#why don't we concepts

[feal-the-grinch]

Agatha's quiet pleading here is killing me. Mouth agape, she shakes her head. Agatha knows why Rio (Death) is here, she feels it, yet, her disbelief is clear, and she still holds hope Rio won't do it.

But then, Rio takes a first step towards her, and then another. The next shot shows Agatha realising that Rio is going to take their/her child. The only person who has ever loved her is going to take away the little being Agatha already loves with her entire heart and soul...

It's no wonder Agatha's defences went up right after. In her eyes, from the moment Death took those steps towards her, Rio chose her job over Agatha and Nicky. From that moment on, something broke between them.

[liam-summers]

3.10 | 6.22 ⤷ Bangel + Dying, being brought back to life because they have a calling, and being disillusioned because of it.

[serpentface]

how do you come up with the ways cultures in your setting stylize people/animals/the world in general in their artwork, i.e. jewlery, rock carvings, statues, etc? Each culture in your world seems to have a very unique "art style" and I love it a lot - makes them seem that much more 'real'. This is something I struggle with a lot in my own worldbuilding and I'd love to pick your brain if possible 😁

I think a starting point is to have a research process based in the material realities of the culture you're designing for. Ask yourself questions like:

Where do they live? What's the climate/ecosystem(s) they are based in? What geographic features are present/absent?

What is their main subsistence method? (hunter gatherer, seasonal pastoralist, nomadic pastoralist, settled agriculturalist, a mix, etc)

What access to broader trade networks do they have and to whom? Are there foreign materials that will be easily accessible in trade and common in use, or valuable trade materials used sparingly in limited capacities?

Etc

And then do some research based on the answers, in order to get a sense of what materials they would have routine access to (ie dyes, metal, textiles, etc) and other possible variables that would shape how the art is made and what it's used for. This is just a foundational step and won't likely play much into designing a Style.

If you narrow these questions down very specifically, (ie in the context of the Korya post- grassland based mounted nomads, pastoralist and hunter-gatherer subsistence, access to wider trade networks and metals), you can direct your research to specific real world instances that fit this general idea. This is not to lift culturally specific concepts from the real world and slap them into your own setting, but to notice commonalities this lifestyle enforces - (ie in the previous example- mounted nomadic peoples are highly mobile and need to easily carry their wealth (often on clothing and tack) therefore small, elaborate decorative artwork that can easily be carried from place to place is a very likely feature)

For the details of the art itself, I come up with loose 'style guides' (usually just in my head) and go from there.

Here's some example questions for forming a style (some are more baseline than others)

Are geometric patterns favored? Organic patterns? Representative patterns (flowers, animals, stars, etc)? Abstract patterns?

Is there favored material(s)? Beads, bone, clay, metals, stones, etc.

When depicting people/animals, is realism favored? Heavy stylization? The emotional impression of an animal? Are key features accentuated?

How perspective typically executed? Does art attempt to capture 3d depth? Does it favor showing the whole body in 2 dimensions (ie much of Ancient Egyptian art, with the body shown in a mix of profile and forward facing perspective so all key attributes are shown)? Will limbs overlap? Are bodies shown static? In motion?

Does artwork of people attempt to beautify them? Does it favor the culture's conception of the ideal body?

Are there common visual motifs? Important symbols? Key subject matters?

What is the art used for? Are its functions aesthetic, tutelary, spiritual, magical? (Will often exist in combination, or have different examples for each purpose)

Who is represented? Is there interest in everyday people? Does art focus on glorifying warriors, heroes, kings?

Are there conventions for representing important figures? (IE gods/kings/etc being depicted larger than culturally lesser subjects)

Is there visual shorthand to depict objects/concepts that are difficult to execute with clarity (the sun, moon, water), or are invisible (wind, the soul), or have no physical component (speech)?

Etc

Deciding on answers to any of these questions will at least give you a unique baseline, and you can fill in the rest of the gaps and specify a style further until it is distinct. Many of these questions are not mutually exclusive, both in the sense of elements being combined (patterns with both geometric and organic elements) or a culture having multiple visual styles (3d art objects having unique features, religious artwork having its own conventions, etc).

