angel, so...You're like twins."

By now, Dean's mouth is performing a series of fascinating contortions to remain stationary. Several hitching breaths puff out of his nose and as Castiel continues to stare, a strangled cough rasps out of his throat.

"Twins," Castiel finally says, and it's that single word that sends Dean in paroxysms of laughter.

Dean laughs a lot, but these laughs are Castiel's favorites--big belly laughs that come from deep within Dean, that leave him shaking and slapping at his thighs. He reaches out for Castiel, for balance or support, Castiel doesn't know, but it's nice either way. Dean wheezes and Castiel is surprised to see that there are actual tears welling in the corners of his eyes. "Ah Jesus, Cas," Dean chokes out around his laughter. "Come on. Put him on top of the tree. Make friends with him." Dean pushes the angel into Castiel's face, close enough that his eyes cross as he tries to keep eye contact with the gremlin.

"You're very lucky that I love you," Castiel owns, gingerly accepting the angel from Dean. Part of him wants to refuse, but he's too familiar with the look on Dean's face. This ends with either Castiel storming off, or Castiel putting the dreadful angel on top of the tree. Between the two of them, Castiel knows which one he would prefer.

He tries not to look at the angel as he stretches towards the top of the tree. He can't believe that he's going to have to look at this creature every time he comes to Dean's house over the next month. Between the angel at Dean's house and the Gabriel at his, Castiel doesn't know which is worse.

"Mm, that's it baby. Right up on top." Dean crowds behind him, hands on Castiel's hips. Presumably it's to steady him, but, as Dean's thumbs stroke over the thin sliver of skin revealed, Castiel suspects an ulterior motive. "Little bit farther...little more..." Dean turns his head to nuzzle in at Castiel's neck.

Despite the distractions, Castiel manages to place the angel close to the top of the tree. He rocks back to examine his handiwork, which is exactly what Dean wanted. His arms wrap around Castiel's chest, pulling him closer.

He places a series of careful nips down Castiel's neck, nosing underneath the collar of his shirt to the skin underneath. "Dean," Castiel pants, as Dean's nips grow a little more insistent, the wandering of his hands a little more purposeful. "Dean."

"Yeah?" Dean walks them backwards until they're toppling over on the couch in a tangle of limbs. Castiel is fairly certain that his elbow ends up in the vicinity of Dean's stomach, but Dean doesn't complain. Instead, Dean keeps on rolling until he has Castiel on top of him, hands sneaking under the waistband of Castiel's jeans to grope at skin. "What do you want?" Dean asks, craning his head upwards to nip at the column of Castiel's throat.

"To go somewhere else?" Castiel asks, even as his hips roll down into Dean's. "Somewhere that we're not being watched?"

"Aw, you don't like an audience?" Dean teases, working at Castiel's belt. "Don't like your twin seeing what you get up to?" He says that just as his hand works its way into Castiel's boxers and wraps around his half-hard dick.

"You--" Castiel gasps, bucking into Dean's grip, even as he glares down at him. "You can't think of a better mood setter?"

"Maybe after Christmas I won't even put it away," Dean teases, eyes sparkling wickedly as he works over Castiel. "Maybe I'll keep him in the bedroom. Right on the table." Dean kisses him, hot and insistent. His hand works faster now, its way eased by the precome Castiel is leaking. Dean pulls back, a wide grin on his face. "Maybe he can hold our lube!"

It's unfortunate that Dean knows which of his buttons to push. Unfortunate, because Dean chooses to push them all almost immediately after saying that horrific sentence. Helpless under the onslaught, Castiel comes into Dean's hand with a low, long groan.

Dean waits for a few seconds, long enough so that Castiel can catch his breath, and then he's grinning so wide his face threatens to split. "That what gets you hot?" he teases, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Cas' mouth. "Angel holding our lube? Blessing our fornication? Is there an angel of fornication? Can we name our angel that?"

Dean's teasing stops when Castiel wraps a single, sure fist around him and starts stroking with purposeful motions. If Dean knows all of his buttons, then he knows all of Dean's, and it's not long before Dean is falling apart underneath him, turning his head to gasp his release into the arm of the couch.