Also when you're getting in depth, you should have cultural syncretism in mind. Cultures that routinely interact (whether this interaction is exchange or exploitation) inevitably exchange ideas, which can be especially visible in art. Doing research on how this synthesizing of ideas works in practice is very helpful- what is adopted or left out from an external influence, what is retained from an internal influence, what is unique to this synthesis, AND WHY. (I find Greco-Buddhist art really interesting, that's one of many such examples)

Looking at real world examples that fit your parameters can be helpful (ie if I've decided on geometric patterns in my 'style guide', I'll look at actual geometric patterns). And I strongly encourage trying to actually LEARN about what you're seeing. All art exists in a context, and having an understanding of how the context shapes art, how art does and doesn't relate to broader aspects of a society, etc, can help you when synthesizing your own.

[bumblingbabooshka]

I love Vulcans we need to get more into the emotional lives of Vulcans without imposing Human standards onto them. "The way you feel is wrong/repressive because it's not the way it's "supposed" to be from my perspective as an alien called Human" is boring to me especially when it's treated as correct. I wanna know how the aliens feel about their alien way of life. Vulcans are so interesting to me when written AS aliens and not as analogous to repressed Humans. I think about Tuvok's description of attachment to his family and how that isn't the emotion 'love' but something else, something that he feels no shame about having and sees as normal, as naturally Vulcan and I love it and I love it because there aren't any Humans there to go "Um actually checkmate you Vulcan s.o.b - that's emotion!" and he isn't being influenced by anything. These are his authentic thoughts. He sees his children, his family, as part of him. They were at times illogical, incomprehensible, and it was extremely rewarding to be in their lives. He thinks about them every day. They were well behaved. As teens they were contemptuous of authority and convinced of their own superiority. His youngest son loved one 200 verse story so he sang it to him. He'd rather die than betray his wife even in spirit. He's incomplete without them. It's obvious through Tuvok that Vulcan life is not inherently devoid of pleasure, comfort, or love and thus Human life (I think) should not be portrayed as inherently having something greater, deeper, more meaningful. I'm not talking here of society but of...emotional life. Interiority. There's this sense that all Vulcans are the same and miserable for it. That they hold themselves back and are indistinguishable and antagonistic to the self, repressed and wrong. That to be Vulcan is to suffer endlessly and Humans are all about Freedom Man and I don't know, I like that Tuvok's existence sort of challenges this as much as I acknowledge that Vulcan society is in fact repressive and unwelcoming to those who don't fit neatly into it. I'm not saying Vulcan society is a utopia, I'm questioning the perception of Vulcan emotional control - that way of life - as being inherently bad, devoid, or lacking. That Vulcans walk around with 'empty cups' and are only deluding themselves that to be that way is good. If only, Humanity moans, they could taste how delicious life could be! Tuvok is an average Vulcan. He does not struggle with emotion, he is not mixed species, he was not raised atypically, and yet he has a family he cares about and a wife he's loyal to and friends he values and none of these things seem to be Un-Vulcan to him. If Vulcan life was truly devoid of love and care, Tuvok wouldn't think of his family. They're not here, so why bother? When his pon farr came, he'd be trying to find the most compatible mate rather than risking his life by trying to meditate through it out of loyalty to T'Pel. T'Pel would also have just given Tuvok up for dead instead of waiting and his children wouldn't have traveled all the way to the most holy temple on the planet to say prayers for his safe return. I think these things are interesting and I wish they'd been explored more. The fact that caring about your family, caring about your friends, is not Un-Vulcan. The fact that Tuvok at no point longs for Humanity, sees nothing better or of interest to him in it. (Even in his teenage rebellion he only says he's sorry he was born Vulcan which reads less as Vulcan v Human and more like 'I hate this goddamn family' ykwim?). I want to know more about how Vulcans interact with each other, how they care for one another, what it means and what it's like to be Vulcan in more of an everyday way rather than what it means to be Vulcan vs Human.