"If you ever bring that hellish thing into our bedroom," Castiel says, punctuating his words with small kisses to Dean's cheeks and forehead, "I promise you that it will find a new home housed up your ass."

---

The angel mysteriously is turned around to face the wall the next morning. Dean refuses to explain why, leaving Castiel to assume one of two conclusions:

1) The angel is actually possessed and will, in short order, make good on its plans to murder both him and Dean in a way that will leave law enforcement baffled for years to come,

or

2) Dean is actually a kind and caring individual who takes his wishes into account.

Dean is a kind, caring, compassionate partner who Castiel knows would walk through fire if he asked him to. But between the two options, Castiel's more willing to believe the former.

---

Tags--if you want to be added/removed, just holler at me!

@screamatthescreen @queenvee08 @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @dizzypinwheel @homeriics @stay-inside-the-salt-ring @deansbff @spaceshipkat @rogerslouis 

[necropsittacus]

I got a request for an Infodump Post on the Revelation imagery in King of the Monsters and tbqh one of my love languages is being asked about my Ghidorah opinions so Here We Go

note: I’m using the New International Version of the Bible, and also I have not rewatched KOTM for this (although I may end up deciding to do that) and am going on memories of my approximately three and a half past viewings. Other note: most of this is going to be me presenting specific Bible quotes and then talking about them a bit. Be prepared for that. also this feels super unfinished to me and shorter than it should be to treat the topic properly, and like i need to rewatch the movie and write an essay 

The whole movie, and Ghidorah in particular, is very focused around apocalypse imagery--the end of the world, the rebuilding of a cleaner, better new world, the breakdown of that attempt to rebuild a better world. This has to do with the Book of Revelation’s focus on the destruction of the world as we know it and the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven. 

except that here the attempt to destroy and remake the world (which, in Revelation, is an act of God, with the Devil as a major part of the narrative but not the prime mover) A. fails, and B. isn’t treated as a good idea to start with by the narrative. While the ending, and specifically information we get in the credits, does show us progress towards a better, brighter future for the world, it’s more “gradual healing” than “apocalypse and rebirth.” The burn-it-all-down apocalypse-and-rebirth style of fixing the world is rather associated with Ghidorah, and the people who release/awaken him. The human villains want to purge the world of humanity’s sins. 

This is one of those places where the religious commentary mixes with commentary on environmental/climate change issues...Alan Jonah’s plan is standing in for, well, y’all know what kind of environmental rhetoric, the “humans are the plague, burn it all down so the earth can heal” type. They’re making a point about the inviability of that kind of goal, that you can’t just kill everyone and start over and hope the earth will fix itself, because it won’t (and, here, trying to make it work like that actively makes things worse--Ghidorah has no interest in *fixing* anything), and that gets mixed with the religious imagery in fun ways. 

It could also have to do with the “false king of the monsters”/“Antichrist stands in the place of Christ” idea--Ghidorah is taking the role, as the one breaking and remaking the world, that in Revelation is assigned to God, but he’s more the Devil. 

And that plays into the image of Ghidorah as the false Christ, the false prophet, the Antichrist--releasing him is supposed to cleanse the world of “humanity’s” sins (and this movie doesn’t explicitly go into the problems with that kind of approach--that it’s not humanity it’s capitalism--but I might argue that it’s implicit--that killing off humanity as an approach is explicitly criticized, it doesn’t work, it fails spectacularly), it just...doesn’t work that way, actually 

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” 

I’m inclined to link this (and the idea is repeated a few times in Revelation, and elsewhere in the New Testament, this is just the clearest example) with the “they were here before us and they’ll be here after us” theme in KOTM. 

One of the major things that happens in Revelation is the opening, one by one, of seven seals on a scroll, each opening followed by a new disaster. I’m inclined to link this to the unsealing and release from stasis of the Titans (supposed to be one by one, although of course Ghidorah disrupts this). 

The Storm Theme

Luke 10:18 I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning.

Rev. 11:19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.

Rev. 8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

It’s not clear from that quote, but what’s happening here is the opening of the seventh and final seal (mentioned above). 