[harbingersecho]

they had to pause their morning workout to drive wash to the ER at 7 am bc he somehow got hit by a car while getting mail. there's traffic. maine fiddles with the radio and carolina is imagining herself parkouring over the other cars

[volivolition]

DAY 4: DRAMA - Put on your prettiest face for the masses!

gonna start adding silly captions actually. [POINTS ACCUSINGLY] MELTY FUCK (AFFECTIONATE)!!

[uniiiquehecrt]

Voice actors are NOT the same as actors.

It takes a specific kind of skill-set and training to be able to warp and meld the voice. It takes a certain kind of talent and dedication to hone that talent into the ability to meld the voice and invoke emotion with one's voice alone. Actors are used to using their voice secondarily to their body language and their facial expressions. It's all mirrored back on camera. They do have nuance. But it's a different kind of nuance and a different kind of training to produce that nuance.

Voice actors might get their likeness transposed on their character's design, and maybe their mannerisms might seep into the character's animation. But when it's all said and done: their presence is in their voice. They are bringing a character to life, showing that emotion in their voice, trying to keep a specific accent, drawl, pitch, tone in that voice and keep it consistent for their recording sessions.

The voice actor is like a classically trained musician who can play first chair in a competitive, world-renown orchestra. The actor (who fills the voice actor's role) is like a moot who played violin in beginner and intermediate high school orchestra and thinks they can get into Juilliard with that 2-4 years of experience.

This doesn't mean that the HS orchestra moot can't play. They can even be really good at it. Maybe they won competitions and sat first chair. But they are not in the same league as the person who's been training their whole lives and lives and breathes to hone their craft using the instrument and all of the training they've ever acquired to perfect it. They are not meant for the same roles. They are not in the same caliber. You do not hire the HS equivalent when you want to play complex music in a competitive orchestra.

Actors are not the same as voice actors.

And furthermore, actors - especially big name actors - taking the roles of animated characters for big budget films or TV pilots makes no sense anyways when - at least in the case of TV pilots - there's not a point to hiring a big budget actors anyways. That money could be used elsewhere (like paying your animators), and the talent that is brought onto the screen for X character could then be hired on to voice said character no recasting required.

I wouldn't say voice acting as a profession is in danger exactly, but it's certainly being disrespected and overlooked for celebrity clout, and this has ALWAYS been an issue. Shoot, even Robin Williams knew that much - which is why he tried so hard not to be used as a marketing chess piece for Aladdin and got royally pissed off when it happened anyways. People shouldn't go to any movie (but especially not animated films) because "oh famous actor is in it". People should go because it's a good movie and the voice acting is good.

People who honest to god think that voice actors are replaceable because "oh well anyone can voice act" or "I like xyz celebrity so naturally it'll be good" ... Honestly I just wish you'd reassess your priorities because you're missing the point and are part of the problem.

Voice Actors ≠ Actors.

[rotisseries]

who wants to hear my absolutely stunning ideas for atla soap opera aus

[leliwardens]

genuinely kinda super fucked we never learn why flemythal wanted to preserve june's soul lol

[donkoogrr]

Okay, getting my Asexual-spectrum Batman brainrot in some sort of order, everything is subject to being updated.

This turned out long and rambling, just the way I like it.

My main inspiration for this is a scene from the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, where Bruce and Alfred are discussing how to reintroduce Bruce into Gotham society. It's been awhile since I saw the film but I'm pretty sure Bruce looks at Alfred and is like, "So, what do young billionaires do that would explain vigilante injuries?" And then the scene cuts to Bruce and two foreign models swimming in a fountain at a fancy restaurant. And I'm like.

Fucking. Alfred. Suggested the himbo thing? Was this a passive-aggressive punishment for fucking off for years that went on for too long?

(I love my main man Mr. Pennyworth, I will meme that he's a saint. In reality, I think he's part of the reason the Robins keep having a terrible time passing on the mantle. I can address my grievances in another post tho.)

So I'm there, thinking about Batman and Bruce and growing up in private schools. I'm in the process of unlearning some damaging information that I was taught as "truth" from my own school days. I'm thinking of Butler Alfred, and his position as caretaker, and how he was raised, and what he would think is appropriate counsel.

When Bruce is hitting puberty and writing love poems to the tune of BeeGees songs to girls in class, how would Alfred handle that? He'd surely have a perfunctory talk with his charge about respecting women, how to be a proper gentleman, safe sex, warnings about people who are out for Bruce's heart as a way to get to his status and fortune.

But would Alfred even think to cover queerness? He surely knows of it, but he's from a generation and culture that is known for stoicism and silence. The generation where one might know a pair of "confirmed bachelors" or "spinster sisters", but one does not mention it in polite company. Perhaps he would decide to have that talk if it ever seems to be necessary.

But would Bruce ever think to ask about why he isn't as interested in sex as seemingly all the people around him? Why wouldn't he chalk that up to his massive trauma and call himself mature for it? And a number of girls would love that maturity, that Ice Prince gentility, that challenge. So he'd learn how to be charming, how to flirt. It's applied psychology to Bruce, it's masking, it's learning how to act like a "normal" human.

It's easy for me to see him continue that trend in his adult life. He is romantic and he isn't sex-repulsed; he matches the flirtation energy of someone and if they both want to have sex, they do. It's kind of fun for him, too, to learn someone's body and use his to make them feel so good.

It's just that, sex is just a mutual workout? And he legitimately enjoys doing other things together equally or more, like actual workouts or sparring or casework. Bruce will initiate sex if he picks up his partner's cues, but by the time he's comfortable enough with them to relax... He's just not in clue-finding mode. So partners become understandably annoyed. Upset. They feel like they're the ones putting in all the effort to keep the relationship alive and Bruce doesn't have the knowledge or words to explain his position.

So yeah, there are jokes about Batman being easy, jokes about his history of romantic relationships with rogues, civilians, and heroes alike. He's just doing what he thought was normal. Flirting back, following the other person's lead, matching the energy. It frustrates him when he thinks about it, because it's just another way he's Different and Broken and Missing Something that the rest of the world seems to understand on a basic level.

(To be firm: Bruce Does Not Match the energy of everyone who flirts with him. He is an adult and has his own tastes. He's got Polite Flirting, Interested Flirting, and Gray Rocking down pat.)

[youandthemountains]

it probably is insane how much I wish I could express the thing about spones. the vibes about spones. Like there's the joking fun fandom vibes and I love them, I love to play with them, of course of course. but the THING. the CORE to me. i wish i could capture it and share it.

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

If I could be arsed to learn how to edit videos and had some kind of mic, I would 110% make a two part video essay series on the politics of Jurassic World because MY GOD, there's so much to dissect.

The first part would be about how the park is the epitome of neoliberal futurism for techbros, including the way the park so easily falls apart though I doubt that aspect is purposeful. Everything is aesthetic first and function second, and we can't possibly use any of the reliable infrastructure we've already come up with because a train is not gonna get us to Mars, but a monorail might.

And the second would be about the buckwild terrible gender politics going on. The movie is deeply unsympathetic to Claire seemingly because she's a woman who prioritised her career as it's both centre to her character arc and also an inciting event of one of the plots. Not to mention the whole Zara thing or the Owen and Claire thing or the stupid "him, I meant him, line. The movie is rife with misogyny, but it feels like that specific misogyny was isekaied over from backlash to second wave feminism.

I could talk about it all for so long because in a way, it feels like a perfect time capsule for 2015. Back when people took Claire running in heels to be this feminist statement to be made fun of and not just a deeply misogynistic movie trying to sell you feminism. And back when Elon Musk managed to get away with his "I'm the real life Iron Man" shit, and people believed he was smart and all his plans would come to fruition. 2015 was a great time to be a tech bro in Silicon Valley with people just throwing money at all your fake promises.