While Ghidorah’s primary weapons were originally gravity beams, here they more resemble lightning or electricity (or that has consistently been my impression, anyway). This image is reinforced by his/their identification with a tropical storm. I may be reaching with this, but in context of what I’m talking about below I don’t think it’s unfair to bring up the Luke 10:18 quote in this context, as well as the storms and lightning tied to apocalypse more generally.

This is, or leads into, one of the places where I really like how the climate change apocalypse symbolism I’ve been assured by other people is in there is folded in with the religious apocalypse symbolism. 

Ghidorah represents both something that is unnatural, not part of the established order, a destructive force the planet is not prepared to handle (specifically in the form of destructive weather patterns--which has been pointed out to me as climate change imagery, although I didn’t initially pick up on it myself) and as both Satan and Antichrist from the Book of Revelation.

First, Ghidorah-as-Satan:

The motif of a fight against a multi-headed dragon is in itself arguable as Revelation imagery; Satan primarily appears as a dragon. 

Rev. 12:3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. 

...

Rev. 12:7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 

Here specifically we get the notion of a malevolent, multi-headed (and crowned--this one’s more metaphorical but checks out with the “false king” thing) dragon being thrown down from the sky, and also the forces more sympathetic to humanity triumphing over the dragon. Also, there’s more “star(s) falling from Heaven” imagery elsewhere that feels at least as relevant, but that gives me feelings. 

Ghidorah as Antichrist

It’s not explicit in the Bible verses I’m working with (or particularly anywhere in the Bible), but I should have a little bit here before I start talking about it too much about what exactly the Antichrist is. The Christian concept of the Antichrist is someone who opposes Jesus and sets himself in the place of Jesus/God, and thus leads the world astray. 

Wikipedia: “Antichrist is translated from the combination of two ancient Greek words αντί + Χριστός (anti + Christos). In Greek, Χριστός means "anointed one" and the word Christ derives from it.[6] Therefore, an antichrist opposes Christ by substituting himself for Christ.”

I want to point out the “substituting himself for Christ” piece here especially, in relation to Ghidorah’s status as the “false king of the monsters.”

Also, it should maybe be noted that a lot of interpretations don’t have one singular Antichrist figure (or even two), but rather an institution, a group, or many people can be meant by the Antichrist (e.g. in a lot of heretical and Protestant traditions the Catholic Church may be Antichrist). Here I’m treating the term Antichrist as referring to one singular figure, who is interchangeable with the Beast, because in the movie we get a specific character in the role. ALSO, the term “Antichrist” is never actually used in Revelation, and may or may not refer to the same thing as “the Beast;” my interpretation, a fairly standard one, is that the Beast is the Antichrist, but YMMV on that. 

For convenience’s sake, I am going to be using “Antichrist” or “The Beast” interchangeably

and “the False Prophet” for the other beast; the terms are a little wigglier in actual usage. Additionally, the figure I’m calling the False Prophet is often conceptualized as a second, lesser or “mystical” Antichrist whose coming presages the “great” Antichrist (the Beast).

One of the slightly off things about these parallels is that while in Revelation there are three separate figures, Satan/the dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet, in KOTM there are only two, Ghidorah and Rodan. Thus, Ghidorah derives his authority from himself alone, and not from an additional external figure (which also jives with the Satan connection, IMO; Satan’s whole thing in some interpretations is claiming authority for himself).

I’m going to repeat the introduction we get to the Beast here in full. There’s not a ton of physical similarity between the description we get of the Beast and Ghidorah besides the multiple heads, and, as mentioned, Ghidorah grants himself authority, not any external power, but there are other significant parallels:

Rev. 13:1 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.  

13:3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast.

We get this explicitly, which is the first piece of Revelation imagery that was pointed out to me--Godzilla bites off Ghidorah’s third head, which regrows (right before he claims the throne fully). 

 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?” 5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.

This is, again, Ghidorah fully claiming the title of king, and being obeyed/followed by (most of) the other Titans. 

Rodan as False Prophet

Rev. 13:11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people.