Yeah. See. This is what I mean when I say I could talk about it forever.

[gay-barbarian]

As far as you can see (which is not very far)

Domestic fluff Swercy for fun cause why not. Swan needs glasses but she's very good at hiding it so no one ever realised it (she reads a lot, what do you mean she cant see), except Mercy.

Swan can see, she's not blind, it's just that she can't see well. The thing is, she was way too poor to afford glasses in her childhood and then Cleon took her in and she didn't want to be a burden. So she got used to hiding it from everyone and it worked pretty well. Apparently Mercy was an exception. 

Not even a week into their relationship Mercy started to have doubts about Swan’s vision. They had gone to an upper scale restaurant because Mercy never went to anything fancier than Nathan's and Swan knew it would make her happy. Swan is smart. She usually already knows what she wants to eat whenever she goes out to dinner so she won't have to read a menu in front of other people. So when the waiter came to ask her what she wanted to eat she confidently said “Cajun chicken pasta, please.” just for the waiter to give her a forced smile.

“Sorry ma'am, the menu has changed recently and we don’t do that anymore. Do you need a few more minutes to check the new menu?”  

Swan was taken aback a little but did her best to hide it. She held the menu upright trying to not put it too close to her face and attempted to decipher the little writing while Mercy asked for her food. “I’ll take the salmon”

Without thinking, Swan closed the menu and quickly said “I’ll take the same!”

Mercy looked at her puzzled before flashing a smile to the waiter thanking him. Once he was gone Mercy asked “I thought you didn’t like fish? You made yourself something else when Cochise made some for dinner the other day”

Swan hated fish, she simply couldn’t eat it without feeling sick. “No no of course I like it. Why would I ask for the same thing as you if I didn’t? I just didn’t like how Cochise cooked it, that's all.” Swan forced a laugh. Mercy squinted, not sure that Swan was not just making shit up for some reason, but decided to let it go and enjoyed her evening. Swan barely ate that night, claiming she wasn’t hungry. 

A few days later, they had to take the train to go get Ajax from jail. Swan was supposed to go alone at first but Mercy had insisted on going with her. Mercy had a map of the train stations on her lap, Swan sitting next to her, her head on her shoulder. Mercy was trying to find where they were going on the map but she wasn't used to the train system and it was way too confusing for her so she relied on Swan to tell her when they needed to get out. 

Mercy showed the map to Swan and turned her head to look at her “How many more stops before ours?” 

Of course the points on the map were way too small for Swan to read without putting the map two inches from her face so there was no way she could count how many stops they had left. She cursed herself for not having checked before leaving. 

“No need to check the map, we’ll know when we get there.” Mercy wanted to argue cause this was definitely not like Swan to act like that but Swan kissed her before she could object making her forget whatever they were talking about.

Ajax had been back for two weeks. Swan and Mercy were doing chores around the apartment they share with Cleon while the chief was out grocery shopping. Mercy was in their bedroom putting their clothes away when she decided to finally ask Swan the question that she wanted to ask for a while now. 

“Hey babe, can you come here for a minute?” Mercy called from the bedroom. Swan came in holding a broom. “Yeah, what’s up? Need help with anything?” Mercy tapped the space beside her on the bed. Swan sat down and examined Mercy’s expression.

Mercy took Swan’s hands in hers and looked her in the eyes “Actually, I wanted to ask you something” Swan’s eyebrow shot up. “Is something wrong?”

"No it’s not that.” Mercy sighed and used her most serious voice “Swan... do you not know how to read? It’s okay if you don't, I'm not judging you!” She added the last sentence very quickly.

Swan stared at Mercy very confused then looked at her librairie then back at Mercy. An awkward silence formed between them.

"Oh yeah, right. That doesn’t make sense… " Mercy sat there pensively for a few seconds “Do you need glas-”

“Swan get your ass over here I need help with the groceries” Cleon interrupted without knowing, her voice coming from outside the apartment.