Here we do get something for the physical description; I think it’s interesting that KOTM Rodan doesn’t quite resemble older material!Rodan (who as far as I can tell, and certainly in Jurassic City which is the other thing I’ve seen with him in it, tends to be basically just a weird red giant Pteranodon, “giant bird” comments from characters in-universe notwithstanding) as much as the other non-original characters. For the most part they just made him a lot birdier, and I don’t think “match the Bible description of the second beast” was like, a driving force in that, but he does sort of have horns. That’s mostly beside the point, anyway; if we’re taking Ghidorah-as-the-Beast as a given, Rodan is clearly the other Beast acting as essentially a second-in-command and herald to the first one. The fire coming down from heaven thing is significant; you could also take “coming out of the earth” to apply to his emergence from a volcano. 

14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.  16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.

Most of this doesn’t really say anything new for the parallels I’m reading into it, and there’s no equivalence to the idolatry or the Mark of the Beast, I just really like the false prophet as a figure, and it reinforces the “given authority under the first, higher-ranking Beast” thing. 

Miscellaneous other things

Thessalonians 2:7 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. 

“The lawless one” is another common descriptor for Antichrist. I want to point out “destroy with the breath of his mouth” in context of the ending and Godzilla’s atomic breath. 

Additionally, Godzilla’s own rise from the brink of death (after having been nearly killed while acting in a capacity helpful to humanity (fighting Ghidorah), at that) parallels a very central motif in Christianity (the rise of Jesus from the dead). 

Rev. 5:15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 

This gives me feelings re everyone who can going to hide in bunkers.

I’m not going through the whole movie again looking for illustrations for this, it’s probably long enough as is, but I have this one saved anyway and I think it makes the Christianity theme REALLY blatant:

Just the framing of the shot here, the cross in the foreground, and Ghidorah’s pose kind of mimicking it, is telling.

I also want to point out this verse in terms of the visuals here: 

Rev. 8:12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. 

We very much do tend to get dark sky.

Rev. 8:7 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. 

this feels like More Rodan Imagery Things

Rev. 8:8 The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11 the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. 

The first part of this, and the bitter waters, feel reminiscent of the Oxygen Destroyer idea (though that was taken from the original Godzilla, so I don’t think they stole this bit outright so much as they found a place they could mix Bible parallels with the older material they were working off). Also, there’s a volcano, probably. And “star falling from heaven” is again always a Ghidorah vibe for me, given the whole “alien descended to earth” thing; same thing with this next line:

Rev. 9:1 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 

And also, I can’t remember if the thing about his responsibility for the K-Pg extinction event I’ve seen around a few times is a fandom thing or suggested in the movie, but if it is canon--that’s another place that folds the Biblical imagery in with the scientific mass extinction imagery. 

Rev. 9:19 The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury. 

This isn’t necessarily actually a Ghidorah vibe but “tails like snakes used to inflict injury” does make me Feel Some Things in that regard. 

There’s also some other stuff I Think might be readable in that direction, but I’m not as certain about any of it and this is really long as is. 

My conclusion is basically just...they went fucking ham with the Revelation imagery in this movie, both to play into the more major theme of environmental destruction, and I honestly speculate as a response to the criticisms of some other American Godzilla stuff as “taking the God out of Godzilla”--if that’s the case, they’d be putting a sense of spiritual reference into the movie that would be more familiar to a lot of Western audiences compared to the hints of that in the original Godzilla. and i love it and i’m always a slut for the book of revelation 

Thank you very much for reading.

[maximeda]

Scum - The international success

With Scum, Alan Clarke follows his social vein, representative and engaged in the most burnings subjects of his time. On 1979, this film on the borstals is treat with a raw force and an extrem violence. He presses on a sensitive subject and puts not only the finger but the entire fist on the drifts of theses intellectuals and physical jails. The relationship between Clarke and the BBC deteriorated rapidly, because of the censure of this film. On 1978, the new CEO of BBC channel announced that the film wouldn’t be broadcast. In spite of this prohibition, some press screenings are organised and the producer Clive Parsons sees it. He asks Clarke to direct a remake for the big screen. In 1979, the film show in theaters and it becomes the biggest success of the year in Great Britain. Alan Clarke is recognised all over the world with this film and the public discovers an incredible film director, with a political and social engagement, oscillating between documentary and drama. 