Swan rapidly stood up and ran towards Cleon, equally eager to help than to get away from her conversation with Mercy.

Saved by the bell.

One day, Mercy was at the bar she worked at with Cowgirl, Ajax and Rembrandt and asked them “Did you ever notice something weird with Swan’s eyesight? Especially from far away” 

Cowgirl and Ajax tried to think of a time where that would have been relevant. Rembrandt spoke first. “She does squint a lot when she looks at my murals, even if she thinks I don’t notice it. She also mostly comments on the colors of whatever art I make more than anything else.” Rembrandt shrugged “ Just guessed she was really into colors”.

“Now that I think about it” Ajax continued “She always moves at the last second to dodge my punches when we spare, always thought it was cause she wanted the element of surprise…” 

“Hummmmmmmmm” Cowgirl was rubbing her chin. The three girls stared at her waiting for her opinion. “I have nothing.” Cowgirl finally said, drinking from the glass in front of her. Mercy let out an exasperated sigh while Ajax snickered. 

“So you think she needs glasses?” Rembrandt asked, sipping her drink. 

“Yes, I think so, but she doesn’t seem to want glasses… I don’t get why” Mercy answered 

Ajax spoke up “Not very useful in a fight”.

Then Cowgirl “She doesn’t have the face for glasses”. 

And finally Rembrandt “Maybe it scares her”.

They all looked at Rembrandt waiting for her to explain. Rembrandt wiggled on her chair from the sudden attention. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t particularly like glass so close to my eyes at all time. Imagine if it explodes and a piece get caught in her eye and she gets blind and Cleon have to find another second in command because you can’t really lead the way if you don’t see shit and Cleon names someone we don’t like as second and they’re really mean for some reason and disappear at night and we discover they’re really a werewolf that was planning to eat us all.” 

Silence. They all stared at her until Ajax bursted out laughing. “No more horror movie for you” Ajax said between two laughs, putting an arm around Rembrandt's shoulder.

That night, Mercy decided to have a real talk with her girlfriend. 

She waited till they were in bed so Swan didn’t have any excuse to flee the situation. Mercy was in Swan’s arm, tracing imaginary shapes with her finger on Swan’s chest. 

“Swan, honey.” 

“Mmh?” 

“You love me, right?”

“Of course, why do you ask?”

“You like seeing me, right?” 

“Mercy… what are you getting to?”

“Why don’t you wanna wear glasses? It would help you so much!”

Swan sat up. “So that’s what this is about” she said in an exhausted tone.

Mercy readjusted herself to look at her. “Yes it is! You know you can take them off when you fight and I’m sure you’re still gonna look as hot with it and it’s really not that scary!”

“Scary? What? Mercy, I just can’t afford it. Why would I be scared of glasses?” 

Mercy shrugged and looked away “That’s what Rembrandt said…” 

“You talked about this with Rembrandt?” Swan asked incredulously.

“... and Cowgirl and Ajax” Mercy said in a little voice.

“Mercy!” 

“I wanted to be sure I wasn’t imagining things! I needed a second opinion.” 

Swan runned a hand down her own face and sighed. 

Mercy took advantage of Swan silence to try to convince her. “You know I have a bit of money aside from the bar. I could help you pay for it.”

Swan's gaze softened.“I can’t ask you to do that, it's too expensive.” 

Mercy took Swan’s face in her hands. “It’s not! It would be a gift because I love you and I want you to be safe.” She gave Swan a quick kiss on the lips to prove her point. Swan melted a little in her touch. “I guess it could work… But if Ajax makes a single comment about it I take them off.” Swan said seriously. 

Mercy let out a little laugh “Deal. Now kiss me and tomorrow we’ll go get you these glasses.”

That’s how Swan came home the next day with a pair of glasses and a new view of everything. Mercy had to use her most intimidating glare to make sure Ajax wouldn’t laugh at Swan, but Ajax stopped wanting to laugh when she realised Swan was even better at fighting when she could see clearly.