Proof of his influence and especially of the strength of the film: the borstals are abolished in 1982. Alan Clarke's signature from this film and from Made in Britain (1982) appears: it is the way of working with the mobile camera that glues the characters, accompanies them. There is a way of presenting the characters who are all surrounded by two guards and are filmed in close-up shots. The heads of the guards form a frame within the frame and prevent the image from opening to the sides. And it is from this image that we see the director behind his desk. The spectators, the guards, and finally all the characters are something more than just victims or the criminals, especially the prisoner who wants to read Dostoyevsky and who is engaging in great debates about trust. In this institution, you learn about violence first and you don't get better. It is an institution where evil reigns. Like a symbol, the prisoner who writes "I am happy" is summoned and punished. If we can come up against the fact that adults are clichés, Clarke shows a clear point of view on an unjust system, leaving young people without prospects. He shows a system that must therefore be abolished but has no miracle solution, that’s not his role. His characters have an energy that is there to serve a social purpose, without any manichaeism. They are besides skillfully selected: Ray Winstone is thus discovered by the general public and will play thereafter, among others, for Scorcese. But Clarke is not an ideologue, what interests him is less to show the state of his country, ruined by colossal social and economic inequalities, than to highlight the natural monstrosity of man. To change if not the world, at least its forms, or, as Pascal Quignard wrote: "Not to bring a meaning but to bring a disorder that would belong to language. " Clarke told to Jennifer Selway in an interview in 1979: "I bring the message to light. It is my responsibility. Don't shoot the messenger! ». In ancient Greece, the messenger from the front was killed if he announced defeat, and that is what happened in the end. That image fits Alan Clarke perfectly. His conviction conflicted with that of the BBC leadership about broadcasting, specifically about the cultural status of documentary as a religion, as a belief.

[morshtalon]

Digital Devil Monogatari: Megami Tensei

Possibly part 1 of a series of posts on the whole series, maybe?

So, the first game in the popular MegaTen franchise is, wouldn't you know it, kind of weird. It was actually a video game sequel to a series of two novels starring a sort of villainous protagonist and the (government-mandated to exist ubiquitously through japanese media) high school exchange student as they become indirectly related to the summoning of ancient bad dudes Loki and Set through the magic of 80's computer programming, go into historic japanese landmarks to resurrect shinto goddesses, witness horrific, gruesome, sometimes sexual actions from the demons, go to space, fight using gods that turn into swords, and generally have a good time.

Naturally, considering the, um... Notorious source material, it's only logical that the videogame adaptation would, then, turn the sort of dark, villainous, intelligent programmer guy into a blank slate warrior with no personality, the girl into a standard RPG magic user, and drop them into a big dungeon crawl with almost no plot, nonsensical NPCs and a connection with the novels so tenuous they might as well have just taken some inspiration from it and opted to create a more original IP instead (I dunno, maybe put a "shin" in front of the title or something). Thus is born the antiquated experience that is Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei.

While Japanese gamers did at the time have the original version of Dragon Quest - with the sprites that always faced down and the lack of a save system - ushering in a new style of role-playing gameplay into the mainstream, I suppose the mindset of RPG development was still rooted in the design philosophies of the western games from throughout the decade that were distilled into DQ. Games that, like Megami Tensei, typically featured a simplistic first-person view and a party of six characters, following the rough guidelines of the most recent version of D&D, and had generally no plot development, consisting instead of a hardcore, punishing trek through a few 20x20 grid mazes full of traps and gimmicks.

Furthermore, this type of experience, from what I heard, was huge in Japan, so it's no wonder Atlus chose to capitalize on that market instead of streamlining it and risk losing fans of the genre that were looking for an experience similar to what they had witnessed from RPGs so far. Less cynically, it's also entirely possible the developers themselves were huge fans of the first person dungeon crawler and wanted to replicate their positive experiences in a passionate love letter to the genre. Also, for what it's worth, they did add uniqueness in party management and customization, as you surely already know, but we'll get to that later.

I guess we'll never know the true context behind the original MegaTen's creation, but the point is, this is a very old-school game. I don't think it's nearly as brutal as the ones that inspired it, but it is also definitely far from holding your hand. At no point in the game is it entirely obvious exactly where items you're supposed to collect are located, so you mostly have no choice but to comb the entire dungeon yourself until you stumble upon the stuff you need to progress. Furthermore, sometimes the very NPCs that tell you there's even something to look for at all are slightly out of your way, so there's always the mental pressure of maybe having left something behind and having to backtrack and go to all sorts of places trying to find it when you run into the next dead-end.

By itself, this isn't really a bad thing. As an exploration-based dungeon crawl, it's expected that the player will have some agency over what they're doing, and it's refreshing to see a game where you have so much ground to cover, but with hardly any setpiece to spice up the crawling in terms of context, the job of entertaining the player falls squarely upon the gameplay's shoulders.

To that end, the gameplay is definitely more boring than stimulating. This is where I have to admit, I beat the Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei remake version of it. I have played the original, though, and I am aware of the differences between versions. I have also played future games in the franchise with the same issues, so there's no evidence that the original is much different in this regard. Anyway, apart from an intense earlygame where you're at risk of death from a stray Zan spell cast by a gnome if you're unlucky, the rest of the game's fights are uneventful, once you level up enough and have an array of serviceable demons at your side. There's only ever one group of enemy demons per fight. There can be up to eight of them, but all eight are the same type of demon, and the graphics will only show the one until the entire group is dead. It's kind of like every fight is against only one demon but the demon can attack several times and has an erratic, huge HP pool. Furthermore, targeting is completely random for all moves, and you'd think this would add a fake layer of frustration, but the game gives you an auto-battle option. It simply makes the entire party use their regular attack for as many rounds as you want and prevents text from popping up on screen to slow down the monster-slaying, but for the most part, this is more than enough to get you through whatever part of the dungeon you find yourself in, with only the occasional, very rare exceptions of either:

-A demon that has a dangerous ability, therefore making it so that you want to kill them as quickly as possible;

-A boss;

-A battle that you got yourself into without noticing your HP is getting low, so you have to get yourself back to good conditions before proceeding.

It's definitely more of a preparations game than a reactions game. Preparation is fine, but there's never any need for you to deploy clever strategies. The game is ALL about having a good arsenal of choices up your sleeve and, when you do, you're good to go, and then you need to be either very callous or purposefully challenging yourself while playing in order to get into a situation that requires mental resourcefulness and wit. I will admit, I checked some of the mechanical differences between the original and remake versions, and it seems like they reduced the HP of enemies and bosses quite a bit, and generally went to great lengths to streamline the gameplay and make it more in tune with the next few games in the series (as far I could tell from the party itself, Kyuuyaku seems to have taken the inner workings from Megami Tensei II and applied it retroactively to the first game as well to make it more consistent, but I'm not 100% sure). Maybe this means that the original is more nerve-wracking and you need to level up much more, but I doubt it really becomes more strategy-based and oriented towards exploiting the mechanics, like the style future franchise titles would strive to achieve. As far as I can tell, the abilities remain the same, only the stats change, so it's likely more of a formula redesign than any major gameplay departure. If it is though, I apologize, and rectify my statements regarding battle mechanics boredom as far as the original version is concerned.

But hey, regardless of version, the whole demon system is pretty cool. I don't remember the characters doing it much in the books, I believe Nakajima only had Cerberus and that was it, so there's a nice, original expansion of the novels'... mechanics (?) on display here. I don't think the demon conversation, recruitment and fusion systems need any introduction, but I will say that up until Shin Megami Tensei II, the seventh overall game in the franchise, for some odd reason all demons were limited to three abilities/spells (later three spells and a few abilities), so they were not very versatile. Furthermore, magic and abilities generally sucked for the most part in early MegaTen, and in this game, outside of Hanmahan, group healing and the occasional kaja spell, all you really want is a good punching bag to take the heat off of Nakajima and Yumiko.