[lizzybeeee]

I love the Descent DLC for a lot of reasons, but one of the most memorable parts for me was how they recontextualized the dwarven belief that you would 'fall into the sky!' with the reveal of the Titans.

Thousands upon thousands of years resulted in the phrase losing it’s true meaning, recontextualised to instead refer to the surface of Thedas because they lost the knowledge of what it was talking about. Yet this phrase still endured throughout the ages.

You meet plenty of dwarves in Dragon Age who talk about the importance of reclaiming what they lost -> the Aeducan origin story begins with an expedition to an old thaig, Brosca suffers the caste system that venerates the importance of past ancestors actions, we see characters like Branka commit/allow horrific acts in the pursuit of this...

Even Bartrand, who spent the majority of his life on the surface, felt that pull. Varric has a story about breaking a plate that was brought to the surface with them and how, to Bartrand, that plate was the entire city of Orzammar. So many dwarven characters are reaching for something lost to them...

You walk into the titan (though you don't know this at the time) and you're met with an entire world in there. There's light, fauna, flora, architecture, clouds -> you are in the clouds -> you are in the sky!

The dwarves had an entirely different way of life! How does this all work? Who knows! What is in the booty of a Titan???

And the entire time they've had one small link to the far distant past through the belief that they would ‘fall into the sky’! Which is deeply ironic and tragic in that something so tied to their way of life, under the surface, became synonymous with the surface.

I still remember how excited/awed I was when I realized what that phrase was referring to! You heard it all the time in DAO – even Varric joked about how Bartrand believed it in DA2.

A phrase that was a joke to those on the surface was revealed to be a flicker of memory of what once was. Amazing!

Maybe it was once a small, chiding reminder for dwarven children when walking around in a titan. Maybe it was a joke for the guards/defenders of the titan like the Sha-Brytol? Maybe a dwarf wandered down so far below that they saw all this - making their way back to Orzammar with their account becoming legend. Who knows! But I love it so much <3

[cogentranting]

The Hunger Games succeeds (and more so achieves sort of mythic effect) because it approaches dystopia through the timeless-- it (and Ballad) brings these universal ideas to a very personal lens and asks questions like "how do we begin to excuse evil in our lives" or "how do you hold on to goodness in the midst of oppression". And because it is so invested in the transcendent it lends itself to very powerful symbols, which give it that mythic feel.

Orwell's books (Animal Farm and 1984) both succeed through a very different approach to dystopia (Animal Farm isn't really a dystopia in the traditional sense but it has a lot of the elements). Orwell succeeds through real perceptive insight into the inner mechanisms of the subjects of his critiques. Orwell has vision that can cut deep into the way that things like propaganda or 'controlling the narrative' work and then, having dissected them, hold those tactics up for all to see.

And I think a lot of dystopias fall short because they get tangled up in the Idea of their story. The "what if" they've created. Either focused too much on the Issue-- too narrowly to be universal, too broadly to be revealing-- or too disconnected from anything genuine. And because they get stuck at that particular point they don't have much more to offer than "wouldn't this be bad?" And if you get a pretty good writer they can make that feel insightful but really it doesn't have much more to offer than whatever absurd YA book comes to mind first when you hear "bad dystopian novel".

[eri-pl]

So with @edennill mentioning isekai recently (a week ago? Idk), I started thinking and realized something: (if we ignore part of meta that's self-contradictory anyway or if we squint hard enough) if we are contemplating the concept of "isekai-ed into ME", landing there as an elf makes just as much sense as landing there as a human. Because the difference between the two kindreds is how they're tied to Arda and since we are getting thrown into a different world anyway (because this is the only way this premise makes any resemblance of sense, because time travel is a total mess) we can as well be more strongly tied to it. It makes just the same amount of sense as being more loosely tied.

(Tolkien said that there is no inherent physical difference between Men and Elves; the only difference is the nature of their bond with Arda and stuff like this, purely spiritual or whatever to call it.)