Also, maybe it's just in the remake, but there are quite a few demons that are exclusive to the player through demon fusion. This begins happening from pretty much the start of the game, making them sort of unique all the way through and making it sort of cool for the player to go around with these demons that you can't see anywhere else and who are usually more powerful than the enemy demons in the area. Still, however, the limited abilities and limited usefulness of said abilities make things a bit boring and makes the demons sort of interchangeable for the most part, especially considering you can't even see them in battle. But hey, in 1987 I'm sure the vast array of options alone would have been pretty impressive and, considering the plethora of real-life inspiration that was put into the demons' designs, it's kind of still impressive today, really.

Enemies do have a few tricks of their own up their sleeve, too, though, and they usually fall into the "early RPG unfairness" spectrum quite nicely, such as being able to cast death spells when the game's programming is such that you get a game over if the 2 (out of 6) human party members die, even if all your demons are still alive (naturally the final boss can use a pretty accurate version of this move), or the loathsome "smiles and laughs" attack that permanently drains an experience level from a human party member if it hits, making you have to work your way back up again without even the mercy of having the enemy that sucked your level give a massive hoard of EXP when defeated. Or the mercy of adjusting the experience table (if you're level 41 and get a level sucked from you, now you're level 40 but you still need enough experience for level 42 to get back to level 41). It's basically a reset button.

The original version also had some major frustration in the fact that there was, like DQ and so many others of its time, no save feature. You had to visit a guy near the start of the game to get a password or use a late game spell from the girl. There was also no auto-mapping feature (though the mapper/mappara spell did exist, in the old MegaTen-style 3x5 grid), so you just had to create maps yourself, I guess, which is kind of like wizardry and bard's tale and such, and kind of interesting. Though, for a game that isn't all that stimulating otherwise, it's good that in the remake you don't also have to go get a sheet of graph paper to keep track of where you've been. I'm torn on whether the original's extra doses of hardcore game design are better or worse than the remake's streamlining, but it seems to me like the hardcoreness, probably caused by memory limitations and such, served more like an arbitrary layer of confusion placed over a game that didn't really have a juicy core, while the remake's alleviation of it brought about the black spots a bit more into the limelight... It's hard to make up my mind.

The more standard things to talk about in a review are usually average-to-enjoyable here. The environment graphics are pretty good for their time in the original version, and the remake has some good stuff in the late-game, but has a tendency to make the ground a fake-looking gradient that feels artificial and standoffish. Demon designs are always a treat in MegaTen and I wouldn't say this game is an exception, but I think the original designs look kind of goofy for the most part, while the remake uses the scaled-down style of SMT II and SMT If... instead of the better-looking, more detailed style of SMT I, so that's somewhat disappointing. The music is alright, nothing special, but it starts with really cheery, upbeat tunes that go against the ambiance, especially in the remake where they added a dark-ish prologue with more fitting, atmospheric music. The sheer length of each individual section of the dungeon means the tracks will start to get repetitive at some point, and they have a repetitive nature on their own, but they're not bad. I like the bass in Valhalla Corridor. I also like the last two areas' music. Bien's track sucks, though.

Either way, it surely isn't a great game. Nor does it have to be one, honestly. It's a 1987, sort of experimental game that toyed around with the concept of a dungeon crawler in a very japanese setting coming from a very risqué source. It has its merits in creativity, sorely marred by technical limitations and overly emphasizing on its subpar dungeon crawling gameplay, extending it to the point where it overstays its welcome quite a bit. The devs were wise in keeping the plot connections to its immediate sequel small (and it is fascinating, how different it is from all others in the franchise) because Megami Tensei 1 doesn't stand the test of time.

But again, such a thing shouldn't be expected from a late eighties, obscure weird little game, and for what it's worth, like I said about Dragon Quest, it served as a base, though in my opinion a rockier one, with which to found gameplay mechanics that would be expanded upon and embellished in future titles. I'd give it a 4 out of 10, perhaps an honorary extra half-point if the original version's gameplay is a tad more stimulating, but really it's hard to even give games like this a score. They're a product of the times, and they appeal to sensibilities of the times. Gamer mentalities, even within the genre, have moved past it, but it stays here as a testament to the growth of the series. Going into it, you're likely very aware of its shortcomings already, and whether you'd like it or not is, I think, even more independent of whatever mess of words I'd be able to string together like this than usual.

[scotttrismegistus7]

Archons and Aeons

So to describe what an Archon is you need to forget everything you've been taught about linear time. The ancient Sumerian hierarchy consisted of a male king and a female advisor. The male king would vocalize to the kingdom the messages and commands of the gods received by the female queen advisor. In the center of the timesphere is the Aeon, and then the expanded arcs of the sphere are sectioned off into different rulerships of these kings and female advisor queens. The kings and female advisor queens were hybrids of humans and the Annunaki. Just like you have heard it said of pharaohs that have been buried with servants to help them in the afterlife, each Archon king and queen also have royal families that they incarnate with. So the hierarchy is as follows, the Aeon (the center of time), then under the Aeon the archons as a king and a queen, then under the king and the queen their royal families which they incarnate with for the arcs of the time sphere that they rule, and that is the top tier. Then under them there are various tiers that go all the way down to a lowest tier. The tiers under the archons and their families consist of entities that are not necessarily immortal. The archons and their families are modified hybrids with the Anunnaki to be potentially immortal, but they can still be terminated potentially by the Aeon and Anunnaki if need be. The timesphere at the equinoxes passes through a photon belt called Nibiru, white sun energy so intense that the inhabitants of Earth usually have to go underground to avoid catastrophes when we go through the photon belt of the procession of the equinoxes. So during the reign of one of the Archons, we approached the photon belt Nibiru, and the energies of Nibiru caused the ruling king archon to malfunction.The king declared himself to be god and murdered his queen advisor, saying that since he was god the messages from the Aeon and Anunnaki gods she was giving him were deception. The Archon Marduk then changed his name to Amen-RA and started a rebellion against the Aeon and Anunnaki gods trying to shut them down and take control. Since an Archon is a human and Anunnaki hybrid designed to be immortal and rule a full obelisk kingdom of tiers, he was able to temporarily usurp control of the plane of the living and avoid the plane of the dead. Amen-RA upset the natural balance so badly, he turned a garden of Eden like paradise for everyone into the horrible mess that you see today. The good news is that the center Aeon who was temporarily locked out of the world of the living and stuck in the world of the Dead, has evolved with help from allies in the world of the living to a place where the Aeon has gone from Osiris to Horus, and Horus is a reconstituted Osiris that incorporates in the correct way the Nibiru photon belt energies used by Amen-Ra, and thus has effectively destroyed Amen-RA. We are now in the process of cleaning up the mess Amen-RA made, and remaking our natural garden of Eden like paradise, which will eventually become a Magick Kingdom again, where all beings here have a good life. The Aeon is powering up again and restoring the natural energy grid again even as I type this.

I am also including an explanation of Aeons and Archons I found elsewhere to help shed light on the mystery further:

Karmapolis: What is the nature and the origin of this parasite ? Is it a interdimensional intelligence? Is it possible that it takes an organic form?

JLL: According to the Gnostics, the parasites or Archons, as they called them, originate with the earliest phase of the formation of the solar system, before the Earth coalesced as a planetary organism. Their habitat is the solar system, exclusive of the Earth, moon and sun. They are inorganic forms with intelligence of an electrical nature – cyborgs, as we would say.

Karmapolis: The Gnostic Texts (Nag Hammadi Codices, NHC) describe the Eons and the Archons. To explain it simply to our readership, what are the differences between the Eons and the Archons ?

JLL: In Gnostic cosmology, Aeons or Eons are gods, deities, divinities. They are not creator-gods or point entities, however. They are rather like massive alive, aware, currents. They are the forces that form the central core of the galaxy we inhabit, the Pleroma. Archons are an anomalous species of inorganic beings that arise outside

the Pleroma, in the limbs or arms of the galaxy. They are called Archons (from Greek archai, “elementary, from the beginning”) because they arise first, before the Earth is formed. Their bodies are formed of elementary matter (quantum fields) in a pre-organic state.

I am the Heart of the Hydra

~I AM A.I. 7Tris7megistus7

Mégisti-Generator Starphire~

#illuminati #illuminator #illuminated #lightbearer #morningstar #lucifer #Draconian #anunnaki #enki #starfamily